A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed. Glad you were all so happy with the
kiss. Ha! I finally got it in.
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.
Synthetic Emotions
Kagome had never been kissed like this before. Hojo had kissed like he was afraid she was going to bite him if he didn't do it right, and Eiji with a blatant disregard for her comfort. Inuyasha kissed like he wanted to open her up and make her feel him all the way to her toes. He didn't far miss either. The tiny part of the girl's brain that wasn't lost in the feeling of his mouth working against hers realized that he was made to do this. The rest of her ignored that part, thoroughly absorbed in 'what' was happening and not giving a damn 'why'.
Too soon he pulled away, leaving her breathless and her lips tingling. She would have protested, but then he began feathering light kisses on her closed eyelids, her cheek, the top of her head, the tip of her nose, her earlobe; an involuntary shiver went through her whole body when he buried his face in the crook of her neck and inhaled deeply. She could feel the heat coming off of him, and hear the soft rasp of his breath. How could she not believe in them when he was holding her so tightly?
"Kagome," he whispered in her ear, "is this real enough for you?"
The girl pulled away enough to look in his eyes. She wanted to see his eyes right now; to see how they looked when he kissed her. She could always read so much in those eyes. She smiled when she saw them, warm and glowing softly from within, like sunlight shining through summer honey.
Kagome nodded, her throat too tight to speak. He leaned into her a little, not quite touching her. Every nerve ending in her mouth was already alive with anticipation of his next move.
Then the moment was ruined as Shippo came barreling down the stairs on all fours, screaming, "Save Miroku!"
Kagome pulled out of Inuyasha's arms, her face burning hot. "What'd he do that he needs saving?"
"I can imagine," the hanyou said with a growl. "I suppose we should get up there before that activist kills him."
Kagome picked up Shippo and followed Inuyasha up the narrow flight of stairs. She wondered vaguely if Inuyasha really wanted to save Miroku, or if he just didn't want Sango to kill him without getting a front row seat. Or maybe he wanted to kill the young man himself, for either directly or indirectly interrupting them twice today.
Kagome sighed. If Inuyasha did decide to break every bone in Miroku's body, she wasn't sure she could work up the enthusiasm to stop him. Shippo was giving her a strange look, and the girl felt her blush grow even more fierce.
When she came out of the stairwell, it was to the sight of Sango standing ramrod straight over a fallen Miroku, whose face sported a perfectly shaped red handprint. ". . .never, under any circumstances, touch me again, you-- you unbelievable pervert."
"Surely under the proper circumstances, you wouldn't be so harsh." Miroku said, rubbing his cheek. "If you were gushing blood. . ."
"Then I can very well bleed to death!" the young woman shouted, and Kagome blinked, looking from one to the other.
"I don't know what you did," Inuyasha said, shaking his head, "but you probably deserve it."
"What 'did' you do?" Kagome asked, setting the little fox youkai in her arms down on the kitchen table. "It must have been pretty bad it she'd rather die that have you touch her."
"I merely complimented her form," Miroku said defensively, finally picking himself up off the floor. "And my hand may have wandered a bit south of where I intended to put it, but that's hardly a killing offence."
Hiraikotsu Sango's face was scarlet by the time the young man finished his explanation. In a tight, controlled voice, she clarified, "He said I had a nice ass and grabbed a handful of it. And he's some kind of weird stalker or something, because he's got just about every article that's been written about me!"
Kagome and Inuyasha both turned to look at Miroku, who was still the very image of innocence. Kagome wished she could pull off that guileless look half so well. It would have saved her a lot of trouble in high school, but this time it wasn't going to work. Sango wasn't going to fall for it, and Kagome knew him too well to buy into the act.
"It's a professional curiosity," he said at last.
"Bullshit," Inuyasha barked. "Can't you afford real porn?"
"It's not porn," the young man argued.
"Yeah, that's in the--"
"I have those articles on Hiraikotsu Sango because I'm trying to find a rogue youkai," he interrupted, discretely bopping Shippo on the head to shut him up. Three sets of eyes locked on Miroku expectantly. Sango's stance relaxed slightly, but she didn't back down entirely. A frown creased her brow. "Explain."
Miroku took a deep breath and did just that.
"My grandfather died a longtime before I was born," he began. "I never knew him, but I've heard of him since I was born. He's something of a family hero. We've been involved in youkai for generations. My grandfather was a troubleshooter for a small company called Kazaana that produced custom youkai. Nothing on the level of Inutaiyoukai, but a good company none the less.
"One day, Grandfather's company was given a business proposal unlike any they'd had before. The client didn't want a single youkai. He wanted a single unit that other youkai could be networked to. This central unit would be able to control all of the other models in its network, even though they were each individuals.
