InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Willing to Try ❯ Willing to Try: The Threat ( Chapter 5 )

They called her Do-it-all. In a week she became head of the same foundation she had worked for in Africa, but this time it was home, in Japan. Africa had taught her so many things, laws of survival even, but here she could focus more on the needy and not on her needs, as well. She'd changed so much; even Inuyasha had told her so.

 

Inuyasha was now a constant in her life. He gave her free lifts with his taxi, and she'd meet him in the strangest places; he was always there to pick her up. If she didn't know better, she would say he was stalking her. But the idea of him being her stalker didn't disturb her; on the contrary, it seemed pretty romantic. Ignoring the fact that he was waaay older than she, Kagome was sure that if they ever decided to have a relationship it would be amazing. She was past the point of denial; the taxi driver was much too sexy and sweet for her to ignore him.

 

Pursing her lips, she listened to the annoying Houjo on the other side of the conversation.

 

“And if I show you my new method of curing it, you're going to be impressed.”

 

Rolling her eyes, Kagome did her best not to show how bored she was. “That's very nice, Houjo. Say, did you receive any calls from our regulars?”

 

“The sponsors?”

 

“Yup, them. Did they call you?”

 

There was a strange noise on the other side, then a moment of silence, then, “Why would they call me?”

 

Shrugging, even though the man she was speaking to couldn't see it, Kagome had a hard time talking on the phone while trying to fish for her keys in her huge bag. “Well, I can't help but get the feeling that we're being sabotaged.”

 

Sabotaged was a big word.

 

“Don't be silly, Higurashi-san,” Houjo said. “Who would sabotage a charity foundation? Besides, we're not the biggest in the business. If they really wanted to sabotage anyone, that would be HelpCo, not us.”

 

The moment she entered her modest apartment, Kagome stopped paying attention. The keys dropped from her hands and it was a miracle the phone was still in her clutch and not on the floor.

 

Gathering her senses, she walked past the mass of her clothes thrown on the hardwood floor. “You'd be surprised,” she told Houjo quite dazedly, inspecting the damage. On the kitchen counter there was a note with very ugly and messy writing.

 

This is a warning.

for I~

 

“Listen, I gotta go. Come tomorrow to the meeting. And you can bring that little girl you said you found on the streets. Is she staying with you?” Now was not the time to panic, and Kagome told herself it was better to stay in control. She hoped her voice wasn't quivering.

 

“Yes, she's staying with my mom, actually. Kagome? You sound very…”

 

“I'm okay, Houjo. See you tomorrow. Bring the docs,” she reminded him as she checked if all her paperwork was intact. She was relieved to see it was.

 

Thank God…

 

“I will. If you're sure you're okay…”

 

“Bye, Houjo,” she said and hung up, annoyed with his irritating nature. She was just about to walk down to the police station when the last person she was thinking of at the moment called her.

 

“So?” she asked, already having seen who it was.

 

“I arranged it,” a gruff voice announced, none too happy.

 

Kagome almost jumped in elation. “You're the best, Inuyasha!”

 

She could almost hear the smirk in his voice. “Yeah, but you owe me.”

 

“So how did they take it?”

 

Naraku had taken it pretty badly, but Inuyasha was not going to tell her that. His pals, on the other hand, had been quite ecstatic. They needed some cash anyway, and the conference room was almost always empty, so why not lend it to a charity foundation for a week? Truth be told, Inuyasha was far from happy to have Kagome spend time so close to Naraku, but it couldn't be helped. He'd tried anywhere else; she had tried anywhere else, as well, and this was the only solution.

 

“They're happy to have you,” he told her, wondering what sort of complications would arise with this occasion.

 

“Good, good. I talked to Houjo. He says no one's called him yet.” By now, Inuyasha knew every detail of everything she did. He liked to call her and listen to her talk incessantly, because she obviously liked to do that, and from time to time he threw in a little info about himself, just so she wouldn't feel like she was the only one talking about personal stuff. Their friendship had developed quite a lot, but Inuyasha was starting to see her more and more like an ideal woman and mother to his future children, which was an extra problem added to his long list of issues to deal with. And the fact that he wanted to grab her and carry her away every time he saw her didn't help, either.

 

“Maybe you should call them. You know… be a little bit more… unrelenting.”

