InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Minoue ❯ Murphy's Law ( Chapter 21 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Disclaimers: I do not own InuYasha or any of the manga/anime characters. They belong to the wonderful genius Rumiko Takahashi. Any original characters do belong to me.

AN: Thank you very much to inufan625 for acting as my beta once again. An additional thank you goes to Knittingknots for her help as well. I greatly appreciate the time they've taken to help make me a better writer and this a better story.

Thank you very much for the reviews. I read each and every one of them, and greatly appreciate those of you that took the time to leave one. Please check my LiveJournal at doggieearlover.livejournal.com/187842.html for responses to your reviews.

Minoue

Chapter 21: Murphy's Law

Sango was nervous as the limo made its way towards the museum. She had her bag clutched anxiously in her lap and occasionally glanced out of the corner of her eye at Miroku, who was sharing the seat with her. She was trying to decide if she should say something when he broke the silence.

“So, InuYasha, do you have much experience with events like this?” he asked.

“Some,” the hanyou mumbled in reply. “It's been awhile, though.”

“Will you give us some idea of what to expect?” Kagome prodded, squeezing his hand. “I know neither Sango nor I have ever been to anything like this.”

Sango nodded in agreement.

“It's mostly a bunch of rich people showing off their French designer clothes and expensive jewelry. I think they're there for the free drinks and food more than they are for the art,” InuYasha commented. “I never really cared for this shit, but I was expected to go before… well…”

“Before you were outed?” Miroku finished for him.

“Keh.”

“Do you know what the exhibition is that they are opening tonight?” Sango asked. “I was wondering about the color scheme.”

InuYasha nodded. “It's a pottery exhibition. It's primarily Chinese Black and White Ceramics and Ancient Greek Red and Black Figure Vases, though they have a lot of other examples as well. Sesshomaru said his curators have been working nearly three years to arrange to get all of the pieces at the same time.”

“Do you know if we'll be allowed into other parts of the museum? They've had a Buddhist art exhibition I've really wanted to go to but haven't had the time for,” Miroku commented.

“Keh. Usually, the entire museum is open though they try to steer everyone towards the new exhibition. However, once they've finished the formal opening, you should be able to check out that part of the hall.” InuYasha fell silent.

“InuYasha, how… how… how did your brother end up running an art gallery?” Sango asked softly.

The hanyou was quiet for a moment before he answered, “At first, I think it was almost in defiance of what our father wanted. He actually owned several businesses that turned out to be quite a conglomerate later on, but Sesshomaru is happy allowing the Board of Directors to run those as long as they remain prosperous. I think it was by accident that he discovered that running an art museum was the perfect cover for his real station as head of the youkai underground in Japan. Since artists can be such a strange and flighty bunch, no one thinks anything of it when he meets with someone that doesn't appear to be completely normal. They just pass it off as an artist's temperament and have no idea that it's probably youkai in disguise. In spite of the concealment charms that are available, some still have a hard time fitting in. He actually started off in a smaller gallery, but turned out to be so good at managing it that he worked his way up until he was running the National Art Center. He's been there for a number of years now. They keep saying how he's the youngest to ever climb so far so fast - if they only knew he was closer to six hundred than he is to forty-five.”

“He looks so young!” Sango exclaimed. “I would never have thought…”

“Most youkai are far older than they appear,” InuYasha said. “It's their blood. There are some that are shorter lived, but it isn't unusual for them to live for thousands of years.”

“So, they're immortal?” Miroku asked. This was the most InuYasha had ever talked about the subject.

The hanyou shook his head. “No, not immortal - they just live for a long time - and they can be killed. That's why they're all in hiding in one way or another. Humans fear them and therefore attempted to hunt them down. Guns were probably the worst thing that ever happened to the demon population. Even the peaceful ones were destroyed because of what they were.”

They all fell silent at that statement.

“Oh, my…” Kagome said as she looked out of the window. “I think we're here.”

“Wow,” Sango whispered as she peered out the window that Kagome was looking through. “It's huge.”

The car was in line with other limousines making its way around the circular drive towards the front doors of the museum. The four stories of the building were brightly lit and loomed above them, the entrance marked by a huge conical structure. When the car reached it, the doors all opened as the attendants helped everyone out. Fortunately, Sango and Kagome were on the side closest to the entry way and InuYasha and Miroku came around the car to them.

“May I?” Miroku asked as he offered Sango his arm. Smiling, she took his elbow.

Following suit, InuYasha offered his to Kagome. Holding her train with one hand, she took his arm with the other, and they followed Miroku and Sango through the doors.

