InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Patchwork Family ❯ Anonymity and Arrivals ( Chapter 9 )

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

A/N: All Inuyasha characters and references belong to the creator of Inuyasha, Rumiko Takahashi and published by Shogakukan. Any other characters are more than likely my own creation. If I borrow directly from another story I will do my best to make sure I give credit where credit is due.

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Inuyasha pulled into a large, dark garage. They waited in the shadows while the garage door closed and the shop lights flipped on. He turned off the engine and got out, meeting the short, somewhat pudgy Mexican man with a salt and pepper mustache and a shiny, balding head. The man's eyes were dark, but sparkled a little, his gentle, happy personality shining through.

He reached out and shook Inuyasha's hand. "Hola mi perro hombre. Como estas?"

Inuyasha scowled. "No me llames asi. Soy bien, y tu?" The man laughed, a deep, booming chuckle, though his eyes were sharp as he studied his longtime friend. "Muy bien, muy bien. Te ves cansado."

He saw Sango get out of the Jeep and opened his arms for a hug, switching to english. "And how is this fine lady? Are you taking good care of her?" Inuyasha snorted. "I'm not the one roped into that mess. Ask Miroku. It's his job."

Sango smiled and elbowed him. "They take excellent care of me Abuelo. No complaints."

The man grinned and asked, "you need a change out? I have an old blue Caravan. She ain't pretty on the outside, but inside she is impeccable. I just put a new engine in- come look."

Inuyasha shifted on his feet and looked at Sango. "It's fine Juan. I trust you. We can't stay long. If you could hand it off to Sango she can pull it in here next to the Jeep and we'll move our stuff over. Do you want us to leave the Jeep where it is or park it in the back? You should probably keep it out of sight for a little while. Someone might be looking out for it."

Juan frowned, his bushy eyebrows coming down in a worried line. "I was afraid it was something like that. We can park it the back. I'll wait a few weeks to strip the information and put it on the market, in case you want it back."

Inuyasha gave him a grateful nod. "Thanks amigo." He turned then and went around to the back of the Jeep, opening the tail gate.

Sango followed Juan back through the garage and out into a small dirt junkyard and parking lot. As he handed her the keys to the van he said, "he is tense tonight, no? Was it my imagination, or was he reluctant to walk away from the jeep? Anything I should know?"

Sango sighed and shook her head. "Nothing that should cause you any trouble. You know the Wardens don't move drugs, not that kind anyway. We stick to things like cars, art, money or weapons when we set toe over the line."

She paused and admitted, "we are moving a body tonight, but he’s wrapped up and there isn't any blood for dogs to find. It’s a broken neck."

Juan raised his eyebrows. "Someone bit the dust tonight? You okay?"

She smiled wanly and said, "not one of ours. Someone who came after one of ours... sort of. It's complicated. The less you know about it the better, Abuelo."

Juan nodded slowly. "Must be more serious than you say, if our friend is so antsy about letting the body out of his sight. Sango deliberated for a moment before she said, “I don't think it is the dead guy he’s concerned about. We also have some… precious cargo of sorts… in the back seat. You'll see."

He sighed heavily and said, "this is her, right here. I call her Maria." Sango stopped and looked at the old minivan. It was pretty nondescript; a little rust, a few dents, but not enough of either to be remarkable. Sango smiled. "She's perfect." A few minutes later Sango was sitting, twisted in the driver's seat as she backed the van into the garage alongside the Jeep. Inuyasha sighed with defeat when he saw it. Juan raised an eyebrow and Inuyasha said, "it's great, thanks Juan."

The man chuckled in amusement. "Don't sound so grateful, you'll make me think you really want her." Inuyasha smiled ruefully. "I'm grateful, but I'm also going back to get my bike the first chance I get."

Juan laughed and crossed his arms over his belly as Sango turned off the engine and came around the back of the van. She gave Inuyasha a reproving look. "Don't be silly, for our purposes, Maria is perfect."

"Maria?" Inuyasha asked, incredulously. He shook his head. "I'm not calling it that."

