InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Laying Down the Law ❯ Help Me Father ( Chapter 27 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Okay guys, moving right along. I would like everyone to know that I know have a blog! That's right, I caved, I got a blog. Crazy shit, I know. It's at xanga, the most cliche blog site ever. This is the link, if you have to copy and past it in, so be it:

http://www.xanga.com/xxKOLUxx

In this blog, I'll talk about my angles, what I'm planning, what I'm writing about. It's really to let you guys know how I'm coming so your not totally pissed at me when its been two weeks and you're all "DUDE, WTF?"

I'm a nerd, I got a blog, stab me. I was always like, "BLOGGING IS LAME, GUYS," but now I've got one.

I kind of like it.

Anyway, on to the next chapter, a funny one. Savor this humor, everyone, because it won't last; the last chapters are brutally scary and painful. But we do love drama, don't we? ;)

Bokoru spat thickly on the edge of the sidewalk, scowling at the concrete as a police siren echoed through the brick labrynths of Kyoto. It had been nearly a week since Race Wars and he couldn't remember the last time he'd felt so bitter. He wasn't a pleasant person most of the time, normally decrepit and wrathful, but he was even more intolerable as of late. He hadn't dared show his face back at Cobra headquarters, thinking Bankotsu must surely know of his near rape of Shitora Taisho by this time. Shitora Taisho, that worthless bitch; she'd caused his troubles. If only she'd just played nice and gone along with him, none of this would've happened; his nose would still be in one piece and he might have sight in his left eye, not to mention sexual satisfaction. But no, she had to go "independent woman" and ruin everything.

Glancing up at the nearby buildings, Bokoru blinked against the light; he hadn't angled his gaze upwards in quite some time. It couldn't be four in the afternoon, judging by the sun's position, and the ox demon gave a restless sigh; he preferred darkness to sunlight for a multitude of reasons, the foremost being danger. He lived for the thrill of danger and nothing seemed quite as dangerous in the light.

Just as he thought this, a presence nearly ten feet in front of him caught his attention, accompanied shortly by an unstable feeling of unsettling fear. Bokoru met eyes with a pair of bottomless crimson red pupils, which almost seemed to smile at him in all their vastness. The face was one he knew quite well, one that anyone in all the gangs could recognize in a heart skip; Naraku Onigumo was well known and feared, rightly so.

A cigarette dangled from Naraku's lips, which were settled in a decidedly blank line. The delicate beauty of his features was nearly lost, replaced by a hardness of bitter regret and life consuming hatred, hatred for a certain Fang leader who stood between him and greatness. Readjusting his shoulders in his Tarantulas jacket, Naraku stopped a mere meter from Bokoru, who was staring at the leader with a confusion in his dull eyes.

"I've smelled you before, ox," Naraku said bluntly, smoke curling up before his eyes, his eyes a murky crimson behind the veil.
Bokoru didn't know what to say for a moment until he narrowed his eyes and asked, "Yeah? When?"

"Race Wars, you might remember it," Naraku continued, chuckling without a smile or humor to be seen. "It was an insult to my nose. Dirt, sweat, sex and desire, about as arrousing as a dead hooker in a dumpster. But you were certainly excited, weren't you?"

For a moment, Bokoru's eyes flashed as though he were debating an attack, but the idea died quickly; no one was stupid enough to take on a few people in the gangs Naraku, Ryuu and most of the Fangs included in this group. Naraku obviously had a reason for stopping him on the street, for the chances of them simply meeting in the dingy slum of Kanu, which rivaled the size of Brooklyn and Queens combined, were hardly high. After a moment, Naraku allowed his cigarette to drop to the concrete, scattering ash before it died beneath the steel toe of his boot.

"You were with the Taisho girl, weren't you."

It was more of a statement than a question, but Bokoru gave a decidedly irate snarl. "And if I was?

"If you were," Naraku continued, staring levelly at Bokoru, "I doubt you got anywhere close to a fuck. Not with Ookami just around the corner, am I right?"

"I don't know what the hell you're talkin' about," Bokoru growled, barring his fangs in a fiersome display, black eyes gleaming like steaming puddles of oil.

But Naraku was hardly impressed and let out a soft snort. "I doubt you gave yourself that black eye, unless your a masochist, which you don't seem brave enough to be. And besides that, if you think I'll believe you're looking at me through one eye for fun, you're stupider than you look."

Smarting at the barb to his now sightless left eye, Bokoru barked snappily, "Get to the point, spider, I know you didn't stop me to shoot the shit."

"Temper, temper," replied Naraku boredly. "I stopped you out of the charity in my heart, so be grateful, because there's not much of it. We have the same goal, really."

"Oh?" Bokoru asked stiffly, obviously wanting nothign more than to escape the chilling presence of the almighty Northern leader. However tough he might like to act, Bokoru knew that, if Naraku began feeling slightly less "charitable," he could lose the sight in his other eye in a far more painful way that he had before.

"We both want to kill a leader in the South. I think you know who I mean," Naraku said quietly. By this time, he'd placed his clawed hands in his jacket pockets, where they rested like lumps of coal. The calm look in Naraku's crimson eyes should've been frightening, but Bokoru was too intrigued by his insinuation to notice.

Cocking an eyebrow, he murmured, "Ookami. Sure, I'd kill the bastard if I got the chance. But what about it?"

"I get what I want, you get what you want. You tell me everything you know about what's going on in the South, I offer you membership to the Tarantulas, we keep you underwraps until we have an opening. You take out Ookami, I take out Taisho, everybody wins. You understand, ox?" Naraku asked, adopting a business like tone.

Bokoru seemed to weigh his options for a moment before asking quietly, "What's the catch."

"No catch...yet. But if I decide there's a catch, what will you do about it?"

The ice cold venom in Naraku's tone struck Bokoru breathless and he paused for a moment, shaking his head as though to say he would do absolutely nothing. Nodding curtly, Naraku jerked his head in the direction of the Tarantulas hideout. "Come with me. Can't have my newly acquired traitor-spy wearing that piece of shit jacket."

For a moment, Bokoru lingered, wondering if selling his soul to the devil was worth getting Ranbou's neck between his hands. After only a minute's hesitation, he savored a sweet intake of breath, chest inflating heartily at the idea of Ranbou Ookami dying at his feet. Yes, the devil was worth the wait.

The sun beat down heavily in the pavement as drills and hammers sounded from within the Fang warehouse. Even though Race Wars was finally over, with the Fangs safely in the lead of course, it didn't mean their work was through. In fact, it had all begun in earnest once again, as Sesshomaru was determined to lead them to another victory in his final year as leader.

Gan fanned himself, wishing for all the world that he could take off his hat. Of course, this would lead to all sorts of problems far more devious that heat and it simply wasn't time. Glancing across the table at Akago, who was focused intently on the papers he was organizing, Gan wiped his hand across his forehead and glanced bitterly up at the ceiling. One day he would come out to Akago, tell him the truth, the horrible, gut wrenching truth. Just not now. He had time...right?

"Gan?"

Blinking, Gan focused his violet eyes on Akago's face, which seemed quizzical as he cleaned his spectacles with the hem of his shirt. "Hm?"

"Do you remember at Race Wars when you told me about your father betting you in a poker game?"

Indeed, Gan remembered well the first time he'd admitted half his reason for leaving home on the run. Nodding, he replied, "Of course. What of it?"

"Did you ever try to contact him afterwards? Your father, I mean."

The question stunned Gan, who replied airily, "Certainly not, I'll never talk to the man again, don't even know where he is. Why?"

