InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Patchwork Family ❯ Hiroki, Jayda, and the Limits of Friendship ( Chapter 30 )

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. I will be pulling some material (ideas and inspirations) from Burn Notice, Scorpion, Supernatural, and Lockwood & Co.

TO THOSE who are following links directly to this latest chapter… I spent my spare time over the last month or two doing a big edit on this story from the beginning for two reasons:

A) Something one of the reviews said stuck in my mind and you guys were right. I wasn’t managing to get certain details from my mind into the copy for you guys, so hopefully that has been at least somewhat corrected.

B) I didn’t have a full plotline worked out when I started and partway through I started changing the direction as I DID get the plotline worked out. I was never going to actually pick this story up again and post it. I started typing it initially only to put it into a more easily stored form for myself, converting it from pen and paper form to word documents. Yes, I used to write all my material by hand in binders… years ago. I feel like I’m dating myself, but really I’m only in my twenties. I’m trying to do this with anything I wrote in middle and high school that I want to keep and maybe revisit the ideas of someday. Some of it was impressively awful and went straight in the bin -_- That much paper takes up SO MUCH ROOM!!! Yay digital age.

So… short-story-long, I can understand if you don’t want to take the route I’d recommend and just starting again from the beginning, as it’s hours of reading. Those of you who have been following all this time, I would say you could get away with just starting back at chapter 28 maybe, though in the near future you may find you feel you missed something (though nothing super substantial).

Thanks again! Enjoy

Ah! P.S. One more thing, some of you have mentioned I should post this on fanfiction.net and I went to put it up there- but according to their guidelines, nothing super explicit when it comes to sex or violence is permitted. As I will likely be pretty descriptive on both fronts in both near and distant chapters, I will not be uploading this story there. Feel free to leave me a note in the reviews if I misunderstood something and let me know.

***

Kagome had been sitting on the workbench for an hour and a half, alternately watching Inuyasha work on the Mustang, and leafing through the Yamaha repair manual. She found both items were of some interest. She was sitting with her back against a large metal bookcase; her legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles on the wood-topped bench. Her eyes were downcast, reading through a section on trouble shooting ignition circuit issues and Inuyasha’s voice broke the quiet hush of rain pattering on pavement in the alley. “Hiro, get your ass in here and stop staring. It’s a woman. I know you’ve seen one before.”

Kagome frowned and looked up, her heart stopping for a second when she noticed a man standing just outside the back door in a blue rain slicker, looking curiously at her. He was of Asian descent, perhaps Japanese, maybe just less than six feet tall. He stepped in, his boots squeaking on the sealed concrete floor. When he dropped his hood back Kagome saw long black hair tied back in a tail similar to Inuyasha’s. The man walked over to the workbench where she sat, flashing her a grin full of very white teeth and speaking with a slight accent. She thought he sounded Japanese, but she couldn’t be sure, as he said, “I don’t believe we’ve met. I am Hiroki. Inuyasha, who might this lovely creature be?”

Kagome blushed a little, closing the manual, pulling her knees up to her chest, and wrapping her arms around them. Her gaze flicked to a visibly unconcerned Inuyasha for a second. When he didn’t feel the need to perform introductions himself, she said cautiously, “I’m Jayda, nice to meet you.”

Hiroki gave her a small bow of his head, and his expression warmed. “Well, it’s a pleasure. What brings you to this very… special… part of Inuyasha’s garage Jayda?”

Kagome thought for a quick moment, fabricating a viable story. “Just in town visiting a mutual friend, I’m hanging out here with Inuyasha while she’s at work.” Her voice was quiet but she kept it steady, or so she hoped. She found she was a little out of practice. Somehow it had been much easier, more automatic before to slip into such a role when necessary. Perhaps it was sticking to the same specific false identity for so long. After all, she’d been Kathryn for most of a year, and only occasionally, very carefully, been Kagome.

Hiroki studied her from head to toe, leaning against the workbench several feet away. The fact that he came no closer, and that Inuyasha was still sitting on his stool at the back passenger side wheel made her a little less nervous. Hiroki slid his hands in his coat pockets and asked, accent skirting his words elegantly, “is this your first time in our small town? How do you like it?”

Kagome shrugged. “It’s nice. The bay is beautiful.”

He nodded in agreement. “It is. Do you like the water?”

Kagome nodded once. “I suppose. It’s pretty.”

