A/N-Thanks for all the reviews!
And I apologize for my other story, my friend and I were just messing around. I'm glad that the people that HAVE reviewed think it's funny, though.
Disclaimer-I…I…I…I…I…
**ducks flying tomatoes** OK! I don't own Inuyasha.
CHAPTER 21-A life together
He dodged the next shot, but barely escaped as the weight of the motorcycle had been shifted again. Turns out they were much more heavily watched than he thought; he had about five cops tailing him and Kagome now, and through the vagueness of his thoughts, he could feel Kagome clutching him tighter and tighter with each passing second. A slow pattern of both fear and excitement radiated from her aura, and Inuyasha knew what it was that worried her. She feared of being caught, again, only this time, they'd hurt him and she'd be forced back into her old life.
No one in their right mind would want a life like that back.
He also feared he would bruise if she didn't let go of him soon. He had already been partially tenderized from the fight, and with every shot of the guns he could feel her tighten her grip. If he had been human, he'd be complaining.
However, he was the one who told her to hold on for all she was worth. Therefore, this whole thing was his own fault, and he'd have no one else to blame but himself.
Inuyasha snorted and shook his head. What am I doing? We have cops on our asses and I'm talking about a small bruise I'll have tomorrow! Miroku's right; I must have lost some of my luster, after all.
Sango came onto the screen and Inuyasha nodded to show that he saw her. "Inuyasha, Miroku and I have made it to the storage shed. We're currently inside, and I thought I'd let you know that much before we did anything else."
He nodded again. "Heard from Shippo or Kira?"
"Miroku's talking to Kira now on cell phone. They've got a cop still following them, but if they're lucky they can loose it at the next turn. How fairs it with you?"
"We'll, we've got the whole police force on our butts, so this may take a little longer than I thought. Once you park the bikes, sneak to Miroku's place, and DON'T let anyone see you."
"Aye, aye, Captain!" She chirped happily before the radio turned off and all was quiet. Well, except for the motors on the bikes, that is. Even Kagome was finding it hard to hear anything else.
She sighed and glanced up at the sky, taking note of the orange-ish color that radiated from the side. It was a sure clue of dawn, and since Kagome had spent all her time in the jail trying to get back to Inuyasha, she never knew what time it was. While her mate dodged in and out of what was probably the busiest street in the state, she found comfort in gripping him tightly while she watched the sun fade out into the horizon. The sun was beautiful, something that she couldn't resist the call of, even if it meant carelessness in her own life. It made her feel like there wasn't a care in the world, just because she was able to see that beautiful sunrise again.
The police had taken to shooting at them after all, however only when they got within a 'safe' distance. They didn't want Inuyasha to swerve and have the bullet end up hitting an innocent pedestrian. Nope, they wouldn't want that at all; it was hit them on the bike or don't shoot.
"You ok?" Inuyasha asked suddenly, glancing back at her with concern littering his face. He half paid attention to where he was going and half watched Kagome's reaction to the question he had just asked her. He hoped she wasn't scared, because if she were too frightened to do anything like this tomorrow then there'd have to be a change in plans. What he had in store for her would probably shock the hell out of her, but she'd finally have the independence she wanted and could no longer rightfully say that Inuyasha was overprotective.
Heh, overprotective…when was he ever overprotective? Sure, he looked out for her, refused to let her drink even though legally she could, wouldn't let her leave his sight on certain occasions…that wasn't being overprotective, was it?
Well if it was, he had to wonder what it would have been like if he hadn't done the job he did. She almost died three times, THREE, even under his heavy guard. That was three-way-to-damn-many, if one should ask his opinion.
Kagome hugged him tighter, scooting forward and bringing her cheek up to his shoulder blades. "I'm fine, I was just looking at the sunrise."
"You know, you are still an odd woman, Kagome. We're about to be killed and yet you find the time to enjoy the company of the rising sun."
She giggled, but suddenly jumped when a shot nearly hit her left thigh. She flipped the police off and held on tight as Inuyasha swerved again in front of two cars with lots of people in them. Kagome had to wonder what was going on through those people's minds inside the cars when they were spotted, other than "Oh my gosh, is that REALLY Inuyasha the Shadow Lurker? And LOOK! The rumors are true! He's got Kagome Higurashi!". She wanted to laugh at them, but managed to scowl. The kids paid no heed to her and continued to stare.
It was Inuyasha's face that really got them to mind their own business.
Kagome smirked. She knew she had to be the only one not afraid of those fangs and claws. Once everyone had looked the other way, he retracted the claws and gave a small snort in satisfaction that only Kagome noticed.
