InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Laying Down the Law: Abuna i Dansu ❯ Milonga ( Chapter 11 )

I know it's been a long time; things that I didn't anticipate got in the way. But even if it takes forever, just know that I'll never stop writing this story; it's my baby. I'll always keep writing, so rest assured, I guess.

 

I had some pretty bad writer's block, too; unlike me, but it happened. This chapter was hard. But I added a treat for you and I at the end. Well, I think it's a treat. It's the very last scene and you guys'll understand when you get there.

 

Thanks again for all of your excellent reviews; you know I cherish every single one. Kougas #1 Fan, don't worry; no matter how much Sky High entices me, I'll NEVER put this story down. Sometimes I just need a break, lol.

 

Read on!

 

9191919

 

Milonga: A variation of the Argentine tango in which the legs and body must be completely relaxes and the dancers move as though walking, rocking carefully and unsurely from their heels to their toes and back again.

 

9191919

 

Kagome stared at her suitcase, at the strange clothes inside, and suddenly felt very alone; this large room, this large house, this large life. Was it all hers? Because four or five months ago, she'd delighted in pink polos and gushed over Prada stilettos. Now she wrapped herself in black leather and lit up a cigarette to feel like Marilyn Monroe; what did that say about her? Which persona had she faked?

 

Brown eyes downcast, Kagome snorted to herself and tossed in another pair of beat up jeans for good measure; in the back of her mind she knew this was hardly a fashion show. Her mother's opinion would always mean something to her and she was afraid that, in lieu of her new gang activities, she and her mother might not be as close. Perhaps that pink polo could bring them closer. Or was it all just irreparable?

 

"Knock knock."

 

Kagome whirled to face her doorway, finding Rin smiling distantly at her from the doorframe, upon which she leaned rakishly. Kagome returned the vague smile with her own faint one and then glanced fruitlessly down at the carpeted floor, picking at the weave like a nervous grasshopper. Just looking at these old clothes made her insides clench; she was a big fake. What if someone found out?

 

Rin waltzed inside, falling to the bed on her stomach so that she could calculatively watch her cousin. Rin's dark-rimmed eyes strayed to the suitcase and its contents, which were nearly offensive to her eyes.

 

"Polos...how cute," she said with a noticeable grimace on her face.

 

Kagome fixed her cousin with a scathing glare. "We dress like normal people in Kyoto, sorry if that bothers you. I've been meaning to talk to you about that, actually. About the way we're dressing when we get there."

 

Rin cocked an eyebrow and shrugged. "Sure. Like, t-shirt and jeans? That kind of thing? I mean, it's yard work and house work, right?"

 

"Yeah, so that means your boobs should pretty much be inside your shirt," Kagome said frostily, giving her cousin the infamous Higurashi eye.

 

Rin knew her cousin was trying to slight her, but had already decided that she wouldn't let Kagome's bad mood affect her own. If her cousin needed a scapegoat in this time of great stress, Rin was more than happy to provide; she just wasn't willing to give her entire mood to the affair. Kagome was already uptight because, contradictory to their original plan, the group had decided to leave Saturday morning instead of Friday night. The football game, like all those before it this season, had been cancelled due to the opposing team's inability to travel after Madozu. Most schools in the area were ruling out field trips in order to protect against terrorism, but the South Tokyo team was getting restless. The boys were, without a doubt, in much too sour a mood to leave after this turn down.

 

Deciding it was her job to keep the times light-hearted, Rin gave a mock salute and declared, "Aye aye, captain. I swear my nipples will be covered at all times and my cleavage appropriate for temple."

 

"Oh good," Kagome drawled, rolling her eyes; sometimes her cousin didn't know when to take things seriously and this felt like one of those times.

 

"Well, I'm going to spend the night at Sesshomaru's, so I'll meet you at the warehouse tomorrow morning," Rin said kindly, removing herself from the bed and walking towards the door; she could tell that Kagome was hardly in the mood to talk about trivial things and Rin was hardly ever in the mood to talk about anything else. Her cousin obviously needed some alone time. "Good night, Kagome."

 

"Good night, Rin," Kagome responded, trying to muster a nice smile as Rin left; she knew she'd been harsh and Rin took it like a saint just as she always did. Rubbing her eyes fretfully, Kagome stood wearily to her feet, unfolding her legs as she stepped carefully over her suitcase. The house lights were still on even as the backdoor closed downstairs; though Rin had stepped out for the night, suitcase in tow, the Jackrabbits were still up as always. Though Skull generally needed 10 hours of sleep to be functional, the others played cards well into every night. As she neared Max's door, the murmuring voices behind it brought a smile to her lips. She knocked.

 

"Come in, love."

 

Kagome pushed open the door to find Axle, Max and Bones sitting around a cheap looking card table, which was strangely out of place in the room of expensive furniture. The three boys were shirtless and languid looking, occasionally scratching their chests and arms as the waxing fall brought with it dry air. Beer bottles littered the table, causing wet rings which invaded the cards and dampened their edges. The whole scene looked quite hilarious amidst the richness of Rin's house.

 

"How ya doin', Sheila?" Bones asked kindly, smiling his wide smile and raising his beer to her. "Like a beer?"

 

"No thanks," Kagome replied, shrugging and smiling almost shyly. She didn't necessarily want to talk, but craved the company of others; she hoped the Jackrabbits could understand that.

 

Obviously Max could, for he dragged up a folding chair next to him and nodded to it, saying, "Go ahead and take a seat, girl. We're just shootin' the fuckin' breeze."

 

Kagome smiled and sat down in the specified chair, pulling her knees up to her chest as the boys continued their conversation. Apparently when Kagome had walked in, the three had been playing a strange game. It seemed as though Bones and Axle knew the rules of the game but Max was still confused. Kagome watched intently.

 

"Alright mate, we'll try this again," Axle said, eyes twinkling mischievously. "Snaps is the name of the game and the name of the game is snaps. Here we go." He snapped twice. "Maybe you'll get it this time." He snapped three times. "No go? Get me now. Watch closely." He snapped once. "You understand?"

 

Bones declared, "Hemingway."

 

"Right," Axle said with a grin.

 

Max stared, narrow-eyed, at his best friend with an incredibly confused look on his gnarled face. The gross flesh looked almost horrifically comical when contorted in distress, such as it was now. "Wait, what the bloody fuck?" He gestured wildly to Bones. "How the hell does he get it every single time and you two don't fuckin' talk or nothin'?"

 

Kagome narrowed her eyes. "Play again, Axe."

 

The man obliged, shaking his blue head with a small smile on his face. "Your turn, Bones. Hit me."

 

"Alright," the cherry-headed man declared, clapping his bony hands together. "Snaps is not the name of the game, the name of the game is not snaps. Quit staring and listen." Five snaps. "Even Axle gets it. Each time it's the same. Now do you get it?"

 

"Elizabeth I," Axle said triumphantly, clapping his hands.

 

Kagome began to nod slowly to herself, mulling over the game in her mind. "One more time."

 

Axle nodded as well; Kagome was catching on, apparently. "Snaps is the name of the game, the name of the game is snaps. Get it now?" One snap. "Catch my drift? Keep listening. Tell me what I mean."

 

"Gackt," Kagome interrupted before Bones could answer.

 

The two boys began to clap and laugh while Max gave the table a small fist pound. "What the fuck? I watch for fucking half an hour and you get it in three rounds? Kagome, stop being so fucking smart, alright?"

 

Kagome giggled and patted Max on the shoulder, replying, "I'll try my best to be a dumbass."

 

The other boys laughed and even Max managed to scoff, reaching over to tousle Kagome's already messy ponytail. As Kagome laughed and swatted away his hand, Max smiled almost fondly and leaned back in his chair, observing the scene; Max was a simple man and wanted for very little. He absorbed the moment, his friends and family, the beer, and found himself happier than he'd been in a long time. Axle seemed to understand Max's feelings and nodded slightly from across the table, offering the only support Max needed.

 

"So you guys are staying behind, is that true?" Kagome asked tentatively, not wanting to break up their happy moment but wanting to know all the same.

 

Max frowned slightly, replying, "Yeah, that's right; your stepdad's not a close fuckin' friend of mine, get me?"

 

"Me too," Bones replied, shrugging apologetically. "I wish we could help, but we offered to say behind and look after things while Sesshomaru's gone. I'm not sure he could go otherwise."

 

"He's an important guy," Kagome agreed, tossing her hair over the back of the chair; she hated how it got caught between the rungs and her back.

 

"Akago asked me to help one of his guys look after the Sharks," Axle supplied, running his thumb absently over the lip of a beer bottle. "Don't know why he asked me, but it's kind of an honor, isn't it?"

 

"You're kinda like a Shark, I guess," Kagome mused. "You're all chill and copasetic, like a surfer with a perfect IQ or something."

 

"What a flatterer, I think," Axle joked, tossing his blue dreadlocks to the side.

 

Kagome giggled and smiled at the boys around her, feeling suddenly quite alright as they smiled back at her; the day that had seemed so bad was suddenly not so terrible. Her friends meant more to her than they would ever know.

 

*!*!*!*

 

Kouga stared silently up at the ceiling, wreathed in the twilight of dawn; blues and subtle grays entered through his open window as he smoked languidly, Ayame's silken hair soft on his chest. A gentle breeze ruffled Kouga's bangs, upsetting the drifting smoke trail as well. His thoughts were complicated and many, no matter how desperately he tried to calm them. As the aching in his wrist peaked slightly, Kouga frowned; he was beginning to think he'd actually injured himself that day one week ago. Inuyasha hadn't been blocking and...well, suffice it to say he was hurting from it now.

 

Ayame shifted peacefully in her sleep, resettling her head so that it was settled just under his chin in the crook of his neck. He could feel her soft warm breathing and, in a rare moment where he craved closeness, Kouga settled his hand over her heartbeat; steady and perfect as always. He savored her scent; lilac flowers, clean and powerful, just like her. Though some shied away from love, Kouga was quite used to it by now. After all, he'd loved Ayame since they were children and would love her for many days onward. It didn't embarrass or compromise him. He cared for nothing but her, frankly.

 

Just as his thoughts were reaching their pensive limit, the phone at Kouga's bedside began to glow and buzz, dancing its way across the table. Ayame snuffled softly and her eyes opened sluggishly just as Kouga reached over one brawny arm to click off the alarm; it was certainly going to be an early morning for everyone.

 

"What time is it?" Ayame asked quietly, voice thick with sleep.

 

"Four thirty," Kouga replied with a small smile on his face; Ayame was adorable with that slept-in look in her eyes.

 

Ayame simply snorted however and mumbled, "I think you're mistaken; I don't get up at four thirty."

 

Kouga snorted slightly as he untangled his naked body from his twisted bed sheets. "My fault; I should've let you get some sleep."

 

Ayame blushed at this roguish Ookami comment and tugged the sheets unconsciously closer to her chin. "I got enough sleep, thanks. I'm resilient."

 

This caused Kouga to bark with laughter and he offered her an ice blue wink in the darkness, one which Ayame could make out quite clearly against the black. With nary a word, Kouga pulled on a pair of jeans and kicked open his room door, departing for the kitchen as Ayame heaved herself out of bed. Despite her embarrassment, Ayame found herself smiling along as she searched in vain for her bra; waking up beside Kouga was somehow the most rewarding part of her day.

 

When Kouga entered the kitchen, he found Ranbou leaning against the countertop, freshly lit cigarette giving off a faint trail of smoke as he perused the morning paper. The coffee machine was bubbling, much to Kouga's relief, and the smell of newly cooked bacon radiated from the microwave; even at 4:30, the Ookami house was in perfect working order.

 

"You look chipper," Kouga half joked to his brother as he poured himself a cup of coffee.

 

Ranbou glanced over his newspaper at Kouga's back, smiling slightly. "Yeah, I got a good seven hours of sleep last night. Most I've had since, hell, I dunno when."

 

"Since the middle of August, at least," Kouga filled in, shaking his head menially as he took a sip of the scalding hot hazelnut brew. "You're workin' too hard, bro."

 

"Yeah, you and Sukini love to tell me that," Ranbou replied gruffly, looking a little touched all the same. "I'm just tyin' up loose ends from all this Naraku bullshit. It'll be over soon enough."

 

Though his brother looked content to return to his reading, Kouga stirred his coffee gently as he asked, "Rumors of an addition to your core are starting to circle. Do you know anything about that?"

 

Ranbou didn't reply for a moment, though his eyes stopped moving across the page; it was a swift internal debate which let him to his next comment. "Shomo mentioned something like that, yeah. Not an addition, more like...another group working with us, I guess."

 

"The Sharks?" Kouga guessed. "I've heard some crazy rumors about Halloween, you know."

 

"No," Ranbou interrupted sharply. When Kouga quieted, the elder Ookami corrected more gently, "Sukini and some of her boys."

 

Kouga was quiet for a moment, gauging to look on Ranbou's carefully masked face; Kouga knew that if Ayame was soon to be placed in such immanent danger, he would be absolutely mortified. Ranbou, however, was a much different man and Shitora a considerably different woman. Shitora had proven a few times already that she was not averse to killing and would willingly lay her life on the line for her brothers' business. Perhaps Sesshomaru knew what he was doing, assigning such a fighter to Ranbou's ranks. Furthermore, if Shitora was put in charge, she wouldn't hesitate to whip her ranks into shape. She'd already proven this in dance, of course.

 

"You okay with that?" Kouga asked nonetheless.

 

Ranbou sighed, folding his paper resignedly on the table; it was no use pretending to read. "I guess. We had some trouble fighting together this summer, you know, lookin' over the shoulder and that kind of thing. I don't know if Sesshomaru knows exactly what he's gettin'."

 

This only provoked a snort from Kouga, who replied, "Sesshomaru always knows what he's getting. Don't worry about it."

 

"Yeah, I'll try not to," Ranbou replied, looking quite unsure about the whole affair. It wasn't that he thought Shitora incapable of taking care of herself; she'd proven over the past five years or so that she was perfectly capable, as well as willing. No, it was actually worrying about himself which really occupied his time these days; with his instincts screaming to "take care of his mate," how would he fair in the field of combat?

 

"Morning," Ayame said sleepily, immediately zeroing in on the bubbling coffee pot as she entered the kitchen.

 

Cheeks suddenly rather red, Ranbou began putting away the paper and clearing away the now empty coffee cups and half full ash trays. Ayame watched him carefully for a few moments as he busied himself over needless tasks, all the while avoiding her gaze. Kouga noticed his brother's behavior as well, though he simply chuckled to himself and took a triumphant bite of bacon.

