InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Laying Down the Law ❯ Gearing Up ( Chapter 3 )

Truckin' right along. Thanks to my reviewers! I've decided to take some advice and make Kagome a little less naïve, but not scarred necessarily. I delve into pasts in this chapter, it's a really important chapter. So yeah. Read on and thank you to all my reviewers:

 

Cold Kikyo

Princess Angel

Dark Saint

NICELY DONE! (lol, that's your name)

 

Disclaimer: Anything you recognize, I don't own. It's either a product of Rumiko Takahashi, Yamaha, Saleen or Mitsubishi.

 

The next morning, Sesshomaru awoke at the ripe hour of eleven and decided it was time to greet the day. Suddenly, he remembered that the race was tonight and he groaned; there was so much to be done before seven that evening. Stretching his muscular limbs routinely, he slipped on a black wife beater and black jeans, grabbing his Fangs jacket on his way out the door.

 

In the hallway, Sesshomaru became increasingly aware of Inuyasha's snores, which were echoing throughout the house, shaking the rafters and walls. Sighing, the older Taisho brother walked swiftly down the hall and threw open Inuyasha's door, yelling above the noise for his brother to wake up. When Inuyasha showed no signs of doing so, Sesshomaru took a few bold steps inside the room. Clothes were strewn about the floor and the entire place smelt of Axe; the dog demon had to cover his sensitive nose just to keep from fainting.

 

Finally, Sesshomaru gave a great a mighty bark, which vibrated the entire house and set off a nearby car alarm. Inuyasha woke with a start, tumbling off the bed in only his boxers.

 

"Get up," Sesshomaru said quietly, smirking to himself as he exited the room. As an after thought, he called back, "Be downstairs in thirty seconds or your walking to headquarters."

 

As Inuyasha recalled that his car was at headquarters for renovations, he jumped into action, pulling on jeans, a white wife beater and just narrowly grabbing his jacket off the banister on his way out. He jumped into the passenger's seat of Sesshomaru's restored Saleen S7 Twin turbo just as his brother was pulling onto the street, narrowly escaping death-by-hitting-mailbox.

 

"Jesus, Sesshomaru, what's your frickin' problem?!" he asked angrily, trying to get the air vent to blow in his face; Tokyo summers were hot and brutal.

 

"You're the one who can never get up on time. Besides, we have business. The race is at seven and we haven't tested or tuned up any of our racers, plus you still need to work on Bankotsu's Spyder. Be thankful I got you up, or you'd be in deep shit with the Cobras," came Sesshomaru's dry reply.

 

The Cobras were one of the nearby gangs, fiercely loyal to one another and abundant in numbers. They were lead by Bankotsu Hayashi, who was flanked on all sides by his six brothers. They were a mix matched family of adopted boys, picked up from all corners of the world by Bankotsu's passionate mother, and were literally thick as thieves. The Cobras had an eerie talent for coming up with anything you asked for, appliances, CDs, clothing, without price tags or receipts. In other words, the Cobras were experienced crooks. Generous crooks, but crooks none the less.

 

There was brief moment of silence before Inuyasha asked, "Did you write Shitora last night?"

 

His older brother sighed, flipping on his blinker. "Didn't have time. I'll do it tonight."

 

"You better, or Shitora'll shit a brick," Inuyasha laughed with a small smile; what he wouldn't give to see his sister again.

 

Shitora Taisho was a half demon like her brother Inuyasha, Inutaisho's only daughter and little princess. When Inutaisho's wife Izayoi died, he feared Shitora might never learn the ways of women and sent her to live with his sister, Naomi. Naomi lived in a high class town renowned for its uppity society parties, country clubs and prissy boarding schools. Shitora attended one of these boarding schools and lived with her Aunt all year round, coming home on the occasional Christmas. She hadn't been home to Tokyo in 3 years. This was a devastating blow for the Taisho brothers, for the three children were very close; though the tough gang boys might not admit it, they missed their wild little sister and knew no high class society could contain her for long. Just like them, she was a smoking, cussing, car racing machine and she couldn't stand the upper class and all its rules. Unfortunately, no one could convince Inutaisho to bring her home. Some say it was because she looked exactly like her mother.

