InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The S-android ❯ Hanyou Detector ( Chapter 10 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Disclaimer: I neither own Inuyasha nor make any money by writing this story. That being said, the S-android belongs to me along with the numerous original characters and places you will be introduced to during this adventure.

“Talking”
Thinking


Chapter 10: Hanyou Detector

The loud bass of upbeat music from downstairs echoed from the dirty walls and sent tremors through Kagome’s legs with every small step she took in the long, dimly lit corridor. Up ahead, one of the countless doors slid open and someone stumbled outside, followed by an ear-piercing screech. The figure looked humanoid except for his grey, scaled skin and the two small slits in the middle of his face where a nose was supposed to be. His opalescent clothes were rumpled, and he was fastening his belt as he shouted back toward the room. The language was foreign to the young maid, and the sounds he made were not much different than a snake’s hiss.

The alien took a startled step back when a black object that resembled an oily tentacle reached out of the room, aiming for his throat. Still fumbling with his belt, he hurried away from the door, paying no attention to the group of strangers as he passed them.

Miroku’s pace did not falter as he led them farther down the corridor. While they passed the wide open door the snake-man had exited from, Kagome glanced into the room from the corner of her eye. Two beautiful, turquoise eyes stared back at her on the stunning face of what the young girl assumed was a woman based on the sight of her naked torso. Long raven hair cascaded down creamy skin until it reached the curve of her hips. Emerald scales covered the lower half of her body that spiraled down to curl into a heap on the floor while she hovered there like a cobra coiled for attack. A mischievous smile played on her blood red lips before her tongue—the long, black tentacle that had attacked the snake-man—glided out and reached toward the passersby.

A growl rose behind Kagome, and the creature snapped her mouth shut with her eyes wide in fear. The young maid knew without a doubt that Sesshoumaru’s terrifying glare was trained on the resident alien. In the last few days, she had seen enough of him to learn that it was his way of scaring away unwanted attention.

It worked every single time.

The girl bumped into Sango’s back when she failed to notice that her party had stopped in front of a nondescript door. Miroku knocked on it softly and smiled at the room’s occupant after it slid open.

“Oh, my! The handsome merchant is back! What brought you here this time, honey?” cooed a sweet voice with an accent Kagome couldn’t place.

Miroku chuckled. “Nice to see you too, Taira. I was looking for Inuyasha. Have you seen him lately?”

“No,” replied Taira with a sad sigh. “My dear Inu hasn’t stopped by for a few weeks.”

Kagome flushed with anger at the familiar way the woman spoke of him. Still, curiosity urged her to take a peek over Miroku’s shoulder. The woman was stunning with hair the color of cherry blossoms, eyes the color of amethysts and legs that went on forever until they disappeared under a small piece of cloth that barely covered her hips. The maid’s mouth popped open, and feeling inadequate, she tugged at her cloak, hiding her body under the thick fabric.

“How’s the little one been?” asked Miroku, earning a confused frown from Kagome and a happy giggle from Taira.

“Oh, he’s been great,” the gorgeous woman exclaimed as she pulled a small child into her arms. “But, he’ll be much happier when daddy comes to visit.”

Kagome’s heart dropped to her feet when her gaze fell on the little boy who was staring back at her with a perfect imitation of the large, soulful golden orbs she knew so well. The dog ears peeking out of the mess of silver hair on his head twitched as his eyes took the young maid in.

She felt dizzy. Neither Taira’s nor Miroku’s words registered in her mind until another female joined the group. This one looked as perfect as the first apart from her very large, very pregnant belly. A toddler with the famous silver hair and doggy ears crawled by her feet, looking at the strangers with curiosity in her golden eyes.

Her limbs trembling and her mind in a daze, Kagome watched as the newcomer declared that she hadn’t seen the hanyou for a while either. Once a third woman appeared from another doorway, hands full of twin babies whose looks required no question to their heritage, the young maid finally snapped out of her stupor.

“No,” she whispered as she forced her legs to take a step back from the terrifying scene. She couldn’t move, though. Invisible arms held her in place, forcing her to see the pity in Miroku’s eyes and the disgust on Sesshoumaru’s face while Sango growled curses and death promises aimed at the missing hanyou. Her chest heaving with dry sobs, Kagome begged to be released, but no sound came out of her mouth. She struggled with all her might until finally an anguished scream ripped from her throat and reached her ears.

