InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Laying Down the Law ❯ The Barrel of a Gun ( Chapter 16 )

Back again with another chapter! This one is a wild ride, so hold on to your hats; something about my stories is I have a tendency to bring back minute details and expect people to remember them, so I'll just quietly remind you to read carefully, lest you not understand. Okay, that's all, read on!

Within the rank confines of the Tarantula's hideout, mutterances of confusion mixed with the metallic movement of weapons as three allied gangs tried to make heads and tails of their new possessions. Naraku, Akago and Ryokoytsusei watched from a safe distance as their underlings fiddled around with the experimental weapons they'd stolen three weeks prior, turning them about and peering at them like fascinated apes at a campfire. The Sharks, for the most part, just rolled their eyes and tried to confiscate the weapons before the Tarantulas and Dragons could do themselves damage, but it was often too late; every once and a while, a strange sounding shot would ring off and everyone would duck, sheerly out of a habit formed in the past weeks. Seeing as though these were experimental weapons, several of them still had a few kinks and others were too complicated for the common man to operate. This didn't stop the North, however; they continued right on with their play, not seeming to care if they got shot in the process.

Akago released a sigh, smoke pouring out of his mouth as he did so; the company of Ryo and Naraku made him distinctly uncomfortable. "I know I've said it before and I hate sounding like a broken record, but do you two really think it's wise to fiddle with these weapons when we don't know how to work them?"

Before Ryo and Naraku could respond, the familiar sound of the space age machine gun rattled throughout the warehouse, multiple shots of new fangled marble bullets racketing off the walls. There were a few curses and threats when the noise ended, followed directly by, "Sorry!"

Naraku rolled his eyes and massaged his temples. "They're just guns; how hard can it be?"

"I still don't get why we need these pieces of shit at all; the Dragons could take Salter without them!" Ryo exclaimed, pounding his scarred fist on the table. His eyes roved wildly between Naraku and Akago, though neither of them seemed impressed by the green haired gang leader.

"Just like you took Ookami at the beginning of the summer, I suppose?" Akago jabbed, referring to Ryo's pitiful loss to a raving mad Kouga several weeks prior.

While Naraku chuckled, Ryo narrowed his eyes and growled, "Watch what you say, drug lord! You might just wake up dead tomorrow!"

"And how the hell do you wake up dead?" asked a voice from behind the gang leaders, sounding clever and sharp witted.

They all turned to observe the rather thin boy strolling towards them, hands in his jean pockets and black cabbie hat forever hiding his hair. His eyes were a playful violet, though he appeared to be human, and his shoulders were thin and narrow. He was small for a boy his age, rather pretty in the face, but Akago only smiled at the boy, shrugging his shoulders. "I know not, Gan."

Gan chuckled; his voice was rather lilting and musical, not at all befitting a young boy of 16, but he seemed perfectly secure in himself as he took a leisurely seat beside his leader. "Well, then I think that was an empty threat."

Crossing his arms cockily, Gan cocked a thin eyebrow in Ryo's direction, completely unaffected by the Dragon leader's flaming mad stare. Naraku, who was in a rather good mood as of late, continued to chuckle at the scene before him. "Ah, Gan the Gun. Still as sharp as ever."

"Thanks very much, Naraku, I try to sharpen my wit every morning before I leave the house," Gan replied craftily, smiling curving into a rather devious smirk, a motion which contorted the shape of the freckle cloud dotting his nose.

"I would hope my doctor is sharp witted," Akago said with a hint of amusement, "Seeing as though he's also my second in command. Or else, what would I be exactly?"

"Nothing; you're only as good as the crowd behind you," Gan replied, winking one violet eye in his leader's direction.

"Will you two shut up already?!" Ryo exploded, breaking a chunk off the edge of the table with his claws as he gripped it sternly.

Naraku clapped Ryo fearlessly on his meaty shoulder, saying, "What you need is a girl, Ryo. Kanna, come here please!"

At her name, a small white haired girl, clad in nothing but a set of black lace underwear and boots, turned on her heels and strutted seductively towards the leader's table. Gan snuck a glance at Akago, who gave off an apathetic air, but Gan the Gun knew him better; inside, the Shark leader was a mess of emotions as he dealt with the sight before him. Naraku was purposefully taunting him with the sight of his sister, scantily clad and preparing to please Ryo right before his eyes, but he wouldn't give in to such a plan. He refused to.

"Ryo's a little stiff; why don't you loosen him up?" Naraku suggested lightly, words laced with vile undertones. Kanna, not at all offended, smirked devilishly and turned to Ryo, who was looking at her with a certain measure of distaste.

"Whadya say?" she cooed, leaning over and looking him cutely in the eyes, breasts practically falling out of her shirt into his lap.

But Ryo snorted, turning pointedly away from the girl, "I don't want her. I want Taisho's sister."

Kanna straightened back up, eyes seething with hatred. "That skinny little twat? Like she'd ever give it up to you." And before anyone cut utter a word in her direction, Kanna turned on her heels and stormed away, ass rocking back and forth with the quick motion of her little legs.

The table let out a simultaneous sigh, Naraku's one of amusement, Akago's one of relief, and Gan's one of tired acceptance; that was the way the Vixens were and who was he to judge? The Tarantula leader smiled malevolently in Ryo's direction, asking, "You have you're eye on Miss Taisho? You just love picking fights with the Ookamis, don't you?"

Ryo furrowed his brow, honestly confused. "The Ookamis? What the hell do they have to do with anything?"

But Gan only snorted, replying, "Please. She and the older Ookami boy are hot for each other; anyone with two eyes could see that. She's pretty much taken, as I see it."

