InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Laying Down the Law ❯ Tai Fujishu ( Chapter 20 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: The Kouga Lucius Connection 
The gang gets to Tai Fujishu and meets some interesting characters.
Akago reveals to Gan that he's going to make the ultimate sacrifice.
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Action | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 07.22.2006 | Pages: 6 | Words: 9.6K | Visits: 1.7K | Status: Completed
The gang gets to Tai Fujishu and meets some interesting characters.
Akago reveals to Gan that he's going to make the ultimate sacrifice.
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Action | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 07.22.2006 | Pages: 6 | Words: 9.6K | Visits: 1.7K | Status: Completed
Oh boy, moving right along guys. This is progressing nicely, I feel, but if you feel like something is dragging behind, please let me know. This is all about growing as a writer, right? Help me blossom! That was a little gay. Lol.
Famous nineteenth century businessman William Feather once said, "Early morning cheerfulness can be extremely obnoxious." This seemed to be the general feeling in the Taisho household around 5:45 on this Friday morning for, not only had all three silver haired children been galavanting about with gangsters late into their Thursday night, they were also unaccustomed to rising this early in the first place.
Sesshomaru was, as always, the first Taisho up and out of bed. He was currently brushing his teeth in the mirror, careful to bring his fangs to a delicate shine, before rinsing his mouth and waltzing boredly towards his closet. He was currently wearing only his boxers and decided the remedy the situation with a pair of baggy, faded jeans and a tight black t-shirt. Glancing in the mirror, he sighed almost wearily; he hadn't worn this particular t-shirt in quite sometime and, over the year in which he'd ignored the shirt, he'd obtained quite a few arm and chest muscles which hadn't been there previously. Now, his scultped arms caused the sleeves to stretch and fit like spandex while his six pack and well formed pecs bulged visibly through the fabric. Despite this, Sesshomaru grabbed his Fangs jacket and exited his room, flipping off the light with little or no interest in his appearance.
Instead of going downstairs for breakfast, Sesshomaru meandered down the hall and pushed open Inuyasha's door, which was slightly ajar. Deciding not to weather the room's many perils, including carelessly thrown about clothes and a few festering experiments on the counter, he just called gruffly, "Inuyasha, get up. If you're not up and ready to go in five minutes, I'm leaving you."
The lump on the bed gave a slight shudder and then a moan, revealing a rather irritated Inuyasha rolling over in his recently wakened state. Deciding this would suffice, Sesshomaru retreated from the chaos of his brother's bedroom and continued waltzing down the hall, coming to his sister's open doorway. Sesshomaru peered inside, finding the room moderately clean, except for a few strewn about car magazines on the floor near the window. The room was hardly feminine, with its car posters and trick bike icons decorating the walls, but Sesshomaru was used to this; Shitora had never been the typical "girly" girl so to speak.
On the bed, Shitora was on her stomach, face buried in her pillow, clad in a matching black sports bra and boy cut short set; her chest was rising and falling softly. Regarding his sister with a certain softness in his smile, Sesshomaru sat down on the edge of the bed and gave Shitora's shoulder a shake, murmuring, "Tora, get up. We have to leave."
"Mmmmmf, why?"
"We're going to Tai Fujishu, remember?" Sesshomaru replied, chuckling softly.
"Can't move, leave me lone," came Shitora's muffled response; after this, there was no movement from the silver faired, furry eared girl.
Sesshomaru sighed, running a hand through his hair as he continued trying to rouse his sister. Shitora was one of those beings who needed a set amount of sleep and, for this reason, she normally slept in on Friday mornings after their Thursday night excursions. The rest of the core members were strong, hearty young men who could get up and go at a moment's notice, but Sesshomaru sometimes forgot that his sister was still a little girl in some respects. She acted two or three years her senior, but she was just 16. Almost 17, he reminded himself quietly. Almost 17.
At that moment, Inuyasha came wandering in with his jacket slung over his shoulder, wearing jeans and a white wife beater. "What's wrong with her?" he asked rudely, waltzing over to the bed and yelling, "Shitora, up. We gotta go."
Shitora made a sort of whimpering sound. "C'mon, guys, please..."
The brothers exchanged glances, finding it increasingly more difficult to say no to their darling baby sister; even Inuyasha's harsh resolve was wavering slightly. Finally, Sesshomaru said, "Alright, Shitora. Get dressed and you can sleep in the car, we'll wake you up in Tai Fujishu."
The girl was quite for a moment before she finally sat up, rubbing her large amber eyes, white ears drooping. "Okay," she murmured huskily, stumbling to her feet and grabbing a pair of loose jeans from the closet, pulling them on and not bothering to button or zip them. She then donned a red wifebeater and lazily grabbed a comb from the dresser, running it through her silken silver hair a few times without the mirror. This done, she began tripping her way out of the room, followed by Sesshomaru and Inuyasha's amused glances.
"Get her shoes and I'll get her jacket," Sesshomaru murmured, muffling a chuckle into his hand.
"Right," Inuyasha agreed, grinning.
By the time the brothers arrived downstairs, Shitora was asleep in the front seat of Sesshomaru's Saleen, snuffling softly in her sleep. Inuyasha rolled his eyes, climbing in the backseat with a pointed look in his brother's direction. Sesshomaru just shrugged and started the engine, pulling out of the driveway and heading towards the warehouse.
When they arrived at 6:01, the others were already there, fearing Sesshomaru's cold and quiet wrath should they be late. The nearby ocean made most Tokyo mornings rather chilly and most were wearing their jackets on their backs, rubbing sleep from their eyes and conversing in hushed tones. It was far too early for noise.
Kagome blinked, shaking her head to keep herself from nodding off again. She was leaning against Rin's convertible in loose jeans and a black wifebeater, looking like one of the gang if not for her conspicuous lack of jacket. Rin was dozing beside her, ignoring the conversation being carried on against Sango's Honda across from her. Ayame and Sango seemed awake for the most part, only giving themselves shakes every once and a while.
Kouga and Miroku, however, looked as though they'd seen better days. Kouga was straddling his parked motorcycle, arms folded on the handlebars as he snoozed. Miroku was sitting on the gravel floor, head against the driver's side door of his Spyder. His violet eyes were closed softly, arms crossed as he dreamed of his beloved Sango. Ranbou lay sleepily in the back of his F-350 pick-up, staring up at the barely painted morning sky. Hiten was layed out on the roof of his Expedition, doing much the same as Ranbou, while Jakotsu and Bankotsu marveled over the miracles performed on the pick-up; Shippo really was a mechanical genius.
When Sesshomaru pulled up, the others snapped to attention, trying to look awake and alive but failing miserably. Inuyasha and Sesshomaru exited the car, stretching briefly before approaching the circle of girls. Rin yawned a little, covering her small mouth as she walked towards her boyfriend, giving him a slow morning embrace while he kissed the top of her head.
"Good morning," he said placidly.
"Mmff," came her muffled response against his chest. Blinking, she pulled back and stared at his shirt. "Wow. That's a...nice shirt, Sesshy. A really nice shirt. Wear that shirt more often."
Chuckling, Sesshomaru cocked an eyebrow and asked teasingly, "Rin, are you checking me out?"
"Yeah, I am," came Rin's giggling reply as she buried her head deeper into his embrace.
Inuyasha had since wandered inside and grabbed a pair of keys from the combination lock box in the back, strutting over to a plain black Corvette in the corner, one which the Fangs used for generic purposes. Starting up the engine, Inuyasha drove skillfully out of the warehouse and parked in the driveway by the others, killing the engine for the time being. This done, he wandered over the girls and struck up a conversation with his ride partner.
"Our ride, I presume?" Kagome asked sleepily, scrubbing at her cheeks in a weary way.
Inuyasha shrugged, nodding. "That's her, the Fangmobile. Just kept it around for some reason."
Kagome choked out a laugh. "The Fangmobile? Fuck no. I refuse to ride in anything called the Fangmobile."
But Inuyasha just gave her a Fanged grin. "Hey, cut that out, I love the Fangmobile. It's a great machine. Besides that, its got a built in ash tray."
"I suddenly love the Fangmobile."
"That's what I thought."
Currently, Sesshomaru was consulting with Sango and Miroku, his two head mechanics and Tai Fujishu frequenters; on monthly gang meeting days, they were always part scouting in Tai Fujishu and knew more about it than anyone, except for maybe Sesshomaru himself. Rin stood quietly to the side, not trusting herself to speak in her weary state.
"We have the list, contact numbers, and enough cash to get us through most situations," Miroku announced.
"And I've got a bunch of tools," Sango entered in.
"And I've got the beer," Miroku finished.
Nodding, Sesshomaru turned to the group at large and called, "Everyone, let's head out."
There were assorted affirmative murmurs as ride partners began pairing off and climbing into vehicles. Ranbou stretched his muscular limbs, lawning animalistcally before hopping out of the tailgate and gazing around the group. "Hey Shomo, where's Sukini?" he asked after a moment, missing that familiar head of shimmering white hair.
"In the Saleen," Sesshomaru replied, breaking out of a last minute conversation with Kouga. "She's asleep, just grab her." This said, he returned his attention to Kouga, acting as though this were not at all out of the ordinary.
Sighing, Ranbou jogged lazily to the passenger's seat of the Saleen and glanced inside, shaking his head; Shitora was curled up in a little ball, hair falling gracefully over her face as she slept, wrapped up in jeans and her jacket. After opening the door, he managed to reach inside and scoop her up into his arms, closing the door with his foot as he moved absently towards the pick up. Shitora mumbled slightly in her sleep, burrowing her head against Ranbou's chest and sighing contentedly. For one of the first times he could recall, Ranbou's face grew rather red and he blinked away the heat of his blush. Why the hell was he blushing? It was just Sukini, right? God, she was light. And man was she warm, like a little heater. She sure would keep him warm on a cold night...crap. Blinking away these thoughts, Ranbou settled the girl down in the pick-up's passenger's seat, strapping her in accomodatingly before hopping over the hood to the driver's door. This was going to be a long, quiet trip. Or so he surmised.
Sighing, Inuyasha reached down to grab a box of cigarettes from the console and dug around in a pocket for his lighter, nearly jumping out of his skin when a hand appeared, holding one beneath the smoke. He blinked and shot Kagome a thankful glance, wondering how she'd woken up without him noticing. She just smiled, brown eyes refreshed and thankful for her much needed hour of sleep. Inuyasha took a drag on his newly lighted cigarette, exhaling the smoke out the partially cracked window as a warm, consoling feeling washed over him.
Kagome too retrieved a cigarette and lit it, deciding to take advantage of the Fangmobile's built in ash tray. "How far to go?" she asked.
"Another two hours at least," Inuysha replied, never removing his eyes from the road. "Tai Fujishu rocks, but it's so fucking far away."
"I like car trips, though," Kagome said, smiling slightly as she watched the passing countryside; a good deal of it was rice fields, green and rich. "I could sit here and watch the landscape the entire time, probably."
Inuyasha couldn't help but grin a little. "Really? I get restless a lot. Don't know what to do with myself I guess."
Chuckling, Kagome responded wistfully, "I just don't do anything. It's pretty sad that I can occupy myself for that long, I guess."
"Not really. You'll never be bored," Inuyasha reasoned, grinning shamelessly.
This only provoked a snort from Kagome, who dug out her cell phone and glanced at the Spyder in front of the Fangmobile. "Since you're being so mean, I'm going to call Sango and see what she's up to."
