InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Shrine Prostitute ❯ Indoctrination ( Chapter 21 )

Shrine Prostitute by FlameTwirler

 

~ ~ ~

 

Chapter 20: Indoctrination

----- to instruct in a doctrine, principle, ideology, etc., esp. to imbue with a specific partisan or biased belief or point of view.

 

~ ~ ~

 

Inuyasha paced restlessly in his room, trying in vain to keep his frustration at bay. Kagome's birthday had come and gone, it was three days past damn it, yet she was nowhere to be seen.

She'd kept up with her letters religiously and he'd received one a week throughout the duration of her absence. The last one had been a week and a half prior, though he hadn't expected one this week since she'd been supposed to show up in person. The letter before the last one she'd written excitedly about her upcoming birthday and then she'd signed it off with 'see you soon, counting down the days!'

Everything pointed to her having expected to be there on time. Now with her being three days late and having sent no notice he was moving quickly past annoyed and frustrated to flat out worried. One swift kick to the foot of his bed and he cursed virulently.

That was it; he couldn't stand it any longer. He was going out of his mind. Either he'd find her in need of help and he'd do everything in his power to be of assistance, or she'd better have one hell of an excuse for forcing his hand like this. Making him worry. Keh! he scoffed. He'd never have bothered with anything of the sort before he'd met the girl; she was making him soft.

Rushing out the door, weaving his way through the Shrine and then the town with all the stealth graced to his nature, he didn't know which way he hoped to find her. He certainly didn't want her to be in trouble but the only other option would mean he didn't mean as much to her as she continually purported and he found himself now faintly hoping that he was.

He scowled. No matter which way he looked at it the girl was trouble.

~ ~ ~

Kagome sighed as she helped Eri off the subway. They had been more crammed than usual with a lot of commuters getting off work at that late hour, and the tension in the air around her friend certainly wasn't helping. She supposed she couldn't blame her though; she was sure she'd be even worse if she had to worry she might be pregnant.

Of all their little group of friends it surprised her Eri was the one she was accompanying though. She'd always assumed if the situation ever came up it would be with Yuka since she was the most sexually active among them. She supposed there was just no accounting for luck though. Eri didn't think she was pregnant but she was significantly late and she knew she simply wouldn't be able to sleep well until she knew for sure.

Eri hadn't wanted to go to the hospital alone and she didn't want anyone else to know either until she was sure. After broaching the subject with Kagome she'd waited until she had a free time rather than go to another friend. In addition to the potential embarrassment from her predicament she'd already heard Kagome harping endlessly about birth control. If this scare turned out negative then she'd most certainly be switching to the contraceptive anyhow so she didn't need, or want, to hear the lecture again from yet another person.

Eri grasped her hand tightly as they walked through the hospital doors and Kagome winced as her grip tightened when she had to explain the reason for her visit to the receptionist, then again to the nurse. Shown to their own little room Kagome patted Eri's hand soothingly while they settled in to wait for the results.

 

~ ~ ~

Inuyasha was panting lightly from the hours it had taken him to reach the area where Kagome lived. He raced through the town, darting from rooftop to rooftop, drawing on his memory of his month at Kagome's house, the particular scents he'd come to recognize during the time, as a beacon to find her. Finally he was familiar with where he was and he made his way to the shrine through the surrounding forest, bypassing the wide open stairway.

 

At the back door he sniffed delicately but it didn't seem like Kagome was there. Wanting to double check, just to make sure the overwhelming odors of the area weren't playing with his senses, he decided to poke around. First he padded over to the storage-shed-turned-room they'd occupied for his month there, lingering just a moment longer than necessary as he remembered his times there. He peered through the windows of the main house, even those on the second story, but still couldn't find any traces of her there.

 

“Inuyasha?” a surprised gasp came from the courtyard below him.

 

He spun warily, crouching low on the roof and keeping his back to the wall. As soon as he spied the intruder, though, he relaxed his guard immediately. “Mrs. Higurashi?”

 

She held one hand across her chest, obviously still startled at his appearance. “What are you doing up there? Why don't you come down, dear?”

 

He held where he was. No reason to lose the high ground - after all, he wasn't sure if anyone else was around - or invite conversation when he wanted nothing more than to find out where her daughter was and go after her.

 

“Where's Kagome?”

 

Her mother looked perplexed, her eyebrows crinkling. “Why she's at the hospital, but she's just there to support a - ” She didn't get the words out before he was gone, far enough away she was sure he couldn't hear her lamely finish, “ - support a friend.”

 

“Oh dear,” she muttered.

