InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Fortuneteller and a Nerdy Hanyou ❯ Couches and Conniving Cousins ( Chapter 5 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.

 

A/N: I'm back, but I'm not sure if I can chug out chapters as fast or as “good” as before, mainly because I'm not a nervous wreck to fuel my writing. Urg, I think I've caught my roommate's cold while in China. Since I don't feel like doing anything other than lying in my bed and cursing CNN for telling me about more bombings in London (I was planning on studying abroad there spring semester, but now maybe not) you guys are quite lucky. Instead of unpacking or finishing my travel journal, I'm working on mindless fanfiction because really that's all I'm up for.

 

Also, just so you know, I have no clue about accounting firms. Though I could do research, I'm too lazy and it probably wouldn't fit my scenario any way, so just excuse any mistakes in that respect as artistic license.

 

Chapter 5

 

Inuyasha spit into the washroom sink. He looked at his image in the mirror as he continued to brush his teeth. One more promotion and he would have an office with a washroom of its own so when he had his sleepovers at the accounting firm he wouldn't have to use the public restroom. Tonight, like every other night for the past month, the night janitors had given him that look that told him that they thought he was crazy.

 

He spit out the last of the toothpaste foam and rinsed out his mouth, growling while doing so.

 

Just when he thought he might be able to stop sleeping here and move his things back to his apartment, this had to happen.

 

He had to meet a woman who not only had the approval of his nose, but also looked like a fucking copy of Kikyou.

 

Kikyou.

 

Her cousin looked too much like her for his own good. They could have been twins for all he knew.

 

Except twins smelled alike and the “cousins,” though both tolerable to his nose, had completely different scents.

 

As he brooded, Inuyasha made his way back down the hall to his office. At least he had made is way up in the firm enough to have a room with a couch. He undid his tie and took off his jacket and shoes then lay down, sinking into the sleek leather. Closing his eyes he prepared himself to sleep.

 

Unfortunately, he could only see her face. The girl's smell filled his nose again, almost as if she were standing in the room with him. He peeked though his eyelids just to check, but no: he was alone.

 

Shit.

 

This was not a good sign. It had been like that when he first met Kikyou, but the mental willing her to be there with him had not been as strong. There had only been a whiff of scent for Kikyou, her image had only been a dull picture, distorted in his mind. Not the colorful fragrance and beautifully clear image of Kikyou's cousin.

 

All signs pointed to the fact that his youkai was seeking out the new miko.

 

XXXXXXXXXX

 

Kagome stared at her cousin for several moments, unable to find her voice.

 

“Wh—what are you doing here?” She finally stammered out.

 

“I was in the neighborhood,” Kikyou took a particularly long drag off her cigarette. “How was work?”

 

“It was…work was fine.” Kagome clutched her bag tightly in her hands. She hadn't seen Kikyou on a regular basis since childhood. Now as an adult, they maybe met up once every second or third month to keep in touch.

 

“That's good. And school?”

 

“Kikyou, its really late, I've had a rough night. What's with the chit-chat after braking into my apartment?” Kagome asked cautiously. Running shaky fingers through her hair, she finally got her bearings enough to take a seat in the over stuffed chair across from the couch. Evil snake demons wanting to strangle the life out of her, that was one thing—she had been trained for that. Her cousin dropping out of the blue to have girl talk and presumably kill her slowly was in a category of its own.

 

“Fine, I'll get to the point.” Kikyou put out her cigarette. “You crossed a very dangerous line tonight, Kagome.” She leaned back into the couch. By the light in her eyes, what she had said was supposed to have some sort of meaning.

 

Kagome had no idea what she was talking about.

 

“A line Kikyou? Did you draw a line across the city, and I accidentally set foot on your side?” She remembered the summer Kikyou had stayed with her family. Her cousin had divided Kagome's room in half without telling her, and then pitched a fit when she invaded Kikyou's side to get out the door. Invasion of privacy.

 

“In a manner of speaking. Tonight you were in a scuffle with one of my men—all you left of him was dust. Do you know what that means?”

 

Kagome shook her head. One of my men? That had been a snake youkai she had fought. A youkai, a demon. Kikyou didn't associate with demons; she thought it against the natural order. The night had just taken a turn for the insanely weird.

 

“Normally it would mean that, so to speak, you're in deep shit, cousin.” Kikyou sucked off the end of her cigarette. “But in your case, it shows that you are worthy. We're going after the Shikon no Tama.”

 

Kikyou lit another smoke as she let her words sink in.

 

Kagome slumped back in her chair dumb founded. The Shikon no Tama, the Jewel of Four Souls. It was a powerful stone, but only good for demons and mikos. To mere humans it was only a bargaining chip, but for powerful magical entities it could make them in invincible. And Kikyou was after it. In the hands of a weak miko like her cousin, Kagome wasn't sure how useful it would be, but…something Kikyou had just said rang in her ears.

 

“We? You said we're looking for the jewel. You and who else?”

 

Kikyou nodded. “Well, I was hoping that you would join us, but I do have a partner already. His name is Onigumo.”

 

Kikyou didn't notice, (as she was busy flicking the ash off her cigarette) but Kagome visibly shuddered. Onigumo was well known as a bandit and street pirate who dabbled in magic. Several years ago, he had been caught breaking into a museum. He had been found in the jewelry room, red handed with several scrolls. Kagome had been called in see if there had been any threat to the magical community, just as a precaution. He had been arrested before when he was trying to find a “partner” to summon the demon Naraku. But all he had had in his hands at the museum had been some fairy tales—nothing magical that she could see.