Sango and Miroku were, consequently, playing a game of "I spy" while Miroku manned the wheel of his Mistubishi Spyder, smiling at the girl beside him. They were just looking for something blue when Sango felt her cell phone vibrating in her pocket, whipping it out, she answered brusquely, "Sango Tajiya," without bothering to look at the caller ID.
"Hey there, byotch," came Kagome's laughing voice.
"Hey, slut," Sango replied easily, earning a raised eyebrow from Miroku. He was certainly confused when she mouthed "Kagome" in his direction; why was she calling her good friend a slut? He would never truly understand girls.
"I'm really bored," Kagome sighed. "The company in this car sucks."
Sango could hear Inuyasha's high pitched protests on her end and giggled. "Oh Kagome, you're such a tease. Playing hard to get, then?"
"Hardly," Kagome snorted, rolling her eyes. "Let's get the other girls on a conference call."
Sango obliged quickly and dialed up Rin on the speed dial, interrupting her as she and Sesshomaru played a rather dirty version of the awkward game. Currently, Sesshomaru's hand was sliding up Rin's thigh, coming dangerously close to her panty line, when her phone began whirring in the cup holder. "Lemme get that," she squeaked out, earning a heavy sigh from her boyfriend.
"Hello?" she answered, sounding flushed.
"Rin, it's Sango and Kagome. Dial up Aya, would you?"
"Yeah, sure," Rin said, glad for a distraction; getting it on in the car wasn't exactly her idea of the perfect romance. She hit Ayame's number and listened as it rang, once twice, before her friends answered.
"City morgue, you stab em, we slab em," Ayame answered jokingly, earning a groan from Kouga.
"Oh, c'mon baby, that's so old," he chuckled, shaking his head slightly at his girlfriend's antics.
Ayame just stuck out her tongue before answering Rin's screeching and numerous "helloooo, Ayas." "Rin, I'm here, just messing with my dumbass boyfriend."
"Aren't we all?" Sango interrupted, earning giggles from the others; there they were, carrying on a conversation about their boyfriends, while all of them sat obliviously in the driver's seats. It was so deliciously naughty!
"Hit Shitora up," Kagome requested, wanting to continue their phone chain.
Obligingly, Ayame dialed Shitora's number and waited for the youngest Taisho to answer the phone. In the front seat of Ranbou's pick up truck, Shitora hadn't risen once the entire trip. Only when her phone began ringing obnoxiously, sending the chorus of Sublime's "Wrong Way" echoing through the cabin, did she awaken. Grumbling, she shifted her snowy white head and fumbled for her phone, answering it without opening her eyes. "Hullo?"
"Tora! It's Kags, Sango, Rin and Aya."
"Okay, yeah, hey, wh-" For the first time, Shitora glanced around the cabin and blinked. "Dude, where am I?"
Ranbou, who was watching this all with interest, shrugged his shoulders while simultaneously keeping his hands steady on the wheel. "We're on the road. Have been for an hour now."
Glancing over at Ranbou, Shitora nodded sleepily and returned to her phone conversation. "Uh, yeah, hi."
"Geez, somebody just woke up," Rin snorted.
"You haven't woken up this whole time?" Sango questioned. "I'm...kind of impressed. Ranbou even picked you up and carried you to the truck. You didn't wake up then? Sheesh."
At this news, Shitora grew rather red in the face. Gulping, she whispered hoarsely, "Say what?"
"Yeah, he carried you from Yash's car to yours," Kagome confirmed, sounding resolute. "We all saw it. Too bad you weren't awake, huh? I bet you would've enjoyed it."
The other girls cracked up and a heavy blush rose to Shitora's cheeks. "Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"
"Oh, get over it doll, you two are practically screwing already," Rin said crassly.
"Rin!" Ayame protested shrilly. "Don't listen to them, Tora. Just take your time, you're on no one's schedule but your own."
"That's right, don't let them pressure you into dating," Sango advised.
Thoroughly heated, Shitora grunted out, "I don't know what the fuck you all are smoking, but you're talkin' bull shit. Later." And with that, she hung up the phone with one push of the button, proud of her efforts in defending her honor. Too bad she'd barely gotten in a word edgewise.
Raising one dark eyebrow questioningly, Ranbou glanced at the girl beside him as she crossed her small arms and pouted angrily, staring out the window at the passing scenery with a hard eye. He had to admit, she looked incredibly cute like that, but he knew his ideals would only earn him a slap in the face and a few well placed curse words.
Deciding to keep his opinion to himself, the wolf demon asked sarcastically, "So, not in good with the girls?"
Shitora snorted, replying stiffly, "More like they ain't in good with me. I mean, seriously, is all girls do gossip? Don't they got anything better to do? Why do people gotta be goin' out all the time? It's gay!"
Ranbou shook his head slowly, ice blue eyes focused on the highway. "They're bored with their own lives so they gotta make up shit about someone elses. And relationships make interesting news."
"Yeah, well, why don't they bug Kagome then?" Shitora all but exploded, throwing her arms akimbo and consequently hitting the window. Rubbing her smarting hand, the girl continued, "She and Yash are like dogs in heat!"
"Which, thank God, is nothing like wolves in heat," Ranbou picked up smoothly. "I wouldn't want to witness that for anything."
"And I mean, maybe I ain't interested in a relationship or somethin'!" Shitora continued, sounding as though she hadn't heard Ranbou's musings at all.
At these words, Ranbou felt his heart waver ever so slightly; was she really not interested in a relationship? Did she mean with anyone or just with someone of her friends' choosing? Snorting quietly, he shook his head to clear his thoughts. What did he care anyway? It was just Sukini, the annoying little skinny girl who tagged along behind the boys. She wasn't beautiful, nor was she funny, nor was she smarter than hell and quietly kind. As he thought these things, Ranbou managed to prevent himself from looking Shitora in the eye. One look and he would be forced to admit the truth: all of those things were flat out lies.
Remembering the question spat so venemously in his direction, Ranbou answered flatly, "If you don't want a relationship, you don't gotta have one. Simple as that."
"Right, exactly!" Shitora exclaimed, rolling her eyes to the sky as she threw her hands askew. "Why can't they get that! I mean, you and me get it. Why can't they?"
Ranbou didn't answer, knowing this question was mostly rhetorical in the first place; by this time, Shitora was mostly ranting for her own personal ease of mind. Sighing bitterly at her own unanswered questions, Shitora muttered, "What the hell is so great about relationships anyway? It's just one more thing to worry about, when you think about it. Nickelback and I agree; just 'another hole in the head.'"
At this, Ranbou seemed to escape from his self created gloom, blinking. "Nickelback? You listen to Nickelback?"
Shitora raised her eyebrows, informing him proudly, "Every single day! I love them."
"Well hell, Sukini, turn on the CD player," Ranbou chuckled, removing one hand from the wheel and beginning to drive with only his right palm. By this time, the caravan of cars was out in the middle of the country, not another car but themselves for miles.
Giving the driver a puzzled glance, Shitora reached out her hand and hit the play button, eyes widening as the strains of overdriven guitar and Chad Kroeger filled her ears; it was Nickelback's newest CD, Fight for All the Right Reasons. Nearly jumping out of her skin with delight, Shitora grinned and began clapping her hands like a child with a brand new toy. "HOLY CRAP! NICKELBACK!"
Rolling his eyes, Ranbou chukled slightly and said, "The only shit I'll listen to these days."
"Seriously, better than the Pussycat Dolls or whatever," Shitora mumbled, shuddering at the thought.
But yet the Pussycat Dolls reminded Ranbou of one very special night in weeks past, one where the boys caught the girls dancing around half naked, covered in chocolate. Smirking devilishly, he said silkily, "Oh, you mean those dirty songs you girls danced to in your underwear?"
At the very mention of that night, Shitora blushed a bright red and pulled her knees up to her chest, burying her head in her legs. "Can we not talk about that? Ever?" It was then, for the first time, that Shitora understood the full implications of Ranbou witnessing her in her underwear. It was a pretty intimate situation, when she thought about it. Besides that, she wondered what he thought about it. Not that I care what he thinks about me in my underwear, Shitora told herself blushingly, I just wonder if he thinks about it a lot. I mean, me in my underwear. My friends and I in our underwear, not just me, he was looking at them too. Right? Not that I would want that. I mean, no, not that I wouldn't want that. Not that I give a two shilling shit...I mean...GOD DAMN IT.
"Aw, why not?" Ranbou teased, enjoying her embarassment thoroughly. "C'mon now, you looked hot in all that black lace. Or should I say in what there was of that black lace; wasn't much, I don't think."
Shitora's eyes widened to roughly the size of a truck wheel. "B-black lace? No, I was wearing...was I?"
Ranbou nodded firmly. "Black lace, Sukini. Jumping around, covered in chocolate and ice cream."
There are many statements in this world which few have an answer to and many don't care to answer. This happened to be one of those comments and, for one of the first times in recorded history, Shitora Taisho was completely lost for words. She resembled a cod fish as her mouth opened and closed blankly, sentences and syllables failing her, until she finally just sat back against the chair, knowing the only way to combat embarrassment was with more embarassment.
"Well, you looked good wet too."
Ranbou blinked, feeling a slight brush rise to his cheeks; that was right, the boys had been running around so unceremoniously in the sprinklers...how had he forgotten that? Shaking away these feelings, he murmured, "Yeah, thanks Sukini."
But Shitora was too busy singing along to the next track, bobbing her head slightly as she stared out the window; it would appear that their conversation was over.
"Sesshomaru!" one of them called in a surprisingly brusque Scottish accent, waving his hairy arm happily.
Nearly swallowing her tongue, Kagome murmured, "Um...Inuyasha?" Normally, Kagome wouldn't be so hesitant around new people...these new people just happened to be rather strange looking.
The tallest, who towered somewhere around 6 feet 7 inches, was roughly the build of Ranbou with his bulging muscles and broad shoulders, but unlike most other men, he was completely covered from head to foot in hair. All technicalities considered, it was acutally fur, but Kagome was too stunned by the reddish brown mass of it to bother with particulars. He had a pleasant look on his face, which was perhaps the most startling thing about him; it was that of a fox. This creature was a walking, talking fox completely with bushy white tipped tail, charming fangs and pert little ears atop his head. He wore a green vest and a pair of black pants, though his feet resembled the hind legs of his breed and stuck out a good deal beneath the cuff. Kagome glanced around at her friends and noticed they showed no fear nor surprise at this being's appearance so, in kind, she tried to swallow her fear; just because he looked different didn't mean he was bad, right?
Instinctively, as the creature neared, Kagome latched on to Inuyasha's arm, lips paling visibly. Inuyasha glanced down and cocked an eyebrow. "Kagome?" he aksed quietly, obviously not understanding her trepidation.
"Yes?" she replied in a strangely high pitched voice.
Inuyasha followed her unblinking gaze to the approaching fox man and gave a small sound of understanding, murmuring, "You've never seen Niku Youkai have you?"
"Niku?" Kagome echoed, confusedly.
