Excitement this chapter, not information! You readers should be jumping for joy right about now.

Just to lay any of your doubts to rest, this is (will be) Inuyasha/Kagome.

Edited: 7/8/2011

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.


Dashed Hopes

Chapter Six: Threats


"Want to go get some lunch with me, Ms. Shashu?" Inuyasha asked as he walked out of his office to find his secretary pouring over some assignments his half-brother had given her. He was back to normal, a little overly cocky, but somehow he seemed nicer than before. Kagome had a feeling that it was going to be like that way for awhile, although she couldn't quite put her finger on why.

"Sure! Oh, and please, just call me Kagome. It feels weird being called Ms. Shashu, since it's—" Kagome quickly cut herself off, swallowing down the words she had almost let loose. It didn't seem appropriate to go around in public, announcing that her last name was actually fake. Shrugging off the uncomfortable feeling that had settled over her shoulders when she remembered she was pretending to be someone other than herself, Kagome pushed away from her desk. Inuyasha fell into step beside her as they approached the elevator bank, and she reached out to hit the button to call the elevator to their floor.

Inuyasha waited beside her, tapping his foot impatiently. His secretary eyed his movement with a quirked eyebrow, trying very hard not get irritated. Thankfully, Inuyasha snapped out of his daze long enough to see how annoyed Kagome was beginning to get, her blue-gray eyes narrowed as she stared at his foot. Stopping the infernal noise, he smirked when the elevator finally dinged to a stop. The doors whooshed open, allowing the duo to hear the music playing softly inside. Stepping in, they stood side by side as the doors shut again— only to feel the elevator jerk to a stop the next floor down.

Sesshoumaru stepped in quietly. He nodded to Kagome and glanced at his half brother.

"Hello, Mr. Youkai!" Kagome chirped pleasantly. Both Youkai brothers noticed the forced tone of cheerfulness.

"Ms. Shashu," Sesshoumaru nodded again in her direction, the gesture a bit deeper this time.

Flashing a smile his way, Kagome looked up at the row of numbers above the door. She watched as the light slowly flittered down to mark that they had reached the ground floor, ignoring the silence that encompassed the three of them. The coworkers stepped off, and Sesshoumaru walked away in the direction of the filing room. Inuyasha led Kagome to the company's parking lot.

She grinned when she saw his car. Kagome loved convertibles. Something about the wind in her hair made her feel almost like she was flying, and it was a feeling that fired up the child in her. She'd close her eyes and imagine a forest flashing by, not the city views, when she rode in this type of car. Inuyasha smirked when he saw Kagome's reaction to his car. A beep sounded as he remote unlocked the car, and she jumped in, sliding her hands over the leather with an appreciative noise. He could practically see the happiness radiating off her as he slid the top down.

Carefully, Inuyasha pulled out of his parking spot and angled the nose of his car towards the street. After signaling, he pulled into the most empty lane and pushed the convertible as fast as he could without causing an accident.

"Where are we going?" Kagome called out over the wind as they rode down the busy street.

"To that diner downtown! It's the one near 74th and Sakura," Inuyasha shouted back, not taking his eyes off the road.

Kagome shrugged even though she knew he couldn't see her. "As long as I'm not paying for the both of us, I don't really care."

That's not a half bad idea, Inuyasha thought with a smirk as he drove. Maybe I should make her pay, since she didn't at the ice cream parlor. She does owe me, he mused in his head.

The rest of the drive was in a comfortable silence as Inuyasha concentrated on driving and Kagome looked around at Tokyo, her new home.


How the hell can one man be so strong? Kouga thought angrily as he was slammed up against a brick wall for the umpteenth time.

"Tell me," the voice growled from the dark figure, "Where I can find her." The sunshine didn't make it into the alley, but the man could tell Kouga was not in the best of shape even in the dim lighting.

Kouga glared through half-lidded eyes at his attacker, panting from exertion. "Even if I did know, like hell I would tell you, Naraku," he spat out.

"Are you trying to tell me you don't know?" Naraku asked emotionlessly, raising an eyebrow over a red eye.

"No!" Kouga insisted, ignoring the metal tang of the taste of blood in his mouth. "I'm telling you that I'm good at tap-dancing." His bruised and bleeding arms hung limply by his sides. There would definitely be bruises where Naraku was keeping a tight hold on his neck by morning.

