InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Uptown Girl ❯ Chapter 46 ( Chapter 47 )

As Naraku led his team of kidnappers toward their new base of operation, he thought of all the devious things he had planned for the woman in his trunk. A depraved smile crossed his lips as he thought, “The pleasure of her screams will be music to my ears as I take her again and again. Tonight… tonight I'll teach the wench why it's a mistake to tell me `No.' She will learn to appreciate me.” His laughter rang throughout the car, filtering through the back seat and into the trunk.

 

 

Kagome's swollen eyes leaked more tears as she heard the horrific cackle of her captor. “Please… someone… someone save me!” she thought as she tried to stifle her sobs. “Sesshomaru…” her thoughts turned toward her boy friend. Knowing that he'd find a way to save her, and yet, Kagome knew that he probably wouldn't find her in time. New tears formed in her eyes as she thought about him, from his long silver tresses to his soft yet firm voice.

 

“I've failed you… How will you ever be able to be with me after…” unable to even think about her fate, Kagome succumbed to the darkness, letting her tears trail down her cheeks as she cried herself to sleep once more.

 

 

Following the ugly green Dodge, Muso, Kagura and Kikyo were deep in thought. Each looking at what had transpired that now resulted in them becoming fugitives. Kikyo was only slightly upset over the outcome of Kagome's abduction, seeing as she was still wanted for assault. With her addiction to the fiend Naraku, she'd abduct a hundred or a thousand Kagomes for what he did to her, and how it made her feel; almost like the girls of Charles Manson did she worship Naraku so.

 

As for Kagura, her thoughts focused more on the unexpected cat attack by Jade's felines. She'd barely had time to treat her wounds before Naraku demanded that she wipe the camp site clean with one of her wind attacks. Unfortunately with all the dirt flying in the air, her wounds had become infected. As deep as the claw marks were on her forearms, the dirt and debris were able to settle in; causing a horrific pain and a foul odor began to form. She'd hoped that by the time they'd reached the mountain hide out that Naraku would give her time to cleanse the wounds properly before demanding anymore work. Sighing at the futility of her desires, Kagura leaned closer to Muso as she tried to gain comfort of any sort from him.

 

Muso gently patted Kagura's leg, offering her what he could in the form of comfort. He'd been able to smell the slight foul odor oozing from her arm and knew that they needed to get her arms treated soon or it would grow worse, to the point that he'd have to take her to the hospital, despite their currant fugitive status. He turned his thoughts toward the man responsible for all this, Naraku.

 

“If he wasn't my sister's lover, I would have told him to go to hell,” he thought as he flexed his grip on the steering wheel.

 

Suddenly, the green Dodge Monaco they had been following veered off the paved highway onto a barely visible dirt road. “What the hell?” Muso swore as he braked fast enough to make the turn behind the Dodge, sharp enough to disrupt Kagura and Kikyo without rear-ending the trunk of the car.

 

Kagura looked out over the barren landscape, seeing nothing but sage brush, scrawny cedars, wild grasses and an abundance of lava rocks for miles around. “Where the hell is he taking us?” she asked of no on in particular. “This doesn't look like the mountains like he'd told us about. We'll be caught for sure out here.”

 

With a bit of an exasperated sigh, Kikyo replied, “While you two were kidnapping the girl, Naraku looked over the maps and found an out of the way old lava field, out in the middle of no where…”

 

“Yes… and just what has that got to do with anything?” Kagura snapped, wishing to slap the smug look off Kikyo's face.

 

With an `are you stupid' look on her face, seeing that she was going to have to spell it out in layman's terms, Kikyo continued, “What that means is that there are caves riddled all over that area that we can utilize for our camp. It will be very difficult for anyone to get into as well.”

As she tried to process the information Kagura demanded, “If it will be difficult for anyone to get in, then how in the Hell does he plan on getting us in there?”

“You must be a complete idiot,” Kikyo replied, “He plans on your powers to get us in and out. That way we don't have to walk.”