Nodding sagely, Inuyasha explained, "Niku means 'meat', right? Well, in the early days of youkai, all of them looked like this, true and bred in their pure form. There are very few of them left, since some species began to evolve based on where they lived and what they ate, so there weren't many other Niku to breed with. Even Sesshomaru probably has a little human in him, but not enough to make a difference; there's hanyou, youkai, and then there's Niku. Compared to even Kouga, Ranbou or Shomo's strength, Niku are the strongest there are. Since people obviuosly couldn't handle their looks, though, they keep to themselves out here most of the time. They're the same as us in here," Inuyasha said, thumping his chest with his free arm, "But just a little different out here." This time, he gestured to his body.
Blinking, Kagome tried to process this information as she kept her eyes glued to the fox man, who was currently shaking hands...er, paws, with Sesshomaru. The two were smiling, Sesshomaru in an albeit reserved way, speaking as though they'd known each other for years. "How come I've never heard of them before?"
Inuyasha shrugged his shoulders, teasing lightly, "Cause you lived in a box? I don't know, Kags, they're not exactly a secret. We don't talk about em too much, though, cause they just stay out in the countryside like this and don't come into town. What's to talk about?"
As Inuyasha said this, the two beings following at the fox man's heels came walking towards him, grinning widely with their many rows of fiersome teeth. Kagome shied away slightly, but Inuyasha untangled his arm from her grasp and wrapped it tightly around her waist, giving it a light squeeze to reassure her. This done, he addressed the creatures before him. "Hey, Teki, Outai. How's life?"
The first of the two, being Teki, was roughly four inches taller than the fox and a startling heavenly white, one which offset the daring crimson of his eyes. He was, like Inuyasha and Sesshomaru, descendant of the dog, though in a more precise manner; his snout was shorter than that of his comrades, sporting a wet black nose, and a soft white tail which wagged rather humorously behind him, escaping the seat of his pants through a strategically placed hole. His clothes were simple and quite human, loose jeans and a white wifebeater, but he himself looked anything but human.
"Inuyasha!" he cried, voice resemblant of an eighteen year old boy, not deep and gravelly as Kagome had expected. Teki through his clawed arms wide, giving Inuyasha what Kagome perceived as a smile. "Roual gar yick garsh lawroo?"
At this, Kagome felt her mind stop turning for a brief moment; was the Niku speaking nonsense? That couldn't possibly be her language, or else his vocabulary far surpassed hers to the point where he could speak a sentence without any recognizable words. Inuyasha, however, seemed to understand him and responded back with a rather easy going, "Eh, goa. Yar rowula grishna."
Teki exploded with laughter, seeming not to care that Inuyasha's eyebrows were lowered and his face looked anything but pleased. The second creature, Outai, gave a derisive snort, turning directly to Ranbou, Kouga and Ayame who were residing about two feet to Kagome's right. "Foolish dogs, always trying to prove themselves by speaking their tongue in public."
This man was distinctly different from Teki in that he was a shining midnight black wolf, well groomed yet with a sort of wild tousle to his hair. His ears were decidedly longer and sharper, pointed more so than Teki's, and his piercing yellow eyes seemed to bored there way right through Kagome's body. She daren't think what would happen if he looked directly at her. He wore only jeans, revealing a well shaped black chest and tank like arms, framing his thing waist and legs. He was the only one of these three creatures with piercings like a human, three small hoops attached to the top of his right ear. Outai struck Kagome as a combination between Sesshomaru's coldness and Ranbou's rebellion.
Kouga, Ayame and Ranbou laughed heartily at Outai's comment. "You haven't changed, Outai," Kouga said warmly, grinning at his obviously long time friend.
Outai shrugged, reaching up one long claw to scratch sophisticatedly at the inside of his ear. "I suppose not. What's change, anyway? A complication."
At this point, Teki turned fiercely to Outai and let out a growl, one which reminded Kagome of pet dogs she'd seen fighting in the street. White muzzle pulling back lips to reveal razor sharp teeth, Teki said violently, "You want to fight me so bad, wolf? Let's do it, right here, right now!" He was obviously still smarting over Outai's recent comment on his behalf.
"What's the point in fighting when I know I'll win?" Outai said boredly, rolling his yellow eyes with a pointed sarcasm.
Inuyasha whispered in Kagome's ear, "They've never gotten along. Always arguing about species."
Though Inuyasha's words had barely even touched Kagome's ear drums, even at their close proximity, Teki and Outai both turned abruptly to face him, ears twitching all the while. Teki narrowed his eyes as they landed on Kagome for the first time and, soon enough, he said, "Is this your bitch, Inuyasha?"
Despite this being's height, roughly 6'10, and his weight, which could only be guessed around 400 pounds, Kagome felt her cheeks go hot and she was soon upon him like a swarm of angry bees. "His WHAT? I am nobody's bitch, thank you very much, and I never will be!"
Teki was thoroughly surprised by this outburst and he leaned back with every word, ears erect and eyes wide. Once Kagome was finished, breathing heavily with her fists clenched at her sides, he practically whined, "Geez, Inuyasha, what a pick."
Outai rolled his eyes, crossing his black arms irritably across his strong chest. "Are you really that dense? This human girl is not Inuyasha's mate. You can smell it, Teki-gentai."
"Oh yeah, Outai-okama?" Teki snarled in return.
(A/N: I normally wouldn't put a note in a story, but this is important and I thought you guys might not want to scroll down for footnotes. When Outai and Teki address each other, they use suffixes that are actually japanese words. "Gentai" means failure and "Okama" is like dirty slang, equivalent to our word "faggot." Okay, thanks for your attention on that.)
Ranbou placed his hands on both creature's chests, pushing them gently away from each other while saying soothingly, "Come on now, guys, no need for a fight."
Teki snorted, turning pointedly away from Outai with his arms crossed, while Outai threw his hands up defeatedly and sighed. Kagome giggled slightly at their reactions, finding their relationship almost humorous; this brought a small smirk to Teki's face. "She's a looker, Yash."
Inuyasha grew rather red and said strongly, "She's not my mate or my pick or whatever, okay? Her name is Kagome. She's Rin's cousin."
"Oh yes, Sesshomaru's bitch," Outai recalled, using the word "bitch" just as Teki had. By this time, Kagome was beginning to distinguish between their definition of this word and hers. Obviously, they were simply using it in it's true form to mean "female animal" instead of "stupid slut whore." This set Kagome's mind slightly at ease. "I always thought Sesshomaru chose well," Outai mentioned, obviously still talking about Rin. "A well mannered woman."
"For once we agree," Teki said with a snort, glancing over to where Rin resided beside Sesshomaru as he spoke with the fox man. "A great hind quarters."
It took all of Kagome's power to keep from laughing at this comment, for she knew the Niku were only using terminology which had lasted throughout their time on earth. Their words for things were slightly different, owing to their closeness to dogs and animals in general. While it may seem barbaric to her, it was just normal speech to them.
By this time, it became apparent that Sesshomaru and the fox were working out some kind of terms; over the months, Kagome had become used to Sessohmaru's business face. Tugging on Inuyasha's arm, she looked in his brother's direction and asked, "What's he doing?"
Before Inuyasha could answer, Teki cut in, "Sesshomaru and Bakudai are bartering, cars for parts. Every year, we give him a list of cars and then he gets to take parts from the yard for free."
Eyes widening, Kagome asked bewilderdly, "For free? But that's...so...generous!"
Outai chuckled, an entirely humorless gesture, as he responded, "We owe Sesshomaru our very lives; a couple of parts and are nothing. He gives us those cars out of his own kindness, not because we grant him parts in return. I've always thought it was bold for us to even ask him for the cars."
Before Kagome could ask any questions, she recalled Kikyo's words the previous day in the clinic. I'm just trying to explain what life under Naraku's rule was like for the gangs. Constant terror. 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. Finally, Kagome understood that these Niku Youkai were a gang, so to speak. Shaking her head slightly, Kagome tried and failed to imagine the kind of rule Naraku had enacted; with power stretching all the way out here in the desert, Kagome was glad he'd been dethroned. That kind of power just didn't deserve the filth of Naraku's hands.
"Eh, don't say that Outai," Kouga said, shrugging off the comment. "Gettin' the cars is a pleasure; I mean, lettin' us have at the whole yard is beyond the call of duty on your part, bud."
"Yeah," Ayame agreed, nodding slightly. "Without these parts, we would be totally lost back home."
Outai just smiled graciously, a smile which didn't quite reach his eyes. As he turned to face Kouga and Ayame, Kagome caught sight of a long running scar on the side of his face. It reached from the top of his forehead, running down his eyes towards his jaw, all the way to the side of his muzzle. He'd obviously been in an accident of some sort. "You're all good enough mechanics that I'm sure our parts are barely even a tenth of your success."
Before the others could respond, Sesshomaru turned towards the group while the fox man, Bakudai, stood smiling to his left. "Alright, everyone, grab your lists and go on inside. Make sure to get absolutely everything you came for, I won't stand for whining when we return."
The group nodded curtly, turning towards a pair of large chicken wire gates which were slowly swinging open, revealing an entrance to the massive junk yard. Kagome stared in awe at the place, which streched almost as far as the eye could see, piles upon piles of metals scraps and car parts. Each pile was at least six feet high, if not higher than that, and streched out across a good twenty feet, several dozen of them littering the yard. While the others had seen Tai Fujishu before, it never ceased to amaze them in all its splendor, sunlight catching the gleam on every wonderful piece of machinery.
The smell surrounding this place was that of oil and grease, one Kagome had learned to love during her stay with the Fangs, and she immediately warmed to the area, smiling at the sight before her. "C'mon, Inuyasha, let's go look!"
A familiar deep voice, coated with Scottish flavor, broke into the conversation. "Easy, cub, dinna be strippin' yer tail."
The fox man Bakudai had since left Sesshomaru's side as the others began trekking inside, walking over to converse with Inuyasha instead. Upon seeing Kagome's excitement, he couldn't help but comment and was now grinning at her with his brazen red fox face, which Kagome could see was speckled with little flecks of gray.
Soon, Kagome caught herself staring and said rather quickly, "Oh, uh, sorry. I'm Kagome."
"Ah'm Bakudai," the fox said with a roguish wink. "An welcome ta mah palace."
At this, Teki snorted good naturedly and quipped, "More like an old dog's magpie nest, grandpa."
Raising a sculpted eyebrow, which Kagome was surprised to see on a fox's face, Bakudai replied plantively, "A magpie nest which took near half mah life tah complete, thank ya very much, pup."
"How are you, Bakudai?" Inuyasha asked with an abnormal taste of propriety.
"Excellent, Inuyasha, excellent," Bakudai replied jovially. "Ye've grown since Ah saw ya last. Lookin' more like yer father every day."
At this comment, Inuyasha's expression wavered and his eyes darkened considerably, though Kagome doubted Bakudai and the others even noticed. It was very subtle, like the rippling of a bare pond, and she had to even squint to see it; a certain sparkle of regret in Inuyasha's eye. Obviously, being compared to his father didn't please him.
"Yes sir," was all Inuyasha said, mustering a smile. "We should be going, you know, get parts."
"Of course, of course," Bakudai said generously, gesturing towards the junk yard with one large padded paw. "Be mah guest, since ye are indeed."
Needing no further urging, Inuyasha began ushering Kagome towards the open gates, arm still wrapped securely around her waist. Kagome couldn't deny that this closeness was comforting, even in the heat, and she'd managed to survive her first meeting with Niku sheerly because of this reassurance. Without Inuyasha there, Kagome was fairly sure she might've fainted. It was nice to simply know he cared.
