InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Strictly Taboo ❯ Offspring of Your Might ( Chapter 21 )

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

Kagome insisted on sleeping alone in her room and Inuyasha listened to her cry herself to sleep, not going in to hold her because he knew she would reject him even though he had nothing to do with the way Sango had ended up. Did she feel guilty that her friend was on the verge of death in the hospital and she was in a warm bed? He didn’t know because she didn’t feel like taking for once. Time both flew and dragged as he crouched outside her door, vaguely drifting in and out of sleep and his own jumbled thoughts.

What had happened to Kikyo? He shook his head, remembering when he had first seen her at that party all those years ago. She was wearing one of those little black dresses all women had but she made it look exceptional, simple though it was. He had dismissed her as a spoiled little rich girl at first, but she had turned out to be so much more. There was a lot of pain in her heart, pain at being shaped into something she had no desire to be yet had all the qualifications for. They were going to get married and he would have gradually taken on her responsibilities, leaving her to be free and normal, whatever she wanted to be, sacrificing his own wants for her happiness, which was also his own. Anything that had made her happy made him happy.

Sango’s attack was most certainly her doing. The conversation they had preceding it could not be mere coincidence. Even after everything, it surprised him that he still reacted to Kikyo’s pain. Inuyasha thought himself long immune to her emotions, which she had so rarely allowed him to glimpse. When she had walked out of his life she had made him hate her with a painful, sluggish intensity that he didn’t think he was capable of. But now that she had come back, he found he hated her still, yet with none of that sick longing that used to accompany it. And then there was Kagome. He hated Kikyo because Kagome did not. He hated her because she had left with his child and never bothered to let him know. Sure, she had shown up to his office almost non-stop for a while a couple months after their break-up, but she obviously hadn’t tried very hard because look at where they were. She could have just called or written or told Myoga or tried to find his new address. Waiting for over ten years and then guilting him into marrying her was the least efficient way of getting him to spend time with their daughter, although he did spend a lot of time with her, just not in the way Kikyo had probably been expecting.

Thinking of his relationship with Kagome left him feeling vaguely numb and sick, but not in an entirely bad way. It was as though he were just some doll stuffed plump with cotton candy. Light and airy but still solid in a nearly unreal way. He tried not to dwell on it too much, afraid of the small thrills he’d get which were worse than his initial terror and disgust. There was no part of her that wasn’t his. None. If Kagome would let him, he’d like to fling their relationship in Kikyo’s face, just show her what she had brought about. A small, only barely significant part of him had participated in his affair (sometimes there was just no other word) with Kagome because of how much Kikyo had hurt him. It was a twisted revenge, but he never would have gone beyond dreaming about it had he not genuinely cared for Kagome and felt sure she felt the same. Although sometimes he wondered about what was in it for her. She loved her mother with a fierce devotion, that was obvious, so what was she doing with him? He recalled their past conversations, when she had told him he was the only one who loved her. Was that all it was, all it took? All the unhappiness in her life was because of him. If he had maybe just let Kikyo in one of those times she had showed up at his office, they would have reconciled and he would have been there for Kagome as her father. He would not have let Kikyo be so severe with her and she would not have felt the need to be, not with him there balancing her out and making her more mellow. He would never have begun to love Kagome in the way he did now, a wrong way, even though some people (himself included, once or twice) said love could never be wrong. And she would have never loved him. The thought made his throat burn and he coughed quietly, trying not to wake the sleeping girl separated from him by only one door and loads of conflict.

The rising sun shining angrily in his eyes interrupted his train of thought and he squinted back at it, confused. He had somehow brooded over his relationship troubles the entire night like some kind of teenage girl. Inuyasha sighed. Kagome was rubbing off on him. Figuring it was safe to approach her now that she had cried herself out and Kikyo wasn’t home, probably hiding in fear of him figuring out what she had done, he turned the knob of Kagome’s bedroom door, trying to be as quiet as he could, grateful that it didn’t squeak as so many other doors in the house did.

