InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Killer Inside ❯ The Killer Inside ( Chapter 14 )

EEEEK!! It's been months! My B-day is today, btw; I'll be older than I was last year. I got one of my birthday presents a bit early. My parents bought me a laptop. I've named it Jack. Mainly because the desktop my father gave it was Jack Sparrow running from the cannibals. Cannibals are funny, savvy? Of course pygmy cannibals are funnier…

I don't own these characters, Takahashi-Sama does. I don't own any music either. I do, however, own Maire.

 

Chapter 14: The Killer Inside

…And she believes in me.
Well, she believes that time can make things right.
And I want to believe that there's been a change in me.
[Chorus:]
And I hope that she believes.
Yes, I wonder if she sees the killer inside me.
Lyrics: “The Killer Inside” by Better Than Ezra

 

Rin blinked as Inuyasha dragged her cousin from the room.

“What on earth was that all about?” And why did I feel as if I was witnessing some sort of intimate moment? That shouting match, it was like foreplay! And the look on Inuyasha's face… Rin had never seen such clear, raw pain on any being's face before. Neither had she ever before seen the kind of desire she saw in his eyes when he looked at Kagome. I'm not the only one in the family who's going to have a demon mate. Shaking herself, she turned to look at her mate and her new father-in-law, an expression of confusion on her face.

“Kagome is helping him search for clues to see if they can solve Kikyou's murder. Unfortunately, Yash can get a little… caught up in things at times.” Toga shrugged and smiled sadly at her. “I think he gets it from me.”

Sesshomaru sneered in the direction the two had left in, his clenched fist belying his relaxed posture. “Father, please do not make excuses for him. Inuyasha is rude, insensitive and oblivious to propriety in all its forms. There is little more to it than that and I for one am more than a little sick of it. As much as I disliked the fact that his mother was human, she was a credit to her race and decidedly taught him better manners. He has insulted my mate and her cousin. I would fully be within my rights as both his superior and his elder to demand an apology.”

“Sesshomaru,” his father warned lightly, “you were not present for much of Inuyasha's formative years and so have no understanding of the prejudice and hate he faced on a daily basis, from both demons and humans. His mother and myself did as much as we could to prevent him from being exposed to it, but the fact remains that he was shaped by those experiences. While that does not excuse his behavior, it does explain some of it.”

Rin bit her lip, concerned that she was witnessing an argument between her beloved and his father. Although she had met him less than an hour ago, she had immediately liked her father-in-law and had felt quite at ease in his presence. For a while, she had been concerned that he would look down on her for effectively marrying Sesshomaru before even meeting the family, but he had welcomed her with open arms, literally. She could tell that he adored both of his sons, though he seemed a bit at a loss with Sesshomaru's coldness at times. He appeared to be in his late fifties, though she knew he was much older than that. There were slight smile lines at the corners of his mouth and eyes. Those lines set her at ease, telling her that he enjoyed life and knew how to laugh and love. It gave her hope. Maybe someday Sesshy will have smile lines as well…

“Father,” she intoned politely, hoping to divert the attention of both men. “I am so honored to finally meet you. My mate holds you in very high esteem and I can see why. Your devotion and love for your family, even when you are upset with them, is obvious and beautiful.” She smiled sweetly at him and laid her hand on her mate's thigh, low enough to be proper but high enough to shut him up.

Love him to death, but if he keeps trying to get in an argument with someone, he's going to have one with me. He's the alpha male everywhere but here and it stings for him to acknowledge that, I know. She sighed internally and glanced over at her mate. He's chomping at the bit for a fight but maybe I can distract them both for a while… She turned her full attention to her father-in-law then. “I'm aware of a link between our families but I'm unsure when it began or why. Perhaps you would care to explain?”

“I would be honored, Daughter. It's a very long story, though and even Sesshomaru is unaware of much of it.” Rin saw her mate raise an eyebrow at that. “It began over a thousand years ago when I first met Midoriko.”

“I was not aware you were acquainted with Midoriko, Father,” Sesshomaru interrupted. “She was a very powerful miko, was she not?”

Rin nodded. “She was the most powerful miko of my line. I've heard that only Kikyou ever came close to rivaling her powers.” She saw the taiyoukai smile at that.

