InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Pack Law ❯ Clarification ( Chapter 26 )

Pack Law

 

Chapter 26: Clarification

 

 

“Now, who can tell me what domain leaders were involved in forming the Satsuma-Choushuu Alliance?” The sensei paced around the room, gazing at each student in turn and taking a moment to view their notes, assuring herself that they were, in fact, paying attention to her lecture.

 

Smiling up as her sensei walked down her row, Kagome crossed her fingers under her desk that she wouldn't be called on. She'd had quite a late night, after all… in fact, her last several nights had been filled with a lot of education, but none of it school-related.

 

Her thoughts wandered to her plans tonight: it was her birthday and she was going to be surrounded by both friends and family! `A much better birthday than last year,' she scoffed mentally, `though I did meet InuYasha, so I guess it had its benefits… I could've done without the youkai attack, though.' She cringed as the sensei began discussing the homework she'd assign that night. `Happy birthday, have some homework…'

 

The desk in front of her was empty, fueling her somewhat bad mood. `I'd feel better if Hitomu was doing better, too.' A few days after their confrontation with Ki at the park, Hitomu was still sleeping through most of the day. Miroku had assured her that his son would be fine, that he was just re-charging his batteries, so to speak, after the battle at the park too up most of his energy. Kagome had conceded the point reluctantly.

 

Kagome resisted the urge to turn and face the youkai responsible for Hitomu's weakened state as she heard frantic scratching. She'd done a fairly decent job of avoiding the girl… especially considering they shared most of their classes. Kagome huffed; Naraku'd done his job just a bit too thoroughly and, after hearing how he'd pretty much gone into hiding for 500 years, Kagome was beginning to share her pack-mates' suspicions concerning the girl and her “master's” plans.

 

Blue eyes blinked as a folded-up square of paper flipped over her shoulder and landed on her desk. `Don't look, don't look, don't look…'

 

But curiosity was one thing Kagome had in spades - even after a year in the Sengoku Jidai, when she'd often learned curiosity was a short-cut to losing a limb or possibly life, she just couldn't curb the tendency. Heaving a sigh, acknowledging the bad feeling in the back of her mind, Kagome unfolded the note under her desk.

 

Kagome,

 

I know you've been avoiding me lately and after what happened this weekend, I really don't blame you.

But, if your offer from last week still stands… about helping me, that is… I'd like to talk to you about it. I'll meet you by the tree in the courtyard.

I won't hold it against you if you decide not to show up. I really don't deserve your help after what I've done.

 

~Ki~

 

Kagome blinked, re-reading the note a few times to make sure she was not just making this up. This young woman who had quite adamantly refused her help suddenly wanted it? `Seems kind of strange to me,' Kagome thought, feeling the prickle in the back of her head that something was wrong.

 

Then again, though… what if she was just starting to act and think too much like InuYasha? Was she growing jaded, having spent so much time around him lately? She was a miko, sworn to help and protect and nurture… could she really turn her back on somebody asking for her help, even if they had attacked her in the past?

 

Kagome worried her bottom lip, completely spacing out as she debated the pros and cons of helping a known enemy. On one hand, Ki had tried to kill her, tried to take the Shikon shards.

 

`Then again… so did everybody else,' she thought wryly, flashing back to the night she met InuYasha. He may have admitted later he hadn't meant is seriously but that hadn't stopped her from being frightened then… `And Miroku opened up his kazaana on InuYasha, and would have sucked him in if I hadn't jumped in the way.' Sango'd gone after InuYasha and the group, too, fueled by Naraku's lies.

 

`Is that why Ki's been acting the way she has? Was Naraku lying to her? Did he convince her he was serious and then hurt her?' Kagome growled a bit under her breath before wondering to herself just what habits she'd been picking up at the den…

 

Sighing to herself, knowing InuYasha would be absolutely furious with her, Kagome picked up her pen and responded.

 

Ki,

 

I could never say “no” to somebody who needs my help. I'll meet you at lunch.

 

*Kagome*

 

**********

 

Sarah huffed, tapping her fingers agitatedly against the inside of her elbow. Taking care not to draw too much attention to herself, she scented the air. No luck… her prey was nowhere to be found. Nor was her ally…

 

“Tsuki? I'm getting kind of worried. Lunch is almost halfway done and I still haven't seen Kagome yet.”

