InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Strictly Taboo ❯ The Killing Type ( Chapter 37 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: chelseatygers 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Comedy / Drama / Hentai / Psychological / Romance / Angst | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 06.23.2014 | Pages: 3 | Words: 4.4K | Visits: 300 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Comedy / Drama / Hentai / Psychological / Romance / Angst | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 06.23.2014 | Pages: 3 | Words: 4.4K | Visits: 300 | Status: Work In Progress
*Song for the chapter: The Killing Type by Amanda Palmer and The Grand Theft Orchestra*
Sango smirked at him and tossed a gun to his accountant, who caught it with hardly a fumble and moved confidently to her side. The athletic woman flashed the reedy man a grin and blew him a kiss.
“Good job, Miroku.”
“Anything for you, lover.”
Inuyasha could not process what had just occurred. He had not even thought of Sango after he had sent her that last check while she was recovering in the hospital. It seemed as though everyone knew what was going on in his life but him, and that was definitely unacceptable.
“What the fuck is going on?!” he finally asked.
His daughter’s former bodyguard turned to glare at him, pulling the trigger of her weapon and shooting him right in the kneecap. Due to the shock and surprise of the moment, he was not able to withhold his cry of pain.
“Revenge, Mr. Taisho,” she said in her low yet slightly nasally voice, smiling cruelly.
He grit his teeth against the pain. “You’re working for Onigumo, aren’t you?”
Sango smirked and twirled her gun flashily. “From the very beginning.”
“You fucker! You fucking cunt! What have you done with Kagome?! I know the bastard’s not treating her right.”
“He’s treating her better than you did. At least she’s not being raped on a daily basis.”
“It wasn’t like that!” he screamed, beginning to feel woozy. Why couldn’t he move? Slowly, he turned to Miroku. “And what the fuck do you have to do with this?”
His employee shrugged and smiled dreamily. “Sorry, boss. I’m in love.”
Inuyasha tried to laugh, but it came out more like a grunt. “You really think she gives a shit about you, you dumbass? She’s using you.”
Miroku scowled, raising his gun to shoot, and before Inuyasha could react, he felt a searing pain in his shoulder.
“You don’t know anything.”
He clenched his teeth in pain. “Then fucking explain.”
Sango walked right up to him and clapped him hard on his wounded shoulder.
“I suppose I could tell you on the way to Onigumo,” she said cheerily.
Inuyasha fell to his knees, pretending to be weaker than he really was, although he was feeling incredibly drained. It wasn’t from mere blood loss, as he had lost much more blood before and had not been bothered by it. He deduced that the bullets had been treated with some kind of poison. There was still some energy left in him, but his body was hard to control and he was sweating like a college mascot at half-time. His vision was beginning to dim around the edges and the only thing keeping him conscious was the knowledge that Kagome was near. If he could just make it until he saw her, everything would be alright. Everything.
Sango grabbed one of his arms and Miroku the other, neither of them attempting to be gentle. The tall woman was practically skipping along in her eagerness.
“Well, Mr. Taisho, this all started when my little brother, Kohaku, went missing,” she began, her fingers squeezing his blood-covered arm harder and her voice becoming tight. “I was absolutely devastated and the police were no help, of course. You know how they are. My father had trained us at an early age, and my skills helped me find a trail, which led to the infamous Band of Seven. Imagine my surprise when I found out my baby brother was being used as some pedophilic, gender-confused assassin’s whore. And you know what the kicker was? He didn’t want to leave. He told me he had fallen in love with that bastard Jakotsu. Those evil fucks tortured him and brainwashed him. He was barely thirteen,” she sighed, her tough persona faltering for just a second before coming back full-force. “I fought as best as I could, but they were too much for me. They took me to the man who paid the bills, apparently because they were impressed by my skills, and Onigumo told me that if I worked for him for a year, I would get my brother back and he would never be around those bastards again. Of course, I accepted.”
Sango shouldered open a metal door and dropped him inside, kicking him harshly when he didn’t fall the way she wanted him to. His vision was completely blurred and dimmed and his body felt like it was floating. Only his hearing was virtually unimpaired.
Sango wiped her bloody hands on her black jeans and looked down at him with an air of detached disgust. “He told me to interview for a bodyguard position at Tetsusaiga. Something like that would have been a dream job before what happened to Kohaku happened. I knew I had to make a good first impression, and when the pervert copped a feel, I saw my chance and took it.”
“You… lied. Kagome. She—liked you,” he gasped from the floor, his chest feeling heavy.
Sango kicked him again, this time in the gut. He could barely feel it and that frightened him more than anything he had experienced thus far in the evening.
“Kagome reminded me of Kohaku, and knowing she was going through that same torture every day made protecting her much easier. Monsters like you swoop in and destroy every bit of innocence you see. I love her like a sister, especially now that she’s all I have left,” she said, her voice rising steadily in volume until she stopped suddenly. He could not smell it, but he knew she was crying.
