InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Heart's Landfill ❯ Inexcusable ( Chapter 56 )

A/N: As always all characters will be walking that fine line called OOCness!! No excuses this go round, I've just been busy working on a special project. Anyway, thanks for your continued support and patience, it is much appreciated. Oh, and this fic was nominated for Best Action/Adventure and Best Lemon with the Guild, thanks guys!! That said, if you haven't voted, you're just wrong…lol. Finally, and certainly not least, a special thanks to my beautiful beta, Neko, for putting up with me. I really do suck, believe it or not!!

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership to anyone with the exception of Nya, Nola, Dinshu, Dr. Aikio, Maki, and Moki. All others belong to Rumiko Takahashi.

Chapter 56:

Inexcusable

If there was ever one time in his life that he wished he wasn't a demon, it was definitely now.

Sesshomaru pressed the button to roll down the window on the silver Infinite. He only wanted the car to air out just a little, but all the fresh air seemed to do was throw her scent around the car more forcibly.

He would've growled, and ripped into the leather interior of the car if he was a lesser youkai, but he wasn't. He'd make do for now, even if it entailed holding his breath from time to time. Besides, they'd be arriving at their destination shortly, right?

He laid his head back against the headrest searching through the surrounding scents for his mate's, but his brother's mate's scent was so fucking strong; it overpowered Rin's almost to the point that he'd found himself wanting to glance over his shoulder to make sure that she was still there.

He wanted to tell Inuyasha to pull over and that he and Rin would catch a cab from here, but he figured that Rin would want to know why and he really didn't have any desire to explain this to her or to anyone else, for that matter.

He allowed his head to roll lethargically towards the open window and closed his eyes. He would think of something else, anything else and he'd survive this, because he was Takahashi Sesshomaru.

When he'd first found out what his idiotic brother had done, the full demon had been so mad that he'd actually contemplated-not for the first time-killing him himself. It was stupid and something that only lowly breeds did because they didn't know any better, but Inuyasha, he knew better.

He'd also thought about forcing him to tell her what he'd done, or telling her himself, but after thinking about that, he'd decided that this was without a doubt his brother's bed and he'd have to be made to lay in it regardless of the outcome.

Pushing those thoughts to the side as he heard his mate's soft voice whisper to Kagome, “You should come with us tomorrow.”

Maybe if the idiot had done it the right way, but even if she is his mate in blood, she has not accepted him or us.

“Tomorrow?” Kagome questioned softly.

“Yeah, we're going to have our family portrait painted,” his mate told her, “We do it whenever something special happens in the family.”

Sesshomaru noticed the silence that fell in the car before Higurashi replied, her voice trying desperately to keep whatever she was truly feeling hidden, “That sounds like fun, Rin, but that's for family. I think you guys should do that on your own.”

“Well, I think we could make an exception this once.”

“Rin, I don't think it would be a good idea. Besides, I have plans tomorrow anyway,” Higurashi told her politely as if she thought she was hurting her feelings.

“But-” his mate started.

Sesshomaru knew when Rin wanted something bad enough, she'd never let it go, so he interjected impassively, “Rin, perhaps Higurashi is right. This is a family only outing.” Glancing at Inuyasha quickly, he finished, “Isn't that right, half-breed?”

“Shut up the fuck up,” the hanyou hissed, his eyed trained on the reflection of Higurashi, Sesshomaru noticed. “If she wants to come; it's up to her, but no one in this car is going to tell her that she can't.”

The car became extremely quiet then and the full demon went back to his private musings of idiotic half-breed brothers, mates that tried too hard, and a human woman who's scent was really starting to give him a migraine.

Simonkal of Inuy

Kagome couldn't describe the relief that fell over her the moment that Inuyasha pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant and parked in front of the valet stand.

She reached for the door to push it open, but stopped when a young guy about the age of her brother beat her to it. He pulled the door open and stepped back allowing her room to climb out of the car, and she smiled at him thankfully while paying little attention to her companions that were still in the car.

Stepping around the car as the young man shut the door she'd just exited, Kagome spared a glance at the back tinted window of the car and noticed that Inuyasha was turned in his seat, his face set in a scowl. He was saying something to Rin, but whatever it was it must not have been that serious because Rin was smiling and fanning her hand in a dismissive manner in his direction.

Tearing her gaze away from them, she turned her attention to the people around her and scanned the front of the restaurant quickly. Not paying attention to where she was going, she missed the step up to the sidewalk and stumbled forward.

Kagome closed her eyes and braced herself for the fast approaching concrete, but it never came. Instead strong arms grabbed her and pulled her into a hard chest. Her heart was racing, beating with the pulse of hundred men, her head swimming from embarrassment and sheer adrenaline.

Of all the times to trip and fall, she griped silently.

Her eyes opened slowly as her head tilted upward and she jumped back away from the youkai that wasn't Inuyasha nor Sesshomaru, not that she expected either of them since they were still in the car.

