InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Turn Around Again ❯ Chapter 3

"Turn Around Again" by Jezunya

Feh. All I own are some plushies, manga, and my ideas. Feh.

Hm… I was just reading over the first two chapters, and Inuyasha really is a potty mouth, plus themes & plot, so I'm up-ing the rating from PG-13 to R. Hope that doesn't discourage too many of you from reading ^^

Owowow!! I just got all four of my wisdom teeth out on the 2nd of January, and my mouth hurts soooo much!! *sniff* however, this means I can't really do much right now, so I have lots of writing time *pained smile*

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Kagome looked over at Inuyasha in surprise as he pulled the car over to the side of the road, somehow managing to maneuver out of the traffic to parallel-park by the sidewalk. "What are you doing?" she asked as he proceeded to shut off the car and remove the keys.

"We're walking from here," the silver-haired man replied shortly, opening his door and climbing out onto the sidewalk. Kagome scrambled out of her door to follow him.

"What do you mean?" she asked over the top of the car, trying to close her door and dodge on-coming cars at the same time.

"We're. Walk. Ing." He growled, slamming his door and starting off down the sidewalk.

"But why?" Kagome hurried after him, having to jog to catch up to his quick stride. "Isn't it safer in the car?"

"No." A moment later, he glanced back at her unhappy face and made a noise somewhere between a snort and a sigh. "We're probably being followed," he explained resignedly. "It'll be easier to lose any pursuers in this crowd on foot than in the car."

"Oh, ok," Kagome nodded, before her tone turned sarcastic, "except that a blind man could probably spot your hair from a mile away!"

Inuyasha stopped and turned to look at her, an odd expression on his face. Then he scowled. "Keh. Fine, we'll get out of the open. Come on," he said gruffly, setting off down the sidewalk again.

They walked for a few minutes more, when Inuyasha stopped abruptly and turned to enter a small, run-down shop. "What are you doing?" Kagome hissed, following him into the shop.

"Getting out of the open," he hissed back, "Now shut up."

The shop seemed to be some kind of bar, dimly lit and filled with smoke and the smell of old beer. Kagome wrinkled her nose and tired to ignore the way the people all stared at her as she passed. The place had a distinct ancient feel to it, and the strange hair, eyes, pointed ears, and many tattoos on the patrons didn't help Kagome feel any more welcome. Why did they keep staring at her like that?

Inuyasha exchanged nods with the bartender, a tiny man with a puckered mouth and bulging eyes, and leaned across the counter to speak to him in hushed tones. "I was never here, and neither was she," he jerked his head in Kagome's direction, discreetly pulling out a wad of bills and passing them to the little man. "Got it?"

"Of course." He hesitated though, his bulbous eyes going to the girl behind Inuyasha and then to his customers beyond her. "This won't easily be forgotten, though. It's not everyday a miko comes through here…"

Inuyasha just snorted and straightened. "I trust you can take care of it."

He nodded distractedly and waved them on, and Inuyasha made his way around to the back of the shop, motioning for Kagome to follow him. For her part, Kagome was thankful when they exited through a door in the back wall and finally got away from all those prying eyes. The door opened into a long curving hallway with a concrete floor and plaster-white brick walls.

"Where are we?" Kagome finally asked, jumping a little when the door slammed shut behind them.

"Myouga's… he's an old friend," Inuyasha mumbled, leading the way down the hallway as he pulled out his gun again. He hated how this building curved so much; he couldn't see more than ten feet ahead of them.

"So where are we going now?" Kagome asked, looking around at the blank walls.

Inuyasha gave her an irritated glare. "Do you have to ask questions every two seconds? It's getting annoying."

Kagome sent her own glare at his back and folded her arms angrily. She wasn't asking that many questions.. How could he blame her for wanting to know where he was taking her? For all she knew he was some perv who liked to mess with teenage girl's heads… and bodies… With a little shiver, Kagome unfolded her arms to hug herself nervously.

"You know, I agreed not to scream…but that doesn't mean I trust you."

"Good. You'd be an idiot if you did."

Kagome frowned and tried to keep up with him. "Well you're not exactly doing a very good job of convincing me that you're not kidnapping-"

"Would you mind shutting up?" he suddenly interrupted her, glaring at her once more. "I can't hear a damn thing with you chattering away all the time."

