I do not own Inuyasha or its characters.
I would like to thank InitialA, psychochick32, and Patchcat for their combined efforts in editing this story. They've done an amazing job cleaning up my mistakes.
Deserted was nominated for Best Drama at the Inuyasha Fanguild, but was DQ'd for punctuation issues. These three wonderful women have been kind enough to go through this story to edit the errors so that it can be reinstated and go through the voting process which begins on Febuary 15th.
Deserted 4: Delayed Reactions
"You get everything ready?" the manager questioned, his eyes narrowed on the yacht in question, before traveling to the employee he only used for his 'illegal' activities.
"It's done. I placed one unit on the yacht, the other in the lifeboat. Neither unit will activate until they reach the coordinates you wanted set. They'll be able to use the lifeboat without incident should they decide on an impromptu trip to any of the islands on their route before they reach the programmed destination. Once the coordinates are reached, the device will shut down the engines and the gages will give false readings. This eliminates their ability to contact the Coast Guard. I also programmed the unit to scramble the signal to their cellular phones. They won't be able to call in or out once the yacht leaves port. Once the device becomes active…boom. No one will survive. It's a shame that we won't be there to watch the fireworks."
"Both will detonate at the same moment?"
"There may be a slight delay in the transmission between the two units if the devices are far apart, but it won't be enough to allow for survivors. These units are the best on the black market. You won't be disappointed."
"I'll send your payment the moment I have confirmation that all has gone as planned." The manager dismissed the man with a wave of his hand. "Go out the back."
His clients were due any minute to pick up the yacht, their vacation cruise taking them well out to sea. With the marina losing so much revenue because of the shift in the economy, this was a surefire plan to collect some insurance money. Who would question an accident involving a yacht full of partying college grads?
No one, that's who.
Shippo paced angrily, his reason for coming to Inuyasha's apartment forgotten. He stayed by the door, his anger mounting with every breath he took. Kagome's scent filled his nose, erupting in his head.
Mated. To Inuyasha!
He growled again, raising his eyes to glower at said half demon sitting on the couch, head resting in his hands. Truth was he felt bad for the hanyou once he'd heard the story. Inuyasha had buried himself in this one by not telling Kagome about the mark and what it meant- for both of them. And Kagome would figure it out, no matter how desperately Inuyasha clung to the hope of hiding it from her.
"How long?" Shippo snarled, stopping his pacing when Inuyasha lifted his head to look at him.
"How long what, runt?" Inuyasha snapped back. He needed a shower, preferably a cold one, and the two demons in his living space still refused to leave.
"How long do you think you can hold out on her? Kagome's a smart woman. It won't take long for her to figure out what's going on."
"A month, maybe two at most. I wanna give it long enough to get to know her better; let her get to know me, too," Inuyasha muttered, his head once again finding refuge in the palms of his hands.
"You're more stupid than I thought." Shippo ran his hand through his hair before scratching at a spot just behind his ear.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Inuyasha growled.
Standing up, Inuyasha made his way closer to the kitsune, intent on heading for the shower. Shippo and Koga could either wait for him, or they could leave. He didn't care which.
"She'll have it figured out by the end of the week. I'd bet money on that," Shippo replied, stopping his pacing by the door.
"I'll take you up on that one," Koga laughed, his eyes meeting Inuyasha's glare as he reached into his pocket for some cash.
"Fifty bucks says she figures it out by the end of the week," Shippo challenged, though he knew it was wrong to bet on such a life-changing event.
"You're on!" Koga smirked, pulling a fifty dollar bill from the wad of cash he carried." I give it three days. "
Inuyasha merely growled before turning around and heading toward the bathroom, a thought occurring to him as he walked through the door. "Call Kirara and Ayame. Tell them to keep their traps shut on this. I wanna be the one to tell Kagome," Inuyasha called out before shutting the door and effectively ending the conversation.
"It didn't take you long to cool down, Shippo. Could it be because you had the same life altering experience with Kirara last night?" Koga murmured, falling back into the couch to wait for Inuyasha.
"I can't believe Inuyasha didn't notice," Shippo murmured as he too made his way to the couch, plopping down beside the wolf demon.
"He's a bit distracted at the moment, in case you hadn't noticed," Koga replied, a smirk still gracing his features. "How'd it happen?"
"The same way it happened for Yash. We went up to her room last night. It got heated, and before I knew it, I'd marked her," Shippo muttered, still in shock from the morning's events. "Except neither one of us lost consciousness, and I was smart enough not to leave her to wake up alone."
