InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Impoverished Heir ❯ Alliances and Dark Intentions ( Chapter 30 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

The big 3-0, guys. Did I ever think I would write this fic so long? Well to be honest, if family life wasn't so busy, I would have tried to finish awhile ago. But life is as life goes, and gaining a family takes up time for writing, but happily so. I wanted to find my woman and have; I am not alone and am very loved. I'm not complaining! I just have to manage my time for writing better now that I've found my rock to lean on. Manage time today!

Full dedication to my lovely Skye. My wife, my darling, my baby, thanks for being you and for supporting my writing habit. I remember first getting that email from a woman who said she loved my stories and it grew from there. Don't worry, there's an rated X scene in there for you! It was written by your side while you were sleeping. So for all those hentai's reading this story, don't worry, you'll get a tall glass of lemonade in the middle.
I'm always amazed at all the little things she does for me. Love, you're so thoughtful, loving, giving, and you support all my quirky habits :P I hope I do the same for you even a tenth of what you do for me. I love you so much.

Dedication in part to Inugrrrl! This hentai's incredible, read on for the good stuff! This tale's comin' up close to an end, so I hope to post alot sooner!

Oh yeah..... and I'm going on vacation in May, so I hope to post another chappie before then, even if it's short! It'll be action-PACKED, lemony and fun, I promise to you.


Onto the Honored List for Reviewers:

Fanfiction dot net:

sexymamita2007: I hope you've read the rest! Tell me your thoughts.

Katie B 17: Hope you got word of this update! I know it's been three months ^_^;;;

Son Carmelya: Your review is awesome! What'd ya think? ^_^

Hollistergirl29: Haha hope this story distracts you from your schoolwork again! Did it? Tell me what you think!

InuGoddess715: Oh my god! Hey ya'll betta recognize, this is one of my original peeps, hope you like the lemon and plot! I intend to put the smut back where it belongs and that's before your eyes! How was the good stuff this time around? I know my lovely's going to get hot and bothered ^_^ The end scene with Kagome talking to Kouga really came literally at the last second before I reposted. And I went with it, because it felt and then became a good idea, as you will see in the opening scene in this chappie. Like it? Love it? Hit me up with some good words! Your reviews are always appreciated by this one, believe me!

taztothetop: thanks for the lovely words, always. Hope to hear what you think and hope your puter stays good and works! I look forward to having you with us to the very end.

sesshomari: (indicates your chapter alert) BRING BRING!!! You've been Heired! I plan to update within one month this time instead of three, I promise you!

Media Miner dot org

RoOtin4Kagome: Hi! I'm glad you left so many reviews. Alot of reviews don't necessarily mean a bad thing! I don't mind hearing alot from just one person, so go ahead, let me have it! Hope you like what's in store.

unistar: the alliances are coming together, so I hope your question's being answered!

Mela98989: thanks for your words, tell me what you think! Let me say, writing conversations is the hardest thing to do so I hope some of it's believable ^_^

silverwolf halfbeast: I have plans for hakudoshi and sakura, believe me ^_^ He's a fun little shit to write sometimes, but I wound up just feeling bad for him. He's just become this poor misfit I wanted to take care of! So I'm throwing him a bone, can you blame me? Kouga's redemption came about last moment almost, but it wound up working so well, I'm going with it. I really didn't like him when I started this story, but I wanted it that way. Now I like how he's shaping up! It's like Ayame herself pulled me aside and said "Hey, this is going to be how it it's going to be." Tee hee! happy wishes to your and yours, and please review!

Da Grrrl!: Hey, yer so cool, you had to be mentioned twice! SAWEET! I know it's been alittle over three months in between posting (cringe) I was busy? :P You have been too. We both have got careers goin' on, so you know my pain of finding spare time and to get the muse to bite hard! I told Skye that creativity IS a muse, becuase it comes only once in awhile sometimes... she's a real BITCH! But she bit me hard last night so I got this all whipped up! LEMONADE FOR YOU! I had you in mind too, so hope it shapes up to get you drooling over the wonder of Yash! I love writing Sessh and Rin, but you AND Skye have me doing as much Yash and Kagome as I can do! Skye's got another 80's Inuyasha music video in mind to do!
I've been so behind, it's not even funny! I finally revisited my adultfanfiction site, you know, that one! I put it up right after the stupid site got back up after they crashed and lost it.... then I moved and ya know. I got it all updated and posted to date, so ED is next! I've just been so lazy and busy at once (sheepish grin) I'll get it going there, promise!


Now that I've updated my Adult FF dot net site, I hope to have some readers in the Honored List soon. Please please review! Takes only a second or two of your time.

Disclaimer: I do not own the likeness or characters of Inuyasha, they solely belong to the talented Takahashi Rumiko. If only I could get off my ass and publish and become as successful as her!

Impoverished Heir chapter thirty
"Alliances and Dark Intentions"


Inuyasha crossed his arms and leaned back, glaring. Kouga sat across the table from him, his bandaged hands displayed before him. Sesshomaru, Rin, Kagome and Shippou stood to the side of the table, like a group of mediators. Shippou's chest was still fastened with bandages under an untucked dress shirt.

Kouga cleared his throat, his adam's apple bobbing uncomfortably against his tightly fastened collar. His jaw and cheeks were still bandaged, making him look the victim of an automobile accident. Inuyasha looked freshly madeup and arrogant in comparison, his tie loosely askew and his shirt sleeves rolled up to reveal perfectly unmarred, creamy skin. His salt and pepper hair was tied back, the ponytail slung over one shoulder.

Sesshomaru coughed. "Well, are one of you going to start?"

Inuyasha pointedly glared at him. Sesshomaru met his gaze unwavering. Kagome gave her boyfriend a pleading look and when he made to sniff and look away, she glared hard. The look plainly said "No sex until you talk." Inuyasha shifted in his chair and coughed.

