InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Living The Promise ❯ More Questions ( Chapter 16 )

Chapter 16: More Questions

 

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Inuyasha and Kagome pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant. He walked her inside and was turning to head back out to the car when a voice rang out, “Kagome!”

 

Kagome smiled and greeted the woman warmly. “Hello Noriko! It is good to see you again. How have you been?”

 

Noriko grinned and said, “I have been doing well; getting into mischief like always.”

 

Kagome put a hand on Inuyasha's arm, stopping him from edging away and making his escape. “Noriko, I would like you to meet my husband, Inuyasha. Inuyasha, this is Noriko. She works down in the city assessor's office.”

 

Inuyasha studied the older woman as he shook her proffered hand. Noriko was in her 60's; her once raven hair now liberally laced with silver. Her chocolate eyes peered fearlessly from a face almost untouched by the ravages of time. She was dressed in a smart pantsuit and sensible flats. Noriko gave off a definite sense of impishness, and Inuyasha found himself liking the woman.

 

“It is nice to finally meet you, Inuyasha. Kagome has told me a lot about you.”

 

He returned her friendly smile. “It is nice to meet you as well.” He turned to Kagome. “I will see you after lunch.” Kagome nodded as Noriko frowned in confusion.

 

“Aren't you staying for lunch?” she asked. At Inuyasha's negative response, she shook her head and grabbed his arm. “I insist that you join us; after all, the more, the merrier.”

 

“I don't want to interfere with business though,” Inuyasha protested.

 

“Nonsense! There is nothing I have to say to Kagome that is confidential or top secret material. You are staying for lunch.” With that, Noriko, still holding onto Inuyasha's arm, led the way into the restaurant. He gave Kagome a `what do I do?' look over his shoulder. Kagome answered with a shrug and a smile and happily followed them to their table.

 

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Noriko dabbed her mouth with her napkin before laying it on the table. Both Kagome and Inuyasha looked at her in expectation.

 

“Well, the news I have is pretty basic,” Noriko told them. “Within the past six months or so, many of the properties you were asking about have been purchased by one of three different companies.”

 

Kagome nodded. This was information she had been expecting. Noriko leaned forward and lowered her voice a bit. “The three companies are all owned by the same parent company which also appears to be owned by an even larger company. What that company is, no one seems to know.”

 

“I see. I had my suspicions that something like that was going on. The question is why they are being bought in the first place.”

 

Noriko grinned. “I thought you'd ask that, so I did some checking. Although I didn't find the reason behind the mass acquisition, I can tell you what it ISN'T.” She passed some papers over to Kagome and Inuyasha and continued as they studied them. “Soil analysis done several years back shows no significant traces of minerals or other mineable materials - therefore the property is not for mining purposes. Nothing has been submitted for that area about rezoning - therefore no large mall or amusement parks are going in. Roadway construction forecast for the next 20 years shows no proposed thoroughfares in that area - therefore the property is not needed for a new highway.”

 

Kagome sat back, tapping her fingers in confusion. “That doesn't make any sense then. Why is this mysterious company buying up property if they weren't going to build or mine the area? And why would they be using subsidiary companies to make the transactions?”

 

Noriko shrugged and lowered her head. “I don't know what to tell you. I am sorry that I was unable to get any more information for you.” Her voice was low and Inuyasha could tell that the older woman was upset by her perceived inability to contribute more.

 

Kagome reached out and grasped Noriko's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Noriko, thank-you so much for the information you have given me. You helped confirm one of my suspicions and have saved me time by weeding out possible reasons behind the purchase. Now it is my turn to see what I can figure out and go from there.”

 

The older woman looked at Kagome and gave her a grateful smile. Squeezing her hand in return, Noriko said, “You just be careful, you hear me? I don't like this mess, and I like the fact that you are involved in it even less.”

 

Kagome leaned over and kissed Noriko's cheek. “I will be careful.” She stood up; Inuyasha quickly followed and held the chair for Noriko as she got up as well.

 

Turning to give him a thank-you, she paused before adding “You better take care of my Kagome, Inuyasha, or I will be coming after you.” Noriko gave him a stern glare, causing Inuyasha to flush. Kagome bit back a snicker.

 

“Yes ma'am. I will protect her with everything I have, even with my life.” Noriko studied him for a moment before smiling and patting his cheek, satisfied with his response.

 

After paying the bill and saying their good-byes, Inuyasha and Kagome dashed out of the restaurant and ran to their car, trying to keep from getting drenched by the rain that started to pour while they were eating. Once they were safely inside the vehicle, Inuyasha started the car and turned on the heater.

 

“Now what?” he asked.

 

Kagome sighed, running her fingers through her damp hair. “I don't know. I have more questions than I have answers.” She pulled out the prayer beads and ran them through her fingers. “I have a feeling that these are important, but I don't know why.” Inuyasha watched as Kagome became lost in her thoughts. Making up his mind, he put the car into gear and pulled out of the parking lot.

 

“All right then, let's go talk to Kaede.” Kagome looked over at him and nodded. Inuyasha pulled out into the street, taking note as a dark sedan pulled out behind them. Not thinking too much about the vaguely familiar vehicle, he turned the radio on softly as he drove them to the house. Kagome was silent as her mind sorted through the information she had been given.

 

Inuyasha slowed to a stop at a red light and waited patiently for it to turn green. All of a sudden, they felt the car jerk as they were hit from behind. The impact pushed their car into the intersection.

 

“What the hell!?” Inuyasha glanced in the rearview mirror and saw the dark sedan turn quickly down a side street.

 

“Inuyasha!” Kagome's cry caught his attention and he watched as a delivery truck headed right towards them.

 

“Oh shit!” Inuyasha tried to get the car to move, but the crash had caused it to stall. He could hear the tires on the truck squealing as the driver tried in vain to stop; the wet pavement made the brakes ineffective. Horn blaring, the delivery driver tried desperately to avoid the stalled car. Inuyasha grabbed Kagome's hand and braced for impact.

 

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TBC

 

A/N: (Gives an evil laugh) Yep, I left you with another evil cliffy! (Ducks behind a brick wall to avoid flying debris). The more reviews I get, the faster I will update! Once again, a huge thank-you to my wonderful beta, Breezie for her patience and willingness to help me out.

 

As always, Read, Enjoy, and Review!