Hiroki nodded, watching Inuyasha work for a moment before he asked, “have you ever been out on a boat? The coast here is good sailing... when the weather isn’t dumping rain of course.”

She shook her head and dropped her eyes to the manual in her hands. “No, I prefer looking at it from dry land. I don’t think I could go out in all that water.” The man raised thick black brows, dark eyes curious again. “Why is that? It’s a wonderful experience. You should really give it a try before you decide you don’t like it.”

Kagome shook her head again, giving him a limited but friendly smile and deflecting. “I… don’t think so. I don’t do water. Tell me about your car, it’s a flashy piece of work.”

Hiroki looked her in the eye just long enough to let her know he was consciously letting her change the subject, and crossed his arms over his chest. “She’s my favorite lady. It’s a 2013 coupe, 3,870 lbs., almost 700 horsepower- with modifications of course. It tops out at just over 200. My friends call me a traitor for not driving Japanese but this beauty is a great machine; one of the few bits of engineering the Americans did well.”

Kagome looked back at the car thoughtfully, contributing some knowledge of her own. “I’ve heard the 2013 model has the most powerful engine ever put in a North American production car; and they put in a new drive shaft with almost 40 percent more torque but 14 lbs. less weight.”

Hiroki’s brows went up in surprise and he grinned again. “Yes- you know something about cars?”

She smiled ruefully and almost laughed at the incredulous look Inuyasha tossed her over his shoulder. “I know a few things, but not a lot. It’s not exactly my field.”

Hiroki looked at her with consideration. “And what is your field, exactly? Do you drive?”

She raised a brow and shook her head. “Not… like I think you mean. I drive to the grocery store and back…. That’s as exciting as it gets for me.”

He laughed good-naturedly. “Then what… what captures the passions of such a gorgeous young woman?”

Inuyasha reached around behind him for a wrench, giving the man a warning look and commenting, “watch yourself Hiroki. There is a line.”

Hiroki snorted and looked back at Kagome, still waiting for her response. Her cheeks went a little red and she pulled her knees tighter to her chest. She scrambled for a moment before coming up with, “research and development, data work, some computer engineering.” She shrugged again, finishing, “numbers, you know- boring stuff.”

Inuyasha stood, wiping his hands on a rag as he came over. “I’m replacing both the rotors and brake pads, and I swapped in a new alternator.”

Hiroki’s brows went up. “Again? Already?”

“Yes.” Inuyasha snorted. “Again… already.”

Hiroki gave him a hard look. “Is that really necessary?”

Inuyasha scowled at him. “Only if you want your brakes to keep working, if that’s not important to you then don’t tell me I’m wasting my afternoon for nothing.”

Hiroki dropped his head forward and sighed, looking back at the car with a resigned expression. “Better safe than sorry I guess. You have any idea why they moved the race up so fast?”

The half demon shook his head and tossed the rag onto the bench. “No. I didn’t even know about it until Gabriel told me this afternoon; probably just trying to throw off the badge runners.”

Hiroki nodded and sunk his hands back into his pockets. “How about you? Are you running the Nissan? I haven’t seen that car in a while, haven’t raced you since we put my nitrous system in.”

Inuyasha shook his head. “I have some other stuff going on right now… and we didn’t install that nitrous system. I installed that nitrous system. And you still owe me the paycheck. We’re friends but we aren’t that close.”

Hiroki rolled his eyes and reached into an inner pocket of his jacket. He pulled out a tightly rolled bundle of bills and tossed it to Inuyasha, who caught it easily and examined it before tucking it in a pocket and explaining, “the belts are in good shape. I’ll refuel the tanks and fluids and have Gabriel run an electrical diagnostic in the morning. You should be able to pick it up by noon tomorrow and be good to go. Stop being so hard on the clutch, learn to shift a little smoother or I’m going to have to replace it when it breaks soon.”

The man shrugged and said, “Gabriel’s going to burn some this weekend. What about your brother? Someone at the last meet mentioned him. They said they haven’t seen him race, in a long time now. Is he out?”

Inuyasha raised a brow for a moment. “No. He’s busy. Who’s asking?”

Hiroki grinned. “I don’t kiss and tell, friend.”

Inuyasha snorted. “Have it your way. But remember, if Sesshomaru hears someone’s talking about him as a drop out, you’ll be spilling your guts, literally or figuratively. I hear he gives you the choice these days, turning into a real marshmallow.”

Hiroki rolled his eyes. “He’s big and bad- I get it. Even the infamous Inuyasha admits he’s a tough one.”

