Chapter One: Dragged Out

So this is a little different I think than my normal fics, but I hope you all like it all the same!

Also, don't forget to review!

He hadn't really wanted to go out tonight. In fact, he never really wanted to go out. All he ever did when they went out was watch Miroku shove his dollars in girls' bras and get danced on. The smell in the strip club was disgusting and filled with the scent of aroused old men, who kept it no secret how they were feeling in their fancy dress pants.

"Here." Miroku passed Inuyasha 5 $20s and grinned, "I'll start you off with some small cash, but if you get into it, I'll be a friend and give you more."

"Keh, shut the hell up." As they pulled up to the lit up downtown area, whose streets were filled with the dirty drama stories of every washed out, drugged out, and active soul that regularly strutted down the concrete sidewalk, the hanyou could feel the upcoming hour being full of all the wasted scenes he couldn't unsee, "You can give me your damned money but it's gonna go straight to alcohol. I don't have time for this."

Shrugging, the black haired man couldn't understand why his friend didn't enjoy watching beautiful women work. It seemed unnatural. Then again, Inuyasha was never a "sexual" person. He had relationships before, but he was not a chaser of good times.

Probably some psychological something due to some childhood tradegy... Thought Miroku, feeling that explanation was the only one that fit.

They parked their black Cadillac close by, and entered the strip club, greeting by the flashing of neon lights illuminating a shadowy/dim party room and cheap decorating. The only scent that in any way pleased the hanyou, was the crashing smell of distilled spirits.

"I'll see you, my friend." Miroku wandered off into a crowd, immediately feeling a mix of emotions as he saw a red-head swirling on a pole.

Keh, he's never not horny.

Inuyasha ordered his drinks, gulping them down, one after another like they were the only things keeping him alive in this place. He fiddled with his fingers, trying to keep his eyes off of the probably married old men who came in their business suits and passed out bills like they've never seen a woman before.

With one too many drinks in his system, he slouched his shoulders and rested his elbows against the bar table.

"Hey, handsome. Wanna buy a dance?" Without him noticing, a pale brunette had crawled onto the table and slithered over to the out-of-it hanyou. He jerked his head up, but shook his head when he saw the woman.

"Keh, I'm here to drink." He scoffed, "I ain't tryna be bothered by the likes of you."

She frowned and got off the table with a pout, but quickly changed her expression when more businessmen came in.

It was at that precise moment that a sweet breeze brushed against his sensitive nostrils as he instinctively took in the flowery scent. Breathing out, he remembered where exactly he was to be smelling the oh so familiar fragrance.

"What?" He questioned, averting his eyes to a small stage where a women in skimpy lingerie was dancing and attracting the eyes of many other seduced men. Her dark hair cascaded down her head, contrasting with her light skin, while her deep brown eyes engulfed the entire room as they gazed upon the masses. Her ruby lips were laid on her face, poking out a bit to tease.

"It can't-" Inuyasha struggled to come to grips with what he was witnessing. The woman moved her hips in a circular motion, while continuing to bend her knees as her body grew closer with the ground. But all he could see were her eyes. He wouldn't venture much lower. They were a never-ending existence, like another galaxy. He couldn't help but want to get closer, as all the memories collided with the present in a matter of seconds.

"Ka-" He wouldn't finish the name. Last time he saw her, she was a sweet child, spinning in her school uniform and struggling to get perfect grades. The rosy essence of her voice had almost defrosted his frozen exterior back then. He didn't want to believe that the little girl he knew was now getting her underwear stuffed with money as she danced under cheap stage lights.

He forced his body to turn away from her, still inhaling viciously. Another beer would do it. And then he would leave. That's right. Leave.

But how could he? Maybe he should just find...

Miroku! I have to find him before he spots her! The hanyou panicked as he rushed around to find his pervert friend. Although the girl was up on stage as a job, he would defend her from the eyes of at least that one man.

He shuffled through crowds and pushed past conversations in a heated attempt to find Miroku. It was at last that he realized the small crowd around the stage that held his old friend was the only place he had left to check. And he had a feeling he wouldn't like what he saw.

