City of Angels

by Rikaku

General Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. I own this plot, Touken-san, Akari-chan, Raikou-kun, Sagi-chan, Fukeru-chan, Kuyamu-kun, and Yoko-san.

Genre: Romance/Angst/Adventure (I hope…)

Written: January 13, 2006, January 14, 2006, and January 15, 2006

Posted: January 15, 2006

Author's Note: Whoops. This was supposed to be out yesterday, but I found a few errors (mainly being that I posted the wrong thing. Hehe…) and took it off, tried to put it back on and found it didn't work. So I've worked on it more (it was a bit shorter and not as… plot happy before) and decided to put it out now. Sorry to Lord Mukara for having that happen; it wasn't my intent. I'd like to thank my other reviewers for their reviews; you've helped make my day. I was very tempted to cut it off after the first scene, but I decided not to be that mean. Technically I did leave you in the same spot, seeing as I don't continue that line in this chapter… Also, I've changed the rating of this story to M; you'll see why. One reason – Raikou's perverted.

Chapter 3: Prelude to Darkness

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Inuyasha jumped into his apartment, away from the mob of girls that had followed him home. 'Damn they're persistent!' Dead bolting his door and dropping his keys in one of his coat pockets, where he wouldn't forget them, he slinked off to the kitchen to get a beer and then head to the window. Normally, Inuyasha wasn't one to drink, but after a situation like that, the most virtuous man in the world would need a little alcohol. 'Hell, I bet Kami would need a tequila after that too!'

Once school had let out, a dead tired Inuyasha tried to slip through the crowds unnoticed, but hadn't been able to lay low for long. A group of girls near the entrance were talking to each other right when he pushed open the door. His black swaying hair and lean frame had given him away as the group of girls looked up and started giggling hysterically over him.

Having been rather scared, not to mention that he was 25 and these were teenagers, Inuyasha pushed out the door and run his hardest to his apartment complex. The poor man, already tuckered out by lunchtime festivities, was almost too tired to head up the stairs to his apartment room. That was, until he heard the group of girls coming down the street, to which sound he bolted up the stairs and into his room. Quite surprisingly, the group of giggling teens was faster than they let on.

"Oh, fuck no." Inuyasha muttered when he saw the girls from before start amassing more fan girls when they shouted, "The new boy lives here! The heaven-made male Satsujin Inuyasha lives here!" In the very short time he'd been in Kyōiku, it was obvious that Inuyasha was very popular by female standards. Shifting his beer bottle, Inuyasha slumped to his couch and flipped through the television channels, not really listening to anything in particular. When he found a news station, he left it there and decided to see what was up in town. After all, just because he had a specific assignment didn't mean he wasn't allowed to help other people.

The television screen flashed white and black before settling on an image. Inuyasha straightened and looked at the screen, his interest peaked. The background of where the news reporter, who was a petite woman of about 23 years, stood was an alley. The damp ground was littered in bottle shards and scrapes of paper. A few cigarettes were lying discarded near the walls of black painted buildings. Behind the reporter were several police officers, setting up a yellow banner - crime scene tape - around a pool of blood. The same pool of blood a young girl had laid in during lunch.

Clearing her throat, the woman began to speak in a shaky voice, obviously affected by whatever news she had to report. "This afternoon, around one o'clock, a young woman working at the local café was attacked and brutally beaten by a gang while on her way home. This is the thirteenth gang violence attack within a week, and the only one to have turned up with witnesses thus far. The woman, who ran into this alley, managed to meet another young man who helped her; it was he who phoned the police. Not wishing to put her rescuer in danger, the woman, remaining confidential as well, has not spoken to his identity, only saying these few words, 'I am glad to know that there are still people in this world who wish to do good for others without a price. My dear savior, I thank you; you know who you are, and I suppose that is all that matters to you.' Now the young woman is under the protection of the police, and they hope she can help stop the multitude of crimes that have been happening in this part of Tokyo. This is-"

Turning the television off, not bothering to hear what else the reporter had to say, Inuyasha threw his bottle away and walked to the other side of his room. Looking out the window to the dissipating mob of girls he turned his gaze across the street, where he caught a glimpse of the girl he was sent to watch after, walking to the apartment complex next to him. She was chattering happily with another girl at her side, both clutching books to their chests.

"If there is as much crime in Tokyo as the new says, this is certainly no job for a rookie investigator. I suppose I am glad that they sent me here; we wouldn't want to fail one of our missions." He walked towards his closet and shuffled through a few clothes before finding what he needed. Pulling it out, he closed the closet door.