Kagome raised an eyebrow as he turned away again, holding his gun at the ready as they rounded more curves in the hall. She had always been a rather quiet walker and Inuyasha seemed to have almost in-human stealth for his part, so beyond the sound of her own soft foot-falls was utter silence. What on earth was he trying to hear?

Inuyasha visibly relaxed when a pair of industrial white double doors came into view as the hall ended. He let his gun drop but didn't put it away just yet. "Stay close," he hissed, cautiously pushing open one door. They stepped into…

"A laundry room?" Kagome asked quizzically. It was a plain cement room lined with quarter-operated washers and dryers, the kind found in a college dorm or under an apartment building. The room was thankfully empty, the only noise coming from the water sloshing in a few over-balanced washers. Inuyasha made his way to the doorway on the opposite wall, glancing around down the hallway that led off in both directions.

He swore under his breath and pulled back from the doorway. "Sit. Try not to look suspicious," he ordered, a new note of urgency in his voice. Without even thinking, Kagome sat herself on one of the peeling benches and picked up a magazine that someone had left there. She began to flip through it as Inuyasha turned away from her, tucking his gun away again, and moved to stand as if he were waiting by one of the driers. Just then a guy walked into the room.

"Hey, Inu," the brown-haired boy greeted, smiling cheerfully as he went to wait by his washer.

Inuyasha just grunted and tried not to make eye-contact.

"Picking up your laundry?"

Grunt.

The boy smiled again, and then glanced over at Kagome. He blinked and the smile just got wider. "Hi there! You must be new; I don't remember seeing you around here before. I'm Hojo." He kept on smiling and stuck out his hand as he bowed politely.

Kagome gulped and took his hand hesitantly. Now that she got a good look at him, Hojo wasn't exactly a 'boy.' He looked to be at least a few years older than her, maybe even twenty. She felt a little blush beginning on her cheeks. "Higurashi Kagome," she said, letting him shake her hand enthusiastically. She could see Inuyasha watching them warily over his shoulder.

"So, did you just move in? I haven't heard of anyone new, but then I don't always hear about everything," Hojo grinned, folding his hands in front of him.

"Um, no.." Kagome began. What was she supposed to tell him? That someone was supposedly trying to kill her and Inuyasha had brought her here because he said he was protecting her? Her mind scrambled for something just a little more plausible. "Actually, I'm, ah, visiting some friends here," she smiled innocently up at him. Not that I know where 'here' is exactly…

"Oh really?" Hojo seemed to completely buy it, while Inuyasha glared and rolled his eyes behind him. "Did you get lost? I know it's kind of a large building, so I could help you get back to your friend's apartment if you like." That permanent smile was beginning to wear on her nerves…

"Um, actually, I'm, ah, here with Inuyasha!" She gestured past Hojo to the white-haired man who suddenly jerked up in surprise.

"Really?" Hojo turned to look at Inuyasha again, before his face once again broke into that unnerving smile. "Why didn't you say so? Is she your cousin or something?"

Inuyasha had to use some serious control to not fly into a rage right then and there. The little idiot was practically trying to get herself killed.. "Yeah," he finally ground out through clenched teeth. Lucky for her no one but he and Miroku knew anything about his family.

Hojo smiled yet again and turned back to Kagome. "So you're relatives, not going out? Then would you like to go see a movie some time while you're here?"

Kagome blinked. "Um…"

"Oh, look," Inuyasha cut her off sharply, pretending to look at his watch. "I just remembered we're supposed to have dinner with Miroku. Right now." He pushed past Hojo to haul Kagome to her feet and lead her rather forcefully out into the hall leading to the rest of the apartment building.

"See you, Higurashi-san!" Hojo waved cheerfully as she was dragged away. Kagome waved back half-heartedly, not wanting to be rude, before Inuyasha pulled her around a bend.

"What-" Kagome began, turning to him angrily once they were a good distance down the hall, but Inuyasha gave her such a glare that she shut her mouth immediately.

They rounded another corner and came to the elevator. Inuyasha pushed the call button with one hand, the other still clenched around Kagome's arm, and the doors opened to an empty elevator after just a few moments. He pushed her into the compartment, angrily hitting the button for his floor. Once the doors closed, he rounded on her. "Just what the hell do you think you're doing?!" he demanded, jerking her arm almost hard enough to wrench it out of its socket.

