A/N: Ugh. School sucks. ;_; I miss you guys. Lol my internet's not working while I'm typing this. So anyways, I'll call the people in just few minutes so they can put me on hold and then finally inform me that they'll have to transfer me to another department, and then I'll have to suffer through this horrible noise they play and dare call music. *ahem* Yeah. So I don't have much to say (;___;) So .. review, please.
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha and his friends, thought I wouldn't mind owning him.. and Miroku... and Kouga... *right*. Anyways... neither do I own any large ice cream cone.
Dedication: To everyone who thinks high school is that same torture chamber that I do, and if I happen to be the only one, to those who are lucky enough to enjoy it. *sticking out tongue face*
Road Trip
Chapter Seven: Reunion
Kagome snuggled deeper into the blankets. Despite it being summer, the motel's air conditioner made the place frigid. Figures the only working would be the A/C, which made the room a couple of degrees below what normal beings found comfortable. Kagome squinted at the clock across the dark room. It read 1:24 AM. She sighed and pulled the blankets closer to her. Apparently Inuyasha, who she had ended up sleeping next to, was not a normal human being. He had tossed his blankets aside and was now spread out on the little bed without anything covering him. He looked nice, Kagome thought. So very.. male, in his simple outfit, stretched out and sleeping like a child. Not only did he look irresistible the way only guys can, he looked as adorable as a tired child. Even the knowledge that he'd been sleeping most of the day and should have no reason to be tired didn't change anything. Kagome found that it saddened her to realize they wouldn't be seeing each other much after that night. They didn't exactly travel the same social circles, and Kagome doubted Miroku would arrange any double dates with the four of them. She sighed softly, careful not to wake Inuyasha or Sango, who was on the other side of her. She thought that a road trip without the guys just wouldn't seem as fun. She lay flat on her stomach, trying to lock out her sad thoughts and fall asleep. Inuyasha was facing her, and Kagome almost had a heart attack when his purple eyes snapped open. As it was, she let out a little gasp and would have shot straight up if he hadn't placed a hand on her back. "You're too easily scared." he said irritably. "It's a good thing you're going back tomorrow."
Kagome sighed. "Hm."
"Don't look like that. You'll have the rest of the summer."
"But it'll be boring compared to this."
"We didn't even do anything?"
"Miroku told us some stuff we were going to do. He was going to take us to a casino! Besides, The Stand was fun."
"You had fun getting in the middle of a fight?"
"I didn't." Kagome said wistfully. "It was fun watching Sango club guys twice her size and Miroku and you fighting. You guys looked so confident and it was cool when you knew someone was right behind you without even looking. And watching Kimi break the chair over that guy.. that was great."
Inuyasha chuckled. "Yeah. I guess it was."
"Are you sure I can't go with you?" Kagome asked hopefully.
"Sorry, kid."
Kagome patted Inuyasha's arm. "Be careful."
He froze, wondering why he always did when she touched him. "Don't worry."
The wake-up call came at 6 in the morning. Inuyasha grabbed the nearest thing, which happened to be a shoe, and threw it across the room. It hit the phone, which fell to the floor with a loud, offensive thump. The handset fell off and landed nearby. A few minutes later, it began beeping loudly, so that even the soundest sleeper couldn't help be pulled out of their dreams. Miroku sat up, blinking. "What the hell is that noise?"
Kagome turned over and tried to cover her head with a pillow. "Inuyasha caused it."
Inuyasha growled. "Make it stop!"
Miroku looked around. "Where's Sango?"
"Speak of the devil." Inuyasha threw a second shoe half heartedly in the direction of the phone as Sango came out of the bathroom. "Aren't you guys up yet?" She asked in surprise. I thought the phone would have woken you."
"It's so early!"
Miroku was watching Sango with another one of his dreamy smiles. "You look so pretty. Come here."
"You should be up already." But she relented and went to sit next to him. Miroku pulled her down next to him. "See, this is how we should've spent last night."
Sango smiled sweetly. In one shove Miroku was on the floor, groaning and muttering vulgar words. His head popped up. "What was that for?"
"Time to get up." Sango propped her chin on her hands and grinned at him. He groaned again as he got up, but snuck a kiss before beating Kagome to the shower.
"No fair!" Kagome considered pounding the door, but didn't want to give Sango and Inuyasha anymore entertainment. With a sigh, she surveyed the room. Sango was neatly packing up her suitcase, which had barely been disturbed the night before. She wouldn't have been so agreeable about getting home, but she had seen how worried Miroku looked and she was worried about Kohaku. Inuyasha had turned on the laptop and was playing games on it. Kagome sighed and waited for Miroku to finish.
Tim peered out from behind the heavy curtains. "They're still in there." he announced. "We gotta be ready to make our move. Surprise 'em while it's early. You know the drill?"
Tam came into the room, rubbing a towel over his light hair. "Yeah, yeah. Go in, get the kid, come back out."
"We can handle it. We're professionals." But Tim looked sort of doubtful. "You don't think he's as good as they say?"
"Nah. Those are just exaggerations. No kid can be that great."
"Yeah. It'll be a piece a' cake."
Kagome came out from the bathroom just as Inuyasha was heading out the door. "Miroku and Sango are already down." he said without looking back. "Stay up here and finish your packing."
"Of course, master." Kagome said sarcastically. Inuyasha just left without replying. "Guess he didn't have his coffee." Kagome grumbled.
Tim picked up his bag. "You don't think they left already, do you? I wasn't looking."
"You were supposed to! Idiot. Nah, their truck is down there still."
Tim looked out over the parking lot. "But the other guy and one of the girls are down there already."
"You see Inuyasha?"
"No."
"Well, he's probably still in the room. We gotta hurry."