"FINE. So, I heard you had a change of heart," Inuyasha ground out. Kouga leaned back wearily.

"Is that how you begin negotiations?" he asked in his lawyer's clip. Kagome wadded up a ball of paper and tossed it at her lover's head.

"Inuyasha!" she demanded. Inuyasha slouched a moment, then regained his posture.

"So Onigumo's after your family too, huh?" he said lowly. Kouga nodded slowly, writing off his earlier attitude amiably. Kagome admired his new patience and smiled.

Kouga didn't look as pleased. "If you mean they tried for my dad, then yeah. They did." He rubbed the corner of his mouth bandages idly. Inuyasha's eyes followed his bandaged fingers movement. The lawyer's digits were wrapped so tightly, they looked like fat, white sausages.

"Yeah, Naraku's a real piece of work...." he began to grouse when Rin clapped her small hands together.

"What Inuyasha-san means to say, is that we've all experienced his evil firsthand." Kouga looked across the table at her and briefly inclined his head politely. Sesshomaru's hand tightened into a fist.

"None so more than me...." His golden eyes shifted down to his pinned up suit jacket sleeve. Rin watched him sadly. Kouga's eyes followed her movements and his brow furrowed.

"Attacks I can handle," Kouga broke the silence. "A fist, a gun...maybe even a sword."

Sesshomaru snorted in between his words. Inuyasha crossed his arms and leaned back.

"But what happened at our meeting was... surreal."

"Did Naraku himself come?" Kagome wondered. Kouga shook his head.

"No. Several delegates of his, all male, all in black. And they were all....odd."

"Describe 'odd'," Inuyasha ground out. Curiousity had gotten the better of him. Kouga gave him a rueful look.

"Well, they had hair like straw, ridiculously huge arms, and they bled blackness," he answered. Sesshomaru blinked hard. His lips parted to reveal sharpened fangs.

"Just like when Naraku visited me before. Did it try to.... reach out and hurt you?" he made out. Kouga blinked and nodded seriously.

"It reached and....STREAMED out across the table towards us faster than you would believe. It looked like something out of a movie!" The once rakeish lawyer sighed and looked down. A flop of bangs fell across his dark eyes.

"It ain't no movie. He hurt many people in the city with that move before," Inuyasha growled.

"But what is it? It just doesn't make any sense," Kouga complained. Sesshomaru fixed his yellow orbs on him.

"I would rather think you have experienced unnatural sources first hand yourself," he said dryly. Kouga scratched the back of his neck ackwardly. Kikyou's smug smile came to mind, as well as Ayame's knowing gaze.

"Okay, okay, point made, Takahashi-san," Kouga said. "But what are we going to do about it? We have to take him out."

Inuyasha's mouth opened, then closed, then opened again comically. The look on his face clearly said 'That was MY line!'

"Hey!" he exclaimed indignantly. "We already KNEW that!"

"So did Shippou-san," Kagome tried to help. Kouga turned his head to his father's favorite intern.

"His relatives have all but swarmed up at Ookami Law these days, Kagome-kun. They seem to be gung-ho on the idea."

"Excuuuuse me, but Naraku was after my family in the first place!" Inuyasha exclaimed.

"You make it sound like it should be just your responsibility," Kouga said dryly. Inuyasha pounded the tabletop with his fist. His ponytail fell off his shoulder and onto his back.

"It IS! He's send that shit to attack Kagome, Sesshomaru, his girl, and he's just getting started!" he complained.

Shippou, Kagome and Rin gave each other pained looks as a full-fledged argument looked to be in the making. A polite rap sounded at the door and Sesshomaru reached for it, grateful for the interruption. Inuyasha and Kouga turned, nose to nose from across the table.

"Excuse me, sirs, but we don't have time for your bickering," Myoga pushed the door the rest of the way open and made his way in, smiling. He carried a new ledger in one hand, and after just going over it with Kagura, felt it was time to bring it into the open to the heirs of both families. Kagura had, for the time being, opted to sit this one out with Ayame in an adjoining room. They had bodyguards, a laptop and cable, so they were plenty occupied. Then again, Myoga mused, Kagura hadn't known Sesshomaru was present at all. If she had, she would be up in his business, agitating him just for her personal amusement.

"Of course, Myoga-san. You needn't have to ask," Sesshomaru answered him, his golden eyes holding a trace of question at the small smile on Myoga's mustachioed lips. Myoga tried not to laugh since he didn't even know Kagura was close by, either. He would have been in a pissy mood if he did.

"Ookami-san, Inuyasha-san, everyone, you should gather round," Myoga said. He took a seat beside his friend's youngest son and pushed the ledger open on the tabletop. Kouga and Inuyasha looked at each other and shrugged. The look definately spoke of saving any fight for later.

"What is this, Myoga-san?" Kouga asked. His father had taken him aside and asked him to work well with his old friend Myoga, who was so close to the Takahashi's, and learn well. Kouga had agreed, for his father's sake and for his own. He was halfway to hell from curiousity at how something like blackness that burned could have happened anyway and would have done it for free.

"A hint at Naraku's black power and the impossibilities he's making reality," Myoga answered the dark lawyer. Sesshomaru's eyes glazed as he remembered his soldier's report of an oni attack. He peered over Myoga's wide shoulder as Inuyasha leaned across the table. Kouga flicked his eyes importantly, but even he strained after a moment.

The photos were black and white, obviously taken from a Takahashi spy. But amidst the combat soldiers and business in suits, everyone was quick to notice the large rocky figures with bulging eyes and long arms. Unless the photos had been digitally altered, there WERE oni in the Onigumo ranks.

"Where were these taken from?" Shippou gasped beside Kagome. They both locked eyes, concerned.