 

~ ~ ~

 

Inuyasha followed Kagome's scent to the subway entrance but didn't go any further on the trail, unwilling to trap himself in so confined a space with so many humans. Besides, he knew what hospitals smelled like - they all reeked of antiseptics and he'd have no problem detecting them from a distance. He'd just try for the nearest one and if he didn't pick up on Kagome's presence then he'd move on to the next one. He moved fast enough that it shouldn't be too hard.

 

He lucked out at the first one he came to. He smelled her at the entrance and followed her trail, disregarding the stares and shouts of outrage that surrounded him. If Kagome was hurt then they could all go to hell if they tried to keep him from her.

 

Before he knew it he barreled into a room, staring wide eyed at Kagome and another girl he didn't recognize in the least, but he disregarded her for the moment. His eyes hungrily raked across her, searching for any sign of injury, but when he didn't see anything and couldn't smell anything off either he relaxed minimally. There was still the question of why she was at a hospital, of why she'd avoided him and neglected their meeting time.

 

“You-you're fine,” he stated blithely, needing to hear her confirm what his senses were telling him.

“Inuyasha?” Kagome gasped. “I, uh, yeah, of course I'm fine. What are you doing here?”

 

He backed into the doorway, flustered now that he'd found her, especially with someone else, and was unsure of what to do with himself. “I heard you were at the hospital-”

 

Eri's slightly hysterical voice cut across his. “What is that doing here, in my room?” she asked, pointed shakily to him.

 

Ears pinned back he tried to make a hasty retreat but Kagome caught at his arm. “His name is Inuyasha - he's the tetsudai I've been telling you about for ages now. Why do you look so surprised?” He didn't miss that Kagome's friend was now glaring murderously at her and he tugged lightly, trying to get free from her without hurting her, but she only tightened her grip.

 

“I never thought I'd have to actually see the hanyou.” The way she spit the term like a curse-word confused her.

 

Kagome's brows burrowed. “Why are you talking like that? What has he ever done to you?”

 

Eri glared at her. “He's a hanyou, what'd you expect?”

 

“You don't like him because he's half human and half-youkai?” she asked, disbelieving.

 

“Of course,” Eri snorted, adding with a muffled mumble, “stupid half-breed.”

 

“But Hinako at school was half-Chinese and you never had any problems with her. In fact you still hang out with her sometimes, right? So what's wrong with having a mixed heritage?”

 

She crossed her arms, as if daring Kagome to argue with her `common logic'. “He's disgusting and a monster. I thought you'd have more sense than to bring him into civilized company.”

 

Kagome actually took a step back. “From the way you're acting I don't think I would consider this civilized company. What's going on? I've talked about Inuyasha plenty of times with you and you've never said anything.”

 

“That's when I thought you still had sense. I thought we had the same view of them and you were just slumming or playing the martyr as part of your worship ritual or some other sad reason for staying with him. I mean, come on Kagome, he has dog ears! It's unnatural and disturbing. I can't imagine how you can possibly stand bedding him.”

 

At that comment Kagome went straight past confused into furious. “Then I'd appreciate it if you didn't imagine it.”

 

Eri's face was turning pink. “Why are you getting mad at me! That's rich from the girl who brings a beast like that to a friend's doctor's appointment. What are you getting so upset about anyhow? What's the point? He's just a novelty - you'll get over it quickly enough.”

 

Kagome felt Inuyasha flinch at Eri's words and she squeezed his arm gently. “Well I can assure you he's not a novelty, as you so eloquently put it. I'm with him to stay but if you don't like it we can leave.”

 

Eri gaped at her. “But what about my results? I need someone here for this. You can't think of leaving me.”

 

Kagome's eyes softened but she remained firm. “We stay together or we leave together. I won't stoop to making him leave just because of your prejudice.” Besides, you may need me, but in this situation he certainly needs me more. “We have plenty of other friends you can call so it's your choice whether or not to be alone in this.”

 

“You can't actually mean - you'd choose a hanyou over me, your friend for eight years?”

 

Kagome didn't blink as she replied, “In a heartbeat.”

 

She turned to usher Inuyasha out the door but Eri called after her, accusingly, “He must be a damn good lay!”

 

She didn't even pause as she answered, “The best.” She all but marched down the hall, pulling Inuyasha along with her. It hadn't slipped past her notice that he was breathing quickly, still trying to jerk out of her grasp, though she supposed his concentration was too far gone since he hadn't succeeded. She willed them both to stay calm so they didn't have to deal with this in public.

 

Finally, spotting her destination, she picked up her pace. She pulled him into the family restroom, flipping on the light and locking the door behind her. As she let go Inuyasha flung himself away from her, backing up against the wall next to the door. Unwilling to look at her, to have her look at him, he slid down the wall, slinging his arms around his knees and burying his face between them.

