InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Laying Down the Law: Abuna i Dansu ❯ Hesitation Waltz ( Chapter 7 )

How are those reviewers who RESPECT me, how are you? Good? Great. Thanks for all of the POSITIVE AND CONSTRUCTIVE reviews you gave me. I have a better idea of how distribute the relationships now that you've all imparted your opinions like RATIONAL ADULTS. I thank you sincerely. A big Texas thank you to you guys. A reviewer unfortunately finds Ranbou and Shitora "Rabo and Shitty." For those of you who are unaware, "Rabo" is the Portuguese word for "buttock." I'm not sure if that was a typo or intended, but I just wanted to put it out there; you can throw it back if you want (Anchorman LOLZ.)

 

K. Now, on to the chapter.

 

9191919

 

The Hesitation Waltz

 

A two person dance marked by the circular, reoccurring movements and the hesitation, a.k.a. momentary lifting, of the foot, which breaks the flow of the circle.

 

9191919

 

 

When Kagome awoke on the morning of September 8th, one day after the tragic Madozu shootings, she stared at the expensive mansion ceiling and began thinking almost immediately. She thought of everything and nothing, the small and the big, until her brain had grown so thick with things that she could think no longer. The pictures of her friends stared down at her from the wall, looking nearly accusatory; how dare she think of selfish things in the midst of tragedy?

 

Deciding that thought was beyond the best of her ability, Kagome sat up in bed and winced as her back gave a painful stretch; she had nearly forgotten her injuries in the midst of the chaos. It had taken a good deal of persuasion to even get Inuyasha to drive her home to the mansion, nevertheless leave his sight for more than a few minutes; just remembering her boyfriend's insistent cries caused Kagome to roll her eyes in frustration.

 

The sunlight had already penetrated her thick curtains, which prompted Kagome to look at the clock; 6:30. School didn't start for two and a half hours, which was comforting, though Kagome knew that her chances of actually having school were slim. At seven the previous night, the Japanese government had declared a National State of Emergency and all events previously scheduled for the upcoming week were currently in limbo.

 

The hallways were quiet and Kagome doubted that Rin was up; it wasn't in her cousin's nature to rise without an alarm before 8. The mansion's floors glittered brightly as sunshine dappled through the trees, creating an otherworldly haze; it was strange to think that there could still be beautiful things even when so many people were suffering the after-effects of Madozu.

 

As she thought this, Kagome's ears picked up the sound of laughter coming from the kitchen; she would've chalked it up to the maids and servants, yet the voice was young and slightly familiar. Furrowing her brow, Kagome began her treacherous descent to the ground floor, clutching the banister as the cold metal pressed against her thighs. Her bed shorts were short and pink, yet her wife beater was dwarfing; she strongly suspected that she'd picked up Inuyasha's shirt off the floor by accident before she left the previous afternoon.

 

The kitchen door was slightly ajar and Kagome pushed it opened tentatively, bracing her nose against the smell of many different breakfast foods, most of which she did not recognize. The sight which met her in the kitchen was both surprising and heartwarming, though the surprise overshadowed the latter indefinitely.

 

Tobi Skull and Benkan Bones, tan faces tired but happy, were sitting shirtless at Rin's kitchen table, enjoying a hearty breakfast of toast with Vegemite and hash browns. They were directing their comments and laughter at Fucking Mad Max, who was sitting, likewise shirtless, on the counter by the stove; his gnarled face made evident the fact that he found their laughter insulting. Axle's blue braids were swinging lightly as he hummed, oblivious to the conversation behind him whilst he stirred something delicious smelling on the stove. All of them were wearing bed pants and smiles, however worn or wry they were. It made Kagome smile as well and her surprise began to wane; she was beginning to understand the circumstances as her morning fog began to wear off.

 

"Hey guys," she said weakly, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

 

The boys turned towards the doorway and there were several cries of, "Kagome!" as they all began to hurry towards her, arms open wide. As Kagome hugged her friends hello, she giggled; she was now remembering the friendly nature of the Jackrabbits.

 

"Did you guys drive in last night?"

 

"Yeah, Sheila; you were out like a light already, Rin said somethin' bout your back," Skull explained, crossing his muscled arms over his chest; the way his blonde hair offset his skin made him seem positively cheerful, despite the weakness in his blue eyes. Kagome suspected that the Jackrabbits had suffered cruelly from Madozu, though she knew few details.

"All in the line of duty," she replied lightly, grinning. "Are you all staying here?"

 

"As long as Rin will put up with us," Bones replied, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "She kept going on about how much room she had and we didn't believe her before we came. We're feeling less guilty by the minute."

 

Kagome chuckled, running a hand through her wild black hair. "Yeah, its kind of a big place. Where's Cook?"

 

Max snorted and gave Axle a gruff pat to the back. "Gave 'im the day off; Axle's a fuckin' Emeril at the stove. Makes us brekkers from back home."

 

"From London?" Kagome asked curiously, walking hesitantly towards the stove and examining the substances in the various pots.

 

"Australia too," Skull informed Kagome happily. "One day he just off and got an Australian cookbook and started makin' us dishes from home."

 

Kagome laughed slightly and turned to the blue haired demon. "Oh Axle, I had no idea! That's amazing!"

 

The boy just blushed and smiled, shaking his corn rowed head in embarrassment. "Oh no, I cook just enough to get by. And to keep these gits from eatin' me arms instead."

 

The others made sounds of protest, though the laughter was evident in their eyes; something about the Jackrabbits just shouted "family" and it made Kagome so happy she nearly cried every time she met with them. Especially in hated times such as these, Kagome could just feel the tears springing up in her eyes; there were so many things about which she was uncertain, so many untied ends. What if she said the wrong thing, upset someone? Feelings were so tender and her mouth had a tendency to run with her...Kagome felt the pressure of the times descending down upon her.

 

"Well, it's nice that you take care of each other," Kagome mentioned with an overly bright smile, trying to hide her uncertainty. She felt that, as a human, she had no right to be scared in times like these; it was demons that should really be afraid.

 

Max regarded her quietly for a second before he replied in his usual flippant manner, "Well yeah, that's what friends fuckin' do."

 

Kagome nodded slightly, glancing unsurely down at her bare feet. "Yeah, it is. I'm going to go to the warehouse and get some paperwork done; I have to put some of my records on file for core stuff."

 

Axle nodded with a smile, squeezing Kagome's shoulder with his strong, tan hand. "Alright, love. Want anything to eat before you go?"

 

As the Jackrabbits smiled at her, eyes devoid of pity but full of caring, Kagome realized that she didn't have to explain herself for these boys; Akago had once called the Jackrabbits "genuine" and Kagome could think of no better word.

 

Smiling softly, Kagome replied, "I dunno, Axe, I am a little hungry."