Kagome opened her eyes with a gasp. Her throat was dry from panting, and her cry still rang in her ears. Her panicked gaze took in the glowing white walls of the small room until her mind registered where she was. A relieved sigh left her lips when she realized she had been dreaming again.

Groaning, she pushed herself up against the pillow while kicking at the tangled sheet. After a few moments of struggling, she gave up with a huff and pulled her legs, along with the damp sheet, to her chest. She rested her head on her bent knees, and her fingers gripped her hair in frustration.

The nightmares had started after their first landing. Having received a good deal of threats from Sango and Sesshoumaru, Miroku had reluctantly lead them to a night club — the one in her dream — where they found one of the fugitive’s ‘acquaintances.’

Despite her inexperience, Kagome had been able to decipher the nature of his relationship with Taira based on the woman’s wicked smile and the sultry tone of her voice when she had talked about him. Her suspicions had been confirmed on their way back to the ship when Sango had started on an incessant tirade about the hanyou’s latest defining quality they had discovered: a man-whore. The young maid had been upset at her lady’s continuous insults concerning her once precious S-android, but she could neither blame the older woman nor dispute her comments — not after having met more girls like Taira during their subsequent landings.

Kagome wound her arm around her flat stomach. Taking a deep breath, she reminded herself that despite the accuracy of most details in her dreams, the dog-eared toddlers and round bellies were unfounded additions of her sadistic subconscious. Of course, the fact that she hadn’t encountered another offspring of his didn’t mean that there was no other.

That particular possibility didn’t sit well with her.

Before she could ponder why that was, Jaken’s annoying voice drifted into the room from the intercom, making it clear what had woken her from her slumber. He rudely declared that she was expected on the command deck, and Kagome scoffed in irritation.

There was only one reason she was called into that room.

Even though it was still disturbing, the ritual to locate the hanyou had become a habit in the last few days, much like eating. It hadn’t been as frequent at first, but since she had sensed that he was headed away from Mars while they were preparing to land, Sesshoumaru had made sure that she checked his whereabouts every couple of hours. She couldn’t complain, though. After all, it was the sole purpose of her presence on his ship.

She was his ‘hanyou detector’ as the little imp, otherwise known as Jaken, had kindly put it.

Heaving a sigh, she pushed the sheets down and grudgingly climbed to her feet. Not bothering to tidy the bed, she shuffled to the adjacent bathroom to freshen up. What she saw in the mirror there did not brighten her mood. Her hair was a mess; her skin was paler than usual; and the dark circles under her eyes were a testament to her restless sleep. But what really disturbed her was the way her image stared back at her.

She had never seen her eyes so dull before.

Closing her eyes, she turned her back to the mirror. She was losing hope; she knew it. However, she didn’t need her image to scream it back at her.

Back in the room, her gaze fell on a shiny black piece of cloth lying at the foot of her bed. Right before their first landing, Sesshoumaru had shocked her by giving her a form-fitting leather suit to wear. He had explained that the material was specifically designed to subdue her scent and with a pointed glance at her belly, he had added that it would keep others from discovering what he now knew. Kagome had been mortified to find out that he was aware of her situation but still had the sense to thank him for being considerate of her privacy. Of course, the stoic man had brushed her off, claiming that he had no desire to look out for his compass while he already had one idiot to chase after.

Shaking her head, Kagome reached for the suit and started dressing. That had been the only time Sesshoumaru had been forthcoming with information. She had asked him how she was able to track the fugitive and why he was after him, but he had always dodged her questions.

His reluctance to share information did not deter him from asking his own questions, though. And like the idiot she was, Kagome found herself relaying her life’s story to this stranger in bits and pieces that slipped from her tongue whenever her temper rose or her sadness weakened her defenses.

And those moments haven’t been exactly rare, she thought as she took the familiar route to the command deck. The little bit of information he had shared had only increased the young woman’s inner turmoil. Apparently, Sesshoumaru’s kind — Jaken had called them ‘demons’ once — had a keen sense of smell among other superior abilities. They could track someone by their scent as well as detect what their target had eaten for breakfast, with whom they had recently been in contact and in her case, whose child they were carrying in their womb.

It was scary.

It was disturbing.

