InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Novus Lux ❯ Whiplash ( Chapter 5 )

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

þÿHello everyone! Sorry about the hiatus! I am back now, and though updates will be less frequent than when I started this (a number of things have landed rather unceremoniously on my plate, including an actual full-time internship), the story is now resuming with what will likely be monthly updates. Yay! Some culinary notes before we proceed:

Dolmades: Are stuffed grape leaves filled with things like rice, dill, and pine nuts, among other delicious things. They're a Greek dish that's usually an appetizer.

The "twist of something pale" topping Kagome's salad is a vegetable called jicama, which is a crispy, sweet root vegetable that looks somewhat like a turnip, though it's actually a type of legume (meaning it's related to beans). Once peeled, the root is often shaved into neat spirals to use on salads, though it's also popular to slice it up into salsas and vegetable platters.

WARNINGS: Mild sexual/romantic situations, violence, sexual violence.

Chapter 5: Whiplash

Kagome spotted Inuyasha at a table by himself across the cafeteria. She wound her way through the maze of tables toward him, intent on apologizing for snapping at him earlier. She paused momentarily when she realized that his glassy-eyed stare out at the fake shrubbery lining the walls was tinged with anger and worry. Maybe now wouldn't be the best time. She turned to leave.

"What do you want?" came Inuyasha's huffy voice.

Kagome spun back around, clutching her sandwich and coffee in surprise. "Um, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bother you-"

"Out with it already."

She shifted uncomfortably. She wasn't used to making apologies, and Inuyasha's demeanor wasn't exactly helping.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry-for earlier. I shouldn't have been so rude to you. I was just in a really bad mood from some programming problems, and you caught me off guard and I just didn't want-" Kagome cut herself off, realizing that she was babbling.

Inuyasha was staring at her, ever so slightly slack-jawed. Kagome is apologizing? He thought. He made a mental note to check outside and see if pigs were flying past the windows.

"Inuyasha?"

"Yeah, whatever, wench."

Kagome's mouth dropped open. "What did you just call me?" Her voice pitched dangerously low.

Inuyasha realized his mistake a second too late; the word had already slipped out. He mentally kicked himself for talking like that to his coworker, in the public cafeteria no less, and tried to gather his thoughts.

"Uh, it's a habit, sorry, I-" he started.

"A habit? A habit? Disrespecting your coworkers like that is a habit?" She seethed at him.

Crap. He already had problems with his public reputation, and he didn't need an incident like this to make it worse. He stood up.

"I said I was sorry!" He hissed.

"Sorry indeed! I'll know you're sorry if you never call me that again!"

"Why don't you just-" He caught her expression, "-Augh!-Alright fine!"

Kagome turned to stomp away.

"Kagome, wait!" Inuyasha reached out and grabbed her wrist, just in case she had been planning on ignoring him.

Kagome jumped at the sudden hand on her wrist and yanked out of his grip. "What?" She asked, fuming.

Inuyasha paused for a second under her glare. "My brother told me he wants us to turn off our cell phones before we leave for the restaurant."

Kagome crossed her arms. "Why?"

"He doesn't want us to be followed. Cell phones have GPS."

She blinked, realizing he was right, and wondered at the same time if that was how her attackers had found her last night.

"Fine, whatever," she snapped.

Watching her as she stomped off, Inuyasha was surprised that she had so readily agreed. Plopping back into his chair, he poked at his lo mein with his chopsticks, which was now looking sad and cold from inattention. Sighing, Inuyasha hoped that his brother would procure a private room at the restaurant, as he was pretty sure there were going to be some serious verbal fireworks. He also hoped that Kagome would have enough sense to keep her charm on at the height of her temper. Scratch that. He hoped they would all have enough sense to keep their charms on.

...

The rest of the day passed uneventfully, with the exception of Hojo attempting to ask Kagome out for the evening when he went to tell her that the copy he had promised her was on the server. Kagome, for her part, was relieved that she didn't actually have to lie when she told him that she had other plans, and Hojo had skittered nervously out of the room without even thinking to ask if she was available next week. In her opinion, it was probably the only good thing that could come of the ridiculous dinner invitation with Inuyasha and his brother.

She packed up her bag at 5 pm and left, hoping she wouldn't run into Inuyasha on her way out. She didn't want to deal with him until she absolutely had to. Fortunately, luck seemed to favor her, and she made it out of the garage without seeing him.

...

"Something fancy..." Kagome muttered to herself as she rummaged through her closet. She didn't own any fancy dresses or skirts, which was probably just as well since it was getting colder, it being late October and all. Pants would have to suffice. She pulled a pair of high-cut black pants with a shiny, tuxedo-style stripe down the outside of the leg from the back of her closet. Tossing them over her arm, she dug around a little more and extracted a burgundy silk sleeveless shirt that was gathered slightly at the mock turtle neckline. She would just wear a jacket over the shirt.

Kagome pulled the garments on, pausing to button the three buttons at the back of the neck of her shirt, just above the keyhole-style opening. She frowned in concentration as she tied the sash of her pants into an intricate knot, one she had taught herself after getting into rock climbing and discovering that she had a way with rope.

She decided on a pair of sleek, patent leather flats, thinking that if Inuyasha's brother was concerned about them being followed, she didn't want to be stuck trying to run in heels.
...