"It's good she's a demon, Shippo. At least she understands the nature of it. Kagome's human and most likely doesn't know what it means."
"What about Ayame?" Shippo queried. "You think she's your mate?"
"I know she is. And so does she. The whole intimacy issue can wait though. I want to do it when we go on vacation. You know… a special location- all romantic like. I bought her ring, too"
"You bought her a ring? Why? That's a human tradition, and last time I looked neither of you are human."
"I know. But I want more than one mark showing she's mine; something the human population will recognize, too."
Silence stretched between them as they listened to Inuyasha's shower turn on and, ten minutes later, turn off again. "You two still going to the marina?" Shippo asked, standing and making his way toward Inuyasha's refrigerator.
"Yeah. We've got to make sure that everything's been checked over, then get it to Kaede's so we can get going. Two days isn't much time to get everything done, but the Marina manager assured me the yacht would be ready today," Koga answered.
Inuyasha stalked into the living room, eyes focused on the kit rummaging through his food. "I'm a son of a bitch?" he snarled.
The kitsune jumped at the sound of Inuyasha's voice, his head hitting the top of the fridge, his hand tipping over the carton of milk in his haste to retreat from the stalking hanyou. "You marked your bitch too, and I'm the son of a bitch?"
"Now, Inuyasha. Let's not do anything rash!" Shippo mumbled as he scurried out of Inuyasha's path, flinching when he realized just how much he sounded like Miroku just then.
"You knew this whole time that our demons react on instinct, knew damn well that what I did was out of my control, and yet you still come into my house calling me names?!"
"What was I supposed to think, Inuyasha? You've never had a serious relationship. I didn't want to see Kagome hurt, and you are the king of one night stands!" Shippo scurried around the island, Inuyasha stalking around after him, ears pinned back, eyes narrowed on his target.
"In Shippo's defense, he's right. No one ever thought to see the day you'd mark someone, Inuyasha, let alone Kagome." Koga laughed at the hilarious sight before him. Inuyasha was drenched, wrapped only in a towel, Shippo scurrying away like a pup, tail between his legs before the alpha of his pack.
Inuyasha stopped moving, his face drawn in thought. "Does your demon howl the further you get from Kirara?" he questioned Shippo, who looked relieved to have Inuyasha off the hunt for his hide.
"Yeah. I came over to ask if you guys could help me move my stuff to her apartment. I tried to leave her last night to get some of my clothes and stuff, and it howled with every mile I put between us. I had to turn back even before I got to my place. He's been howling all morning, too."
"Yours is doing the same?" Shippo asked.
"Damn it!" Inuyasha growled. "Call the moving company, Koga. Tell them to get Shippo's stuff moved over there, then have them come get mine."
"Yours?" Koga asked. He reached for the phone, dialing the number without taking his eyes off Inuyasha.
"Yeah, mine. Call Kaede, too. Ask if she's got an available apartment, preferably one as close to Kagome's as you can get."
"You mean the howling hasn't stopped yet?" Shippo asked before moving toward the bathroom for a towel to clean up the milk he'd spilled.
"It's more a whine now. If I have to go all night listening to it, I'm sure to kill something to ease the irritation," Inuyasha growled, squeezing past Shippo in the hallway, eyes focused on the kitsune.
"I'm on it," Koga answered.
Inuyasha made his way to his room to get dressed. This shit was getting more and more chaotic with every second that passed. And to make it worse, he could sense Kagome's confusion, his demon whimpering in response, begging to comfort his mate.
"It gets easier, you know," Koga muttered after hanging up the phone.
"What does?" Shippo pouted, moving toward the couch. He needed to put distance between Inuyasha and himself for fear the hanyou might actually skin him and hang him out to dry.
"Leaving your mate. Once your demons are certain that your claims are unchallenged, it'll be easier to be further away from them."
"And what makes you such an expert, Koga?" Inuyasha snorted, eyes trained on the wolf demon lounging so casually on his furniture.
"I have superior intelligence," Koga laughed, dodging the towel Shippo tossed at him.
Kagome rushed through the apartment to pick up her discarded clothes, phone pinned between her shoulder and head.
It rang continuously to all the numbers she'd dialed. First Sango, who always answered her phone, then Ayame, and Kirara. Where the hell were they?
Stopping in front of the mirror, Kagome eyed the mark on her neck. Ayame and Kirara would know what it was.