But most of all, it was infuriating.

Her anger only grew with the suspicion that Yash had known that she was pregnant and yet, he had left regardless. Even though they called him a ‘hanyou,’ she had no doubt that Yash was a demon as well. She didn’t know if he had indeed been able to smell the changes in her before he left, but if that wasn’t the case, she wasn’t going to let him find out through his nose until she was ready and willing to share that particular information with him.

Besides, despite how tight it seemed on the outside, her new suit was surprisingly comfortable. She snorted at that thought. She could certainly live without her skimpy uniform.

The door to the command deck slid open before her, revealing the lord and his servant in their usual positions. Miroku looked up from his one-sided conversation with Sango and gave the young maid a tentative smile. Sango, with flushed cheeks and murderous eyes, turned her back on the merchant and stomped to Kagome’s side to assume her usual position behind her younger friend. With a tired sigh, Kagome nodded at Jaken, who wasted no time to turn on the map.

Closing her eyes, the girl braced herself for the onslaught of emotions and whispered, “Here we go again.”

A red sky hung over mountains of junk metal, deformed and partially dissolved due to decades of exposure to the poison that was the atmosphere in this God forsaken place. The only sign of life was the lone figure of a man, grumbling and pacing in front of a huge cave. Finally dressed in his usual attire, the dark leather of his snug pants and long coat were in stark contrast to the dirty white of his shirt and the silver-white of his long hair.

Inuyasha hissed in discomfort as he readjusted the mask that covered his mouth and nose. Even though his skin was strong enough to handle brief contacts with the air around him, he wasn’t willing to risk breathing the deadly substance directly into his lungs. He was glad his dreaded periodical transformation had taken place during his journey and he had been back to his usual self before he had landed. Otherwise, he would have had to endure wearing more than a measly mask to survive in this environment.

The wind picked up, sending dark clouds his way. His eyes narrowed as he took in the ominous masses threatening to pour burning acid over the barren lands of Zaehir — the junkyard of this part of the galaxy. His pacing came to an abrupt halt, and he whirled on his heels to face the cave.

“Oi!” he yelled toward the light pouring out of the cave’s large mouth. “Are you done yet, old man?”

“Almost,” answered a muffled voice from the depths of the large, natural tunnel.

“Almost,” repeated the hanyou, lowering his voice to a deeper, scratchier level in a close imitation and scrunching his face up in irritation. “How much longer,” he added loudly, praying he wouldn’t have to play word games for the rest of his visit but knowing that it was hopeless.

A low chuckle reached his ears before the voice replied, “Patience, young friend.”

Inuyasha’s cursed ear started twitching in annoyance. “Damn you, Cheeko,” he grumbled before he resumed his pacing with a renewed vengeance. His claws tapped an impatient beat on the handle of the gun hanging from his belt. He had been in Zaehir for longer than he would have liked and he was getting antsy. He cursed once more, this time aiming at the seekers of the jewel. Had the fuckers not been so eager to catch him, he wouldn’t have felt the need to change transportation as often as he had.

His first stop had been Mars, where the generous general — the father of the strawberry blonde he had charmed — thanked him for safely escorting her daughter by landing him a ship to aid the rest of his ‘business’ trip. The ship had been a good piece, but it was a part of the general’s fleet. It would have been dangerous to continue his journey with it in case he had been discovered. Changing transportation as often as possible was a good way of throwing his followers off the track — something he hadn’t had the time to do before he had reached Earth.

In his defense, he hadn’t had time to stop and think when his ship had been destroyed during the fight that followed right after he had taken the jewel. He had jumped into the closest ship then and couldn’t have done a thing about the fact that the damn thing had been a part of the imperial fleet. His trackers had had direct access to his every move, and they had been right on his tail even when he had reached warp-speed.

He wasn’t comfortable with the results of that mistake and he was doing his best to avoid it this time.

With that mindset, he had made a few more stops, trading or stealing ships on his way and always staying away from certain people and places he had frequented in his previous journeys. Zaehir was the one place he had least enjoyed visiting, but the fact that he was there solely for business helped him endure the disturbing environment for the time being.