Kagome flinched and pulled her arm free of his crushing grasp. "What am I doing? You're the one who brought me here! It's not my fault we ran into that guy!"

"That doesn't mean you have to completely blow your cover and tell him everything!!" When Kagome stared at him blankly, he threw up his hands in exasperation. "You're pretty damn lucky that it was Hojo we ran into and not someone else, but even that idiot can talk - which means news is gonna get out pretty damn fast that I have a certain 'Higurashi Kagome' in my care. I hope you're happy, 'cause you just ruined any chance of us being able to keep this secret!" He huffed and folded his arms, turning his back to her.

Kagome just stood and thought about that, chewing her bottom lip as she watched her several reflections in the polished floor and wall panels. She really hadn't even thought that he would want it kept secret. If anything, she had thought it was good idea to come up with a reason for them to be seen together, and Inuyasha had seemed to play along well enough… So what was his problem? "Why's it so important that nobody know I'm here?" she finally asked, just as the elevator dinged and opened onto their floor.

Inuyasha gave her an irritated look as they stepped out into a large, nicely furnished lobby area. And not just nice, this place was NICE. Shining tile floors; expensive looking side tables and gold lamps dotting the walls; doors made of a rich, dark wood, with little gold numbers written all in cursive. Beautiful.

"You want the people trying to kill you to find you?" Inuyasha asked, breaking through her thoughts. Kagome's mouth just formed a little 'o'. She hadn't thought of that..

Inuyasha just snorted and lead the way down one hall from the lobby to his apartment. Kagome had to suppress a grimace when they reached his door. Floor 7, room 1313C. Boy, it was a good thing she wasn't superstitious or anything…

Inuyasha unlocked his door and shoved it open, stepping over the threshold before his eyes snapped up to stare across the room. The window was sitting open, the blinds trembling slightly with a small breeze from outside. There was someone in his apartment. He motioned for Kagome to stay right where she was as he pulled out his pistol and inched down the wall to the entrance of the kitchen. He couldn't tell who or what was there, thanks to the heavy odor of something burning on the stove, but he could hear someone in there, probably waiting for him. They had probably done that on purpose, so he wouldn't be able to use his nose. A thought which only further pissed him off.

With one last growl, he leapt around the corner, completely ready to shoot if he had to. Fortunately, it didn't come to that.

"Miroku?!" Inuyasha gasped, immediately lowering his gun from where it was aimed at his friend's forehead. The dark-haired man looked just a little shocked from where he sat at Inuyasha's table flipping through one of his usual magazines.

"Oh… Hey, Inuyasha, I didn't-"

"Hear me come in. Right." He made a face and quickly covered his nose. "What the fuck is that smell?!"

Miroku blinked and delicately sniffed the air, before leaping up and racing to the stove. "Shit! I didn't even realize it was burning!"

Inuyasha deadpanned. "And why are you cooking in my apartment?"

"Oh - I was cooking some soup down at my place but it boiled over before I realized it. Completely ruined the stove top."

"So now you have to come ruin my stove?!"

"Oh please, all you ever cook is ramen. Which is microwavable anyway. So technically you don't even need your stove."

Inuyasha just rolled his eyes and curiously picked up the magazine left on his table. Playboy. He whistled under his breath. No wonder he'd been distracted. Carefully rolling it up as if the very pages were poison on his hands, Inuyasha stepped up to the stove next to where Miroku was trying to put out the small flames on his Hamburger Helper™ meal. He calmly held the magazine over one such small flame and the paper promptly caught fire. Miroku suddenly looked up as more and more of his prized booklet disappeared in a burning puff smoke. After a minute, Inuyasha tossed what was left of it into the sink to smolder.

"Inuyasha!" Miroku growled, staring mournfully at the little pile of damp ash in the kitchen sink.

Inuyasha just snorted. "I don't care what you read on your own time, but don't leave that smut lying around my place, got it?" he said tersely, making his way back out of the kitchen. "Oi! Get in here!" he called toward the door.

"Eh? You brought someone with you?" Miroku asked, finally deciding that his dinner was officially ruined and dumping it in the sink with the magazine. Inuyasha rolled his eyes at him again as there was the sound of the front door closing and a teen-aged girl came into view. His eyes widened slightly. Who knew Inuyasha could pick up such a young, beautiful girl, even if she did look a little pale and tired..? And then he recognized her. "O my gosh," Miroku gaped.

