InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Lemonade, Too ❯ Sitting Ducks All In A Row ( Chapter 20 )

Lemonade, Too

 

By Fujifunmum

 

 

Chapter 20: Sitting Ducks All In A Row

 

 

Yash bounded towards the beach, keeping one hand on Tetsusaiga and Tenseiga to steady them as he leaped and ran towards the beach. The swords had started out in the trunk of his Jag, but when he “visited” some of the more ornery demons on his list; it seemed prudent to wear them, so he had tucked them in his belt. It wasn't the most satisfactory way to wear a sword, but if he balanced them with his hand, it kept them from flailing wildly when he moved. The speed of his movements now, as he sped towards the beach, made him clasp them tightly to keep them from either impeding his progress or slipping through his belt entirely.

 

“Shit! I really have to figure out a way to carry these swords better or just chuck `em and start carrying an Uzi.” He snorted as he realized he was muttering to himself. He flexed his claws with his other hand. “Uzi, shit! Maybe I'll just rely on my Hijin Ketsusou and Sankon Tetsusou attacks.” (Claws of Blood and Claws of Steel).

 

Yash's frustration level was increasing as he moved closer to the ocean with no sign of Kagome or Kaede to ward off his increasing feelings of panic and fear. “Where the fuck are they?” He stood, agitated, at the edge of the ocean, not caring if the waves crashed over his shoes or not. His eyes searched this way and that, failing to find either the women or any indication that they had been here. He looked out over the ocean, straining to see if there were any boats or swimmers within view. Nothing was in sight.

 

The sun was setting, casting a golden reddish hue over the entire beach and bringing the darkening shadows that would obscure his search for Kagome - and his enemies. He felt her before she came, distracted as he was, and one sniff confirmed the unwanted presence of grave soil.

 

He turned to face her just as she was reaching for the swords at his side. His turning motion not only tore them out of her hands, but sent her tumbling onto the sand. He looked down at her leather-clad figure and once more covered up the pain in his heart with the disgust he customarily showed her. He crossed his arms over his chest, assuming an all too familiar stance, and glared at her.

 

“What brings you to my beach again, Kikyo? Relocating your corner?”

 

Her impassive expression did not waver, so he relented and offered her a hand up out of the sand. If he was a little rough in setting her upright on her feet again, it would not be the first time, nor would it be the last. His voice sounded tired and resigned, displaying the pain it caused him to see her; a pain he could never admit.

 

“Why are you here, Kikyo?” He kept one hand firmly wrapped around her arm, tempted to rip the black leather to shreds with his claws. His other hand rested on the hilt of Tetsusaiga. He could not have said why, as he knew he could never bring himself to use it on her.

 

“Lost your new bitch already?” Her voice was steady. She was entirely too sure of herself and Yash was starting to become very concerned as to why.

 

“She's with your sister, so she's safe enough for now.” He said it, but he didn't believe it. He wondered if he said it more for her benefit or his own. “None of us will be really safe until the sword is found and contained. Did you think that if you couldn't placate Naraku with Toujikin, you'd let him settle for Tetsusaiga or Tenseiga?” His hold on the two fangs of his father tightened as he spoke. “No fucking way you will ever hold any of the three of them, and if you did, most likely Toujikin would destroy you. Tetsusaiga and Tenseiga would both reject you, since they would recognize you for what you are……..dead.”

 

Her eyes flickered momentarily with the recognition of the truth of his accusation, and then resumed their impassive yet relentless staring into his own golden eyes. “We'll both be dead….sooner or later. I'm hoping for sooner.”

 

He didn't know whether by both she meant the two of them, or if she meant to include Kagome. He didn't ask because he was determined it would never happen. He had failed her too many times. This would not be one of them.

 

He released her arm and snorted. “You're already gone. Why don't you either rest in peace or go live with your sister? You're nothing but a specter of evil in your current state; defiling both your body and your soul.” His voice lowered and his eyes softened just a bit. “That is not something my Kikyo would have done.”

 

She raised her hand as if to slap him, but his reflexes were faster and he caught her arm again before she reached her target.

 

“No chance. You'll have to settle for your usual verbal abuse.” He tugged on her arm and brought her face within inches of his. “This is the last time I'm going to ask, what brings you here, Kikyo?”

 

“The sunset? The chance to visit an old lover without his new love around? The pull of the magic of the swords?” She smiled slightly but her eyes showed no humor. It was a sly and accusing smile. “Perhaps I just missed you.”

