Present Time.
Inuyasha Fanfiction
By alandrem
Disclaimer: Blah, Blah, Blah. Same as chapter one.
Author Note: Be warned Inuyasha, Kagome, and Sesshomaru OOCness in abundance on this chapter.
Of course, take into consideration, that Sesshomaru is 500 years older. And he should have matured and learned a few things in his life. He is not a main character on this story but he will appear from time to time, and for those Sess lovers I have a little side story planned for later. (Don't get your hopes high it will be LATER as the story progresses a bit more)
Now this chapter ended being sooooooo long, my MS Word said it was 40 letter size pages, so telos and I decided to cut it in two parts. This is the first and the other is also posted, we'll love feed back on what you think about each part even if you only do one review. (We love them though, so if you want to review both chapters we are not going to stop you. *grins*)
Also for this chapter, and hopefully the others, evercool resurrected is going to be among the editors as telos is playing more of a bouncing wall for ideas role (long chats hours on ICQ just throwing ideas at each other, then some times we do a bit of playacting on IRC. Have to tell you those sessions are FUN to do.), helps me keep the time frame in order, and has co-written some parts.
Thanks to Lightning and Naoko Cat Girl, as they also edit the chapters, helps me to compare and try to learn from my mistakes at writing.
I created a mailing list on yahoo groups (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/iy_presenttimes_ff/).
It is mostly to inform of updates (no chats or posts yet, want to see how it works first.) and probably add a pic or two (I can't draw a thing but I have the pic of the Oakley sunglasses I had Inuyasha wear on Sunday a few chapters back. If anyone knows of a good way to over impose images I'll really love the info, since that was my original plan with the sunglasses pic.) Those who were on my first mailing list are already in the list, and for those who want to be included the group is not public yet so send me an e-mail to include you, the same if you want to be removed.
Wow! That was quite a long rant; the good thing about it is that there are no author notes on the next chapter, except one at the end. Now on with the fic on with the fic.
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Inuyasha left her outside the school gate and waited until she was inside before walking away. She had stayed there only for a few moments a bit surprised at the way things were going. He had not spoken a word after telling her he did not want her to be like Kykyou and the young Miko had been too dumbfounded to say anything.
He had only told her before going that she should not leave alone. Either her mother, one of the cops or himself would be there to pick her up. She had not liked the idea much as she usually walked home with her friends, but she understood that they all were worried for her safety and those men might be looking for her.
Once inside she barely had time to make it to her first class before the bell rang, which was fortunate for the young woman, as she avoided the curious questions from her friends. Kagome had seen them walking a few paces before them, but she had caught their quizzical glances more than once. In a way, she was glad they had not mobbed her and Inuyasha; she was not sure how he would have taken that, the girls sometimes were a handful.
The young woman's respite from questioning lasted until recess, which was a miracle, knowing how the girls were. She guessed they wanted to have enough time to extract the information they wanted about Inuyasha. Kagome pondered what to tell them, but her mother's words of the night before popped in her head. She had taken Inuyasha in. That could help ease her friends' curiosity for the time being.
"So… Kagome-chan who was that gorgeous guy?" Arumi asked without preamble once they had reached a nice resting place under a tree.
"And why was he bringing you to school? You've never had anyone do that." Eri asked almost at the same time, she still had the feeling that Kagome was the girl attacked at the park, and nothing she did would convince her otherwise.
"It's the same hot guy I saw you with Sunday…" Yuka began saying.
"Ah… well…" Kagome began saying as she sat down and took out her lunch. "He's Inuyasha."
"I knew it! He is the 'two timing' jerk! My! He sure is handsome!"
"Now what? He's gotten so possessive he's going to escort you to school?"
"Hey! Don't jump into conclusions!"
"No? Then why was he coming to school with you?"
"And we already know the jerk's name is Inuyasha. Such an odd name…" Eri commented.
"Girls… you know my mother councils troubled teens, right?" Her friends all nodded. "Well… Inuyasha is an orphan and… well his case is very especial so…"
"What does it have to do with him walking you to school?" Arumi interrupted.
"I am getting there! So don't interrupt or I won't tell you anything!" All girls looked wide-eyed at Kagome, who at the moment looked really scary. "As I was saying, Inuyasha's case is special. He has lived alone most of his life, and Mama thought he would benefit from the experience of living with a family. So she took him in…"
"What do you mean by that?" Yuka asked curious, the other girls joining in the inquiry.
"Well, she sort of adopted him, so at the moment he is my foster brother."
"Aah!"
"Ooh"
"That still doesn't explain why he walked you to school holding your hand." Yuka still wanted to know, and she had the satisfaction of seeing Kagome blush.
'Actually, I really want to know the explanation of that!' Kagome thought with a mental sigh. 'Of course I can't tell them. They are really good friends but… sometimes I just wish they weren't so nosy.'
"So… he is your 'two timing' boyfriend Kagome-chan." Yuka concluded and she blushed even redder.
"Yuka-chan! No! He is not my boyfriend!" Kagome stated firmly, but only got dubious looks from her three friends. "He is only a friend…" then added softly, "a very good friend. That is all."
"Kagome-chan you are hiding things from us." Arumi sounded hurt. "Aren't we your friends?"
The young Miko sighed and shrugged her shoulders in defeat; she really did not want to tell them much about Inuyasha, as she might slip something she should not. Also admitting he was indeed, the 'two timing' jerk would make things even more complicated, as they no doubt would find the chance of telling him what they thought about that. They might even babble by accident what her real feelings for him were.
"Look girls… Inuyasha is not from around here, so Mama thought it would be a good idea if he started finding his way around by walking me to school… we… walked hand in hand so he wouldn't get lost." That explanation got her very dubious looks from her three friends, but they could not really argue with that.
"Ok, so he is not your boyfriend." Arumi said. "He seems to be around our age, so… when is he coming to school?"
'Oops! Trick question, I don't know how old Inuyasha is. Demons age much slower than humans do, and well he reads worst than Sota… Besides there is no way I'll allow him to get into the school. Don't think he could anyway, so I better think of something and fast.' Kagome's mind raced trying to find a good answer.
"He is not coming to school Arumi-chan."
"How come?"
"Well… ah… he dropped out from school… so Mama is to teach him at home until he is up to standard."
'Good thinking Kagome.' She congratulated herself as she watched her friends' faces; they looked like they believed it.