 

"Do I make you nervous, Ran?" Ayame teased gently, reaching back to tie up her hair; Kouga's hand prevented her from doing so as he began running his hands longingly through her curls, giving her a pleading glance; it obviously said something along the lines of "leave it down for me."

 

Ranbou glanced up just in time to witness this and he began to flush once more, this one more crimson than the last. Ayame cocked her head to the side, laughing slightly. "What's gotten into you, Ranbou? You look like a tomato."

 

Ranbou mumbled something in response, something that even the two demons behind him couldn't understand. The couple exchanged glances and carefully watched Ranbou's muscular back and shoulders twitching beneath his wife beater as he cleaned dishes in the sink.

 

"Someone's jealous," Kouga said smugly, continuing his laughter from earlier. "Oh, this is too good."

 

Ayame still seemed confused. "What?" she asked, squinting to see if she'd missed something.

 

"Blue balls," Kouga chortled, shaking his head. "Ranbou has some killer blue balls."

 

A chorus of shattering glass plates echoed from the sink as Ranbou practically tripped forward, shaking with what could've been anger or embarrassment. When he finally rounded on his brother, the large wolf could only point a threatening tan finger and mutter, "Shut it, pup."

 

Ayame blushed prettily, snorting with laughter all the same. Ranbou narrowed his eyes and began to exit the kitchen when Kouga called after him, "Still no sex? Damn, she's holding out like a virgin in church! What happened to Ran Man's bag of tricks?"

 

"We've been too busy fighting to fuck, pup, something you two lovebirds obviously can't understand because your relationship is so fucking perfect!" Ranbou practically screamed, throwing up his hands in irritation as he stormed towards his room to gather his things for the weekend trip.

 

Kouga bit his lip, wondering if his teasing has gone too far; he had no idea Ranbou was so sensitive about it. Ayame ceased her laughing and glanced up at Kouga, who looked slightly worried by his brother's quick departure.

 

"Don't worry, he'll get over it," Ayame soothed, lightly touching Kouga's cheek with the palm of her hand.

 

Kouga smiled, though it was slightly edgy still. "Yeah, I know. Come on, we gotta be at the warehouse in ten."

 

Ignoring her boyfriend's quick subject change, Ayame nodded with a bright smile and followed Kouga towards the bedroom, gathering their bags to throw in the tailgate. Even when an anxious looking Ranbou joined them outside, no words were spoken. The three entered the truck and rode silently to the warehouse, preparing for their long, arduous journey.

 

*!*!*!*

 

"So...how do you want to do this?"

 

The Southern cores stared at the array of "normal" cars, allowing their eyes to drift down the line. Everyone had pitched in to bring together cars appropriate for a road trip, as well as appropriate for the perusal of Kagome's mother; in this case, Lamborghinis and Eclipses just didn't seem appropriate. As the teenagers stood there in their strangely mainstream apparel, most of the girls in jeans and t-shirts while the boys seemed to be favoring polos, the gangs cut a sad picture. Somehow, it didn't seem right without a certain amount of pleather in the picture.

 

The absence of shining red sports cars was, likewise, a vision skewer.

 

"Four of us in the truck," Ranbou offered.

 

"Four comfortably in the Celica, but if you wanna brave five, we can do it," Sango chimed in.

 

Kagome glanced over her shoulder, looking slightly weary and on the edge but satisfied to see the group gathered together. "How many of us are there?"

 

"Six couples and Bankotsu and Hiten, so fourteen," Miroku reported after a quick head count.

 

"Thanks Roku, rub it in," Hiten muttered while Bankotsu merely rubbed at his eyes fervently; it was too early for such humor.

 

"Okay, so we have eight people accounted for as far as cars go," Kagome interrupted, sending Bankotsu and Hiten a pitying smile. "That leaves six people. What else should we take?"

 

Inuyasha simply pointed to a car a little down the way. "Oh, we have got to take that."

 

Everyone turned to observe the Sharkmobile, as it was currently being called, standing proudly in all of its flaming glory. Gan and Akago gave a symbiotic sigh, both shaking their heads piteously; it was almost too embarrassing to leave the garage after Halloween's paint job. The VW bus was still the round, Twinkie shape of old, yet it was not the customary orange. No, it now boasted the colorful mural depicting the life of Freddie Mercury, lead singer of Queen. It began with a solemn looking boy on the back of the car, then a young man playing the piano on one side whilst a slightly older man sang into a microphone on the other. The hood was where everything came to a head; the hood was an enormous, full length portrait of Freddie Mercury, one hand saucily on his hip whilst he winked roguishly. These pictures were set off by rainbows, music notes and several twittering bluebirds. It was truly...a masterpiece.

 

Kagome was valiantly keeping her laughter under control as she said calmly, "Yeah, that fits six, doesn't it?"

 

"If not more," Akago agreed, face comically forlorn.

 

"Then the bus it is," Kagome said resolutely, twisting her lips to hide a smile.

 

At these words, Kouga, Inuyasha and Miroku shouted, "To the Sharkmobile!" before dashing towards the vehicle whilst singing the Batman song. The girls burst out laughing as Akago and Gan looked even more downtrodden; perhaps if they left the car in Kyoto, the other Sharks wouldn't notice. It was damaging their rep.

 

The boys returned, laughing themselves as they patted Akago and Gan reassuringly on the back, obviously still overcome with how ridiculous the car was.

 

"I think Kagome and I are probably going in the Celica," Inuyasha conceded, smiling at Kagome, who smiled thankfully back.

 

"And I'm obviously riding in the Celica with my lovely Sango," Miroku filled in, winking at his girlfriend who only shook her head at his flirting.

 

Kouga shrugged. "I'll do whatever Ayame wants to do."

 

"Whipped," came Ranbou's low call from the crowd of teens.

 

Kouga shot a warning glance at his brother, who only grinned; it was time for payback for the morning's teasing.

 

"I wouldn't mind riding in the Sharkmobile," Ayame announced, smiling widely. "It's cute, I don't care what the boys say."

 

"Cute is certainly one word for it," Gan muttered to herself, catching Akago's snort from beside her.

 

"Sukini and I are in the truck, we'll take Bank and Hiten," Ranbou entered in, grinning at the boys who sent him relieved smiles; Ranbou and Shitora were, by far, the least smootchy of the couples. That is, discarding Gan and Akago; the tension between them only served to make the others uncomfortable anyway and the were considered just as bad, if not worse, than the most exposing of couples.

 

"Then I suppose that leaves us to the van," Sesshomaru announced to the remaining teenagers, all of whom seemed slightly excited by the idea of actually traveling in the ridiculous thing.

 

Bags were thrown unceremoniously into the trunks of every vehicle whilst friends said brief goodbyes; Sango, Ranbou and Akago consulted a large roadmap before deciding on the simplest route. As the cars pulled out onto the road, Kagome glanced into the rearview mirror at her strange little home fading away in the distance. It was difficult to understand how she could consider a warehouse her home, but Kagome was resolute; more and more these days, the Fangs were her everything.

 

*!*!*!*

 

Akago gazed out at the endless highway, on which he had yet to see a car. The group was already an hour and a half into their trip and the drivers were becoming increasingly used to the empty road, which was ghostly and comforting simultaneously. The white haired demon kept one hand firmly on the wheel of his dated bus as squinted at the horizon many miles before him. Though the journey had been uneventful as of yet, Akago was having minor difficulty seeing the road. In the silence of the cabin, Akago sighed; the others had fallen asleep virtually when he began driving and he occasionally observed them all, a blurry vision in his rearview mirror. Since the backseat of the bus had been once removed, there was now what one might consider a bed in the back; Akago thought of it more as a mattress covered with colorful cloth, yet his friends didn't seem to mind. Kouga and Ayame were laid out across one another while Sesshomaru leaned placidly, eyes closed, against the wall, Rin asleep in his lap.

 

Akago glanced sideways at Gan, who was occupying the front seat; she was twisted in her seat belt, head resting quietly against the window as she dozed. Her mouth was slightly open as tendrils of blonde hair clouded her face, making her look almost otherworldly as the sun rose before them; the way the light caught her hair, ever so slightly...

 

Though he was lost for a moment in the sight of her, Akago soon saw a familiar glint in her hair and let out a small, triumphant sound; his spectacles. Reaching over tentatively, Akago withdrew the glasses carefully from Gan's hair, where they had obviously been pushed upwards in one of her irritable moments. Smiling at his accomplishment, Akago placed the glasses on his nose, wherein they began to slide obstinately downwards. Akago had begun to realize that his nose was far too sloped for glasses, a fact which irritated him immensely. If the gods saw fit to grace him with poor vision, they could at least allow him a nose conducive to corrective eyewear.

 

Gan sighed and Akago glanced over at her, finding that she was now smiling slightly in her sleep; it was rather unlike Gan to smile and she hadn't smiled about anything lately. That smile was so unfamiliar that Akago regarded it like a magical occurrence untamed by the restraints of humanity. The curious look in his crimson eyes must've been quite a sight, for Sesshomaru chuckled.

 

"You're pathetic."

 

Akago nearly jerked the car at the deep and unexpected voice, which interrupted his thoughts from the back seat. Sesshomaru absent-mindedly stroked Rin's hair as she slept, angling his mischievous amber eyes upwards at the rearview mirror; he could see Akago observing him, wild-eyed, from there.

 

"You nearly gave me a heart attack," Akago snapped, pushing up his glasses as he fervently stared at the road, careful to keep his voice down.

 

"My mistake," Sesshomaru conceded, smiling softly. "I only saw fit to comment on your patheticness. I don't suppose you've watched yourself watching her; it's like a child staring at a puppy through a pet shop window. Ridiculous, really."

 

Akago colored slightly, looking rather pink from his cheeks down through his neck. "Keep your voice down, you imbecile, there's people in this car."

 

"Asleep," Sesshomaru dismissed easily. "Kouga sleeps like a rock when he wants to and Ayame barely sleeps, so any sleep is wanted. Rin has legitimately slept through hurricanes, notice the plurality, and Gan...well, why don't you tell me about Gan's sleeping habits?" The devilish smirk on his face made Akago want to rip out his eyes, no matter how awkwardly he might have to crane over the seats.

 

"She sleeps lightly, if at all, so you should shut your mouth!" Akago hissed in return.

 

"Honestly, why do you torture yourself like this?" Sesshomaru continued, as though Akago had never spoken. "If you like her, just tell her so. It would relieve us all, believe me."

 

"Like she would accept me. You speak of things you know nothing about," Akago replied, trying to dismiss Sesshomaru as he inched his way under the Shark's skin. Sesshomaru was a manipulative creature, as he'd proven time and time again, and Akago was determined not to let the Fang leader weasel his way into his consciousness. It would be most unpleasant for Akago to find himself interrupted daily by Sesshomaru's little voice in the back of his head.

 

"Accept you? Please. She's loved you since the day she met you and that's a fact. We've all been watching, Akago; ask anyone within a ten mile radius of your life and they'll tell you the God's honest truth: she actually like your first," Sesshomaru replied smugly. It was his smugness which really got Akago angry...

 

Akago attempted to loosen his grip on the steering wheel, which had become positively vice-like. "I know nothing of the kind. Gan is enigmatic at best and I have no idea what she wants, if she wants anything at all from me besides a roof to sleep under. Why would she accept advances from that pierced, tattooed Reikon fellow? She obviously sees something in him that she isn't getting elsewhere, so don't talk to me about what she likes. I've seen it first hand."

 

"When she was looking deeply into your eyes?"

 

"Shut your mouth, Sesshomaru."

 

Sesshomaru obediently quieted and seemed to drift into a sort of restless sleep; Akago was well aware that the Fang leader wasn't much for oblivious sleeping anyway, so anything was a bonus. The road was silent as the sun rose, yet Akago was jerked from his thoughts as Gan practically flew awake in the passenger's seat. She jolted rather violently and banged her head on the window, wherein she was left cursing silently as her heavy breathing became more audible. Akago nearly drove off the road with surprise but righted himself quickly. Gan stared wide-eyed at the highway, placing a pale hand over her heart as her breathing began to quite.

 

After a suitable amount of time had passed, Akago asked carefully, “Are you alright, Gan?"

 

"Just a dream," Gan said weakly, swallowing rather hard and leaning back against her chair. "I've been having quite a few of them."

 

"They're obviously not of the pleasant sort," Akago began conversationally.

 

"No, they most certainly aren't," Gan mumbled in reply, rubbing her eyes like a small child recently awakened from a deep sleep. "Where are we?"

 

"Halfway to Kyoto, abouts," Akago replied, still watching Gan carefully. "You look rather ill, Gan, perhaps you should eat something. I think Rin packed some of those repugnant diet bars she's been raving about," he said, jerking his head in the direction of the back seat.

 

Gan laughed slightly, face lighting up with the smile Akago would never tire of. "Thanks but no thanks. I don't think I can manage another one of those; they taste sort of like grass."

 

Akago chuckled and pushed up his spectacles for the umpteenth time. There was a brief silence between he pair before Akago mentioned softly, "They look peaceful, don't they?"

 

Gan looked confused for a moment but ultimately realized that he was talking about the passengers in the backseat. She turned to find everyone laid out across the mattress, somehow all three of them having ended up in Sesshomaru's lap. One way or another, Kouga and Ayame had joined Rin and their heads were laid quietly on Sesshomaru's lower thigh, all three parties sleeping quietly. Sesshomaru, even in sleep, had laid a protective hand on Rin's head and would brush his thumb across her cheek every once in a while. His other hand was on Kouga's back and, almost unusually, the Fang leader looked quite content.

 

"They do," Gan murmured, looking fondly back at her friends before resettling her eyes on the road. "It's kind of the way our life is, isn't it? Ayame holds on to Kouga, who offers a reassuring hand to Sesshomaru, who holds onto him back, and all the while, Sesshomaru and Rin depend heavily on one another. Funny how that works out."

 

"Astute observation," Akago agreed. "I think we all need Sesshomaru more than we like to think, really. When he was in the hospital, nothing seemed quite right."

 

Gan was about to reply when a slight whimper was heard from the backseat, as though a puppy had hurt himself. Gan turned curiously back to look as Akago half observed the scene in his rearview mirror; both were surprised to find Kouga's eyes shut rather tightly as he cradled and bothered with his right wrist. Gan furrowed her brow and leaned farther over her chair, trying to get a better look at whatever it was Kouga was fretting over; the wrist was enflamed and bruised, swollen to nearly twice its size.

 

"Good Lord, what's he done to himself?" Akago wondered aloud, looking bothered.

