11.12.02

DISCLAIMER: Sesshoumaru, Kagome and the world of Inuyasha are the creations of Takahashi Rumiko and are not owned by me.

WARNING: This fic is rated PG 13 (yes i changed it) for obvious reasons: sexual reference and provocative/graphical scenes. If you feel offended by materials as such, or you are underage or watever...PLEASE STOP HERE. Of course i'm still testing the waters at this stage, tell me what you think about so far, ne?? I want to portray Sesshoumaru as a highly sensual character, often using sexuality as a tool to get what he wants. Some of you might not be used to that in Sesshoumaru, (I'm thoroughly enjoying this 'horny bastard' however =D) so you have been warned ^_________^ On the same note, if you feel that you will not enjoy reading Sesshoumaru who's like this, PLEASE STOP HERE AS WELL. As much as i enjoy reading constructive criticisms, I do not like it much when people tell me to change a very major part of my story to suit their own liking. This is my story afterall, so please respect that = )

**Sorry bout the rather long wait! (?)
Hmm i've been thinking...wats an AU but something which borrows characters from a story and plops them into another =_=;;? Oh well. Which is why i try my darnedest to keep them in character i s'pose. **

Hakuyoukai - white demon aka Sesshoumaru. This is his Yakuza nickname, in case i haven't made it clear enough =
Yakuza - literally, ya=8 ku=9 za=3. The Japanese mafia.

Oyabun - 'Father' of a Yakuza clan. The highest in command second to none.

Shinjuku - a large city in Japan which is famous for its shopping and business district.

Kabuchiko - located on the north eastern part of Shinjuku, the 'red-light district' of the area where the crime rate is one of the highest.

Irezumi - A Japanese style tattoo. It is a beautiful form of art, treated with great reverence, and is considered a 'trademark' for the Yakuza.

Bakayaro/baka - Stupid. Cuss word.

YAKUZA
By: cacat-angel

Have you ever stood on the sidewalk, and have a massive, hundred ton cargo truck pass by right in front of you, barely missing you by inches? Or stand just a few meters away from sleek, panthers on the prowl, seperated by just wire fences?

Did you feel a sudden rush of adrenaline and fear, how you suddenly felt so small and insignificant and powerless? Suddenly realize how they seemed to exude a presence so strong, you end up feeling breathless and overwhelmed? Did you realize how these bodies, metal and flesh alike, could crush you or rip you apart with such ease, in just a matter of seconds, had they been even the slightest bit out of control?

Scary isn't it?

Sometimes, just the thought of hundreds of tons of metal and rubber running over your frozen body could do the trick. Sometimes, it could be claws and razor sharp teeth tearing your body to shreds.

Yet sometimes, just a single man, could do just as much damage. And perhaps even more so, than you could ever imagine.

***


Chapter seven: Two Plotting Teens

She hastened with quick steps as she rounded another dimly lit corner. The long, dark corridor, filled with stale smoke from yesterday, seemed almost never-ending. Finally, she arrived before a heavy, black tinted glass door. With renewed vigour, she pushed against the heavy door, and was rewarded by a sudden burst of light that seemed to flood her vision and make her eyes sting.

Truthfully, she never realized it until this very second.

She had taken daylight for granted.

Like a blind person who had just received the gift of sight, Kagome stepped forward in wonder. Her breath caught. Almost thirstily, she drank in the deep blue sky above her, how everything seemed to glow warmly in afternoon sun, how the colours around her - the green leaves which fluttered merrily above the trees, the quick flash of blue as a car sped past - seemed so amplified and intense and real. She relished in the tingling sensation of sunlight in her eyes, the gentle caresses of wind against her skin.

She felt re-energized, ready to take on anything. And she certainly hoped Souta did as well.

Then she paused, as a large hand rested itself almost lightly on her shoulder, reminding her of that which she had left at the back of her head momentarily. And suddenly, she felt extraordinarily tired and weary. How could she have even forgotten?

Hakuyoukai. Ice.

Slowly, she turned to face him. The man she had promised her life to, for three months. Her boss, master, whatever he might call himself. But the hand tightened its hold on her, bidding her to stay in place. So she did, almost gratefully. She found that she couldn't really bear to face this man anymore.

"It's been a long night," he said softly, echoing her thoughts. His hand slid across her shoulder and brushed against the gentle curve of her neck, sending a slight thrill down her back. She was tempted to push it away, yet strangely, she didn't want to. It just seemed...comforting, somehow. Gentle, strong. Like how he had held her last night...

"Please, Hakuyoukai-san," she said firmly as she ducked and removed her shoulder from under his palm. She turned to face him. "I do not...do not feel that we're on such close terms." She had believed in this man once, believed him enough to think that she would be getting away unscathed. And it was probably the biggest mistake in her life.