Inside the junk yard, Shitora and Ranbou were scalling a rather tall pile of parts in search of a crankshaft, meant for a Honda GL1800 Goldwing motorcycle. Ranbou wiped a thin trail of sweat from his forehead as he glanced up the mountain of metal at Shitora. She was sitting on a cleft, created by an old Thunderbird's front seat and a few dented bumpers. "It oughta be just about this big," she said, holding out her hands to display the size of the crankshaft.
Nodding, Ranbou pulled himself up a ways and joined Shitora on the ledge. "Yeah, there abouts. For the Goldwing, right?"
"Yeah," Shitora murmured thoughtfully, glancing below and above her as though expecting to see the part sticking out of the mountain.
From this height, about nineteen or twenty feet up, Ranbou could make out his friends working there way around the junk yard, pulling bits of rubble from mountains as they went. The mountain he was resting on happened to be the tallest, stretching about forty feet up and around fifty feet in circumference; it was a good place to watch the goings on in Tai Fujishu. The mountains were divided by part, pistons in one hill, distributors in another, so on and so on, motorcycle things on the west wall and car things on the right. Ranbou and Shitora happened to be in a huge mountain of crankshafts, engines and gas pedals. Ranbou spectulated that this mountain could've outfitted well over 600 cars on its own. This entire yard was massive.
"Hey, that isn't it, is it?" Shitora asked, pointing to a crankshaft sticking out of the wall ten feet above them.
Ranbou squinted, eyeing the part dubiously before he announced, "That's it."
"Great!" Shitora exclaimed, standing and beginning to make her way up the mountain.
Deciding to wait patiently on the Thunderbird ledge, Ranbou watched as she scaled the ten feet easily, demonic adeptness coming in handy on her way. She grabbed the part easily and was making her way back down when a step like engine gave way beneath her weight. Shitora gave a small sound of surprise as she almost went tumbling down the mountain, grasping in vain for a hold. Ranbou's breath caught in his throat at the sight of Shitora falling and, with one quick motion, he took a step up on a firmly lodged truck pedal and caught the girl in his arms, consequently bringing her tightly against him.
The two were still for a moment as the sound of the engine falling clattered down the mountain, becoming every distant until it hit the desert floor with an ominous thump. Shitora's face was pressed unconciously against Ranbou's chest, which she noticed was firma and sculpted, a perfect tan beneath his wife beater. He smelled like grease, cigarettes and sun; how a person could smell like sun was completely beyond Shitora, but he certainly did, warm and clean.
Ranbou took a deep, relieved breath, murmuring, "That was close."
"Yeah," Shitora replied in a rather choked voice.
"Watch your step, Sukini," he admonished lightly, using one arms to lower her down easily onto the Thunderbird seat.
The hanyou girl gave a slight huff of indignation, crossing her arms over her thin chest. "Don't treat me like a child. It was an accident."
Ranbou rolled his eyes, climbing down to join her with the newly acquired crank shaft; that was all the thanks he got? Apparently, some things would never change.
"How many years has it been since you came, Gan?" Akago asked conversationally, Venetian shirt billowing slightly as a breeze caressed the man's shoulders; though he was only 18, Gan regarded Akago as a man and not a boy.
"Three, Akago. Almost four, I believe," Gan replied easily. His voice was rather lilting and musical, yes, but Akago had come to enjoy the sound of it.
Akago chuckled. "Short years. They've been very short years."
"You think?" Gan asked, quirking an eyebrow; his smooth face contorted with mild disdain as he crossed thin arms over an equally thin chest. "They seemed pretty long to me." Everything seemed longer...with the ultimate sacrifice constantly on his mind.
Smiling slightly, Akago murmured, "Short years would've been a blessing. Here I am, caught between a rock and a hard place. Either I go against everything I believe in by staying with power-crazed Onigumo or I turn around and kill my sister. Betraying him would mean her death. For once in my life, I don't know what to do, Gan."
It was rare for Akago to show weakness in public and, in fact, it didn't happen. Around Gan, however, Akago showed a part of himself which the common man was never allowed to see. A sensetive soul, wanting peace and quiet with books and academia in some secluded part of this vast world. That was who he was, what Akago really wanted, but fate had brought him here. He was bitter, of course, but he wouldn't allow it to affect his job. He was a gang leader. He had to think of his gang first and foremost. Weakness was not an option.
Gan frowned, observing Akago for a moment before replying, "There's nothing you can do, Akago. You can't just go killing your sister, even if you've grown apart. You're blood and that affects you, as it should; making sacrifices for someone or something you love isn't weakness, it's strength." Gan had been sacrificing for three long years, all for the one that he loved. It wasn't weakness, he tried to tell himself. It was true strength.
"How like you Gan, always the romantic," Akago mused, not even turning to look at his trusted second in command. "Your sensetivity never ceases to amaze me; I always wish I had your humanity in me. It's a gift."
Sighing, Gan replied wistfully, "Sometimes. Other times, it's just a burden, feeling sensetive and affected by everything." Gan the Gun was a sensetive soul, despite his accuracy with a pistol and keen wit. Only the soft hearted could make the ultimate sacrifice for something such as love, compromising a part of himself.
"I wish I could understand," Akago said softly, eyed narrowing slightly as he looked out on the horizon. "But I can not. Perhaps I should be glad my heart is so black and cold; without it, I wouldn't be able to make this decision."
Gan paused in his thoughts, turning to face his leader with a sort of questioning air about him. "What decision?"
The sound which emitted from Akago's mouth was one of pure and unadulterated tiredness, a weary sigh laced with regret, bitterness and the barest hint of relief. Closing his eyes rather weakly, Akago murmured, "I'm going to leave Naraku, Gan. I can't do this anymore. The Sharks are out."
There was a defeaning silence between the two before Gan's heart seemed to come back to life, thumping almost erratically inside his small chest. Shaking his head rather slowly, as though he couldn't believe his ears, the violet eyed boy stood from his chair and stared aghast at his leader. "You can't be serious, Akago! He'll kill Kanna and you know he will! Naraku is heartless!"
Chuckling dryly, Akago said quietly, "No matter where I hide her, Gan, he'll kill her. But that shouldn't really bother me, I suppose; that shell of a being is not my sister. My sister Kanna was sweet, kind, and loving; though her body remains, she was gone long ago. My sister, was not a whore. My sister was not souless. My sister...knew no equal." For the briefest moment, his crimson eyes glittered with an unusual fervor, but Gan knew the great Akago would never cry, even in front of his most trusted friend. Akago could allow himself to appear weak for a moment, but tears were simply too much for his taste. He recovered quickly, whispering, "That girl you know is not my sister. And therefore, I am killing absolutely no one of consequence."
Gan couldn't quite think of the words to say and instead allowed his arms to dangle limply at his sides, violet eyes burning with question upon question. There were so many things he wanted to ask, and yet so many things he couldn't think to say through his parched lips. As far as the reasons behind an action went, Gan and the Sharks knew better than to question Akago's motives. He lead them strongly and never let them down, time after time after time. No, Gan's questions involved more of the future than the past.
Finally, the boy managed to stutter out, "Where will we go?"
Akago was quiet for a moment as he configured his answer, which was rather hard to say. Glancing over at Gan, the Shark leader managed the smallest of smiles. His boyish friend's soft face was the color of freshly cut peaches, that pale tinted with rosy pink; with his thin arms and legs, Gan was often thought of as weak, though he was truly one of the strongest people Akago knew. No one would ever understand Akago the way Gan did, but Akago feared even his closest friend couldn't quite grasp his reasoning on this issue. They would never really understood until all of this was over.
"I thought about that for quite some time," Akago said, breathing steadily and steadying his gaze on the setting sun. He was not afraid of what lay ahead. "I have no choice but to turn to the only one who could possibly stand up to Naraku. There would be no point in leaving when we couldn't be saved."
At these words, Gan blinked, trying to process such information with his already heated mind. "You don't mean..." Gan murmured, buzzing brain settling on the merest of possibilities. The ultimate sacrifice is different for every person. Gan made his and Akago was no preparing to do the same: set aside his pride for the sake of others.
And the boy was absolutely right. "Tomorrow, I will go to Fang territory and ask Sesshomaru for his blessing and protection. It has taken me this long to realize the difference between right and wrong, Gan. And what we do now, what I do, is wrong. Everything about it. The drug peddling, the allegiance with unsavory killers, all of it is so obviously immoral that a younger me would've scoffed at the idea of such associations. All it took was the death of my father to send me and my sister flailing into hell; I am weak, Gan. But I must become stronger. And to do this, I will sacrifice everything, if only to do what is right. In this world we live in, the world of gangs, everyone is wrong and immoral in a sense, so one should seek the farthest thing from evil. The South is this thing. And we will go there." The ultimate sacrifice protects and murders at the same time, eating away at a soul warmed by a shelter only self destruction could create.
Unable to ignore the conviction in his leader's voice, Gan just managed a feeble nod, barely able to move as Akago rose steadily from his seat and left the patio, retreating to his room for some much need contemplation. Trying to steady his breathing, Gan forced his feet to shuffle across the wooden deck into the living room, walking through the linen curtain doorways with little or no recognition of other gang members or goings on inside the house. Turning a few corners, Gan came to his own room, located in a secluded corner at the end of one of the beach house's many hallways. The boy locked the door behind himself, leaning against the cool wood to soothe his pounding head.
The flicker of sunlight against glass caught his eye and he turned, taking in his own reflection before the beside mirror. Pale skin, smooth and soft like moonlight, caressed his bones in a pattern unlike the other boys. Walking slowly towards the mirror, Gan began unbuttoning his shirt and revealed a set of bandages, ones which etched thin lines across his tight skin. He reached blindly for the bandage tail, beginning a slow and methodical unwrapping of the string, watching as it unwound its way around him in a lifeless dance. Soon, the bandages fell to the floor and Gan stared blankly at his chest, reaching up to finger the bill of his cap. With one smooth motion, Gan threw the ever present hat to the floor, watching with near disgust as black tresses cascaded down his back, some falling forward over slightly rounded breasts and acute pink nipples.
Gan the Gun had made the ultimate sacrifice to remain by Akago's side. Masquerading around this world behind the likes of a mask he could never uncover for fear of scorn and ridicule, Gan played an actor's role daily, painting an illusion before the eyes of others and hiding from the world, all for Akago. The ultimate sacrifice.
She had compromised a part of herself.
Gan the Gun was a woman.
Sorry this took so long guys, but as you can see this was a pretty full chapter. I tried to pack in lots of things, lots of plot twists, and I hope you got that last one clearly. I tried to put in more Inuyasha Kagome, but I'm always rather awkward when I write them, sorry about that. Thank you so much all of my reviewers, you give me the strength to carry on even when the writing seems like it will be tough or hard to do. I'll explain more about Gan's reasons for pretending to be a boy later on. For now you just need to know that he is indeed a girl. Love!
KOLU
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Famous nineteenth century businessman William Feather once said, "Early morning cheerfulness can be extremely obnoxious." This seemed to be the general feeling in the Taisho household around 5:45 on this Friday morning for, not only had all three silver haired children been galavanting about with gangsters late into their Thursday night, they were also unaccustomed to rising this early in the first place.