The sunlight was dimmer in her room and it still looked like it was barely dawn, the blue-gray light nothing more than a glow. She had kicked her covers off sometime during the night and was sprawled on her back, her nightgown hitched up around her thighs. The light turned her skin so pale and Inuyasha couldn’t help but to reach out and gently run a finger up one slender limb, following the path of a ghostly vein. Kagome didn’t even stir, too worn out from the roller coaster of stress and emotions yesterday. He grabbed her blanket and sheet off the floor, dragging them up over her body and climbing in next to her. Starting out with the barest of butterfly kisses, he pressed his lips to her skin, over and over again, just wanting to touch her. She was so soft, and a little chilly. He put an arm around her and pressed her to his chest, warming her with his body. She awoke slowly, snuggling into him and then realizing by degrees that pillows were not so solid or so warm. Even half-asleep, though, she knew it was him and murmured his name into his collarbone, her chapped lips brushing across his skin and making him shiver. And then full consciousness hit her.

“I-Inuyasha?! What time is it? Am I late? How’s Sango? You’ve heard from the hospital, right? She’s okay, right?” Her still sleepy gray eyes were darting around, searching his face, and her voice was scratchy and frantic.

“No word from them yet,” he said calmly, which he could tell annoyed her. It wasn’t like he had spent every day with Sango like she had, she was just a stranger to him. “It’s about seven. Sorry I woke you.”

She yawned. “It’s okay, I’ve got to get ready for school, anyway.”

He wanted to hit something in his anger but settled for just staring at her in disbelief. “You’re kidding me. Please, please don’t be serious.”

“What? I have a test today.”

“I don’t give a fuck!” he yelled, surprising her and making her jump in his tightening embrace. “You’re not protected. If you really want to go, I’ll go with you.”

Her eyes narrowed in a glare. “You will do no such thing. We’re already around each other every second once I’m out of school, can’t you just let me have a few hours to myself?!”

They stared at each other. He broke eye contact first. “So you’re sick of me. Is that it?”

Kagome opened her mouth to speak but his cell phone chose that moment to ring. Mumbling a curse, he dug it out of his pocket.

“What?” he spat out, glaring at Kagome who at least had the decency to look mildly repentant.

“Good morning, sir,” Myoga said pleasantly.

“The fuck do you want.”

“You haven’t been to the office in quite some time.”

“Tell me something I don’t know,” he mumbled distractedly, watching Kagome put on her uniform.

“Well, your employees are getting a bit… out of hand.”

“How so?” he asked, now slightly interested.

“There are rumors that the business is on the verge of a collapse. That Ms. Higurashi only married you to help it survive a few more years.”

Inuyasha laughed at that, not bothering to correct his assistant on Kikyo’s new surname and Myoga continued. “Some of our most valuable employees seem to have been swayed by this nonsense and are jumping ship. It would be best if you were to show up at least once a week to boost morale and put their fears to rest. I would suggest coming in today before this whole thing gets out of hand.”

He rolled his eyes, hearing his most trusted employee’s urgency in his voice. “Deal with it yourself.”

Myoga lowered his voice. “Sir, I suspect there might be more to this than meets the eye. Ms. Higurashi’s representatives from Shikon said that before there was anything wrong with the company, there were rumors. It started off small. Nobody knew who spread them and nobody could remember where they heard them. They lost a quarter of their workforce within a month. It was as though these people were brainwashed and they thought they had to leave the company or it would mean their death. It was mass hysteria and that only ended when you took over. Now it’s starting here.”

He suddenly remembered Kikyo and his promise to her. Now that his company was experiencing the same thing in the main office and most likely other ones as well, he’d have a chance to get a better idea of the situation and maybe nip it in the bud. But then again, Kagome needed him, even if she thought she didn’t. Inuyasha was in a quandary. He had hurt Kikyo, physically and emotionally. He was hurting her without her even knowing it. If she knew what he did with her—their—daughter, she’d die.  All he did was hurt her lately and he had promised to help. It was clear. He had to put his own petty feelings of anger and hatred aside and fight his wife’s last battle, the only thing she had ever really asked of him.

“Fine. See you there.” He hung up without another word.

Turning to Kagome, who was trying to appear as though she wasn’t listening, he said, “I’m gonna have to take you to work with me today.”

“Mother would know. She’d figure it out and everything would be over,” the girl grumbled, rapidly running a brush through her hair and avoiding eye contact with him in her mirror.

