InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Strike By Night ❯ Feelings Emerge ( Chapter 5 )

Strike By Night

Chapter 5: Feelings Emerge

Standard Disclaimer, k people?

Last Chapter:

After hours of searching, most of which spent backtracking to the main road, the directionally challenged Kagome finally managed to find Sesshoumaru's house. There, she met Inu Yasha and so formed the beginning of an interesting albeit violent acquaintance. With plans to retrieve her bags in the morning, Kagome spent half, well actually the entire night, catching up on research with Sesshoumaru until she conked out at five in the morning. Planning to continue in the morning, Sesshoumaru carried Kagome back to her room. Too bad morning came earlier than Kagome expected.

PUNCH! CRASH! Kagome was jolted out of her peaceful dreamland by the sounds of a fight followed by a crash that was strong enough to shake the foundations of the house. Fearing the worst, Kagome dashed out of bed and out the door, hoping to help Sesshoumaru and Inu Yasha before it was too late, only to trip over her luggage, which were piled neatly outside her room, and unfortunately, also right across Kagome's door. Untangling herself from the magically transported luggage, promising to deal with it later and also kill whoever it was that placed it there, Kagome rushed downstairs.

Following the hard to miss yelling and cursing of Inu Yasha, Kagome found the source of the house shaking crashes, the kitchen of all places. Recklessly running in, Kagome barely had time to dodge a shirtless Inu Yasha as he went flying over her head. "ENOUGH!!" Kagome demanded as loudly as she could, rather irritated now that what she had thought was a life or death crisis was merely a bout of sibling rivalry, even if it is one that will result in massive property damage.

"Get OUT of the way, bitch," Inu Yasha yelled as he extricated himself from the wall, which was already littered with many other Inu Yasha shaped imprints.

"WHAT is going on here!!" continued Kagome, completely ignoring a fuming Inu Yasha.

"We are simply working out a few issues," Sesshoumaru calmly replied as if this happened everyday, which, if you stayed around long enough, actually did. Like Inu Yasha, Sesshoumaru was also shirtless, clad only in a pair of loose pants. But unlike Inu Yasha, Sesshoumaru remained unscathed and the wall behind him was devoid of any imprints.

"HOW? By destroying the house?" accused Kagome still furious at the false alarm, though the sight of Sesshoumaru bare and defined torso was distracting Kagome's focus to dirtier thoughts.

"The house will still stand when we are done," Sesshoumaru assured Kagome.

"So will you get OUT of here already? Inu Yasha joined in.

Opening her mouth to argue, but knowing a losing battle when she saw one, Kagome shook her head and resigned to let Sesshoumaru and Inu Yasha continue their fight, which promptly resumed soon as Kagome left the room. As she ascended the stairs back to her room, Kagome kept shaking her head, but this time to try to clear the image of Sesshoumaru and his glistening sweat covered body from her mind. Damn you, Kagome thought, blushing as she climbed.

Wait, how did I get to my room last night? Kagome suddenly wondered as she reached the top of the stairs. The last thing she remembered was flipping though the un-breaking wall of text across the computer screen. I don't sleepwalk, I know that much, thought Kagome.

Then he must have carried you; it's the only logical conclusion, the rational part of Kagome abruptly appeared and deducted.

But why would he? Kagome was very doubtful, though also very aware that it was a stupid question. She was asleep for goodness sake, what else could he have done? Pray that she'll sleepwalk back to her room?

He did once, why not again? The rational part offered.

I guess, the rest of Kagome conceded. And suddenly, she felt better. All anger forgotten and a smile graced Kagome's face as she thought about Sesshoumaru's kindness. Maybe he isn't so bad after all, Kagome mused.

Stopping outside her room, Kagome bent down to examine the magical appearance of what looked remarkably similar to her own luggage bags, even though this set had just tried to kill her a few moments ago. "Let's see," Kagome murmured. After a few moments, Kagome was convinced that it WAS her luggage. But how did they GET it? Kagome wondered as she lugged the bags in, planning to unpack first before she confronted Sesshoumaru about how they had gotten a hold of her bags.