"I thought we were taking our stuff down first?"
"No time for that. Let's go. Their room is a couple doors over."
Unbeknownst to them, the object of their pursuit was already clambering down the stairs, on his way to the van. The only person left in the room was Kagome..
Miroku gave the red suitcase another shove. "What do you keep in here, Sango?"
"Just stuff." Sango added her strength to his. "So we're heading home? I should give my dad a call."
Miroku shuddered. "Do you have to? He's had enough time to think of plenty of torture to apply to me."
"It's your own fault." Sango laughed. "I'm not going to protect you this time."
"This time?!"
"Admit it, Miroku. I'm tougher than you are."
"You've got to be kidding me."
"Lover's spat?" Inuyasha dumped his stuff onto the mattress and grinned at them.
"Where's Kagome?"
Miroku hopped out and swung Sango down after him.
"She's still in the room."
Miroku shielded his eyes against the early sun. "Wait. Inuyasha, did you leave the door open?"
"Yeah. I figured she couldn't open it if she was carrying her stuff. Why?"
"'Cuz I think I see two guys going into the room."
Inuyasha and Miroku's eyes met. "Shit!"
Tim barged into the room. "Okay, Inuyasha, come out with your hands up!"
"We're not cops, you idiot."
"I've always wanted to say that."
But the only person in the room was a dark haired girl, who didn't look very impressed. "Who are you?" she asked, looked puzzled and slightly annoyed at the intrusion.
"Are you hiding Inuyasha?" Tim demanded. Tam slapped his hand against his forehead and decided this wasn't going to turn out very well at all. Kagome snickered at the thought of Inuyasha hiding from these two middle aged men in black suits. "Nope. Sorry."
Tam looked out the window. "They're coming up, Tim! And they all look mad. I think we should do something."
Tim grabbed Kagome. "You're coming with us."
"You've got to be kidding." Kagome said, suppressing the urge to roll her eyes. "Are you guys trying to kidnap me?!"
The way she said it made the idea sound ridiculous.
"Yeah." Tim said roughly. "We'll contact Inuyasha later. Make us a little trade."
With that, they grabbed her and fled down the stairs opposite of the ones Inuyasha, Miroku and Sango were running up.
By the time the trio got there, they were halfway to the car.
"We're not going to get there in time." Miroku voiced all their thoughts.
"They're amateurs." Inuyasha was avoiding Sango's worried gaze. "We'll find her soon. Let's get her stuff though. You guys watch out for where the car is headed."
"Does it look like Kagome's rolling her eyes to you?" Miroku asked Sango, who just shook her head. "She doesn't look scared."
"She has no reason to be." Inuyasha had Kagome's bags slung over his shoulder and was glaring after the black car. "They're not going to do anything to her if their target is me."
"Wait." Kagome said from the back seat. "Explain this to me again. Where are we going?" She spoke bravely and flippantly, but there was a bit of worry nagging at the back of her mind. Would her friends find her? And what were these two goons planing to do?
"Don't worry." The taller one, who Kagome had already figured out was Tam, spoke. "It's very simple. We'll trade you for Inuyasha. So don't you worry, young lady. You'll be home with your family soon."
"I don't want to be home with my family! I mean, not right now. Right now I want to be with my friends."
"Sorry, no-can-do."
Naraku paced the small area that was Kouga's living room.
"So to what do I owe the pleasure of having you visit me here in my humble home?" Kouga was trying to look past Naraku to the television set.
"They're taking too long."
Kouga didn't have to ask who. "They've been at it for a day. Only."
Naraku ignored him and continued stalking. "Inuyasha is a tricky bastard. He probably knows that someone's after him already. The longer it takes, the harder it will be to catch him."
"Uhm-hm."
"So this is what I want you to do."
Kouga rolled his eyes. It was coming. "What?"
"I want you to make contact with the two hired hands. Find out what progress they've gotten, and take over from there. I expect to have Inuyasha within 24 hours."
"Do you feel your expectations of me are a bit high?" Kouga couldn't help asking.
"Yes." Naraku admitted. "But all the others are involved in an operation right now. They can't afford taking time off to chase after Inuyasha."
Kouga considered the bliss he would feel if he were to rip Naraku's hair out of his head right now. Naraku snarled. "What are you smiling at? I've invested a lot of time in hunting down Inuyasha. Why is the bastard always surrounded by friends?"
Kouga couldn't contain himself. "He's not always surrounded by friends." he said lazily. "Inuyasha is a social recluse. He barely has any friends. It's just that the one friend he does have has powerful friends. And Inuyasha.. well, Inuyasha is powerful by himself. You're just too much of a coward to take him on."
"And you're not?!" Naraku was beginning to lose the cool composure he usually sported.
Kouga shrugged, not rising up to the bait. "I respected him when he was leader. I don't hate him for leaving, like Kagura seems to. I figure that if our paths don't cross, there's less injury on both sides."
"You talk tough." Naraku was back in control of himself again. "However, I hardly think you can live up to your words. Find Inuyasha. Or else." He was out of the room before Kouga had managed to find a murder weapon.
Kagome was kneeling in the backseat of the car, her face glued to the back window, hoping to catch a glimpse of a large, particularly ugly orange van. No luck. The goons, as she'd dubbed them, hadn't bothered to tie her up. The doors were locked, and Kagome wasn't in a rush to break through the windows and fall onto the hallway. Instead she was hoping that Inuyasha and the others would hurry to find her. Funny how she thought of Inuyasha first..
The phone rang. Goon #1, Tim, pressed the speaker button. Goon #2 was asleep. Kagome thought that showed a real lack of faith in her escaping abilities. "Hello?"
"Who is this?"
