Naraku's house was located right outside of Philadelphia, in a small area named Haverford. Known for Haverford College and the private schools in the area, Haverford had become a place of settlement for young rich families looking for a safer alternative to city life, while getting to enjoy the proximity of the city.
Bankotsu personally found the whole area a bit…normal. He all but rolled his eyes at the mothers driving their children to school in white Mercedes SUVs, the women leaving the spin studio with their overpriced green smoothies, no doubt doing some type of detox. The men who laughed in rich font gathered on the corner, dressed for the golf course.
They were probably joking about the fucking stock market or something.
Million-dollar homes, pilates, private schools, and golf. That was Haverford, and apparently, that was Naraku now, too.
Bankotsu had to hold in a breath as he pulled into the courtyard in front of the house. He didn't like the feeling he got when he cut off the engine and stared at the black door that was waiting for him. Part of him regretted even making the two-hour drive, but it was his only day off, and Naraku needed a status update, an urgent one.
For obvious reasons, that couldn't just be done over the phone so Bankotsu pushed down whatever nagging feeling he had and made his way to the door.
The inside of Naraku's house was even more uninviting than Inuyasha's apartment. Unlike Inuyasha's apartment, which was uninviting thanks to the sterile air, the coldness, and the marble everywhere, Naraku's house just felt…off.
The dark-colored walls made the home feel simultaneously cramped and maze-like, a direct contrast to the white walls of Inuyasha's apartment. Naraku took on a more maximalist approach to decor. Most of the walls were covered in abstract art. His home was messy, yet organized in such a way that only Naraku and his assistant would know the ins and outs of it.
It was intimidating. It made Bankotsu freeze in his place, his feet planting him right next to the door, taking up what little space he could between the pile of unread newspapers and the coat rack. He made the mistake of glancing down at the paper at the top of the stack. Its edges frayed and ripped, the paper itself crinkled as if it'd once been balled up and thrown out, only to be straightened out and laid on top of the growing pile of newspapers again.
'UFC superstar, Inuyasha Takahashi, tops the list of most paid athletes of 2019.'
There was a deep, sort of stinging pain in Bankotsu's chest at those words, eyes practically boring holes into the paper, staring directly at his picture. He didn't like how confident he looked in that damn picture, the way the look in his eyes seemed to taunt him. As if to say look at me, motherfucker! I'm better than you.
"When did you get here?" The words were spoken in a sneer, but the deep, gravelly voice was unmissable. Bankotsu tore his gaze away from the newspaper and looked at Naraku who glared at him with red beady eyes that he hated so much.
Probably as much as he was jealous of Inuyasha's success.
"I just did," Bankotsu shot back. Naraku's eyes raked over his body, as if scanning him for something. What that could have been, Bankotsu had no damn clue. He just knew that the feeling of Naraku's eyes on him made his skin crawl.
"Come on then," he said and waved for Bankotsu to follow him.
There were some people, few and far between, who just were not good people. They could commit good deeds, donate, help those around them, do all the quintessential 'good people' things and never be good themselves. Good things did not translate to being a good person.
Naraku was one of them.
Bankotsu worked with him out of necessity, a need for his dreams to come true. Dreams that would not come true if he continued to work with Inuyasha. He was simply too big of a star, he stole all of the spotlights even if it wasn't his intention. Bankotsu agreed to his deal with Naraku because he was promised a shorter path to stardom, a shorter path to success. He did not, however, work with Naraku because he genuinely thought he was a good person making bad decisions.
Naraku was a piece of shit, and his piece of shit-ness oozed from his every pore. If he was a drug he would be fentanyl. Addictive—any more than a minuscule amount could kill you.
Naraku was sort of like that.
Someone to be kept at an arm's distance, more if you can. Someone not to interact with unless absolutely necessary. There was darkness around him—around his heart, that refused to dissipate, and Bankotsu sensed that from the very moment he met Naraku.
Yet he continued to stay in contact with him anyway, his ambition proving more important than his morals.
Naraku took off his shirt, forcing Bankotsu to make eye contact with the elaborate spider scarification on his back. Its legs stretched over his shoulders, around his midsection. They stretched down into his lower back.