They had made it through the formal speeches and then through the pottery exhibition when Sango asked, “Miroku, I'm really not used to these shoes. Do you mind if we go find some place where I can sit down for awhile? You can go up and look at the Buddhist exhibition. I'd like to, but my feet need a break.”

“Of course, my dear Sango. The Bistro is on the second level. There should be plenty of tables there where you can sit and rest. Would you like me to get you something to drink?” he responded.

“Just water, if there is such a thing - I've had enough wine and champagne,” Sango commented. “Do you know where Kagome and InuYasha disappeared to?”

Miroku shook his head. “Kagome said he was getting agitated, and she was going to get him away from all of the people for a little while.”

Sango sighed. “Some people just have no class, do they? They don't even know him yet were making comments. I don't think they even cared if he could hear them or not. No wonder he doesn't like going out in public much.”

“And I thought he was doing the right thing coming here without covering his ears. He doesn't do that very often, you know. However, as much as those people annoy him, he knows that Kagome loves him and that we don't care. On top of that, apparently his brother accepts him whether he realized it or not. Sesshomaru-sama made it very clear when he presented InuYasha and Kagome that they are considered part of his family. The others will just have to get over it.”

“You really are a good friend to him, aren't you?” Sango said softly.

“It isn't hard - he's a good man,” Miroku responded as they moved onto the escalator.

They stepped off at the second floor and headed towards the many tables scattered in front of the gallery's deli. Miroku pulled out a chair for Sango to sit in. “Are you certain that you don't mind if I go and look at the Buddhist art exhibit? I hate to leave you here all alone.”

Sango waved him on. “No, no, please go. I would like to see it as well, but I hate to admit how much my feet hurt right now. I don't think I'd make it to the far wing of the fourth floor. Take your time and I'll be waiting for you.”

Miroku walked over to a long table that had been set up with water and sodas, and picked up two bottles of water. “Here you are; this should hold you until I make it back. I'll try not to take too long. I want to see if it would be worth bringing the class here on a field trip.”

Sango smiled at him as he waved to her from the ascending escalator. Once he was out of sight, she took off a shoe and rubbed her foot. “These sure look pretty, but I don't know how these other women wear them all the time,” she commented to herself.

“Do you mind if I join you?” a familiar voice asked.

“Mrs. Higurashi, please sit down,” Sango answered. “I saw you earlier, but with all of the people I lost sight of you before we could reach you. How are you? And your kimono is gorgeous.”

“Thank you, Sango. I'm fine, but how are you doing? I can't believe you're here by yourself. Did your escort abandon you?” Mama asked seriously. “By the way, you look lovely tonight. Is that what you found when you went shopping last weekend?”

Sango nodded. “Mir- Sensei wanted to see the Buddhist art exhibit, but it's up on the fourth floor, and my feet were really starting to hurt. I told him to go ahead and that I'd wait for him here. Have you seen Kagome and InuYasha?”

Mama nodded. “I saw them earlier. I have to admit, it's hard to see my daughter all grown up and so beautiful. And don't you think that InuYasha and Miroku were very handsome in their tuxedos?”

Sango giggled. “Even Souta is handsome in a tuxedo. He and Rin were so cute together. Where did they get off to?”

“Rin took Souta to show him her favorite part of the gallery. She wasn't able to move too quickly in her kimono, though. You know, Sesshomaru-sama can't be all bad if he adopted a little human girl that was orphaned,” Mama commented. “So you and Miroku are getting along?”

“It…it…it's not like that.” Sango couldn't help but to blush. “It just sort of worked out this way. I was just in the right place at the right time - or the wrong place at the wrong time, depending upon how you look at it. I wouldn't have been invited otherwise.”

Mama looked thoughtful. “Or maybe fate was just trying to lend a hand. I've come to accept that sometimes things that happen are simply beyond our control. I mean, what were the chances of my sending Kagome to the grocery store on her fifteenth birthday, and they were out of the one item I really needed that's always in stock? That led to her meeting InuYasha. Who knew that one day she'd end up engaged to be married to him?”

“So… so… you really don't mind? I mean, it's obvious they love each other, but isn't he a lot older than she is?” Sango asked quietly. She'd wondered how Kagome's mother could be so tolerant, especially after overhearing some of the comments made that night.

Mama shook her head. “I've had five years to get to know him. My daughter could have done far worse than someone that will love her and be faithful to her as I know he will. He was so lonely when we first met him, and I think Miroku was his only friend. That says something about the kind of man that Miroku is as well. It would have been easy for him to abandon InuYasha when he was first exposed as hanyou, but he stuck by him. You know, Miroku really seems to like you.”

