InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Lies, Letters, and Calloused Fingertips. ❯ ...With a Story, Not a Mallet. ( Chapter 6 )

A/N: I think some of you people are just gluttons for punishment… still flaming on Mediaminer and AFF? And I'm, like, 6 chapters into this fic? If you don't like the fic, don't read it. It's as simple as that. *shakes head* I mean, was I the only one left on the planet whose Momma taught her to only give constructive criticism?

 

P.S. A little warning, there is some implied rape in this chapter, but I couldn't bring myself to write it out. You all know my problem with rape… And I felt that Kagome doesn't deserve to hear this, in detail, from Inuyasha… So, please, just go with me on this.

 

Anyway, I don't own Inuyasha or the song included in this chapter, which is “Sandalwood,” by Lisa Loeb, whom I discovered through my husband. She's one of his favorites, and now she's one of mine, too.

 

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Lies, Letters, and Calloused Fingertips.

 

Chapter Six: …With a Story, Not a Mallet.

 

“You can't be serious.”

 

“Oh, believe me, babe, I am.”

 

“Inuyasha! This wasn't part of the original agreement!”

 

“Keh! Like I care, woman! You wanna hear my story, then you gotta do what I say. And I say… let there be karaoke!”

 

Sesshomaru raised one silver eyebrow as he watched his brother and sister-in-law bicker back and forth. To this day, he still didn't understand his brother's affection for music, and he didn't understand Inuyasha's reasoning for conning his mate into this shameful and embarrassing act. Kagome sat across the small, round table from the taiyoukai, staring, wide-eyed, at her husband. Inuyasha's smirk was several times cockier than any time they had seen it in the past, and Rin was trying her hardest not to burst into laughter at their immature quarrel.

 

Finally, Kagome's eyes narrowed into a heated glare directed right at Inuyasha, who sat in the seat right beside her. “Fine,” she growled, “but only because you backed me into a corner. And you have to tell me the next part right after I get off the stage.”

 

Inuyasha grinned triumphantly. “Ok,” he told her. “It's a deal.” He held his hand out for her to shake, but she stood and brushed right past him, obviously giving him the cold shoulder. His grin didn't falter as he hooted and hollered for Kagome encouragingly. Still she glowered at him as she stepped up onto the raised stage, and she told the DJ in a low voice her choice of song. The DJ nodded and typed something into his computer just as Kagome stepped up to the lonesome microphone at the front of the stage.

 

Suddenly, the lights lowered, and a sweet, soft acoustic started up; after just a few moments, Kagome started singing,

 

“She can't tell that all of the love songs have been written,

“`Cause she's never been in love with you before.”

 

Inuyasha watched her, his grin disappearing at the sweet way she sang those sweet words. Her brown eyes cut through the thick crowd of the karaoke bar, finding him, meeting his golden eyes. Her voice was very natural, if not a little on the nasally side. But that was what held him so captivated; it was like listening to a real person sing about real emotions.

 

“Your skin smells lovely like sandalwood.

“Your hair falls soft like animals.

“I'm tryin' to keep cool, but everyone likes you…”

 

She smiled at him behind the mic, and took a deep breath. The acoustic sped up just barely as she went on,

 

“I want to kiss the back of your neck,

“The top of your spine, where your hair hits,

“And gnaw on your fingertips and fall asleep,

“I'll talk you to sleep.”

 

Kagome's eyes closed as her voice grew louder, as did the acoustic.

 

“But I'll be the one

“That I will have chosen.

“I'm tryin' to keep cool, but everyone here likes you.

“I'm not the only one…

“Your skin smells lovely like sandalwood.

“Your hair falls soft like animals.

“And nothin' else matters…

“To me.”

 

Inuyasha felt pinpricks in his fingers right then at her words, and when Kagome opened her eyes and they met his once more, he felt the goosebumps rise all over his body, up and down his arms. For that single, solitary second when their eyes met, it was as if they were closer than any kiss or any act of lovemaking could bring two people. They were on the same level in that moment, feeling the same feelings. It was intense.

 

“She can't tell me that

“All of the love songs have been written, `cause

“She's never been in love with you before.

“In love with you… before…”

 

Then the acoustic slowed, and Kagome sang on a bit more quietly,

 

“Your hand,

“So hot,

“Burns a hole in

“My hand.