 

"Football no doubt, nasty sport," came Gan's reply as she squinted at the injury. "I can't quite see." She reached up to pull down her spectacles but found only slightly ruffled hair. "My glasses-“

 

"Are here," Akago explained as he began to remove them. "I borrowed them earlier."

 

"No, keep them," Gan protested, sighing as she retook her seat. "I can ask him about it later. Kouga's not the type that would tell, you know. It's only lucky we saw it now; he couldn't play on it much longer without lasting damage, I should imagine. The bruising is a sure sign of that."

 

"He must feel pressure, what with Ranbou being the Messiah of the entire sport," Akago muttered, looking slightly bemused. "He's won so many titles and trophies it's almost like background noise now. Perhaps Kouga's been working himself too hard because he's trying to catch up."

 

Gan snorted as she leaned back against the aging fabric seat. "Or perhaps he's simply programmed to give 100% no matter what that might do to his body. That seems to be a common disease around here. What with the bloody Taishos and the bloody Ookamis competing for everything, it's a wonder they're not all dead." Gan looked incredibly embittered by the subject and Akago realized it might be a good idea to let it drop.

 

"Do you reckon we should call the other cars to check up on everyone? We're coming to the one important turn off and I don't want anyone to miss it," Akago intervened smoothly, smiling at Gan as he tucked a stray piece of white hair behind his ear.

 

Gan felt her anger melt slowly away and she sighed, sounding not the least bit irritable. "Sure. I'll call up Sango."

 

Meanwhile, in the Celica, Sango was just taking another sip of coffee when her phone began to vibrate in the cup holder. Before she could get to it, however, Miroku swept it up and answered roguishly, "Sango's sexy secretary speaking, how can I direct your call?"

 

Gan smiled slightly. "That depends, mister sexy secretary, are you getting ready to take the next turn off?"

 

Miroku blushed slightly. "Oh...hey Gan."

 

In the backseat, Inuyasha cracked one eye open and continued to stroke Kagome's hair as she slept. "Good call, Roku."

 

Sango laughed silently, drinking still more coffee, while Miroku composed himself and said in a more business-like fashion. "Turn off, right. Where are we turning?"

 

"Two miles up," said Gan officiously as Sango echoed her reply.

 

"We got it, thanks Gan," Miroku said hurriedly, quick to end the call after he'd embarrassed himself. Out of all the people in the world, why did Gan the Gun have to answer?

 

"That's what you get for being a smartass," Sango laughed to herself, shaking her head. Miroku soon began to laugh to himself as well and the two dissolved into quite conversation, careful not to wake Kagome.

 

The truth stood, however, that waking Kagome would be a very difficult task. Inuyasha glanced down at his girlfriend, swaying with the ebb and flow of the highway; she'd fallen asleep, laid out across the seat with her head in his lap, and had slept on ceaselessly for the past two hours. Inuyasha was initially worried until he remembered the strain this entire family affair had been taking on her; Kagome was a strong woman, but somehow family was the one thing that could really wear a person down. The dark bags beneath her eyes were indeed an indication of this and, as he absent mindedly ran his fingers through her silken raven locks, marveling at the softness there, Inuyasha began to think back. A few months ago, he would've laughed at the notion of himself in a black polo shirt and sneakers, travelling four hours to help some preppy Kyoto girl. Now...it all seemed so plausible to him, like it had always been this way. Like she had always been with him.

 

"She looks a little sick, doesn't she?" Miroku said finally, glancing back at Kagome's sleeping face.

 

Inuyasha shrugged. "I guess anybody would be sick after the shit she's put up with lately. Sometimes...I think she doesn't tell me when stuff bothers her."

 

Sango and Miroku were quiet for a moment after this admission, which was entirely un-Inuyasha in every possible way; not only was this a very private fact, it was also one of his potential weak spots. It was rare that the hanyou ever expressed anything so emotional, but Miroku had already decided to pick up the conversation quickly; that was what friends were for.

 

"Kagome's a private person, Inuyasha," the boy explained. "She probably doesn't want to bother you when you're obviously having a hard year."

 

"Hard year?" Inuyasha snorted. "It's been harder than this before."

 

"Yeah? When?" Sango replied almost disdainfully.

 

"The year my mom died, Sango," Inuyasha said with a certain level of acidity. The girl could see his contemptuous amber eyes in the mirror, though she felt little sympathy; he was only trying to guilt her into silence.

 

"But this year was different and you know it," Sango replied crisply. "Talk about not telling us when something bothers you, you're the king of secrecy, Inuyasha."

 

Inuyasha just snuffled slightly and leaned back in his seat, realizing that his volume might've increased a little too much during the brief argument; Kagome shifted in her sleep.

 

In the front seat, Miroku noticed how tight Sango's hands were becoming on the wheel. With a small smile, Miroku leaned over and placed his hand over her right one, loosening to fingers one by one as they attempted to resume their death grip. When Sango realized how violent she must look, she colored slightly and softened her hands; Miroku smiled kindly at her and Sango could just see the love there on his face. It made her feel warm, protected, and her small disagreement with Inuyasha faded into the far distance. Somehow Miroku always had that effect on her.

 

Picking up the tail end of the three car caravan was Ranbou's King Ranch F-350, the car he still didn't know quite what to do with. It ran alright, really, no engine trouble, but it just wasn't a functional car in a town like Tokyo; the roads were far too small and it just added unnecessary stress to Ranbou's morning commute. He was much happier with his bike, which took up the smallest amount of space possible. As had become his habit in the past few hours, Ranbou glanced back at Hiten and Bankotsu in the back seat. Bankotsu had been reading a book for the past hour, crimson eyes carefully trained on the words before him; Hiten had fallen asleep nearly when the ride started and his head was resting softly on Bankotsu's shoulder. Ranbou had dared one gay joke and Bankotsu had fixed him with a returning stare hot enough to burn the leather off the steering wheel. The wolf's mouth had been shut for the rest of the trip.

 

Shitora, as well, had chosen on sleep nearly when the journey began. She was curled up in a little snow white ball in the passenger's seat, wrapped up in her seatbelt and sweatpants with a peaceful child's expression on her normally harsh face. Ranbou smiled slightly as he watched her, though his smile seemed to fade as the girl gave a whimper and clutched tightly at her arms, as though she was cold.

 

Ranbou frowned and leaned a hand over as her whining increased, smoothing her hair as he murmured deeply, "Shh, Sukini, don't freak out on me now."

 

Bankotsu allowed his eyes to stray from his book (Pride and Prejudice, on Mizumi's recommendation a few days ago,) and observed Ranbou as he calmed Shitora's unrestful sleep. Bankotsu had known both Ranbou and Shitora nearly his entire life and never before had he seen them look so tender towards another person. After Kina and Koto left those three or four years ago, Ranbou and Kouga had clung to one another for a few months, but this was different. It seemed that Ranbou and Shitora were so entirely incapable of helping themselves that they needed an alternate source of comfort. That was what they were to each other. And for some reason, even after she'd beaten the crap out of the girl he was beginning to like in that way, Bankotsu couldn't feel any really deep hatred towards Shitora. She wasn't always a bitch. She had her days.

 

In the front seat, Shitora stirred slightly and her amber eyes crept open. "Ugh, it's cold," she moaned, reaching blindly forward to angle the vents away from her.

 

"Here, take my jack-" Ranbou began to say before he realized that his arms were bare of the one thing he had to offer. "Aw, shit. I was gonna give you my jacket, but I'm wearin' fag clothes today, I forgot."

 

Shitora took in the sight of her boyfriend's black polo and jeans and smiled slightly. "You look fine. That shirt's a little tight, though. How old is it?"

 

"I dunno, ask Kouga. I took it from his closet because you and I both know that I don't own nothin' 'respectable' or however the hell Akago put it," the wolf snorted, reaching forward to light a cigarette in the cigarette lighter. The small device gave a spark, but produced no flame. "Aw, sonofabitch."

 

Shitora stayed his hand with her own, reaching into her purse and lighting a cigarette between her lips before handing it to him. Ranbou grinned and took a deep drag on the now lipstick stained cigarette, which tasted vaguely of cherries. "Thanks, Sukini. What kind is this? Is this...flavored?"

 

"It's a Marlboro red, I think. You probably just taste my lip gloss," Shitora replied, wrapping her arms tighter around her shoulders as she settled back against the seat.

 

Ranbou muttered, "I can't tell if that's a little gay or a little hot."

 

"Go with hot, good sir," Shitora joked in reply. "It's your secret desire for drag. It must feel so right." She found herself laughing for the first time in a while and it caused not only Ranbou, but Bankotsu to smile as well. Taishos and their infectious laughter...

 

"You know," Shitora mentioned, glancing at her boyfriend, "Your tattoos are still pretty much in plain view." And it was true. Ranbou's forearms were bare and several tattoos were still visible, including a large inked version of Ranbou's motorcycle.

 

Ranbou shrugged and took a long drag on his cigarette. "You know how many I got, there's no way I can cover up all of 'em. I'll burn up doin' yard work and shit like that. Just pretend like I'm the group's ex-convict or somethin'."

 

"Not difficult to do," Bankotsu entered in, grinning as Shitora laughed and Ranbou flipped him off. Who could ask for more with friends like these?

 

*!*!*!*

 

The city was in absolute ruins. When the three car caravan pulled into Kyoto at around 10 o'clock, the teenagers found themselves very much awake; it was the silence which startled them so. The sky overhead was pale and wan, shedding little light on the streets of Kagome's district, which were littered with Trash and debris. After a mile of difficult driving, Ranbou pulled ahead of the van and Celica to beat down some of the obstacles with his much stiffer tires and the going became slightly easier. Now, everyone could only watch; there were no pedestrians, only marching battalions of soldiers. Even when they passed suburban areas, the houses were boarded shut and there was barely any sign of recent inhabitance. Kagome began to realize that everyone had fled.

 

In the backseat of the Celica, Kagome grabbed Inuyasha's hand and held it tightly, staring white-lipped out the window at the passing wreckage. Sango kept her eyes dutifully trained on the road, still perked even as Ranbou knocked down the larger pieces of trash. When they finally reached the turn off to her house, Kagome alerted Sango quietly and the girl whipped ahead, honking to let the others know to follow. The cars arrived at a curb littered with broken glass and empty bottles, not to mention a flattened cat at the roadside. When they stepped out, the gangs were astounded; not even in their 18 years of carnage had they seen such destruction.

 

"Oh, shit," Miroku murmured softly as he nearly tripped over the dead cat.

 

Kagome stared at the thing, which was a practically indeterminable ball of stabbed and bloody white. The others noticed her attentions and followed her eyes to the dead animal; there was silence.

 

"Kagome?" Inuyasha finally asked, taking a tentative step towards her.

 

"Everyone, I'd like you to meet my cat Buyo," Kagome said in a lifeless whisper, narrowing her eyes as tears began to fill them. Without another word, Kagome wiped her face with the back of her hand and turned on her heels, marching up the stone staircase nearest her right hand.

 

It took the others a moment to comprehend the moment as they traded aghast looks; finally, Sesshomaru waved them all towards the staircase, urging them to follow their hostess. They did, being sure to step over the mangled carcass of Kagome's pet.

 

The staircase was endless and, somehow, got no cleaner as they progressed upward. Gan mentioned quietly to Akago, "I can't believe the rioters came all the way up here; so much effort for what they were really after, just to fight one another."

 

"These riots were obviously not of the normal sort," Akago replied almost angrily, though his voice never left a whisper.

 

When they reached the top of the staircase, many of the girls gasped and the boys grew red in the face with unbridled anger; Kagome's land was nothing compared to the streets.

 

It was much worse.

 

The courtyard, once stone floored, had been seemingly torn apart by desperate claws and many of the stones were flipped over and broken in half. The trees, of which there were many, were either snapped in twain or completely upended, laying like pick up sticks across the destroyed grass. The divots and debris littering the lawn were numerous and almost patterned; from where he stood, Inuyasha could make out several demon claws which had been ultimately snapped off during the fights. He winced at the thought and turned his attentions to the house.

 

The shrine house, which must've been glorious at one time, was covered in violent spray-painted messages. The windows were completely shattered, leaving only sharp edges in their frames, and the plant bed had been literally turned upside down; roots were plainly visible, stretching up towards the sky. The door was off it's hinges and the only visible rice doors torn and ripped to shreds. The entire scene was ghostly, quiet, like something from a horror movie.

 

It was for this reason that, when a voice sounded from the group's right, every demon present released their claws and bared their teeth. The woman who had called out to them gasped and stumbled backwards, clutching a basket of laundry against her front as she stared at these newcomers with terror in her eyes; she knew what to expect from groups of demons now.

 

"Mama!"

 

The group relaxed out of sheer surprised as Kagome fought her way through their ranks, flying towards her mother and embracing her as the laundry basket fell, forgotten, to the ground. The demons sheepishly withdrew their weapons and looked rather embarrassed, though they had only wanted to protect their human friends. This entire city made that desire even more potent, somehow.

 

"Oh, Kagome!"

 

Kagome's mother was a small, thin woman with short black curls and kind brown eyes. She and Kagome bore a striking resemblance, which made Inuyasha like the old woman right off the bat. When she finally composed herself, teary-eyed from this renitence with her eldest daughter, Ms. Higurashi brushed off her apron and straightened her shoulders, retrieving the basket of laundry from the ground. She moved slowly towards the group of teenagers in her courtyard, looking for all the world like the queen of a palace rather than the matriarch of an unfortunately emaciated shrine.

 

"You all must be Kagome's friends. I'm Mrs. Higurashi, her mother; words can not express how grateful we are that you set aside your weekend and came so selflessly to help us in our time of need, especially since I'm sure this is a dangerous trip for many of you. To bring so many...Kagome must've made many true friends in Tokyo," the woman said kindly. Her voice was not watery with tears, but filled with such emotion that many of the girls felt tears springing to their own eyes; it was remarkable that she was so friendly after going through so much.

 

"Aunt Mitsuko," Rin said hesitantly, stepping forward as Kagome's mother let out another happy sound.

 

Mrs. Higurashi managed to pass the laundry basket off to Kagome as she embraced her niece, laughing with joy. "Oh Rin, you've grown since I saw you last! You've gotten...taller?" The woman looked confused as she eyed Rin, who blushed slightly beneath the scrutiny.

 

"Um, I grew...out, not up," Rin mumbled.

 

Many of the teenagers snickered as Mrs. Higurashi's eyes strayed downwards and she made a small "oh" with her mouth, obviously understanding the reference. "You get those from your mother," she said quietly, nevertheless overheard by the many demons present.

 

"Mom, these are my friends," Kagome interrupted, winking at Rin and saving her further embarrassment.