"Tim. Hey, wait a minute. You're calling me! Who is _this_?"
"Kouga."
"Oh. Sorry about that, Kouga-san."
Kouga was in his bedroom and hardly thought that he qualified for the title. But he figured Tim thought Kouga was going to arrange his payment. Right.
"Anyway, Naraku wants to take you off the case. You're moving too slow for his taste. You're to give me the status report and hand it over to me."
"Are we still gonna get paid?"
"That will depend on how far you've gotten." Kouga answered smoothly.
"Well. We kidnapped the girl Inuyasha's traveling with."
"You what?!"
"Yeah. See, we're gonna trade her for him."
Kouga just managed to resist crushing the phone. "You have no idea what you have done, stupid bastards."
"What?! It's gonna work out just fine."
Kouga gave a long suffering sigh. "Give me your location."
Tim rattled off the name of the nearest road sign.
"I know the place." Kouga said. "I want you to take the next left turn and drive into one of the warehouses. I'll be there in ten minutes." He hung up with a click, and without waiting for a response.
"Stupid gang people always think they can boss you around." Tim grumbled as he swerved into the lane with a protesting screech of the wheels. When he got out and slammed the door shut, Tam woke up.
"Huh? Where are we?"
"Why are you asking me?" Kagome snapped. She had a feeling she was in some sort of low budget comedy movie, and it was annoying. Tim opened the passenger door and Tam, who had been leaning against it, fell out.
"Come on. We're turning the girl over to the Kouga kid."
"What's he gonna do with her?"
"Same thing we are, I guess."
"Oh."
Kagome sat in the middle of a large, dirty warehouse. The goons had remembered to tie her up now, and they did so, loosely and clumsily. "That should hold her." Tim nodded in satisfaction a moment later, wanting to get the whole thing over with. They sat down next to her, whistling and humming nervously. A moment later there was the sound of brakes squealing and a car door slamming. Kagome wondered what this 'Kouga' was like. How old was he? Was he short? What kind of car did he drive? She decided he would have to be pretty fearful to be able to order Tim and Tam around. So when a teenager her age strode through the door, she had to double-take at his baggy jeans and leather jacket. And the sunglasses made her wonder if he had a black eye too. But she found the answer to that a moment later when he tore off the glasses and pinned the goons with a threatening glare. "You bastards." he said again. "You really thought this would work, didn't you?"
Tim and Tam scowled. Kouga drew an envelope out of his pocket and tossed it towards them. "Your work is finished. You know nothing about this."
Two silent nods, and Tim and Tam were out the door. Kagome thought she spotted a look of relief pass between them. Kouga crouched down to her level, studying her unabashedly. Kagome blushed. This guy had the most disturbing gaze. Nice eyes, but disturbing nonetheless..
"So you're the one? Inuyasha's girl?"
"Yes, and uhm.. no."
Kouga leaned back, a light of amusement in his eyes. "Say what?"
"Well, I am the person they kidnapped, but I'm not.. uh.. Inuyasha's girl."
"You traveling with him?"
"Yeah."
Kouga snorted. "Sooner or later, babe."
"Huh?"
Kouga grinned at her. "You're pretty."
Kagome's mouth dropped open. The nerve of this guy! Still, he is rather charming looking.
"Get me out of here!" No one was charming enough to hold her hostage.
Kouga held up his hands. "Sure. I don't want you here anymore than you wanna be here."
Kagome seethed. First he was telling her she was pretty, then he was saying he wanted to get rid of her. Guys are all the same. "Untie me!"
"Sure." Still grinning at her, Kouga tugged the end of the thick rope. "There, darling." he cooed. "Are you chafed?"
With an angry growl, Kagome yanked away from him. "My friends'll come get me."
"That's what I'm counting on, sweetie. I don't need you. Not as a hostage anyway." His eyes grew dark and dreamy. "There are plenty of better things to do than hang around dark warehouses."
Kagome scowled at him. "Get your mind out of the gutter."
He snapped back. "Hm? Oh, sure. So when are they coming to get you? I've got better things to do."
"I don't exactly know." Kagome admitted sheepishly. "They probably can't find me."
Kouga groaned. "Inuyasha, you've lost your touch." He slipped out a cell phone from his pocket and dialed a number. "I'm assuming he still has the same phone?" he asked Kagome, who shrugged. She'd never called him.
"So you know Inuyasha from before?" she asked, curiosity near to bursting.
"Umm-hm."
Miroku had jump raced past a red light when Inuyasha's phone rang.
Inuyasha, who was sitting on the bench seat because Sango had tried to choke Miroku at one point when he almost hit a parked car, flipped open his phone.
"Yeah?" he asked tersely.
"Hey, man."
"Kouga? The hell? What's up?"
"Long time, huh?"
"Hell yeah. Hey, I'm looking for this girl-"
"Yeah, I know. She's right here."
"Kagome?! What? Did you-"
"Will you calm down, 'nuyasha? It was all a mistake. She's right here and she's fine. Spitting mad though."
Inuyasha grinned, partly out of relief, and partly because of the mental image that caused. "Great. Gimme your location."
As Inuyasha finished jotting down the address Kouga was reciting, Sango hung on to Miroku's neck. "They found her? They got her?"
Miroku gently eased away before his vision started to go. "Darling, don't worry."
"I'm not worried." she huffed. "Kagome can take care of himself perfectly."
"Yes, baby." He glanced down at the scrap of paper Inuyasha handed him and slowed his pace. "Can you get that map?"
"Sure."
"They're on their way." Kouga announced, stuffing the phone back into his pocket. "So you can relax."
"You sound pretty familiar with Inuyasha." Kagome observed. It had been interesting to hear the two banter.
