Disclaimer-I don't own Inuyasha.
Chapter 14-The dark hour
Kagome managed to hold onto Inuyasha throughout the entire ride without falling off the bike. She was constantly glancing around to help him spot for cops, and with a new demon of a sort now along with them, Kagome was starting to worry slightly for many unknown reasons. Hmm, perhaps because like Inuyasha, she stands out?
What will the police do about Kira? She sighed deeply. If Inuyasha EVER gets caught, they'll give him a death sentence for holding two fugitives and killing people. I swear, I have the most complicated life in the world!
The police would naturally start searching for Kira because her skills were needed by them, but unless they had cameras stationed in that police station (which she highly doubted because Inuyasha goes there all the time) there was no way they could figure out where she went. Everyone in the club still wore gloves when they went out, so no fingerprints or any other exclusive evidence would be found. They would be stuck on a dead end, just like they had with Kagome. In fact, she was certain they had given up search, but they weren't going to stop looking completely.
A bump on the ride caused her to hold onto Inuyasha tighter. He was speeding, racing the sun to get back at the club before he becomes recognizable again. All laws seemed to not apply to him, and for one thing she knew that she wasn't in any real danger with him on a bike. If it started swerving or preparing to crash, he would just grab her off and jump to safety like he did when she 'borrowed' his motorcycles. He wasn't going to get caught looking like a Hanyou and having both fugitives with him. Sadly, that wouldn't end well for Inuyasha or the club, she just knew it.
She had plans, however, and Sango would help her. Inuyasha thought she was defenseless; fine, she could deal with that easily. Kikyo's sudden death didn't convince him, so she would have to be quicker with her hands and her weapons as well. She was a girl with something to prove, and her lover is the one she had to prove it to. All the more exciting.
He would be right, anyway, because she couldn't simply walk around flashing all her powers like Kikyo did. She would have to be just as dangerous as Inuyasha with her weapons in hand. And she swore she would learn if it took her the rest of her natural life.
Kira was holding onto Sango for dear life. She wasn't the type to ride motors, apparently. She loved to run and use her legs. But she deeply respected Inuyasha and she would do whatever he told her to, within reason that is. Riding that contraption was just barely on the border, and she showed that by holding a hand tightly over her nose, forcing her to breathe out of her mouth.
Miroku was in front this time because he had mapped out their route from the start. He knew where they were and precisely how to get home, and by Inuyasha's orders he was going at least ten miles over the speed limit to beat the sun back to the club. It was currently five-forty five and the sun would be up any time now. Not that he didn't enjoy the feeling of returning to himself, but he really had to make sure the cops didn't see him in that form.
Kagome's fingers were tingling with Inuyasha's demon. His powers were starting to slowly return to him with every minute closer to sunrise, and the feelings that he was feeling were emitting off of him and onto her hands. She really liked that feeling for some reason, and she knew that he did, too, which is what made it so enthralling. They could share excitement like this, and it made her extremely happy. It also made the trip back even more exciting.
Inuyasha smirked. It was coming closer, he could feel it. Any minute now he'd be back to his old dangerous self, no hiding anything until a month later when it happened again. Of course, if everything went according to plan, sooner or later he wouldn't worry about hiding his human from everyone, because he planned to be rid of his enemies by then.
Miroku gripped the microphone by his ear. "Nearly there, Inuyasha. Sunrise is in five minutes."
"Speed it up, I want to be at least outside the club when I change back. I don't want to be riding this thing, it'll endanger Kagome. We all know how fragile she is." He teased, knowing that she'd have something to say.
"KISS my ASS, Inuyasha."
"When and where?"
She smacked him and he laughed. "You are the most infuriating person alive!"
He glanced back at her and grinned. "I know, don't you just love me?"
She huffed and rolled her eyes at him. "Sometime we should wrestle while you're human. I want to know who'd win."
"I'd still kick your ass."
"Want to make a bet out of it?"
Kira sighed in exasperation and poked Sango in the side. "Are they always like this?"
"Always have been and always will be. That's the only way Inuyasha got to know her, by calling her names and picking as many fights as possible."
Kira glanced blandly ahead. "Hmm, that's what makes them perfect for each other. Aggravating both together and apart, but always fighting for dominance."
"We're still not sure which one's the dominant one."