Shaking his head mysteriously, Akago said quietly, "Nothing, just curious. I was thinking about it today and thought I'd ask."

Gan glanced down at the papers, as though unable to meet Akago's gaze, and wondered silently what could've brought such thoughts to Akago's head. There had been more to the story of Gan's past than he let on in the first place; he doubted normal people would be inclined to believe the other parts. Suffice it to say that his father wasn't above using his children to assist him in his "job" as a Yakuza technology engineer.

The very thought of his father's face made Gan physically ill and he stood quietly, giving a brief nod to Akago. "If you'll excuse me, I have some business to take care of in town. I'll be back around four."

"I'm sorry if I brought up something I should've have, Gan."

Yet Gan only shook his curtly. "No, Toumoku, it's fine."

And with this, the abnormally slender boy walked purposefully away from the table, making his way through the warehouse swiftly, dodging tools and mechanics alike on his way out the door. He arrived at his white 1969 Chevy Camaro, barely sparring the beautiful car a glance as he ducked inside and drove away with a screech of the tires. Akago watched his best friends of four years go in peace, still bristling at the word he'd used; Toumouku.

The word Toumoku was the way that all those but close friends and the core members addressed their gang leaders. It meant "leader" in Japanese, nothing offensive or subservient, but it was used by low rank. He couldn't understand why Gan, someone certainly entitled to use Akago's name, would resort to using a word of respect instead. Was it anger? Was it spite? He wasn't sure, but it didn't bode well in his stomach.

Sesshomaru, who'd been taking a break at the bar near the back, sipped his beer leisurely as he examined the expression on Akago's face. "Fascinating," was all he said.

Akago turned at the word, eyes decidedly far away. "What?"

"The way you two fight is fascinating. Anyone else in this room would've thrown wrenches around and raised their voices to five million decibals, but not you and Gan. You resorted to using underhanded verbal techniques to appear hurt by his lack of information and he, in turn, called you Toumoku. Fascinating."

Sesshomaru took a heavy seat beside Akago, who sighed, rubbing the back of his neck in a decidedly bitter manner. "How is it that after four years of close companionship, you can be thick as thieves with someone and still standing on two different continents?"

"I know not, Akago."

"GOD FUCKIN' DAMMIT!"

This outburst was immediately followed by the ear shattering clang of a tool hitting the concrete, obviously the product of one of Inuyasha's famous rage explosions. Both Akago and Sesshomaru turned boredly to face the noise, watching as Inuyasha hopped madly about with his fists clenched. The hanyou's eyes were squeezed shut as he shouted several curse words in ancient dog speak, some which elicited giggles from Shitora, but Kagome only rolled her eyes and continued searching for the 3mm wrench Sango had requested from the tool box.

"Why doesn't this piece o' shit ever WORK?!" Inuyasha screamed irately, pointing accusingly at his Lamborghini Diablo, which seemed to smile smugly through its dull red paint job, open hood almost like a laughing mouth.

Miroku walked over to the car, glancing down at its spaghetti parts with a calculative eye. "What's the problem this time, Yash?"
"Everything's the problem! The engine, the caruburetor, the fuel injection, the oil circulation, all of it! None of those things are fucking working and I can't fucking fix it!" He yelled in responsed.

By this time, the others had begun to wander over and they assembled around the open hood, staring down at it with vehement eyes; after all these years, they still couldn't amass enough knowledge to get the Lamborghini running and it was a blow to their pride. Kouga, forever reasonable, mentioned, "We've all had a go at this thing and still nothing. I dunno what to do to it anymore."

There were murmurs of agreement as Sesshomaru and Akago joined the group, exchanging glances with the others. Ayame said, "I mean, the thing's got a carburetor, for Kami's sake! I don't know a mechanic out there besides my dad who even knows what a carburetor does, they haven't used them for at least a decade and a half."

A brief silence came over the group as they all puzzled over the car before Bankotsu suggested, "Maybe you should call your old man up, Aya, have him come take a look at it."

Ayame shrugged. "Eh, he's great with caruburetors, but shod with engines."

"My dad's the engine specialist," Miroku said wryly. "Apparently that's all he did back in the day, he just sat there fixing engines."

"Our dad was the same," Ranbou interjected, speaking for himself and Kouga. "'Cept all he worked on was fuel systems. How boring is that shit? That's like one sixtieth of the car, the fuel system, and that's all he did."

Inuyasha growled apologetically, "Don't worry about it, all our old man can do anymore is change the oil in his fuckin' car. Lame shit. They're all ex-Fangs and they can't do shit with a car."

As the boys brooded over this fact, Kagome raised an eyebrow and said helpfully, "Well, why don't you just call up your dads? It sounds like they could fix the Diablo together."

Several humorless laughs met this insinuation and Ranbou turned with a sour smile on his face to address Kagome. "Nice try princess. Our dad's are Yakuza," he began, gesturing to himself and Miroku, "they're dad's an oil mogul," he continued, throwing a hand at Inuyasha and Sesshomaru, "and her dad's got a business of his own that takes all the time he's got," he finished, glancing over at Ayame. "We never see our dads and we don't plan on it. Especially not in this warehouse."

"There's no harm in calling, right?" Kagome pressed, looking around at her skeptical friends.

Ayame rubbed the back of her head absently, replying, "Well, I could call him-"

"-so could I-"

"-and me-"

"-me too-"

"-but he wouldn't come," the sons and daughters finished lamely, looking almost sad by the fact.

"Just try!" Kagome urged, smiling encouragingly; Sango hid a smile as her friends unconciously tried to patch up family relationship in the Taishos, Ookamis, Saitous and Houshis. It was a very Kaogme-like urge and made her want to smile quite badly, but she knew the others would find this patronizing.

Sesshomaru glanced around at his frozen friends, who appeared almost terrified by the idea of calling their fathers, and he decided to start the trend; if the Lamborghini wasn't fixed soon, Inuyasha would be almost unbearable and the races would become harder and harder to win; the other gangs were constantly acquiring new cars while the Fangs simply relied on revamping their old ones. They'd been winning steadily thus far, but there was no telling how long they would survive without new meat on the track.

Whipping out his phone in a confident manner, Sesshomaru scrolled down his contact list and pulled up his father's cell phone number, dialing it promptly. The others watched him doing this in a sort of silent fascination, exchanging glances; was he actually calling his father?

"Dad? It's Sesshomaru."

Maybe he was.

Inutaisho was currently standing in the Tokyo airport waiting for his baggage to arrive at the claim belt. His handsome face contorted with a look of surprise as he heard his eldest son's voice on the line; was Sesshomaru actually calling of his own volition? Perhaps he'd been kidnapped and the vagrants were asking for a ransom.

"Sesshomaru? Is everything alright?"

"Yes, fine, nothing dangerous going on...now. I'm actually calling to enlist your expertise."

This certainly was not what Inutaisho expected from his son, or frankly, any of his children, for they were indeed an independent and private bunch of kids, bitter at their father for never being home and likewise bitter from their mothers' early deaths. They rarely spoke even when Inutaisho was in town, nevertheless when he was out on business. And now Sesshomaru wanted to "enlist his expertise?" Exactly where did his "expertise" lay?

"My expertise? What ones are those?"

"Oil expertise of the vehicular kind. Do you remember that Lamborghini Diablo Inuyasha acquired some years ago? We bought all those parts for it, tried to fix it from the ground up?"

Blinking, Inutaisho recalled the car. "Yes, I think I do. Still not running?"

"No, but getting closer. The oil circulation has a glitch that we can't seem to find and we were wondering if you wanted to come...help."

