Chapter 8: The darndest thing....
Weeks, pass slowly as the grave through the face of time's strain, but it passed painlessly enough, until Thursday, the promised day of Sesshoumaru's cash. As the mechanical bell sounded, releasing the anxious student body from seventh period, Sesshoumaru sought comfort in just one more day of hell on earth when Naraku approached him at his locker with a careless grin.
" Ready for that cold cash, Sesshoumaru?" Naraku asked, his eyes twinkling in delight at the thought of torturing his uptight acquitance.
"I've been ready..." Sesshoumaru sarcastically stated, the words coming dully out of his mouth.
"Heh, heh. As I thought, I did plan to call you but I got caught up in other things." Naraku explained, mocking Sesshoumaru with an over-serious vocal tone.
"And what of it, Naraku?" Sesshoumaru briefly retorted, annoyed more than he usually was by Naraku's gait. Naraku clicked his toungue, and chuckled deep in his throat.
"Ahh, its fun seeing you angry. But, come by the house tonight between 3:30 and 5:00, OK?" Sesshoumaru nodded, thanking Naraku out of politeness before the weasel escaped towards his locker.
Kikyo, as soon as she sighted Naraku, was on a sort of mission to straighten out eveything between up her frustration with a serene and delicate smile, Kikyo soundlessly appeared behind Naraku.
"Do you have any plans this weekend?" She asked him, Kikyo's voice chirping with innocence.
"Ahhh!" Naraku exclaimed in suprise, "Babe, don't do that to me!" He chided, before turning to face Kikyo.
"Well, do you?" Kikyo again demanded, her tone less cordial than it was.
"Umm..you haven't heard? I'm throwing a party..." Naraku stated, slightly wary of Kikyo at this point.
"Oh, I heard something of the kind Monday, but since YOU hadn't told me, I wasn't so sure about it." Kikyo stated, putting special emphasis on the last portion of the sentence. Naraku was confused, and even more nervous of his girlfriend's capabilites.
"I thought Mariko and Kiku would end up telling you. Anyway, why does it matter who told you?" Kikyo bit her lip slightly, holding back some anger, and smiled,
"It doesn't, but you know how rumors fly around here. I wanted to confirm it since you forgot to tell me..." Naraku was no idiot and suspected the issue was not done being plucked like a tuneless harp.
"Are you angry about something, Kikyo?" Naraku asked, laying the issue on the line. Kikyo's eyes wandered slightly, and she answered,
"No." She then walked away, feeling satisfied with her days accomplishment. Naraku still remained lost and turned to Ichikagi Hitomi,
"Women..." He complained, as if his locker buddy cared. Hitomi didn't and glared at Naraku before heading outside of the building. Likewise, Naraku left his locker and began walking to the double doors. He found Kagura awaiting him at the car, the usual smug grimmace adorning his sister's features.
"Who'd you torment today?" Naraku asked, being in no mood to entertain his sister. Kagura maintained her silent dignity and absently stared into the blue-tainted windsheild while Naraku drove.
This being an ordinary Thursday left Kagura more irritated than usual, this special day being her brother's time to order the preperations for his next party. They stopped at a hot dog stand on the south side of town, called, "Skippy's Dog Hutt." This was a slightly trashy establishment praised by the entire south side for Skippy's famed, "Chilli Cheese Dog." Most of the employees would laugh upon hearing a customer order it, knowing how the cheese monolith was truly created.
Naraku exited the car, saying to Kagura,
"Make sure no one takes the car, peach." Kagura didn't spare Naraku a glance and remained silent as he approached the red, pin-striped stand.
"Hey Naraku," One of the employee's greeted dully, tired from the long school day.
"Hey, I really can't talk now. What's the special today?" Naraku inquired of dusty brown haired stand worker with a knowing tone. The employee stated calmly,
"I don't think we have specials, but I'll ask the manager on duty." Naraku nodded, and began looking about the stand, whistling into the warm spring air. Quickly enough the manager on duty arrived and invited Naraku into the stand.
Kagura sat testily in the car and thought bitterly,
'The bastard, who would want to steal this piece of crap...'
For some reason or other, Sesshoumaru analyzed, he was sitting in his car waiting on Naraku to show his gruesome face. Yes, the matter involved a monetary supplement but the humilation reeked in the situation.
