InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Strike By Night ❯ Kagome Moves In (Oh Boy) ( Chapter 4 )

Strike By Night

Chapter 4: Kagome Moves In. (Oh Boy)

Disclaimer: we've been through this…standard disclaimers apply

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Last Chapter:

Kagome is finally home after her long, tiring trip of, er, watching the deceased body of Naraku Shinigami. But before she even had time to wash off the grime of the trip, she received a call from Sesshoumaru inviting/demanding her to his house, to which she reluctantly/amazingly agreed. Now, if only she could find his house…

Making yet another right turn onto yet another dirt road, Kagome desperately looked around for any sign that she wasn't what she feared most, lost. But nothing stood out to allay her fears, all she could see were trees, and every now and then, more trees. For all she knew she could've been driving in circles, which she fervently hoped was not the case; otherwise she'd never reach her destination.

Pulling over, Kagome tried to figure out just where the hell she was on the map that she carried. "I knew I should've gotten the car with the GPS navigation device," Kagome muttered as she tried to make heads or tails of her position. "But noooo, I was so assured that I had a perfect sense of direction, and look where it got me now? Lifting her head, Kagome tried to spot a landmark. Spotting the blurry outlines of a mountain, Kagome managed to use it to pinpoint her position on the map. "You think with all the big mansions around here, they'd be either to spot," grumbled Kagome as she pulled out again and continued on her way.

Driving up to the imposing gate of one of the oldest stone houses in the area a few hours before sunset, Kagome rang the intercom. "Hello? Anyone there?" she called into the speaker box. Her response was three cameras whirling to join the single camera already fixed on her. Suspicious, aren't we, Kagome thought and on an impulse, waved to the cameras.

"Whaddaya want?" the gruff voice of Inu Yasha came over the speakers.

"Uh, I'm here to see Sesshoumaru, Fukaimori," Kagome replied, half certainly, the unfamiliar voice added to the doubts that she wasn't too sure if she had the right house, even if there wasn't another one for miles around.

"Oh, then YOU'RE the one he's waiting for," Inu Yasha barked into the speaker, none too happily. Putting a hand to his head, Inu Yasha gingerly touched the bruises, which had already healed, on his head courtesy of Sesshoumaru when he had untimely walked in after listening outside on the phone call.

"Uh, yeah?" Kagome tried.

"Just come in," Inu Yasha finished. The gate then swung open and Kagome drove in to the long driveway to reach the house.

"YO, SESSHOUMARU!!" Inu Yasha called at the top of his lungs, his voice reverberating through the house. "YOUR WENCH IS HERE!!" Feeling he had done his job, as Sesshoumaru had wanted to know the arrival of their guest, and not bothering to wait for a reply, Inu Yasha strolled toward the door to let in their guest. The girl had seemed quite pretty on the camera, and Inu Yasha should know since he had followed her progress all along the two-mile driveway to the house thanks to the miniature weatherproof cameras installed along the way, but Inu Yasha wanted to see her in person. Not to mention he'd like the see the person who'd be crazy enough to visit his half-brother.

Before Kagome even knocked on the door, it opened to reveal Inu Yasha standing before her. "Hi, I'm Kagome," Kagome introduced herself.

"Feh, whatever," Inu Yasha dismissed but stepped back to let Kagome in and then closed the door behind her. Stepping just few steps inside the threshold, Kagome was distracted by the towering ceiling dotted with many crystal chandeliers, which sparkled and clinked, and the various antique furniture and paintings. She could also see doorways leading to many other parts of the house. But despite the amount of objects in the room, the house still gave off an airy open feeling. Light streaming from the windows combined with a breeze blowing from what had to be an open window made it seem as if she was still outside, a very decorated outside, but a beautiful one nonetheless. This house is truly a masterpiece, Kagome thought.

And is he sniffing me? The more cautious, assassin part of Kagome observed, effectively surprising and thus snapping the rest of Kagome's mind out of her admiration and back to the present. Sure enough, Inu Yasha was slowly circling Kagome, subtly taking huge whiffs of the air around her. "What are you doing?" Kagome demanded, turning her head to follow his movements and on guard at once.

Disappointed at having been noticed, Inu Yasha straightened up and backed away, but offered no explanation. It was then that Kagome noticed the dog-ears perched on top of Inu Yasha's head. "Are those real?" Kagome asked, fascinated. She reached out a hand to touch them.

Damn, uh oh, Inu Yasha thought, backing just out of her reach and expecting her to scream and call him a monster.

However Kagome did just the opposite. "Come back here," she demanded gently, reaching for the ears again. "And stand still." But Inu Yasha wouldn't listen and kept backing away, forcing Kagome to follow him, still reaching for those ears that were always just out of range.