"We'll see about that," Ryo murmured lowly, turning his feral gaze away from the others; he had his own plans involving Shitora Taisho. And none of them were good.

*!*!*!*

"Wow, Shippo, that was fast! You really are a good mechanic!"

Inuyasha snorted and rolled his eyes as he listened to Kagome's pathetic fawning echoing around the warehouse. The way he saw it, she was being perfectly ridiculous about Shippo's abilities surrounding the car. He could beat that little punk if he really wanted to, but he just preferred to take his time with the machines; it was something that came with maturity and Shippo just didn't understand yet.

It had been a week and a half since the fight and both Ranbou and Kagome were back at work. Rin, however, hadn't been seen by anyone but Kagome since her falling out with Sesshomaru. Also, since that day, Sesshomaru had been in a notoriously bad mood, but as of late he was appearing more weak than angry. At the current time, he was sitting at a table in the back, looking over papers with his spectacles on. As he punched in another number on the calculator, footsteps approached him and he glanced up.

"Hey there," Ayame said casually, taking a seat beside him.

"Hello yourself," came his reply as he continued with his work.

There was a brief silence between them as Ayame realized this might be harder than she first anticipated. Finally, she said, "There's no use beating around the bush; I came over here to tell you I think you're being stupid. If you just go to Rin's and apologize, all of this will be over and things will go back to normal."

Sesshomaru looked for all the world as though he hadn't heard her and he only continued jotting down numbers on the bill, never meeting her gaze. "Right," came his murmured response, proving himself to be completely uncaring as to what she might be suggesting.

Letting out a frustrated growl, Ayame through up her hands and declared, "Hopeless. You're hopeless," before rising and returning to the garage area.

Ranbou glanced up as Ayame came storming back towards the cars, shaking his head slowly. Using a grease rag to wipe his forehead free of smudges, he flexed his arms lithely and turned to Shitora; the two had been working in close proximity since their "truce" was called a week and a half prior. "Shomo's real proud about this one," he said, sounding more amused than horrified.

Without looking up, Shitora continued to screw in pistons on a torqued out engine. "Well, runs in the family I guess. But if by 'real proud about this one' you mean 'is a total heartless bastard' then yes, I agree."

Furrowing his brow, the wolf demon walked over and leaned down on the edge of the inner hood, bare chest glistening with a fine layer of sweat. "I wouldn't go that far, Sukini. He's just...a guy. We're like that. He'll figure it out."

Sighing irritably, Shitora set the wrench down on the floor and straightened up, pulling back her now smudged white hair into a ponytail. She too had shed her shirt and this action of reaching back her hands caused Ranbou to look quickly away; sometimes, she did things without knowing how sexy it was and, when she did, he just tactfully ignored it and turned away. "A week and a half, Ranbou. An entire week and a half. That's not stubborn, that's...gay!"

Ranbou chuckled at her usage of the word, turning back around and watching as hefted the wrench and resumed her work on the sharp ended pistons. "Don't be so harsh. Shomo's the smartest guy in this joint, except for maybe Ships over there. But I think he'll be fine."

Shitora snorted. "Yeah, but if he doesn't figure it out soon, I'm gonna talk to him. I would hate to see him an R- ow!"

The girl jolted slightly beneath the hood and Ranbou immediately leaned down to see what the trouble was; unfocused as she worked, Shitora had cut a jagged line down her finger with the piston's dangerous end. The scent of her blood entered his nostrils and Ranbou mulled over the smell; her blood had that hint of cinnamon, just like her skin, with a tinge of carnality about it. Blood itself was a carnal thing, as he saw it; most blood held that wild aroma.

"Easy there," he murmured, taking her hand in hers and glancing it over. "Hell, what did you do, challenge the piston to a duel?"

"Ha ha," Shitora replied sarcastically. "I was reaching away to get a smaller wrench and sliced it. Crap, I'm dripping blood all over the engine."

Ranbou smiled slightly, amused that the engine was her first and only worry, and put a hand on her back. "Let's go get that cleaned up, Sukini." The girl sighed and nodded wearily, allowing him to lead her towards the lounge area to clean the cut.

In the back, many of the mechanics had decided to take a break and were lying around smoking cigarettes, wasted by the hot morning. By this time, Inuyasha, Kagome, Sesshomaru, Kouga and Miroku had all lit cigarettes and Sango was looking for one; it was interesting how the hottest days coaxed cigarettes out of pockets, but somehow, they did. At the current time, Inuyasha and Kagome were trying to blow smoke rings and Miroku was laughing at their attempts, watching Kouga as he produced one perfect ring after another.

Ranbou used a clean, wet rag to clean Shitora's cut and found the first aid kit, helping her wrap a bandage around it; Band-Aids were far too flimsy and tended to come off at random. The girl flexed her finger slightly, wincing at the split feeling which comes just after a cut. "Thanks Bo," she said, frowning at the discomfort in her finger.

Glancing over at the smoking circle, she jerked her head in that direction and Ranbou followed, quickly removing a box of cigarettes from his own pocket. Shitora leaned down to address her brother. "Hey Yash, you got a smoke?"

"Yep," he said, continuing to blow smoke rings, or at least trying to. Shitora was still for a moment before she realized that her question hadn't really hit its mark.

"Can I have one?" she urged forward, raising her eyebrows.

"Nope," he replied simply, letting out a triumphant chuckle as he finally blew an honest to god smoke ring from his lips.

"Why not?" she asked irritably.

"Because I don't want you smokin," he said, as though it should be obvious. By this time he'd turned and was giving the girl his full attention, smoke rings forgotten for the moment.