Kouga shrugged. "No one is familiar with him. Not very, anyway. I just know him."
"Sure."
"She's here?" Sango looked at the old, crumbling warehouse with a mixture of disgust and awe. "It's like out of a movie or something."
Miroku hopped out. "I think we'll find out, hmm?"
With Inuyasha in the lead, the three of them trudged through the mud and cautiously pushed aside the rotting wood door. "Kagome?"
"Sango?"
In a flash, the two females were embracing. "Ah!! I missed you!"
"I was so worried! Are you hurt?"
"No, no! I'm fine."
Kouga sauntered out after her, giving a mock salute to the two guys. "Reunited." he said. "It's so touching."
Inuyasha scowled. "You always were a bastard."
Kouga's grin broadened. "Missed you too, boss."
Inuyasha shook his head, but Kagome saw the grin. "Look." she whispered to Sango. "How cute. They're friends!"
Sango's eyes were appraising. "Hm. Cute kidnapper, Kagome. Doesn't look like the guys who ran off with you in the motel. Something you're not telling me?"
Kagome giggled. "Yeah. Wasn't I lucky?" she joked.
Sango's eyes twinkled with approval. "Very, Kagome-chan."
"It's my orders." Kouga insisted stubbornly. "You know how Kikyou's like when she's got something stuck in that head of hers."
"I'm not in danger!" Inuyasha sounded exasperated.
Kouga shook his head. "Sorry boss. But as soon as Naraku finds out that I'm not trying to kill you, he's bound to send someone else. And you know anyone else will be more powerful than me."
"Don't underestimate yourself, man. Look, just take the girls back with Miroku and give me the information you have. All of it."
Kouga looked somewhat alarmed. "Oh no, you can't do that. They can't go home. I mean, they're connected to you. If Naraku gets desperate, he'll take 'em hostage and there's nothing I'll be able to do about that."
"You mean we don't get to go home?!" Kagome asked.
Kohaku was in the middle of a very important video game.
"I'm going to win again." Souta gloated, guiding his character to a vantage spot.
"You are not!"
"Am too!"
"Just watch me."
Kohaku groaned. "Great."
"Aren't you going to get that?"
"Fine. Pause it."
"Sure."
"Hello?" Kohaku kept an impatient eye on the screen to make sure Souta wasn't doing anything while he was gone.
"Kohaku?"
"What? Sango?"
"Hey there. How are you?"
"I miss you." he said so wistfully that Sango's heart twisted on the other end.
"Don't worry, sweetie."
"When are you coming back?"
There was a pause. "About that." Sango said finally. "Well, I'm not sure when I'll be home, but don't worry, okay? Is dad there?"
"Out shopping. We're out of food."
Sango laughed. "Doing great without me, aren't you? Well, don't worry because I might not be able to call for a while, okay? Be good. And be careful! I don't want you getting sick again."
"I'm not a baby, sis." Kohaku rolled his eyes. "You be careful too. Bye."
"Oh wait. Kagome wants to talk to Souta. He is there, right? I can hear the video games going."
Kohaku sighed. It was hearing like that that caught him so many times while he was sneaking a cookie.. computer games.. out of the house. "Sure. Hold on. Souta! Kagome wants to talk to you."
With the long suffering sigh of a little brother, Souta got up. "Yeah?"
"Souta?"
"Hey, 'gome."
"Miss me yet, twerp?"
"Sure."
Kagome laughed. "Well I miss you too, hm? Anyways, tell mom and grampa that I said hi and I'll call when I can."
"Okay."
"Be good?"
"If you don't let the guys kiss you."
"What guys?" Kagome asked innocently. Souta snickered. "Hiraikotsu-san told us all about Miroku. Well, actually he was just sort of muttering because he was mad. But anyways, you'll be good, right?"
"Hey, who's the older sibling here?"
"The video game isn't going to wait forever. Later."
"Bye, Souta."
Kagome hung up with a sigh. "Well, that was depressing."
"Yeah." Sango stared glumly out the window.
"Baby, it's not that bad." Miroku started the car.
Kouga accepted his phone back from Kagome. "You two had better just not use your cell phones for now. I'm pretty sure they're still tapped."
"Good thing Kouga-kun's with us." Sango grinned. "We can use his phone. I was so worried about Kohaku and dad."6/2oo
"How do they do it?" Kagome wondered.
"It's not that hard." Inuyasha said darkly. "Damn easy if you know what you're doing. And even if Naraku doesn't, Sesshoumaru does. So we've got to stick together and be careful." He gave Kouga a dark look. "Are you sure you're with us?"
Kouga spread out on the mattress. "Ask Kikyou if you don't believe me. And you know she's completely on your side, no matter what you do. Hell, you could burn down a fucking orphanage and she'd still throw herself at you." He stopped, brooding.
"Wow." Miroku commented. "Sounds.. faithful."
All Inuyasha said was, "You know her."
"I wanna stop there!" Everyone turned to Kagome, who was kneeling on the bench seat next to Sango and staring out.
"What is it?" Sango craned her neck to look.
"Home of the largest ice cream cone in the world!!"
Everyone groaned.
Ending Notes: OmG I love you guys so much!! I haven't been able to get online for A MONTH, almost, and then I FINALLY fix the problem (actually, my mom did,lol) and I have REVIEWS! I am VERY encouraged, lol. I'll continue the next chapter as soon as I can, okay? Thanks so much for uhm.. urging me to continue. It was because I didn't have internet service that I haven't been able to get this up, because I had it finished a while ago. Sorry for the wait! And please, keep reviewing! My high school is full of smart people, and so the pressure is on! And I might like, not have time, so you must review and get me off my butt. Thanks! ^_________^
Peace. Lol. I promise to reply to all the reviewers in the next chapter because I wanted to get this one back as soon as I fixed my comp. *literally* So.. review!