Sesshomaru was, as always, the first Taisho up and out of bed. He was currently brushing his teeth in the mirror, careful to bring his fangs to a delicate shine, before rinsing his mouth and waltzing boredly towards his closet. He was currently wearing only his boxers and decided the remedy the situation with a pair of baggy, faded jeans and a tight black t-shirt. Glancing in the mirror, he sighed almost wearily; he hadn't worn this particular t-shirt in quite sometime and, over the year in which he'd ignored the shirt, he'd obtained quite a few arm and chest muscles which hadn't been there previously. Now, his scultped arms caused the sleeves to stretch and fit like spandex while his six pack and well formed pecs bulged visibly through the fabric. Despite this, Sesshomaru grabbed his Fangs jacket and exited his room, flipping off the light with little or no interest in his appearance.
Instead of going downstairs for breakfast, Sesshomaru meandered down the hall and pushed open Inuyasha's door, which was slightly ajar. Deciding not to weather the room's many perils, including carelessly thrown about clothes and a few festering experiments on the counter, he just called gruffly, "Inuyasha, get up. If you're not up and ready to go in five minutes, I'm leaving you."
The lump on the bed gave a slight shudder and then a moan, revealing a rather irritated Inuyasha rolling over in his recently wakened state. Deciding this would suffice, Sesshomaru retreated from the chaos of his brother's bedroom and continued waltzing down the hall, coming to his sister's open doorway. Sesshomaru peered inside, finding the room moderately clean, except for a few strewn about car magazines on the floor near the window. The room was hardly feminine, with its car posters and trick bike icons decorating the walls, but Sesshomaru was used to this; Shitora had never been the typical "girly" girl so to speak.
On the bed, Shitora was on her stomach, face buried in her pillow, clad in a matching black sports bra and boy cut short set; her chest was rising and falling softly. Regarding his sister with a certain softness in his smile, Sesshomaru sat down on the edge of the bed and gave Shitora's shoulder a shake, murmuring, "Tora, get up. We have to leave."
"Mmmmmf, why?"
"We're going to Tai Fujishu, remember?" Sesshomaru replied, chuckling softly.
"Can't move, leave me lone," came Shitora's muffled response; after this, there was no movement from the silver faired, furry eared girl.
Sesshomaru sighed, running a hand through his hair as he continued trying to rouse his sister. Shitora was one of those beings who needed a set amount of sleep and, for this reason, she normally slept in on Friday mornings after their Thursday night excursions. The rest of the core members were strong, hearty young men who could get up and go at a moment's notice, but Sesshomaru sometimes forgot that his sister was still a little girl in some respects. She acted two or three years her senior, but she was just 16. Almost 17, he reminded himself quietly. Almost 17.
At that moment, Inuyasha came wandering in with his jacket slung over his shoulder, wearing jeans and a white wife beater. "What's wrong with her?" he asked rudely, waltzing over to the bed and yelling, "Shitora, up. We gotta go."
Shitora made a sort of whimpering sound. "C'mon, guys, please..."
The brothers exchanged glances, finding it increasingly more difficult to say no to their darling baby sister; even Inuyasha's harsh resolve was wavering slightly. Finally, Sesshomaru said, "Alright, Shitora. Get dressed and you can sleep in the car, we'll wake you up in Tai Fujishu."
The girl was quite for a moment before she finally sat up, rubbing her large amber eyes, white ears drooping. "Okay," she murmured huskily, stumbling to her feet and grabbing a pair of loose jeans from the closet, pulling them on and not bothering to button or zip them. She then donned a red wifebeater and lazily grabbed a comb from the dresser, running it through her silken silver hair a few times without the mirror. This done, she began tripping her way out of the room, followed by Sesshomaru and Inuyasha's amused glances.
"Get her shoes and I'll get her jacket," Sesshomaru murmured, muffling a chuckle into his hand.
"Right," Inuyasha agreed, grinning.
By the time the brothers arrived downstairs, Shitora was asleep in the front seat of Sesshomaru's Saleen, snuffling softly in her sleep. Inuyasha rolled his eyes, climbing in the backseat with a pointed look in his brother's direction. Sesshomaru just shrugged and started the engine, pulling out of the driveway and heading towards the warehouse.
When they arrived at 6:01, the others were already there, fearing Sesshomaru's cold and quiet wrath should they be late. The nearby ocean made most Tokyo mornings rather chilly and most were wearing their jackets on their backs, rubbing sleep from their eyes and conversing in hushed tones. It was far too early for noise.
Kagome blinked, shaking her head to keep herself from nodding off again. She was leaning against Rin's convertible in loose jeans and a black wifebeater, looking like one of the gang if not for her conspicuous lack of jacket. Rin was dozing beside her, ignoring the conversation being carried on against Sango's Honda across from her. Ayame and Sango seemed awake for the most part, only giving themselves shakes every once and a while.
Kouga and Miroku, however, looked as though they'd seen better days. Kouga was straddling his parked motorcycle, arms folded on the handlebars as he snoozed. Miroku was sitting on the gravel floor, head against the driver's side door of his Spyder. His violet eyes were closed softly, arms crossed as he dreamed of his beloved Sango. Ranbou lay sleepily in the back of his F-350 pick-up, staring up at the barely painted morning sky. Hiten was layed out on the roof of his Expedition, doing much the same as Ranbou, while Jakotsu and Bankotsu marveled over the miracles performed on the pick-up; Shippo really was a mechanical genius.
When Sesshomaru pulled up, the others snapped to attention, trying to look awake and alive but failing miserably. Inuyasha and Sesshomaru exited the car, stretching briefly before approaching the circle of girls. Rin yawned a little, covering her small mouth as she walked towards her boyfriend, giving him a slow morning embrace while he kissed the top of her head.
"Good morning," he said placidly.
"Mmff," came her muffled response against his chest. Blinking, she pulled back and stared at his shirt. "Wow. That's a...nice shirt, Sesshy. A really nice shirt. Wear that shirt more often."
Chuckling, Sesshomaru cocked an eyebrow and asked teasingly, "Rin, are you checking me out?"
"Yeah, I am," came Rin's giggling reply as she buried her head deeper into his embrace.
Inuyasha had since wandered inside and grabbed a pair of keys from the combination lock box in the back, strutting over to a plain black Corvette in the corner, one which the Fangs used for generic purposes. Starting up the engine, Inuyasha drove skillfully out of the warehouse and parked in the driveway by the others, killing the engine for the time being. This done, he wandered over the girls and struck up a conversation with his ride partner.
"Our ride, I presume?" Kagome asked sleepily, scrubbing at her cheeks in a weary way.
Inuyasha shrugged, nodding. "That's her, the Fangmobile. Just kept it around for some reason."
Kagome choked out a laugh. "The Fangmobile? Fuck no. I refuse to ride in anything called the Fangmobile."
But Inuyasha just gave her a Fanged grin. "Hey, cut that out, I love the Fangmobile. It's a great machine. Besides that, its got a built in ash tray."
"I suddenly love the Fangmobile."
"That's what I thought."
Currently, Sesshomaru was consulting with Sango and Miroku, his two head mechanics and Tai Fujishu frequenters; on monthly gang meeting days, they were always part scouting in Tai Fujishu and knew more about it than anyone, except for maybe Sesshomaru himself. Rin stood quietly to the side, not trusting herself to speak in her weary state.
"We have the list, contact numbers, and enough cash to get us through most situations," Miroku announced.
"And I've got a bunch of tools," Sango entered in.
"And I've got the beer," Miroku finished.
Nodding, Sesshomaru turned to the group at large and called, "Everyone, let's head out."
There were assorted affirmative murmurs as ride partners began pairing off and climbing into vehicles. Ranbou stretched his muscular limbs, lawning animalistcally before hopping out of the tailgate and gazing around the group. "Hey Shomo, where's Sukini?" he asked after a moment, missing that familiar head of shimmering white hair.
"In the Saleen," Sesshomaru replied, breaking out of a last minute conversation with Kouga. "She's asleep, just grab her." This said, he returned his attention to Kouga, acting as though this were not at all out of the ordinary.
Sighing, Ranbou jogged lazily to the passenger's seat of the Saleen and glanced inside, shaking his head; Shitora was curled up in a little ball, hair falling gracefully over her face as she slept, wrapped up in jeans and her jacket. After opening the door, he managed to reach inside and scoop her up into his arms, closing the door with his foot as he moved absently towards the pick up. Shitora mumbled slightly in her sleep, burrowing her head against Ranbou's chest and sighing contentedly. For one of the first times he could recall, Ranbou's face grew rather red and he blinked away the heat of his blush. Why the hell was he blushing? It was just Sukini, right? God, she was light. And man was she warm, like a little heater. She sure would keep him warm on a cold night...crap. Blinking away these thoughts, Ranbou settled the girl down in the pick-up's passenger's seat, strapping her in accomodatingly before hopping over the hood to the driver's door. This was going to be a long, quiet trip. Or so he surmised.
*!*!*!*
After about an hour of driving, the group was out on the open highway between towns, traveling at a high speed within common sensical limits. Yawning, Inuyasha blinked and focused on the yellows dividing lines, watching them pass with little or no interest, 11, 12, 13, until he lost count. Kagome had fallen asleep in the front seat during the first ten minutes of their trip and, while this bored Inuyasha to tears, he had to admit she was beautiful when she slept. Of course she was beautiful when she was awake, but asleep...no one could compare.Sighing, Inuyasha reached down to grab a box of cigarettes from the console and dug around in a pocket for his lighter, nearly jumping out of his skin when a hand appeared, holding one beneath the smoke. He blinked and shot Kagome a thankful glance, wondering how she'd woken up without him noticing. She just smiled, brown eyes refreshed and thankful for her much needed hour of sleep. Inuyasha took a drag on his newly lighted cigarette, exhaling the smoke out the partially cracked window as a warm, consoling feeling washed over him.
Kagome too retrieved a cigarette and lit it, deciding to take advantage of the Fangmobile's built in ash tray. "How far to go?" she asked.
"Another two hours at least," Inuysha replied, never removing his eyes from the road. "Tai Fujishu rocks, but it's so fucking far away."
"I like car trips, though," Kagome said, smiling slightly as she watched the passing countryside; a good deal of it was rice fields, green and rich. "I could sit here and watch the landscape the entire time, probably."
Inuyasha couldn't help but grin a little. "Really? I get restless a lot. Don't know what to do with myself I guess."
Chuckling, Kagome responded wistfully, "I just don't do anything. It's pretty sad that I can occupy myself for that long, I guess."
"Not really. You'll never be bored," Inuyasha reasoned, grinning shamelessly.
This only provoked a snort from Kagome, who dug out her cell phone and glanced at the Spyder in front of the Fangmobile. "Since you're being so mean, I'm going to call Sango and see what she's up to."
Sango and Miroku were, consequently, playing a game of "I spy" while Miroku manned the wheel of his Mistubishi Spyder, smiling at the girl beside him. They were just looking for something blue when Sango felt her cell phone vibrating in her pocket, whipping it out, she answered brusquely, "Sango Tajiya," without bothering to look at the caller ID.
"Hey there, byotch," came Kagome's laughing voice.
"Hey, slut," Sango replied easily, earning a raised eyebrow from Miroku. He was certainly confused when she mouthed "Kagome" in his direction; why was she calling her good friend a slut? He would never truly understand girls.
"I'm really bored," Kagome sighed. "The company in this car sucks."
Sango could hear Inuyasha's high pitched protests on her end and giggled. "Oh Kagome, you're such a tease. Playing hard to get, then?"
