Lead Me Down the Garden Path
Interloper
One Hour Earlier
All his life Souta found it easier to fall asleep when his surroundings were as silent as the grave. Finding himself under his lifelong role model's roof on this particular evening, however, had made sleep evasive, regardless how quiet the house felt.
Previously fighting to keep his eyes open once he, Miroku, and Sango had returned to the leisure room, Souta now found himself undeniably awake, not an ounce of sleepiness to be found in his body. Sighing audibly and patting an abstract rhythm on his belly, Souta's eyes darted back and forth across the ceiling. The house shuffled between periods of quiet and slightly less quiet. Souta's ears could never quite distinguish or identify the noises made in other parts of the house, but it was noise enough that Souta knew others were stirring.
Thinking he would be caught if he got up and wandered, like he wanted to, Souta remained stationary in the bed, and had done so for the last fifteen minutes.
But his mind would not stop taunting him that he was in Inuyasha's house!
Souta could feel his heart beating in his belly and anticipation coursing through his veins. He wanted to explore the house more than anything. He wanted to be the first fan to really get to know Inuyasha. He wanted to see a side of his hero that no one else saw. Staying in bed wasn't going to give him access to anything, and the more he thought about that the antsier he felt.
Sighing once more, Souta sat up like a shot and flung his legs over the side of the bed. His limbs were starting to feel irritable from his internal debate. If Kagome were here, she would tell him to not even think about it, and to some extent Souta knew, deep down, that it was wrong to go through Inuyasha's belongings without permission. But, willpower and desire were funny states in that particular moment, and before the rational side of his brain retaliated any further, Souta reached for his jeans that had been discarded on the floor, slid into them one leg at a time, and he tiptoed towards the bedroom door.
His hand on the doorknob, he found himself in another period of absolute silence.
Steeling his resolve, Souta decided that, if caught, he would just use the excuse he was looking for the bathroom. After all, in a house this big? No one could argue any different.
Opening the door carefully so the hinges wouldn't squeal, Souta furrowed his brow, as if the action would exaggerate his hearing. He could detect faint sounds of movement and voices in the lower regions of the house, but he couldn't make out anything clearly. To his untrained ear, it was just the monotonous drone of low frequency human conversation.
Stepping into the unfamiliar hallway, Souta couldn't completely recall being escorted by Miroku to the guest room. Souta remembered climbing what felt like hundreds of stairs to get to the fourth floor, but this hallway looked foreign to him. He could appreciate that Miroku may have thought putting Souta in the topmost corner of the house was a considerate gesture to ensure Souta's sleep wasn't disturbed; however, at the same time, Souta couldn't help but feel like he was intentionally put in a corner to be out of the way. But, out of the way of what Souta didn't know.
Kagome and Inuyasha had run from the leisure room so quickly, Souta initially sniggered and thought his elder sibling and role model were just excusing themselves for some lovey dovey, inappropriate alone time. But, the shouting from the stairway alerted the rest of the room that something was clearly wrong between the two, and Souta knew Kagome well enough to understand exactly what her tone meant. Pausing the movie, he had felt dumbfounded as Sango and then Miroku tore from the room. Concern for his sister all he knew in that moment, Souta followed suit.
Standing at the bottom of the stairs, Souta had looked up helplessly, catching eyes with Sango who shook her head at Souta, advising him that he needed to stay completely out of this. Helpless and uncomfortable in a stranger's home, Souta had wandered back into the leisure room, the horror movie paused at a ridiculous moment and the once comfortable recliner now just too plushy and suffocating. In the following minutes, there were a few sounds that startled Souta, but before he could get out of his seat to investigate, Sango and Miroku returned wrapped up in a curt, whispered conversation. Souta had asked if everything was fine with Kagome and Inuyasha, and Miroku seemed to force a smile, cracked some joke about a lover's quarrel, and stated Souta should disregard what he may hear; Kagome was safe. Thinking that to be an odd thing to say to comfort Souta, but knowing his sister well enough to know she could look after herself, he sat back in the chair compliantly. The moment not feeling right enough for him to resume the film, Souta pulled his phone from his pocket and merely occupied some time on Reddit. When the house had been still for a while, he couldn't fight back the yawns anymore, and Miroku had shown Souta to the guest room.
Now, here he was, feeling shameless and delinquent as he tiptoed his way from his quarantine to stand dormant on the fourth floor's landing. From his crow's nest view of the foyer, Souta felt open to the rest of the house.
