InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ MArked! ❯ Chapter 5 ( Chapter 5 )

Disclaimer: InuYasha is owned by Rumiko Takahashi/Shogakukan Inc. and Viz Media.

Story and all original characters created are owned by me.

 

Marked!

By l80hawk

 

A/N: I just wanted to give kudos to my newest reviewers, inuy21, Sovereignty, coyoki, and Cianna27889. Thanks for the support and for the excellent comments. I have officially added “breed” to the spell checker in Word. (duh!) I am seriously too old for those kinds of errors, sorry bout that. Bare with me folks; our favorite pair will be meeting soon! Just to need to clear up the obstacles.

 

InuYasha pulled his red BMW Z4 into the gated garage of his condo, well after midnight. When Miroku and he arrived at Joe's earlier in the evening they had to sit inside, as all the seats by the pool and tiki bar were taken. It was really too bad, because the sunset was enchanting. InuYasha had really enjoyed himself, which was quite surprising as he normally did not enjoy crowds. Not that Miroku was much company; he kept getting their drinks from the tiki bar outside. `Must have been a woman' InuYasha thought, it always is. There was something, a scent that InuYasha noticed while he was at Joe's. Although he really didn't give the scent much thought at the time, it was that scent that allowed InuYasha to enjoy a peaceful evening.

 

Placing his keys to open the door, InuYasha braced himself for the mustiness of Kikyo's scent. The hall night light was on as he tossed his keys into the wicker basket by the door. The house was quiet, but InuYasha knew something was out of place. He walked quietly through the apartment, stopping in each room before arriving in the room Kikyo and he shared. The bed was ruffled, but empty. Surprised, InuYasha looked at his watch - it was 12:45 am and he knew Kikyo had to work the next day.

 

Sitting down on the edge of the bed, InuYasha was concerned about his girlfriend, this was unusual behavior. He cared about Kikyo and didn't want any harm to fall upon her, however his demon purred in relief from the lack of her presence. Turning on the lamp at his bed side table, he picked up the phone to call Kikyo's cell and make sure she was alright. As he did a slip of paper floated gently to the ground from its resting place on the receiver. Picking it up, he read;

 

Yashie,

I know you had to work late so I decided to meet up with a friend for coffee, I hope you don't mind I hope we can spend some time together this weekend; I think we need to talk about us. I feel like we're drifting apart.

 

Well, I most likely will stay at my friend Sango's tonight since it's close to the office and she get's off work late in the evening and it won't be to much of an imposition.

 

Everything is fine, so don't worry. You're always working so hard, so try to get some rest tonight. Call me at the office tomorrow and we'll talk more about this weekend.

Kikyo

 

InuYasha set the phone back on its cradle and sighed. He pulled of his tie and unbuttoned his shirt as he walked into the bathroom, throwing the garments into the hamper. Flicking the light on with his claw he turned on the taps, leaned over the sink and splashed his face with water. Rubbing his face dry with a towel, he gazed at his reflection in the mirror. The amber eyes staring back at him appeared richer in color, than they had in months. Sighing heavily, InuYasha knew tonight would be the best sleep he had had since Kikyo had moved in with him.

 

Turning off the bathroom light, InuYasha shuffled back to the bed. Sitting down on the bed he picked up the phone and dialed Sesshomaru's number.

 

“Sess? Sorry to call so late. I'm taking the day off tomorrow.” InuYasha said resignedly. “I know the office may call you in my absence. Everything is fine, just call me over the weekend about dinner on Monday, ok? I'll talk to you later.” InuYasha hung up the phone, stepped out of his pants and crawled into the bed. Kikyo's scent lingered on the sheets, but not to badly. InuYasha turned on his side and in doing so lay on his hair. That comforting scent he noticed while at Joe's lingered in his hair and he drifted into a dreamless slumber.

 

 

Management at Joe's has last call at midnight on weekdays, so the regulars and tourist would clear up tabs and get out by 1am and staff could clean up till quiting time at 1:30am.

 

“Kags, you done yet?” Sango called as she dropped the shades on the tiki bar. “A friend of mine called and wants to spend the night, so I need to meet her at the apartment.”

 

Kagome had finished her tables and was counting out tips. It had been a fairly good evening tip wise and she was glad she had stayed. It had definitely been better than spending the evening with Kouga. Kagome had noticed a guy sitting in the lounge area. Actually his hair is what caught her attention. It must have been flaxen to reflect the sunset on the Intercoastal. She had tried a few times to work her way inside to see his face, but never actually made it. However, if she had she would have missed the entertaining spectacle of Sango fighting off the romantic overtures of one persistent young patron.