Sesshoumaru was getting impatient. It was still technically early, but he didn't like to be kept waiting.

"Can I get you anything while you wait for your guests, sir?" the waiter asked politely.

"No, thank you. This is fine for now," he replied, gesturing carelessly at his glass of sparkling water.

"Well, do not hesitate to call me if you have need of anything, sir." He inclined his head slightly and stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Sesshoumaru sighed, staring blankly at the décor that sat somewhere between cold post-modernism and café-esque warmth. Sculpted, richly upholstered chairs mingled with stark, perfectly cylindrical white lamps grouped along the wall. The result was a decidedly generic "expensive" vibe that no doubt appealed to most of the clientele. It was a mild annoyance to Sesshoumaru, who reminded himself that he came here for the food and the service, not the décor.

...

Unbeknownst to Sesshoumaru, someone else was sharing his impatience. Kagome was tapping her fingers on her crossed arms while she waited for Inuyasha to show up. The valet had already taken her car for her, and she was left standing awkwardly outside the restaurant. She might have considered going in since it was a little chilly, but Kagome had no real desire to meet Inuyasha's brother alone. She wasn't afraid; she simply thought that since Inuyasha had dragged her into this, it was his duty to make proper introductions. So she waited.

When she saw Inuyasha's car come around the corner, she both breathed a sigh of exasperated relief and felt a knot of apprehension twist in her gut. She'd be able to go inside out of the cold, but now she had to deal with Inuyasha, with whom she hadn't parted on the best of terms that afternoon.

Inuyasha pulled up and stepped out of his car, tossing his keys to the valet. He paused when he saw Kagome waiting for him, looking slightly grumpy.

"You're late," she huffed.

He checked his watch. "Actually, I'm a minute early." He grinned cockily at her annoyance. "Are you that eager to meet my brother?"

"Shut up. I'm early because traffic wasn't as bad as I was expecting it would be."

Inuyasha could agree with that. Traffic had been surprisingly light, given the hour and the day of the week. In fact, that was the only reason why he had been a minute early instead of 10 or 15 minutes late.

"Keh," he mumbled, and followed her inside.

They divested themselves of their coats, handing them over to the woman behind the coat-check window. Inuyasha turned, expecting to see Kagome wearing a similar black dress to what most of the other women in the restaurant had on. He sucked in a surprised breath. Not only was she wearing pants instead of a dress, the red silk top she had on stood out against the sea of black that was the other customers' attire. And against her dark, wavy hair, some part of his brain noted. The sash showed off her trim waist, and that same part of his brain insisted that she looked good.

"Are you done staring?" Kagome snapped, though if she was honest, she had been doing the same to him. The dark gray suit he was wearing contrasted nicely with his silvery hair, and the slash of red dress shirt offset his golden eyes.

Inuyasha jumped slightly, but quickly regained his composure. "You, er, clean up nicely."

"Don't act so surprised," she said, making her way to the hostess.

"I don't think I was the only one surprised," he muttered to himself. The same part of his brain that had registered her attractiveness had also noticed her eyes sliding appreciatively over his frame as he removed his coat.

"What was that?"

"Nothing." He turned to the hostess. "Inuyasha Taisho and Kagome Higurashi. We're the guests of Sesshoumaru Taisho," he told her.

The hostess smiled as she checked their names off her list. "Right this way please," she said, gesturing for them to follow.

...

Sango drummed her fingers in mild impatience on the steering wheel as she watched Kohaku shifting nervously on his toes in front of the sea-green door to Rin's house. After another minute, the front door opened and Rin stepped out, greeting Kohaku with a friendly embrace. The corner of Sango's mouth quirked up in amusement at the slight flush that appeared across her little brother's cheeks. The two teenagers conversed briefly before heading down the brick steps to the car.

Sango rolled down a window as they approached. "You two can ride in the back if you want. I'll be your chauffeur for the evening," she said with a wink and an impish grin. The lingering blush on Kohaku's cheeks warmed up a shade, and Rin laughed.

Elbowing Kohaku gently, she said, "Just pretend she's the Secret Service and we're the President."

"President? Singular?" asked Kohaku with an amused grin, as he opened the car door.

"Well if you're concerned about numbers, I suppose you can be the Vice President then," Rin replied smugly, climbing into her seat, Kohaku close behind.

"Hey! That's not fair!"

"Actually," Sango interjected as she released the parking break, "I'll be the President and you can be the Secret Service."

"Cool, we can be spies!" Rin giggled.

"Does this mean I get to drive?" Kohaku eagerly asked, leaning forward with a mischievous smile.

Sango quirked an eyebrow at him. "No," she said definitively, and pressed the gas suddenly, jerking Kohaku unceremoniously back into his seat. "And put your seatbelt on." She tossed a grin at him in her rear view mirror.

"I am so unloved..." Kohaku sighed with mock sorrow, but obeyed the order to buckle his seatbelt.

...

Inuyasha, Kagome, and Sesshoumaru sat sipping their glasses of Pinot Grigio in strained silence. Inuyasha had made the appropriate introductions, but now Sesshoumaru seemed content to simply study the two of them across the table. Kagome was absently jangling her leg. Inuyasha noticed.

"Quit it," he muttered under his breath.