“I wanted to show you…”

 

Slowly, the acoustic waned and died, and Kagome stepped back from the mic stand, signaling that she was done. She grinned sheepishly at Inuyasha as she stepped down from the stage and approached their table. He beamed at his mate as Rin whooped and hollered. “Congratulations, Kagome-chan!” she exclaimed. “That was totally awesome!”

 

Kagome laughed at her sister-in-law's excitement. “Come on, Rin-chan,” she said. “I was so not that good.”

 

“That is not true, miko,” Sesshomaru interrupted, his amber eyes settling on Kagome's stunned expression. “You did quite well for someone who is not at all practiced with the art of singing.” Then his eyes transferred over to his brother, who just `humph'ed.

 

“You did do very well,” he whispered to his wife once Sesshomaru and Rin had turned their attention back to the stage, where the newest victim had already taken her stance in front of the mic. As a scantily clad waitress passed by, Inuyasha quickly ordered a dry martini for himself and an strawberry marguerita for his mate. The waitress smiled and walked off, and Inuyasha turned back to Kagome.

 

“Okay, Inuyasha,” Kagome said eagerly. “Fair is fair. Now, spill!”

 

“Here?!” he exclaimed. “You want me to start the story back up here?”

 

“Oh, come on, Inuyasha,” Rin berated him, refusing to take her eyes off of the very off-key singer onstage. “You've done way more embarrassing stuff in public before than tell your wife about your old flame.”

 

Inuyasha paled at her words and grimaced just as Kagome's shocked, brown eyes darted to meet Rin, who looked at them both with wide, surprised eyes. “Oh, crap,” she mumbled, staring at them. “You haven't gotten to that part yet?”

 

Her brother-in-law shook his head. “I was planning on giving her a little time to adjust to the idea of me seeing someone - anyone, whether it be her reincarnation or her lookalike or whatever - before I gave her that side of the story.” He returned his sheepish gaze to his wife, who was still staring, shocked, at him.

 

“Miko,” Sesshomaru finally piped up, not taking his eyes off the obnoxiously bad singer on the stage. Kagome switched her dumbfounded, open-mouthed stare from her husband to his older brother. “If you do not desist that impertinent behavior at once, this Sesshomaru will be forced to tell you the tale of my brother and the geisha, and I can assure you that you will most definitely not be pleased with my rendering.”

 

“But-”

 

“There will be no backtalking of the sort,” the taiyoukai commanded, his tone thick and firm. Still, he watched the imbecile at the mic stand. “You cannot expect a male of our stature and prowess to go nearly five-hundred years without his mate. The half-breed actually lasted a great deal longer than any other youkai were willing to give him credit for.” For a moment, they all thought they saw his golden eyes flicker over to his younger brother before returning to the show before them. “This Sesshomaru won quite a deal of money over the hanyou's strength of will.”

 

Rin hit him gently in the arm. “Sessh-san!”

 

He smirked down at the tiny onna, obviously amused.

 

Inuyasha sighed finally and stood up, leaving the table. Kagome, who had just gotten over her initial shock, was once again surprised into complete silence, and she got up and followed her husband. He made his way through the throngs of people crowded around the dancefloor and stage, arriving at the bar, where he leaned against the black countertop and held his head in his hands. When he felt her hands on his shoulders, he slumped a little, comforted by her mere presence.

 

“Look,” he said just loud enough for her to hear him over the squalling that now emanated from the lit stage, “I was going to tell you. Just… in my own way, you know?”

 

She sat on the closest barstool, pulling it closer to him before she planted her butt in it. Still rubbing his shoulders gently, she smiled. “I know,” she told him in her normal voice, knowing that his sensitive ears (`Which are probably pounding by this point,' she mused) could pick up her small yet meaningful words.

 

Inuyasha almost instantly perked up. He turned his head and gave her his trademark smirk before plopping into the barstool beside him. Kagome released his shoulders, and right then the waitress showed up with their drinks. She smiled and thanked the girl, who then disappeared back into the thickening crowd.

 

“I'm only going to tell you a small part tonight,” he told her, sipping his martini. “We've had such a great night so far… I don't want to ruin it much more than it's already been ruined.” He turned and gave his sister-in-law a glare over his shoulder. Kagome laughed and patted his back, urging him with her body motion to face her once again. “It's not her fault, Inuyasha,” she told her husband. “She didn't know how far we'd gotten into it.”