"Dammit, Miroku." He growled as he stomped back over.

When he reached the stage, the first thing he saw was the black haired man, gazing in awe at the dancing woman, who seemed clueless to whose eyes were on her almost bare body.

"Keh, Miroku." He grabbed the shoulder of his friend, swinging him around, "Don't you dare."

"Ah, Inuyasha. You caught her scent I presume." He chucked nervously, "I just wanted to say hello. Haven't seen her in years."

It was a new low for Miroku, to be any type of inappropriate towards her, even while she's sliding up and down a pole. At least that's how Inuyasha saw it, and he didn't hesitate to maliciously send a fist flying to Miroku's face, letting it crash into his left cheek. He fell to the floor with a loud thud, attracting the attention of everyone in sight.

"What's going on?" A bunch of them whispered, "The hell just happened?"

Noting the stared, the half-demon raised his eyes and saw that, staring right back at him, was her. Their contact didn't last long, though. As soon as he found her looking, her face ran pale and she hurried off the stage and to the back where only employees can enter. Many of the men booed and looked angrily at the two brawlers. But that didn't faze Inuyasha. He picked up his friend, steadied him, and then dragged him out of the club.


"In my defense, she's a grown woman now." Miroku pleaded, trying to get through to a pretty pissed hanyou. They had just been sitting in the car for about an hour, while Inuyasha ignored his friend.

"You have to admit, she is gorgeous!" He wasn't sure whether or not he was helping himself or hurting himself in this argument, but he sincerely thought she had looked amazing.

Growling, the half demon crossed his arms, "Shut the hell up, Miroku!"

"I know. It must be weird for you to see your dear ex girlfriend half naked on stage..." Miroku "sympathized."

This only prompted Inuyasha to raise his fist in the air, "She's not my ex. We were never together. Keh, now will you shut up!?"

"Why are we still here?" Miroku slouched against the seat, putting a hand to his now bruised face. It was definitely swollen. Even though Miroku did cross a line watching the girl, he didn't think he deserved that cruel a punishment.

"I'm not driving!" Inuyasha defended, however, he secretly had hoped to see the girl coming out of the building. But he figured that it was a waste to just sit here. It had already been an hour.

"Then, let's go." Miroku decided, extending his hand out for Inuyasha to pass him the car keys. Normally, he would never be allowed to drive, but seeing as Inuyasha had a a good amount to drink, he had to take him home. They lived in the same neighborhood, with their big houses, so it wasn't a problem.

Taking one final glance at the club behind him, the hanyou wished to see her stammer out the door, but when she didn't, he reluctantly took the keys out from his pocket and threw it at his friend.

"You're gonna have to get over it, my friend." He teased, catching the keys and putting them into the ignition. The engine roared up and Miroku took em out of downtown and back to where they both lived. The black sky shadowing over the plenty white mini mansions. Inuyasha and Miroku were both extremely wealthy. Inuyasha owned a large chain of restaurants that were popular around the east coast of Japan and Miroku owned a business that manufactured common household items.

As they pulled up to the silver-haired man's home, Miroku took out the keys and passed them back to his companion. He waved and grinned devilishly at Inuyasha, while he in return growled and rolled his eyes.

"Oi, if you're so damned concerned about her, just go out and find her." He frowned, hoping the stubborn half demon wouldn't keep this mood for the rest of the month.

"Keh, I'm not gonna go out and find her, baka." He snapped back, "It ain't my business what she does with her life."

But going out and finding her was exactly what he was going to do. It was too much of a mystery as to why she, who had gotten amazing grades and got into an Ivy League school on the other side of the world, was working at such a cheap place. She more than him should be living in an amazing neighborhood with a great business feeding her money.

"Well, I'm going home to ice my injury. Have a good night, baka." The bruise on his face had become more noticeable and Inuyasha had almost felt bad for punching him. Almost.

When the driver's door shut, the hanyou, too, got out of the car and raced to his house. He didn't want Miroku to know he was going out. So he would wait. The place closed in an hour anyways, so he would go back in an hour to find her.