“Oh, I think Kagome might be a close second,” Toga smiled. “Actually, I believe Kagome might be her reincarnation. As she came up the steps, I felt a familiar soul approaching and when I saw her it was obvious whom she was. It would only make sense, really. Inuyasha is the reincarnation of Midoriko's mate. They would naturally be drawn together.”

“Father? I'm a bit confused here. Midoriko, the legendary miko, had a demon mate?”

“Three-quarters demon actually. Masaharu's mother was a hanyou.”

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes at his father. “I recognize that name. I had a playmate named Shiori and I believe her father was called Masaharu?”

“Yes, she was named for her grandmother,” Toga confirmed. “Shiori the hanyou died before Masaharu could reach adulthood.”

“So I also knew the great Midoriko?” Sesshomaru shook his head confusedly. “I vaguely remember the girl's mother but the face of her father is a blank to me. Something happened to them, I remember that. But I was little more than a pup.”

Toga nodded. “You were a little older than six when we lost them. Min insisted that you not be told about what had happened. She felt that it would be traumatic for you and asked that I never discuss it with you unless you asked.”

“I am asking now.”

Toga sighed. “It was meant as an attack on me, truly. Masaharu's rank insured that he was constantly being threatened. But he was strong enough to defeat almost any opposition and I didn't worry much for him. His mate was strong as well and as much as my courtiers feared her, I felt she was a good addition to the court. She was wise and I trusted her counsel. It was she who encouraged me to take Min as my mate.

“Shiori was only a few months younger than you, Sessh. The two of you kept the court busy and we didn't notice the threat until it was too late. There was an uprising; many lesser youkai and oni felt threatened by Shiori's parents and their influence over me.

“While Midoriko took her daughter to see their human family, there was an attack on their village. I felt Masaharu call out to me and I rushed to his aid but I was too late; by the time I got there he was gone. He had died defending his mate and child, both of whom were fatally wounded. The whole village was slaughtered; the only survivor of the attack was Midoriko's great-niece, Kada, a girl in her early teens. Her own miko powers had protected her, but had I arrived a moment later, she would also have died.

“As she lay dying, Midoriko drew a promise from me; I would defend her line, protect and nurture them through the generations.” Toga smiled up at his Rin and she thought he saw tears in his eyes. “As you can see, I kept my promise. Her line lives on in Rin and Kagome and nearly a hundred others. Because of Midoriko, they were like my own family to me. I could do no less.”

A great sadness welled within Rin and in that instant she knew that Masaharu had been more than just a friend to Toga. She moved to his side and knelt before him, holding his clawed hands in her own. He held her hands back and lightly squeezed them.

“Izayoi,” she whispered. “She and Min and Shiori the hanyou; they were all the same woman. They all had the same soul.”

“Yes,” he whispered, almost too softly for Sesshomaru to hear.

“And Masaharu was your son.”

“Yes.”

Rin took her hands from him then, sat beside him and wrapped an arm around his back. “I'm sorry, Father. I didn't mean to remind you of this pain. Please forgive me.” Rin leaned her head against him and smiled as she noticed that Sesshomaru had joined them on the small loveseat, his hand on his father's shoulder.

“I had not realized.” The younger man's voice was tinged with a sadness that only those who knew him well would hear. “You have done well by your promise, Father and I am grateful.”

“I was not a good father to you, Sessh. I allowed my grief for Masaharu to keep me from you. By the time I'd realized what I had done it was too late; you were grown and there was no way to take back the neglect.”

“It was not until Inuyasha came along that I realized what my relationship with you lacked.” Sesshomaru averted his eyes, looking towards the window as he spoke. Toga looked at his son and sighed.

“I truly apologize. There is nothing I can do now but-”

“Be a better grandfather than you were a father,” Sesshomaru cut him off quickly. “It's the least you can do.” Toga smiled and the gleam in his eyes should have warned his son.

“Already?” He looked back and forth between the blushing pair on either side of them. “You must not leave the bed very often.” Rin blushed even more.

“Father!” Sesshomaru sputtered. “It is of course a possibility, but not extremely likely. True, her scent has changed, but it may just be the change in our status. I do not think either one of us is ready for… pups,” he choked the last word out. Rin raised her own eyebrow, biting her lip to keep from laughing. Well, he's certainly not ready for kids! “I feel like an old lecher admitting this, but Rin is barely out of puberty and I am-”

“Much older than I was when Masaharu was born.” Toga grinned, winking at Rin. She rolled her eyes at him. Apparently teasing the slightly repressed Sessh was an old past time of his. “You know, Min was only forty when I took her as my mate. In demon terms, she was little more than a child. Izayoi of course was much younger; eighteen, I believe. Sessh, I was a grandfather at your age.”