Inuyasha just scowled and grabbed Kagome's arm, pulling her away into the living room. Miroku hurried after them. "I cannot believe this!" he said, staring at them in shock. Inuyasha let go of Kagome, allowing her to sink down on one of the couches, and turned to face the other man.

"Yeah? What's not to believe? She sitting right here, isn't she?" he growled, his hands clenching into fists. He was tired and irritable, his nerves were frayed, and he really just didn't want to deal with this right now.

"But why isn't she-"

"Shut up! I don't want to talk about it!"

"What?" Kagome cut in, looking between the two men nervously. "Why aren't I what?"

Miroku looked at her almost pityingly. "Dead."

Kagome stared at him wide-eyed, not sure what to say to that. "Well… Inuyasha did save me," she said softly, glancing at the whit-haired man. Miroku looked at him sharply as well. He was about to speak when Kagome let out a jaw-cracking yawn that she had been trying to hold in. She looked sheepishly up at them as the two men stared back in shock. "Uh… sorry?"

"Oh for crying out loud!" Inuyasha growled and grabbed her arm once again, pulling her up and shoving her towards what seemed to be a bedroom coming off of the living room. "Go to bed!"

Kagome hesitated, several scenarios running through her head. For all she knew these guys were both rapists, and she'd be defenseless if she went to sleep. On the other hand, Inuyasha had saved her life, and he could've had his way with her at any time while they were alone together, had he chosen to. Plus she was just now realizing how tired she was… Against what was perhaps her better judgment, Kagome finally just nodded and went into the bedroom, closing the door behind her and hoping that she wouldn't regret this later on.

After the door was closed, Inuyasha and Miroku stood and listened as the girl climbed into bed and slowly drifted off to sleep. Or rather, Inuyasha listened, and Miroku watched him intently, waiting for him to speak. Finally, when her breathing had settled into the soft, steady rhythm of sleep, Inuyasha relaxed, letting out a long breath before flopping down onto the leather couch that Kagome had just vacated and pulling off his hat.

Miroku chose that moment to jump all over him.

"Are you insane?!"

"…"

"Tell me, what could have possibly possessed you to jump in and rescue the girl?!" Miroku continued, pacing back and forth, seemingly oblivious of the weary scowl his friend was sending him. "It's bad enough that you refused the job, but to actively move against a client like this…" He broke off and flopped down onto the sofa next to the dog-demon, running a hand through his black hair.

"I know…" Inuyasha growled, glaring down at his hands. "I don't even know why I saved her…"

"Because she looks like Kikyou?" Miroku offered a bit sarcastically.

"Shut up."

A heavy silence settled over them as Miroku did just that, but continued to watch Inuyasha. One triangular ear had covertly twisted around to listen to the sound of the girl's quiet breathing coming from the bedroom, the other twitching and flicking almost spasmodically, indication of the hanyou's unrest. He clenched and unclenched his hands, watching his claws move and gleam, before, finally, he spoke.

"Who was the client, anyway?"

Miroku frowned. "You know the rules, Inuyasha. We do the job, they pay-"

"No questions asked on either end. I know," he growled, cutting the human off. "This is different, though!"

"Oh?"

"Yeah. For one: I didn't accept the job, so whoever-the-hell-this-is isn't my client, so I don't really feel all that obligated to play by the rules."

"Like you ever do."

Inuyasha snorted and continued, "The girl got me thinking… Why is she being targeted? According to her profile she's average at just about everything. She's not connected to anyone powerful or dangerous in any way. She doesn't even play any sports, so jealous teammates or opponents - or their parents - are out."

Miroku shuddered. "Good thing, too. I remember the last time I got a job like that. A little girl didn't make the soccer team. Nasty stuff…"

Inuyasha cleared his throat and looked away. "Anyway, this just doesn't strike me as 'normal,' y'know?"

Miroku nodded, understanding. "There's no motive. She's completely innocent. Except…"

"She looks like Kikyou," Inuyasha finished grimly, staring down at his hands once more.

"Inuyasha…"

"I was lead into killing Kikyou. And now someone is leading me straight to a girl who looks like she could be Kikyou's twin."