"Hardly," Kagome snorted, rolling her eyes. "Let's get the other girls on a conference call."
Sango obliged quickly and dialed up Rin on the speed dial, interrupting her as she and Sesshomaru played a rather dirty version of the awkward game. Currently, Sesshomaru's hand was sliding up Rin's thigh, coming dangerously close to her panty line, when her phone began whirring in the cup holder. "Lemme get that," she squeaked out, earning a heavy sigh from her boyfriend.
"Hello?" she answered, sounding flushed.
"Rin, it's Sango and Kagome. Dial up Aya, would you?"
"Yeah, sure," Rin said, glad for a distraction; getting it on in the car wasn't exactly her idea of the perfect romance. She hit Ayame's number and listened as it rang, once twice, before her friends answered.
"City morgue, you stab em, we slab em," Ayame answered jokingly, earning a groan from Kouga.
"Oh, c'mon baby, that's so old," he chuckled, shaking his head slightly at his girlfriend's antics.
Ayame just stuck out her tongue before answering Rin's screeching and numerous "helloooo, Ayas." "Rin, I'm here, just messing with my dumbass boyfriend."
"Aren't we all?" Sango interrupted, earning giggles from the others; there they were, carrying on a conversation about their boyfriends, while all of them sat obliviously in the driver's seats. It was so deliciously naughty!
"Hit Shitora up," Kagome requested, wanting to continue their phone chain.
Obligingly, Ayame dialed Shitora's number and waited for the youngest Taisho to answer the phone. In the front seat of Ranbou's pick up truck, Shitora hadn't risen once the entire trip. Only when her phone began ringing obnoxiously, sending the chorus of Sublime's "Wrong Way" echoing through the cabin, did she awaken. Grumbling, she shifted her snowy white head and fumbled for her phone, answering it without opening her eyes. "Hullo?"
"Tora! It's Kags, Sango, Rin and Aya."
"Okay, yeah, hey, wh-" For the first time, Shitora glanced around the cabin and blinked. "Dude, where am I?"
Ranbou, who was watching this all with interest, shrugged his shoulders while simultaneously keeping his hands steady on the wheel. "We're on the road. Have been for an hour now."
Glancing over at Ranbou, Shitora nodded sleepily and returned to her phone conversation. "Uh, yeah, hi."
"Geez, somebody just woke up," Rin snorted.
"You haven't woken up this whole time?" Sango questioned. "I'm...kind of impressed. Ranbou even picked you up and carried you to the truck. You didn't wake up then? Sheesh."
At this news, Shitora grew rather red in the face. Gulping, she whispered hoarsely, "Say what?"
"Yeah, he carried you from Yash's car to yours," Kagome confirmed, sounding resolute. "We all saw it. Too bad you weren't awake, huh? I bet you would've enjoyed it."
The other girls cracked up and a heavy blush rose to Shitora's cheeks. "Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"
"Oh, get over it doll, you two are practically screwing already," Rin said crassly.
"Rin!" Ayame protested shrilly. "Don't listen to them, Tora. Just take your time, you're on no one's schedule but your own."
"That's right, don't let them pressure you into dating," Sango advised.
Thoroughly heated, Shitora grunted out, "I don't know what the fuck you all are smoking, but you're talkin' bull shit. Later." And with that, she hung up the phone with one push of the button, proud of her efforts in defending her honor. Too bad she'd barely gotten in a word edgewise.
Raising one dark eyebrow questioningly, Ranbou glanced at the girl beside him as she crossed her small arms and pouted angrily, staring out the window at the passing scenery with a hard eye. He had to admit, she looked incredibly cute like that, but he knew his ideals would only earn him a slap in the face and a few well placed curse words.
Deciding to keep his opinion to himself, the wolf demon asked sarcastically, "So, not in good with the girls?"
Shitora snorted, replying stiffly, "More like they ain't in good with me. I mean, seriously, is all girls do gossip? Don't they got anything better to do? Why do people gotta be goin' out all the time? It's gay!"
Ranbou shook his head slowly, ice blue eyes focused on the highway. "They're bored with their own lives so they gotta make up shit about someone elses. And relationships make interesting news."
"Yeah, well, why don't they bug Kagome then?" Shitora all but exploded, throwing her arms akimbo and consequently hitting the window. Rubbing her smarting hand, the girl continued, "She and Yash are like dogs in heat!"
"Which, thank God, is nothing like wolves in heat," Ranbou picked up smoothly. "I wouldn't want to witness that for anything."
"And I mean, maybe I ain't interested in a relationship or somethin'!" Shitora continued, sounding as though she hadn't heard Ranbou's musings at all.
At these words, Ranbou felt his heart waver ever so slightly; was she really not interested in a relationship? Did she mean with anyone or just with someone of her friends' choosing? Snorting quietly, he shook his head to clear his thoughts. What did he care anyway? It was just Sukini, the annoying little skinny girl who tagged along behind the boys. She wasn't beautiful, nor was she funny, nor was she smarter than hell and quietly kind. As he thought these things, Ranbou managed to prevent himself from looking Shitora in the eye. One look and he would be forced to admit the truth: all of those things were flat out lies.
Remembering the question spat so venemously in his direction, Ranbou answered flatly, "If you don't want a relationship, you don't gotta have one. Simple as that."
"Right, exactly!" Shitora exclaimed, rolling her eyes to the sky as she threw her hands askew. "Why can't they get that! I mean, you and me get it. Why can't they?"
Ranbou didn't answer, knowing this question was mostly rhetorical in the first place; by this time, Shitora was mostly ranting for her own personal ease of mind. Sighing bitterly at her own unanswered questions, Shitora muttered, "What the hell is so great about relationships anyway? It's just one more thing to worry about, when you think about it. Nickelback and I agree; just 'another hole in the head.'"
At this, Ranbou seemed to escape from his self created gloom, blinking. "Nickelback? You listen to Nickelback?"
Shitora raised her eyebrows, informing him proudly, "Every single day! I love them."
"Well hell, Sukini, turn on the CD player," Ranbou chuckled, removing one hand from the wheel and beginning to drive with only his right palm. By this time, the caravan of cars was out in the middle of the country, not another car but themselves for miles.
Giving the driver a puzzled glance, Shitora reached out her hand and hit the play button, eyes widening as the strains of overdriven guitar and Chad Kroeger filled her ears; it was Nickelback's newest CD, Fight for All the Right Reasons. Nearly jumping out of her skin with delight, Shitora grinned and began clapping her hands like a child with a brand new toy. "HOLY CRAP! NICKELBACK!"
Rolling his eyes, Ranbou chukled slightly and said, "The only shit I'll listen to these days."
"Seriously, better than the Pussycat Dolls or whatever," Shitora mumbled, shuddering at the thought.
But yet the Pussycat Dolls reminded Ranbou of one very special night in weeks past, one where the boys caught the girls dancing around half naked, covered in chocolate. Smirking devilishly, he said silkily, "Oh, you mean those dirty songs you girls danced to in your underwear?"
At the very mention of that night, Shitora blushed a bright red and pulled her knees up to her chest, burying her head in her legs. "Can we not talk about that? Ever?" It was then, for the first time, that Shitora understood the full implications of Ranbou witnessing her in her underwear. It was a pretty intimate situation, when she thought about it. Besides that, she wondered what he thought about it. Not that I care what he thinks about me in my underwear, Shitora told herself blushingly, I just wonder if he thinks about it a lot. I mean, me in my underwear. My friends and I in our underwear, not just me, he was looking at them too. Right? Not that I would want that. I mean, no, not that I wouldn't want that. Not that I give a two shilling shit...I mean...GOD DAMN IT.
"Aw, why not?" Ranbou teased, enjoying her embarassment thoroughly. "C'mon now, you looked hot in all that black lace. Or should I say in what there was of that black lace; wasn't much, I don't think."
Shitora's eyes widened to roughly the size of a truck wheel. "B-black lace? No, I was wearing...was I?"
Ranbou nodded firmly. "Black lace, Sukini. Jumping around, covered in chocolate and ice cream."
There are many statements in this world which few have an answer to and many don't care to answer. This happened to be one of those comments and, for one of the first times in recorded history, Shitora Taisho was completely lost for words. She resembled a cod fish as her mouth opened and closed blankly, sentences and syllables failing her, until she finally just sat back against the chair, knowing the only way to combat embarrassment was with more embarassment.
"Well, you looked good wet too."
Ranbou blinked, feeling a slight brush rise to his cheeks; that was right, the boys had been running around so unceremoniously in the sprinklers...how had he forgotten that? Shaking away these feelings, he murmured, "Yeah, thanks Sukini."
But Shitora was too busy singing along to the next track, bobbing her head slightly as she stared out the window; it would appear that their conversation was over.
*!*!*!*
Kagome felt her mouth go slightly dry as she observed the wonders of Tai Fujishu; no matter what the others might've told her beforehand, she never would have suspected a place like this. Tai Fujishu was, in fact, the name of the junk yard. All this time, she'd been imagining it to be a town or a village, but the sign above the garage read "Tai Fujishu." The landscape was very strange, as there didn't appear to be human or demon life outside of this place for a dozen kilometers at least, but Kagome was too busy staring at the men walking forth from the shop."Sesshomaru!" one of them called in a surprisingly brusque Scottish accent, waving his hairy arm happily.
Nearly swallowing her tongue, Kagome murmured, "Um...Inuyasha?" Normally, Kagome wouldn't be so hesitant around new people...these new people just happened to be rather strange looking.
The tallest, who towered somewhere around 6 feet 7 inches, was roughly the build of Ranbou with his bulging muscles and broad shoulders, but unlike most other men, he was completely covered from head to foot in hair. All technicalities considered, it was acutally fur, but Kagome was too stunned by the reddish brown mass of it to bother with particulars. He had a pleasant look on his face, which was perhaps the most startling thing about him; it was that of a fox. This creature was a walking, talking fox completely with bushy white tipped tail, charming fangs and pert little ears atop his head. He wore a green vest and a pair of black pants, though his feet resembled the hind legs of his breed and stuck out a good deal beneath the cuff. Kagome glanced around at her friends and noticed they showed no fear nor surprise at this being's appearance so, in kind, she tried to swallow her fear; just because he looked different didn't mean he was bad, right?
Instinctively, as the creature neared, Kagome latched on to Inuyasha's arm, lips paling visibly. Inuyasha glanced down and cocked an eyebrow. "Kagome?" he aksed quietly, obviously not understanding her trepidation.
"Yes?" she replied in a strangely high pitched voice.
Inuyasha followed her unblinking gaze to the approaching fox man and gave a small sound of understanding, murmuring, "You've never seen Niku Youkai have you?"
"Niku?" Kagome echoed, confusedly.
Nodding sagely, Inuyasha explained, "Niku means 'meat', right? Well, in the early days of youkai, all of them looked like this, true and bred in their pure form. There are very few of them left, since some species began to evolve based on where they lived and what they ate, so there weren't many other Niku to breed with. Even Sesshomaru probably has a little human in him, but not enough to make a difference; there's hanyou, youkai, and then there's Niku. Compared to even Kouga, Ranbou or Shomo's strength, Niku are the strongest there are. Since people obviuosly couldn't handle their looks, though, they keep to themselves out here most of the time. They're the same as us in here," Inuyasha said, thumping his chest with his free arm, "But just a little different out here." This time, he gestured to his body.