Sesshomaru's left eyebrow began to twitch, his slow to boil temper finally getting the better of him. “And you will be a grandfather again. But not now.”

 

 

808080808080808080808080808080808080808

 

Inuyasha could do little more than stare at the screen, his attention captured by the line of blue text. A clue! Finally, even if it's just one line, it's more than I had a week ago. His heart was thumping so loud he was sure Kagome could hear it; still, he sat and stared at the screen for an endless moment, almost afraid to look away.

“So…” Kagome said, breaking the silence. “Do you want me to find the site? Or would you rather do it on your own?”

“I'd-“ He paused a moment and cleared his throat. “I'd kinda like to do it myself, but since you're here, and we'll be sharing the info anyway, we can go to it now. Kikyou obviously wanted you involved.” Kagome switched chairs with him, then scooted up to look over his shoulder.

The page contained a single image, a photo of Kikyou sitting on the stairs to Rinoko's front porch. She wore a pale grey skirt and a sleeveless white blouse. Even in the dead of summer, she'd looked cool and collected. The slight smile on her face was familiar; it was the smile he had felt was reserved only for him. Was it really only for me? Or was it something she used often on whomever else she was screwing?

Inuyasha remembered taking the picture; they had been on their way to a barbeque at a client's house. Kikyou had brought her camera along and Yash had scoffed at her.

“Why bring the damn thing? You never take any pictures,” he remembered saying.

“But I might get inspired,” she'd replied.

“You're never inspired. You're afraid of wasting film.” He remembered taking the camera from her and waving her onto the steps. “Here, I'll take a picture. Then you'll have to take some more because otherwise it's a total waste of film.” She'd rolled her eyes at him but complied.

Kagome cleared her throat and he realized he'd been glaring at the screen. “Sorry,” he muttered.

“It's ok,” she soothed, smiling at him. “I'm sorry there's not more here. I wonder if it was taking up too much bandwidth so they deleted most of the page?”

“Or maybe it's another clue.”

Kagome looked at him a bit doubtfully. “It could be, but what could she be trying to say?”

“Well,” Inuyasha hedged, “she's trying to get us to look for something, right? Maybe there's a hint in the picture?”

“It's a picture of her sitting on the steps of your house, Yash. There's not even anything else in the picture, just her and the steps.”

Inuyasha shook his head. “I don't know, Kagome. I remember taking that picture and something's telling me that there's more to this than just a picture on a webpage. I just have to remember what it is.” He looked over at her and shrugged. “It's just a gut instinct, but I generally listen to my gut. It's rarely wrong.”

Kagome grinned at him and winked. “That's `cause it's usually asking for food.”

He raised an eyebrow and she giggled. “And yours isn't? I seem to remember feeding you just about every time you've come over to my house, Miss Bottomless-pit.” He leaned back and made a face. “You wanna go back out and see your cousin? Or do you wanna skip it seeing as my asshole brother will probably ruin any chance of you having a good time?” Kagome started to laugh in earnest.

“He's um…”

“An ass?” he prompted. Kagome shook her head. “A prick? Evil incarnate? Effeminate? The complete opposite of your bubbly little cousin?”

“The last one! I can't understand… I mean I'm sure that underneath that ice cold shell, he's a nice person, but Rin is…” Kagome shook her head. “She's sweetness personified. She's slightly empathic and can usually set a person at ease within a few moments. It's a skill she uses to her advantage as much as possible but rarely abuses. Not that she can't be mean or petty or even a little bit evil at times, but I've known her all her life; she's sweet and kindhearted most of the time. Sesshomaru scares me a bit.”

“In what way does he scare you?” Inuyasha asked, a bit concerned. “I know I told you he sometimes eats raw demon meat, but that's a nutritional thing, honest. And yes, he's killed a few humans before, but you and Rin are of Midoriko's line. He's not allowed to hurt you. Dad's got some strong rules about that one, the set in stone type.”