While unpacking, Kagome marveled at how comprehensive it was. "I think they packed every piece of clothing I owned," Kagome murmured appreciatively. "Jackets, T-shirts, blouses, jeans, ooh nice, tanks, and also UNDERWEAR?!?! Kagome's eyes bulged as she clutched a rather revealing piece of lingerie in her hands, her eyes scanning the rest of her intimate wardrobe laid out neatly in the open suitcase in front of her. "Oh my god, oh my god, OH MY GOD!" screamed Kagome's mind. "Either Inu Yasha or Sesshoumaru must have packed this, it's gotta be, otherwise how could it show up by my room; no one knew I was coming here," Kagome's mind rambled as she paced her room, still clutching the piece of lingerie. "They have no servants here, which means either Sesshoumaru or Inu Yasha went to my apartment and packed my clothing, which means that one of them saw everything! EVERY piece of my underwear, OH MY GOD! PERVERTS!! How dare they! It's an invasion of a girl's privacy, I tell you! They will pay for this! I'm going to KILL them!!" Finally reaching a conclusion, Kagome's pacing feet now marched her out the room and down the stairs toward where she had left Sesshoumaru and Inu Yasha, pure murder in her eyes.

Storming into the kitchen, Kagome forced a smile onto her face and shoved the lingerie that she had unintentionally brought down behind her back at the sight of Sesshoumaru and Inu Yasha eating calmly, and this time with shirts on much to Kagome's relief, and asked "Hey, I was wondering who brought my bags from my apartment?"

"Why do you care?" Inu Yasha managed to make out between bites, oblivious to Kagome's sudden sweetness while Sesshoumaru sat back in anticipation.

"I'd like to thank them," Kagome replied, the sugary smile still on her face as she zoomed in on Inu Yasha.

"Then you can start by getting me another bowl of ramen," answered Inu Yasha, still oblivious.

"Gladly," replied Kagome, smiling evilly. Grabbing the nearest ramen filled bowl from the kitchen counter, Kagome carried it over to Inu Yasha, but instead of placing it in front of Inu Yasha, the bowl went over his hands and came to a stop over his head. A swift flick of Kagome's hand sent the contents of the bowl all over Inu Yasha's head. Kagome was a bit regretful at having to cover on those adorable dog ears but the feeling was quickly squashed by the taste of sweet revenge. Sesshoumaru shared Kagome's mirth and was trying hard to keep a straight face at the ridiculous expression on his idiot half-brother's face.

"What the-" Inu Yasha began, now a very confused doggy, but Kagome was not done.

"Do you have ANY idea what you did?!" Kagome interrupted with the beginnings of a rant.

"I-," began Inu Yasha

"What EVER gave you the idea that you could go into MY house and take MY clothing WITHOUT my permission?

"But-" Inu Yasha tried again

"I said I was going to get my bags in the morning! Do you not trust me or something? Continued Kagome as she advanced on Inu Yasha.

"No, I-" and again, as he backed away trying to keep some distance between him and Kagome. The look in her eyes was seriously starting to scare him and if last time was any indication, he did NOT want to be on the receiving end of her punch when she was truly angry.

"Wait, how did you get in the door? Come to the think of it, how did you even KNOW where I lived?!" Kagome kept going.

"Yeah but-" and one last time. Inu Yasha would have been VERY glad to implicate Sesshoumaru as the one who planned everything if only the wench would stop screaming long enough to let him get a word in.

"Never mind, I don't care. I just want to know where you think you got the GALL to invade my privacy!" Kagome went on, though she was running out of air and seriously needed to slow and catch her breath before she passed out.

"LOOK! It wasn't me, alright! Sesshoumaru told me to go to your house and get your clothing!" Seeing his chance when Kagome was running out of air, Inu Yasha was finally able to claim his innocence. Much as Inu Yasha hated to admit to following Sesshoumaru's orders, it was a small price to pay if it meant redirecting Kagome's wrathful anger.

"Is this true, Sesshoumaru!?" Kagome demanded calmly, turning around.

"Yes," admitted Sesshoumaru, unafraid of Kagome's obvious anger, though wary nonetheless. "I felt that it would be more efficient, certainly less time consuming, if I simply had Inu Yasha bring your things here."

"And what made you think you had the right to do that?" accused Kagome vehemently but still calm.

"Oh sure, you yell at ME, but you'll talk to HIM," Inu Yasha grumbled resentfully behind Kagome as he picked ramen out of his hair. Good to eat, not to wear. "You should be glad that I saved you the trip; who knows how long it would've taken you otherwise." Kagome chose to ignore him as she awaited Sesshoumaru's explanation. But Inu Yasha was not to be ignored. "Hey, are you listening to me?" He asked and grabbed Kagome's shoulder in an attempt to get her attention. BIG mistake. As soon as Kagome felt the foreign hand on her shoulder, her reflexes kicked in; in a swift movement, Kagome threw Inu Yasha over her shoulder and onto the floor.