'Anyone depending on Naraku's good will is very pathetic. Oh how low I feel.' Sesshoumaru mused silently. Tapping the pleather steering wheel in overbearing irritation, Sesshoumauru kept in time with the repetitive beat of "Come Together." Sesshoumaru was inclined to think murderous thoughts at this moment, and glared daggers into the eyes of an innocent bystanding girl riding a bright pink bike. She scattered quickly.
The following evening Sesshoumaru sat outside of the Kagewaki house, in disbelief he came yet again to recieve money. The bass beat of the rap music resonating from the home overpowered the quality music Sesshoumaru was used to listening to. He switched off the musings of Pink Floyd and decided he would again enter the house of sin and curroption.
Because of last weeks training, nothing suprised Sesshoumaru as he walked into the suburban mansion and was greeted cheerfully by Naraku, who was drunk, but showed no obvious signs of being high as of yet.
"My man, you came! I'm so glad to see you finally let loose." Naraku exclaimed, while hugging Sesshoumaru. Disentangling himself from Naraku, Sesshoumaru stated prudishly,
"I'm here for the money and than I'm gone." Naraku shook his head, and poked fun at the tense Validictorian.
"Ok, Ok just enjoy yourself and I'll get it to you in a half an hour." Naraku then departed and Sesshoumaru made a mental note: Great, I'll get the money in three hours.
Making the best of the irritating situation, Sesshoumaru wandered around the trashed house and tried to find good company. However, on the ground level he knew everyone was too near being trashed to carry on a decent conversation and Kagura, the underrated sister of Naraku, was his only source of amusement.
In her room, Kagura's eye flickered over the novel Jane Eyre and she was ever immersed in the world of a young Governess who had fallen in love with her cold hearted master, Mr. Rochester.
" 'Where? You, sir, have placed it before me.'
'In what shape?'
'In the shape of Miss Ingram; a noble and beautiful woman, ---your bride."
'My bride! What bride? I have no bride!"
' But you will have?'
'Yes: ---I will!----I will!' He set his teeth.
'Then I must go:---you have said it yourself.'
'No, you must stay! I swear it---and the oath shall be kept.'
'I tell you I must go!' I retorted, roused to something like passion. 'Do you
think I can stay to become nothing to you? Do you think I am an automaton?---a
machine without feelings? and can bear to have my morsel of bread snatched
from my lips, and my drop of living water dashed from my cup? Do you think,
because I am poor, obscure, plain, and little, I am souless and heartless? You
think wrong!---I have as much soul as you, ---and full as much heart! And if God
had gifted me with some beauty and much wealth, I should have made it as
hard for you to leave me, as it is now for me to leave you. I am not talking to you
now through the medium of custom, conventionalities, or even of mortal flesh:---
it is my spirt that addresses your spirit; just as if both had passed through the
grave, and we stood at God's feet, equal,---as we are!'
' As we are!' repeated Mr. Rochester--- 'so,' he added, enclosing me in his
arms, gathering me to his breast, pressing my lips on his lips: 'so, Jane!'
'Yes, so sir,' I rejoined: 'and not yet so; for you are a married man---or good
as a married man, and wed to one inferior ---to one with whom you have no
sympathy---whom I do not beleive you truly love; for I have seen and heard you
sneer at her. I would scorn such a union: therefore I am better than you---let me
go!'
'Where, Jane? To Ireland?'
'Yes---to Ireland. I have spoke my mind and can go anywhere now.'
'Jane, be still; do not struggle so, like a wild frantic bird that is rending its
own plumage in desperation.'
'I am no bird; and no net ensares me; I am a free human being with an
independant will; which I now exert to leave you.' Another effort set me at liberty,
and I stood erect before him.
'And you shall decide your destiny,' he said:' I offer you my hand, my heart,
and a share of all my possessions.'
'You play a farce I merely laugh at.'
'I ask you to pass through life at my side---to be my second self and best
earthly companion.'
'For that fate you have already made your choice, and must abide by it.'
A waft of wind....." stirred Kagura from her book as Sesshoumaru opened the door to her bedroom, again comming in uninvited.
"What are you doing here!" she shrieked, and in that moment, hit her head against the wall. Grinning sheepishly, Kagura laughed slightly as Sesshoumaru responeded,
"Naraku has me kidnapped here."
"That's like my brother, he likes to torment you slowly before killing you." She commented sarcastically, her pained tone was evidence of a sadder youth.
"You seem resilient to his methods. What's your secret?" Sesshoumaru inquired, pulling up a chair from the nearby desk, moving it beside the bed.
