InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Laying Down the Law ❯ Curveball ( Chapter 19 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: The Kouga Lucius Connection 
Another visit with Kikyo and everyone gears up for Race Wars.
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Action | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 07.14.2006 | Pages: 5 | Words: 8.1K | Visits: 1.6K | Status: Completed
Another visit with Kikyo and everyone gears up for Race Wars.
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Action | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 07.14.2006 | Pages: 5 | Words: 8.1K | Visits: 1.6K | Status: Completed
Back with another chapter! Thanks to the writing panel and much love to everyone, I'm moving right along I suppose. I've been getting into a lot of Naruto lately...anyone into Naruto? Naruto is pretty sweet, won't lie. I like me some Kiba...hehe...alright...
"...and I've never been so scared in my entire life. Kikyo...I couldn't even move."
It was a quite, breezy morning at the Totosai Mori Memorial Pschyatric hospital windows of the minimum security ward open and allowing the scents of summer to drift inside. Kagome sat in her usual chair, legs pulled up to her chest as she observed Kikyo's back, which was a fascinating entity all its own. As Kikyo braced her arms at the window's edge, staring out at the world with a wistful sort of longing, Kagome traced the delicate curve of her spine as it rebelled against the white linen captivity of her bed gown. The stark contrast of midnight black hair against the smock gave Kikyo a sort of grey pallor, though she seemed to weather through it all with her usual indifference.
Ink black eyes following the path of a twittering blue bird, Kikyo asked rather interestedly, "Transformed? That's not like him. Normally he's more in control than that...or I guess I should say normally he has more grace than that. He's never really had control. But transforming at a race? He must really love you."
This brought a faint blush to Kagome's cheeks. "Whose ass did you pull that out of?" Kagome asked, voice cracking rather audibly. "He was just worried about a friend is all."
When Kikyo snorted, it was hard to tell if it was out of disdain or marvel. "I know you haven't had much experience with demons, Kagome, but I'll tell you what I've gathered from my time around them: they don't transform for any one Mary Katherine Shit walking around. To really lose their temper, and I mean explode with anger that eats them up inside, they'd have to be angsting over their mate."
The word "mate" drew what little color remained away from Kagome's cheeks and she stared wide eyed at Kikyo's back. "M-mate? Like...when dogs have rough sex and make tons of babies? That kind of mate?"
"Mate," Kikyo repeated quietly, lips curving strangely around the word as she peered, slit eyed, at the world below.
Kagome gulped, in what must of been a noticeable way, for Kikyo's eyes adopted an amused twinkle. "Are you afraid of that word? You look like you are."
It was a mystery to Kagome how Kikyo could deduce such a thing, as she was facing away from her at the time, but Kagome managed to get out, "No, no, I just never really thought of...relationships that way."
"Mating is forever, you know," Kikyo said loosely, shifting her body around until, like a graceful ballerina, she was sitting on the window sill staring at her guest. "All it takes is a fuck and a bite mark to seal your fate."
At first, Kikyo's random curse words had startled Kagome, but she'd since become used to them. Hearing such a godly, out-of-the-realm human being say words like "fuck" and "shit" cast a strange veil over Kikyo's beautiful face; strangely enough, it only added to her mysterious appeal. "How do they know who their mate is?" Kagome asked, almost afraid of the answer.
Kikyo didn't answer for a moment, content to observe Kagome with her bottomless eyes, before she finally said, "Love is a human ideal some acid tripper created to ease their own lonliness. They like to think mortals can find their one true love by accident or pure will, but it can't be done. Demons have a different fate than us; their entire fate is laid out like a path, leading them to their one true partner. A demon might suddenly pack up his things and move to Australia for no obvious reason, except thinking that he simply wanted to go. And when he arrives, he'll meet his mate walking down the beach without a care in the world. Their entire lives lead them to their mates; we're just the pawns they pick up and pocket along the way."
Outside, a wind chime let loose a soft melody in the wind and Kagome shuddered, not understanding what to do with Kikyo's cryptic words. Randomly, Kikyo said things like that, things laced with so many meanings not even top scholars could pick them up, and Kagome had yet to get used to it. How a person existed who spoke in modern prose was beyond Kagome, but there she sat before her, dressed in a willowy night gown with murder in her eyes. It wasn't Kagome's murder which Kikyo wished for, but someone else's murder. Someone she'd yet to meet...but she would kill them when the day came.
"So what your saying is that if a demon chose you as its mate, you wouldn't have a choice? You would have to go?" Kagome asked faintly, brow furrowed and heart aching rather fiercely.
"You wouldn't have to go...but it you wanted them to live, it would be a good idea," came Kikyo's airy reply; she began swinging her legs against the wall in a restless gesture. "Demon love and human love are two separate things; demon love knows nothing about divorce, hardship or anger. Nothing can break a demon bond."
"So really, if you cared about them at all, even if you didn't love them back, you would have to stay with them," Kagome said quietly, already knowing the answer.
Kikyo's hair came loose from its braid as the breeze teased it, blowing it around Kikyo's waifish form. "You think about circumstance too much, Kagome. You'll never actually live if you can't survive in the moment."
Sighing, Kagome leaned her head back against the wall; and yet again, there she was, struck dumb by one of Kikyo's stunning one-liners. If she didn't know any better, the girl might accuse Kikyo of spending her days in the pysch ward thinking up witty comebacks, but she knew it would only provoke a laugh. After a brief silence, Kagome popped the question which had been plaguing her two days now.
"Kikyo, what's race wars?"
With a snort, Kikyo leaned forward slightly, revealing a tantalizing view of cleavage. "Race wars, huh? I guess it's that time of year again." It struck Kagome how, even though she was straight, the view of Kikyo's slightly bare breasts made her blush. Perhaps it was the sheer perfection she saw there, creamy skin untainted by blemish or mark; no wonder men fell at her feet.
"Yeah," Kagome said, steadying her voice as best she could. Every time she visited Kikyo, Kagome felt her soul almost squeeze at the sheer volume of the invalid's personality, as though it could consume her whole. It both frightened her and fascinated her.
"Race wars," Kikyo whispered to herself in her usual quiet monotone. "Well, it's a thing to behold. Imagine ten races going on all at the same time, stretching out across an abandoned air force base, tens of thousands of people there. It's all the gangs from around Japan, gathered together to see who's the best. Everyone spends their entire year gearing up for race wars, you know. These petty night races are pride battles, not actual fights. At race wars, you see who's going to lay down the law for the next year and, last year, it was the Fangs. As it has been since Sesshomaru came into power. But before that..." Kikyo's normally unbreakable facade flinched slightly and she cleared her throat, continuing. "Before that, Naraku and the Tarantulas were in power. Naraku is a year older than you and I, did you know?" Kagome shook her head; she had no idea. "He was held back in the eighth grade. That was the year his parents were killed in the line of duty on a routine raid, so he naturally missed a lot of school."
When Kikyo dropped this proverbial bomb, Kagome nearly choked; killed in the line of duty? "What did his paents do for a living?"
"Police officers," Kikyo replied stonily. "High ranking ones too. Shot dead."
Furrowing her brow, Kagome settled softly back against the wall. Her stepfather was a marvelous policemen and she took the words "high ranking" to mean incredibly skilled and high up in the call list. If this was true, then why would Naraku pick a life of crime when his parents had been murdered by criminals? "That doesn't make sense. Why would Naraku..."
But Kikyo, as usual, cut her off. "Because it made him sick. I'm a sick sex fiend, he's a sick sadist. We're all a little sick."
The words hung heavily in the air before Kagome waved them away with her next question. "Right, but what does all this have to do with race wars?"
Raising her dark eyes to meet Kagome's brown ones, Kikyo replied in a rather frightening voice, "I'm just trying to explain what life under Naraku's rule was like for the gangs. Constant terror. It wasn't text book, in the sense that we wasn't 'the king' by all technicalities, but winning Race Wars gives you that unnofficial title and no dared oppose him. Until Sesshomaru came along. You've noticed how loyal the other gangs are to Sesshomaru, haven't you? It's because he saved them all, brought them out of darkness so to speak. And what was he, 13? A prodigy. An absolute genius."
To hear Kikyo speak highly of someone startled Kagome, but she was pleasantly surprised. All this time, she'd noticed something old and simmering within Sesshomaru and she now understood what made her so uneasy; it was his absolute vast knowledge. He seemed like a stoic most of the time, but really he was just a smart man in a stupid world, breaking all the rules with several strategic steps. "So Race Wars defines this life," Kagome said, as though coming out of an ephiphany.
Chuckling, Kikyo said, "Careful, you're starting to sound like me. But exactly. It defines the entire year, more like. Without Race Wars, this entire set up would be a bunch of rebellious teens smoking and having sex in cars. Race Wars...doesn't make us legit, but we almost feel like it does." Suddenly, the girl stopped talking and her eyes became slightly downcast. Looking away from Kagome in a startling display of weakness, Kikyo muttered bitterly, "Silly me, there I go saying 'we' again. I'm no longer a part of that world. I'm a part of...this." At the word 'this,' Kikyo gestured lifelessly to the white walls, bed and chairs, suddenly seeming dark in comparison.
Without blinking an eye at the girl's sudden mood change, Kagome stood and stretched her arms, revealing a sliver of her belly as her tank top rose on her ribs. "Keep believing and someday, you'll be a part of the world you want again. Thanks, Kikyo."
Nodding slowly, as was her custom, she said, "Another time, Kagome."
Kagome's footsteps retreated down the hallway and, in her wake, Kikyo couldn't help but smile. There was so much of herself in Kagome, it was hard not to. A good deal of the past had been spent wondering where she could safely put her feet without causing the ice to crack. It was only later that Kikyo learned running ahead of the dangerous fractures was the only way to cross the pond.