The guy smiled down at her, his toothy grin bringing back so many memories that she forgot for a moment who she was with and why she was there.

“Hakkaku!” she shouted, flinging herself into his arms, her arms wrapping tightly around his neck.

His arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her to him briefly before he leaned back and stared down at her. “Wow, I see you're just as clumsy as ever.”

Kagome blushed and looked away from him and around at the other people gathered around them that were now looking at her. Of all the people that she figured she could run into tonight, he had not been on her list.

Turning her attention back to him, she immediately noticed that there was a sadness in his eyes that his smile couldn't quite hide. Not only that, but he looked downright exhausted. No, it was more than that. He looked like a beaten dog that was just going through the motions because he didn't know how not to.

Her arms dropped from his neck and she stepped back away from him, putting just enough distance between them that should someone need to pass they could.

“How have you been, Hakkaku? It seems like ages since I've seen you.”

He shrugged his shoulders and smirked down at her. “You know me; I'm surviving, all things considered. “What about you? How have you been?”

“Good,” she retorted while glancing away from him and into the crowd not really sure who she was or was not looking for.

“You're in Tokyo now, right?”

“Yeah. I've been there for almost a year now. It's not like Kyoto, but it's nice. You should come visit sometime.”

Kagome thought she saw him lean forward slightly and sniff in her direction, but she couldn't be sure. It had to be her mind playing tricks on her, because what the hell would cause him to do something so unnatural.

“Tokyo has been good to you, Baby Girl, seriously,” he whispered, softly brushing an invisible strand of hair from her face before shoving his hands in his pockets and taking a half step back so that he was standing with his side to her.

She'd always liked his little pet name for her and had to admit that it was definitely a lot nicer than being called wench. I wonder if I could talk Inuyasha into calling me baby girl instead of that stupid wench crap? Probably not.

Shaking off her private thoughts, she glanced up at Hakkaku and noticed that he was looking over her shoulder, his body rigid.

Turning so that she was looking over her own shoulder, her eyes met the gaze of Sesshomaru's, who was staring at the demon in front of her as if silently asking who the hell he was. Her gaze then slipped to Rin, who was grinning at her as if she'd just been caught stealing, and then her eyes moved to that of Inuyasha's golden ones that seemed to glisten in the moonlight around him, his eyes trained on her, his face set in an almost snarl of disapproval.

She swallowed, but refused to let their chastising looks keep her from talking to an old friend. She was right here in front of them for goodness sake, what the hell could she do?

“Friends of yours?” Hakkaku observed rather than questioned softly.

Turning away from the Takahashi's, she stepped towards the demon not sure why she felt the need to prove that she was her own woman. “Oh, yeah, but anyway, how's Ginta doing?”

She heard keys change hands behind her and the click of Rin's heels as they glided across the sidewalk in her direction and she almost looked back but refrained.

“Ginta?” Hakkaku questioned as if he didn't know who she was talking about.

Kagome laughed and playfully punched his shoulder closest to her. “Yeah, silly. He's your twin brother? He's about your height, kind of nerdy, and has the most infectious laugh known to mankind.”

Hakkaku seemed to deflate right in front of her as his eyes told her that he was no longer there with her chatting like old friends, but instead he was miles away, maybe even years away in a time when things were much simpler.

She stepped towards the youkai, her hand resting on his arm. “Hakkaku, Ginta is alright, isn't he?”

He turned his gaze back to her and stared at her for a long moment without saying anything.

A hand in the small of her back, claws dragging softly over the material of her shirt jarred her and caused her to step back away from the demon as a husky voice whispered in her ear, “Make it quick, Wench.” He kissed her lightly on her cheek and started around her and Hakkaku, who was standing stock still, his face still trained on her, but his eyes following Inuyasha's smooth movements.

She didn't miss the way Inuyasha's upper lip raised in a sneer at Hakkaku or the way his shoulders stiffened while brushing across the back of Hakkaku's jacket as if letting him know that he was less than a milli-second from an ass-kicking if he stepped out of line.

Kagome spared another moment to meet eyes with Inuyasha as he stepped back and allowed Sesshomaru and Rin to enter the establishment before him. He stood for a moment longer gazing at her, his eyes unreadable before he turned his back to her and disappeared into the restaurant leaving her outside with her past.

She started to go after him, but Hakkaku's voice stopped her dead in her tracks, “Ginta's in the states now. When I talk to him again I'll let him know you asked about him.”

She didn't know why but she had the feeling that he was lying. It could've been the look in his eyes, or the way his body tensed initially, but she couldn't shake the feeling that he was lying to her.

“Well, do you have a number where I could reach him?”

He looked at her for another moment; his eyes sad and shoulders slumped before he squared them and inhaled deeply while stepping back away from her. “How about this; give me your number and I'll give it to him the next time I talk to him.”