"Hmm… since he is free, I don't think you'll mind if I try to get him." Yuka said watching her closely. "He is really handsome with those exotic looks, don't you think girls?" The other two nodded in agreement.
"Don't you dare flirt with him!" Kagome said in a voice full of jealousy, which only made her three friends giggle. She realized too late that she had fallen in Yuka's trap.
"So you do like him." Eri stated.
'Geez! Damn Yuka! She's clever, well there's no way I can really cover for that.' Kagome thought with a resigned sigh.
"Yes, I like him." She admitted. "But that's not why I said that." Puzzled expressions regarded her and she went on. "Look he is not used to be around people, so either he'll be completely unaware of what you are doing or you'll manage to annoy the heck out of him… which believe me you DON'T want to do EVER."
"Oh come on Kagome he can't be that clueless." Eri said.
"Or that bad…"
"Or that rude… He didn't seem like that at all Sunday."
"Ah well, Sunday was plain weird." Kagome said shrugging. "He was high on sugar and caffeine. Mama decided to limit his allowed dosage of caffeinated drinks after that. He is usually very quiet and it's very hard to know what he thinks or feels as he rarely lets that show. Unless of course he is pissed at you, so Yuka-chan, leave him alone."
"So you're going to introduce us…"
"Ah that's not what I meant…"
"We'd like to meet him Kagome-chan."
"And if he's your foster brother and lives at your house, I think you have to introduce us."
"Yes, I guess you're right girls. I'll ask him though. If he agrees then I'll introduce you to him, but be warned don't pester him with questions, if you do; then don't be surprised if he tells you off."
The bell rang announcing the end of the recess and they made their way. Arumi and Yuka walked ahead, Eri went a bit slower to match her pace to the other girl's. She wanted to ask Kagome something that was bothering her since the day before, and she did not want the other girls to hear.
"Are you sure this doesn't have to do with the attack at the park on Friday?" The question surprised the young woman and she actually sounded quite nervous for a moment when she answered.
"Why… why would you think so Eri-chan?" She made a pause to gather her wits and sound as normal as possible. "I told you guys yesterday that it wasn't me."
"Thing is… I don't believe you Kagome-chan."
"Eri-chan…" She did not want to tell her, but realized that the other girl was much more observant and would surely notice it as the days went by.
"It's Ok, you have just confirmed it." Eri said with a shrug. "I suspect there are reasons to keep quiet… so I won't tell either Arumi or Yuka, but I think they'll notice that something is odd when you don't walk with us." She made a pause. "Just be careful Kagome… if you need to talk I'll listen, what are friends for, if not to be there, when we are needed?" She gave her a small smile before going into the classroom, leaving a moved Kagome staring after her for a few moments.
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As Asami waited for her foster son to finish up his appointment with the ophthalmologist, she decided it was a good time for her to take care of some small matters with Lieutenant Kojiro Watanabe. He had crossed the line and she needed to set him straight before Inuyasha decided he could not trust him. The woman knew once that decision was made the young man would not back down. Moreover, at the moment trust between them would be important. Watanabe knew about being a hanyou in that time. He had important knowledge he could share to make Inuyasha fit in better. So she called him, after a few minutes and a transfer to his cell phone, he finally picked up the line.
"Higurashi-san, what can I do for you?" He said pleasantly, not a trace of his wariness showing through.
"I think we need to talk privately about last night Lieutenant… and what you told my foster son this morning." Asami said in a tone like chipped flint. It let the neko hanyou know how displeased she was without being impolite.
"Perhaps we should," responded the neko in a weary and mildly irritated voice, "there was more going on there than you were aware of, or I'm certain you would have put a stop to it," This was not going to go well, he hadn't wanted to rat on the boy. The pup most likely told her something that would put her on his side, but not the full truth. "Do you want to discuss it right now on the phone or wait until later?"
"This should not be overheard." Asami tried to be reasonable with the poor neko, he sounded like he was already having a rough day.
"Give me a minute and I can go somewhere to insure privacy," he told her. As he left the office, Nomura had not yet arrived, but he was sure he would be there soon. Even hung over he never missed a day of work, going as far as staying another turn to make up for his tardiness.
"Alright." Then on a lighter note, she inquired. "Do you have any ideas on where would be a good place for my daughter to take some advanced first aid training? Preferably something that would include treatment for trauma and combat injuries." Asami asked pleasantly. This threw Kojiro on a loop. She had sounded so unfriendly just a few moments before and now she was being pleasant? He did not know what to expect from her.
It had been on her mind for a while. As often as her foster son and their companions seemed to get hurt, that training would be invaluable and make her daughter feel more useful. It just never seemed like she spent enough time at home to really learn the stuff, but since she would be staying for as long as it took to capture those men, Asami was going to jump on the opportunity.
"Well... I don't see why she would need it, but she could take some EMT training. She couldn't work with them for another three years, so she wouldn't be able to get her certificate." He informed the woman wondering why the girl might need it, and making a pause while he thought about possible places. "She could take a night course at the vocational tech school or maybe a correspondence course from there with a lab slot on the weekend." He suggested. "But that kind of training would take a few months at least. I take it this has to do with the fights the pup mentioned?" Watanabe inquired.
The request really seemed to be coming from left field. He had EMT training. Took that course the first time at the vocational tech school, long before he decided to become a police officer, so he knew it was a good place. He'd worked at it for some time too, before becoming a cop. However, it had been a while since he had to use that kind of knowledge. Of course, most of the officers in the forced had some emergency medical training as part of their job. It was a regulation course at the police academy, although most cadets usually forgot the training as soon as they graduated, only to regret not paying more attention to it later, when they got into tight situations.
'Does the pup get hurt that often?' He wondered.
"In part, yes." Asami said with a sigh. Inuyasha got hurt much too often protecting her daughter, and even if he was a fast healer, his wounds should not be left untended. "It is also something she has a lot of aptitude for and enjoys being able to do. Are you in a place where we can speak freely?" She did not want to give away too much to the neko yet, it would just stir up his curiosity more. Moreover, if he were like Inuyasha was to dogs, having the curiosity of a cat would not be good for them.