"Why are you here?"
"Well," Bankotsu twisted his face as they walked into Naraku's living room. He sat down on one of the chairs. Naraku sat down in front of him, on the couch. "I wanted to give you an update…a new development, if you will."
Naraku raised an eyebrow, "did he take the bait?"
"Yes." Bankotsu responded confidently, nodding his head up and down like some enthusiastic child. "The bait has been taken."
"And?"
"He uses frequently. A lot, actually. He uses a lot. I have to give him more maybe…twice a week?"
Naraku laughed to himself a little bit, covering his mouth with his hand. His hand moved down to his neck, scratching lightly and massaging it as if he was…stressed? Nervous? "Does he?"
"Yup," Bankotsu said, sitting back in his chair.
"Good job."
Somehow, those two words made a small smile tug at Bankotsu's lips. It felt good to be acknowledged. It felt good to be praised even if the praise was coming from someone he had no desire in seeking praise from. It made him feel…special, in some odd way. Some odd, juvenile way. "Thanks," Bankotsu muttered in response.
"Do you need more?" Naraku asked, rather seriously.
"I don't think so," Bankotsu replied, carding through his silky hair. "I do…have a question, however."
Naraku looked skeptical for a split moment, and if Bankotsu blinked he wouldn't have noticed it. Naraku pulled his curls up into a bun at the top of his head, curls falling down onto his forehead which he swatted away with the tips of his fingers. "What is it?"
"Do you have connections to others?" Bankotsu asked quietly, leaning forward. His elbows dug into his thighs.
Naraku exhaled loudly, cursing under his breath in the process. "...he wants other things?"
Bankotsu squinted and twisted his face as if he wasn't too sure. "He asked about oxy, the other day. He was having a really bad come down after a bender. He didn't sleep for a few days, begging for oxycontin."
Naraku tried to hide the little smile on his thin lips, and the sight of it made Bankotsu's skin crawl. Naraku was a bad person, through and through. He was not a good person making a bad decisions. "Really?"
"Yeah," Bankotsu gulped, nodding slowly. "Honestly it was…a little worrying. I thought about calling a hospital or something."
Naraku glared at him, red eyes narrowed into slits. "You were worried?"
"Listen, I've seen Inuyasha through a coke phase before when we were in high school. He was really into it. He never acted like that."
"It's interesting that you can feel…compassion for someone whose life you're actively ruining, no?"
Bankotsu's blood ran cold at the comment but he stayed quiet. He didn't like being reminded that what he was doing was wrong. He didn't like being told that it was weird for him to feel compassion. He wasn't doing this because he wanted to. He was doing this because he had a necessity.
The two things were different, want and necessity.
Naraku took a deep breath and then rose to his feet. "I do happen to know someone who can get us some OxyContin, and Percocet." He paused momentarily, looking at Bankotsu. "Have you ever taken Percocet, Bankotsu?"
If it was at all possible for Bankotsu's blood to run any colder, it happened. He could feel the color draining from his face, the heat of his skin traveled down until his whole body felt cold. He shook his head no. Bankotsu had not tried Percocet.
He'd tried a pill once, when he was fifteen and hanging out with Inuyasha. He was the one that gave it to him. He wasn't exactly sure what it was.
The experience was traumatizing to say the least and he'd told himself that he would never do pills again.
"Would you like to?"
"I thought you needed to get someone for that?" Bankotsu counted, nervously bouncing his leg. He didn't like the grin on Naraku's face, the way his entire demeanor changed at the new information Bankotsu had supplied.
Suddenly he wished he hadn't opened his mouth at all, he wished he hadn't made the stupid drive all the way down here. He wished he hadn't ever taken Naraku up on his offer and he wanted to leave. He so badly wanted to leave but his feet kept following after Naraku, they followed him up the stairs. They followed him down the hallway into his bedroom.
They had him stand still as he watched Naraku rummage around in his nightstand. Naraku took his hand and pressed a singular yellow tablet in the center of his palm. "Here," Naraku said, his voice different now. A little deeper, a little more sinister. Quieter.