 

“Inuyasha…” she hedged, unsure where to begin.

 

“Just go,” he ground out, catching her off-guard. His breathing was still shallow, his voice panicky. “Go, you can fix whatever just happened with your friend there. You don't need to lose someone over this.” The words `over me' hung silent in the air.

 

She hunched in front of him on the balls of her feet and touched her forehead to his. “Oh, Inuyasha. Knowing me, do you honestly think I could do that? She had no right to do what she did, to say what she did, and I couldn't bring myself to be friends with someone who held onto such blatant prejudices.”

 

“But it's my fault,” he said, his voice vicious, and she could sense the self-loathing building in him.

 

“No, it wasn't. It was her fault, or even mine for not being surer of the company I was keeping, but not your fault. Never your fault.”

 

He made no move and she sighed. Slowly she lifted her right hand to run softly through his hair, needing the contact for herself but knowing instinctively he would reject any skin-to-skin touching.

 

“You know, what I said back in there was true.” He stiffened and she knew he'd latched onto the right part of the conversation. “It wasn't hard to choose between the two of you and if the situation comes up again I'll continue to make the same choice.”

 

She felt his automatic recoil. “That wouldn't be your fault either - it is entirely up to me what I do with the relationships in my life so don't try to take credit or blame for anything I may or may not do. I can't stand by and just idly watch such baseless rejection and hate.

 

“But just so you know I'd do the same if one of my friends reacted like that toward a youkai or a human who was somehow different from us. This isn't just about hanyou or about you - it's about me standing up for what I believe in. So please, don't blame yourself for what I just did, it's really not you.”

 

She knew the deepest part of his fear though, knew only time would help cover it up. He still worried she'd `wake up' from this delusion she was under, grow bored of the novelty of him, as Eri put it, and then she'd come to find she'd sacrificed so much, too much for someone she no longer even wanted and she would hate him for it.

 

“I didn't make that decision just because I want to be with you though.” His posture didn't change but she felt his focus shift, becoming singularly focused on her, as if looking to find falsehoods. “I can't deny that's part of it, but mostly I did it just because you have done nothing to deserve such treatment.

 

“You are one of the most singularly amazing creatures I have ever met and it still astounds me that people aren't willing to see that simply because of your parentage. You are beautiful, Inuyasha, inside and out, and you deserve better. All hanyou do. And if you aren't willing to stand up for yourself then I will. I won't now and I never will stand beside someone who has to demean others to feel better about themselves. I know you deserve better than this and I won't accept anything or anyone that stands in your way.”

 

He was still deathly rigid against her, betraying nothing about what he was thinking. She willed him to understand her words, to accept them. She needed him to believe in himself, to believe in her. Then without warning he caught her up against him, near to crushing her in his grasp, his breath rasping harshly in her ear. She responded immediately, throwing her arms around his neck and pulling him tightly against her, willing waves of reassurance to him through her embrace.

 

Unfortunately, with the way Kagome had been hunched in front of him she was now pulled at an awkward angle and within a minute her legs were dead asleep. She would have given anything to not have to break the moment and say anything but she feared her legs might actually give out and she'd fall, and she knew that in the unsure state he was in he'd find some way to be embarrassed and angry at himself for it.

 

“Uh, Inuyasha? Can you let go for just a second?”

 

He pushed her away, his expression panicked. She tried for a wry smile which she felt failing miserably on her face. She couldn't say anything about her legs falling asleep though so how to word it? “I just want to shift around so I can hold you better.”

 

He threw her a skeptical glance but didn't otherwise say anything as she moved to sit between his knees, her legs thrown on either side of his waist. With her feet up scrunched up against the wall she still wasn't the most comfortable but all she cared about at the moment was being close to him.

 

She wrapped her arms around him and pulled tightly to her, their bodies flush with one another. “How are you even out here? Why'd you leave the Shrine?”

 

He held her tighter, refusing to voice his motivation now that it came to it. “Your birthday passed.”

 

“Yes.” That didn't alleviate her confusion. Had he wanted to come do something to celebrate the occasion? The possibility touched her but not the fact that he'd risked himself. Still, she doubted that was it.

 

“You never showed up, despite the fact you said you would.” She heard the accusation in his voice.

 

“Oh…oh. Inuyasha, I normally show up two weeks after my birthday.”

 

His cheeks burned and he was embarrassed at how stupid he must seem. “Well your letter said `see you soon' and I didn't get another one this week,” he said defensively.

 

It slowly dawned on her. “You were worried about me.”

 

“No-no I-” he spluttered but she silenced him with a gentle squeeze.

 

“Thank you,” she whispered.