Souta held his breath, expecting any minute to hear someone call his name or shout at him. However, his exposed position didn't seem to expose him at all, and Souta stood full of adrenaline, his heartbeat loud in his ears in the house's present silence. Initially, his intent had been to find Inuyasha's studio, a place that Miroku alluded to but had not shown to Souta on the tour of the house. Souta's eyes catching on a closed door at the end of the hallway in front of him, he searched his recent memory of the tour and tried to remember what that room contained; however, Souta widened his eyes and grinned in recognition that Inuyasha had claimed that room off limits.
I bet that could be it…Souta bemusedly thought as his socked feet brought him closer towards the room in question.
Resting his palm on the doorknob, Souta made a silent promise to his sister that he wouldn't touch anything. Turning the knob in his hand, Souta couldn't stifle the smirk that overtook his face at hearing Kagome's voice in his head.
Look with your eyes and not with your hands, Souta! You better not damage anything. If you do, don't expect me to ask Inuyasha to be nice to you!
I know, Sis, I know. I'll be good. I promise. I just want to see his studio; maybe take a picture or two on my phone.
The Kagome voice in his head scoffed. And do what with the picture? Sell it for a cheap buck to the newspapers and magazines?
No, it's for my own eyes only. Like a souvenir! Well, maybe I'd show a few of the guys if they didn't believe me when I told them I was in Inuyasha's recording studio!
A noise echoing from the lower parts of the house caused Souta to freeze, the door open merely inches in front of him. There weren't any steps on the stairs that he could hear, but Souta bore his eyes into the dark, expecting to see a person emerge any second to tell him off for snooping.
Seconds passing, and Souta's adrenaline calming down slightly, Souta sighed and turned his attention back to the door. Opening the door quickly, Souta stepped into the darkness of the room and shut the door behind him.
So long as he stayed quiet, no one would ever expect to look for him in here.
Not wanting to turn on the overhead light and draw attention to the room—should said light be visible from the cracks of the door—Souta pulled his cellphone from his pocket and turned on the Torch.
Souta's shoulders sunk in disappointment. It was an office. A standard office.
Souta shriveled his nose and mouthed a soundless, Ah man!
Angling the phone around the room, Souta observed platinum and gold records on the wall belonging to The Band of Seven. Souta smiled as he stared at the platinum record the band received for their single, The Tale of Banryū. Tempted to hum the catchy guitar riff, but thinking it best he stay as silent as possible, Souta sang the song to himself in his mind and nodded along in time to the beat.
Using his phone to look around the boring room, Souta couldn't understand why Inuyasha had been so serious about keeping them out of this room on the tour. It really was just a dusty, dreary old office. If anything, Souta couldn't fathom why, if this room was so important to Inuyasha, he wouldn't keep the door locked.
Souta took a few steps towards the large, old fashioned-looking wooden desk. The embellished, curved legs gave the desk an air of royalty. Souta could only imagine how many hundreds of pounds the thing weighed. His eyes searching the desk for a sign of anything interesting, the bright, white light of his phone gave the room a spooky ambiance, speckles of dust floating around his vision.
His eyes focused past the dust speckles, trying to make out the objects on the desk's surface; however, thick dust the colour of stale, dried Dijon mustard settled like a second skin on the surface of everything. Heading over toward the vestibule on the side of the room, Souta gripped the little black knob and tried to open it, but the door wouldn't budge. Souta pouted and turned to face the desk once more.
Something glinted underneath the desk in reflection from his phone's light and drew Souta's attention; he crouched down in front of the beastly table to get a better look. Souta could make out a few shards of glass and he promptly searched for traces of a broken window or picture frame or anything interesting like that; however, he didn't find anything out of the ordinary. Unbeknownst to Souta, however, was that this was a shard the cleaning staff had missed once they cleaned up—as much as Inuyasha would let them—following Inuyasha's altercation in that room with Ginkotsu.
Circling the desk, Souta happened to look up and notice for the first time the swords on the wall. He couldn't help the Cool! that escaped his lips as he angled his neck to try and get a better look. From where he stood, Souta could make out a silver nameplate; however, because of the phone's bright reflection, he couldn't read the embossment. Looking quickly for a step stool and realizing there wasn't one, Souta consented to standing on the desk, which would place him at eye level with the swords.
While climbing onto the desk, and then standing stable and erect, Souta made a mental reminder to wipe the desk clean of his footmarks before he left. Deciding that plan effectively covered his butt before he left the office for his room, Souta fully turned his attention to the swords.
It took all of his willpower to keep his hands to himself. Biting his tongue with wide eyes, Souta marveled the masterly crafted weapons.
The ancient swords crossed at the hilts and stood formidably mounted against the wooden plaque. Holding the phone in front of him to better his view, Souta could make out the Taisho name finely etched in kanji characters in the wood at the top. The nameplate had the same dull sheen as the swords; however, blowing the dust away best he could, Souta found he was just able to read the engraving.