9/23/2002
Skyweaver
9/6/2oo2
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha and his friends, thought I wouldn't mind owning him.. and Miroku... and Kouga... *right*. Anyways... neither do I own any large ice cream cone.
Dedication: To everyone who thinks high school is that same torture chamber that I do, and if I happen to be the only one, to those who are lucky enough to enjoy it. *sticking out tongue face*
Road Trip
Chapter Seven: Reunion
Kagome snuggled deeper into the blankets. Despite it being summer, the motel's air conditioner made the place frigid. Figures the only working would be the A/C, which made the room a couple of degrees below what normal beings found comfortable. Kagome squinted at the clock across the dark room. It read 1:24 AM. She sighed and pulled the blankets closer to her. Apparently Inuyasha, who she had ended up sleeping next to, was not a normal human being. He had tossed his blankets aside and was now spread out on the little bed without anything covering him. He looked nice, Kagome thought. So very.. male, in his simple outfit, stretched out and sleeping like a child. Not only did he look irresistible the way only guys can, he looked as adorable as a tired child. Even the knowledge that he'd been sleeping most of the day and should have no reason to be tired didn't change anything. Kagome found that it saddened her to realize they wouldn't be seeing each other much after that night. They didn't exactly travel the same social circles, and Kagome doubted Miroku would arrange any double dates with the four of them. She sighed softly, careful not to wake Inuyasha or Sango, who was on the other side of her. She thought that a road trip without the guys just wouldn't seem as fun. She lay flat on her stomach, trying to lock out her sad thoughts and fall asleep. Inuyasha was facing her, and Kagome almost had a heart attack when his purple eyes snapped open. As it was, she let out a little gasp and would have shot straight up if he hadn't placed a hand on her back. "You're too easily scared." he said irritably. "It's a good thing you're going back tomorrow."
Kagome sighed. "Hm."
"Don't look like that. You'll have the rest of the summer."
"But it'll be boring compared to this."
"We didn't even do anything?"
"Miroku told us some stuff we were going to do. He was going to take us to a casino! Besides, The Stand was fun."
"You had fun getting in the middle of a fight?"
"I didn't." Kagome said wistfully. "It was fun watching Sango club guys twice her size and Miroku and you fighting. You guys looked so confident and it was cool when you knew someone was right behind you without even looking. And watching Kimi break the chair over that guy.. that was great."
Inuyasha chuckled. "Yeah. I guess it was."
"Are you sure I can't go with you?" Kagome asked hopefully.
"Sorry, kid."
Kagome patted Inuyasha's arm. "Be careful."
He froze, wondering why he always did when she touched him. "Don't worry."
The wake-up call came at 6 in the morning. Inuyasha grabbed the nearest thing, which happened to be a shoe, and threw it across the room. It hit the phone, which fell to the floor with a loud, offensive thump. The handset fell off and landed nearby. A few minutes later, it began beeping loudly, so that even the soundest sleeper couldn't help be pulled out of their dreams. Miroku sat up, blinking. "What the hell is that noise?"
Kagome turned over and tried to cover her head with a pillow. "Inuyasha caused it."
Inuyasha growled. "Make it stop!"
Miroku looked around. "Where's Sango?"
"Speak of the devil." Inuyasha threw a second shoe half heartedly in the direction of the phone as Sango came out of the bathroom. "Aren't you guys up yet?" She asked in surprise. I thought the phone would have woken you."
"It's so early!"
Miroku was watching Sango with another one of his dreamy smiles. "You look so pretty. Come here."
"You should be up already." But she relented and went to sit next to him. Miroku pulled her down next to him. "See, this is how we should've spent last night."
Sango smiled sweetly. In one shove Miroku was on the floor, groaning and muttering vulgar words. His head popped up. "What was that for?"
"Time to get up." Sango propped her chin on her hands and grinned at him. He groaned again as he got up, but snuck a kiss before beating Kagome to the shower.
"No fair!" Kagome considered pounding the door, but didn't want to give Sango and Inuyasha anymore entertainment. With a sigh, she surveyed the room. Sango was neatly packing up her suitcase, which had barely been disturbed the night before. She wouldn't have been so agreeable about getting home, but she had seen how worried Miroku looked and she was worried about Kohaku. Inuyasha had turned on the laptop and was playing games on it. Kagome sighed and waited for Miroku to finish.
Tim peered out from behind the heavy curtains. "They're still in there." he announced. "We gotta be ready to make our move. Surprise 'em while it's early. You know the drill?"
Tam came into the room, rubbing a towel over his light hair. "Yeah, yeah. Go in, get the kid, come back out."
"We can handle it. We're professionals." But Tim looked sort of doubtful. "You don't think he's as good as they say?"
"Nah. Those are just exaggerations. No kid can be that great."
"Yeah. It'll be a piece a' cake."
Kagome came out from the bathroom just as Inuyasha was heading out the door. "Miroku and Sango are already down." he said without looking back. "Stay up here and finish your packing."
"Of course, master." Kagome said sarcastically. Inuyasha just left without replying. "Guess he didn't have his coffee." Kagome grumbled.
Tim picked up his bag. "You don't think they left already, do you? I wasn't looking."
"You were supposed to! Idiot. Nah, their truck is down there still."
Tim looked out over the parking lot. "But the other guy and one of the girls are down there already."
"You see Inuyasha?"
"No."
"Well, he's probably still in the room. We gotta hurry."
"I thought we were taking our stuff down first?"
"No time for that. Let's go. Their room is a couple doors over."