"Ahh! Get away from me, bitch," Inu Yasha cried, holding his hands up hoping to keep her back. But Kagome would not be deterred and advanced on Inu Yasha until he tripped over the edge of an oriental carpet lying in the middle of the hallway, and fell hard onto his butt. Resigning as Kagome closed in on him, a disgruntled Inu Yasha sat cooperatively on the floor though muttering incoherently, as Kagome had her way with his ears, squealing in delight. (this in not a inu/kag, don't worry.)

"Aren't you scared, wench?" Inu Yasha suddenly asked in wonder. "I have claws, dog ears, not exactly human, you know?"

"I lived next to a shrine for sixteen years, with a grandfather who was obsessed with demons and legends," Kagome explained, still focused on the ears. "After a while, it stops amazing you."

"Then you're the wench that lives next to the well," Inu Yasha declared.

"I have a name, you know. It's Kagome, not wench, or bitch, got it?" Kagome's focus shifted from his ears to glare at Inu Yasha in order to emphasize her point.

"I think bitch suits you a lot better," retorted Inu Yasha, feeling he had enough and calmly standing up.

"Why you arrogant, rude-" Kagome started furiously, her hands balling into fists and with every intention to have it contact with Inu Yasha's stomach.

"Ahem," a voice interrupted the very promising battle between Inu Yasha and Kagome. Both heads turned to see Sesshoumaru calmly standing in front of them, an eyebrow raised at the confrontational scene in front of him. "Kagome-san, I see you have met my worthless half-brother, Inu Yasha," Sesshoumaru introduced.

"He's your half-brother?" Kagome asked, incredulous. No wonder I can't stand him, thought Kagome.

"Yes, unfortunately, we share the same father." Sesshoumaru confirmed.

"What'd you think I was? The help?" Inu Yasha interjected.

"Uh, well, yeah," Kagome hesitantly admitted, a bit embarrassed at her mistake.

But Inu Yasha didn't take it so well. "WHAT!" Inu Yasha screamed and started toward Kagome. Thankfully, he was restrained by Sesshoumaru, who had hooked a finger onto the back of Inu Yasha's shirt and pulled him back before he got too close to Kagome, not taking care to be gentle and nearly choking him in the process.

"I trust you had no problems finding this house," Sesshoumaru stated, the hint a smirk playing on the corner of his mouth.

"Quite easily," Kagome replied confidently, not willing to admit that it took her nearly five hours to find this place and had gotten lost no less than three times along the way.

"Then I will show you to your room," Sesshoumaru replied, turning to lead the way.

"Oh, you were serious?" Kagome marveled. "I thought you were joking about me staying here."

"Of course I was serious; I do not joke," Sesshoumaru replied a little disapprovingly.

"Oh, well, my bags are still at my house," Kagome admitted.

"Stupid wench," Inu Yasha scoffed. That's it! Kagome thought and this time strode over and landed a punch hard into Inu Yasha's stomach, effectively knocking the wind out of him. Sesshoumaru didn't even bat an eyelash at what had just occurred.

"Follow me," Sesshoumaru commanded. "You can stay here for the night and we will get your bags in the morning. It will be dark soon and the roads can be dangerous at night."

How can it be worse, Kagome wondered and followed Sesshoumaru, who had turned to leave, leaving a recovering Inu Yasha alone by the door. (it had been a hard punch) "Bitch," Inu Yasha muttered when he had enough air to form words. Kagome only smiled as she walked away.

Kagome's room was every bit as impressive as the house. It had every comfort of Kagome's own apartment suite, right down to the large vanity that stood beside the luxurious king size bed that Kagome just couldn't wait to jump on, when she was alone, of course. "The bathroom is two doors down," Sesshoumaru explained. "My room is four doors down on your left and Inu Yasha's is five doors down on your right. I'll leave you to get settled. Dinner's in an hour." Turning on his heel, Sesshoumaru left Kagome in her new room.

Once Sesshoumaru left and seeing no sign of anyone else, Kagome surrendered to her urge to jump on the bed. It was as bouncy as she had imagined and sufficed to amuse her for five minutes. Really having nothing to unpack, Kagome wandered downstairs in search of something to do.

She followed the sound of voices to find the living room, where Inu Yasha was watching TV. He gave her a dirty look when she entered and muttered something about bothersome wenches, but otherwise kept quiet. The TV was showing yet another news special on the murder of Naraku Shinigami. The story had been plastered across every news channel and newspaper across the country since the discovery of his death the night Kagome and Sesshoumaru was almost caught. Though the information was nearly identical to the earlier reports, Kagome still watched with interest until Sesshoumaru came to inform them dinner was ready. (someone has to cook, and do you really want Inu Yasha around the kitchen?)