Kagome searched his face slowly, looking for a reason as to why it seemed like he was being so evasive with Ginta's whereabouts and contact information.

“I…I don't have a pen.”

He stepped back holding his hand out for her to head towards the front door. “No problem, I'm sure we can get one at the concierge's stand up front.”

She started towards the door slowly, but stopped. “If I give you my number, you can't… You can't give it to Kouga. You have to promise me.”

Hakkaku stepped around her and pulled the door open before the doorman could reach for it. “You have my word, besides I'd hate to see what that crazy ass mate of yours would do to you if Kouga were to call at the wrong time.”

The grin, he shot her told her that he was just joking, but it did nothing to stop the shiver that raced up and down her spine at just the thought of Inuyasha and what she hoped they'd be doing when they got back to the hotel room. She shook off her thoughts and replied as she started through the door, “We're not mates, Hakkaku, he's my boyfriend that's all, and he's not crazy.”

“Really, he's not your mate?” she heard him whisper softly before he stepped quickly around her and reached for the second set of glass doors with one hand while his other hand found the small of her back and guided her through it.

“Really, why would you think he was?”

Hakkaku was quiet for a long moment behind her before he intoned, “My mistake, I guess I just assumed.”

“That's one hell of a thing to just assume, don't you think?”

He snickered, but didn't respond verbally.

Entering the restaurant, she noticed Rin standing at the concierge's stand. Turning her head, her eyes fell on Sesshomaru leaning against the wall, he arms crossed over his chest, his eyes locked on hers. If looks could kill, she knew she'd probably be dead by now, but she brushed that off and looked down at Inuyasha who was leaning forward his elbows on his knees, and his head down as if he was studying the cracks in the ceramic tiles.

“Someone's in trouble,” Hakkaku crooned softly and she swore she heard him laugh at her.

“Move your hand and I won't be in trouble,” she growled after realizing that his hand was still in the small of her back.

She didn't want to do it, because she could almost taste the anger roiling up from Inuyasha, but she knew she needed to at least introduce Hakkaku if she expected him to let her explain later.

Inhaling deeply, she started towards the two dog demons slowly, knowing that the wolf demon was following behind in the same manner he and Ginta did when she was dating Kouga.

“Who's this handsome fellow?” Rin questioned from behind them and Kagome turned, thankful that the woman had showed up when she did.

“Uh, Rin this is Hakkaku, an old friend. I tripped on the step up and he caught me before I made a complete idiot of myself,” Kagome told her, explaining more for Inuyasha's benefit than Rin's.

Inuyasha still hadn't looked up at her, which she found more than a little unnerving. She'd always known that he had a jealous streak, but this was the first time that she was actually privy to witnessing it.

“I see,” Rin stated, stepping around Hakkaku and positioning herself so that she was standing in front of Sesshomaru. “Well, Hakkaku, it was very nice of you to keep our Kagome from face planting on the sidewalk, thank you,” she finished with a bow. She reached out and ran her hand lightly over Inuyasha's mane and allowed her fingers to snake gently up to his ears where she fingered them lightly, her eyes trained on Kagome's as if daring her to stop her.

Hakkaku chuckled behind Kagome as if sensing the rising tension. “Yeah, well Kagome has always been kind of a klutz. She'd trip over her own shoes from time to time. I'm just glad that I was there to catch her.”

Kagome blushed and tore her gaze away from Rin. “Hakkaku, this is Takahashi Sesshomaru, Rin's mate, and this is…” She stepped up to Inuyasha, brushed Rin's hands away from his ears and slipped her arm around his shoulders, forcing him to finally look up at the wolf demon. “…this is my boyfriend, Takahashi Inuyasha.”

Hakkaku bowed once to each of the demons that merely gave him a nod of their heads with practiced impassive glares. “Nice to meet you all,” Hakkaku said quickly, “Ah, Kagome, you want to give me that number? I was on my way out of here when I ran into to you.” He glanced down at his watch and then back at her, before he finished, “I'm sure your companions don't really appreciate me taking up all of your time.”

Inuyasha stood then. “No, it's fine. Take all the time you need, I'll be at the bar.” He stepped around Kagome and started off, and then stopped. “Rin, you want to come along?”

Kagome watched Rin start after him with a sullen smile on her face, and then she turned to Sesshomaru who was turning his attention from Rin's disappearing back to her, a look on his face that clearly said she needed to make this quick.

Starting towards the concierge stand, Kagome asked for a pen and piece of paper. She scribbled her cell number on it and handed it to Hakkaku. “Make sure you tell him to call me, okay?”

He stared down at the paper and smiled sadly. “I will,” he told her.

He reached down, pulled her into his arms tightly and whispered, “Whatever you do, don't look back; there's nothing back here that's worth looking for.”

She leaned back and stared at him. His eyes were screaming something at her that she desperately wanted to understand but just couldn't. “Hakkaku?”

