Disclaimer: I don't own any Inuyasha cast members (I know, plain and boring, but how well?)
AN: Hiiiiiiiiiiiii!!! Whootwhoot! I finally have a story up and running! So all comments, suggestions…. even flames, are welcomed! I know I could use lots of help in my writing style, thanks and enjoy! ::Runs behind curtain bashfully::
Chapter 1
Raise The Roof
It was a gorgeous day out in the Wild West. The cattle were grazing, the birds were chirping happily, and all was peaceful and quiet…… except for the loud gunshots being fired and the thundering pound of hooves on the dry, parched dirt. It was a hard sight to miss for bystanders…
In the lead, just barely, a young cowboy with wild, untamed silver hair whipped around his face as he glanced over his shoulder at the Calvary of sheriffs behind him. There must've been a good 7-10 men on horseback, firing pistols at the young rider. He dodged them with accuracy and agility of that of a professional outlaw.
" Inuyasha!! You're at the end of the line, you'll never be able to out run all of us!" One man yelled from the pack the was closing in on him.
Inuyashas horse was beginning to tire and slow it's pace from a full out run to a fast gallop. He didn't blame the pour animal, it was only a simple plow horse he stole from a farmer, and he'd been running since the last town which was a good hour or two away by now.
He quickly turned to sit on the back of the horse, now facing the charging sheriffs, and began firing. If he was going to die, he mind as well take as many down as he can with him right?
He'd managed to shoot down a few until a silver bullet grazed his right shoulder, causing the pistol he was using to fall from his grip.
" Shit!" He cursed loudly. There was a large, deep cut now etched into his sweaty, tanned skin. The pain seared through his entire arm, making it impossible for him to use it to turn back around on the horse.
Before Inuyasha had time to react, a man with long black, wavy hair, presumably the leader, was riding along side him. His eyes dark, fuelled by hatred and mystery. Even mounted on the horse, Inuyasha noticed how tall and broad he was, giving off an intimidating aura.
Inuyasha recognized this man.
He was Naraku. Known for being a ruthless, fearless deputy, supposedly a lawful hero in public eyes. But behind closed doors, he's no better then the outlaws he hunts. Naraku saw the recognition in Inuyashas eyes and smirked cruelly.
"Hello Inuyasha. You seem to be in a bit of a sticky situation." He cackled lightly, taking in Inuyashas fear with amusement. Inuyashas eyes widened in realization as he felt a cold, silver barrel being held at his chest. And before he could react, all his surroundings turned hazy as black consumed his conciseness.
Naraku came to a skidding halt, smirking with satisfaction as the rest of the riders came to his side, waiting for their next order.
"Men, our job is done here."
"But boss….. Shouldn't we retrieve the body?" One man asked skeptically from the crowd. Naraku snorted.
"His horse was already on it's last leg, both will disintegrate in the barren desert before anyone finds a trace of the dust of his bones." And with that final not, the cavalry slowly trotted off into the middle of no where in particular, looking for the next outlaw to terrorize.
Night had come swiftly and quietly that evening, and the brown plow horse had kept on trucking in all desperate attempts to make it to town. Even though his body was giving up, his spirit wasn't. And he ran, and ran, until it was almost too dark to see the cactuses in front of you.
The horse spotted a water bucket where other younger, healthier horses were tied up. He trotted slowly over to it, still aware that Inuyasha was dangling from the side of his saddle… still breathing.
Delicately, the horse pulled Inuyasha off of his saddle with its overly large teeth and dropped him into the water bucket, instantly sending him into a shocking and painful awakening. He gasped and hacked loudly for a good 5 minutes until he finally came to his senses. The pain in his chest was burning like a torch was being burned into his skin.
He grabbed his chest and cringed.
"Where am I?" He looked around, not recognizing his surroundings. When he turned around, he found a very large, wet horse nose in his face.
"AAAAAAAHHHH!" He screamed, falling out of the watery bed.
"Jesus, your still alive?" He said flatly with a sarcastic tone. The horse just snorted at him and turned away.
"You stupid donkey, where the hell did you drag me off too?" He stood up glancing around quickly. The town was almost completely deserted, no lights were on, except for down the road, at what seemed to be a saloon, that was very loud and very busy.