Silent for a moment, Inutaisho wondered briefly if his son was quite well. Now he was asking for help? Inutaisho had always expected the apocolypse to come after his death, not during his life. "Well, I suppose I could. I'm waiting to get my bags at the airport, just got back in town."

"You're kidding."

Inutaisho cocked one slender silver eyebrow. "I certainly am not. Why?"

But before Sesshomaru could answer the question, there was a great deal of talking and commotion on his end of the line and a few clicks as the phone obviously passed hands. Inutaisho's ear was then accosted by the harsh sound of Inuyasha's voice. "Old man, you're acutally in town? No shit!"

Inutaisho sighed. "Thanks, son. Yes, just got back. Having trouble with your car?"

"Not trouble, just problems."

"Right. Well, I'll head over as soon as I can."

"Really? Wow. Um, thanks dad."

"Not a problem Inuyasha. I'm actually flattered you're asking for my help, seeing as though you're more well versed in mechanics than I ever was. Not even Shitora could fix it?"

Inuyasha snorted. "She never offered to help. 'Sides, all she knows about is motorcycles."

Inutaisho could hear an outraged huff in the background noise, screaming something like "that's bullshit," before the phone passed hands yet again. This time Shitora came on the line, saying quickly, "I do not, I know plenty about cars, but I tried to give them my help! And it worked, they just wouldn't take it again!"

"Hello, Shitora. Settling in alright?"

"Fine. You're really coming?"

"Yes, I am. What about the rest of the car, then? All that working?"

"Ha, this piece of shit working? No way. Not even close."

Inutaisho snorted. "Oh, so the oil is only part of the problem." His luggage came around on the belt and he grabbed it deftly in one strong arm, lifting it as though it weighed nothing. The other passengers stared enviously at the man as they struggled to remove their bags from the belt, watching him as he hurried through the sliding doors, still talking on his cell phone.

"Part of the problem? More like one piece of the puzzle. I mean, this thing's so old that its still got a carburetor."

"Well, the only one who knows about that sort of thing is Taizen, have you called him yet?"

At the mention of Ayame's father, Shitora gave a short, barking laugh and replied, "We're about to. We're calling Ranbou and Kouga's dad for fuel systems and Miroku's dad for engines. It's like a dad party."

Inutaisho laughed as he hailed a cab and took the phone away from his mouth, saying, "4425 Osaki drive, please." After loading his luggage in the back of the taxi, Inutaisho stepped inside the back seat and continued his conversation. "Kibishii and Yamato, huh? I haven't talked to Yamato in years, but last I heard Kibi was off to America for business again. Of course, that's what he told me, but he always gives me tame information to ease my nerves."

Shitora laughed a little. "I'm pretty sure he's actually in America. Isn't he Bo? You're dad's in America, right?"

Ranbou shrugged. "He was supposed to get in yesterday, but I don't know where he is. So...no idea."

"He doesn't know," Shitora relayed to her father. "He was supposed to get in yesterday."

Inutaisho sighed and massaged his temples as he wondered where his best friend of thirty three years could possibly be. Though Kibishii tried his best to disguise the details from Inutaisho, word got around well enough exactly what the wolf assassin was up to. Inutaisho knew that Kibishii was a man of his word and, if he said he was supposed to arrive in town yesterday, he probably had. It was now only a question of where he was.

"Did he come home last night?"

"I'll check." Shitora placed one hand over the speaker and glanced over at Ranbou; the others were crowded around the phone, trying to hear what Inutaisho was saying, and the scene was rather comical, though no one dared laugh. "Bo, did your dad come home last night?"

Clearing his throat, Ranbou looked down at his crossed arms, seeming nervous. "I didn't go home last night, baby girl, I don't know."

There was a brief silence as Shitora realized he'd been carrying out an assassination the previous night. Of whom, she wasn't sure, but she was fairly used to the idea; she only wished he could've told her. Glancing over at Kouga, she asked, "Ko? Did he come home last night?"

"Well, I wasn't there either," Kouga said levelly, trying to hide his blush as Ayame likewise looked away from the searching glances of her friends.

Shitora snickered and uncovered the mouth piece. "Um, dad? They don't know."

"I see. Well, I'll get in touch with him and bring him with me, if that's alright."

"Yeah, that's fine," Shitora replied, furrowing her brow. Her father almost sounded worried about Kibishii, though she was unused to her father worrying about anything. Especially her and her brothers. "See you when you get here."

"Bye, baby."

Shitora hung up the phone and snorted, tossing it to Sesshomaru, who caught it deftly. "He called me baby. What right does he have to call me baby?"

"He's coming, right?" Inuyasha asked grumpily, changing the subject away from his father.

"Yeah, he's gonna grab Bo and Ko's dad on the way, too," Shitora replied, shaking away thoughts of Inutaisho.

Kouga let out a breath of relief. "I've gotta thank him some time."

Miroku sighed, reaching into his pocket and withdrawing his cell phone. "Well, guess I'm next."

"Me too," Ayame said with the same sort of defeated tone.

The two parted ways, walking away from the crowd unlike the Taisho children; their relationships with their fathers were too weird for them to live in the public eye, or so they felt. Miroku's father answered the phone on the first ring.

"Houshi."

"Dad, it's me."

"Oh, Miroku m'boy, what can I do for you?"

"Actually dad, we're having an engine problem at the shop and we wondered if you could help us out," Miroku replied, eyes reflecting a sort of longing his father couldn't see.

Yamato Houshi reclined back in his leather office chair, home after a long while away in France. "Me help you? I don't know, Roku, you're better with a car than I ever was."

"But you're better with engines."

Sighing, the Yakuza boss glanced at the nail on his thumb, sunlight streaming through the windows of his mansion office. "Hell, I guess I might as well. Might brush up my knowledge, who knows when you might need it, right?"

"Right," Miroku replied with a small smile; talking to his father was normally quite awkward and this time wasn't any different. His father was so smooth, Miroku constantly felt like Yamato was trying to coax him into a deal. It was just the way of a Yakuza boss, Miroku supposed, but that didn't make conversations any less of a trial.

"I'll come on down now, how's that?"

"Fine, dad. Thanks a lot."

"Anything for you, son."

And with that, one of the rare Houshi Father-Son talks came to a close and Miroku pocketed his phone, taking a deep breath. That was relatively painless, he thought, cocking his head to the side. Of course, nothing's painless when it comes to my dad.

Ayame's relationship with her father was perhaps the best of her friends, seeing as though he was in town at all times. The only fault in their lives together lay in his constant adherence to work; with so many children to support, Taizen Saitou couldn't help but be away from home nearly 350 days a year. He came home on the odd holiday, but most of his time was spent at his self-owned mechanic shop in the heart of Tokyo, pulling in as much money as possible.

The phone rang three times before Taizen answered. The wolf demon was currently wiping his hands on a grease rag, face smudged with black and muscles glistening with sweat. "Yeah?"

"Dad, it's Ayame."

Taizen smiled brightly, fangs glowing. "Hey, Aya! What are you up to?"

"Not much," Ayame replied, grinning madly; she loved talking to her father and wished she could do so more often.

"Are you at work right now, aikou?" Taizen asked, using his immortal pet name for Ayame; aikou, the Japanese word for love, had always been his favorite word for his daughter.

"Yeah," Ayame said, twisting a long red curl around her finger. "Dad, I was just calling cause we're having trouble with Inuyasha's Lamborghini and its got a carburetor and we don't know what to do with the thing, its impossible to fix. Can you come help?"