He released her and stepped back. “It was great seeing you again, Doll, take care of yourself.”

She watched him go with a soft smile on her face and started to turn away and head towards the bar area, but stopped at the sound of his voice, “Kagome, did you know that my brother had the biggest crush on you. It was silly actually-all things considered-but there was nothing he wouldn't have done for you.”

And then he was gone, disappearing through the glass doors and out of her life again. For some reason she knew she'd never hear from Ginta and she'd probably never see Hakkaku again.

“Have you flirted enough for one day, Higurashi?”

Kagome tore her eyes away from the glass doors and glanced up at the white haired demon that was standing a few feet from her, his hands behind his back.

She blushed. “I wasn't flirting!”

“Well, I suggest you come up with an explanation for what exactly this was, because I honestly do not feel like babysitting tonight,” he told her blandly as he started away from her and in the direction that Inuyasha and Rin had gone in.

“What's that suppose to mean?”

He was quiet as they stepped through the wooden walkway and into the lounge where Inuyasha and Rin had procured a table in the back of the sparsely lit establishment.

Elegant yet not obnoxious, she thought eyeing the restaurant quickly.

Sesshomaru made quick work of taking the seat next to Rin as Kagome stepped around Inuyasha and sat in the seat between him and Rin.

“Where's your friend?” Inuyasha questioned, not missing a beat.

“Gone, of course. You didn't think he was going to join us did you?”

“With all of the touching and hugging and shit, I kind of half expected it,” Inuyasha told her without looking at her. He wrinkled his nose and leaned away from her as he finished, “You stink by the way.”

“You're being silly, Takahashi.”

“Am I?”

“Yes, you are,” Kagome snapped, “I didn't stink ten minutes ago, did I?”

He wrinkled his nose again. “Well, you stink now.”

“Oh my goodness, why are being so juvenile about this? He was a friend, I said hello, that's all. Don't try to make this out to be something that it's not!”

“I…see,” he told her methodically as if she'd just won the fight.

“Well, isn't this fun,” Rin interjected too happily. “I love date night!”

Inuyasha glared at Rin, his eyes narrowing spitefully, and then swallowed the rest of what was in his glass in one gulp. He then slammed the glass down on the table so hard that the other patrons all turned to look at their table.

“Absolute moron,” Sesshomaru hissed under his breath as he leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes as if he needed to calm his own rising ire.

Kagome couldn't believe that the hanyou was acting in this manner because she'd had a conversation with an old friend. Hadn't she introduced Hakkaku to him? It wasn't like she was off in some dark corner letting him fondle her, was it?

No, it wasn't! Inuyasha was definitely blowing things out of proportion.

God forbid we run into Kouga; he'd probably roll over and die, she silently gripped. Ridiculous!!

“Ma'am, can I take your order?” a woman that seemed to be on age with her asked and Kagome looked up at her forcing a smile. “Yeah, I'll take a double shot of Yeager,” she finished out loud not meaning to, “This is going to be one hell of a long night it appears.”

“Well, maybe you should call it a night now,” Inuyasha snapped not looking at her. “After all, no one wants to keep you where you don't want to be.”

“You're being an asshole, Takahashi,” Kagome bit out quietly as her hands balled into tight fists under the table. She tried to tell herself that he was just being nasty because he was jealous of her reaction to seeing Hakkaku. He didn't mean a word of what he was saying and with a few more drinks, he'd be fine.

Inuyasha shot her a quick glance that clearly said, I'm going to show you better than I can tell you, and Kagome shrank back away from him subconsciously.

Looking away from the half-demon, Kagome watched as the waitress made her way over to Sesshomaru and took his order then asked if Rin or Inuyasha needed another drink. Kagome didn't hear what Rin said, but she heard Inuyasha clearly.

“Yeah, you can get me another Stiletto and a piece of paper and pen please.”

The woman smiled, her cheeks pinking as she turned and made her way away from the table only to return a few minutes later with their drinks and the paper and pen that Inuyasha had asked for.

Kagome watched her sit the writing utensils in front of Inuyasha, the sleeve of her Kimono brushing against the side of his cheek and something snapped inside of her.

She watched him look up at the woman with a look that she thought was only reserved for her and her breathing quickened as the blood in her body seemed to begin to pulse in time with her violent thoughts.

“What time do you get out of here?” the hanyou questioned the woman seductively.

Sesshomaru groaned loudly and seemed to shrink down in his seat.

Rin picked up her glass and turned away as if pretending that she was clueless as to what was going on around her.

“I'm closing tonight,” the waitress replied shyly.

Kagome growled not wanting to believe that he was actually stooping to such childish tactics of playing tit for tat.

“Do you work tomorrow,” he questioned as he picked up the pen and started scribbling a number that she knew by heart.

That son of a bitch!

“No, why?” the woman asked.