"Oh, whoops," was all Kagome said when she realized whom she threw.

It was the final straw for Inu Yasha though. "You BITCH! That's IT; I don't care if you are a girl; NO ONE does that to be and gets AWAY with it!!"

"Bring it on," was Kagome's simple reply. She never was one to back away from a challenge. And so began the inevitable conflict.

He never did know when to keep his hands to himself; Miroku must be rubbing off on him. Sesshoumaru thought and stood back to watch the action, or more precisely, Kagome kicking Inu Yasha's ass across the kitchen. Regardless, it was highly entertaining, though the sight of a girl kicking his half-brother's ass across the floor filled him with shame that they shared the same family name.

A lucky throw by Inu Yasha sent Kagome sliding on her back across the polished floor. Soon as Kagome stopped sliding, Inu Yasha leaped. He could see Kagome getting closer and closer and then… nothing; Inu Yasha was still in the air, but this time he was flying OVER Kagome. Looking up, Inu Yasha saw the figure of Sesshoumaru, with one hand firmly gripping the back of his shirt. "What the fuck!? Let me go! And keep outta this, will you?!" Inu Yasha fumed, furious at being denied the final strike, especially when his target had just kicked his ass all across the room.

"Don't be so ungrateful, runt; you should be thanking me," Sesshoumaru scoffed while carrying Inu Yasha out the room. "If you had bothered to look before you leap, you would have seen where her knees were, idiot. I think, though I will most likely regret this, that I just saved whatever pathetic offsprings you may sire. One thing Sesshoumaru will never admit to though, was that he stepped in because he didn't like the idea of Inu Yasha pouncing on Kagome.

"What?!" Inu Yasha barked, adding confusion to outrage. Thinking back to the few moments before, Inu Yasha had noticed briefly that Kagome's knees were in an odd position. In fact, if he had landed, then…it would have been exactly where his groin would have been. Realizing the possible immense pain that he could have been in, Inu Yasha shut up and settled for glaring back at Kagome, who had picked herself off the floor and was brushing the invisible dust from her clothing in the noncommittal way that all girls could, instead of taking another go at her.

After readjusting her clothing, which had gotten a bit ruffled during the fight, Kagome felt better getting the anger out of her system thanks to Inu Yasha, and also the strong urge for a bath. Remembering that she hadn't had a bath yesterday either, Kagome immediately went upstairs and grabbed a few things from her room before proceeded to the bathroom Sesshoumaru had pointed out yesterday.

Before she left the room though, her cell rang. Kagome picked it up on the way out and answered it. "Hello?"

"Kagome-chan, finally!" Sango's worried voice came over the speakers. "Where have you been!?"

"Huh?" Kagome was confused.

"Miroku-san and I went over to your apartment yesterday and this morning, and you weren't there. I've been trying your cell all last night and you wouldn't answer. Do you have any idea how worried we were? I was going to call the police if I couldn't find you today." Sango's worried voice replied. "By the way, you shouldn't leave your balcony door open; people might take things."

"I am SO sorry, Sango-chan." Kagome sincerely apologized, mentally hitting herself for forgetting to call her friends. Sango was a great friend and Kagome hated to make her worry. "Something came up and I had to do a lot of research. I must've left my cell in another room last night." So that's how he got in, Kagome thought.

"It's alright, Kagome, long as you're fine. Anyway, where ARE you?" Sango inquired, accepting Kagome's explanation.

"Uh…I'm at…a friend's house." Kagome admitted.

"Really? Who?" Sango asked.

"No one you know; just someone I met at work and he invited me over for lunch. I've got a new case, so I might not be home for a while." Well, it's not a total lie, Kagome thought and prayed that Sango didn't pick up on the "he" that had inadvertently slipped in. The last thing she wanted was for Sango and undoubtedly Miroku to know she was living in a house with two guys right now; she'd never hear the end of it from them.

"Alright," Sango hesitantly accepted. "Anyway, Miroku-san says "hi" and that he has the information you need. If you can meet us at Sapphire Café on Fifth at 3:00, he can give it to you then."

"Sure," Kagome accepted appreciatively. "Sapphire Café…that's not where we usually meet. Is this some kind of special occasion for you and Miroku-san? Because I wouldn't want to intrude." Kagome teased, knowing full well that as rough as Sango is with Miroku, she had a soft spot for him, hence their on-again-off-again relationship for the past two years.

"Of course not," Sango smoothly denied. "I just thought we should try somewhere new, and it's only just coincidental that Miroku-san's paying."