Shitora let out an irritated growl and stood up straight, placing her hands anxiously on her hips. "Well you act like I don't smoke, Inuyasha."

The boy blinked, cocking an eyebrow in her direction. "Do you?"

"YES!" she exclaimed loudly, throwing her arms akimbo. Sesshomaru glanced up from where he was still looking over papers and shook his head, taking another drag on his own cigarette; if his little brother really thought that, he was more naive than the leader had once figured.

"What?! When did you start smoking?!" Inuyasha asked, eyes widening wildly; by the looks of it, he really hadn't known anything about his sister's habit.

"Let's see, I was...14?" she replied saucily, switching her hips angrily to the side and crossing her arms.

Inuyasha lowered his eyebrows, turning away from his sister as he said, "Well, you still can't have one."

"Why the hell not?" she asked, outraged.

"Because I said so," came his stiff reply as he pretended not to notice her there behind him.

"GOD!" Shitora screamed, clenching her fists as a vein popped threateningly on her forehead. "You're almost as stubborn as Sesshomaru! ALMOST! But as we've all seen in the past week and a half, you're not quite there!" And with these words, Shitora turned her seething eyes to glare pointedly at her older brother, who pretended not to notice her ice cold stare.

"C'mon, Tora, they'll work it out," Kouga said peaceably, shrugging his naked shoulders as though there were nothing to worry about.

Ayame raised a quizzical eyebrow, turning to face her boyfriend. "Oh really? If he doesn't get a move on, they never will."

"I don't see what the big deal is," Inuyasha said easily. "Why doesn't she apologize? Why does Shomo gotta do it?"

All the girls within the immediate area turned slowly to face Inuyasha, fixing him with the coldest stares he'd ever received in his life. He swear his blood ran cold in that moment as they observed him so tightly, all of them looking ready to pounce for the kill. "Because he was wrong," Kagome replied slowly, as though speaking to a child.

Miroku jumped in on Inuyasha's behalf, saying, "Wait, wait, wait. Why does there have to be a big tearful apology? I still don't understand why they can't just compromise."

"Because," Sango interjected immediately, "What he said was wrong and hurtful and Rin didn't do anything. A compromise is when people meet halfway and there's no halfway on this situation. Rin and Sesshomaru can't be in a relationship if he thinks human women are that low!"

"Oh, c'mon," Ranbou interrupted, taking a drag on his cigarette and observing the others blithely. "That's not what he meant. He m-"

"There's nothing else he could've meant, Ranbou!" Shitora said hotly, fixing the boy with an angry glare. "What he said only means one thing and they can't go on like that. Okay?"

By this time, Sesshomaru had taken off his spectacles and was resting his chin in his palm, watching the goings on with an air of amusement. He seemed not to care that they were arguing about his faults and lack of his girlfriend, but appeared rather interested in their opinions. He watched them rally back and forth, as though he were spectating at a vigorous tennis match, eyes duller than usual; they'd been that way since Rin's departure one and a half weeks ago.

"No! You women always have to make this out to be the guy's fault!" Ranbou retorted, looking honestly outraged by this.

"Because it normally is," Shitora said with a small smirk, earning laughs from the other girls; it certainly seemed this way, didn't it?

"Well, what about Inuyasha's little tiff with Kikyo?" Miroku broke in, crossing his arms triumphantly. "Definitely not his fault."

Inuyasha grew rather red in the face and sighed, massaging the bridge of his nose. "Hey Roku? If we could just not bring that up, that'd be awesome."

The girls continued in their laughter as the boys tried to figure out a way to regroup; it was getting progressively harder to think in this unbearable heat and, finally, Ranbou continued rather boredly, "Well, in any case, this is none of you girls' business anyway. Shomo and Rin'll figure it out for themselves."

Kagome narrowed her eyes, addressing the wolf demon frostily. "We left it to him for a week and a half; he's got to do something!"

"Maybe they just weren't meant to be," Miroku mused, taking a sip of his beer. Again, the girls pulled one of their simultaneous head turns, stunning the boy into silence. His violet eyes watched their every move as they all stood in unison, brushing themselves off before beginning to walk primly towards the door. It appeared as though they hadn't even conferred on this and just decided it was time to leave; the girls had agreed that, if the boys wouldn't see their way, they would simply go. And not come back until this was all resolved.

When the girls had finally reached the brink between the warehouse and the gravel lot outside, Inuyasha blinked his way into motion and called, "Hey, where ya goin?"

Kagome turned, addressing the boys with a look so cold their very organs froze in time. "We're going on strike until Sesshomaru apologizes to Rin. Until then, you can kiss your women GOODBYE!"

And with that, the girls hopped on their motorcycles and climbed in their cars, revving their engines ostentatiously before screeching obnoxiously out of the parking lot. The boys could only watch dumbly as the girls left and a pregnant silence followed their departure, which also left a rather large hole inside the warehouse. Inuyasha and Miroku exchanged glances, as did Kouga and Ranbou, before they all sighed and lit new cigarettes and/or popped the top on a new beer.

Shippo, who'd been observing the situation from afar, came waltzing over wiping his hands on a grease rag. "What was that all about?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow in the boys' direction.

Snorting, Inuyasha replied, "That, kid, was why you should never get involved with women. They ain't nothin but trouble."

"Eh, you're just bitter because we lost the argument," Kouga replied, smiling into his longneck beer lest the others notice his amusement.

"Besides," Miroku entered in, "they're in bad moods right now because of...woman things. We couldn't have won that argument if we were five star lawyers."