 

Mrs. Higurashi turned to face the group, smiling graciously. "Alright, let's have some introductions then."

 

"This is Sango, Miroku, Ayame, Kouga, Sesshomaru, Akago, Gan, Bankotsu, Hiten, Inuyasha, Shitora and Ranbou. They're all in my year at school," Kagome introduced proudly.

 

"Ahh, Sesshomaru, the straight-a student that my brother loves to talk about," Mrs. Higurashi mentioned with a smile, which Sesshomaru politely returned. "Little Rin's boyfriend?"

 

"Yes, ma'am," Sesshomaru replied, nodding his head. Kagome realized it was almost humbling to watch the great Sesshomaru Taisho call anyone "ma'am."

 

"And Inuyasha is his brother and, actually, my boyfriend," Kagome explained, blushing slightly as she gestured to Inuyasha, who looked a little red himself.

 

Mrs. Higurashi walked right up to the boy and stared him unabashedly up and down, ignoring the giggles on either side of him. She stared right into his eyes, her own narrowed slightly. "Are you a convicted felon, young man?"

 

Inuyasha almost leaped at the insinuation. "What?! No, ma'am!"

 

"Ah, wonderful! You've already surpassed the rest of Kagome's boyfriends," Mrs. Higurashi said cheerfully, smiling as Inuyasha rubbed the back of his neck nervously, laughing a little at his own scare.

 

Kagome interrupted stiffly, "Mother..."

 

"Sorry, Kagome, I just had to make sure," Mrs. Higurashi replied with a slight mischief in her eye. Turning slightly to her left, Mrs. Higurashi smiled at the others until she came to Ranbou, who was trying to look as inconspicuous as possible but failing miserably. Kagome's mother walked slowly towards him, looking him up and down from his tattooed forearms to the one piercing he'd left in his right ear lobe. Ranbou's ice blue eyes were, for the first time Kagome could remember seeing, slightly afraid.

 

Finally, Kagome's mother murmured softly, "You look just like my late husband, young man. Right down to the last tattoo. It's incredible."

 

Ranbou looked lost for words for a moment, stuttering slightly as he tried to think of a response. Shitora discreetly took his hand, squeezing it gently and waiting until he relaxed slightly. Finally, Ranbou replied, "Thank you, ma'am."

 

Kagome's mother smiled and mentioned to Kagome, "Don't tell me you didn't notice, Kagome?"

 

Kagome brushed the toe of her sneakers along the stone below her, muttering, "I noticed," rather quietly. Truthfully, it had been the first thing she noticed about Ranbou and, frankly, the rest of his family.

 

Ranbou shot a glance at Kagome once her mother had moved on, but Kagome averted her eyes quickly. Ranbou sighed and rubbed the back of his neck; he hadn't meant to cause a disturbance, that is beyond his tattoos and piercings and terrible addictive habits (i.e. smoking, drinking.) But Kagome's mother didn't seem the least bit disturbed; it was Kagome who looked more the worse for wear.

 

"Why don't you kids come inside and get something to drink," Mrs. Higurashi suggested.

 

The teenagers nodded politely, waiting for the lady of the house to show them the way. Inuyasha was about to follow when his acute senses noticed the absence of Kagome amongst the others; he lingered behind and found her staring almost longingly at the yard. The hanyou placed his hands in his pockets and walked slowly up to stand beside her, feet nearly losing their way on the broken stone.

 

"My dad proposed to my mom under that tree," Kagome finally said, gesturing to the thickest tree in the yard, one which stood taller than anything for miles and shadowed nearly the entire yard. Inuyasha observed it with an eyes of mild amazement; it was an incredible thing, thick roots, green branches even in the ebb of summertime. Inuyasha could tell that his girlfriend had more to say and he allowed her to continue without interruption.

 

"To think that someone could just come in here and desecrate my house...it makes me angry," Kagome said calmly, brown eyes burning with an intensity that scared even her boyfriend. He'd known intense eyes in his time, mostly belonging to demons or killers, but Kagome's were frightening in another way. Maybe it was that intense desire, the desire to kill anyone who dared upset her beautiful home. Even after leaving Kyoto, she obviously held strong ties there. Inuyasha could feel Kagome permeating the very air he breathed at the shrine.

 

"We'll fix it, baby," he said finally, not knowing what else to say. How could he reassure her? How could he promise that everything would return to the way it had once been? He couldn't swear a single thing except that he would try to right her upset life. It was a weakness he couldn't bear.

 

Kagome smiled slightly and turned to face Inuyasha, who looked a little scared and helpless as he stood there in the shadow of the great oak. She placed a chaste kiss on his lips and murmured, "I know we will, Inuyasha."

 

The two linked hands and, with one last shared smile, followed the others into the house. Inuyasha noticed that Kagome's grip tightened as they stepped into the entrance-way, finding it littered with glass and the broken remains of many pieces of furniture. Many of the missing plants from the flowerbed outside had, somehow, ended up inside. Kagome frowned momentarily, but Inuyasha returned her tight grip with a reassuring squeeze.

 

"Just remember, we'll clean all this crap up. Bank and Hiten are handy with furniture, they'll put it all back together. Ayame and Rin are both handy with designing, it's like a free makeover. And hell, tattoos or not, Ranbou's strong as an ox, this'll all be cleaned up by the time we leave. Just look at it and think that," Inuyasha murmured strongly in Kagome's ear. Kagome's smile returned.

 

In the kitchen, which Mrs. Higurashi had already swept free of glass, the other teenagers were talking and laughing amongst themselves as they enjoyed glasses of freshly brewed lemonade. Kagome saddled up beside her mother and asked, "Where are the boys?"

 

"Tomo is down at headquarters; he hasn't been able to leave, barely, what with the police under such scrutiny and the aftermath of the towers. You can imagine how many people want to talk to the chief," Mrs. Higurashi explained.

 

Kagome nearly sighed a breath of relief; it would be a much easier weekend if Tomo simply weren't around. Period. "And Souta? Grandpa?"

 

"Souta is cleaning up the shrine house and Grandpa is putting up more seals."

 

When the word "seal" was uttered, several demons in the room choked on their lemonade. Kagome hurriedly jumped in, "But not any anti-demon seals, right? Just...protection seals?"

 

"A little of both I should imagine," Mrs. Higurashi said thoughtfully. "That reminds me, you kids better not go near the back of the property. I think there's some sort of chemical out there, very strange, doesn't smell too good. We should err on the side of caution, don't you think?"

 

The teenagers nodded with fake smiles on their faces, wondering exactly what they'd gotten themselves into. The front door opened a second time and this time a deep voice called out, "Mom, Buyo's really missing. I don't think she's...who the hell are you?"

 

Kagome turned and found her brother Souta, very much on the grown up side, standing in the entry-way to the kitchen looking confused. Kagome gasped. "Souta! You hit puberty!"

 

Though initially excited by the sight of his sister, the boy's face grew quickly sour. "Kagome, come on!" he complained as his cheeks flushed slightly.

 

Souta was unusually tall for his age, now standing a few inches above Kagome, rather even with Kouga. His black hair had grown and was shaggy, flaring out from beneath his backwards baseball cap. He was wearing a baggy t-shirt and jeans with overlarge sneakers, overall the typical teenage boy. Kagome squealed proudly and wrapped her brother in a hug, which he reluctantly returned.

 

"You're so tall!" Kagome exclaimed, giving her brother a slight whack to the chest. "Guys, Souta was like five feet tall when I left!"

 

The boys in the room snickered, knowing precisely what it was like to have women tease about growth spurts. Rin strode up and gave Souta a brash hit to the arm. "My little man is all grown up!"

 

"Rin," Souta moaned, growing even redder; his garrulous cousin had enjoyed making him blush since he was but seven years old.

 

"Souta, be nice now," Mrs. Higurashi warned, hiding a smile as she began to clear away a few lemonade glasses.

 

Kagome introduced her brother around, watching proudly as he shook hands with the other boys and nodded slightly to the girls. When she finally came to Inuyasha, she said brightly, "And this is my boyfriend, Inuyasha."

 

Souta's eyes immediately darkened and he shared a stiff handshake with the hanyou. "Boyfriend, huh? Do you smoke pot?"

 

Inuyasha furrowed his brow. "No."

 

"Pick up hookers?"

 

"No."

 

"Steal shit?"

 

"Uh, no."

 

"Congratulations, Kagome, he's an improvement," Souta nearly spat at his sister, giving Inuyasha one last warning glance as Mrs. Higurashi scolded Souta for his language in the background.

 

Kagome drew in a deep breath, trying to remember how excited she'd been to see her brother, before she finished off, "And this is Sesshomaru."

 

Souta turned to shake Sesshomaru's hand when he suddenly processed the name and his face lost every ounce of color. The others watched the transformation and exchanged glances as Sesshomaru warily shook the boys hand, murmuring, "Nice to meet you."

 

"Is your last name Taisho by any chance?" Souta nearly squeaked, eyes enormously wide.

 

"Yes," Sesshomaru drawled carefully.

 

Souta shut his eyes tightly and mustered a small bow before he murmured, "It's nice to meet you, sir. Um, Sesshomaru-dono. I'm going to keep looking for the cat. Goodbye sir. Um, Sesshomaru-dono."

 

With this, Souta all but fled the room at a run, slamming the front door shut behind him as he hurried away. Kagome furrowed her brow, turning slightly to Sesshomaru as she cocked an eyebrow, as though to say "do you know him?"

 

Sesshomaru shrugged slightly. "He apparently knows me."

 

Mrs. Higurashi seemed not to notice anything amiss and announced that she was going to step out and visit one of their neighbors, who had promised to lend her a few gardening tools for the weekend. "You kids be good while I'm gone. Kagome, help your brother look for the cat, would you?"

 

Before Kagome could reply, Mrs. Higurashi had left through the kitchen door and was already on her way down the shrine steps to the lane. Kagome sighed slightly and turned to the others muttering, "I guess they haven't seen our flat cat yet. Well, mom is about to."

 

"Kagome, did you notice how your brother addressed Sesshomaru?" Akago asked thoughtfully, glancing at the girl through his spectacles.

 

Kagome shrugged. "Weird, right? I don't know what he's been up to."

 

"I think I do," Kouga entered in, giving the others a knowing glance.

 

"Me too," Inuyasha agreed. "Joining a gang, sounds like."

 

Kagome stared aghast at her friends. "Souta?! Are you kidding? He's just a scrawny little-"

 

"Didn't look so scrawny anymore, cuz," Rin interrupted smartly. Rolling her shadowed eyes, she mumbled wistfully, "In fact, he's kinda cute now. Muscles, shaggy hair, cute hat. He's apparently more than just your scrawny little brother now. Only gang kids say 'dono' after my boo's name."

 

"Ugh, don't call him boo," Shitora snorted, wrinkling her nose.

 

"Rin, you and I both know what Souta is like. I used to beat him in wrestling matches; he can't be in a gang," Kagome argued, ignoring Shitora's rather valid point.

 

"Whatever a person has done in their past life, it in no way dictates their position in the gangs," Gan said strongly, giving Kagome one of her infamous long stares. "I know for a fact that Akago was the nerd in his preschool class. Huge glasses, pocket protectors, the entire schpiel."

 

Some of those who had been in their Tokyo district long enough to remember began to snort with laughter and Inuyasha laughed, "She's right! He was a total geek!"

 

"You act as though it's changed," Akago replied good naturedly.

 

Kagome began to laugh as well while the others chuckled. "Well, all I'm saying is that Souta is just too much of a loser for things to have really changed. This is the kid who got beat up for his lunch money every day."

 

Miroku snorted. "Thus his reasons for affiliating himself. A lot of people are in the gangs for protection, Kagome."

 

"I'm aware of that now, but Souta is...just, he's my brother. And what would I say to him if I found out he'd joined the Scorpions or something?" Kagome continued, looking fretful. She clearly remembered the Kyoto gangs she'd met during her two weeks at Race Wars and there were just as many good and bad. Kagome tried to reassure herself by recalling the friendly visages of Skull and Bones, or even the garrulous grin of Razz, leader of the Kyoto Rhythms.

 

"I wouldn't worry about it, Kagome," Sango interrupted, smiling placatingly. "He didn't have the Scorpion vibe to him."

 

"Yeah, but four months ago I dressed like this for fun," Kagome reminded her friend, gesturing wryly to her pink polo and white capris. "Apparently, the Higurashis are subject to change."

 

The others shrugged and decided to hold their tongues; Kagome was apparently not giving this subject up for discussion. Irritated by the silence, Inuyasha changed the subject quickly. "Where do you guys wanna start?"

 

Kagome interrupted before anyone else could speak up, however. "I don't think we should start until after lunch. That gives us a few hours to eat and rest, sound good to you guys?" The others nodded menially, feeling like disagreeing with Kagome could lead to a whole lot of hurt at this point in time. "Great!" she exclaimed. "Explore the place, do what you will. Oh, and demons shouldn't go in the shrine house I don't think."

 

The others paused and exchanged uneasy glances, some slightly offended.

 

"Why?" Ranbou asked rather sharply.

 

"Because there's seals in there that just...I just don't think demons should go in. Sorry," Kagome stammered out, blushing horridly; she hadn't thought that her friends would be riled by this comment, but that was apparently a generous assumption.

 

The crowd began to dissipate as couples hurried off to make out in nooks and crannies and others went out for honest exploration; some remained behind in the kitchen to help Kagome make lunch. Gan was just turning to offer Kagome help with the sandwiches when she suddenly remembered her alarming discovery in the van; her blonde hair accidentally brushed Akago's cheek as she turned to hurry after Kouga and, unbeknownst to her, the Shark leader shivered visibly.

 

Sesshomaru seemed to notice the change which had suddenly taken over his friend's placid face. "Careful there, Akago. Your secrets are showing."

 

Akago glared vehemently at the Fang leader, eyes acidic as he spat out, "Oh, mind your own business, why don't you?"

 

"Don't tell me we're fighting already," Kagome said almost dangerously without turning away from spreading mayonnaise on a piece of what bread.

 

The two boys shared one last glance, Akago's icy cold and Sesshomaru comfortably smug, before the two turned away from one another and addressed their independent jobs. Inuyasha watched the exchange confusedly before shrugging to himself and pulling out the deli meats Kagome's mother had bought that morning from the grocery store; there were very few perishables in the kitchen due to the conspicuous lack of a working refrigerator.

 

"Kouga!"

 

Kouga and Ayame had just left the kitchen to venture outside when their journey was interrupted by a commanding feminine voice and running footsteps. The wolves turned to face Gan the Gun, who had seemingly appeared behind them with her usual stern demeanor set firmly in place.

