InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Pack Law ❯ Confrontations ( Chapter 11 )

Pack Law

 

Chapter 11: Confrontations

 

Sango crept along the dark corridor, one hand on her holster. She paused to make sure her gun was loaded, safety on, before continuing toward the youki she could feel behind the door up ahead.

 

Silently, Kirara crawled out from the taijya's hood. As Sango stopped to check her weapon, the fire-neko scampered to the floor, making sure there was room to transform if necessary. Though Sango's weapons of choice had changed in the years she'd hunted, her reliance on her youkai companion had not. Kirara was still an excellent assistant. She battled hard and used her youkai senses to warn her friend of approaching danger. Kirara was a quick mode of transportation, and meant Sango never left her family in danger, waiting in a vehicle on her return.

 

With only the clicking of her claws to give her away, Kirara skittered down the hallway ahead of her mistress. She lowered her head to the floor, her youki-hiding collar glimmering in the low light streaming from the crack at the bottom of the door. She cocked her head, listening. Though she may not speak in terms Sango could understand, the fire-cat was able to relay things she had heard to InuYasha. It wasn't always efficient, but it got the job done.

 

Sango held her breath, waiting for her friend's reaction to whatever she was listening to. After what felt like eons, Kirara twitched her two tails in a “come here” motion.

 

Hand still on her weapon, ready to fire at a second's notice, Sango stepped stealthily over to the door to listen.

 

“…we should assume they've sent the remaining taijya and her youkai companion.” A young woman's voice, she sounded no older than Sango looked. She tried to commit the voice to memory, not having previous knowledge of a woman aiding Ken.

 

“Have you pinpointed their location?” Sango tensed. `Do they know that I'm here? Shit!' She checked again to be sure her weapon could be tugged out. “I can take care of the intruders.” The fire-youkai actually sounded excited to take her on. The two had been adversaries for years. One of Sango's “trophies” was a long braid of red hair she had shot from Ken's head. The spiritual powers of the bullets she fired had guaranteed the locks would never grow back. Ken was almost as meticulous as Sesshomaru; losing his hair had been a major blow.

 

“No, Ken. I have a different use for you.” A low chuckle sent a cold tendril of fear creeping up Sango's spine. She knew that voice. She hated that voice. Kirara knew it, too. So why didn't they sense anything?

 

“Bring me the miko.” Sango pursed her lips in thought. `Damn them! Who are they talking about? There aren't a lot of mikos around nowadays, but there are several who could be potential targets.' Hearing the scuffling of feet coming closer to the door, Sango withdrew, keeping her weapon trained on the door as she backed down the corridor.

 

Once they were a decent distance away from the old office building, Kirara transformed. “Come, Kirara. Let's go tell InuYasha what we heard.”

 

**********

 

The sun rose behind the hanyou as Sango and Kirara tiredly made their report. They had been out all night on recon. InuYasha was growling as Sango repeated what she had heard and told him her suspicions regarding their enemy's “master”.

 

“Ken has a friend now, a woman.” InuYasha glared in response.

 

“Did you see her?”

 

“No, only heard her. It sounded like somebody was on a computer, it might have been her. She knows about me, though.”

 

Miroku's hand gripped the arm of the chair he was relaxing in. He had entered InuYasha's office halfway through her report, looking for his wife who had not been in bed when he returned from the hospital. After a quick shower, he had rushed back to hear what was happening. True, InuYasha told his beta everything, as a matter of business, but Miroku much preferred to be able to listen himself. He always insisted that he gleaned more from what people didn't say than what they did.

 

Before Miroku could share his opinion, InuYasha cut in. He could feel the doctor's anxiety through their connection and wished to dispel it; the emotion put him on edge. “Keh. Of course they know about you. You're our best hunter and we send you everywhere. We'd be fighting idiots if they couldn't pick you out of a crowd.”