The others nodded wisely while Sesshomaru continued obliviously with his paperwork and Shippo cocked an eyebrow. "Woman things? You mean their periods?"

At the very word, most of the boys blushed a dark red color and looked away, embarrassed by the very thought of such a thing. While it appeared to the innocent bystander that Sesshomaru wasn't listening to a word being spoken, he answered Shippo's question without looking up from his work. "That's what they're referring to."

"Why are you guys blushing then? You can smell it and you know it exists," the boy reasoned, plopping down on the couch with a sense of ease akin to Kei.

"Well, yeah, but you don't run around talking about it," Inuyasha protested, amber eyes glittering and betraying his horror.

Shippo shrugged. "Whatever you say. All I can wonder is how much time they spend together during a day; for all of them to be on their period at the same time is like attack of the angry pheromones." When his comment was met with blank stares, Shippo continued, "Pheromones are chemicals in the female body that relate to other pheromones, causing some women to have their period at the same time when they're around each other a lot. All of them having their period at the same time is pretty intense."

"It happens a lot," Ranbou said, shrugging his shoulders. "We learn to deal with it."

"Since most women have their period every three and a half weeks on average, it would happen a lot," Shippo said with a nod, glancing at one of the beers on the table. "What does that taste like exactly?"

Kouga shrugged. "See for yourself."

"But I'm not of age," Shippo replied, furrowing his brow; surely the others knew that.

Miroku just gave a small smile. "Neither are we. We just drink anyway. We can't smoke either, but look at all of us now."

Shippo took a glance around the circle and realized that Miroku was right; everyone in the circle was between the ages of 17 and 18 and, lo and behold, all of them were doing something illegal at that exact moment. The boy glanced down at the beer bottle and shrugged, grasping it in his hand and taking a sip. He mulled over the taste, which was bitter, and raised his eyebrow. "That tastes like piss."

The others let out hoots of laughter as Inuyasha replied, "You get used to it, kid."

At this moment, Sesshomaru stood to his feet and removed his glasses, folding them neatly before walking leisurely towards the couches. The others watched him, surprised to see him showing an interest in them for the first time that day, and finally he took a seat beside Kouga, sighing deeply. "I'm going to apologize to Rin sometime this week. I'm just not sure when or how."

Silently, the other boys exchanged glances and tried to configure the correct words for the situation. Finally, Ranbou said, "I think 'Rin I'm sorry' would do fine, Shomo."

"No, she's gonna want more than that," Inuyasha disagreed, shaking his head. "He's gonna have to grovel and lick her shoes for this one."

"Which I refuse to do," Sesshomaru said bluntly, reclining dejectedly back in the chair. "This is an absolute pain in my ass."

There was a silence before Kouga spoke up in a rather quiet voice. "Is that all she is to you Shomo? Cause if your girlfriend is just 'a mortal woman' or 'a pain in your ass,' you need to rethink something."

The others were struck sober by this comment and ceased what they were doing immediately, be it drinking or smoking, to debate this fact. Each of them allowed their thoughts stray to that one special woman and they began to wonder; what exactly were these women to them? They couldn't be sure and only shook their heads, wishing the answer would come quicker. Truthfully, they felt quite guilty for not knowing right away.

"You know I don't think of her that way," Sesshomaru said simply, picking up a bottle from the table before taking a long swig. "Fights are a pain in your ass too, I'm sure."

Kouga snorted. "We don't fight, though. That's the thing."

Little Shippo, who hadn't contributed much to this older conversation, entered in curiously, "Aren't you fighting now?" When he was met with several blank stares, he continued, "I mean, she walked out with the other girls. Doesn't that mean your fighting?"

Blinking, Kouga seemed to debate this fact for a moment before he agreed casually, "Hm, you could be right." Upon realizing this, the other boys immediately grabbed more beers and began smoking just a little bit harder.

"You don't look very concerned," Sesshomaru noted dryly, cocking an eyebrow in his best friend's direction.

Kouga replied, chuckling, "Cause I know one fight won't ruin us. I trust her and she trusts me; that's all we need."

"You guys are sick, giving it up for girls like that. You'll all end up some heiress's corporate sell-out bitch," Ranbou said disdainfully, scrunching up his tan nose at the thought.

Inuyasha snorted at this comment, replying, "If that ain't the pot callin' the kettle black, I dunno what is." The others nodded their agreement, sending several sardonic smiles in Ranbou's direction.

Looking very confused by this insinuation, Ranbou furrowed his brow and muttered, "I dunno what the hell you're talkin' about..."

"Your relationship with my sister," Sesshomaru replied with a hint of a smirk on his lips. "Nobody knows exactly what's going on there."

The other boys snickered at the horrified look on Ranbou's face, bursting out into laughter when he couldn't even create a sentence with his garbled words. He spluttered slightly, tossing his hands about as though not knowing what to respond to this, and finally stuttered out, "Me and Sukini?! You gaylords!"

"We're just sayin', Ran," Miroku said soothingly, unable to conceal a smile.

Growling, Ranbou stood abruptly to his feet and stormed over to the refrigerator, grabbing blindly for another beer; maybe the alcohol would wash away the sting of those painfully true words. If nothing else, it would at least make him forget he'd ever known Shitora Taisho. And that was enough, wasn't it?

*!*!*!*

Peer pressure is a strange thing to be sure. One minute you're minding your own business and the next minute you're doing drugs in your best friend's closet. Human beings hold on true power and that is the power to influence other human beings; useless, really, but this is how every single world leader came to power. Rin had the chance to experience this first hand as she blindly gave in to her friends' stupid insistence. Rin, stop sulking in the garden, let's go out!

Oh, how she hated them.