"The east of Mount Fuji, which are under your clan's protection if I'm not mistaken, Kitsune-san," Myoga pushed his spectacles further up his wide nose. Shippou sighed deeply. You could just see the exhaustion lining his eyes as his clan's duties weighed heavily on his small shoulders.

"The Bright Plains. Damn him," he swore. Kouga watched the red-haired japanese with a mild question in his eyes.

"The Onigumo delegates mentioned that place before," he said. "What is it? Why is it so important?"

Myoga tapped a photo that showed a man in pure black walking along rocky crags, more than likely the very foot of the holy mountain.

"They are sacred, Kouga-san. They say in myth that the holy consort who formed these islands made a single location that bubbled out into these islands like ripples upon a lake..."

"...and the islands became the beads from which the consort formed from a point of one inch," Kagome finished, her eyes half glazed. Inuyasha watched his older girlfriend curiously. She was a modern woman, but at times like these, she really confirmed her shrine heritage.

"So you're saying this sight is the very beginning of all of Japan since before time was time?" Rin asked. She clutched Sesshomaru's arm.

Myoga nodded. "Yes. The holy caves of the Shinto religion are at the foot of the plains. The imperial family derive their celestial blood from the holy location. Amaterasu herself hid in those caves before giving birth to her child who formed the royal line and they are among the purest places on this earth."

"Until Naraku fucked it all up," Inuyasha mumbled. "That's the place Kagura was talking about, wasn't she? That's where Naraku did it?"

Myoga flicked his eyes towards his younger charge, his gaze sharp as a knife. "Yes. He's perverted our very origins and used the imperial family for his own gains. Besides the damage he's done to all of us, he's going to destroy our land. Enough, I say. Enough."

Sesshomaru and Inuyasha looked swept away. Even Kouga looked swayed and the women all nodded. The moment streamed quietly as all were lost in thought to Myoga's thoughtful words and then Shippou coughed.

"I know we've all been exchanging words, and that's fine, but I want in. I want to give Naraku a shot for what he's done to my family's protectorate," Shippou explained. His words had the air of asking permission. Kouga waved one hand and Sesshomaru nodded. Both heirs were in agreement, it seemed.

"As long as someone takes him out," Kouga commented.

"I agree," Sesshomaru said.

"Well that's settled it," Inuyasha commented. "We get a game plan and go to battle. Holla." Kagome laughed and leaned to kiss his smoothly shaven cheek.

"Alright," Kouga said and made to stand up. Shippou rushed to help him. Kagome watched, knowing his family had fully tied their investment to the Ookami, so to speak. The lawyer looked like his ego had been bruised, but he let the shorter man grab his elbow and stand him up.

"Young master, if you'll look at this one," Myoga was saying, pushing another photo across the table. Sesshomaru took a seat beside the rotund businessman and Rin leaned over his shoulder as well.

"What's Hakudoshi doing there?" he rumbled.

"Look closer at his side, Sesshomaru-san," Myoga urged. Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed.

"That katana. What?..."

"I thought you said the imperial Katana of Light was lost," Rin asked importantly.

"It looks like he's found a way to bend the rules of the game, like everything else," Myoga said dryly. Inuyasha held out his hand for Kagome and left into the other room, leaving Kouga and Shippou alone to discuss matters. Right into a scene of feminine companionship.

"Yo, Inuyasha!" Kagura waved, where she was lounging in all her bandaged glory. She was slowly fanning herself with an elaborate silk fan and Ayame leaned close to catch the slight wind as they watched the flat screen mounted on the wall. Two bodyguards stood in the corner like dark bookends.

"Hi, Kagura," Inuyasha greeted blithely, casting curious eyes to the amber-haired japanese at her side. She had golden eyes and was dressed in light beige. She was slightly bandaged from past injuries, but didn't look as bad off as Kagura did. Now SHE still looked like shit walking with her perpetual knapsack and cane.

The woman in question smiled serenely and stood, to bow low to the couple of white and dark. "Inuyasha-san, it's a pleasure to meet you. I've heard alot about you from Ookami Takeru-san."

Kagome and Inuyasha looked at each other, a real pair of bookends in their movements. "He and my old man used to go way back, I hear," Inuyasha offered. "You're Kouga's girlfriend?"

"Ookami Ayame. And I'm glad to work with you both," Ayame grinned. She bowed again and Kagome bowed in return.

"So you're the one responsible for the changes in Kouga-san," Kagome wondered. "It's been, well..."

"A real change?" Ayame asked dryly. "He was a real piece of work when the Elders first sent him to me. He tried to walk all over me when we first met."

"I know," Kagome whispered, her eyes lowered. Inuyasha found her hand and squeezed her fingers.

"But I changed that real quick," she smiled. Kagura laughed.

"You smack his potty mouth, or something?" she asked.

"Close," Ayame blew on the back of her nails. The tops of her hands were lightly wrapped in gauze. "I grabbed his balls and made him submit."

"Oh MAN!" Inuyasha crowed. "I woulda loved to see that!" He still remembered punching the once arrogant man full in the face. His fingers itched with the fondness.

"Oh my," Kagome looked shocked but impressed all at the same time. "You must be quite the fighter, Ayame-san!"

"Something like that," the Ookami grinned, showing sharp teeth. Her golden eyes twinkled. "But he came around and I've made sure not to damage what's mine."

Kagome and Kagura laughed and flushed, at the reference of Kouga's family jewels being Ayame's property. Inuyasha just scratched his neck uncomfortably.

"Yeah, well, that's all well and good but Sessh is mad to have his bodyguards on us, so if you don't mind," he gestured. Kagura took Kagome aside and fished through her knapsack. Inuyasha watched his girlfriend in dismay. Here he just wanted an easy entry because he knew Kouga would be with them soon, and he just wanted to be on his merry way and maybe get his alone time in between his work.