Nevertheless, Kagome was very proud of the car and was currently making plans with Inuyasha to fix it up to her liking. It was only about ten minutes between the pysch clinic and the warehouse, so Kagome arrived shortly at headquarters. There was a great number of cars parked outside, but Kagome was used to it by now; for the past two weeks, the Southern cores had been spending all their time at the Fangs' Warehouse, tuning up their vehicles and making plans for Southern Domination at Race Wars. It seemed as though the whole faction was very unified over this event.
When Kagome walked inside, she found the shop completely empty, tools set aside and hoods closed. The only activity was located in the lounge area, where a good twenty people were sitting around Sesshomaru, hanging on his every word as smoke clouded the air; almost everyone was smoking a cigarette or drinking a beer. Ranbou was doing both.
Kagome froze in the doorway, not knowing whether or not she could walk back towards the others. This was gang business, right? And, technically, she wasn't in the gang. She was sitll just an innocent bystander, shuffling her feet to the side of all the excitement and waiting her turn in line. Perhaps RIn and the others just weren't comfortable with her yet. Someday, she hoped, they would offer her a jacket. Someday soon.
Rather bored by the proceedings, Rin sighed and happened to glance over her shoulder, eyes locking on the awkward figure of Kagome by the entrance. Smiling slightly, Rin reached her arm over the back of the couch, beckoning her cousin with one slender finger. A few core members at the back of the ensemble noticed the motion and craned their necks to observe the new comer, smiling and waving at Kagome.
Sesshomaru glanced over the others at Kagome, who was walking quietly towards them, managing to stay almost silently. "Ah, Kagome, come on back."
Burning a rather brilliant red as the entire crowd turned to face her, Kagome masked her embarrasment and smiled, hurrying forward and giving Sesshomaru a nod of recognition. "Hey, sorry."
"Not at all. You've been looking over our records for the past month, you'll most likely have a valid in put on this conversation," Sesshomaru replied, smirking slightly. Returning his amber eyes to the group at large, he continued. "As I was saying, the rules are as they've always been, just use your head, it's all very common sensical. Oh, there is one change this year."
At this, everyone seemed to perk up; normally, meetings concerning Race Wars were boring and long winded, owing to the fact that everyone knew what to expect. They went over the rules annually out of obligation, not out of necessity. When he knew he had everyone's attention, Sesshomaru said, "All of the girls must have a male escort with them at all times, no matter what."
There was a brief silence before the first outraged shriek came. "WHAT?!"
Following Sango's outburst, every single girl in the group was standing, eyebrows dangerously low and fists clenched. Rin practically leapt out of her seat, stalking up to Sesshomaru with fire in her stare. Despite the fact that she was only wearing a red bikini top and a pair of leather shorty shorts, the Wildcat's leader managed to look rather intimidating as she poked her boyfriend angrily in the chest.
"Sesshomaru! Why didn't you ask me first? I am absolutely not okay with that!"
Looking distinctly unimpressed, Sesshomaru crossed his naked arms and peered down at his girlfriend with one smoothly cocked eyebrow. "And why do you think I didn't consult you, hm?"
"AGH! We're not some little school girls you can just usher around Race Wars! We know how to take care of ourselves!" Rin shouted, cheeks becoming rather red in her wrath. Sesshomaru was having a rather difficult time focusing on his girlfriend's lips when his eyes were straying to her breasts, her stomach, and yet lower still; she really was tantalizing when anger struck.
"Absolutely! We're big girls now, okay?" Shitora agreed patronizingly, crossing her own pale arms to mirror her brother's. She popped her hip moodily to the side, drawing Ranbou's gaze from where he sat nearby. There was that perfect ass again. He shook his head violently and forced himself to focus on her words instead; she was still ranting quite excitedly. "...and for you to treat us like we've never been in danger before is just gay! I mean, we're in a gang for kami's sake! It's not like we've never fought before!"
The Reikon leader smacked his forehead, speaking skillfully around his cigarette. "Sukini, we don't want you fighting at all. We know you know how and that's great, more power to ya, but you girls are smaller than the guys we're trying to protect you from and it's not cool, alright?"
Shitora whirled on Ranbou, who was still leaning back leisurely in his seat, naked chest, glistening with a fine layer of sweat. Ignoring the heat rising to her cheeks, which was consequently not a by product of her annoyance, she argued, "No, not alright! We're not gonna get attacked or something, Kami. We know you're trying to protect us, but we don't need it, alright? We're not gonna get hurt!"
"Sukini, please," Ranbou said quietly, observing Shitora with an eerily calm expression on his face. At the word "please" issuing from the great Ranbou Ookami's mouth, most everyone in the crowd fell silent and exchanged glances. Did Ranbou even know what the word "please" meant?"
After staring angirly at Ranbou for another ten seconds or so, Shitora took her seat, pouting visibly as she did so. There was an awkward silence between the others, but Sesshomaru finally said, "Well, now that that's settled, we need to decide how we're going to work out rides to Tai-Fujishu."
The others nodded while Kagome just wandered around in her own confusion, wondering what Sesshomaru was talking about. The others seemed to understand, however, and a lazy hand shot up to the girl's left. "If someone can get the damn pick-up running, I'll transport."
"In that case, Shippo, it's up to you to get Jakotsu's pick up truck working by next week," Sesshomaru said in Shippo's direction. The kitsune gave a single affirmative nod, earning a grin from Jakotsu, one which contorted his entire face.
"What, this tyke is gonna fix my truck?"
"Trust me, Jakotsu, that kid's got more mechanical genius in his pinky finger than you do in your whole body," Miroku murmured, shaking his head slightly. The Fangs and Wildcats chuckled slightly, as though they carried their own little secret in Shippo; the boy was like their little trump card when it came to cars.
"Alright, we need more trucks," Sesshomaru announced to the others.
Shrugging, Ranbou raised his hand. "You know I got my big ass pick-up, but it's only a two seater." Once upon a time, Ranbou's uncle had worked for a contracting company and, when he bought himself a new truck, he passed down the old one to Ranbou. The question was this: what would an 18 year old boy do with a Ford King Ranch F-350? Simple: let it sit in his garage for a few years until he had a reason to use it.
"That's fine," Sesshomaru replied, shrugging. "We just need the tailgate. Transporting people is the least of our worries."
"I can probably open up the back of my Expedition," Hakkaku mentioned, exchanging glances with Ginta. "It's pretty roomy back there."
"Alright," Sesshomaru agreed. "I think that's all the part transporters were need. As for the rest of you, just get yourselves there, though it would be best if you carpooled."
Everyone nodded and Kagome glanced around, finding that she was the only confused on in the group. Sighing, she glanced over at Inuyasha, who was leaning back lazily in his seat, amber eyes half hooded with boredom. Today, he was wearing black leather pants and was currently shirtless, like most of the boys in the group. It was times like this when Kagome noticed how damn handsome he was and it drove her to madness. How could a being on this planet be so wonderfully delicious looking? It simply wasn't fair.
Despite this, Kagome decided she needed to find out what was going on somehow. "Hey, hey, Yash!"
Inuyasha glanced over his shoulder, smiling when his gaze fell upon Kagome, who was jogging towards him looking like a goddess in leather pants and a wife beater. He couldn't help but follow the motion of her breasts as she came, bouncing up and down inside the flimsy confines of her bra. Shaking his head clear, Inuyasha said, "Uh, yeah, Kags, what's up?"
Now it had become Shitora's experience that, when guys and girls had superficial conversations, they said one thing and actually meant another. Inuyasha and Kagome were a perfect example and, muffling her laughter, she elbowed Bankotsu in the ribs as they walked. "Hey, check that out."
Bankotsu followed her gaze and snickered, watching the two of them interract with interest. "Dude, he's totally checking out her tits."
"Duh, Inuyasha's a boob man," Shitora replied as though this were old news.
Rolling his crimson eyes plantively, Bankotsu replied, "Aren't we all to a certain extent? But you're right, Inuyasha really does love the titties."
Back with Inuyasha and Kagome, Kagome asked, "Why do we go to Tai Fujishu exactly?"
"Oh, to get parts for Race Wars tune ups," Inuyasha replied, rubbing the back of his silver hair in a rather awkward way. "We do it every year."
"Right," Kagome replied in an equally disfunctional manner. "So, what was that about rides?"
Shitora snorted as she watched the two of them from afar, shaking her head slightly. "Geez, they're so pathetic. I mean, look at that!" Giving her hair a ridiculous toss, pouting her lips, Shitora mocked in a rather bad impression of Kagome's voice, "'Oh, Inu, do you think the others would notice if we started fucking right here, right now?"
Playing along, Bankotsu crossed his arms over his bare chest in a manly fashion. "'Does it matter? Let me ravage you Kagome!"
"'Oh, take me!" Shitora cried, throwing her arms akimbo and offering her chest in Bankotsu's direction.
"' Heck yes I will, right in the back of my gay ass car. Don't leak on the upholstery though, I just got it refinished,'" Bankotsu deadpanned, throwing his long back braid pompously over his shoulder.
"'C'mon, let's make babies,'" Shitora said with a saucy wink, hip checking Bankotsu lightly.
"'We'll have ten kids, Kagome, all for you!'"
"'No, fifteen!'"
"'Twenty!'"
"'I dunno, Yash baby, that's a lot of sex."
"Hehe, I know."
Inuyasha and Kagome, completely oblivious to the gruesome play being enacted not fifty feet from them, continued their superficial converation, during which underlying meanings flew back and forth by the dozens. And the difference between men and women became painfully obvious.
"So, rides," Kagome said. I really want to go with you to Tai Fujishu.