 

"You still polish her motorcycle, don't you?" Sesshomaru asked suddenly, peering over at his little brother. Inuyasha looked away, refusing to answer the question and seeming preoccupied with the passing scenery. Smiling a bit, Sesshomaru said, "I thought so."

 

When the Saleen pulled up to the warehouse, Sesshomaru and Inuyasha found the large door open. Like most warehouses in the area, the Fang headquarters had one small door for regular entrances and one large one which took up an entire wall of the warehouse. It was built like and airplane hangar, if you will, and today the Fangs had raised the wall.

 

The others were already there and preparing for the night's race, working on motorcycles, cars and making phone calls to other gangs. Kouga was discussing the cam caps on a Yamaha FZ1 with Ayame, who was quite an experienced mechanic. Her father owned a mechanics shop on the corner of Salter and 29th, right inside the jurisdiction of the Fangs. He happened to be an ex-Fang member himself, back in his high school days, and he wasn't keen on the idea of his daughter being involved. Though the two argued about the issue daily, Mr. Saitou was always willing to help out Ayame's friends with their mechanical problems; he was a desperately kind soul, just like his daughter.

 

Rin was sitting back in the lounge corner, dressed in a sports bra and a leather skirt, talking on her cell phone to Ranbou, leader of the Reikons and experienced motorcycle racer. She seemed to be sweet talking him into entering the race quite nicely and no one dared bother her while she attended to business.

 

Miroku and Sango were elbow deep in the transmission of a red RX7 which read the Kanji characters for "spirit" and "determination" on the side. They seemed to be arguing about something as they did so, though Miroku continued to laugh at random intervals, serving only to make Sango angrier.

 

As the Taisho brothers walked into the warehouse, assorted greetings were called and Rin glanced up from her phone call, saying quickly, "Ranbou, I gotta go; Yash just walked in and he doesn't know about...well, some stuff. So, not racing, but see you tonight? You're a doll, by honey."

 

Flipping the phone shut with a quick snap of her wrist, Rin leapt of the counter and jogged towards Inuyasha and Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru groaned a little, looking away from his girlfriend as she came bouncing...erm...running up to them. Inuyasha grinned, giving his brother a pat on the back before Rin arrived, slightly out of breath.

 

"Yash, I need to talk to you really fast. Oh, hey baby," she said almost as a second thought, leaning up to kiss a pained Sesshomaru briefly on the lips.

 

Miroku muffled a snicker into his left hand as Sango rolled her eyes plaintively. "You think she'd remember the whole boobs issue by now," the girl mused. "She's had them for at least four years now."

 

Kagome was incredibly bored as she sat against the warehouse wall, wearing baggy jeans and a black singlet; she'd ditched her preppy clothes upon getting up that morning, realizing that fashion was of absolutely no consequence in this town. She might as well just wear what she felt and that day, she felt rather grungy. She also felt useless, seeing as though she'd never worked on cars in her life and couldn't help the others in the least. The only thing she understood around this place was the tools; her father had been a contractor before he died and he'd taught her quite a bit about building houses. Mechanic tools were slightly different, however, and she didn't trust herself to tell them apart from one another. Too bad her father wasn't alive today, she thought almost wistfully; the shrine where she lived back in Kyoto could certainly use a new roof and some foundation sealing. Her stepfather was hardly the work-around-the-house type. He's not really the "in-the-house" type, period, Kagome thought bitterly. Her stepfather was probably a wonderful guy; he just wasn't home enough for her to know.

 

Kagome noticed Inuyasha and Sesshomaru's interest and her blood boiled slightly; that Inuyasha was a selfish, arrogant prick. She had to admit, though; the boy was quite handsome. At the current moment, Rin had pulled Inuyasha aside and she was speaking to him with an earnest expression on her face. Kagome could only guess what they were talking about, most likely Kikyo's current location in the psychiatric clinic. Now, Inuyasha had his hands on his hips and he was looking down at the ground, his beautiful white bangs covering his face. For a moment, Kagome's heart went out to him; it must be hard to hear someone you cared about was in a clinic. She knew from personal experience it was hard to see someone you cared about in the hospital, hooked up to several machines, not even breathing on their own, pale as snow, lifeless...