Staring herself irritably in the eye, Rin observed her reflection with a mild hint of disdain; the girls were in the middle of preparing her for a night on the town, poking and prodding her until she reached the proper level of whorish appeal. As Kagome finished doing Rin's eye make-up, she heard her cousin release a tired sigh.

"It'll be fun, Rin! A girl's night out is just what you need!" Kagome insisted, smiling encouragingly.

But Rin only nodded, mustering the biggest fake smile she could pull out at short notice. "Yeah."

In all reality, Rin wanted nothing more than to lie on her bed and cry. Sesshomaru was her everything, her heart, her soul. When they were apart for so long, on bad terms, she felt as though everything within her gave up the will to live. She didn't want to romp around, playing sluts and dodgers; she wanted to scream like a banshee, kick pillows, rip apart her stuffed animals and break every piece of glass in her bedroom. Then, if time permitted, she wanted to break down sobbing on the floor, unable to get up or even move for a number of hours, stricken with grief. Rin just wanted to wallow in her misery...but her friends wouldn't let her.

The other girls were dolled up in short mini skirts, high heels, and rather revealing shirts, doing their makeup in sultry, seductive shades. Deciding to at least look the part, Rin put on her tight corset dress, donning a pair of high heels and observing her reflection for the umpteenth time; if anything, she looked like a sick, sad little girl trying to appear healthy. It almost made her ill.

"Let's go, girls!" Shitora declared, flipping her hair in a ridiculous manner.

The others let out woops and hollers of appreciation while Rin just gave another weak smile; this was going to be a long night. The girls hurried down the stairs, practically dragging Rin along with them, before hurrying out her front door to pile in the convertible.

On the way out the door, Rin's butler Jeeves raised an eyebrow and asked, "Going out, misses?"

Kagome nodded for both of them, pushing Rin out the door with a wide grin on her face. "Yes, Jeeves, we'll be home late, don't wait up. Tonight, Rin is going to have lots of fun!"

Sighing and releasing a small smile, Jeeves replied, "Very good, miss." As he watched the girls squeal off into the night, he shook his head slowly and closed the door behind them; he knew Rin better than most, as he'd been employed by the family since before her birth, and he knew she was no mood for partying. If his memory served him, she only got this way when she and Sesshomaru were on the outs, which was very rarely. Normally, these bouts didn't last more than a few hours, but this one was longer than most. Hopefully they would resolve their differences. Jeeves doubted that Rin would ever recover if they didn't.

"Where do you guys wanna go?" asked Sango, who was driving at the moment.

Shitora piped up from the backseat, "How about the Lover's Lounge? Or Claww? The Cave is normally open at this time, too."

But Ayame only shook her head vigorously, shimmering red hair glittering back and forth. "No, those are all in Fang territory. We're not going anywhere that we could recognize someone, this is a night for cleansing, remember?"

The girls were silent as they tried to think of an alternative, but Sango took the initiative and took a left turn out of Fang territory at the next stoplight. "We'll just go somewhere random, how's that?"

The other girls shrugged and went back to talking girlishly, oblivious to Rin's discomfort. The girl leaned her head against the window, closing her eyes as the car ran smoothly across the pavement. Sango squinted her eyes, unable to make out the street sign before her; according to her memory, Southern territory ended it's western front at "Northcrest." The street sign looked as though it said "Northcrown" and she continued through it, soberly reminding herself to stay inside the safe zone. Unbeknownst to Sango, her eyes, unadjusted to the dark, had misread the sign; the girls were in Northern territory.

Eventually, Shitora was looking out the window when she spotted a club like place up ahead, shrouded in mist and glowing red with stage lights. "Hey, what about there?"

"Perfect," Sango said with a grin, pulling swiftly into the parking lot.

For once, the girls weren't wearing their Wildcats jackets and were therefore unrecognizable, for the most part. Rin couldn't help but feel slightly naked without her jacket, but she was almost to broken to care and just walked quietly amongst her friends as they neared the club entrance. Glancing up at the sign, the girls were able to make out the vague word "Scale" and they shrugged, walking boldly up to the bouncer.

"Hi, can we come in?" Kagome asked, quite confident with her friends behind her.

"You with the gangs?" the bouncer asked in return, arms crossed like a huge meat slab pretzel.

They all nodded because, of course, they were. The bouncer looked them up and down for a second before addressing the first boy in the line against the club wall, which was comprised mostly of wannabe gang members and lost teenagers. "You recognize these girls?"

The boy turned and observed the faces of each girl, finally remembering where he'd seen them. The boy's brother was a member of the Sharks and he knew quite well who these girls were. Grinning, he said, "Sure I do, they're with the gangs." He said no more than this, thinking this all might turn out in an interesting manner.

The bouncer gave a gruff nod, unhooking the velvet rope and allowing all five girls to enter, completely oblivious to the dangerous connotations around them. Rin was normally the one to notice bad situations, as she was their strong leader, but tonight her head was somewhere else entirely. As she walked inside, however, she glanced around and suddenly got a terrible feeling in the pit of her stomach; there were Dragon symbols everywhere. The roaring dragon covered the walls, the tables, even the drapes, and Rin could only stand there frozen as she wondered where Sango had taken them. I had my eyes closed on the ride here...where are we?

Deciding it was best to grab her friends and leave, Rin turned to address them but found, to her surprise, that they were already several feet ahead of her, walking boldly towards the bar. Rin let out a curse and hurried after her friends, trying to grab them before anything dangerous could happen, but she was already too late. The minute she reached the other girls, breaking through their little group and trying to pull them back, a gritty voice chuckled, "Well, well, well. Look who's come to join us tonight, boys."