Kagome glanced back and snorted. "Sango, shut up."
She exhaled carefully. "Yes, Kagome."
She nodded and showed her approval as she turned back to hold Inuyasha. Sango snorted. One of these days, Higurashi. One of these days…
"Inuyasha, we're here."
"Finally, and with a couple minutes to spare." He stopped his bike in the garage as everyone followed suit, and Kira looked extremely relieved to be off of it.
"Ugh, finally." She waved her hand in front of her nose and jumped off, in a cat like way as she landed gracefully on her feet. Then taking care not to touch anything else of Inuyasha's she walked near the door to the club and waited for permission to escape the fumes of the engines.
Inuyasha, however, was still counting down. Every minute he felt more and more power return to him, and it was now coming in bigger shipments because of him only having a minute left. He could almost feel his claws and fangs, almost like they were on the verge of popping out the second sunrise came. He grinned and clenched his fist while still clenching the bike. Being one that liked things the way they usually are, he couldn't wait to have the wonderful feeling of power back in him.
Miroku and Sango had just parked their bikes and hopped off, waiting for Inuyasha. Kagome just leaned back on it with her arms crossed, a bad idea but somehow she figured she wouldn't be falling off. She wanted to watch Inuyasha change back and see how much magic seemed involved.
After a minute, the sun peaked over the horizon and Inuyasha felt a blast of invisible energy hit him with force. He held out his hands and watched as his nails became his incredibly sharp claws once again. He grinned when he could feel the fangs and eyes turn back as well, and everything about him was coming back with incredible force.
Kagome was still sitting behind him and watched with amazement as his hair in one instant faded from black to silver, and his head was turned to the side enough that she could see his eyes and fangs as well. She couldn't help but smirk: she loved it when he looked dangerous. It was somehow more like him in every way.
Inuyasha clenched his fist, effectively popping all the knuckles in his hands. "Ah, that's much better." He said with full sureness. He climbed off his bike one leg at a time and Kagome followed suit so that she didn't fall off. Wouldn't want to embarrass herself in front of Kira when she had managed to impress her, now would she?
His ears that had now come back to the top like dog ears were twisting in different directions with the sounds of the club. "Hmm, sounds like I need to go calm some people down. Coming Kagome?"
"Yep." He turned and walked into the club, pulling out knives out of his sleeves for effective convincing. Kagome just smirked and pulled out one of her small handguns, making sure the safety was off so she didn't have an accident. The rest of the group followed closely behind them, Kira trying as hard as she could to decipher the smells and sounds of the club without gasping for air. Everything was so different than what she was used to in that police station, but she supposed she could get used to it if Inuyasha had managed to. After all, dogs had the strongest sense of smell of all, and if he could tolerate it, then she could sure learn to.
Sure enough, when they entered the club a couple of members where arguing rather violently by the bar (a favorite place to argue and start fights apparently). "I don't care WHAT you think, you little…"
Kagome shot the ceiling as the guy prepared to punch the other. Inuyasha had winced but expected it. Kira, on the other hand, had her hands placed so tightly over her pointed ears she thought she would crush her skull.
Inuyasha snorted and whispered. "You are the queen." In an obedient manner.
"Thank you." She glared at the men and raised her voice, walking to stand in front. "Now what the hell is this? What are you two doing?"
The one that had did all the talking that she could hear relaxed and pointed at the other man. "Sorry, ma'am, but this little dickhead challenged me."
Kagome snorted. "Don't you have brains? The rule in this club is to not fight with someone on your own side, unless of course Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku or me. What the hell do you think you two are doing breaking one of the rules?"
He sighed and clenched his fists. "You're just a chick…"
Inuyasha growled loudly and one of his blades began to rotate in his hand, shining brilliantly in the new light of day. "Say that again, I dare you." He challenged. He'd have it known that he did not just date some 'chick'. Kagome was much more than that, and he probably hadn't been one of the people to witness the Miko incident if he was stupid enough to call her one.
The other man pitched in. "He thinks that because Kagome here is a girl that she can't kill us."
"I'll have it be known that I have kicked Kouga's butt plenty of times to earn a metal for defense. I can kill." She raised her eyebrows on that one word, proving that she knew what she was talking about, and half the club knew it too. She aimed the gun at the man with the smart mouth. "Now do you care to test that?"
He shook his head. "No ma'am."
