InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Infatuation ❯ Getting Down to Business ( Chapter 8 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Lizzie Welling 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Drama / Adventure / Action | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 09.07.2006 | Pages: 4 | Words: 3.0K | Visits: 987 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Drama / Adventure / Action | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 09.07.2006 | Pages: 4 | Words: 3.0K | Visits: 987 | Status: Work In Progress
Here’s another chapter. Things are pretty hectic for me at school now, so it was a victory to finish this in a week.
Thanks to my beta, Inukaggrl06!
--------------------------------------------------------
Infatuation
Rated M for language
-------------------------------------------------------
Ch apter 8: Getting Down to Business
--------------------------------------------------------
Recap:
“I want her dead! You hear me! DEAD!” Tsubaki screeched at the two youkai before her. “I don’t care how you do it, just DO IT! That little bitch will pay for what she‘s done to me!”
“What about the brat?” the elder youkai questioned, pointing to the shaking bundle of red fur in the corner. “He still has the shard. I can smell its power.”
“You Thunder Brothers can make do without one shard for now.”
“No!” interrupted the younger brother. “We want the shard or no deal! The brat’s parents are already dead, wasting their lives to protect something so worthless.”
“I’m not worthless!” the little ball of fur shouted. “You killed my parents for this shard, and I’m NOT letting you have it!”
The little ball leapt into action, shouting “Foxfire!” and momentarily blinding the youkai brothers with its blue flame. He jumped from head to head, using Tsubaki as a final spring board and catapulting himself out the door and up a staircase.
“You morons! Don’t stand there with your thumbs up your butts! GET HIM!” Tsubaki roared.
Hiten and Manten furiously took off on their clouds.
--------------------------------------------------------------- -
Rin fought to keep her eyes open, half-heartedly scanning through Tsubaki’s copied computer files. Her fingers robotically pressed the arrow key, but her brain failed to actually process what was on each page of the file.
‘Gotta finish this one file…Just a few more pages…’
Sesshomaru glanced up from his paper file at his partner, surveying her carefully.
‘The onna is obviously tired. Why does she persist so?’
He watched her head droop and bob back up. She would shake her head--sometimes, even smack her cheeks--in an effort to remain awake. After the fifth repetition of this routine, the taiyoukai got out of his seat and walked over to her.
“Onna,” he said stoically, placing a hand on hers to stop her typing. “Cease for the night.”
Rin blinked wearily at him. “But I just need one more--”
“No.”
The small Slayer hung her head, closing out of the programs. Sesshomaru turned to survey the room for a place to put her. Upon spotting a small couch tucked into a corner, he glanced back to Rin, only to find her passed out on the keyboard.
‘Irritating wench,’ he mentally sighed. ‘I suppose this Sesshomaru cannot leave her in such a position.’ The taiyoukai nearly cringed at the thought of how cranky she would be come morning, having already dealt with her whiney attitude when she failed to receive adequate sleep.
Sesshomaru carefully picked Rin up and carried her over to the small sofa and laid her down, watching her curl into a ball once he relinquished contact. He nearly thought of chuckling at the sight she presented. Throwing is coat over her to keep her warm, the taiyoukai went back to his files, never sparing a thought for how the presence of this small woman was changing him.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Morning light broke through the curtains, creeping over every contour of the room to sleepily open Kagome’s eyes. The miko blinked, realizing she was back home, in her own bed; with her warm, comfy sheets, soft, fluffy pillow, fuzzy dog ears…
‘Wait, dog ears?’
She lethargically sat up, rubbing her eyes to assure herself the hanyou leaning against her bed was no illusion. Kagome tentatively reached out a hand to touch one of the ears.
A hand shot out, catching her wrist as a wave of silver hair whirled around to reveal a very awake inu-hanyou
Amber orbs clashed with chocolate.
“Don’t. Touch. The. EARS,” InuYasha growled out.
“Ow,” Kagome hissed, wrenching her wrist away.
InuYasha’s eyes seemed to widen in surprise at causing the Slayer pain, and he immediately drew himself backwards.
“Sorry,” he mumbled.
“It’s okay,” she replied. Then a thought struck her. “Have you been watching over me all night?”
“Keh, only to make sure you didn’t drop dead or something,” he gruffly answered, a light shade of pink tingeing his cheeks.