Unbeknownst to them, the object of their pursuit was already clambering down the stairs, on his way to the van. The only person left in the room was Kagome..
Miroku gave the red suitcase another shove. "What do you keep in here, Sango?"
"Just stuff." Sango added her strength to his. "So we're heading home? I should give my dad a call."
Miroku shuddered. "Do you have to? He's had enough time to think of plenty of torture to apply to me."
"It's your own fault." Sango laughed. "I'm not going to protect you this time."
"This time?!"
"Admit it, Miroku. I'm tougher than you are."
"You've got to be kidding me."
"Lover's spat?" Inuyasha dumped his stuff onto the mattress and grinned at them.
"Where's Kagome?"
Miroku hopped out and swung Sango down after him.
"She's still in the room."
Miroku shielded his eyes against the early sun. "Wait. Inuyasha, did you leave the door open?"
"Yeah. I figured she couldn't open it if she was carrying her stuff. Why?"
"'Cuz I think I see two guys going into the room."
Inuyasha and Miroku's eyes met. "Shit!"
Tim barged into the room. "Okay, Inuyasha, come out with your hands up!"
"We're not cops, you idiot."
"I've always wanted to say that."
But the only person in the room was a dark haired girl, who didn't look very impressed. "Who are you?" she asked, looked puzzled and slightly annoyed at the intrusion.
"Are you hiding Inuyasha?" Tim demanded. Tam slapped his hand against his forehead and decided this wasn't going to turn out very well at all. Kagome snickered at the thought of Inuyasha hiding from these two middle aged men in black suits. "Nope. Sorry."
Tam looked out the window. "They're coming up, Tim! And they all look mad. I think we should do something."
Tim grabbed Kagome. "You're coming with us."
"You've got to be kidding." Kagome said, suppressing the urge to roll her eyes. "Are you guys trying to kidnap me?!"
The way she said it made the idea sound ridiculous.
"Yeah." Tim said roughly. "We'll contact Inuyasha later. Make us a little trade."
With that, they grabbed her and fled down the stairs opposite of the ones Inuyasha, Miroku and Sango were running up.
By the time the trio got there, they were halfway to the car.
"We're not going to get there in time." Miroku voiced all their thoughts.
"They're amateurs." Inuyasha was avoiding Sango's worried gaze. "We'll find her soon. Let's get her stuff though. You guys watch out for where the car is headed."
"Does it look like Kagome's rolling her eyes to you?" Miroku asked Sango, who just shook her head. "She doesn't look scared."
"She has no reason to be." Inuyasha had Kagome's bags slung over his shoulder and was glaring after the black car. "They're not going to do anything to her if their target is me."
"Wait." Kagome said from the back seat. "Explain this to me again. Where are we going?" She spoke bravely and flippantly, but there was a bit of worry nagging at the back of her mind. Would her friends find her? And what were these two goons planing to do?
"Don't worry." The taller one, who Kagome had already figured out was Tam, spoke. "It's very simple. We'll trade you for Inuyasha. So don't you worry, young lady. You'll be home with your family soon."
"I don't want to be home with my family! I mean, not right now. Right now I want to be with my friends."
"Sorry, no-can-do."
Naraku paced the small area that was Kouga's living room.
"So to what do I owe the pleasure of having you visit me here in my humble home?" Kouga was trying to look past Naraku to the television set.
"They're taking too long."
Kouga didn't have to ask who. "They've been at it for a day. Only."
Naraku ignored him and continued stalking. "Inuyasha is a tricky bastard. He probably knows that someone's after him already. The longer it takes, the harder it will be to catch him."
"Uhm-hm."
"So this is what I want you to do."
Kouga rolled his eyes. It was coming. "What?"
"I want you to make contact with the two hired hands. Find out what progress they've gotten, and take over from there. I expect to have Inuyasha within 24 hours."
"Do you feel your expectations of me are a bit high?" Kouga couldn't help asking.
"Yes." Naraku admitted. "But all the others are involved in an operation right now. They can't afford taking time off to chase after Inuyasha."
Kouga considered the bliss he would feel if he were to rip Naraku's hair out of his head right now. Naraku snarled. "What are you smiling at? I've invested a lot of time in hunting down Inuyasha. Why is the bastard always surrounded by friends?"
Kouga couldn't contain himself. "He's not always surrounded by friends." he said lazily. "Inuyasha is a social recluse. He barely has any friends. It's just that the one friend he does have has powerful friends. And Inuyasha.. well, Inuyasha is powerful by himself. You're just too much of a coward to take him on."
"And you're not?!" Naraku was beginning to lose the cool composure he usually sported.
Kouga shrugged, not rising up to the bait. "I respected him when he was leader. I don't hate him for leaving, like Kagura seems to. I figure that if our paths don't cross, there's less injury on both sides."
"You talk tough." Naraku was back in control of himself again. "However, I hardly think you can live up to your words. Find Inuyasha. Or else." He was out of the room before Kouga had managed to find a murder weapon.
Kagome was kneeling in the backseat of the car, her face glued to the back window, hoping to catch a glimpse of a large, particularly ugly orange van. No luck. The goons, as she'd dubbed them, hadn't bothered to tie her up. The doors were locked, and Kagome wasn't in a rush to break through the windows and fall onto the hallway. Instead she was hoping that Inuyasha and the others would hurry to find her. Funny how she thought of Inuyasha first..
The phone rang. Goon #1, Tim, pressed the speaker button. Goon #2 was asleep. Kagome thought that showed a real lack of faith in her escaping abilities. "Hello?"
"Who is this?"
"Tim. Hey, wait a minute. You're calling me! Who is _this_?"
"Kouga."
"Oh. Sorry about that, Kouga-san."