Inuyasha groaned after a short turn around to look at the road again. "Shit…" Kagome looked ahead of them and caught sight of his distress. There was a police block up the road, and absolutely no way to get out of it with a motorcycle. There was no turning back, either. They must have figured that Inuyasha would do one of two things; he'd either stop and they'd shoot him, or he'd try to jump them and they'd shoot him from underneath.
Kagome smiled, stroking his long white hair to hear the nearly silent purr. "Inuyasha, I'll hold on, you run for dear life. We did this with Fluffy, remember?"
Catching on, his scowl turned to a smirk and he winked back at her. "I'll get to use my secret weapon; the element of surprise. Hold on tight to my shoulders." She hooked her arms under his and up around his shoulders, almost putting him in a full nelson, but not quite trying to connect her fingers. She closed her eyes tightly against Inuyasha's back and smiled, preparing for the air that would send chills up her spine once he jumped off.
Inuyasha sped up, getting closer and closer to the cops as they suddenly looked a little afraid of his intentions. Within a good twenty feet, he jumped off the bike and up onto the two story building next to him, giving the cops a run for their money with the motorcycle crashing into them. They were momentarily distracted with that, and Inuyasha took that chance to book it as far as he could until they could guarantee the safety of not being found anymore. For him, that might take a while, since everyone in the city was looking out for them.
As he ran, he jumped over a couple of buildings before getting down into some alleys, avoiding the air as much as possible. They would have a helicopter out soon, and he couldn't risk being found by one of those big things. Once they caught sight of them, the view would stay on them, and the cops would once again be on their tails.
He didn't know about Kagome, but he was sick of running. If they didn't get out of this mess soon, he'd go insane, and his demon was eager to get a hold of some of those cops again.
Shaking his head of the pleasing thought, he continued to run. If his demon got out, there was no telling what he was capable of, or how many people he would kill. They had to get out now, or it would be a never-ending chain of people trying to kill him and Kagome, until they finally managed to bring him down.
He glanced back at Kagome and then looked ahead again. "Call Miroku, tell him that we're on foot and headed on our way. Also tell him to lock the door and only open up if it's me."
She did as she was told, wrapping an arm around his neck as if to strangle him as she got Miroku on the phone. "Hey, it's me…yea, look, we're on foot now and we're finding a way to escape the cops…lock your door and don't open it unless it's one of us, and you had better be certain because they could try to pull a fast one…yea, yea, same to you…ok, good, bye." She hung up and put her phone back into her pocket, only to look around in wonder at their surroundings. She had never been in this area before.
Heck, she didn't even think that New York had places like this.
It probably was the only area in New York besides Central park that had trees. The trees were in the little squares of dirt in between the sidewalks, and there was children's chalk all over the place. This neighborhood had to be loaded with kids; no adult in their right mind would ever do something like that.
Inuyasha glanced back at his mate again, as if thinking of asking a question but not sure how to go about it. He finally decided to get it over with, being as the silence was driving him insane. "Kagome, how'd you know that Kouga had that potion on him?"
"It was glowing a bright blue. It has an aura all it's own, and you still haven't told me what it does. Why do you want it so badly?"
His ears twitched with noises as he rounded a corner, perfectly concealed for the moment behind a child playhouse outside what he would call a daycare center. He set her down and panted softly before answering her. "It's a life potion; if I gave it to humans, they'd live just as long as we would."
Kagome smiled. "Awe, you're being sweet, you're going to give it to Sango and Miroku."
"Well, I was thinking about it, but now that you mentioned the word "sweet", I'm not so sure."
She shook her head at his arrogance and looked around. Being that it was now officially morning, mothers would be dropping off their children to go to work. And this was a daycare center…she knew that getting caught by a bunch of tiny kids would never end well.
"Inuyasha, we can't sit here, we have to get going."
"I know, I'm resting for a second." He leaned against the child play-center and tried hard to regain both his breath and composure. They had just escaped from a parade of angry adults, and if they stood around much longer they were bound to be discovered by some nosy little kid. A wailing child never did good things for him.
Kagome wanted to hug him close, but feared that she'd hurt him from the beating he had taken. "Inuyasha, are you alright? Maybe you shouldn't run anymore."
"How else are we going to get to the hide-out? We're going, and I'm carrying you. End of discussion."
"No, it's not. You're hurt, Inuyasha. You can't run like that, especially with me on you. It's not good for you."
"It doesn't matter, our goal is to get to the cabin without being seen or caught. Once we get there, we'll worry about everything else." He looked down and panted softly, shaking his head with stifled laughter. "That bastard has been holding out on me. He had never fought that well in his entire life."
"Maybe that's a sign that Fluffy is stronger than he seems." She looked around again, making sure the coast was clear before bending down and forcing him to stare into her eyes. "If I help you, will you be ok?"