The fact that Cheeko was the best off-the-record mechanic in the galaxy was not something he could ignore in his current position. That old man had set up shop in Zaehir, the place no one sane or lawful visited unless it was to dump their garbage. To Cheeko, it was a heaven where he could find all the spare parts to build the fleet of ships he then traded to those in need. His eyes had sparkled with excitement when Inuyasha had shown up with a brand new ship he had stolen and demanded to exchange it with one of Cheeko’s rebuilt ones.

The ships the old mechanic made were off the grid, which would provide the hanyou with relative safety from his trackers. It was a good thing too since he wasn’t planning to make another stop until his next destination: meet Naraku’s man at the Black Hole and get rid of the jewel.

In tandem with his mind, his free hand sneaked inside his coat and his fingers delved into a hidden pocket nestled over his heart. Taking hold of the small object resting in there, he released a relieved breath; all the trouble he had been through because of that little pink ball had made him paranoid lately. Bringing his hand out, he loosened his fist slightly to peek inside. ‘Pinkie’ lay in his palm as dormant as it had been since before he had left Earth. The silent calm he had received from the widely sought-after jewel was simply gone.

Something had changed.

He couldn’t understand why or how since he hadn’t even touched the jewel while he had been otherwise occupied with his little mistress. He knew she hadn’t been in contact with it either. Regardless, even though his mind couldn’t pinpoint what it was, something was clearly missing.

What if it posed a problem with his customer?

A sharp exhale through his nose signaled his increasing frustration, and he tucked Pinkie back into his pocket. It didn’t matter what the bastard thought. He hadn’t gone through so much trouble for nothing. He had done what no one else could, and now, he deserved his reward. Still, he had no mind to mention the change in the jewel.

…just to be safe.

Thunder boomed from up ahead, shattering the silence of the dead lands of Zaehir and resonating through mountains of junk metal surrounding the area. Inuyasha glanced at the now dark sky when a raindrop, wet and hot, landed on his cheek. “Shit,” he cursed as his skin sizzled and burned. He didn’t need further persuasion to return to the safety of the cave and he stomped through the wide entrance, wiping at his cheek with his sleeve and growling in agitation.

Inside, the ground was paved with a web of rails used to transport ship parts to the various workstations scattered around the large space. The rest of Cheeko’s crew was working on these stations with the assistance of archaic robots while the genius mechanic was busy with the finishing touches on the hanyou’s new ship.

Inuyasha’s growls ceased when he noticed one of Cheeko’s apprentices — a young woman with long, purple hair and a tall, voluptuous figure — biting her lip as her dark eyes raked his form hungrily. She had made it obvious early on that she had a thing for his animalistic features, which should have been flattering. Instead, he felt exposed and uncomfortable.

This was why he had stayed outside and risked getting burned in the first place.

Feeling like a coward, he practically fled to Cheeko’s side and hid behind the barrier that the leg of his new ship provided. He guessed the apprentice was pretty since all the women that were confident enough to come onto him had been attractive. He hadn’t looked long enough to form an opinion, though; he couldn’t be bothered to do so. His most recent experience on the route to Mars and his subsequent lack of will to try again had taught him that he now preferred them with dark hair, blue eyes and the sweetest floral scent.

And a warm smile on her pink lips.

Nothing less seemed to earn the approval of his recently picky dick. Luckily, he had more urgent matters to attend to than the reasons behind his current lack of ‘appetite.’

“Why else,” he grumbled as he sat on a metal box next to where the upper half of Cheeko’s corpulent body disappeared into the depths of his new ship. “My dick’s being a dick; that’s why.”

“Did you say something?”

Inuyasha glanced at the old mechanic to see him leaning down to look at him with the single eye nestled in the middle of his forehead. The smoky color of his thick, elephant-like skin accentuated his bright green stare. His round belly almost touched the ground as he bent at the waist, making the hanyou wonder how he managed to fit his giant body into the small hole under the ship.

“Nope,” he answered, folding his legs under him and getting more comfortable on his perch.

One of Cheeko’s four surprisingly bony arms came down to point at the hanyou with the wrench in his hand. “That’s my newest toolbox, you know,” he informed seriously.

Inuyasha glanced at the shiny but simple box that seemed pretty insignificant to him and raised an eyebrow in question. “So?”

The mechanic’s long, red mustache twitched as he smirked. “So, don’t go peeing on it, dogboy.” Snickering at the growling hanyou’s incredulous expression, the old man turned his back to rummage inside yet another toolbox by his feet.

