Disclaimer: Hum dee dum… what? Oh okay… Inuyasha and co. doesn't belong to me. I just like to play with them, so don't sue me!!
Oh, wow! I didn't know so many people would respond to my author's note! Thank you! I now have 34 reviews!!!! I'm so happy! And some of you had really good ideas too! I luv ya all! I was going to say more but now I can't seem to remember… so on with the chapter!
Ch. 6
Kagome didn't know what woke her. A great warmth surrounded her very being and that was all she could comprehend. The warmth made her feel so safe and cared for that she felt as if she was melting on the inside. She opened her eyes and Inuyasha's peacefully sleeping face greeted her. Kagome smiled, his face was completely smooth and at ease. The eyebrows that were usually scrunched up in a scowl were relaxed, making his face more vulnerable and sweet. His arms were wrapped around her waist possessively and she snuggled closer to him, basking in the warmth that emanated from his body. She wished she could stay like this forever.
"Comfortable?" Inuyasha asked with an amused voice. Kagome jumped in his arms.
"You were awake?" She asked meekly.
He grinned arrogantly.
The phone on the bedside table rung. Kagome looked at him questioningly. He rarely ever got phone calls. Inuyasha answered it, still hugging Kagome with one arm.
"Hello?… Oh, it's you.… Right now?… Fine. Give me a few minutes then… Ok. Bye." He hung up.
"Who was it?" Kagome asked curiously.
"Naoko."
"Who?" Her eyebrows lifted in confusion.
Inuyasha sighed, he knew he would have to tell her sooner or later. "He's my boss."
"You go to work?" She blurted out, disbelief was evident in her voice.
He growled in annoyance, "Is there something so wrong about that?"
Kagome blushed, "Sorry, I just can't imagine you behind a desk typing on some computer."
"That's because I don't. I'm an assassin." Inuyasha told her quietly and let it sink in.
"You're a what?!" Kagome exploded. "Why didn't you tell me? I can't believe you kill people as a living! Why didn't you tell me earlier? Didn't you trust me?"
"No I didn't trust you! It was too early!" He snapped at her angrily.
"Why are you so angry?"
"I'm NOT angry!"
"THEN STOP SHOUTING!"
"I'M NOT SHOUTING!" Inuyasha seethed. He immediately let go of her waist and pinned her to the bed by her wrists. He bared his fangs, suddenly acting more demonic as his eyes tinged crimson.
"Inuyasha?" Kagome asked timidly. She hadn't meant to set him of so much. And for once, she became afraid of him. Gently, she cupped his cheek in her hand and stroked lightly, "Are you okay?"
The red coloring in his eyes dissipated at once and the regular amber took its place. His features softened instantly and he took a deep shuddering breath as he sat back on his feet. "Kagome… I almost hurt you. No one has ever stood up to me like that before. I'm so… sorry."
Kagome gaped, he was apologizing? She sat closer to him and felt his forehead, "Are you sure you're not sick or something…?"
"This is serious!" He snapped at her. Kagome removed her hand and fought the urge to twiddle her thumbs. She stared into his golden eyes and he stared into her odd blue-gray depths. They were both entranced and began to lean toward each other unconsciously. They were mere inches apart when the phone rang again breaking the atmosphere. They leapt away from each other with burning faces. Inuyasha grabbed at the phone, "What do you want?" He asked rudely. "Oh, it's you again… What?! No way!… Ok, fine. It better be good though. Bye." He said gruffly.
"Naoko again?"
"Yeah."
"Who is Naoko? I mean I know he's your boss but…"
"He used to be part of the Organization, but when he tried something without Sesshomaru's permission and he was fired. But he strongly believes in protecting people from demons so he continues to fight them by hiring people like me as assassins. Why do you think I'm so rich? I get paid a lot because I endanger my life by doing this job. And now he wants me to bring the Jewel of the Four Souls."
"Oh, but why?"
"He wants to explain some things." Inuyasha got out of bed and pulled Kagome out with him.
"Can I come?" She asked hopefully.
"Um… maybe it would be better if you stayed home this time."
"Ok. I'll respect your decision, Inuyasha, because I trust you. I trust you with my life."
~*~*~*~*~
Inuyasha rung the doorbell of the fancy house and then rapped at the door three short times. A young fox child opened the door. He was no taller than Inuyasha's knee. It was a wonder how he actually managed to open the door. He wore a thick fur vest and a blue T-shirt underneath that and dark blue jeans. A mop of unruly, orange hair covered the top of his head and was pulled into a little ponytail. He looked mostly human except for a large furry tail and small fox like feet.