Glancing around his busy shop, Taizen noted the number of workers and raised his eyebrows, pleasantly surprised. "Actually, aikou, I think I can probably do that. We're overstaffed today, somehow. I guess my guys felt guilt and decided to show up for work."

Ayame's grin widened, if that was possible. "Really?! Great! We're at the warehouse."

"Alright, I'll be right over."

Ayame hung up the phone and nearly jumped for joy; she hadn't seen her father for a few days and was anxious to talk to him. They talked about everything, odds and ends, philosophy, their ideas on politics, but it didn't matter what they talked about in the end. Just seeing her father made Ayame's day a little bit better.

"Well, my dad's in," she reported as she rejoined the group congregated around the Lamborghini.

"My dad too, surprisingly," Miroku agreed, arriving simultaneously.

Everyone looked mildly dazed, as though surprised that the fathers were convening on such a day, altogether, in the same place. Kagome smiled triumphantly as her plan came together; it looked as though the four ex-Fangs could set aside their schedules long enough to help their children, in any case.

Inuyasha sighed and retrieved the wrench he'd flung down in his anger several minutes before. "Guess I'll try to sort out my own shit until they get here."

The crowd began to disperse, quietly and slowly, until they'd returned to their work, beginning to chat idly in their stupor. Ranbou rubbed at his eyes, feeling a headache coming on as he wondered where his father could be. A slender hand on his bicep alerted him of Shitora's presence as she smiled up at him, amber eyes calm and cool.

"Worried about your old man?"

Ranbou snorted, replied obstinantly, "Of course not. That bastard can take care o' himself just fine."

Shitora wrapped her arms around his waist, grinning slyly. "Sure he can, but it doesn't stop you worrying, does it?"

The wolf demon sighed, tan face belying his inner stress. "Naw, I guess not."

"C'mon, let's go work on the Ducati; it didn't turn out at Race Wars like I thought it would," Shitora said, giving Ranbou an out; she knew he disliked talking about his feelings.

Returning her smile, Ranbou kissed the top of her silver head gratefully. "Good idea."

Inutaisho yawned widely, wishing momentarily that he'd gotten more sleep the night before; he'd been too busy negotiating terms with a rival CEO to think about his own wellbeing. His house smelled of garlic and stewing tomatoes as he hurried down the stairs, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. He couldn't remember the last time he'd worn something other than a suit, but it felt nice to do so. Glancing inside the kitchen, he saw Kaede's back bent over the stove as she stirred her home made marinara sauce, obviously readying dinner for her hungry children.

"Good day, Inutaisho," she said without turning, voice laced with wise undertones. It seemed as though everything she said could be turned into a piece of advice and Inutaisho had always loved it, even when she'd been taking care of him as a child.

"Good day, Kaede. I'm going to help the kids with a car problem at the warehouse, but we should be home for supper."

Kaede turned, smiling pleasantly. "You should bring friends with you; I've got enough dinner for at least twenty. I'm clearing the cupboards of food, seeing as though hardly anyone actually eats here anymore."

"Twenty? Kami," Inutaisho mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck embarrassedly. Were they really home that little? "Well, I'll see what I can do. I'll call before we come so you know what to expect."

With this, he hurried out the door and Kaede smiled wryly. "I never know what to expect in this house, but thank you," she said somewhat to herself and somewhat to Inutaisho's retreating foosteps.

Inutaisho pulled open the garage, finding first that the spring was broken once again, and started the engine of his beautiful blue Lotus convertible, which hadn't been run in many a day. It hummed to life, giving Inutaisho that familiar warmth, before he backed out and started on the road to the Ookami house. The Taishos and the Ookamis had always been close and lived at a likewise small distance, but the most he heard from Kibishii these days was in their weekly thirty minutes phone calls. He couldn't be certain, but he was worried that Kibishii was deeper in the Yakuza than he should've been and that never boded well.

He arrived at Kibishii's house in five minutes time and observed the freshly cut grass; obviously, Kouga and Ranbou didn't let everything go totally to sod when their father was away. Inutaisho knocked sharply on the door, waiting for a sign of life from inside, but receiving none. A quick sniff proved that Kibishii had entered the house in the past twelve hours and the dog demon frowned, absently turning the knob of the door. The silver haired man jumped slightly as the door swung inwards, unlocked. With a suspicious look around, he crossed the threshold.

Sunlight flooded the house, though none of the inside lights were on; without the door blocking his way, Inutaisho could clearly smell traces of fresh blood and he grimaced. He hadn't smelt such a scent since his gang days. It was one of sweat, battle, blood and anger; somehow, it invigorated him.

"Kibi?" he called out, walking into the living room and searching around for his friend. "Kibishii, are you in here?"

Though no one answered, Inutaisho could hear ragged breathing coming from the bedroom and he furrowed his brow, pushing the slightly ajar door aside.

Kibishii lay on the bed, asleep on his back, not even under the sheets; there were several gashes on his chest, though none of them serious enough to warrant serious medical attention, and another on his cheek, crossing the bridge of his nose to his pointed ear. Inutaisho strode over to the bed, shaking his head mildly at the wolf demon's state.

"Kibi, wake up," he commanded, shaking the man's shoulder gently.

Groaning, Kibishii coughed and opened one crimson red eye, staring up at Inutaisho for a moment before recognizing his friend. His eyes were soon wide with surprise, eyebrows low over his gaze. "Taisho? What're you doin' here?"

"I came to find you on your sons' behalfs," Inutaisho replied wryly. "They didn't know where you were."

Kibishii snorted. "Only in my house sleeping. If they'd been home last night, they woulda known that. Those two are probably here less than me."

"They need help at the warehouse with Inuyasha's Diablo," Inutaisho said, obviously unimpressed by Kibishii's brief fatherly rant. "And what the hell happened to you?"

Kibishii sat up stiffly, rubbing his sore, naked chest with one clawed hand. "A stubborn ass who wouldn't die, that's what happened. But he's dead now." The wolf demon stretched and yawned animalistically, back arching like a cat, before he wandered lazily to the chest of drawers and put on a black wife beater with his jeans. "So they need help at the shop from little old me?"

"Little old us," Inutaisho corrected, watching his friend crack his knuckles routinely. Kibishii's tan, rugged face, marred by the cut, still looked the ripe age of twenty five, as did the rest of him. Inutaisho knew he too looked younger than he was, but all demons aged in such a manner. "They're great mechanics, but they're just kids."

"Maybe your kids are kids, but my kids are men," Kibishii replied, grinning broadly.

Inutaisho rolled his eyes, standing from the bed and pushing Kibishii out the foor in front of him. "That's your first mistake, Kibi, thinking they don't need you anymore."

Almost pouting, Kibishii whined slightly as Inutaisho pushed him bodily out the front door, closing it behind him. "What the hell's that supposed to mean?"

"Just get in the car, you lazy fuck," Inutaisho replied in a joking manner, shoving Kibishii playfully as the wolf demon grinned as well. It seemed that a long time away hadn't stilted their life long relationship like they supposed.

A silver Jaguar convertible pulled up in front of the warehouse, driving smoothly along the gravel, until the driver cut the engine. Yamato Houshi stepped boldly into the sun, sunglasses reflecting the awesome light which shone from the sky. He was a well built man in his mid thirties, black hair not even showing a trace silver. He kept it in a high ponytail which contrasted starkly with his porcelain white face, looks which he'd passed on to Miroku. His eyes were a shimmering green; Miroku's violet eyes were from his late mother.