"Oh come on, you know you like him, and you guys make such a cute couple," Kagome cooed.

"If only he'd learn to keep his hands to himself," Sango pointed out.

"Ah, but then he wouldn't be our Miroku-san, who we all know and love…and slap." Kagome joked. Both Sango and Kagome burst out laughing after a moment later.

"Yep, that's our Miroku," Sango admitted between laughs. "I'll see you at three, alright Kagome?"

"Sure," confirmed Kagome happily, hanging up but still smiling. Turning the knob on the door to the bathroom, Kagome expected to be greeted with the sight of a traditional bath and toilet bathroom, and she wasn't disappointed. But to the left, Kagome noticed a door. Curiosity overtook her and she edged open the door. What she found was a flight of stairs. O…K…Kagome thought and went down the stairs.

Reaching the bottom, Kagome turned right to see a corridor filled with dressing rooms at one side and a door at the end. Walking down, Kagome opened the door and saw the least thing she expected to see: a hotspring. It was huge! High ceilings, ceramic tiles, and bubbling water that was just inviting her to get in and relax. Quickly grabbing one of the large towels lying on a nearby table, Kagome backed out to change.

Letting the towel drop around her, Kagome stepped into the balmy water. Something nagged at Kagome that she was forgetting something very important, but Kagome pushed it aside when she couldn't remember and settled in to enjoy the warm bubbling water that she never got at home.

Very reluctantly, Kagome got out of the hotspring a few minutes later; knowing otherwise she'd be later for her appointment with Sango and Miroku. Rewrapping the towel around her, Kagome went back to the dressing room and changed into the outfit she had brought; she wasn't going to wander around the house in a towel. Once dressed, Kagome went back up to her room to pick up her purse before she left.

Just as Kagome was leaving her room, she collided, literally, with Sesshoumaru, who had unexpectedly appeared in the doorway. The force that Kagome had been walking, now reversed, sent her falling backwards. But she was saved from a hard meeting with the floor, and in a skirt no less, by a pair of strong arms around her arm and waist, holding her in place. "Um, thanks," Kagome said staring into the mesmerizing golden orbs that came closer and closer as Sesshoumaru pulled her upright.

Sesshoumaru inhaled Kagome's scent as he pulled her closer: jasmine mixed with vanilla, which accentuated the pure smell of the water that still lingered on her skin from her dip in the hotspring. She smells wonderful, Sesshoumaru thought, intoxicated by Kagome's scent. And I see she's discovered the bathroom, he continued but try as he might, he couldn't completely prevent his mind from drifting to the tantalizing image of Kagome taking a bath as he stared lost in the depth of Kagome's warm chocolate eyes.

"Uh, can you let me go now?" Kagome's soft voice broke into Sesshoumaru's thoughts, reminding him that he was still holding the innocent beauty in his arms. `Innocent beauty?' When did I think of her THAT way? Sesshoumaru wondered within himself. Regardless, he obliged Kagome's request and released her from his arms, taking care to place his left arm behind his back before she what he was holding.

Despite the light blush that tinted her cheeks, Kagome was very curious about why Sesshoumaru had appeared in her room. "If it's about what happened downstairs, I'm sorry about what happened," Kagome started to explain. "I don't usually lose my temper, but I just freaked out over the clothing and all-"

"Don't apologize, you have nothing to be sorry for," Sesshoumaru interrupted. "My worthless half-brother never did know when to keep his mouth shut and his hands to himself, but he will be fine in a few hours."

"Oh, ok. Then did you want something, cuz otherwise I have to get going to meet some friends," Kagome replied. This time, the feeling that she was forgetting something really important came back stronger than ever.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Sesshoumaru asked expectedly.

"I don't think so," Kagome answered, running through a short mental checklist of the things she needed to bring. Nope, nothing was missing.

"Like this?" Sesshoumaru reminded Kagome, holding out the revealing piece of lingerie that Kagome had unintentionally brought downstairs and had forgotten after her fight with Inu Yasha.

Instantly recognizing it the same instant it clicked in her mind that what she desperately needed to remember was that she had left her lingerie downstairs and needed to bring it up before anyone found it. You couldn't have remembered earlier!? Kagome yelled at her mind as she blushed down to the tips of her hair and grabbed the piece of clothing from Sesshoumaru's outstretched hand.

"Um…t-t-thanks," Kagome managed to make out while hurridly stuffing the lingerie into the suitcase that sat on her bed, which was now closed. She needed to get away from Sesshoumaru's gaze and fast. She didn't know if she could ever face him again after what had just happened.