“After I was injured,” she continued, her voice thick, “Onigumo took me out of commission. I had failed. Now I could never get Kohaku back. All because of your jealous fucking wife. Then Onigumo finally took my advice and decided he shouldn’t leave his daughter with a robot and a rapist. The only mistake he made was using the Band of Seven to take her. And then you found her, your precious little girl, and you killed all seven men in the house.” Sango leaned down and grabbed him by the hair, forcing him to look at the dark blur that was her. He could barely make out the fuzziest outline of her face, but somehow her rage-filled eyes were clear. “Or should I say six men and one boy. Suikotsu, the middle brother, left because his married girlfriend was lonely and wanted some hot birthday sex. He was the only one who made it out alive. My brother was there, and you killed him. You decapitated an innocent, tortured child in order to get back the innocent child you loved to torture. Can you even comprehend how fucking sick you are?!” she finished with a shrill scream, kneeing him in the face. He heard but did not feel his nose break. “And now you’re going to die. Onigumo has finally come to the conclusion that what you did to his daughter was unforgivable. My only regret is that he gets to do the honors himself.”
There was moisture on his face and he knew she had spit on him. He gasped for breath, his throat feeling tight.
“Kagome,” he croaked to the blur above him. “Where…Kagome…”
“Your princess is in another castle, moron,” she sneered. “The king, however, should be arriving any time now.”
Despite his best efforts, he flickered in and out of consciousness, not knowing if he was dreaming or hallucinating or dead. Inuyasha only began to feel his strength return, just a bit, when he heard Miroku open the door and murmur a respectful greeting. Inuyasha tried to force his eyes to open wider and blinked rapidly, wanting to see. It worked, although everything was still blurry. Kagome’s scent was fresh. She had been in or around the building less than fifteen minutes ago. Sango was either lying or Onigumo had someone work some kind of magic just to fool him. The more he thought, the more hopeless he felt.
Onigumo cracked his knuckles and sighed with faux weariness. “I wanted to do this the human way, but the brat is waiting in the car so I’ve got to make this quick.”
Tentacles, seemingly formed from the shadows in the room, grew from Onigumo’s body and shot towards Inuyasha where he lay on the floor, defenseless. Time seemed to slow. Kagome was in a car, just right outside the building. She would never know what had happened to him, how he had only wanted to get her back. If he could just get to the car, get to her, everything would be alright. But he couldn’t get to her. He was going to die. Suddenly, he felt his heart beat, he could even hear it, a harder pump than ever before, and he could move. But his thoughts… they were different. He wanted blood. Sango and Miroku were no longer people, but walking, talking meat-stuffed skin bags. His fingers itched to burrow into their flesh and rip muscle from bone. He would paint the walls with their blood. But first, he needed to eliminate the main threat, the half-demon with the tentacles of darkness. Inuyasha had never wanted anything more in his life than he wanted to kill that man.
So he did.
He pounced, and the surprise in Onigumo’s expression was short-lived. His face was the first to go, landing in shreds on the richly carpeted floor. Inuyasha made small but deep cuts on the rest of his body, ignoring the annoying screams coming from his current prey and the two that would be next. He felt small, fiery bites of pain in his back but ignored those as well. The kill was more important. His victim made a last ditch effort to save himself and plunged his tentacles into Inuyasha’s chest. Unfortunately for Onigumo, he missed his enemy’s heart. It was probably difficult to hit the target without having eyes to see. Growing bored, Inuyasha decided to stop playing and ripped the last of the man’s skin off and plunged his hand into his ribcage, removing the other half-demon’s heart and squeezing it, puncturing the still-beating organ with his claws. He dropped it and licked the blood and stringy flesh from his hands.
Now on to the other two.
The man and woman had not attempted to escape, nor could they have as he was blocking the door, instead cowering together on the floor, the most primitive part of their minds telling them to curl up and will it all away. Slowly and menacingly, he stepped towards them, relishing in their fear as he tried to think of fun ways to disembowel them. The woman scrambled into the man’s lap and pressed her lips fiercely to his, their tears mingling and becoming one. The scene made him sneer at their ridiculous emotions, but then a face came to mind. He had held a woman like that once. There had been no attacker, but they too spent each moment as though it would be their last. Who was she? The woman, still on the man’s lap, opened her mouth and said something. The only word that made any sense to him in her short, panicked sentence was “Kagome”.
Kagome. The name went with the face. The lust for lifeblood cleared and he could think again. Whatever had happened had healed him somewhat, and he could at least see more or less clearly and walk on his own.
“Take me to her,” he said, surprised at his scratchy, deeper voice.
Mutely, Sango nodded, rising to her feet cautiously. She helped Miroku up, who was looking at him as though he’d never seen him before.
“Walk in front of me.”