Inuyasha opened his mouth to retort with a curse or two, but his voice died in his throat. He winced in discomfort when he felt the now familiar tug at his heart. His hand covered the spot while his brows furrowed in annoyance. It drove him crazy that the weird sensation kept coming back with increasing frequency. Still, he was glad that he no longer fell to his knees every time it happened.

If he stopped resisting, it wouldn’t hurt as it did now. In fact, it would be the opposite. He knew because he tried it.

Once.

It had been the third time it had happened after his unpleasant experience in the shitty bathroom of the Mars shuttle. He had been exhausted due to lack of sleep for days, and when the pull had returned, he had slouched back in his seat in the cockpit, closed his eyes and simply let the sensations wash over him.

It had been surprisingly gentle, reminding him of soft caresses of dainty fingers and coaxing out of him a longing he hadn’t acknowledged that he carried.

It had been warm and comforting like coming home… wherever home was.

It had been reassuring as if nothing and no one could touch him if he just stayed.

It had most certainly been a mistake.

The moment he had come back to his senses, he’d found out that he had turned the ship around and had been heading in the opposite direction. Since then, he had refused to succumb to the treacherous siren’s call that insistently threatened to ruin his efforts to finish his task.

When the episode was over and he could breathe again, he noticed Cheeko’s curious stare trained on him. The mechanic snorted as he wiped his hands with a cloth that looked dirtier than his oil coated fingers. “You owe me for that,” he grumbled.

Confused, Inuyasha followed the old man’s gaze down to the toolbox he was seated upon only to find out that his claws had dug into the lid of the box, crumbling the tough metal like a piece of paper. “Shut up,” he muttered as he released his hold on the ruined lid and flexed his fingers to relax them. “I already gave you a shiny new toy for that piece of shit you call a ship.”

Cheeko huffed in annoyance at his insult. “This piece of shit,” he said as he patted the slightly worn surface of the ship’s underside, “is ready to go if you’re done sulking, dogboy.”

Inuyasha’s ears perked up. “Fucking finally!”

Eager to leave, he jumped to his feet and patted Cheeko on the shoulder in a manly show of appreciation. He snickered at the old mechanic’s mock scowl and the female apprentice’s disappointed huff as he leaped up to the door of the ship.

“So long, old man,” he yelled before he disappeared inside in search of the control room. Yanking the mask off his face with a groan, he rubbed the abused skin of his jaw as he reexamined his new home for the foreseeable future.

The ship was bigger than the others he had used lately. It even had a couple of cabins he doubted he would ever need. Still, it would look like a bee next to the intergalactic monstrosities roaming through space, which was good for many reasons. It was easier to stay undetected with an inconspicuous piece of junk. Besides, he didn’t have a crew to help him fly a ship the size of a metropolis.

The small control room housed two seats, both of which were covered in worn leather. Settling on the left side, the hanyou checked the panels for good measure before starting the engine. As the ship lost touch with the ground, the cave’s roof slid open with a loud groan for his departure. He ascended slowly until he passed through the wide gap. Once the ship was safely out in the open air, he increased the power and shot through the sky with a scream of excitement.

In less than an hour, he was happily out of the atmosphere. He set the coordinates to his next and hopefully final destination before he would be free to go wherever he liked. With a single touch of his finger, the ship switched to warp speed and was gone, leaving its shadow behind.

Golden orbs stared down at her with unconcealed passion within their swirling depths. The fact that her eyes were closed couldn’t wipe the image away from her mind. His whispered words that had once soothed her now drove her to the brink of madness as they echoed in her ears insistently.

“I am real… when I’m with you.”

No.

“I am real…”

No.

“I am real…”

No!

Kagome clutched her hair painfully as she shook her head in a desperate attempt to chase away the memory, but neither his husky voice nor the vision of his smoldering eyes would leave her alone. Huddling farther into the corner, she hugged her knees to her chest.

In her heart, bitterness fought against sorrow and despondency, helping her see his deception in a new light. The jerk had had the gall to tell the truth to her face, knowing that she wouldn’t notice the blatant truth staring back at her. And, what she had understood from his concealed declaration turned out to be a big fat lie.

Even though he indeed was a real person, everything about him had been fake when he had been with her.