 

It wasn't much of a consolation to Miroku, who had had to patch his wife up far too many times for his sanity. Maybe he could get his wife to go on a vacation? `Now's not the time for that!' he thought angrily, `This is the home stretch; we're just days away from finding out why Kagome left us.' He vaguely wondered if he had anything to do with her non-reappearance; he had certainly been stressing to the young woman the need to avoid the well. `Her absence drove InuYasha nearly mad, but it gave him so long to mature and grow. He's a strong beta for Sesshomaru and an even stronger alpha for us. Kagome always made him stronger in battle, but he was forced to grow up even more without her by his side.'

 

Miroku's attention snapped back to the conversation as Sango's voice cut in. “We need a print-out of all the mikos we're aware of. They'll need to be protected. I'm not sure what he plans to do, but he ordered Ken to, quote `bring him the miko.' He didn't specify which one.”

 

“Fucking bastard.” InuYasha absently ran his hand through his hair, his ears flicking as the younger inhabitants of the den prepared for school. “You didn't hear why?”

 

Sango shook her head. “I have a theory, though. Jewel shards are getting scarcer. This is Kagome's time.” She tried to catch her alpha's eyes at the name of her missing pack sister, but he was looking out the window, away from her. She could tell from the set of his ears, still flicking, that he was less than impressed with the insertion to the conversation, but it couldn't be helped. “They're probably looking for anybody who can see shards now. Kagome will be a target; she has just about half the jewel with her.”

 

“They couldn't have been talking about her,” InuYasha's voice was flat. “Nobody in this day and age knows she's a miko but us.”

 

Miroku was reluctant to jump into the conversation, but he felt he had to point out, “Other youkai knew about her. Kouga's clan knew her power, so did the panthers. I know they've been quiet, but it's not a stretch to say somebody saw school uniforms like she wore and put the two together.”

 

Sango agreed. “Not to mention, youkai aren't just going to be drawn to her power… which even you, InuYasha, have to admit can be felt by anybody with even a hint of youki… but they're also going to be drawn to the shards she has. Didn't something similar happen over the summer?”

 

InuYasha's eyes flared at the reminder. “Fuck! Ken attacked her in the park, didn't he? Kagome hollered out to your pup where the shard was; if he was paying attention, he knows she can see them.” The hanyou recalled the attack twice; the first time, he had rushed in to see Kagome cowering while Hitomu fought off the youkai. The second time, Hitomu had rushed home to give the report.

 

Miroku and Sango exchanged looks behind their leader's back. Both knew they had to tread lightly. “Do we still have surveillance at the shrine?” Sango tentatively asked. It had been a silent rule in the pack to not acknowledge InuYasha was having somebody watch the well house. He could insist up and down that he didn't care about the girl, but everybody knew he was curious why she hadn't returned. The entire family knew InuYasha thought Kagome had sealed the well to pursue a normal life.

 

Reluctantly, InuYasha nodded, turning back to the others. “Yeah, there's almost always somebody there.”

 

Miroku sighed, “That'll make things easier. Kagome is back up to full strength again, too. We had few battles the couple of weeks before she left.” He knew he was on thin ice, mentioning that time, but it was important to look at things objectively right now. “She can protect herself. When she's at school, Hitomu and the others will keep an eye on her, as well.”

 

Sango nodded, looking from one man to the other. Neither had really aged since they had taken the talismans; the only proof of their time on earth was the depth of their knowledge, reflected in their eyes as they analyzed the situations at hand. InuYasha had truly grown, though few were brave enough to mention it aloud. “Is that all?” She motioned to Kirara, who was beginning to nap on a chair in the corner, “We're both beat. Even Kirara's tired; we were hyper-aware all night.”

 

With a quick glance at InuYasha, Miroku nodded and waved his wife from the room. “Go take a shower. I'll have breakfast sent up to you, and then we can take a nap. I worked a double-shift yesterday.” Sango left as Miroku stood, meeting InuYasha's eyes.

 

“We won't let anything happen to her.”

 

InuYasha glared at him before looking away, nose in the air. “Feh. Like I care!” He sounded more like the hanyou of the feudal era than he had in years. `Maybe Kagome just has that effect on him,' Miroku mused. He knew differently, though. He'd been InuYasha's friend and beta for far too many years not to be able to read between the lines.