 

“Inuyasha, you don't know my sponsors,” she said, rolling her eyes. If she'd thought it appropriate to insist, she'd have done it long ago, but being persistent would only damage their relations. Kagome did not want to lose the only regular sponsors she had.

 

“Okay, let's say they won't call you for a couple months. What are you gonna do? Stay there on your ass and wait forever?”

 

“Inuyasha!” she exclaimed indignantly.

 

“What? You know I'm right,” he said cockily. Surprisingly, Kagome smiled. She liked this side of him.

 

“You know what? You're right. I'm going to give them a call.”

 

“Okay. Then I'll-”

 

“No, wait!” Even if it was none of his business, she felt the need to tell him. “I was going down to the police station. I was wondering…” actually, she wasn't, but now it seemed like a good idea, “if you'd like to accompany me. I don't feel like going there alone.”

 

Right on cue, the worried tone seeped into Inuyasha's voice. “What happened?”

 

“My apartment was vandalized. I don't think they stole anything, but I got a note.” And a creepy one, too, because it wasn't even for her. “Anyway, it could be a mistake. It's not for me, the note.”

 

“Read it,” he urged, a dreadful feeling twisting his guts.

 

“It's a short one. It says, This is a warning. And it's signed, for I~. Whoever I is.” She rolled her eyes. People could be so vague…

 

On the other side, Inuyasha was almost trembling. It was Naraku. He'd got Kagome involved and it was making Inuyasha sick. If he touched her, he'd die.

 

“Listen, don't go to the police.”

 

Kagome blinked at the phone. “Huh?”

 

“Stay there.”

 

“But-”

 

“Stay. There. I'm coming to get you.”

 

“Coming to get me? But Inuyasha, I don't-”

 

“You're going to live with me,” he decided and it was final, judging by the prompt way he hung up right afterwards. Dazed, Kagome waited for him to appear, and it didn't even take 5 minutes for his taxi to honk by her block. The girl rushed by the window, noticing that Inuyasha was drumming his fingers on the outside of his door expectantly.

 

“What are you waiting, woman? Grab a bunch of clothes and come here,” he yelled up at her, unintentionally sparking her ire.

 

“Stop screaming at me,” she yelled.

 

“You're doing it too,” he yelled back. If she'd been in better mood, she'd laugh at the absurdity of this silly, verbal fight.

 

“That's because I can't hear you!”

 

“Well it's the same reason why I'm doing it.'

 

“Hey,” an angry bystander yelled at the both of them, and suddenly feeling quite ashamed, Kagome went back into her apartment to pack a few clothes and take all her important documents before leaving. She had no idea what she was doing or why she was accepting Inuyasha's decision, but she felt safer with him anyway. And it seemed like he knew more about this; was he involved?

 

It was when it dawned on her. For I~ Inuyasha started with an I.

 

Oh, crap. Why couldn't she have befriended a normal, human taxi driver?

 

{oOooOoOo.oOoOooOo}

 

Inuyasha parked his car in a place he knew Naraku wouldn't look.

 

“Stay here, okay? I'm going to look into something. Don't get out of the car, hear me?” he told Kagome, his eyes trying to communicate more of the danger she was in without having to say the words, and he wasn't sure Kagome understood; she seemed in a haze.

 

“Uh-huh.” She looked around nervously, as if only now noticing how suspicious this place was. “Where are we anyway?”

 

“Somewhere safe.”

 

“Safe?” she snapped. “That's it, Inuyasha. What's happening? I'm not getting killed soon, am I? Who's gonna help the kids?”

 

He almost laughed at her cuteness; she was just too funny when she thought she was dying.

 

“No one's gonna get killed, don't worry. But it's best if you keep it on the down low for a while. Hence, you're going to stay with me.” Then he shut the car door and ignored any protests she might have, gesturing her to be silent once again. His smile was warm when she huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, pushing herself back into the passenger seat.

 

When he walked away she made a face, pulled down the window and cried out, “What if I don't wanna live with you?” What she got in return was the sound of laughter.

 

As soon as he was in the building, Inuyasha retook the same steps as every time he came to see Naraku. It was no pleasure to be in this hell when he didn't have a `job' to do or anything to deliver. Or any spying to do. It seemed that the bastard was ready for this visit; there were guards everywhere and they weren't friendly, judging by the way they looked at the `intruder'.