He shook his head. "I don't need your help right now; all we need is to get back to the cabin."
"Inuyasha, how are you going to get back to the cabin if you collapse from your injuries? Let me help you. You don't want the cops to win, do you?"
Inuyasha snorted and shook the bangs out of his eyes, looking up at her again. "The cops won't win."
"If you collapse, it's the same as saying they did. Now let me help you, at least until we get there. Then you can bitch and everything until your tongue swells."
Closing his eyes, he took a large breath in and sighed it out again. "How?"
"I'll share my energy with you, like you did me."
"That'll just buy us time."
"Time's all we got. It'll help you run faster and pick up heavy objects like me."
"You ain't heavy. If you were, I would have teased you for it." He managed to stand straighter with the help of the kid's playhouse and stared down at her. "It won't hurt you, right?"
"No."
"Ok, but only because it seems that we don't have a choice."
Kagome smiled in victory. "On your knees, it's easier that way."
Before cocking both eyebrows and making an arrogant comment, Kagome had shoved him down by forcing his shoulders first, so down he went without the well thought out protests that he had. He sat there looking around before she placed the tip of her pointer finger on his forehead. "Close your eyes."
He did as commanded as the power rushed to his head. He could feel his energy growing from the tip of her finger to the back of his brain, like he was sucking it in. She gave him so much energy, he almost thought it would hurt if she kept giving him anymore. Inuyasha now probably had the ability to run twice around the city of New York and not get tired.
It drained Kagome, however, and he was forced to catch her weak form in his arms before she hit the ground. "Damn it, Kagome, I thought you said it was harmless."
"Do I look injured to you?" She panted, wiping her forehead off with her hand. "I'm just a little tired. I managed to keep enough of mine that I could stay awake. Now, however, you have to carry me."
Rolling his eyes, he stood and held her carefully bridal style against him. "Hold on tight, then." She wrapped her slender arms around his neck and thought seriously about falling asleep, but for some reason she decided not to. It felt good to be held like this, to be in his arms as he carried her to safety. She wanted to stay awake and relish that feeling.
Inuyasha began running again, this time at a speed he wouldn't have thought to be capable of in the condition he had been in. With Kagome's added energy, all pain was numb, and nothing could stop him from getting to their destination so that they could lie down in a nice, comfy bed and heal all their troubles away.
That, and plan ahead to their next fit of action.
By now, Sesshomaru knew that they had escaped, and chances were he was furious beyond belief. After all, Inuyasha and Kagome had been able to deter EVERYTHING he had thrown at them, all except for the death of Kagome's father. He tried driving Kagome insane, and almost succeeded before she killed Kikyo, he had tried to murder them several times, and then sunk to his lowest by ratting him out and sicking the police on him.
Yep, it was definitely payback time.
He was able to dodge so quickly in between buildings and cars that it seemed they were nearly home free. Only a couple more blocks to go and then they could put that cabin on major lockdown to keep people away while they healed. Besides, he had a present for Miroku and Sango that they would probably love him for, and even if it was just to make Kagome happy he would hand it over with no questions.
He himself wouldn't mind them sticking around with them, even though he would never admit it.
Kagome lulled her head to the side, sleep starting to claim her before Inuyasha abruptly jumped in the air and landed harshly on the ground. He stopped for a moment and shook her lightly. "Kagome, stay awake until we get to the cabin."
"Why?" She yawned, snuggling against his chest more with a secure smile on her face. Almost as if she were hugging her teddy bear.
Or her pet dog…
"You have to stay awake so that I don't focus some of my energy making sure not to wake you up. Once you go to sleep, I wouldn't have it in me to wake you until you were good and ready."
Smiling, she nodded her answer and he started off again with only one thought in mind; that this would be over very soon and he and Kagome could finally have their lives together the way it should be.
They could finally have their peace.
But it would take all her intelligence and all his knowledge of his brother. Together, his complete group of six would plot a plan that even Fluffy could not escape…one that would prove who was in charge once and for all.
*~*~*^_^*~*~*
"Sango, stop pacing, they'll get here." Shippo stated from his position on the couch. He raised a bottle of beer up in cheers and chugged it down before throwing it into the trash can clear in the kitchen.
"I'll have to ask you not to do that, Shippo, I still own this house and I'd prefer to keep it nice and neat." Miroku was currently reading the paper in his leather chair, just to see how much of everything that had happened was in the news. It was interesting all the details he could find that weren't true at all. In fact, he could have been the perfect editor and made this the most interesting story that anyone would ever want to read.
"Sango, for the last time, sit down. Inuyasha will bring Kagome here and if something happens, one of them will call." Kira stated from her spot on the floor. She sat in a traditional Japanese style, her back against the wall. Sango still paced in front of the door, and the sound of her feet moving back and forth was beginning to hurt the Kitsune's ears.