"Ah, at least the girl from before didn't let them know about me. It is good to be the king…" He muttered to himself, slipping off to his bathroom. Staring at his reflection, he swallowed a flask full of dark red liquid and sank to the floor.

---

Walking to Kikyou's had always proven very entertaining to Sango and Kagome, seeing as there usually was a major celebrity staying at the hotel across the street. Often, they would walk to Kikyou's apartment listening to awestruck teens declare their undying love to who ever was staying at the hotel. If it were a female celebrity, males would come around and ask for 'just one date' or a 'fun night out'. It always put a smile on their faces and their laughter in the air, no matter how bad the rest of their day had been.

Today had shown a change in crowds; a group of girls from their own school where standing in front of an apartment and screaming, all looking like they saw Kami and he turned out to be a bishōnen in leather instead of an aging old man. They normally would be in front of the hotel, holding out signs that said, 'We love you' and then the name of whichever celebrity had the misfortune of staying there that week. It was after they heard the screaming that their eyes bugged out. "The new boy lives here! The heaven-made male Satsujin Inuyasha lives here!" A group of girls screamed at the top of their lungs, pointing up to a random window.

Turning to Sango, knowing full well what angry fan girls were capable of, Kagome whispered, "Can't they get arrested for that Sango-chan? I mean, if the boy wanted the attention, wouldn't he have come down already?"

Sango looked thoughtfully at the spread out horde of teens before saying, "Well, if he doesn't want any of them, that has to be a first. I mean, if he asked them to sleep with him, I doubt any of them would refuse." Kagome's jaw dropped and she gasped. Sputtering, she stared at her friend not managing to say anything for a while. "Sango-chan! I think you've been hanging around Miroku-kun way too much!"

Putting her left hand up in protest, Sango began to speak seriously. "No, really Kagome. That's just how males think - most of them, anyway, if this is any proof to differ. Miroku is just open with his feelings, but most of the boys at our school are just… men. Getting laid might prove to be all that they think about when they look at females, but from what's happening down here, either the boy up there is into guys, or he has a girlfriend at his old school and is being unlike any male I've seen not married – even ones in serious relationships don't act so virtuous all the time – and is actually being faithful."

Gaping at her friend in near disbelief Kagome turned to the crowd of girl, which had reduced in size. She furrowed he eyebrows and turned to Sango again. "Yeah, but what if it's none of the above. What if Satsujin-kun just doesn't want to be in a relationship right now?" Snorting, Sango looked to Kikyou's apartment complex and remained quiet. Kagome grinned and thought that she had won the battle until Sango responded.

"I highly doubt that he doesn't want a relationship. I think that he's gay. If you look at him once, you can almost see the gayness dripping off of him. But you still could be right. Highly unlikely, but he could not want a relationship right now. If he doesn't, then you and he are in the same boat, which is a very, very lonely boat indeed! Only two people, who just might get it on despite it all!"

Sango smiled brightly, just before Kagome slapped her upside the head and screeched, "Don't say that! I am too looking for a boyfriend! I just haven't met the right person!" A few couples walking to the store together looked up at Kagome in surprise, causing her to blush heavily. "Oh, it's just Higurashi-san and Uyamuya-san going at it again." They all breathed out, continuing on their way.

Turning to Sango, absolutely furious, Kagome whispered, "If you say anything like that at school, I'll tell everyone about your love for the perverted king of the century, Tanoshii Miroku! I won't even try to keep it from reaching Miroku-kun's ears!"

This time, Sango's jaw dropped as they reached Kikyou's apartment complex. Stopping in front of the doors, Sango blinked and said evenly, "You wouldn't." Pushing open the doors, Kagome stepped inside and let the cool air flow over her body. "Oh, dearest Sango-chan; just like you've been spending too much time with Miroku-kun, I've spent time with the blackmailing queen Korasu Yuki."

Laughing at her friend's face, Kagome walked over into the elevator and pushed the button for the third floor. "Coming?" She called back, causing Sango to run and push the elevator doors back open as they began to close on her.

"You wouldn't dare! Kagome-chan!" Sango whined as the elevator began to move up to the third floor where Kikyou's apartment room was. All Sango got in response was a mysterious smile that didn't fit on Kagome's face. It was the dreaded gossip smile – the kind a girl gets when they have the juiciest gossip and would tell anyone and everyone in the world about. Never in all her life had Kagome been one to gossip, so seeing that smile on her face was unnerving to say the least.