He chuckled, actually chuckled at the woman with her sitting right there, and said, “Because after tonight you're going need some time to recuperate.”

Kagome thought she heard someone wheeze out something caught between a groan of disbelief and a cry of outraged. Glancing at Rin and Sesshomaru that were now looking at her, she realized that that sound had actually come directly from her.

She picked up her glass and downed her drink before she trusted herself to look at Inuyasha or to say anything. This was not happening! He was not being this petty and childish, he just wasn't!

He handed the woman the folded paper and winked at her and every muscle in Kagome's body tensed. She wanted to grab him by his hair and pull until he told her exactly what he thought he was doing, but she couldn't move.

The woman took the paper and shoved it in into the sleeve of her kimono. She glanced around the table at the occupants, her eyes coming to rest on Kagome's for a brief moment before she looked back down at Inuyasha. “I guess I'll see you later then.”

“I guess you will,” Inuyasha responded huskily.

The woman looked from Inuyasha to Kagome as if she thought that this was some kind of joke.

Kagome sneered at the woman unable to stop herself, as a mechanical half of a laugh escaped her. “What the hell are you looking at?” she hissed, her voice not her own, but filled with every emotion she was feeling at the moment.

The waitress blubbered something and Kagome pushed to her feet, stepped around Inuyasha and towards the woman that was slowly stepping back away from her.

Rin stood up. “Kagome don't!”

“Asshole,” Sesshomaru hissed.

Inuyasha said nothing.

Her body moved towards the woman, her fists so tight that she could feel her nails digging into the soft skin of her hands. She wanted to grab her and wring her fucking neck! She wanted to drag her by her long black ponytail and ram her head into the wall next to her and she wanted to claw out her fucking eyes, and break her damn hands for even assuming that she'd get a chance to touch what wasn't hers to touch!

The woman stepped back again bumping into an empty table and almost falling over it.

“Kagome, don't!” Rin called again desperately.

She didn't hear her and didn't want to as she continued to glare at the woman while visions danced before her eyes of the nameless woman and Inuyasha locked in some lustful embrace.

She blinked, forcing those visions away and the woman turned and started to run, but Kagome's hand came up so fast that she didn't even know that it was going to happen until it already had.

Chairs skidded back across that floor behind her, voices raised and she found herself being pulled back against someone's chest, a clawed hand wrapped possessively around her own, purple marks running the length of them. The other snaked around her waist pulling her back against his body.

She tried to take a step towards the woman that was fighting to pull herself out of her grip, but the more she pulled, the stronger Kagome held on. She hadn't meant to do this, she honestly hadn't, but the thought… Just the thought of someone else with him…in his arms...

She knew this was insanity. It made no sense to allow someone to have this much control over her emotions, but…but he was hers! He belonged to her, even if he didn't believe it! He belonged to her! How dare he? How dare she? How dare they?

Kagome growled and somehow knotted her hand around the woman's hair and started to yank back.

“Sesshomaru!” Rin called from somewhere beside them as Kagome watched the bartender and a few of the other employees come out of the back room holding various objects like butcher's knives and rolling pins.

“He's an asshole, Higurashi. He knew you'd react like this, but he had no desire to go through with anything,” Sesshomaru explained in a bored monotone voice.

“She has something I need,” the livid young woman managed through clenched teeth while yanking the woman's head back further.

Rin stepped quickly around the waitress and reached into her sleeve. Unbelievably with everything that was going on, Kagome actually noticed the woman trying to stop Rin from getting the piece of paper!

“Got it! Now, let her go,” Rin told her pleadingly.

The tension drained from her body and she let the woman go as she fell back onto Sesshomaru's chest. The demon released her as soon as the waitress disappeared into the back room of the establishment.

Kagome turned to him with a grateful look on her face, but she couldn't find a thing to say to him. Her eyes moved from Sesshomaru's golden gaze to Inuyasha, who was still sitting down, his drink in his hand staring at her with an unreadable expression on his face.

Is…is he gloating? He can't be! He better not be!

“Let's get out here,” Sesshomaru said. Without waiting on anyone's approval, he slipped his arm around her shoulder as if making sure she didn't attack anyone else and guided her out the establishment.

He requested the car from the valet, put her in the front seat and went around to the driver side door.

She didn't pay attention to the other occupants, but knew Inuyasha was the last person to enter the vehicle before it took off down the street filled with silence and so much tension that she swore it could've been cut with dull plastic spoon.

“Am I taking you home, Higurashi?” Sesshomaru questioned after a moment.

“No,” was her response, and then she finished bitterly, “I need get my things from Inuyasha's room. I'll call Hakkaku to pick me up from there; after all, it's not like I have to work tomorrow.”

A growl ripped through the silence and she inwardly gloated, because she realized that two could play this childish game that he started.

Rin groaned and rolled down her window as if she was going to jump from the moving vehicle.