She shook her head. “I'm not afraid he'd hurt me or Rin. It's just that… he's so cold but it's not much more than skin deep. Underneath, there's an inferno. I can see it raging, just barely in check. Someday that ice is going to melt and I don't want to see it.”

“Dad says he's like his mother, Min;” he mused quietly, “refined but deadly. However, I've never ever seen him as protective of anything as he is of your cousin. Part of him is almost always touching her, even if it's just his leg as he sits next to her.”

“Is that a youkai thing?”

Inuyasha frowned a bit. “Yes, sorta. It's kinda like he's making sure she's got his scent on her, as well as his powers protecting her. I've also seen humans act that way too, especially in a new relationship and he literally only took her as his mate a few days ago. I wouldn't want to stop touching my mate, either, with the bond that new. I've never seen Sesshomaru do anything like it before, though, so it disturbs me.”

“Maybe he's never had a reason to.” Kagome shrugged. “As cold as he is, he obviously adores her. And Rin seems pretty happy. I've never seen her smile the way she does at Sesshomaru.”

He laughed, remembering greeting the new couple at the door this morning. “Sessh was almost civil to me this morning, you know? Maybe she'll be good for him. At least he'll learn to tolerate hanyou better.” Kagome giggled at the grin on his face. “I have no doubt he'll be a father in no time, to a whole brood of hanyou.”

“And Uncle Inuyasha will teach them all kinds of ways to torture their poor daddy, huh?” Kagome shook her head and smiled. “You're terrible.”

“It'd be Uncle Yash. And yes, I will.” He looked at her thoughtfully for a moment. “You wouldn't happen to know any spells that would make me an uncle sooner, would you?

“Inuyasha!” She rolled her eyes at him and picked up a paperback from his desk to throw at him. He caught the book and tossed it behind her back on the desk, then grabbed her hand and pulled her out into the hall, laughing.

He'd made sure his grip was gentle so he was surprised when she started to pull her hand away.

“Inuyasha, let go.”

“What? Did I hurt you?” He looked at her hand but there weren't any red marks or scratches. When he looked up at her face, she averted her eyes.

“No. Just- please let go.” She looked back up at him briefly but turned away again, tugging her hand back. He felt as if she'd slapped him. She's just like the rest of them, he thought. Damn it, I'd thought she was different.

“Don't want the hanyou to touch your pure skin, huh?” he snarled, throwing her hand down.

“Argh! You idiot!” she shouted, “It's not that at all!”

“Then what is it? You were all laughing and shit until I touched you, then you turned all ice bitch,” he snarled, trying to hide his hurt with a menacing look.

“You are such an idiot,” she cried. “I'm an idiot. Yash, I was having fun with you! Too much fun. I like you a lot and I don't want to ruin the friendship we've got started here with a stupid thing like wanting you. It's not right! For one thing, I just met you; I don't even know you, for gods sakes! And I don't sleep around, so that aspect of this kinda disturbs me. You've been through too much to have to deal with some loony kid looking for more from you than you're ready to give. For another, do you have any idea how strange it feels to want to jump your dead cousin's fiancé?”

His heart nearly stopped. Did she just say what I think she just said? Oh sweet fucking gods don't do this to me! Inuyasha took a deep breath. “No stranger than it feels to want to jump your dead fiancé's cousin, I'm sure.”

“What did you just say?” Inuyasha could hear her heartbeat speed up, could feel the heat from her body intensify. Her cheeks flushed and her eyes grew wide. It took all his will power not to crush her to him right there.

“You heard me, bitch.”

“Don't call me `bitch'.” She glared at him. He glared right back.

“I'll call you whatever the fuck I want, bitch,” he growled, stepping towards her. Back off, Kagome, he thought at her, back off and I can calm down. But of course, she didn't back off.

“How dare you!” she fumed, stepping closer to him, craning her neck to look up at him with snapping brown eyes. She stood there in his hallway in a pair of sweats and a tank top, her hair wild with no makeup and only her natural scent on her skin. He had never seen anything more beautiful in his life. Her anger just made her all that much more alluring. “First you accuse me of not wanting you to touch me because of your heritage, as if I was some sort of racist or something! Which forces me to confess something I would rather not have admitted. Then you admit to wanting me as much as I want you and when I express disbelief you jump down my throat, call me a bitch and then spout some macho bull-”

She didn't get any further because he'd swiftly closed the few inches that separated them and locked his mouth to hers.