 

Feeling Kagura shake in pure rage, Muso placed a calming hand upon her leg as he addressed Kikyo, “Enough with the name calling. Just because you're privy to his plans, little sister, doesn't make you any smarter than the rest of us. Now I want you to apologize to Kagura this instant or you can walk the rest of the way in. It's your choice.”

 

Glaring at older brother, between clenched teeth she replied, “I'm sorry Kagura.” Then equally as sharp she asked Muso, “There… are you happy now?”

 

While keeping his eyes on the rocky road ahead, he replied with a slight grin, “Yes, that will do nicely.” Kikyo turned her attention back to the Dodge in front of them, wishing that she'd been able to convince Naraku to let her ride with him.

 

“Why did he force me to stay with them? Does he not trust them as much as he trusts me, or is he getting some perverse pleasure by leaving me with these fools?” she thought as her anger slowly ebbed. “Soon… very soon, I'll have him all to my self,” she thought as a smile graced her lips as she continued contemplating the details of her own murderous plans.

 

 

A few hundred miles, back at the crime scene, formally known as Jade's home, the last of the police vehicles and crime scene investigators left the stoic dog demon to his thoughts. He'd barely moved form his vehicle after returning from the veterinarian's office, watching and listening to what the investigators had discovered. As he'd already assumed, Kagome's abduction had been premeditated, considering the timing as well as the difficulty of gaining access to the home. They'd figured that Jade's home had been under surveillance for a while. With having heard this bit of news, as well as the fact that it appeared to have been at least two people in the team, confirmed Sesshomaru's suspicions that there had been a reason for Kagome's abduction.

 

As he leaned against his vehicle, Sesshomaru thought, “Was she the primary target? How long have these fiends been watching the house? Besides Kagura, who would have a motive to abduct her? Who else is involved with this mess?” Sullenly Sesshomaru shook his head as the answers evaded his mind, causing him to drop his shoulders in near defeat as Miroku walked up, with a pocket notebook full of notes.

 

“It seems that you were right, Sesshomaru. From what they've been able to gather, a male was involved with the abduction, considering that Kagome appeared to have struggled before being knocked out. Kagura isn't capable of hefting her out of the basement, so that is the only explanation...” Miroku looked up from his notepad as he heard the rustle of fabric as Sesshomaru moved for the first time from his car.

 

With his eyes closed, Sesshomaru just stood in the drive way, allowing his senses to flow over the area, taking in everything around him. He breathed in deeply the air, filtering the different scents into various categories, such as trees, dirt, wild life, Miroku and then something foreign caught his attention… the smell of cherry blossoms. As his eyes flashed open, a growl escaped his lips as he sprinted off into the distance.

 

“Where are you going?” Miroku called out after him.

 

“To find Kagome,” Sesshomaru called over his shoulder as he sprinted off into the surrounding wilderness.

 

Shaking his head, Miroku mumbled something about `Damn dog demons and their sense of smell.' He moved back to Jade's home entering it long enough to shut off the lights and lock the door, not wanting to invite anymore intruders to the home than had already been there. Miroku knew that as her attorney he needed to get a hold of her, but had wanted to wait until he had some facts to give her before worrying her unnecessarily.

 

“Now to find the damn wolf,” he thought of his friend, “Lord knows where she is, but as her father had pointed out, she's probably at the ranch. Hum, I wonder if Koga has his cell with him.” With a determined look in his eyes, Miroku went to his Explorer to track down the elusive wolf demoness while he waited for Sesshomaru to return.

 

 

A mile from the house, Sesshomaru found the trail that Naraku's people had tramped down in the forest. With a wry smile upon his lips, he thought, “I have you know, Kagura. Soon… you will answer for what you've done. I won't be so forgiving this time.” He sprinted down the trail only to come to a fair sized clearing that had been swept entirely clean by the wind. Seeing Kagura's handy work, he slammed his fist into a near by pine, splintering the tree in half before it fell to the ground.