 

She shook the memories away. No use in whining about the past. Still...I miss him so much...

 

"...and we can visit her whenever we want. The doctor said it was good I brought her because she was suffering from severe depression...I'm sorry Yash, I bet this must be hard for you. I wish I could help, but..." Rin's voice broke a little and she turned away, wondering where these tears were coming from. She hadn't cried in years and it wasn't the time to start.

 

"S'alright, Rin, you did the right thing," Inuyasha said quietly, embracing the girl lightly before ruffling her hair. "She'll pull through," he barely whispered, offering the girl a barely-there smile before walking towards the car elevators.

 

Rin compose herself briefly before turning and walking towards Sesshomaru, who was reading over papers at the desk in the lounge. He glanced up, seeing the distraught look on his girlfriend's face, and he immediately diverted his attention from the papers.

 

"Rin, what's wrong baby?" he asked, thoroughly puzzled; Rin was so rarely upset, it was startling to see her looking so melancholy.

 

Rin just sighed, sitting own across from Sesshomaru and resting her elbows on the table, holding her head in her hands. "Kikyo's at a psyche clinic," she said in a tired, muffled voice.

 

The leader of the Fangs blinked quirking an eyebrow. "Why?"

 

"Long story short, she broke down when I went to see her, not like beggin' to come back er nothin', just over...sex. She's gotta have it, like a disease or somethin', an I knew somethin' was up. So I took her to a psyche clinic and she's got severe depression. They think the nymphomania is a side effect of that, er some shit. I dunno, Sesh, I just dunno. Things are pretty crazy right now..." Rin mumbled, sitting up and running a troubled hand through her hair. "Now my core group's down to three and this is gonna be a blow to the rest of my girls. I haven't told Sango and Ayame yet...this is such a fuckin' mess."

 

Sighing a little, Sesshomaru reached across the table and gently took Rin's hands in his. "Look me in the eyes, Rin," he said firmly, watching as she raised her head almost shamefully. "You can't control any of these things, so you shouldn't blame yourself. You're just adding to all the stress you already take on. You can't take the world on your shoulders, baby. You just can't do it."

 

"I know," Rin said quietly. "I just...you know how I am."

 

Sesshomaru smiled, leaning across the table to kiss her lightly on the forehead. "Yeah, I know how you are."

 

Over with Inuyasha he was just lowering Bankotsu's Mitsubishi Spyder down from a car elevator when Kagome decided she'd had enough of sitting around. Standing up determinedly, she walked boldly over to Inuyasha and said, "Hey."

 

The boy looked over with some confusion, surprised she would want to talk to him after their spat yesterday. Seeing that she wasn't coming over to renew their fight, he just shrugged to himself and responded, "Sup?"

 

Trying not to seem pathetic or desperate for something to do, Kagome replied easily, "Well, just bored as hell, you know how it is."

 

Inuyasha smirked, looking up and guiding the car down unnecessarily with his hands. "Yeah, I do."

 

The car came to rest on the ground as the elevator pole retreated beneath the ground into the shaft and Kagome bit her lip, realizing she couldn't be of help if she didn't know what she was doing. And if she wouldn't have something to do if she couldn't be of help. So, therefore, according to the Transitive property of geometry, her least favorite subject, she wouldn't have something to do if she didn't know what she was doing.

 

"Um..." she began, still trying to retain her tough face. When Inuyasha looked expectantly over at her, she decided this whole facade thing wasn't worth it and she gave a weary sigh. "Look, I don't know anything about mechanics and I just need something to do, so if you want me to hand you tools or whatever, I can try my best."

 

Inuyasha looked blankly at her for a second before bursting out laughing, causing Kagome to frown and cross her arms. "What's so funny?"

 

"You just looked so pathetic right then," Inuyasha laughed, slapping his knee in all his hilarity.

 

Kagome just rolled her eyes. "Oh, forget it."