The passion.

The tenderness.

The fact that he belonged to her.

The unspoken promise that he would stay.

Nothing about him had been real. What did it matter that he was flesh and blood like he had secretly admitted when she was ultimately left behind?

“Liar,” whispered Kagome as she wiped at a lone tear trailing down her cheek. Even though she had gotten used to her sessions with the map, the aftermath was still hard to handle. Her emotions were a jumbled mess, making it impossible to focus on anything else. Because she detested the idea of the others seeing her like this, she quickly made a habit of hiding in a deserted corner of the ship far away from the control room.

After they had reached their current destination but before they entered the atmosphere, Sesshoumaru had made her use the map again to confirm that the fugitive had not moved on. He hadn’t, and that finding both terrified and excited the young maid. Unable to deal with her conflicting emotions, she had escaped to her corner in hopes of calming down without the scrutiny of prying eyes.

He was so close.

Finally.

And, she still didn’t know what she wanted to do when she saw him.

Soft footfalls broke through her misery, startling the young woman. She looked up to see two long legs clad in dark, loose pants before their owner slid down the wall, settling himself next to her on the floor.

“Quite a nice little corner you have here,” he commented as he appraised the dimly lit, empty hall with raised eyebrows. “Very cozy.” His dark blue eyes slid to her small form; the amusement within them barely concealed his pity. “You wouldn’t mind sharing, would you?”

Leaning her head back against the wall, Kagome released an exasperated sigh. “What do you want, Miroku?”

“Nothing,” said the merchant with a careless shrug of his shoulder. “I noticed that you disappear after every time you do your hocus pocus.”

“I just need peace of mind for a few minutes,” she snapped immediately, making it clear that she wanted to be left alone.

“Of course,” mumbled Miroku, unfazed by her attitude. However, he made no move to leave.

Silence stretched as they sat side by side. Even though he made a show of ignoring her, she could feel his gaze on her every few seconds. She fidgeted nervously, waiting for him to spill what was in his mind until she couldn’t take it anymore. “What? Spit it out.”

Miroku beamed despite her obvious hostility. “How do you do it?” he asked as he eagerly turned to face her.

The young woman blinked in confusion. “Do what?”

“How can you tell where he is?”

“Oh…”

Kagome bit her lip as she considered his unexpected question. She didn’t want to share the knowledge of such an intimate experience with anyone, but she wanted to know why it was happening and Sesshoumaru was not willing to help. Miroku was his friend. Perhaps, if she told him how she was able to sense the hanyou, the merchant would be able to tell her why she could. It was that tiny hope that propelled her to try to explain.

“It’s like…,” she started only to realize that she didn’t have the words to articulate her experience. Taking a deep breath, she tried again, “When I’m…” Stuck once more, she added her hands to her endeavor, wildly gesturing to her chest as she whispered, “There’s this thing…”

The thing. How could she describe it when she didn’t know what it was? An unbreakable, untouchable and invisible string that somehow bound her to him… At least, she assumed it was him. When put into words, it made even less sense to her, killing the small inclination she had to voice it.

With a huff, she grumbled, “I just can, okay?”

Miroku stared at her in silence as if he could read her mind if he tried hard enough. Suddenly more nervous than she’d been before, Kagome started playing with a lock of her long hair that fell over her shoulder. She didn’t notice that one of her hands strayed to her neck, her fingers circling the mark they exposed until she heard the merchant gasp. She snatched her hand away, covering the spot with her hair, but it was too late.

“What did he do to you?” asked Miroku.

The young woman glanced at him tentatively, wondering if he meant the bite mark or if it was a more comprehensive question. In either case, wasn’t it obvious? She scoffed, irritated by his concerned expression and his incessant probing. “What do you think?” she snapped.

“Well, I know, but…” Sighing in exasperation, he sagged against the wall and laid his arms over his bent knees. He turned his head to return her glare. “Why are you so angry?” he demanded with more determination than he had shown so far. “I mean, yes, he lied, we lied, but it’s not like he had a choice in the matter.”

When Kagome opened her mouth to protest, he held up his finger. “No, let me finish. He really didn’t have a choice. It was I who pushed him into this situation, okay? You just showed up right after he did, and then the soldiers were at my doorstep. Sending him with you was the only way to protect him. He couldn’t tell you the truth, and you can’t tell me that you wouldn’t have given him away if he did.”