Life and death are illusions, and we are in a constant state of transformation. All men will find their foot upon the threshold of two paths—Tessaiga, death; Tenseiga, life. The choice will be made by you or for you. The most blessed of men are the ones who choose.
What the hell does that mean? Souta asked himself, using the forearm of the hand that clutched his phone to rub the goosebumps away from the other. There was something chilling and eerie about the inscription that Souta just couldn't put his finger on.
Turning to his left, prepared to jump down from his perch atop the desk, Souta first spied the floating cabinet.
"Hello…" Souta hoarsely whispered, inching closer to the edge of the desk.
Tucking his phone between his cheek and shoulder, Souta held his breath as he reached for the cabinet, his fingers landing upon the cool metal. Sticking two fingers under the latch, Souta let out a small cheer when the door met no resistance and he was able to slide it open. Not sure what he was doing, what he was looking for, or what he was hoping to find, Souta came to the conclusion that he was already in this far and there was no point in turning back now.
He could only imagine the terse words Kagome would have to say about this.
Pushing thoughts of his sister's chagrin from his mind, Souta focused his attention on the hanging cabinet's open door. He couldn't help but raise his eyebrows at seeing that contained within the large unit was merely a manila envelope. There was something enticing about that envelope to Souta, whether it was its weathered look, or its plumpness, or the thin red-string that bound the envelope closed. Licking his lips and sliding his hand underneath the folder, Souta had to brace himself, not expecting the folder to be so heavy. It had to be at least three or four inches thick, entirely filled with paper.
Pulling the folder towards him, Souta's eyes absorbed the I.T. written in stocky, bold font on the front in a thick marker. Seating himself on the desk, his legs swinging over the edge, Souta turned the folder over in his hands, two thoughts running through this mind.
Either this folder contained computer-related materials—maybe he could even finally get the WIFI password—or the contents were related to Inuyasha.
I.T.
Inuyasha Taisho.
Curious, Souta unbound the red-string and pulled the paper contents onto his lap.
The entire stack was composed of handwritten notes on standard 8.5 by 11 papers or clippings from dated magazine or newspaper articles. To Souta's young mind, there was nothing sane or sound about the papers through which he riffled; the writing on every page seemed just as random as someone doodling absently while in class or making hectic notes during a phone call. Words, numbers, dates, names and other scrawling filled up page after page, horizontally, vertically, diagonally, in all shapes and sizes.
One sheet looked like a completed to-do list. Another looked like an address book.
Closer to the back of the stack, Souta gripped a small stack of stapled papers in both hands, the remainder of the pile resting on his lap. The paper was thick and rigid, not the cheap stuff you'd find at your local library.
This Extension Agreement ("Agreement") is made and effective the 21st day of September, 2003,
BETWEEN: Naikaku Jōhō Chōsashitsu, a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly of Japan,
AND: The Honourable Tōga Taisho at the address of one, Sengoku Manor.
"Who the hell is Tōga Taisho?" Souta incredulously asked himself. "That couldn't be…Inuyasha's dad?"
Souta's eyes hovered over the address. It was public knowledge that Inuyasha inherited Sengoku Manor from his father after his dad passed away. Souta felt his heart thud with that new knowledge, convinced that this Tōga Taisho was Inuyasha's deceased father. His eyes then circled the word 'honourable'.
Aren't judges referred to as 'Your Honour'? Souta pondered. Was Inuyasha's dad a judge?
Souta's eyes skimmed the remaining of the legalese contained in the agreement letter. What company is Naikaku Jōhō Chōsashitsu? Souta had never heard of it before. Running the pad of his thumb over the embossed footer on the bundled pages, Souta's eyes skimmed the letter. It was a contract extension for a two-year term as member of the board. Not able to make any further sense of the document, Souta repositioned his phone, placed the contract on the desk beside him, and continued sifting through the papers.
"Known whereabouts…" Souta read aloud, finding one page actually titled. There had to be at least sixteen different towns or addresses here, some of which sounded American. "Hm…"
Souta flipped to the next page. It looked like another crossed-off to-do list, but this one looked different than the one from earlier. Holding the paper closer to his face, Souta realized the crossed-off items were names.
"Who are these people?"
Souta counted. There were forty-six in total, and all had been crossed out. But, it wasn't the names that made Souta uncomfortable, it was the one word written beside each name that caused a chill to run down his spine.
Shoko Asahara Drowned.
Yuko Koshimori Burned.
Kakuei Tanaka Burned.
Bernard Madoff Decapitated.
Musō Onigumo Burned.
Not able to identify any of the names, Souta gulped past the lump in his throat and discarded the paper from his hand. Without being able to speak to why, Souta suddenly felt as if he shouldn't be doing what he was doing. Dread lay heavy in the pit of his stomach.