 

When she turned to go, Inuyasha reached out a hand and managed to get out, "Wait, haha, I'm just being an asshole. You can help me, as long as you don't get in the way."

 

Turning back around so quickly she thought her head might jerk off, Kagome asked excitedly, "Really?" Realizing she was probably looking pathetic again, she cleared her throat and corrected smoothly, "I mean, oh yeah, that's cool and everything."

 

Inuyasha just shook his head, still smiling. "Whatever, you're weird."

 

Though she tried to seem angry, Kagome couldn't help but laugh. "Hey! I'm helping you, so be nice."

 

Inuyasha walked over to the wall where several portable work cabinets were positioned and rolled on over, positioning it just to the left of the Spyder's hood. Reaching inside the driver's seat window, he pushed a button near the steering wheel base and popped the hood, propping up the top on the trunk stick. Gesturing to the spaghetti parts of the machine, Inuyasha declared, "This is my canvas. I'm an art-eest."

 

Kagome laughed, replying, "If you're an artist, I'm a race car driver."

 

"You just might end up being one by the time I'm done with you," Inuyasha said, only half joking. "Now, you don't know anything about cars?"

 

Kagome shook her head. "Except how to drive one? No."

 

Cracking his knuckles, Inuyasha rolled his muscular shoulders before saying, "Well, you'll know something about them by the end of today. See this here?" he asked, pointing to a large block in the center of the mechanical mess. When Kagome nodded, Inuyasha continued, "That's the engine. You know that runs the car, but you probably don't know how. Okay..." Inuyasha trailed off, wondering how he could explain this.

 

Kagome couldn't help but notice, as she stood beside Inuyasha looking at the cars organs, that Inuyasha smelled absolutely fantastic. It was Axe body spray, she was pretty sure, but she couldn't quite pin point what kind. Remembering that she was supposed to be learning about cars, she tuned back into the conversation. Inuyasha was still looking up at the ceiling, wondering how he explain the wonderful what of mechanics; he looked very handsome, tan face relaxed and focused. His eyes were absolutely mesmerizing, Kagome realized, the beautiful amber color of sunset. He was also ridiculously strong, she noticed, probably from days of gang activity; that sounded strenuous, though she wasn't sure what they did. In fact, as Inuyasha stood there looking so thoughtful, he looked a little bit like the David.

 

"Okay," Inuyasha picked back up, completely oblivious to Kagome's attention to his body. "The car depends gasoline, water and air, that's the first thing you need to know."

 

"Wait, I thought cars just ran off gasoline?" Kagome interjected, looking very confused.

 

Inuyasha just shook his head. "A lot of people think that, but no. See, in the engine, there's a chamber about yea big called the Combustion chamber," he explained, holding his hands out to demonstrate the size of the combustion chamber; it was about seven inches long and six inches circumference. "Now there's a computer inside all this mess that controls how much ambient air comes in from outside the car. In this thing called the fuel injection system, the computer decides how much fuel should be injected into the combustion chamber. The fuel and air are proportional, like in a constant ratio. With me so far?"

 

Kagome nodded a little, taking it all in as Inuyasha continued, using his hands to demonstrate what he was saying. "And inside the combustion chamber, there is this thing called a piston. The piston is like a hammer that goes up and down, up and down constantly. Get me?" Again, Kagome nodded. "Okay. So here's how everything works. The fuel injection system injects fuel into the combustion chamber via a valve, which is like a stopped up passageway that only opens when the cams move. The cams are like arms and they only move when the fuel and air are in proportion to one another. So the valve opens, the fuel goes in, and at this point, the piston is down. It goes up, in what is called compression, to make sure the explosion that comes next is more powerful. So then, just when the piston is getting to the top, a little thing called a spark plug gives off a spark and this makes a little explosion with the gasoline. This forced the pistol down, in what is called combustion, and the exhaust from this whole thing goes out another valve opening on the right side of the chamber, opposite the intake valve. So basically, the car runs off little explosions."

 

There was dead silence as Kagome tried to work out all of the information just given to her and Inuyasha rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Sorry, I'm not too good at explaining things."

 

"No, no, you're great at explaining it, it's just a lot of info." Kagome took a deep breath. "Okay, I think I get it. So, this is what happens."