 

Kouga's eyebrow rose inexplicably. "Yes?"

 

Gan was about to speak when she comprehended the sight of Ayame's questioning eyes; this was perhaps not a conversation for his girlfriend just yet. Kouga was a secretive sort of man, as all Ookamis tended to be, and Gan felt it was only fair to give him an out.

 

"We needed one more hand in the kitchen; are you free?"

 

Kouga looked suspicious and was about to protest when a deep, invasive voice penetrated his thoughts; the voice was certainly not his own.

 

You would do well to stop what you're doing and follow Gan back into the kitchen. Somehow, I doubt Ayame would take kindly to you keeping secrets about your health from her. And just imagine what would happen if Ranbou were to find out somehow...The school's star running back with a busted wrist. What a shocker.

 

Kouga whipped to face the doorway to the kitchen, which was now being occupied by a smug looking Akago. The white haired demon smiled mysteriously and beckoned to the wolf before returning to his cooking duties. Gan had witnessed the silent exchange and could quite fairly fabricate Akago's message in her own mind; the Shark leader was often quite persuasive. Having gleaned by this point that his injury was no longer a secret, Kouga turned to Ayame with a disarming smile on his face.

 

"Why don't you go look around with Sango for a while? I should really help out."

 

Ayame looked slightly confused but soon sighed slightly and murmured, "Sure, I guess I'll see you later then." Kouga had a fair amount of skill in the kitchen, this was sure, but for Gan to single him out for such a mundane task as making sandwiches was fairly odd. Figuring that her boyfriend would disclose other details at a later date, Ayame turned on her heels and retreated, red curls blowing slightly in the wind as she left her flowery scent in her wake.

 

Kouga watched her go with a loving look of longing written clearly on his strong features. Finally, he turned to Gan with an angry looking ridge in his brow. "That wasn't as smooth as it could've been."

 

"We're only looking out for your safety," Gan replied shortly, motioning for him to go ahead of her into the kitchen. The wolf seemed to have given up protesting and walked inside like a petulant child being scolded for disobeying his mother.

 

Kagome, Inuyasha, Sesshomaru and Rin hardly glanced up as Kouga entered the kitchen, knowing that when Gan the Gun and Akago had business with someone, it was strictly their own. Gan set Kouga down at the kitchen table, which was a card table recently erected in place of the old shattered one, and began rummaging around in her personal bag of infirmary items. Kouga looked mightily displeased, haughty and aloof.

 

"No need to pout, it'll only take me a moment," Gan chided gently, giving Kouga one of her softer violet gazes.

 

The wolf snorted slightly. "It'll take care of itself."

 

When Akago realized the boy was talking about his wrist, he couldn't help but laugh. "Kouga, you know as well as we do that what you just said is utter hogs wallop."

 

Inuyasha glanced over from the counter where he was preparing the deli meats to be folded into sandwiches; it appeared as though the wolf were undergoing some kind of treatment from Gan, who was looking particularly matronly as she examined Kouga's wrist. Inuyasha craned his neck to see what she was fussing over, but he couldn't get a clear look; her blonde hair was long, thick and in the way.

 

Sesshomaru seemed to have noticed his best friend's plight as well and squinted slightly, a gesture that was as close to surprise as the Fang leader ever got. The infamous dog demon was currently chopping tomatoes with a quizzical look on his face and, as Inuyasha could clearly see, his brother had a better view point and was watching Gan's ministrations intensely.

 

"What's going on? What are they doing?" Inuyasha badgered as he scooted closer to Sesshomaru, moving wildly to sneak a peek.

 

"Calm down," Sesshomaru said rather disdainfully, moving to the other countertop to grab a head of lettuce from the sink. He began to peel the green leaves off pensively as he murmured, "It looks as though Kouga's hurt his wrist."

 

Inuyasha became noticeably still, which Sesshomaru hardly raised an eyebrow at; his brother wasn't above feeling even a small amount of guilt for the victims of his stupidity, which were growing even more numerous as the days went by. Inuyasha had an unfortunate tendency to do things without thinking of the consequences. Now, as they all worked busily in the kitchen trying to pretend as though the cooks weren't incredibly interested in what was going at the table some feet away, Inuyasha was beginning to realize that all of those times he'd failed to block for Kouga were finally coming back to bite him. Oh, Inuyasha wasn't naïve. He knew just as well as Sesshomaru did that any injury Kouga had sustained was due to football. Any injury sustained during football was Inuyasha's fault, as the running back's block. The guilt flooded Inuyasha's insides like a thick poison and his ears flattened backwards whilst he peeled meat from the slab of deli strips.

 

At the table, Gan was examining Kouga's wrist with her experienced medical eye while Akago watched on looking almost bored. In all reality, the Shark's half hooded eyes meant nothing of laziness and were actually indicative of deep thought; with Kouga's wrist damaged, Thursday nights were about to become inexplicably difficult for the Fangs. Any sort of injury to any part of their team was a weakness and a weakness was a downfall in this business; Akago knew that quite well. At this point in time however, it was quite clear that Kouga was completely unconcerned about Thursday nights. His ice blue eyes were focused on the table, seething bitterly in a way that could only mean "football." The way his shoulders slumped, as though defeated, only alluded more to the fact that he knew this was the end of the line. Now that people had noticed his wrist, there was no more covering it up at practice or keeping it out of sight at home; there was only recovery time and that would most assuredly be a long wait. Even a strained wrist would take him a week and a half to heal with his demon healing counted into the equation.

 

"It's broken," Gan finally pronounced, looking disappointed herself.

 

Kouga blinked; that couldn't be right. "Wait, broken? How is it broken? I meant, shouldn't it hurt more than that?"

 

Gan narrowed her eyes and replied acidically, "Good god, how much do you expect it to hurt? Broken bones hurt, but they're not normally of the eye-clawing-pain variety, especially for demons. What you have here is the result of constant pressure on a strained muscle and bone, hence the term 'stress fracture.' If you'd only told someone earlier, this wouldn't be happening to you know."

 

Though Gan held her normal air of superiority, Akago could hear the softness creeping into her stern tone; she wasn't the impenetrable wall that she liked to advertise. He knew her better than that; Gan really felt for Kouga in that moment.

 

The wolf had said nothing to Gan's explanation and was staring, eyes unfocused, at the broken tile floor. Gan had begun to dig out a rarely used bag of medical items, ones which Akago knew to be fiberglass cast strips and gauze. "I'll need some help to set the bone and I'm warning you, this is probably going to stretch your comfort level; we don't have much in the way of sedatives."

 

Kouga shrugged lifelessly and murmured, "I don't care."

 

Gan studied him for a moment, violet eyes curious, before she returned her gaze to her work, saying lightly, "You know, it will only be about two and half weeks to heal, I think. The team hasn't even managed one game yet, so I don't imagine you'll really be missing much."

 

And she was right. Due to the danger and suspicion surrounding Madozu, many principals and school boards had forbidden their athletic teams to travel more than five miles from their home school. South Tokyo was beyond such a rule, as they didn't feel their students had much to lose in the "danger" department, but their opponents were a much safer bunch. The first six games of the season had already been pushed back and Bear had told the boys grudgingly that he expected a few more setbacks before things really calmed down. Kouga could only imagine missing the first game of the season, seeing as though there wasn't going to be much of a season at this rate. What if he missed the only game he could ever play his senior year? But the damage was done; this he knew.

 

"Akago, take these strips and place them in a pot of hot water..." Gan trailed off as she realized an obvious dilemma: the Higurashi's still had no working stove or oven.

 

Kagome blushed as she overheard Gan's faint demand, saying apologetically, "I'm sorry Gan, I didn't know that we had no appliances or anything."

 

"Not a problem," Gan replied easily, smiling at Kagome while her mind tried to create an alternative.

 

"Gan," Akago interrupted, voice quiet and strained. "I can...I can heat them if you need."

 

Gan observed Akago with a level glance, taking in the blush sprinkling his otherwise colorless face and the shame burning in his crimson eyes; Akago never offered to use his demonic powers and kept his mind reading to an absolute minimum. If his appearance weren't so otherworldly, it was difficult to remember that he was a demon; Akago was very private about the ways of his heritage. Gan knew that this offer was a very good alternative, if not something that Akago obviously was reluctant to do. The fact that he was offering made her feel quite honored. She hated to ask it of him, but there was no other choice.

 

"If you would; I'm sorry Akago-" Gan began, finding herself quickly cut off by Akago's reassuring hand on her shoulder.

 

"Not at all; anything for my friends," Akago answered, placing his other hand on Kouga's shoulder and giving it a reassuring squeeze. Kouga smiled weakly, knowing that Akago was going out on quite the limb for him; the Shark leader would've spat in his face four months ago, but life was so different now.

 

Gan arranged the strips so that she could hand them to Akago in the proper order and settled her hands in her lap, looking hesitantly up at her leader. "How precisely do you want me to...help?"

 

Akago shrugged, flexing his fingers as he obviously readied himself. "How hot do you need them?"

 

"As hot as they would be when boiling," Gan replied, reaching over for the large, cottony gauze pads. "I'll be wrapping them fairly snugly around the gauze to make the cast and this kind of plexiglas needs to be hot for application."

 

Akago nodded and thanked Kagome briefly as she arrived at the table with a bowl of water in her hands; the hostess seemed embarrassed and almost ashamed that she could offer nothing more for her friends, but their smiles erased at least part of her apprehension.

 

As Gan secured the beginning layer of gauze around Kouga's wrist, the wolf winced slightly; the merest touch to the area made him want to howl, it was so tender. "I'm sorry, Kouga," Gan mumbled, offering the boy a helpless sort of look; she really wished she could do more.

 

At that moment, a strange glow began emanating from an unknown source at Gan's right and she turned curiously, finding herself face to face with magic. Akago was holding a damp strip of plexiglas plaster in his hand, crimson eyes completely and totally black, pupils and iris gone from sight. The demon's hands were glowing a strange orange as she strip too joined in the light show. It was then that Akago spoke.

 

"This one is ready."

 

The voice did not belong to Akago Tsume, this Gan knew; it was his inner demon's terrible drawl. Though she knew little about Akago's inner demon, she'd gleaned over the years that it was incredibly arrogant and rather like a disgusting British playboy, a sexist sort of fellow who lived indulgently. As Akago handed Gan the burning hot strip, the girl yelped slightly; she hadn't thought about that part of the equation.

 

"Are you okay?" Kouga asked quickly, looking alarmed; the strip had literally been boiling and Gan had gripped it in her palms.

 

"Yes, fine," Gan lied baldly, hissing slightly at the pain; it was tremendous.

 

"Here," Kagome said breathlessly as she arrived with two oven mitts in hand.

 

Gan thanked her briefly before slipping her hands inside the oven mitts, determined to do some good. She began winding the strip slowly but surely around the gauze on Kouga's wrist; this was the first part of the first layer of four and she knew the process would be grueling. If only she hadn't burned her hand on the first strip, this would only be grueling for Kouga, who was already in a good deal of pain.

 

Despite himself, the wolf allowed one fell whimper to escape him, a piteous animal sound which caused Kagome's heart to break. "It must hurt a lot...if it was really broken and all that," she mentioned to Rin, who was watching the goings on with mild interest but attempting not to butt in too much.

 

"Kouga can take it," Rin replied, giving her cousin a half smile before returning to her bread preparations. There were other things on Rin's mind at the moment and, thought she felt slightly guilty, Kouga had nothing to do with them. No, Rin was thinking about her Aunt's comment: Ranbou did indeed look just like Rin's late uncle and, upon hearing this spoken, Rin knew it was true and felt very strange. How had Kagome gone on this whole time without feeling strange around Ranbou? For that matter, Kouga wasn't too far from the Higurashi patriarch either. Mr. Higurashi might very well have been mistaken for an Ookami during his life, now that Rin really thought back. Didn't Kagome feel sad every time she looked at one of the wolves? Rin had once seen a woman who looked like her mother and had vowed to never return to the place she'd seen her; it was too much like looking at death. Rin shuddered slightly as Kouga whined a second time, obviously in a good deal of pain; just like her.

 

Sesshomaru calmly set down his knife and left his work on the table, crossing the room to take a seat beside Kouga; in an instant, he'd taken Kouga's free hand and given it a quick, reassuring press. Kouga replied by turning to Sesshomaru with grateful, if not lightly embarrassed ice blue eyes; he'd been there through Sesshomaru's sickness in the hospital and now Sesshomaru was here for him. It was just the way they worked.

 

And so the process continued, Akago dipping the strips in water and heating them with his strange demon magic before Gan handled them carefully in her mitted hands, winding them around Kouga's arm with practiced precision. Kouga found himself cursing the very day he was born as the pain carried on; it was like be stabbed continuously, the stab that never ceased. Gan understood, but knew that forcing herself the hurry would only be detrimental to Kouga's recovery and, ultimately, would increase the amount of time between the bone setting and the next time he was able to catch a football. The wolf seemed to understand that and soldiered on.

 

When the cast was finally complete, stretching from elbow to hand, looping around the thumb joint, Gan let out a breath of relief. "Done," she said thankfully.

 

The others let go the breaths they hadn't been aware of holding and returned to their normal activities; the sandwich making had slowed considerably since it began. Sesshomaru clapped his best friend on the back, giving the wolf a rarely offered smile before he returned to cutting the tomatoes; Kouga would want to be alone now, he knew.

 

Akago carefully let the magic leave him an took a heavy seat in the nearest chair; it was difficult to control the demon inside him for something as mundane as heating wet strips of plaster. His youkai was meant for destroying cities, not household tasks, and it seemed to resent the insinuation that it was useful to anyone other than itself. Akago quieted its grumblings and sighed; at least he'd succeeded in the end.

 

"Thanks Gan, Akago," Kouga said dully, glancing over his new cast, which was drying rather quickly. "Should I...do stuff to take care of it or anything?"

 

"For the first hour or so, I would really like it if you laid down with the cast on some pillows; it needs to dry where it won't be otherwise molded," Gan replied, standing from the table and removing the oven mitts from her scalded hands. "After that, no getting it wet; you'll have to bag it in the shower. If you get it wet, the strips become just what they were before."

 

"Right," Kouga murmured, looking distracted at best.

 

"Kouga, I'll take you to the place we set up for sleeping," Kagome offered, giving the wolf a smile which he found himself unable to return. The weight of the cast on his arm was already reminding him that this would be the longest two and half weeks of his life.