‘He’s blushing! Oh, how cuuuute!’
Kagome smiled, scooting over to the side of her bed. “Thank you,” she whispered, dropping a kiss on his forehead as she stood up.
She stretched, realizing she still wore yesterday’s attire, and wrinkled her nose in distaste. Crossing to her dresser, she opened a few drawers to collect fresh clothing.
“What are you doing wench? Shouldn’t you still be resting?” InuYasha gruffly inquired, a hint of concern lacing his voice.
“Nope, all better,” she replied, heading into her bathroom and shutting the door.
InuYasha stared at the door , then decided he better leave. ‘Don’t want to be accused of being a pervert like that lecher.’
-------------------------------------------------------- --
Sango stumbled into her living room in her pajamas and robe, having awoken with the sun. Eyes nearly shut with ruminants of sleep, the Slayer tripped over a body in her living room, taking a dive into the carpet. Thanks to her well-trained reflexes, she turned her fall into a controlled roll, and landed inches away from a now-awake monk, who grinned cheekily as he propped an elbow on the floor and rested his tousled head upon his gloved hand.
“My dearest Sango, if I had known you wanted to lay next to me, I would have happily joined you in your bed!”
Sango growled low and threateningly. It was six-thirty in the damn morning, she had not had her coffee yet, AND she was being forced to deal with this lech at this UNGODLY hour?
‘The kami hate me.’
Miroku shot to a sitting position, hands up in a placating gesture.
“Now, now, Sango-sama, no need for violence over an innocent joke,” Miroku added in a hasty panic.
“Innocent my ass,” InuYasha’s gruff voice drifted over from the hallway. The inu-hanyou quickly stepped in to run interference, grabbing the monk by the back of his shirt and hauling him up off the floor and dropping him on the nearby couch.
Sango stood, crossing her arms and adding a frosty glare for good measure, and then proceeded to her kitchen to brew her morning cup of caffeine.
Kohaku and Souta appeared moments later, their sleepy gazes running over the two Hunters before plopping down at the kitchen table themselves.
“Sango-neechan, are you making breakfast this morning?” Kohaku quietly asked.
Sango shrugged, eyeing Miroku and InuYasha wearily as the two cautiously took seats next to the boys.
“I suppose so. Kags is probably still asleep--”
“No I’m not!” Kagome called cheerily, bouncing into the kitchen, hair still damp from her fresh shower and clad in loose jeans and a long T-shirt.
“Kagome-neechan!” Souta cried, throwing himself into his sister’s arms.
InuYasha found himself fighting a small smile as he watched the tender hug between siblings, Kagome ruffling her brother’s hair affectionately.
“You’re looking much better,” Sango smiled, giving her best friend a sisterly hug.
“I feel much better,” Kagome assured, squeezing back and releasing Sango in order to accept a quick hug from Kohaku.
“Glad to see you in such good sprits, Kagome-sama,” Miroku said, nodding his head politely.
Kagome smiled in thanks, and glanced over at InuYasha. The inu-hanyou “keh’d” for appearances sake, but looked more relaxed, his eyes showing relief.
Kagome, with the help of Souta, prepared a huge, well-cooked breakfast for the motley crew as they sat around happily chatting (Sango too, once she had been properly caffeinated). Everyone--including InuYasha, after an expectant look from Kagome--cleared the table, Sango and Kohaku on dish duty. Once that was done, the boys and Sango went off to dress as the remaining three sat down in the living room. Miroku had filled Kagome in on missed events by the time Sango returned. The boys were given permission to play in the apartment complex’s courtyard as the adults got down to business, splitting up the files.
The search for pertinent information began.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Ayame sat across from Kouga in a corner of Records, sorting through the recently combined Slayer and Hunter databases. The female ookami mentally rolled her eyes at how “helpful” Koharu had been since she arrived a short hour ago and how “gracious” Kouga acted toward the Records director.
After quick naps on cots, the two had gotten down to researching almost immediately. Apparently, searching the databases for only five hours had not familiarized Kouga enough with the tools and resources.
‘Stupid asshole. Thinks he can make me jealous.’
Kouga could not fathom how Ayame could continue to completely ignore him and remain oblivious to the Record girl’s presence.