"Yeah, rides," Inuyasha echoed. Dude, ride with me! "Do you, um, need one?"
"Oh, uh, no," Kagome replied a little too quickly, not wanting to sound desperate. Ugh, stupid bitch, just say yes! "Um, I mean, it would be nice, cause the Triumph is kind of old, you know."
"Yeah, I've been meaning to fix that thing up," Inuyasha said, smiling sheepishly. Yeah, right, no way. I couldn't fix that heap of shit if you gave me the fuckin' luck of God.
"I know, don't worry about it, you probably couldn't fix it with the luck of God," Kagome replied off handedly, bringing a blush to Inuyasha's cheeks.
"Well, yeah, you could ride with me," Inuyasha continued, trying to avoid her gaze; he felt like a helpless preteen trying to ask someone out. Ride with me all night long.
Kagome's smile brightened. "Thanks, Yash, I owe you one." Unless you say something dicky, then I'll pretend like you never offered.
"No problem. We're all meeting here tomorrow morning at 6, cause it's about a three hour drive and we have to settle some business with the junk yard gang before we just start takin' shit. We'll be out there all day," Inuyasha informed her. An entire day with Kagome. Fuckin' A!
"6? Oh boy. Yeah, I'll be here. Thanks again, Yash!" Kagome called, waving as she sauntered off to speak with Rin. SIX?! I'd rather die! Oh well, at least I'll be with Inuyasha.
And with that, the superficial conversation finally ended. By this time, Bankotsu and Shitora were in absolute stiches and Ranbou scratched his head, cocking an eyebrow at them. "Somethin' funny?"
"Haha, just speculating on Yash and Kags," Shitora replied through her laughter, face alight with smiled. For a moment, Ranbou was frozen, staring at the girl as she laughed; she really didn't show happiness much, unless you called evil grins and cocky smirks signs of happiness. No, she was rather bitter and sharp on the outside. To most people, that is.
"Pft, I think they just need to get the fuck together already," Ranbou said disdainfully, wiping sweat from his forehead. He already had a wrench in his hand, back to work on one of his motorcycles.
"Yeah, well we're on the outside. It's a whole different deal for us; we don't understand half the stuff they're seeing," Bankotsu said wisely, shrugging his muscular shoulders before asking boredly, "Need some help, Ran?"
"I could use some, sure," Ranbou replied with a shrug of his own. "Sukini, come on."
"What? Yeah," Shitora replied airily, still watching her brother's whimsical face as he no doubt pondered about his recent encounter with Kagome. Could they see how ridiculous it was? Or were they blind on the inside?
Shippo was literally elbow deep in the spaghetti mess of Jakotsu's pick up truck and he sighed as yet another grease geiser spurted up from the holy engine. "Holy" is, in this case, used to describe the actually physical condition of the mechanical part for, indeed, it was covered in holes. Shippo wasn't quite sure how one's engine came to be this way, but he thought it best not to ask the obvious question. He was only a mechanic, after all.
The boy shook hair away from his face, finding himself quite annoyed with the length of it; where it had once been a cute toddler's spout, it was now a full length shimmering red ponytail, one which rivaled even his father's. He didn't want to cut it, but at the same time found it troublesome in his work. Before he had more time to fret about his hair, a shout broke the peaceful hum of the warehouse.
"Hiten! Bankotsu!"
Everyone looked up at this shout for it certainly didn't belong to anyone their age. Indeed, a young girl about four inches shorter than Shippo came running into the warehouse, black curls trailing out behind her as her crimson eyes danced with delight. There were assorted calls of, "Hey, Souten," as Hiten's garrulous little sister came bounding in the warehouse, wearing tight little leather pants and her Cobras jacket. It was almost disconserting, Kagome noticed, to see a girl so young dressed in gang attire, but fewer and fewer things were beginning to surprise her these days.
Hiten had since wandered over to assist Ranbou, Shitora and Bankotsu with some motorcycles and glanced up, smiling slightly, "Hey kid. Whatcha want?"
"I won a race! I won a race!" the girl exclaimed, jumping around in excited little circles.
Immediately, the color drained from Bankotsu's face as he bent down to level with the girl, wrench and work momentarily forgotten. "You won a what? A...race?"
"Yeah, against Subaru! I won, I won, I won!" Souten shouted, spinning around with her leather clad arms akimbo, ponytail flying out behind her.
"Souten Mitsarugi!"
As soon as her shouting had began, Souten grew silent and halted all semblances of twirling, glancing fearfully up at the cold, hard eyes of her brother Hiten. The boy crossed his arms over his naked chest, cocking a terrifying eyebrow as he observed her with sharp edged anger. "I told you not to even touch the driver's side of a car or motorcycle until you were at least 15, but you just couldn't wait, could you?! 12, Souten! You're 12 years old! God damnit!"
Throwing his arms helplessly up in the air, Hiten turned on his heels and began trying to calm his anger, blowing out a thick stream of air. Seeing that his friend was momentarily unable to continue chastising his sister, Bankotsu took over where the other left off. "Souten, what exactly were you racing? Whose car did you use?"
There was a small silence as Souten grew red in the face, crossing her arms defiantly. "I didn't race a car."
Bankotsu closed his eyes, praying to the Gods for guidance. "Are you telling me you raced motorcycles this morning?"
"Um, yes?"
Sighing, Bankotsu massaged his temples wearily, wondering if this adventure had cost anyone life or limb. Deciding not to ask, he simply said, "You're banned from headquarters and all Cobra activity for two weeks. Suspended. You're suspended."
Souten's jaw practically touched the floor as he crimson eyes widened to the veritable size of dinner plates. "What?! Bank, come on!"
"He's letting you off easy!" Hiten exclaimed suddenly, rounding on his sister with a look of pure, unadulterated wrath clouding his eyes. "You oughta be glad I ain't tellin' dad!"
Souten's shoulders drooped visibly under the weight of her punishment. "What am I gonna do for 2 weeks?"
"That's your problem, ain't it?" Hiten bit out cruelly, shaking his head before turning to take a break in the back. Bankotsu rubbed the back of his neck soothingly, glancing around the warehouse at the faces of the others. Most just shook their heads and returned to work, used to Souten's antics and rule breaking behavior, while others hid smiles; Hiten's sister had wormed her way into everyone's hearts one way or another. This wasn't the first time she'd tried to race, either; she'd been pining after motorcycles and cars since she could reach the steering wheel. Hiten had tried to keep her away, at least until a decent age, but once again he'd failed; she was just too headstrong.
Bankotsu decided to join Hiten in the lounge area, leaving Souten in the company of Ranbou and Shitora. Ranbou chuckled. "You beat Subaru, eh?"
The girl's smile widened once more, as though her happiness had never deflated. "Yeah, by a quarter of a wheel!"
Shaking her head, Shitora allowed her fangs to poke through her smile. "Like a young me."
"Do your feet even reach the foot rests?" Ranbou joked, grinning when Souten grew angry and began throwing playful little punches at his midsection.
"Course they do!" she protested, pretending to be angry when she really couldn't stay angry for long; she'd always like Ranbou, especially the way he rode his motorcycle. It was said that Ranbou Ookami was the most reckless motorcycle rider around...or at least he was until Shitora came back.
"Well," Shitora mumbled conspiratorally, glancing around to see if anyone was watching. Finding no one, she whispered,"Keep it up." Giving the girl a quick wink, Shitora turned and began repairing a distributor with Ranbou's input, ignoring the evil snickers coming from Souten behind them.
Eventually, Souten noticed that almost everyone in the warehouse was engaged in some sort of concentrated activity. She knew from days of experience that disturbing mechanics was practically a death wish and, sighing bitterly, she prepared to leave until she caught a bright shock of red hair in the corner of her eye. Ayame was with Kouga on the other side of the warehouse, so who was this mysterious red head? Blinking curiously, the girl leaned back on her heels, trying to get a better view of the secretive mechanic on the otherside of the pick up's hood.
"Shippo."
Practically leaping out of her skin, Souten clasped a hand to her chest and stared caustically at Sango. "Don't do that!"
"Sorry," Sango replied with a light hearted shrug. "I just noticed you staring and thought I'd englighten you. See ya." With that, Sango turned on her heels and walked towards Miroku, striking up one of their infamously long conversations as they continued their own tireless work.
Souten blinked, rolling the name silently around in her mouth. Finally, bored of the silence around her, she began meandering rather slowly in Shippo's direction. She was able to catch a better look at the Kitsune as she appeared at the side of the truck, taking caution to be extra quiet; if he didn't seem worth her while, she was just going to sneak away. She caught a sight of piercing green eyes and a rather good looking face, which ran in conjunction with a taut, sinewy body out of league with most 12 year olds. Suddenly intimidated, she was about to turn away when a voice held her in place.
"Going somewhere? You didn't even say hello."
Wincing, Souten turned rather slowly to face Shippo. She blinked, glancing around; he hadn't looked up from his work, so she assumed he wasn't actually speaking to her, but there was no one around them for another twenty feet. When she said nothing, the voice continued, "It's me, I'm just concentrating on this engine. I have to install and entirely new one today, you know. This guy put a bunch of holes in it somehow."
This time, Souten actually saw his lips move in conjunction with the words. She blinked; how had he noticed her when he hadn't even looked up? "Uh, yeah, Jakotsu rides it pretty hard," she agreed, trying to act casual as she closed the gap between them, turning to observe the car rather interestedly. "Put in a V6; he'd be so pissed, I'd love to see that," she giggled.
Grinning, Shippo shook his head and wiped sweat from his brow. "Maybe you would, but all I would see would be the end of my job."
"Are the Fangs real strict like everyone says?" Souten asked curiously.
This provoked a snort from Shippo. "They make me get here at a certain time and I don't leave until I'm done. If you call that strict, then I guess so."