 

"Well pull up a chair!" Skull crowed. "Help yourself to some vegemite, Sheila."

 

Kagome walked gingerly towards the kitchen table, feet dancing slightly; the tile was cold on her bare skin. She sat down, cross legged, beside Bones, staring curiously at the food in the middle of the table. There was a strange brown spread in a jar on the table, adjacent to a plate of toast. She looked at the food silently.

 

"What is that?" she asked finally, cocking her head questioningly to the side.

 

Bones smiled kindly and picked up the jar of spread, turning the label towards her. "It's vegemite; it's kind of like salty jelly. Tastes rather meaty."

 

Kagome blinked before reaching out tentatively and spreading the vegemite on toast. When she took a bite, chewing thoughtfully, she frowned and scrunched up her nose; the taste was overpoweringly salty and bitter. "Ew," she murmured, swallowing laboriously.

 

"It's an acquired taste," Axle explained as the others laughed heartily.

 

Shooting silencing glances at his friends, Axle picked up a few plates off the counter beside him and set them down before Kagome at the table, saying, "Here's some better tasting stuff; I think Vegemite is rot, myself."

 

Kagome giggled as Skull made an indignant sort of pouting sound. "Thanks Axe," she said, looking at the plates before her. "Okay, what is this stuff?"

 

Pointing to a few steaming hot meat rolls, Axle said helpfully, "This is white pudding; it's like oatmeal, bread and suet in a sausage roll. Real good."

 

Kagome hesitantly cut a piece of the white pudding off the end of the offered portion and chewed it in her recently vegemite-contaminated mouth. The taste ended up being quiet pleasing and she made an appreciative sound. "Wow, this is so good! You said bread, oatmeal and what else?"

 

"Suet."

 

"What's suet?" Kagome asked, wrinkling her nose.

 

Max barked with laughter, distorted face smiling grotesquely. "Mutton fat," he reported, seeming perversely amused by this fact.

 

Kagome made a distressed noise and continued to chew, however much she wanted to spit it out. This brought around a fresh batch of laughter, even Axle this time.

"That old rule about not telling what's in sausages is true, then," Bones chuckled.

 

Kagome was about to respond when the house phone gave a high-pitched ring and she excused herself from the table, hurrying towards the call. "Takeyama residence," she answered formally.

 

"Kagome? It's mom."

 

The raven-haired girl was silent for a moment, trying to ignore the warmth spreading through her body at the familiarity of her mother's voice. Finally, she murmured, "Mom?" She hadn't spoken with her mother since the beginning of June, mostly due to her busy schedule and her mother's increased work times; for a moment, the only thin on Kagome's mind was "danger."

 

"Hello dear," Ms. Higurashi said cheerfully, seemingly oblivious to her daughter's fear. "I was just calling to see how you were and let you know that all of us were alright after yesterday."

 

Kagome nearly smacked her head into the cabinet nearest her; she had forgotten to call her family after Madozu Towers. They lived in a small shrine about five miles outside the city limits and she'd simply dismissed the thought of them; she'd been too busy worrying about the Kyoto gang allies to remember. "Oh..." she said, trying to sound like she'd remembered all this time. "I was going to call today."

 

"Of course, dear. I understand," Ms. Higurashi said kindly. "How's Uncle Jinyi?"

 

Thankful for the subject change, Kagome replied boredly, "Oh, he's not home much; it's mostly just Rin and me. I haven't seen him for a while." She tactfully forgot to mention that they hadn't occupied the house at the same time since the day she came to stay in Tokyo.

 

"I know, my little brother's a busy man," Kagome's mother chuckled good naturedly. "How is school? Have you made any friends?"

 

"School is fine; I've made a few friends, yeah," Kagome said noncommittally, ignoring the snorting laughter of the Jackrabbits as their thoughts strayed to Kagome's core, the Wildcats, The Fangs, The Reikons, The Sharks and the Cobras. She'd made a few friends, alright.

 

"Oh good. How's Rin?"

 

"Rin is...Rin," Kagome muttered, smiling. "You know how she is."

 

"Oh yes, Jinyi still tells me. Is she still dating that nice young man? Jinyi told me that he was a straight-A student," Kagome's mother continued.

 

"Sesshomaru gets straight-A's still," the girl responded blithely. "They're still dating just like always; I bet they'll never stop."

 

"Mhmm," Ms. Higurashi answered. "Anything you want to tell me about your stay in Tokyo, Kagome?"

 

Kagome shook her head, even though her mother couldn't see. "No, momma. It's all just normal."

 

"I see. Well, we might talk about coming to see you for Christmas!"

 

"That would be great, Mom...um, I hate to cut you off, but I need to do some work. So, talk to you later?" Kagome said rather suddenly.

 

Ms. Higurashi took it all in stride, responding easily, "Of course dear. Keep in touch."

 

As Kagome hung up the phone, grimacing, Bones asked wryly, "Haven't told your mum yet?"

 

"About what?" Kagome asked, feigning stupidity. She walked stiffly to the refrigerator and retrieved a carton of grapefruit juice, which she began pouring angrily into a glass. The Jackrabbits exchanged glances behind her back, wondering if they'd awakened a sleeping dragon. "I don't know what you're talking about. My mom knows everything she needs to know," Kagome continued, though no one had interrupted the silence since her last comment.

 

The Jackrabbits simply avoided her gaze as she downed an entire glass of grapefruit juice in one gulp and stormed out of the kitchen, presumably to get dressed and start her day.

 

Max snorted derisively, contorted face sarcastic and bored. "Looks like someone has come to terms with the fact that they're in a fuckin' gang."

 

Bones, Skull and Axle exchanged glances; perhaps Max was correct.

 

9191919

 

Inuyasha awoke that morning to the sight of his living room ceiling. As he rubbed his eyes childishly and glanced around the living room, he began to remember falling asleep in front of the television the night before. His mind followed a typical morning process: food, Kagome, school.

 

Inuyasha's eyes widened as he looked around desperately for a clock; he couldn't be late in the first week of school without getting a nasty call home to Kaede.

 

"No school today, calm down," came Sesshomaru's soothing voice from the kitchen doorway.

 

"No school?" Inuyasha asked confusedly, scratching one of his twitching white ears.

 

Sesshomaru took a seat beside his brother, propping up his feet on the coffee table. "The government declared a National State of Emergency last night when the riots got too bad. The Jackrabbits got out just in time."

 

Inuyasha sighed and glanced over at his brother, who was now barely a shadow of a man; Sesshomaru's eyes were disappearing back into his head, sunken and shallow. The tiredness which was seeping its way into his skin was disturbing to say the least, as though he were approaching the end of his life despite his young age. Inuyasha swallowed rather hard as his eyes unintentionally drifted to Sesshomaru's shoulder; the bone was protruding grossly.