Dinner was tense and silent and uncannily peaceful, but at least the last set of good china would survive to see another meal. When dinner was over, Kagome voice her request to the see information Sesshoumaru had promised her, which Kagome had remembered while watching the news report. Sesshoumaru agreed and they left for Sesshoumaru's study, leaving Inu Yasha with the dishes.

Sesshoumaru's study was rather on the dim side. There were a few lamps, but most were not lit. An old mahogany desk stood to one side, beside an antique grandfather clock. A window on the far side allowed a beautiful view of the night sky and the house grounds stood on the other. And a set of very powerful computers stood beside it. Sessshoumaru picked up a folder from the desk and handed it to Kagome, who immediately began flipping through it.

The information was quite interesting, though not particularly insightful: The real purpose of Naraku's business trip was to seal a merger between Four Gods Industries and Soul Jewel Enterprises, giving him huge control over the jewelry market. Of which neither the Co-Presidents of Four Gods Industries nor members of Soul Jewel Enterprises were too happy about, maybe resentful enough to kill. Then there were of course, the numerous affairs he had, every one of which was listed. And boy, were they many; enough to cover three pages. Naraku obviously didn't care if the woman he was pursuing was married, single or even underage, resulting in a LOT of furious spouses, boyfriends, and parents, either of which had great motives to kill. A lot of leads, but nothing conclusive, thought Kagome, closing the folder.

"Is this it?" Kagome asked, slightly disappointed. "I thought you had something very important."

"It is a beginning," replied Sesshoumaru taking a seat in front of the computer, slightly irritated at Kagome's quickness to dismiss the information.

"Fine," countered Kagome, becoming serious. "Let's get started then," and she took a seat in front of the computer next to Sesshoumaru.

Kagome and Sesshoumaru spent the rest of the night in the study, doing their separate researches. A silence occasionally disrupted by disagreements over the validity of some information, the relevance of some information, or just when the room seemed too quiet.

Inu Yasha heard the last fragments of their latest crisis as he reached for the front door. "What are you doing?" a voice inquired.

"What does it look like?"

"Is the screen suppose to look like that?"

"What? Oh my GOD!"

"Give it to me." Typing sounds.

"That's not helping! Let me see" More typing sounds. "There. Whew!"

"You should NOT have been that careless. What if you got caught?! Be more careful next time!"

"What?! It wouldn't have been that way if you hadn't distracted me. Besides, I was the one that saved us, since you obviously couldn't. So it's fine, alright!?"

"Do not ever let that happen again."

"Fine, it won't! But it was worth it. Look." And all was quiet through the house once again.

You owe me for this, Sesshoumaru, Inu Yasha thought as he went out the front door. But seeing that wench wipe the smirk off your face does go a long way toward compensation. Inu Yasha smirked evilly as he dashed off into the night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Many hours later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Kagome-san." Sesshoumaru began, interrupting the silence. Receiving no reply, he turned his head to find that Kagome had fallen asleep beside her computer. At first Sesshoumaru frowned that Kagome was neglecting her work, but glancing at the old grandfather clock showed that it was already 5:00 in the morning. They have been working for a LONG time, thought Sesshoumaru and he picked up Kagome, bridal style, and carried her to her room. After all, he couldn't leave her to spend the night in his study and the position she had been in would certainly have left her to regret it in the morning.

Placing her in her bed, Sesshoumaru took off Kagome's shoes and socks and contemplated changing Kagome into something more comfortable to sleep in, but decided against it since she had nothing to change into, to the slight disappointment of Sesshoumaru. And after all, he didn't want to be called a pervert and then pummeled by Kagome. Though the idea of another sparring match with Kagome intrigued Sesshoumaru, especially since he saw her deck Inu Yasha. But setting the idea aside for another time, Sesshoumaru drew the covers over Kagome, who immediately snuggled in, sleeping softly on the bed, and left for his own room with the corners of his mouth turning up slightly in a rare smile. They would start again tomorrow, Sesshoumaru thought, when Kagome's belongings arrived.

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A/N: Things are a little calmer between Sess and Kag this time because Inu Yasha provides so much entertainment.

So where did Inu Yasha sneak off to this late at night? ; - )

Yes, Sesshoumaru was the one that cooked dinner. They don't have servants because well, not many stay when they find out what their employers actually do for a living and it's hard to keep the secret that you're an assassin when you often come home at 4 in the morning dressed in black. Plus, I just can't imagine Inu Yasha cooking and the kitchen still in one piece. Ja ne.

--hitokiri*seraphim