 

Leaning against the wall, Tsukiyoshi nodded, eyes narrowed and darting up and down the hall. “Something's wrong,” he murmured. “I can't even feel her aura.”

 

Sarah's eyes widened as she noticed the absence of another major pull on her aura. “The Shikon shards… I don't feel them anywhere nearby, either.” She gasped. “I couldn't scent Ki, did you see her?”

 

Refusing to let his concern show on his face, Tsukiyoshi shook his head. “I passed her locker, but then she disappeared.”

 

“I'm calling InuYasha,” Sarah said determinedly, pulling out her cell phone. “Go scout around and see if you can pick up her scent,” she ordered absentmindedly, fully focused on finding InuYasha's direct line. There was no time to beat around the bush with Jaken right now… she was absorbed enough in her task to miss the glare Tsukiyoshi shot her at being ordered around.

 

**********

 

“WHAT?!” InuYasha slammed a tight fist on the dining room table, not even reacting to the crack that reverberated from the force of his hit. He did ease up on the cell phone he held in a white-knuckled grip as it, too, began to crack.

 

His voice was filled with wrathful frustration, “What the fuck do you mean she's `missing' from the school? How the fuck does that even happen?”

 

Arata and Sango, who'd been joining InuYasha for their own lunch, gazed wide-eyed at the hanyou. Both rose to their feet, ready to head out and search.

 

InuYasha barely noticed the women leaving; he never heard Sarah's meek response. Red haze threatened to overtake his vision as his youkai blood rose to the threat of his missing mate. `Find her. Now. I cannot feel her!' This last statement was punctuated by a whine, crawling up InuYasha's throat and escaping before he could swallow it.

 

“Uncle Yasha?” The kit sounded so defeated…

 

“Hold tight. A crew's on their way now.” He hung up the phone, forcing himself to take deep, calming breaths. They didn't work to ease the tension that'd begun to seep into his muscles.

 

`Damn it, wench! We finally get things under control… we finally see mostly eye-to-eye again and you disappear…'

 

InuYasha wandered to his bedroom robotically. `Her scent, her scent… her scent will help keep me calm.' Flopping face-first onto the mattress, he again resorted to deep-breathing techniques. This time, Kagome's essence swirled in the air around him, lulling him into memories of the past few nights…

 

“C'mon, wench. I ain't gonna bite you,' InuYasha said through a cocky smirk. Kagome hovered near the doorway… she remembered quite clearly what had happened the last night she was in that bed; it was obvious by the look on her face. `I may not bite you… but that don't mean I don't want to.'

 

Seeing that she wasn't going to move in either direction, InuYasha huffed and rose to his feet. Sweeping her into his arms, he tossed her onto the bed, sending her into a fit of giggles. “Teach you not to listen to your alpha, wench,” he mock-growled, reclining next to her and burying his nose in the junction of her neck and shoulder. `Kami, she smells so fantastic...'

 

“InuYasha?” Kagome was still nervous; it was apparent in her scent. They'd cleared up a lot of things that night at the restaurant after visiting her brother at the hospital, but there were still quite a few things left unsaid between them.

 

“Yesh?” InuYasha mumbled, having thoroughly attached his lips to her shoulder, smirking as he felt her shudder.

 

Kagome pushed at his chest (his bare chest, she noted with a bit of a blush. `When did he take off his shirt?') futilely. She couldn't focus when he was doing that, darn him! “Y-you…” She gasped as his mouth moved up. His fangs scraped against her skin; he soothed the slight burn with his tongue. “S-s-stop th-that.”

 

InuYasha groaned but obediently pulled away. She refused to look him in the eye, instead playing with the cool beads around his neck. It wasn't as though she wasn't enjoying the attention, but she had to know… “What… what am I to you?”