Miroku started to protest, but Sango cut him off with a look, obediently stepping over the scattered remains of her employer and going out the door. Her boy toy followed hurriedly, not wanting to be close to Inuyasha. He sighed and tagged along. The trip was relatively short, considering that the parking garage was right next to the building. Sango walked straight ahead, shoulders straight, and Miroku kept glancing back at him. It annoyed him so much that the next time he did it, he bared his teeth, holding back a laugh when his former employee stumbled straight into his girlfriend, nearly knocking her over. The proud, frustrated woman slapped him in retribution.
The door to a sleek black car opened and out popped Kagome, alive and well. She squinted at him, as though she thought her eyes were deceiving her, and then ran the few feet to him, flinging herself into his arms. Apparently he was weaker than he thought, and he went down like a ton of bricks, but that didn’t matter. All that mattered was the girl who was crying into his shoulder.
“Oh, Inuyasha, I thought I’d never see you again! He said I never would.”
“Well, then he lied. You should have known I wouldn’t let you get away from me, Kagome,” he murmured, so full of feeling he could barely move.
Her gray eyes bored into his and he couldn’t breathe.
“I waited for months and you never showed up. I thought… I thought you didn’t love me anymore,” she finished in a whisper, looking down and away from him in shame.
He was about to show her exactly how much he did love and want her when movement caught his eye.
“If you two try to run, then I think I’ll find time for an encore.” He carefully kept his language vague, not wanting the delicate girl on top of him to know about what happened to the man who had been acting as her father for months now. Once Sango and Miroku were standing as still as mannequins, he continued, “Kagome, you got the keys?” She nodded. “Good. Now, you two get in the car and drive us home.”
Slowly, carefully, he rose to his feet, Kagome sliding off and helping him when she realized he was not at prime performance. He saw the questions in her eyes and willed her to delay the asking of them. Thankfully, she picked up on his mood and helped him to the car, never once breaking physical contact with him, for which he rubbed the soft inside of her elbow in thanks. Once they were all settled, he leaned back and closed his eyes almost all the way.
“Miroku, you drive.” He didn’t trust Sango to merely chauffeur them to their destination peacefully. She’d try something. Miroku, on the other hand, wouldn’t know what to do and would probably just end up obeying commands out of habit.
“Sango?” Kagome questioned, puzzled. It seemed like the girl hadn’t realized her friend was present. “Sango, what are you doing here? Dad said you were celebrating New Year’s with your boyfriend. Is this him?”
Sango nodded, her face pale and lips hardly more than a thin line.
Kagome’s brow furrowed and she glanced between the older woman and Inuyasha.
“Why are you covered in blood? Inuyasha too… what happened?” she asked confusedly, beginning to sound scared.
“I’ll explain later,” Inuyasha said quietly.
“Where’s Dad?”
Inuyasha growled and clenched his fists. The evening was becoming too much.
“He’s not your fucking father. Miroku, drive now. Sango will give you directions.”
Sango turned around and looked at Kagome with gentle eyes.
“Onigumo said he noticed you’ve been unhappy lately and he thought it would be in your best interest to send you back to your mother.”
“But why so suddenly? He said we were going to a party. And Inuyasha, why are you here and covered in blood?”
Her voice was rising and Inuyasha could tell she knew what had happened and just needed confirmation before she had a full-on breakdown. He was still healing and had to concentrate all his energy on that, so he merely glared at Sango in an attempt to shut her up.
Ignoring him, Sango said, “Your father and your step-father got into a fight. It was over old stuff.”
Kagome seemed a little calmer now, but something still bothered her.
“But… there’s so much blood. Inuyasha’s soaked in it.”
“Well, those with demonic ancestry can bleed a lot more than humans and not suffer any long-term effects.”
Inuyasha was glad that the former bodyguard seemed to want to protect Kagome’s innocence as well. The girl’s heart was no longer beating so fast and he took comfort in her calmness. Slowly, he laid his head on her lap and just basked in the feel of her. It took some effort to speak, but he managed.
“How was it?”
Kagome immediately knew what he was referring to and just shrugged.
“Pretty normal. Kind of boring. He mostly just ignored me. I had private tutors and Sango always ate with me and that was it, every day. Today, though, we were going to go to a New Year’s Eve party.”
Inuyasha glanced at the dress she was wearing, now somewhat sorry he had dirtied it with his blood. He hadn’t even had time to notice how beautiful she looked. The dress was all layers of sheer green silk and she looked like a fairy princess. There were even real flowers in her hair. He wondered if Onigumo had taken her shopping or just had her measured and sent for it. Whatever it was, she looked breathtaking. He breathed in her scent mixed with the flowers and felt himself relax even more. Whatever he had unleashed inside himself was trying to get out again. Only Kagome seemed to keep the violence at bay.
The amount of time they’d been in the car coupled with the twists and turns told him that they were now in the long drive-way of his home. He gingerly sat himself up again, Kagome’s concerned hands helping him even when he brushed them away.