Yamato locked his car and pocketed the keys, stretching boredly; he was glad to be away from his tiresome work. Being a tyrannical mob boss wasn't as easy as others made it out to be. It also felt strange to be in jeans again; hs still wore his typical white button down, short sleeved in the sweltering heat, but jeans felt quite strange on his legs. I guess I really do work too much, he thought to himself.

At this time, a red Toyota Carolla pulled up beside the Jaguar. Taizen Saitou opened the door and stood slowly, still a good six inches shorter than the tall, stately Yamato, and rolled his aching wrists; handling tools for a living could make a body sore. He was wearing a white wife beater with his mechanic's jumpsuit, which he'd half shed in the heat of the day; the arms were now tied around his waist. He had Ayame's startling green eyes and red hair, which he kept in a low ponytail with fringe hanging over his eyes. He was smudged with grease in several places, bulging biceps and shoulders especially dirty, but he seemed not to care; Taizen was always pleasant.

Yamato smiled slightly. "Taizen, fancy meeting you here."

"Yamato!" Taizen exclaimed, grinning in his pleasant way. "Where have you been all this time, my friend?"

"Doing business," was Yamato's mysterious reply. "I must admit, it's been a while since I wore jeans."

Taizen laughed. "Coincidentally, it's been a while since I wore a suit."

Just as he said this, a blue Lotus came roaring up the road, turning in to the gravel parking area at a quick run. When it came to a halt, two figures stepped out of the car, both impressive in the sunlight. Inutaisho removed his sunglasses and sized up the warehouse, as though looking for recent changes, and Kibishii yawned, scratching at his stomach as though he'd just woken up.

"Well if it isn't Inutaisho," Taizen said jovially, leaning on his car top as he smiled at his friend. "And look what the cat dragged in: Kibishii!"

"Ha fucking ha," came Kibishii's bitter snort.

"Long night?" Yamato asked, addressing his personal assassin with an air of amusement.

Kibishii smiled sarcastically, replying, "Longer than I expected, your highness."

"Smartass," Yamato joked, giving Kibishii a grin before turning his own gaze to the warehouse. "Let's do this, boys."

The men walked towards the warehouse together, revelling in each other's company for the first time in years. As they neared the garage, they could make out the sounds of their children working, arguing and going about their business, mixing with the familiar squeal of drills and grind of wrenches. The smell of oil held with it a certain familiarity that warmed their hearts and Inutaisho smiled; finally he was at peace.

"Dammit, wolf, can't you keep your hands off my sister long enough to hold the fucking clamp?!"

The fathers raised their eyebrows and watched as Inuyasha, oblivious to their presence addressed Ranbou with a rageful eye. Ranbou snorted, looming over Inuyasha with his superior height, taller by a good three inches. "I don't wanna hold the fucking clamp, get Kouga to do it."

"I don't wanna do it either, I'm busy," Kouga called, muttering a curse as an oil pocket exploded and covered his right arm in black, slimy liquid.

"Miroku, hold the clamp," Inuyasha ordered, throwing his gaze to his best friend, who was working blithely away under the hood of a Spider Eclipse, recently acquired to replace his old one.

Miroku shook his head. "Not me man, I'm working on a flex plate."

"Someone hold the fucking clamp!" Inuyasha roared, ears twitching madly as his maked chest muscles bulged angrily; he seemed to consistently flex his muscles when in a bad mood.

"I'll hold the fucking clamp!" Shitora screamed, irritated by her brother's increasingly difficult attitude. "God, it's hot!" With this, she ripped off her red wifebeater, literally tearing the thing in two; obviously, the Taisho rage was shared.

Ranbou scowled, roaring, "Oh ya, sure, take all your clothes off, Sukini, throw your boobs around for everyone to see! Great way to manage your anger! Now I'm not gonna be able to concetrate at all!"

"Well, if you'd just held the clamp in the first place-" Inuyasha began, only to be cut off by Shitora.

"Shut up, Inuyasha. Ranbou, we've talked about this. Learn to share me with everyone else, or I'll stick this rear axle beam up your ASS!" The hanyou girl screamed, smacking Ranbou across the chest.

"Hey! I do share you, I'm sharin' you now, look at all these people!" Ranbou argued, throwing his arm across to indicate his crowd of friends.

"Oh yeah, two of them are my brothers and the rest of them might as well be!" Shitora shouted, crossing her arms angrily under her breasts; this only succeeded in pushing them up farther, causing Ranbou's mouth to go dry.

"Let her do what she wants, Ranbou, quite ordering her around," Kouga said, rolling his eyes at his brother's stubborness.

"Thank you!" Shitora exclaimed.

"You stay outta this, you fuckin' asshole!" Ranbou screamed in his brother's direction, the heat taking its toll on his tired body.

In response to this, Kouga merely swung his arm in Ranbou's direction, splattering him with the oil from his arm. Ranbou let out an outraged yell as Shitora burst out laughing and Inuyasha called again, "Hello? The clamp?!"

"I'll hold the clamp Inuyasha, where do you need it," Kagome said peaceably, smiling at her boyfriend in her kind way.

With that one smile, Inuyasha felt his anger begin to slowly drain from his finger tips and he sighed, managing his own small smile. "Thanks babe. Here, right there, hold it steady."

"Sonofabitch!" Ranbou continued, wiping oil from his face.

"Yeah, you deserved it," Kouga snarled, normally passive but abnormally roused by his brother's angry words.

Ayame hurried up behind him, taking him by the bicep of his clean arm. "Kouga, c'mon, don't do something you'll regret, go back to work."

Kouga nodded, giving Ranbou one last angry glance before returning to his work on the car. Ranbou, however, didn't seem ready to let the fight go. He made as though to charge after his brother, only to find himself sprawled across the ground by someone's well placed trip. Sesshomaru snorted, ignoring the slight ache in his foot from tripping Ranbou. "Shut up and stop making trouble, baka yaro."

"Shut up, Sesshomaru!" Ranbou shouted, hurrying to his feet, obviously in a blind rage. "I'll do whatever I fuckin' want! Don't act like you're above me!"

"Don't act like you're below me," Sesshomaru returned curtly. "And act your age while you're at it."

"Well keep your sister in her clothes!" Ranbou shot back, pointing to Shitora, who was in her leather pants and black bra, just like most of the girls in the warehouse.

At her name, Shitora looked up and scowled, screaming, "Oh my god, look at my boobs! Everyone look! I'm flaunting myself and acting like a slut!" With this she began jumping up and down, causing her breasts to bounce with her movement, and shook her chest wildly. "I'm such a whore, everyone look!"

Inutaisho's eyes were roughly the size of dinner plates and Kibishii had since covered his eyes with his right hand, both of them wondering what had become of their children in their absence. Yamato exchanged glances with Taizen, who looked decidedly amused by the goings on.

"Reminds me of us back in the day," Taizen said fondly, slipping into old memories.

"How true," Yamato agreed, grinning at Inutaisho and Kibishii's expressions. "They've just forgotten how like their children they were."

At this point, Sesshomaru glanced out at the parking lot, taking in the three parked cars and moving his gaze to inspect the four men standing before the warehouse, observing the goings on from a distance. The Fang leader showed no signs of embarassment, only the slightest twitch of his nose, before he called, "Come on in."

The motion in the warehouse seemed to stop as the others turned quickly at these words, taking in the sight of the four fathers standing in the gravel. Shitora's bouncing dance stopped rather abruptly, followed quickly by the crimson blush of her cheeks, and Ranbou's anger subsided almost instantly as he stared, eyes wide and mouth agape, at his father.

The four men walked the rest of the distance to the warehouse, crossing onto the concrete and joining Sesshomaru near Inuyasha's car. The others still watched with wide eyes as the ex-Fangs glanced around the warehouse, seeming more intrigued than anything.