Sango turned abruptly and glared at the Kitsune. "You apparently don't understand. Kagome is my best friend, and Inuyasha's up there too. What are we going to do if they both get shot down at the same time?"
Miroku stood, dropping the forgotten paper on the floor. He approached and embraced Sango, running his fingers through her hair as he tried to calm her. "You worry too much, Sango-chan. Kagome and Inuyasha are fine, I promise."
She returned the embrace, squeezing him for all he was worth instead of letting any worried tears fall. "I just worry, that's all."
"I know. It's only been five hours total, and we must remember that there's an art to escaping the entire police force while the responsibility of protecting your mate comes along with the package."
A pounding came at the door and the embracing couple immediately pulled back to grab onto their weapons. Miroku slowly grabbed the handle, but didn't open the door. "State your name and business."
"Uh, yea…let's see, if I remember correctly, I'm Inuyasha, and my mate Kagome's with me too…hmm…oh, that's right, I'm YOUR FUCKING BOSS! Open this fucking door!"
Miroku visibly relaxed and pulled open the door to the sight of the water drenched Inuyasha carrying a half-conscious Kagome bridle style. "Good thing, you were starting to scare Sango."
Kagome yawned as Inuyasha walked in and laid her on the couch. He pulled off his coat and threw it on the floor, grabbing a long lock of his hair and ringing it out all over the wooden grain. Miroku shook his head and sighed. "I can have your clothing dried, Inuyasha, but you'll ruin my floors."
"Miroku, you haven't lived here in a long time. Who cares about a stupid floor when you won't even use it?"
"Oh, I don't know, Inuyasha, I'm starting to like this house. I may stop by here more often."
Inuyasha ignored him and looked down at the very tired Kagome from the back of the couch. "You awake enough to go put dry clothes on, or do I have to dress you?" He asked with a smirk. Kagome wanted to gape, but that would be childish. She knew he would love to help her dress, but the way he suggested it was going to drive her mad with arrogance.
Kagome scowled at him, rolling her eyes as she forced herself into a sitting position. She yawned before staring at Sango. "You'll have to come with me, Sango. I'm too tired to pick out clothing and I'll probably need a little help getting into pants." She glared at Inuyasha. "That's ALL I need help with, too. I'm not a baby."
"Didn't say you were." Inuyasha stated, still ringing out his hair. "I want your wet clothes, all of it, when you come out again."
Kagome stood slowly and waved him off weakly. "Hai, hai, whatever." She gripped Sango's arm and was led into the back bedroom to change into some of Sango's clothing.
Miroku observed the mess of water all over the place with a disgruntled sigh. "It's not raining, Inuyasha. How'd you get wet?"
The Hanyou shook his head, shaking water off in the monk's face. He bent over and pulled his boots off, throwing them with the rest of the pile. "We ran through a few back yards, and some strange yard not too far from here had a ton of sprinklers. There was no way around, above, or below them, so I went through them."
"Why is Kagome so tired?" Kira asked, finally standing and stretching.
"She shared her energy to make sure that we got here." He pulled off his shirt and threw it into the heap of clothes on the floor. He would have removed everything else, too, but Kira was in the room and he figured Kagome wouldn't like it if he walked around naked in front of other women. He knew he sure as hell wouldn't tolerate it happening to her.
Shippo whistled at the sight of his stomach. It was literally black and blue in places, giving off the strange appearance that a truck had hit him. Because his demon was healing him faster, this is what the wounds would look like two days from now on a regular human.
Ignoring his companions, he swiveled his ears to listen into the bedroom. Kagome was still dressing, and she yawned so much it almost sounded like a breath pattern. A very unhealthy breath pattern…
"Kagome, let me see that…" Sango asked quietly.
"Sango, it's fine, don't draw attention to it."
"A normal human would probably need twenty stitches for that, Kagome. Maybe Inuyasha should look at it?"
"He's already seen it. Besides, his wounds are worse. We'll heal them tonight."
A slight pause. "Are you sure you're alright, Kagome? You're pale."
"I'm drained. That's all, now help me with these."
"Hmph. That's all, huh?"
"I told you to drop it, Sango."
"Ok, if you say so."
Miroku nudged Inuyasha and he shook his head out of his trance. "Inuyasha, you really shouldn't eavesdrop. You know that Kagome and Sango don't like it."
"Kinda hard not to eavesdrop when you're the topic." He started the process of combing through his locks with his fingers, staring at Miroku as he talked. "Any ideas so far?"
Shippo and Kira, now sitting together on the couch, chirped up. Shippo had his hand raised and Kira rolled her eyes playfully at him. "Oh, oh, pick me, Inuyasha!"