Ayame cleared her throat and stepped closer to him. Damn. "Yeah?" he asked, blushing.

"Inuyasha-san, I know how my boyfriend once was. I had a real time smoothing out his 'rough edges', shall we say," Ayame began. "But I want to let you know that he really has changed. He won't harm your Kagome if he crossed her path at the firm."

Inuyasha felt some of his chest slowly unwind at the tightness he had been carrying since that morning. Ayame gazed up into his eyes, golden to partial-golden. And he felt her sincerity. She wasn't just blowing hot air when she could be considered a biased opinion.

Inuyasha nodded slowly, watching Ayame from under his salt-and-pepper bangs. "I believe you, Ayame-san."

"So, are we ready, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked, sidling up to him. Inuyasha turned from serious to smiling and took her hand.

"Yes. Hey, Kagura, Sesshomaru's in the conference room if you want to 'talk' to him," Inuyasha grinned. Kagura lit up with a sly smile and hobbled off as fast as she could. The three could hear the Takahashi heir bellowing from where they were and laughed.

"I should see what's keeping my lover," Ayame said impishly and followed the Kaze woman. Inuyasha turned and pushed Kagome's hair out of her eyes with the backs of his hands and cupped her face between his palms. Alone at last. Bout finally damn time.

"What did Kagura want, anyhow?" he wondered.

"Aren't you curious," Kagome grinned. "I want to say it's a woman's secret, but it concerns you."

"Me? What'd I do?" Inuyasha complained lightly. He kissed Kagome simply on the mouth. She smoothed her lips against his gently.

"It's not what you did, but what will help, hopefully," Kagome admitted. "Kagura mentioned some thoughts on the Three Items of Power and we hope we found a solution."

"Katana, beads and mirror. So what'd you get?" Inuyasha asked. His throat felt nervous and tight. Kagome reached into her pocket with one hand and brought out a string of shiny purple beads. They were parted with white fang-shaped bone and they felt as nervous as he was.

Inuyasha impulsively took a step back. "What did you...."

Kagome held out her hand, offering the beads palm up. "It's to protect you, sweetie. I'm going to work with Miroku to weave a charm so you won't be hurt."

Inuyasha exhaled, his chest unwinding again. Twice within ten minutes, now. "Okay. So it's a charm like Miroku's wards?"

"Sort of. I think it's to counter Naraku's darkening of the holy relics."

"Okay, Gome. Give it a try," Inuyasha said. Kagome fisted the beads and slid them back into her pocket.

She didn't know where Kagura had gotten them from, but they were very old, maybe as old as the imperial family's relics. And it just may work, at that...




*****



"Yo, Yasha man!" Miroku waved. Inuyasha grinned. His best friend was all painted up in a prim dark suit, seated in a square of cubicles surrounded by his peers at work. He knew Sesshomaru had given him and Sango only secreterial positions, but they looked as polished as he and his brother.

"What you doing, Miro? You look like an exec threw up on you," Inuyasha teased, jibing at the similarity that Miroku had used on him when he started dressing appropriately. Miroku flushed and scratched the back of his neck. Charms jingled under his jacket sleeve.

"Yeah, well, gotta work hard for the money. Your brother's been really generous," he said. Inuyasha crossed his arms.

"Don't be a kiss-up, now. He gets plenty of that from about EVERYONE," Inuyasha rolled his eyes. The old feeling of sibling rivalry jabbed deep through his gut again.

"Damn, Yash, you know we got your back first," Miroku made out. Sango walked past with an armful of papers and grinned suddenly.

"Yasha! Hi, honey," she smiled. Inuyasha kissed her cheek chastely.

"You both look like you're getting well-adjusted. That's good," he grinned. Sango looked great in her secretary get-up. He wished with all his heart that she would stay as happy as the radiant smile he was getting right now. They had lost a baby, but maybe they could have another once this was all over.

"Really well-adjusted. Sesshomaru's taking care of our apartment's rent while we stay here."

"Stay, wuh, here? In T. Enterprises?" Inuyasha asked in surprise. Too many things were happening too fast since the morning. Sango nodded.

"Myoga and Kagura confirmed it with your brother. This building is very safe so we're to live here until everything's resolved. Why, didn't he tell you?" she asked curiously.

Inuyasha threw his hands up in the air. "I'm second to my brother here and I'm the last to know! Of course! When does this shit start? Tomorrow?"

"Today," Miroku stated. "He's sending the suits in for protection so nothing weird can happen."

Inuyasha flicked his eyes over to the hallway where three bodyguards in grey stood waiting, sipping at coffee and idly waiting for his friends.

"Man, those guys are attached to the hip to us now. Fujiyoshi and that other one keep giving me these smirky looks and it's pissing me off!"

"Well, you got to admit, it's good to have muscle," Miroku said as he idly typed. Sango pushed up her sleeve with one hand and made a muscle.

Inuyasha barked a clipped laugh. "You two are plenty, but dayum. Alright, living at work, this'll be great. Well, I'll see you soon for our field trip, I guess."

"Later, Yash," Miroku waved, already back to hard work. Inuyasha reflected that he didn't have to prove to his pompous older brother that his work ethic was top notch, but there you had it. Discipline was what a priest's son learned in childhood.

Fujiyoshi waited for Inuyasha, meaning his partner was with Kagome currently. Inuyasha growled and slouched off, Fujiyoshi keeping easy pace with his clipped walk. The annoyances just wouldn't stop. He could only hope with jaded vindication that Sesshomaru was being as bothered as he was this very moment.




*****



Sesshomaru held his hand out for Rin. She smiled and took it, and pushed past her boyfriend's large form to open his office door. His remaining claws entwined around her delicate fingers as they stepped in together. The painted crest of the Takahashi family across the door watched importantly, then swung shut towards the hallway. Two Takahashi bodyguards dressed in grey waited outside patiently, large arms crossed.