 

"I'm gonna call Kagome," he said nervously, quickly excusing himself from the living room.

As Inuyasha exited in a rush, Sesshomaru sighed and stared pensively at his hands. Now, he could barely even have a conversation with his brother without his eating problem becoming a silent issue. After a moment, during which Sesshomaru began to quietly examine the many ingredients which had come to make up the recipe of his sickness, his cell phone began to buzz violently at his hip.

 

"Taisho," he answered swiftly.

 

"Sesshy?"

 

The dog's lips became instantly tight and he cleared his throat nervously. "Rin. Good morning."

 

"I just got a call from a couple of my girls; do you want them in the warehouse today?"

 

After releasing a breath of relief, Sesshomaru composed himself sternly; he had expected invasive questions about his near anorexia. "I wouldn't be opposed to it. We have work to do, disaster or not."

 

Rin's sigh could've meant a few things, the foremost of which Sesshomaru perceived to be exasperation at his coldness. "Fine. I'll see you there in ten."

 

And with this, sweet little Rin hung up the phone with nary a word of love. Sesshomaru blinked dumbly before he pocketed his cell phone out of sheer habit and walked sourly into the kitchen; he couldn't stand the thought that his secretive illness might somehow damage his relationship with Rin. Shitora, who had been allowing her thoughts to dwindle over a bowl of Lucky Charms, looked up uncomfortably at her eldest brother's entrance.

 

"Who was on the phone?" she asked conversationally, trying to quell her embarrassment about yesterday's fight with a change of subject.

 

Sesshomaru replied shortly, "Rin. We're going to work today."

 

Inuyasha entered, obviously having recently ended a phone conversation with Kagome. He observed his siblings, noticing the tension; finally, he murmured, "Work? But what about yesterday?"

 

"What about it?" Sesshomaru queried scornfully.

 

When Inuyasha opened his mouth to protest, Shitora entered in, "Inuyasha, take it like a man; we're going to work." The way she crossed her arms so pertly, as though she were better than him, irked Inuyasha to no end.

 

"Shut up, Shitora; you're not the boss around here, Sesshomaru is. So don't fucking tell me what to do," Inuyasha growled heatedly, narrowing his amber eyes.

 

Shitora rose confrontationally, causing the table to tremor. "Don't treat me like I'm beneath you, Inuyasha!"

 

"What do you want me to do when you act like you are?" Inuyasha fired back, pointing a tan finger accusingly in his sister's direction. "All you've done since you came home from school is whine and act like a slut, so don't you tell me to 'take it like a man,' you hear me?"

 

"I don't act like a slut!" Shitora screamed in reply, eyes blazing. Sesshomaru noted that his brother had obviously touched a nerve.

 

"Like hell you don't; Mom would die all over again if she was alive to see you running around like some kinda ho!" Inuyasha yelled hotly, regretting the words the instant his sister reeled back as though slapped.

 

Shitora's eyes were wide and confused as she physically stumbled back, staring at her brother mouth agape. Sesshomaru intervened quickly, grunting, "That's enough, Inuyasha. Shitora, go get ready to leave."

 

Without another word, Shitora turned swiftly on her heels and ran for the stairs. Inuyasha listened to her footsteps clomping to the second floor, followed by the slamming of her bedroom door. For the briefest moment, the boy wondered if his sister would cry over his cruel comment, but the thought left his head quickly. It wasn't five seconds after Shitora's departure that Inuyasha could feel Sesshomaru's eyes boring holes through his skull. Inuyasha's ears flattened immediately to his head and he looked for all the world like a beaten puppy.

 

"Dad must've dropped you as a child," Sesshomaru said frostily, eyebrow raised aristocratically.

 

"Probably," Inuyasha mumbled, lowering his head until it rested in his crossed arms on the table top.

 

"We leave in five minutes." With this, Sesshomaru exited the kitchen, leaving Inuyasha alone with his guilt and a half eaten bowl of lucky charms.

 

9191919

 

Akago yawned widely, scratching his naked chest as he pored over paperwork in the back of the warehouse. The distant buzz of the fan was a useless noise in his ear, not to mention a useless instrument; it did absolutely nothing to stifle the terrible heat which still permeated Tokyo in the sunset of summer. His white braid stuck to the back of his neck and spine grossly; what with the absence of wind and the inability of the cheap fan to reach the entirety of the building, the air was becoming positively stagnant. The absence of talking and laughing didn't help.

 

The Shark leader looked out across the floor, observing the scores of quiet mechanics. Normally, the beginning of the school year marked a lively period for reunited friends and workers; it was rare to hear such a silence, especially on a day off from school. Yet every face, male and female, was drawn and tight with worry. Many were abnormally pale, as well as sick to their stomachs; while demons couldn't get sick with viruses, worry was another matter.

 

Akago sighed heavily, shoulders sagging with the effort of caring so deeply about one particular thing.

 

"Akago?"

 

His heart gave a painful leap at the very sound of her voice. He turned to find Gan standing behind his chair, holding a stack of papers and looking rather concerned, be it about work or him or everything all at once.

 

"Yes, right, I was just...looking at everything," Akago excused himself needlessly, shaking his head as he returned to staring pointlessly at the papers before him.

 

Gan cast a glance over the same horizon Akago had been observing for the past five minutes and her violet eyes gave a visible tremor. She sighed heavily, glancing down at Akago with a tremulous glittering in the corner of her normally rock solid gaze.

 

"I didn't mean to interrupt your looking," she murmured. "You can look as long as you want, Akago. As long as you want."

 

It wasn't necessarily the things she said but the heartbroken way in which she said them that made Akago take off his glasses and rub his eyes with his hands. It was rare that Gan had a feminine moment, but as of late they'd been reminding Akago how embarrassed he was for not seeing a woman behind her facade sooner. There was a certain tenderness that most men never mastered, a tenderness only known my women, and it was times like this that Akago realized that his sweet and steady Gan had harbored that same tenderness all along. It was all consuming, warm like a mother and soft like a blanket. It reminded him, that tenderness, of summer grass and the smell of washed laundry. He wasn't sure why these things epitomized comfort for him, but they did. And Gan did as well.

 

"Thank you," he whispered earnestly, not yet uncovering his eyes. He would look, all right, not necessarily at the warehouse fervor. His eyes strayed upwards towards Gan's worried yet beautiful face. He would look as long as he wanted.

 

"Akago?" Gan asked curiously after a few moments, noticing the far-off quality of his stare, which was consequently directed at her.

 

In a split second, Akago tore his gaze away from the blonde girl and refocused it on his work. "Work awaits me," he said quickly, pretending not to notice Gan's prolonged presence as he began scribbling hurriedly away at the paperwork. After a moment of confused staring, she simply sighed and went off to speak with Sesshomaru about budget.