Inuyasha laughed derisively. “That ain’t what I’m sayin’. I’m saying he cares enough to beat it out of you, where you’re lucky I don’t give a shit.”

The man snorted and Kagome wondered privately if he’d ever actually met Sesshomaru. She thought not, considering his apparent lack of intimidation. Hiroki looked over at her again for a second, then asked, “so how long are you in town for Miss Jayda?”

Kagome shrugged and said vaguely, “a little while.”

He smiled at her and said, “you should come out with me tomorrow, take a look at my cruiser and see if I can’t change your mind about going out for a sail. The weather’s supposed to be great after this mess of storms moves east.”

Kagome opened her mouth to decline but Inuyasha stepped squarely up next to the workbench where she sat, placing himself casually between her and Hiroki. “Off limits Hiro, go mermaid hunting someplace else.”

Hiroki straightened a little and rubbed his hands together slowly, a mocking tone in his voice. “Is she yours then? Inuyasha, you surprise me- I thought your type had more blond and a little less class.”

Inuyasha’s voice became notably more serious. “The things you think you know would fill a library with empty books. She’s off limits.”

Hiroki raised his black brows and looked at Kagome, licking his lips as he said, “last I checked, I don’t ask you for permission to take a woman out and show her a good time. Why don’t you let Jayda decide for herself what she wants to do? She seems like a perfectly capable woman.” And he directed his gaze over Inuyasha’s shoulder at her, “or is he your keeper?”

Kagome frowned and shook her head. “Thank you for the offer Hiroki, but I’m really not available.”

Hiroki watched the two of them before he nodded and looked at the floor in apparent defeat. “Another time perhaps.” He turned to Inuyasha and asked, “the car will be ready by noon then?”

Inuyasha nodded stiffly and the other man shifted his weight a little. “Alright, let’s do the run down. I have business elsewhere today.” Inuyasha waited until Hiroki had walked away to the other side of the car before he turned and met Kagome’s eyes. She answered his clear inquiry with a nod and a small smile, crossing her legs to sit indian style and opening the manual again on her lap.

The two men moved slowly around the car and she listened to Inuyasha go over the various specs and parts conditions while she studied the oil stained diagrams of a fuel system. After some muted conversation, Inuyasha went into his office and started shuffling papers around on the desk. Hiroki watched him for a second before he strode back over to Kagome’s workbench. “I apologize if I upset you. Can I ask, are you involved with someone? Or were you reluctant to speak freely? Inuyasha can be a little overbearing.”

Kagome wanted to roll her eyes. Overbearing? If anyone was winning the ego award here it was this guy. She took a deep breath and looked at him again. “No, I’m not available right now.”

He looked at her calculatingly. “Unavailable… but not attached?”

She frowned in irritation and asked. “Does it matter?” She decided it would simplify matters if she just lied at this point. “Yes,” she said. “I have a boyfriend, a fiancé, actually, a big mean one.”

He smiled and set a hand on the workbench next to her leg to lean closer, clearly not believing her. “If sailing isn’t your thing I know a great restaurant. Do you like Italian?”

“No, thank you.” She said quietly, leaning away from him into the corner, her back pressing back into the cheap metal sheeting of the book case behind her until it bowed a little, making a deep metallic thud. She could feel her heart speeding up and suddenly she could barely catch her breath; he was way too close.

“Come on, one dinner. If it’s terrible you can leave forever and never give me a second glance. What harm could it do?” She flinched away, closing her eyes when he reached up and smoothed a strand of hair back from her face. When he left his hand against her cheek she rocked back on her hip and kicked her leg out, pushing Hiroki away, muttering, “don’t… touch me, please.”

Inuyasha was stuffing the printed maintenance records into a folder when he felt that tell-tale buzzing anxiety begin to flutter at the edge of his consciousness. He looked up just in time to see Hiroki touching Kagome’s cheek, saw her flinch away from the man uncomfortably and push him away with her foot. Hiroki stumbled back, opened his mouth to say something else, but then was gone in a blink.

There was the sound of a body hitting the metal doors of a cabinet about ten feet away from where Kagome sat. Inuyasha was standing there, holding Hiroki by the neck in a grip tight enough that the man struggled for air. He didn’t say anything for a moment, but stood there, letting his victim gasp and claw at his hand uselessly. His heated gold eyes didn’t leave the reddening face in front of him as he asked, “Jayda… everything alright?”

It took Kagome a second to respond but she nodded. “I’m fine.”