"Keh, she shouldn't be working at some cheap place letting old men stare at her like that!" He raged through his house, letting his feet carry him to the kitchen. The slow ticking of time left him with nothing else to do but raid his fridge. The leftover Chinese food he had in the little cardboard container would occupy his time for now.

He slumped himself on his sofa and turned on the big screen TV that hung nicely on his wall. The news was on, which was Inuyasha's favorite thing to watch. He let his mind float like little dust particles over to the screen where they buzzed around the stories like bees diving into a flower garden. He could count on the reports on drug dealers and gas station murders to grab his attention while his insides eagerly awaited the ringing of an alarm he set to go off 45 minutes from then.

He lucked out when a man dressed with his usual suit and tie came on to inform the masses on a hit and run that occurred earlier that night on the other side of town. One man dead. One witness who describes a black Corvette with a young male in passengers seat. No licence number.

"Feh, that bastard'll get what he deserves even with no current leads." He remarked bitterly, shoving a forkful of pork fried rice into his mouth.

His luck ran out though. As soon as that story was done, a short haired blonde took the screen to talk about her trip to see some dog show in northern Japan. Nothing could have bored him more.

It was then that his patience ran out. He checked the clock and saw he had a half an hour to go with nothing else to do. He could sit and pretend that the conflictless news report was the least bit interesting, but he couldn't fool himself.

So, he proceeded to sit indian style on the floor and turned on the radio. When the precious voice of Taylor Swift hit his ears, he groaned and imagined his head banging viciously against a hard concrete sidewalk. This wasn't his night.

Ya know what, I'll go now. Maybe she'll get out early or somethin'. He pondered the thought and realized, even though it was a bit unlikely, he would go anyways. The radio couldn't play that pop country whatever music all night, so he could relax in his car with the radio on while he waited for the woman to come through the doors.

He tiptoed outside and unlocked his Cadillac and gently glided into the drivers side. "Shit...still too much alcohol..." He'd be so screwed if he got caught drunk driving. "Dammit, I can't just..." But his only choice was to run, which was entirely out of the norm. Even though demons did have amazing speed, it was rare in city areas that one would hop building and leap through traffic. Hell, it was becoming rare in the rural areas, too.

But it was dark now. And he had to go. Growling, he stepped out of his car and mentally slammed the door, while in reality he eased it shut to avoid a loud thud that could potentially grab the attention of his friend and neighbor.

Well, here goes nothing. He began first by speed walking down his street and continued this until he was met with the towering glow of downtown. He checked his watch, realizing he a mere 10 minutes to get to the club, which was a couple miles away. With all the thought he put into seeing her, he wouldn't let her get away because he didn't wanna jump a few buildings. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he pushed off from the ground and soared through the midnight air, which was much more quiet than in the echoey daytime.

His feet gracefully landed on the top of an insurance building, which was of equal height to the towers next to it. So he continued to hop at record speeds, becoming almost invisible to the normal eye. If he was going to do this, he'd do it right.

"I see it now..." He stood at a standstill at top of another insurance building, staring down at the small neon club hidden cleverly between two other night clubs and bars. There were 2 exits: one in the front and one in the back, and from where he was, he could see both.

He checked the clock. The club closed in 3 minutes. He couldn't shrugged and kept his running back and forth between the two possibilities. But he leaned more towards the idea that she would escape from the back.

He stepped a bit closer to the ledge when he saw three women exit together, all wearing long coats to cover their work clothes. None of them were Kagome though.

"Dammit, where is she?" He clenched his fists a bit, getting annoyed with everything. Not that he would dare leave now.

A few more minutes had left him as he stayed with eyes fixated on that back exit. He'd question whether or not he was being invasive or even a bit creepy, but this was just who he was when it came to her. It was who he always was.

Finally, as the time continued to devour the man who's existence had begun fading away in his wait, another woman, alone, exited the club. And even from so high in the air, a small gust of wind had been able to sweep her scent up to the nose of the hanyou.

With much haste, he leaped from the tower, watching as she, with her head down, quickly rushed away from her job. He landed again, but this time on the roof of the club, still watching her.

He was so close and yet for a moment, he couldn't bring himself to move. But he wouldn't let her get away from him without explanation. Or without even saying hello.