Holding some of the papers to his stomach in an attempt to keep the pile organized, Souta fingered some smaller pages, most of which were rectangular or square cut-outs from a newspaper. Thankfully, a majority of the clippings were held together with a paperclip. Adjusting his phone from its perch between his cheek and neck, Souta stretched his neck, beginning to feel an ache fester, and then repositioned the phone on his other shoulder. Sitting up straight, Souta placed the large pile of papers on the desktop beside him and unclipped the small papers. He held them only a few inches away from his face so he could sift through them and read the titles, the aged paper appearing translucent in the bright phone light.
Florist's giveaway encourages 'good neighbours'
Local flower shop recognized for humanitarian efforts
Human Interest Story: Izayoi Taisho
"Taisho…" Souta mumbled, his eyes circling the name trying to place it. He determined it must be some kind of relative of Inuyasha's. A part of his mind reflected on the document belonging to Inuyasha's father that Souta had just seen. Could this be an article about Inuyasha's other parent? His mother? Souta didn't have anything to substantiate that query, but a growing discomfort in his stomach made him feel like he was onto something.
Placing the remaining articles on his lap, Souta skimmed through the first few paragraphs of the human-interest story.
Many have vocalized their concerns about the increase in refugees making central Japan their home; however, Izayoi Taisho is one of the few voices in opposition to that statement. The forty-eight year old local florist has been making waves for her charitable work creating jobs for refugees and her campaign to raise awareness for refugee rights. Taisho recently announced plans to start a not-for-profit organization providing skills development and counselling for landed refugees or new immigrants to Japan.
"It's a basic human right, the entitlement to have food, shelter, and offering protection to one's children," Izayoi said in her last interview with ARAMA Magazine. "We need to reassess our capacity for helping others. Who really knows what these people are experiencing? Most of the refugee women I've come to know just want to make enough money to go back to their home country and find their lost children. Why wouldn't I offer them a job to help them with that goal? Who really knows what that's like? To lose a child? Losing my own son all those years ago has allowed me to empathize with these women. Not knowing what has happened to your loved one is one of the most traumatic experiences anyone can face."
Growing frustrated at his inability to better understand Izayoi's relationship to Inuyasha, Souta continued flipping through the articles in his bundle.
Taisho NPO scheduled for opening in November
2 dead after 'very nasty' fire in Inkebukoro
Souta almost did a double take after the last title and swallowed a mouthful of saliva before bringing the document closer to his face to read.
Local humanitarian and refugee rights activist Izayoi Taisho was reported dead on Thursday when the office of her not-for-profit organization in Inkebukoro burned down in a fire that Fire Marshal Kasai Hinata described as "very nasty". Witnesses reported the fire late Wednesday night, and local fire authorities responded promptly to try to put out the 100-foot flames; however, by Thursday morning, the body of Taisho and one other unidentifiable individual were found. A volunteer firefighter described the damage as "irreparable". At this time, Hinata and his team have identified poor electrical wiring as the cause of the fire; however, further investigations are pending.
Souta reached for his phone and dropped his hand in his lap, his jeans becoming a distorted brown from the brightness of the muffled phone light in his lap. The darkness felt overwhelming around him as Souta stared forward into nothing, his brain too busy processing to understand what he had just discovered.
A spike of activity bellowing from the lower extremities of the house caused Souta to jump, his hand brushing the papers and causing a few of them to plummet to the floor. Sliding off the desk, Souta rearranged the papers, still feeling discombobulated.
Poor Izayoi…Souta thought. Deciding he had had enough, he stuffed the paperwork back into the manila folder and retied the red string. Life really isn't fair…
Climbing atop the desk once more, Souta rehoused the folder where he had found it, his eyes lingering on the open cabinet. Observing the large presence that manila envelope conveyed, Souta stood in silence, his eyes turning to the second unopened door in the cabinet.
His hunger to know was curdling within his gut.
He wanted to make sense of what he had just seen. Who were all those people crossed off on that sheet? Why did that list record, what Souta interpreted as, how those people died? Souta wanted to believe it was perhaps a research project, but something more sinister poked its way from the back of his mind and he had to stop that thought dead in its tracks. What was that organization for which Inuyasha's dad was a board member? Was Izayoi actually Inuyasha's mom like Souta's gut told him? Had Inuyasha seen these papers? Was he the one who made those notes? Kept that information contained in the cabinet?
Souta's eyes bore holes into the unopened second door of the cabinet.
If he had learned so much from that first door alone, he wondered how many answers that second door would contain. His eyes ping-ponged between the open first door and the manila envelope, and the second unopened door.