 

"Thanks," he replied shortly. Kagome seemed to understand and just guided him from the room with her hand on his back. Inuyasha watched the pair go, feeling slightly jealous as his girlfriend touched another man, but feeling even more consumed by the terrible guilt still beating him to death on the inside.

 

"Give him about an hour or so," Sesshomaru said to his brother, who had the apologetic look in his eyes already. "You can probably breach the subject after lunch."

 

Inuyasha blushed a bright red and said hotly, "I never asked your opinion, Sesshomaru!"

 

"But I'm giving it to you anyway," the leader replied, cocking a slender silver eyebrow in his brother's direction before delivering a bowl of perfectly cut tomato slices to Kagome's work station. With this, the fearless demon placed a chaste kiss on Rin's head as he passed and washed his hands thoughtfully in a basin of water near the unworking sink faucet.

 

Meanwhile, at the table, Gan had begun gingerly packing up her medical items when Akago reached over and grabbed on of her pale hands in his lily white one; he could see the terrible red streak, the exact shape of the plexiglas strip, running down the middle of her palm. It was already turning a dark, unforgiving red.

 

"We should get this in cold water," Akago mentioned, brow creased with concern.

 

Gan, for a moment, didn't even feel the pain of the burns; for a moment, it was all about his touch. The feeling of Akago's hand holding and caressing hers was so beyond anything in the universe that Gan paused for a time, fighting the desire to close her eyes and savor that sweet sensation. At that moment, Akago glanced up and his heated crimson eyes met Gan's trembling violet ones. They didn't quite know what to make of each other as they stared and for once, their relationship was completely unsure; the friendship they'd once known was beginning to shake and tremble like an earthquake had set upon it. What were they?

 

"There's a creek in the backyard," Kagome offered from the kitchen. "The water is cold enough."

 

Akago immediately let go of Gan's hand at the precise moment that she took it back towards her, both coloring lightly. "Right," they said in unison, looking startled by this simultaneous talking and looking even more unsettled as they rose from their seats, hurrying out of the kitchen.

 

As the front door slammed shut behind them, Kagome giggled. "Oh, it's getting worse."

 

"It's adorable," Rin cooed, assembling a sandwich as she gossiped conspiratorially, "In class the other day, they kept on looking up and watching each other and just when one put their head down, the other looked up; it was agonizing! And the way he watches her when she works! And the way she watches him when he reads! It's like...like..."

 

"Like they're in love, Koi?" Sesshomaru offered, grinning unabashedly as he leaned against the counter, smiling handsomely at his now grinning girlfriend.

 

Shaking her head, smiling all the while, Kagome watched her cousin and leader share a loving glance, which was sickening but exciting in some way. The two were so comfortable in their ways it was almost like watching an eighty year old couple with three grown children interact; did they ever have any problems? Of course they do, stupid; that fight this summer, Sesshomaru's secrecy, Thursday nights, Rin's lies, his eating disorder, you name it, they've had a problem with it. But...somehow I'm still jealous. Why is that? I mean, Inuyasha and I don't have half the trouble they do. So why do I still feel like they have something that we don't?

 

Kagome turned to observe Inuyasha, who was cleaning dishes with a distant look on his face. His mind was obviously elsewhere, probably with Kouga; she knew her boyfriend was affected by the wolf's injury, though she wasn't quite clear as to why. She knew it had something to do with football, but that wasn't narrowing down the playing field. She would wait for him to bring it up. That's your issue, Kagome; you and Inuyasha can't talk about anything. You're like two ships passing in the night...why can't you just open up to him?

 

"There we go, sandwiches done!" Rin declared, breaking Kagome from her thoughts.

 

"Okay, here are the plates mom wanted us to use," Kagome instructed, using tasks to keep her mind off of reality for the moment. She indicated a tower of paper plates and a subsequent pile of plastic silverware.

 

"Mom isn't back yet, so we should probably wait," Kagome reasoned, wiping her hands on a towel. "Let's just go enjoy the weather, then."

 

As the couples proceeded outside, Kagome attempted to take Inuyasha's hand but he shied away, trying to make it appear subtle but ending up painfully obvious. Kagome blanched, obviously hurt that he didn't want to hold hands, but instead of whining about it, turned her face to the bright morning sunshine. She found herself depressed by the fact that clouds were approaching from the North, obviously a storm breezing in from the inlet; it looked very dark. Kagome frowned; something like that could limit how much cleaning time they were actually worth. When only limited to the shrine house, which wasn't that big or salvageable in this case, Kagome felt trapped; she had really wanted to help with the yard so that her grandpa could reopen the shrine to worshipers and visitors.

 

"You see that too, I suspect?" Akago murmured, appearing from around the house with Gan in tow; there were fresh bandages on her hands, already wet with weeping. Gan's delicate skin had taken the burn acutely.

 

When Kagome realized the Shark leader was referring to the storm, she replied unhappily, "I do. That'll be a big setback."

 

"And potentially a disaster to get home in," Gan broke in.

 

Sesshomaru turned slightly at this, pondering; he hadn't taken that into consideration when his dog nose picked up a storm on the horizon. But Gan was right; storms off the inlet could turn violent rather quickly and the one ahead looked promising in that respect. Perhaps they should head back early? Kagome's face was fretful and Sesshomaru, in that moment, steeled himself; if it came to heading back early or staying an extra night into Monday, he would instruct the group to stay. They'd traveled all this way to help and by God, they would offer Kagome's family what relief they could while they were here. An extended visit might be best for everyone, in any case.

 

Kagome could make out the remainder of their friends lounging on the lawn near the shrine house, though quite a safe distance from it; Kagome knew her warning had not gone unheeded. This part of the lawn appeared to have been cleared of its scraps, obviously by someone with considerable brawn; this particular part of the grass had been littered with the twisted metal pieces of an old playground Tomo had erected for Kagome and Souta when they were about eight years younger. Kagome hadn't registered the loss of the place, but now looked slightly deflated as she stared at the pile of almost unintelligible metal pieces some ten feet away. Fortunately, the lawn, thought cluttered, seemed environmentally safe. The patch the others had cleared was bright and sunny, green grass spread out softly with a tinge of wildflower pink poking up through the brush. Kagome smiled fondly; remember the good, not the bad. Just keep telling yourself. Good, not bad. Good, not bad.

 

"Over here!" called Hiten, waving his arm to his friends, face bright and smiling.

 

The other six walked to join their friends, who were laying out in the bright sunlight. Bankotsu was showing Hiten how to make grass blades hum, folding them and putting them to his lips as they produced small squeaks. Ayame was watching the exchange curiously, laughing when Hiten would blow himself hoarse but fail to produce any sound from his grass blade. Sango was massaging Miroku's head fondly as he laid back, head in her lap, basking in the fall sun. Ranbou and Shitora were sitting back to back, pushing with all their might to see who could force the other over first; though Shitora was considerably smaller, she was putting up one hell of a fight.

 

Sesshomaru and Rin settled down, Rin laying across Sesshomaru lap with her head pressed softly against his shoulder. Gan sat cross legged beside Kagome, who laid down on her stomach to watch the wildflower waving in the breeze. Akago seemed to content to lean back on his hands and stare up at the sky, though Inuyasha could only sit and brood.

 

"It's fall already, isn't it?" Miroku said suddenly, eyes snapping open and fixing his girlfriend with a curious purple gaze.

 

Sango seemed to ponder this for a moment, fingers moving deftly through her love's hair, before she finally agreed, "Yep, it's October fourth. It's been fall since September twenty first."

 

"There's a cold front going into Tokyo Sunday night," Ayame supplied. "The paper said it's going to drop to 7 degrees." (45 degrees Fahrenheit)

 

Shitora hissed slightly as Ranbou gained an edge in their pushing game. "7? Oh no, I don't do snow," she argued, grunting as she attempted to push back against his boyfriend's stronger, broader back.

 

"It can't snow until zero," Akago pointed out as he twirled a dead wildflower between his thumb and forefinger. "Freezing point."

 

"Yeah, well seven is too fucking close to zero," Shitora shot back. Ranbou took her irritation as an entrance and gave one last push, sending Shitora forward with a yelp. Fortunately, with her dancer's flexibility at her aid, she just widened her legs and lay, face first, in the grass.

 

Bankotsu and Hiten both hissed slightly at the sight. "Aw, gross girl," Bankotsu murmured. "Demon bodies shouldn't do that."

 

As Shitora spat grass and dirt from her mouth, glaring at her triumphantly grinning boyfriend over her shoulder, she replied mischievously, "Oh, you have no idea." The hanyou resettled herself and, to her friends' amazement and horror, sunk down into the center splits. Several of the boys uttered strangled noises, obviously unsettled by the thought of the very action. Many of the girls laughed and shook their heads while Kagome adopted a certain look in her eye; it was time to get off her pitty potty and have some fun.

 

"Okay, that's it, Shitora. Flexibility contest, you, me, right now," Kagome declared, standing up and brushing grass from her behind.

 

Shitora looked mildly surprised as she gracefully unfolded herself from the ground. "Are you sure? Don't hurt yourself, Kags. I was just showin' off."

 

"Yeah, well now we can both show off," Kagome joked in reply, earning a grin from Shitora; her absolute favorite thing was showing off in crowds and this was as good an opportunity as any.

 

"Alright, but I'm warning you," Shitora said arrogantly, pointing to herself. "Dancer."

 

"And I'm warning you," Kagome taunted in return, giving herself a point. "Ex-all-region gymnast."

 

The others exchanged incredulous looks while some gave small exclamations of surprise; Inuyasha even looked up from his brooding to observe. "You did gymnastics?" Sango asked curiously.

 

"She used to do it every single weekend," Rin recalled, shaking her head. "They were so intense; you had to practice like every day and go to all these different trainers. They didn't even go to normal school."

 

"That sounds kind of Olympian," Hiten pointed out.

 

"It was for a while; I stopped to go to High School because I didn't want to go professional," Kagome said dismissively, stretching a few times to limber up for her competition.

 

"There's so much we don't know about you, Kagome," Gan said almost wistfully, smiling slightly.

 

"Oh yes," Kagome agreed with a roguish wink.

 

"Like that tattoo you mentioned," Sesshomaru pointed out with a small grin.

 

Though the others began to make raunchy insinuations and cat calls, Kagome silenced them with frantic waving of her hands. "Okay, okay, okay, not now. Tattoo another day. For now, I'm ready to get dirty with my flexible skillz. That's 'skillz' with a 'z.'" She did some sort of comical gangster motion with her shoulders to punctuate this sentence, causing the others to laugh.

 

"Alright," Shitora said, getting into the spirit of the game. Hands on her hips, she ordered, "Bank, you're a neutral third party; you judge."

 

"Stare at ladies contorting their beautiful bodies? It would be an honor," Bankotsu replied with a comical flourish of his hand.

 

"Let's make it like PIG. One of us does a move and the other has to copy it. We have three misses and we lose," Kagome suggested, earning a nod of approval from Shitora.

 

"I'll start," Shitora declared, unable to decide whether to make it quick so that she looked like the clear victor or draw it out so that she could show off a little more. She decided to first gauge her opponent and tried a simple move. Shitora reached down and grabbed her heel, stretching her leg upwards until it was directly parallel to the line of her body. As a saucy afterthought, she reached out and licked her knee cap.

 

Whilst the audience gave a low sound of approval, earning a naughty wink from their recent performer, Kagome adopted a guileless smile and copied Shitora's move to the tee, licking her knee cap with the same extra sexuality Shitora had exhibited only moments before. Inuyasha felt his mouth go dry at the sight of Kagome's leg practically parallel to the line of her body; every single curve was of a perfection he could barely bring himself to recognize. He and Kagome had generally been avoiding sex in their relationship up until this point, but this entire contest was reminding Inuyasha's lower regions just how lonely his body was becoming. It was difficult to wait when his girlfriend was such a flat out fox...

 

Shitora only looked mildly impressed and gestured for Kagome to continue; Ranbou could tell by the quirking of Shitora's mouth that she was becoming worried, though he doubted the others noticed it. Shitora was generally fearless during competition, or at least her demeanor saw to that. It was small things like the quirking of her eyebrows that reminded him just how vulnerable she could be at times.

 

"Okay, let's see how down and dirty you really want to get," Kagome giggled naughtily, leaning forward slowly so as not to pull a muscle.

 

It looked for a moment as though Kagome were just going to touch her toes, though she continued to stretch and allowed her arms to venture through her legs; it wasn't long before her hands reached up and grabbed her backside garishly, all of this highlighted by the girl's helpless laughter. Though she knew it was immature, Kagome was tickled pink by the fact that she was grabbing her own butt.

 

Competition forgotten for a moment, Shitora laughed as well, clapping her hands with mirth. "Oh shit, I have to grab my ass?"

 

"Somebody's got to, since you won't let me," Ranbou joked, earning himself a hit to the shoulder from both Inuyasha and Sesshomaru.

 

"No share," Inuyasha practically pleaded, wincing slightly at the thought of his little sister engaging in the very sexual activities the sight of a stretching Kagome was provoking in his own mind.

 

Shitora ignored the barks and protests from the peanut gallery as she leaned easily forward and reached back to clasp her butt cheeks. She promptly began to strut around, still holding onto her posterior, while making obnoxious monster noises. "Rawr, angry ass will conquer!" she growled, practically falling forwards as she laughed helplessly.

 

Kagome began to laugh with her and Ayame shook her head, unable to prevent a smile from dusting her own lips. Kouga glanced sideways at her, grinning happily at the sight of his light-hearted friends; there had been far too little smiling lately and he was more than happy to witness a breakthrough such as this.

 

Shitora was just about to run at Kagome, claiming that her "ass would eat everyone in sight," when a strangled sort of voice hailed Kagome from the shrine steps.

 

"Kagome! What on earth!"

 

The crowd of teenagers whirled to find a squat old man tottering towards them, eyes enormously wide and posture hunched. He was carrying a number of strange objects in his hands, most of them dangling from his twisted fingers in a colorful array; he had a skin of some sort thrown over his shoulder, but the demons nearby were unable to identify the smell of it. The old man looked fearfully around at the numerous eyes pointed his way and let out a small sound of distress.

"Demons!" he declared, looking terrified by the very thought.

 

The demons in question suddenly grew hard-eyed and exchanged glances; perhaps just another typical demon-hater. Inuyasha was about to go help the man excuse himself from the shrine when Kagome stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

 

"Wait...that's my grandpa," she explained lamely, rubbing the back of her neck and sighing. "He's the priest here at the shrine. He um...he just...he's not a bigot, I swear. He probably just wants to keep you out of the well house because it's dangerous."

 

Inuyasha regarded her levelly for a moment before asking quietly, "Do you think I'm naïve?"