"Good. The next time the two of you fight you'll be fighting with me, got it?" When they nodded weakly, she put her gun away and walked over to the bar. "Good, that's good." She stated quietly, gathering herself a bottle of wine out of the wine cabinets and leaving the money for it on the table.
Inuyasha eyed the club and crossed his arms with his knives still in hand. He continued to growl lowly and menacingly to prove that he meant business. He did manage to eye Kagome as well, for taking that whole bottle of an alcoholic beverage, but he wasn't going to destroy her moment of glory. The club's respect for her had been reinsured, and now that man wouldn't dare even think of her as a chick again. Oh yes, he'd be sure of it.
She brought the bottle back and started to head up the stairs while Sango and Miroku followed her, chatting like they were still in high school and gossip was the best thing. Inuyasha waited behind to give the man a piece of his mind, waiting until Kagome slammed his office door before he made a move.
He shoved one knife back into his sleeve and moved so quickly that only Kira could watch him while she stood on the bottom of the stairs. In less than a second Inuyasha had the man held up by his collar and begging for air while the knife was held tightly to his throat. Inuyasha smirked. "I hoped you listened to her, Bobby. I really do." He stated sweetly.
"Yes sir, of course I did."
"Would I date just any chick, Bobby?" He continued to use his sweet tone to scare the man more. He could smell the man's fear like a perfume, cowering by the power of himself, and he had rather missed the feeling of being in control. Man, I need to be alone with Kagome sometime soon.
"NO!" Bobby was now turning a rather interesting shade of blue, but he didn't say anything about air. No one was permitted to show weakness in front of Inuyasha.
"Well then Bob, by what right do you think that either of us are going to tolerate talk like that from you?" With each passing word it got deeper and darker, showing how much he really wanted to yell at the moment.
"I don't know sir, I really don't! It's just that you don't normally think of chicks being in charge…"
"She's not a chick! If she was just some chick I wouldn't be dating her, would I?! She has to have a lot if I even let her into this club!" The man seemed shaken up, and his fear spiked to the maximum. The next step he would take was to pee his pants, and Inuyasha didn't really want that at the moment. "NOW…" He sat the man on the ground and pointed the blade not even a centimeter away from his nose.
"Kagome will be getting the respect she deserves from you from now on, now won't she? Because if you don't show her the right respect, I'll be forced to cut your stomach open so I can see what kind of alcohol you've just consumed, even though I can clearly smell it on you. IS THIS UNDERSTOOD?"
The man nodded and almost bowed if Inuyasha wouldn't have been holding him. "Yes sir, anything sir."
"GOOD." Inuyasha pushed the man back with such force that he ran into the table next to him, struggling to stand and regain his balance.
Inuyasha pointed the blade at the other man who was fighting. "Now you know that fighting are against the rules, and if it happens again then you'll be sorry, got it?"
He nodded and Inuyasha snorted, turning to lead Kira upstairs. "Good." He stated, sheathing his knife and ushering for Kira to go so that he could head up.
What he really didn't expect was Kagome was really getting into her position. She had Miroku in a headlock, screaming in his ear while he struggled as hard as he could to get away from her. Sango could only laugh, trying hard to cover it up.
Kira smirked. "I see the power has returned to Kagome as well."
Inuyasha glared at her as if she wasn't supposed to know anything. "What?"
"When your power-happy demon returned to you, you felt your leadership come back as well. Kagome can feel whatever you do, so the mood must have affected her too."
He scoffed. "Quit acting like a know-it-all."
"I'm right."
"I don't care." He walked over to Kagome and she glanced up at him, dropping the gasping Miroku to the floor. She smiled innocently while he started sniffing near her. After that she just gave him a questioning look and he held out his hand. "I want it, where is it?"
"Where's what?" She asked innocently. She hadn't had that much to drink, good lord; he was still going to take it from her? Sheesh…
"You know what, where is it? I don't think you've consumed the bottle yet but you're probably close to intoxication already."
She snorted. "I hate you, I absolutely LOATHE you."
"Yea, well, you can hate me all you want but I want that bottle."
"I don't know where it is, because MIROKU took it from me already." She glared at him and fisted her hand, making sure that he got the message that she wasn't too happy with him. One thing was for sure…Miroku would never get the chance to steal her drinks ever again.