 

In the back of the warehouse closer to the bar, Rin was leaning back in her chair, attempting to balance her pencil on the bridge of her nose; despite the fact that the world was in peril, Rin was quite bored. In times of crisis, she tended to giggle or make inappropriate sexual jokes and, in light of this disease, was now trying to occupy herself with non-verbal activities. Such as pencil-on-the-bridge-of-her-nose balancing. As she leaned back this time, the tip of her ponytail nearly touched the ground. Her brown eyes widened unconsciously as she stared intently at the yellow shape of the pencil mere inches from her eyelashes, see-sawing precariously back and forth on her nose.

 

"You're gonna fall back and hit ya head," Ranbou said gruffly as he passed her, reaching into the fridge for a much needed beer.

 

"You're gonna fall back and hit you're face," came Rin's response; this was quickly followed by a giggle.

 

Ranbou rolled his eyes, unable to stop the grin which tickled it's way across his lips. "You're weird," was all he said in reply.

 

"Hey, Ran?"

 

The wolf looked up at his name, finding his youngest sister Kinanme walking towards his with a wrench in her hand, face already smudged with grease and overalls ripped on the chest. "Where's your torque wrenches? I could only find this thing."

 

Ranbou pointed towards the tool boxes in the corner without a word, watching as his little sister, so grown up, hurried over to find the missing tool. When the Jackrabbits had finally arrived in town the night before, the Reikon leader had been thanking whatever Gods that be for their safe trip. It was a small wonder that they hadn't been ambushed somewhere along the way in his opinion, though he felt voicing it was null and void now that they'd made it safely. After a rather hurried and awkward conversation with Skull, Ranbou had brought his sisters back to the Ookami house where they were now staying. It reminded him vaguely of his childhood, but it was quite different now. Four children and four teenagers were different matters on which Ranbou had never stopped to deliberate. When he'd reached above the toilet to get a new roll and been showered by an open box of tampons, he realized that this would be a new experience for everyone involved.

 

"Ran-Man, I need a consult on this Cougar. Help me out?"

 

Ranbou nodded to Lysander, who had reverted back to his childhood nickname for Ranbou in just a day's time. Deciding to leave his thoughts alone for now, Ranbou walked with Lysander towards the aforementioned red vehicle.

 

The warehouse was relatively quiet and peaceful until the sound of screeching tires and scattering gravel broke the air. The mechanics turned to find Sesshomaru's Saleen rolling up the pathway at a rather quick speed, the sound of screaming bursting forth from the car as it came to an abrupt stop. The doors opened and slammed shut in quick succession, leaving only heated voices in their wake.

 

"...learn to keep your mouth shut; I'm an elder, so treat me like it!"

 

"Aw, get off yer fuckin' high horse Sesshomaru. You ain't my dad!"

 

"You used that excuse every time we argue, draw a new card."

 

"Fuck you!"

 

As Inuyasha and Sesshomaru continued inside, arguing with their fangs at the forefront of their mouths, Shitora brushed past her brothers in a rush and fled to the far side of the warehouse where the Ookamis had set up shop. Inuyasha and Sesshomaru seemed not to notice her retreat and only continued yelling at one another, amber eyes flashing and silver hair flaying this way and that as they turned and jerked about their arms emphatically. Many in the warehouse stopped to watch; it had been quite some time since they'd seen Sesshomaru angry in such a plebian manner. Normally his wrath was quiet, but not today.

 

"You make everything so fucking difficult, Inuyasha! What I say goes!" Sesshomaru roared, slamming his fist down on one of the back table, causing the poor thing to splinter down the center.

 

Ignoring his brother's flaming golden eyes and gritted teeth, Inuyasha replied insolently, "I'll make it difficult if I fuckin' want! I'm not a kid anymore, Sesshomaru, I don't need you to lead me around!"

 

"Could have fooled me," Sesshomaru replied bitterly, taking a step towards his brother with his gaunt limbs at the ready.

 

Inuyasha crossed his arms stubbornly, firing back, "You're just a control freak! Get off my back! If I want to apologize about something, I'll apologize if and when I want!"

 

Kagome had been watching the scene from her location in the left most car station where she and her Nakama were working on an oil leak in a brand new Cadillac. Brushing off her forehead with the back of her hand, she set down her screwdriver and squinted at the sight of Inuyasha and Sesshomaru screaming at one another. She'd seen the brothers disagree, but fighting was an altogether different matter. Judging by their postures, the fight was another product of Inuyasha's stubbornness and Sesshomaru's impatience. Rolling her chocolate brown eyes, Kagome regripped her screwdriver and bent under the hood to resume her work.

 

Knight watched her leader curiously, turning her sights to the scene in the center of the warehouse a moment later. "What do you think they're fighting about, Kijo?"

 

"Inuyasha's probably just being a stubborn little bitch like he always is; by the sound of it, he said something he shouldn't have and Sesshomaru's trying to get him to apologize to someone. Like that'll happen anytime soon."

 

Knight exchanged glances with the leopard demon Katia, who just shrugged her shoulders. Knight mentioned, "You sound kinda bitter, Kijo."

 

"I just have too much experience with Inuyasha and his stubbornness," she replied, wincing as the still ripped skin on her back flamed with overuse; just thinking about Inuyasha's ridiculousness made her back hurt even more and they weren't even currently in a fight.

 

"Should you do something, Kijo? They look like they're about to fight," Katia pointed out after a moment.

 

Kagome glanced up at the Taisho brothers, who's voices had escalated and were now indeed literally an inch apart from one another, muscles taut and ready to punch. The girl sighed heavily, wiping grease from her forehead before she muttered, "Stupid Taishos and their...stupid!"

 

Knight barely caught the screwdriver which Kagome tossed dismissively over her shoulder. The core leader took off at a quick pace, fists clenched at her sides and black ponytail swinging angrily back and forth.

 

"Ooh, a fight." Knight and Katia jumped visibly at Nana's voice; she appeared behind them eerily. The redhead chuckled darkly, staring at the Taishos through her white curtain bangs with her curious assassin's eyes. "Maybe they'll draw a little blood this time."

 

"Creepy little shit," Knight murmured mutinously, turning away and attending to work elsewhere.

 

Kagome, meanwhile, was stalking towards her boyfriend, who was now yelling quite hotly in the face of his older and rather more intimidating brother. Sesshomaru set his jaw and seemed ready to punch Inuyasha against the wall.

 

"Apologize to her NOW!" Sesshomaru roared, baring down on his brother with his superior height at his aid; the gauntness of his cheeks made him look skeletal and rather like something from a nightmare.

 

"Oh, FUCK OFF!" came Inuyasha's articulate response.

 

"Inuyasha, you're making a scene, just let it go," Kagome urged as she arrived on the scene, touching Inuyasha's arm placatingly.