 

He pushed her away and she fell back to the sand as he released her. Her face became impassive again, but anger flickered briefly in her eyes as he glared down at her. “I was going to tell you about the monk's visit, but maybe you know already.” Now the smile was back. It was clear she could tell from his reaction that Yash had no idea what Miroku had been doing or asking of her. “Ah, I see. Your friends are walking their own paths, with or without you. And your woman, has she wandered away, too?”

 

Flashes of red sparked in his eyes, and she was not entirely certain they were due to the sunset. The hand at the hilt of his sword tightened and she lost the certainty she once had that he was incapable of hurting her. Perhaps now, with the threat of Toukijin looming over him and his new woman, with his friends no where in sight, her sarcasm and barbs might push him over the edge? That was not why she had come here, to the beach in front of the beach house he had built for her replacement. She sighed and relented.

 

“I saw the monk around noon. My sister sent him, I'm quite sure of that. She thought of another way to trace the sword, one which has merit. I came here to warn you. There may be another explanation for the disappearance of the sword.”

He knelt beside her; again grabbing her arm to be sure she did not escape before she explained herself this time. “What do you know, Kikyo? What do you mean by `another explanation'?”

 

 

They pulled out of the parking lot of Paintball USA as the sun was sinking low in the West. Kagome's direct hit on her second shot turned out to be a fluke. It had taken her most of the afternoon and nearly all of their ammunition to learn to infuse the paint ball inside the gun with some of her purifying power and then to control the shot as she fired. The strength of the magic lent wildness to the shot that Kaede had expected, but it left Kagome dismayed with her lackluster performance. She was a crack shot with a gun on the LAPD firing range, why was this so different?

 

“Lead is predictable, magic is not. You have learned how to fire manmade bullets, but they do not have any power outside of what the gun gives them. Your magic infused into the paintball is quite different. It will take more time and practice for you to really feel confident about your shots. At least for now, your aim and range are sufficient to protect your family should a demon wielding Toukijin come too close. That was the point of today's field trip, child. Is not protection our first goal here?”

 

Kagome nodded, but wondered how that was going to help them back in LA until Kaede instructed Shippou to pull into the Big K parking lot.

 

“Another stop, Kaede? Can't this wait until later? I know Yash will be worried if he has come home and did not get my message…” Her voice trailed off, but Kaede paid her no mind and hustled both Kagome and Shippou into the store with her. “You can call him again as soon as we finish here. They don't sell guns at the range, but they do here.”

 

Shippou took Kagome's arm and tugged her along. He realized this was why they had purchased another 200 paintballs to take home with them to the beach house. Once they purchased the guns, Kagome would be armed and even more dangerous to an uninvited demon. “The sooner we get the guns, the sooner you can call Yash. Let's make this fast, Kagome. It's getting late.”

 

 

Sango listened to the ringing of Yash's cell phone in her ear. It was incredible that he wasn't answering. She was amazed and a little worried. What in the world could have kept him from answering their call? He had been insistent that they keep in touch during the search, and now, when they had found a significant lead, he was not answering?

 

Sango left a message on his voicemail questioning his sanity, his lineage, and his ability to function without assistance before closing her flip phone in disgust.

 

“Where the hell is that asshole now that we need him? He insists we call him every other minute and then he's no where to be found when we could fucking use his fucking help? What the fuck?!”

 

Miroku kept driving, keeping a close lookout for the Lexus they were seeking, but he couldn't help laughing at her frustration. “I can see what's on your mind, my Boomerang Butterfly, but I really can't service you right now. Hold that thought for later, k?”

 

“Oh good, another asshole to deal with, just what I need.” Sango fumed as he laughed at her some more.

 

“Just call Shippou, babe. He and his police contacts may be more useful to us at the moment anyhow.” He reached over and put his hand on her leg, fully intending to mix a little pleasure with their serious business if she'd let him.

 

She closed her knees and gave him a withering look. “Right. Like that's a good idea now. Just how many fetishes do you have?”

 

He laughed again, inching his hand upward as he followed a silver car in the distance. “Just you, babe. You're enough of a handful for me!” When he squeezed her thigh as he said “handful”, he thought she might actually hit him. Fortunately she was already talking to Shippou.

 

 

They were in line at the Big K when Shippou's cell rang. He answered and walked outside ahead of them for better reception, waiting just beyond the front doors on the sidewalk with the current garden supplies the store had for sale.