 

He “keh”ed, but he knew that she was right. Taking another swig of his martini, he only grew braver; looking her directly in her brown eyes, he began the hard part of his tale:

 

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After a year or so of meeting up with Keiko and Sakura at the teahouses, I'd become rather close to them both, but Keiko especially. I was in a good position, and a part of me… A pretty big part of me, at that time, was convinced that she was your reincarnation or something to that effect. I mean, she was so much like you… Her sense of humor, her compassion, her nearly endless patience… Her looks, her quirks, her blush… Hell, even her mannerisms were identical to you!

 

Anyway, after I'd been entertained by her and her sister at the teahouses for about a year, I sent a letter to her Okaa-san requesting to see her privately at our usual teahouse. It had a beautiful garden, and I felt that it was the perfect place to ask Keiko something so important.

 

When she arrived that night, she was as beautiful as ever. Even though she'd grown out of being a maiko a couple months prior to this meeting, she still wore the heavy makeup; it seemed like a sort of security blanket to some geisha. Keiko was really no exception. Somehow, it seemed that she had just sort of known what was going to transpire that night, because, believe it or not, she wore the exact kimono that I'd given her for her birthday. She looked absolutely beautiful in it…

 

Ahem. Sorry.

 

I asked to be her danna that night.

 

She said yes. She cried a little - happy tears, remember, like you'd always told me. After that, she didn't wear that godawful makeup anymore, and she wore her hair down sometimes, even when we went out. The best part?

 

She was always on my arm. She hardly ever went out to the teahouse without me. Mother Tanaka had already arranged to adopt Sakura as the sole inheritor of the okiya, so I moved Keiko out of the Tanaka okiya and into her own studio apartment in Asakusa. She had a servant that did whatever she pleased, and, for a long while, things were real good.

 

It took me only a little while, though, to realize that she was a completely different person from you. While some of your quirks and mannerisms were the same, there were so many things that were different. They weren't exactly things that I can name, either; it was more like her presence was different from yours, you know?

 

After I'd been her danna for three months, the time came that Rin mentioned earlier. There was only one sexual act between the two of us; afterward, it never came up again.

 

Her mizuage. Her “right-of-passage” of sorts.

 

As her danna, I held the right to request her virginity. Why not? I mean, in that day and age, a danna was the closest thing that a geisha could have to a boyfriend or husband. To Keiko, that was me.

 

It was a clear night when it happened. It wasn't exactly as ceremony-like as other mizuages had been… But, then again, I'm not a ceremony kinda guy.

 

We were both nervous as hell. She stripped very slowly in front of me, by the tatami mat, and… Well, let's just say that I don't really remember much after that. Maybe… Maybe I don't want to remember that much. Keiko was silent the entire time, and she seemed… Sorta scared, you know? And that wasn't what I wanted… Never. Never for you, never for her, never for any woman.

 

Afterward, there was no more sexual tension, just… general tension, ya know? I felt as if I had raped her or something.

 

But, after a few weeks, we got back into our normal swing of things, and we reverted, pretty much, back to being close friends like before. I did then what no other danna had ever been heard of doing for his geisha - I let her have a boyfriend, a romantic interest that wasn't me. Sesshomaru broke a vase, he was so pissed with me. And Rin - no matter how touched she was by my romantic sacrifice - was pretty pissed with me as well. It brought a lot of unwanted attention to our door, and I was the main subject of the local rumor mills for quite some time over it.

 

But none of that mattered when Keiko met Masaru; he was a good boy, the son of a priest at the Sunset Shrine. She was so happy; hell, the woman glowed whenever she talked about him, and she always blushed that pretty blush whenever I asked her about him, about how he was doing, how they were doing. It pleased me to no end that she was finally finding a little bit of love.

 

Then I found out his last name.

 

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A/N: Ok, I'm making this up from now on. There's an intermission that I wrote one day when I was bored… It's somewhere downstairs, but I'll hafta dig for a while to find it. It's a good one, too, and it'll provide a little sustenance for those flamers from Mediaminer…

 

On its way:

 

Chapter Seven: Family Secrets.

 

or…

 

Intermission: He Really Loved Her, You Know.