Sango just sniffed at him and picked up the camo hardware bag. "I'll go put this one between the front seats." Inuyasha sighed and went to the back of the Jeep. He’d set the duffels on the floor and went to move the gunman's body in the red blanket. When he picked up one end, Juan was already there, hoisting the other out of the back with him. The old man groaned a little. "This bastard is heavy. Maybe if he’d enjoyed a few less churros, he not be so dead now, eh?"

Inuyasha snorted and looked at the old man curiously. As they settled the body along the bottom of the luggage compartment the man explained. "Sango told me there was a body. If things are as heavy as they look..." Inuyasha started to speak but the old man cut him off, shaking a finger. "If they are..." and at this he looked pointedly to the holster at Inuyasha's side. The hanyu nodded and sighed. "Yeah?"

Juan continued quietly. "It might be that I have a whole stack of phone books in my office." Inuyasha blinked, confused for a second and Juan elaborated. "If you like, you can have them to rip up. If you take the door panels apart and stuff them in, they will protect against any small arms fire. If someone is shooting a canon at you, you're still in trouble. But how many of those can there be in Arcata, yes? It's effective to a point, and it costs nothing but a little time."

Inuyasha thought for a moment and nodded, dropping the duffels unceremoniously in on top of the dead man and closing the hatch. "That wouldn't be a bad idea. I forget sometimes that this ain’t your first rodeo either."

The man smiled grimly and shook his head. "Me temo que no. I'll get the phone books for you." Sango opened the side door of the van and leaned against it, watching as Inuyasha pulled the canvas top back on the Jeep so he could stand upright. He knelt down with one foot on the back floorboard and one near the shifter, brushing the hair back from Kagome's face. She was frowning and he wondered what she was dreaming about. He ran his fingers through her hair and quietly said, "Kagome, time to wake up, just for a few minutes, then you can go back to sleep."

After a moment she opened her eyes and jerked away for a second, sucking in a deep breath. Her eyes focused blearily on him and he saw that same look of shame cross her face for a moment. She rubbed her eyes and braced herself to sit up, wincing. Inuyasha's ears twitched as he heard Juan rolling a cart to the far side of the van. He could be seen through the open van doors as he started unloading phone books into the driver's side back seat.

Inuyasha continued to speak, keeping his tone deliberately calm and relaxed. "We're changing vehicles. This man here is Juan. He’s Sango's grandfather. He's a friend. Okay?" Kagome nodded and though he could sense her nervousness, there was little or no fear in it. He wondered privately if she weren't just plain too tired to be afraid any more. She certainly had a right to be. He gathered her into his arms, still rolled in the comforter. He lifted her above the seats carefully, so as not bump her leg.

Something warm unfurled in his chest when she curled against him, wrapping her arms around his neck and setting her head against his shoulder. Taking care to bend his knees to absorb the impact, he jumped down out of the Jeep and set her down in the passenger side back seat. She let go of his neck and her hand grabbed his, almost unconsciously as she looked over at Juan. The old man smiled at the sleepy young woman, but his eyes caught the bruises on her face, neck and arms.

"Hola senorita, those are some real beauty marks. Tell me the bastard in the trunk is the one that did that to you.” Kagome gave him a nervous smile but adjusted herself in her seat a little, shaking her head. The man let out a low whistle. "Man that's too bad. Don't worry. Inuyasha will get him, I'm sure."

She looked over at Inuyasha and seemed to realize she was still clinging to his hand. She made herself let go and blushed a little, the color clashing brilliantly with the brown, blue and purple. "What's your name then chica?" the man asked kindly.

She worked her mouth for a moment and Sango, standing next to Inuyasha, spoke up. "Abuelo this is Kagome. Kagome, this is my Grandpa Juan. He's.... uh.... in the auto sales business." Kagome nodded to show she understood and sent him another smile. Inuyasha added, "Juan she can't talk at the moment. Her throat's been damaged a bit."

Kagome grimaced inwardly, a hand moving to her throat. She wished people would quit saying that word. Damaged. She was half afraid it would never heal the way it felt now. She pulled an arm back into her blanket and pulled the pen and notebook out of her pocket. She opened it and wrote, ‘It's nice to meet you. Thanks for the van,’ and she drew a smiley face.