"Hey Inuyasha!" The little boy hopped excitedly.
"Hey, squirt," he answered, "I need to talk to your dad."
"This way!" He skipped down the hall and Inuyasha followed with his hands stuffed in his pant pockets. Once the boy reached their destination, he gave the wooden door a small tap and it opened to reveal an older version of the boy. The man had tired-looking green eyes and his orange hair was even messier than his son's.
"Thank you, Shippo," the man said kindly, "Go and play now."
"Yes, Papa!" Shippo said obediently and skipped away.
Inuyasha walked into the room, which was an office-type room with two long bookshelves lining the sidewalls. He saw that Miroku and Sango were there as well. They stood by a window at the back of the pentagon-shaped room. Both had serious looks on their faces and the way Sango gripped the side of the table nearby betrayed her impatience.
"About time you got here," she said tightly.
He gave her a halfhearted glare before turning back to Naoko, "So what did you call me here for? This better not be a waste of my time."
"You don't have to worry about that," Naoko said wearily, "Did you bring the Jewel of the Four Souls?"
Inuyasha's hand flew automatically to his pocket and fingered the jewel, confirming for what seemed like the millionth time that it was there. "Yes. Why did you want me to bring it?"
"I wanted to make sure it was safe." He replied simply. "And now I want to discuss a demon that connects all of us similarly." Sango's grip on the table increases. "Miroku, why don't you start."
"Gladly," Miroku stepped forward, "As you all know, I have a curse in my right hand that sucks up anything in its path when uncovered and will someday suck me up. But I've never told anyone of who caused the curse." He paused for dramatic effect, but where he saw no one was paying him much attention, he continued, "Naraku was the one who placed this curse on my grandfather."
Inuyasha's gaze snapped to him, "What? Naraku did that? The Naraku? I thought he would have died or been killed by now."
Miroku shook his head, "Nope. He's still alive and as clever as ever. He's a shape shifter and so I can never track him down for that reason. He desires the Shikon Jewel above all else but we don't think it's because he wants more power. He's powerful enough, as it is. Sango, he's the demon who killed all you friends and family." He told Sango gently.
Sango let out a strangled yell of rage and it took all three of them to keep her from storming out the room and scouring ever crevice on the face of the earth for Naraku. She struggled with an almost demon strength. "Please, Sango!" Miroku panted, "Hear the rest of it first!"
"Let go of me," Sango snarled, "I will destroy this Naraku, who has slain my kin!"
A clawed hand found its way to her throat and squeezed lightly in warning. With a defeated growl, she ceased struggling and let her arms hang by her side, limp. "Don't move again, Sango, or you'll regret it." Inuyasha threatened. He shot his gaze at Miroku, "Continue."
Miroku nodded, "Thank you, Inuyasha, but I have nothing more to add. I give you the floor, Naoko."
Naoko gave a nod of his own and began, "I also have a grudge against Naraku. He killed my wife because she got in the way of his plans to obtain the Shikon Jewel one hundred years ago."
Inuyasha looked at him in surprise, "You mean Shippo's at least a hundred years old?"
Naoko looked at a picture of his family sadly, "Yes, demons ago slower and without the care of his mother, Shippo aged twice as slow as the average demon."
Inuyasha snorted, "Bull shit. I never had a mother's attention when I was a child. My mother died in labor, but you don't see me as a toddler, do you?"
"You sure act like one…" Miroku muttered.
"What'd you say?!" Inuyasha snapped.
"Anyway," Naoko interrupted, "back to our discussion. Inuyasha, Naraku affects you as well. You see, it was because of him that Kikyo died."
"What?!" Inuyasha gave a lethal growl, his eyes flashed in anger. In a blink of an eye, he had him in the air by his throat. "Don't fuck with me. This had better mot be your idea of a joke, you bastard!" Naoko stared back at him levelly and Inuyasha slowly lowered him back to the ground and folded his arms stubbornly.
Naoko straightened his shirt and continued, "From out spies, we have discovered that amazingly enough, Naraku really is a half demon because the devil that controlled Onigumo could never completely flush out the human in him. He desires the jewel to turn him into a full demon, just like what you wished all those years ago, Inuyasha. He overheard the conversation that you and Lady Kikyo had about using the jewel to become human. He called on thousands of demons to distract you. Then, he sent thousands of demons to Kikyo's village and while she was fighting them, Naraku changed his form to mimic yours and dealt her the fatal blow and took the jewel. He went straight to you side at the battle and planted the jewel close to you. And… well, you know the rest." Inuyasha's hands clenched at his sides, blood running from his punctured palms.