If Kouga lived that long, that is.

Naraku growled dangerously low in his throat, his grip tightening around the other man's throat. "You should tell me, Kouga. It is in Kagome's best interest for me to find where she is staying in Tokyo. She's happy with me; I just need to remind her of that."

Kouga laughed a short, cold laugh. "What the fuck are you talking about? I've seen what you do to her!"

"I do it, because I care," Naraku sneered.

"You beat her senselessly, keep her from her loved ones, and expect her to come back to you? What the fuck is wrong with you?" Kouga shouted, struggling. He was already tired, and he'd taken a lot more hits than Naraku had. His body was already sore and aching, and the scrapes on his arms stung as blood sluggishly oozed out.

Naraku scowled, glancing away from Kouga's angry eyes. "I don't beat her. I gently remind her why I'm the man in the relationship." He thought back on the last few years. He didn't use to raise a hand against Kagome. But being an extremely powerful businessman came with consequences. Having to deal with all those assholes really took a toll on him, and it was Kagome's responsibility to be there to help him release his anger.

That was what she was good for. And he loved her for it.

Feeling his fist connect with her porcelain face was such a good feeling—it made him feel strong and secure in that strength. He couldn't imagine what it would be like if he couldn't have that release anymore.

He loved Kagome, and she loved him.

He smirked as he looked back up at Kouga. "I will find her." That was all he said before Kouga's vision went black and the young man slid down to lay in a pool of his own blood in the dark, deserted alley in the busy city of Tokyo.

Hours later, a man passing by the mouth of the alley managed to look over at just the right time to notice an unmoving lump just beyond where the sunshine ended. A small rivulet of blood had begun to creep down the concrete, and the man took a step closer. "What that—?" he began, cutting himself off when he finally recognized the bloody lump as a body. "Oh, shit! Someone call an ambulance! Help!"

A woman glanced at the older gentleman, startled, and quickly pulled out her cell phone and started to phone the hospital.

"It'll be okay," she reassured the bleeding, unconscious man as she came to stand over him, next to the other concerned citizen. She could see that he was bruised and bleeding along every inch of exposed skin.


Inuyasha looked at the woman sitting across from him in the expensive leather booth. Smiling cockily, he asked, "Is now later enough to ask about what happened to you last night?"

Kagome looked up from where she was stirring her iced tea with a straw. Rolling her eyes before plopping her head on an extended hand, she stated simply, "I was followed last night."

Inuyasha dropped his smirk in surprise and quickly quirked an eyebrow in curiosity. That was not what he expected; of course he had no idea what to expect from this woman anymore, not that he ever had. Sighing and yawning, the blue-eyed woman attempted to look as bored and nonchalant as she could; it wasn't fooling her boss. "Well?" Inuyasha encouraged her impatiently.

Kagome looked up. "Well, what? There isn't much more to say."

Inuyasha leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms behind his head. "Right." He chewed his lip in boredom.

The waitress, Nazuna, came and cleared away the dishes. She was too busy with her main job to recognize Kagome as one of the women from the SHA, where she worked a shift once a week. Inuyasha laid a pile of bills on top of the glass table while Kagome stood up and stretched. "Thanks," she forced out around a yawn.

"No problem," Inuyasha muttered as he led them back to the car. Hopping back inside, he pointed the silver nose of the convertible in the direction of the office and subconsciously checked his review mirror.


"Mmph," Kouga groaned as he opened his eyes, his throat too sore to make issue a more understandable word. It was only after a few blurry, slanted, disconcerting moments that he realized that one of his eyes was swollen completely shut. "What happened?" he asked no one in particular, since he could only see the ceiling. He hoped he wasn't alone in the room.

"You got into a bad fight," a nurse muttered as she readjusted Kouga's IV.

Kouga carefully turned his head on his sore neck and looked the nametag that said 'Kaede' on the nurse's uniform, and then up to the older woman's face.

She looked down at the poor young man. She was volunteering at the hospital that day since so many of the younger nurses had called in sick. Sango was home, so Kaede, who worked for the brunette as the 'nanny,' wasn't really needed to watch the boys. Of course, neither of the adults recognized the other for who they were since they had never met.