He tried his best to look imposing, and said, “Sango, you know what to do with the office. I don’t have to tell you what will happen if this gets out, do I?”
Sango nodded, facing forward. Kagome’s brow furrowed at his vague language and he smiled at her to put her at ease again before continuing.
“Miroku, if your girlfriend does what she does best and I’m happy with it, you just might have a job again on Monday,” he lied. There was no way he was letting a traitor back into the fold. Since Inuyasha felt sorry for him and he had what he wanted, he might give him his last check with a little bonus, but there would be no more business between the two of them.
The car pulled to a stop and he got out, Kagome holding his arm. Before they could pull away, he tapped on the passenger window and Sango rolled it down. Leaning in close, he whispered, “I want it all clean and any camera footage gone, understand me? I’m a forgiving man. You do this right and you two get your own place together and Sango gets a job recommendation. It’s time you stop thinking of the past and focus on your future.”
The woman glared at him with tears in her eyes but he knew she’d do as he asked. They were the type who followed orders. Miroku sped out of there like a bat out of hell and Inuyasha began to walk to his front door, careful not to lean on Kagome too much.
“Do you think mother will be mad?”
Inuyasha snorted. Kikyo has been spending all her time with Suikotsu after his last rejection of her. He could hear the two of them upstairs in her room even now, several yards from the porch. Kikyo both disappointed and disgusted him now that he knew she was involved with one of the Band of Seven.
“She’s busy tonight, Kagome, so I’m just gonna tell her in the morning. Come on, I’ve got a surprise for you.”
He led her into the house, his hands over her ears so she wouldn’t hear what her mother was doing. A plan formed in his mind and he felt more energized with every step he took, the violent thing within him now in agreement. It had been too long and he had to be with Kagome, to feel her, to drown in her. She no longer smelled like his and he needed that little bit of reassurance that he was her only one. He could feel her smile, knowing where he was taking her. He had been a little unsure if she’d want this as well, thinking she’d rather talk first and maybe just cuddle or kiss instead of picking up right where they left off.
Their trek to the basement seemed slow and he felt jittery the entire way. He hadn’t even entered their room once since she had gone to live with Onigumo. They had only ever used their secret room once and he intended to make up for lost time tonight. Once they got to the stairs, he got so impatient he removed his hands from her ears and picked her up and ran, making her squeak and laugh. Kicking the foosball table out of the way, he gently placed Kagome on its covered surface and fumbled with the key which he still wore around his neck. Shoving open the door, he grabbed her wrist and brought her in with him. The room was stuffy and dusty so he opened the window, the little bit of relief making a huge difference. Kicking the door shut, he picked her up again briefly only to plop her down on the bed and kiss her lips for the first time in months. She tasted like toothpaste and candy and Kagome and he moaned. He had dreamt of this for so long, her absence like a missing limb without the maddening comfort of that whole phantom thing. He wanted to make this last, but they could do that the second time around.
“God, angel, take off your dress before I rip it off.”
Her dress was already ruined, stained with his blood, but it had looked so nice on her that he’d like another one made, maybe in blue or white. The heavily breathing girl obeyed, her own frantic actions ripping a hole in a seam before she flung it aside. Wasting no time, he fastened his lips onto her breast, sucking hard, forcing himself to be gentle after her muffled cry was more pained than pleased.
“Be loud, Kagome, be as loud as you want. I need to hear you, baby.”
Kagome removed the pillow from her face and he continued to suck, loving every moan and cry that fell from her lips, even if he felt she was exaggerating them a little for his benefit. She reached for him and tugged off his shirt, her hand brushing against his shoulder.
“Inuyasha, there’s something hard there,” she said worriedly.
“You don’t say,” he said with a groan as he slowly entered her.
She gasped genuinely, no more exaggerations.
“No, in your shoulder. What is it?”
Inuyasha frowned, remembering the bullets. His skin must have healed over them.
“Don’t worry about that,” he whispered, kissing her softly. After the evening’s events, he was kind of tired, and scrunched down so he could lay his head on her chest and listen to her heart beat as he pumped into her, kissing her breast and mouthing her name onto her skin. She was clinging to him, her hands buried in his hair. They were so close he could almost really believe they were one being, just him and her. The look on her face told him she was almost there and he was glad, not knowing how he had held on so long.
“Fuck, Kagome, I fucking love you. Only you,” he said, making the sentence long and drawn out with a moan shaping his voice, distorting it in a pleasant way.
“Oh god, yes, I love you so much,” she whispered, having a hard time forming a coherent sentence. Her face was flushed and he leaned down to kiss her, feeling her clench hard around him the moment their lips touched. Her eyes had rolled back in her head and her lip was trembling. This was the face he had missed so much, the thing he needed to see to feel right again. He released and gathered her into his arms, her insides still clasping and imprisoning him. It was beautiful and he had never felt so loved and willing to love.