Bankotsu looked out of the large windows, out into the courtyard where Naraku's cars were parked across from the house. He looked beyond the trees, into the horizon. The sun was beginning to set. If he took this now he would be stuck in Pennsylvania until he was well enough to drive at the very least. It would be hours before then. He had to be up early.
Maybe I can make up some excuse?
But he was here. Naraku was staring at him with some type of expectance, and Bankotsu couldn't exactly pretend to take it. He was stuck, and the only way out was to swallow.
The yellow tablet felt weird on his tongue as if it wasn't meant to be there.
"Now swallow." Naraku insisted, now fully smiling at him. He patted him on the shoulder as he passed by. "Let me know how you feel in a few minutes."
And before he left the room, Naraku turned on his heel and said, "do you happen to know anything of Inuyasha's ex, Kikyo?"
Almost as soon as Kagome stepped foot in Inuyasha's gym, she swore that she would never go in there in the middle of the day again. It wasn't that she didn't like it—she did like it! It was a pretty cool facility, she just…didn't like the stares and the whispers as she weaved her way to where Inuyasha was on the treadmill. Sweat dripping down his forehead, hair swishing side to side in a ponytail. She crossed her arms as she stood next to him on an unused treadmill, waiting for him to notice her. When that didn't happen, she said his name. "Inuyasha."
He didn't respond, he kept looking straight ahead, so she tried again—louder, this time.
"Inuyasha!"
That caught his attention. He blinked, breaking out of his trance. His head turned in her direction for a split second before he stopped running, feet planted on either side of the running belt, which was still going. "The fuck are you doing here?" Inuyasha asked, breathing heavily.
The question made Kagome pause. He was right. What the fuck was she doing here? "That's a good question, I'm not entirely sure," She admitted, shrugging her shoulders. There was a flash of anger in Inuyasha's eyes, followed by an empty chuckle. The type one does when they're annoyed.
"You…you don't know?" He asked, clarifying her response for himself. "So you…come to my gym, interrupt my workout, to tell me you don't know why the fuck you're here?"
Well, when you put it like that…
"Okay I do know, I just…"
"You what, Kagome?" Inuyasha grumbled, rolling his eyes at her. "What is it? Why the hell are you here?"
"So my mom called me," Kagome blurted out, Inuyasha raised his eyebrows at her and pressed the emergency stop button on the treadmill.
"...you guys don't talk, right?"
"Nope."
"When did she call?"
"Around your birthday."
"Okay so…recently?" He asked. "My birthday wasn't all that long ago."
"She saw a headline about us and…had a few words to say." Kagome muttered, Inuyasha sucked in a breath.
"...She doesn't like me does she?"
Kagome grimaced as she pressed her index fingers together. "I…I'm not gonna say she doesn't like you," Kagome watched as Inuyasha got down from the treadmill and motioned for her to follow him, and she did. "Moreso, she had some choice words to say about that picture of us—"
"The Birthday Kiss?"
"Yeah—wait is that what people are calling that?"
"Yup." Inuyasha breathed, opening the door to Myoga's office and letting Kagome walk in before him. "So what? She doesn't like me or the kiss?"
"I'm leaning more towards her not liking the kiss."
Inuyasha snorted at her, "Kagome…we're adults. It literally does not matter."
"Yes but—"
"But what?" Inuyasha asked, daring her to say something. "I'm 24, you're damn near 24 too. You're gonna let her tell you what is and isn't appropriate? You could make an Onlyfans and her opinion would not matter. She's not in your life anymore, either."
"She's trying to be," Kagome countered, scratching at the back of her neck, she sat down on the chair in front of the desk. Inuyasha crossed his arms as he leaned against it, looking down at Kagome. "What? Why are you giving me that look?"
"Do you want her back in your life?"
"I…don't know,"
"You don't know?" Inuyasha sighed, "Okay so, what does your mom calling have to do with me?"
Kagome nodded as if his question had somehow put her back on track. It had, she was getting away from her mission and his question had single-handedly reminded her of it. "Right, when she called she asked me if I was coming home for the holidays. She extended an invitation to you."