 

“Damn her… where the hell did the bitch get to?” he thought as a growl escaped his lips. He roared his frustration, startling the nearby wildlife as he flew back down the trail to Miroku, to tell him what he found. Anger rolled off the demon lord as his thoughts turned toward his former lover, and what he'd do to her if his precious Kagome was injured at her hands.

 

 

Koga ran for what seemed like an eternity since leaving the ranch house. With his sense of smell still on the fritz, he ran in the general direction that Shina had said that Jade had gone. However, once he'd entered the relatively thick forest, he'd lost his bearings, which resulted in ever widening circles to see if he'd get lucky and catch her scent.

 

After an hour of directionless running, Koga pulled up near a relatively large tree to catch his breath, leaning against the trunk as he thought, “Damn it… I should have been able to find her by now. What the hell am I going to do if I can't find her? Sleep out here until I either get my full sense of smell back or head back to the ranch… which I don't remember which direction it is in either. Shit… I really screwed up this time. I should have just asked for exact directions, instead of coming out here without any idea of where I was going.” He slammed a fist onto his thigh as he continued to berate himself for his own male stubbornness for failing to ask for directions.

 

As he leaned against the tree, breathing through his nose and out his mouth a scent caught his attention that caused his mouth to salivate. “That smell… the smell of crisp clean fresh mountain water… it smells so… refreshing,” he thought as he tentatively followed his nose toward the open source of water, not wanting to miss what he felt was his only opportunity for a drink before heading back toward the ranch or to find a suitable place to spend the night. Although it was still fairly early, the height of the mountains blocked the sun on its westward journey across the sky to the distant horizon.

 

 

Onigumo was fairly certain that the wolf was either crazed or on something for the chaotic way that he ran through the forest for his beloved. “What the hell is his problem? Did he forget what she smelled like?” he thought as he scaled a large pine tree to get a bird's eye view of the surrounding area. Off in the distance he noticed the glitter of what appeared to be a lake. Seeing the direction that the wolf was headed, Onigumo figured that was where he was headed.

 

“Seems that he's either messing with me, or he really has lost his sense of smell,” he thought as he pulled his GPS unit from his vest, marking his coordinates so that he'd be able to find his way back to his hidden car. He was really glad to have taken those surveillance classes, thus getting him a discount on all the spy gadgets that he owned. Quickly he moved down the tree as he loosely followed the wolf, knowing that it would take another half hour or so before they'd reach the distant lake.

 

“Soon… soon she will be within my grasp, but to get her without getting flattened… that will be a challenge. First things first though, I have to find her first,” Onigumo thought as he trailed the zigzagging wolf, glad to be getting close to his objective so that he may be able to return to his first love… Kikyo.

 

 

With the radio cranked up loud, drowning out the sound of water as it rained down from the shower, Jade swayed her hips to the song as she ran her fingers through her shampoo lathered hair.

 

“This ain't a song for the broken-hearted…” Jade sang along with the radio, rinsing the shampoo from her hair and body. Having finished with her hair, she quickly stepped out of the shower, grabbing a single towel for her hair, as she continued singing along with the music, oblivious to her surroundings.

 

Jade flipped her sopping wet hair over her head, rubbing the crimson gold locks with the towel; she leaned over with her face nearly to her knees, giving anyone who walked into her room an awesome view of her curvaceous backside. After a few quick rubs of the towel, getting most of the moister from its lengths, Jade flipped her hair back over her head as she stood up, using the now slightly damp towel to remove the remainder of water from her chest, back and thighs.

 

As she picked up her hair brush, Jade closed her eyes as the chorus played. “It's my life… and it's now or never…” she sang her heart out with her whole heart, as she tamed her wild hair with the brush.