 

“So Sango, what was the deal with that guy? Every time I turned around he was at the bar. Did he ask for your number? You guys going to hook up, or what?” Kagome giggled.

 

“NOT!” Sango protested. “You know I might have considered it but; number one he was also flirting with every other woman here. And two, instead of telling me his name, he asked me to `Bare his children', what's with that?” laughed Sango. “Only I draw the strange ones.”

 

Kagome giggled, “Unfortunate but true. He was pretty good looking, have you seen him here before?”

 

Sango walked over with her bag in hand. “Let's talk about it in the car. Kikyo should almost be at the apartment and I don't want to keep her waiting.”

 

`Kikyo…. Why does that name sound familiar?' Kagome thought to herself as she followed Sango to the parking garage. Putting their stuff in the truck, Sango and Kagome headed west on the Causeway. After riding along in silence, Kagome set the radio to some relaxing jazz and faced Sango to continue their conversation where they left off.

 

“So, Sango. How come I don't know this Kikyo friend of yours?” Kagome began.

 

“She's a nice girl. I met her in a Behavior Studies course my freshman year. Remember me telling you about the girl that I had met, that looks like your twin?” Kagome nodded and Sango continued. “She graduated last year and lives kinda close to the Beach. We used to hang out every once in a while. She hooked with up this guy and moved in with him about the same time you moved in the apartment. We keep in touch via email and talk occasionally.” Sango explained.

 

Kagome nodded again, “Now that you mention it, I do sorta remember you saying something about that. Lucky her, she's stopping by after my cleaning month.” Kagome chuckled. Sango and Kagome took turns doing the chores in the apartment, switching off each month. “I made sure I stripped all the beds, including the spare room, when I went to the laundromat last week.”

 

Sango laughed, “Yeah, she is because you know I never change those sheets. We never use that room except for storage. Anyway, no worries. In her message she said that she and her boyfriend have been having some issues and she had met a friend for coffee and didn't want to drive back to her place. She'll crash in the spare and most likely be out tomorrow before we get up.”

 

Kagome grinned, “Well you're the hostess. I have a one track mind and that's shower and bed. I only have an exam in the morning, so I actually have most of tomorrow off. I'll call Joe to see about the schedule and let you know.”

 

Pulling into their parking lot Sango grinned as she parked the car. “Lucky you - I have classes all day and work tomorrow night. Look, there she is sitting in her car. Let me see if she needs any help. You coming?”

 

Shaking her head Kagome replied, “Nah. I'm going to head up and jump in the shower. It'll give you guys a chance to chat. I hope everything is alright with her. I'll talk at you tomorrow sometime, alright?”

 

“Sure thing, don't forget to ask Joe for this weekend off when you talk to him tomorrow.” Sango said as she walked toward Kikyo's car.

 

Kagome headed upstairs and unlocked the door. She dropped her bag in her room and grabbed her robe before heading into the shower. `At long last, a shower' Kagome stepped in and adjusted the tap. She hummed softly to herself as she thought back to her conversation with Kouga earlier. She really didn't want to commit to spending the entire weekend with him, but didn't really see a way out of it. She knew Joe didn't have her scheduled - unless she asked him. Everyone who worked at Joe's was automatically given every 5th weekend off and it was her turn. Kouga didn't need to know that though.

 

Stepping out of the shower, Kagome dried herself off and crossed the hall into her room. She could hear Kikyo and Sango talking softly in the living room and smelled a freshly brewed pot of coffee. `Poor girl. I hope everything is alright. Men can be so dense sometimes.' Kagome thought as she got into bed. `Doesn't Kouga realize I'm deliberately avoiding him?' Kagome sighed. She knew she couldn't avoid having a serious conversation with Kouga about their relationship this weekend. `Ah well, I'll dwell on that tomorrow.' Setting her CD player to repeat, Kagome turned on her Kenny G CD and snuggled down into the sheets and closed her eyes. Little did she realize that her dreams would be invaded by a faceless silver haired stranger.

 

 

“Sango, thanks so much for letting me crash here tonight. I just didn't want to head home.” Kikyo spoke softly, so not to disturb Sango's roommate who had just headed to bed.

 

“Kikyo, what's going on? I thought you and InuYasha were doing great. You've been so happy, or at least you sounded that way.” Sango replied taking a sip of her coffee.