 

They tapered off into silence, content to stay in the comfort of each other's arms.

 

~ ~ ~

 

Kagome jumped slightly at the knock on the door. She wasn't sure how much time had passed sitting in the bathroom, a few moments or a half hour, but knew it was long enough that somebody was bound to be suspicious.

 

“Are you alright in there?” The voice was muffled by the heavy door but Kagome thought it might be the nurse that had talked with Eri and her.

 

“Yes, I'm fine,” she called out, hoping the woman hadn't noticed she'd taken someone else into the room with her. She wanted to be able to leave quietly and unnoticed.

 

“You sure? I've noticed the door has been locked for quite some time.” Only the concern obvious in the other woman's voice kept Kagome from going into a full-blown panic.

 

“I've just got some rather bad, uh,” she winced, “indigestion. I'll be out in a minute. Nothing to worry about.” She dragged herself up from the floor and walked over to the sink, turning the water on, hoping the nurse would get the hint.

 

“Well, alright then.”

 

She thought she heard footsteps but she wasn't sure so she turned to Inuyasha. “She gone?” she whispered. At his nod she immediately jumped into action. Shutting off the water she grabbed his hand, all but hauling him off the floor, then raced to the door. Snibbing the lock she carefully peered into the hall to make sure no one was paying attention to them. Seeing all was clear she pulled him hastily behind her and took up a quick pace toward the hospital exit.

 

Almost immediately she felt the lag behind her of Inuyasha pulling back on her hand. Worried she twisted her head around to look at him, though she didn't slow. He pulled more forcefully until she almost had to stop.

 

“Walking fast draws attention. If you want people to ignore you then you gotta blend in, don't do anything to stick out.”

 

She nodded, aware that he would know, and allowed him to anchor her speed. They made their way uneventfully outside and as soon as she could find a shadowy corner she pulled him into it. Facing him she stared pensively up into his face, just keeping herself from reaching out to graze a finger down his cheek. He looked too tense, just a little too blocked off and walled up to accept such a gesture from her.

 

“I'm sorry,” she repeated, knowing nothing she said or did could erase what had just happened.

 

He tried to be nonchalant and shrug it off, but he still didn't look at her and held himself too stiffly. She didn't know what else to do other than get him home but it was turning evening and she knew the subways would be packed, not that he'd want to go that route even during off-peak hours.

 

Instead she gently drew his hand into hers and started down one of the smaller side streets at a sedate pace. It would take them a while to reach her house but they were in no rush for anything.

 

Twilight deepened and the shadows lengthened enough to obscure in the part of evening just before the street lamps flickered on. They took comfort in the darkness, in the anonymity of it, and held quiet as they walked.

 

The erratic shuffling of feet broke the silence just before a harsh voice grated out, “Stop! Let her go!”

 

Kagome spun to see two policemen bearing down on them, their guns glinting in the low light.

 

“I said let her go, you filth!”

 

She realized he was staring at their joined hands and, though she didn't want to, she immediately broke their grasp, not wanting the situation to escalate. Placing herself squarely in front of Inuyasha she glared at the approaching men.

 

“What is your problem? We're not doing anything illegal - we're walking down the street! Hardly anything worth drawing your guns for.”

 

She caught the words as one of them whispered to the other, “She's clearly delusional. The shock of the kidnapping must've gotten to her.”

 

Kagome saw red. “I'll have you know I am perfectly sane. Further, I am not being kidnapped. What on earth gave you that impression?”

 

The cops shared a look and edged closer to them. “He's a hanyou, miss,” the second one said in a low, soothing tone.

 

“I am well aware of what he is,” she snapped. “That doesn't automatically make him a kidnapper. Besides, to be abducted you have to be unwilling and I assure you that he needs no coercion to get me to go with him.”

 

While she glared at him the other policeman made his way around her side and with a sudden movement leaped out at her, snatching her arm, and pulling her away.

 

“What - what are you doing?!” she yelled outraged. She struggled against his hold but she was no match for his strength. Only when she saw the other man point his gun at Inuyasha did she realize what was going on.

 

“Let me go you jerk!” she yelled, kicking out at her captor, but even as she made contact and heard him grunt he didn't release her. “Inuyasha's done nothing wrong! Just let us go..!”

 

She saw the cop aiming and started to panic. She stared at Inuyasha but he'd frozen in place, a snarl on his face. She'd thought he'd have run off at the first sign of trouble, not wanting to risk falling into a rage and hurting one of the men, but his gaze was fixed on her.

 

With a gulp she realized that he was unwilling to leave her with men who had not only threatened him but held her against her will. She wanted to scream at him to run but she recognized the stubborn gleam in his gaze and knew her words would do nothing other than alert the policemen to his possible actions.