 

There was an elevator and Inuyasha was pretty obvious when he deliberately watched the camera he knew was hidden in the upward corner and unpacked his chewing gum, starting to chew for a while, looking quite defiant. Then he spit the gum, purposely watching the camera.

 

His breath was normal, unhurried when the elevator doors opened; he wanted to ooze confidence. He took measured steps on the hall and didn't knock when he reached Naraku.

 

The man seemed furious, but Inuyasha didn't care; he'd messed with the wrong hanyou.

 

“I suppose you know why I'm here,” the half dog demon said composedly, proving that he could be intimidating if he wanted to.

 

“Did you think I would not notice?” the drug dealer retorted. Inuyasha's heart picked up pace, but he kept his cool. He was in the open now, but if he'd been Naraku, he would have expected this from himself.

 

With a cocky smirk, the hanyou shrugged and raised his eyebrows. “Wow, I must have thought you were an idiot.”

 

The gruesome man's eyebrows scrunched together, and Inuyasha realized Kagome would find him quite funny.

 

“How very disappointing,” Naraku hissed, rounding his desk and looking Inuyasha in the eyes. He was a good two inches shorter than the dog demon, but the fact that he had his thugs waiting for him at every corner made him that much more dangerous.

 

“And now you're gonna tell me you weren't expecting it.”

 

Smirking, the conniving spider lit himself a cigarette, looking at the floor as if he found it amusing.

 

“Expecting it? No. Judging it as a faint possibility? That one, maybe, yes. But really, dear puppy. You don't have the balls to stand up to someone.”

 

The moment the last sentence left his lips he found himself almost lying with his back on his desk, a very angry dog demon towering above him.

 

“Really? Why don't you say that to my claws?” he asked in pure rage, showing him the lethal weapons. Naraku frowned in defiance, brushing Inuyasha off him.

 

“Get away if you don't want me to call my boys.”

 

“Right, but I'm not doing your jobs anymore,” Inuyasha challenged.

 

“And I'm going to resume my other activities,” Naraku responded.

 

“Go ahead, try,” the hanyou hissed.

 

In other words, war.

 

{oOooOoOo.oOoOooOo}

 

It wasn't odd that she's said yes to moving with him in a heartbeat, was it? Kagome didn't want him to think of her as a desperate woman. She really, really liked him and was incredibly excited to live with him, but how did he feel about that? What if he was doing it out of guilt and nothing else? If he was involved, then he had surely done something to involve her, too, since she'd been the one to receive the message meant for him. That clearly meant he felt remorse and had taken her under his wing out of necessity and guilt.

 

That sounded horrible; she didn't even want to think about it any more.

 

So when he returned to the car, obviously pissed, she didn't say a word. When he asked her questions she was shy in answering, and when he asked her if she was okay she only nodded.

 

He frowned.

 

“Here we are,” he said, pointing at the block behind them. Kagome inspected it and found it to be surprisingly nice.

 

“If you're so old,” she wondered, “how come you're not ridiculously rich?” It made sense that a man that had lived so long would not have found the time to invest or do something to gain a lot of money.

 

“I am rich, but I don't flaunt it,” he replied.

 

Her eyes were huge at that moment, then she looked horribly angered. For a second he was afraid of her.

 

“So all this time I was looking for sponsors and you couldn't help me?”

 

“Hold your horses, woman,” he snapped. “Who do you think THinc. is?” His and his brother's company that was one of her regular sponsors.

 

“You own THinc?” she asked, her eyes wider than onions.

 

“Yeah, along with my brother,” he answered nervously, feeling suddenly awkward.

 

It was the second time she was surprised. “You have a brother?”

 

He rolled his eyes. “Yeah, but we don't get along very well. Actually, haven't seen him for a few decades.”

 

Decades? Kagome gulped.

 

“So why did he agree to being my sponsor if you two don't get along well?” Kagome asked out of sheer curiosity, wondering if she was supposed to like Inuyasha's smug smirk.

 

“Firstly, it would do well to our image. Secondly, I blackmailed him.”

 

Great. Kagome sighed. So she was to live with this rich guy who was two centuries older than she, a guy she liked a lot and she wouldn't mind marry.

 

Actually, she didn't mind at all.