 

"Not until he backs off first!" Inuyasha retorted, taking a brave step nearer his much taller brother.

 

It was in that second that Kagome was sure Sesshomaru would punch Inuyasha right in the mouth. Kagome physically dragged Inuyasha backwards by his left wrist, barely sparing the furious Sesshomaru a glance as she hurried, with Inuyasha in tow, towards the back most corner. Sesshomaru was just about to go charging after them in a blind rage when there was a loud crashing sound from the back, followed by the sound of cracking wood and someone's pained gasp. He glanced towards the lounge to see Rin laying on the ground, entangled with a broken stool cradling the back of her head.

 

Sesshomaru hurried towards the back, silver hair causing a wind as he jogged. "Rin, are you alright?" he asked urgently, all traces of anger gone from his handsome face.

 

Rin whimpered and withdrew one of her hands, which was now dotted with blood. "I fell," she mumbled rather brokenly, close to tears; the fall had frightened her more than anything.

 

Ranbou was quickly on the scene as well, having known the sound from the moment it occurred. "I told ya not to do that, kid," he said, sounding apologetic and frustrated that he hadn't put a stop to it in time.

 

Sesshomaru bent down to pick his stunned girlfriend up in his arms when Ranbou intercepted him, murmuring, "You shouldn't be doin' that Shomo, let me." As Ranbou scooped Rin up in his arms and carried her towards the couch, Sesshomaru watched them go with sadness in his eyes; was he so weak that he couldn't even hold his girlfriend? Glancing down at his bone thin arms, the dog demon closed his eyes quietly. Yes, he was indeed so weak.

 

"Eat somethin' and it won't be that way any more," Kouga said softly as he came up beside his best friend, reading his thoughts with a practiced ease.

 

"It's not that simple," Sesshomaru replied in his usual understated way.

 

"Nothing with you ever is," Kouga chuckled in response, clapping Sesshomaru gently on the shoulder. "I've learned that from years of experience."

 

"I don't mean to trouble you or Rin or my family with this...problem of mine," Sesshomaru imparted, uncharacteristically weak for a single, solitary moment.

 

"I know you don't," Kouga replied, smiling in reassurance up at his friend; just the way his ice blue eyes twinkled was comforting. "The only trouble it causes us is worry and even we've learned not to worry SO much over the past eighteen years."

 

"I...I don't know why- I..."

 

"Tell us when you're ready, Shomo."

 

Sesshomaru managed a nod, which Kouga returned. The great dog demon then went sweeping off to attend to his stunned girlfriend, who was laying on the couch while Ranbou fetched her an ice pack.

 

Kagome had continued dragging Inuyasha away from his self-created conflict, eyes alight with an anger Inuyasha associated with rabid animals, but had eventually let go of his wrist and returned to her work with nary a word in his direction. Inuyasha was currently standing behind her, looking confused, as Knight and Katie worked busily around him.

 

Eventually, he hesitated a comment in her direction. "Er, Kagome?"

 

"What?"

 

Startled by the venom in her voice, Inuyasha took an unconscious step backwards. "Um, are you mad at me?"

 

Knight hid a smile and Katie just rolled her eyes as they passed off a wrench to their fuming mad Kijo. It wasn't until Kagome realized her boyfriend would stand stupidly there waiting for an answer that she decided to turn and tell him off. When Inuyasha noticed that her cheeks were red and her eyes hard, he began to feel a strange feeling deep inside. He wasn't sure if he was afraid or horny...or both.

 

"Inuyasha," Kagome began in a mere whisper, "I put up with a lot of your shit. You're stubborn, self-centered and egotistical, but I've learned to move past that."

 

Inuyasha barely had time to feel insulted for Kagome put down her wrench and began advancing on him slowly. Perhaps it was the flint in her eye or the power with which she moved, but Inuyasha began to feel some kind of fear welling up inside him as she approached, speaking her grievances all the while.

 

"But when you come into the warehouse, making your brother, the leader, look like a fool, arguing about something that probably carries so little weight in the grand scheme of things, you really just make me want to punch you. Did you even think of that, huh? Of Sesshomaru and how this makes him look? It makes him look like he can't control his own household, which we both know is not true. I don't think he needs your shit right now, Inuyasha; he's the size of a toothpick. And besides that, this all comes back on me. You make Sesshomaru mad, he makes Rin mad, she lives with me, she's moody, we fight, I have a bad day. Get the picture? So next time you feel the urge to pick a fight with someone in the midst of a nationwide crisis, do it in someone else's backyard, cause we're pretty full right now."

 

With this, Kagome spared him one last withering glance and returned to her work, looking so unruffled that an outsider might think she'd been working unceasingly for hours. Inuyasha stood, stock still, as he tried to digest the many angles of his girlfriend's stern monologue. When his brain was finally able to send a message to his feet, he turned and walked towards the back of the warehouse to apologize to his skeletal brother.

 

"Woah," Ayame murmured from under the hood of a Toyota Celica. She'd been watching the nearby tussle between Inuyasha and Kagome, which proved to be a ready distraction from her work.

 

Kouga glanced up at his girlfriend, who's red head was poised in a rather animalistic position of interest, green eyes unblinking as they watched Kagome angrily working on her car. The youngest Ookami son had always found his girlfriend beautiful, even as a young child, but it never cease to amaze him how fantastic looking she was. Especially in times such as these, when he was thankful for everything he had, Kouga noticed things like this.

 

"Remind me never to make Kagome mad," he agreed, piping up to distract Ayame from the fact that he'd been staring at her. She always got rather flustered and embarrassed when she caught him, telling him to stop "eyeballing" her. Fortunately, he'd gotten away clean this time.

 

"I wonder what they fought about this morning that got Sesshomaru so angry. He's normally so calm, you know?" Ayame continued, attempting to wipe sweat from her forehead and instead smudging it with grease.

 

Kouga shrugged. "You'd be surprised what can set him off."

 

The couple met eyes for a moment, as though this comment had unintentionally caused both of them to recall the scraps and pieces the remembered from that fateful day summer's past. Sesshomaru's claws, impaling them, ripping them, burning holes in their very flesh as he staked his claim.

 

Ayame placed a hand on Kouga's, smiling reassuringly. "If you're thinking about what I'm thinking about, then don't. Let's never think of that again, okay?"

 

"Yeah," Kouga said, forcing a smile until Ayame had looked away to continue her work. Something about that summer nagged the back of his head like a task he'd forgotten to complete. What was he missing about the equation of his life that he could find in those broken memories? What was still there tugging him backwards?