 

“Is there anything else I can do for you before I take my leave?”

 

The hanyou looked like he was pouting for a moment. “Have my breakfast sent up here, too.” Miroku nodded, leaving as a sly grin crossed his face in recognition of what his alpha wasn't saying.

 

“You know, you can't just hide in the furthest corner of the den, InuYasha. You can't avoid everywhere she's been.”

 

InuYasha simply growled a denial. As the door slammed, he spun around, looking out at the car taking the pups to school. `That's what you think, lecher.'

 

**********

 

Kagome moaned, head on her desk. `Only two and a half days left of school, then I'll be back in the past, hunting for shards.' She was absolutely determined to go back, and decided she would remind herself of it throughout the rest of the week. If she hadn't promised her mother a straight week of school, she would have gone through last night.

 

Her eyes flipped open as something fell on her desk. Looking up, she saw a folded up piece of paper. Curious, she checked to make sure her sensei's back was turned before opening it up.

 

Kagome,

 

Wacdnalds after school? You can't avoid us forever!

 

Yuka

 

She worried her lower lip, thinking. Kagome really did feel bad that she had blown her girlfriends off since she'd been back, but time with them was just so dull compared to what she knew now. She really didn't belong with them anymore. The last thing she wanted was to sit down and be forced to talk about InuYasha, any of her “illnesses”, or why she should be dating Houjou.

 

Yuka,

 

I have to practice for chorus with my group after school.

 

Kagome

 

Tossing the paper to the desk in front of her, Kagome stared out the window. She never really needed to pay attention in history class, especially not know. They were talking about the Feudal Era, after all. `No book can teach as well as living it!' Of course, her textbooks never really brought up the common youkai attacks, or how to “rough it”, but she had lived enough of the battles and certainly understood the ancient ways of telling distance and money. Heck, she could even read a lot of the ancient kanji, thanks to Miroku.

 

**********

 

Kagome looked from one group to the other. It just figured, didn't it? She had tried to back out of going out with Yuka, Eri and Ayumi after school, but the girls were relentless! Sarah had obviously sensed her discomfort, so she had invited herself, Hitomu and Tsukiyoshi to go along with.

 

Ayumi was getting along fine with her other friends; apparently she shared a class with Sarah. Yuka was making eyes at Tsukiyoshi, while Eri was alternating between flirting with Hitomu and glaring at Sarah.

 

Kagome held her breath as Eri looked at her seriously. “Kagome, what's with you lately? You haven't really been talkative. Is it that crazy, possessive boyfriend of yours? Is he two-timing you again?”

 

Hitomu choked on his fries. He, Sarah, and Tsukiyoshi all knew the history between Kagome and InuYasha, but much like the magic of the kotodama rosary, it was one thing to know it, and one thing to actually witness it. Tsukiyoshi patted Hitomu on the back, grinning at Kagome. Sarah lifted her eyebrows in surprise.

 

`So how do I explain that my boyfriend from the past is actually five hundred years older now?' Kagome started wracking her brain. She hated, absolutely hated to lie to the girls who had been her friends for years, but there was just so much they didn't know. There was so much they couldn't know. She was starting to lose track of the lies she'd told them over the years.

 

“Yes, Kagome, what about this boyfriend of yours?” Kagome recognized the smile on Hitomu's face. It was the same look Miroku got on his face when he was about to say something he just knew he was going to be slapped for. Her eyes narrowed, `Don't you dare say anything!'

 

“Did you guys have another fight? Was it about his ex again?” Yuki broke into the conversation. Sarah stifled a giggle, slurping on her shake.

 

“We've had… some miscommunications lately. We're kind of backing off each other for the time being…” Kagome trailed off. What else was she supposed to say? `Oh, he thinks I left him hundreds of years ago. He thinks I'm ashamed of him, probably. He's accusing me of stuff I didn't do. Yeah, that'll get them to back off. The only thing that could make this worse would be-'

 

“Oh, really? What a coincidence! Houjou actually just broke up with the girl he was dating, too! Now you're both single!” Eri chirped happily.