Blinking, Kagome tried to process this information as she kept her eyes glued to the fox man, who was currently shaking hands...er, paws, with Sesshomaru. The two were smiling, Sesshomaru in an albeit reserved way, speaking as though they'd known each other for years. "How come I've never heard of them before?"
Inuyasha shrugged his shoulders, teasing lightly, "Cause you lived in a box? I don't know, Kags, they're not exactly a secret. We don't talk about em too much, though, cause they just stay out in the countryside like this and don't come into town. What's to talk about?"
As Inuyasha said this, the two beings following at the fox man's heels came walking towards him, grinning widely with their many rows of fiersome teeth. Kagome shied away slightly, but Inuyasha untangled his arm from her grasp and wrapped it tightly around her waist, giving it a light squeeze to reassure her. This done, he addressed the creatures before him. "Hey, Teki, Outai. How's life?"
The first of the two, being Teki, was roughly four inches taller than the fox and a startling heavenly white, one which offset the daring crimson of his eyes. He was, like Inuyasha and Sesshomaru, descendant of the dog, though in a more precise manner; his snout was shorter than that of his comrades, sporting a wet black nose, and a soft white tail which wagged rather humorously behind him, escaping the seat of his pants through a strategically placed hole. His clothes were simple and quite human, loose jeans and a white wifebeater, but he himself looked anything but human.
"Inuyasha!" he cried, voice resemblant of an eighteen year old boy, not deep and gravelly as Kagome had expected. Teki through his clawed arms wide, giving Inuyasha what Kagome perceived as a smile. "Roual gar yick garsh lawroo?"
At this, Kagome felt her mind stop turning for a brief moment; was the Niku speaking nonsense? That couldn't possibly be her language, or else his vocabulary far surpassed hers to the point where he could speak a sentence without any recognizable words. Inuyasha, however, seemed to understand him and responded back with a rather easy going, "Eh, goa. Yar rowula grishna."
Teki exploded with laughter, seeming not to care that Inuyasha's eyebrows were lowered and his face looked anything but pleased. The second creature, Outai, gave a derisive snort, turning directly to Ranbou, Kouga and Ayame who were residing about two feet to Kagome's right. "Foolish dogs, always trying to prove themselves by speaking their tongue in public."
This man was distinctly different from Teki in that he was a shining midnight black wolf, well groomed yet with a sort of wild tousle to his hair. His ears were decidedly longer and sharper, pointed more so than Teki's, and his piercing yellow eyes seemed to bored there way right through Kagome's body. She daren't think what would happen if he looked directly at her. He wore only jeans, revealing a well shaped black chest and tank like arms, framing his thing waist and legs. He was the only one of these three creatures with piercings like a human, three small hoops attached to the top of his right ear. Outai struck Kagome as a combination between Sesshomaru's coldness and Ranbou's rebellion.
Kouga, Ayame and Ranbou laughed heartily at Outai's comment. "You haven't changed, Outai," Kouga said warmly, grinning at his obviously long time friend.
Outai shrugged, reaching up one long claw to scratch sophisticatedly at the inside of his ear. "I suppose not. What's change, anyway? A complication."
At this point, Teki turned fiercely to Outai and let out a growl, one which reminded Kagome of pet dogs she'd seen fighting in the street. White muzzle pulling back lips to reveal razor sharp teeth, Teki said violently, "You want to fight me so bad, wolf? Let's do it, right here, right now!" He was obviously still smarting over Outai's recent comment on his behalf.
"What's the point in fighting when I know I'll win?" Outai said boredly, rolling his yellow eyes with a pointed sarcasm.
Inuyasha whispered in Kagome's ear, "They've never gotten along. Always arguing about species."
Though Inuyasha's words had barely even touched Kagome's ear drums, even at their close proximity, Teki and Outai both turned abruptly to face him, ears twitching all the while. Teki narrowed his eyes as they landed on Kagome for the first time and, soon enough, he said, "Is this your bitch, Inuyasha?"
Despite this being's height, roughly 6'10, and his weight, which could only be guessed around 400 pounds, Kagome felt her cheeks go hot and she was soon upon him like a swarm of angry bees. "His WHAT? I am nobody's bitch, thank you very much, and I never will be!"
Teki was thoroughly surprised by this outburst and he leaned back with every word, ears erect and eyes wide. Once Kagome was finished, breathing heavily with her fists clenched at her sides, he practically whined, "Geez, Inuyasha, what a pick."
Outai rolled his eyes, crossing his black arms irritably across his strong chest. "Are you really that dense? This human girl is not Inuyasha's mate. You can smell it, Teki-gentai."
"Oh yeah, Outai-okama?" Teki snarled in return.
(A/N: I normally wouldn't put a note in a story, but this is important and I thought you guys might not want to scroll down for footnotes. When Outai and Teki address each other, they use suffixes that are actually japanese words. "Gentai" means failure and "Okama" is like dirty slang, equivalent to our word "faggot." Okay, thanks for your attention on that.)
Ranbou placed his hands on both creature's chests, pushing them gently away from each other while saying soothingly, "Come on now, guys, no need for a fight."
Teki snorted, turning pointedly away from Outai with his arms crossed, while Outai threw his hands up defeatedly and sighed. Kagome giggled slightly at their reactions, finding their relationship almost humorous; this brought a small smirk to Teki's face. "She's a looker, Yash."
Inuyasha grew rather red and said strongly, "She's not my mate or my pick or whatever, okay? Her name is Kagome. She's Rin's cousin."
"Oh yes, Sesshomaru's bitch," Outai recalled, using the word "bitch" just as Teki had. By this time, Kagome was beginning to distinguish between their definition of this word and hers. Obviously, they were simply using it in it's true form to mean "female animal" instead of "stupid slut whore." This set Kagome's mind slightly at ease. "I always thought Sesshomaru chose well," Outai mentioned, obviously still talking about Rin. "A well mannered woman."
"For once we agree," Teki said with a snort, glancing over to where Rin resided beside Sesshomaru as he spoke with the fox man. "A great hind quarters."
It took all of Kagome's power to keep from laughing at this comment, for she knew the Niku were only using terminology which had lasted throughout their time on earth. Their words for things were slightly different, owing to their closeness to dogs and animals in general. While it may seem barbaric to her, it was just normal speech to them.
By this time, it became apparent that Sesshomaru and the fox were working out some kind of terms; over the months, Kagome had become used to Sessohmaru's business face. Tugging on Inuyasha's arm, she looked in his brother's direction and asked, "What's he doing?"
Before Inuyasha could answer, Teki cut in, "Sesshomaru and Bakudai are bartering, cars for parts. Every year, we give him a list of cars and then he gets to take parts from the yard for free."
Eyes widening, Kagome asked bewilderdly, "For free? But that's...so...generous!"
Outai chuckled, an entirely humorless gesture, as he responded, "We owe Sesshomaru our very lives; a couple of parts and are nothing. He gives us those cars out of his own kindness, not because we grant him parts in return. I've always thought it was bold for us to even ask him for the cars."
Before Kagome could ask any questions, she recalled Kikyo's words the previous day in the clinic. I'm just trying to explain what life under Naraku's rule was like for the gangs. Constant terror. 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. Finally, Kagome understood that these Niku Youkai were a gang, so to speak. Shaking her head slightly, Kagome tried and failed to imagine the kind of rule Naraku had enacted; with power stretching all the way out here in the desert, Kagome was glad he'd been dethroned. That kind of power just didn't deserve the filth of Naraku's hands.
"Eh, don't say that Outai," Kouga said, shrugging off the comment. "Gettin' the cars is a pleasure; I mean, lettin' us have at the whole yard is beyond the call of duty on your part, bud."
"Yeah," Ayame agreed, nodding slightly. "Without these parts, we would be totally lost back home."
Outai just smiled graciously, a smile which didn't quite reach his eyes. As he turned to face Kouga and Ayame, Kagome caught sight of a long running scar on the side of his face. It reached from the top of his forehead, running down his eyes towards his jaw, all the way to the side of his muzzle. He'd obviously been in an accident of some sort. "You're all good enough mechanics that I'm sure our parts are barely even a tenth of your success."
Before the others could respond, Sesshomaru turned towards the group while the fox man, Bakudai, stood smiling to his left. "Alright, everyone, grab your lists and go on inside. Make sure to get absolutely everything you came for, I won't stand for whining when we return."
The group nodded curtly, turning towards a pair of large chicken wire gates which were slowly swinging open, revealing an entrance to the massive junk yard. Kagome stared in awe at the place, which streched almost as far as the eye could see, piles upon piles of metals scraps and car parts. Each pile was at least six feet high, if not higher than that, and streched out across a good twenty feet, several dozen of them littering the yard. While the others had seen Tai Fujishu before, it never ceased to amaze them in all its splendor, sunlight catching the gleam on every wonderful piece of machinery.
The smell surrounding this place was that of oil and grease, one Kagome had learned to love during her stay with the Fangs, and she immediately warmed to the area, smiling at the sight before her. "C'mon, Inuyasha, let's go look!"
A familiar deep voice, coated with Scottish flavor, broke into the conversation. "Easy, cub, dinna be strippin' yer tail."
The fox man Bakudai had since left Sesshomaru's side as the others began trekking inside, walking over to converse with Inuyasha instead. Upon seeing Kagome's excitement, he couldn't help but comment and was now grinning at her with his brazen red fox face, which Kagome could see was speckled with little flecks of gray.
Soon, Kagome caught herself staring and said rather quickly, "Oh, uh, sorry. I'm Kagome."
"Ah'm Bakudai," the fox said with a roguish wink. "An welcome ta mah palace."
At this, Teki snorted good naturedly and quipped, "More like an old dog's magpie nest, grandpa."
Raising a sculpted eyebrow, which Kagome was surprised to see on a fox's face, Bakudai replied plantively, "A magpie nest which took near half mah life tah complete, thank ya very much, pup."
"How are you, Bakudai?" Inuyasha asked with an abnormal taste of propriety.
"Excellent, Inuyasha, excellent," Bakudai replied jovially. "Ye've grown since Ah saw ya last. Lookin' more like yer father every day."
At this comment, Inuyasha's expression wavered and his eyes darkened considerably, though Kagome doubted Bakudai and the others even noticed. It was very subtle, like the rippling of a bare pond, and she had to even squint to see it; a certain sparkle of regret in Inuyasha's eye. Obviously, being compared to his father didn't please him.
"Yes sir," was all Inuyasha said, mustering a smile. "We should be going, you know, get parts."
"Of course, of course," Bakudai said generously, gesturing towards the junk yard with one large padded paw. "Be mah guest, since ye are indeed."
Needing no further urging, Inuyasha began ushering Kagome towards the open gates, arm still wrapped securely around her waist. Kagome couldn't deny that this closeness was comforting, even in the heat, and she'd managed to survive her first meeting with Niku sheerly because of this reassurance. Without Inuyasha there, Kagome was fairly sure she might've fainted. It was nice to simply know he cared.
Inside the junk yard, Shitora and Ranbou were scalling a rather tall pile of parts in search of a crankshaft, meant for a Honda GL1800 Goldwing motorcycle. Ranbou wiped a thin trail of sweat from his forehead as he glanced up the mountain of metal at Shitora. She was sitting on a cleft, created by an old Thunderbird's front seat and a few dented bumpers. "It oughta be just about this big," she said, holding out her hands to display the size of the crankshaft.