Sango's cheeks turned a little redder, and she looked away. “I'm sure that's not true. He just got stuck with me - that's all.”

“Well, from my observations, he doesn't mind in the least. He must have really wanted to see that exhibit upstairs to leave a beautiful girl like you all alone.” Mama reached over to pat her hand.

“I…I… I'm not beautiful…I'm…” Sango's voice trailed away.

“Don't underestimate yourself,” Mama said as she stood. “I guess I'd better go find Jii-chan. I thought he was coming up here to sit down for a few minutes as well, but he might have made his way back to the sake instead. I'd better go make certain he's not getting into any trouble. Just think about what I said, all right?”

Sango nodded and Mrs. Higurashi headed back towards the down escalator. After sitting alone for a few more minutes, she decided to go and look for Miroku. Since there didn't appear to be many people on the upper levels, she opted to carry her shoes rather than put them back on her sore feet. With her purse in one hand and her shoes in the other, she was determined to find the elevator to the fourth floor rather than battle the escalators in her floor length gown.

~ ^~^ ~

“InuYasha, you know I don't care what they say.” Kagome had led him to a more secluded part of the gallery. She stopped and turned to the hanyou, wrapping her arms around him. “They don't know you, and they're stupid. I think your brother made it clear that he supports you, and I love you. Why are you letting this bother you so?”

The hanyou rested his chin on top of her head as he folded her into his arms. He didn't want to tell her that it wasn't what he heard said about himself that aggravated him, but what he overheard said about her. He should have known that people still weren't much better than they were when his mother was alive. As forward thinking as they claimed to be, he still heard whispers of `demon whore' and `slut'. Not knowing what to say, he just held her and kept his mouth shut as he rubbed her back.

Finally, he said, “I'm sorry, Kagome.”

“For what? You didn't do anything wrong, InuYasha. Besides, I think they're just jealous because you look so hot in that tux, and you're all mine.” Kagome pulled away from him just far enough to look up into his eyes. “And when we get home I'm going to rip that suit right off of you, and you're going to make love to me all night long. So don't listen to any of them. I'm certainly not.”

“But Kagome…”

“InuYasha, these are not your friends, so what they say doesn't matter. Do you remember the tournament and the support your students gave you along with their parents? And now you know that your brother is behind you as well. Those are the ones that matter, not these shallow people in their fancy clothes that don't even look nice. It looks like they just bought the most expensive thing on the rack whether it looked decent on them or not. I know you can hear more than you really want to. For that matter, I have, too. However, I refuse to allow people who don't know either of us to upset me. I know you're stronger than that.” She reached up to rub one of his ears. “And I'm glad you didn't cover your ears tonight because I really like them.”

His head pushed into her hand as she continued to stroke the furry appendage. Pushing the cruel remarks he'd overheard from his thoughts, he concentrated on the scent of the girl in front of him. It had been difficult for him to come, but he realized it was another step in his own growth to accept the invitation to an event like this and then make a public appearance with nothing to hide who he was. Eventually he said, “I'm sorry, I just didn't want you to hear what they were saying. But I guess if you're going to marry me, we'll both have to get used to it.”

Kagome shook her head. “We don't have to get used to it, but we don't have to allow it to rule us, either. I made my decision to stay by your side a long time ago if you would allow me to. We don't have to come to any more of these events than is necessary, and I'll do whatever you decide. Now, are you ready to go back, or do you want to stay here a while longer?”

“We probably ought to see what trouble Miroku is getting into,” he answered. “Except I think the asshole has come looking for us.”

“Huh?” Kagome responded. “Who?”

“My brother.” InuYasha turned, and Sesshomaru appeared around the corner. He looked much the same, except that his long hair was black and tied in a pony tail down his back, and his eyes appeared almost violet. There was also no trace of his youkai markings. When Kagome first saw him, she had been struck at how much he looked like InuYasha on the moonless night.

“Okay, okay, we'll come back,” InuYasha commented as the Daiyoukai approached him.

“Actually, Little Brother, I may need your assistance. Can I assume you learned Chinese when you were in China?”

Surprised, InuYasha raised an eyebrow but nodded.

“I don't trust our translator, and I can tell the Chinese delegation is upset. I think he may have insulted them from the changes in their scents. They're all human so they have no idea I can tell something is wrong. Will you come with me?” Sesshomaru asked.

“You know the dialects of the different regions are not the same,” InuYasha commented.

Sesshomaru nodded. “I know, but there is no one else here I can trust to ask. If you would at least attempt to communicate with them, I would be grateful.”

Kagome squeezed InuYasha's hand. “He'll be glad to help, won't you?”