 

Kagome proceeded to repeat the entire process, complete with correct terminology, back to Inuyasha, who looked stunned by the time she was done. He hadn't really understood engines until he got his hands on one, which had taken quite a bit of coaxing from his brother. Even then, he was still shaky on some of the concepts. Maybe Inuyasha was a better explainer than her thought.

 

"Wow," he mumbled. "You actually get it." Clearing his throat, he put back on his tough face. "Okay, so you hear people being like, 'it's a V8,' or whatever, right?"

 

Kagome nodded. "I don't know what it means, though," she confessed.

 

"We'll fix that," Inuyasha reassured her. "What I just explained to you was one cylinder. Imagine 4, 6 or 8 of those going at one time. Now there's three kinds of arrangements for the pistons. Inline, which is slightly slanted with all the pistons going one way. Flat, which is just like the pistons moving parallel to the ground, or V, which is when they move in two different directions upwards from one base, making a V. So a V8 is when their are 8 pistons, and therefore 8 cylinders. Same with a V6 and a V4. Get me?"

 

After a moment of contemplation, Kagome said quietly, "I think I get it now." Nodding her head as though to reassure herself, she continued louder, "I get it now! Now I know what everyone's been talking about!"

 

Inuyasha laughed at the girl's obvious excitement, quirking an eyebrow when Kagome raised a hand to give him a high five. She sort of pulsed her hand, as thought to say, 'come on now, give me five,' and it took Inuyasha a few seconds before he responded. The two slapped hands and Inuyasha couldn't help but chuckle.

 

"Who gives high fives anymore?" he joked.

 

"I do," Kagome replied in a snooty voice, crossing her arms triumphantly.

 

Smirking, Inuyasha patted the toolbox roller beside him and asked, "Know anything about tools?"

 

"My father was a construction worker, if that helps. I know those tools," Kagome replied unsurely.

 

Shrugging, Inuyasha said, "Can't be that different. Wrench, drill, screwdriver, s'all the same to me."

 

"I'll try," Kagome murmured, looking at the variety of tools in awe as Inuyasha opened the drawer, "but I can't guarantee anything."

 

Yet Inuyasha merely smiled. "No sweat, your learning."

 

Over where Kouga and Ayame were working on the Yamaha motorcycle, a quite different conversation was going on. Rin had recently pulled Ayame aside and shared the details of Kikyo's break down with her; for the moment, Ayame was trying to look on the bright side of life and failing to find it. She kept thinking through all those wonderful times she'd had with Kikyo, but the bad kept overshadowing her memories.

 

After a while of watching Ayame, Kouga finally said, "She'll be okay."

 

Ayame accidentally dropped the wrench she'd been working with, wincing as the clatter upset her sensitive wolf ears. "Shit. How? Were you...listening to us talking just now?" she asked, sounding slightly irritated.

 

Kouga sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Not really, I just asked Sesshomaru why Rin looked so upset and he kinda told me the story. Don't be mad or nothin', I mean I would've heard somehow."

 

With a shrug of her thin shoulders, Ayame replied easily, "Eh, no matter to me. I don't know why it's such a secret or whatever. That's life; you have your ups and downs. Right now, Kikyo is just having a down. Nothing to worry about."

 

Before Kouga could say a single word of comfort, Ayame reached over on the table and grabbed the rider's helmet, throwing it in Kouga's direction. He caught it against his chest, inwardly wondering if Ayame was really as adjusted as she pretended to be. Deciding it was best not to argue with a slightly depressed woman, he just smiled; that was the safest action, he figured.

 

"Try 'er out, man," she said easily, pointing to the road outside the warehouse. "Get 'er up to 110 at least, or don't come back in here."

 

Kouga chuckled and put on the helmet, securing it and flipping down the visor before he mounted the motorcycle. With a turn of the key and a rev of his hand, he removed the kick stand and gunned the throttle. The engine roared, a beautiful screaming purr, and Kouga took off out of the warehouse at a quick speed, leaving tired marks in his wake. Ayame just smiled, watching him go before beginning to clean the grease off her hands. There was no better therapy than getting elbow deep in mechanics. With this thought in mind, she turned her attention to a YZF600R motorcycle with a flat tire.