The five girls turned quickly to observe the speaker, who was far too familiar for comfort. Kagome's breath caught in her throat and she stumbled backwards into Sango, who only held her shoulders tightly; it was Kagai.

One thing was for sure; Inuyasha's beating had done him damage. There were still stitches on his face, not to mention bruises just beginning to fade on his neck, but the rest of him was covered head to toe in black, complete with his Dragon's jacket. In that short time apart, he'd allowed his scruffy beard to further its despicable takeover of his chin and, lo and behold, the hair had commandeered the better part of his chin. Upon seeing his face, those coal black eyes boring holes into her very skull, Kagome shuddered and tried to hide her fear; tough girls didn't show cowardice in public.

Kagai offered the girls no cocky smile, nor did he present them with a confident chuckle, but he merely grunted and asked, "What do you girls want?"

"Absolutely nothing," Ayame said immediately, grabbing her friends and trying to make a beeline to the door, but several able bodied Dragons had already formed a strong ring around them; after what Inuyasha had done to one of their own, the gang wasn't about to let their enemies' girls escape unscathed.

Glaring around the circle of rough looking characters, Shitora let out her demon claws with that familiar "chink," eyebrows eerily low. "Let us through," she growled angrily, trying to muscle her way out of the circle without actually touching any of the men; for all she know, one second's touch might contract crabs.

Like Kagai, the other Dragons held somber expressions, arms crossed while others just observed the girls with rank disdain. A dangerously calm voice from Sango's left alerted every pair of ears within the club and, almost immediately, the music cut off with an abrupt click. "Not on your life, Taisho."

Ryuukoytsusei walked slowly through the parting crowd, numerous chains causing a multitude of ominous sounds as he strutted towards the girls. His emerald green hair was constrained in a loose ponytail, framing his bitterly contorted face and corvette red eyes. "After what your brother did to Kagai last week, we can't just let you walk out of here."

Sensing immediate danger with her keen wolf instincts, Ayame elongated her own claws at will, clenching her hands into fists lest their attackers notice her aggressive motion. No one seemed to hear the clinking of her claws above the racket of fierce words and heavy breathing; expression never wavering, the girl stared boldly out at the crowd. She and Shitora would protect their human friends whatever the cost.

"He got what he deserved," Shitora shouted back, amber eyes glittering hotly.

Shrugging in rather ambivalent way, Ryuu rested his elbow on one of his follower's shoulders before replying, "Who are you to decide that, Taisho?"

"Someone with half a brain! He started the fight and he couldn't finish it. We all know what that means in this world," came Shitora's swift answer; she made sure to reference the gang world, knowing no one could dispute her observation.

Ryuu narrowed his red eyes quietly, removing his elbow from his friend's shoulder and closing the gap between him and the girls slowly. Sango and Kagome, who were foremost, stared fearlessly up at him as he glared down at them, standing tall at 6'4. Before he could address the two humans, however, Shitora Taisho appeared before them, practically materializing before him with her demon speed.

Snorting, Ryuu crossed his thick arms and observed Shitora was an air of sarcastic amusement. "If you think your pathetic hanyou skills can best me, you're very wrong."

Glaring around the circle of stone faced gang members, slightly disturbed by the quiet, Rin wished someone would crack a sadistic smile or at least give a derisive snort. Normally, gang men liked to show how confident they were by throwing around cocky gestures or at least posturing a little. This whole situation was just...frightening.

"Oh yeah? So what do you think you're gonna do to us, huh?" Shitora practically challenged, staring fearlessly up at the Dragon demon, not seeming to care that his eyes held countless murders behind their calm depths.

The way Ryuu regarded Shitora was quite odd, even to those who knew him well; normally, the Dragon leader was a hard headed, loud mouthed psychopath with violent tendencies and a wicked tongue. Tonight, he appeared to be nothing but a stone faced shepherd prepared to defend his flock by force if necessary. The other gang members, unused to such a caring look, almost wanted to escape; they felt smothered by this strange, killer's-guilt affection. But no one dared move.
On the inner-most ring of the circle, Ryuu's second in command Juuroumaru watched the goings on with his quiet, calculative blue eyes. His oddly lavender hair was pulled behind him in a braid, trailing down his back like a poised viper. He had an odd air about him, as though he were above gang life and completely bored by the situation before him, yet he did host a certain interest in Ryuu's actions. If Juu, as he was called, was correct, Ryuu was interested by the hanyou girl standing boldly before him. The way he looked at her even now was unlike him; Juu was intrigued.

"Don't give me ideas, Taisho," Ryuu finally replied, voice frighteningly quiet.

"Why you," Shitora muttered through gritted fangs, easily tempted anger preparing to best her.

Kagome watched the events unfolding in slow motion, quick mind already dissecting the surroundings and people with a clever eye. If possible, she didn't want this night to come to blows and she would in fact do anything in her power to prevent her friends from getting hurt. She desperately delved back into her most precious memories, trying to think of one weak spot in this group. Okay, think Kagome, they like to smoke, drink, gamble, screw around...wait, gamble, that's good. But what do I gamble with? I can't do anything but...the gun in the car...yes...that's it...THAT'S IT...

"I have a bet for you," she suddenly said, placing a protective hand on Shitora's shoulder and immediately drawing Ryuu's attention.

Quirking an eyebrow, Ryuu leaned back and made the first slightly humorous comment of the night. "This should be interesting," he murmured, earning nods and a few dry chuckles from his gang members.

"If I can hit any given letter on the street sign outside, from a distance of forty feet, you let us go. If I can't, you let my friends go and do whatever you want with me."