Juan laughed and smiled, dark eyes twinkling merrily again. "It's my privilege chica. Inuyasha is the one you should thank. He's emasculating himself by driving this thing in public. Kagome grinned and shook a little with silent laughter. Sango grinned. "All we need now is a big sticker for the back window that says BABY ON BOARD." Inuyasha groaned and they had a good laugh at his expense. Then he put a hand to his eyes and said, "gods if Miroku and Koga see me driving this, they’ll never let me forget it. The things I do for you people."

Sango smirked. "You're the one who wanted the Caravan."

"I know," he groaned. "And I stand by what I said before. No one we’re worried about will look twice at this thing." Juan stacked the last few phone books in and shoved the cart against the wall. Kagome looked at the mountain of paper and gave Sango and Inuyasha a confused look. "Don't ask," Inuyasha said. "It's part of the duct tape brigade’s reinforcement plan."

Juan grinned. "I should have a big commander’s hat. After all, I am an honored general in the duct tape brigade." Sango nodded. "Oh yeah, certifiably. You would’ve been proud of Inuyasha. He fixed a bullet hole in his refrigerator with duct tape tonight." The old man's eyebrows went up and he gave Inuyasha a look. "If you're firing weapons in la cocina, you better put these phone books to good use… soon."

Inuyasha nodded and loosely saluted. "Yeah, yeah, I plan to old man. I'll get Miroku to help me."

Inuyasha had Sango get in on the driver's side. "If you drive I can keep both eyes on the road behind us." Sango nodded, mumbling, "Just in case, I know." She turned to Juan and gave him a one armed hug through the open door. "Thanks again. Sorry we bothered you so late."

The man shrugged. "Any time. I'm here if you need anything. Do me a favor and let me know when this blows over that you're safe."

They said their goodbyes and Juan went back to switch off the lights. Kagome felt a moment of panic as they sat in the complete darkness. Inuyasha turned around in his seat. The way his intense golden eyes reflected the minute amount of light, gleaming in the pitch was similar to many other large, night-hunting predators. The glimmer was enough to trigger unpleasant memories. Inuyasha heard her small gasp, smelled the change in her, and said, "he'll open the big garage door in a second and we'll back out with our headlights off. This way, we’re less noticeable. Sango knows this place like the back of her hand and can drive it in the dark easy."

Kagome swallowed hard and sat back, clutching her pillows. She couldn’t help but stare at him, and after a moment she realized, as unsettling as his glinting eyes were in the darkness, they were nothing like the others she had seen. They were indeed sharp and predatory, but as they looked at her, there was a warmth to them she had never seen before in a demon.

There was a mechanical growl as the big door started to lift and the faint blue light of the stars and the half-moon shone behind them. Sango backed the van out slowly. The door closed behind them and they turned into the street, starting back towards the highway. Kagome relaxed after a few minutes, looking out the window at the night sky.

Inuyasha was turned all the way around in his seat, eyes constantly scanning the homes and roads they passed. As he kept a look-out, he asked, "feeling any better? We'll be at Shore House in a half hour."

Kagome nodded and looked back out the window. There were still large knots of a hard, aching feeling in the places where she’d been shot, but her leg felt almost normal now and the worst of the pain was gone thanks to the medication Sango had provided. Privately it made Kagome a little nervous, her thoughts fuzzy, but still alert enough to realize she was out of it. Despite the discomfort she would be in, she wished for a moment that she hadn’t taken the pills. After the experience she’d been through at Naraku’s compound, she would rather go the rest of her life without any kind of drug in her system. No more, she promised herself; nothing but basic aspirin.

When they began to pass the bay she looked out at the shining blue water in the dim star light with interest. Inuyasha was sure now that no one was following them. As soon as they had left Juan's neighborhood, Sango had turned the headlights on. He watched Kagome’s face soften a little as she looked out over the water, and he turned to look also. It was pretty. He liked it out here. Eureka and Arcata were relatively small towns and they were right on the coast. The air here was cleaner as a result, and the saline winds of the ocean washed away many of the smells he had to contend with in larger cities. Overall, he much preferred smaller places for that reason; many demons did.

"Headquarters is a place right on the beach, at the south end of Eureka. If you think the bay here is nice, you'll like it." Kagome smiled vaguely and nodded, looking out the window again. He watched her try to stay awake and eventually lose the battle, her head resting against the seat and her eyes drifting closed. He turned back to face the front when her breathing evened out. Sango glanced at him. "Is she asleep again?"