"That's more than the Cobras do," Souten said, rolling her crimson eyes plantively. "I mean, Bank always says, 'fix what you can, but don't fuck up; we'll send it over to Sesshomaru's guys.' I figured you guys must be real intense or something."
"Naw," Shippo grunted out, using all his strength to tighten a rather troublesome bolt. "We're just..." he trailed off, exerting his entire muscle on the machine,"...good."
"How modest of you," Souten joked, giving Shippo a light punch to the arm.
The kitsune just smiled. "Yeah, I'm pretty modest. Won't lie."
When he smiled, Souten felt a sudden shock of familiarity; narrowing her eyes, she peered curiously at him. "Do I know you from somewhere? You look familiar."
"Do I? I look like my mom and dad," Shippo offered, shrugging his naked shoulders easily. "Kei and Nanashi, maybe you know em."
At this, Souten's jaw practically came unhinged from her neck. "The Kei and Nanashi?" she asked, voice rising three octaves above its normal pitch. Bankotsu and the others still told stories from the old times, back when the Fangs and Wildcats were new on the streets, back when Kei and Nanashi reigned supreme. They were fair, just, wild, free, and paid heed to no rules. Simply, they were the epitome of cool.
"Yeah," Shippo murmured, picking through several screwdrivers before he came to the correct one. "That's them."
"That's so cool! Did they teach you how to ride and drive and smoke an-"
"No," Shippo broke in, smiling slightly at the girl's enthusiasm. "They're just mom and dad to me. I mean, they taught me about mechanics and the way things work, but really they didn't tell me much about other stuff. Well, besides the gangs. They told me everything from back then, so that could be considered 'teaching' I suppose." The boy mused over his own words, not seeming to notice Souten's obvious disdain.
"Geez, you talk like you're already my dad's age," she noted crassly, shaking her head. "You got a big vocabulary."
Shippo shrugged. "A lawyer and a doctor; I had to learn something from them, right?"
Nodding as though this were all plausible, Souten suddenly spit in her hand, holding it out to Shippo. "I'm Souten Mitsarugi."
The kitsune eyed her hand for a moment and Souten watched him curiously; if he took the hand, he was worth her time. If he didn't, he was just another scab in the crowd of true gang members. Finally, Shippo spat in his own hand, shaking hands with the girl as though this were completely ordinary. "Shippo Sasuga. Pleased to meet you."
As Sango and Miroku worked busily away on their car, they conversed in hushed tones about their previous night's bet; who would be the first to notice their relationship? Inuyasha or Ayame?
"I'm telling you, he's been my best friend since we could jack tires, he'll figure it out," Miroku protested quietly in Inuyasha's defense.
Sango rolled her eyes. "Please, baby. He's not dumb, but he's not observent either. Ayame's the quiet observer type; she'll figure it out right off."
Glancing over his shoulder at Kouga and Ayame, Miroku choked back a laugh; they were currently giggling their way through hurried kisses beneath the hood of an Eclipse, obviously presuming their actions were unseen. "Yeah, the quiet observer. Right," he murmured. "Who knows, we might be thrown a curveball. Life is full of curveballs."
"I don't think we can expect curveballs when its 110 plus degress outside," Sango reasoned shaking her head.
Farther back in the warehouse, Inuyasha accepted a wrench gratefully from Kagome's hand, working busily away at someone's Masarati import. "That should do it," he announced, ducking skillfully out from beneath the hood and wiping his hands together triumphantly.
Kagome smiled briefly before turning her attention back to Miroku and Sango. "Is something up with them? Sango and Miroku?" she asked curiously. "They look really...happy."
"Why shouldn't they be?" Inuyasha snorted, barely even casting his best friend a glance. "They're doin' alright, ain't they?"
Kagome shrugged. "Good point. Just a happy day, I guess."
Over near the West wall, Ayame choked back another giggle as Kouga snatched a kiss beneath the hood of the Eclipse. Green eyes twinkling, she whispered, "Stop it, Ko! We're supposed to be working!"
"All work and no play makes Kouga a pissed off motherfucker," the boy murmured with a devilish smirk, snaking his arms around the redhead's slender, naked waist; everyone had shed their shirts by this point, boys going top naked and girls in their sports bras.
Over Kouga's shoulder, Ayame could clearly make out the joyful faces of Miroku and Sango as they chatted merrily away, having a go at their vehicle simultaneously. She observed them for a moment before giving a faint smile. "Sango and Miroku look so comfortable with each other. They'll be going out soon for sure."
"Course they will," Kouga snorted gruffly. "He's been in love with her since forever, you know."
Ayame sighed, gazing full into her boyfriend's ice blue eyes. "Minus the whole groping thing, he's quite the romantic, Miroku."
"True," Kouga agreed, nodding agreeably. "But you know what the problem with all that gooshy romance crap is?" When Ayame shook her head confusedly, Kouga ducked down until their lips almost touch. "There ain't enough of this." With these words, he claimed her lips and their kiss grew heated, deep enough to the point where Hakkaku and Ginta, working on a car next door, excused themselves to drown their sorrows in a beer, or several beers, in the lounge area.
Rin let out a weary sigh, tipping her chair back on two legs; she and Sesshomaru were currently pouring over reports, as was ususal. On days like today, it was positively too hot to even dream of organizing papers, nevertheless completing them. Sesshomaru, sitting across from her, didn't seem to notice the heat as he dialed something into the calculator, observing the number over his spectacles before jotting it down on a finance chart. Rin was observing the warehouse upside down, head flipped all the way backward, when Miroku and Sango came into her line of vision. They were laughing at something, enjoying each other's company a little more than was normal.
The girl furrowed her brow and was about to say something to Sesshomaru when she overbalanced the chair and sent herself toppling backwards. She prepared herself for the fall, but a sudden strength prevented her from touching the cement; daring to open her eyes, Rin took in the face of Sesshomaru, who looked slightly amused by all of this, directly above her. Tipping her back forward, he gave his girlfriend a bemused smile.
"Lost in thought?" he said dryly, quirking an eyebrow.
Rin furrowed her brow, crossing her arms huffily. "Don't be so smug about it, it's too hot for smugness. I was just watching Miroku and Sango. They look...different today."
Sesshomaru cast Miroku and Sango a glance, watching them disinterestedly for a few moments, before he said dully, "Indeed." With this word alone, Sesshomaru took his seat and scratched absently at the left side of his bare chest, adjusting his spectacles before returning to his work. Deciding it wasn't worth her time either, Rin shrugged and vowed to give her own paperwork some attention. It needed to be done by Race Wars.
"And I think I'm done," Ranbou concluded, throwing his arms akimbo as he glanced curiously at his handiwork; the motorcycle seemed to be in tip top shape, but he wouldn't presume it so until Shitora took a look. She had a habit of catching the finer points while he was more of a big picture sort of person. "Take a look, Sukini."
Shitora was just about to proclaim the machine finished with when she caught a glimpse of something strange out of the corner of her eye. Turning slowly to face the scene, the hanyou girl drank in the scene before her; Miroku and Sango were talking quite normally working busily away at a car and occassionally sneaking glances at one another. Shitora furrowed her brow.
"Hey, wolf boy, check those two out."
Ranbou glanced over Shitora's much shorter head at Miroku and Sango, watching them interract for a while. Unlike the other boys, Ranbou seemed rather interested in the way the two regarded each other. "Well ain't that somethin. They weren't like that yesterday."
"I know!" Shitora exclaimed, gesturing to them with one pale, clawed hand. "They're lookin' at each other funny, giggling, acting all giddy, like they've known each other forever. I mean, I know they have, but they never acted like it before."
The wolf demon nodded, ice blue eyes narrowed in stern thought. He crossed his muscular arms over his tan chest, moving his eyebrows in strange ways before he finally said, "I think they're goin' out."
Shitora's eyebrows nearly disappeared into her hair as she continued watching her two friends, noticing a new element which seemed to have magically appeared in their relationship overnight. "You know what, I think you're right."
Deciding not to beat around the bush, Ranbou said reasonably, "Well, let's go ask."
"Sure thing," Shitora agreed, carrying a grease rag with her as she wiped her hands off routinely.
Sango glanced up from the car's engine, blinking when she saw Ranbou and Shitora standing mere feet away from her. Exchanging glances with Miroku, she asked rather awkwardly, "Yeah? What's up, you two?"
"We just noiced somethin' funny about you guys," Ranbou mentioned, shrugging his great shoulders.
"Yeah, you goin' out?" Shitora continued, crossing her arms questioningly.
There was a great silence between the four of them as Miroku and Sango furrowed their brows; this certainly wasn't going according to plan. According to the plan, the smart people would notice their relationship and bring it up quietly, not wanting to intrude upon them. Shitora and Ranbou were supposed to be, well, the stupid ones; where did they get off noticing before people like Sesshomaru and Ayame?
"Um, yeah, we are," Miroku answered, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Oh, good for you guys," Shitora said with a smile. "Alright then, that was all. See you guys later."
Ranbou gave them a wave before he and the white haired girl trekked back to their motorcycle, cleaning up their discarded parts as though this were all rather common place. Sango turned to Miroku, voicing the obvious question. "Well, we both lost the bet. What does that mean?"
Miroku smirked, closing the gap between them until their noses were almost touching; Sango grew rather red as she felt the heat of Miroku's breath on her cheeks. Winking, he replied, "It means we both get to wash the other's car in our bathing suits. Together."
And alas, life threw a curveball.
And another chapter! This one isn't short or anything, but it seemed to go by quickly. I'm not sure why, it just did. Thanks everybody for your awesome reviews, we passed 110! I never dreamed this story would get so far, it's the best I've ever done review wise! Weee! It's so fulfilling!