Taking the young woman’s silence as confirmation, Miroku pressed further. “Did you ever stop to think how he feels? You used a real person as your S-android, Kagome. I don’t think that’s any different than having a personal sex slave in this case.” Ignoring the furious blush that rose on her cheeks, he continued heatedly, “Do you think he liked being ordered to bed like a whore? You act like he enjoyed it but you didn’t while you were the one that made the decisions.”

Kagome stared with her eyes wide, her mouth agape and rage bubbling beneath her skin. “I... I…,” she stuttered before a frustrated cry escaped her throat. “Argh! I did no such thing! He was the one that started it all! I opened my eyes one night to find him on top of me, you idiot. And then I…” She stopped abruptly when her brain caught up with her mouth and she realized what she blurted out in her anger and what else was about to follow. Blushing profusely, she mumbled, “Well, it just got out of hand after that.”

“What the…?” The disbelief in the merchant’s voice urged Kagome to peek at him from behind the curtain of her bangs. Now he was the one who looked like a deer caught in headlights. “You mean Inu…?” he started to ask, seeking her gaze. When Kagome averted her eyes in shame, he exhaled sharply through his nose.

It took Miroku a few moments to open his mouth again. “I… I can’t… Dammit. I can’t believe he did that! I know I sent him with you, but I never thought…” He shook his head, refusing to believe what he just heard. “There has to be another explanation for this. The Inuyasha I know wouldn’t initiate something like that, Kagome. He’s not like that with women.”

His last comment struck a nerve within the young woman. Had the merchant not been there as they had confronted almost as many flings of the hanyou’s as the light-years they had traveled in the last few days? Her shame forgotten in favor of her incredulity, Kagome’s eyes snapped up to stare at him pointedly.

Miroku rolled his eyes. “I don’t mean that he hasn’t taken advantage of his good looks before, I just…” A sigh of frustration ended his awkward defense. Taking a moment to sort his thoughts, he turned to face the young woman. His eyes were soft when they captured hers, and if it had been a couple of weeks ago, Kagome would have believed their sincerity without an ounce of doubt.

“Look,” the merchant started solemnly. “You won’t believe me, but I’m not trying to defend him for the sake of some twisted asshole code. I will be the first one to admit that he’s a selfish bastard who stole from others for personal gain and even killed people in the process. He certainly doesn’t have many redeeming qualities, but he’s a firm believer in free will. If there’s one thing he will never do, it is to force himself on an unsuspecting, innocent girl. I know this. I know him.”

The intensity of his stare and the certainty in his voice were getting to the young maid. Kagome tried to break eye contact, hoping it would protect her walls from the impact of his words. But, the merchant wouldn’t let her.

“And, I think I know you, too… even if a little,” he said as he craned his neck to keep her gaze. “I saw you. Every single time you escorted Sango to my place, I saw you. You were always so innocent and hesitant; I knew you wouldn’t use him as an S-android’s meant to be used.” Shaking his head, he chuckled darkly. “It seemed like the perfect plan. He’d be safe with you, and you’d have a little excitement in your life until he found a way out.”

Kagome bit her lip as she watched the merchant try and solve the puzzle she had presented. He was right in his assessment of her. She wouldn’t have started anything no matter how much she wanted to. Her cheeks flamed at the memory of just how much she had actually wanted to. Could he be right about his friend, too? Was there an explanation that didn’t make the hanyou a lying, opportunist jerk?

The poor girl’s heart skipped a beat at that thought, and that was enough to bring her back to reality. Even if she assumed that the merchant was being honest for once, it didn’t change the fact that what he suggested was to search for the impossible while the sad but obvious truth glared her in the eye: He was a lying, opportunist jerk. It pissed her off that she considered the possibility of an alternative for even a moment.

Why was she so eager to find some good in him?

The answer lay within her body, happily growing each second she agonized over its father’s wrongdoings. Her arms wrapped around her waist as if to protect the innocent soul in their embrace from the ugly emotions consuming her suddenly tired soul.

Could her baby feel what she felt?

“God, I...,” whispered Miroku, bringing her attention back to him. “I can’t believe… It doesn’t make sense.”