The hanyou looked at his fiancée. “I guess I'll try.”

“Come.” Sesshomaru turned on his heel and strode away.

~ ^~^ ~

“Well, that was a stupid idea,” Sango said to herself as she got off of the elevator on the top floor. From the signs that were posted, she was at the wrong end of the gallery. “Should have just managed with the escalator.” In her stocking feet, she started towards the other end.

She thought she was all alone on the fourth floor. The only sound was the slight swish that her nylons and the hem of her gown made against the tile floor as she walked towards the other end. She was deep in thought about what Kagome's mother had said to her. What if fate had somehow intervened for her to meet Miroku? What if it was continuing to do so for her to spend more time with him? It was such an odd string of coincidences that had put them in their current situation. Not only that, even Kirara had tried to tell her that he could find her attractive. She shook her head, trying to clear it of all of those thoughts. What of her brother? What of her promise to try and find who had done this to him, to her family? She couldn't just drop all of that for a man she'd never heard of a few months ago. Or was he somehow part of the solution? Where did Kagome and InuYasha fit into the equation? Did it mean she didn't have to do this alone? She shifted her shoes so that she had both her purse and heels in her left hand and reached up to rub her forehead above her right brow and then her temple. Gods, just the thought of it all was giving her a splitting headache.

“Well helloooo, H…h…hooooney. What are you doing up here all alone?” A man who'd obviously had too much to drink stumbled towards her.

“Looking for… my… my… date,” Sango answered, her eyes anxiously scanning the floor to see if anyone else was in the vicinity.

“He can't be much of one,” the guy slurred as he lurched towards her. “I'd be glad to show you a good time.”

“No… no thank you.” Sango tried to skirt around him. “He's just down the hall.” `Gods, Miroku, where are you when I need you?'

Miroku stepped off of the escalator at the second level. He turned to go back towards the bistro and stared at the table where he'd left Sango. She was no longer there and there was no sign of her anywhere. Scanning the other guests in the area, he didn't see anyone he recognized. “I must have taken longer than I thought. Would she have gone back downstairs, or did she go up looking for me? Or is she in the ladies' room?” he said to himself. He was trying to decide when he heard a frustrated cry of, “Leave me alone!” from overhead. Recognizing the voice, he raced back up the escalators to the top floor.

Sango couldn't shake the man who was trying to corner her. First she tried being polite, but that just made things worse. She told him she had to go and started to leave, but he grabbed her arm and practically yelled, “Hey babe, I'm talking to you!”

“Leave me alone!” she shouted as she tried to pull away from him. She really didn't want to cause a scene, and she wasn't exactly dressed to sweep his feet out from under him. She started to turn into him with the intent of hitting him if she had to when he grabbed the wide collar of her dress with his other hand and tried to yank her back. Sango froze when she felt the dress rip away from her right shoulder.

“Oh my gods, you're a fucking freak!” the drunk screamed at her. “What kind of monster are you!”

“I… what…” Sango felt as though her legs were lead and that she could not breathe. Her ruined dress fell from her shoulder. As the man continued swearing she heard “Sango!” bellowed from the direction of the escalators.

“Miroku! I can't let him see me like this!” Sango clutched her arm to her chest to hold up her torn bodice and fled back towards the elevators.

To be continued…

********************

InuYasha Fanfiction Guild News

The next round of nominations for the Fourth Quarter of 2007 is now underway at the InuYasha Fanfiction Guild. They began January 6th and will continue through January 15th. To be eligible, a fic must have been either newly posted or updated with a new chapter between October 1st and December 31st.

For those that are interested, if you are not a member you can currently join. The membership is NOT open year-round, and will close at midnight ET on January 23rd and not reopen again until everything is over with sometime in March. If you would like to be a part of the process of nominating, seconding, or voting on your favorite fics, now is the time. If you would like to join, you will find the information at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/iyfanguild/. For additional information, check out the InuYasha Fan Guild home page at http://inuyashafanguild.com/ . If you do join, just be sure to read the rules before you leap into the fray.

That said, thanks to Mage Delbene, Lady Griddlebone, roxotaku, knittingknots, malitiadixie, InuHanyouNikkie, quirkyslayerandshannahfor the nominations (or attempted ones but someone beat you to it) received so far!!

Minoue for Best AU/AR, Best Drama, Best Serial, Best Inu/Kag Romance and Best Mir/San Romance

Angels Aren't Always Heaven Sent for Best Canon, Best Oneshot, and Best Inu/Kag Romance

Santa Surprise for Best Mir/San Romance

The Edge of Winter for Best Canon

Like Ice for Best Vignette

Good luck to everyone this quarter!