“I…I see,” was Sesshomaru's reply as he shook his head disapprovingly and continued down the street.

Simonkal of Inuy

It was like a wave rolling through him, gaining momentum with each second that ticked by, each step that he took through the hotel lobby, and with each rock of her hips as she walked beside his brother a few feet ahead of him.

From the moment he'd seen her throw herself into that wolf's arms; it had been straight downhill from there. At first, he figured he'd play along with her, after all this guy was just an acquaintance, right? However, the more she touched him and he touched her, the more he found the situation completely unbearable.

He hadn't meant for things to get as out of hand as they did, but after a few drinks and with her of no consequences responses to his questions, he figured she needed a taste of her own medicine. Of course, he had no plans of doing anything with the dog of a woman and had Kagome sat back to think about that, she would've figured that much out, but no, she had to blow a gasket and attack the damn woman.

Even after that, he was fine, but her plans for tonight with this Hakkaku fuck was inexcusable and if she thought for even a fucking second that he was going to let her just grab her shit and leave, she had another think coming.

The elevator doors opened and closed around him and he propped himself in the far corner away from her and his brother, who for some reason was acting like her protector or something.

The doors opened and Sesshomaru and Kagome stepped off, followed by him and Rin. The silence was a deafening thing and left much to be desired, but it was fine with him.

Sesshomaru and Kagome stopped at his door and he stepped up between them while fishing the room key out the back pocket of his jeans. Slipping it into the slot, the door popped open and he stepped in. Kagome stepped in behind him, and he quickly positioned himself across the door blocking his brother from entering.

“Move, Inuyasha, or I'll move you,” his brother ordered.

The hanyou didn't flinch as he snarled back at the older demon. “You should know better than anyone else here that this doesn't concern you, Brother.”

He could feel Kagome standing a few feet behind him, her uncertainty a palpable thing, but she wasn't afraid, maybe a little anxious and nervous, but not afraid.

Sesshomaru growled at him, and Inuyasha growled back his stance changing to one of attack.

“I'm fine,” Kagome told Sesshomaru quickly, “I'm just going to get my things and call my ride and I'm out of here. I'll be fine.”

Sesshomaru glanced at her without moving his head, before he relaxed and stepped back to where Rin was standing worriedly. “Don't do anything foolish, Brother,” he hissed condescendingly as if he expected just that.

Inuyasha growled low in his throat and slammed the door in both his brother and Rin's face. Sparing just a moment to calm his nerves, he stalked down the hall that Kagome had already traveled down. He could hear her in the bedroom shoving stuff into her overnight bag that she'd only brought over a few hours ago.

Walking passed the door to the bedroom, he slowed his stroll and stared at her, their eyes meeting briefly, but he didn't venture in. He continued on into the living room as he stated loud enough for her to hear, “You're deluding yourself if you think I'm going to let you leave here with that son of a bitch, Kagome.”

“I'll leave here with whoever the hell I choose to!” she shouted back at him.

“Try it and see how far you actually get, Wench,” he told her too calmly.

She stomped out the room, her bag in her hand. Stepping into the living room, she dropped her bag on the couch and challenged, “And exactly how the hell are you going to stop me?”

The hanyou twisted the top off a bottle of water and chugged it as he watched her reflection stare at him obviously waiting on an answer. He scoffed as if that was the stupidest question he'd ever heard and retorted, “You might as well put your things back, and stop wasting my time and yours.”

“I'm not doing this with you,” she told him softly, her tone tired and a little exasperated.

He turned to her. “Doing what?”

“This! I'm not going to argue with you over something that's done! You ruined everyone's evening because you couldn't contain your jealousy, Inuyasha!”

“I ruined it? You were the one that was letting that mangy ass fucking wolf practically fondle you! And right in front of my fucking family, Kagome!”

“I was not!”

“Yes the hell you were! I mean like it wasn't bad enough that I have to watch you throw yourself at him, but you also have to give him your fucking number right in front of my brother?” His anger getting the best of him, he threw the bottle of water against the far wall. “How the hell do you think that makes me look? My…my…m… My fucking girlfriend can't keep her fucking hands to herself for one fucking hour!”

“I didn't throw myself at anyone, you idiot! He caught me; I told you that!”

“Yeah, whatever,” he hissed, turning away from her, his brow furrowed deeply.

“I can't believe that you're actually this jealous! None of this would've happened had you not been acting like a two year old!”

“A two year old?”

“That's what I said, didn't I? Rather than just talking to me about it like an adult you have to go and hit on that damn tramp right in front of my face! What was that about?”

He shrugged. “That was me showing you just how silly I could be.”

“See, games, Inuyasha, fucking games! I don't have time for this shit!” She stomped towards the phone and picked up the receiver then started dialing a number. “If games are what you want to play then just go play them with someone else!”