Kagome stilled the movement, though she made no reply. No fireworks, though Inuyasha felt instead as though the scent of gas was filling the air, waiting for a match to be struck.

Still, Sesshoumaru stared, though his unreadable expression shifted minutely. He sat, silent, resplendent, and cold in a sleek black suit and silvery gray shirt. Kagome was looking everywhere but him, not wanting to be pinned with his narrow yellow gaze. She tried to find the cylindrical lamps interesting, but failed miserably, just as their designer had failed to capture elegant simplicity and instead run headlong into simplistic achromatic boredom. Kagome could hardly stand it any longer. She opened her mouth to say she knew not what, when the door opened and the waiter arrived with their first course. A small sigh escaped her mouth.

"Here you are," he said, placing the plates of artistically sculpted salad with elegant gestures. "May I get you anything else?"

"No, thank you," Sesshoumaru replied. The waiter bowed himself out.

Kagome looked askance at the salad, a tiny display of artistic culinary mastery. There seemed to be layers of a few types of greens of various colors, arranged in overlapping fan shapes, scattered delicately with mandarin oranges, slivered strawberries, and mild goat cheese. A twist of something pale splayed atop the construction, the identity of which was completely lost to Kagome. The whole thing was drizzled with a vaguely pink vinaigrette.

Unsure where to start, Kagome fell back on an old etiquette standby: wait for the host to start and emulate. She looked tentatively at Sesshoumaru, who was regarding his salad with an eyebrow so barely raised that she would have missed it had she not been studying him so closely. Sesshoumaru raised his eyes ever so slightly, enough to catch Kagome's stare and freeze her in place.

Caught off-guard, she instinctively dropped what she hoped was an impassive mask across her features. If Sesshoumaru's subtle downward quirk of his mouth was any indication, she had been successful.

Inuyasha watched the non-verbal exchange without comment. Instead, he stabbed his salad roughly with his fork, the utensil clanking harshly against the white stoneware plate. Kagome jumped. Sesshoumaru stiffened faintly.

Kagome picked up her fork and speared an orange, wondering what on earth had just happened. Was Sesshoumaru sizing her up? That idea seemed utterly ridiculous, and yet she got the distinct sense that he was somehow appraising her. How she had arrived at such an impression was a mystery, since his cold gaze overtly betrayed nothing. It dawned on her as she chewed, however, that it must have been in the set of his jaw and the tiny frown that had fluttered briefly across his mouth.

The food was a small distraction from the taut silence, if only because the gentle clatter and scrape of utensils surreptitiously punctured the strain in the air.

Try as she might, Kagome could find nothing visual in the room to hold her interest. The abstracts on the wall were almost worse than the lamps; in each, a few ink and pencil lines wiggled inelegantly around the smooth page, and somewhere an artist was laughing all the way to the bank. She wanted to smirk at the thought of the sucker who paid for the 'artworks,' but remembered where she was when she caught Inuyasha's tight expression out of the corner of her eye. She scrunched her toes in her shoes instead, momentarily distracting herself with the feel of the leather.

Her shoe squeaked.

To Kagome, the sound seemed to scream through the stiff clinking of forks. She looked up guiltily to find Inuyasha glaring at her sideways. Her lips thinned into a line, and she risked a glance across the table; Sesshoumaru though, appeared to either not have heard it or not to care, though Kagome was betting on the latter. Silently furious with herself and feeling incredibly self-conscious, she returned her attention to her food, where she resorted to imagining how she could make her plate and its slowly dwindling contents into a web page.

She frowned slightly in concentration, as mandarin oranges became buttons, the veins of the salad greens lines of text. The dark green leaves dropped into the background, as she absently scooted the greens into a vague rectangular shape. The strawberries-

Inuyasha finally broke. "Would tell us what the hell you want already?" He snapped loudly, slamming his fork down on the table.

Kagome jumped again, her brain still half caught in trying to make a comparison between goat cheese and visited links.

Sesshoumaru merely gave Inuyasha a disinterested look before turning back to his food-

And the silence collapsed around them. A huge crash sounded a number of yards behind the door, followed by several urgent shouts. Then a loud pop! A shriek. Sesshoumaru's eyes snapped up.

They all thrust their chairs back at the same time, leaping to their feet. Kagome started to the door. Inuyasha grabbed her arm.

"Not that way!" He pulled her toward the back of the room, where a tall narrow window was set in the corner of the wall. Glass exploded toward them.

...

Kohaku played nervously with his dolmades as Sango interrogated Rin about her studies and her family. He shouldn't have worried, as Rin did seem to be enjoying herself, but he was afraid that Sango would ask difficult questions about Rin's family situation. Soon enough, though, the topic of conversation turned to Kohaku himself.

"So, tell me, Rin, is Kohaku behaving himself at school?" Sango asked with a glimmer in her eye.

"I'm right here you know-" Kohaku started to interject.

"For the most part," Rin smiled, her sudden hand on Kohaku's knee under the table silencing him effectively. Kohaku bit his lip. He glanced over at her. She wasn't even looking at him, just smiling away innocently at Sango. His inward grin fought with mild embarrassment.

"Have you been behaving yourself?" Sango asked, just as innocently, subtly leaning forward over the table.