Inuyasha groaned, he had to figure out where he was, and that seemed like the only place to go to. He hated being in busy places with obnoxious people.
"GGRRRRRRRRRR!!!!" His stomach gave an ear deafening grumble, causing the horses and even some dogs that were roaming around to look at him.
"What are you all staring at?!" He yelled embarrassingly. Walking over to the brown plow horse, he tore off a piece of cloth from the blanket and tied it tightly around his jest to stop the bleeding. Holstering his Gold and Ruby embroider pistol, he ran a finger along the tip of his cowboy hat in a cocky manner and took off towards the saloon, his spurs clicking lightly along the ground.
"Heeeey Kagome!!!!! Hows 'bout anoder round 'a beer for de boys an' me?" A potbellied older man hollered. He sat at a table with about three other men, all three faces painted a bright red from the consumed alcohol, and they all adorned gray and white bushy mustaches, some connecting into side burns and others into beards.
They held up their empty mugs of, what used to be filled to the brim with bubbling beer, to a young waitress carrying a tray of full mugs that looked to be much too heavy for her to handle. But she lowered it to the table of men with surprising strength and control.
"I think you boys have had about your fair share for the night hm?" She asked lightly smiling.
"Surely 15 rounds of beer is enough to have drowned the sorrows of your horrible lives away by now?"
"Aaaww, come on Kagome, you know the only reason we keep ordering more is so dat we kin see yo' pretty face hea'!" The three men slammed the glasses together and guzzled them down, one even fell onto the floor!
She laughed at the silly display finding it all too amusing, even though she sees this scene every day and night, she still gets enjoyment out of it.
She started her way behind the bar counter and leaned down behind it. Finding the necessary mixes she needed to make a few margaritas, she leaned back up onto the counter.
"Hiya Kag!" Came an over friendly masculine voice.
"Eeeep!" She squeaked, causing one of the glasses to fly into the air.
"Noooooo!" She yelled sliding onto the counter, catching it in the nick of time.
"Pheuw. That was close." Still lying on the counter, she turned her head towards the man who'd called her name. It was Miroku, one of her best friends since she'd moved into the small town years ago.
He sat their with a smirk of amusement written on his face. He wore a dark brown, leather cowboy hat that sat on his head of smooth black hair at an angle. He wore a brown vest with a simple white, long sleeved shirt underneath that was rolled up to his elbows with the last few buttons unbuttoned by his neck.
"Well It's about time this place got some exotic dancing entertainment! How much do I owe you?" He smirked suddenly, winking at her.
She got off the counter and put the glass down, twisting the bottle of lime juice off.
"Sorry Miroku, but if you want to pay someone to dance with you like THAT, go find Sango, she'd be more than happy to take up your offer" she replied sarcastically.
"Really?" He obviously didn't understand what sarcasm was…. She just rolled her eyes at him and pushed him away from the counter.
"Go get her, she's at the poker table dealing cards."
He shuffled off without a word of protest. Kagome wasn't born yesterday, she, along with the entire town, knew Miroku had a crush on Sango. But he was too shy to admit it, as was she. It was just so cute!! Miroku found his way to where Sango was and sat down.
"Hello Sango my dear! You look lovely tonight, count me in on this round of poker."
She acknowledged him by passing him a few cards, and turning her head away to hide the blush that was creeping up onto her cheeks…. and nose, and forehead…….ok, so her whole face was red now.
She couldn't help it! She had always harbored feelings for the overly perverted priest from the local church.
"Alright, starting pay is five bucks!" She yelled loudly over all the hollering of men.
"Ahhh, there's no one I'd rather lose my money to then you Sango!" Miroku smiled a toothy grin and she smirked.
"You'll be eating those words after a few rounds of losing…." And the game was on.
"Why don't we play to see who can win a date with Sango?" One man suggested. Miroku immediately lost the smile he was wearing. He was a pretty good player himself, but the idea of someone even suggesting that angered him.
Sango began to laugh, "As if any of you could beat me, I'm the best there is, and ya'll know that." Miroku smiled at her self confidence.
"I'm willing to take you up on that bet my dear man." He never took his eyes off Sango, and she immediately became fidgety.