"Naraku…" he spoke slowly, "IS DEAD!"
Naoko sidestepped in front of the door and held up his hands, "Patience, Inuyasha. We are all suffering. There is also one more thing I'd like you to know. Naraku was the one who ordered Kouga to burn down Kagome's house. He hoped that it would kill her. He senses her as a threat and will take any opportunity to kill her. If Naraku believes Kagome could be an obstacle, she will become immensely valuable to us. Now, Inuyasha, where is she?"
Inuyasha's blood ran cold. He had left her all by herself at home. He assumed that if he took the Jewel of the Four Souls with him, she wouldn't be in any danger. He never thought that she could be a target, "Shit."
"You left Kagome at your apartment alone?!" Sango yelled, "How utterly moronic! You could have called someone to watch over her!"
"Like who?!" He yelled back, letting his frustration boil over, "This is not the time!" He was about to rush out the door when Naoko held him back again. "Now what do you want?!" He snarled harshly.
"Inuyasha, I know you have to get home, but I need you to watch over Shippo for me. I'm going out to retrieve some information about Naraku."
"What?!" He sputtered. He jerked his chin toward Miroku and Sango, "Why don't you let them take care of the runt?"
"Because they have a job to go to! Please, Inuyasha," Naoko glared at him.
"Fine!" He snapped, "Just hurry!"
Naoko gave a high-pitched whistle and Shippo came tumbling through the door within seconds. He came to a halt at his father's feet, "Yes, Papa?"
He knelt down before his son and spoke gently, "Shippo, Papa will be going out again. Will you be a good boy and stay with Inuyasha while I'm gone?"
"Yes, Papa," Shippo said with perfect trust. He watched as his father's form morphed into that of an orange fox and then dashed out the open door. Shippo barely had time to strut proudly over to where Inuyasha stood before he was snatched up by his shirt collar and whisked him out the door. "Where are we going?" He asked a worried looking Inuyasha.
"My home," he replied shortly. He hopped over rooftops gracefully and sped through the streets faster than any car could have taken him, fear driving him forward. His apartment door opened with a bang, as he surveyed the room. His agitation grew when he heard not the slightest sound.
"Kagome?" He called out. Nothing. No sound of a voice responding, no sound of running water, not even the sound of the ruffle of clothing. Nothing. Just a complete silence. Fear and worry etched itself in his face as he searched through each room, flinging doors open and calling her name. Finally, he came to his own room and found a note tacked to his door. It read in scrawny letters:
Inuyasha-We have the girl. If you want her back, bring the Shikon Jewel to us at the base of
our mountain. You should know where it is.
- The Thunder Brothers
Inuyasha's hands shook as he read it. How dare they. HOW DARE THEY?! He screamed in his mind. He viciously shredded the paper, venting his rage upon it. He crumpled up the scrapes into a ball and threw it with all his might out the open window from which the kidnappers must have made their escape.
"The Thunder Brothers?" Shippo squeaked from his perch on Inuyasha's shoulder. His normally cheerful voice had become high pitched in fear. "They're the ones who killed Mum!" He cried in anguish.
"I thought Naraku killed your mother?"
"The Thunder Brothers killed my Mum but it was Naraku who order them to do it. They're ruthless demons and the only reason they work for Naraku is because they were promised great power and wealth. If you don't go today, they'll kill Kagome!"
Ah, shit, Inuyasha thought, Why did they pick today out of all days to fight me? This battle better end before sunset or else… he trailed off and glanced at his watch. It read 10:44.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Shippo asked, "Go rescue her!"
"I don't know where they live," he said, a bit ashamed.
"I do!" Shippo piped, "Papa goes there all the time to get information on Naraku. I can lead you!"
~*~*~*~*~
Lightning crackled in the sky and thunder boomed in the distance as Inuyasha and Shippo stood at the base of the mountain of the Thunder Brothers. Shippo shivered at the evil aura in the air and even Inuyasha could barely suppress a shudder of his own. The mountain loomed over them and half-way up was the gaping hole of a cave mouth. Inuyasha's sharp eyes caught a movement at the cave and slowly, a man walked out with Kagome's arm gripped tightly in his left hand.
"Kagome!" Inuyasha called out in worry.
"Inuyasha!" She responded happily. The man trightened his grip and Inuyasha glared at him. He looked mostly human, except for his pointed ears and red eyes. He wore an old-style kimono and had his long black hair in a braid down his back. In his right hand, he held a two-pronged pike threateningly at Kagome's throat. It wasn't very close to her, but that seemed to be because blue lightning blazed dangerously from the blades. Flaming wheels burned at his heels. Inuyasha was prepared to scale the mountain and strangle him, but the man held the pike closer to Kagome's throat and a stray wisp of lightning prickled her. She gave a small cry of pain.