Watanabe had just made it down to the parking lot, figuring it would be the best place to talk for the same reasons he had told the younger hanyou before. As he walked to his car, he remembered the way Inuyasha scanned the place. From side to side stopping at distinctive places as if looking for an ambush, he had even marked where the possible exits were and how many people where there. All in the time it took them to walk from the elevator to the car. He was reminded of one of those old commando movies, where the soldiers did that almost out of instinct. He got the feeling that the pup had been attacked before, many times before, making that almost second nature.
"Yes I am." The neko informed her as he sat behind the wheel of his car.
"Good. I believe you know that my foster son was basically forced to grow up by himself. And I think you need a little more information to understand where he is coming from." She made a pause to make a point with that first sentence. It was an important thing to keep in mind when talking about Inuyasha. "I would like to believe that you would never have told him what you did, at least, not in the way you did had you known even a little bit of what we know." Asami was angry and she let that show in her voice. "Where he is from, hanyous like the both of you are killed on sight along with their parents. Humans try to kill them and usually succeed in killing the child hanyou and the human mate. Demons generally wipe out the entire family. That is just a fact of life there."
"That is just not possible!" He interrupted her aghast. That sounded too much like the old days, before the treaties. "There are treaties that forbid that kind of persecution!"
'Those ultra traditionalists can't be that extreme, or can they?' He thought. Of course, there were stories, horror stories of those regions that still defied civilization, but no one really believed them. 'But damn! This is sounding so much like one of those.'
"It sadly is Lieutenant. Inuyasha's parents died when he was very young because of that. His father died from his wounds in a battle protecting them, his mother was also killed a little after that. He thinks he was five years old when it happened, and I believe he witnessed it. He really doesn't talk about it, so all I know for sure is that she gave her life for his."
Asami was sad and enraged that he had to endure such things at an age when he should have been loved and nurtured. After having talked to him that morning, she could not help but feel very protective toward the young hanyou. His childhood had been terrible and lonely. She could not, for the love of God, understand how he had been able to survive. However, there he was doing his best to go on; fighting tenaciously to remain alive, first for himself and now for those he cared for.
"He spent the next ten years fighting for his life and living on the fringes of society like a feral dog. Can you imagine a five year old child surviving on his own it the forest?"
"I… well…" Kojiro could not really say anything; he was barely able to understand what she was saying. How had he survived? It just did not seem possible.
"Inuyasha might act though and get really aggressive, but he is only a young lonely kid. Everyone he met during those ten years, because of what he is and how he looks, rejected him. Human or youkai always tried to kill him. Have you any idea how hard it has been for Kagome, and later the rest of the family, to finally earn his trust? And only she has it fully."
"I… I didn't know." Watanabe commented in a very low voice full of remorse.
'By Kami! And I told him she should have thrown him out! No wonder he reacted that bad. I don't think I'm ever going to gain his trust now. Damn! Damn!' He slapped his forehead with each curse.
"You owe him an apology, not so much for what you said as for the way you said it." Asami tried to lay the guilt on thick without being too confrontational. Then she made a pause, as there were some things she wanted to him to help her with. "Look Lieutenant, Inuyasha needs your understanding… we don't know any youkai, but if you manage to repair some of what you did, I'd really appreciate it if you could help him integrate into society."
She knew there was no way he could have known all of that. Inuyasha just didn't talk about his past most of the time; it was too painful for him. And he felt showing hurt made him look weak when it was normal. So he refused to even think of it. Watanabe stood stock still in his car. Her words hit him like a punch in the gut. He couldn't quite believe what she had just told him, and still she was asking for his help.
"Are you telling me that this pup, on his own, survived ten years of having just about every intelligent creature around him trying to kill him?" She had to be wrong. No one would do that to a child, no one.
'No one would murder people for an interracial marriage. It is just impossible.' His mind still refused to believe it.
Kojiro had been born long after the wars to establish the treaties and he could not envision a life without them. A life where he was reviled for being what he was. But he had to admit that most of the hanyous around were young ones, very few were older than 300, when the movement started. And he had never talked to one of the older hanyous to ask what life had been like for them. How could anyone want to go back to that kind of life, when demon fought against demon and human alike?
"Yes, I am. But it wasn't just intelligent creatures; there are predators in the woods that would find a little boy quite tasty."
'Dear Kami!' He could not comprehend how it was possible the pup was alive at all.
"My daughter and my family have earned his trust by accepting him for what and who he is, and showing him the first honestly meant kindness and affection he has had in most of a decade. It is just a part of the reasons why he is so protective of us." She made a pause. "I can only wish I was joking or somehow making this up, but it is the truth. Everyone he has ever loved has been taken from him. He has seen more bloodshed, pain, and death than most war veterans and he is just a young man." He voice sounded sad for the kid's sake.
Asami was dead serious and Watanabe knew it. He just had a hard time wrapping his brain around the concept that the pup had survived that much. It all sounded like some kind of horrible nightmare, and yet he knew Higurashi-san would not lie about something as delicate as that. He sighed and knew that he had done wrong, perhaps not the worst thing he could have done, but bad enough. He did not consider himself a bad judge of character, but this time he had erred badly.
"Guess I should have been less confrontational about it, but he was still out of line. If it had been any other demon, I would have given him a worse chewing out too. Do you know what he was doing?" He was certain she had not at the time.
"Yes, we discussed it at length this morning since he wasn't in any shape to last night."
"He looked well enough to me, perhaps just a bit tired."
"Inuyasha has quite a lot of resistance to pain, because of all his time alone with no one to take care of him but himself. But last night he had a severe migraine, in fact it was so strong that he finally admitted having it, which believe me, is highly unusual. By the time you arrived, he was drugged up on painkillers and desperately needed to go back to bed so he could sleep it off. He was lucky to be able to walk when he got home. Kagome had spent the intervening hour treating his headache and scratching his ears to get him to relax. Had he not been so out of it, I'm certain he would have done something different. He is very shy about physical contact and Kagome knows it, which is why that tactic worked. He was far too out of it to realize exactly what he was doing on a conscious level, and her going into heat took him completely by surprise."
'Well, it sounds like the pup did tell her something.' Thought the neko, and he was rather startled by the revelation. 'I wish I had known about that, we could have done something about it sooner.'
"I knew he was tired. We had to wake him up when we got to the shrine, but I had no idea he had a headache, especially one that bad."
"He fell asleep in the car? With both of you there?" Asami's voice was filled with disbelief and that surprised him.
"Uh yes, he did. There was a lot of traffic coming back; most people riding in the back seat would have fallen asleep. Why are you so surprised?"
