InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Uptown Girl ❯ Chapter 39 ( Chapter 40 )

As the sun slowly sunk across the eastern plain, gracing the pine trees with its crimson presence, Hakkaku pulled the rusty Chevy-S10 in front of the garage of Jade's mountain cabin home. With a sigh, Koga exited the truck as Kagome and Sesshomaru exited the cabin, having heard the truck come down the driveway to investigate their presence.

 

“Good to see you out of the hospital, Koga,” Sesshomaru commented as he addressed the wolf. “May I ask the reason for your presence here?”

 

Not really looking for a fight, considering his still slightly healing wounds, Koga replied, “I received a letter from Jade saying that I could pick up my ride.” He glared at the guard dog as he continued, “If you don't believe me…”

“That won't be necessary, Koga,” Kagome interjected as she laid a hand upon Sesshomaru's arm, holding him back. “Jade left me a note as well, explaining what was going on. Here.” She opened the second garage door with the spare remote Jade had left for this sole purpose.

 

As the door slowly opened, the group caught the first glimpses of Koga's beloved Bronco… as it sat under a fair sized army canvas, giving every one a great look at it's new black tires. Slightly irked at the continued delays, Koga with the help of Hakkaku and a rather reluctant Sesshomaru slowly removed the tarp to reveal his `baby.' Once the offending tarp had been removed, Koga laid his eyes on his beloved Bronco. His jaw dropped open as the shock of what he saw registered upon his face.

 

“Oh… Koga…” Kagome gasped in amazement as well as shock.

 

 

“Naraku…” a voice called out over the camp. Pulling himself from his meal of fire roasted rabbit; Naraku wiped his mouth with a napkin before emerging from the tent.

 

Spotting the other male, Onigumo streaking toward him at a dead run, he asked, “What was so damned important that you interrupted my dinner?”

 

“You remember… when the wolf bitch left… that you wanted to know… if she or another wolf came back,” Onigumo explained between gasps of breath, not used to the physical exertion.

 

Recalling that he had said something to that effect, he replied, “Go on…” as he rolled his eyes slightly, wishing the vile man would hurry up with his explanation.

 

Having caught his breath, Onigumo continued, “That wolf that brought her home earlier this month is back. He's talking with the guard dog.”

 

At hearing the good news, Naraku's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree, as the wheels in his mind began to turn. “So… he's come back to claim his bitch. This will prove to be interesting. Now to use this to my advantage…” he thought as he pondered a few moments longer, digesting his next move.

 

Turning back to the henchman, he asked, “Does the wolf seem upset at her absence?”

 

“No… now that you mention it, he didn't seem perturbed at all about her absence. It's almost like he knew that she was gone,” he replied with a shake of his head.

 

While running his fingers through his hair, Naraku thinks, “Maybe he's knows where she is and that is why he's not upset.” Turning back to Onigumo, Naraku commanded, “Follow the wolf to where ever he goes. I've an idea that he'll go to his bitch and when he does, you let me know and I'll take it from there. She owes me… owes me big time for what she did… the humiliation of being beaten by a bitch.”

 

Seeing his leader's eyes bleed from coal black to red as he thought about the wolf bitch that had disgraced him, Onigumo quickly left the area, knowing that he was about to see a side of Naraku that no body knew about, except for his close family. Onigumo had seen the dark side of his cousin, and let's just say the images still haunted him. As he moved down the well traveled path to Jade's home, he thought to him self, “Why did I agree to even do this? I know what kind of person he is and I'm afraid of what he'll do to those women when he gets a hold of them.” A shiver of fear ran down his spine as he thought back to the last time he'd seen the dark side of his cousin, fear of being at the wrong end, that is

 

Quickly he moved back to a position that was up wind from the demons, so as not to draw them to his hiding place. As he settled in, watching through binoculars and listened through some specialized hunting equipment, able to pick up ever sound that was made, they unveiled Koga's Bronco. Even at the distance he was at, Onigumo swore under his breath at the sight that was before him. “Damn, she really knows how to work maintenance magic,” he thought as he eavesdropped on the conversation below.