KOLU
"...and I've never been so scared in my entire life. Kikyo...I couldn't even move."
It was a quite, breezy morning at the Totosai Mori Memorial Pschyatric hospital windows of the minimum security ward open and allowing the scents of summer to drift inside. Kagome sat in her usual chair, legs pulled up to her chest as she observed Kikyo's back, which was a fascinating entity all its own. As Kikyo braced her arms at the window's edge, staring out at the world with a wistful sort of longing, Kagome traced the delicate curve of her spine as it rebelled against the white linen captivity of her bed gown. The stark contrast of midnight black hair against the smock gave Kikyo a sort of grey pallor, though she seemed to weather through it all with her usual indifference.
Ink black eyes following the path of a twittering blue bird, Kikyo asked rather interestedly, "Transformed? That's not like him. Normally he's more in control than that...or I guess I should say normally he has more grace than that. He's never really had control. But transforming at a race? He must really love you."
This brought a faint blush to Kagome's cheeks. "Whose ass did you pull that out of?" Kagome asked, voice cracking rather audibly. "He was just worried about a friend is all."
When Kikyo snorted, it was hard to tell if it was out of disdain or marvel. "I know you haven't had much experience with demons, Kagome, but I'll tell you what I've gathered from my time around them: they don't transform for any one Mary Katherine Shit walking around. To really lose their temper, and I mean explode with anger that eats them up inside, they'd have to be angsting over their mate."
The word "mate" drew what little color remained away from Kagome's cheeks and she stared wide eyed at Kikyo's back. "M-mate? Like...when dogs have rough sex and make tons of babies? That kind of mate?"
"Mate," Kikyo repeated quietly, lips curving strangely around the word as she peered, slit eyed, at the world below.
Kagome gulped, in what must of been a noticeable way, for Kikyo's eyes adopted an amused twinkle. "Are you afraid of that word? You look like you are."
It was a mystery to Kagome how Kikyo could deduce such a thing, as she was facing away from her at the time, but Kagome managed to get out, "No, no, I just never really thought of...relationships that way."
"Mating is forever, you know," Kikyo said loosely, shifting her body around until, like a graceful ballerina, she was sitting on the window sill staring at her guest. "All it takes is a fuck and a bite mark to seal your fate."
At first, Kikyo's random curse words had startled Kagome, but she'd since become used to them. Hearing such a godly, out-of-the-realm human being say words like "fuck" and "shit" cast a strange veil over Kikyo's beautiful face; strangely enough, it only added to her mysterious appeal. "How do they know who their mate is?" Kagome asked, almost afraid of the answer.
Kikyo didn't answer for a moment, content to observe Kagome with her bottomless eyes, before she finally said, "Love is a human ideal some acid tripper created to ease their own lonliness. They like to think mortals can find their one true love by accident or pure will, but it can't be done. Demons have a different fate than us; their entire fate is laid out like a path, leading them to their one true partner. A demon might suddenly pack up his things and move to Australia for no obvious reason, except thinking that he simply wanted to go. And when he arrives, he'll meet his mate walking down the beach without a care in the world. Their entire lives lead them to their mates; we're just the pawns they pick up and pocket along the way."
Outside, a wind chime let loose a soft melody in the wind and Kagome shuddered, not understanding what to do with Kikyo's cryptic words. Randomly, Kikyo said things like that, things laced with so many meanings not even top scholars could pick them up, and Kagome had yet to get used to it. How a person existed who spoke in modern prose was beyond Kagome, but there she sat before her, dressed in a willowy night gown with murder in her eyes. It wasn't Kagome's murder which Kikyo wished for, but someone else's murder. Someone she'd yet to meet...but she would kill them when the day came.
"So what your saying is that if a demon chose you as its mate, you wouldn't have a choice? You would have to go?" Kagome asked faintly, brow furrowed and heart aching rather fiercely.
"You wouldn't have to go...but it you wanted them to live, it would be a good idea," came Kikyo's airy reply; she began swinging her legs against the wall in a restless gesture. "Demon love and human love are two separate things; demon love knows nothing about divorce, hardship or anger. Nothing can break a demon bond."
"So really, if you cared about them at all, even if you didn't love them back, you would have to stay with them," Kagome said quietly, already knowing the answer.
Kikyo's hair came loose from its braid as the breeze teased it, blowing it around Kikyo's waifish form. "You think about circumstance too much, Kagome. You'll never actually live if you can't survive in the moment."
Sighing, Kagome leaned her head back against the wall; and yet again, there she was, struck dumb by one of Kikyo's stunning one-liners. If she didn't know any better, the girl might accuse Kikyo of spending her days in the pysch ward thinking up witty comebacks, but she knew it would only provoke a laugh. After a brief silence, Kagome popped the question which had been plaguing her two days now.
"Kikyo, what's race wars?"
With a snort, Kikyo leaned forward slightly, revealing a tantalizing view of cleavage. "Race wars, huh? I guess it's that time of year again." It struck Kagome how, even though she was straight, the view of Kikyo's slightly bare breasts made her blush. Perhaps it was the sheer perfection she saw there, creamy skin untainted by blemish or mark; no wonder men fell at her feet.
"Yeah," Kagome said, steadying her voice as best she could. Every time she visited Kikyo, Kagome felt her soul almost squeeze at the sheer volume of the invalid's personality, as though it could consume her whole. It both frightened her and fascinated her.
"Race wars," Kikyo whispered to herself in her usual quiet monotone. "Well, it's a thing to behold. Imagine ten races going on all at the same time, stretching out across an abandoned air force base, tens of thousands of people there. It's all the gangs from around Japan, gathered together to see who's the best. Everyone spends their entire year gearing up for race wars, you know. These petty night races are pride battles, not actual fights. At race wars, you see who's going to lay down the law for the next year and, last year, it was the Fangs. As it has been since Sesshomaru came into power. But before that..." Kikyo's normally unbreakable facade flinched slightly and she cleared her throat, continuing. "Before that, Naraku and the Tarantulas were in power. Naraku is a year older than you and I, did you know?" Kagome shook her head; she had no idea. "He was held back in the eighth grade. That was the year his parents were killed in the line of duty on a routine raid, so he naturally missed a lot of school."
When Kikyo dropped this proverbial bomb, Kagome nearly choked; killed in the line of duty? "What did his paents do for a living?"
"Police officers," Kikyo replied stonily. "High ranking ones too. Shot dead."
Furrowing her brow, Kagome settled softly back against the wall. Her stepfather was a marvelous policemen and she took the words "high ranking" to mean incredibly skilled and high up in the call list. If this was true, then why would Naraku pick a life of crime when his parents had been murdered by criminals? "That doesn't make sense. Why would Naraku..."
But Kikyo, as usual, cut her off. "Because it made him sick. I'm a sick sex fiend, he's a sick sadist. We're all a little sick."
The words hung heavily in the air before Kagome waved them away with her next question. "Right, but what does all this have to do with race wars?"
Raising her dark eyes to meet Kagome's brown ones, Kikyo replied in a rather frightening voice, "I'm just trying to explain what life under Naraku's rule was like for the gangs. Constant terror. It wasn't text book, in the sense that we wasn't 'the king' by all technicalities, but winning Race Wars gives you that unnofficial title and no dared oppose him. Until Sesshomaru came along. You've noticed how loyal the other gangs are to Sesshomaru, haven't you? It's because he saved them all, brought them out of darkness so to speak. And what was he, 13? A prodigy. An absolute genius."
To hear Kikyo speak highly of someone startled Kagome, but she was pleasantly surprised. All this time, she'd noticed something old and simmering within Sesshomaru and she now understood what made her so uneasy; it was his absolute vast knowledge. He seemed like a stoic most of the time, but really he was just a smart man in a stupid world, breaking all the rules with several strategic steps. "So Race Wars defines this life," Kagome said, as though coming out of an ephiphany.
Chuckling, Kikyo said, "Careful, you're starting to sound like me. But exactly. It defines the entire year, more like. Without Race Wars, this entire set up would be a bunch of rebellious teens smoking and having sex in cars. Race Wars...doesn't make us legit, but we almost feel like it does." Suddenly, the girl stopped talking and her eyes became slightly downcast. Looking away from Kagome in a startling display of weakness, Kikyo muttered bitterly, "Silly me, there I go saying 'we' again. I'm no longer a part of that world. I'm a part of...this." At the word 'this,' Kikyo gestured lifelessly to the white walls, bed and chairs, suddenly seeming dark in comparison.
Without blinking an eye at the girl's sudden mood change, Kagome stood and stretched her arms, revealing a sliver of her belly as her tank top rose on her ribs. "Keep believing and someday, you'll be a part of the world you want again. Thanks, Kikyo."
Nodding slowly, as was her custom, she said, "Another time, Kagome."
Kagome's footsteps retreated down the hallway and, in her wake, Kikyo couldn't help but smile. There was so much of herself in Kagome, it was hard not to. A good deal of the past had been spent wondering where she could safely put her feet without causing the ice to crack. It was only later that Kikyo learned running ahead of the dangerous fractures was the only way to cross the pond.
*!*!*!*
For the time being, Rin was allowing Kagome to borrow one of the cars in her garage for transportation purposes. Unfortunately for Kagome, the only other car at Rin's was a beat up 1978 Triumph Spitfire, peeling paint and all. Where it had once been a vibrant red, now only a rather depressing pepto bismol pink remained, running in conjunction with a cracked tail light and feaux fur seat covers. Rin's father had won it at an auction seven year prior, but he'd never done anything with it and offered it to Rin for mechanical experimentation purposes. Seeing as though her friends were into that kind of thing, Mr. Takeyama told Rin they might enjoy tearing the thing apart; unless restored, it wasn't worth much anyway.Nevertheless, Kagome was very proud of the car and was currently making plans with Inuyasha to fix it up to her liking. It was only about ten minutes between the pysch clinic and the warehouse, so Kagome arrived shortly at headquarters. There was a great number of cars parked outside, but Kagome was used to it by now; for the past two weeks, the Southern cores had been spending all their time at the Fangs' Warehouse, tuning up their vehicles and making plans for Southern Domination at Race Wars. It seemed as though the whole faction was very unified over this event.