Stepping around Sango like a hawk circles a mouse, Kagome shook her head. She licked her lips before winking at Sango, who looked terrified at this new side of Kagome. Chuckling, Kagome came to a stop in front of her friend after circling her three times, and got in Sango's face. "Now, now, Sango-chan. I would love to." She whispered in a seductive tone.

The elevator 'pinged' and the doors opens, letting Kagome step out while Sango was frozen in her spot from shock. Smiling dazzlingly, as if the two girls had been talking about their favorite cartoon characters, Kagome called back, "Come Sango-chan! We must infiltrate Kikyou-chan's house! Move! Hup, two, three, four! Hup, two three, four."

Watching her friend march down the hall like army personnel snapped Sango to life. She ran to Kagome and kept quiet, shooting her friend weird looks before giving it up and chanting along with Kagome. Throughout the apartment, the customary greeting of two ecstatic females to their friend rang out... in the form of an army chant. "Hup, two, three, four! Hup, two, three, four! Move you lazy bums! Sergeant Uekibachi Kikyou is almost here!"

---

"What the hell was that!" Growling, a short black figured allowed the shadows strengthen his anger as he pointed an accusatory finger towards his comrade. "You! You let the girl slip from you! She was at your mercy, and you left because some half-assed teenage son of a bitch came around like he owned the place!" The sheer intensity of anger at which the man spoke sent all those in the room to their knees. The shadows grew and encompassed the room in their bleak judgment.

The man who sat in front of his master, accused for the crimes of 'mercy' – who dare think that he have such a word in his vocabulary he wondered – bowed his head. His face was etched in pain, not that of the body but that of the soul, as he responded in a dark tone. "You weren't there."

Those simple words hung in the air; eyes widened and some turned away. "What did you say?" The leader demanded menacingly, reaching down next to him. All of the others in the room shrank back from his dispassionate gaze, turning their pitying eyes to the one on trial. Opening his mouth to form a reply, the master spoke again, chilling the room. "What the hell did you say!" Whipping his arm around, a sickening crack resonated throughout the room. "Fool." He sneered, dismissing the other members, who horridly turned and left. He followed them to the door before looking back and whispering, "You were a fool to think that you could defy me."

On the ground lay the man who had been on trial. Out of his mouth blood trickled to the floor, his back sporting a deep gash that went though his heart, dark red lining the floor under him. His eyes were shut in pain, as were his fists. Slowly sitting up, he spit more of the life-giving liquid out of his mouth, the red absorbed into the shadows. Around him, dancing mockingly, spots faded in and out of existence. He tried to stand, pulling his torso up weakly, only to land on the soaked ground with a muffled scream. Covered in blood that contrasted his formally lively clothes, the man glared past the door, screaming with his soul, "You weren't there!"

He wormed his way, slowly and sluggishly, back to his quarters where he could recuperate. Every few minutes, he would cough up blood, but managed to make it to his door anyway. Quite glad that he hadn't closed it all the way, the man nudged it open, crawled inside and lay exhausted after kicking the door closed. He stared at the gray carpet past his nose before closing his eyes, soul still screaming to be heard, "You weren't there! The boy-" At last, his soul lay quiet, exhausted, and tried to heal the body, whispering what the boss would never learn. The boy would had come and stopped his fun wasn't ordinary – quite the contrary – but the master would not know, not until he faced the boy himself.

---

Akari skipped around the garden that she tended to, waiting for Raikou to come out of the shower. She sighed happily thinking of the life that they had together. Of course he demanded a lot of attention – what man didn't? But, then again, she did too, and they were all too happy to put the other in the spotlight. They were in love; beautifully, blissfully in love. She did not know of a better way to spend the rest of her existence than with her soul mate.

Hearing her koishii yell at the water caused her to laugh. It was always like this; she would take a walk in the garden as Raikou took a shower, but before he finished, the water would turn freezing cold. Raikou would end up cursing – of all things – the water out and walk out side after getting dressed to see Akari on her knees laughing.

This time, Raikou forgot that he had to change into his clothes and came out dripping wet, a towel hanging around his waist. "The damn water just had to fucking turn cold, didn't it!" He yelled, stamping his foot to the floor, before looking up and leaning against the doorframe.

"So, how many times does this make it?" He asked as Akari closed her eyes in a vain effort to stop from laughing in front of Raikou. "Make what?" She managed to get out, turning around. "The number of times I've made you scream." He responded dryly. Akari looked at him and squeaked out, "Raikou-kun! Put some clothes on right now!"