Rin's composure momentarily cracked, a flash of guilty embarrassment flitting across her face. Under the table, she withdrew her hand from Kohaku's knee as though burned. Kohaku jumped slightly at the sudden loss of contact.

"What? I-of course!" Rin stammered, forcefully plastering an easy smile back on her face. "I mean, I've got good grades, and-"

Sango chuckled, leaning back in her seat. Rin paused.

"It's alright. I'm just giving you a hard time, Rin." Then she added with a smirk, "I'm pretty sure you're the reason Kohaku behaves himself as well as he does."

"That's hardly fair-" Kohaku started indignantly.

"Perhaps," agreed Sango, "But you said yourself that Rin is the reason you got the grade you did."

"That's true," he said, and couldn't help the grin that crept across his features as he looked sideways at his friend. Rin positively beamed back at him.

...

"What is the status of the mission?" An icy voice issued from the silhouette of an executive chair.

"They are currently pursuing the targets," a quavering female voice answered from the semi-darkness.

"I hope I do not need to remind you what will happen should they fail to retrieve them, Kagura."

"You do not, milord," she replied, licking her lips nervously.

"Then you are dismissed."

Footsteps receded. Then a pause.

"Milord?"

"I believe I have dismissed you."

"But, milord, I would ask-"

"Do not test me Kagura. Doing so on such a night would be especially unwise."

"Yes, milord."

A heavy door gently clicked shut.

...

As glass rained down on them, Inuyasha yanked Kagome out of the path of a black-cloaked demonic blur.

"Get on!" He shouted to her over the din.

"What?!"

"Piggyback!"

Kagome hesitated another second. It cost her. Something heavy impacted her shoulder, sending her tumbling to the ground. Scrambling to her feet, she looked wildly around for Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru. Somehow, Inuyasha was still next to her, attempting to hold off several black-clad demons, though his charm still remained firmly around his neck. Sesshoumaru was framed in the window, charm removed, wielding an acid green whip to great effectiveness.

A huge crash sounded; a brief paralysis overtook them as demons flowed through the destroyed door.

Something clicked in Kagome's mind. Her hand twitched and moved of its own accord to the charm clasped around her neck. A woman's voice rang through her mind like a warning bell. Protect them. Realizing on an instinctive level that she was no longer in control of her body's movements, she filled her lungs for a panicked shout.

"Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha, get out! I can't-I can't-"

Sesshoumaru turned his head for a split second, spotted her hands at the clasp of her charm, felt the foreign aura she emanated, and went sailing out the window, taking several demons with him.

"Kagome, don't-!" Inuyasha started. Too late.

Swifter than she should have been able, she grabbed him around the neck, tucking herself around his surprised and struggling frame as she brought them both to their knees. Black figures closed around them. Kagome shut her eyes, knowing what was coming, knowing it was impossible to fight the well of power within her.

Golden light filled her, surrounded her, she floated oddly peacefully for a second before it all condensed.

Kagome's eyes snapped open and her head jerked up, gold-washed irises staring unseeingly at the demons now within inches of her.

Inuyasha froze underneath her. His face spun toward hers as he felt the spiritual power compress and her strange aura rise. A blinding flash of gold. Demonic shrieks. Pain. His eyes squeezed shut. I have to contain this. Then his charm was in his hands, and red joined gold, lapping against the edges of the room. Ah, the walls are still there, he thought hazily. A weight collapsed on top of him, forcing the air out of his chest. An acrid tang wafted across his nose. We should probably...probably... his senses fuzzed out as oppressive smoke filled his lungs.

...

Rin inhaled the delicious smell of melted chocolate as the waiter set their respective desserts in front of them. She had ordered a dark chocolate flourless cake topped with hot fudge and fresh raspberries, and the scent alone was heaven. Kohaku leaned over her shoulder a little, suddenly slightly jealous of her order. He'd gotten apple cobbler, thinking that a flourless cake sounded a little odd.

Sango grinned at them across the table, noting Kohaku's veritable leer at Rin's cake.

"I'm sure Rin'll share with you if you ask," Sango suggested as she stuck her fork into her peach pie.

Kohaku made his best puppydog face as Rin turned to him, smirking as she stuck a bite of cake in her mouth.

"Mmmmmm," She said, making her best food-gasm face.

Kohaku's expression went from puppy to kicked-puppy.

Sango burst into giggles at his face, nearly choking on her pie.

"Ha-Excuse-" She coughed, "-Me-hrk! Uhum-" She took a swig from her water glass and coughed again. "I'll be back in a-" another cough "-minute." Sango tossed her napkin on her chair and headed for the ladies' room.

"Nice job, Rin," Kohaku said sarcastically.

"What? You're the one that made the face."

"But you caused me to make the face with your-your-"

"Teasing?" She replied with a grin.

"Hmph."

"You can have some, you know."

"Really?" His face lit up as he reached for his fork. Rin stayed his hand.

"On one condition."

"What's that?"

Rin allowed her smile to turn mischievous.

"What?" Kohaku asked again.

Rin speared a piece of cake with her fork. "This," she replied, bringing the bite to his mouth.

Kohaku bit his lip.

"C'mon, what's the matter?" She asked.

"We're in public," he muttered.

"So? You let me feed you cookies at lunch all the time!"

"But that's different..."

Rin rolled her eyes. "No it's not. School's pretty public if you ask me, and since they're cookies, I don't use a fork."