When Kagome walked inside, she found the shop completely empty, tools set aside and hoods closed. The only activity was located in the lounge area, where a good twenty people were sitting around Sesshomaru, hanging on his every word as smoke clouded the air; almost everyone was smoking a cigarette or drinking a beer. Ranbou was doing both.
Kagome froze in the doorway, not knowing whether or not she could walk back towards the others. This was gang business, right? And, technically, she wasn't in the gang. She was sitll just an innocent bystander, shuffling her feet to the side of all the excitement and waiting her turn in line. Perhaps RIn and the others just weren't comfortable with her yet. Someday, she hoped, they would offer her a jacket. Someday soon.
Rather bored by the proceedings, Rin sighed and happened to glance over her shoulder, eyes locking on the awkward figure of Kagome by the entrance. Smiling slightly, Rin reached her arm over the back of the couch, beckoning her cousin with one slender finger. A few core members at the back of the ensemble noticed the motion and craned their necks to observe the new comer, smiling and waving at Kagome.
Sesshomaru glanced over the others at Kagome, who was walking quietly towards them, managing to stay almost silently. "Ah, Kagome, come on back."
Burning a rather brilliant red as the entire crowd turned to face her, Kagome masked her embarrasment and smiled, hurrying forward and giving Sesshomaru a nod of recognition. "Hey, sorry."
"Not at all. You've been looking over our records for the past month, you'll most likely have a valid in put on this conversation," Sesshomaru replied, smirking slightly. Returning his amber eyes to the group at large, he continued. "As I was saying, the rules are as they've always been, just use your head, it's all very common sensical. Oh, there is one change this year."
At this, everyone seemed to perk up; normally, meetings concerning Race Wars were boring and long winded, owing to the fact that everyone knew what to expect. They went over the rules annually out of obligation, not out of necessity. When he knew he had everyone's attention, Sesshomaru said, "All of the girls must have a male escort with them at all times, no matter what."
There was a brief silence before the first outraged shriek came. "WHAT?!"
Following Sango's outburst, every single girl in the group was standing, eyebrows dangerously low and fists clenched. Rin practically leapt out of her seat, stalking up to Sesshomaru with fire in her stare. Despite the fact that she was only wearing a red bikini top and a pair of leather shorty shorts, the Wildcat's leader managed to look rather intimidating as she poked her boyfriend angrily in the chest.
"Sesshomaru! Why didn't you ask me first? I am absolutely not okay with that!"
Looking distinctly unimpressed, Sesshomaru crossed his naked arms and peered down at his girlfriend with one smoothly cocked eyebrow. "And why do you think I didn't consult you, hm?"
"AGH! We're not some little school girls you can just usher around Race Wars! We know how to take care of ourselves!" Rin shouted, cheeks becoming rather red in her wrath. Sesshomaru was having a rather difficult time focusing on his girlfriend's lips when his eyes were straying to her breasts, her stomach, and yet lower still; she really was tantalizing when anger struck.
"Absolutely! We're big girls now, okay?" Shitora agreed patronizingly, crossing her own pale arms to mirror her brother's. She popped her hip moodily to the side, drawing Ranbou's gaze from where he sat nearby. There was that perfect ass again. He shook his head violently and forced himself to focus on her words instead; she was still ranting quite excitedly. "...and for you to treat us like we've never been in danger before is just gay! I mean, we're in a gang for kami's sake! It's not like we've never fought before!"
The Reikon leader smacked his forehead, speaking skillfully around his cigarette. "Sukini, we don't want you fighting at all. We know you know how and that's great, more power to ya, but you girls are smaller than the guys we're trying to protect you from and it's not cool, alright?"
Shitora whirled on Ranbou, who was still leaning back leisurely in his seat, naked chest, glistening with a fine layer of sweat. Ignoring the heat rising to her cheeks, which was consequently not a by product of her annoyance, she argued, "No, not alright! We're not gonna get attacked or something, Kami. We know you're trying to protect us, but we don't need it, alright? We're not gonna get hurt!"
"Sukini, please," Ranbou said quietly, observing Shitora with an eerily calm expression on his face. At the word "please" issuing from the great Ranbou Ookami's mouth, most everyone in the crowd fell silent and exchanged glances. Did Ranbou even know what the word "please" meant?"
After staring angirly at Ranbou for another ten seconds or so, Shitora took her seat, pouting visibly as she did so. There was an awkward silence between the others, but Sesshomaru finally said, "Well, now that that's settled, we need to decide how we're going to work out rides to Tai-Fujishu."
The others nodded while Kagome just wandered around in her own confusion, wondering what Sesshomaru was talking about. The others seemed to understand, however, and a lazy hand shot up to the girl's left. "If someone can get the damn pick-up running, I'll transport."
"In that case, Shippo, it's up to you to get Jakotsu's pick up truck working by next week," Sesshomaru said in Shippo's direction. The kitsune gave a single affirmative nod, earning a grin from Jakotsu, one which contorted his entire face.
"What, this tyke is gonna fix my truck?"
"Trust me, Jakotsu, that kid's got more mechanical genius in his pinky finger than you do in your whole body," Miroku murmured, shaking his head slightly. The Fangs and Wildcats chuckled slightly, as though they carried their own little secret in Shippo; the boy was like their little trump card when it came to cars.
"Alright, we need more trucks," Sesshomaru announced to the others.
Shrugging, Ranbou raised his hand. "You know I got my big ass pick-up, but it's only a two seater." Once upon a time, Ranbou's uncle had worked for a contracting company and, when he bought himself a new truck, he passed down the old one to Ranbou. The question was this: what would an 18 year old boy do with a Ford King Ranch F-350? Simple: let it sit in his garage for a few years until he had a reason to use it.
"That's fine," Sesshomaru replied, shrugging. "We just need the tailgate. Transporting people is the least of our worries."
"I can probably open up the back of my Expedition," Hakkaku mentioned, exchanging glances with Ginta. "It's pretty roomy back there."
"Alright," Sesshomaru agreed. "I think that's all the part transporters were need. As for the rest of you, just get yourselves there, though it would be best if you carpooled."
Everyone nodded and Kagome glanced around, finding that she was the only confused on in the group. Sighing, she glanced over at Inuyasha, who was leaning back lazily in his seat, amber eyes half hooded with boredom. Today, he was wearing black leather pants and was currently shirtless, like most of the boys in the group. It was times like this when Kagome noticed how damn handsome he was and it drove her to madness. How could a being on this planet be so wonderfully delicious looking? It simply wasn't fair.
Despite this, Kagome decided she needed to find out what was going on somehow. "Hey, hey, Yash!"
Inuyasha glanced over his shoulder, smiling when his gaze fell upon Kagome, who was jogging towards him looking like a goddess in leather pants and a wife beater. He couldn't help but follow the motion of her breasts as she came, bouncing up and down inside the flimsy confines of her bra. Shaking his head clear, Inuyasha said, "Uh, yeah, Kags, what's up?"
Now it had become Shitora's experience that, when guys and girls had superficial conversations, they said one thing and actually meant another. Inuyasha and Kagome were a perfect example and, muffling her laughter, she elbowed Bankotsu in the ribs as they walked. "Hey, check that out."
Bankotsu followed her gaze and snickered, watching the two of them interract with interest. "Dude, he's totally checking out her tits."
"Duh, Inuyasha's a boob man," Shitora replied as though this were old news.
Rolling his crimson eyes plantively, Bankotsu replied, "Aren't we all to a certain extent? But you're right, Inuyasha really does love the titties."
Back with Inuyasha and Kagome, Kagome asked, "Why do we go to Tai Fujishu exactly?"
"Oh, to get parts for Race Wars tune ups," Inuyasha replied, rubbing the back of his silver hair in a rather awkward way. "We do it every year."
"Right," Kagome replied in an equally disfunctional manner. "So, what was that about rides?"
Shitora snorted as she watched the two of them from afar, shaking her head slightly. "Geez, they're so pathetic. I mean, look at that!" Giving her hair a ridiculous toss, pouting her lips, Shitora mocked in a rather bad impression of Kagome's voice, "'Oh, Inu, do you think the others would notice if we started fucking right here, right now?"
Playing along, Bankotsu crossed his arms over his bare chest in a manly fashion. "'Does it matter? Let me ravage you Kagome!"
"'Oh, take me!" Shitora cried, throwing her arms akimbo and offering her chest in Bankotsu's direction.
"' Heck yes I will, right in the back of my gay ass car. Don't leak on the upholstery though, I just got it refinished,'" Bankotsu deadpanned, throwing his long back braid pompously over his shoulder.
"'C'mon, let's make babies,'" Shitora said with a saucy wink, hip checking Bankotsu lightly.
"'We'll have ten kids, Kagome, all for you!'"
"'No, fifteen!'"
"'Twenty!'"
"'I dunno, Yash baby, that's a lot of sex."
"Hehe, I know."
Inuyasha and Kagome, completely oblivious to the gruesome play being enacted not fifty feet from them, continued their superficial converation, during which underlying meanings flew back and forth by the dozens. And the difference between men and women became painfully obvious.
"So, rides," Kagome said. I really want to go with you to Tai Fujishu.
"Yeah, rides," Inuyasha echoed. Dude, ride with me! "Do you, um, need one?"