She tasted of cinnamon, coffee and an underlying sweetness that was pure Kagome. For a moment she froze, as if in protest or in shock, but she soon started to return the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck as he gripped her waist. Slowly, he pulled her closer, wanting to feel her against all of him. She felt wonderful, her curves fitting perfectly to his hard muscles. When she released a small sigh of pleasure, his heart rate jumped. Her hands traced patterns on his neck and back, then moved up into his thick white hair.

The soft touch of her tongue to his lips encouraged him to deepen the kiss. Slightly surprised by her sudden forwardness, he opened his mouth to her, allowing her to explore the contours of his mouth before he took the kiss back over. He could hear and feel the racing of her heart as she slowly ran her tongue over his fangs and teased his own tongue with gentle prodding and delicious friction.

With a groan he pulled her even closer, one hand pressing into the hollow at the small of her back and the other sliding up her back to cup her neck. She shivered and replied with a moan of her own before he felt her fingers slide up his head to his ears. His eyes about rolled back into his head and his knees nearly buckled. He leaned heavily against her until they were both backed up against the wall. She was plastered to him like wet paper and it felt damn good.

He broke from her lips to press kisses along her neck and behind her ear, nipping at her jaw as she gasped. He could feel himself tremble as she ran her fingers down his chest and over his abs then reach around and dig her fingers into his back, breathing his name.

“Kagome,” he moaned. “Mmmm. Kagome, this is…”

“Wonderful,” she breathed, her voice soft and husky.

“Yes, it is that…”

“Mmmm,” she murmured, her lips teasing his jaw. Damn it, I can barely see straight, he thought. How the hell am I supposed to tell her to stop when I don't want to?

He pulled away from her and leaned his forehead against hers. Eyes tightly closed, he concentrated on just breathing for a moment and relished the feel of her against him. When he opened his eyes and saw the pain in hers, he knew he'd made a mistake.

“Kagome-”

“You regret it, don't you?” Her voice had a sad quaver in it that he'd never heard before, but knew he never wanted to hear again. “I'm sorry. I won't-” She started to pull away but he grabbed her upper arms and kept her in front of him.

“Not in the way you think,” he whispered, kissing her forehead. “You're not some loony kid with a crush. I want you, Kagome. I'm starting to need you, as well. And I care about you, about what you think and how you are. I worry about you when you're not with me. It scares the crap out of me.” He swallowed and leaned away from her a few inches, holding his hands out for her to see. “I used to think these were good hands. Good, strong hands. They've built and mended and protected. I want to use them to protect you, to give you what you want and need. But what if they did something unforgivable, Kagome?”

“You are not a killer!” He could smell her tears before he could see them and it tore at him. She threw her arms around him and buried her face in his chest. “You are not a killer,” she whispered. He returned her embrace, breathing in the softly floral scent of her hair, wanting to stay there with her forever.

“Not consciously, not unless there's no other choice. But what if there's a killer inside me?”

 

 

 

 

Author's Note:

Hello!! I've done something a bit strange here. Sorry! There is a reason and I'll tell you when I figure it out.

Then I did something else. I stole a name from Scathachdhu. In her story Trust, posted on mediaminerdotorg, Masaharu is Inuyasha and Sessh's father. Trust is fairly lemony and so not possible to post on FFdotnet but I really loved it. I feel that the name here is a bit of a tribute to her because I just re-read Trust recently and I love her Trigun story, Not Quite Worthless. She kinda never finished it, but I don't begrudge her that; we writers do have a life beyond fanfiction. Please forgive me for the name stealing, Scathachdhu, but the name came to mind as I was writing and it felt right.

I also want to apologize to ya'll for how many months it's been between updates. With my new (awesomely wonderful) job, my new house and how tired I've been lately, it's been hard to find time to write or even to be inspired.

If anyone can name the 80's fantasy movie I stole one of Inuyasha's lines from, you get to pat yourself on the back. You're as much of a dork as I am. J/K Hugs and kisses to you all!!

Songs for this chapter: The Killer Inside and A Southern Thing, Better Than Ezra. Shade and Ana's Song, Silverchair. All Along The Watch Tower, Hendrix. Are You Gonna Be My Girl, Jet. Hallelujah, Rufus Wainright.

Next chapter: What is up with Kikyou's weird clues?