Really, she had him there.

"Alright," he agreed, with slight embarrassment.

"Yay!" She brought the cake back to his mouth. He parted his lips to take the bite. "Chugga-chugga-choo-choooo," she muttered, quietly so only he could hear. Kohaku's mouth snapped shut.

"Rin!" He hissed.

"Whhaaat?" She asked innocently.

"Don't do that."

"Do whaaat?"

"The train thing! You know I hate it!"

"Oh, fiiiine. Here," she said, offering him the fork full of cake once again.

As he took the bite, Kohaku felt sheer warm deliciousness flow over his tongue, and he closed his eyes involuntarily. I guess Rin's expression was only sort of faked, he thought, languidly enjoying the flavor in his mouth. A touch on his lip snapped his eyes open.

"You had chocolate on you," Rin informed him, showing him the chocolate coated fingertip she'd just drawn away from his mouth.

"...Oh."

Rin looked at Kohaku, then at the chocolate on her finger, then back at him.

"So do you want to lick this, or should I?"

Kohaku's brain just stopped. "I-uh-" She just asked-and I want-but we're not even-

"Well?" She asked expectantly. "Can't let it go to waste ya know..."

"Um-why don't you-just, uh-it's your cake-"

"You sure you don't want it?" She brought her finger to hover at his lips.

Kohaku suddenly felt rather warm. "Uhhh, no, uh, I think you should have it." He swallowed hard. I can't-her finger's right there and oh god but we're in the middle of a restaurant and- His tongue darted out to lick his lips, but Rin's chocolate coated fingertip was close enough that he grazed it with his tongue and suddenly her finger was in his mouth and he tasted cocoa and sugar and her and his eyes slid shut as the tiniest of moans escaped him.

Rin thought she would die when she felt the subtle vibration at her fingertip. Her mouth dropped just slightly open -oh my god, I can't believe-and I was so sure he wouldn't, and here he is just-just- she felt the heat in her rise as he laved the pad of her finger with his tongue again. The chocolate was definitely gone, and she lost herself in sensation as Kohaku slid his lips further down to her knuckle. She sucked in a sharp breath when she felt his tongue graze the underside of her finger from the base all the way to the tip, where he let it out with a small pop. Rin was staring, transfixed at the point where the pad of her finger still rested against his lips.

Kohaku took her hand, trailing his lips across her palm before bringing it away from his mouth as he met her gaze. His brown eyes were aflame as he brought his free hand to her cheek.

"Rin..." he said a little shakily, leaning toward her, "I-"

"Hey guys!" Rin and Kohaku sprang back from each other, blushing furiously. "Sorry I took so long! There was a line and-" Sango paused, suddenly realizing something was amiss. She looked from one red face to the other. "Uh, did I interrupt something...?"

Rin's smile was too wide. "No, not at all! It's fine, come sit down!"

Kohaku was tight lipped as he returned to his apple cobbler.

"You okay?" Sango asked after a minute.

Kohaku forced a smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinkin,'" he replied, which was basically true. Well, the thinking part anyway. Fine, not so much. His mind was racing faster than his pulse even, as he considered the implications of what had just occurred.

...

Kagura lay on the tile floor, still shuddering. There was no blood, but aching pain was everywhere. She felt her head lifted gently from the floor, and a light brush tickled her forehead as sweaty hair was almost tenderly swept aside.

"Don't tell me you've had enough already..." His breathy voice came close to her ear, caressing the side of her neck. "If you want, we can play a different game... It could be...pleasurable..." She flinched as long fingers wove under her collar, stroking the top of her breast. He paused. "You prefer the pain?" Fingers flicked down to pinch her nipple.

"N-"

"What was that?" He gently pricked the areola with a fingernail.

Her blood exploded with fire, veins became rivulets of magma. "NO!" Kagura shrieked, "I said no!" She convulsed in his arms, fighting the urge to scream again.

"Hmm..." He ran his thumb over the tiny wound and it disappeared, the skin looking once again untouched. A small sigh of relief escaped her lips. "You know, this is twice in a row you've failed me...and with the same assignment, no less..."

"But, but the first time...I...didn't fail." She gripped her arms, fighting the ache that invaded every limb.

"You were supposed to bring her to me. The plant was a last resort," he said, toying idly with a lock of her hair.

"But milord, we had no idea-"

"Are you arguing with me?" He asked silkily, clawed fingernail suddenly poised at her throat.

"N-No, of course not..." She answered breathlessly, eying the razor-like nail.

"You're an insolent bitch, you know," he mused, running the pad of his thumb across the vein in her neck, "...And with your recent failures..."

She swallowed, willing the icy hand away. "I'm sorry, milord..."

"You make me wonder whether you enjoy this..."

Kagura's eyes grew round. "N-never."

"I can make you enjoy it, you know..." He let his head drop close to her ear "...I could make pain into pleasure, pleasure into pain..."

She stiffened when she felt his teeth bite lightly on her ear, tongue flicking out to trace the edge.

"...A caress would make you shriek in pain, a blade in your side...would make you scream with ecstasy..." he continued, enjoying the way her body tensed.

"Y-you wouldn't..."

A sickly smile wound its way across his face. "That pathetic excuse for a demon you call 'husband' wouldn't be able to touch you...And I-" He licked her languidly from collarbone to jaw.