"You don't think…"

Inuyasha nodded. "Yeah. I'm the one being targeted, not her. The only reason she's even involved is because she happens to resemble Kikyou."

"Hm. It's possible, I suppose," Miroku mused. "So the only other question is who…and why."

Inuyasha's eyes darkened. "Probably some sick bastard who found out more than was good for him, and decided I needed to pay for all my killings." He muttered, "Wouldn't surprise me at all…"

The phone on the side table beside them rang just then, and Inuyasha scowled at it sourly before picking it up. Before he could answer, though, the person on the other end spoke.

"I know you have the girl, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha felt his blood run cold. "Who is this?" he demanded.

"It's a pity, really…you could have been great."

"Who the hell IS THIS?!"

The voice remained calm, as if he hadn't just been yelled at by an angry dog-demon. "Now I'm afraid I'll have to take her and her cargo by force. A pity, really."

"WHO-?!" He was cut off abruptly as there was a click and the connection went dead.

Miroku stared at him as he dropped the receiver back onto its cradle. "Did you trace it?" he asked softly, wary of his friend's apparent anger. Inuyasha glanced at the small black set of equipment hooked up to his telephone/answering machine combo; it was always on so he could trace any and all calls that came in, but now it was just blank. Inuyasha frowned and tapped the little screen with a claw.

"What the hell-? There's no signal!"

Miroku stood up and came around to look at it as well. "That's… very odd. Who ever it was must have had some way of blocking you."

Inuyasha sat back on the couch, folding his arms and frowning in thought. 'Who ever it was'… Who was it? "The voice… it sounded familiar," he finally said aloud.

Miroku stopped inspecting the tracer and looked over at him. "What do you mean?"

"I mean…" Inuyasha trailed off and shook his head. "I don't know, but I could have sworn that I've heard that voice somewhere before…" Miroku watched him closely as he stood and began to pace around the living room.

"What did they say?" he asked after a moment. Maybe that would give them some clue…

"He said he knew I was protecting Kagome… and that now he'd have to take her and her cargo by force… What the hell did he mean by 'cargo'?"

"So you're sure it was a he?" Miroku asked. Inuyasha nodded. "And you're sure you've heard their voice before?"

"Yes. I can't remember when or who, exactly, but I know I've heard it before! Maybe there's something in here…" He trailed off as he disappeared into the kitchen and bent down in front of the wastepaper basket in the corner of the room. Carefully, so nothing would fall out, he pulled out the manila folder holding the girl's profile. He'd thrown it away earlier that day, after deciding that he wanted nothing to do with the job. Maybe he'd missed something in there..

Miroku shot up and ran to the kitchen when he heard Inuyasha yell. The half-demon sat on the tiled floor, sheets from Kagome's profile scattered haphazardly on the floor about him, staring down at one sheet in his hand. "Inuyasha?" Miroku approached him cautiously.

"I think I found something," the dog-demon said, climbing to his feet and shoving the paper at Miroku. He took it and peered down at the type before glancing back up at Inuyasha again.

"What's this?"

"The last page in her profile," Inuyasha said grimly, "And check out what it says about half-way down."

Miroku frowned and scanned the page. His lip curled when he found what Inuyasha must have meant. "'…Once Target is eliminated, deliver body to…' That's disgusting!" Miroku exclaimed. "What kind of sicko would want the girl's body after she was dead?"

Inuyasha folded his arms and leaned against the wall, thinking. After Kikyou had been… killed… someone had broken into the morgue where her body was being kept before they were going to cremate her. They had stolen her body, only to leave the torn up remains on Inuyasha's doorstep the next morning. A little note had been found attached to her. It had simply said 'What a pity. I didn't find what I wanted. I'll just have to keep looking. I may decide to employ your services again in the future.' In the bottom corner had been a small spider logo, the same sign used by the man who had hired him just before he was tricked into shooting Kikyou.

"Now I'm afraid I'll have to take her and her cargo by force. A pity, really."

It all pointed to him: Naraku.

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Whoo.. So Inuyasha suspects who's been setting him up ^_^

Review! Don't ask when the next chapter is coming out, cuz I DON'T KNOW!! WAHAHA!!!! *ahem* sorry.. too much vicodin @.@