“I have to go to work today and I’m not leaving you alone,” he said, trying not to beg. He didn’t think anything would actually happen to her, but he’d rather be safe than sorry.

“Just let me go to school, Inuyasha!”

“No! Not after what happened to Sango.”

Kagome sighed in exasperation. “There are a lot of people there. Teachers and students. I’ll be fine.”

“Sango was there under those very same circumstances,” he pointed out.

“Sango stayed away from people. I won’t. Not today.”

Abruptly, she pulled the brush from her hair, wincing when it snagged on a knot. Kagome walked back to the bed where he was now sitting up, pleading with her with his eyes. Her expression softened and she placed a hand on each shoulder, leaning in to give him one of her trademark gentle yet intense kisses.

“I’ll be alright,” she murmured against his lips, brushing her fingers across the front of his jeans.

His mind was going into that deliciously hazy place her kisses always sent him, but he tried to fight back. “If you got hurt, I’d never forgive myself. I’d never forgive you,” he said insistently, giving in to his desire to kiss her again even as he realized he was being manipulated.

“I’ve got big lungs,” she giggled. “I’ll scream like crazy for help, and if nobody comes then I’ll just start singing or something and eventually they’ll run away in pain.”

“This is serious,” he scolded.

She wrapped her arms around his neck. “I know. But school is serious, too. You promised you’d let me be whatever I wanted to be, remember?” He nodded, feeling trapped. “Well, how can I be the nurse I want to be if you stop me from getting into a proper college? I’ve got tests in almost every class today. I can’t miss.”

Inuyasha touched his forehead to hers and held it there. He knew she didn’t need to get into freaking Harvard to be a nurse. People even went to trade schools for that sort of thing. There were ads on the radio for it. A degree in six months or your money back! But this was important to her. “Okay. I’ll drop you off and pick you up like usual. Just… be careful, alright?”

“Duh,” she said with a smirk, an expression that reminded him so much of himself that he was left dizzy. He didn’t even notice she was kissing him until she pulled away and ran down the stairs, smelling like triumph and sunshine.

His doubts about leaving her alone magnified the entire car ride, but now that he had given his word he did not want to break it and risk crushing her growing confidence. Before Kagome could jump out of the car, he grabbed her wrist, gently yanking her back towards him.

“Call me immediately if anyone even looks at you funny.”

She rolled her eyes and leaned over, giving him one of her kisses that usually signified things were about to get hot and heavy. When she broke away, he stared at her in a daze, feeling slightly light-headed.

“Not that I mind or anything, but what was that for?”

She smirked and said, “I want you to miss me.” She ran off without another look. Inuyasha watched her until he couldn’t anymore, then sighed and started on his way to work.

“I already do,” he muttered to himself.

The minute he walked through the door of Tetsusaiga’s main office, he knew something was wrong. There were always at least a few people standing there to greet him. Now there was just Myoga. The entire aura of the place felt off, as if it was being pulled apart in a hundred different directions, and it was nearly silent even though he could hear people walking about, doing their daily chores. Where was the usual chatter? The laughter, the noises?

“How long has this been going on?” Inuyasha asked, his voice echoing.

“Around three days,” Myoga answered gravely.

“There’s a weird smell.” He sniffed the air several more times, trying to figure out exactly what it was and where it was coming from. “It’s fucking everywhere.”

“Do you think that could be the source of our problem?”

“Probably. It’s the only thing that’s changed that I’ve noticed so far.”

Myoga nodded. “I see. Then do you think you are able to find it or should we bring in the dogs?”

Inuyasha glared at him. “Dogs? Really?”

Shoulders slumped, sensing that his boss fully intended to do all the work himself, Myoga sighed, accepting that it would now take much longer to get to the bottom of the strange happenings.

“Alright. Then should I bring in some others, those we can trust? That would surely be more useful than just wandering about by ourselves.”

“We’re not gonna wander,” Inuyasha scoffed, already starting out down the hall. “I can find where it’s coming from.”

His long-time servant rushed after him, wishing he hadn’t told Inuyasha a thing.

“We’ve been walking for hours, Master Inuyasha! Don’t you think it’s time we took a break? Perhaps stopped for lunch?”