Inuyasha didn't reply, he just stared at her. She searched his face for any sign of discomfort, anger, annoyance, exasperation, anything. There was nothing, it was as if a wall had been built all over again. Despite this, Kagome continued.
"She said we could go for Thanksgiving or Christmas and New Years and I cannot stress enough how much I will one hundred percent respect and honor your decision to not go. You do not need to meet my family, at all. Because, frankly, that's not what you signed up for and—"
"...So you've decided you're going?" Inuyasha asked quietly, arms still crossed. There was a looking of amusement on his face as if he found joy in Kagome rambling to him about visiting her family. Kagome blinked at his question, furrowing her eyebrows. She couldn't help but notice that his eyes were no longer bloodshot, he didn't seem sickly and pale either. He looked and seemed better.
Kagome almost wanted to ask him about what he'd said, again. She knew he would deny it and get defensive, it was in his nature, and he couldn't help it. She wanted to tell him that he didn't need to lie to her about it. He could just own up to it. It would be simple, it could all be so simple.
Yes, Kagome. I was both drunk and high when I met with Sango, he would say, I'm sorry I lied to you.
Thank you for being honest, she would respond, I hope you don't feel like you need to hide aspects of yourself from me from now on.
Realistically, she knew that this was entirely too much to ask of him, and she also knew it wouldn't be simple. It would be an ugly conversation and she was tired of having ugly conversations with him. That stage of their relationship was over, the beef was buried. She'd moved on from that, and so had he.
"No," she responded, "why?"
Inuyasha shrugged, "I mean you said I didn't need to go and that I didn't need to meet your family which sort of suggests that you've made up your mind. Are you going?"
"...I've considered going for Thanksgiving."
"Is that what you want?" Inuyasha asked again, crossing his ankles as he put his hands in his pockets.
"I think."
"You really don't know shit, do you?" Inuyasha asked, the question coming off a bit harsher than he intended. "Do you want to go back to Seattle for the holiday, yes or no?"
This should've been a simple question to answer. Either she wanted to go or she didn't, Inuyasha couldn't understand that it wasn't so cut and dry. He couldn't understand that Kagome was conflicted about her own feelings regarding going back home, he couldn't understand (or know) that she had a little brother, and that he'd been used against her.
Come home, her mother had said, Souta misses you.
"Yes."
"Okay, there's your answer," Inuyasha responded. "Do you want me to come with you? Or, are you embarrassed to ask me to go visit your family with you?"
"I just know this isn't what you signed up for, it's not what I signed up for either. We're a couple to the public—"
"Your family are members of the public, Kagome, we're a couple to them. So they're going to think we're actually…ya'know…a thing. So do you want me to come or not?"
"Would you want to?"
"I wouldn't want to, no," Inuyasha responded coolly. Somehow his response wasn't the one that Kagome was expecting. It hurt a little bit to hear it from him. To hear that he had no interest, not even a little bit, in her family. "However," his voice brought her back to earth, "I do know that meeting the family is a…normal thing to do so I would do it if it meant it made us look more authentic."
"So purely for business purposes?" Kagome asked. Inuyasha nodded in response. "Cool…"
"Can we talk about this more later or something? I have to get back to what I was doing." Inuyasha said, "sorry."
"Oh god no, don't apologize to me. I'm sorry," Kagome said as she stood up. "I interrupted you for a dumb reason and—"
"I don't think it was a dumb reason," Inuyasha said with a shrug. "It was just bad timing."
"Right…sorry." Kagome replied.
"You're good," Inuyasha said, placing his hand on her back as he walked her out of the office, fingers pressing gently into the skin of her lower back, "I actually have something to ask you, but I can do that later."
"What do you mean?" Kagome asked, "ask me about what?"
"It's not important."
"Are you sure?"
Inuyasha paused, working the skin on his lower lip before he nodded, making up his mind. "Yeah, totally. It can wait a bit. I'm still not sure about it."
Kagome gave him a sideways glance but decided against pressing the issue. "Alright, just tell me when you're ready."