Inutaisho glanced down at Shitora, raising one eyebrow in his scrutiny. "Hi, Shitora. Did I catch you at a bad time?"

The girl had since covered her face with her hands and she finally replied, "Guess you could say that."

Kibishii also turned to Ranbou, saying sardonically, "An' I got to watch you pickin' a fight with your brother, Inuyasha, Sesshomaru and Shitora at the same time. That takes talent, son."

The boy cleared his throat, ice blue eyes reflecting his embarassment. "Uh, yeah. Hey dad."

This awkward moment was cut off as Ayame exclaimed, "Daddy!" and came running at Taizen, leaping into his outstretched arms as he laughed joyfully. "Aikou! How are you, baby?"

"I'm great!" she replied, grinning widely.

This interraction broke the ice and Yamato chuckled. "At least someone's a little glad to see their father."

"Hey, old man, I'm glad to see you, I'm just covered in shit," Miroku said jokingly as he walked over, indeed smudged with a good amount of grease. "Flex plates."

Yamato ruffled Miroku's hair fondly, booming laugh echoing throughout the warehouse. "I know how it is, son. Good to see you."

"Hey dad," Kouga said tiredly, managing a smile as he lumbered over, arm still covered in oil.

Kibishii chuckled, giving his youngest son a hearty pat on the back. "Hey boy. What's that you're workin' on over there?"

"A Civic with a transmission problem, it's hell," Kouga replied, rolling his eyes as recalled the numerous issues surrounding Suikotsu's infamous yellow Honda Civic.

"I bet it is," Kibishii said conversationally, managing a smile as he turned his attention to Ranbou. "Ah, lighten up kid, it's a hot day. Just quit bein' a dick head."

Ranbou nodded, quirking a smile in his father's direction; the two were quite a bit alike and his father normally understood his strange actions more than anyone else; too bad he wasn't home enough to help. "Yeah, I will."

"Right then," Inutaisho said, clapping his hands together strongly. "How about this car?"

Inuyasha snapped out of his trance and stuttered, "R-right, yeah. Okay, so the engine is at a mark of...um..."

"2.0," Kagome filled in for him, coming up behind him and giving him a discreet but encouraging back rub.

Just her touch reminded Inuyasha how confident he was and he continued, "Right, 2.0. The fuel injection's a mess, the bearings are gone, the oil won't circulate and the screws are...um...-"

"-3mm right now, but we tried a 2mm on the intake and the valve runs smoother, so we were thinking a 2mm on the rods," Kagome continued, realizing that Inuyasha's words were failing him.

Inutaisho, who had been examining the car's insides as Inuyasha talked, glanced up when Kagome began to speak. He observed the girl for a moment before smiling and reaching out a hand. "I don't believe we've met. I'm Inutaisho, Inuyasha, Sesshomaru and Shitora's father."

"Nice to meet you sir, I'm Kagome Higurashi-"

"-my girlfriend," Inuyasha interrupted, smiling at Kagome as she shook hands with his father. Inutaisho recognized the look in Inuyasha's eye almost instantly and he smiled to himself, nodding at the two.

"A beautiful woman with brains to match, Inuyasha," he said approvingly. "While I'm at it, Sesshomaru, are you still going out with Rin?"

Sesshomaru smiled slightly. "Of course."

"Mhmm," Inutaisho mused. "And you, Shitora? Do you have some ridiculously meat-headed and large, frightening boyfriend for me to meet?"

Shitora snorted, crossing her arms angrily across her chest as she scowled. "Yes."

Inutaisho blinked, turning his full attention to his only daughter as she gestured boredly to Ranbou, who was standing blithely beside his father. When Inutaisho turned his stunned gaze upon the eldest Ookami boy, he couldn't help but feel slightly cheated; and here he thought Shitora hated that boy. Of course, by the way they were arguing before, he could hardly doubt it. Ranbou glanced over at Shitora, who met his gaze fearlessly, and Kibishii raised his eyebrows; he knew that look just as Inutaisho did, Kibishii more so than his friend. While the wolf and his wife had led a tumultuous relationship, they'd still loved each other deeply. It was a wonder her death hadn't killed him too.

"Sir," Ranbou said with a nod, reaching out a hand to shake Inutaisho's.

But the silver haired man only laughed, throwing his arms open wide and taking Ranbou in a manly hug. "Come now, Ranbou, I put training wheels on your bicycle; don't call me 'sir.'"

Ranbou breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at Inutaisho, grateful for such a warm showing. Shitora, during all of this, had turned to Kibishii, who gave her one of the famous Ookami grins. "You're a saint, Tora, a fucking saint. How you put up with my stupid son I'll never know."

"Hey!" Ranbou said indignantly, crossing his strong arms over his chest.

But Kibishii paid his son's indignation no mind, only slapping him heartily on the back as the men returned their attention to the car.

Yamato glanced at the engine, sizing up a few things before he murmured, "I can fix that, it's just going to take a few hundred dollars. Can't you just replace it?"

"No," Inuyasha said quickly. "I want that engine."

Shrugging, Yamato repeated, "Well, yeah, I can fix that."

"That carburetor was installed wrong, ladies and gentlemen," Taizen announced, running his hand over the part. "It's backwards."

Inuyasha flat palmed his forehead, wondering why headaches always seemed to accompany this vehicle. "Backwards. Right."

"But that's not all. That rod is cracked and those distributors are...well, distributed wrong."

"And..." Kibishii began, leaning inside the open hood, "the fuel system is the wrong year to support the injection tubes. Those parts don't have the right consistency to work together."

"Why not?" Kouga asked confusedly. "I installed those months ago and they fit fine."

"Well, sure they fit, Ko, it's just that their slopes have a single millimeter's difference. It causes your fuel to run at a different angle, meaning differences everywhere, you get me?" Kibishii explained, speaking seriously with his son.

"We had the same problem with a lot of our cars back in the early eighties," Inutaisho explained, "back when they change the standards, the bodies and the measurements. It's all about consistency, guys, remember that. And the oil system..." the dog demon continued, leaning inside the car as Kibishii had done. He was silent for a minute and finally leaned out, saying, "That oil system wasn't made for this car, was it?"

Miroku shrugged. "I had to put it together from scratch, it wasn't a good cash time."

"Well, I commend you Miroku, it's a fine oil system, just not for this car. You should save it for later use," Inutaisho said with a smile. "You kids got farther on this car than we ever would have."

The other men nodded their agreement, looking pleasantly surprised by the Lamborghini's advanced state. "I can have the carburetor fixed in a few hours," Taizen announced.

"And that engine shouldn't take me two hours," Yamato reported.

Kibishii said, "That fuel system oughta be ready in an hour."

"And the oil system is going to take a bit of work," Inutaisho said with a decidedly concetrated look on his face. "I'll have to build a new one."

"A new one?" Inuyasha asked, dismayed. "Man, this fucking sucks!"

"No, what would've fucking sucked would've been not ever fixing it," Kouga replied, feeling suddenly at ease now that he knew what was wrong with the Lamborghini. As a mechanic, it had always nagged him at the back of his mind, not knowing what the matter was. But now he felt a calm wash over him, letting his nerves go. It was positively liberating.

"Can't argue with that," Inuyasha agreed, rubbing the back of his head absent mindedly.

"Alright, we're going to get started," Yamato said, smiling at the surrounding gang members. "Just give us a tool box and take a break; you guys deserve it."