"Well thanks, Miroku, now where is it?" He pointed to the desk and Inuyasha stormed over to it, listening intently as Kagome threatened Miroku about ever trying that again, and something about he'd never live to see the next day, Inuyasha or no.
After retrieving the bottle, Inuyasha snorted. "Kagome, put a cork in it."
"Make me." She dared.
"Don't ask me to make you do anything, trust me, I will." He took the lid off the now recovered bottle of wine and started chugging it, then finished it and threw it in the trash.
Sango rolled her eyes. "Great, Inuyasha. That's just peachy, you're going to make her have a cow." Miroku nodded. "Yea, that's wonderful."
Kagome didn't even seem to hear them as she pointed at him. "Damn it, do you have to sit there and do that to me?!"
"Yes, I do, because if I throw it in the trash then you'd just pull it back out and start drinking more. I'm not letting you get drunk."
"I am not a child. I do not need you to baby-sit me, and you don't have to sit there and torture me by drinking something that I paid for!"
"You shouldn't have bought it in the first place. I wasn't going to yell at you in public cause I really didn't want to have to restrain you in front of the club."
"Yell? YELL!"
"Yea, you know, the thing you're doing now!" He was getting louder and louder, and a true argument was brewing. Kira was in for a show.
"You do this on purpose, just to irritate the hell out of me!"
He grinned. "I love doing that to you, but that's not why I don't want you to drink. I don't want you having a hangover the next day, you're difficult enough to get along with as it is."
"You bastard! You're such an arrogant prick, I'm surprised ego isn't leaking out of your ears!"
"Well I'M the dog demon and YOU'RE the one who needs the leash!"
Boy, did she want to hit him… She gaped. "I can't BELIEVE you!"
"I can't believe you half the time! You act like me protecting you is a crime!"
"You're just like my father, controlling me and making me miserable! Only with you I'm allowed to argue about it."
"Well that's more than you had."
"I LOATHE you."
"Awe, sweetie, I loathe you too."
She growled and clenched her fists. Boy is he in for an earache that he will never forget…
Miroku cleared his throat. "Look, us three are going to go downstairs, you two can stay up here and dish it out until you're eyes are burning." He ended up scratching his head when both of his boss's flipped him off. "Ok, see ya!" Then they left the room, and after they left Inuyasha walked over to the door and locked it, feeling Kagome's eyes burning into his back.
"I WANT my alcohol back, go out there and get me another bottle."
"I don't think so." He turned around and kept his arms crossed tightly, wondering how long she would really go for this time. He could top anything that she did, and sometimes he could leave her speechless.
He almost smiled. They were arguing so much that he almost forgot about her wound that badly needed healing and aid. She wasn't in the mood to do anything, he knew that, but he was going to 'make her' if he had to.
"Bastard." She barked suddenly.
He snorted. Back to this again, are we? Fine, we'll play. "Bitch."
"Prick."
"Whore."
"Egotistical dog."
He was struck with that one, and his eyebrows went up like he had been hit. "Boy, aren't we being the little slutty bitch we were before tonight."
Her fists clenched. "Controlling, depriving…"
"We can do this all night, Kagome, or we can take advantage of this time." He stated.
She bit her lip and crossed her arms, her tongue almost stinging with unsaid insults. "Advantage? What advantage? The whole club is still downstairs."
"Do you have to argue with everything?"
"Yes, yes I do. Ever since I had gone to law school, I was MEANT to argue."
Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Just my luck that you had to be a lawyer."
Her arms couldn't possibly move any closer to her chest. "I'm sorry that my dad chose for me to be a lawyer, but see, that couldn't have been helped. I didn't have a choice."
"Don't talk about your dad." He stated, moving towards his desk chair and sitting quickly. He moved around until he appeared comfortable, then crossed his arms tightly. "Come here."
She stared at him and shook her head. "I don't think so. The minute I go anywhere near you I'm going to calm down."
Inuyasha cocked his eyebrow and leaned on his hand. "What do you mean by that? You have a wound and I'm going to heal it."
"I don't need healing."
"Yes, you do, and if you don't come over here right now then I'm going to keep you from having alcohol anymore. Not even a sip."
Kagome's jaw hit the floor. "Shit. That's cruel."
He crossed his arms and smirked. "Well you're the one who's being stubborn, now move it."