Positioning his toe at the absolute corner of the desk, Souta held his breath and reached for the second door of the hanging file. His fingertips could just barely reach the metal. Releasing a breath, Souta reached again, feeling the pull in his shoulder as he strained to reach the door.
Overextending himself, too focused on juggling his balance and his reach, Souta's phone dropped from his grasp and thudded on the floor. Startled by the sound, Souta's eyes turned downwards to see where the device had landed; however, the momentary distraction caused his body to falter and Souta felt himself falling forward. With nothing to grasp to keep himself from falling to the floor, Souta gripped the bottom lip of the hanging cabinet with his one hand, immediately mimicking the action with his other. His lower body fell away from the desk and for a moment the cabinet was the only thing keeping Souta's body from an embrace with the floor.
However, gravity was unkind then, as the sudden pull from Souta's body weight tore the drywall anchors from the wall, and both Souta and the hanging cabinet fell to the floor.
The crash was deafening.
In the hanging cabinet's descent, the second door blew open, showering unbound papers into the air, fluttering around Souta's vision from his position on his back. The house came alive quickly after that moment.
Footsteps on the stairs. Muddled voices. The panic that overtook Souta was debilitating.
"Shit, shit, shit!" He cursed, getting on his hands and knees trying to gather the paperwork into a pile. His phone had landed light-side down so Souta really had no idea how effective, if at all, his scrambling was.
Souta had never felt as guilty or ashamed as when he finally heard the door fly open and the blindness that followed from the overhead light.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing!?"
At the same time Souta felt himself being pulled to his feet by the collar of his shirt, he heard his sister bellowing Inuyasha's name.
"I'm sorry!" Souta blubbered, feeling tears gathering in his throat as the neck of his crew shirt dug into his esophagus. "Inuyasha, I didn't mean—"
"Were you snooping through my shit, you little twerp!?"
Souta closed his eyes to try to stifle his panic. "N-no, well, yes, I mean—"
"Inuyasha!"
Kagome's voice was a welcome one in the moment, and Souta turned grateful, apologetic eyes towards her.
Kagome couldn't hide the horror on her face at the sight in front of her: the disaster of paper everywhere, the damage to the wall where the hanging cabinet had been, and Inuyasha grasping Souta's shirt in a tightly clenched fist.
"Inuyasha, let him go!" Kagome cried. "Souta! What the hell were you doing in here?"
Inuyasha fell mute as his eyes scoured the room. His rage felt hot and searing underneath his skin. Grinding his teeth, Inuyasha's eyes roamed the discarded papers, realizing that not even he had gone through his father's paperwork. The owner of Sengoku Manor for all these years and Inuyasha never had the guts to clean up his father's personal and work-related documents. Tōga Taisho died several years ago, and yet his office was just how he left it on the day he went to work and never came home.
How many times had Inuyasha hovered outside the door and wanted desperately to go inside and examine the paperwork that would help him discover who his father was, what kind of man his father was. Inuyasha had heard the stories, but he wanted the truth. Yet, Inuyasha was always scared of the truth his father represented; he feared that his father really could have been the kind of man the rumours made him out to be. So he kept the door closed, forbade anyone from ever going in and disturbing anything. Inuyasha wanted to protect the little privacy his father maintained after death.
But now, his father's personal paperwork was everywhere, accessible to Kagome's eyes, this brat's eyes. God only knows just how much that kid had seen, how much he now knew about Inuyasha, his father, and his twisted family history.
The thought that this kid knew more about Inuyasha's own father than Inuyasha did made Inuyasha see a pure, white rage.
"We can fix this, Inuyasha," Kagome claimed, lowering herself to gather some papers in her hands. "I'm so, so sorry for my brother's idiotic actions. I'm mortified. Please, Inuyasha. We can fix all of this."
"Don't fucking touch anything," Inuyasha spat, gruffly releasing Souta's shirt with a shove. Inuyasha felt the familiar rush of blinding anger breeding within his chest and he clenched his fist, as if shaking hands with an old friend.
"I really am sorry," Souta cried, offering Inuyasha a quick bow to hide the tears that prickled in the corners of his eyes.
"Souta—" Kagome sighed, shaking her head as she stood, her small pile of papers looking pitiful amongst the remainder of the mess.
Before another word could leave her mouth, Kagome watched with wide, confused eyes as Souta tried to leave the room, but was promptly stopped by Inuyasha blocking the doorway. Her stomach quivering as she tried to register the unknown expression on Inuyasha's face, Kagome took a protective step closer to her brother.
"Inuyasha, he said he was sorry. I'm not condoning what he's done by any means; he will certainly be paying for the damages, but—"
"—What did you see?"