 

Sango wiped her forehead free of sweat, leaving a smudge of grease behind. Her deep brown eyes were intently focused on the overhead cams of this RX7, which she knew could go faster. Miroku said he clocked it at 160, but Sango just knew that, with the right mods, this car could outweigh even the fastest American muscle machines. Miroku's RX7, his baby, was the pride and joy of the Fangs. He had never lost a race and wasn't planning on breaking this streak anytime soon, but one never knows what's just around the corner, win or loss.

 

Miroku walked up behind Sango, wiping his hands on a grease rag. "So, any luck?" he asked.

 

Sighing heavily, Sango leaned back from the hood parts. "No, but I just know-"

 

"That it can go faster, yes Sango, you've said that a million times," Miroku replied with a wide smile; he loved the way she tended to repeat herself when she was focused. Sango was such an intense person that, once her mind was set on something, she put her heart and soul into it even after she'd walked away from the situation. This was one thing Miroku loved about her, her strong commitment. It would make her a good girlfriend, he thought absently, trying not to stray from the subject too much. Imagining Sango as a girlfriend just made him imagine her as his girlfriend, which depressed him; he though he could never have her.

 

Rin walked up to Sango, tapping her lightly on the shoulder and just barely getting her friend's attention away from the car. "Sango, we need to have some girl talk real quick in the corner."

 

Miroku handed Sango the grease rag and exchanged confused glances with her as she followed Rin to the corner. Miroku watched the exchange with some fear inherent; whenever girls had talks like this, it often meant bad things. Sango's face looked like a mix of shock, horror, sadness and anger as she stood there, looking, in Miroku's opinion, heart breakingly beautiful. Finally, Rin embraced her in a short business-like hug before returning to her phone calls. Sango walked slowly back to the RX7, seeming as though in a trance, and Miroku furrowed his brow.

 

"Is everything alright, Sango?" he asked gently.

 

"Yes, I'm f- I mean everything's fine," Sango stuttered out, covering her mouth with the back of her hand as though afraid she might throw up. Tears burned the corners of her eyes as she imagined her best friend alone in some psyche hospital, face pale and eyes bloodshot... she turned her face away from Miroku, feeling as though she might collapse right there in the warehouse.

 

Miroku was immediately at the girl's side, holding her steady as she went through what seemed to be some kind of fainting spell. After a short time, Sango managed to get out, "I'm okay now."

 

Tentatively removing his hands, Miroku saw that she was now somewhat steady on her feet and he took a step back, observing her close to colorless face. Making a quick decision, Miroku called out, "Hey, Sess, Sango and I are gonna go take a break, get some lunch, we'll be back in a while, okay?"

 

The leader of the Fangs glanced up from his papers, nodding a little before returning to his work. Miroku placed one hand on the small of Sango's back, leading her to her Honda Civic and placing her gently in the passenger's seat before retrieving her keys and wallet from the center console. Without another word, he pulled out onto the warehouse road and headed for the highway.

 

Ayame tried to focus on her work, but Kikyo's face kept on plaguing her thoughts; what if the people at the psyche clinic were treating her poorly? What if she never got better? What if part of this was somehow the Wildcat's fault, Ayame's fault? Shouldn't she have noticed this sooner than later? As she lost sight of her work just for a moment, she caught her finger carelessly on one of the loose screws and cut open the flesh on her hand, causing her to let out a curse.

 

Just as she did this, a pair of strong hands enveloped her own and she looked up to find Kouga standing over her, skin heated with the rush of the road. She hadn't even heard him pull up, she'd been so preoccupied with her thoughts and work, but she could care less at this point. Every single thought she owned centered around Kikyo; it was driving her mad.

 

Kouga walked Ayame over to the lounge area, wetting a rag in the industrial wall sink before dabbing it soothingly on Ayame's hand. The girl sighed, whispering, "Thanks."

 

The boy just smiled his heartbreaking smile, ice blue eyes shining. "No problem."