Her lips twisted as she thought about it, and eventually seeing that she didn't want to be deprived of alcohol anymore she crossed her arms and walked closer to him. She felt a little stupid, or perhaps apprehensive. Or maybe the concept was more like an insect walking into the spider's web, both willingly and knowingly.
Inuyasha reached out and pulled her into his lap, forcing her legs on each side of him so that she sat comfortably on his legs. He had purposefully made sure that she was facing him before gripping her chin so she'd look at him. "What's your problem?"
"You are so mean to me, you know that don't you?" She pouted.
He smirked. "I do those things because I love you; now take off your coat."
Kagome nodded and complied, dropping it to the floor. Inuyasha began to slowly remove the bandage from around her arm and shook his head. "This looks like it hurts; I can't see how you could just ignore it like you did."
"Well I'm under the impression that I can't hold a high position in the ranks if I appear weak."
"You're only the second; you don't need to worry about stuff like that." After he unwrapped the bandage he glared at the wound. Even though it wasn't bleeding, he stared at it as it marred the perfection of her body. It wasn't even infected, but it was a hole, something that he couldn't leave there willingly. It was a sore reminder of the bitch who had caused them so much pain.
"What are you staring at? It's just a wound, heal it." She stated bluntly.
He sighed and cocked an eyebrow at her, piercing her with a curious gaze. "What's really bothering you? And don't try to hide it this time."
Kagome stared at him and moved her head to look down. She didn't really want to explain it, but she couldn't lie to him because he could tell, and she couldn't tell him 'nothing' because he would never drop the subject. "That Kira…she acts like she knows you really well. I don't know why that bothers me, but it does."
He laughed and moved his hand to the back of her head to pull her closer to him. He purred slightly and started places light butterfly kisses on her shoulders while he talked. "Are you worried about that? I've known her all my life, and she's been a really good friend of mine for years. Besides, she's dating Shippo."
"Still…" She ran her hand lazily through his hair and pressed her chin against his shoulder to stare at the wall behind them. "Still, I get the feeling that she gets a little, jealous maybe, whenever I'm around. That's the feeling that emits from her."
He moved closer to the edge of her shoulder. "Don't worry about her; we three had been friends for a long time. She probably just doesn't really like the fact that the 'three musketeer' routine is breaking up, even though it hasn't really been together like it used to be years ago." He continued to kiss down her shoulder and was now moving down her left arm. "Besides…" He pulled her arm away from her body and glanced up at her with a smirk. "The bite on your shoulder proves that I have chosen you, so just ignore her."
Her hand gripped his shoulder and she stared at him. "How are you going to heal it?"
He smiled. "I'm trying something different. If for some reason it hurts, claw the hell out of my shoulders, ok?"
She looked down. "Uh…ok?" It's going to hurt? Why is he doing it that way then?
Inuyasha snorted and put a hand on the back of her head, forcing her to lay her cheek on his shoulder so she didn't watch. His hand grabbed the wrist of the arm that was wounded and pulled her arm straight and more towards him so that he could have more access to her wound. When he felt the spring of hesitation in her, he slowly began to purr, almost as if reassuring her, and he felt her relax instantaneously.
She kept her head turned away with her arm still gripping him tightly around his shoulder and relaxed against his warmth, inhaling the scent that was distinctly Inuyasha's. It struck her as wild and that thing that belonged to males only. It was incredibly relaxing, and she closed her eyes to drift in that land between sleep and awareness.
He continued to kiss down her arm until he got near the wound and then seemed to stop for a minute. The only thing she felt when he worked with it was a warm sensation and a slight stinging, but Inuyasha kept her from moving by holding her wrist in one hand and lodging the other completely around her shoulders to keep her body molded to his. She kept her thoughts elsewhere and moaned slightly, feeling his purr increase in both volume and strength. She smirked. Awe, how sweet…
This continued for a food fifteen minutes before the sensation stopped and Inuyasha's gripped loosened on her. He pulled her arm around and let it go so that she could rest it on his shoulder while slowly raising her head. It was now completely healed, and there was no evidence that the wound had ever existed. To test it, she flexed it and moved it back and forth, but it caused no pain.
Inuyasha's hands found their way to her hips, lazily holding her against him. "Do you feel better now?"
She nodded and purposefully tangled her hands in his hair. "Yea, I guess so."