She'd been debating during her clean up what to wear for the day: cover the mark up, or leave it alone and hope no one took notice?
Eventually, she'd decided on an army green tank top and some low-rise jeans. Today was about packing for their trip, and doing so while confined in a turtle neck sweater simply held no appeal. She was a grown woman, free of any romantic relationship. Who she decided to be intimate with was of no one's concern, and even if they noticed, they'd never know it was Inuyasha unless she told them.
She'd been sure to scrub her hair and skin, removing Inuyasha's scent in case she ran into any demon friends. It never ceased to amaze her, the abilities they had.
As far as anyone knew, her last serious relationship had been with Bankotsu. But that was long over, having dumped him almost a year ago. But not before he'd taken everything she'd offered him, shattering it between his clawed hands.
Still, his touch hadn't brought her the pleasure Inuyasha's had. His kiss hadn't been as addicting, his lovemaking as passionate. She hadn't reacted to him the way she had to Inuyasha, hadn't wanted him as desperately either.
Groaning at the heat steadily building within her, Kagome headed to the shower – again -- and the cold water that seemed her only respite for the untamed hunger Inuyasha had left her with.
She didn't need a man in her life, especially one of demonic heritage, no matter how much he appealed to her senses. She only hoped he was as affected by their encounter as she had been. It'd serve him right for leaving her hot and bothered; never mind they'd both passed out cold before they'd gotten to the good stuff.
This was all his fault!
SHIT!!
Inuyasha skidded through the bedroom door and into the bathroom, his clothing yanked from his body as he fumbled for the cold water tap of his shower.
"Damn wench must be a nymphomaniac," he grumbled, ignoring the laughter floating through the walls and into his shower.
This was going to kill him. At this rate, they'd never make it to the marina.
Two hours and one shower later, Inuyasha and Koga were headed through the water in the yacht toward Kaede's. "You sure they checked everything?" Inuyasha murmured, eyeing the gages doubtfully. "That guy looked half-baked to me."
Koga laughed as he drove. "Which one?"
"The manager. He didn't feel right, ya know?"
"Yeah. But he said everything was good to go," Koga muttered, his finger tapping on the glass covering the fuel gage. "I thought they said they filled this up?"
"They did. They also said the reserve tanks were full too. Why?"
"Nothing. The gage was off a second ago, but it reads full now. There must be a glitch in the wiring."
Inuyasha looked around. The yacht was impressive enough. Everything was decorated in gold trim and sparkling glass. The floors were a deep mahogany, polished until they shined. He'd checked through the cabins to make sure everything was clean and had already designated his and Kagome's rooms. "You think Shippo got pulled over on his way home?" Koga snickered.
"Serves the little bastard right, if you ask me… He sure got a kick out of my predicament, 'til Kirara got her panties in a twist."
"I didn't think it was possible to run sporting an erection like that," Koga laughed, flinching away when Inuyasha reached to punch him in the arm.
"You just wait, Fleabag. Your turn's comin'."
"You think Miroku's won Sango over yet?"
Inuyasha snorted, eyes filled with laughter. "I think she'll come around eventually. She doesn't hate his attention as much as she'd like us to think. You get me a room at Kaede's?" he asked, changing the subject briefly.
Koga smiled, his eyes leaving the sparkling blue expanse of ocean in front of them. "Of course. I even managed to get you a room right next door to Kagome's."
"Yeah? What'd you tell the old bag?" Inuyasha questioned, not liking the growing smirk on Koga's face or the mischievous glint in his eyes.
"Ah, nothing much. Just that you had a raging erection that only Kagome could..."
He really should have anticipated the right hook that landed him flat on his ass, but the laugh he'd gotten from the look on Inuyasha's face was worth it.
I do hope you're still enjoying. Please keep letting me know? It is your continued support ( ie: your wonderful reviews) that are motivating me to get the next chapter up, and I thank each of you for it. I'll keep writing if you all keep reviewing- deal? Last chapter had 37 reviews, and the enjoyment I got from those was unexplainable. Would you spoil me again? Pretty please? To those I couldn't reply to- thank you, too. And to everyone else, I thank you as well, and I hope I didn't miss anyone.
I will be starting the next chapter tonight, and hopefully will post again before Christmas. If something happens before then, and I don't get it posted, I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas.
I hope you all get everything you want, and that you and yours have a happy, safe holiday.
Until then, I hope to hear from you again.
Neisha