"Inuyasha would never sleep around people, unless he trusts them, and sometimes not even then. If he does, the slightest sound or movement would wake him up before you get close enough to touch him. I know you were not aware how his life was, or you'd have known something was wrong. But to us, that is a clear indication that he was really in pain." Watanabe did not know what to say to that, so he went back to talking about what happened the night before at her home.
"It sounds like he did tell you something after all…"
"No, he told me everything and it wasn't exactly easy for him," she interrupted. "By dog demon customs, they are engaged, and have been for some time; but he only just recently realized it. Kagome doesn't know it yet, so please don't bring it up around her before we get a chance to discuss it." Watanabe was blown away. The pup really had told her the truth and she had seemingly accepted it.
"And you are fine with this? You aren't upset that your daughter may wind up mated to a dog hanyou at 16? Did he tell you what the consequences of that would be?" Watanabe couldn't keep his incredulity out of his voice.
"Actually, Kagome is 15 too." If she had been in the car with Kojiro, she would have seen his jaw drop all the way to the floor. "He told me what he knew as far as the consequences go. I would make them get married in the human tradition if it happened, but the facts of the matter are that she could easily do a lot worse and they are already bonding without ever having mated."
"I'm sorry if I sound like I'm judging the situation, but what can a kid like him offer her? He has no schooling…"
"A loving and lasting relationship, which is something many humans wish for but will never get Lieutenant." She interrupted him. "Inuyasha is a very bright kid, with some help and patience he can be brought up to standard, so that doesn't really worry me. What does is that it would kill him if someone succeeded in killing her. That is why he volunteered to work with you. And don't take me wrong, we would all be devastated if something like that happened, but we would go on with our lives sooner or later." Her voice broke a little, as she knew that every time Kagome went to the past the risk of her not coming back was great. "He would not."
"They are not mated yet. That kind of thing only happens to mated partners that have been together for a long time."
"They are bonding Lieutenant. Inuyasha has risked his life for her several times before, and received some serious wounds because of it. He is as willing to die for my daughter, as I know she is for him. He has willingly allowed himself to be impaled and poisoned so that my daughter and her friends could escape a particularly cruel inu youkai. He has gone over the side of a cliff with a broken arm taking down a cannibal, while human at the time. Kagome has snapped him out of an enchantment that would have taken him to hell and another that would have snapped his soul. You could consider them battle partners at this point."
"What can they be about to make them take such risks ma' am?" He sounded disbelieving. The woman was probably exaggerating. "They are just kids, and I can't really believe you allow your daughter to get into dangerous situations."
"I know it sounds strange Lieutenant. Believe me, I don't like Kagome getting involved in situations that put her life at risk, what mother would? But I also know that she has no choice but to follow her Miko calling." She paused to let that sink in. "Kagome is helping people back where Inuyasha is from, many lives depend on her. She is needed there… I'm aware that they might one day be killed because of that, it is one of the reasons I am allowing them to be mated… the chance of either of them dying is great…"
'Dear Kami what are these kids into?'
"I want my daughter to be happy and Inuyasha deserves to know happiness too, be it that they die young or live until old age…" She paused for a moment. "I really wish there was a way to avoid all the danger." She said with a resigned sigh. "But I know there isn't; my only comfort as a mother is that I know he's always there to protect her… and as her mate he'd fight even harder to keep my daughter safe as well as himself. He'll live for Kagome."
"Higurashi-san what is it that they are involved with? Drugs?"
"I wish they were Lieutenant. It'd be easier to handle." She sounded worried. "I really can't tell you what it is they are doing, except that many lives depend on my daughter, Inuyasha, and their friends." She said and then decided to change the subject. "On a related note, would putting Kagome on birth control pills lessen the impact of her going into heat on him? He doesn't want to push her into anything before they are both ready, so we need to alleviate that problem if we can." Kojiro needed a minute to gather his wits back about him as he reeled for all of what she had told him, he thought about it.
"It won't work for this time around, but it should for next month. It's what we usually do nowadays." He shook his head trying to clear it and was struck by another thought. Nomura would want to know a lot of this, and he could use some of it to help cover his ass. "Can I tell my partner some of this? Not the demon stuff of course, but the rest?"
"Go ahead, but make sure he understands that it is basically an informal engagement and we approve of it. It would help if you both could help familiarize him with modern society. He catches on quick, but some stuff still seems to take him by surprise." Asami could tell that she had given him a lot to digest and that it would be a while before he could really understand. So they finished the conversation on a polite note and Watanabe told her that Nomura would either call or drop by to set up the surveillance schedule.
The pup's foster mother had given him a lot to think about. Still too dazed by all the shocking information about Inuyasha Shirosenshi, Kojiro remained in the car to gather his thoughts. Only after he felt confident of maintaining his usually cool exterior did he leave the vehicle. On his way to the office, he stopped to pick up a mug of fresh coffee and something to munch on while he kept pondering about the pup's life.
One thing was for sure: Seijuro was going to want to know more, and he was going to have to tell him as much as he could. He just had to be very careful when telling him to keep from inadvertently slipping demon stuff there. Also, the fact that the pup had told him things in confidence would serve as a stonewalling tactic. He did not like keeping things from his partner. Nomura was a good human, and smart too. He considered him a good friend, but he did not have any choice. As he came into the office, he barely acknowledged his partner, and then sat down at his desk next to Seijuro's with a very pensive expression on his face, as he munched his pocky.
"Is something the matter Kojiro?" Seijuro asked seeing the expression and knowing that it meant Kojiro was thinking something over very intently.
"Yes," he sighed and went on, "I think I made a mistake." This got Nomura's undivided attention. Watanabe was a good officer and very observant, he rarely made mistakes.
"What was it?" Nomura asked.
"While you were at home nursing your sore head," there was some slight recrimination on his voice, which only made Nomura shrug. Next time it would be his turn to cover for him anyway. "I called the pup to ask him to report in to us about his schedule. He was walking his girlfriend to school so I waited for him to call back. I… have to admit I wasn't in a very good mood to start, so after I got his schedule, I confronted him for cuddling her in public and asked him again why she was scared of me. Needless to say it didn't go over well."
"You didn't lose it…" He began saying only to be interrupted.
"Unfortunately I did. I lashed at him harsher than I should have."