Angelic? The more she looked at him, the more she found that to be untrue.

His eyes were large, but they were long, tilted upwards the end like a cat, and more often than not, they stared out from under a sinister, half-lidded gaze. They were a clear gold too, but somewhere within all that clearness, was an unspeakable darkness. His lips were full and pink, but even though he looked like he were smiling, his lips seemed to curve at the corners into an unpredictably devilish smile which unsettled her out a whole lot.

In short, there was more to his 'angelic' looks than met the eye.

"If we aren't that close, I don't think it would be proper for you to stare at me so."

His smooth, husky whisper made her snap her roving eyes back to his. Her eyes widened, more out of embarrassment than anything else. She fought back the blush that she knew was threatening to colour her face a blazing red, like it always did. If there was one thing she disliked about her physical attributes, it was the damned blood vessels under her skin, which seemed to be working overtime, twenty-four hours a day. After that incident from yesterday, after how he had guessed her despicable intentions with ease, she was suddenly aware of his acute sense of perception.

So she did the next best thing she could think of.

"Eh...well. You know, you're really very good looking."

If there was a camera, the photograph it captured would have been worth millions.

Sesshoumaru's jaw dropped.

He, who had managed to remain stone faced even when a searing hot tong dug deep into his flesh to extract a bullet. Who didn't allow himself to twitch a single muscle when his men reported an entire sub-clan of his had been wiped out by an enemy.

And yet, he had just been surprised by an insignificant little girl, and had shown it. He recovered, but not in time. The girl let out a snort of laughter before promptly turning a deep shade of maroon.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to surprise you."

"You're lying." He stated flatly. Acting meek won't do you a single piece of good this time.

Kagome sputtered. Lying was one thing, being found out was another. "I am n-not lying!"

"Are you insulting my intelligence?" He shot a look at her from the corner of his eyes, even as he half dragged her by her shoulders towards the road.

"Eh...no I wouldn't dare..." She muttered. She could have sworn he looked almost annoyed, despite the lack of expression on his face. "Hey wait!" She stopped abruptly, almost doubling over as he took a few steps forward. He paused for her to regain her balance.

"What is it now?"

"The traffic light's still red..." Sheepishly, she released her grip on his forearm then wiped her hands nervously onto her pajama pants. "And I'm not lying this time," she pointed out after a moment's hesitation.

***

How many times a day he would regret not strangling this girl, he had no idea. And he was seriously starting to suspect if including her in his plans would be as feasible as he had thought. He glared at the top her her head, which bobbed about in front of his chest, probably looking left and right, and then left again for passing by cars. A muscle in his jaw twitched.

It took him a good three seconds of standing there at the sidewalk with her like some damned school kid, before he decided that he had enough of her oddities.

"I can very well cross the road whenever I bloody hell fancy," he snapped, clamping his hand over her upper arm tightly, a silent signal of his growing impatience. He saw her wince as she looked up at him and he smirked. A lone man walked past them hurriedly, shying his eyes away from Sesshoumaru. "Don't think that - "

"Well, the man's turned green!" The girl chirped, seemingly unaware that she had just interrupted him. "Let's cross now, shall we?"

Sesshoumaru frowned, half with annoyance that he had just allowed himself to be manipulated, and half with wonder at her. He had encountered many girls in her situation before, and most had either kicked and screamed and demanded to be let go, or wept silently with terror. But this Kagome was different. She had spaced out, then lost her temper - the throb in his abdomen served as a less than gentle reminder - but after all that, she seemed to spring back to her original form, unfazed, almost like nothing had happened at all, as if her spirit had still remained untouched.

Like some goddamned energizer bunny. He glowered silently at her shimmering black mane, blowing softly in the wind. It was all he allowed himself to take in, without having to turn his head to face her.

"Keep moving," he said, trying to retain his normally smooth voice. And even then, it sounded grating to his ears, forced. He wondered if she realised it, but she probably didn't. She was too blunt to notice

***

"So you're telling me that Hakuyoukai kidnapped your sister," Inuyasha said slowly, finding what Souta had just told him a little too quick to absorb.

"No!" Souta scratched his fluffy brown hair in exasperation. "I'm saying that I sold her. I. Sold. Her."

Big mistake. In an instant, Inuyasha had pinned him against the damp, moist wall, and he felt the rough granite scrape against his back. He felt sorely tempted to call out down boy at that moment.

"Fucking hell, asshole. You did WHAT?!"

Souta groaned as Inuyasha pressed against a bruised spot on his rib. He was glad that they were in a deserted alleyway. At this time of the day, it was almost impossible that a potential fight like this one went by unobserved had they been in the congested streets of Tokyo.

"That was just to catch your attention," he stated wryly. "I know you've had the hots for my sister a long time already, but hitting me ain't gonna help, punk."