"Hmph, that's convincing." He stated.
"Well sorry, I'm drowsy. If there's one thing you're good at it's putting me to sleep."
"Should I be insulted by that?"
She had to think about it, but shook her head. "No, not this time. If we're arguing and I say something like that then take it the way you usually do." She leaned her forehead on him and began to almost think herself to sleep, but Inuyasha's chuckling managed to snap her out of it.
"What the hell are you laughing at?"
"Would you like to take a nap?" He mused.
Kagome looked down. "I'd like to, but I guess I can't. I couldn't sleep right with all these demons wanting me dead."
"Why not? I'm watching you."
"I still can't sleep. Not like it's anything personal, it's a mental thing. Besides, I miss too much when I sleep."
He sighed. She was acting exactly like him, only she was human and no sleep was actually bad for her. She couldn't stand the fact of missing something because she was a little tired, that would simply drive her up the wall with all sorts of thoughts and accusations. Besides, she didn't want to think of someone watching her sleep, like she knew that Naraku had been watching her do a lot of things that she didn't realize until it was too late.
"You should really go to sleep, it's not good for you to stay up all the time. And I haven't seen you eat in a while, either."
She shook her head and gripped his shoulders as she climbed off him. He almost growled, but kept an obnoxious look on his face that said he was reading right through her. His arms kept his breaths in check while he tightened his hold on his chest, and leaning back, he made sure he got the greatest view of her standing. "Must you argue with EVERYTHING I suggest?"
"I told you that its nothing personal, and I meant it. I mean, you don't like to sleep either, that's probably part of it." She bent down and reached for her coat.
"Leave it off." He asked pleadingly.
Kagome glanced at him. "What for?"
"Because I like it when you're not hiding every last view of skin. I like it when no one's around, anyway."
Kagome smiled. "Why not? You do it."
Inuyasha shrugged. "My skin's not as pretty as yours. And you never said anything about something like that."
"Hmph, well you're always telling me to 'put a cork in it'. I'll keep your words in mind. In fact, I should have you write them down to use them for later."
"Yea, right, like I'm really going to do that." She threw her coat at him and pulled a gun out of it's sheathe, sitting in his leather chair rather unladylike so that she could inspect it. "Do you lock that room downstairs?"
"Sometimes, it's not right now."
"I'm going to go down there for a while. I need to shoot at something."
"Is Sango going with you?"
"Of course, and must you make someone watch me twenty-four seven?"
He began a familiar process of rubbing his temples to calm the pressure. "I'm taking precautions. No one is going to take you from me and live, and I mean it with all my burning soul." He stopped moving and looked up at her. "When you finish whatever you're doing, come back up here so you can eat and sleep."
She snorted. "What, will that make you feel better?"
"Yes, actually, it would. It would make me feel like I'm taking better care of you."
Kagome rolled her eyes. "WHY must Sango go with me? I mean, I'm the second in command, and I was going to have her come with me anyway but it's not like I don't have buttons that will make your ears ring until tomorrow."
"Oh, shit, I know that you're the second, but Sango is more apt to grab the button and actually push it so that I can assist you when there's something that you two can't handle. You, on the other hand, are way too bull headed to do something sensible like that."
Kagome stood and walked to stand in front of him, ignoring the last comment. "When will all of this horrible guarding stop? I don't mind you watching me, but making sure that I'm not alone at any waking minute is what gets me."
"When Sesshomaru is out of our way, and Naraku is dead, and Kouga is staked to a tree somewhere, then you will be able to do whatever you please. UNTIL then, don't get pissed off at me. I'm still the boss around here."
"I'll have to remember that, dear." She stated quietly. She stood and grabbed her coat, giving him a quick kiss when he grabbed her arm and pulled her back, then slung her coat over her shoulder and walked out of the room in pursuit of Sango.
Inuyasha watched the door close behind her and sighed without taking his eyes off of it. He tapped his claws against his knees and smirked. "My God, what a woman."
*~*~^_^~*~*
Sango did a spin in mid-air, coming around and attacking Kagome with her hands in different areas. Kagome managed to block the blows to her face and arms, but the kick to her stomach was unavoidable, and she did a back-hand-spring away from her, landing on her feet to come running at her with another attack.