 

Bankotsu had, too, watched the fight unfolding between Sesshomaru and Inuyasha in the middle of the warehouse floor. He didn't know what to make of it, but that very same hatred they'd shown for one another in that moment was the thing which stifled Bankotsu, created a thick fabric through which he was unable to breathe. There was so much hate in the warehouse, in the world; why couldn't people just calm down for a single second? As far as Bankotsu could tell, there was nothing about other people, discounting murderers and the like, which made them unable to get along with. In his estimation, the world could just try a little harder and end this whole "hate" wheel for good.

 

"Bank, whadya want for lunch?"

 

Suikotsu seemed to appear out of no where, as was his habit. Bankotsu jumped slightly and closed his eyes quietly. "Sui, please don't do that."

 

The strain in his big brother's voice was obvious and Suikotsu cocked an eyebrow, which caused his swept brown hair to fall further back on his forehead. "Sorry. What's got you all wound?"

 

"Nothing. I'll go get whatever you guys want to eat," Bankotsu said quickly; this provided a lovely excuse to escape the stifling heat and overall uncomfortableness of the warehouse.

 

Jakotsu rapped his fingernails rhythmically on the hood of his pick-up, exchanging disbelieving glances with Suikotsu. "I'll have a salad wherever we go."

 

This immediately caused Renkotsu, their smart and calculative brother, to role his eyes in desperation. "You're not fat, Jakotsu. You're so skinny I can barely see you when you turn sideways. So cut it out."

 

"Speak for yourself; men are pickier than women, so thank your lucky freaking stars you're not trying to get one of them into your bed," Jakotsu replied snappishly, turning his nose to the air and sauntering off to retrieve his Fiji water from the fridge.

 

"I'm gonna go pick up six burgers and a salad, then," Bankotsu murmured, rolling his own eyes as he toweled his hands off on a dish rag.

 

Suikotsu chuckled and resumed his work as his brother hurriedly left the warehouse, palming his car keys anxiously. Just as he was safely to his car, Miroku called out, "Hey, Bank? Are you getting lunch?"

 

"Yeah," Bankotsu called reluctantly back; he'd almost made it home free. "Ball's Hamburgers, whatcha want?"

 

At this call, fifty assorted gang members began calling out their druthers and throwing Bankotsu wads of money. He accepted it all graciously, smiling despite the bitterness welling up inside of him. As he made it, at last, to his beloved blue Cougar, the boy heaved a sigh and tossed his braid wearily over his shoulder, dipping inside and starting the engine. It seemed as though the world depended on him sometimes and, in times like these, it simply made him tired.

 

9191919

 

Mizumi kicked her feet boredly back against the cabinet on which she sat, listening to the screeching of drills and the laughing of her brother's gang members. They were currently taking apart the inside of Naraku's old warehouse, attempting to bring some light into the room and turn the labyrinth into some sort of inhabitable hideout. Ryuukoytsusei had given his boys brief instructions before sending them out to do assorted jobs, such as taking metal plates down from the windows, clearing out the old torture rooms, and oiling the old hangar doors into action. Mizumi had offered to begin scrubbing blood stains from the floor, but Ryuu had flatly refused and set her down on top of the cabinet where she currently sat. Despite the fact that being treated like a child was genuinely refreshing for Mizumi, it was beginning to annoy her. The fact that she was cute had nothing to do with her age, which was still fifteen, almost sixteen. She was more mature than people five years her senior and yet, Ryuu insisted on treating her like a five-year-old.

 

"Havin' fun yet, kid?" asked a burly dark haired man as he refreshed himself with a nearby water bottle. He had a face like old leather, tanned and scarred, but his black samurai knot and kind blue eyes made him seem younger than he looked.

 

"Loads," Mizumi replied sarcastically, rolling her crimson eyes to accentuate her point.

 

The man laughed heartily, a deep rumbling sound like scuffing shoes, and joked, "Well, it gets better; I hear we're gonna clean the john next."

 

Mizumi couldn't help but laugh when the man winked at her in a friendly fashion.

 

"Kobu, fuck off," Ryuu said gruffly as he stormed up, grabbing the water bottle from the man and taking a gulp himself.

 

"Sure thing, Toumoku," Kobu replied lightly, grinning at Mizumi as he said, "Hey, she could help us, we wouldn't mind. Might give her somethin' to do instead of just sittin' there."

 

"She's too small," Ryuu said simply, barely even sparing his sister a glance as he rolled out a large sheet of blueprints on the wooden work counter.

 

Mizumi gave a small sound of disbelief and said irritatedly, "Excuse me? I'm 5'2; that's tall enough to ride a rollercoaster, you know."

 

While Kobu looked skeptical, as though crossing Ryuukoytsusei Tousen in public might cost the girl some sort of physical appendage, Mizumi continued to stare at her brother unceasingly. Ryuu finished observing the blueprints and replied mockingly, "And tall enough to carry you under my arm, so I think you're little point is...pointless."

 

"You can not!" Mizumi declared indignantly, pushing herself off the cabinet and crossing her pert little arms. "That would make me suitcase-sized, which I definitely am not. I'm way bigger than that."

 

"Oh really?" Ryuu asked in his usual deep voice, though it seemed laced with some sort of dark humor.

 

Kobu watched with a mix of hilarity and disbelief as he stern leader marched right up to his sister and hefted her under his arm like a puppy, using his superior strength and height to carry her towards the warehouse wall. Mizumi gasped in surprise and subsequently began beating her fists on Ryuu's muscled sides, raising a ruckus which alerted many surrounding men. When they comprehended the sight before them, the Dragons began to laugh heartily.

 

"I'd say about suitcase sized," Ryuu jabbed with the smallest of smiles. The men couldn't remember the last time they'd seen their leader smile outside of a vicious kill and exchanged glances; perhaps he was going soft. That was good news for their lives, at any rate.

 

"Well, this suitcase wants to do something beside sit around on her ass!" Mizumi shouted irately, porcelain face becoming redder by the moment.

 

"How about you go get us lunch, girlie? A suitcase could prolly do that!" one of the men called, earning cheers from the others.

 

Ryuu set Mizumi upright on her feet, addressing her with a renewed sense of superiority. "I agree; a suitcase could get us lunch without trouble. Go get a hundred hamburgers from Balls."

 

Mizumi blinked as her brother turned and sauntered off, green ponytail swinging dully behind him. The girl was confused, thinking perhaps that this was some sort of joke, though it soon became clear that it wasn't, judging by the expectant looks of the surrounding gang members.

 

After a good deal of silence, Mizumi placed her hands on her hips and asked moodily, "Oh, and how do you expect me to pay for that?"

 

Without a word, Ryuu pointed to his Dragon jacket, which was hung on the back of a chair near the work bench. Mizumi looked around, as though expecting a ruse, before she made her way daintily towards the specified jacket on her dancer's feet. Inside the pocket she found a roll of money containing one thousand dollars in fifties.