‘I’m only talking to what’s-her-name for a reason, bitch!’
The wolf realized the girl was still talking, shot her a charming smile and gently shooed her away, saying he really needed to get back to such important business. The girl giggled annoyingly, waving coyly as she departed.
‘Finally, some peace,’ Ayame mentally sighed.
“So Ayame,” Kouga began.
‘Spoke too soon.’
She ignored him. Or at least tried to do so.
“Hey, Ayame!” he persisted.
“What?” she nearly groaned.
“Sheesh, just wondering if you found anything,” Kouga snapped.
“I would have told you if I had,” Ayame replied flippantly, still eyeing the data. Of course, the male wolf did not take kindly to being ignored in any manner.
“Hey! Look at me when I’m talking to you!”
“I’ve got more important things to do. Go ask Koharu to fawn over you.”
“Why you little--”
“Shut up, you’re ruining my concentration,” Ayame cut him off.
Kouga growled, crossing his arms in a huff.
‘Aggravating female!’
“Quit being such-a-bitch!”
Ayame snapped her head up, green eyes flashing in anger.
“You need to quit being such an asshole!” she shouted, standing up and slamming her palms on the table. “In case your senses of observation have failed to inform you, the world--and me--do not revolve around you and your ego!”
Kouga sat there stunned.
“I never said it did!”
Ayame snorted. “You act like it does!”
“But--”
“Just shut up and leave me alone!” Ayame snapped, shoving herself away from the table.
Kouga watched, speechless, as the red-haired Slayer roughly scooped up her books and files and stormed across the room to the computer station furthest from him.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Scouring the rooftops and nearby alleys only to find no annoying balls of red fur, the Thunder Brothers grew more agitated by the moment. They had tracked the little kitsune kit to the center of Tokyo, near a residential area filled with apartment complexes. Dawn had recently broke across the sky. To avoid being seen, Hiten and Manten had to stick to the shadows, slowing their search to a seemingly snail’s pace.
“Where is that damned brat?” Hiten cursed, knocking over a trashcan in anger.
“He’s probably using one of his kitsune tricks to fool us,” Manten rasped, rubbing a hand over his bald head in frustration.
“We better find him soon, I’m getting sick of playing chase,” the elder brother growled as the two darted into the next alley.
A blue wave dissolved next to the alley wall and the small child shivered, knowing the Thunder Brothers had only been inches away from discovering him. The kit streaked over a fence into a courtyard, where two twelve-year-old boys were playing soccer.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Around 0800 hours, Sesshomaru put down the stack of papers he had been searching to go check on his partner. He quickly crossed the room to her side, absently noticing how tiny she seemed under his large coat. She was peaceful--and quiet, a rare occurrence--and the taiyoukai was loathe to wake her and break his undisturbed silence.
He tapped the ningen on her shoulder. A small arm flopped over, a sad attempt at slapping away his hand. Sesshomaru internally smiled. He tapped her again. Another pathetic swat.
‘Lazy ningen.’
He tried waking her again, this time shaking her by the shoulder. The small slayer, startled, fell off the couch and landed in a heap by the taiyoukai’s feet.
“Whosa-whatsa?” Rin cried groggily.
“We have work to do,” Sesshomaru informed her impersonally, turning around to return back to his desk.
Rin rubbed her eyes, sleepily eyeing her partner.
‘Meanie head.’
Sighing, she slowly climbed to her feet and made her way over to her computer. Powering it up, she wearily leaned on her hand.
‘Here we go again.’
--------------------------------------------------------- ----
“Hey, who are you?” Kohaku called to the little kitsune who had just appeared in the yard.
The kit looked startled, taking a step backwards.
“We won’t hurt you,” Souta assured in a coaxing voice.
The kitsune seemed weary, glancing at the top of the fence every so often.
“Is someone after you?” Kohaku asked in realization.
“Hai,” the kit replied quietly.
“Lemme go get my sister. She and her friends can handle ‘em,” Souta said confidently.
“No, it’s not safe for humans--”
“There you are brat!”
The three boys whipped around to see the two Thunder Brothers hovering over the fence, wicked gleams illuminating in their eyes like lightening.
“Look what we have here, more little brats to play with,” Manten hissed.
“You leave them alone!” the kit shouted, standing protectively in front of the boys.