Kaede and Kouga didn't know they were connected.

Kouga nodded, his face going limp as he remembered the confrontation with Naraku. It had happened just around noon. "What time is it?"

Kaede glanced at the clock hanging on the wall behind the bed's headboard. "6:35 in the evening."

"What?" Kouga roared as he leaped up out of the hospital bed before quickly falling back down in a spasm of pain.

Kaede looked at him with an amused expression on her face. "Problem?" she asked calmly.

Kouga closed his eyes and moaned. Great, just great! I come looking for Kagome to catch up with her and end up in the hospital because of her abusive boyfriend. "No," he ground out.

Kaede raised an ancient gray eyebrow before walking away without another word.


"Bet you can't catch me!" Kohaku yelled as he raced backwards looking at Souta and Shippou who were frantically trying to keep up.

"Can, too!" Souta hollered back.

Kohaku turned back face forward and slowed down at the edge of the forest. Normally, the group of trees gave the young boy a sense of protection and welcome, but today it felt foreboding. Sango's younger brother stared intently into the green foliage, trying to figure out why he was feeling so creeped out.

Souta caught up to him and bent over, hands on knees, trying to catch his breath. Shippou came bounding over just seconds afterward.

"What's wrong?" Souta asked, panting as he peered up at Kohaku, who was only a year older than himself.

Kohaku turned back to answer with curious brown eyes when a voice stopped him.

"Why nothing is, is it?" a cool voice called out from behind a rather large oak tree.

Souta looked up into the crimson eyes of the man he had thought he had escaped from. He squeaked in surprise, and his pale face went slack. Shippou shivered uncontrollably and clung to his uncle's leg. He whimpered and gazed at the dew-kissed grass that was just now showing death for the upcoming winter, but only in the spot where Naraku had chosen to stand.

Kohaku looked at his new friends' terrified faces and bit back his own horror. He gazed coolly up at the stranger's face and determinedly stated, "This is private property owned by my sister and myself, and you are trespassing."

Naraku glared at the young man. He then looked into the faces of Souta and Shippou. "Good to see you, boys," he stated calmly.

Souta started to shiver like Shippou and just gazed back at the man.

Naraku had never hit Souta and Shippou; he had never needed to since he had Kagome. But the boys had had to watch in terror every time that this man had hurt the most important person in their lives. And they had been powerless to stop him. Naraku smirked at the horror-stricken children. He turned to Souta, who seemed to have the most grasp on the situation. "Tell your sister we'll be together again real soon," he stated in his low, collected voice before stalking back into the darkness of the forest.

Kohaku watched him leave before turning back to the terrified, silent boys. "Let's go," he ordered, pushing at them to get their feet moving.

The three walked back to the mansion in a disturbed silence.

Suddenly, the bright pink and orange sunset didn't seem as spectacular anymore.

Laughter filled the great hall. The four adults were sitting around the mahogany dining table playing a card game. Plates full of picked at and uneaten food had been pushed down to the unused half of the table to wait for later. A glass of rose-colored wine was clutched in each of their hands as they joked about odds and ends, the events of the past day forgotten.

That is, until the three boys entered.

Kagome was the first to notice their presence and quickly bit off her giggles. Standing up, she knocked down her chair in her haste and raced to the pale children. Kagome patted each one down, attempting to find any injuries, and her blue eyes turned stormy with worry. "What happened?" she demanded breathlessly.

Shippou was too shaken up to do anything but attach himself unmoving to Kagome's chest, and Kohaku didn't know enough to offer a full explanation. Everyone's eyes moved to Souta. He breathed deeply in an attempt to calm his pounding heart. Looking up at his older sister, his deep chocolate eyes filled with unmasked fear and worry. "Naraku," he whispered staring at his sister in terror, his lower lip trembling. He felt weak.

Kagome shook visibly, and it did not go unnoticed by anyone in the room. Sango's smile slid off her face, Miroku looked disgusted, and Inuyasha's face filled with pure fury. Kagome paled and looked at her small family with wide eyes. Tears welled up, but she refused to let them fall as she choked out, "He found us."

Inuyasha clenched his jaw in an attempt to keep from showing his annoyance by yelling at the poor girl for stating the obvious.