 

The hanyou blinked, caught off-guard by the blunt question. Apparently sensing his hesitancy, she continued rather quickly, “I mean, you've supposedly gained quite the… well, a reputation, you know?” Her emphasis on the word left no doubt as to what she was referring to. “And I just want you to be happy so if it-”

 

His lips on her own stilled her sentence… heck, to be blunt, it completely derailed her train of thought. After a few moments, InuYasha traced her lips with the tip of his tongue, encouraging her to let him show her rather than making him use his clumsy words…

 

Kagome panted lightly as InuYasha finally pulled away, resting his forehead on hers and cupping her cheek with a hand. He could still see hesitancy in her eyes, and for once actually understood it. Of course, if he had a reputation, as she said, for being physical, he wouldn't be able to use actions to express himself, would he? He sighed. `Women are so damn complicated…'

 

But Kagome deserved answers, damn it, and he knew it. “K'gome,” he mumbled, trying to marshal his thoughts into a coherent conversation that wouldn't make him out to be a complete and utter wuss. `You're my heart? My soul? My reason for living?' Yeah, those wouldn't get his ass kicked if they ever came up in conversation…

 

His human heart thumped loudly in his chest. He knew, on a fairly instinctual level, that this was a fairly important moment in their relationship and would quite probably define it from this moment forward. `She doesn't want to know to talk about with her friends,' his heart whispered, `She wants to know if you love her as much as she loves you.'

 

“Kagome,” he tilted her head up, so he was looking into her eyes. Fuck not showing weakness, she was his weakness and she needed to know it. “You're-” He stopped, gulped… why was this so fucking difficult?! He knew how she felt, damn it, so why couldn't he say the same thing? “You're-my-mate,” he said in a rush, closing his eyes in a move he knew was cowardly but couldn't stop.

 

Kagome gasped but he continued. The dam he'd constructed around these feelings crumbled after over five centuries of shoring up and his emotions spiraled more out of control than on any of his human nights. “I live for you, because of you. I breathe easier when I'm near you and can breathe your scent. I need you. I need you by my side, with me, as a part of me. Fuck, Kagome, you are a part of me.” He dared to crack open his eyes. The shock on Kagome's face was well worth the disorienting emotions rushing out of him like a river.

 

“Every year without you was like a hundred. Watching Sango and Miroku and even that bastard of a brother of mine fall in love and have kids while I was all alone killed me inside.” Kagome let out a sob, wrapping her arms around him. He took in a shaky breath.

 

“You're mine, Kagome. That's what you are to me. Mine. Mine to cherish and protect and hold and fight with.” The last bit pulled an encouraging giggle from the young woman in his arms. He sighed and pulled her tighter against his chest, reveling in her warmth. As much as he squirmed inside at the idea of having spilled his guts like that, he felt as though a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. It was like defeating Ryukotsusei and realizing Tetsusaiga was nearly feather-light again.

 

Kagome shook against him and only then did he realize she was fighting back tears. “Kagome?”

 

“I'm so sorry I left you all alone,” she mumbled. She lost the battle with her tears as they began rolling down her cheeks. She sniffled and he swore his heart skipped a beat. `Feh. I'm turning into a fucking wuss,' he bemoaned mentally but yet couldn't find it in him to be too pissed about the change. He wiped her cheeks with his thumbs and gave her a small smile.

 

“You didn't leave me all alone. I broke the well, and I know that now. I… I shouldn't have doubted you,” he admitted.

 

Kagome shook her head lightly. “No, it's okay. It's something you expected, I know. K-Kikyou… she hurt you, when you guys were tricked by Naraku. It's only natural that you'd fear I'd do the same thing, right?”

 

“NO!” he said forcefully, rolling onto his back and dragging her to lie on his chest. “No,” he repeated. “I shouldn't have thought that. We may have fought a lot, but you swore to be by my side and I should have known you wouldn't leave me without a damn good reason.”

 

Kagome nodded. “I would never hurt you on purpose,” she mumbled.

 

InuYasha chuckled, “Other than with the occasional `osuwari,' right?” She blinked, and then shifted, reaching for the beads. Confused, InuYasha watched as she began tugging them up…

 

“No,” he caught her hands, eyes wide. “No, these stay right where they are.”

 

Kagome gazed at him in confusion. “But- but you hated the beads,” she stuttered.