Manten cackled, swooping down to grab the kit by his shirt. The kitsune kicked his legs, trashing and struggling to get out of his captor’s hands.
“Hey, ugly!” Kohaku shouted, launching a rock at Manten’s flat, bald head.
He dropped the kit in surprise, rounding on the boy. He lunged, nabbing Kohaku.
“Kohaku! Let him go you jerk-face!” Souta shouted, kicking the youkai in the shins. Hiten came up behind Souta, forcing the boy’s arms backwards and dragging him away from the Manten and Kohaku.
“Kagome-neechan! KAGOME-NEECHAN!”
------------------------------------------------ -------------
Kagome’s head snapped up at the sound of her brother‘s distressed voice, and she ran to the window overlooking the courtyard. She gasped, snatched her crossbow off a nearby table and hopped out onto the fire escape.
“What the fuck?!” InuYasha growled, swiping Tessaiga and following after her.
“That was Souta!” Sango cried, taking off after them with her boomerang. Miroku followed suit.
Kagome leapt down the rickety stairs, reaching the boys first. She shot two arrows off in succession, striking the bald one’s arm and the other’s leg. The two youkai dropped the boys at the pain of singed flesh. Souta snatched up the kitsune as he and Kohaku scrambled away to Kagome.
“Get behind me,” she ordered just as InuYasha landed beside her. Sango and Miroku arrived mere seconds later.
“See, I told you they’d protect us,” Souta whispered to the kitsune.
The kitsune stare wide-eyed at the miko, hanyou, monk, and warrior lady. The hanyou stepped in front of the miko, unsheathing his sword. The kitsune watched in awe as the blade grew ten-times its original size.
“And who the fuck are you?” InuYasha demanded.
“Ah, Manten. It seems we found the miko and her friends too. Tsubaki shall be pleased when we’ve killed them all and collected the shard from that kitsune brat,” Hiten smiled evilly.
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A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Classes are crazy, so please have patience with this super-busy college student.
Special Thanks to reviewers FuschiaFinn, InuGoddess715, lady Kcassandra, d.......r...…, amayahime1, Kimberley-Kinezumi, Tricia, Keikoku-Tenshi-Angel
You guys are the best!!!!
I do reply to every review (provided there is a link enabling me to do so), so feel free to ask questions, make suggestions and give constructive criticism. And make sure to check your e-mail for these replies!
PLEASE REVIEW!!!! Writers need feedback to survive!
Thanks for reading!
~Lizzie
-------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------
Thanks to my beta, Inukaggrl06!
--------------------------------------------------------
Infatuation
Rated M for language
-------------------------------------------------------
Ch apter 8: Getting Down to Business
--------------------------------------------------------
Recap:
“I want her dead! You hear me! DEAD!” Tsubaki screeched at the two youkai before her. “I don’t care how you do it, just DO IT! That little bitch will pay for what she‘s done to me!”
“What about the brat?” the elder youkai questioned, pointing to the shaking bundle of red fur in the corner. “He still has the shard. I can smell its power.”
“You Thunder Brothers can make do without one shard for now.”
“No!” interrupted the younger brother. “We want the shard or no deal! The brat’s parents are already dead, wasting their lives to protect something so worthless.”
“I’m not worthless!” the little ball of fur shouted. “You killed my parents for this shard, and I’m NOT letting you have it!”
The little ball leapt into action, shouting “Foxfire!” and momentarily blinding the youkai brothers with its blue flame. He jumped from head to head, using Tsubaki as a final spring board and catapulting himself out the door and up a staircase.
“You morons! Don’t stand there with your thumbs up your butts! GET HIM!” Tsubaki roared.
Hiten and Manten furiously took off on their clouds.
--------------------------------------------------------------- -
Rin fought to keep her eyes open, half-heartedly scanning through Tsubaki’s copied computer files. Her fingers robotically pressed the arrow key, but her brain failed to actually process what was on each page of the file.
‘Gotta finish this one file…Just a few more pages…’
Sesshomaru glanced up from his paper file at his partner, surveying her carefully.
‘The onna is obviously tired. Why does she persist so?’
He watched her head droop and bob back up. She would shake her head--sometimes, even smack her cheeks--in an effort to remain awake. After the fifth repetition of this routine, the taiyoukai got out of his seat and walked over to her.