"Oh, uh, no," Kagome replied a little too quickly, not wanting to sound desperate. Ugh, stupid bitch, just say yes! "Um, I mean, it would be nice, cause the Triumph is kind of old, you know."
"Yeah, I've been meaning to fix that thing up," Inuyasha said, smiling sheepishly. Yeah, right, no way. I couldn't fix that heap of shit if you gave me the fuckin' luck of God.
"I know, don't worry about it, you probably couldn't fix it with the luck of God," Kagome replied off handedly, bringing a blush to Inuyasha's cheeks.
"Well, yeah, you could ride with me," Inuyasha continued, trying to avoid her gaze; he felt like a helpless preteen trying to ask someone out. Ride with me all night long.
Kagome's smile brightened. "Thanks, Yash, I owe you one." Unless you say something dicky, then I'll pretend like you never offered.
"No problem. We're all meeting here tomorrow morning at 6, cause it's about a three hour drive and we have to settle some business with the junk yard gang before we just start takin' shit. We'll be out there all day," Inuyasha informed her. An entire day with Kagome. Fuckin' A!
"6? Oh boy. Yeah, I'll be here. Thanks again, Yash!" Kagome called, waving as she sauntered off to speak with Rin. SIX?! I'd rather die! Oh well, at least I'll be with Inuyasha.
And with that, the superficial conversation finally ended. By this time, Bankotsu and Shitora were in absolute stiches and Ranbou scratched his head, cocking an eyebrow at them. "Somethin' funny?"
"Haha, just speculating on Yash and Kags," Shitora replied through her laughter, face alight with smiled. For a moment, Ranbou was frozen, staring at the girl as she laughed; she really didn't show happiness much, unless you called evil grins and cocky smirks signs of happiness. No, she was rather bitter and sharp on the outside. To most people, that is.
"Pft, I think they just need to get the fuck together already," Ranbou said disdainfully, wiping sweat from his forehead. He already had a wrench in his hand, back to work on one of his motorcycles.
"Yeah, well we're on the outside. It's a whole different deal for us; we don't understand half the stuff they're seeing," Bankotsu said wisely, shrugging his muscular shoulders before asking boredly, "Need some help, Ran?"
"I could use some, sure," Ranbou replied with a shrug of his own. "Sukini, come on."
"What? Yeah," Shitora replied airily, still watching her brother's whimsical face as he no doubt pondered about his recent encounter with Kagome. Could they see how ridiculous it was? Or were they blind on the inside?
Shippo was literally elbow deep in the spaghetti mess of Jakotsu's pick up truck and he sighed as yet another grease geiser spurted up from the holy engine. "Holy" is, in this case, used to describe the actually physical condition of the mechanical part for, indeed, it was covered in holes. Shippo wasn't quite sure how one's engine came to be this way, but he thought it best not to ask the obvious question. He was only a mechanic, after all.
The boy shook hair away from his face, finding himself quite annoyed with the length of it; where it had once been a cute toddler's spout, it was now a full length shimmering red ponytail, one which rivaled even his father's. He didn't want to cut it, but at the same time found it troublesome in his work. Before he had more time to fret about his hair, a shout broke the peaceful hum of the warehouse.
"Hiten! Bankotsu!"
Everyone looked up at this shout for it certainly didn't belong to anyone their age. Indeed, a young girl about four inches shorter than Shippo came running into the warehouse, black curls trailing out behind her as her crimson eyes danced with delight. There were assorted calls of, "Hey, Souten," as Hiten's garrulous little sister came bounding in the warehouse, wearing tight little leather pants and her Cobras jacket. It was almost disconserting, Kagome noticed, to see a girl so young dressed in gang attire, but fewer and fewer things were beginning to surprise her these days.
Hiten had since wandered over to assist Ranbou, Shitora and Bankotsu with some motorcycles and glanced up, smiling slightly, "Hey kid. Whatcha want?"
"I won a race! I won a race!" the girl exclaimed, jumping around in excited little circles.
Immediately, the color drained from Bankotsu's face as he bent down to level with the girl, wrench and work momentarily forgotten. "You won a what? A...race?"
"Yeah, against Subaru! I won, I won, I won!" Souten shouted, spinning around with her leather clad arms akimbo, ponytail flying out behind her.
"Souten Mitsarugi!"
As soon as her shouting had began, Souten grew silent and halted all semblances of twirling, glancing fearfully up at the cold, hard eyes of her brother Hiten. The boy crossed his arms over his naked chest, cocking a terrifying eyebrow as he observed her with sharp edged anger. "I told you not to even touch the driver's side of a car or motorcycle until you were at least 15, but you just couldn't wait, could you?! 12, Souten! You're 12 years old! God damnit!"
Throwing his arms helplessly up in the air, Hiten turned on his heels and began trying to calm his anger, blowing out a thick stream of air. Seeing that his friend was momentarily unable to continue chastising his sister, Bankotsu took over where the other left off. "Souten, what exactly were you racing? Whose car did you use?"
There was a small silence as Souten grew red in the face, crossing her arms defiantly. "I didn't race a car."
Bankotsu closed his eyes, praying to the Gods for guidance. "Are you telling me you raced motorcycles this morning?"
"Um, yes?"
Sighing, Bankotsu massaged his temples wearily, wondering if this adventure had cost anyone life or limb. Deciding not to ask, he simply said, "You're banned from headquarters and all Cobra activity for two weeks. Suspended. You're suspended."
Souten's jaw practically touched the floor as he crimson eyes widened to the veritable size of dinner plates. "What?! Bank, come on!"
"He's letting you off easy!" Hiten exclaimed suddenly, rounding on his sister with a look of pure, unadulterated wrath clouding his eyes. "You oughta be glad I ain't tellin' dad!"
Souten's shoulders drooped visibly under the weight of her punishment. "What am I gonna do for 2 weeks?"
"That's your problem, ain't it?" Hiten bit out cruelly, shaking his head before turning to take a break in the back. Bankotsu rubbed the back of his neck soothingly, glancing around the warehouse at the faces of the others. Most just shook their heads and returned to work, used to Souten's antics and rule breaking behavior, while others hid smiles; Hiten's sister had wormed her way into everyone's hearts one way or another. This wasn't the first time she'd tried to race, either; she'd been pining after motorcycles and cars since she could reach the steering wheel. Hiten had tried to keep her away, at least until a decent age, but once again he'd failed; she was just too headstrong.
Bankotsu decided to join Hiten in the lounge area, leaving Souten in the company of Ranbou and Shitora. Ranbou chuckled. "You beat Subaru, eh?"
The girl's smile widened once more, as though her happiness had never deflated. "Yeah, by a quarter of a wheel!"
Shaking her head, Shitora allowed her fangs to poke through her smile. "Like a young me."
"Do your feet even reach the foot rests?" Ranbou joked, grinning when Souten grew angry and began throwing playful little punches at his midsection.
"Course they do!" she protested, pretending to be angry when she really couldn't stay angry for long; she'd always like Ranbou, especially the way he rode his motorcycle. It was said that Ranbou Ookami was the most reckless motorcycle rider around...or at least he was until Shitora came back.
"Well," Shitora mumbled conspiratorally, glancing around to see if anyone was watching. Finding no one, she whispered,"Keep it up." Giving the girl a quick wink, Shitora turned and began repairing a distributor with Ranbou's input, ignoring the evil snickers coming from Souten behind them.
Eventually, Souten noticed that almost everyone in the warehouse was engaged in some sort of concentrated activity. She knew from days of experience that disturbing mechanics was practically a death wish and, sighing bitterly, she prepared to leave until she caught a bright shock of red hair in the corner of her eye. Ayame was with Kouga on the other side of the warehouse, so who was this mysterious red head? Blinking curiously, the girl leaned back on her heels, trying to get a better view of the secretive mechanic on the otherside of the pick up's hood.
"Shippo."
Practically leaping out of her skin, Souten clasped a hand to her chest and stared caustically at Sango. "Don't do that!"
"Sorry," Sango replied with a light hearted shrug. "I just noticed you staring and thought I'd englighten you. See ya." With that, Sango turned on her heels and walked towards Miroku, striking up one of their infamously long conversations as they continued their own tireless work.
Souten blinked, rolling the name silently around in her mouth. Finally, bored of the silence around her, she began meandering rather slowly in Shippo's direction. She was able to catch a better look at the Kitsune as she appeared at the side of the truck, taking caution to be extra quiet; if he didn't seem worth her while, she was just going to sneak away. She caught a sight of piercing green eyes and a rather good looking face, which ran in conjunction with a taut, sinewy body out of league with most 12 year olds. Suddenly intimidated, she was about to turn away when a voice held her in place.
"Going somewhere? You didn't even say hello."
Wincing, Souten turned rather slowly to face Shippo. She blinked, glancing around; he hadn't looked up from his work, so she assumed he wasn't actually speaking to her, but there was no one around them for another twenty feet. When she said nothing, the voice continued, "It's me, I'm just concentrating on this engine. I have to install and entirely new one today, you know. This guy put a bunch of holes in it somehow."
This time, Souten actually saw his lips move in conjunction with the words. She blinked; how had he noticed her when he hadn't even looked up? "Uh, yeah, Jakotsu rides it pretty hard," she agreed, trying to act casual as she closed the gap between them, turning to observe the car rather interestedly. "Put in a V6; he'd be so pissed, I'd love to see that," she giggled.
Grinning, Shippo shook his head and wiped sweat from his brow. "Maybe you would, but all I would see would be the end of my job."
"Are the Fangs real strict like everyone says?" Souten asked curiously.
This provoked a snort from Shippo. "They make me get here at a certain time and I don't leave until I'm done. If you call that strict, then I guess so."