 

"Bring me back the change," Ryuu said boredly as he lit a cigarette and turned his broad back to her, already bent over the blueprints for the second time.

 

Mizumi glanced around nervously before grabbing her brother's car keys from the table and preparing to leave.

 

"Naw kid, all that crap won't fit in the Mustang," Kubo interrupted, shaking his tan head. "Here, take the truck." The burly man threw her a second pair of keys, which Mizumi caught deftly.

 

"Are you sure?" Mizumi asked uneasily; she wasn't even sixteen and these men seemed to think driving illegally wouldn't cause a stir.

 

"You're a Tousen, you gotta be able to drive," Kubo replied, shrugging as though this were common knowledge, which apparently it was.

 

Mizumi nodded with a small smile, wondering if everyone and their mother was crazy in Japan; it certainly seemed that way. Without another word, she flitted out the door, green French braid flying out behind her as she climbed laboriously into Kubo's two-ton pick up and rolled out of the driveway.

 

"Nice kid," Kubo mentioned as he joined his leader at the work table.

 

"Hn," came Ryuu's only reply.

 

9191919

 

"60 hamburgers and a salad, please."

 

Louis Ball nodded boredly to Bankotsu, readjusting his greasy cook's hat and accepting the wad of money held forth to him. After years of owning the most popular underground burger restaurant in town, consequently located on the Northern/Southern territory border, Louis and his staff had become increasingly accustomed to accepting large orders. Louis was fairly sure they were going to gangs, of course he found nothing wrong with this; handling wads of cash made him happy no matter who the giver might be.

 

Before he could return to the back to begin Bankotsu's order, however, the cow bell on the door rang a second time. A small, feminine figure walked in through the foggy steam haze, looking around curiously at the dark, dingy restaurant. As the girl neared, Bankotsu noticed her face for the first time and smiled widely.

 

"Hey," he said, feeling rather more excited than he expected from himself.

 

Mizumi blinked, trying to make out the stranger's face against the smoggy darkness; when she finally made out the handsome, familiar face of Bankotsu Hiashi. Her face lit up with a smile to mirror his own and she waved smally.

 

"Hey! What's up?" she asked, eyes glowing. She could sense the change coming over herself, but she couldn't really make out the source of it.

 

Louis watched them for a moment, shaking his grizzly head; he knew that look well after years of observation. "Help ya, miss?" he asked gruffly.

 

"Oh, 100 hamburgers please," Mizumi replied, looking rather embarrassed as she handed over the money roll. "I'm sorry its such a big order and we didn't call ahead," she apologized, bowing her head slightly.

 

Louis looked surprised; he hadn't been apologized to in many a year. "Whateva, kid. It's cool. Under what name?"

 

"Tousen, please."

 

The man's eyes widened, but he only jotted down the name before retreating towards the back. "Give me half an hour."

 

Louis's departure left Bankotsu and Mizumi standing awkwardly near each other, looking around the burger hut as though it were a fascinating get away in the Pacific. Bankotsu finally decided that it was his duty as the eldest to stop this awkwardness.

 

"Did your brother send you out here?" he asked, knowing full well the answer; it weren't as though she were going to eat 100 hamburgers herself.

 

"Yeah," Mizumi replied, smiling faintly. "First, I asked to help with the work. Then he told me I was too small. And then he picked me up to demonstrate that I was suitcase size."

 

Bankotsu muffled his laughter, smiling a little at her plight. "There's no harm in being small; I'm the shortest one of my brothers, besides Muikotsu that is."

 

"Really?" Mizumi asked, rather surprised. "That seems strange somehow."

 

"Yeah, I guess," he murmured, chuckling slightly as he glanced down at his feet in embarrassment. "How's dance coming? And the, uh, little problem?"

 

Mizumi knew that by "little problem" he meant Shitora and her jealousy. The girl's face grew sour and she replied, "Only getting worse. I don't even really want to talk about it; I don't know what to do so I'm pretending it doesn't exist."

 

"I do that," Bankotsu replied, laughing slightly. "It doesn't work too well."

 

"No," Mizumi giggled.

 

The two glanced up from their laughing and unintentionally met eyes for the second time; the two shades of red, one burgundy and the other crimson, clashed violently and then simmered, almost like sinking into a hot bath. Mizumi's smile disappeared ever so slowly and Bankotsu's eyes widened slightly. Mizumi couldn't remember any crushes she'd ever had, not counting a failed one in kindergarten; cooties had inevitably gotten in the way. But Bankotsu had a certain something about him that made Mizumi's stomach feel wobbly and warm; it could've been his eyes, but for some reason Mizumi felt like it was his smile. The thing was infectious.

 

Bankotsu was having a similar struggle; green hair in a loose French braid, wearing her little white dress and flats...she looked so...cute? Bankotsu felt bad thinking of her as cute, what with her previous week's rant about not being a child and hating that stereotype when it came to the public's opinion of her. Yet she was quite cute and it made him smile indefinitely; he might never stop, in fact.

 

"Bank, how do you want these?" Louis called from the kitchen, interrupting the moment.

 

"Um, on the rare side, Louis," Bankotsu answered, sounding slightly irritated.

 

Louis nodded slowly, returning to his work with eyes full of suspicion. He knew that, regretfully, Bankotsu and Mizumi could never have a relationship or even a fling; Northern and Southern law forbid it, practically, and he didn't want to see a couple of nice kids get into a pool full of trouble over a two cent romance. The cook hesitated a glance through the window into the main room and watched the two smiling and talking, eyes alight; he sighed. The looked good together, at any rate.

 

"Never gonna happen," Louis murmured to himself, shaking his head. "Never in a million years."

 

9191919

 

Shitora moved her arm numbly, barely computing the sound of the wrench as it ground against the screw. Her mind played host to so many thoughts that her hands were beginning to hurt; it was a strange physical association, but her hands had always been sensitive to emotional distress. If anything, the hanyou girl was irritated by her own weakness in this case; it was unlike her to dwell on Inuyasha's insults with any seriousness, but for some reason this time felt different. Maybe it was the mention of her mother...Shitora's hands began to throb and she unintentionally dropped the wrench into the interworkings of the car.

 

"Shit," he hissed, finally coming back into herself as she leaned over the mechanical parts and began trying to retrieve the tool.

 

Her exclamation brought Ranbou's attention and he watched his girlfriend struggling to reach her lost wrench; perhaps it was his natural wolfen instincts or perhaps his general sensitivity when it came to Shitora, but the waves of anxiety rolling off her back were causing him discomfort. When Shitora caught her arm on a sharp nail and barked another curse, Ranbou decided to intervene.

 

"Sukini? You okay?" he asked, grabbing a rag and walking towards her, prepared to clean up more than just blood.

