The Club

Christielea54

Chapter Six

It was about half past six when all the customers started to trickle in. The small town they lived in knew about the third Saturday band, and boy did they love it! All the teenagers would come and talk and dance and sing and have fun.

Kagome was running around serving sodas and waters to everyone that she could when the band finally showed up. Even from across the room Kagome could see the look of longing on Inuyasha's face as they set up.

It was right then that she promised herself that she's do whatever she could to help him get over his fear of performing, because that's what it was – a fear. And Inuyasha was anything but a coward, just very private. And it was getting in the way of his dreams.

The band started to play, and the people started closing in around her as they began dancing to the music. Suddenly, she felt very out of place. She scurried back over next to Inuyasha behind the bar.

It was a just a random assortment of songs you could hear on the radio everyday, but they played the songs pretty well, and Kagome soon found herself bobbing her head along with the beat.

Kagome looked over at Inuyasha. So he didn't have a mother or a father? That must be terrible for him! He was probably just stage-shy because he hadn't had a family to support him when he was younger.

"I think it's great that you play guitar!" he yelled over the music.

"Huh?"

"Sometimes I wish I could play an instrument. It must be so fun!"

He stared at her for a long while, and then favored her with a particularly roguish grin. "I know what you're doing, you know."

"Do you?" she grinned right back at him.

"You're just trying to trick me into playing for you." He stuck his nose up into the air with mock haughtiness. Then again, with Inuyasha, it might not just be mock. "And I'm not going to fall for it!"

She rolled her eyes exasperatedly. "Inuyasha! I'm not trying to get you to play for me! I'm trying to get you to play for you!" She took a moment longer than was necessary looking into his honey warm eyes, before dropping her gaze to her watch. "I'm gonna take off early tonight, okay? Souta's birthday," she explained while heading for the door.

Inuyasha could only nod mutely as he mulled over what she had said. About playing for himself…

Either way, he still had to call dear old Sesshomaru tonight, and God only knew how much fun that was going to be.

Inuyasha was carrying boxes full of cups and napkins and such from the storage room in the back to under the bar top. He had a pair of headphones hanging around his neck with the volume turned up, and every time he walked by Kagome, she could hear the crinkling of the music coming from the headphone speakers. It was so distracting!

Well, she wasn't sure if it was the music, or just how close he was getting when he had to walk past her with the huge boxes in arm that was distracting. But she tried not to focus on that small detail.

She shook her head in attempt to clear it as she turned her attention back to the inventory papers she was supposed to be filling out and mailing to Sesshomaru.

She heard the panicked sounds coming from the doorway before she saw him. She looked up to see a small boy no taller than four feet with a ruffled mop of very orange hair come in.

Or more like run in and skid to a stop with tears just pouring down his face. "Oh my god," she breathed, as he turned to her with desperate eyes. Terrified eyes. Eyes in the most unique shade of green she'd ever seen.

Inuyasha's still topped his though.

She ran over to him, and kneeled down so as to be at eye level. "What's wrong?"

"Parents – guy – drunk – they're – where?!?!" was all she managed to get from his high-pitched broken wailing. She didn't know what to do with him!

Inuyasha walked back in, setting down the box when he saw the crying boy. "What's with the kid?" he asked.

Kagome turned to him, full of worry. She hadn't understood much of what he'd told her, but she did catch something about being drunk. Was he being abused? She didn't know how to deal with domestic violence! "We need to help him," she said slowly, unsure of herself.

Inuyasha raised his eyebrows. Some kid needed their help? But on closer inspection he noticed the tears sliding down the squirts face. Had he lost his candy or something?

"What do we do?" Kagome whispered to him.

He rolled his eyes and squatted down next to the boy. "What's your name runt?"

"Sh-Shippo." He might have said more, but at that moment the door bells chimed again as the door was quite forcefully pushed open, and a very drunk, very sleazy looking man fell in. Kagome could smell the alcohol from all the way across the room. She also noticed the way Shippo cringed when he saw the door open.

Inuyasha took one glance at the man before looking back at Shippo. It didn't take a brain surgeon to figure out what was going on. Sure he was sketchy on the details, but those weren't important.

Kagome on the other hand still didn't know what was going on, but one look at Inuyasha and she knew what was going to happen. That dark look from before had returned to his features.

Amazingly slowly he cracked the knuckles on his hands and strode over to the drunkard. Inuyasha knew what it was like to have a bad childhood. He wasn't going to let that happen to anyone else! Not on his watch!

And for the second time in a week, Kagome watched Inuyasha punch some ones lights out.

The man was really too drunk to even see it coming, but Kagome saw the way Inuyasha moved, and couldn't help but notice that he was a natural fighter. You could just tell. She wondered, if in another place, and in another time, would Inuyasha have been good enough to be the kind of warrior that old legends spoke of? She smiled at herself. That's what you get for living with my grandfather. Thoughts of old legends. Ugh.

At any rate, Inuyasha would definitely think he was.

The minute the drunk hit the floor, Shippo broke. Completely broke. He started to sob loudly, and he sank to the floor on his knees.

Call it maternal instinct, but even though Kagome still didn't know what was going on, she just couldn't let him sit there like that and cry his poor heart out! Because that's the kind of sobs they were. That soul-moving heart-wrenching type. She rushed over to him, slipped her arms around his tiny form, and rocked him back and forth.

All the noise had Miroku come running out of the back room to see what was happening.

Inuyasha spoke first, his voice rough and hauntingly sad. "You better call the police."

After a while they were finally able to get Shippo calm enough to explain what had happened. "He lived… in the apartment above us. Came downstairs this morning," he was sniffling uncontrollably. After a long pause he was able to continue. "With a g-g-gun!"

"You don't have to do this if you're not up for it Shippo," Kagome gently told the boy in her lap.

"No," Miroku warned quietly. "Let him get it out."

"Wanted me as a hostage for getting some money. I got out, but my mom and daddy, th-they, th-they… he shot them!" he finished with a shout as he dissolved into hysteric tears again.

"What's the bad man's name?" Kagome asked softly while smoothing his hair. She really hadn't been expecting to be playing mother to some distraught boy she didn't even know that day, but she didn't have it in her not to hold him.

"It-"

"It doesn't matter," Inuyasha cut him off firmly. "Don't worry about him anymore twerp. He doesn't deserve a name."

Inuyasha was acting lightly about the whole thing, but Kagome could see through him like glass. Cloudy glass, to be sure, but still glass. Behind his many fronts she was sure, beyond a doubt, that Inuyasha had a heart of gold. He just didn't like to show it.

"It'll be okay honey," Kagome heard herself whispering over the background noise of the police sirens wailing through the night sky. "It'll be okay."

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It's just so sad!

I think Hojo will be the blind date, but don't worry, Kouga's definitely in it too! How though…

Remember, reviews are welcome!