“Happy anniversary, baby,” he murmured, leaning up and pulling out. A loud noise and a fiery pain sent him back onto her. He felt the blood trickle out and bathe his skin.
His heart.
The bullet had pierced his heart.
Sango smirked at him and tossed a gun to his accountant, who caught it with hardly a fumble and moved confidently to her side. The athletic woman flashed the reedy man a grin and blew him a kiss.
“Good job, Miroku.”
“Anything for you, lover.”
Inuyasha could not process what had just occurred. He had not even thought of Sango after he had sent her that last check while she was recovering in the hospital. It seemed as though everyone knew what was going on in his life but him, and that was definitely unacceptable.
“What the fuck is going on?!” he finally asked.
His daughter’s former bodyguard turned to glare at him, pulling the trigger of her weapon and shooting him right in the kneecap. Due to the shock and surprise of the moment, he was not able to withhold his cry of pain.
“Revenge, Mr. Taisho,” she said in her low yet slightly nasally voice, smiling cruelly.
He grit his teeth against the pain. “You’re working for Onigumo, aren’t you?”
Sango smirked and twirled her gun flashily. “From the very beginning.”
“You fucker! You fucking cunt! What have you done with Kagome?! I know the bastard’s not treating her right.”
“He’s treating her better than you did. At least she’s not being raped on a daily basis.”
“It wasn’t like that!” he screamed, beginning to feel woozy. Why couldn’t he move? Slowly, he turned to Miroku. “And what the fuck do you have to do with this?”
His employee shrugged and smiled dreamily. “Sorry, boss. I’m in love.”
Inuyasha tried to laugh, but it came out more like a grunt. “You really think she gives a shit about you, you dumbass? She’s using you.”
Miroku scowled, raising his gun to shoot, and before Inuyasha could react, he felt a searing pain in his shoulder.
“You don’t know anything.”
He clenched his teeth in pain. “Then fucking explain.”
Sango walked right up to him and clapped him hard on his wounded shoulder.
“I suppose I could tell you on the way to Onigumo,” she said cheerily.
Inuyasha fell to his knees, pretending to be weaker than he really was, although he was feeling incredibly drained. It wasn’t from mere blood loss, as he had lost much more blood before and had not been bothered by it. He deduced that the bullets had been treated with some kind of poison. There was still some energy left in him, but his body was hard to control and he was sweating like a college mascot at half-time. His vision was beginning to dim around the edges and the only thing keeping him conscious was the knowledge that Kagome was near. If he could just make it until he saw her, everything would be alright. Everything.
Sango grabbed one of his arms and Miroku the other, neither of them attempting to be gentle. The tall woman was practically skipping along in her eagerness.
“Well, Mr. Taisho, this all started when my little brother, Kohaku, went missing,” she began, her fingers squeezing his blood-covered arm harder and her voice becoming tight. “I was absolutely devastated and the police were no help, of course. You know how they are. My father had trained us at an early age, and my skills helped me find a trail, which led to the infamous Band of Seven. Imagine my surprise when I found out my baby brother was being used as some pedophilic, gender-confused assassin’s whore. And you know what the kicker was? He didn’t want to leave. He told me he had fallen in love with that bastard Jakotsu. Those evil fucks tortured him and brainwashed him. He was barely thirteen,” she sighed, her tough persona faltering for just a second before coming back full-force. “I fought as best as I could, but they were too much for me. They took me to the man who paid the bills, apparently because they were impressed by my skills, and Onigumo told me that if I worked for him for a year, I would get my brother back and he would never be around those bastards again. Of course, I accepted.”
Sango shouldered open a metal door and dropped him inside, kicking him harshly when he didn’t fall the way she wanted him to. His vision was completely blurred and dimmed and his body felt like it was floating. Only his hearing was virtually unimpaired.
Sango wiped her bloody hands on her black jeans and looked down at him with an air of detached disgust. “He told me to interview for a bodyguard position at Tetsusaiga. Something like that would have been a dream job before what happened to Kohaku happened. I knew I had to make a good first impression, and when the pervert copped a feel, I saw my chance and took it.”
“You… lied. Kagome. She—liked you,” he gasped from the floor, his chest feeling heavy.
Sango kicked him again, this time in the gut. He could barely feel it and that frightened him more than anything he had experienced thus far in the evening.
“Kagome reminded me of Kohaku, and knowing she was going through that same torture every day made protecting her much easier. Monsters like you swoop in and destroy every bit of innocence you see. I love her like a sister, especially now that she’s all I have left,” she said, her voice rising steadily in volume until she stopped suddenly. He could not smell it, but he knew she was crying.