She completely turned her hips into a kick that just about hit Sango's forehead. "Come on, you're not hitting high enough! Higher!" Sango jumped back a little, blocking another blow from Kagome's leg by grabbing it in her hands and spinning her around. She managed to bounce slightly while spinning and regained her balance in order to throw a punch at Sango when she was facing her again. It was once again blocked with the outer side of her forearm and this time, used against her with a blow to her stomach by the heal of Sango's foot. Everything moved so fast that Kagome just made a sound and jumped back, kneeling out of reach to regain her breath and cause an automatic break.
Miroku sat along the wall of the room, watching with interest as these two women engaged in a mild form of Karate with a little mix of kick boxing on a large mat. They wore nothing but their pants and sleeveless shirts, with straps wrapped around their palms and feet, and he guarded all their stuff while he observed from a safe distance. Sango was much more experienced in Karate and Kick-boxing, but with some of the moves Kagome was making (even though Sango was blocking them) it made him want to encourage her to show some of what she learned in self defense class.
When Kagome had talked to Sango, she had been told that she needed a good physical battle to drive the thoughts of everyone wanting her dead out of her mind. Sango had also suggested that she teach Kagome a little about what she did before she got her hands on a gun, and without hesitation Kagome accepted. Miroku, with all the goodness of his heart, just had to come and make sure that neither of the women got hurt during this event, because he had seen what both women could do with their hands and was sure that they could do a lot of harm to each other. Besides, watching women with incredible strength fight was a very attractive event, and he got to be the only member of the audience, which made it all the more exciting.
Of course, he knew that Sango was going easy on Kagome, for actually harming her would do wonders for her when Inuyasha found out. He would probably call it horseplay and something that she shouldn't have been harmed in, and then take pleasure in breaking the bones in their bodies whether Kagome liked it or not. Even though Kagome had powerful blows, she just wasn't as fast as Sango, therefore Sango hadn't obtained any blows and Kagome had obtained five.
Kagome glanced up at Sango while holding her stomach. "Damn, how long have you been doing that?"
"For a couple of years. You have to know a little about it, but I'd say that you've never really practiced it."
She nodded. "Yea…that sounds about right."
Sango helped her stand and brushed herself off, taking a glance at Miroku. "I believe that Houshi-sama and I would like to see something that you learned from your classes."
Kagome grinned wickedly. "Ok, but I need a volunteer."
"Just beat me up, I did give you a couple of blows to the stomach that I hope you won't tell Inuyasha about."
She nodded. "Alrighty." She tapped her lip impatiently and looked at her. "What do you want me to show you? Like give me a for instance."
Miroku stood and walked closer. "Kagome, show me, using Sango of course since she volunteered, what you would do if a person walked up behind you in a car parking lot and grabbed a hold of you."
She nodded. "Ok, Sango, grab me."
Sango walked up behind her and wrapped one arm around her neck and the other around her waist. Kagome bent down and grabbed the arm on her neck, basically jerking it off and pulling her over her back to slam her back into the floor. But more slowly, Kagome got down and put a knee on her stomach and a held her hand against her throat, both women panting heavily. "Now…if I had a knife…I would have it pressed against your neck, and in a car parking lot, you would have been heavily damaged by hitting the cement."
Sango leaned her head back a little more. "Shit, that's a good move. Miroku's turn; I want to see more. This kind of move might even stun Inuyasha."
Miroku smiled. "No thanks, Kagome will probably kill me. I'm not as strong as you, Sango."
"Wimp."
"Yes ma'am."
Kagome snorted. "Come on, Miroku, I'll show you one. It'll be the act of someone assaulting me from the front."
He laughed shortly. "What, are you going to stab me?"
"Aren't you curious?"
He shrugged. "As long as Inuyasha doesn't yell at me for possibly throwing out your back, I guess I can risk it. I am rather curious now, just don't hurt me too badly, please?"
Kagome just smirked, and it worried him slightly, but eventually she nodded. "I won't hurt you. Now I want you to stand in front of me and don't do anything. This will be like someone threatening me verbally and my reaction to it before he can actually do harm to me."
Miroku nodded shyly and stood in front of her. He expected plenty of pain, but he was still very curious.
Kagome smiled and popped her neck with three loud cracks. She stood straight and stretched her back by moving her arms. Then she cracked her knuckles, and Miroku felt sweat forming on his forehead because of the building anticipation.