 

 

Tears welled into Koga's eyes as he placed a loving hand upon the deep blue body of his Bronco. Jade had done a complete make over on his ride. No longer was his Bronco held together with rust, baling twine and good old mud. Now it was as if it had been driven off the Ford lot so many years ago.

 

The battered blue body had been replaced with some major body work, consisting of new fenders, door panels as well as a new coat of paint or three of deep blue. The former roof of peeled and cracked vinyl had been replaced as well with a white hard top. As Koga walked around the vehicle he noticed that Jade had even had the interior redone as well. Instead of the old vinyl seat, new seats had been installed and covered with seat covers in black, with howling wolves. The bench seat in the back was also refinished, sporting a similar cover as the front bucket seats. The instrument panel had also been replaced, sporting new gauges and covers. The only original item left was the rear view mirror, but it sported a little sand blasted howling wolf in the corner, a finishing touch to an awesome ride.

 

Koga stepped back from his beloved Bronco, tears threatening to fall down his face as he looked at all the work that had gone into refurbishing his vehicle. He recalled what Jade had said in the letter about `not doing body work,' so he knew that under the hood, the engine looked as good as the exterior, without even looking.

 

Silently, a lone tear slipped down his face as Kagome came up behind Koga, placing a hand upon his shoulder. “She said that you would do that as well, Koga,” Kagome commented as he wiped the tear from his face.

 

“What else did she say?” he asked, turning back toward Kagome, tears still shining in his eyes.

 

Pointing toward the driver-side wiper blade, Kagome replied, “Look for your self.”

 

Koga looked to where she was pointing, and then quickly retrieved the envelope. With the swipe of a claw, he opened the letter and read it threw.

 

Dear Koga,

 

Wish that I was there to see the look on your face. I bet it was priceless, considering that you didn't even know what was going on. You can thank your brothers for keeping this from you as well. Sorry if I got them in trouble because of this. Anyways, now that you have wheels, feel free to do as you please. As I said before, you know where to find me, but knowing that you were asleep most of the drive up here, I've enclosed a map to get you at least as far as town. You'll have to find the rest of the way on your own.

 

Anyways, I hope that you like what I've done to your Bronco. Consider this as my way of saying thank you for all that you've done for me.

 

Forever yours, Jade

 

Koga read the letter a few more times, trying to make sense of it all. “What is she trying to say?” he thought. He looked into the envelope, pulling out a road map with a route highlighted from where he stood to the town just outside of the ranch. A slight smirk crossed his lips as he knew that she did this just for him, practically begging him to come to her. “I'll be there as soon as I can, my love,” he thought, as he carefully refolded the map and letter, placing them in back in the envelope and into his back pocket, with the second one.

 

“So what are you going to do now?” Hakkaku asked once he saw the smile cross his brother's lips.

 

Looking into his younger sibling's eyes, he replied, “What do you think? I'm going after her of course. But I'm not going to leave until the morning, thus giving me a chance to actually get a decent shower and some clothes.”

 

With an inner smirk, Hakkaku was glad to see his brother's spark of life come back into his eyes. Hearing that he was determined to get Jade back brightened his day. After a few more minutes of admiring, Jade's gift to Koga, the duo of Hakkaku and Koga drove back down the mountains, back to the bar and house beyond, each in their own vehicle, deep in their own thoughts.

 

 

As the two wolves pulled out of the drive way, Onigumo moved back to the mountain camp, to report on what he saw. Once the report was given, Naraku ordered him to follow the wolf demon to where his mate was located and to call him once she was located. He would personally take care of the wolf bitch. As Onigumo took his leave of the crazed man, a sickening laugh of pure evil filled the slight clearing, nearly ringing off the trees, sending a cold shiver down the petty thief's spine as he grabbed his own ride to follow the wolf to his woman. He drove down the mountain toward the bar, where he knew the Solobo brothers practically lived. Once spying the like new Bronco parked near the house that stood a ways off from the bar, Onigumo pulled into a vacant lot, parking to where he wouldn't be seen by the casual driver, and waited until the wolf left.

 

“I hope that this doesn't get ugly,” he thought as he recalled his vile cousin's plans and his previous history with women. Let's just say that it even made the petty thief cringe as he recalled the screams of pain and horror as the women were tortured. Once Naraku was done with them, the bodies disappeared, never to be found.