Actually, for about four years already, ever since Kagome had nursed the dumbass's scraped knee. Oh, the look of utter bliss on Inuyasha on Inuyasha's face was unforgettable. He had been teased about it ever since, to the extent that he had avoided Kagome every time she even smiled at him.

Inuyasha flung him down to the ground, his chest heaving. Impatiently, he brushed his black dreads aside and squatted down to face Souta. "What the fuck happened then?"

"I've been explaining it to you for over an hour already!"

***

They arrived at a grey, multistory car park, hidden conspicuously behind some tall buildings across the street. It was wide and spacious, as if it were built exclusively for the luxurious cars it contained. Jaguars, Porsches, Ferraris, you name it, they had it. Kagome wondered, awestruck, if she would ever see this much of the cars again in her entire lifetime, as she was seeing now.

The hand on her arm, which, she noticed with relief, had loosened considerably during their little trip, guided her rather roughly around a pillar and into an elevator door.

And it was only when the elevator door slid shut silently, did she realize just how tall Hakuyoukai was, at least a head moreso than her. She did remember him being this close to her, maybe even closer, the night before. But at that time, her mind had been clouded with fear, anger, hatred, before turning blank. And she certainly wasn't in the right state of mind for any form of observation.

But now, standing beside him in the small enclosed space, he seemed to tower above her. From her point of view, it almost seemed as though the top of his head were touching the top of the elevator.

Suddenly, she knew what it was like to feel claustrophobic.

Kagome froze as he leaned casually across her and tapped a button on the wall, his long, silky strands of hair falling softly forward, around his white cotton shirt. Her nose caught a waft of his scent...his scent. Masculine, clean, musky...and his shoulders were broad too! She rubbed at her nose unconsciously, sorely tempted to hold her breath. His perfume, whatever he was using, was having a rather strange, dizzying effect on her at that moment.

Sesshoumaru on the other hand, was acutely aware of her appraising looks. In fact, she was looking entranced and particularly...tempting, with her sweet lips parted slightly and her eyes shimmering brightly. Without a warning, his arm sneaked around her waist and she was trapped against his chest with a small yelp.

As predicted, her small face flushed a bright crimson.

"We're in a lift!" She squealed, bracing her hands against his chest, her legs just this close to giving way beneath her.

"Would you rather we find a more secluded area then?" He breathed, lowering his head so that he could meet her frightened gaze. Damn, he was enjoying this. Her chest pressed against his, its softness reminding him suddenly of the contact that they had last night. Unconsciously, he felt a certain part of him reacting rather quickly.

"Yes...no! I mean, no, you let go of me this instant, Hakuyoukai-san!" Her voice grew urgent as she became increasingly aware of his intention. It was, afterall, pressing rather suggestively against her stomach. "We, are off - " she pushed firmly against his chest with her tiny palms," - office hours now!"

Her protest seemed effective for once. Almost immediately, she found herself being pushed aside. She stumbled towards the polished mirror wall, fighting to gain her control and her breath. That had been close, too close.

***

"Yes, yes. That was how it happened! No prizes for being Einstein this time round," Souta remarked darkly, thumping Inuyasha on the back. He let out a slow whistle as he stared at the piece of paper Inuyasha held in his pale, trembling hands. "No thanks to you. If you hadn't landed us in that chickenshit bet, I wouldn't have ended up with a - "

"I'm gonna murder Hakuyoukai, and then murder you," Inuyasha muttered under his breath as he re-read Kagome's neat handwriting for the nth time.

Souta took a long whiff out of his cigarette. "Then you would have to murder yourself as well. You landed me into all this shit to begin with."

"Baka!" A hard fist landed on Souta's bent head, successfully adding to his collecting of bumps. "Who was the smartass who suggested making quick money, the easy way out? And who just had to look for the wrong place to gamble at? And who - "

"Alright, I get your point!" Souta paused and flicked the cigarette onto the floor, watching the bright spark at the end die out slowly.

"Get the others tonight."

"What?"

"I said, get the others tonight." Inuyasha clenched his hands together, his gold eyes narrowing to two dangerous slits. "Hakuyoukai ain't gettin' away after messin' with my woman."

"But...you haven't even been introduced to my sis properly before..."

Thump! "Bakayaro!"

-end chapter seven-

**Welpz, dats it for now. Um. Is this chapter a moving a little quickly ^.^; ? Liked it? hope u guys did ^_^ sorry, i wont be able to answer the reviews this time round. no timeeeee....oh. i tried not to make this chap as dark. i figured u ppl might wanna take a break after all the 'angst' hehe. just kiddin ^__^;;

oh, and anyone who doesn't want to be on my 'mailing' list, let me noe k? so i shan't bother u each time i update -_-' sorriez hehe =P**