 

He looked, though, like he was about to forget all his years of self-preservation and possibly attack the man who held her and she couldn't let that happen. It would be a disaster not even the Shrine could - or would bother - to save him from.

 

The policeman wasn't lowering his gun. In fact his glare was hardening and she feared that he was about to pull the trigger any second. She knew Inuyasha was fast but she didn't know if that included being able to dodge a bullet and that wasn't something she was willing to risk, so she did the only thing she could think of.

 

“Osuwari!”

 

Inuyasha plummeted face down into the pavement, an impressive crater resulting from the impact.

 

The policemen goggled. She took advantage of their surprise and pushed away from the one holding her, once again getting between them and Inuyasha.

 

“You were about to make the worst mistake of your lives,” she told them darkly. “He,” she motioned to the ground behind her, “just so happens to be one of the tetsudai from the Bacana Shrine.”

 

They started and she knew she had their attention. “Yes, the Bacana Shrine. You know, the one with all the power, money, and influence? I'm sure they'd be really happy if you did anything to harm one of their most important tetsudai, not to mention the one hardest to replace.”

 

“He's…a…tetsudai?” the first man asked, clearly aghast. “But he's hanyou!”

 

“Not at the moment, he's not,” she countered. Crouching down she tugged gently on the rosary, exposing it to their scrutiny. “See these? They declare that at the moment he is human.”

 

They snapped from their haze at those words, moving in closer as if coming to the conclusion that she'd been spinning them a tale and had just taken it a step too far. “Human? Yeah, right.”

 

“You're welcome to call the Shrine right now and verify everything I say if you doubt me, but I hope you'd be wise enough to not bring it to their attention that you very nearly had an altercation with their prized tetsudai. For all that they are a Shrine they do not take harassment lightly and I'm sure they would make you wish you'd never heard of them before they were done with you.”

 

That halted them in their tracks and they looked hesitantly at each other, trying to gauge her veracity.

 

“And yes, I said human. The Shrine is very aware that there are ignorant jerks such as yourselves who would take it upon themselves to `punish' him for merely being hanyou, even if he'd committed no crime. Therefore to make it possible for clients to take him off property certain safety measures had to be taken.

 

“Now did you or did you not see how I spoke a single word and he was subdued?”

 

She waited, forcing them to answer a grudging `yes' before she continued. “Then is it not obvious I can stop him before he gets into any mischief? I am therefore responsible for all of his actions since I have the power to prevent them. Since he is held accountable under my name that makes him under the jurisdiction of human law for the time being.

 

“As I said, you can call the Shrine. This is all by-the-by, and as of right now he is officially and legally human until these beads are removed.”

 

She stood, brushed herself off, and faced them fully. “Now can you imagine what repercussions there might be for holding, harassing, and almost shooting two unarmed citizens, both of whom are legal humans at the time? Not very good for your careers, I can promise you that.”

 

The two men were visibly nervous, hesitating as to their next move.

 

“I'd suggest that before you accost any other hanyou in the future that you check for the presence of a rosary first. Or maybe just try asking questions at all, since there could easily be other ways that a hanyou would be under a different legal heading at the time. Knowing the full legal status of the other party in such an infraction would be imperative and a good way to keep yourselves from getting into trouble, ne?”

 

The second policeman threw his hands up in the air. “Fine, have it your way.”

 

The other looked at him askew. “You sure about this?”

 

“Yeah. If she's telling the truth there's nothing more we can do anyhow, and I don't know about you but I'm not one for crossing the Bacana Shrine. And if she's lying…” He shrugged. “If the beast does anything to her we'll know we did our part to help her. It's her fault if she doesn't accept it but our consciences will be clear.” She wasn't sure but she thought she heard him muttering something about Stockholm syndrome.

 

The first cop still faltered, hesitating to leave her there alone with a hanyou. “You sure about this, miss?”

 

She nodded emphatically. “Yes, I'm positive. Now leave us alone.”

 

With one last, hard look at her both men turned and left, leaving her with Inuyasha, who was still on the ground.

 

“Inuyasha?” She pushed on his shoulder. “Can you get up yet?” His muffled cursing was answer enough and she sighed heavily as she sat next to him. The mood had been tense enough already before those cops had bumbled across them. She was inordinately glad she'd been able to get rid of them so relatively easily but she cringed to think of the method she'd had to use.

 

If Inuyasha had been upset at her using the rosary that one time to keep him from fighting with her grandfather then she could only imagine how mad he'd be now that he'd been subdued in front of those two jackasses.