"I think it would look great on you," Sesshoumaru, who had come up behind Kagome, purred into her ear, shocking Kagome and also much of himself. Having no idea at what had possessed him to say that, Sesshoumaru felt it was time to leave before anything else happened, leaving a very stunned Kagome frozen by the bed.

It took a full minute for Kagome to get herself mobile again. Her mind was still spinning over Sesshoumaru's words. Dragging the still unpacked suitcase containing her underwear from her bed she hid it in the closet to prevent any more accidents, and after a once over around the room, she closed the door as she left and departed for her appointment with Sango and Miroku.

Kagome immediately saw Sango and Miroku's table when she entered the café. It was hard to miss since Sango had just slapped Miroku. "Hey," Kagome greeted as she sat down beside Sango and the now unconscious Miroku. "Couldn't keep his hands to himself again?"

"Never could," Sango confirmed.

"How could I keep myself from such physical perfection?" Miroku spoke, coming back into consciousness. "And Kagome-san, you look lovely today,"

"I swear he recovers faster every time," Sango informed Kagome with a smile.

"Dear Sango, I'm hurt," Miroku replied to Sango's barb.

"Alright, so what do you have for me, Miroku?" Kagome said, getting down to business.

Miroku drew a bulky manila folder seemingly out of nowhere and slid it across to Kagome. "This is just a part of it," Miroku warned.

"There's more?" Kagome asked, eyeing the size of the package in front of her.

"I think half the business world hates him," was Miroku's reply. "I've marked a file that seemed promising,"

"What's going on, Kagome?" asked Sango, curious at what was happening

"It's for the case I told you about on the phone," Kagome explained.

"Ohhhh," Sango understood.

"Thanks Miroku. And I think I'll be leaving now," Kagome announced and stood up to leave, giving a wink at Sango, who blushed lightly.

"See ya, Sango," Kagome waved and left the "not dating" pair alone to enjoy their date.

Placing the package in the seat beside her, Kagome started back for Sesshoumaru's house, but not before stopping at her apartment first to close the balcony door and also to pick up a few personal things that Inu Yasha obviously would forget.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Meanwhile, back at the mansion…~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After leaving Kagome's room, Sesshoumaru headed for his study. Try as he might to absorb the information flashing on the computer screen in front of him, his mind simply could not focus and keep drifting back to his uncharacteristic remark a few moments before. "What in the seven hells possessed me to say that?" Sesshoumaru wondered to himself.

"Because that's what you wanted," the other part of Sesshoumaru answered.

Sesshoumaru let out an audible growl. "That's impossible. I, Sesshoumaru, unlike my pervert of a half-brother and his friend, do not have those thoughts, and especially not for a human!"

"But she's not an ordinary human though. She's sweet and innocent, but she can also kick your perverted half-brother's ass in a fight. Face it, you're never going to find another one like her," the other part pointed out as Sesshoumaru smirked thinking back to midmorning's entertainment.

"No. The wen-, vix-, Kagome is merely very clever. What happened was a mere slip of the tongue and you can be assured will NOT happen again. Once the killer is found and "dispatched" she will go back home and we will never have to see each other again. She is NOT seducing me; she is but a child. She's what, twenty or so, it would be impossible. And will you go AWAY and leave me ALONE!" Sesshoumaru rationalized vehemently to his subconscious, nearly losing his composure. (this is called denial, people)

"Never said she was seducing you, but alright, I'll leave you alone…for now." The subconscious replied.

"I hate my subconscious," Sesshoumaru thought and attempted to focus on the screen in front of him and this time succeeding.

"I heard that," came the subconscious before all became silent in the conflicting mind of Sesshoumaru.

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A/N: Will Sesshoumaru be able to keep up his denial? What role will Miroku play in this relationship? The answers to those questions I'll let you know as soon as I figure it out.

Sorry to everyone for taking this long to update, but two classes and volleyball doesn't leave much time for writing.

<<Also, please read my other story Colors of the Dragon. It's an original story so it's on MM.org and fictionpress.net. On MM.org, do a search for hitokiri*seraphim and the story will come up. On fictionpress.net, do a search for Colors of the Dragon to see the story. Somehow, the story doesn't come up otherwise, search me. >>

kanna: yeah, it took Kagome 5 hrs. Bad sense of direction + confusing forest roads = many hours. In the conversation, Sesshoumaru is the one asking what's wrong and then Kagome speaks. Then it alternates from there.

--hitokiri*seraphim