"Well I'm the dealer and I say no…."
"Why are you acting so nervous, you ARE the best aren't you? So you shouldn't lose right?"
Damn, he was so stupidly right. She had said that, she was caught and there was no way out of it without looking like a wuss and losing her title as champ. She sighed deeply….. This was going to be a long night.
"Well…" she hesitated, "Let the games begin."
It was so noisy and bustling with people, no one even noticed as Inuyasha entered the little Saloon. He huffed, this thing was a joke! It was like some hole in the wall for men who never grew up….
He slowly stalked his way towards a small table in the back of the room and sat himself down. The Saloon was rather small compared to the others he's been in. It was overcrowded with people and tables, like someone had tried to stuff as many as they could and left enough room for people to barely squeeze by.
There was a poker table near the front that looked very inviting, but that's how he got into the last pickle he was in with Naraku…..gambling. It was just soooo tempting though! And who knows, maybe he'll actually win money one of these times.
What surprised him was that the dealer was female. Now, there's a sight ya don't see everyday. He looked over at the round bar in the center of the room and noticed another woman serving And making the drinks… he didn't even know woman knew the differences between alcohol!
This place was just so backwards it began to give him a headache. He suddenly noticed someone approaching him with a tray of beer, it was the girl he saw at the bar.
He scowled. He took in her long, silky black hair that seemed to glow in the dim lighting. She had wide, almost innocent looking eyes that were painted the color of the sky which captivated his attention.
Her legs were long and slim, as they delicately carried her fragile body over to him. She wore a red corset that was tied tightly around her chest, and a small black skirt that went way above her knees, luckily she was wearing some white frilly thing underneath, and black fish net stockings with high heal shoes.
The sight was repulsive, no woman should be showing that much stuff off!
"Keh!" He grunted and turned his head away as she stood by the table.
"May I offer you a beer sir…." She paused.
"I've never seen you around here before, where're you come from? Heading anywhere in particular?"
"Listen wench, I don't appreciate you asking me all these personal questions, it's none of your damn business! And secondly, I don't drink beer. It troughs your senses off, making you vulnerable."
She just stared. Completely taken back by the rudeness of this… this.. gorgeous man. Wait! What?! Where had that come from? Well, I guess she really couldn't deny it.
He was muscular, even she could tell with all that clothing covering up his well chiseled body. He had a wild, untamed look about him, his unique silver hair whisking messily around the hard edges of his boyishly handsome features. But what really caught her attention was his piercing golden eyes that burned with a passion even she couldn't place.
She gawked for a minute until she was snapped out of her stupor by a loud grunting noise.
"Do you always stare at your customers this dumbfounded?"
"No!" Yah, great come back Kagome…. He only raised an eyebrow and waved it off.
"If you can remember, can you at least tell me what town this is?" She huffed at his comment.
"Maybe if you didn't have the intelligence level of a six year old, you'd be able to read the sign outside saying 'Welcome to Jerome'!" She emphasized her point by flailing her arms in the air.
Wow, he thought, Jerome was not well known, mostly because it was such a small town. It wasn't a big place for robberies, people mainly just passed through.
Inuyasha growled, and Kagome looked at him in surprise. That was no fake spit grumble that people try to imitate, this was a deep, wolf like growl. Inuyasha didn't like this chick, didn't she know who he was, or was this town that secluded from the world?
Just then, the doors swung open to reveal a tall, broad man with dark hair, pulled into a high ponytail with a bandanna around his forehead. He gave a cocky smirk, nodding at a few men he knew as he strutted towards what seemed to be him.
Inuyasha immediately tensed, had someone noticed him? Just when he was about to get up and run for it, the man stopped in front of the waitress he'd been arguing with.
"Oh, hello Kouga, how was your day?" Kagome turned toward him. He leaned into her a little closer.
"Tiring, but now that you're here, I feel relaxed and much more renewed." He smiled. Inuyasha gagged.
"Oh..ah…thanks?" She blushed, not feeling entirely flattered by the comment he threw at her. Inuyasha noticed this.
"How about we get out of here and grab a bite to eat, ya know, just you and me?" Kouga insisted, starting to twirl a piece of Kagome's silky angelic hair.