Inuyasha nodded. "Yeah, healing that much damage takes a lot out of you-- especially if you're a small human woman who’s probably underweight to start with."

"Are you going to wake her up again when we get to the house?" Sango asked, doubtfully.

Inuyasha thought for a long moment. "I'd like to get some more food into her but if she doesn't wake up when I take her in I’ll let her sleep."

A few minutes later Sango pulled onto the long gravel drive, but the noise didn't seem to bother Kagome. She didn't even twitch. The porch light came on at the front door. Sesshomaru and Miroku came out, followed by Gabriel. Miroku went straight to Sango and pulled her into his arms. She smiled and hugged him back tightly, murmuring, "I'm alright. How are the kids?"

He only loosened his grip on her a little as he stepped back. "They're in bed. I told them you'd see them in the morning." She nodded and gave him a grateful smile. He didn't smile back, but looked from her to Inuyasha, concerned. "Are we in the clear?"

Inuyasha nodded in answer. "I think so. We're all going to sit tight here for a little while though while we figure some things out. It's safer that way. You're fine to go to work and everything as long as you're careful. Keep an eye out for anything suspicious. Juan said you’d already been to see him?"

Miroku nodded. "I picked up an old Subaru. It's pretty plain but that's what I asked him for." Gabriel put his hands on his hips and whistled, looking at the minivan. "That's a pretty cool ride my friend."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Shut up. I needed something that would blend in." Gabriel and Miroku just laughed, and even Sesshomaru cracked an amused smile. Inuyasha went back to the van and walked around to the back passenger side door.

Kagome was still snuggled into her blanket and asleep, hardly bothered when he pulled the door back. He sighed and gathered her up against him. Grudgingly, he admitted this was much easier to do with the van than the Jeep; and he carried her back towards the house. Gabriel frowned a little. "Sesshomaru said she was shot twice. I couldn't believe it when they told me about the sword. How's she doing?"

Inuyasha nodded once, face grimly set. "She's alright, I think. I was hoping to get some food into her again tonight but she couldn't stay awake." He kept walking through the open front door and took her straight back to the rooms he always used when he was here. The apartment was at the end of the left hallway, across from Sesshomaru’s and Rin's rooms. His suite had a small sitting room of its own, like Sesshomaru's— except that it was much plainer. The palette was designed with warm woods and neutral colors and there were three doors leading off the room, one each to a large closet, a bedroom and a bathroom. He hesitated for only a moment before taking her through the door to his bedroom and setting her on the mattress. She was curled up in the comforter and would be warm enough the way she was.

Inuyasha sat down next to her for a moment as she curled into his pillows. He looked at her sleeping and thought he'd never come across anything he liked to look at this way before. He pulled some errant strands of hair away from her face and made sure she was deeply asleep, inhaling the scent of her one more time before he stood and walked out, closing the door to the sitting room. When he walked back out to the van Sesshomaru, Gabriel, and Miroku were standing around the open luggage compartment.

"Where are the wolves at?" Inuyasha asked curiously.

Gabriel lifted the bags out of the car, nose twitching. "They're running patrol around the perimeter tonight, checking to make sure there isn't anything amiss. Is this the guy that busted into your place? Or did you pick up an extra pig-in-a-blanket somewhere else?"

Inuyasha snorted in derision. "Nope, that's him. I'm gonna to take him apart out on the Walkaround boat in the morning." Miroku laughed grimly and joked, "he'll be sleeping with the fishes?"

Sesshomaru even barked out a laugh at that, and Inuyasha slung the dead man over his shoulder. He instructed Miroku to grab the garbage bag with the bloody things in it and follow. They took the stuff into the garage and set everything down in the shop. Miroku looked at Inuyasha as he set the body on the workbench with a none-too-careful thump. "Do you want help with him tomorrow?"

Inuyasha looked at him for a second, appreciating what he was offering before he said, "nah, I can take care of this fool. You stay here with Sango and the kids; go to work. It only takes one to break up a body."