“Onna,” he said stoically, placing a hand on hers to stop her typing. “Cease for the night.”
Rin blinked wearily at him. “But I just need one more--”
“No.”
The small Slayer hung her head, closing out of the programs. Sesshomaru turned to survey the room for a place to put her. Upon spotting a small couch tucked into a corner, he glanced back to Rin, only to find her passed out on the keyboard.
‘Irritating wench,’ he mentally sighed. ‘I suppose this Sesshomaru cannot leave her in such a position.’ The taiyoukai nearly cringed at the thought of how cranky she would be come morning, having already dealt with her whiney attitude when she failed to receive adequate sleep.
Sesshomaru carefully picked Rin up and carried her over to the small sofa and laid her down, watching her curl into a ball once he relinquished contact. He nearly thought of chuckling at the sight she presented. Throwing is coat over her to keep her warm, the taiyoukai went back to his files, never sparing a thought for how the presence of this small woman was changing him.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Morning light broke through the curtains, creeping over every contour of the room to sleepily open Kagome’s eyes. The miko blinked, realizing she was back home, in her own bed; with her warm, comfy sheets, soft, fluffy pillow, fuzzy dog ears…
‘Wait, dog ears?’
She lethargically sat up, rubbing her eyes to assure herself the hanyou leaning against her bed was no illusion. Kagome tentatively reached out a hand to touch one of the ears.
A hand shot out, catching her wrist as a wave of silver hair whirled around to reveal a very awake inu-hanyou
Amber orbs clashed with chocolate.
“Don’t. Touch. The. EARS,” InuYasha growled out.
“Ow,” Kagome hissed, wrenching her wrist away.
InuYasha’s eyes seemed to widen in surprise at causing the Slayer pain, and he immediately drew himself backwards.
“Sorry,” he mumbled.
“It’s okay,” she replied. Then a thought struck her. “Have you been watching over me all night?”
“Keh, only to make sure you didn’t drop dead or something,” he gruffly answered, a light shade of pink tingeing his cheeks.
‘He’s blushing! Oh, how cuuuute!’
Kagome smiled, scooting over to the side of her bed. “Thank you,” she whispered, dropping a kiss on his forehead as she stood up.
She stretched, realizing she still wore yesterday’s attire, and wrinkled her nose in distaste. Crossing to her dresser, she opened a few drawers to collect fresh clothing.
“What are you doing wench? Shouldn’t you still be resting?” InuYasha gruffly inquired, a hint of concern lacing his voice.
“Nope, all better,” she replied, heading into her bathroom and shutting the door.
InuYasha stared at the door , then decided he better leave. ‘Don’t want to be accused of being a pervert like that lecher.’
-------------------------------------------------------- --
Sango stumbled into her living room in her pajamas and robe, having awoken with the sun. Eyes nearly shut with ruminants of sleep, the Slayer tripped over a body in her living room, taking a dive into the carpet. Thanks to her well-trained reflexes, she turned her fall into a controlled roll, and landed inches away from a now-awake monk, who grinned cheekily as he propped an elbow on the floor and rested his tousled head upon his gloved hand.
“My dearest Sango, if I had known you wanted to lay next to me, I would have happily joined you in your bed!”
Sango growled low and threateningly. It was six-thirty in the damn morning, she had not had her coffee yet, AND she was being forced to deal with this lech at this UNGODLY hour?
‘The kami hate me.’
Miroku shot to a sitting position, hands up in a placating gesture.
“Now, now, Sango-sama, no need for violence over an innocent joke,” Miroku added in a hasty panic.
“Innocent my ass,” InuYasha’s gruff voice drifted over from the hallway. The inu-hanyou quickly stepped in to run interference, grabbing the monk by the back of his shirt and hauling him up off the floor and dropping him on the nearby couch.
Sango stood, crossing her arms and adding a frosty glare for good measure, and then proceeded to her kitchen to brew her morning cup of caffeine.
Kohaku and Souta appeared moments later, their sleepy gazes running over the two Hunters before plopping down at the kitchen table themselves.
“Sango-neechan, are you making breakfast this morning?” Kohaku quietly asked.
Sango shrugged, eyeing Miroku and InuYasha wearily as the two cautiously took seats next to the boys.