 

Shitora turned to find Ranbou standing behind her, ice blue eyes troubled and biceps smudged with grease. She felt a certain guilt overtake her senses as she realized her strange behavior was making him worry.

 

"Yeah, everything's cool," she replied, avoiding his searching gaze; she was determined to beat those Ookami blues.

 

Ranbou sighed a little, lips quirking up in a small smile. "You and I both know that's a lie, baby girl." He took her arm gently in his hands and pressed the cloth to the cherry red cut, which was dripping crimson splatters on the concrete below.

 

"It's just..." Shitora began, yet she stopped abruptly and bit her lip, glancing unconsciously towards the blue civic, under the hood of which Inuyasha and Kagome were working side by side; apparently their fight had been a short one.

 

Ranbou seemed to get the message and just nodded, giving his girlfriend a warm smile. "Let's ditch for a while, whadya say?"

 

"And go where?" Shitora asked, amber eyes confused.

 

"Anywhere but here."

 

After a brief moment of thought, which was quite unnecessary anyway, Shitora hurriedly grabbed her cell phone from the tool table and began walking with Ranbou towards his motorcycle.

 

"Where are you going, Shitora?"

 

Sesshomaru's voice stopped the girl in her tracks and she spun to face her eldest brother, causing wisps of silver hair to cross her nose like a soft snow. She seemed to be calculating a lie, but Sesshomaru's stern gaze dispelled all thoughts of such. Ranbou had noticed the trouble and was now backtracking to come to her aid.

 

"Just out," she said vaguely, averting her eyes as Sesshomaru took a few steps nearer her.

 

"We need a break," Ranbou interjected, placing a soothing hand on the small of Shitora's back; she shuddered slightly under his touch, causing Ranbou to smile mysteriously.

 

When Sesshomaru turned his gaze to Ranbou's, the wolf glanced down at Shitora and back up at her brother, looking desperate and sad; he seemed to be saying "give her a break" with no words at all. Sighing heavily, Sesshomaru shrugged his paper thin shoulders in a hopeless gesture.

 

"Fine. Be careful."

 

Shitora nodded with a gulp and grabbed Ranbou's hand, dragging him towards the parking lot with a startling forcefulness. Sesshomaru bowed his head, knowing the reason for her quick retreat; he could already smell the faintest traces of salt on the breeze, yet the wind was already circling around inside, blowing it back out into the late summer air. No one would ever know...no one but Sesshomaru and Ranbou. And that was the way it should be, he decided.

 

Ranbou hurried his steps to catch up with his girlfriend's nearly unmatchable pace, unpocketing his keys, concern growing by the second. He was about to start the engine when Lysander called out, "Hey Ran, want me to take over?"

 

The wolf looked up gratefully at his redheaded friend, who was smiling that ever-present, laid-back smile. With a brief nod to Kinanme, Kotone and Kouga, who were working near the entrance, Ranbou revved his motorcycle engine into life as Shitora climbed on behind him and buried her face in his back. Even as they pulled out onto the road, Ranbou was quite aware of the wetness on his back; he hadn't seen her cry since that summer.

 

And as the wind rushed past, Shitora's sobs were lost on the wind; any tears that weren't soaked into Ranbou's wife beater fell out on the road, the only constant thing in either of their lives. The road and each other; sometimes, that was all they had.

 

When they pulled up in front of Ranbou's house, Shitora was still crying rather uncontrollably. Ranbou dismounted and picked his girlfriend up princess style, shaking his head all the while; he'd gotten a vibe that morning that Inuyasha had misspoken again, but he dared not test that theory by asking any of the Taishos. Each of them was giving off that famous untouchable Taisho vibe, which was enough to scare away pro-wrestlers and the pope.

 

Ranbou kicked open the door and entered the familiar sights and smells of his living room, slamming the door shut before making his way to the couch; he could thinking of nothing else to do but to hold her. Shitora didn't seem to mind and only cried into his chest, warmed by the feeling of his muscular arms encircling her back. His scent was soothing as always, yet her tears didn't stop for a long while. Ranbou only wait patiently until she was finished, an act which might've nominated him for sainthood; Ranbou Ookami was not generally known for his patience.

 

When her tears finally slowed, Shitora looked tearfully up at her boyfriend's handsome face, her cheeks tear streaked and eyes red. "Sorry, Ran, I don't know what the hell is wrong with me." She hiccupped slightly and reached up the back of her hand to brush it across her eyes; tears had collected like raindrops on her eyelashes.

 

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Ranbou asked, serious and serene.

 

"There's not much to talk about; just Inuyasha being an asshole like always," she said dismissively; this was hardly something she wanted to talk about.

 

"Alright then," Ranbou agreed. He smiled, bringing that familiar tan glory to his rugged face and Shitora smiled slightly in return.

 

At that exact moment, her stomach gave a growl and her ears flattened in embarrassment. "I'm hungry," she confessed, shrugging.

 

"Then we'll get you something to eat," came Ranbou's reply.

 

Hand in hand, they entered the kitchen and began rummaging about looking for a good meal's worth of food. They were conscious of each other all the while, looking up to know where the other was and listening to the sounds of them rustling through drawers and cabinets. Even though they were on a simple search for food, they were both aware of the underground search for something deeper; Madozu had changed everyone. Shitora felt as though her breakdown were in someway connected to Madozu, even though they seemed unrelated. It was simply a feeling she harbored; Madozu was permeating everything about her life and she knew it would for quite a while.

 

"How's cereal and steak sound?" Ranbou asked, surveying the contents of the fridge.

 

"Sounds like a party that I want to attend," Shitora joked in reply, smiling impishly over her shoulder.

 

Ranbou smiled back and the couple sat down for a hearty meal of just that: cereal and steak.

 

9191919

 

Hey guys. I went over this chapter time and time again, but I kind of feel like the writing is sub-par. I tried to fix it, but some of that shit was just awkward and it wanted to stay that way. It's a filler chapter, you can smell it all over; sorry about that, but I tried to include just a little of everyone...except Miroku and Sango. They just don't get enough love, it kinda sucks for them. Lol. Anyway, this chapter was written to a song called "Gone" by Jessica Riddle, you should check it out on iTunes or something like that, it's really pretty and sad, piano and violin and voice. Nice stuff.

 

I'm sorry for my rant up there, but I cut out about fifty percent of it just so I wouldn't get in trouble. I was harsh; I asked for everyone's opinion on couples and it helped, but some people were pretty vehement about Ranbou and Shitora. And when I say vehement I mean...VEHEMENT. So, you might see less of them for a while. That little scene there (which is very bad, sorry) is to tide you over. It's gonna be all about Sesshomaru for a while comin' up. Oh noes, Sesshomaru is sickly!

 

I love you guys, thanks for everything you do and the positive reinforcement you give me; love.

 

KOLU