Kouga was in his bedroom and hardly thought that he qualified for the title. But he figured Tim thought Kouga was going to arrange his payment. Right.
"Anyway, Naraku wants to take you off the case. You're moving too slow for his taste. You're to give me the status report and hand it over to me."
"Are we still gonna get paid?"
"That will depend on how far you've gotten." Kouga answered smoothly.
"Well. We kidnapped the girl Inuyasha's traveling with."
"You what?!"
"Yeah. See, we're gonna trade her for him."
Kouga just managed to resist crushing the phone. "You have no idea what you have done, stupid bastards."
"What?! It's gonna work out just fine."
Kouga gave a long suffering sigh. "Give me your location."
Tim rattled off the name of the nearest road sign.
"I know the place." Kouga said. "I want you to take the next left turn and drive into one of the warehouses. I'll be there in ten minutes." He hung up with a click, and without waiting for a response.
"Stupid gang people always think they can boss you around." Tim grumbled as he swerved into the lane with a protesting screech of the wheels. When he got out and slammed the door shut, Tam woke up.
"Huh? Where are we?"
"Why are you asking me?" Kagome snapped. She had a feeling she was in some sort of low budget comedy movie, and it was annoying. Tim opened the passenger door and Tam, who had been leaning against it, fell out.
"Come on. We're turning the girl over to the Kouga kid."
"What's he gonna do with her?"
"Same thing we are, I guess."
"Oh."
Kagome sat in the middle of a large, dirty warehouse. The goons had remembered to tie her up now, and they did so, loosely and clumsily. "That should hold her." Tim nodded in satisfaction a moment later, wanting to get the whole thing over with. They sat down next to her, whistling and humming nervously. A moment later there was the sound of brakes squealing and a car door slamming. Kagome wondered what this 'Kouga' was like. How old was he? Was he short? What kind of car did he drive? She decided he would have to be pretty fearful to be able to order Tim and Tam around. So when a teenager her age strode through the door, she had to double-take at his baggy jeans and leather jacket. And the sunglasses made her wonder if he had a black eye too. But she found the answer to that a moment later when he tore off the glasses and pinned the goons with a threatening glare. "You bastards." he said again. "You really thought this would work, didn't you?"
Tim and Tam scowled. Kouga drew an envelope out of his pocket and tossed it towards them. "Your work is finished. You know nothing about this."
Two silent nods, and Tim and Tam were out the door. Kagome thought she spotted a look of relief pass between them. Kouga crouched down to her level, studying her unabashedly. Kagome blushed. This guy had the most disturbing gaze. Nice eyes, but disturbing nonetheless..
"So you're the one? Inuyasha's girl?"
"Yes, and uhm.. no."
Kouga leaned back, a light of amusement in his eyes. "Say what?"
"Well, I am the person they kidnapped, but I'm not.. uh.. Inuyasha's girl."
"You traveling with him?"
"Yeah."
Kouga snorted. "Sooner or later, babe."
"Huh?"
Kouga grinned at her. "You're pretty."
Kagome's mouth dropped open. The nerve of this guy! Still, he is rather charming looking.
"Get me out of here!" No one was charming enough to hold her hostage.
Kouga held up his hands. "Sure. I don't want you here anymore than you wanna be here."
Kagome seethed. First he was telling her she was pretty, then he was saying he wanted to get rid of her. Guys are all the same. "Untie me!"
"Sure." Still grinning at her, Kouga tugged the end of the thick rope. "There, darling." he cooed. "Are you chafed?"
With an angry growl, Kagome yanked away from him. "My friends'll come get me."
"That's what I'm counting on, sweetie. I don't need you. Not as a hostage anyway." His eyes grew dark and dreamy. "There are plenty of better things to do than hang around dark warehouses."
Kagome scowled at him. "Get your mind out of the gutter."
He snapped back. "Hm? Oh, sure. So when are they coming to get you? I've got better things to do."
"I don't exactly know." Kagome admitted sheepishly. "They probably can't find me."
Kouga groaned. "Inuyasha, you've lost your touch." He slipped out a cell phone from his pocket and dialed a number. "I'm assuming he still has the same phone?" he asked Kagome, who shrugged. She'd never called him.
"So you know Inuyasha from before?" she asked, curiosity near to bursting.
"Umm-hm."
Miroku had jump raced past a red light when Inuyasha's phone rang.
Inuyasha, who was sitting on the bench seat because Sango had tried to choke Miroku at one point when he almost hit a parked car, flipped open his phone.
"Yeah?" he asked tersely.
"Hey, man."
"Kouga? The hell? What's up?"
"Long time, huh?"
"Hell yeah. Hey, I'm looking for this girl-"
"Yeah, I know. She's right here."
"Kagome?! What? Did you-"
"Will you calm down, 'nuyasha? It was all a mistake. She's right here and she's fine. Spitting mad though."
Inuyasha grinned, partly out of relief, and partly because of the mental image that caused. "Great. Gimme your location."
As Inuyasha finished jotting down the address Kouga was reciting, Sango hung on to Miroku's neck. "They found her? They got her?"
Miroku gently eased away before his vision started to go. "Darling, don't worry."
"I'm not worried." she huffed. "Kagome can take care of himself perfectly."
"Yes, baby." He glanced down at the scrap of paper Inuyasha handed him and slowed his pace. "Can you get that map?"
"Sure."
"They're on their way." Kouga announced, stuffing the phone back into his pocket. "So you can relax."
"You sound pretty familiar with Inuyasha." Kagome observed. It had been interesting to hear the two banter.
Kouga shrugged. "No one is familiar with him. Not very, anyway. I just know him."
"Sure."
"She's here?" Sango looked at the old, crumbling warehouse with a mixture of disgust and awe. "It's like out of a movie or something."