“I suppose so. Kags is probably still asleep--”
“No I’m not!” Kagome called cheerily, bouncing into the kitchen, hair still damp from her fresh shower and clad in loose jeans and a long T-shirt.
“Kagome-neechan!” Souta cried, throwing himself into his sister’s arms.
InuYasha found himself fighting a small smile as he watched the tender hug between siblings, Kagome ruffling her brother’s hair affectionately.
“You’re looking much better,” Sango smiled, giving her best friend a sisterly hug.
“I feel much better,” Kagome assured, squeezing back and releasing Sango in order to accept a quick hug from Kohaku.
“Glad to see you in such good sprits, Kagome-sama,” Miroku said, nodding his head politely.
Kagome smiled in thanks, and glanced over at InuYasha. The inu-hanyou “keh’d” for appearances sake, but looked more relaxed, his eyes showing relief.
Kagome, with the help of Souta, prepared a huge, well-cooked breakfast for the motley crew as they sat around happily chatting (Sango too, once she had been properly caffeinated). Everyone--including InuYasha, after an expectant look from Kagome--cleared the table, Sango and Kohaku on dish duty. Once that was done, the boys and Sango went off to dress as the remaining three sat down in the living room. Miroku had filled Kagome in on missed events by the time Sango returned. The boys were given permission to play in the apartment complex’s courtyard as the adults got down to business, splitting up the files.
The search for pertinent information began.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Ayame sat across from Kouga in a corner of Records, sorting through the recently combined Slayer and Hunter databases. The female ookami mentally rolled her eyes at how “helpful” Koharu had been since she arrived a short hour ago and how “gracious” Kouga acted toward the Records director.
After quick naps on cots, the two had gotten down to researching almost immediately. Apparently, searching the databases for only five hours had not familiarized Kouga enough with the tools and resources.
‘Stupid asshole. Thinks he can make me jealous.’
Kouga could not fathom how Ayame could continue to completely ignore him and remain oblivious to the Record girl’s presence.
‘I’m only talking to what’s-her-name for a reason, bitch!’
The wolf realized the girl was still talking, shot her a charming smile and gently shooed her away, saying he really needed to get back to such important business. The girl giggled annoyingly, waving coyly as she departed.
‘Finally, some peace,’ Ayame mentally sighed.
“So Ayame,” Kouga began.
‘Spoke too soon.’
She ignored him. Or at least tried to do so.
“Hey, Ayame!” he persisted.
“What?” she nearly groaned.
“Sheesh, just wondering if you found anything,” Kouga snapped.
“I would have told you if I had,” Ayame replied flippantly, still eyeing the data. Of course, the male wolf did not take kindly to being ignored in any manner.
“Hey! Look at me when I’m talking to you!”
“I’ve got more important things to do. Go ask Koharu to fawn over you.”
“Why you little--”
“Shut up, you’re ruining my concentration,” Ayame cut him off.
Kouga growled, crossing his arms in a huff.
‘Aggravating female!’
“Quit being such-a-bitch!”
Ayame snapped her head up, green eyes flashing in anger.
“You need to quit being such an asshole!” she shouted, standing up and slamming her palms on the table. “In case your senses of observation have failed to inform you, the world--and me--do not revolve around you and your ego!”
Kouga sat there stunned.
“I never said it did!”
Ayame snorted. “You act like it does!”
“But--”
“Just shut up and leave me alone!” Ayame snapped, shoving herself away from the table.
Kouga watched, speechless, as the red-haired Slayer roughly scooped up her books and files and stormed across the room to the computer station furthest from him.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Scouring the rooftops and nearby alleys only to find no annoying balls of red fur, the Thunder Brothers grew more agitated by the moment. They had tracked the little kitsune kit to the center of Tokyo, near a residential area filled with apartment complexes. Dawn had recently broke across the sky. To avoid being seen, Hiten and Manten had to stick to the shadows, slowing their search to a seemingly snail’s pace.
“Where is that damned brat?” Hiten cursed, knocking over a trashcan in anger.
“He’s probably using one of his kitsune tricks to fool us,” Manten rasped, rubbing a hand over his bald head in frustration.
“We better find him soon, I’m getting sick of playing chase,” the elder brother growled as the two darted into the next alley.