Nodding, Ranbou pulled himself up a ways and joined Shitora on the ledge. "Yeah, there abouts. For the Goldwing, right?"
"Yeah," Shitora murmured thoughtfully, glancing below and above her as though expecting to see the part sticking out of the mountain.
From this height, about nineteen or twenty feet up, Ranbou could make out his friends working there way around the junk yard, pulling bits of rubble from mountains as they went. The mountain he was resting on happened to be the tallest, stretching about forty feet up and around fifty feet in circumference; it was a good place to watch the goings on in Tai Fujishu. The mountains were divided by part, pistons in one hill, distributors in another, so on and so on, motorcycle things on the west wall and car things on the right. Ranbou and Shitora happened to be in a huge mountain of crankshafts, engines and gas pedals. Ranbou spectulated that this mountain could've outfitted well over 600 cars on its own. This entire yard was massive.
"Hey, that isn't it, is it?" Shitora asked, pointing to a crankshaft sticking out of the wall ten feet above them.
Ranbou squinted, eyeing the part dubiously before he announced, "That's it."
"Great!" Shitora exclaimed, standing and beginning to make her way up the mountain.
Deciding to wait patiently on the Thunderbird ledge, Ranbou watched as she scaled the ten feet easily, demonic adeptness coming in handy on her way. She grabbed the part easily and was making her way back down when a step like engine gave way beneath her weight. Shitora gave a small sound of surprise as she almost went tumbling down the mountain, grasping in vain for a hold. Ranbou's breath caught in his throat at the sight of Shitora falling and, with one quick motion, he took a step up on a firmly lodged truck pedal and caught the girl in his arms, consequently bringing her tightly against him.
The two were still for a moment as the sound of the engine falling clattered down the mountain, becoming every distant until it hit the desert floor with an ominous thump. Shitora's face was pressed unconciously against Ranbou's chest, which she noticed was firma and sculpted, a perfect tan beneath his wife beater. He smelled like grease, cigarettes and sun; how a person could smell like sun was completely beyond Shitora, but he certainly did, warm and clean.
Ranbou took a deep, relieved breath, murmuring, "That was close."
"Yeah," Shitora replied in a rather choked voice.
"Watch your step, Sukini," he admonished lightly, using one arms to lower her down easily onto the Thunderbird seat.
The hanyou girl gave a slight huff of indignation, crossing her arms over her thin chest. "Don't treat me like a child. It was an accident."
Ranbou rolled his eyes, climbing down to join her with the newly acquired crank shaft; that was all the thanks he got? Apparently, some things would never change.
*!*!*!*
The Tokyo sun shone down brightly upon the ocean waves as they crashed against the sand, receeding back into the foam before lashing out once more. While further down the beach every day surfers and tanners gathered for comaraderie, Akago and Gan enjoyed the quiet of each other's soft speech against the quiet of their personal shore. They sat on the Shark's beach house deck, observing the sun as it sank lower and lower in the summer sky, stark against it's heavy blues. Gan ran a smooth hand over his ever present hat, lightly fingering the bill before blinking his violet eyes against the light. He glanced over at Akago ever so often, observing his leader's stately white hair fluttering across his wild crimson eyes. There was something absolutely magnetic about Akago, a shard of his personality which brought the lost and lonely running towards him for shelter. Gan was convinced this very thing had brought him running. Unbenknownst to anyone in this world, Gan had made the ultimate sacrifice to stay with Akago; he had compromised a part of himself."How many years has it been since you came, Gan?" Akago asked conversationally, Venetian shirt billowing slightly as a breeze caressed the man's shoulders; though he was only 18, Gan regarded Akago as a man and not a boy.
"Three, Akago. Almost four, I believe," Gan replied easily. His voice was rather lilting and musical, yes, but Akago had come to enjoy the sound of it.
Akago chuckled. "Short years. They've been very short years."
"You think?" Gan asked, quirking an eyebrow; his smooth face contorted with mild disdain as he crossed thin arms over an equally thin chest. "They seemed pretty long to me." Everything seemed longer...with the ultimate sacrifice constantly on his mind.
Smiling slightly, Akago murmured, "Short years would've been a blessing. Here I am, caught between a rock and a hard place. Either I go against everything I believe in by staying with power-crazed Onigumo or I turn around and kill my sister. Betraying him would mean her death. For once in my life, I don't know what to do, Gan."
It was rare for Akago to show weakness in public and, in fact, it didn't happen. Around Gan, however, Akago showed a part of himself which the common man was never allowed to see. A sensetive soul, wanting peace and quiet with books and academia in some secluded part of this vast world. That was who he was, what Akago really wanted, but fate had brought him here. He was bitter, of course, but he wouldn't allow it to affect his job. He was a gang leader. He had to think of his gang first and foremost. Weakness was not an option.
Gan frowned, observing Akago for a moment before replying, "There's nothing you can do, Akago. You can't just go killing your sister, even if you've grown apart. You're blood and that affects you, as it should; making sacrifices for someone or something you love isn't weakness, it's strength." Gan had been sacrificing for three long years, all for the one that he loved. It wasn't weakness, he tried to tell himself. It was true strength.
"How like you Gan, always the romantic," Akago mused, not even turning to look at his trusted second in command. "Your sensetivity never ceases to amaze me; I always wish I had your humanity in me. It's a gift."
Sighing, Gan replied wistfully, "Sometimes. Other times, it's just a burden, feeling sensetive and affected by everything." Gan the Gun was a sensetive soul, despite his accuracy with a pistol and keen wit. Only the soft hearted could make the ultimate sacrifice for something such as love, compromising a part of himself.
"I wish I could understand," Akago said softly, eyed narrowing slightly as he looked out on the horizon. "But I can not. Perhaps I should be glad my heart is so black and cold; without it, I wouldn't be able to make this decision."
Gan paused in his thoughts, turning to face his leader with a sort of questioning air about him. "What decision?"
The sound which emitted from Akago's mouth was one of pure and unadulterated tiredness, a weary sigh laced with regret, bitterness and the barest hint of relief. Closing his eyes rather weakly, Akago murmured, "I'm going to leave Naraku, Gan. I can't do this anymore. The Sharks are out."
There was a defeaning silence between the two before Gan's heart seemed to come back to life, thumping almost erratically inside his small chest. Shaking his head rather slowly, as though he couldn't believe his ears, the violet eyed boy stood from his chair and stared aghast at his leader. "You can't be serious, Akago! He'll kill Kanna and you know he will! Naraku is heartless!"
Chuckling dryly, Akago said quietly, "No matter where I hide her, Gan, he'll kill her. But that shouldn't really bother me, I suppose; that shell of a being is not my sister. My sister Kanna was sweet, kind, and loving; though her body remains, she was gone long ago. My sister, was not a whore. My sister was not souless. My sister...knew no equal." For the briefest moment, his crimson eyes glittered with an unusual fervor, but Gan knew the great Akago would never cry, even in front of his most trusted friend. Akago could allow himself to appear weak for a moment, but tears were simply too much for his taste. He recovered quickly, whispering, "That girl you know is not my sister. And therefore, I am killing absolutely no one of consequence."
Gan couldn't quite think of the words to say and instead allowed his arms to dangle limply at his sides, violet eyes burning with question upon question. There were so many things he wanted to ask, and yet so many things he couldn't think to say through his parched lips. As far as the reasons behind an action went, Gan and the Sharks knew better than to question Akago's motives. He lead them strongly and never let them down, time after time after time. No, Gan's questions involved more of the future than the past.
Finally, the boy managed to stutter out, "Where will we go?"
Akago was quiet for a moment as he configured his answer, which was rather hard to say. Glancing over at Gan, the Shark leader managed the smallest of smiles. His boyish friend's soft face was the color of freshly cut peaches, that pale tinted with rosy pink; with his thin arms and legs, Gan was often thought of as weak, though he was truly one of the strongest people Akago knew. No one would ever understand Akago the way Gan did, but Akago feared even his closest friend couldn't quite grasp his reasoning on this issue. They would never really understood until all of this was over.
"I thought about that for quite some time," Akago said, breathing steadily and steadying his gaze on the setting sun. He was not afraid of what lay ahead. "I have no choice but to turn to the only one who could possibly stand up to Naraku. There would be no point in leaving when we couldn't be saved."
At these words, Gan blinked, trying to process such information with his already heated mind. "You don't mean..." Gan murmured, buzzing brain settling on the merest of possibilities. The ultimate sacrifice is different for every person. Gan made his and Akago was no preparing to do the same: set aside his pride for the sake of others.
And the boy was absolutely right. "Tomorrow, I will go to Fang territory and ask Sesshomaru for his blessing and protection. It has taken me this long to realize the difference between right and wrong, Gan. And what we do now, what I do, is wrong. Everything about it. The drug peddling, the allegiance with unsavory killers, all of it is so obviously immoral that a younger me would've scoffed at the idea of such associations. All it took was the death of my father to send me and my sister flailing into hell; I am weak, Gan. But I must become stronger. And to do this, I will sacrifice everything, if only to do what is right. In this world we live in, the world of gangs, everyone is wrong and immoral in a sense, so one should seek the farthest thing from evil. The South is this thing. And we will go there." The ultimate sacrifice protects and murders at the same time, eating away at a soul warmed by a shelter only self destruction could create.
Unable to ignore the conviction in his leader's voice, Gan just managed a feeble nod, barely able to move as Akago rose steadily from his seat and left the patio, retreating to his room for some much need contemplation. Trying to steady his breathing, Gan forced his feet to shuffle across the wooden deck into the living room, walking through the linen curtain doorways with little or no recognition of other gang members or goings on inside the house. Turning a few corners, Gan came to his own room, located in a secluded corner at the end of one of the beach house's many hallways. The boy locked the door behind himself, leaning against the cool wood to soothe his pounding head.
The flicker of sunlight against glass caught his eye and he turned, taking in his own reflection before the beside mirror. Pale skin, smooth and soft like moonlight, caressed his bones in a pattern unlike the other boys. Walking slowly towards the mirror, Gan began unbuttoning his shirt and revealed a set of bandages, ones which etched thin lines across his tight skin. He reached blindly for the bandage tail, beginning a slow and methodical unwrapping of the string, watching as it unwound its way around him in a lifeless dance. Soon, the bandages fell to the floor and Gan stared blankly at his chest, reaching up to finger the bill of his cap. With one smooth motion, Gan threw the ever present hat to the floor, watching with near disgust as black tresses cascaded down his back, some falling forward over slightly rounded breasts and acute pink nipples.
Gan the Gun had made the ultimate sacrifice to remain by Akago's side. Masquerading around this world behind the likes of a mask he could never uncover for fear of scorn and ridicule, Gan played an actor's role daily, painting an illusion before the eyes of others and hiding from the world, all for Akago. The ultimate sacrifice.
She had compromised a part of herself.
Gan the Gun was a woman.
Sorry this took so long guys, but as you can see this was a pretty full chapter. I tried to pack in lots of things, lots of plot twists, and I hope you got that last one clearly. I tried to put in more Inuyasha Kagome, but I'm always rather awkward when I write them, sorry about that. Thank you so much all of my reviewers, you give me the strength to carry on even when the writing seems like it will be tough or hard to do. I'll explain more about Gan's reasons for pretending to be a boy later on. For now you just need to know that he is indeed a girl. Love!
KOLU
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