The next day, Kagome found herself stealing little glances at her hanyou as she went about learning what she could about this strange and scary world. Reading the history books provided for her in their library, Kagome was finding out that real history and the 'archives' within those pages were warped and inconsistent…something was missing.
Hearing the door bell, Kagome walked over and opened the door, doing her best to look the part of the obedient human slave, but she was unprepared for the wolf demon that pinned her against the wall, sniffing at her bare neck. He was seriously freaking her out!
One second, he seemed about ready to rip her clothes off, the next he was flying through the air as InuYasha pressed her against the wall, his back to her in an attempt to shield her from Koga's vision.
"She's mine, so you better get that through your thick skull!"
Wiping the little bit of blood from his lip, Koga grinned.
"She's yours for now, but I plan to make her mine soon enough."
Kagome wanted to say something, but she could tell that it would only make matters worse. Keeping her out of sight, InuYasha growled and bared his fangs at the wolf-demon.
"She'll never be yours! She will only ever belong to me!"
Snarling, Koga looked ready to pounce when Sesshomaru walked in.
"What's going on here? Koga, I wasn't aware that we had a meeting scheduled for today."
"We didn't, I just thought I could discuss something with you in private."
Moving aside, Sesshomaru motioned to a room off from the living space.
"Step in my office."
Smirking, Koga eyed InuYasha and Kagome as he walked by, "I'll see you two later."
Turning around, InuYasha held her close to his chest.
"Are you alright? He didn't do anything, did he?"
"He sniffed my neck and scared me, but I'm okay. What about you?"
"I'm scared. (gazing down at her, he moved her bangs out of her face) I don't want to lose you."
This would have been the perfect 'kiss' moment, but InuYasha remembered his promise to her, and pulled away.
"I'm heading to the library in town to see what other books I can find on the twin tail."
Walking out of the door, he breathed out in relief. The air was a little too tension filled. What he wouldn't give to take her in his arms and kiss her with all the passion he had in him, but he made a promise and needed to show her that he was a man of his word.
Kagome sat at the bar area and ate a ham sandwich when Koga and Sesshomaru came out. The disgusting demon had the nerve to wink at her, before stepping outside.
As Sesshomaru walked into the living room, he relaxed on the couch and pinched the bridge of his nose. Walking over, Kagome handed him a ham sandwich.
"Thank you."
Sitting down next to him, the anticipation was killing her, but then Sesshomaru spoke first.
"He tried to bargain for the rights to you. Tried to give me a lot of money to have you."
"You turned him down though, right?"
"Of course, but he'll be back with another strategy, another trick up his furry sleeve. InuYasha and Koga have never gotten along, but I dare say they would try to kill each other over you."
Staring at the frilled hem of her maid outfit, Kagome shook her head.
"I don't want that to happen! I want to stay with InuYasha, but I don't want to be a reason for why another demon tries to kill him."
"It can't be helped. Do not burden yourself with these thoughts, because it is a natural way of life here. Plus, my little brother is a formidable opponent, and any demon would be stupid to lock horns with him."
Leaning over to her, Sesshomaru spoke in hushed tones, "that stays between you and I. After all, I can't have that baka know how powerful I think he is."
She giggled and continued to eat her sandwich, smiling softly when she spotted little Rin walking up to sit on Sesshomaru's lap. Standing up, Kagome started to walk towards the door.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"I was going to the library so I can help InuYasha with his research."
It was a split second before Sesshomaru was in between her and the door.
"Perhaps we have not done a good enough job of telling you how things are."
He regarded her with sternness, "You are a rarity in this world. Now, imagine something you've never seen before, but read about, standing in front of you. What would you do?"
"Probably snap a picture with my phone so other people would believe me when I told them about it."
"That, my dear, is you. Slaves are boney, brown-eyed, and beaten badly by the time they reach puberty, but your skin is supple, your body is lean with muscle, and your eyes are a crystalline blue. The last girl seen, like you, was InuYasha's mother, but she had violet eyes."
Understanding, Kagome walked back over to the couch, "can you tell me about his mom? I know she is from my world, but I want to know the person she was."
Sitting in his lounge chair, Sesshomaru crossed his leg as Rin came over to sit with him, leaning against his body as he cradled her like he would his own child one day.