 

The words struck Kagome and she looked immediately downwards, cheeks flushing awfully as she tried to compose an answer; before she could, however, her grandfather had lumbered up to the group, beginning to brandish some of the strange paper slips in his hands.

 

"Demons be gone!" he declared, taking one of the strips and sticking it boldly to the demon nearest him, which happened to be Akago.

 

Everyone gasped and waited for a moment, prepared to see Akago burst into flamed or turn to dust; the Shark leader stared down at the paper on his arm, looking as though he smelled something foul, before he finally removed it carefully and stood to face Kagome's grandfather. Silver eyebrows gently raised, he asked, "I'm sorry sir, did you think we meant harm? We're Kagome's friends from Tokyo. We've come to help you repair your home."

 

There was a silence amongst the group, Kagome and her grandfather included; the old man stared up at this wise looking boy curiously, almost as though he'd never seen anything like him. Gan silently surmised that he probably hadn't, as meeting Akago was like a once in a lifetime experience. Grandpa Higurashi squinted ever so slightly, almost looking for a reason to dislike this young man, though he seemed to find none and relaxed, albeit uncomfortably.

 

"I see. Kagome, you didn't mention that your friends were...not human," the old man said, finally deciding on the last vernacular after a good deal of deliberating. Judging by the sour look on Sesshomaru's face, it was the incorrect one.

 

"Yes I did," Kagome replied, looking mildly confused. "I mentioned it to Mom a lot. Like, a lot." From the blank looks on her grandfather's face, the information had never passed hands. Kagome sighed heavily and ran a hand through her hair, sending a sideways glance at Inuyasha; he looked old. Something about the set of his jaw, the way his eyes couldn't shift anywhere but the horizon...he looks positively ancient and bitter.

 

"Well, I was not aware," her grandfather replied quietly, sounding almost as though he were seething with anger or disappointment. "I'll be in my study. I would advise all of you to stay away from the well house; it would not be kind to you." And with one last sharp glare, the old man turned on his tortured heels and retreated back into the house, leaving a sudden emptiness in the once bright sunlight.

 

Kagome felt so frustrated, so overcome with irritation, that she wanted to run inside after her insane old relative and beat him to a bloody pulp, screaming all the while. Inuyasha seemed to understand the thoughts she was entertaining for he took her hand quietly in his, muttering, "It's no big deal, Kags. We're used to it."

 

Kagome couldn't understand how this was the case, coming from a liberal city like Tokyo, but she shut her mouth abruptly and returned to her guilty self-loathing. If none of her friends were impolite enough to berate her about this whole incident, she would just have to do it herself.

 

Lunch was a solemn affair, tainted by Grandpa Higurashi's distrusting glares, Souta's embarrassed reverence towards Sesshomaru, and Mrs. Higurashi's silent mourning over her recently deceased cat, which she indeed had discovered at the foot of the shrine steps. Kouga had yet to return from the bedroom; Ayame seemed uncomfortable with her boyfriend's prolonged absence, but only ate her lunch wordlessly. Gan was having a good deal of difficulty eating her sandwich, which required her picking the thing up gingerly in her burned, bandaged hands; Akago was watching her like a hawk, waiting for the slightest sign of discomfort. Miroku and Bankotsu, being the bright souls they were, had attempted to pick up the conversation countless times but found themselves unrewarded. There was simply no happiness to be had on a day like this.

 

"Well, kids, if you're ready, I'd let to get started," Mrs. Higurashi said quietly some twenty minutes later, trying to push the sight of her mangled cat further back in her mind. "Kagome, if you and the girls would like to begin on the inside, I think the boys can get started on the lawn. Dad and I have already set up some trash piles for you to add to and the tools are in the shed around back." Nodding slightly to her work crew and simultaneously offering the smallest of smiles, the woman excused herself, looking weak enough that she might cry. Kagome almost went after her but decided to refrain; her mother obviously wanted to be alone.

 

After another one of their deafening silences, the teenagers practically stood up in unison and bid farewell to one another, hurrying off to their respective jobs. Kagome motioned the girls towards the living room, where the damage appeared to be the worst, while the boys trooped off to clean up the ferocious looking yard. Inuyasha gave Kagome a scant smile as he left, bringing little warmth to her; she knew he was only smiling for her benefit. He was clearly not happy at the moment.

 

"Alright girls, let's just get the debris out of here," Kagome said resolutely, gesturing to the broken pieces of what might once have been furniture. Some of the other items weren't quite as discernable, but the other girls just rolled up their sleeves and nodded; this was going to get messy.

 

9191919

 

Inuyasha wiped a hand across his brow and let out a labored breath, glancing up at the cloudy skies. With the storm front, a stifling humidity had followed and the boys now worked tirelessly beneath it, hoping soon for relief from the awful weather. Sweat rolled down his back and into the band of his jeans, causing Inuyasha to wince; nothing could ever feel quite as disgusting.

 

"It's nasty out here, man," Miroku grunted, reading Inuyasha's thoughts and eliciting a growl of sorts from his hanyou friend.

 

For the past hour, the boys had been moving the enormous pieces of debris littering the Higurashi's lawn towards the pile behind the house, tirelessly repeating the process in relative quiet. The demons were moving their way systematically across the lawn, growing closer to their trash pile by the minute. It was simply the sheer number of pieces they were dealing with that made the whole things so difficult; the only one who's patience seemed unbothered was Sesshomaru.

 

Even Akago was growing annoyed; he wanted to dart inside and check on Gan, who he knew must be ruing the day she touched boiling strips with her bare hands, but he knew it would only be awkward for both of them. Still, it was distracting him.

 

"Penny for your thoughts?" Sesshomaru asked slyly, glancing at his white haired friend and obviously prepared to strike up their morning conversation for the second time.

 

Akago scowled and replied, "No pennies from you, thanks. I won't speak of the matter again."

 

"What, the matter where you and Gan wanna do it?" Ranbou asked crassly as he passed by with an impossibly large beam slung over his naked shoulder. Since Mrs. Higurashi seemed completely unoffended by tattoos, he'd given up trying to hide and now bore his naked chest proudly, inked as it was.

 

Akago gritted his teeth and attempted to count to ten. He knew the others would only try to irritate him to the point where stupid outbursts might occur; he wouldn't allow himself to reach that point. Angling his classically handsome face to the side, Akago adopted a wry smirk and replied silkily, "You're hardly one to lecture on unfulfilled sexual desires, are you Ranbou?"

 

The wolf demon grew so red in the face, Akago swore he might puncture. He eventually turned abruptly and began practically jogging towards the trash pile, eager to be away from the conversation. Sesshomaru looked a little miffed by the subject of his sister's sex life, however indirect, and gave Akago an irritable eye.

 

"Keep that particular conversation to a minimum, please," he implored quietly, belaying some of his fears on the issue.

 

Akago decided to take this to his advantage. "You of course know they've come close," he said flatly.

 

"Of course," Sesshomaru snorted in reply. "They're two of the most fundamentally sexual beings on the planet. But she'll always be my sister and knowing and talking about it is too..." Unable to find the right word, the dog demon trailed off.

 

Akago grinned. "Intrusive? Inappropriate? Uncomfortable?"

 

Sesshomaru could already see where this was going and finally conceded, smiling ruefully. "Alright, you trapped me. No more comments from this side, I promise."

 

Akago was just about to smile with a mixture of triumphance and thankfulness when Hiten strode up to the group, also shirtless at this point. "Oh, are we talking about how Ranbou and Shitora haven't had sex yet?"

 

"Three months and they still haven't? That's like Bou's personal record," Bankotsu added in lightly, black eyebrows nearly disappearing into his hairline.

 

Ranbou happened to walk by as the boys discussed his sex life with great enthusiasm; his already face threatened to turn a terrible purple, but he seemed to swallow the urge and turned violently away, fervently wishing that Lysander were with him. Lysander wouldn't pry into his business like those low lives would; he would just smile his blithe surfer's smile and reassure his angry friend with a pat on the back. Ranbou didn't think the other's would ever understand his reasons for not pushing it with Shitora, but he was hardly of a mind to care; he just knew that soon, he would break in half. Maybe if she weren't so damn beautiful, it wouldn't be a problem.

 

"Like a bunch of chatty girls, huh?"

 

The oldest Ookami son glanced up at his brother, who seemed to have appeared out of thin air. His scent was different in the slightest of ways and it confused Ranbou for a moment; when his eyes finally lighted upon the cast, he knew. Several emotions, confusion and hurt being the most prominent, wove their way through Ranbou's tendons and down through his muscles, into his veins, straight to his heart; a member of his pack was hurt and it practically burned him.

 

"What is that, Kouga?" Ranbou asked quietly, aghast as he pointed to the lily white cast on his brother's arm.

 

"Oh what, this?" Kouga joked, lifting his cast to inspect it against the sunlight, which peeked eerily through the grey clouds in small slivers. "Yeah, it sorta sucks. Broke my wrist."

 

Ranbou stared down at the cast, which seemed downright offensive to his eyes; never before had he or his brother been hurt in such a way. They'd broken bones, sure, but a cast had never been required; they'd normally just gritted their teeth and waited a few days for the pain to subside. If even his seemingly impenetrable brother required this sort of treatment, the break was worse than even Ranbou could imagine.

 

"When?" the older wolf asked blankly.

 

Kouga shrugged, taking a seat on a nearby stump. "Complicated question. Gan says its stress fracture, so I played on a messed up wrist and it turned out like this. I cared a whole lot an hour ago and now I just can't make myself; is that weird? It's like an out."

 

Ranbou found himself slightly bewildered as he took a seat in front of his brother, stretching out his long arms and legs. "I guess it is. An out, I mean. If you don't wanna play or-"

 

"That's not what I was getting at," Kouga interrupted quickly, eyes hardening. "I meant...with everything. I can just kinda coast for a week or two, think about things, not worry about whatever the hell is on my to-do list. Cause chances are, I can't do it. Free of obligation; that's what I'm thinkin'."

 

Ranbou mulled over the idea for a moment, allowing the incoming cold front to cool the sweat rolling down his skin. He hadn't been free of obligation for so many weeks now...maybe even months. He and Sesshomaru were arguably the most important members of the Southern Gangs and neither had been faring well as of late, physically or emotionally. Suddenly, Ranbou felt a pang of envy steal him; he was actually jealous that Kouga had broken his wrist. It was sick.

 

"Don't worry about it, man," Ranbou said reassuringly, pushing his sick thoughts aside to comfort his brother. "What's two weeks anyway?"

 

"Nothin," Kouga replied strongly, nodding to himself. His ice blue eyes held a shaky sort of conviction, as though he barely believed himself. "Once I show Aya, it's all downhill from there."

 

Ranbou nodded gruffly, hefting a shovel from the tool pile and glancing across the lawn at one of the massive shrine trees, which was leaning precariously to the side; obviously, an over zealous riot-goer had practically ripped the thing from the ground. Kouga followed his brother's gaze and murmured, "I'll keep you company."

 

It was fairly obvious that Kouga would rather help extricate the tree than watch it be done, but Ranbou could only give Kouga what he assumed he needed; as a notorious tough guy, Ranbou was terrible at comforting anyone, let alone his injured brother. With another gruff nod, the two brothers walked stiffly towards the tree, striking up stilted conversation as they tried to support one another.

 

Sesshomaru, meanwhile, paused in shoveling up the dead remains of a dead possum, obviously caught in the crosshairs of the battle, to observe his friends and family as they worked. Bankotsu and Hiten had extricated themselves from the gossip circle and were now speaking in quiet tones as they cleared dead shrubbery from the undergrowth. Akago, after their brief encounter, had taken to bagging up broken tree limbs and moved gracefully across the lawn, chest the pale and beautiful white of his face. Miroku and Inuyasha were laughing about something or other, happiest in each other's company like always. Kouga and Ranbou had just moved towards the leaning tree and Sesshomaru could see Kouga's cast clearly from where he stood; it made him wince just to look at it.

 

Despite the occasional laughter and spare smile, the whole group was rather morose. It bothered Sesshomaru to think that his once easy going friends were slipping into the funk of adulthood, and all of them only 17 and 18. Sesshomaru had been forced to grow up due to the extenuating circumstances of his position and his family, but he hardly wanted that fate for his friends. They were all so innocent, it seemed like, no matter how many women they'd slept with or how many cars they'd jacked; they would always be carefree middle schoolers in his mind.

 

"You look kind of nostalgic."

 

Sesshomaru turned to find Rin standing to his right, smiling brightly at him from her significantly shorter height. Sesshomaru sighed, knowing that she saw right through him as always. "Perhaps," he allowed, glancing down at the unappetizing possum remains on his shovel head. "I think senior year is making me think these things, with all the leaving and finality."

 

Rin shrugged, taking a seat on the stump Kouga had occupied only minutes before. She was glad to escape the stuffy indoors, which were now exploding with the tension of several stressed out teenage girls. "Senior year is making me think a lot of things. Future-ific things."

 

"You mean futuristic?" Sesshomaru prompted with a wide grin; Rin could always make him smile.

 

She blushed lightly. "Yeah, that. You know how it is...jobs, getting a place, maybe college, maybe...family."

 

Sesshomaru noticed that as his girlfriend mentioned family, she looked rather specifically down at the ground, as though hoping she could avoid his eyes more easily. He watched her carefully, brushing away a stray silver hair as it obscured his vision; he wanted to look at her clearly. Rin had always been a source of amusement and contentment for him; she was unassuming, caring and generally everything he was not. Her humor abounded, she treated everything with the exact same velvet hand, and her enthusiasm never waned on any subject. She put her heart into everything so freely...he wondered how there was any of her heart left for him.

 

But as she toed at the loose dirt on the ground, cheeks beginning to grow almost crimson, he remembered for the umpteenth time that even little Rin could be embarrassed and unsure. Apparently, family was a subject about which she wondered; it looked as though her doubt was real and the dog demon immediately felt responsible. Laying his shovel carefully over the dead possums gruesome remains, Sesshomaru approached the stump and nudged Rin to the left, taking a seat beside her. As she turned her head farther away from him, her hair brushed his naked side and the great Southern leader shivered; she was like an unknowing temptress.

 

"Family?" he echoed, sounding absolutely casual.

 

She nodded, an action which looked like it took a great amount of effort, and closed her eyes fretfully; she was apparently afraid of his reaction.

 

Deciding to make this easier for both of them, Sesshomaru replied off-handedly, "Well, I thought it was obvious; I've always intended to marry you, I think, from the first day we met. If that's what you want, of course. I would never force you to-"

 

"Sesshomaru!"