"P-please..." She whispered hoarsly.

"I won't," he said soothingly, lipping her earlobe and twisting a lock of her hair around a long, pale finger, "for now. But if you fail me again..."

Silently, she nodded.

...

"Unnnnggghhhh..." Kagome groaned, her shifting pulling a slight squeak from the leather. Leather...? She thought confusedly, what in the hell...? Her eyes cracked open to take in her surroundings, but her muddled gaze met only with outlines in the semi-darkness. Suddenly she felt them. Demons! Her mind shrieked at her, and she sat bolt upright, ready to flee or fight. Wait, I'm not tied up? Then what...? Calming slightly, Kagome realized that the auras she felt so strongly belonged to two very familiar presences-

"You're awake," said a pretentious voice.

Kagome turned to see the top half of Sesshoumaru outlined in the dimness against an expansive window, the rest of his figure hidden by what appeared to be a large desk. Inuyasha was seated in a chair across from him, his profile catching the bluish light filtering into the room.

"Yeah..." Kagome replied distractedly, trying to discern her surroundings better. "Where are we anyway?"

"My office," Sesshoumaru stated shortly. "Join us at my desk."

Still a little too out of it to notice the lack of a polite "please," Kagome started to get up. The room spun and teetered abruptly in her vision. "Woah..." she mumbled, trying to keep her balance. She put her hand out to steady herself on the arm of the sofa. The room sped up. "Ummm...."

A pair of hands on her shoulders steadied her and guided her back to her seat.

"Sorry..." Kagome muttered, trying to focus on her helper. She finally managed to get the room to stop spinning. "...Inuyasha?" She said a little louder in mild surprise. Who else would it be, dummy? Her brain helpfully supplied.

"We can discuss this just as easily over here. Are you alright?" Inuyasha asked gruffly, trying to mask the concern in his eyes.

Inuyasha's being civil? ...I suppose I did save all of our asses back there... "Yeah...I guess I kind of over-did it earlier..." At what cost? Her mind continued.

Inuyasha frowned. "Kind of?" He wasn't entirely in tip-top shape either from having to contain her energies in the room.

"Well, we're all safe..." she mumbled sheepishly.

"For the time being," Sesshoumaru cut in as he pulled Inuyasha's now unoccupied chair over to the sofa where the two were already sitting. "What I would like to know is-" he placed his hands on the back of the chair, staring down at them, "-who left their cell phone on?" Here he set his narrow yellow gaze on Kagome, whose bewildered expression only deepened his frown.

"But-but I turned mine off," she stammered.

"Inuyasha has already made the same claim, and backed it up when he showed me the phone."

"But I did!" Kagome insisted. She felt like a small child being chastised by an angry parent, and the fact that her mind was still a little fuzzy wasn't helping matters. "It's in my purse. It's off, I swear. Here-" she cast around, looking for her bag, and finally spotted it in the shadows next to the sofa. She grabbed it and rifled through the contents before extracting her phone.

Sesshoumaru watched her flurry of activity, his ire threatening to crack his mostly impassive mask.

"See?" Kagome said triumphantly. The screen of the phone was dark.

Sesshoumaru came around the chair and plucked the phone from her grasp. He pushed a button. It was indeed off. Slowly, he sat down.

They all stared at each other, wondering, how?

"When you were attacked last night..." Inuyasha started slowly, "What happened?"

"What? But that-"

"Was also Naraku, and you haven't told me what happened yet."

"Um, well, it's a little blurry...but they grabbed me when I got out of my car...and then I hit one of them that was holding me and started to run, but they caught me again and I...and I..." She stopped, not wanting to continue.

"You protected yourself," Sesshoumaru supplied matter-of-factly.

At what cost? Her brain asked again. "Yes...I guess I did. And, and afterward, I guess I lost my jacket somehow, because I had to go get it from the parking lot and-"

Inuyasha practically dove off the sofa to grab the gray bundle that was Kagome's coat off the floor.

"Inuyasha, what-?" Kagome started. "Hey!" He had started emptying pockets and turning the sleeves inside out. Kagome tried to grab it from him, but Sesshoumaru stopped her. "Why are you-?" she started to snap, trying to remove his hand from her wrist.

"Got it!" pronounced Inuyasha, as he pulled something from the collar of her coat.

"What is that?" Kagome asked incredulously, as he waved a small black piece of plastic in front of them.

"It's a tracking device," Sesshoumaru replied. "It appears that this may have been the real intent behind your attack last night."

"...Oh." She looked sheepishly at Inuyasha.

"'Oh,' indeed. Well now we've got our answer, so lets crush this damn thing," Inuyasha dropped the device on the floor to stomp on it.

"Don't," Sesshoumaru interjected sharply.

Inuyasha stopped, but he didn't lower his foot.

"You can see it's already been disabled," he continued, "likely due to the light show you two put on earlier. We should investigate it and see if we can get any further information."

Sesshoumaru was right. The tiny LED light was out.

"Oh alright." Inuyasha picked up the device. "Here." He tossed it to Sesshoumaru, who caught it deftly. "Are you going to tell us what you wanted to talk about earlier?" Inuyasha added.