"That's more than the Cobras do," Souten said, rolling her crimson eyes plantively. "I mean, Bank always says, 'fix what you can, but don't fuck up; we'll send it over to Sesshomaru's guys.' I figured you guys must be real intense or something."
"Naw," Shippo grunted out, using all his strength to tighten a rather troublesome bolt. "We're just..." he trailed off, exerting his entire muscle on the machine,"...good."
"How modest of you," Souten joked, giving Shippo a light punch to the arm.
The kitsune just smiled. "Yeah, I'm pretty modest. Won't lie."
When he smiled, Souten felt a sudden shock of familiarity; narrowing her eyes, she peered curiously at him. "Do I know you from somewhere? You look familiar."
"Do I? I look like my mom and dad," Shippo offered, shrugging his naked shoulders easily. "Kei and Nanashi, maybe you know em."
At this, Souten's jaw practically came unhinged from her neck. "The Kei and Nanashi?" she asked, voice rising three octaves above its normal pitch. Bankotsu and the others still told stories from the old times, back when the Fangs and Wildcats were new on the streets, back when Kei and Nanashi reigned supreme. They were fair, just, wild, free, and paid heed to no rules. Simply, they were the epitome of cool.
"Yeah," Shippo murmured, picking through several screwdrivers before he came to the correct one. "That's them."
"That's so cool! Did they teach you how to ride and drive and smoke an-"
"No," Shippo broke in, smiling slightly at the girl's enthusiasm. "They're just mom and dad to me. I mean, they taught me about mechanics and the way things work, but really they didn't tell me much about other stuff. Well, besides the gangs. They told me everything from back then, so that could be considered 'teaching' I suppose." The boy mused over his own words, not seeming to notice Souten's obvious disdain.
"Geez, you talk like you're already my dad's age," she noted crassly, shaking her head. "You got a big vocabulary."
Shippo shrugged. "A lawyer and a doctor; I had to learn something from them, right?"
Nodding as though this were all plausible, Souten suddenly spit in her hand, holding it out to Shippo. "I'm Souten Mitsarugi."
The kitsune eyed her hand for a moment and Souten watched him curiously; if he took the hand, he was worth her time. If he didn't, he was just another scab in the crowd of true gang members. Finally, Shippo spat in his own hand, shaking hands with the girl as though this were completely ordinary. "Shippo Sasuga. Pleased to meet you."
As Sango and Miroku worked busily away on their car, they conversed in hushed tones about their previous night's bet; who would be the first to notice their relationship? Inuyasha or Ayame?
"I'm telling you, he's been my best friend since we could jack tires, he'll figure it out," Miroku protested quietly in Inuyasha's defense.
Sango rolled her eyes. "Please, baby. He's not dumb, but he's not observent either. Ayame's the quiet observer type; she'll figure it out right off."
Glancing over his shoulder at Kouga and Ayame, Miroku choked back a laugh; they were currently giggling their way through hurried kisses beneath the hood of an Eclipse, obviously presuming their actions were unseen. "Yeah, the quiet observer. Right," he murmured. "Who knows, we might be thrown a curveball. Life is full of curveballs."
"I don't think we can expect curveballs when its 110 plus degress outside," Sango reasoned shaking her head.
Farther back in the warehouse, Inuyasha accepted a wrench gratefully from Kagome's hand, working busily away at someone's Masarati import. "That should do it," he announced, ducking skillfully out from beneath the hood and wiping his hands together triumphantly.
Kagome smiled briefly before turning her attention back to Miroku and Sango. "Is something up with them? Sango and Miroku?" she asked curiously. "They look really...happy."
"Why shouldn't they be?" Inuyasha snorted, barely even casting his best friend a glance. "They're doin' alright, ain't they?"
Kagome shrugged. "Good point. Just a happy day, I guess."
Over near the West wall, Ayame choked back another giggle as Kouga snatched a kiss beneath the hood of the Eclipse. Green eyes twinkling, she whispered, "Stop it, Ko! We're supposed to be working!"
"All work and no play makes Kouga a pissed off motherfucker," the boy murmured with a devilish smirk, snaking his arms around the redhead's slender, naked waist; everyone had shed their shirts by this point, boys going top naked and girls in their sports bras.
Over Kouga's shoulder, Ayame could clearly make out the joyful faces of Miroku and Sango as they chatted merrily away, having a go at their vehicle simultaneously. She observed them for a moment before giving a faint smile. "Sango and Miroku look so comfortable with each other. They'll be going out soon for sure."
"Course they will," Kouga snorted gruffly. "He's been in love with her since forever, you know."
Ayame sighed, gazing full into her boyfriend's ice blue eyes. "Minus the whole groping thing, he's quite the romantic, Miroku."
"True," Kouga agreed, nodding agreeably. "But you know what the problem with all that gooshy romance crap is?" When Ayame shook her head confusedly, Kouga ducked down until their lips almost touch. "There ain't enough of this." With these words, he claimed her lips and their kiss grew heated, deep enough to the point where Hakkaku and Ginta, working on a car next door, excused themselves to drown their sorrows in a beer, or several beers, in the lounge area.
Rin let out a weary sigh, tipping her chair back on two legs; she and Sesshomaru were currently pouring over reports, as was ususal. On days like today, it was positively too hot to even dream of organizing papers, nevertheless completing them. Sesshomaru, sitting across from her, didn't seem to notice the heat as he dialed something into the calculator, observing the number over his spectacles before jotting it down on a finance chart. Rin was observing the warehouse upside down, head flipped all the way backward, when Miroku and Sango came into her line of vision. They were laughing at something, enjoying each other's company a little more than was normal.
The girl furrowed her brow and was about to say something to Sesshomaru when she overbalanced the chair and sent herself toppling backwards. She prepared herself for the fall, but a sudden strength prevented her from touching the cement; daring to open her eyes, Rin took in the face of Sesshomaru, who looked slightly amused by all of this, directly above her. Tipping her back forward, he gave his girlfriend a bemused smile.
"Lost in thought?" he said dryly, quirking an eyebrow.
Rin furrowed her brow, crossing her arms huffily. "Don't be so smug about it, it's too hot for smugness. I was just watching Miroku and Sango. They look...different today."
Sesshomaru cast Miroku and Sango a glance, watching them disinterestedly for a few moments, before he said dully, "Indeed." With this word alone, Sesshomaru took his seat and scratched absently at the left side of his bare chest, adjusting his spectacles before returning to his work. Deciding it wasn't worth her time either, Rin shrugged and vowed to give her own paperwork some attention. It needed to be done by Race Wars.
"And I think I'm done," Ranbou concluded, throwing his arms akimbo as he glanced curiously at his handiwork; the motorcycle seemed to be in tip top shape, but he wouldn't presume it so until Shitora took a look. She had a habit of catching the finer points while he was more of a big picture sort of person. "Take a look, Sukini."
Shitora was just about to proclaim the machine finished with when she caught a glimpse of something strange out of the corner of her eye. Turning slowly to face the scene, the hanyou girl drank in the scene before her; Miroku and Sango were talking quite normally working busily away at a car and occassionally sneaking glances at one another. Shitora furrowed her brow.
"Hey, wolf boy, check those two out."
Ranbou glanced over Shitora's much shorter head at Miroku and Sango, watching them interract for a while. Unlike the other boys, Ranbou seemed rather interested in the way the two regarded each other. "Well ain't that somethin. They weren't like that yesterday."
"I know!" Shitora exclaimed, gesturing to them with one pale, clawed hand. "They're lookin' at each other funny, giggling, acting all giddy, like they've known each other forever. I mean, I know they have, but they never acted like it before."
The wolf demon nodded, ice blue eyes narrowed in stern thought. He crossed his muscular arms over his tan chest, moving his eyebrows in strange ways before he finally said, "I think they're goin' out."
Shitora's eyebrows nearly disappeared into her hair as she continued watching her two friends, noticing a new element which seemed to have magically appeared in their relationship overnight. "You know what, I think you're right."
Deciding not to beat around the bush, Ranbou said reasonably, "Well, let's go ask."
"Sure thing," Shitora agreed, carrying a grease rag with her as she wiped her hands off routinely.
Sango glanced up from the car's engine, blinking when she saw Ranbou and Shitora standing mere feet away from her. Exchanging glances with Miroku, she asked rather awkwardly, "Yeah? What's up, you two?"
"We just noiced somethin' funny about you guys," Ranbou mentioned, shrugging his great shoulders.
"Yeah, you goin' out?" Shitora continued, crossing her arms questioningly.
There was a great silence between the four of them as Miroku and Sango furrowed their brows; this certainly wasn't going according to plan. According to the plan, the smart people would notice their relationship and bring it up quietly, not wanting to intrude upon them. Shitora and Ranbou were supposed to be, well, the stupid ones; where did they get off noticing before people like Sesshomaru and Ayame?
"Um, yeah, we are," Miroku answered, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Oh, good for you guys," Shitora said with a smile. "Alright then, that was all. See you guys later."
Ranbou gave them a wave before he and the white haired girl trekked back to their motorcycle, cleaning up their discarded parts as though this were all rather common place. Sango turned to Miroku, voicing the obvious question. "Well, we both lost the bet. What does that mean?"
Miroku smirked, closing the gap between them until their noses were almost touching; Sango grew rather red as she felt the heat of Miroku's breath on her cheeks. Winking, he replied, "It means we both get to wash the other's car in our bathing suits. Together."
And alas, life threw a curveball.
And another chapter! This one isn't short or anything, but it seemed to go by quickly. I'm not sure why, it just did. Thanks everybody for your awesome reviews, we passed 110! I never dreamed this story would get so far, it's the best I've ever done review wise! Weee! It's so fulfilling!
KOLU