 

Without warning he suddenly sprang up and moved instantly away from her. She stayed motionless, unsure what to do next, only moving when she saw he hadn't paused in his stride. She scrambled after him, jogging slightly just to keep him in sight.

 

They were in such deep shadow that she almost walked right into him before she saw he'd stopped, hunching over so his hands were on the ground. “Get on,” he grumbled.

 

She took one quick, unsure look at his back before she climbed on unsteadily, aware of how precarious her position was until his arms took hold of her. As soon as she felt his touch she immediately felt secure. “Where are we going?”

 

He hoisted her up a little higher and leaped up in the air, using the window covering from one building to launch himself onto the roof of the one across from it. He ran across the buildings, all silence and predatory grace. It was a while before he answered her, but whether he'd been deciding what to say, focusing on his acrobatics, or merely ignoring her she couldn't be sure. “Somewhere. Anywhere. Away from here.”

 

She leaned forward until her cheek rested against his shoulder and closed her eyes, losing herself in the rocking motions of his movements. She was content to follow him wherever he needed to go.

 

It was sometime later when he came to a stop but Kagome had no idea how long they'd been traveling since she hadn't checked the moon's position while they'd been in the city, if it had even been visible. Now it shone brilliantly down on them, illuminating the entire forest canopy and she would've loved to soak in the view but she was too preoccupied with watching Inuyasha.

 

“Stay here,” he ordered, and before she could get a word of question out he was gone. She didn't have to wait five minutes though before he was back. “C'mon,” he said, motioning to his back. “We gotta go deeper in.”

 

She nodded, though she was unsure what he meant, but climbed on quietly anyhow. They repeated the measure twice more before he was apparently satisfied with the location. They were in much denser woods and he'd dropped her off in the only available large patch of moonlight around.

 

“You'll be alright here?” he asked gruffly.

 

“Yeah, sure, I'll be fine. But where are you-”

 

He cut her off. “I'll be close by. Yell if you need anything. Other than that stay put.”

 

She opened her mouth to ask him what was going on but he was already gone. It wasn't long though before she heard the sounds of cracking wood and splintering trunks. She'd never heard a tree break from punching, kicking, slashing, or whatever he was doing, but the wounds were unmistakable.

 

Swallowing with difficulty she sat, her back to the only tree base that was illuminated by the small patch of moonlight. She tried to pull her mind together, to figure out what she could say to him when he returned to fix the horrible events of the night but she knew there were no such magical words.

 

Time passed and, lacking anything to do, she almost wished she could go to sleep. She'd never be able to though, not with Inuyasha pounding away on the surrounding foliage, not to mention that her mind continued to churn and her conscience began to weigh heavily on her.

 

If it hadn't been for her he wouldn't have been in either of those situations. Without her prodding and influence he never would have bothered to leave the Shrine and wouldn't be confronted with such abject hatred and unfounded prejudice anywhere he went in public.

 

She wasn't aware that all the noise had stopped until he was right in front of her again. She was on her feet instantly, grabbing his bloody hands. His knuckles were mangled and, though she knew it was nothing to him and that he'd heal within a couple hours, she couldn't help but worry.

 

Raising one to her lips she kissed it gently, whispering, “I'm so sorry.”

 

He wrenched his hands from hers and growled. “Would you stop apologizing already, wench?! I'm the reason you got accosted by those bastards! They only had it in for you because they thought you were insane for defending a fucking hanyou!” He seethed a moment and she swore she heard him mutter, “I think you might be too.”

 

She wasn't about to let him turn this around on himself. “It's because of me you were out here in the first place - because you were worried about me.”

 

“I wasn't worried about nothin'!” he snapped defensively.

 

She cast him a disbelieving glare. “Still, if I'd been more specific or clearer in my letters you wouldn't have had been subjected to any of this. Not to mention I'm such an idiot I didn't even think about getting you to cover your ears! I'm sure there would've been something I could've picked up in the hospital gift shop to conceal you well enough that you wouldn't have been accosted tonight.”

 

“Will you stop it! It's not your fault I was born the way I was.”

 

“Well it isn't your fault either,” she countered, effectively ending that argument.

 

She cupped his face gently and slowly his breathing calmed to a normal pace. “Inuyasha, it's nobody's fault, because that implies that something to be guilty for. There's nothing wrong with being hanyou and you shouldn't let anyone tell you otherwise. You should always hold your head high in pride for who you are.”

 

He snarled at that. “What, I should be proud that because of what I am I got you in trouble?”

 

Sighing she shook her head. “There are always going to be people who look down on you just because they like to feel good about themselves. You can't help that, but you can remember where you come from. Your parents loved each other, even if circumstances were against them, and they wanted you. It would do you good to remember that.” She didn't realize that she'd never actually spoken to Inuyasha much of his parents, having gotten all of her information from Ryu, but neither of them noticed the slip up in the moment.