Watching as she covered her eyes with her hands, the blush on her cheeks burning the air, Raikou sent her a strange look. "You didn't seem to mind when we had sex." He muttered, stalking back in the house. "My original question," Raikou yelled back to Akari, who stared after him in shock, "Was how many times does that make for the water turning cold while I took a shower?" He shut the door of his room, not waiting to here her indignant yell of, "Kami forbid, Raikou-kun, I'll kill you!"

Watching after the man she was supposed to spend the rest of her life with walk into the house to get dressed, Akari shook her head, muttering her mantra for whenever he did something like this. "Typical, typical male… so typical…" She turned around and walked into her garden, sitting down next to a sakura tree.

"Of course, that doesn't mean that he's like that every time." She mused, before thinking of the one man who never acted like that, no matter who he saw. "Ah, my dear sweet brother, where are you? There have been so many things you've missed… Our very own Chūya has found herself someone only two weeks after you left. I wonder if you would have found your soul mate in the time you left. You never showed interest in girls; you treated everyone like they were precious, and that is why so many have cried for your absence. Many of the other girls that admired you still hold on their promises to capture your heart. Where are you, dearest older brother?"

"Still trying to figure out what happened to the old chump?" Raikou's voice startled Akari out of her thoughts, and she craned her neck to look at him. "You know that he was pretty much our strongest other than the big man himself. I bet that if the old man were challenged, you're brother would have the title in two seconds flat. So just relax; he's fine."

Frowning, Akari just turned away. "How do you know? We haven't had contact with him in forever! He could be dead or dying! My brother always told me where he was going! I can't believe how insensitive you can be!" She threw her hands into the air in exasperation.

Raikou sat down behind her and began to braid her hair, avoiding her hands, which tried to bat his hands away. "It's not called being insensitive, love, it's called having complete faith in your brother's ability." Taking in her now angry look, her mouth opening to respond, he quickly finished, "It's not that you don't trust him, it's just that you are a girl."

The slap sounded throughout the neighborhood. "Oh, so you think that because I'm a girl, I'm handicapped or something? Well let me tell you," Akari seethed, standing, beginning to back away, "You men are so stupid, thinking that everything revolves around-" Raikou jumped up and pulled her to his chest, never giving her a chance to finish.

"Shush," He soothed, "It's not that you're handicapped. It's not even your fault that you're a girl; it might not even be because you're a girl. You just get really emotional when things start happening to people you care for. It's not wrong; it's just how you deal with things." Akari stopped her struggle and listened to his voice. "Me, on the other hand… I bottle it up inside, and I feel there's only one way to get rid of all that pent up emotion."

Looking up as Raikou's voice stopped, Akari blinked and did the perfect impression of a fish. "Oh. So you mean that all of that last night…?" Startled, Raikou coughed and let go of Akari, shuffling his feet. "Er… well, kinda… not really…" He tried to emphasis, only to have Akari say, "Well, then, you have ten seconds."

Now doing his own impression of a fish, Raikou shouted, "Oh shit!" Before he ran out of the garden and into the house, locking doors rapidly in his wake. Doubling over in her mirth, Akari started following him, unlocking each door, only to lock them again after stepping inside. She smiled wickedly, her entire posture screaming, "The time has come, my friend, to pay the toll man…"

---

Stepping to the music playing through his headphones, Kouga turned the corner towards where his cousin lived. Ayame had told him to come over after school, and that was what he intended to do. It didn't matter that it was almost dark out, nor did it matter that his mom had actually kicked him out for being rude instead of letting him out after he finished his homework. Seeing the white house coming up on his left, Kouga jogged across the street and knocked on the door.

Earlier, right after Ayame caught Kouga walking to his car to inform him that she would walk home, she told him about what she wanted to do. Rather than flat out ask Inuyasha if he would duel her in the family dōjō, Ayame planned a series of different encounters where she could see his strength and whether or not he knew the martial arts.

For her plan, Ayame would need a provoker, just someone who could get under Inuyasha's skin and coax him into attacking. Kouga had already proven an ample being for this job, so she asked him to help her out. It was more like she threatened him on the price of his life until he agreed, quite scared by all of her treats. In his mind, there was no doubt that she would keep to her words of extreme torture.

Finally, the door to Ayame's house opened, her father lightly glaring at Kouga. "Eh… Hey Uncle!" The older man just shook his head, and opened the door wider for Kouga to enter. "My sister called and told me what happened." Kouga's eyes widened and he scratched his neck nervously. "Oh, yeah… about that… tell her I'm sorry, would ya? I'm over here 'cause Ayame-chan told me to-"

Springing onto Kouga was the redheaded bundle of joy and flowers in the flesh. Pulling on Kouga's arm, she dragged him up the stairs, not even letting him take off his shoes completely. "Thanks for letting him in, dad! I'll take it from here! Tell Auntie that Kouga-kun's safe with me!" With that, Ayame shoved Kouga into her room and slammed the door shut.