Glancing around at one another, the gang members exchanged glances before looking unconciously towards their leaders for permission to take a break. Inutaisho hid a smile and nudged Kibishii, who nodded with a smile of his own; they remembered gang members looking to them for approval. Ranbou shrugged and said to the present Reikons, "Take a break, have a beer or somethin'."

Rin nodded to the Wildcats, "All of you can break."

"Sure, go on," Bankotsu said, grinning.

Sesshomaru, however, seemed to consider the matter for a moment before he addressed the Fangs. "Keep working, you four. We have orders to finish."

Though the other Fangs gave silent groans, they nodded and did as they were told. Sesshomaru was their leader and they respected his authority to such a point; if he said keep working, they would work until their fingers bled. The fathers seemed unalarmed by Sesshomaru's order and only returned to their work, grabbing tools and looking around for the necessary parts. In a moment's time, they were lost in their work.

Kagome took a sip of her Corona and sighed, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand. It was certainly a hot day, though Tokyo summers were always this way. Rin perched her rear end on the edge of the filing table and removed her wifebeater, tossing it carelessly over her shoulder where it landed on a few tax files.

"This summer went by fast," she commented dryly, licking her lips as she took a sip from her own beer.

Kagome snorted. "I can't tell what happened exactly, but I've never had a summer this exciting in my life."

"I bet not," Rin joked. "You were boring back in the day."

"Gee, thanks," came Kagome's sarcastic reply. "Though I can't argue, I guess. But who could really stay boring around here? Honestly! I think you could put a bunch of boring computer geeks in this warehouse, give them a wrench, and turn them into...well, them," she said, gesturing towards the busily working fathers with her beer. "I know this is kinda sick, since he's my boyfriends father and they're my friends fathers, but they're really hot."

Rin nodded blissfully, never removing her eyes from the obliviously toiling men. "Amen to that. At least we know all of the guys will age well, ne?"

"Couldn't agree more."

At this point, Kibishii grumbled something about the heat and removed his wifebeater, tucking it half in and half out of his jean pocket. Kagome and Rin sighed simultaneously as the men began peeling their shirts off, mumbling agreements with Kibishii as they continued their work on the Diablo.

"Dude, are you checking out my dad?"

Both girls jumped slightly as Ranbou joined them on the table, eyebrow raised questioningly. Before Rin could say a word, Kagome replied easily, "Absolutely. Who isn't?"

Ranbou took this opporunity to glance over at Ayame and Sango, who were silently sitting in the couch area drinking beers, watching the four fathers' every movement. Ranbou rolled his eyes and said plantively, "They only look like that cause they don't age like humans."

"Miroku's dad does," Rin pointed out.

"Yeah, well he was barely just a kid when he had Miroku. He ain't even 40 yet."

"How old was he?" Kagome asked curiously, turning her attention to Ranbou.

The Reikon leader shrugged, absently unsticking his ponytail from the sweat on his neck. "Eh, maybe 16, 17. That'd barely make him 35 anyways."

"17?!" Kagome gasped, brown eyes wide.

Rin nodded affirmatively. "Yamato met his wife, Kogane, when they were kids in the gang. They went out for like three years before having Miroku and even then, they stayed in the gang. My dad told me that everyone knew they'd make it, even though Yamato was kinda angry and stubborn. Kogane was the most beautiful girl in the Wildcats and she always kept Yamato in check. It's really a romantic story when you tell it full out, but my dad doesn't like to talk about it anymore."

"Why not?" Kagome asked, brow furrowing cutely. Ranbou's face changed with a ghost of a smile; no wonder Inuyasha fell for a girl like Kagome. The simplest movement from her was fascinating.

Rin averted her gaze slightly, managing to raise it towards Yamato as he wrenched tirelessly away at a screw, eyes blank with focus. "Because Kogane was killed when Miroku was only eight. I still remember it, going to her funeral and everything."

"Killed?" Kaogme whispered breathlessly, heart almost breaking in two. "Poor Miroku. How did it happen?"

Ranbou sighed, saying gruffly, "Mistaken identity murder. Some Yakuza hitmen were looking for the wife of a rival to kill and they looked a lot alike; they shot her with a semi-automatic in the head about twenty times."

Kagome found herself physically unable to close her mouth as she sat there digesting this information, unable to even fathom losing a parents in such a manner. Shot in the head? "But I thought Miroku's father was Yakuza."

"He wasn't back then; he got into all of it trying to get revenge on Kogane's murderers. And he did. They were found one month later, dismembered in a back alley downtown," Rin said, voice devoid of emotion; she'd obviously blocked the outlet from her head to her heart when it came to the horrific event.

Kagome swallowed with slight difficulty. "Miroku's dad...cut them apart?"

"No," Ranbou interrupted quietly. "My dad cut them apart."

Kagome turned to observe Ranbou, who was sitting with his legs hanging over the edge of the table, eyes angled downwards at the stained concrete. He had an almost unreadable look on his face, one which guarded his true feelings on the matter; he seemed to be genuinely unfeeling towards it, though Kagome knew Ranbou better. He had an opinion on everything and this couldn't possibly be any different.

"So, they were friends? Your dad and Miroku's dad?"

"Yeah," Ranbou replied, lighting a new cigarette off the end of his old one with a sigh. "They were friends during their gang days and so were their wives, so they helped each other out. Or at least that's kinda how it work out."

Kagome decided that, based on Ranbou's tone, this portion of the conversation was closed and he wished to discuss it no further. She took the discussion in a different direction. "So, were they all leaders or what?"

"Well," Rin began, glancing at the fathers as they worked, "Inutaisho was leader of the Fangs and Kibishii was leader of the Reikons; they were best friends since birth. Then Yamato was Inutaisho's second and Taizen was part of the Fang core. They were pretty unstoppable back in their day, or so Kei told us."

"Was Kei there?" Kagome asked incredulously; Kei hardly looked that old.

"Yeah, he was young, though," Ranbou replied. "He was appointed by Inutaisho as the next leader and Nanashi was appointed by Izayoi."

The name sounded familiar, though Kagome couldn't quite place it. "Izayoi?"

"Inuyasha and Shitora's mother. She was one tough woman, but she died when Shitora was only two or three, I think," Ranbou said with a sigh. "I don't really remember her. All I know is that she was the best leader the Wildcats ever saw, right Rin?"

"That's what I can tell from the records," Rin conceeded, smiling fondly at the vague memory of Inuyasha's mother. "Sesshomaru never talks about her, but he's got a hinged picture frame in his room with his mother's picture and Izayoi's side by side. I think he thought of them both as his mother."

"Wait...so Inuyasha's dad must've remarried really fast, right? Sesshomaru and Inuyasha are, like, super close in age," Kagome said confusedly.

At this point, Ranbou and Rin exchanged glances. "Well, um, that's a different part of the story," Rin said nervously, pushing her fingertips distractedly together.

But before she could bring the conversation to a close, a familiar voice said cooly from behind her, "We're not just super close in age, we're exactly four months apart."

Sesshomaru smiled moderately when Rin jumped, emitting a small shriek of surprise. Placing one hand gingerly over her heart, she gasped, wide eyed, "Sesshomaru, you freaked me the fuck out! Don't do that!"

The Fang leader let out a low chuckle and leaned down, placing a kiss on the top of Rin's still shaking head. "Sorry baby, you know I don't mean to." The man turned his attention to Kagome, who seemed interested in his previous statement; one month apart?