After another long moment, wherein Hiroki began to turn funny colors, Inuyasha said, “you even look at her crooked- and you’ll be paying double for the mod revamp, and leaving without half your teeth, got it?”

The man struggled to speak but couldn’t quite manage. Kagome began to worry that he was going to pass out. The guy was beyond pushy but she wasn’t convinced he needed to die for it. “Inuyasha…” she said slowly. “He can’t say yes, if he can’t breathe.”

Inuyasha’s eyes flicked to her briefly and he eased off just a little. Hiroki coughed and spluttered for a second before Inuyasha asked, “Off limits, any more questions? I may be a little more lenient than my brother, but neither one of us is given to repeating ourselves. You can tell whoever’s asking.”

Hiroki glared up at him and shook his head, swearing colorfully as he hacked and coughed. Inuyasha picked up a file folder he’d thrown on the workbench and tossed it at the him. Hiroki grabbed it before the paperwork could fly all over and stormed out of the garage, pulling his hood back up and disappearing into the rain. Inuyasha stood near the door for a moment, watching and listening, before he came back over to the bench. Kagome sat with her bad leg pulled up so she could massage the stiff muscles beneath the long scar. When she’d used the leg to kick Hiroki, the muscles had begun seizing in a cramp at the sudden awkward movement.

Inuyasha’s frown deepened and he pushed her hands away to work the muscles of her lower leg with his own fingers, mindful of his claws. She started to protest but gave it up quickly as he gently pulled her ankle out to straighten her leg and rolled up her jeans. She hissed as the muscle seized again in protest, squeezing her fingers around her thigh and closing her eyes. Inuyasha continued to rub the calf and tendons around the ankle for a minute until they relaxed again.

When her breathing evened out and her grip released, he traced his thumb along the new scar tissue that formed a slightly ragged ribbon from knee to ankle, marring otherwise smooth, pale skin. Kagome pulled her pant leg down, her cheeks going a little red again with self-consciousness. Quietly she said, “sorry I caused a problem between you and your friend. I should have just ignored him, pretended I was deaf or something.”

Inuyasha snorted and leaned on a hip against the workbench. “Deaf?” He looked incredulous. “He was being an asshole. I heard the conversation. He was flirting…badly, you were just polite. He’s a pushy bastard when he wants something. I’m sorry. I didn’t think he’d pull that kind of crap with me standing right there.”

She shrugged and pulled her legs back up again to hug her knees to her chest. She sighed and said with mild amusement, “still, you’d be surprised how often the deaf thing works. People get uncomfortable if they think you’re deaf or mute, and they tend to leave you alone.”

Inuyasha’s frown remained and he laid a hand on her sneaker clad foot and he thought back carefully, trying to decide if he might have missed something, if Hiroki had done more than get in her face. “Why’d you kick him? What’d he do?”

Kagome sighed and dropped her eyes to his hand where it covered her toes. “Nothing, it’s not a big deal. He touched my hair and… he was just too close. I needed some space and he wasn’t taking the hint.”

Inuyasha searched her face until she looked at him again. He squeezed her foot gently and asked, half serious, “want me to break his fingers?”

She twisted her lips in amused disapproval. “I thought he was your friend.”

He snorted. “Like I said, we ain’t that close. He’s not someone I want around if he blows me off when I tell him something’s not for him.”

Kagome shot him an arched look. “Now I’m a something?”

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean.” She smiled a little and nodded. After a moment’s silence she said softly, “thanks. Is there a bathroom someplace around here?” Inuyasha responded half joking, “that depends, are you going to lock yourself in it?”

She looked peeved for a second and shook her head. He held out a hand to help her off the workbench and she followed him into the hall where they’d come in earlier. He paused at one of the scuffed wooden doors and opened it to reveal a bathroom that was passably clean for something found in a mechanic’s garage. She closed the door and stood against the wall for a second, taking a few deep breaths and collecting herself. She shut her eyes and ordered her thoughts, knowing she needed to get herself under better control.

Panic and fear were human responses, and under her current circumstances they were even sort of rational, but they weren’t useful. And she was going to have to find a way to get them under better control if she ever expected to be able to function. Inuyasha couldn’t be there to swoop in at any second.

A small, traitorous voice murmured in her mind; the one that whispered to her of all the things she could have if she were normal, would have… if she didn’t have such weighty and strange responsibilities. It murmured… ‘but you could have that… he could be there at any second… if you stayed…’