"Shippo, this ain't a classroom."
"Obviously, since you don't know how to use the correct English."
"Whatever, just tell me your plan."
He pulled his hand down and made himself comfortable, scooting back more on the couch. "First off, we know we have to hit Fluffy when he least expects it, so if we go back to the club he'll know where we are and what we're doing. I figure if we hit him while he's in his hideout then it would be easier."
"Fluffy always has a good supply of people with him." Kagome stated, coming back from the bedroom. "The club will probably have heavy surveillance, even heavier than ours."
Miroku nodded. "However, his surveillance has ways around it. Even he can't afford the sort of security that would make it useless to try and deter it."
Inuyasha was watching Kagome as she approached him. He was very curious to say in the least. He had never seen her in that color of blue before and besides the pajamas that she had in flames, he wasn't sure he had seen her in something other than jeans before he had "stolen" her. The tank top that she had on, covered by the blanket she had wrapped around herself, was probably held up by a weak little strap or two. He was faintly interested in seeing what it looked like.
She held out her wet clothes to him and reluctantly he took them, throwing them in the pile with his and listening to Miroku curse. That made him smirk, for even though he had been a lecherous monk most of his life, he was quite the little neat freak. He was probably a nerd in high school, considering he was intelligent and gifted with many useful things for his gang.
All the more useful to him…he was both a wise man to ask for advice and a good man to keep behind you, working behind the scenes to do things with electronics that normal people would never think of.
Kagome yawned again and glared at Inuyasha when he laughed at her. "What the hell's so funny?" "You're so tired you can barely stay standing." He gripped her elbow softly and led her around the couch, effectively booting the two Kitsunes off onto the floor. He sat down on it with his back to the arm and one leg completely off while the other one was stretched across the back, making himself perfectly comfortable.
Inuyasha pulled Kagome down with him, sitting her back tightly to his chest. He removed the blanket from around her shoulders and covered both of them, wrapping his arms around her. The leg he had hung over the edge was now covering hers, effectively trapping her against him.
Sango sat in a leather chair and Miroku followed on the opposite side. "So how long will we be staying here?"
"Until the heat is down, or if we come up with a brilliant plan that can't wait." Kagome leaned her head back onto his chest and blinked, trying to stay awake because they were probably going to have a discussion, and she intended on being part of every discussion with the club from now on.
However, Inuyasha's warmth was just too hard to resist. She wouldn't hold out much longer.
When Kagome turned her head away, Sango made strange gestures at Inuyasha, pointing first at Kagome and then at her left shoulder.
Understanding, he nodded and bent down to plant a kiss on Kagome's cheek, slowly working his way down her neck. Kagome's eyes seemed to no longer show tiredness as he neared her shoulder, pulling back the blanket to get a good view.
He had to admit; he was a little shocked. He knew she had been wounded, but he had no idea that it was like this. The skin had been sliced completely off the wound area, like the man had attempted to skin her alive. "Doesn't this hurt?"
She sighed. "A little."
"That bastard tried to skin you!"
"I'm still alive, aren't I? Besides, it's better than it was, so it'll be fine later on."
Feeling his chest rise with his sigh, she once again relaxed against him, this time closing her eyes. She didn't care anymore if she fell asleep; her eyes were burning so badly they had to be pure red where the whites were supposed to be. She'd probably fall asleep in the middle of discussing something, and even if it was an accident, it would be extremely unpleasant. She wasn't one who wanted to feel embarrassment.
She felt Inuyasha's arms tighten more around her, pinning her arms to her sides in their position. Kagome opened her eyes and leaned her head to the side, wanting to glance at him and see what he was doing. She had a feeling that he was going to do something she really wouldn't like, and that meant that he was feeling major regret for even thinking about doing it.
Before she could voice her protests, she hissed loudly as his tongue lightly grazed over the wound. She was nearly ripping holes in his jeans from her fingernails digging into them, but still did not say anything as he continued to (in a sense) 'clean' her wound. With every warm press of his tongue, a little shot of pain would hit the base of her spine. The only sign of comfort from his actions so far was the very low purr that he had set, making it so that only she could hear it.
Once she was used to it, though, it didn't sting as badly and she relaxed. In fact, the feeling began to feel really good, and she found herself closing her eyes again.
She was too tired to do much anything else.
He licked until the wound had healed, just like his instincts told him to. He waited until her shoulder was once again flawless, then stopped to kiss her cheek gently. "Better?" He asked quietly.
She nodded. "Much." She snuggled tighter against him and looked around to see everyone staring at them with fascination. She widened her eyes and then quickly narrowed them, huffing to cover her embarrassment. "What are you people looking at?"