 

“I hate the idea of hurting you even more,” he said, staring at her very seriously. “These beads are the last line of defense you have if I ever transform. Sure, I have more control now because I'm older. But we never know what will happen. I couldn't live with myself if I hurt any of my friends… especially you.”

 

“You'd never hurt me,” Kagome insisted, trying to tug her hands out of his grasp. “I know you wouldn't.”

 

InuYasha clenched his hands a little tighter against the miko's struggles. “You may know that, but I don't. And I don't want to take a chance, either.” She pouted; the look brought a genuine and rare smile to his face. “Oi, that ain't to say I don't appreciate the gesture, wench. If you wanna do something for me… just… don't flatten me in front of people unless it's a life-or-death situation, `kay?” He sighed at her nod. “I don't fucking deserve how much you trust me.”

 

“You deserve all the happiness in the world, InuYasha,” Kagome mumbled, lowering her head again to the hollow of his neck and shoulder. Her breath brought goose bumps to his skin but was oddly warming. Then she reached up to kiss him on the underside of the jaw and his instincts almost went haywire.

 

`She's submitting!' His blood sang, speeding through his veins. `She is ours and we are hers. Take her!' InuYasha choked at the command. `No. Not now. We fucking just finished fighting!'

 

All of the self-control in the world, though, couldn't stop him from flipping them over, so he hovered above her. Then she was reaching up, kissing him, running her hands over his chest and back, and the fragile hold on his control snapped.

 

InuYasha snapped back to the present, berating himself for getting lost in memories when his mate was missing. `Fuck, her scent is doing anything but calming me down.' He shifted uncomfortably, rolling on his back. A glint of silver caught his eye; the box holding Kagome's talisman was on the bedside table. He'd shown it to her just the night before. She was so angry at the Council for saying she wasn't a member of the pack…

 

“I'm kind of confused though,” Kagome said, staring at the fang hanging from the chain.

 

“What's that?” Now in a pair of baggy hakama, he settled on the bed, watching her stare at the necklace appraisingly.

 

“Well, it's your fang, right? Because we're a part of your pack. You're our alpha.” InuYasha nodded, wondering where she was going with this. “So why was the chain forged with Sesshomaru's hair? He's not our alpha, technically, is he?”

 

Damn his bitch asked complicated questions. “Well, yes and no.” He rubbed the back of his head, meeting Kagome's blank look with a wry smile. “Basically, no, he's not Miroku's alpha. Or Sango's or Shippou's or any other pack members'. He'll be our alpha because he's Inu no Taisho, and because I'm his beta, you'll be Tomomi's beta.”

 

Kagome nodded slowly. “Oookay. So then why use Sesshomaru's hair?”

 

He leaned back against the headrest. “Well, for starters, it was something the bastard offered as part of a deal to have me be his beta,” he replied. “I wasn't about to leave our pack to help him. And I wasn't going to give him something for nothing.” She glared at him for the statement; he smirked.

 

“It will also protect you guys,” he continued. For a moment, he sounded like he had back in the Sengoku Jidai, “I wasn't strong enough to do it because I'm hanyou. My youki isn't strong enough. Also, when I transform or get really angry, it affects my youki and my body's not strong enough to handle it. Sesshomaru's youki keeps mine in check. Otherwise my bad mood could affect everybody else, you know?”

 

Kagome nodded, looking deep in thought as she stared at the talisman.

 

InuYasha jerked out of the memory at the rapping at his door. “Yeah?”

 

Arata slid in, looking rather somber as she stared across the room. “We couldn't find her,” she said, getting straight to the point. “Your miko is missing and so is the youkai at her school that was working for Naraku. We still have no clue where Naraku is located, and none of the pups have a good lock on Chiaki's youki since she was under concealment at the school.”

 

InuYasha's low growl turned into a frustrated howl. “Fucking find her,” he said, rising and stalking toward her angrily. “Don't fucking come talk to me and tell me what you can't do. We have cell phones; get your ass back into the field.”

 

Nodding curtly, Arata spun on her heel and strode out of the room. Wheeling around, InuYasha slumped on the bed again, head in his hands as he wracked his brains. `Where the fuck would she have gone?'