 

Inuyasha was silent a moment. It was on the tip of his tongue to open up to her about his mother, about how his existence had made her life a living hell, how much better off she would have been without him, how watching her deteriorate before his eyes had nearly killed him, but he just couldn't do it.

 

“C'mon, let's get out of here,” he grunted eventually. “I've got to get you home.”

 

“Alright, Inuyasha,” she said, grasping his hand once more, “let's go.”

 

~ ~ ~

 

He left her as soon as they passed the lintel to her house. She'd tried to convince him to stay but he'd refused. She had continued to press him - after seeing him she was nearly bowled over with how much she'd missed him - but he'd also run all the way there and hadn't had any rest yet. When he'd grudgingly brought up the fact that he had left without any notice and the Shrine probably wasn't any too pleased about it she relented immediately. She didn't want to even ponder the possibilities of what would happen were the Shrine unhappy with him.

 

They'd parted with only a stilted goodbye, a promise to see each other in a week and a half, and a lingering hug that Kagome felt she'd had to force him into at first but he quickly melted into. When he pulled back he was gone almost before she was able to focus on his figure.

 

She sighed, willing herself to stop staring after him and go inside. She'd see him soon enough yet somehow ten days seemed interminably long now that he'd dropped so dramatically back into her life. Grumbling to herself she made her way into the kitchen, sure that now her thoughts would be full with nothing but him - and she'd been doing so good, dang it!

 

Flipping on the light switch she noticed there was a message on the answering machine.

 

“Hey Kagome, this is Sango. Give me a call back. I think I found out some information that will be rather…interesting to you.”

 

Glancing at the clock she saw it was approaching midnight so she headed up to bed, determined to call Sango when she woke up the next day. Although considering how long it would likely take her to fall asleep she figured that might be later rather than sooner.

 

~ ~ ~

 

Kagome met Sango for brunch at a neighborhood café. While she waited for her friend to show up she wondered about the odd tone that had been in her friend's voice on the message the previous night. When she'd said `interesting' she hadn't been able to discern whether that was in a good way or a bad way.

 

Having worked up her curiosity she nearly jumped up from her seat when Sango entered the door. Her nerves being what they were she barely managed to retain her hold on her drink without spilling it and she laughed at herself, waving to her friend who was amused by her antics. Grabbing her own drink quickly she joined Kagome at her table in the corner

 

“It would seem I piqued your interest, ne?” she asked with a wry grin.

 

“Of course - though I'm just as curious about whether the news is good or bad.”

 

Sango shook her head. “That's just the thing, I'm not really sure. It might not even be of any purpose at all but I stumbled across the information and thought that it could possibly be useful to you.”

 

“Well,” Kagome encouraged, “what is it?”

 

“You remember how we were saying it'd be good to know about all different types of people who work at the Bacana Shrine, to know what standard they kept for employees - that kind of thing?”

 

“Sure. I'm not sure how it'll really help though.”

 

“I can't be sure either but it seems better to try everything and have a few leads turn into dead ends than leave anything unexplored. I know you'll likely have a couple suggestions through your friend Ryu but he'll likely be biased about who he sends you to. It's just better to get as many bases covered as possible, even if it does end up leading to nothing. At least then we'll have tried, right?”

 

Kagome mused. “That certainly does seem a smarter way to go about things. So what is it you came across?”

 

“I actually found a sample case where a human male was sent to the Bacana Shrine instead of jail as his punishment. Seeing how a `prisoner' of sorts is treated should be an interesting basis for comparison.”

 

Kagome's eyes widened. She recalled now how she'd heard that most of the ningen tetsudai weren't there by choice or were performing some sort of penance but she'd forgotten all about that little detail.

 

“What was his crime?”

 

Sango shrugged. “The record is vague; all it states is that there was a trial and this was his punishment. It can't be anything too serious or dangerous though otherwise they'd never put him in a position where he'd be coming into such close contact with innocent civilians on a regular basis.”

 

“That sounds odd for there to be so little information.”

 

“It was only a note, a general reference cited in another case, not the actual court record. I haven't had the time to try to look that up - have you seen the amount of records in our library? That's if it was even a large enough case to garner the interest to be in any of the major books. It's somewhere though and it shouldn't be too hard to dig it up. If not we can always just ask him about it.”

 

“So, what? You thinking we should just call this guy up and ask him all about his case? I doubt he'll be that interested in sharing his criminal record.” She supposed she could always just go in and talk to him while she was physically at the Shrine, she jus hated the idea of taking one of her nights away from Inuyasha. Maybe if she just spent the first couple hours of the night with the guy?