 

Rin and Sesshomaru watched this exchange silently from the table and Rin smirked; she could smell love in the making, even if she didn't possess and amazing demon nose. Sesshomaru smiled quietly to himself, fiddling once more with his infamous papers. These papers were all records of the Fangs business, their imports, exports, IOUs, records of amounts owed to them, and several other things. Right now, he was puzzling over the maintenance records on Miroku's RX7, wondering if Miroku and Sango had remembered a very simple thing: to change the oil. According to this record, the RX7 was long overdue for one.

 

Eventually, Inuyasha and Kagome realized it was well passed lunch time and their stomachs were growling, so they decided to take a break. The pair came walking over from the Spyder, which was soon to be in tip top shape, and Inuyasha fetched a bag of beef jerky from a drawer in the lounge. "Teriyaki or regular?" he asked Kagome.

 

Rolling her eyes at the menu, Kagome replied, "Teriyaki, please."

 

As Inuyasha passed Sesshomaru, he said casually, "You know, I can write that letter to Shitora if you're too busy."

 

The older Taisho brother glanced up, asking, "Could you? It's not that I don't want to, just-"

 

"Don't sweat it, Sesh, Tora understands. You forget, she was there the day Kei crowned you leader," Inuyasha broke in, smiling a little at his brother's compulsive tendencies.

 

As Inuyasha returned to the couch area with the selected beef jerky, a pencil and a notepad, Kagome furrowed her brow. "Who's Shitora?"

 

Inuyasha propped the note pad up on the arm of the couch, replying absently, "My sister, she's away at boarding school."

 

Kagome nodded a little, munching at the beef jerky as Inuyasha began to write. This certainly had been an interesting day so far; she could only hesitate to wonder what the race would be like. The news of Kikyo's illness saddened her, even though she didn't actually know the girl, and Kagome wished she could help her cousin work through the grief. Yet, Kagome knew from personal experience that handling grief is all up to the grieving; one just has to stiffen their upper lip and work through it. And that's exactly what the Wildcats would do: work through it.

 

Dear Shitora,

I'm at headquarters right now getting ready for a big ass race tonight. Kouga's gonna take out the FZ1 and I think Miroku is working up the RX7, but you never know with that car; it has an average eight problems after Miroku gets done with it and you never know what he'll do in it next; he's a crazy sonofabitch driver, but you knew that already. You'd be impressed with the paint job he did on it, very cool. In any case, Rin's cousin Kagome came to stay with Rin for senior year and she's apparently getting adjusted to Tokyo over the summer or something cause she's here already. She was kind of a bitch yesterday, but she wasn't so bitchy today. I got to teach her about engines with excited me; you know how I get with cars. She actually wasn't half bad at engines and shit, a really good memory for where things go. I bet I'll turn her into a mechanic yet. Dad still gets in late and goes to work early, late and early enough that Sesh and I never seeing. You gotta wonder exactly what they make him do at the plant, but we'll never really know. The other day, Sesh found an overdue bill in dad's office. It was for water payments and things like that, so we don't know what's up. We can't confront him or he'll know we were in his study and you know how shitpicky he is about that. I've been meaning to try and convince him to bring you home, but I never see him, so that's getting increasingly difficult. Oh, I'm not going out with Kikyo anymore. She cheated on me with a Tarantula and I caught her, giving him head and everything. Rin went to tell her she was out of the Wildcats and Kikyo had like a serious break down. Rin got her to a psyche clinic and they say she's got severe depression and nymphomania. Well thank you Captain Obvious, no fricking shit. In any case, how's life in Furuba? Meet any boys? Cause if you did, I'll pound em. Sesh is sorry he couldn't write this one, but he's doing Leader things and he's really stressed out. He barked me awake this morning; Rin needs to get him into bed more often or he'll never let up. If she could do it before the race tonight, that'd be great...

Love, Inuyasha

 

 

Tell me what you thought. You guys will absolutely love Shitora, she doesn't actually come in for a while, but she's the world's most awesome character. I'm gonna get someone to do a drawing of her once I get to chapter 7, where she ought to appear. Thanks once again to the reviewers, listed at top.

 

KOLU