 

`InuYasha? InuYasha, you have to come for me…' InuYasha's eyes widened as Kagome voice echoed through his head. A moment later, he almost fell backward as something tugged hard on his youki, feeling as though somebody had grabbed him and pulled him backward. He grabbed his cell, calling Miroku as he began to move toward the pull.

 

**********

 

Kagome groaned. `Did anybody get the number of the bus that hit me?' she wondered vaguely. Her head began to pound and it was only after she realized she couldn't bring her hands up to her eyes that she noticed they were tied behind her back.

 

“What the-”

 

She forced her eyes open, blinking rapidly as the light burned. The moment her eyes adjusted, she swept them across the room. `Fairly empty room… I'm tied to a bed… there's a window but I can't see anything but the sky.' She grumbled a bit; the room was facing the wrong direction for her to see the sun, or even tell what time of day it was. `How long was I out?'

 

Her gaze fell on the door, which was partially open, showing a rather dark hallway. Focusing, she heard music coming faintly from somewhere outside of her room.

 

Falling back on the bed, she wracked her memories, trying to figure out just how she had ended up in this predicament. `Okay, Kagome, think. You were going to meet Ki at the tree outside the school at lunch. She wanted your help. Got out there and waited for Ki… then… somebody hit me from behind?' The throbbing on the back of her head intensified as though amplified by the memory.

 

“Hello?” Kagome threw caution to the wind and called out, hoping her captors would at least come enlighten her on her current situation. Usually those who kidnapped her wanted to gloat, since they assumed she would not live through the ordeal. It tended to be really informative.

 

“Oh, you're awake.” Ki wandered into the room, narrow-eyed. “It'd be incredibly helpful if you could just drop that barrier around the Shikon…”

 

“Eh?” Kagome shifted a bit, trying to see the chunk of jewel on her neck, but only received a renewed throbbing in her head for her efforts. “Well, I didn't do that. Not on purpose, anyway… Where am I? What time is it?”

 

Ki tilted her head. “You're awfully full of questions, aren't you? And way too calm about this.”

 

Kagome shrugged as best she could. “Eh… I've done this kidnapping thing a time or two.” It occurred to her that she was a lot less frightened than she usually was. In fact, she actually felt kind of angry about the whole thing. `How dare she trick me like that! I just wanted to help!'

 

Ki blinked. “You've… been kidnapped before?”

 

Kagome nodded. “Yeah. A couple times. You can untie me, you know.” Ki looked skeptically at the miko. “Really, it's not like I know where I am. That means I really can't run anywhere. And besides, it's really just safer for me to stay here until InuYasha can arrive. That way he won't have to run all over looking for me later.” Kagome vaguely wondered if she'd finally snapped under the pressure of all the youkai and Shikon business she'd had to deal with over the past year. She really shouldn't be handling this as calmly as she was…

 

Ki lifted an eyebrow. “You think it's… safer. To stay here. With… the person who kidnapped you and is working with your arch-nemesis.”

 

Kagome half-shrugged again. “Hey, there could be dangerous guard-youkai. Or people controlled by the Shikon… though I don't really feel any single shards. We never really know what to expect with Naraku, and I don't see a bow anywhere nearby.”

 

Obviously questioning the miko's sanity, Ki sighed and waved her hand. The ropes binding Kagome's hands slackened. Twisting, Kagome figured it out. `Oh yeah, earth youkai. Vines. Makes sense. Darn… there really won't be any using the rope to escape.' She sighed but looked up at her captor. Better to play nice than to pick a fight, especially if she wasn't going to be monologue-ing about her “amazing master's awesome plan.”

 

Kagome blinked. `When did I get so darn sarcastic?' Her stomach grumbled and she shot a deadpan look to the youkai. “You know, you could have kidnapped me after lunch,” she complained. “Now I'm starving. And I get really, really grumpy when I'm hungry.”

 

Ki rolled her eyes. “Well, I don't know why, but my Master insists you're treated with the utmost respect.”

 

The miko wisely bit back a scoff. `Respect. Where does kidnapping me fall on the list of respectable ways to treat a victim?' “Does that mean I get something to eat?” she asked instead.

 

“Don't go anywhere,” Ki cautioned. “I am going to lock this door while I get you some food.”