"I think it went well," Rin said brightly. She floated towards the sofa and took a careful seat. Sesshomaru arched an eyebrow, remembering how they had grown close in this very office weeks ago. He loosened his silver tie and followed, loosening his shoes off his heels as he sat down. Rin tucked her legs under her rear and giggled as he wiggled his stockinged toes in midair.

"Well, if you mean Inuyasha didn't get into a fist fight with Takeru-san's son, then yes, it was a huge success," Sesshomaru rumbled. He knew what Kouga had tried to do to Kagome-kun, since Inuyasha had run a hot mouth on the topic of the junior Ookami. Today's meeting hadn't heightened his own opinion of Ookami Kouga, but it hadn't harmed their delegations that Myoga and Ookami Senior had proposed.

Rin giggled and snuggled against his side. Sesshomaru sighed and leaned his head against hers. The side of his neck grew moist and Rin parted his loose collar back further. Sesshomaru laughed.

"What are you doing, Rin!" he tried not to giggle as highly as she did when her fingers moved inside his suit jacket along his sides. His extra muscles tightened against her movements against his silk shirt. Rin grinned and kissed the edge of his pointed ear. Sesshomaru tried not to let it flick when the tip of her pink tongue carressed the elongated lobe.

"Hmmm...." Then again, he was liking where this was going.

"I know how stressed you are, Sessh," Rin soothed. Her hands moved down to his waist just above his belt inside his suit jacket. Sesshomaru helped Rin shuck it off. The pinned up sleeve fell easily down to his left hip. "Just let me help you relax."

"I wouldn't think I'm really relaxing," Sesshomaru admitted as his breathing quickened. He turned his head, white hair falling against the side of Rin's face. She moved the pale curtain aside with one hand and parted his lips with her tongue. Sesshomaru slit his eyes closed and grinned against her mouth. He hummed lightly as she worked her tongue against his in gentle, sensual waves.

Rin held the side of his face with her palm, feeling the scratchy texture of a fresh shave from earlier. She lovingly held him to her. Sesshomaru collected her up close with his one arm and buried his face in the side of her throat. He kept his eyes closed and inhaled deeply. Rin's jasmine perfume invaded his nostrils in a very pleasant way. Rin sighed, feeling content in the security of their love, then it quickened to a pang of lust as he leaned up and breathed lightly against her lips as his claws gently worked her blouse buttons loose. Her bra-clad breasts met his golden eyes.

Rin's fingers moved through his loose hair, expecting his lips against her nipple. Sesshomaru's lips moved across the top curve of one globe and his eyes opened. His eyes took in the faint pale markings where bullet scars used to be. It wasn't often he fully gazed at the point of her death, but it never ceased to pack a punch to his emotional system. Sesshomaru gasped highly, tracing the edge of one tell-tale slash with his claw. Then he held Rin close. Rin's eyes opened in surprise, as she held him back. He had stopped for some reason and when she looked down at his troubled eyes against the healed markings of her scars, she knew why.

Tenseiga had restarted her heart and healed the intrusions the bullets had made in her chest. The katana's true healing light had even eased the natural markings of grievous scars, leaving the faintest tracings of a deadly wound. But even that was a reminder for Sesshomaru when he didn't reach for something with a left hand that was no longer there. His stump throbbed and he swore he felt his phantom fingers twitch.

Rin sighed and held her boyfriend's head. She lightly rubbed the back of his ears. "Sesshomaru. It wasn't your fault."

"I know," Sesshomaru whispered. They both looked up to the wall above his large desk where Tenseiga hung carefully on two dark pegs. Ever since the visit to the Hoshi shrine, he had kept the ancient blade closeby. Its silver tassel hung loosely from the hilt and wavered slightly in the moving air from the room's vents. The healing katana throbbed with a gentle aura that soothed the trouble spirits of the couple.

Rin looked down into her Sesshomaru's eyes and smoothed the hair from his brow. She smiled a small smile and she was pleased to see Sesshomaru's eyes grow warm. He leaned his face against her round breast and listened to her heart thud gently.

Tenseiga could truly heal what was desperately needed.




*****



The bodyguards had been with them all day. Ever since Myoga and Kagura had suggested it, Fujiyoshi and his partner had been behind Inuyasha and Kagome the entire day, like a couple of massive bookends. To the meetings and back. Out to lunch with his brother, Rin and Myoga. Then now, even at the end of their day to his office! Shiori had been snickering at him all day, but SHE had gotten to go home. He and Kagome had to live at the building now!


"Enough, enough! Why you gotta follow my girl to the frickin' bathroom??" Inuyasha yelled. His brother's lackeys only blinked and stared down at him. He was their employer as well and duty had been engrained in them to follow at the drop of a hat or hint of a spoken syllable of a word. So they only crossed their massive arms and waited for a command.

"Inuyasha, you be good to them!" Kagome hollered from inside the female's restroom. One of the guards smirked, but stood stock still. Inuyasha paced, fuming. When Kagome opened the door and came out, he took her arm and escorted her down the hallway to his office. The family crest painted across the frosted glass was slammed shut in the guard's faces.

The two stopped and waited. And waited.

"Uhm... do you think he still needs us?" One of them dared to murmur. Fujiyoshi snorted.

"We'll wait. That's we're paid to do. We gotta stay with Ms. Higurashi-san and Boss' Brother safely here. No matter what."

"Okay," his partner responded. He hoped he wasn't going to hear anything he wasn't part of. That would be too damn uncomfortable.