Miroku snorted with dark amusement. "It must be easier for a demon. I've only had to do it once and it was a lot more work than I thought it would be." They shared a look, born of common gory experiences, if on different scales, and left the garage. Everything was carried inside and Inuyasha dumped the duffel bags on the couch in his sitting room. He turned when there was a knock on the door frame.

Gabriel stood there alone. "Hey, Sesshomaru's disappeared into his office. It sounds like he's speaking Chinese so I'm thinking it's a conference call. Miroku and Sango headed to bed. I'm gonna hit the sack too. I'll be up early to run a patrol with Sesshomaru when the wolves come home."

Inuyasha nodded and asked, "how early?" The lion demon ran his fingers through his mane of dark golden hair and said, "eh… probably around dawn."

Inuyasha pulled out his phone and looked at the time with a sigh. It was midnight. He would have liked to have slept late, but the dead man needed to be disposed of before he started to deteriorate. The job would be more unpleasant if he reeked of rotten meat. Thankfully, the nights were still cool. He set an alarm as he told Gabriel, "I'll be up too. I gotta deal with Jo Stiff, as Sango called him."

Gabriel snorted with low laughter. "That chick has balls of steel. My assistant at the shop would have screamed like a little girl if he went through what she did tonight, and he’s in his forties." Inuyasha's mouth twitched with a smile. "Yeah, she keeps up. She was a lot of help tonight, though..." He thought about it for a long moment before he said, "I don't think Kagome would have gotten hurt if she hadn't walked in. Don't tell her I said so. She wouldn't forgive herself."

Gabriel frowned and Inuyasha explained, "she walked in with some groceries and surprised him. When he grabbed her, Kagome came out and was going to go with him as long as he let Sango loose." Gabriel let out a low whistle again. Inuyasha sighed wearily, one ear twitching at the pitched sound. "Yeah… If she hadn't walked in I would have just shot the fucker after I got what information I could from him."

"But you said he was armed too?" Gabriel asked.

Inuyasha unzipped one of his bags and added, "and wearing a vest, though I didn't know it at first."

Gabriel continued, thinking out loud. "So- you would’ve shot him, hit the vest, he would have shot you, possibly more than once, while you rushed him, and then lights out?"

Inuyasha frowned, crossing his arms. "Sounds about right." Gabriel went on to say, "it sounds like you could have been hurt enough that it would have made it a lot harder to get them out of there as efficiently and cleanly as you did."

Inuyasha felt a growl in his chest as he said, "I would have managed. Kagome getting hurt, let alone almost dying, was not the preferable scenario."

Gabriel recognized the tone in Inuyasha's voice and adjusted his own stance to be as non-threatening as possible while he asked, "do you blame her? Sango I mean?"

Inuyasha shook his head, trying to calm down. "No. There's no way she could have known. It's just one of those things I'm gonna file under the 'Shit Happens' category."

There was silence for a moment as Gabriel considered the day’s events; then he asked, "Kagome would have just given herself up? After everything they did to her? Sesshomaru told us some of what you found out."

Inuyasha looked up at the closed door to his bedroom and nodded. "That's what she was going to do. Maybe she thought if she could get back in there she could have another stab at getting what she went in for in the first place. I'm gonna to have to watch her close if she thinks that's an option."

"How is she?" Gabriel asked. With a sigh Inuyasha shrugged. “She’ll live. We’ll know more for sure in the morning. The only thing she needs to worry about at the moment is not winding up almost dead anymore this week."

Gabriel shook his head. "Good luck with that brother. I'm gonna go pass out." Inuyasha nodded and stood in the quiet, thinking for a moment, before he closed his sitting room door and flipped off the lights. He made his way into the bedroom and kicked off his boots and socks. After a cursory glance at Kagome to make sure she was still asleep, he shed his jeans too, and pulled a pair of pajama pants out of his dresser. He was in and out of here often enough that he kept some clothing in the dresser.

After a trip to the bathroom, he turned off the last of the lights and carefully climbed onto the bed next to her. He watched her slim shoulders rise and fall slightly with her breath. He listened to the sound of her heart beating and felt like this was exactly where he was supposed to be, despite the grisly task ahead of him only about six hours from now. With that thought, he sighed heavily and closed his eyes.