His words went unheeded as Inuyasha stalked the basement corridor. This was a section of the building that was rarely ever used for anything except storage, and then only once every few years. Cursing himself for not checking there first, as it was the ideal place for any funny business, he soldiered on, trying to concentrate on the strange smell which he was convinced was growing stronger. Finally, they came to the end of the hall, where the scent was strongest.

“You got the key to this place?”

Myoga nodded and pulled out a ring that had dozens of keys on it, all for the basement floor. How he knew exactly which one to use without even trying any of the others blew Inuyasha’s mind, but then again the man knew the building better than anyone else, being that he’d spent almost every day in it for about eighty years. Turning the key slowly, so as not to make any noise, his hard work was ruined when his boss became impatient and literally kicked the door open, causing it to slam hard against the wall and almost all the way closed again.

The bare, cement room was lit with candles, tons of candles, the shadows they created surrounding a dark, hooded figure that appeared to be saying something quietly in a deep, dark voice, almost chanting, the ominous-sounding words in an unfamiliar tongue.

Inuyasha sniffed. Was that… cinnamon? Vanilla? Scented candles?

“What the fuck is this and who the fuck are you?” he yelled. The hooded figure turned, startled out of his trance that was apparently immune to doors being kicked open loudly but not a voice, and Inuyasha immediately recognized his homely features. “The camera guy! Fucking shit, I knew you were more than just a perv.”

Shrieking like a child, the little man in the baggy hoodie took a step forward and nearly tripped, the glass jar he was holding falling from his hands and breaking on the ground. A dark mist escaped from the fragments and formed a cloud. It seemed almost sentient, moving close to Inuyasha, who growled at it and took a swipe with his claws, then to Myoga who cowered by Inuyasha, then finally to the cowering human across the room. It shot over to him and promptly invaded his nose and mouth, disappearing instantly. The strange feeling and smell immediately disappeared. The man sank to his knees and coughed weakly before slumping over completely.

After a decent interval of shocked silence had passed, Inuyasha said, “Is anyone going to tell me what the fuck just happened?”

“It’s a poison spell,” croaked the man on the ground. “I’m trippin’ out, bro. Ah god, man, this wasn’t fucking worth it. I can’t feel my knees. Those fucking roller skates I bought are useless now. Shit, I hope this wears off by tomorrow.”

“No one gives a fuck, nerd,” Inuyasha sneered, grabbing him by the collar. “Myoga, turn the goddamn lights on. These candles are giving me a headache.”

His servant did as asked and Inuyasha threw the nameless man into the wall, pushing on his shoulder and grinding it into the hard surface until he howled in pain.

“Now tell me what the fuck you were just doing and who told you to do it and why.”

“I don’t know. But I remember the guy this time,” he muttered, his eyes shut tight.

“Get talkin’,” Inuyasha said sharply as Myoga began blowing out all the candles.

“The guy showed up at my apartment like an hour after I first, uh, made your acquaintance. He asked if I had my camera, but it was like he already knew I didn’t. He asked for his money back. I had already, um, invested it all. When I told him, he broke all the fingers on my right hand.” The man held up his hand and showed Inuyasha his cast. “Then he called me a few days later and told me to come here. He kinda looked like a chick. Long black hair in a braid, tan skin, pretty mouth. Had a tattoo on his face, right on his fucking forehead. It was a purple cross. Fucker’s hardcore, dude.”

Myoga, already out of breath from blowing out nearly a third of the candles, gasped. “That is none other than Bankotsu!”

“And who the fuck is that?” Inuyasha asked exasperatedly, wanting to get out of there as soon as possible if only so he could stop touching the guy.

“The leader of a group of sadistic, evil men who work for Onigumo. They act as guards publicly, but their true purpose is to carry out his dirty work, including bribery and murder.”

“O-Onigumo?” Inuyasha was stunned.

“Heavy on the murder.”

“Hitmen? After Kagome? What the fuck does that bastard want with her?!” he yelled, shaking the limp man while directing his question toward Myoga.