Inside Inuyasha's office, Kagome had plans for that certain something. She had been turned on all day, being followed by men all day, and seeing glimpses of Inuyasha and not being allowed to touch. Luckily he had gotten jealous enough to grab her up to be alone, but he was too riled up to turn his passions on her. Sometimes he just got that way. Kagome smiled indulgently as she watched her boyfriend's waist level as he paced back and forth across the thick white carpet. Something was coming across the fuzzy reaches of her mind as she contemplated the length and girth of his cock and how well it would feel between her lips or ahem, lower lips...

"Are you listening to me Kagome?? I've been calling your name for five minutes now!" Inuyasha planted his feet in front of his girlfriend and glowered down at her. Kagome smiled behind her hand and peered up at her beautiful man from beneath her lashes.

"I'm so sorry, my love. I was just thinking of something," she breathed. Inuyasha huffed and leaned against the back of a nearby chair next to the sofa. He was less than a foot away from her, perched so delicately there on the large piece of furniture.

"What now? Don't tell me one of those guys was hitting on you. Do I gotta kick some ass today or what??" Inuyasha groused. Kagome watched him patiently.

"You're riled up from having to talk to Kouga-san, aren't you?" she gently pried. Inuyasha blew his salt and pepper bangs out of his eyes.

"Ding, give the girl a prize. You know I hate that guy, 'Gome. I don't care if he has changed or said he has or whatever it is."

"He HAS changed," Kagome said quietly. "I can tell."

"How?" Inuyasha muttered. Kagome reached forward and touched his bent knee.

"His eyes. He knows what he's done was harmful to me, and he's learned it's wrong. Inuyasha, he means it, trust me. Ayame-san wouldn't lie to you, would she?" Kagome wanted to know.

Inuyasha sighed, the hot air steaming out of him quickly. "No; I can tell she's honest. I just know it."

Kagome's eyes sparkled as she rubbed his knee through his dress slacks. "And I know he's changed. So we both can tell."

Inuyasha smiled ruefully. " I guess so.... hey, what are you doing?" Kagome's hand traveled up to his thigh, carressing. His loins tightened and he sighed when her fingers reached up to trace the outline of his hardening penis through his slacks. Kagome breathed heavily, her face red. Inuyasha swallowed and undid his belt. Kagome helped him unzip. She cupped him through his boxers and Inuyasha panted.

"Hey, what's all this for?" he breathed quietly. He flashed a look towards his office door and the open drapes of his windows. But he found he didn't give a damn about the bodyguards outside, nor for anyone in any building across the way that could see into his room at that height. They were untouchable even if someone would chance to see what they were doing so far away.

Kagome reached low and cupped his balls through the soft fabric, and laid her mouth over his length. Inuyasha sighed, stiffening and held her shoulders gently. "Kagome!"

"Hmm, yes?" Kagome breathed, looking up his flat stomach. She pushed the ends of his dress shirt out of the way and stood up. Inuyasha held her waist. Kagome slapped his hands and pulled his erection through the slit of his boxers. She pushed him to sit on the edge of his desk hiked up her skirt. Slowly, tantilizingly, she lowered herself to his tip and pushed down. Inuyasha looked up into her eyes worshipfully. She was so wet already, which meant she had been planning this for awhile today. And it was sexier than sexy since Kagome hadn't even bothered to pull down her panties; she had moved them aside to allow him access, but still had them fully on.

As Kagome pushed him onto his back on his desk, Inuyasha's gaze went white. She knelt on top of his hips, her inner thighs molded onto his half covered waist. She moved shortly and quickly, his penis buried deep inside. The small bobs she made holding him inside were driving him insane. A few strokes later, his hands were raking along his desk, pushing loose papers around as he sought to control the heated whirlwind Kagome had stoked deep in his belly. But Kagome only slammed down onto him harder, smacking his hips down onto the hard wood. Inuyasha gazed up into her tightly closed eyes. Kagome was biting her lip, mouthing wordless pleas.

"Oh... oh... oh... ah.... AH!" her voice picked up tempo as she slammed harder and harder. Inuyasha tried to hold on, but the growing strength she gripped down onto him pushed his tightness to explosion. He spurted one, wild eruption, and tried to hold still a second while Kagome milked him. Inuyasha could only manage a few more seconds before he gasped and stilled Kagome's hips.

"Ow! Gome!" he yelled. Kagome bent over him, her loose hair falling onto his still-buttoned shirt. She fell half on his chest, keeping him inside. From the frustrated panting he heard, Inuyasha knew she hadn't come yet.

"No, noooo," she breathed. "I was supposed to come first!" Inuyasha laughed at her tone and traced her back.

"We got time, Kagome.... just give me a second..." Inuyasha gasped when Kagome clenched him tightly, urging him to stiffen.

"How bout now?" she asked breathlessly. Inuyasha picked Kagome up and positioned her to stand and hold the edge of his desk. The new positioning ensured he would last longer, and enjoy it more. Besides, Inuyasha thought as he moved his hardened tip against her milky soft lips, she always came harder this way.

"Yes..." Kagome murmured, closing her eyes as Inuyasha sheathed himself deep inside. His balls tightened and he pulled out slightly, moving forward. Kagome pushed back to meet him. Her soft cries were hotter than any erotic image he could conjure. Inuyasha grinned as he took his time. He would make her come and he would see how she liked it when he lasted longer. Kagome was sure in for it.

Kagome tightened her hips, trying to keep him inside with each hard thrust, but Inuyasha held her hips and kept pulling out almost to the tip. Kagome grasped Inuyasha's arm, pulling it past her. She bit his hand and wrist hard as she struggled not to scream. Soon she had clamped down onto her end.

"Inuyasshaaa!" she insisted. Dripping with sweat, Inuyasha bit and nibbled her neck as her round buttocks pushed back up against his stomach. He was still hard as a rod inside her, but that wouldn't last long.