"Okay cousin, what did you do to my aunt? Dad was whining about his sister's 'damn son' who didn't have my bright disposition and expert manners and made me listen to the rant of what he would do to you if you didn't apologize real soon." Ayame paced in her room, before glaring at Kouga and pushing him on her green-sheeted bed. "So what the hell did you do to make Auntie so mad!"

Gulping, Kouga smiled at his cousin sheepishly. Trying to distract himself from the pain he knew was to come, he looked at the room that was Ayame's pride and joy. The walls were painted in a forest scene, thanks to Ayame, being that she was a great artist, and the ceiling was the sky on a clear and starry night. Scattered across the floor was clothes of all types, but the majority of them being underwear and T-shirts. But, as all good things come to an end, Ayame's voice brought Kouga back from one of his fantasies about a different girl in the underwear that his cousin had so carelessly thrown on the floor.

"What the hell you looking at, pervert!" She growled, punching Kouga's arm before backing off and letting him stand up. "So what was the deal with you and your mom?" She queried again, receiving an embarrassed look from the macho cousin she loved so dearly.

Clearing his throat, Kouga began. "You see, mom wouldn't let me come over here to see you until after dinner, so I told her that you'd be asleep before you hit the pillow, because by the time I walked over here, it would be your curfew. She said that I could talk to you in the morning or the weekend if I had to go over to your house. I said that it had to be done today, where upon I slammed my fist on the counter. Mom, thinking that I was mad at her, told me to go up to my room and do my homework before talking to her again. Of course, knowing me, I didn't just leave it at that, nor did I apologize, so I kind of…"

Raising an eyebrow, Ayame finished, "So you kind of cursed her out? You ditz! I thought the term applied to females only, but it has a very special application for you Kouga-kun!" Ayame pounded into one of her pillows before turning to Kouga, looking like she'd kill him for being mean to his mom. "You march your sorry ass back over to your house and apologize to your mom this instant you jackass!" She picked him up – as much as she could, being five inches shorter than him – walked out of her room and threw him down the stairs. "I won't talk to you before you do!"

Ayame's dad stood near the open door and said, almost pityingly, "You told her didn't you?" At a nod from Kouga, he helped the boy up and gave him a firm shove outside the house. "Now go apologize to your mom and Ayame will forgive you. Have a good day!" Smiling unnaturally brightly, Shōnin-san slammed the door shut.

Looking perplexedly at the house his cousin called home, Kouga turned around and began the half-hour trek to his own house. "Oh, sure. They think I'm eccentric." He muttered as he jumped over an alley fence, knowing that he'd cut his journey by ten minutes if he went through the alley. Looking around cautiously, Kouga took a few steps forward until he was sure there was no one there, and began to walk confidently.

Hearing a shallow scream just ahead of him, Kouga started and peered into the dark shadows that had suddenly surrounded him. He saw three figures stab a fourth figure continuously before letting the downed figure alone and looked up – directly at him. Stepping backwards, Kouga began to run as a deep laugh, full of mocking, reached his ears.

"Looks like we have a second one, boys." The dark figures approached Kouga as he tried to scramble over the wall, pulling him down by his ankles and slamming him to the cold cement of the alley floor. Laughing as their victim's vision spun a bit, they began to stab Kouga with small daggers. Looking up to their faces shrouded in the dark, Kouga tried to focus in on any facial features, but spots clouded parts of his vision.

"Don't try too hard kid. You will never know who we are." Again the beings laughed, cold and contemptuous, as Kouga's vision swam and faded to black…

---

Ending Note: 4,535 words! Beat that down! Plenty of people who can… but oh well! It is an improvement from the 4,022 word of before – the dark ringleader and poor guy who got beat on weren't in my original version.

Just to explain: Raikou and Akari are important to the plot later on, but for now, they just kind of are there to make people laugh at their stupidity. I know that I fell of my chair as I wrote their scene! (Raikou's a pervert – never thought I'd see the day!) So don't mind that they get their own little section – I just need someone to talk my mind off the less joyous stuff… But there is lots of foreshadowing where the pair is concerned. Review and see if you can guess who they are talking about – the person who is Akari's brother – and I'll tell you if you're right! He's already been mentioned at least once. I've gone back and checked.