“After I was injured,” she continued, her voice thick, “Onigumo took me out of commission. I had failed. Now I could never get Kohaku back. All because of your jealous fucking wife. Then Onigumo finally took my advice and decided he shouldn’t leave his daughter with a robot and a rapist. The only mistake he made was using the Band of Seven to take her. And then you found her, your precious little girl, and you killed all seven men in the house.” Sango leaned down and grabbed him by the hair, forcing him to look at the dark blur that was her. He could barely make out the fuzziest outline of her face, but somehow her rage-filled eyes were clear. “Or should I say six men and one boy. Suikotsu, the middle brother, left because his married girlfriend was lonely and wanted some hot birthday sex. He was the only one who made it out alive. My brother was there, and you killed him. You decapitated an innocent, tortured child in order to get back the innocent child you loved to torture. Can you even comprehend how fucking sick you are?!” she finished with a shrill scream, kneeing him in the face. He heard but did not feel his nose break. “And now you’re going to die. Onigumo has finally come to the conclusion that what you did to his daughter was unforgivable. My only regret is that he gets to do the honors himself.”
There was moisture on his face and he knew she had spit on him. He gasped for breath, his throat feeling tight.
“Kagome,” he croaked to the blur above him. “Where…Kagome…”
“Your princess is in another castle, moron,” she sneered. “The king, however, should be arriving any time now.”
Despite his best efforts, he flickered in and out of consciousness, not knowing if he was dreaming or hallucinating or dead. Inuyasha only began to feel his strength return, just a bit, when he heard Miroku open the door and murmur a respectful greeting. Inuyasha tried to force his eyes to open wider and blinked rapidly, wanting to see. It worked, although everything was still blurry. Kagome’s scent was fresh. She had been in or around the building less than fifteen minutes ago. Sango was either lying or Onigumo had someone work some kind of magic just to fool him. The more he thought, the more hopeless he felt.
Onigumo cracked his knuckles and sighed with faux weariness. “I wanted to do this the human way, but the brat is waiting in the car so I’ve got to make this quick.”
Tentacles, seemingly formed from the shadows in the room, grew from Onigumo’s body and shot towards Inuyasha where he lay on the floor, defenseless. Time seemed to slow. Kagome was in a car, just right outside the building. She would never know what had happened to him, how he had only wanted to get her back. If he could just get to the car, get to her, everything would be alright. But he couldn’t get to her. He was going to die. Suddenly, he felt his heart beat, he could even hear it, a harder pump than ever before, and he could move. But his thoughts… they were different. He wanted blood. Sango and Miroku were no longer people, but walking, talking meat-stuffed skin bags. His fingers itched to burrow into their flesh and rip muscle from bone. He would paint the walls with their blood. But first, he needed to eliminate the main threat, the half-demon with the tentacles of darkness. Inuyasha had never wanted anything more in his life than he wanted to kill that man.
So he did.
He pounced, and the surprise in Onigumo’s expression was short-lived. His face was the first to go, landing in shreds on the richly carpeted floor. Inuyasha made small but deep cuts on the rest of his body, ignoring the annoying screams coming from his current prey and the two that would be next. He felt small, fiery bites of pain in his back but ignored those as well. The kill was more important. His victim made a last ditch effort to save himself and plunged his tentacles into Inuyasha’s chest. Unfortunately for Onigumo, he missed his enemy’s heart. It was probably difficult to hit the target without having eyes to see. Growing bored, Inuyasha decided to stop playing and ripped the last of the man’s skin off and plunged his hand into his ribcage, removing the other half-demon’s heart and squeezing it, puncturing the still-beating organ with his claws. He dropped it and licked the blood and stringy flesh from his hands.
Now on to the other two.
The man and woman had not attempted to escape, nor could they have as he was blocking the door, instead cowering together on the floor, the most primitive part of their minds telling them to curl up and will it all away. Slowly and menacingly, he stepped towards them, relishing in their fear as he tried to think of fun ways to disembowel them. The woman scrambled into the man’s lap and pressed her lips fiercely to his, their tears mingling and becoming one. The scene made him sneer at their ridiculous emotions, but then a face came to mind. He had held a woman like that once. There had been no attacker, but they too spent each moment as though it would be their last. Who was she? The woman, still on the man’s lap, opened her mouth and said something. The only word that made any sense to him in her short, panicked sentence was “Kagome”.
Kagome. The name went with the face. The lust for lifeblood cleared and he could think again. Whatever had happened had healed him somewhat, and he could at least see more or less clearly and walk on his own.
“Take me to her,” he said, surprised at his scratchy, deeper voice.
Mutely, Sango nodded, rising to her feet cautiously. She helped Miroku up, who was looking at him as though he’d never seen him before.
“Walk in front of me.”
Miroku started to protest, but Sango cut him off with a look, obediently stepping over the scattered remains of her employer and going out the door. Her boy toy followed hurriedly, not wanting to be close to Inuyasha. He sighed and tagged along. The trip was relatively short, considering that the parking garage was right next to the building. Sango walked straight ahead, shoulders straight, and Miroku kept glancing back at him. It annoyed him so much that the next time he did it, he bared his teeth, holding back a laugh when his former employee stumbled straight into his girlfriend, nearly knocking her over. The proud, frustrated woman slapped him in retribution.