"The product they made had one of the most complex computers made to date in its head, so it could handle the level of input it would have to deal with. It was really a brilliant system. And Grandfather had endless problems with it. In the end, however, it was completed, and the whole company was congratulating themselves for getting the thing finished. It was going to put Kazaana on a whole new level.
"But before the buyer claimed the product, it went berserk, apparently turning rogue."
"So you think this thing is still out there?" Kagome asked, unsure what to make of this story. She had known Miroku for years, but this was the first she had heard of it. Actually, he didn't like to talk about his family, aside from his "bear my child" line.
"I'm sure of it, but that isn't the whole of it. You see, the prototype, called Naraku, destroyed the company when it left, both physically and financially. It destroyed the offices, investors pulled out, and the company had almost all of it's assets tied up in this unit. Since Naraku was lost, the buyer never paid to cover the expenses of making it. And the expenses were prodigious.
"But what's more, the people who were involved with the project started dying. It was like a curse that sought out anyone who knew about Naraku, and what it was capable of." Miroku's gaze dropped to the ground, his eyes hiding behind his bangs. "Eventually, everyone associated with the project was gone. They died in car accidents, or were mugged and killed, or sometimes they just disappeared. Then others started dying. People who hadn't even worked for Kazaana. Friends, relatives, children. . . it didn't matter. If your name could be connected to that company, you were dead.
"To the best of my knowledge, I'm the only person who still knows of Naraku. If it finds out about me, then it will come for me too. And you can only hide from something like that for so long."
"You think the youkai is trying to kill everyone involved with it?" Inuyasha asked, one eyebrow raised skeptically.
"I am sure of it," the young man said in a resigned tone. "That's why I have to find it."
"So rogue youkai aren't just a legend," Inuyasha said, fixing Miroku with a sharp amber glare.
"No, they're not."
*~*~*
Kagura walked down the now eerily derelict streets of Tokyo, her bare feet making no sound on the pavement. The riot hadn't completely died down, but it had moved on, leaving this neighborhood a sort of bizarre urban wasteland. Broken glass from windows and bottles littered the street along with assorted garbage, as well as things which had been dropped and forgotten in the chaos that this place had witnessed earlier in the day. All sorts of things, from a battered stereo to a perfectly preserved doll, were strew about haphazardly.
The youkai picked her way toward her target standing in the shadows of a side alley. She appeared to be a young woman with an unnatural gleam to her pale skin and an unhealthy dullness in her dark eyes. If she noted the scene around her, she gave no impression of it.
Kagura didn't like the Replica. The fey, cold woman was less like a person than a faded memory. There was no echo of the life the original must have possessed. But then, Kagura was fairly confident she wouldn't have liked the real thing, either.
This Kikyo gave a ghost of a smile when the youkai stopped in front of her. The expression never reached her eyes.
"You were meant to face the hanyou," Kagura said, wondering why she had been sent to tell the Replica this. If she was linked to Naraku's network, then there was no need to speak to her in person. Of course, if she was linked into the system, she couldn't have disobeyed Naraku in the first place, right?
Which meant that for one reason or another, Kikyo was not wired in like the rest of them. The military youkai filed that away with all the other facts she'd probably never have a use for.
"I'll meet Inuyasha in my own time," the Replica said, her voice surprisingly expressive. "I have things I wish to do before facing him."
Kagura frowned. "That wasn't in the plan."
"So? It wasn't my plan to start with," the other replied, shrugging. "I'm not ready to see him yet."
"You're not having second thoughts, are you?" Kagura asked, smiling slyly. She would not mourn if Kikyo proved worthless.
The Replica moved quicker than the youkai could have predicted, one hand clamping down on her throat while the other pulled back and acquired a pinkish glow. The energy gathering in her palm made the air around them reverberate with an ugly hum. Yet, what truly shocked Kagura was the look that filled Kikyo's empty features. Her delicate mouth became a hard, unyielding line, and her eyes narrowed threateningly.
"Tell your master that I will deal with Inuyasha in my own time," Kikyo hissed, a sound like a knife being sharpened. "If he doesn't like it, he can do his own dirty work. I'm not ready yet."
Kagura didn't move. The power in Kikyo's hand wasn't one she recognized, but even without feeling it, she knew she would be destroyed it the other woman chose to use it one her. Her drive for self-preservation was screaming at her.
This was a weapon designed to be used against youkai. To fry their circuits. To overload their fragile brains. To destroy them entirely.
After a moment, Kikyo released her, and Kagura backed away three steps before she even registered what she was doing.
What the hell was this thing?
"Tell your master," Kikyo said, that metallic sting still in her voice. "Go. Now."
Kagura hesitated only a moment, then fled.
*~*~*
A/N: Whew. More exposition. Hope you all liked the chapter. More coming soon.