Sesshoumaru carelessly flicked a strand of silvery hair off his sleeve. "Of course. I had originally intended to discuss my theories with you, but tonight's attack proves some of them beyond any doubt."

"And what are those?" Kagome asked, finally starting to feel a little more like herself.

"First and foremost is that Naraku has thoroughly infiltrated the police for them to have stayed away for as long as they did."

"Then what about the people in the restaurant? Are they alright?"

"'Alright' is a relative term. The humans who were present will all survive."

Kagome grimaced. "The demons?"

"You should know the answer to that."

She shrank back into the sofa.

"All of them were Naraku's lackeys, if that makes it any better," Inuyasha tried to soothe. Her obvious distress was making him uncomfortable.

"A little," Kagome whispered. Another thought occurred to her, "But, won't people know about this? How do we hide something that-that-" She paused.

"Blatant?" Inuyasha suggested.

"Yeah," she agreed self-consciously.

"That brings me to my second point," Sesshoumaru said. "At the moment it appears that he cares just as much as we do about keeping the secret of Youkai, since a story was already given out about what happened at the restaurant before I could fabricate one myself."

Inuyasha sat back a little. "Well that could work to our advantage."

"Or disadvantage. Humans are dense, but not that dense. He will have to start being more subtle at some point," Sesshoumaru mused.

Kagome snorted. "Oh, and demons are so intelligent," she said sarcastically, shooting Inuyasha a significant look. He glared back.

Sesshoumaru ignored them, continuing, "Third, which is something I have yet to completely confirm, Naraku has a network that has already infiltrated the Youkai Courts, simply based on several questionable verdicts that have recently been handed down related to demon-human confrontation."

"What do you mean?" Kagome frowned.

"I mean that recent verdicts were a little too much in favor of known criminals within the Youkai community."

"But, if all that's true," Inuyasha began, "that means he's got his hands in pretty much everything."

"Indeed."

"But what else?" Kagome remembered Kali shouting something about Naraku's recent exploits the previous night, but she was hard pressed to remember exactly what they were.

Turning to Kagome, Inuyasha started ticking things off on his fingers. "He's got a seat in the state congress and he's the head of the board of a communications firm that's at least as big as AdHOC, which means he's got control of the PR flow for who knows how many companies...Oh, and on top of that there are those attacks that everyone keeps blaming on the Mafia."

"So those fires being covered in the news lately-"

"Are likely Naraku's doing," Inuyasha finished. "Of course there are demons in the Mafia, but the organization is likely to be a target just because they're another power structure that might get in the way. At least it would explain why he's been pushing in congress for more government funding to crack down on them."

"Indeed. Which means that the Demon Slayers and the Order of Isis must be extremely cautious," Sesshoumaru added, "as they are also large power structures."

"And the Order of Isis is what exactly?" Kagome queried.

"They are an elite group of human priestesses," Sesshoumaru supplied, "and I am rather surprised that they have not contacted you yet."

"And Naraku probably has something to do with that," Inuyasha muttered darkly.

"Extremely likely," Sesshoumaru agreed.

"So what am I supposed to do about this?" Kagome asked, feeling rather uncomfortably at the center of the swirling mess they were discussing.

"Try not to get your ass kidnapped," Inuyasha said bluntly.

"Oh, how helpful," Kagome replied sarcastically.

"Crude as he may be, Inuyasha is correct on that matter. We're not sure why yet, but Naraku obviously wants you for something, and we cannot let him have it."

"I'm sure there are other priestesses who he could use... what about keeping them safe?"

"As far as we know they are. You on the other hand, he has attacked twice in as many days. If that does not speak of his desire, then nothing does."

Kagome hugged her arms to her chest. The word desire did not sit particularly well with her.

"She's already had her apartment charmed. Miroku told me that much. There's not a whole lot else we can do," said Inuyasha.

"Inuyasha, I would think that with this latest profession of yours, you would think a little more creatively. There are always options."

"And those would be?"

"You will stay with her as much as possible. Including at her apartment."

The identical looks of horror that Kagome and Inuyasha gave Sesshoumaru almost made him chuckle. Almost.

"No way!" They said simultaneously, then glared at each other.

"He's going to drive me up the wall-"

"She's gonna make me insane-"

Ignoring their complaints, Sesshoumaru stated, "Kagome's apartment already has wards. Having you both there together means that you can adequately protect against both a demon and a human threat."

"What? Naraku wouldn't use humans! He hates them too much!" Inuyasha insisted.

"Not necessarily."

"He didn't use them last time!"

"That does not mean that he will not this time, particularly when his quarry cannot harm humans with her powers."

Inuyasha swallowed his retort. He hadn't really considered the possibility of humans being involved, since their attackers earlier had been entirely demons. Protecting the world from Naraku would have to come before his discomfiture with staying in the same apartment with the woman who was already making him crazy on a few different levels.

"Keh," huffed Inuyasha. "Fine."

"Excuse me," Kagome said icily, "but it's my apartment and me you're talking about. I get a say in this more than either of you, and I do not want him to stay with me. I can protect myself." At what c- She shut the voice in her mind up.

"Against one or two humans I would give you a fighting chance," Sesshoumaru said, "but if there are more, you will be quite finished."

"I'm supposed to get training-"

"But you do not have that training now."

"I-"

"Precisely."