 

 

Ban gazed at the tanned naked body before him enamored by the sway of her hips to the music that blared from the stereo. His mind reeled from fear of her safety to thinking, “Damn… she's hotter now than when I saw her this morning.” Blue eyes, wide with shock, drank in the toned and tanned calves as they moved toward her curvaceous rump that swayed a little as her hips moved in a slight gyrating fashion. Ban's body reacted to the sight before him, causing his breath to hitch in his throat as his pants became very tight across his groin.

 

“Shit… if she catches me like this… the consequences will be… unimaginable,” he thought suddenly. As he tried to move away, Ban realized a fraction to late that his body wouldn't move as he wanted it to. His legs refused to budge and no amount of mental cursing would make them obey his commands.

 

 

As she continued to brush her hair, the last lines of the song slipped across her lips, “I did it my way… I just want to live while I'm alive… `Cause it's my life.” Once the last word sounded Jade glanced in the mirror to start pulling her hair back into a high pony tail, only she paused in raising her arms once she caught sight of a person in the mirror behind her. Unable to discern who the person was for they had stood far enough back in the shadows, she immediately went on the defensive.

 

In a matter of seconds, Jade spun on her heel, throwing with exquisite accuracy her hairbrush into the intruder's neck, causing the necessary distraction to launch a full scale assault. Seconds after the brush left her right hand, Jade was fully facing the open bathroom door moving as nearly as fast as the hurtling brush, she hit the solid chest full force, with enough momentum to knock the person backwards into the solid wood footboard of her bed as they hit the floor with her on top.

 

As she looked upon the face of her intruder, Jade's eyes widened at first in shock then in disbelief. Ban's head rolled toward the open door toward the stairs, his eyes closed as if he were asleep, knocked unconscious. Jade subconsciously crossed her arms across her breasts, hiding them from the unconscious man beneath her. With a tentative hand to her lips, she thought, “What the hell? Why is he here?”

 

She slid back onto her heels as she looked at the man beneath her. Her eyes roved over his sleeping face as she thought back to what Jak had said about how miserable Ban was without her and yet she clearly recalled how Ban had confided in Jak their most intimate moments without a thought as to how it would make her feel. “What am I going to do with you?” she asked the unconscious man below her. Settling a little more onto his lap, Jade suddenly removed her bare naked backside from the rather insistent bulge in his pants.

 

“You bastard,” she thought as she quickly moved toward the bathroom, leaving the unconscious man lying on the floor as she quickly slipped into her black two piece bikini. She moved back into the bedroom to retrieve her hair brush as well as a pair of looser fitting jeans from her dresser, glancing at Ban long enough to confirm that he was still breathing as well as unconscious.

 

After Jade pulled her hair back into a tight braid, she pulled on her jeans and moved quickly down the stairs to the refrigerator. She rummaged through the kitchen cabinets for a few moments before finding a gallon sized Zip-lock bag which she filled with ice from the built in icemaker of the fridge. Taking the stairs two at a time, Jade entered her bedroom, grabbing up an oversized black hooded sweatshirt from her bed before dropping the freezing cold bag of ice onto his crotch before turning on her heel moving out the door.

 

As the cold seeped through his jeans onto his throbbing manhood, Ban awoke with a shriek, rolling enough to dislodge the bag of ice from his crotch. He snapped his head back toward the open door, just in time to see Jade slipping quickly down the stairs slipping on the black sweatshirt.

 

“Damn it,” he thought as he quickly regained his footing to chase the woman down the stairs, pausing just a second to pick up the offending bag of ice. Once he cleared the stairs, Ban raced toward her black retreating body, grabbing her arm before she could reach the handle to the kitchen door.

 

With a quick spin of her arm to dislodge his hand, Jade turned toward the man who dared touch her. “What the hell is your problem Bankotsu?” she spat out, glaring into his stormy blue eyes with her own flaming green ones.

 

“What do you mean, Jade? You've been my problem ever since you showed your pretty little ass around here,” he retorted sharply as he reached toward her once more.