There was a dead silence within the club as the Dragons exchanged confused glances, wondering exactly how drunk this girl must be, while the Wildcats grew instantly pale in the face. Shitora whirled on Kagome, eyes amazingly wide as she prepared to protest, but Ryuu asked calmly, "Hit it with what?"

Kagome faced Ryuu, her mouth set in a grim line. "A bullet."

A murmur ran through the club at this girl's audacity as Kagome's friends exchanged frightened glances and wondered what would become of her. The wager was risky; it bet Kagome's wellbeing on her pistol skills, which were, to their knowledge, nonexistent. What was she thinking? Did she have a clever plan to get them out of this mess? Yet she appeared to be completely intent on following through with this.

"Interesting," Ryuu murmured. "But how do we know you won't shoot one of us instead?"

"Because I give you my word," Kagome answered bravely.

But to this, Ryuu only shook his head and snorted. "A gang member's word isn't worth my shit, little girl. I've learned that the hard way."

Kagome smiled mysteriously, cocking one of her perfect eyebrows and crossing her own pale arms with a hint of attitude in her hips. "I'm not a gang member."

At these words, Rin couldn't help but feel a cold guilt enter her spine; here Kagome was, laying everything on the line when she wasn't even an honest to goodness Wildcat. While she was their friend and spent every day with them, she didn't have the jacket and was, by definition, just an outsider in their affairs. Rin knew Ryuu wouldn't agree to these arrangements if Inuyasha hadn't shown such dedication to Kagome during the race. By jumping Kagai and going insane, it was apparent to everyone that there was more than friendship there. If the Dragons could do whatever they wanted with Kagome, it might just ruin Inuyasha and, for that matter the Fangs. Ryuu was no fool; he knew opportunity when he saw it.

After observing her for a moment more, Ryuu finally said, "It's a deal, little girl. Let's see if you're as good a shot as you think you are."

The room gave a hearty cheer, Dragons pumping their fists in the air to show their appreciation for the agreement. This was obviously more entertaining than your normal night on the town and they were most pleased; the Wildcats' unexpected appearance had done them good after all.

Kagome and the girls turned towards the door, walking slowly towards it as the entire club followed at their backs. Shitora saddled up beside Kagome on their way out, leaning up and whispering violently in her ear, "Are you insane?!"

The taller girl just shook her head with that same mysterious smile, never removing her dead set gaze from the path before her. The group burst out into the muggy night air, many removing their jackets and slinging them over their shoulders; the summer still laid thick on the city, even in the darkness. The streets were conveniently deserted, as everyone knew not to enter Dragon territory without a pass or a death wish. Especially late at night, the North was by no means a friendly place to reside.

The mob gathered near the street signs, many climbing up on the roofs of the cars or clambering up on overturned boxes to witness this crazy woman's attempt to bargain for her life. Ryuu, Kagome, Rin and Juu met in the center of the street, an eye's rough estimation of forty feet from the intersection, and Kagome stared up at the sign with a determined glint in her eyes. The crossing was "Spindle" and "Morticah," the letters of which were the same height and roughly the same width. Hitting any of them would be a difficult feat, but Kagome didn't care; she could do it.

"So where's this gun of yours?" Ryuu asked dully, observing Kagome out of the corner of his eye.

Smirking, Kagome said, "Rin, I need your car keys. Feel free to have someone escort me if you want."

Rin's face grew deathly white and she stumbled backwards slightly, wondering how Kagome knew about her pistol; the girl kept it there for emergencies, as running around in this town without protection was just plain stupid. She thought guns might scare Kagome, but obviously there were many things she didn't know about her cousin. Dumbly, the Wildcats leader reached into her shirt and withdrew her keys, handing them silently to Kagome, who began a slow walk towards the convertible with Juu following lazily at her side.

As Kagome unlocked the doors and reached beneath the seat, Juu said casually, "You know this is madness, what you're proposing."

The girl chuckled, enclosing her hand around the smooth metal of the gun barrel and pulling it out from underneath the seat. She merely followed the pointer's straight line with her eyes, cocking the release before returning her gaze to the lavender haired Dragon. "You just watch."

The pair returned to Ryuu and Rin, who were standing rather awkwardly near each other, quite uncomfortable in the presence of the other. Kagome stopped slowly at the forty foot mark, turning to stare pointedly at the street sign. "Pick your letter."

Ryuu didn't even gaze up at the sign, replying almost amusedly, "The 'i' in Morticah."

The Morticah sign, which was directly facing Kagome, loomed down upon her as she observed the sign with an air of the killer observing its prey; it was suspended on the stop light bar, a great unattainable god. Sango closed her eyes, wondering if she would ever see Kagome's smiling face after this night; if her friend didn't succeed in this feat, it might be the last anyone would see of her. Ayame and Shitora both watched tight lipped as Kagome raised the gun, pointing it directly at the street sign. It surprised everyone in the crowd how natural the girl appeared holding that dangerous weapon in her beautiful hands; she looked positively at ease.

Rin held her breath as Kagome squinted one eye, staring down the barrel of the gun as though she would never see another living being beyond that point. In that moment, there was no crowd, no Ryuu, no girls, no buildings, just Kagome and that "i," facing each other down while knowing the other would never back down. Finally, Kagome had the shot perfectly aligned and she gave a brief prayer to the gods, hoping her training wouldn't fail her.

"Bang," she whispered, breath catching in her throat as she pulled the trigger.