Souta leaned in towards his older sibling, and Kagome wrapped an arm around him as Shippou clung between them trying to stay strong for his adopted mother's sake. Kagome looked up at her new friends, the people she had come to trust so quickly and completely. And they all saw the pain unveiled in her eyes. "We have to leave again."

Miroku and Sango stared at her, mirroring her pain. "No," Sango whispered. She didn't want to lose her friend, especially if it meant that Kagome was just going out to possibly get hurt again.

"She doesn't have to."

The three adults, and three kids, turned to stare at the one who had spoken.

Inuyasha gazed calmly back while leaning into his chair.

Kagome's sadness and fear turned to anger. "What is wrong with you? You can't just offer something, just to tease someone! You have to mean it! This is not a joke," she raged.

Inuyasha seemed unaffected by her accusing tone. "I'm not joking," he replied. "I'm serious."

Kagome's face went slack, and she opened her mouth only to close it again in confusion.

"My, and my brother's, mansion has a top of the line security system. Every entry to the grounds is videotaped by a non-hackable camera. The cameras are watched by an on-duty guard every second of every day. The halls of my home are like a giant labyrinth, and you could get lost if you didn't know the place."

It was like he was dangling a string of hope before her eyes, and like a drowning victim, Kagome latched on. "Are you sure you wouldn't mind?" she whispered timidly.

Inuyasha looked at her coolly, a smug smirk tugging at his lips. "Of course not." Almost as an afterthought, he added, "I don't like to see my friends, Sango and Miroku, upset."

Kagome turned away quickly, so he wouldn't see the tears welling up in her eyes. Am I really that unimportant? Miroku and Sango were too busy celebrating Kagome's stay to see how upset she still was. But Inuyasha did.

"I'm going to put the young ones to bed," Kagome said quietly as she crept up stairs, still keeping her eyes averted. "Good night," she called over her shoulder.

Sango and Miroku just chatted away, but Inuyasha watched her with heavy eyes as Kagome crawled out of the room.

Why'd you go and do that. I thought we agreed to be nice to her! The voice was back.

'NOT YOU AGAIN!'


"Kagura, I contacted Juuroumaru. He agreed to help you with the technical difficulties," a whispery voice told her older sister over the phone.

"Thank you, Kanna," Kagura said affectionately. Kanna had always been a bit subdued since the death of their parents, which was made all the more depressing considering Kanna was only as old as Souta. As a child that young, she should be overflowing with joy and energy. "Make sure he doesn't screw this up. Naraku will skin us alive if the information doesn't come in soon," Kagura added in her regular harsh voice, striving to sound professional.

A ghost of a smile passed over Kanna's pale face back in Kagura's office in Kyoto, unseen by her sister over the phone. She really did love her sister, even if neither of them showed it very publicly.

Kagura slammed the cell phone's flap shut and continued to stare at the mansion through the twilight.

Why Kagome? I warned you, I tried to tell you. You just didn't listen. Kagura mentally chided the ebony-haired girl she could see tucking her son and brother into bed through a third story window.

I tried.


Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow at his younger sibling back at their rather large home. Inuyasha had just arrived home to explain to Sesshoumaru that Kagome Shashu, their secretary, was moving in with them.

"Why?" Sesshoumaru asked simply. Not that he would mind sharing his home with another person; the castle was large enough that he'd more than likely not see anyone for an entire day even if he spent that day wondering all the halls looking for one.

Yes. Castle. Inutaisho, the Youkai brothers' father, had found an old, magnificent castle that had been built in the feudal era. It was only one level, but it sprawled out and took up nearly two acres of land.

It was unbelievably large.

Green-rolling hills surrounded the tan, stone building. Inutaisho had remodeled the castle. All modern appliances had been added and carpet layered every floor. The ceiling had been reinforced and the crumbling walls rebuilt.

Inuyasha sighed and then continued to explain Kagome's problem, just without too many details. Once he was done, Sesshoumaru nodded his permission and walked off to prepare for bed. Kagome wouldn't be too bad to live with, he decided.

Plus, he didn't really care.

Although he felt the oddest feeling of wanting to keep her protected.

Probably something that had to do with her situation with the Shippou child Inuyasha had mentioned, which was something he could relate to.

Next Chapter: At the Hospital