The question Inuyasha posed Souta stole the words once more from Kagome's lips.
"You must have been snooping in here for a while, am I right? I won't ask you again—what exactly did you see?"
The iciness in Inuyasha's words brought goosebumps to Kagome's arms.
Souta's hands were shaking and he turned his eyes to the floor. "I—I saw some names on a piece of paper. Uh—uhm, I saw a contract of some kind but I don't know for what. And, I uh—a new—news story," Souta stuttered, "about some woman who died in a fire. Izayoi."
The fire that lit in Inuyasha's eyes at the mention of his mother's name caused another wave of fear to spike in Souta's body.
"Don't fucking say her name," Inuyasha growled.
Souta nodded. "I'm sorry."
Inuyasha snorted and leaned against the doorframe crossing his arms. "You're only sorry because you got caught, don't fucking lie to me, brat."
"Inuyasha," Kagome stated curtly, her hands at her sides. "I really am sorry about all of this, but you don't need to be rude to my brother. He's apologized for his actions, he will make it up to you. I don't—"
"Just shut up, Kagome," Inuyasha spat so viciously it caused Kagome to recoil as if she'd been slapped. Inuyasha turned his eyes towards the papers on the ground. "You don't get to stand up for him when he just stuck his nose so deep into my family's most private fucking business. And I'm supposed to believe he won't run his mouth about what he saw?"
"I didn't see anything," Souta whispered hotly, his fingernails indenting the palms of his hands. "I promise."
Inuyasha snorted again. "You'd say anything right now just to get out of here. Am I right? I fucking hate people like you."
"Inuyasha!" Kagome cried, her hands turning to fists. "Don't talk to him that way. Souta," Kagome exclaimed, "go home. We'll talk about this tomorrow."
"He's not going anywhere," Inuyasha stated in a dry, emotionless tone from the door.
What are you doing, Inuyasha? Kagome's brain screamed. Why are you acting like this!?
Kagome could feel her heart pounding in her ears and temples.
"For crying out loud, you can't just keep him locked up in your house, Inuyasha!"
"Inuyasha, I must interject."
Kagome looked over Inuyasha's shoulder to see Miroku and Sango just beyond the doorway. Had they been standing there this whole time?
Inuyasha angled his head to identify to Miroku that he was listening; however, his eyes never left Souta.
"I can imagine how vulnerable you must be feeling at present, Inuyasha," Miroku stated calmly, "but taking it out on Kagome's younger sibling is quite inappropriate. Let the boy—"
"—Inappropriate!?" Inuyasha interrupted. "He fucking rummaged through my dad's belongings, belongings that I don't allow anyone, anyone, to handle, and I'm just supposed to be okay with that? Fuck off, Miroku."
Feeling her heartbeat pounding in her chest, Kagome took a few steps towards her brother and placed a hand on each shoulder.
"You've really done it now, Souta," Kagome whined, giving her brother's shoulders a squeeze. "Come on, I'll walk you out."
"He's not fucking going anywhere," Inuyasha spat again, turning his attention away from Miroku.
"Inuyasha, stop being a tyrant," Kagome responded fiercely. "You can't take him prisoner just because you don't know what he saw."
"I told you what I saw," Souta offered meekly, his cheeks red.
"I don't fucking believe you," Inuyasha snapped narrowing his eyes at Souta. "Like you'd really offer me freely all the little details of what you saw. No, no one goes anywhere, and that brat does not leave my property, until I am one-hundred-percent confident that he really saw nothing."
"Inuyasha, this is ridiculous, you're being an asshole!"
Inuyasha's eyes widened at Kagome, standing a good head taller than her brother, with her hands protectively on her sibling's shoulders.
"Come on, Souta," Kagome urged, giving her brother a slight push to get him moving.
He won't do anything, Kagome thought to herself, her eyebrows furrowed as she kept her eyes firmly on Inuyasha's face, trying to translate his expressions. He's angry and overreacting because he's had such an emotional day. Fuck, Souta, she sighed, supressing the overwhelming desire to cry. Why did you have to go and make things worse with Inuyasha?
To make his point that he would not permit Souta to leave, Inuyasha stuck an arm out and gripped the doorframe, creating a physical blockade. Giving Inuyasha an irritated eyeroll, Kagome ducked her head under his arm and continued directing Souta out of the room; however, Kagome's eyes widened when she saw Inuyasha grab the back of Souta's shirt and fling him back into the room.
"Stop it, Inuyasha!" Kagome cried, spinning on her heel, her eyes madly searching behind Inuyasha for her brother.
Souta was now the only person in the office. Inuyasha stood in the doorway and kept Kagome partitioned on the other side of the door, with Miroku and Sango, separating her from her brother.