 

“Shippou…..we have a lead, but need your, um, help.”

 

“Sango? What's up? Did you find the sword?”

 

Kagome and Kaede emerged from the K Mart just in time to hear Shippou asking about the sword. They huddled around Shippou to listen to his end of the conversation and try to see who he was talking to. He put the phone on “speaker” and they all could hear Sango's voice as she responded.

 

“No, but we have a…lead on a …..possible…..Miroku! Stop that!”

 

Shippou, Kagome and Kaede looked at each other and started walking towards the squad car. No sense entertaining all of Simi Valley with the phone sex activities of their friends. Shippou put the phone back to his ear, but didn't seem to be getting much information out of Sango just yet. He just kept rolling his eyes and muttering about sex maniacs under his breath.

 

Kagome took Kaede's arm. “I just thought of the perfect wedding present for Sango, Kaede; a subduing spell. One set of prayer beads doesn't seem to be enough for that pervert.”

 

The two mikos got into the car and waited for Shippou to speak.

 

“Tell that perverted monk to keep his goddamn hands on the wheel and tell me why you called, Sango. I know you two are getting married tomorrow, but the fucking sword is still missing, so if you have a decent clue, tell us!” Shippou was normally very patient, but after an afternoon of playing dodge ball with Kagome's purifying paintballs, he was in no mood to put up with phone sex that didn't even involve him. Finally, he handed the phone to Kagome in disgust and started the car so they could get back on the road to LA.

 

“Sango, sweetie, tell Miroku to clean up his act or you'll cut him off. That ought to get his attention.”

 

“K-girl? Is that you? Just a minute, I'm climbing into the back seat. Idiot monk won't leave me alone. He's singing `I'm too sexy for your skirt' and driving me crazy. Maybe this marriage stuff was a bad idea. You think I should call it off? Will things get better or worse?”

 

Kagome giggled. “Oh, don't call it off. You need to make him pay for this later. Besides, I already bought my dress.” She could hear Miroku in the background singing.

 

“I'm too sexy for your skirt,

Too sexy for your thong,

Too sexy for your bra…….

Owwww…..that hurt Sango! I'm trying to drive here.”

 

“'Bout time you remembered that, asshole. We'll discuss what you're too sexy for later. Just find that damn Lexus and let me talk to Kagome!” Sango turned her attention back to the cell phone. “Sorry, K-girl. The man's got it bad. Clearly didn't know what a real woman was like until he met me.”

 

“So what did you find out? Is it about the sword?”

 

“Yeah. Can you and Shippou get the LAPD to put out an all points bulletin for a late model silver Lexus? Vanity Plate reads REAPER. We think this guy could be the thief and may have the sword with him.”

 

“I'll get on it and call you back. Where are you?”

 

“We're trying to catch up with him. He lives near the University and is headed west. I had just finished interviewing him when he blew by us in his car. Romeo here was late getting there and the guy went ballistic when I asked him about the sword. One of the cheerleaders Yash had me `interviewing' saw him drooling over it at the shoot.”

 

“We're just heading out of Simi Valley back towards LA. We're going to the beach house, let me get on the phone to the precinct and see if they can help.”

 

“OK, K-girl. We'll meet you at the beach house if we can't catch up with this perv. Stay in touch.”

 

Sango closed her cell and smacked Miroku in the back of the head again. “Speaking of pervs, have you caught up with the one I'm not engaged to yet?”

 

“No, my little butterfly, but if you'll bring your sweet self back up here where I can reach you, I'll remind you of why you're engaged to me and not him.”

 

Sango smacked him again, and then climbed back into the front seat. “Don't get any ideas, lover boy, you can keep your hands on the wheel and everything else to yourself until my priest pronounces us husband and wife tomorrow, understood?”

 

“Was that a challenge, my little flower of delight?” Miroku leered in her direction, totally undeterred by her threats.

 

“A promise, my little perv with no self control, a promise!” Sango huffed and scooted as far away from him as she could get. “Catch up with the other perv, and then maybe we can talk.”

 

 

Kagome put in a few calls to the precinct, asking for some support in finding the late model Lexus. She couldn't ask for anything official, so she just asked for a request that all squad cars between the University area and the ocean keep an eye out for the vehicle in question, with instructions to contact Shippou's squad car if they spotted him. Once she was finished, all they could do was wait, wondering who would call back first: the LAPD, Sango, or Yash.