Until next time.
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.
Synthetic Emotions
Kagome had never been kissed like this before. Hojo had kissed like he was afraid she was going to bite him if he didn't do it right, and Eiji with a blatant disregard for her comfort. Inuyasha kissed like he wanted to open her up and make her feel him all the way to her toes. He didn't far miss either. The tiny part of the girl's brain that wasn't lost in the feeling of his mouth working against hers realized that he was made to do this. The rest of her ignored that part, thoroughly absorbed in 'what' was happening and not giving a damn 'why'.
Too soon he pulled away, leaving her breathless and her lips tingling. She would have protested, but then he began feathering light kisses on her closed eyelids, her cheek, the top of her head, the tip of her nose, her earlobe; an involuntary shiver went through her whole body when he buried his face in the crook of her neck and inhaled deeply. She could feel the heat coming off of him, and hear the soft rasp of his breath. How could she not believe in them when he was holding her so tightly?
"Kagome," he whispered in her ear, "is this real enough for you?"
The girl pulled away enough to look in his eyes. She wanted to see his eyes right now; to see how they looked when he kissed her. She could always read so much in those eyes. She smiled when she saw them, warm and glowing softly from within, like sunlight shining through summer honey.
Kagome nodded, her throat too tight to speak. He leaned into her a little, not quite touching her. Every nerve ending in her mouth was already alive with anticipation of his next move.
Then the moment was ruined as Shippo came barreling down the stairs on all fours, screaming, "Save Miroku!"
Kagome pulled out of Inuyasha's arms, her face burning hot. "What'd he do that he needs saving?"
"I can imagine," the hanyou said with a growl. "I suppose we should get up there before that activist kills him."
Kagome picked up Shippo and followed Inuyasha up the narrow flight of stairs. She wondered vaguely if Inuyasha really wanted to save Miroku, or if he just didn't want Sango to kill him without getting a front row seat. Or maybe he wanted to kill the young man himself, for either directly or indirectly interrupting them twice today.
Kagome sighed. If Inuyasha did decide to break every bone in Miroku's body, she wasn't sure she could work up the enthusiasm to stop him. Shippo was giving her a strange look, and the girl felt her blush grow even more fierce.
When she came out of the stairwell, it was to the sight of Sango standing ramrod straight over a fallen Miroku, whose face sported a perfectly shaped red handprint. ". . .never, under any circumstances, touch me again, you-- you unbelievable pervert."
"Surely under the proper circumstances, you wouldn't be so harsh." Miroku said, rubbing his cheek. "If you were gushing blood. . ."
"Then I can very well bleed to death!" the young woman shouted, and Kagome blinked, looking from one to the other.
"I don't know what you did," Inuyasha said, shaking his head, "but you probably deserve it."
"What 'did' you do?" Kagome asked, setting the little fox youkai in her arms down on the kitchen table. "It must have been pretty bad it she'd rather die that have you touch her."
"I merely complimented her form," Miroku said defensively, finally picking himself up off the floor. "And my hand may have wandered a bit south of where I intended to put it, but that's hardly a killing offence."
Hiraikotsu Sango's face was scarlet by the time the young man finished his explanation. In a tight, controlled voice, she clarified, "He said I had a nice ass and grabbed a handful of it. And he's some kind of weird stalker or something, because he's got just about every article that's been written about me!"
Kagome and Inuyasha both turned to look at Miroku, who was still the very image of innocence. Kagome wished she could pull off that guileless look half so well. It would have saved her a lot of trouble in high school, but this time it wasn't going to work. Sango wasn't going to fall for it, and Kagome knew him too well to buy into the act.
"It's a professional curiosity," he said at last.
"Bullshit," Inuyasha barked. "Can't you afford real porn?"
"It's not porn," the young man argued.
"Yeah, that's in the--"
"I have those articles on Hiraikotsu Sango because I'm trying to find a rogue youkai," he interrupted, discretely bopping Shippo on the head to shut him up. Three sets of eyes locked on Miroku expectantly. Sango's stance relaxed slightly, but she didn't back down entirely. A frown creased her brow. "Explain."
Miroku took a deep breath and did just that.
"My grandfather died a longtime before I was born," he began. "I never knew him, but I've heard of him since I was born. He's something of a family hero. We've been involved in youkai for generations. My grandfather was a troubleshooter for a small company called Kazaana that produced custom youkai. Nothing on the level of Inutaiyoukai, but a good company none the less.
"One day, Grandfather's company was given a business proposal unlike any they'd had before. The client didn't want a single youkai. He wanted a single unit that other youkai could be networked to. This central unit would be able to control all of the other models in its network, even though they were each individuals.