"So it is bad?" Seijuro knew what kind of temper his partner had hidden under that cool exterior. True, he rarely let it out on people, but when he did, it was usually nasty. Kojiro nodded.
"Yeah, it seems that way. I think I made him lose the acceptance I was trying to build with him. He knew I was right, but the way I said it made him defensive and angry. And to top that, he still didn't want to tell me why she nearly flipped out." Nomura nodded, it made sense and gave his partner a go on motion with his hands.
'Acceptance? Doesn't he mean trust?' Nomura was a bit puzzled by his choice of words.
"I just got off the phone with Higurashi-san. Apparently, I had really upset him and they had a long talk about it. She filled me in on a lot of stuff I didn't know. Now, I just feel really dumb."
'He must have really put is foot in it.' Nomura raised an eyebrow at this.
"I have no idea where this pup is from, and after what I just heard I don't think he really knows that either." That comment really caught Seijuro's interest.
"What do you mean by that?" He asked, moving his chair to face Kojiro, his face intrigued.
"Let's say I'm still trying to come to grips with what I just heard." The neko hanyou made a pause. "As far as everyone knows he had a very painful childhood. According to what Higurashi-san knows, his father died from his wounds in a fight when he was trying to protect his family. His mother was also murdered and she thinks Inuyasha might have witnessed one or both of those crimes. The pup thinks he might have been around five years old when that happened. And he is convinced his mother died saving his life, but he rarely speaks about the incident."
"Good grief! That sure makes for odd behavior… or for a nut case." Nomura commented. "Is that all?"
"Oh there is more, much more." Kojiro's tone was filled with sympathy and something Seijuro could not identify. "From that point on, he lived in the forests like some sort of semi-human animal. Trying to keep from being eaten by wild animals, as well as avoiding people, because they regularly tried to kill him or trap him for his appearance and abilities…"
"What? That doesn't make sense!" The detective exclaimed.
"It seems he had been living in a very rural and isolated area Seijuro… You know folks in remote places tend to be superstitious. And well, his looks are unusual; silvery white hair and amber almost-golden eyes would surely make him stand out there, as he does here. Although here it wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing… and don't tell me his sense of smell is not odd. They probably thought the poor boy was some kind of demon!"
"I just don't think… It just doesn't sound right… but…" Nomura said thinking hard.
The detective could not believe what he was hearing, the kid living like a wild animal, it sounded just too farfetched and yet… It made sense in an odd sort of way. He did not know what a coke, the chili fries, or hamburgers were. Something a city kid, a street kid, would know. His admittance of hunting and the way a beheaded animal would bleed; his dislike for guns. His experience at tracking, even his fighting ability, his speed, and strength began to make sense.
"But somehow it makes sense;" he went on slowly, "it explains some things, although it still leaves a lot of questions. You say he was five when his parents died?"
'This is too much of a coincidence… it has to be related to the assault and missing person file I got from Hamaguchi.' He thought, tying events together.
"Did she tell you more?" Kojiro nodded in agreement.
"That's what he thinks…" Nomura was about to say something but Kojiro beat him to it. "I know, I know, it doesn't sound possible that a kid that old could survive on his own. However, that's all they know. He doesn't speak much."
"It doesn't surprise me if that's the truth."
"She did tell me a bit more. Because of his isolation, he is very shy of physical contact and extremely wary of other people. He doesn't trust anyone with the exception of this Kagome girl. And lately he has started to trust the family."
"So that's what you meant by acceptance, so we were nowhere near winning his trust."
"Yes, that was it. Higurashi-san thinks if we handle this right, we might help him a little. And I rather like the pup, I wouldn't mind befriending him, but after this morning I'm not sure I can correct anything."
"No wonder you felt bad partner, this kid is an odd case. But there was no way we could have known all this before hand."
"I know, but that doesn't change things." He sighed before going on. "Anyway Kagome-chan is his first real friend since he was five and she has gotten him to come out of his shell enough to make more friends, but it is very very hard for him. Higurashi-san stated that everyone whom he has ever loved has been taken from him, mostly by the violence that surrounds his life."
"I see, I think. We just have to work harder at gaining his trust. So, he still didn't tell you why the girl was scared of you?" He had really wanted a straight answer to this. Last night's chat with his father was lost in a drunken fog in his memory.
"No, but I'm starting to develop a theory about this."
"Oh? Well shoot it out! I'm all ears."
"I suspect she has had run ins with the people who keep trying to kill the pup and that I look like one of them. I think he might have sniffed me out yesterday and decided I was not one of those people. I also think they may have attacked her too, but he has always defended her. So she thought I was one of them, but since he did not want to tell her he had already talked to us, there was no way to warn his girlfriend that I wasn't who she thought I was. Besides, Higurashi-san implied as much anyways."
"Sounds plausible and also explains some odd comment he made on Saturday, although I'm not totally convinced about this." This got him Kojiro's raised eyebrow in inquiry. "He said he had protected her for a long time and will continue to do so."
"Well his foster mother said that because of the fact that her family has welcomed him, and been very accepting of who and what he is. Inuyasha has become very protective of them. Since he lost everyone who ever cared for him already, he doesn't want to see history repeat itself. She also told me that he is engaged to her daughter…"
"What? They are engaged?" Nomura sputtered, at that moment he had just taken a sip from his soda.
"Hey don't give me that look! I almost flipped over myself when I heard her."
"But… but… they are just kids!"
"I think that because they are just kids, the family hasn't made any sort of formal announcement about it yet. And likely won't say much until after the wedding. There is also the fact that he is too afraid of losing her if it were known how attached he is to the girl."
Watanabe had a speculative look to him while putting all of this together, there had to have been more clues in what she told him, but he was not seeing them yet. He also noticed that Nomura had a very odd pensive look on his face, as he seemed to re-read something on the file he had on his desk. It began to puzzle Kojiro, normally his partner would not keep quiet about a file if he thought it was important, and by the look on his face, the neko hanyou could tell Seijuro thought it was.
"Anyways, he was cuddling up to her last night to keep her from flipping out. It distracted her enough to work. I should have listened to him and stayed behind, but I really had not understood why I shouldn't have gone. She said he would have used a different tactic if he had been more coherent at the time. Apparently all the tests he took gave him a massive migraine and he was drugged up on painkillers the entire time."
"Why didn't he say something about it? We could have stopped them or at least get him a painkiller."