Miroku had his finger tapping his chin. "I've never seen the healing process work that way. I don't mean to stare, but it's fascinating."
Kira smirked. "Well I just like seeing you two squirm under the pressure."
Kagome ignored her and stared at Sango. "So where were the two of you when we got arrested again?"
Miroku sighed to draw her attention to him. "It's my fault that we didn't get there in time, Kagome-chan. I held Sango back, even though she wanted to go with you two."
"Why?" Inuyasha asked, now rubbing Kagome's shoulders smoothly with both hands. He wasn't aware of himself doing it; he did it absently because his demon knew that she was still uncomfortable from her wounds. He was no longer worried about his stomach wounds because her back was pressed snuggly against him, and her heat reminded him of a warming pad. Both soothing and healing.
Miroku stood and walked into the kitchen to retrieve drinks for everyone. "When she told me she felt something strange, I knew it wasn't natural. If you were hurting someone at the time, I didn't think it was best to bust in on you and shock the hell out of you. Something like that could prove fatal." He came back with a case of beer, handing one out to everyone. "However, once I felt we waited long enough, we should go in and see what was happening. By the time we got in there, you guys were gone."
Sango snorted. "You're leaving a MAJOR part out of that, Miroku."
He cleared his throat. "That has nothing to do with it, I assure you."
She continued anyway. "Miroku 'thought' he spotted something near a trashcan. He spent a couple of minutes looking through it, only to come up empty handed. Then he sighed and came back to me, deciding that maybe we should check on you two. The only reason I listened is because he can get "feelings" and I can't."
Inuyasha growled lowly, now thoroughly pissed off. "WHAT?" He asked loudly, scaring Miroku enough that he gulped, but he still refused to move.
"Inuyasha, I apologize. I thought it could have been something of use, like something that Kouga could have dropped or something."
"Well for coming up empty handed it must have been really important." He snapped. "I should kill you." He stated deadly. "What is my number one rule, monk?"
Miroku leaned his head back, avoiding Inuyasha's eyes as he recited the words. "That no matter what, if you have a duty you are to stay focused to it and only it."
"That doesn't sound like you were focused to me, monk. We could have been KILLED yet YOU were busy dicking around!"
The monk wisely remained quiet. He gave a silent glare at Sango, who looked a little upset about telling him now. Oh great, NOW she worries.
Inuyasha shook his head in disbelief. He knew that with how angry he was at the moment with Kagome pressed against him, without her he would have been strangling the monk. Pulling one hand away from Kagome (so that he could still keep much contact with her), he buried his face in it. "I can't believe this."
Sango sighed. "Inuyasha, it's also my fault. I didn't try to encourage him or anything, I should have said something to him."
He growled deeply, an almost vicious sound. He just couldn't believe this; the people he had trusted most other than Kagome decided to play around instead of watching their backs. They could have been killed, Kagome could have been seriously hurt if the situation was different, and they wouldn't have been there to back him up in rescuing her.
This pissed him off to no end.
He became vaguely aware of a hand slowly massaging his thigh. Kagome looked at him with worry and concern. "Inuyasha, calm down. What's done is done and we can't change that. We're alive."
He still glared, but his gaze had noticeably softened. "If the situation didn't turn out like that then you could have very well been killed. We could have very well died."
"But we DIDN'T, Inuyasha. It's obvious that they feel horrible about screwing up once. You can't blame them for what happened to us, anyway, because if they had been there they would have gotten arrested, too. Then they wouldn't have been able to help us like they did."
"That's not the point. The point is, they weren't there to back us up, and they are ALWAYS supposed to be there."
Miroku sighed. "We're sorry, Inuyasha, it won't happen again. Can we please put this behind us and move onto our NEXT moves?"
Before Inuyasha bit his head off, Kagome dug her nails into his thigh. For a human, she really had incredible strength, and he exhaled carefully to calm himself. "Fine. What do you propose we do next?"
"Miroku thinks that we need to hit Fluffy and hit him now." Sango stepped in, almost as if they hadn't argued about anything. "It's not safe to return to the club yet, and he'll be expecting that. We should hit him in his own club."
"Yea, but how are we going to sneak up on him?" Kagome spoke up, making definite sure that she was part of this conversation.
Miroku smiled. "I'm glad you asked, Kagome. We could pull a few moves like we did for the breakout. The blackout is one, and that would give us the chance to eliminate any normal humans. We can use several new technology skills and cut the power system…"
Inuyasha sighed. "But?"
"Based on the information we've gathered on his club, the power circuit is located above an air duct, and in order to get to it you have to crawl through it. I can't do it; I know for a fact that I'm too big. And the person that does it has to have some knowledge of technology, or at least what wires to cut." He scratched his head, the expression clearly in his eyes that he was going to suggest something. "In fact the only one who could besides me and you here is…" He motioned to Kagome and Inuyasha glared at him.