 

“I really don't want to relive everything that's gone over the last few months, but I had a huge revelation tonight; and now I am just uncertain about what I'm going to do.” Kikyo's eyes were downcast as she spoke. “I thought InuYasha was the love of my life, but lately… it just doesn't feel right. I think I've met someone.”

 

Sango gasped, “Your cheating?! You're kidding me.”

 

“Well not really. I met someone online.” Kikyo began.

 

“Not a stalker is he? You never know about people nowadays.” Sango interrupted.

 

“No, he's .. he's amazing actually. He's a wolf demon. \Very successful, charming, intelligent, utterly gorgeous, generous, witty…” Kikyo trailed off, continuing to look into the mug held in her hands.

 

“Alright, sounds good. So what's the problem? I mean, if you're interested in this guy, you need to tell InuYasha and move out. Just make a clean break and move on. You know I have room here.” Sango replied.

 

“Well, there's a problem.” Kikyo gulped. “He's got a girlfriend.” Kikyo sighed.

 

Having some knowledge of demon traits Sango looked up in surprise. “Wait, you said he was a wolf demon, right?” Kikyo nodded. “Well, obviously his girlfriend is not his chosen - assuming he feels the same way.”

 

“He said he does. We were going to meet tomorrow. Just a friendly meeting, since we've been chatting online and he's been really nice. I wanted to say thanks, you know? Anyways, InuYasha called to say he was working late and his girlfriend called and cancelled for dinner tonight. Something about working an extra shift. Anyways, we got to talking and ended up going for coffee tonight. Sango, I'm confused. I've been with InuYasha for almost two years and in two hours feel like I've know Kouga my entire life.” Sango's gasp at the wolf demons name went unnoticed as the sad brunette continued. “I also feel guilty, but I've done nothing wrong. What am I going to do?”

 

Speaking carefully Sango replied, “Well, if you've done nothing but talk, you have nothing to be guilty of. But what did this Kouga guy say? About his having a girlfriend, I mean? “

 

“Funny you should ask that. Before we met tonight at the café, we exchanged pictures and he said I was his chosen. I kind of laughed at that. Anyway, when I walked into the café, he rose from his seat grabbed my hands and kissed them gently. Then looking into my eyes, said that I was the one he's been searching for. It was so flattering. Then I realized that his eyes appeared almost violet.” Kikyo paused.

 

Sango shrugged, “Okay. That's no biggie. There was a guy at Joe's tonight with violet eyes. It's not unheard of.”

 

“No, Kouga's eyes are blue. The whites of his eyes were almost pink; hence the tone of his eyes had shifted to violet. He said it was his beasts' recognition of its mate.” Kikyo sighed as a small wistful smile formed on her face.

 

“I've heard of that before. It's even more common during spring; but haven't you noticed that with InuYasha?” Sango replied. She was hesitant about this situation. Sango knew that Kagome had fallen out of love with Kouga a while ago and barely tolerated him now. Kagome would be far from heart broken, but her ego would take a bruising if Kouga was unfaithful. Hesitating Sango continued, “Kikyo, this is not an impossible situation. If you feel this strongly, take the plunge - you just said things with InuYasha aren't going well, right?”

 

Kikyo just nodded and Sango continued, “Mating is very serious to a demon. It's something the individual can't control, because they are genetically predisposed to find the `right' person. So, if he's serious he would have asked you to leave InuYasha immediately AND commit to leaving his girlfriend just as soon. Am I right?”

 

Kikyo nodded again. “Sango, do you think I could stay with you for a bit? I can pay rent or whatever, but I need to sort this out. I may not at this moment be ready to take `the plunge', but I am not willing to throw everything away without at least sleeping on it. While we were at the restaurant, Kouga called his girlfriend and left her a message to call him right away; that he needed to speak to her.” Frowning Kikyo sighed, “Sango, I just feel terrible. What if I'm wrecking someone else's life?”

 

Smirking Sango replied, “Kikyo - go to bed and get some rest. Maybe you should call into work tomorrow and relax. This is a lot to think about. For all you know, you may be doing someone a favor.” Sango got up and gave Kikyo a hug. “Somehow I think things are going to work out better than you think. I'm going to crash; we'll go over all the details tomorrow, okay? In the morning, you'll meet my roommate, and for some reason, I think she may be able to help straighten everything out. Don't worry okay?”

 

Nodding Kikyo returned the hug and shuffled into the guestroom. “Thanks Sango.”

 

Shaking her head Sango locked up and turned off the lights before heading to her room. `I can tell spring fever is in the air. Now if only I could find someone for me.' She thought.