"He doesn't trust us Seijuro, and well… she did say he had a very high tolerance to pain. She also said that if we had known him, we would have suspected something was wrong the moment he fell asleep with us in the car."
"Yeah, I guess you're right." He agreed thoughtfully. "If he lived in the wilderness then there would not have been painkillers available… And he would not have slept in an unfamiliar place, with unfamiliar people."
'All this is starting to make sense and it just ties with the case I was just reading, I'm sure Kojiro is going to be very surprised about it.' Seijuro thought. 'Still… this is too much of a coincidence, there is still something not quite right here... And by God I'm going find out what it is, even if it's not related to the 'Park Killer' case.'
"Kojiro, I think you might want to review this file before your meeting with Shirosenshi-sama as well. I did some checking because of something that my father mentioned last night…" His voice was serious.
"Weren't you too drunk to be coherent last night?"
"Not in the beginning, and well, I did have the presence of mind to send myself an e-mail to remind me of the important things before my brains got too muddled." He admitted looking chagrined.
"Makes sense, so… why do you think I should read this file?"
"Because I think it might be part of why he wants to talk to you." He noticed Kojiro was looking him intently, so he went on. "Ryoutou Shirosenshi, the one this file is about, was his first cousin and also his business partner before he died."
"So what does he have to do with this?"
"I got curious, so I did some background check up… It turns out that Higurashi-san inherited a large state in Higusenshi Financial Inc." Kojiro's face was precious; he mouthed a very surprised oh. "Her husband was the third partner in that company, before he was killed three years ago by thugs when he was mugged. Actually, the Captain had that case, so I just asked if he remembered something useful. Anyway, thinking about it, I don't think anyone will mind the engagement. So, either read through it or make yourself a copy while I work on the surveillance stuff." He said as he turned his back to him to start working on the computer.
Kojiro read it, completely astounded. This was just not something he was expecting. The file talked about the Demon Lord of the Western Lands relative and second in command. Ryoutou Shirosenshi was no common demon, and his wife was no common human either. Lady Itami had been a very powerful and respected Miko. Watanabe smacked his forehead; he should have remembered the case. Most demon circles were in uproar as well as human ones although for different reasons.
'Good God!' He thought as he browsed through the photos of the crime scene, if they were the pup's parents, he understood why he thought them dead. 'How could they beat such a powerful combination? Those two were no amateurs!' He guessed the Lord had taken his only pup the forests for some training.
The family had been on a camping trip when they suffered an incredibly vicious attack by traditionalists. The couple had a young son of five years, whose name happened to be Inuyasha. The search parties had never found any trace of him. Itami Shirosenshi had spent twelve hours on the cusp of death and was in the ICU for half a month. Ryoutou was not much better. At the bottom of the file, Kojiro found a small document hidden under an illusion. It read:
Lord Ryoutou Shirosenshi of the inu youkai clan based on Tokyo. The Demon Lord of the West's second in command in charge of Inter species Affairs, and his wife Lady Itami, first Miko of the 'School of the Pure Spirit', were attacked specifically for the Lord's policies relating to humans. The demons involved in the attack belonged to a radical traditionalist group who wanted a return to the ways of the Feudal Period before the truce and treaties. Several of them are charged with hunting and feeding on humans. The hanyou boy was tracked for a mile and a half by dogs and inu-youkai. Lord Sessho himself and two of his sons were members of the search party. He called off the search where the trail ended and stated that there was a magical residue at the location. It was confirmed by all present that had any magical abilities.
Lady Rin was overheard consoling Lord Ryoutou and his wife with the statement that their son was not dead. He would be seen again in ten years when he gained the necessary strength to fulfill his destiny. That she and her husband knew that powerful elements were moving at the time, and they could not be stopped as the fates of demons and humans were at stake. Lady Rin also said that the young hanyou, Inuyasha, was to become one of the greatest warriors ever and a pack leader before he turned sixteen, as in his blood he carried both, the strength of his father and the purity of heart of his mother. It is rare and powerful combination.
Lady Rin stated that they family surname is actually in his honor. Soon after mentioning this, she became aware of the presence of other people in the room. When asked, she admitted that they did know what happened to the boy, but was adamant that they could not discuss it outside the family. Lord Sessho entered the room moments later and ordered everyone to keep silent on the matter and to write no records about it save for this one.
"I think you need to take this with you Seijuro and see Higurashi-san. The boy is Shirosenshi-sama's cousin and he was a part of the search. I am just about convinced that it is the same boy… Still, I don't think Higurashi-san is really aware of who he is." He said after seeing Inuyasha's picture, he had been a cute chubby kid; on the picture he wore a big innocent smile. Kojiro felt a bit sorry for the pup, and wondered why his parents never changed his hair and eye color to a more human looking one to make him blend better. It was strange.
"Why would you think so? It makes the engagement thing easier to understand, like they probably planned this when the kids were born or something."
"Because I don't think the pup knows who he really is. It just doesn't sound logical that he was lost for ten years and then returned to be engaged. I like to think this is more of a huge and rather odd coincidence. Anyway, do we have a photo of him that I can take with me to the meeting?" Kojiro looked up and handed the file back to his partner with the illusion still in place.
"Yes, we have one from his badge on file. Go get it. Just one question, I noticed you refer to the kid as pup, why?"
"Well you see how he gets when you call him kid, so I asked what I should call him instead of that…" Kojiro started to explain.
"And he told you to call him pup?"
"Yes, I think the word 'kid' brings him bad memories or something. And well it sorts of fits his name too, dog demon. Inuyasha also said he had a nickname but that it was bad pun to his name so he didn't tell me what it was. Right now I'm trying to get used to calling him pup, so I don't slip up and get into worse ground with him that I already am."
"Sounds like you have a point there, but I still think it's odd." Kojiro shrugged. "I'm almost done here. Do you want me to drive you there? I would like to see the family, Dad asked me to look for few scrolls he is after. It just happened that they used to be in the possession of Ryoutou Shirosenshi. That's why I went to search for the file. Somehow these are just too many coincidences."
"You bet. I don't see how that would be a problem, but they aren't expecting you, so I don't know if you would be invited in to the meeting."
"That's ok, my father sent me a large email that I'm printing and can take with me to read while I wait. Besides, if I'm lucky they might know what happened to Ryoutou's scrolls on a legend he is researching which would make him very happy."