"Forget it, she's not climbing through some air duct in the dark. Someone could find her and hurt her."
"Inuyasha," Sango chipped in. "That part of the job would be the easiest because she'd be out of harms way. Besides, she knows technology unlike me, and she'd be able to do it. We can't do this with any other members of the club because they would be incredibly obvious and bring Fluffy to us faster than we want him to."
"Shit."
Kagome glared at him. "You can't seriously think that you're going to defeat your brother all on your own? The only way you even got a hold of him the time he stabbed me was because his claws were buried deep in my gut." She whispered the next, but everyone could hear her. "You NEED me, and my Miko powers. I could go up and cut the circuit then join you and help you. If you're going to defeat him, you'll do it with me. If you go down, which, I might add, you won't, I'll go with you."
Shippo sighed. "She's right, Inuyasha. You need all of us here, and it should start with Kagome cutting the power. While she gets out of the vent, she'll find her way to the bottom floor, and by then we should have defeated all the humans needed. Fluffy won't leave his office unless he finds a good reason."
Inuyasha stared off into space for a moment, his lip twisting in thought. Kagome wanted to hit him because he had blocked her off from him, and she couldn't tell where this would lead.
However, whatever his decision would be from now on, she wouldn't argue with him. She could show him that she'd follow his orders and become a true gangster. One that wouldn't be defiant about everything he told her.
Inuyasha sighed and directed all his attention to her. "You do realize what kind of power it takes just to consider letting my mate do something even remotely dangerous?"
"Of course I do, but I don't want you to think that I can't take care of myself. I want to be with you in every sense of the word, Inuyasha. That means fighting along side you, too."
Her other hand stroked a piece of his hair out of his eyes. He couldn't help it; he just wouldn't say no to her in that instant. "Fine. Later I will instruct you personally one what to do."
She wanted to squeal, but she was to dignified to do so. "Thank you, Inuyasha."
"Keh. Whatever."
Miroku stood. "Well, since that part's settled, we need to decide on one more thing before getting a little rest."
Kira nodded. "That's right, we do."
"We need to figure out how to bring Fluffy down. What should we use?"
Inuyasha shifted, moving Kagome over to lean closer to the back of the couch. "Obviously bullets are out. They wouldn't even faze that idiot. A sword could only be used if he was wounded badly enough that he wouldn't move away from it." The leader sighed deeply. "He's not going to be nearly as easy as easy to take down as Kouga was. Even though Kouga put up a good fight, Sesshomaru's still his boss. That demon has advantages."
Sango purposefully moved behind Miroku's chair, gripping his shoulder lightly. "Fluffy feared Kikyo, Inuyasha."
"He feared her because she was insane with power. A Miko's energy could incinerate anything if focused hard enough."
"What if Miko energy was focused through you?" Miroku suggested. "Kagome could hold onto you and magnify her powers through you, just as she did with Kikyo. Your demon aura should do a good job helping that energy into something powerful enough to destroy our little ice prince."
"I don't know how to focus the powers I have into something I can shoot. I'm not that kind of demon." Inuyasha stated. "The way we had did it with Kikyo was that she was in front and I was giving her my energy just by pushing it all into my hands."
"So do it that way again."
"Then I couldn't protect her if Fluffy chose to strike."
"Well you need to at least consider it. What other choice would we have? If he won't be defeated easily with knives and guns, then perhaps raw power is what we need to use. Something that he doesn't have a good defense against, especially now since his Miko is dead."
Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "I'll consider it."
"Good."
Shippo leaned back and sat fully on the floor, putting his feet out in front of him like a little kid. "Wait, wait, what about Rin? She's just as sly as some of us; she'd prove to be difficult."
Sango grinned. "We kill her. She's just as bad as Fluffy and will pose problems if left alive."
Miroku stared off into space dreamily, slumping more down into the seat. "It's a shame, really. Such lovely skill has to go to waste." A shoe came into contact with the back of his head and he glared up at his growling girlfriend. "Oww, what was that for?"
"You're still a dirty Hentai."
"I was complimenting her skill, not her body."
"You still complimented the enemy." Inuyasha broke in.
Kagome yawned again and tugged on Inuyasha's pants. "Sleep…must sleep…" Her head drifted forward, but with a bounce from her mate's knee she sat straight up again.
Inuyasha shook his head warily. "Look, Kagome's too tired to continue this conversation. We've got until tomorrow night, and we have wounds that are to be healed."
She shook his pant leg, her eyes still tightly shut. "You have something to give them before we go anywhere."