Once again, he pushed off from the roof with precision, controlling his falling body and turning in mid-air. When he reached the sidewalk, he was in front of her. And she was in shock.

"You can't say ya didn't expect for me to come back, Kagome." He said, looking up at her, while she covered her mouth to suppress a scream. If hadn't managed to say those words before finding her eyes, he was sure he wouldn't have managed to spit them out. And he was also sure he wasn't going to be able to say anything else.

She slowly let her hands fall back to her side as she consumed his presence. She didn't know what to say either. But she knew that he was right. She, somewhere in the back of her mind, knew that there was a big chance of seeing him again. He was territorial, curious, and impulsive. Especially when it came to her. And he had no shame around her, either. He would invade, swarm and violate her life like it was his birthright. So, when he popped in front of her, she didn't scream, because she deep down she knew it was coming.

In silence, the two just fell in and out of each other. It wasn't until she looked away that he was able to speak again.

"Baka, what are you doing?" It wasn't the heartfelt hello she had imagined if she ever ran into him again, but it was, again, his usual tone.

She cleared her throat and straightened out her body, "I work here, Inuyasha. I'm going home, now."

"You know that's not what I'm asking." He took a step closer to her, fighting back his instinct to grab her.

"But it's what you asked." She sighed a bit, wanting him and not wanting him to be here. It wasn't the life she wanted to meet him in again, and, to be honest, she was a bit embarrassed, "I have to go home... you can't just barge into my life like that, ya know."

"Keh, I just believed that you were somewhere across the world living a good life." He scoffed, "And I can do what I want. I gotta right to know what happened to you." His arms were now crossed over his chest and she, for a moment, believed she travelled back in time. He hadn't changed.

"Hey, I am my own person." She started, letting the conversation blend into all the others they had. Only years were the distinction between this interaction and what they had when they were young. "I can have a life without telling you about it."

"Just tell me what happened!" Inuyasha let a shout slip from he mouth. He hadn't intended on demanding anything from her, but if that's what he had to do, he'd do it.

"You're still a child. Talk to me when you grow up." She snapped, walking around him and his defensive stance.

You're not walking away from me, Kagome. He thought angrily, jumping in front of her once more.

"What happened to you!" He demanded again, this time with his hands on his hips.

She paused before sighing, "I grew up. You should try that." She knew bickering was just another way to ensure the endless circles they would go through. She'd never make it home at this rate.

"I did grow up! I'm older than you!" He corrected, "But that's not the point. You're supposed to be out there with your friends working at some law firm or whatever. That's the only reason I let you go."

"You didn't let me go! I left." She retorted, struggling to come up with a plan to ditch the hanyou.

He shook his head, "I left. Because you wouldn't as long as I was still here. And you know it."

"No, you ran away." She pointed out, reliving the years before in her mind.

He groaned, "Well, why aren't you there! Why are you here letting old pervs stuff money in your bra!"

"That's hardly your business!" She exhaled, "Just let me go home!"

The two continued to argue, as he prevented her from walking away. She knew she couldn't pass him. And he knew it was only a matter of time before she would crack.

"Fine!" She yelled, pulling out a piece of paper and a pen from her coat pocket. She wrote something down and handed it to him, "It's my address. I'm really tired right now and I just want to sleep. Just come by tomorrow or something if that's the only way you'll let me rest."

He read the paper and put it in his pocket, nodding his head. Without a goodbye, she shoved him out of the way and continued down the street. This wasn't what he expected. He wanted her to tell him everything now. But she did look tired and she should get some rest. That is, until tomorrow.

I'll figure out what happened to you, Kagome.

Well, there it is. I hate being out of character so Inuyasha is still the same Inuyasha and they're still the same when they're together. I love imagining his voice when he's talking and hers as well. It helps that I'm watching the show as I'm writing this too ^.^

And yes, I based their last time together off of when Inuyasha leaves Kagome to be with her family and be happy after they defeat Naraku.

Well, review and tell me what you think! Also, I should be updating my other fic, Seven Seas, within the week! So check that one out too!