A blue wave dissolved next to the alley wall and the small child shivered, knowing the Thunder Brothers had only been inches away from discovering him. The kit streaked over a fence into a courtyard, where two twelve-year-old boys were playing soccer.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Around 0800 hours, Sesshomaru put down the stack of papers he had been searching to go check on his partner. He quickly crossed the room to her side, absently noticing how tiny she seemed under his large coat. She was peaceful--and quiet, a rare occurrence--and the taiyoukai was loathe to wake her and break his undisturbed silence.
He tapped the ningen on her shoulder. A small arm flopped over, a sad attempt at slapping away his hand. Sesshomaru internally smiled. He tapped her again. Another pathetic swat.
‘Lazy ningen.’
He tried waking her again, this time shaking her by the shoulder. The small slayer, startled, fell off the couch and landed in a heap by the taiyoukai’s feet.
“Whosa-whatsa?” Rin cried groggily.
“We have work to do,” Sesshomaru informed her impersonally, turning around to return back to his desk.
Rin rubbed her eyes, sleepily eyeing her partner.
‘Meanie head.’
Sighing, she slowly climbed to her feet and made her way over to her computer. Powering it up, she wearily leaned on her hand.
‘Here we go again.’
--------------------------------------------------------- ----
“Hey, who are you?” Kohaku called to the little kitsune who had just appeared in the yard.
The kit looked startled, taking a step backwards.
“We won’t hurt you,” Souta assured in a coaxing voice.
The kitsune seemed weary, glancing at the top of the fence every so often.
“Is someone after you?” Kohaku asked in realization.
“Hai,” the kit replied quietly.
“Lemme go get my sister. She and her friends can handle ‘em,” Souta said confidently.
“No, it’s not safe for humans--”
“There you are brat!”
The three boys whipped around to see the two Thunder Brothers hovering over the fence, wicked gleams illuminating in their eyes like lightening.
“Look what we have here, more little brats to play with,” Manten hissed.
“You leave them alone!” the kit shouted, standing protectively in front of the boys.
Manten cackled, swooping down to grab the kit by his shirt. The kitsune kicked his legs, trashing and struggling to get out of his captor’s hands.
“Hey, ugly!” Kohaku shouted, launching a rock at Manten’s flat, bald head.
He dropped the kit in surprise, rounding on the boy. He lunged, nabbing Kohaku.
“Kohaku! Let him go you jerk-face!” Souta shouted, kicking the youkai in the shins. Hiten came up behind Souta, forcing the boy’s arms backwards and dragging him away from the Manten and Kohaku.
“Kagome-neechan! KAGOME-NEECHAN!”
------------------------------------------------ -------------
Kagome’s head snapped up at the sound of her brother‘s distressed voice, and she ran to the window overlooking the courtyard. She gasped, snatched her crossbow off a nearby table and hopped out onto the fire escape.
“What the fuck?!” InuYasha growled, swiping Tessaiga and following after her.
“That was Souta!” Sango cried, taking off after them with her boomerang. Miroku followed suit.
Kagome leapt down the rickety stairs, reaching the boys first. She shot two arrows off in succession, striking the bald one’s arm and the other’s leg. The two youkai dropped the boys at the pain of singed flesh. Souta snatched up the kitsune as he and Kohaku scrambled away to Kagome.
“Get behind me,” she ordered just as InuYasha landed beside her. Sango and Miroku arrived mere seconds later.
“See, I told you they’d protect us,” Souta whispered to the kitsune.
The kitsune stare wide-eyed at the miko, hanyou, monk, and warrior lady. The hanyou stepped in front of the miko, unsheathing his sword. The kitsune watched in awe as the blade grew ten-times its original size.
“And who the fuck are you?” InuYasha demanded.
“Ah, Manten. It seems we found the miko and her friends too. Tsubaki shall be pleased when we’ve killed them all and collected the shard from that kitsune brat,” Hiten smiled evilly.
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A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Classes are crazy, so please have patience with this super-busy college student.
Special Thanks to reviewers FuschiaFinn, InuGoddess715, lady Kcassandra, d.......r...…, amayahime1, Kimberley-Kinezumi, Tricia, Keikoku-Tenshi-Angel
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~Lizzie
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