"Don't make a move, whelp, or your woman here dies. Now, toss the jewel up to me nice and carefully. If anything happens to it, I won't hesitate to cut off this girl's pretty little head."
"That's Hiten," Shippo whispered into Inuyasha's ear, "He's the older brother and very dangerous. The younger brother, Manten, must be somewhere else. If I were you, I'd just give him the stupid rock. Hiten most definitely will carry out his threat if you try to fight him." He advised.
Inuyasha gave a low growl of frustration, Kagome.
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Well, how was that? Tell me! And I remember what I was going to say. I was thinking if I should change the rating of this story. I originally was going to make it PG-13 but I thought the beginning was a little gory so I made it rated R. Now I don't think that just a little gore will cut it for an R rated fic. So if you reviewers think that this story should be rated PG-13 please let me know!
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Review Responses~*~*~
Lord-Hiei: Well, I wasn't able to update as fast as you probably would have thought, but I tried my best! LOL, a cook are we? I do like pies and brownies though, thank you! LOL. Review again!
Leomae108: Thank you, Leomae108! I'll hope that their relationship will really start going after the fight with the Thunder Brothers. Inuyasha might kill Kouga, but well, after Naraku finds that he didn't kill Kagome again, what do you think will happen to him? LOL. Sorry, if you really hate Kouga, but I don't hate him that much. If there was anyone else who could've fit that role as perfectly as him, then I would have used the other character, but there is no one else, so… yeah… Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Ja ne!
Geminidragon: Don't worry, I wasn't offended. The only reason I like Kagome running to Kouga is because it makes Inuyasha jealous and protective and that's so kawaii! LOL. Thank you!
Isa: Funny version of my name! LOL, but I don't mind. The only reason I thought of this name was because one of my friends usually calls me Catty as a variation of my name and I thought why not cattykit instead of kittycat? Anyway, LOL I told you to read the chapter all the way through first! Thank you so much! This review means a lot to me!
Evilbunnies: Thank you! Sorry I can't use your ideas though, I had my own idea, but thanks anyway! Haha, I really didn't rush for this chapter. It took me forever to get it written. Review again!
kokoro: Thank you so much! And that's all I can say as well! Ja!
moonlight: Hi, moonlight! Woah, long review, but I love it! You have such great ideas! Thank you for taking the time to let me know! I think I'll take your Kikyo idea and perhaps the Kouga one too! That's is if Inuyasha and Naraku don't kill him first! Wow, is all I can say! I hope this story could be as great and as long as some of those stories I've read! Thank youX1000!
Tenseiga: Thank you for your ideas! I think I will have a lot of comforting in this story because it's also an angst story. I love angst stories! Expect a lot of them from me. I love the feeling of my heart twinging when I read something particularly sad and dramatic. An angst story with a happy story makes me really happy and relieved while an angst story with a sad ending really makes me appreciate what I have. They're always good lessons in life. Haha, 'mushy stuff' is exactly what he said! He has an interesting attitude, but it's those attitudes that makes a person unique and special. Thank you for your review! Please, review again!
Tetsusaiga: Hm, if this isn't considered hotheaded then, I don't want to see what you're like when you are mad. LOL-- jk. LOL, well, I respect your thoughts and I don't mind if you think this story is too 'mushy', it is a romance/angst genre after all. I hope you liked the beginning at least. I'll try to make the battles more gory, there's a battle coming up this next chapter. I could give you a whole lecture on your attitude, but I won't. If that's just you, then there's nothing I can do about that, plus you probably get it from lots of people so I won't nag. Don't be afraid to express your opinions! Thanks!
Rindi: LOL, thanks! I know, it's kind of hard to understand, but just bear with me! I wanted it to be different form the original story but at the same time, have it on the same concept. Don't hate Kouga just because of this story though! He's a relatively good guy, I just had no one else to put in his place. Thank you!
Kristy-Chan: Thank you! I'll try to write as fast as I can! I'm a hopeless romantic too! Why do you think I wrote a romance fic? I love it, I love it, I love it! LOL. Thanks for your review!
Leomae108: See I told you Sesshomaru wasn't going to kidnap Kagome. In my story, he wouldn't have stooped so low. I love your idea about Kikyo though! I am most certainly going to use it! That is if I can find a place to fit it in! Thank you for your ideas! They really help!
Chibi InuKago Chan: Thank you! And don't worry, their relationship will definitely get stronger!