The door to a sleek black car opened and out popped Kagome, alive and well. She squinted at him, as though she thought her eyes were deceiving her, and then ran the few feet to him, flinging herself into his arms. Apparently he was weaker than he thought, and he went down like a ton of bricks, but that didn’t matter. All that mattered was the girl who was crying into his shoulder.
“Oh, Inuyasha, I thought I’d never see you again! He said I never would.”
“Well, then he lied. You should have known I wouldn’t let you get away from me, Kagome,” he murmured, so full of feeling he could barely move.
Her gray eyes bored into his and he couldn’t breathe.
“I waited for months and you never showed up. I thought… I thought you didn’t love me anymore,” she finished in a whisper, looking down and away from him in shame.
He was about to show her exactly how much he did love and want her when movement caught his eye.
“If you two try to run, then I think I’ll find time for an encore.” He carefully kept his language vague, not wanting the delicate girl on top of him to know about what happened to the man who had been acting as her father for months now. Once Sango and Miroku were standing as still as mannequins, he continued, “Kagome, you got the keys?” She nodded. “Good. Now, you two get in the car and drive us home.”
Slowly, carefully, he rose to his feet, Kagome sliding off and helping him when she realized he was not at prime performance. He saw the questions in her eyes and willed her to delay the asking of them. Thankfully, she picked up on his mood and helped him to the car, never once breaking physical contact with him, for which he rubbed the soft inside of her elbow in thanks. Once they were all settled, he leaned back and closed his eyes almost all the way.
“Miroku, you drive.” He didn’t trust Sango to merely chauffeur them to their destination peacefully. She’d try something. Miroku, on the other hand, wouldn’t know what to do and would probably just end up obeying commands out of habit.
“Sango?” Kagome questioned, puzzled. It seemed like the girl hadn’t realized her friend was present. “Sango, what are you doing here? Dad said you were celebrating New Year’s with your boyfriend. Is this him?”
Sango nodded, her face pale and lips hardly more than a thin line.
Kagome’s brow furrowed and she glanced between the older woman and Inuyasha.
“Why are you covered in blood? Inuyasha too… what happened?” she asked confusedly, beginning to sound scared.
“I’ll explain later,” Inuyasha said quietly.
“Where’s Dad?”
Inuyasha growled and clenched his fists. The evening was becoming too much.
“He’s not your fucking father. Miroku, drive now. Sango will give you directions.”
Sango turned around and looked at Kagome with gentle eyes.
“Onigumo said he noticed you’ve been unhappy lately and he thought it would be in your best interest to send you back to your mother.”
“But why so suddenly? He said we were going to a party. And Inuyasha, why are you here and covered in blood?”
Her voice was rising and Inuyasha could tell she knew what had happened and just needed confirmation before she had a full-on breakdown. He was still healing and had to concentrate all his energy on that, so he merely glared at Sango in an attempt to shut her up.
Ignoring him, Sango said, “Your father and your step-father got into a fight. It was over old stuff.”
Kagome seemed a little calmer now, but something still bothered her.
“But… there’s so much blood. Inuyasha’s soaked in it.”
“Well, those with demonic ancestry can bleed a lot more than humans and not suffer any long-term effects.”
Inuyasha was glad that the former bodyguard seemed to want to protect Kagome’s innocence as well. The girl’s heart was no longer beating so fast and he took comfort in her calmness. Slowly, he laid his head on her lap and just basked in the feel of her. It took some effort to speak, but he managed.
“How was it?”
Kagome immediately knew what he was referring to and just shrugged.
“Pretty normal. Kind of boring. He mostly just ignored me. I had private tutors and Sango always ate with me and that was it, every day. Today, though, we were going to go to a New Year’s Eve party.”
Inuyasha glanced at the dress she was wearing, now somewhat sorry he had dirtied it with his blood. He hadn’t even had time to notice how beautiful she looked. The dress was all layers of sheer green silk and she looked like a fairy princess. There were even real flowers in her hair. He wondered if Onigumo had taken her shopping or just had her measured and sent for it. Whatever it was, she looked breathtaking. He breathed in her scent mixed with the flowers and felt himself relax even more. Whatever he had unleashed inside himself was trying to get out again. Only Kagome seemed to keep the violence at bay.
The amount of time they’d been in the car coupled with the twists and turns told him that they were now in the long drive-way of his home. He gingerly sat himself up again, Kagome’s concerned hands helping him even when he brushed them away.
He tried his best to look imposing, and said, “Sango, you know what to do with the office. I don’t have to tell you what will happen if this gets out, do I?”
Sango nodded, facing forward. Kagome’s brow furrowed at his vague language and he smiled at her to put her at ease again before continuing.