 

If Onigumo was trying to get the Shikon, maybe he wanted to summon Naraku again…

 

She couldn't let that happen.

 

“Onigumo?” Kagome tried to act calm. “That's an odd name.”

 

“Yeah, I know, but he knows his stuff. So, you want in?” Kikyou beamed. She had no idea what she was dealing with.

 

Kagome thought for a moment. She could just report this to human-youkai affairs and be done with it, but what could they do? They knew there was a man who wanted to summon Naraku, yet they let Onigumo walk the streets. Hell, the office of human and youkai affairs had given Kikyou her miko license. She didn't trust them enough to handle something like this.

 

“You know what Kikyou? I think I do want in.”

 

XXXXXXXXXXX

 

Long ago, in the Warring States Era of Feudal Japan, there had been a power-hungry half-demon by the name of Naraku. No one knew from whence he came, not his bloodline or his family name or his home. It was as if he had appeared from nowhere.

 

All anyone really could tell about Naraku was that he wanted to rule the world, and by him ruling the world, he would destroy it. All Naraku touched was turned to dust.

 

In his first years of power, Naraku went on a bloody rampage. Everyone in Japan knew his name, and far too many knew his face. The carnage was extreme as it was horrible. He controlled armies of demons that even after they had been killed, would rise again with a gust from the wind.

 

Stories were whispered across hushed and minuscule meals and dark alleyways. Unlike in many tales of suffering and woe, the details weren't exaggerated. Many families were missing members and still others were wiped out completely because of this Naraku.

 

The country of Japan was filled with despair.

 

Then one day, a group of fighters, both human and demon, both mortal and magical, rallied against Naraku. A miko, a hanyou, a demon huntress, and a monk, accompanied by several full demons set out for Naraku's palace in the mountains.

 

None of them returned.

 

When months passed and there were still no signs of the warriors or Naraku, a small troop of soldiers were sent to the palace. They did not find the building, the warriors, or Naraku.

 

What they did find was an urn, sealed so well that none could open it. Set within the metal that made up the urn was a gemstone. No one could remove that either. Later, when the urn was offered to a priest as an offering, a small inscription was found on the vessel. It had looked strange, and none of the solders had recognized the language—for that matter, they had not even thought it to be writing. The priest however knew it for what it was.

 

The inscription read: “To those who read: we were victorious against Naraku, but it has come at the price of our lives. Only I, the miko, survive long enough to gather our enemy's ashes and seal them away. Within this jar, secured by the Shikon no Tama, Naraku can never be released onto the world again. I am adding my soul now, the final human soul needed keep Naraku sealed forever. Protect this urn and honor our sacrifice.”

 

At first the urn was guarded well, but over the ages and changes of kings, it was lost, and the Jewel of Four Souls along with it. The four souls of the warriors who defeated Naraku and gave their lives to seal him away forever fell into obscurity.

 

XXXXXXXXXXXX

 

Something woke Inuyasha in his sleep. Something wasn't right.

 

He rolled off the office couch and made his way to his desk. Stooping, he fiddled with the lock on one of the lower drawers until it popped open. He shuffled though the papers until he found a small box, and slowly lifted the lid. He hadn't looked at it for some time, but it was good to know that it was still safe. Closing the lid and putting it back in the drawer, he locked up the desk again and went back to his couch.

 

He still couldn't sleep. There was still something that was not right.

 

That damned miko's face floated before his eyes again.

 

Maybe he'd hunt down Miroku tomorrow and find more about her. Sango and Miroku had never liked Kikyou, but they seemed to take to Kagome.

 

XXXXXXXXXXX

 

Kagome flopped back into her bed. She was so tired and needed to get up early so she could study, but her conversation with Kikyou kept playing over and over in her head.

 

“I'm in.”

“Good.”

 

“What do I have to do?”

 

“Are you familiar with Sesshomaru Takahashi?”

 

“…Yes.” Sesshomaru Takahashi, the famous businessman. His company had been a member of the Fortune 500 since he was in his early twenties.

 

But Kagome could have sworn she had heard that name more recently than in the news…

 

“We believe his younger brother has possession of the stone. Your job is to charm it from him. Actually, I've tried to get it out of him before, but then we got another lead, so I abandoned the trail on the younger Takahashi. But now we're sure he has it.”

 

“And the younger Takahashi would be?” She was afraid to hear the answer.

 

“Inuyasha.”

 

Kagome groaned and face flopped into her pillow. That was great—just awesome. Not only was her cousin paired up with a man who was probably trying to resurrect a demon who would try to take over and destroy the world, but she had to get a soul-filled jewel away from a hanyou who already seemed to resent her existence.

 

How the hell was she supposed to do that?

 

A small plan began to grow in her mind.

 

Tomorrow, she'd do it. She'd get coffee and find Miroku…and his girlfriend. Didn't want to piss that woman off. They would be her link to Inuyasha.

 

With that she drifted off to sleep, dreaming of Feudal Japan and a long dead hanyou and miko.

 

XXXXXXXXXX

 

A/N: Ok, yeah. I like where this story is going, but I definitely get the vibe from it that it's not the story that the title or the summary describe. I know it isn't the story I had in mind when I started, but it is the one that I was thinking about by chapter 2 or 3—I don't really remember. Anyway, I'm not a fan of false advertising and I feel like the title and summary could draw in readers that are looking for something different.

So IMPORTANT: I will be changing the title and the summary within the next few chapters once I've thought of them. Look for it. I'll also let you know in an A/N before I make the change.