"But if you're one month apart, that means-"

"That my father was sleeping around," Sesshomaru finished, raising one slender eyebrow. "And that is, in fact, not the whole story. My blood mother, Koorisumairu, was in love with my father, but he wouldn't pay her any attention; he was too in love with Izayoi. But my mother would stop at nothing and she used her demonic powers to her advantage; she was a shapeshifter and had the ability to change her appearance to mimic another person. So one night, she disguised herself as Izayoi and seduced my father. All this time he'd been going out with Izayoi and the fact that he'd impregnated another woman devestated him, but Izayoi was a gracious woman and forgave him. They were married on the 14th of January and Inuyasha was born nine months later in September of that year, four months after me."

The dog demon let out a breath and took a seat on the table top, bare chest glistening with a fine layer of sweat. As he sat there, elbows balanced on his knees and a cigarette drooping from his lips, Kagome couldn't help but wonder what he really felt about the situation surrounding his birth. If what Rin said was true, that he had the hinged picture frame of both his "mothers" in his bedroom, did that mean that he loved them both, even the deceitful Koorisumairu?

"Where is your mother now?" Kagome asked tentatively; her insatiable curiosity could not be quenched.

Sesshomaru smiled mildly. "Probably shacking up with a movie star in Hollywood. She moved to California after I was born, leaving me with my father and Izayoi to raise. Father says that my mother and Izayoi reconciled their differences before she left, but I have to wonder if even Izayoi could forgive someone for something like that."

"My mom told me about Koorisumairu before she died," Ranbou mentioned off handedly. "She was part of the Wildcat core, wasn't she Shomo?"

Sesshomaru nodded, reaching back to braid his silken white hair in attempts to keep cool. "She was part of the core under Izayoi, as was Miroku's mother Kogane and Sango's mother Hirata."

Rin moved slightly and reached back her hands, taking over Sesshomaru's arduous braiding with her small hands. "Yeah, Sango's mom told us all about it. She said they were all really good friends. The only problem was that Koorisumairu was in love with Inutaisho and she never told anyone. So he and Izayoi got together before she could confess her feelings...kinda sad."

"That is sad," Kagome replied. "Of course, if not for her, we wouldn't have Sesshomaru."

"Exactly," Rin piped up with a smile.

"And we do looove Sesshomaru," Ranbou said in a sickeningly sweet voice, grinning as he gave Sesshomaru a friendly punch to the shoulder.

Sesshomaru rolled his eyes. "You're an asshole."

"So where's everyone else's parents? I mean, no one ever goes home, it seems like," Kagome mentioned, squinching up her eyes the way she did in times of confusion or wonder.

Another voice entered the conversation, replying, "Well, my dad is there and my mom is with the mitsukai in the sky." Ayame saddled up easily beside Ranbou and leaned back against the counter, sipping her beer casually. Kagome nodded at the mention of the mitsukai, or, the angels. Her father was there, she imagined, probably having tea with Ayame's mother at that exact moment. Who knew who else he dined with in heaven, but Kagome liked to think it was lots of famous people.

"And my mom is probably in our apartment," Sango said as she, too, joined the conversation. "My dad's a worthless drunk and he's probably off somewhere in a gutter by now; he left when I was ten."

"Sorry," Kagome said quietly, as though expressing her condolences for both the girls.

But they only smiled. "Eh, don't worry hun," Ayame said with a grin. "Weird backgrounds is old hat around here. I mean, seriously, we all breast fed on gang life and we turned out fucked up, but everything else is fucked up too, so we all fit in."

Kagome smiled menially; nothing seemed to get these people down. At this moment, Shippo and Souten entered the warehouse, having just arrived from Cobra headquarters where they'd been working for the day. As Shippo walked in, the first thing he saw was the bare backs of four broad shouldered beings, bent over the front end of Inuyasha's Lamborghini Diablo. Frowning, he glanced around and saw no sign of the others.

"Hey you, who are you and what are you doing here?" he asked commandingly, knowing full well that only the gangs were allowed inside the warehouse.

Inutaisho glanced over his shoulder and said easily, "I'm Inuyasha, Sesshomaru and Shitora's father. And you're..." At the sight of Shippo, Inutaisho paused and turned around the face the young boy, whose hair and eyes were telling of his parantage. Smiling, the dog demon said happily, "Shippo! I held you the day you were born."

Snorting, Kibishii turned and said gruffly, "That's creepy, Taish. If I were that kid, I'd turn tail and run right about now. 'Held you the day you were born,' holy crap..."

"Ease up, Kibi," Taizen said with a chuckle, his red hair falling before his face for the upteenth time. "You know how Inutaisho is about children. He remembers all of our kids' birth weights, heights, birthdays and bloodtypes."

"Hey, I don't know bloodtypes," Inutaisho said defensively. "That really would be creepy."

"You know Miroku's birthday?" Yamato asked with a disbelieving look on his face. "I don't believe it."

"December 23rd," came Inutaisho's prompt reply.

"Ew, creepy."

Souten furrowed her brow and cocked her raven black head to the side, crimson eyes alight with wonder. Finally she let out a gasp and exclaimed, "Holy freakin' crap, you're Taizen Saitou!"

Blinking, Taizen turned his emerald green gaze to meet that of an excited young Souten, who was less than half his impressive height. Scratching his head, Taizen bent down and asked confusedly, "Don't you mean, 'Inutaisho' or 'Kibishii' or 'Yamato?' I'm the un-famous one, sweetheart."

"No, no, no!" Souten exclaimed as she hopped excitedly from foot to foot in her tight leather pants, face practically cracking from her smile. "It's you, you set the record for fastest recorded motorcycle race time in 1984! You were riding a Honda CRx-87, right? Right?!"

As Taizen observed the girl with a sort of gentle surprise, Kibishii laughed heartily. "Damn right, kid, we had this name for him back in the day."

"Oh no, we're not going into that," Taizen said quickly, shaking his head while simultaneously rolling his eyes.

But it was too late; the teenagers had heard the commotion and come from the back to investigate, arriving at the front just in time to hear Kibishii's fond remembrance.

"You had a name? What was it, dad?" Ayame asked interestedly.

Yamato gave a ruthless grin. "Oh, it was a good one. Maybe not appropriate for the ladies, but it was a good one."

"What was it? I gotta know now, daddy," Ayame said, tugging on her fathers arm as she pleaded.

Inutaisho rolled his eyes as Kibishii continued to laugh. "Kibi, if you tell them..."

"Taizen the Fast Fuck! A true five minute man," Kibishii roared with laughter, doubling over as Taizen smacked a hand to his forehead in embarassment.

Ayame's face grew abnormally blue and the boys burst out laughing with Kibishii, trying to imagine Ayame's dad as "the Fast Fuck" of the day. Sango snorted, but managed to keep her humor under control for Ayame's sake. Rin and Kagome, however, had no problem with all out hilarity.

Burning a crimson red, Taizen said lowly, "Kibishii, shut the hell up. I was not a Fast Fuck, nor am I now, and I never will be! That was you, with all your women in the back of your pick up."

Laughter ensued once more as Kibishii grew rather red in the face to match his friend. "Hey now, no fair, I settled down eventually. I mean, everyone settles down, no matter how much of a fuck-around they are. I mean, look at Yamato!"

Yamato snorted. "I didn't 'fuck-around,' I just enjoyed the freedom given to be by the government."

Scrunching up his nose, Miroku muttered, "Okay, gross."

"Things we never needed to know about our fathers: Chapter 1," Kouga said sourly as Ranbou gave a curt nod.

Shippo sighed, observing the chaos of laughter and annoyance before him. He should've known what his father said was true: gang life was always full of surprises.

Finally done! This is the longest chapter yet, I think, but it's so fun I couldn't stop writing. Go check out my xanga, all of you!

KOLU