He didn't care what number it was; all he knew was that she wasn't leaving this hotel room tonight! He didn't care if he had to sit up and guard the damn door all night!

Inuyasha stepped around her and leaned down, yanking the phone cord out of the wall. “You're out of your fucking mind if you think you're leaving this fucking room, Kagome!” he groundout, stepping back and across to the other side of the room.

She stared at the phone for along moment, before she turned to him, a look of dismay on her face that told him that to her, he'd just lost his everlasting mind.

“What? Why…why would you do that?” she questioned softly staring down at the phone clasped tightly in her hand.

“Don't ask dumb questions,” he told her coldly, his face set in a deep scowl.

Kagome stared at the phone for a moment longer as if she needed to allow something the register within her mind.

The hanyou didn't see it coming, but as he looked up he had just a fraction of a second to duck before the receiver of the phone connected with the wall just beside where he was standing.

“Don't ask dumb questions? You son of a bitch!” she ground out. “You flirt with some dirty whore in my face and practically tell her how you're going to fuck her right in front of me and you expect me to just stand here and take this shit? You must have lost your fucking mind, Takahashi!”

“Well, you were practically ready to fuck that dude right in front of me, right?” he tossed back, knowing he was exaggerating more than a little bit. “So what, you can dish it out, but you can't take it?” he quipped tauntingly.

His only answer was her hefting the base of the phone up and throwing it at his head.

“Kagome, stop throwing shit at me,” he ordered while ducking out of the way.

“Shut the hell up!” she growled. “I'm the only one in this goddamn room that has any right to be mad about anything that happened tonight! I was simply chatting with an old friend whom I introduced to you, but you…you were giving that woman your number and making plans to screw her!”

“Feh, whatever,” he grumbled knowing that he was wrong, but refusing to admit as much.

She stalked towards him and Inuyasha stepped back away from her; her eyes dangerous flames against the dim light of the hotel room.

“I swear to the gods Kagome you need to calm down, because if you pinch me or hit me, I'm going to fuck you up,” he threatened stepping back away from her. He knew his threat was emptier than a bottle of water in the middle of a desert, but he had to save face.

“Don't tell me to fucking calm down now, you childish bastard! And if I did hit you what the hell would you do; hit me back?” she challenged stepping so close that he could almost feel the heat radiating off of her body. To drive her point home-he was sure-she shoved him in the center of his chest forcing him back another step.

Inuyasha stumbled back away from her ire and caught her hand as she tried to grab at a patch of skin on his neck, and knocked her hand away. “I swear to everything that's holy if you keep pushing me, I'm going to ball your ass up and shove you in a closet until you calm down!” She came at him again, and he swatted her hand away quickly being careful not to hurt her.

He hadn't had a plan, but he had to admit that this was not one of the ways he had expected her to react. Abusive ass woman, he ground out silently!!

“I attacked that woman because of you and all you did was sit there and watch!” She shouted angrily, “No, you didn't just watch, you sat there and gloated! I made a fool of myself tonight because of your little fucking game, Takahashi. You don't have any right to ask me to do or not to do shit!” She reached back, picking up something off the arm of the couch and finished as she threw it right at his face, “If I wanted to bust your goddamn head right now, there isn't a goddamn thing you could do!”

The hanyou ducked low, the object just missing his head by an inch or two. He growled heatedly and charged forward, his arms wrapping around her legs. Picking her up as if she was a feather, he pulled her close and rushed forward tumbling over the back of the couch so that she was pinned below him on the cushions.

“I said calm the fuck down,” he growled as he tried to grasp the wrists of her hands that were swatting too damn quickly at his face, neck, and clothed chest.

“I will not!” she growled as she caught him across the left cheek with a stiff left hand.

He could smell her tears now and it tore at the very core of who he was, but he forced that knowledge to the back of his mind and focused on getting her to hold still long enough for him to think this shit through.

“Just…just fucking stop, Kagome! Stop fucking moving! Stop…stop fucking crying!” he shouted as he finally caught hold of her wrists and pinned them over her head.

She blubbered as more angry tears came to her eyes, “I hate you! You…you make me so…so sick!” She twisted fitfully trying to wipe her face on her shoulder and then finished, “Sometimes I'm sorry…I'm sorry that I even met you!”

The room stilled, well, at least he stilled, her words hitting him like a plane crashing down from the sky into the pavement far below or a wrecking ball against a weak shell of a tree.

Regret assaulted him as Bitch whined miserably within his head as if he was literally crying. For the first time he felt the repercussions of his impulsive actions. For the first time, he felt shame and regret for claiming her without her permission. And for the first time, he truly felt a nail slipping into his coffin.

It was like the sad end of a really beautiful, but short, love story.

Inuyasha stared down at her, the woman he'd claimed as his mate. He sighed and shook his head slowly before he released her hands and pushed back standing to his feet.

“Mine,” Bitch whined weakly, but this time it was more of a question than a declaration.