"Lady Izayoi was incredibly beautiful, kind, generous, sweet, everything I could have wanted for my father. She loved to smile and laugh, and when she entered a room, it was like the sun came out."
Smiling, Kagome let the image of her form in her head, but something was bothering her.
"Sesshomaru, what happened to them?"
"It's hard to talk about, because this happened when InuYasha and I were working late at the office. We came home to find police in front of the house and there were signs of a struggle, but my Stepmother and Father were gone. It was rumored that a very powerful and wealthy demon saw Lady Izayoi one day, and lusted for her to the point that he kidnapped her, killing my father and dumping his body somewhere no one would be able to find it. So, from that day on, we've been taking care of each other, and that's been about ten years ago."
Kagome's eyes were wide with horror as she soaked up every word, "wasn't there a lead on who could have done it?"
"The trail went cold, but I have my suspicions; I believe someone was paid to stop investigating."
"That's awful! Who could hold that much sway over the law?"
"I can think of about six demons powerful enough to succeed, but my own investigating has narrowed it down to three."
"Who would they be?"
He lifted one delicate clawed finger, "first is Hitan from the Thunder Legion, (he put another finger up) then Koga, Leader of the Wolf Demon Tribe, (finally the third clawed finger) and last is Naraku, the demon that almost won you at the auction."
Thinking about the last one sent a cold shiver up her spine. His bright red eyes held a hidden promise if he was able to get his hands on her.
"So, why those three?"
"Hitan held a grudge against my father for a large number of shares he believed was rightfully his, however he didn't have the funds to buy them."
"That's a really stupid reason to hold a grudge."
"Not when it was to save his brother from Naraku. You see, Naraku is the 'behind-the-scenes' master of the demon underground. He calls the shots on everything, but my father would not bow down to his rule…neither did Hitan. That is why Naraku kidnapped his brother and told him to get the shares or he would kill his brother. If my father had known about the arrangement, he would have done all he could to save the idiot, but Hitan wanted to handle things on his own."
"So, this Naraku, he's dangerous."
"As dangerous as they come."
"I get a bad feeling about that guy. I saw him at the auction, and something in his eyes truly terrified me."
"Yes, he is the top of my list."
They would have talked more, but InuYasha walked through the door.
"Sesshomaru, I need to talk to Kagome…alone."
Standing up, he gave his brother a cold stare as he bowed politely to Kagome.
"I look forward to our next conversation."
She smiled and looked over at InuYasha, "is something wrong?"
He contemplated how to say what he needed to, without freaking her out. Sitting down beside her, he reached for her hands and cradled them in his own.
"I found out some things today when I was in the library, good and bad."
Biting her bottom lip, she nodded her head, "okay, give me the good first."
"Good news, I may have found out how to find the twin tail."
Smiling, Kagome giggled in excitement, "that's not good news, it's great!"
"Yeah, but the bad news is that a pretty high up demon has his eye on you, and this guy could care less about rules and laws."
He gazed deeply into her blue eyes and lifted a clawed hand to caress her cheek.
"We have to get out of here as soon as we can. It's not safe for you."
Smiling, Kagome laid her hand on top of his.
"I'm not going anywhere without you, Inu. We will find the cat and go to my home."
The temptation to kiss her was overwhelming as he lifted his other hand to cradle her face and slowly leaned forward.
"Damn me and my stupid promise."
She leaned in further to touch his lips, but he pulled away.
"Kagome, it's the one promise I've made to you, and I'm gonna prove I can keep it. Even though you are seriously tempting me to break it."
She pouted at him, "what if I want you to break it?"
"Then we would be feeling great for that pleasurable moment, but you would regret it after."
"Fine, now tell me how we can find the twin tail."
InuYasha was thankful for the change of subject.
"In my research, I discovered something interesting; the twin tail was always associated with demon slayers. It's a long shot, but if there is still a village of demon slayers around, then it's most likely the home of the twin tail."
"So, how do we find out if a village like that exists?"
"We'll have to go to the outskirts of the city where humans run wild, until a demon trader captures them."