"Give me my brother, Inuyasha. This is ridiculous."
"You listen to me, girl," Inuyasha spat at Kagome. "You don't fucking understand, so my recommendation is that you just back the fuck off and let me have a heart-to-heart with Souta. I'll get the truth out of him."
"This isn't you!" Kagome cried. "This isn't like you, Inuyasha. Please, just let Souta go, okay?"
Inuyasha snorted, resting a hand on the open door. "No, you don't know me. Don't pretend like you do."
Kagome propelled her body into the door to prevent Inuyasha from closing it on her. She refused to allow Inuyasha to be alone with her brother in Inuyasha's current state. She was scared: scared for Souta, scared for Inuyasha, scared for what would happen if she did nothing.
"Get out of the way!" Inuyasha bellowed trying to close the door.
"Stop, Inuyasha!" Kagome shrieked, tears welling up in her eyes. Inuyasha grabbed her shoulder gruffly in his grasp and tried to remove her from the doorway.
"I said move!"
"I'm going anywhere without my brother!"
Inuyasha stood tall in front of her, his eyes dark and emotionless as he gripped the doorknob fiercely in his hand.
"Not until I'm done with him. You don't listen very well, do you, Bitch?"
"Don't talk to my sister that way, you jerk!"
Kagome watched with wide, tear-stained eyes as Souta took two leaping steps towards Inuyasha with his fist clenched.
Inuyasha dodged out of the way masterfully, grabbing Souta's wrist before Souta had a moment to register what was happening. With a rough thud, Inuyasha had Souta face down on the desk with his arm propped behind his back. Souta shouted in pain.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome screamed, reaching for her brother as the tears finally came.
Hearing the guttural cry from Kagome forced a moment of clarity upon Inuyasha. Surfacing from his anger, Inuyasha surveyed his surroundings with new eyes, observing the horrified glances he received from Miroku and Sango. Turning to look at Kagome then, Inuyasha's heart ached.
What had he done? What the fuck was the doing? This was Kagome for fuck's sake. This was Kagome's brother—her family! How could he have so quickly transformed into behaving like an empty, raging demon? He was doing exactly what the family wanted him to do. He was behaving exactly like how he used to behave.
His ears finally picking up on Souta's cries of pain, Inuyasha jumped and quickly released Souta, taking a dumbfounded step back. He was picking a fight with a kid. Souta is just a kid. He felt dizzy, alarmed, stupid, and angry at himself for what he had just done
"Fuck, kid," Inuyasha hissed remorsefully. "I—I don't—"
"Inuyasha."
Kagome's tone was hoarse, unbalanced, livid. Inuyasha turned to her with rueful eyes.
"Kagome, I—"
Her slap was hard, heated, and forced all words from leaving Inuyasha's mouth. He could feel every ounce of emotion that she felt in the slap.
Inuyasha's head lurched to the side from the force of her blow, his cheek stinging sharply. The room became loud with her tears.
"Souta, are you okay?" She cried, running past Inuyasha and towards her brother. "Let's go home."
Inuyasha stood in stunned silence as he listened to the sounds of Kagome and Souta leaving the room. Other than Kagome's footsteps leaving him, he could only hear his heartbeat in the aching cheek where Kagome hit him.
"Kagome," Inuyasha whispered, his voice cracking, "where are you going?"
Sango was quick to take Souta from Kagome's hands and escorted the boy away from the room. Kagome aggressively wiped the tears from her cheeks and stared Inuyasha deep in the eye.
"Fuck you, Inuyasha."
Turning away from the room where Inuyasha stood alone, Kagome erupted in a wave of tears, gasping and choking for air as she gripped the bannister in her hands.
She didn't know what to feel. She was heartbroken, angry, disappointed, scared. What had she just witnessed Inuyasha become? Was that the emotionless tool that had burned people alive? He acted like she was nothing, that her family was nothing so long as he had his way. How could he do that to her? To Souta? And then suddenly to act like nothing had happened and he was sad to see her go? He didn't get to play that hot and cold card with her.
Kagome was done. She needed out of that house as fast as her legs could carry her. She didn't care what the media would make of it. If she was out of Inuyasha's life, the Family wouldn't want anything to do with her.
"Kagome," Sango called from the landing.
Kagome gave into another burst of tears and rested her elbows on the bannister, pressing her eyes into the palm of her hands. Why couldn't she breath? Why was the thought of leaving Inuyasha so devastating?
Sango's arms were quick around her friend, pulling her into a hug.
"Souta's okay," Sango whispered, squeezing her friend tightly. "He's a little shaken up but he's fine, he's not hurt."
"I need out of here," Kagome gasped, standing up straight. "I need some air."