Miroku hopped out. "I think we'll find out, hmm?"
With Inuyasha in the lead, the three of them trudged through the mud and cautiously pushed aside the rotting wood door. "Kagome?"
"Sango?"
In a flash, the two females were embracing. "Ah!! I missed you!"
"I was so worried! Are you hurt?"
"No, no! I'm fine."
Kouga sauntered out after her, giving a mock salute to the two guys. "Reunited." he said. "It's so touching."
Inuyasha scowled. "You always were a bastard."
Kouga's grin broadened. "Missed you too, boss."
Inuyasha shook his head, but Kagome saw the grin. "Look." she whispered to Sango. "How cute. They're friends!"
Sango's eyes were appraising. "Hm. Cute kidnapper, Kagome. Doesn't look like the guys who ran off with you in the motel. Something you're not telling me?"
Kagome giggled. "Yeah. Wasn't I lucky?" she joked.
Sango's eyes twinkled with approval. "Very, Kagome-chan."
"It's my orders." Kouga insisted stubbornly. "You know how Kikyou's like when she's got something stuck in that head of hers."
"I'm not in danger!" Inuyasha sounded exasperated.
Kouga shook his head. "Sorry boss. But as soon as Naraku finds out that I'm not trying to kill you, he's bound to send someone else. And you know anyone else will be more powerful than me."
"Don't underestimate yourself, man. Look, just take the girls back with Miroku and give me the information you have. All of it."
Kouga looked somewhat alarmed. "Oh no, you can't do that. They can't go home. I mean, they're connected to you. If Naraku gets desperate, he'll take 'em hostage and there's nothing I'll be able to do about that."
"You mean we don't get to go home?!" Kagome asked.
Kohaku was in the middle of a very important video game.
"I'm going to win again." Souta gloated, guiding his character to a vantage spot.
"You are not!"
"Am too!"
"Just watch me."
Kohaku groaned. "Great."
"Aren't you going to get that?"
"Fine. Pause it."
"Sure."
"Hello?" Kohaku kept an impatient eye on the screen to make sure Souta wasn't doing anything while he was gone.
"Kohaku?"
"What? Sango?"
"Hey there. How are you?"
"I miss you." he said so wistfully that Sango's heart twisted on the other end.
"Don't worry, sweetie."
"When are you coming back?"
There was a pause. "About that." Sango said finally. "Well, I'm not sure when I'll be home, but don't worry, okay? Is dad there?"
"Out shopping. We're out of food."
Sango laughed. "Doing great without me, aren't you? Well, don't worry because I might not be able to call for a while, okay? Be good. And be careful! I don't want you getting sick again."
"I'm not a baby, sis." Kohaku rolled his eyes. "You be careful too. Bye."
"Oh wait. Kagome wants to talk to Souta. He is there, right? I can hear the video games going."
Kohaku sighed. It was hearing like that that caught him so many times while he was sneaking a cookie.. computer games.. out of the house. "Sure. Hold on. Souta! Kagome wants to talk to you."
With the long suffering sigh of a little brother, Souta got up. "Yeah?"
"Souta?"
"Hey, 'gome."
"Miss me yet, twerp?"
"Sure."
Kagome laughed. "Well I miss you too, hm? Anyways, tell mom and grampa that I said hi and I'll call when I can."
"Okay."
"Be good?"
"If you don't let the guys kiss you."
"What guys?" Kagome asked innocently. Souta snickered. "Hiraikotsu-san told us all about Miroku. Well, actually he was just sort of muttering because he was mad. But anyways, you'll be good, right?"
"Hey, who's the older sibling here?"
"The video game isn't going to wait forever. Later."
"Bye, Souta."
Kagome hung up with a sigh. "Well, that was depressing."
"Yeah." Sango stared glumly out the window.
"Baby, it's not that bad." Miroku started the car.
Kouga accepted his phone back from Kagome. "You two had better just not use your cell phones for now. I'm pretty sure they're still tapped."
"Good thing Kouga-kun's with us." Sango grinned. "We can use his phone. I was so worried about Kohaku and dad."6/2oo
"How do they do it?" Kagome wondered.
"It's not that hard." Inuyasha said darkly. "Damn easy if you know what you're doing. And even if Naraku doesn't, Sesshoumaru does. So we've got to stick together and be careful." He gave Kouga a dark look. "Are you sure you're with us?"
Kouga spread out on the mattress. "Ask Kikyou if you don't believe me. And you know she's completely on your side, no matter what you do. Hell, you could burn down a fucking orphanage and she'd still throw herself at you." He stopped, brooding.
"Wow." Miroku commented. "Sounds.. faithful."
All Inuyasha said was, "You know her."
"I wanna stop there!" Everyone turned to Kagome, who was kneeling on the bench seat next to Sango and staring out.
"What is it?" Sango craned her neck to look.
"Home of the largest ice cream cone in the world!!"
Everyone groaned.
Ending Notes: OmG I love you guys so much!! I haven't been able to get online for A MONTH, almost, and then I FINALLY fix the problem (actually, my mom did,lol) and I have REVIEWS! I am VERY encouraged, lol. I'll continue the next chapter as soon as I can, okay? Thanks so much for uhm.. urging me to continue. It was because I didn't have internet service that I haven't been able to get this up, because I had it finished a while ago. Sorry for the wait! And please, keep reviewing! My high school is full of smart people, and so the pressure is on! And I might like, not have time, so you must review and get me off my butt. Thanks! ^_________^
Peace. Lol. I promise to reply to all the reviewers in the next chapter because I wanted to get this one back as soon as I fixed my comp. *literally* So.. review!
9/23/2002
Skyweaver
9/6/2oo2