“No,” the hanyou responded sullenly as he stepped back away from her and sat down in the chair across the room from where she was still sprawled on the couch.

He watched her push herself up into a sitting position; his mind unable to find anything to say to her or that would make a difference. This was wrong, he knew that, but he felt powerless to do anything about it.

She obviously hadn't noticed the change in his demeanor because she picked up right where she left off from a few minutes earlier, “From the moment I met you, I've been making a complete ass of myself! And how do you thank me?”

The hanyou looked away from her, but didn't reply to what had to be a rhetorical question.

She finished as she stood to her feet and stalked towards him, her hands on her hips, “How do you thank me? You constantly remind that I'm not good enough, Inuyasha! You constantly show me that I'm just your right now pussy!”

He looked up at her then. “Kagome,” he whispered so soft that he doubted that she could hear him. It was stupid, he knew it was, but he did it anyway. He reached for her, hoping to pull her into his lap and just hold onto her for a little while longer, but she twisted out of his grasp.

He could've put forth the extra effort and forcibly grab at her again, but he just didn't have it in him at the moment to even try.

She glared down at him. “You're a prick, Inuyasha! An Asshole…a childish bastard!” she intoned pointedly. She shook her head, tears returning to her eyes. “I know that! I know what you are, but…!” She wiped at her eyes and finished, “But…but…but as much as I know that. I still…”

The hanyou leaned forward quickly, unsure of exactly what he was doing. He grabbed her hips, pulling her to him. Wrapping his arms around her tiny waist, he laid his head against her flat belly and held her close. She struggled against his hold, but he held steadfast refusing to let her go.

His lips started moving without his permission, “I know you hate me and I know I make you sick and that you're sorry that you ever met me, but…but I don't hate you. I'm not sorry that I met you, and…and you don't make me sick; you make me…you make me better.”

Her fight slowly began to diminish then. She was listening to him now, really listening.

He continued, “I'm stupid and I'm jealous and I'm sorry, Kagome. I shouldn't have done what I did tonight. I shouldn't have pushed you like that, but the…” He felt her hands hesitantly find his head and then his ears that were laying back and he closed his eyes relishing her willing touch as he continued, “the thought of you leaving me for someone…anyone drives me insane. I don't know what you are to me,” he lied, “But you're not just a piece of pussy as you put it. You're not just someone that I'm doing.”

Inuyasha looked up at her then and continued, “I might be a lot of things like jealous, and childish, and arrogant, and impatient, but right now in this moment, all I am is sorry. I'm sorry for tonight, last night, and for everything I haven't done yet. I'm…I'm just…”

“Shut up,” Kagome whispered softly, her hands buried in the roots of his hair as she stared down at him. “Just shut up,” she repeated and he did.

She stared down at him for a long moment before she dropped to her knees before the chair he was sitting in and leaned forward wrapping her arms around his upper chest. “I'm sorry I said those things to you. I didn't mean any of it. I was just so angry with you. I…I…I am just as much at fault as you are. And I'm sorry for my part in this fight,” she finished.

The hanyou leaned forward pulling her closer, inhaling her scent. He wanted to believe her. He wanted to go back to believing that he hadn't made a mistake, but her words…her angry words still rang in his head chiseling away at any ounce of hope that he had left. Still, he hugged her tight and close, savoring every minute.

“I love you,” he whispered, his tone heartfelt and broken, “And I really am sorry…for everything.” He knew that she'd think that he was just talking about tonight, but he knew he was talking about everything.

She pushed against him, stood to her feet, and climbed into his lap. Snuggling against his chest, her face in the crook of his neck, she whispered as she tilted her head up and kissed the underside of his chin, “I love you more.”

The hanyou looked down at her, a sad smile on his face. “Do you…really?”

She ran her gentle hands across his brow, down the tip of his nose and leaned in, kissing him lightly on the lips before she settled back into his hold and intoned sweetly, “You have know idea just how much I do.”

Closing his eyes as he allowed his head to fall back against the back of the chair, Inuyasha thought as he tightened his hold on her, I could say the same thing to you, Higurashi Kagome. I could say that same thing to you.

“Mine?” Bitch asked again.

The hanyou didn't answer his youkai blood right away as he sat listening to the strum of her heartbeat. The silence between them dragged on, her breathing evening out and he finally replied, his arms tightening even more around her, “I don't know, Bitch. I thought she was, but…but I don't know anymore.”

Until Next Time… (Your patience and your .02 cents are greatly appreciated!!)

Next Chapter: The End of Days

Acknowledgements:

CrazyKiss ~ Something I can't spell ~ Shaelyn-Bobaelyn ~ InuKagInLuv4life ~ Lilsweetpea011 ~ Inukag-mirosan lover ~ JesstheBest ~ Ravens_Ashs ~ jflorea ~ Mynera ~ Angel-up-above-heaven ~ Leo-mae