“It’s well-known that he still bears a humongous grudge against Kikyo for rejecting him. He has an insane obsession with destroying her. That must have only amplified after the two of you reunited and then extended to both you and her daughter. We cannot prove it yet, but he has hinted to various sources that he was the one behind the near-destruction of Shikon. He backed off because of Tetsusaiga, but now he’s back at it. We thwarted his attempt at sabotage before it got too bad, thank goodness.”

Inuyasha nodded, then turned back to the man who appeared to be almost asleep, his eyes crossing and uncrossing. “You. Why and how did you put those pictures and dog hearts in Kagome’s room?”

“What the fu— I mean, uh, what are you talking about?” the exhausted man said, apparently trying to correct his behavior into a more acceptable form since his life was in a very irate man’s claws.

“You weren’t the one who trashed Kagome’s room?” Inuyasha asked.

“I didn’t do shit, man, I don’t know where you fucking live. I just followed you that one time and you caught me and I’ve been here for a couple days with nothing but that creepy fucking jar and bottled water and lunchables to eat and I had to pee in the goddamn empty bottles and you caught me again.”

Inuyasha leaned in and looked the man in the eyes, trying to intimidate him and succeeding. The man rambled on.

“Fuck, dude, I don’t wanna be involved in you crazy bastards’ business anymore. I’ve got a fucking cat to take care of, I can’t do this shit. Let me go, you sick fuck!” the man yelled, becoming more agitated with each word he spoke. He began to thrash about, but it was no use.

Inuyasha barked out a short, humorless laugh. “I’m the sick fuck?! You’re the one stalking a teenage girl.”

The man stopped struggling and glared at him. “At least I’m not fucking her, you fucking pervert!”

He grabbed the small man by the throat. “Give me your phone, the one you used to contact Bankotsu. Do it and I’ll let you live.” He sunk a claw into his neck, enough to draw a fat drop of dirty blood.

“Whatever, man. It’s in my right pocket. We’re cool, right? Right?” he laughed uneasily, shutting his eyes again. Inuyasha could smell the tears he was holding back. He didn’t let go, afraid that if he moved he really would take the man’s life. The smell of him, of whatever that black cloud was, was infecting his mind and making his head ache. Everything about this man irritated him. Oblivious to all this, the man continued.

“Sorry for what I said about you being a pervert,” the man tittered nervously. “She’s pretty hot. Sure, she might be a teenager, but that body ain’t fifteen. And it’s not like you’re her real fath—“

Inuyasha twisted his neck and broke it with one hand while the other reached into the man’s pocket and relieved him of his cellphone. Blood spurted from the man’s nose and dripped onto his hand, its path slowed by the thick mucus it was coupled with. Inuyasha wiped it on the man’s hoodie in disgust then dropped his body on the floor.

Tossing the phone to Myoga, he said, “Check all the numbers in there and get rid of the body. Call me if anything new or significant happens.”

“Yes, sir. But…”

“What?” Inuyasha growled. He didn’t have time for this.

“Are you any of the things he said?” the flea demon blurted out.

He smirked. “You mean am I fucking my wife’s daughter who may or may not also be mine?” Myoga nodded hesitantly, glancing at the body lying crumpled against the wall. “Fuck off,” he said with a sneer, walking out the door.

The sky was gray and it was pouring, although the sun was managing to shine through here and there. Inuyasha smiled, thinking of Kagome’s eyes.

“Fuck,” he cursed to himself, fumbling for his phone. It was five. He was two hours late to pick her up. He’d never been this late before. Hell, he’d never been late. She was his number one priority. He ran to his car and sped away from the building, arriving at the very congested freeway. The rain had caused several accidents. He hit his head against the steering wheel in punishment, hoping she had the sense to stay in the library and wait. After an hour of jockeying with other cars, screaming at other drivers with a level of road rage he had never experienced before in his life, even denting the bumper of his car on another and speeding off without a word before he finally arrived at Kagome’s school. Her deserted school.

He ran, the rain splashing his face and getting in his nose, his eyes. Apologizing to Kagome in his head, he darted into the separate building that was the high school library. Literally into it. He had not expected the doors to be locked, but they were. Rubbing his hurt nose angrily, he ran back to the front of the school, panicking when he couldn’t pick up her scent. He checked all the doors of the school, even the gym. Every single one was locked.

Kagome was nowhere to be found.