"Make it last, baby, make me scream too..." he insisted. Kagome gasped at his poetic but dirty words and sank down to the carpet. Inuyasha went with her, and was pushed on his back. Kagome straddled him facing away, and the sight of her gorgeous ass pushing up and down onto him was more than enough. He could just see the base of his cock disappearing below into her dripping, red core and felt himself lose it.

"Uhn... uhn! uhn!" Inuyasha tried to last but Kagome slammed back and down confidantly. Inuyasha felt his balls loosen and he spurt again in a mindless torrent of loving passion. Eroticism didn't pass as Inuyasha, flat on his back and hazy from orgasm, watched her seperate off him. His wet cock slid out and he watched her drenched pussy throb at the gesture. He reached to idly scratch his balls and Kagome smiled, turning around to kneel at his side. She ran a hand down his penis and came up with a handful. Inuyasha blinked as she sucked a wet digit into her mouth.

"What are you trying to do to me, woman?" he demanded, smiling. Kagome let her finger fall out of her mouth and smiled.

"The next time you get ticked off, you're going to remember this. And you're going to grab me and make love to me instead of pitching a fit."

"More like I'll pitch a tent," Inuyasha idly commented. The two laughed and hugged onto each other on the thick carpet. They were safe there, if anywhere, in the world of their lovemaking.




*****





Haku doshi sat on the ground, his legs crossed like a lazy monk. He held the hilt of a newly forged katana, the blade unsheathed. Light reflected off the shiny edge but dully in the sheens of darkness speckling the metal from it's dark forging. Kanna sat next to him, her legs tucked daintily beneath her. Her long skirt gave her the appearance of an innocent schoolgirl.

Her platinum white hair made her look unnerving though. 'She looks like one of those freaky kids from that Stephen King movie,' Hakudoshi thought sourly. 'We're already damned to hell as it is, but man.'

Kanna had been whispering softly to images only she could interpret from her mirror's surface, but now she looked up and regarded Hakudoshi with those eeirely still black eyes.

"Whattaya want?" Hakudoshi tried to sound glibe. He gulped, hopefully unnoticed, while he waited for his apparent partner's answer. His adam's apple bobbed against his collar and tie.

"Your light is coming," Kanna whispered gently. Hakudoshi had to strain to hear her.

"What the fuck does that?..."

"Hello, Hakudoshi-san," a soft voice gave from the doorway of the open gym. Hakudoshi looked up and swallowed again. Onigumo Sakura was framed in the doorway, looking the very image of luscious beauty. A long black skirt fell to her knees, long slits up the sides revealing the subtle lines of her thighs.

"Sakura-san," Hakudoshi decided to go for formal with Kanna close by. Who knew how much she was reporting to Naraku, even any, that didn't matter at all to him? "How was school today?"

Sakura gave a rueful look. "Just fine. Father asked me what I wanted for my birthday today."

Hakudoshi smirked. "Throwing a party for all of your high school friends?" Kanna watched the exchange dispassionately.

"No. I told him not to worry about it. It's not like he could buy what I wanted, anyway."

Hakudoshi watched her skirt swish carefully. He took a careful breath and looked back up into her face.

"I bet I could guess what you want, girly." His words were teasing, but his tone hinted dangerously to serious. Sakura watched his face with a soft smile.

"I bet you could, Hakudoshi-san. What are you doing with a sword?" she laughed. Hakudoshi stood up in one fluid movement and held the katana out from his side with one hand. He held up the newly made scabbard and sheathed in one smooth movement. The hilt met the edge of the sheathe with one audible 'knok'.

"Your 'father' apparently thought I needed one. He's been very strange, lately, shall we say," Hakudoshi said dryly. Strange was an understatement.

"I know," Sakura murmured lightly. She remembered his extra arms reaching through the darkness and his eyes bleeding black. Her eyes were oddly distant but she smiled and sat down on her knees. Hakudoshi nodded then clambered back down to the floor.

Kanna watched the two of them and her chest tightened. She felt oddly sad, but almost.... at peace when she watched the beginnings of a trace emotion she had never felt and never would. It was a foreign experience even to see, but she knew, even SHE knew, that she should feel sad because she would never know the emotions swirling through an entire being when a couple smiled or cried or kissed or made love...

Kanna stood suddenly, her skirt falling to her knees gracefully. Hakudoshi was secretly pleased, for he'd get to be alone with Sakura. Sakura only watched her with polite questioning.

"Kanna-san, you don't have to...." she made out but Kanna shook her head. She closed her deep black eyes and hugged her ancient relic close to her chest.

"I wish to leave and reflect. Please, stay," she whispered. Hakudoshi leaned back on his hands, his legs spread before him as the door clicked shut behind her. He hoped she wasn't going to tell Naraku on him, but dismissed the thought. Kanna didn't love him anymore than he did. He was safe for the time being.

"Well, looks like you're alone with me. What you going to do about it?" Hakudoshi shrugged. Sakura smoothed her skirt, shyly, and looked back at the young man she was so attracted to.

"Enjoy your company. That's why I came," Sakura said simply. "So... did you think about?"

"Bout what?" Hakudoshi groused, his eyes falling sullenly to the sheathed katana beside them on the floor. It pulsated with a sickening thud.

"Bout getting close to me?"

"Muh? You crazy, girl?" Hakudoshi asked, trying to lighten the mood. Sakura knelt up on her knees and touched the side of his face. Hakudoshi watched her with a hungry look.

"No jokes now, please. I'm waiting for you. If you want me," she pleaded. Hakudoshi cupped her chin with one hand and leaned close. Their lips were barely an inch apart and the two breathed in anxious passion. Sakura closed her eyes and waited.... for the kiss that never came. She opened her eyes. Hakudoshi was watching her with a thoughtful, guarded look on his young face.

"What the?..."

"It's a few days now, isn't it?" he asked.

Sakura nodded. "Til I'm eighteen, yes..."