 

Kagome nodded. “Sure, sure. I'm telling you, I won't go anywhere until InuYasha comes.” At Ki's disbelieving look, Kagome raised an eyebrow. “What? I told you: I've done this before. InuYasha will come save me. It's kind of what we do.” Ki shrugged and wandered out of the room, closing the door with a click.

 

Kagome groaned, shaking out her hands and cringing as they tingled. She'd obviously been out long enough to mess with her blood flow a bit more than she'd like…

 

Looking at her hand, she realized her ring was still firmly attached to her finger and glowing a bright red, rather than the pink she'd grown to know. She stared at it, again reminded of the youki filtering into her powers. `Is it because of my ring?'

 

Anger boiled in her stomach… anger and despair, both completely foreign to her. Those weren't her emotions at all. She wasn't lying when she said she knew InuYasha was coming for her…

 

Kagome gasped as everything came together in her brain with a click so loud she feared it was audible. `That's right! He told me last night! “When I transform or get really angry, it affects my youki and my body's not strong enough to handle it. Sesshomaru's youki keeps mine in check. Otherwise my bad mood could affect everybody else, you know?”' She stared at the ring, at the youki swirling around her hand to blend with the pink of her reiki. `That jerk! This ring is made of his fang… but doesn't have anything of Sesshomaru's in it! He's making me as grumpy as he usually is!'

 

Raising her left hand above her right, she let a bit of spiritual power flow into her fingers. `Please work…' She caressed her power-filled fingers slowly over the ring. `InuYasha?'

 

Shock and confusion poured from the ring. `Bingo.'

 

Concentrating one more time, she repeated the caress. `InuYasha, you have to come for me…' With that thought, she reached for the tendrils of youki and pulled.

 

 

A/N:

 

This chapter would not have nearly as much fluff or humor in it if it were not for the amazing efforts of angelica incarnate. My absolute, undying thanks to ya, darlin'!

 

The InuYasha Fan Guild (IYFG) has opened nominations for their 4th Quarter 2008 Awards. Nominations are being accepted through the 13th. If you're a fan of a specific work (be it my own or otherwise), head on over to the guild and make a nomination… and hang around to vote. :)

 

Last Quarter, “Pack Law” came in third place for Best AU/AR.

 

Head to Inuyashafanguild.com for more information!

 

 

I love hearing what you have to say about the story! Thanks go out to -

Lunabell - (There will be a lemon, but it probably won't be until the epilogue… a lot more needs to be said and done before they're that comfy with each other!)

kokoronagomu - (*cracks up* Your YouTube video inclusions make my day… especially the Sesame Street one! *sighs* Now they're learning to communicate… mentally, even! They improve by leaps and bounds!)

inuyashaloverr - (It's been 500 years… he's probably lost count over the centuries of the number of trysts he's had, but they've generally been limited to the new moon. And just for clarification, his youkai blood is still talking about Kagome… just has nothing to say about her scent change :) I'm glad you liked the action scene!)

Sovereignty - (Welcome back to the modern world! *grins*)

jfeulner - (Welcome to the pack! *blushes* I'm glad you're enjoying it! The dodging hurricanes game can be quite… entertaining, can't it? Or painful, depending on the severity… it's a good thing Katrina missed you!! Enjoy the rest of the story!)

Phalon - (*grumbles* Well now YOU can go to the dentist and here's more happy sweet fluff to give you another cavity! Haha! Awww *snuggles Hitomu* He'll find a girl for him eventually… maybe… if his mama don't kill him first *wink*)

Deathmvp - (Well, here's more… *looks around* But I think I may go into hiding now.)

Ichigohime - (I have to admit, that's one of the hardest parts about writing this fic: Kagome's age. It's hard for me to keep in mind… but I'm trying my best to make it as realistic as a story about hanyou and youkai and magic artifacts can be.)

wbk - (*cheers* Great detective work!!! Now, can you figure out Ki? *grins*)

angel-up-above-heaven - (I had a decent period of time off… the next few chapters may take me a while, though… they're each very important and somewhat action-y, so I'm probably going to spend a decent time on `em.)

 

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.) Arata is the creation of the fabulous Phalon - I've done a bit of tweaking, but she is for all intents and purposes not mine.