“Miroku, if your girlfriend does what she does best and I’m happy with it, you just might have a job again on Monday,” he lied. There was no way he was letting a traitor back into the fold. Since Inuyasha felt sorry for him and he had what he wanted, he might give him his last check with a little bonus, but there would be no more business between the two of them.
The car pulled to a stop and he got out, Kagome holding his arm. Before they could pull away, he tapped on the passenger window and Sango rolled it down. Leaning in close, he whispered, “I want it all clean and any camera footage gone, understand me? I’m a forgiving man. You do this right and you two get your own place together and Sango gets a job recommendation. It’s time you stop thinking of the past and focus on your future.”
The woman glared at him with tears in her eyes but he knew she’d do as he asked. They were the type who followed orders. Miroku sped out of there like a bat out of hell and Inuyasha began to walk to his front door, careful not to lean on Kagome too much.
“Do you think mother will be mad?”
Inuyasha snorted. Kikyo has been spending all her time with Suikotsu after his last rejection of her. He could hear the two of them upstairs in her room even now, several yards from the porch. Kikyo both disappointed and disgusted him now that he knew she was involved with one of the Band of Seven.
“She’s busy tonight, Kagome, so I’m just gonna tell her in the morning. Come on, I’ve got a surprise for you.”
He led her into the house, his hands over her ears so she wouldn’t hear what her mother was doing. A plan formed in his mind and he felt more energized with every step he took, the violent thing within him now in agreement. It had been too long and he had to be with Kagome, to feel her, to drown in her. She no longer smelled like his and he needed that little bit of reassurance that he was her only one. He could feel her smile, knowing where he was taking her. He had been a little unsure if she’d want this as well, thinking she’d rather talk first and maybe just cuddle or kiss instead of picking up right where they left off.
Their trek to the basement seemed slow and he felt jittery the entire way. He hadn’t even entered their room once since she had gone to live with Onigumo. They had only ever used their secret room once and he intended to make up for lost time tonight. Once they got to the stairs, he got so impatient he removed his hands from her ears and picked her up and ran, making her squeak and laugh. Kicking the foosball table out of the way, he gently placed Kagome on its covered surface and fumbled with the key which he still wore around his neck. Shoving open the door, he grabbed her wrist and brought her in with him. The room was stuffy and dusty so he opened the window, the little bit of relief making a huge difference. Kicking the door shut, he picked her up again briefly only to plop her down on the bed and kiss her lips for the first time in months. She tasted like toothpaste and candy and Kagome and he moaned. He had dreamt of this for so long, her absence like a missing limb without the maddening comfort of that whole phantom thing. He wanted to make this last, but they could do that the second time around.
“God, angel, take off your dress before I rip it off.”
Her dress was already ruined, stained with his blood, but it had looked so nice on her that he’d like another one made, maybe in blue or white. The heavily breathing girl obeyed, her own frantic actions ripping a hole in a seam before she flung it aside. Wasting no time, he fastened his lips onto her breast, sucking hard, forcing himself to be gentle after her muffled cry was more pained than pleased.
“Be loud, Kagome, be as loud as you want. I need to hear you, baby.”
Kagome removed the pillow from her face and he continued to suck, loving every moan and cry that fell from her lips, even if he felt she was exaggerating them a little for his benefit. She reached for him and tugged off his shirt, her hand brushing against his shoulder.
“Inuyasha, there’s something hard there,” she said worriedly.
“You don’t say,” he said with a groan as he slowly entered her.
She gasped genuinely, no more exaggerations.
“No, in your shoulder. What is it?”
Inuyasha frowned, remembering the bullets. His skin must have healed over them.
“Don’t worry about that,” he whispered, kissing her softly. After the evening’s events, he was kind of tired, and scrunched down so he could lay his head on her chest and listen to her heart beat as he pumped into her, kissing her breast and mouthing her name onto her skin. She was clinging to him, her hands buried in his hair. They were so close he could almost really believe they were one being, just him and her. The look on her face told him she was almost there and he was glad, not knowing how he had held on so long.
“Fuck, Kagome, I fucking love you. Only you,” he said, making the sentence long and drawn out with a moan shaping his voice, distorting it in a pleasant way.
“Oh god, yes, I love you so much,” she whispered, having a hard time forming a coherent sentence. Her face was flushed and he leaned down to kiss her, feeling her clench hard around him the moment their lips touched. Her eyes had rolled back in her head and her lip was trembling. This was the face he had missed so much, the thing he needed to see to feel right again. He released and gathered her into his arms, her insides still clasping and imprisoning him. It was beautiful and he had never felt so loved and willing to love.
“Happy anniversary, baby,” he murmured, leaning up and pulling out. A loud noise and a fiery pain sent him back onto her. He felt the blood trickle out and bathe his skin.
His heart.
The bullet had pierced his heart.