"The product they made had one of the most complex computers made to date in its head, so it could handle the level of input it would have to deal with. It was really a brilliant system. And Grandfather had endless problems with it. In the end, however, it was completed, and the whole company was congratulating themselves for getting the thing finished. It was going to put Kazaana on a whole new level.
"But before the buyer claimed the product, it went berserk, apparently turning rogue."
"So you think this thing is still out there?" Kagome asked, unsure what to make of this story. She had known Miroku for years, but this was the first she had heard of it. Actually, he didn't like to talk about his family, aside from his "bear my child" line.
"I'm sure of it, but that isn't the whole of it. You see, the prototype, called Naraku, destroyed the company when it left, both physically and financially. It destroyed the offices, investors pulled out, and the company had almost all of it's assets tied up in this unit. Since Naraku was lost, the buyer never paid to cover the expenses of making it. And the expenses were prodigious.
"But what's more, the people who were involved with the project started dying. It was like a curse that sought out anyone who knew about Naraku, and what it was capable of." Miroku's gaze dropped to the ground, his eyes hiding behind his bangs. "Eventually, everyone associated with the project was gone. They died in car accidents, or were mugged and killed, or sometimes they just disappeared. Then others started dying. People who hadn't even worked for Kazaana. Friends, relatives, children. . . it didn't matter. If your name could be connected to that company, you were dead.
"To the best of my knowledge, I'm the only person who still knows of Naraku. If it finds out about me, then it will come for me too. And you can only hide from something like that for so long."
"You think the youkai is trying to kill everyone involved with it?" Inuyasha asked, one eyebrow raised skeptically.
"I am sure of it," the young man said in a resigned tone. "That's why I have to find it."
"So rogue youkai aren't just a legend," Inuyasha said, fixing Miroku with a sharp amber glare.
"No, they're not."
*~*~*
Kagura walked down the now eerily derelict streets of Tokyo, her bare feet making no sound on the pavement. The riot hadn't completely died down, but it had moved on, leaving this neighborhood a sort of bizarre urban wasteland. Broken glass from windows and bottles littered the street along with assorted garbage, as well as things which had been dropped and forgotten in the chaos that this place had witnessed earlier in the day. All sorts of things, from a battered stereo to a perfectly preserved doll, were strew about haphazardly.
The youkai picked her way toward her target standing in the shadows of a side alley. She appeared to be a young woman with an unnatural gleam to her pale skin and an unhealthy dullness in her dark eyes. If she noted the scene around her, she gave no impression of it.
Kagura didn't like the Replica. The fey, cold woman was less like a person than a faded memory. There was no echo of the life the original must have possessed. But then, Kagura was fairly confident she wouldn't have liked the real thing, either.
This Kikyo gave a ghost of a smile when the youkai stopped in front of her. The expression never reached her eyes.
"You were meant to face the hanyou," Kagura said, wondering why she had been sent to tell the Replica this. If she was linked to Naraku's network, then there was no need to speak to her in person. Of course, if she was linked into the system, she couldn't have disobeyed Naraku in the first place, right?
Which meant that for one reason or another, Kikyo was not wired in like the rest of them. The military youkai filed that away with all the other facts she'd probably never have a use for.
"I'll meet Inuyasha in my own time," the Replica said, her voice surprisingly expressive. "I have things I wish to do before facing him."
Kagura frowned. "That wasn't in the plan."
"So? It wasn't my plan to start with," the other replied, shrugging. "I'm not ready to see him yet."
"You're not having second thoughts, are you?" Kagura asked, smiling slyly. She would not mourn if Kikyo proved worthless.
The Replica moved quicker than the youkai could have predicted, one hand clamping down on her throat while the other pulled back and acquired a pinkish glow. The energy gathering in her palm made the air around them reverberate with an ugly hum. Yet, what truly shocked Kagura was the look that filled Kikyo's empty features. Her delicate mouth became a hard, unyielding line, and her eyes narrowed threateningly.
"Tell your master that I will deal with Inuyasha in my own time," Kikyo hissed, a sound like a knife being sharpened. "If he doesn't like it, he can do his own dirty work. I'm not ready yet."
Kagura didn't move. The power in Kikyo's hand wasn't one she recognized, but even without feeling it, she knew she would be destroyed it the other woman chose to use it one her. Her drive for self-preservation was screaming at her.
This was a weapon designed to be used against youkai. To fry their circuits. To overload their fragile brains. To destroy them entirely.
After a moment, Kikyo released her, and Kagura backed away three steps before she even registered what she was doing.
What the hell was this thing?
"Tell your master," Kikyo said, that metallic sting still in her voice. "Go. Now."
Kagura hesitated only a moment, then fled.
*~*~*
A/N: Whew. More exposition. Hope you all liked the chapter. More coming soon.
Until next time.