Nodding slowly, he pulled himself out from behind her and put a pillow in his place so she wouldn't fall over. He walked over to his still soaked clothing and out of the coat he brought the bottle of potion, observing it carefully as he walked over to his human friends. He held it up to the monk first. "You remember me talking about this, don't you?"
Miroku widened his eyes, taking the bottle from Inuyasha and looking it over carefully. "This is it? The life potion?"
Inuyasha nodded. "You two are the only one's still human in the group. You won't live as long as we do, and if both you and Sango drink half of this potion you'll have healing abilities and you'll live as long as we will. Even your future brats will live like you two."
Sango was nearly speechless. Almost… "Are there any risks?"
The Hanyou shook his head. "It smells clean, and you shouldn't react in any bad way to it."
Miroku and Sango looked at each other and then shrugged. He handed it to Sango first, and slowly she popped the cork off, smelling it carefully before pulling the tip down in her mouth. She drank half and pulled it away, making a strange face before Miroku took it and finished it off.
Inuyasha watched them with fascination before taking the empty bottle back. He smirked at their strange expressions. "Well? Do ya feel any different?"
The monk shrugged, looking down in displeasure. "I don't know…I don't feel different."
"Me either." Sango said, much with the same expression.
Kagome stared at them, her eyes very drowsy. "They have auras, Inuyasha. Can you see it?"
He nodded. "Yea, I just wanted to know if they felt it."
Miroku shrugged. "Well, I don't feel anything. But if we have auras now, then something has to have changed."
Kira smiled softly, braiding Shippo's hair in her lap. "It probably means that you'll be harder to hurt, now."
"We'll finish this discussion tomorrow. I claim the guestroom." He walked over to Kagome and picked her up bridal style, swiftly carrying her into the back room. "Make sure that all doors and windows are locked. If the Kitsune's are staying in this room, they should keep their eyes and ears open while we heal."
Shippo grinned like a giddy schoolboy. "No problem, Inuyasha!" Kira elbowed him and scowled. "Infidel."
Inuyasha slammed the guestroom door and turned the lock, setting Kagome down to stand but not quite letting her go. He grabbed her chin and forced her tired head to look up at him. "You going to last for a little while longer?"
She blinked wearily and nodded. "Yea, I will, why?"
"You need to take off your clothes."
That seemed to wake her up. "What for? They're dry."
"I can still sense wounds and bruises all over you. In the past when we healed, you're wounds were all above the waist. We need skin contact for them all to heal properly."
Kagome bent her head down; a little too tired to argue with him. "Ok…sure…whatever."
He helped her out of her shirt, throwing it to the floor. Her bra would pose a challenge, so while she was too drowsy to get angry he just sliced it right off. He finished by taking off her pants and any other things she had on, and then led her to the bed.
After stripping himself of his own clothes, he got under the blankets with her and pulled so that her head was nestled right underneath his chin. She clutched at him, wrapping her arms around his back and sighing in content. "Inuyasha?"
"Hmm?"
"Thanks."
"For?"
"For even considering letting me do something remotely dangerous."
He was silent for a moment before beginning the soothing process of running his claws delicately through her hair. "We can't do it without you. I didn't want you to feel left out anymore."
With her hum as a response, she snuggled in closer and fell into a deep sleep, leaving Inuyasha to think very seriously about tomorrow's events.
He knew one thing for certain; his stupid brother was going down. Nothing would stop him this time, and no matter what happened he would die. Inuyasha just couldn't have him around causing all this trouble for his friends and family, especially in the years to come. No, that wouldn't do at all.
Just look at what had happened to Kagome. Her father died, he had gutted her personally, and he was still after her head. Kagome had to be the most resilient human he had ever known of. She still had every shred of her sanity, even though on a couple of occasions it went flying out the window.
But how to go about it? He had basically agreed that Kagome would be the one to go up and cut the wires. That meant that she'd have to get some special equipment to help her accomplish it. And then there's the matter of what to do when she finished. Fluffy would find her if she didn't leave because her scent would be carried throughout the building, leading him to her location and situation.
And Rin…that woman was something to be nervous about. She probably missed her shots as often as she spoke. Even more emotionless than Fluffy, Rin seemed to have long ago lost her sanity. That's what made her so dangerous. She would have to be disposed of and quickly before her and Fluffy teamed up together.
Inuyasha shook his head and smirked. Tomorrow would be the day; the day that he could give his brother back all the pain that his brother had caused him. He'd wound both his pride and he himself before the dawn would break the horizon.
*~*~*^_^*~*~*
A/N-Thanks for reading! This chapter was a little…what's the word…blah? It's probably my least favorite chapter of the whole story, but it serves its purpose none the less. I'll have the next chapter up very soon, so please review!**Sobs** Not that many more chapters to go…