 

The dog demon grunted as he was unceremoniously launched off the tree stump, knocked askew by his girlfriend's enthusiastic response. Rin had literally thrown herself at him and the two fell to the hard ground swiftly, not seeming to notice the aghast stares from their friends as they engaged in a happy kiss. Sesshomaru was laughing when they finally broke apart, obviously tickled pink by the idea that his girlfriend was so excited.

 

"So is that a yes?" he asked almost hopefully.

 

"I don't know, was that a proposal?" Rin challenged, one eyebrow cocked challengingly.

 

The two stared at one another for a moment before Sesshomaru finally said, "Consider that a preliminary warning. I'm going to propose to you when you least expect it."

 

Rin huffed slightly, still straddling the demon's chest like an imperious child. "Seriously? But it doesn't count now because I know that you're going to ask!"

 

"Of course it counts. I don't have the ring to give to you, first of all, I haven't asked your father's permission secondly, and thirdly, I'm half-naked in a decimated yard shoveling up a dead possum. Do you really want me to make it official now?" Sesshomaru asked incredulously, looking quite skeptical.

 

Rin seemed to deliberate these valid points for a few moments, lips pouted, before she deemed his answer acceptable. "Okay, I see your point." As she clambered off, she informed her boyfriend dangerously, "But if you do it at prom or graduation, I will absolutely and totally kill you. We can do cute, but not cliché. And besides, I won't look cute at graduation. And prom is for sex, not marriage proposals."

 

Sesshomaru hid a smile at his girlfriend's serious points before he replied elegantly, "Of course, my dearest Madame. Not at prom or graduation; dully noted."

 

Rin helped pull her boyfriend into a standing position, watching as he unfolded to his superior height and brushed the grass and dirt from his arms. The small girl moved around to clear his back of debris as she muttered almost stiffly, "Don't you Madame me, good sir. I'm expecting a pretty impressive proposal now."

 

"And you'll get one," Sesshomaru confirmed, leaning down and kissing the tip of Rin's nose affectionately.

 

He was positively beaming, which prompted her to do the same. The teenagers stood there, glowing at one another for a moment, before Sango's voice hailed Rin from the porch. "C'mon, Rin, that's one helluva a long drink of water!"

 

Rin sighed and murmured, "Gotta go, but we'll finish this later, okay?"

 

Sesshomaru could only smile as Rin darted away towards the house, hair flying out behind her as she hurried up the steps and entered the shrine house, arguing with Sango all the way. The dog demon sighed as he watched her go, smiling helplessly, pretending all the while that he hadn't noticed the curious stares coming from the other boys in the yard. With demon hearing at their aid, they'd overheard the entire conversation.

 

"Dude, seriously?" Inuyasha asked, obviously curious. His brother hadn't mentioned anything about marriage before and this came as a bit of a shock.

 

Sesshomaru shrugged and looked as though he were seconds away from getting back to his dead possum. "Sure. I didn't think it would surprise you."

 

Inuyasha mumbled dumbly, "I guess it doesn't, but shit man, that was sudden."

 

"Yeah," Miroku agreed, eyeing Sesshomaru with a disbelieving violet stare.

 

Sesshomaru regarded the others mutely for an uncomfortably long period of time before he seemed to decide that no explanation was necessary. With a simple smug grin in his brother's direction, Sesshomaru hefted his shovel and scooped up the dead possum excitedly, tossing it robustly towards the trash pile.

 

"Today is a good day," he declared proudly, staring defiantly up at the quickly clouding skies.

 

The others exchanged confused glances before shaking their heads and returning to work; as far as they were concerned, this entire day was fucked.

 

9191919

 

That night the storms raged. Enormous cells had blown in from the gulf and the lightning was blinding, the thunder deep and foreboding; the only saving grace for the Higurashi family was that Inuyasha and Miroku had managed to install every new window pane before the rain hit. Water damage would've only intensified the ever-worsening cost of this entire fiasco and Kagome knew the shrine wasn't making enough money to support an entire house renovation.

 

Especially for the demons, it was difficult to sleep with such noise from the outside. Many of them lay awake in their sleeping bags, anxiously listening for the breathing of their girlfriends and boyfriends across the room. None of them dared to join their significant others for fear that they might offend their hostess; Ms. Higurashi was laid back, but probably not one for teenage coupling in her home. The absence of their loved ones at their sides made the gang members nervous and several of them felt oddly cold without that familiar warmth.

 

Gan lay awake in her sleeping bag, her burnt hands throbbing slightly. The pain had lessened a good deal from the afternoon and she knew the preliminary burns were already beginning the heal; this didn't, however, make the injury itself any less painful. As another jolt of lightning crashed, Gan felt a shiver makes it way down her cold neck; of course it had to storm tonight. A night when she was already weak. A night when she couldn't afford her greatest weakness to make its way through her tough exterior. She couldn't afford this. Not tonight.

 

As a deafening boom of thunder hit, Gan actually jumped and let out a small gasp, cursing herself silently for being caught so off guard. As she imagined the presence of lightning and thunder, the electricity ravaging every cell in her body, the thunder screaming at her to lay down and take it, she shivered a second time and decided that she must get out of this room. Immediately.

 

When she stood to her feet, nearly everyone in the room sat up; apparently, even most of the humans were awake.

 

"Gan, are you okay?" came Kagome's soft voice; it was ridiculous to whisper, she knew, since there was no one sleeping to be disturbed by it, but it just seemed so natural in the dark.

 

Gan blinked, staring around the dark room at the eerily glowing demon eyes, and murmured, "Um, yeah, bathroom."

 

"Is that why you gasped?" Sango's skeptical voice rang out.

 

Gan replied frostily, "It was a very sudden urge. I'll be back in a minute."

 

She was just heading to the door, careful not to trip over anyone's prone body, when Kagome said apologetically, "Um, Gan? We don't have any plumbing, remember? So...you would have to go outside..."

 

Gan stopped dead in her tracks, struck momentarily motionless by the thought of actually venturing out in this horrible weather. Finally, she swallowed thickly and made her way back towards her sleeping back, muttering, "I'll hold it. Don't worry about it."

 

As she crawled back beneath the covers of her sleeping bag, trying to ignore the ominous sounds of the storm, someone was suddenly at her side. This time, Gan let out a small shriek of surprise, whacking her head immediately on the hard floor; the figure beside her jumped slightly as well, holding out a pale white hand to steady her. A bolt of lightning flashed through the room, illuminating the whole scene for a split second; Akago's worried face arrived in her vision for the merest moment.

 

"Living Christ, Akago!" Gan muttered harshly, rubbing the back of her head. "Can't you be even a little bit loud when you walk? Just a little?"

 

Several of the others sniggered at the request and Akago muttered sheepishly, "My apologies, Gan, I didn't mean to surprise you. I'm going to go move the van under an overhang; it's not sturdy enough to take this kind of beating. Will you join me, since you're already up?"

 

Gan felt her mouth go dry; go out in the storm? The terrible, loud, killer storm? She shut her eyes fretfully, trying to delve up some sort of excuse. Akago's kind, handsome face was still looking expectantly down at her, his crimson eyes glowing just above his glass-cutting cheekbones, that perfect mouth of his slightly shadowed by a sliver of brilliant white hair. It was hard to deny anyone when they looked like that, but the storm...Gan was completely torn.

 

Akago studied his second-in-command for a moment, silently marveling over the beautiful shade of her eyes; they were such an odd violet, especially as wide as they were now. She was looking up at him blankly, as though she didn't know what to say. Akago felt that familiar perplexing feeling invade his normally perfect senses. He never knew quite what to make of Gan and most certainly never knew what she was thinking. It drove him to madness and for the merest moment, he allowed his mind-reading abilities to seep out through his presence; fear, fear, fear.

 

The boy blinked, trying to take in the thought his mind had just perceived in Gan's. He didn't know her to be afraid of much and certainly not one specific thing. He furrowed his brow, trying to discern what was so different about this moment than any others; only when the thunder bellowed and Gan shivered visibly did he finally understand.

 

"I only need you to help direct me in the rain," Akago explained, trying to hint at his true meaning without embarrassing her. "You don't have to go out in this storm or anything; just motion from the porch."

 

The two of them met eyes for a single moment and she knew that he knew; her jaw went slightly slack and she felt a blush flame to her cheeks, yet she said nothing and only nodded hitchingly, standing with his assistance and following him out to the hallway. The entire house looked like something out of a horror film, what with its still broken furniture and hideous shadows, worsened only by the fleeting flashes of light from outside. Akago stepped carefully around the less noticeable obstructions in their path, helping Gan around the nails and broken planks her human eyes were unable to see. When they finally arrived at the outside door, Akago bit his lips slightly and looked from Gan to the door and back again.

 

Before he could make any sort of decision, Gan murmured, "It's alright; I'll go out. The van will be right in front of me, I'm not some witless ninny running around without a head. Don't underestimate me."

 

"Underestimating you is the last thing I'll ever do," Akago replied quietly, though Gan was still able to hear his answer over the storm. She looked slightly confused for a moment and he suddenly looked embarrassed, as people often do when they've said something profound. Eager to be away from her searching eyes, Akago gave her one last reassuring nod before heading out into the storm, keys in hand.

 

It took Akago a good three minutes to descend the steps of the shrine in the pouring rain and make his way to the van, which was parked against the now overflowing curb. Gan could see little in the weather and could only wait for the boy to drive around the block and bring the car up the hill passage, which Kagome had described to the others earlier. Gan clutched at her t-shirt hem and shut her eyes tightly as the storm raged just beyond the screen door; there was very little between her and the awful weather now. She sat in the dark hallway, huddled against the wall and hiding behind a curtain of blonde hair, as though it would all protect her from the inevitable fate of electrocution.

 

When the headlights finally cut through the rain, Gan bit her lip and tried to stifle her shivering, walking a few shaky steps towards the door. With slight hesitation, she threw it open and began making her way carefully across the wooden porch, throwing her arm to the side to bring Akago safely under the sheet metal awning around the house. The Higurashis kept an old Honda van there, but their appeared to be room for Akago to park the bus. Gan squinted against the storm, glad to be focused on a task rather than her imminent death. Akago was apparently able to make out her thin arms through the storm and parked the van safely beneath the overhang; the lights went off like a dying ember.

 

Akago made it to the porch at a hitching speed, apparently spent from running all the way to the street. Gan nearly gasped as she watched him straggle up onto the porch, literally soaked from head to toe; pieces of white hair stuck to his forehead and his t-shirt stuck to him like a second skin, a dingy gray as opposed to its normal white. Gan quickly took his arm and led him into the house, hurriedly taking him towards the kitchen; their footsteps were slick on the floor. Akago took a seat by the kitchen table as Gan gathered towels from a basket in the laundry room. He smiled faintly as she skittered around in her oversized t-shirt, looking perfectly calm with just an edge of frazzledness. It was so perfectly like her.

 

Before he could blink she was upon him, rubbing down his head with a towel that smelt faintly of detergent. She was mumbling as she did so, saying things like, "If you were a human, you'd catch a ridiculous cold from this," and "that old van isn't worth your spit, I can't believe you would risk yourself over such a ridiculous thing."

 

Akago glanced up at Gan as she began wiping off his neck, apparently done with his hair; her violet eyes were concentrated and slightly raw, a sure sign that her defenses were down. Several blonde curls were falling over her thin shoulders, looking like a pale waterfall in the watery moonlight from the kitchen window; in her haste to dry him, Gan had unwittingly moved up against the chair between Akago's widely spread legs. It was a position which proved to be nothing be innocent for the two of them, yet Akago knew it could be perceived as so much more by men twice the world over. He knew better, though; he knew his Gan well.

 

Gan paused in her drying for a moment when a terrifying blast of lightning and its accompanying thunder rocked the entire city; the glass rattled in its panes and a tree outside gave a frightening creak. Akago could smell her beautiful scent with an edge of fear tingeing its frayed edges; it was in that moment that he followed his instincts to the end of their rope.

 

Akago reached out his weary arms, drawing Gan to him with the gentle insistence of a wind. Sitting as he was, his head came to rest perfectly against Gan's stomach and he reveled in the feeling of her t-shirt against his bare skin; she intook a sharp breath and seemed to deliberate for a moment.

 

Gan felt as though she'd been dreaming for several minutes, what with waiting for him in the rain, directing him in such a hazy splendor and finding herself drying him with a towel in the most ambiguously intimate situation she'd ever encountered between them. Now he was holding her against him, protecting her perhaps; Gan was unsure whether or not he intended to protect her, but she suddenly felt very safe all the same. It was a feeling which always accompanied Akago, yet it was intense and living in this particular moment.

 

Without another thought, Gan allowed the towel to drop to the ground as she reached out and cradled his damp head to her chest, leaning down to shelter what parts of him she could. Even though he was supposedly the comforter in this situation, Gan couldn't help but feel as though she had her duties as well. Their relationship was a strange one of friendship and love...yes, she could say love now. And duty. There was always duty to her, but it didn't taint him. She enjoyed duty. And she enjoyed Akago.

 

The storm could've beaten down the house and both Gan and Akago would've failed to notice. They were not passionate in the way that lustful lovers usually are; they were calm and collected in a way which could only belong to genius. They were content to simply hold one another for an undetermined length of time, a span of waking life only subject to their delicate fancy. Eyes closed, breathing even, hands wrapped around their most important possessions: each other.

 

9191919

 

Was that a treat? I hope so. I did some fan art for it, though you guys know I'm not an artist like I am a writer; I wish I was a good artist, but doesn't everyone? It's like wanting to be a good dancer and stuff like that.

 

But thanks for waiting and here's Rin's playlist:

 

Rin:

1. Love Song- Sara Bareilles

2. Poor Little Rich Boy- Regina Spektor

3. Side 2- Dressy Bessy

4. Ray Ray Rain- Bettie Serveert

5. Nasty Naughty Boy- Christina Aguilera

6. Across the Universe- Rufus Wainwright

7. My Alcoholic Friends- Dresden Dolls

8. As The Rush Comes- Motorcycle

9. Wine Red- The Hush Sounds

10. Here With Me- Dido

11. Fuck Them Bitches- Kelis

12. Indiana- Meg & Dia

13. Corner Of Your Heart- Ingrid Michaelson

14. Scratch- Kendall Payne

15. Want It All Back- Yoko Kanno

16. 24- Jem

17. Hide and Seek- Imogen Heap

18. Dancing Dirt Into the Snow- Missy Higgins

19. How Am I Doing- Anna Waronker

20. Cherry Lips- Garbage

 

I'll see you guys next chapter; love always.

 

KOLU