A deadening shot rang out across the streets, though no one jumped or uttered a single sound as it echoed off the graffitied brick and concrete. The sound was followed by a metallic ring, though no one could be sure what the sound signified. Rin opened her eyes, staring numbly up at the sign; by the street light, she saw no hole in the "i" and she felt the breath escape her lungs in a whoosh. She would never see her cousin again.

Yet Kagome simply lowered the gun and turned to Ryuu. "Hold up your end of the bet."

The Dragon narrowed his eyes, turning his sights to the street sign as though observing it for the very first time. The gang leader walked slowly towards it, confusing the other gang members into a frenzy of whispers and furrowed brows. Green hair undulating back and forth, he continued until he was directly in front of the stop light, which had consequently just turned green.

Ryuu was still for a moment before he surprised the crowd by taking a mighty leap of the ground, though it appeared quite effortless for him. He hung from the top of the street sign by one hand, not seeming to care as the edge of it dug into his palm; no, he was far too preoccupied staring at the impossible feat before him. After a minute of complete and utter motionlessness, he clambered up until he was balancing deftly on the stop light bar, reaching his hand behind the sign and sticking one clawed finger through a perfectly round hole above the "i."

Kagome's bullet had gone precisely through the dot.

At the sight of Ryuu's finger poking through the hole, the other Dragons let out manly gasps and several shouts of surprised outrage. The Wildcats began squealing with excitement at Kagome's victory while Shitora, the only Fang present, sighed deeply in relief; she'd been positive that was the end of Kagome.

Ryuu landed softly on the pavement, walking calmly towards Kagome and the others. Without even stopping to acknowledge them, he said blankly, "You may go."

Without another word, the girls began hurrying towards the convertible, eager to get away from this dangerous crowd. As they ran, Shitora came up in the back of the group and gave Kagome a tomboyish noogie, grinning maniacally. "Nice going, Kags!"

Kagai, who'd been watching silently from the side lines, closed his eyes briefly as the girls escaped from his clutches. One of his friends put a pacifying hand on his shoulder, saying pleadingly, "C'mon, Kagai. Let's go back inside."

Yet Kagai, suddenly enraged by the night's unpredictable turn of events, threw off his friend's hand and slammed his beer bottle angrily down on the pavement, releasing a feral growl. He watched as the glass exploded on the concrete, scattering this way and that in both small and large pieces; it was only the beginning of his perversities. Without another thought, Kagai reached down and retrieved a frighteningly large piece of glass; it was almost an entire half of the lower bottle, somehow preserved from the crash. The Dragon used his demon strength to hurl the glass blindly after the girls, screaming angrily as he did so; he wouldn't let them go completely unharmed.

The girls were still hurrying towards the car when both Ayame and Shitora caught a faint sense of danger behind them. Shitora managed to glance back at the scene behind her, completely helpless as the glass weapon came hurtling towards them, directed at Rin and Kagome's unprotected backs. The hanyou didn't even spare herself a thought as she placed her body between her friends and the glass, gasping as the sharp piece embedded itself in the right side of her lower back. With Kagai's wrathful demon strength behind it, the broken bottle was a veritable glass bullet in her flesh and she knew it immediately; she'd done something stupid again.

Shitora's friends all let out screams of surprise, catching Shitora and turning to look back at the Dragons. Most of them had already disappeared inside, but Kagai and his friends remained; Kagai looked quite pleased with himself and he shot the girls a nasty hand gesture before turning to disappear inside the club. To his surprise, Ryuu came walking calmly out of the entrance, obviously having witnessed the entire event; the Dragon leader grabbed Kagai around the throat, tossing him rather carelessly against the brick wall, never sparing him a glance.

"My word is absolute," he said quietly, not allowing himself to look anywhere but straight ahead.

If he looked at the Wildcats, he might just see Shitora bleeding at the Dragons expense and he wouldn't bare that weight.

Sango barred her teeth angrily and shouted, "You mother fucking bastard, I'll rip your fucking dick off, I-"

But a hand's sudden latch on her shirt broke Sango's sentence and she stared bewilderedly down at Shitora, who was gasping out between breaths, "Get in the car now!"

The girls hurriedly piled in the convertible, Shitora practically falling down into the passenger's seat, as Rin gunned the engine and planted her foot on the gas pedal; they had a long night ahead of them.

Ryuu watched the car squeal off into the distance, feeling several strange feelings simultaneously. Juu walked calmly up beside his leader, quirking one lavender eyebrow at his commander. "That wasn't defensive, was it?"

Finally escaped from his ulterior persona, Ryuu shook his green head furiously, staring at Juu with burning crimson eyes. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?!"

Ignoring his leader's practically murderous glance, Juu just smiled and placed his hands in his pockets. "Not that I blame you. Someone once said, 'forbidden pleasures alone are loved immoderately; when lawful they do not excite desire.' Just make sure your forbidden fruit doesn't come back to poison your guts, leader."

Juu disappeared inside the club before Ryuu could say a word in protest, though the Dragon leader had little to say in return. What about that Taisho girl made him feel so strange inside? The way she stood up to him so fearlessly, prevented him from attacking her friends even at the cost of her well being. Certainly, he hadn't taken her up on their unspoken challenge, but was she really his forbidden pleasure, his indulgence? Certainly she was pretty, but was it more than that? Of course not, he scoffed, you've never even met her before tonight, get a hold of your bloody hormones Ryuu. Besides, she's a bloody half demon; what the hell would you do with her?

Yet there was more to this encounter than Ryuu realized...and it would haunt him horribly in days to come.

Okay guys, whew! Finally done with that one. I was dreading writing that scene with the trigger pull, but I think it was okay. Thanks for your faithful reviews and thanks for the newly assembled Writing Panel!

KOLU