Resting her head against the wall, Kagome sighed in exhaustion. “Nothing makes sense to me anymore,” she grumbled. She closed her eyes, thinking the conversation was finally over and the merchant would leave her alone now.

She was wrong.

“I wonder one thing, though.”

Kagome bit back a groan and refrained from looking at him, fearing that the action would encourage him to continue. But, the renewed enthusiasm in Miroku’s voice told her he was going to anyway.

“How did you find out that he wasn’t a droid?” he asked. “I mean, you didn’t notice all that time when you were… you know… together. You only found out after he was gone? How?”

Once his meaning registered, Kagome’s eyes snapped open in panic. How could she explain that she hadn’t suspected a single thing while she had been intimate with him but figured his deception only after he was gone? The answer was simple: S-androids were not designed to knock you up. However, that wasn’t something she wanted the merchant to know, at least not until she decided whether she wanted to share the information with his precious friend. Seeing how hard he tried to defend the notorious thief for the last hour, she doubted that he’d keep her secret from the hanyou.

“Oh… umm…,” she mumbled, trying to stall for time while her mind desperately searched for a diversion. “It-it didn’t make sense that he was gone, and... and…” Right as she felt she like she could cry from frustration, her fidgeting fingers came in contact with a piece of paper safely tucked into the pocket of her suit. The girl sighed in relief before she brought it out. She turned it over and over in her grasp, noting that its edges were worn out from frequent use and the constant rubbing of her fingers, before she offered it to the merchant. “Here.”

It was weird that the note that had broken her heart was now her savior. Even weirder was the fact that her fingers refused to release their grip when the merchant tugged at the note. Fighting her unreasonable reluctance to be parted from the object that had tortured her ever since the moment she had laid eyes on it, she let the confused man take it.

Miroku’s brows were furrowed in curiosity as he unfolded the tiny square with care. Kagome watched his expression change from confusion to shock, back to confusion, and then to her chagrin, to amusement as he read.

“Well,” he commented with a smirk once he was finished. “That was nice of him.”

Appalled at the merchant’s reaction to the words that made her blood boil, Kagome snatched the note back with a murderous glare sent his way.

Miroku raised his hands defensively. “I’m just saying that he could’ve left without a word.”

“He did leave without a word!”

Ignoring her protest, the young man continued, “I’m surprised, though. He not only left you a note to explain his absence but also warned you about what is to come. Curious, indeed. The Inuyasha I know wouldn’t have bothered at all. It was a risky move on his part, and it makes me wonder…”

Kagome waited for him to finish, but he sat there staring at her in thought. His gaze moved over her huddled form, assessing her as if he was seeing her for the first time. When she could no longer take his silent scrutiny, she snapped, “What?”

“He’s protective of you,” he concluded, astonishment in his voice and in his wide eyes.

Kagome scoffed at the absurdity of his comment. “It seems to me that the only one I needed protection from was him,” she grumbled.

“Really?” Miroku asked with an eyebrow raised in challenge. “If you think he’s dangerous to you, then why are you going after him?”

Mouth hanging open, the girl stared at him in surprise. Before she could even form a response, Jaken’s squeaky voice rang in their ears, announcing that they were entering the atmosphere.

“We better buckle our seatbelts,” muttered the merchant. Climbing to his feet, he extended his hand to help her up. Coupled with the soft smile on his face, the gesture reminded her of an olive branch. When she accepted his offer, his smile turned into a wide grin.

“Come on,” he urged with a mischievous glint in his eyes. “You’re gonna just love the Black Hole.”

End of Chapter

Author’s Notes:

#1: See? I didn’t make you wait another year for this update. Progress! The original version of this chapter turned out to be longer than I anticipated, so I had to break it into two chapters. That means the next update will be coming soon.

#2: The S-android won 3rd place in Best AU category at IYFG (3rd term, 2011). Thanks to Sparkling Snowfall for nominating it and to everyone who voted for it!

#3: He’s My Girl won 1st place in Comedy at IYFG (3rd term 2011). Thanks to ananova for the nomination and to everyone who voted!

#4: I am sad to learn that the IYFG is closing now. The guild was there when I started reading fanfiction and lead me to many of the best stories this fandom has to offer. The announcement of its end felt like the end of the fandom too. Still, I know many people who have more stories to tell. We’ll be here as long as you’re reading!
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