 

Taking a quick step away from Ban, Jade replied, slightly irritated, “No… that's not what I meant. I want to know what right you feel that you have to barge into my room, unannounced to stare at me as I'm getting out of the shower.”

 

Barring the way toward the corrals, Ban pulled himself to his full height despite the pain that coursed through the back of his skull where he'd struck the footboard. “Hey! It's not like I expected you to be dancing around bare assed naked, you know,” he snapped. Upon seeing the glare in her eyes harden he continued, a bit softer, “I was worried that you'd been abducted, Jade. Jak was worried after hearing about the girl staying at your place being kidnapped earlier today and wanted me to come up here to make sure that you were fine.”

 

Taken aback by his words, Jade looked at him a little suspiciously, as she asked, “Kagome was kidnapped? When did this happen?”

 

“I'm not sure of the details. Jak told me as I was on my way back from the bar, saying that she'd been abducted from your home earlier today. I'm sure that if there was anything serious going on that one of your friends or even Ren would call,” he continued, unable to take the pain from the lump on his head, eased the bag of ice to the throbbing bump.

 

Looking toward the phone that sat on the counter top, Jade noticed for the first time the flashing message light. “It seems that I missed a call while I was in the shower,” Jade commented as she moved toward the counter. Taking her actions as one of a non-threatening nature, Ban let down his guard as he leaned against the door, wishing that he didn't hurt as much as he did after letting Jade get the best of him… not once but twice in the same day.

 

As she pressed the play button on the answering machine, Jade glanced over at Ban, seeing that he was more hurt than she'd thought. With the message playing, Jade listened as she continued watching Ban as he moved toward the fridge, snagging a cold Root Beer before heading toward the living room to nurse his wounds.

Jade recognized her grandmother's voice as the message played, “Jade… it's your grandmother. Just received a call from Miroku… something about a girl staying at your place… Kagome I think he said… having been abducted. He wanted to let you know that the authorities are looking into this very seriously and that Sesshomaru's on his way up to the ranch as we speak so that he can fill you in on the details. Hope that this message finds you well. See you when you come down from the cabin. I hope that you enjoy your time up there with Koga.”

 

Once the message ended, Jade thought about what her grandmother said as she moved toward the living room, noticing that Ban had pulled a chair toward the large picture windows, where he'd propped his feet as he looked out over the lake. Placing her hand upon his muscular shoulder, Jade commented, “I'm sorry for having knocked you out, Ban, you just startled me is all.”

 

Ban turned toward Jade slightly as he replied, “Thanks… I called for you through out the house. Apparently you didn't hear me… or the phone over the stereo while you were in the shower.” He turned toward her slightly as he looked into her now blue eyes as he continued, “I did rather enjoy your dancing,” as a devious smile crossed his lips and an eye brow quirked in a rather suggestive manner.

 

Seeing where he was headed, Jade lightly punched his shoulder as she scolded, “You perv… keep your thoughts to yourself.”

 

Rubbing his now sore shoulder, Ban asked, “What are you planning on doing now? I know that your fleabag boyfriend was at the ranch.”

 

“His name is Koga,” Jade countered as she moved toward the French doors that lead to the generous front porch overlooking the lake as well as steps to the driveway and corrals. “I'm going down to the lake for a dip. Seeing as you're here and I doubt that you plan on leaving, I'm going to do a little fishing before the sun goes behind the mountain before the lake gets any colder.”

 

With a sly smile upon his lips, Ban replied, “I'll stay here and keep a lookout. If there's going to be trouble, I'll be here as your back up. How's that sound?”

 

“It would figure, send me out to the slaughter as you sit back here and nurse your wounds,” Jade replied as she shook her head. As she stepped through the door, Jade turned back toward him, a look of appreciation in her eyes as she said, “Thanks, Ban for your concern.” She pulled the French doors closed behind her as she made her way across the front of the cabin and down the side toward the corrals, leaving Ban stunned as to what she'd said. He leaned back in his chair with a slight smirk upon his face as he thought about what she said.