"Wait, then. I don't have much time to, but I'll wait..." Hakudoshi made out. Sakura watched him, curiously.

"Not much time for what?" she asked. Hakudoshi watched her sadly. The blackness embedded in his throat slashmarks burned.

"Nothing. Don't worry 'bout it."

He WOULD have her before the end came, no doubt about it. His body needed a way to relieve the stress Naraku's choice put on him. His cock was half hard, pressed to take what he desperately needed. Sakura glanced down, as if hearing his thoughts and she nodded. Her black hair shielded her flushed, red face.

"I'll make time for you, Hakudoshi. Please...." Her hand stole to bravely trace his thigh, and she quickly retracted her hand, almost afraid of her forwardness. Hakudoshi gave his usual smirk, but his chest tightened. She needed him as much as he needed her. Could love be wrapped in lust ever in one's lifetime? He would know soon... Naraku be damned, he would do what he wanted to do and act upon his wishes. No matter what happened...





*****


"Well, let's get this over with," Inuyasha said. He and Miroku were dressed down from their business suits, and ready for a hasty trip to their respective apartments. After Myoga's warning, the both offered to run out and collect personals for their lengthy stay at the upper floors of Takahashi Enterprises.

"We have to be careful," Miroku said. "We know Naraku has agents out there waiting for us." Sesshomaru to the side, dressed in his immaculate silver suit. His gaze smooth but slightly strained when it lingered over his younger brother.

"I have cars waiting to take you. Keep your cells handy and your charms close," he swore. Inuyasha grinned cheekily and shouldered a duffel bag.

"Don't worry, we got muscle! Though if it came down to things, they'd have to keep up with us," he gave. Fujiyoshi and the other bodyguards at attention tried not to laugh or smile.

Sesshomaru looked them over almost with a look of disdain but nodded. "Bring them back quickly, and then we'll secure the building."

"Yes, sir!"

As soon as the set of revolving doors clicked shut behind the men, Sesshomaru strode to the control panel and set in his personal code. The doors to the main lobby all locked shut audibly. The hairs on the back of his neck tingled. Even with that reassuring gesture, Sesshomaru didn't feel wholly safe at the ground level of his father's building. There were trace links to the whole of Tokyo outside through those doors, and whatever Naraku had sent out INTO Tokyo.

Rin was playing with some folders behind one of the receptionist's desks as he clipped across the marble floor of the lobby. They were alone, as all the staff and partners had left an hour ago. Sesshomaru couldn't stop the feeling of dread that he had sent his brother and his brother's friend out into abandonment, and focused on the smile on his girlfriend's face to lighten his somber mood.

"What ever are you doing, my Rin?" he asked. Sesshomaru leaned against the other side of the counter. Rin grinned up over the top and held up several magazines.

"May I turn the question on your receptionist's? What are THEY doing when they should be working?" Rin laughed. Sesshomaru's eyes flicked to the covers and he sighed. Several muscular men in thongs preened for attention.

"Something to bring up in the next staff meeting," Sesshomaru said dryly.

"When is there going to BE another staff meeting?" Rin asked lightly. She moved around the counter and into his arm. Sesshomaru kissed the top of her head.

"I don't know," he admitted. "We can only do what we must and see where we stand when it's all over with."

"I know that, but... Sessh, what's wrong?" Rin asked.

Sesshomaru shook his head hard. "It's nothing. I just forgot something important at our home."

Rin gazed up into his face, her hands fisting his suit jacket. "But you can't go out there. You don't know what will happen."

Sesshomaru groaned and clasped her shoulder in his claws. "Rin, I have to. If Naraku gets it, it will be bad for us."

"How could you be so stupid as to forget it then??" Rin asked, slamming her fists with worry against his chest. "Oh, Sessh, don't go. Send one of your bodyguards!"

"I'll take some with me," Sesshomaru assured her. "But if I don't go, the power in it will tear them apart. I must take it in my hands."

"Whatever DID you forget?" Rin asked in awe. Sesshomaru's lips crooked up in a small smile.

"Father's other blade of power. I'll be back...I promise," Sesshomaru leaned down and took his lover's lips in a deep kiss. Within moments he and two guards were out a simple side door toward the garages.

Rin watched her lover go, feeling her heart tug in desperation and fear.

"A quick pick-up, right, Boss?" one of the bodyguards asked as he drove. Sesshomaru nodded as he lounged in the backseat.

"We'll run into the apartment and right out. No deviations of any sort, men."

"Yes, sir," both guards answered.

At Sesshomaru's apartment, Tokujini stood waiting hung in his bedroom. Nearby the building, Hakudoshi sighed and waited. Just when he was ready to act upon his life's wishes, Naraku had called him into question and drove him to another assignment. His throat burned with Shippou's slashmarks. He had a feeling staying loyal to Naraku was only going to cause him more damage and grief. But he didn't have the leeway to act upon what he wanted to do. Maybe deep at heart, he was just a damned coward. The young businessman held his katana sheathe in one hand and waited for the Takahashi Heir as his master had commanded....

End for now

Bum Bum Bum! What's going to happen? Well, the plot is sharpening up now, so I hope to bring things closer to the final battle very very soon. I've got this legend up on three fanfiction sites, what's up with the reviews! Please please leave a word or two, takes only a second of your time, and makes an entire day for this inu bard. I need input, people, lay it on me! Anything that you liked, didn't like, annoyed you, thrilled you? I listen to it all and answer everyone. And you WILL get a mention above in my author's note next time around!

My telling of the myths of japan's origins are of course altered to fit my storyline. Amaterasu DID hide in a sacred cave, but I dont' know if she gave birth to her child there. Obviously this is key for my story.

My lovely's barking at me, literally, to finish! Here it is!

MOST sincerely yours,
penpaninu 4/18/08