 

Kagome gulped, “I didn't say I was single, you guys, I said-”

 

“Kagome!”

 

Kagome willed the ground to open up and swallow her as she heard Houjou cry out from behind her. She bit back a few InuYasha-esqe grumbles, pleading with her eyes for Sarah to get them out of there as quickly as possible. Sarah grinned and pulled out her cell phone, sending a text message as the older boy bore down on the table.

 

“Kagome! It's so good to see you! Have you recovered from your Encephalitis?”

 

`Encephalitis? Oh for the love of- note to self, yell at Grandpa!' Even Tsukiyoshi grinned at the girl's discomfort. “I'm all better!”

 

“Great! I brought you a headband you should wear. It has some powerful magnets in it to help keep headaches away! I was wondering; my school is having a cultural festival on Saturday and I know you had a great time at our school last year. Would you like to come with me?” Houjou was the picture of eagerness. `Is he actually bouncing on his feet?'

 

Kagome squirmed, looking at her newer friends for help. “She'd love to go!” Yuka cried, clapping her hands. Kagome sighed. `Maybe calling this one off will be the final straw and he'll leave me alone?'

 

Suddenly Hitomu spoke up, “Sorry, she's not going with you.”

 

Kagome looked up, eyes wide. Eri took on a very snotty tone as she whirled on the teen. “And what business is it of yours what she does?”

 

Hitomu matched her attitude, suddenly grasping Kagome's hand. She tried not to blush furiously as he replied, “Not that it's any of your business, but didn't you hear her earlier? She isn't single!”

 

“Excuse me?” Yuka raced to support Eri and Houjou, who was looking desolate.

 

“You heard her. And you heard me! She's my girlfriend.” With that, Hitomu pulled Kagome close to him and pressed his lips up against hers.

 

Kagome gasped. Her eyes fluttered closed as her first discernable thought was `Wow, he's a good kisser…'

 

Suddenly golden eyes were in her mind, silver hair, the scent of the woods and fresh air, and Kagome pulled away. `InuYasha! What am I thinking! I shouldn't enjoy that!' She was almost glad Hitomu hadn't let her pull away too far; her face was almost definitely the same color as a bad sunburn. She pressed it into his shoulder, willing herself to appear normal. `Maybe now, though, Houjou will leave me alone…'

 

Had Kagome been aware of anything but her thundering heart and the young man who held her close, of her worries of what that meant for her relationship with InuYasha, of what her beloved hanyou would say if he could have seen that, she would have giggled at the gaping expressions on Yuka, Eri and Houjou's faces. Even Tsukiyoshi barely suppressed his expression, though Hitomu knew him well enough to read the `I can't believe you got away with that' evident in his eyes.

 

Everybody stiffened as they heard somebody clear their throats behind them. Sarah whirled in her seat. Kagome groaned to herself as she felt two very, very familiar auras.

 

“Hey, Uncle `Roku! Hi, Uncle `Yasha! Have you guys come to pick us up?” Sarah's voice was so forcefully cheerful it put Kagome's best post-InuYasha-running-off-to-meet-Kikyou moments to shame. As all four stood, saying their good-byes to the three girls and heart-broken looking young man, Kagome stared at the floor.

 

She didn't need to look at the men waiting for them to feel Miroku's disbelieving stare… or to feel the waves of anger pouring off InuYasha.

 

A/N:

 

“Thank you” to everybody who's reviewed so far. For the last chapter, specifically -

Kokoronagomu (wouldn't Kagome's life be much easier if she were around to watch those sci-fi shows? Haha, instead she has to rely on her little brother!), kodiaqkitten (have a good time!), Kryptoinuyasha, catbaker, jinn ryu (I do know of several - drop me an email and I'll send you the list of some of my favorites), Sovereignty

 

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha or any other characters from the anime/manga. They all belong to Rumiko Takahashi.

 

I do, however, own the original characters in this story. Please don't steal them! (I may let you borrow them if you ask politely.)