Kagome scowled. "Fine, but there will be terms to this arrangement."

...

"Bye, Rin," Kohaku said with a shy smile as she got out of the car.

"Aren't you going to walk her to the door?" Sango asked. "I won't look, I promise." She winked at him. That something had happened while she had been gone at dinner hadn't escaped her attention.

"Uh..."

"Oh, go on. I know you want to."

Mumbling embarrassedly, he got out of the car and caught up to Rin.

"So you decided to be a gentleman after all?" She laughed, poking him gently in the ribs.

He caught her hand and held it. "Something like that."

He hasn't let go, Rin thought, glancing at their linked hands. Before she knew it, they had ascended the steps and were standing at her door. She felt Kohaku's hand slide out of her grip as he moved in to wrap his arms around her.

"I hope you had fun," she heard him mumble into her hair, as she returned his embrace.

"Of course I did," she said, pulling back to smile at him.

"Rin, I-"

"Shhh..." She put a finger to his lips. He looked down at her with slightly wide eyes.

She can't be...! Kohaku thought frantically.

"My sister-" he began, voicing his thoughts.

Rin slid a hand up to the side of his face and into his hair, and he couldn't help but lean into it, eyes half lidded.

"She won't look," Rin leaned toward him, "Kohaku..." she whispered, her words fluttering across his lips.

He could feel her breath feather light and then her lips, luxurious and plush, pressing slowly, captivating him, pulling him closer with such intensity that the moment stretched forever and ever and ever inside those blissful seconds.

And then it was gone.

He found himself staring into the deep embers of Rin's gaze, her long dark lashes seeming to contain the flames. He brought his hand to her flushed cheek, stroking gently and letting his fingers trail into her dark brown locks as he leaned his forehead against hers.

"We'll do this again, right?" He asked softly.

"Yes," she answered breathily, before claiming his mouth in a swift but searing kiss. "I think we both need to go now, though."

"Yeah..." Kohaku squeezed her hand, then stole a kiss of his own. "Good night."

"Good night," she smiled, turning to open the door. "Don't let your sister give you too much trouble," she added with a wink as she started to step inside.

Kohaku cracked a grin. "I won't," he said. Rin smiled and gave a small wave as she pulled the door shut, watching him bounce down the steps, trying to contain his obvious giddiness. She chuckled.

"Something funny?" A cold voice asked.

Rin whipped around. "Kagura! Um, I-"

"Who," her timbre was like crushed ice, "was that?"

"A-a friend-from school-we-uh-" Rin edged her hand back toward the door handle.

Suddenly her wrist was caught in a frigid grip, and Kagura hissed into her face, "Tell me, do you kiss all of your friends like that?"

Shit. She saw us. Shitshitshitshitshit- "No, I just-we were just-"

"Mouth-fucking," Kagura spat. "You want to screw him, don't you, you little whore." Power began to crackle where she held onto Rin's wrist.

"No! Nononono, I don't-" Tiny bolts of lightning lanced her wrist. "-please, Kagura, no-don't-I-mom-"

"Don't you dare call me that, you little bitch!" The electricity intensified. Rin whimpered.

"I-I'm sorry-just don't-please no-"

"YOU'RE NOT MY DAUGHTER!" Kagura shrieked, and she let loose the storm.

Rin's first scream rattled the glass of the grandfather clock next to the door.

...

As Sango rounded the last corner before their house, she was bursting with questions for Kohaku. He'd remained largely silent most of the trip home, a goofy grin plastered across his face. She couldn't take any more.

"Well?" She finally asked.

"Well what?" Kohaku said, snapping out of the time loop in his head.

"How was it?" Sango almost squealed.

"You weren't supposed to look!" He rejoined, blushing furiously.

"I didn't! But I'm not stu-" She stopped suddenly as she pulled up to their house, round eyes taking in the sight of their front yard and window.

"What the hell?" Kohaku stepped out of the car, looking bewilderedly at the shattered glass littering the grass. Sango came to stand next to him.

"Wait here," she commanded.

He nodded, swallowing hard.

Sango moved swiftly to the door, wrenching it open and preparing to take out anyone who might be inside with a quick upper-cut.

The only thing that greeted her was the breeze coming through the smashed picture window. Picking her way through the shards, she spotted the red brick in the middle of the rug, a sheet of paper wrapped around it. Sango reached down and gingerly picked it up, pulling away the sheet of paper. She stared down at the note in horror.

"What does it say?" Kohaku asked, having followed once he realized there was no immediate danger.

Silently, Sango handed him the paper.

Slay the Slayers.

I hope you guys enjoyed that! It took me months to write this. I kept rewriting and rewriting and rewriting, particularly the romance and violent scenes. They were just never quite right. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out, though I am definitely drained. Writing a convincing, personally violent scene is much harder than I thought it would be, and I have a lot of respect for people who do it well, especially with regularity! I'm still working on making those scenes better, but I think by the end I got a better idea of how to go about it. Depending on the intensity of the coming chapters, some may take longer than others to write, but I plan to keep hammering away at it. :)

Anyway, reviews would be much, much appreciated, since so much work went into this. As I said, I'm fairly happy with it, but I also wonder if I've been staring at it too long, so I'm sure there are things that could be better, and things that are actually better than I think. So let me know your thoughts. <3

-ebj