 

Sango drew her from her thoughts. “Actually I was thinking that I'd go with you to the Shrine so that I could speak with him. You are set to go in a little over a week, right?”

 

Kagome stared. Sango actually looked nervous. She didn't think she'd ever seen her look anything near flustered in all the time she'd known her. Was it the idea of going to the Bacana Shrine that was doing this to her or speaking to the tetsudai? “I am going but if you're not comfortable with this there's really no need for you to push yourself.”

 

She waved her concern away. “Don't worry about it; I'll be able to take care of myself.”

 

Kagome eyed her warily. “If you say so…”

 

Sango lifted her coffee in a mock toast. “It's settled then.”

 

Suddenly a spark of inspiration came to Kagome at what such a situation could do for them. “If you're planning on coming to the Shrine would you be willing to stay the whole night?”

 

“Why would I want to do that?”

 

Kagome chuckled, more than aware that her friend wouldn't be utilizing any of the Shrine's services. “This way you could meet Inuyasha and I can start proving to you that hanyou aren't brainless morons! Er, a small warning though: he can be quite surly around people and could possibly either snap at you or just try to ignore you altogether. You just have to remember what kind of life he's had and give him a little extra grace.”

 

“Why would I have to wait until the next day to meet with him?”

 

“Because we're likely to be busy for the entirety of the Shrine's operating working hours.”

 

Sango blushed to the roots of her hair. “Oh, of-of course, right,” she stammered, her fingers fidgeting nervously with her cup.

 

Kagome stifled a laugh. “It might not have been as bad if we hadn't seen each other yesterday but I doubt now that we could have a concentrated chat with you before getting some time to ourselves.”

 

Sango nearly spit out her coffee. “Wait, hold up a minute. You saw each other yesterday?”

 

“Unfortunately it wasn't exactly the best of reunions.” Double checking the café to make sure no one had moved over in the course of their conversation who could now overhear, she proceeded to tell her the entirety of what had happened. She was surprised at the ferocity of Sango's reactions - from wincing to visible anger - something amazing from a woman who seemed so in control of herself all the time.

 

“That's despicable. I may not know whether I trust them or not but no one deserves that kind of treatment - that's just outright prejudice and we're supposed to be above all that at this point!”

 

Kagome sighed irritably. She knew that humanity had gotten past its racial prejudices for the most part but sometimes she wondered if that wasn't due to maturity but was instead because they'd found something to side together against. “It's almost like we're programmed to belittle others to make ourselves feel better,” she continued aloud. “First it was other people groups, then demons. There's no love lost between our groups but at least the governments pretend to treat each other as equals.

 

“I wonder if that's part of the taboo. Hanyou are seen as proof of someone defecting to the `enemy', that someone could care enough for someone of another race to create a child with them. Despite governmental assurances I'm sure that for the most part human and youkai don't really get along, they just tolerate each other.”

 

All of a sudden she sat up straighter, seeming to remember who she was talking to. “Sorry, Sango. I didn't mean…”

 

“Don't worry about it. I'm fully aware I have some resentment toward youkai, that I'm more likely to approach them with distrust than anything else. I also know not every single one of them is untrustworthy, but I can't help but be wary because of my past. Doesn't mean I walk around hating the whole group of them, though, or anything that can possibly be spawned of them.

 

“I even have a neko-youkai for a pet, so there's proof for you. Kirara kept me sane through some of the more trying times so I know there are redeeming qualities in all types.”

 

Her eyes nearly crossed as she stared at the tip of the finger Kagome was suddenly jabbing near her face. “You have a youkai for a pet?!”

 

“Yeah. Did I never tell you that before?”

 

Kagome slumped back in her seat, exasperated. “No, you didn't.”

 

“Sorry,” she smiled. “She's a ferocious little thing though and I'm glad to have her around.”

 

Kagome just shook her head and then gasped suddenly. “I can't believe it! I almost forgot!”

 

“What? What?” Sango asked, worried about her friend's sudden reaction.

 

“I forgot to ask you the tetsudai's name, the one you're planning on meeting at the Shrine.” She thumped her palm against her forehead.

 

Sango chuckled at her antics. “Miroku. His name is Miroku.”

 

~ ~ ~

 

A/N: As always, many thanks to Akihana for the once-over.

 

Also thanks to all reviewers for encouragements, well-wishes, and crit. To those who found last chapter a bit confusing or non-sensical I hope it will play out better as events unfold in the next few chapters. (Please feel free to tell me if it doesn't. Just because something makes sense in my head doesn't mean it necessarily translated to print. Oi.)