"Whatever you need, Kagome."
The girls headed down the stairs and out the front door arm in arm, Kagome practicing deep breathing to get her heart rate under control. The more she came down from her tears, the more Kagome noticed the painful stinging in the hand she had used to slap Inuyasha.
"Where's Souta?"
"Miroku walked him to his car by the gate."
"I want to go see him. I'm gonna go back to the Shrine with him."
"Kagome," Sango stated, her eyes wide.
"I can't stay here another minute, Sango. Not with him."
Sango nodded, squeezing Kagome's hand. "Let's go see Souta and Miroku then."
The girls walked in silence down the tree-covered laneway. The world around them was dark and the moon danced and twinkled between the leaves above their heads as they walked. The sound of male voices became louder over the crunch of gravel under the women's feet.
As soon as Kagome's eyes fell upon her brother, she dropped Sango's arm and ran towards him, gripping him into a hug so tight she thought she would fall apart the moment they separated.
"I'm so sorry, Kagome," Souta cried into her chest, his tears causing wet, hot stains in her shirt.
"No, Souta, I'm so sorry for what he did to you."
"He's right, though, Sis," Souta sniffed. "He has every right to be pissed at me. What I did was really shitty."
"That doesn't give him the right to be as asshole with you, Souta! God, sometimes, I—sometimes I really hate, Inuyasha."
Souta squeezed Kagome around the midriff. "I've never seen you hit anyone before, Sis."
Kagome snorted a laugh through her nose. "That's because I never have hit anyone before. Man, my hand really hurts," she laughed.
"Well, if it's any consolation, it looked like it really hurt."
"Well, I hope it did," Kagome snapped, wiping underneath her eyes with the palms of her hands. "He deserved it."
"Kagome."
Kagome turned towards Miroku at hearing her name.
"Sango shared with me that you are returning to the Shrine. Is that true? Are you really leaving Sengoku Manor?"
Kagome tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and nodded, her eyes firmly on Souta who was moving a few belongings in his car to the trunk. "I can't stay here with him anymore, Miroku. Especially not after tonight."
"I can appreciate that," Miroku smiled, "I just—"
An odd noise caused Miroku's head to snap in the other direction and narrow his eyes, keen for an explanation of the noise. It almost sounded like a sneeze, or a throaty sigh. The sudden action from Miroku prompted strange looks from the females in the party.
"Miroku, what's the matter?" Sango asked, taking a step towards him.
"I thought I heard something," he responded. "To be honest, ladies, I would feel more comfortable if our goodbyes occurred within the gates. Standing here at the opening, I feel we are quite exposed. Souta, you should come along too."
"Sure thing," Souta called, "I'm almost done back here. Gimme a minute."
Sango snickered as she turned to walk back into the gated grounds with Miroku. "You look like you've seen a ghost, Miroku. It's so early in the morning, who else would be around here but us at this time?"
Never before doubting his instincts, Miroku offered Sango an amused smile but continued to usher her back into the gates, finally stopping once they had enough distance with which he was comfortable.
"Kagome and Souta, I appreciate your leaving but why don't you come say your goodbyes within the gates with us."
Kagome, who was leaning against the hood of her brother's car, raised an eyebrow at Miroku. "Why would we do that?"
The sound of a dramatic sigh behind her caused Kagome to spin on her heel and stifle a scream as she became confronted by a tall, thin man with blue eyes and dark brown hair. Seeing the blue warpaint on his face, Kagome felt her heart seize up as she took two hesitant steps backwards. She had been confronted by a man with warpaint before: Suikotsu.
"Are you the one we're searching for? Kagome? Truly? You're not as impressive as I thought you would be, especially considering you've stolen the heart of our adorable Inuyasha. Oh well," the stranger sighed again, spitting a wad of gum from his mouth. "If the Family wants you I guess there's no other way about it."
Kagome screamed as the stranger lunged for her and grabbed her around the middle, holding a gun out at the others to keep them stationary. Flailing her limbs, Kagome shrieked and begged for the stranger to let her go; however, before she knew what was going on, her world went black as the stranger tugged a bag over her head.
The last thing she heard was Miroku on the radio, requesting back up, stating that Kagome had been taken by Jakotsu of the Band of Seven. Then she fainted.
Author's Note
Hello, friends! I hope I haven't been keeping you waiting too long for the next installment! I found this chapter particularly hard to write; it's never easy pinning Inuyasha and Kagome against each other in a way that keeps them mostly true to character.
We're in for a bumpy road ahead, though, folks! I'm looking forward to it! XD
Do you think Inuyasha will come for her? I'd love to hear your thoughts and feedback in a review.
Thanks to everyone for keeping up with the story. You the real MVP :)