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The bell rang signaling the end of classes for the day. Kagome packed the books she would need for homework and the extra assignments the teachers recommended she worked on to raise her grades. Her friends waited for her and then all four left the classroom, happy that it was not cleanup day for them. As Kagome reached the door to the yard, she sensed Inuyasha's familiar presence nearby, the young woman excused herself, and instead of following the girls, she walked toward a large tree at the end of the yard.
Her friends were curious and they decided to follow her, once they reached the tree they saw Kagome staring up to the higher branches and did the same wondering what their friend could be looking at. To their utter surprise, the guy that brought her to school in the morning was lounging comfortably on one of the higher branches. He seemed to be reading something and not paying attention the quartet of girls staring up at him.
"Hey Inuyasha! Come down!" Kagome called to him. She was sure he was perfectly aware that she was there, and probably smelled her before she approached the tree, but he gave no indication of having detected or heard her.
"Feh!" He said from his perch finally acknowledging her presence, but he still made no move to come down.
Inuyasha had seen the girls following Kagome and at the moment he was in no mood to deal with curious humans. He had started to read the scrolls, and had to admit the glasses were an improvement, even if he still had trouble remembering what some symbols meant. The young hanyou was completely shocked by the fact that it was his mother's reincarnation, a Miko named Itami Shirosenshi, the one who wrote that particular scroll and left it at the cave where he would find it.
The young man felt that he needed peace and quiet and some time to think, so he could assimilate what he little he had read so far. And those girls down there looked anything but peaceful. So he remained on his branch a tried to ignore them hoping they would leave Kagome and him alone. The young Miko was already going to be too much, when she saw him wearing the glasses.
"Inuyasha I want to go back home soon!" She said still patiently, not wanting to say the 'S' word in public. She would not be able to explain it to her friends.
"Feh!" Was his response, giving the girls a cursory glance.
"Dog boy! Come on! Why are you being so difficult today? I just want to go home and start doing my homework."
"Tell them to f**k off." He told her still not moving and glaring at the girls. Of course being so high up none of them could not really see his face. They reeked of curiosity and after his words, he could smell some anger.
"Tell them? Who?"
"Damn it bitch are you so clueless? They followed you." He growled and pointed to her back.
"Who do you think you are calling Kagome-chan like that?" Yuka shouted at him angrily.
"Feh! What I am is none of your concern wench." He snapped at her.
"Inuyasha! Sss…" Kagome began saying but he interrupted her.
'I can't say it! Not with the girls here, but just wait till we get home!' She thought exasperated. 'He had no right to be so offensive to my friends.'
"Oh no, you don't." He then stood up on the branch and jumped down doing two turns before landing neatly, his back to the young woman not a foot away. "Let's go!" He growled at her and started walking. "I don't want to deal with 'people' right now. I have too much to think about." His voice was low, but still Eri heard him and wondered what he meant.
Even though he was being rude the girls could only gasp when he jumped down from that height, they all thought he could get hurt, but he landed with the grace of a gymnast, once on the ground the trio noticed he carried an old and apparently battered katana, like it was the most normal thing in the world. To Eri it meant he was there to protect Kagome, so even if he was rude she refrained from commenting anything.
"Kagome, why do you follow him? The guy's a jerk! Better have Hojou-kun walk you home, at least he is polite." Yuka told her retreating friend. She was starting to really dislike that young man.
'If that guy dares to come close to her I'll kill him!' Inuyasha thought furious and growled dangerously.
"I have to go girls, I'll see you tomorrow." Kagome apologized to her friends; the fact that Inuyasha had admitted that much was enough for her to stop her arguments. He was also acting weird, as he had not faced her once. Also she was worried that he might attack Hojou-kun, so she turned to follow him. "Come on let's go Inuyasha."
"I bet this is because of the 'Park Killer' or the attack on the park Friday night." Eri muttered worriedly as she saw the retreating pair. Just as she finished the last word, she saw him turn in her direction and faster than she thought anyone could move he was standing before her. In a passing glance, she noticed he was wearing eye glasses and that made him look even more interesting.
"What did you just say?" He asked in a deadly low tone of voice that sent shivers down the girls' spine. He had the dangerous air of a feral predator.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome called him, worried about Eri's safety. She had not heard a thing, but she suspected her friend had mentioned the attack on Friday. She also noticed that her dog demon had looked different but he had moved so fast away from her that she had not been able to tell what it was, aside from seeing him in modern clothes, to which she was not used yet. "Leave Eri-chan alone!"
"You… you… heard?" Eri stammered very frightened.
"My hearing is very good." His voice was more a low growl that sent more shivers down the scared girl's spine. "It makes up for my eyesight usually."
"I… I said…" She tried to speak.
"Not here… Come." He ordered pulling her apart from the other surprised girls by the arm. He threw her companions a look that promised dire consequences if they followed. Once out of earshot he asked. "What do you know about it and who told you?" He said with a low growl.
"I... n-no one told me." She managed to say still very afraid, he was holding her in a painful grip by the arm. "You're… you're hurting me!" She saw him look at his hand like it was detached from his body, he released her then and muttered an apology. It surprised her.
"What do you know about it?" He asked again, Eri hurriedly told him her theory and how she had reached that conclusion, Inuyasha had to admit the girl was clever and quite observant. She was also very concerned about Kagome's safety, and that fact actually made his anger toward her abate. Eri saw the change and realized that he was probably worried about Kagome and the chance that the knowledge she had might endanger her more.
"Don't mention this again." He ordered her, his voice had lost the dangerous edge and was just plain gruff.
"She is in danger, isn't she?" Eri asked, and saw the quick changes in his expression; there was concern, fear and finally he settled for feigning indifference. That was enough to tell her that the rather violent guy before her cared a lot for Kagome.
"Yes, she is." He admitted. "It is important that no one knows she was the girl from the park… those thugs would seek her out. We suspect they already are looking for her."
"Thugs? It wasn't the Park Killer?" Eri asked quite surprised.
"The 'Park Killer' are two guys not one." He informed her. "That is why the police have not been able to catch them."
"I see… do the police know about Kagome?"
"Only the guys looking for the killers and I think a couple more, as there are going to be some close by where ever she goes." He paused and looked thoughtful for a moment then added. "If you notice anything strange tell me. I can't be here all the time."