 

Shippou sped towards the city, making decent time since they were heading back in against the outgoing traffic. Kaede fell asleep in the back seat, just as she had during the trip up, and Kagome was preoccupied with her performance at the paintball shooting range. It had been far more difficult for her to aim and deliver the ammunition to her chosen target than she had expected. Other than a few lucky shots, her performance had been lackluster at best, shaking her confidence in her shooting ability for the first time since she'd been a new recruit at the LAPD Academy taking her first class in marksmanship.

 

Yet infusing the paintballs with her purifying miko powers had been easy, almost too easy. She had to guard against overpowering the small projectiles so that she had even a fighting chance for the paint to strike near her goal. That had disturbing ramifications for any upcoming fight where she was anything but calm. If she had trouble with overpowering her shots in a controlled situation, how would she fare if her own or Yash's life were at stake? She would need to keep a cool head when she was using this new gun. She opened the packaging and took the gun out, toying with it in her lap. She needed to get the feel of it just as she had for her authorized and issued weapon for the LAPD.

 

Shippou respected her silence and kept quiet while she handled the new gun, shifting it from hand to hand and learning the weight and heft of it with her sense of touch. It wasn't until she reached into the back seat to gather up some of the paintballs they'd purchased that he felt compelled to stop her.

 

“Kagome! Don't load that thing here, in the car! It's too dangerous. What if it goes off while I'm driving? Do you really want to risk purifying me with one of those paintballs? That's not exactly where I figured our relationship was headed…”

 

He tried to keep his voice calm and his tone light and humorous, but Kagome could tell that he felt seriously threatened by the harmless looking paintballs she held in her hand. She immediately placed the ammunition back in the bag on the floor in the back, but kept the gun in her hands, fingering the trigger and the getting the feel of the firing mechanism as she spoke.

 

“Sorry, Shippou. I wasn't thinking of what an accidental shot could do to you.” She turned to face him and gave him a comforting smile that was just a little too sad around the edges. “I'd never hurt you intentionally, and would never forgive myself if I hurt you by accident. Please forgive me.”

 

Shippou stole a glance in her direction, keeping his attention on the increased traffic as they approached LA. “I know, Kagome. Just remember what Kaede told you about your purifying powers. You have never seen anything purified, but I have and it's not something I ever want pointed in my direction. Trust me.”

 

Kagome nodded seriously, and then smiled at him again. She turned her head to look out the side window, seeing the landscape go by in a rush that gradually turned into a blur as her attention on the view waned and she sank deeply into her own internal thoughts and concerns. She continued to play with the gun in her lap with her hands, but her attention was elsewhere. In her concern over the uses of her powers, she forgot to call Yash.

 

 

“Spill it, Kikyo! What the fuck do you mean, `another explanation'?” Miroku had visited her? Kaede had sent him? What the fuck was going on here and where was Kagome?

 

“Kaede reasoned it out. Not a process you seem to be familiar with.” She shrugged her arm angrily out of Yash's grasp, flashing him looks that threatened to stop talking if he didn't let her go. “She sent the monk to ask me if I'd mentioned the sword to anyone. She figured none of you would have. Didn't even tell the new bitch about it, did you, Yash?” She stood, not bothering to even brush off the sand. The sun was fading faster and the red colors in both the sky and Yash's eyes were getting deeper. She hoped they were connected.

 

Yash was at a momentary loss for words. Kikyo told somebody about the sword? That was unbelievable! He never spoke of it, nor did Kaede or Miroku as far as he knew. Sango and Kagome didn't know about it and his Asshole brother was more likely to become his new best friend than to tell anyone about losing Toukijin. Rin wouldn't do it and that green slime Jaken couldn't take a shit without direct and specific instructions from the Asshole. Toutousai was still in Japan so far as he knew, but would hardly be likely to be randomly chatting with anyone in LA about a sword he didn't even forge. Yash was not at all happy with where this train of thought was leading. If anyone told somebody, it could have been Kikyo, and considering the kind of clientele she associated with, not counting Naraku, or even counting Naraku - ok, maybe especially counting Naraku, the idea was just plain scary.

 

He didn't touch her, but kept his eyes on hers, watching her closely for any signs of sudden movement.

 

“OK.” He inhaled deeply, bracing himself for her answer. “Who did you tell?”

 

March 21, 2006