"Ano, Kagome, can you hurry?"
She nodded, and before he knew what happened she had kicked his ankles out from underneath him. In mid air, she grabbed his shoulders and turned him over so that he fell on his stomach, and he hit the ground with a loud thud. But before he could react, she had her knee grinding into his back and her hand on his head, making sure to keep his face in the ground. "Ah, I liked doing that much better."
"I'm sure you do." Miroku stated, but it was slightly muffled by the mat. "Kagome, please get off me. I am no longer curious."
She smiled and got off, giving him a hand to his feet. "Well, those are some of the things that I had learned. I can also beat the crap out of someone if needed, but I don't think that either of you want to see that."
They both shook their heads and laughed nervously. Nope, no one wanted that treatment.
Kagome stretched and walked over to her coat, grabbing the gun that she had polished earlier. "I'm going to start shooting now."
"I'll catch up to you in a minute." Sango stated, rubbing her back. "I'm going to recover."
"Ok." Kagome slipped her coat and shoes on and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.
Miroku helped Sango by placing his hands on her shoulders, slowly massaging her tense muscles. "You know, the only thing I wonder about is what she would do if kidnapped by a gang of people."
"Kagome is intelligent, she probably has her ways." They both continued to put their coats on when the sound of a gunshot rang throughout the building. Miroku was instantly worried. "Sango…we could hear that gunshot."
Sango only looked worried after she realized what that meant. "You're right, she isn't in the soundproof walls." More shots rang out and then stopped, and by that time Sango and Miroku were running to the door. Visions of things impossibly horrible and frightening were going through both heads. But they both hoped more than anything that Kagome was all right.
They got into the shot room and looked around, only to find that no one was in there. It was quiet, too quiet, and something didn't ring right from the beginning. She had to be in here, just had to be. They felt their hearts speed up and they began searching the different stalls urgently.
Sango gasped in a different stall after two minutes of searching. "Holy shit! Miroku, come here and help me!" He ran over to her stall and found something that really frightened him, yet relieved him slightly. Unconscious on the floor was Shippo, still bound and gagged with the wires still in place. Sango was checking urgently for a pulse, and after finding one, she relaxed slightly. "He's alive."
"But if he's here…"
Sango let a tear fall down her cheek. She was terrified of so many things at that moment, and she didn't like it. "Oh God, that bastard has her, Miroku. He's kidnapped her."
Miroku sighed deeply and pulled the piece of paper resting in Shippo's jacket. He opened it, and he slowly read it aloud. "I've still kept my promise, he's been returned unharmed. SLY." He folded it and put it back on Shippo. "It's exactly what we think it is. He's kidnapped her, and I don't know what Inuyasha is going to do."
They were silent. Both were very scared. Kagome was in grave danger, and Naraku definitely was twisted like Kikyo was, and probably even more. The fact that he had an attraction to her is what was really frightening about that. Who knows what a person like him would think of to do to her?
But what scared them the most was that this sort of thing would anger Inuyasha so much, or scare him, that he would kill the messenger and destroy anything that got in his way. In fact, in the old days, he would have without second thought. He would be so shocked he wouldn't know what to do, and he'd blame himself for everything. He would become his old self again unless they got Kagome back.
So hesitantly, ignoring what they knew to be the oncoming outburst of anger and pain, ignoring all the fear that they both had held for this horrible event, even ignoring the fact that they may die within the next few minutes, both Miroku and Sango worked to wake Shippo so they could break the news to Inuyasha. All hell was about to let loose, and there was nothing else they could do about it except hope that Inuyasha didn't murder them for leaving her, even for the slightest amount of time.
For them, this was it. One of the darkest hours that they could have imagined right now. It seemed that when they got Kagome back, someone was going to die, and if Inuyasha didn't already kill them before they got the chance to fight, then chances are that they were going to take Naraku down. After all, everyone knows that Inuyasha is at his deadliest in the darkest of hours.
*~*^_^*~*
(A/N-Don't hate me, I promise that Kagome will be alright! And Sango and Miroku, too, trust me. Just keep in mind that everything I do is for a reason. Keep reviewing, and out of one of my thoughts, I'd like to know what some of you think is going to happen in my story. Tell me what you think.)
PS-Thanks for the reviews! They are all wonderful!