"I will," Eri agreed, "you live at the shrine too?" He nodded. "And your name is just Inuyasha?"
"Shirosenshi Inuyasha." He told her, saying that family name still felt odd for him. But he guessed he had to get used to it, everybody in Kagome's time had one. "Don't repeat any of this…"
"Saitoh Eri." He nodded at her name, and then turned to walk back to a fuming Kagome. Eri just stood there mulling things up, and both Yuka and Arumi moved to her side in a flash wanting an explanation. The young woman sighed, that was going to be one hell of a job, since she really could not tell them anything.
As Inuyasha approached her, Kagome finally noticed what was different about him. The comment she overheard in the morning about taking him to the ophthalmologist finally making sense… or as much sense as she could make it. The hanyou always told her that demons were near perfection if not perfect and that was why he wanted to become one, but there he was wearing glasses. She just gaped at him not really able to form a coherent sentence. And it was not just that he wore them, but he the fact that he looked downright interesting. The style he had suited him, one of those that seemed that nothing was holding the glasses in place. That was the reason why she had not noticed them before.
Inuyasha saw her face and groaned mentally, she had noticed and would be downright curious. In the state his mind was at the moment he'll probably end barking something nasty at her. Still, there was nothing he could do about it. After 'seeing', what he had been missing. There was no way in hell he would go back to the way it was before he put on the thingies.
"What?" He barked at the surprised girl as he kept walking in the direction of the shrine.
"You're… you're wearing glasses" Kagome exclaimed a little too loud, she saw through is concealing spell and his ears were flattened against his skull.
"So?"
"But you… you're… you're a…"
"I know." He cut her off before he mentioned before everyone that he was a hanyou. Although it would be interesting how she could explain that to her curious friends that were following them a few paces behind thinking they were secretive. With all the noise they were making it was of course impossible not to hear them. He could also smelled the trio as they were upwind.
"Is this because of your hu…"
"No." He interrupted her again. "This is from my father's side."
'From his youkai blood? That must have been a shock to him… Actually, it is to me too. I thought youkai had no defects.' Kagome thought as she gaped. 'And how does he now it's from that side?'
"From your father's blood? It must have been a surprise…" She echoed her thoughts.
"It was." He admitted with a curt nod.
"How did you find out?" Kagome asked, curiosity taking the best of her, especially since he was answering her questions.
"Remember the scrolls I told you about?" On the corner of his eye, he saw her nod. "I had a lot of trouble reading it, and my head hurt." He paused for a moment then went on. "I thought it was because I had not read anything in a long time, but I reached a part of them that told me to have my eyes checked before I went on reading."
"It did? But… how did the writer know?"
"She was a seer. I'll tell you more later. Anyway, your Ofukuro noticed too, but didn't say anything because…" He left the rest unsaid and shrugged. "Then I told her about the scroll and said that it made sense that I could read the big signs but not the instructions she wrote…"
"So Mama got you an appointment with the ophthalmologist?"
"Aa." Was his simple reply.
"I never thought you'd wear something like that." She mused, he was using many things from her time that she had never thought he would use. It was a rather pleasant surprise to see that he could adapt that easily. It was a side of him Kagome never thought he had, being as stubborn as he usually was.
"I was not going to… but she made me try the one the guy made as a test… It was… it was a big difference." He sounded a bit amazed. "I didn't know the world was not supposed to be fuzzy around the edges."
"Hmm… so that's why you miss so much with your punches." She teased him.
"I don't miss." Inuyasha informed her, although deep inside he had to admit that she was right, he did miss a bit. But had learned to make up for that on his attacks.
"You do."
"No, I don't!" He stated firmly. "Some of them are actually good fighters you know." Inuyasha added for good measure, he might brag about his superiority but had to admit that not all of his enemies were wimps. He had learned from fighting against them, as he was much better than he was before their search started.
"Of course you do!" She hid a grin at hearing how ruffled his ego was getting. "Although you're right there, some were good, but… come on admit it, you miss a lot." Her voice sounded amused.
"I beat them don't I?" He huffed indignantly.
"Well… yes in the end you do." Kagome admitted. "But you can't use those glasses for a fight, they'll fall off and break."
"Your Ofukuro said as much. She wanted me to wear some odd thingies in my eyes. But there is no f***ng way I let something else in my eyes." He said and could not help a small shiver. The experience of Sesshomaru gouging his eye out still disturbed him.
"She suggested you wear contacts? They would be better you know, no one will notice you have them."
"No." He said firmly. "No way in hell!" He was really starting to sound disturbed. "That guy tried to put one on…"
"You didn't claw him or caused a mess did you?" Kagome asked, finally remembering his ordeal with his father's grave. She began to understand, after that experience, it was only logical that he would not want any unknown objects close to his eyes. There was always the chance that he would change his mind later when he realized how common contacts were in her time.
"No, but I would have if your Ofukuro had not told him to stop. She ordered instead a pair of what she called sport glasses made for me. They are going to take about a week to get them done, though."
"And she still chose those you're wearing?" Kagome asked surprised, her mother was spoiling the hanyou rotten with the modern stuff she got for him. He was never interested in owning anything, except for Tetsusaiga.
"She didn't choose them, I did." He told her.
As soon as those words sunk in her mind, Kagome stopped dead on her tracks and just stared at the retreating back of the hanyou. The fact that Inuyasha might actually have a good or fairly decent fashion sense was too unbelievable. That he actually took the time to choose something for himself was also too farfetched, yet he had been dressing himself in the clothes her mother chose for him, and doing a good job at getting everything to match. She kept staring at him wondering how much were they changing him and if that change would have repercussions in the past. It was a sobering thought. Inuyasha noticed she had stopped walking and backtracked to her, he placed a hand in the middle of her back and propelled forward in the Shrine's direction.
"Now what?" His tone slightly annoyed as he pushed her forward.
"Ah… nothing." She said and turned to look at him, he had one of his eyebrows raised in a doubtful look.
"Hmphg" He snorted but did not say anything else, his mind full of pending things to think off, so for the rest of the way the walked in a comfortable silence.
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A/N: Hope I did not get you confused there, though if you have questions about some issues here ask either telosphilos or me, we will do our best to solve any doubt. Although most will be answered as the fic progresses.
I think at least part of the doubts of why Kagome's mother was acting the way she was, get answered here.
Hmmm… the yahoo group might be a good place to answer questions, have to think about it though.