A cold shiver ran up her spine, "it's so disturbing how much this world looks at humans as animals. It's a little like 'Planet of The Apes', but instead of monkeys, I've got to contend with scary and terrifying demons."
"Planet of the what?"
"Nothing, just a movie from my world. So, how do I need to look when I leave the house?"
As much as InuYasha loved seeing her dressed so cute like she was, there would need to be changes if she was going to pass for a human slave out there.
"Some demons let their humans dress in nice casual clothing, but most dress them in rags. I'm going to opt for some maid clothing for you."
"Okay! Are there any maid clothes in my room?"
"There should be."
"Alright, I'll go get dressed and put that stupid collar on my neck."
She walked upstairs and into her room, checking out the closet.
"Well, that's different."
InuYasha appreciated the visage Kagome made as she walked down the stairs in her black and violet maid outfit with matching black and purple striped tights. Her hair was in a high ponytail, and she had on a black maid's head piece. Of course, the shoes were platformed black lace-ups.
"How do I look? Am I slavish enough?"
"Yeah, and you may have just added a new image to my wildest fantasies."
Blushing, she slapped him on the arm for that one, "don't go being pervy. We are on a mission and finding that twin tail is top priority."
Smirking, he gave her a once over, "that's the mission, for now, but when we're in your world, I'll show you a side of me you've never known before."
Walking to the door, she looked over her shoulder at him, "should I be concerned for my wellbeing then?"
Opening the door for her, he grinned.
"Not at all, because when I show you that side, you'll be ready for it."
InuYasha made sure to have the collar on her and a leash attached to it, before making their way to his car, a silver Diablo convertible. He drove off to the edge of town where they had to go through a check point. Kagome looked around at all the demon slave trader armored trucks going through. They were finally allowed to move on and Kagome prayed the traders would be unlucky in their hunt.
Driving on for about twenty minutes, InuYasha pulled over in an open field and pulled out a book from the library. He opened to a page previously marked.
"Okay, it says here that the demon slayers' village was on top of a mountain nestled between two larger mountains. So, if we can find the three mountains close together, we should find the village."
Crossing her arms, Kagome squinted her eyes to try to magnify the vast landscape, "how are we going to know where to go from here?"
"Well this map shows the village to be on the east side, so let's travel east until we see the mountains."
Starting the car back up, InuYasha drove for about thirty minutes, but then Kagome yelled for him to stop. Looking in the direction she was facing, he could see three mountains fairly close together, but the irritating part was a demon trader scouring the grounds for humans. They were just going have to sit back and wait for him to leave.
"Hey, Kagome, since we have some time to kill, why don't you tell me more about your home."
"Okay, what do you want to know?"
"What would a normal date consist of?"
Laughing softly, she cocked her head to the side as she looked at him, "and why would you want to know that?"
He gave her a sexy smirk as he rested one arm on the steering wheel, and the other on the middle console.
"Maybe because I plan to take you out on a proper date when we get there."
"Okay then. A proper date, in my world, would consist of dinner and a movie, and if all goes well, a goodnight kiss. I'm sure others would say that it sounds boring, but I'm a very traditional girl, and I feel that if you are with someone you really like, then it doesn't really matter what you do because it will always be fun and interesting."
"I'm gonna guess that dinner is the talking part of the date, so what would your people talk about?"
"Just things to help get to know each other."
"That must be nice."
Shaking her head with a smile, she chuckled.
"Come on, InuYasha, it can't be that much different from demons."
"Except that it is. When a demon goes on a date, the main drive is to find out if the female could be a potential mate, so a series of questions are asked to best determine if she would make a compatible mate. She does the same, and if they don't have enough common ground to work with, then they part ways after the first date."
"Wow, talk about harsh."
"I'm surprised your people don't do that."
"They do, but we also have a saying, 'opposites attract', so even if they don't have much in common, they may still fall in love and have a happily ever after."
"Opposites attract? Now, that's a new one."
"It may be new to you, but it's an old saying where I come from. Anyway, I don't think we would have a problem on our date."
They wanted to talk more, but the demon trader zoomed by and their chance had arisen.
"Ready, Kagome?"
"Yeah, let's find out what we can."
With that, they drove off to the middle mountain, praying for answers to get to Kagome's world.