Kagome squirmed uncomfortably, not responding. Inuyasha glanced between the two and became irritated, not because this stranger was toying with the young waitress, but because he was blocking Inuyaha's entire view with his backside.
"Hey buddy, move!" He grunted loudly.
Kouga turned, seemingly noticing Inuyasha for the first time that night. He gave him a bored look before turning around to give his attention to Kagome again. Inuyasha's jaw dropped. How… how.. Who does this guy think he is!
No one treats THE Inuyasha like THAT! He bolted up from his seat, effectively causing the chair to fall over and tapped the guy on the shoulder. Kouga turned around to stare blankly at him before being flung across the room with a big red imprint on his face.
He sat up and wiped the trickle of blood away from the corner of his mouth and stared at it for a few seconds, comprehending what had just happened.
"That'll teach you to pay some damn respect to me pal!" Inuyasha yelled accusingly, shaking his fast at Kouga.
"What the heck are you doing! You can't come in here and do that to him!" Kagome found herself yelling back at him, grabbing his fist.
"By the looks of it, I saved you from a sticky situation back there, you should be thanking me woman!"
She gave him a cold stare saying you-better-stop-talking-now! They glared at each other before he 'kehed' and began to walk out of the saloon. By now, all eyes were on him, but before he could even reach the handles on the doors, he was grabbed by the back of his color and flung across the room, sliding across the bar counter and smashing martini glasses.
"That was for yelling at MY woman like she's your housewife!" Kouga was standing by the entrance of the saloon, breathing heavily. Kagome just slapped two hands over her eyes, feeling utterly embarrassed.
Inuyasha growled and lunged at Kouga, who, expecting the move, dodged it easily, throwing a punch at Inuyasha's face. He leaned back, bringing up his back leg and pegging Kouga straight in the jaw.
The brawl carried out as people began placing bets on the two men and cheering their names on. Miroku and Sango had long ago abandoned the Poker table and made their ways towards Kagome's side.
"So… are you the prize that the winner gets to take home tonight? If so, sign me up for the next match!" Miroku commented with a toothy grin.
"Miroku!" Sango hit him upside the head.
"Kagome is not a prize to be won over! Neither is any other woman."
"Of course they aren't my dear Sango! They're not a prize, you're an inanimate play toys!" He goofed playfully. Sango didn't take it jokingly though. She began to fume and chase after Miroku as he started running away.
Kagome turned her attention to the brawling duo. What was she supposed to do? If this carried on, by the end of the night, she'd have no Saloon left!
She carefully made her way towards one of the few tables that hadn't been turned over and climbed on top of it, mindful of her short skirt.
"Hey!!!" She yelled, but now one looked at her.
"Excuse me, people!!!!" Still being ignored.
"Look! I'm NAKED!!!!!" Well that certainly got their attention, all eyes were now one her, even Inuyasha and Kouga stopped in mid-punch.
"It's time for you all to leave, now! I have a lot of cleaning up to do thanks to everyone! Especially you two!" She pointed an accusing finger at Kouga and Inuyasha, who in turn just glanced at each other.
The rest of the men grumbled as they slowly began filing out. When she turned back around from descending the table, she noticed Inuyasha was gone.
"Where'd he go?"
"Where'd who go?" Kouga asked questioningly.
"You know, the stranger with the long silver hair? He was here just a minute ago."
"Oh, he must've left." Kouga replied quickly.
"Well I better be going now Kagome, cya tomorrow!" He replied quickly, scuttling out the doors. She stood there watching the doors swing behind him. She then looked around tiredly.
Glass and sticky, wet alcohol adorned the wooden floor, tables and chairs lay upon each other. She sighed heavily. It was going to be a loooong night. Sango and Miroku came up behind her. Sango put a hand on her friends shoulder.
"We better get started if we want to get to bed before dawn." Kagome smiled at her good natured friends, noticing how Miroku held up a broom and dust pan, grinning cheerfully.
"Personally, I think this mess was well worth the entertainment." She gave a small laugh as they began cleaning the mind field of glass and wood.
AN: Well?! What do ya think! Review and let me know! Not really a cliffhanger, but what happened to Inuyasha!? Tune in next time!! ::Buwahahahah!::