"Resilent is not the word I would use, Sesshoumaru. I consider my feat of survival a very small one." Kagura explained, more of the same agony expressed through her voice.
"Resilence meaning you having not punched out your brother for all the well earned years of hatred." Sesshoumaru explained his reasoning and Kagura nodded in reply, relating very clearly to what he said," I'm being totally serious here Kagura. I would have punched him out if I were you. It's remarkable how much you put up with. It's almost like he steps all over you." This addition was not well-received by Kagura, who glared coldly at Sesshoumaru and repeated,
"Steps all over me? Are you suggesting that I take it up the ass?" Sesshoumaru cringed at the crude imagery, shaking off any effect it had, he affirmed,
"To some degree, you do 'take it up the ass'," this was said in quotation and recieved angrily by Kagura. She sighed, and challenged him,
"How do I manage that?" Sesshoumaru, being ready for this challenge, he began to explain,
"Bylaws."
"Bylaws?" Kagura questioned in return, confused at what Sesshoumaru meant.
"Yeah. From what I heard last week he has the better bargain." Sesshoumaru stated, attempting to help Kagura make sense of what he had to say.
"He has the better bargain? Have you been hanging out with my brother lately?"
"Look at it this way: You sit up, every weekend in your room, and watch your brother do a number of stupid acts. Not only do you accept your enslavement to this routine, but you do him favors too. That is being quite the younger sister." Kagura only glared at him and stated,
"Fuck you too." Rolling his eyes, Sesshoumaru smirked at Kagura's vulgar remark. She continued, "I do not let Naraku push me around. I'm bargaining for survival in this twisted household. You're an ass for telling me that."
"Whatever you say." Sesshoumaru stated argumentitively. She closed her mind, and began to sulk, angered at Sesshoumaru's continual insistence of her meekness.
Sitting like this for a short while, Kagura stirred suddenly and glared around her sanctuary,
" That is the last time he calls me peach!" She stated abruptly and Sesshoumaru was confused at the interjection.
"Kagura, what are you talking about!" He demanded, Kagura was in her own world, she appeared to have finally snapped. She rose from her sitting position on the bed and defiantly said,
"He will fucking pay!" Sesshoumaru, still lost, began to follow Kagura out of the room, while she stalked toward the staircase.
"Kagura, you are making no sense!" Still continuing her descension down the staircase, Kagura continued to ignore Sesshoumaru, on some sort of mission. Now silent, Kagura had reached the ground floor of the large home and began walking towards where she heard her brother's offending voice.
"Itsumo, where are you going with Mariko? You know the upstairs is off limits." Itsumo just grinned, mouthed, 'fuck you', to Naraku and continued to carry-on with Mariko.
Following Naraku's vocal interjections, Kagura finally arrived at the keg, where her brother, Itsumo, Mariko, and Kikyo all gathered.
"Jackass!" Kagura said rudely to Naraku, her eyes as cold as a harsh winter frost, glared into Naraku's slightly dazed ones.
"What the fuck are you doing down stairs, Peach?" Itsumo, Mariko, and Kikyo now noticed the confrontation between siblings. Kagura did not reply, but let her eyes do the talking as she aggressively approached Naraku, her hands clenched tightly into fists.
Naraku, still bewildered at his sister's sudden attitude moved in closer to Kagura, to see if she had been possesed by some fiendish spirit. Taking the oppurtunity Naraku's curiousity granted Kagura, she drew her fist across her brothers face sharply. Drawing blood from the impact her fist had with his nose, she shriked slightly, wondering what his comeback would be.
With her hand covering her mouth, she observed Naraku, as did everyone else, scream,
"Fuck Kagura! What the hell are you doing!" Tossing his head back to stop the flow of blood, Kagura, had a growing idea of her brother's response and began to back away from Naraku. Glaring back at his sister, with the swiftness of a determined and State Championship winning wrestler, Naraku caught up to his retreating sister and forcing Kagura's left arm akwardly and painfully behind her back. In this state of rage, Naraku pulled her towards him, and sent Kagura flying toward the marble countertop, her head making contact noisily with the counter.
The people, and even the music seemed to grow quiet as Kagura's body leaned almost daintly against the wooden cabinetry. She squinted and rubbed her head warily, not wanting to irritate the sore arm. However, it was not Sesshoumaru, who was likewise stunned into silence, but Kikyo who helped Kagura.
Running to her side, Kikyo examined Kagura's head, looking to find any sort of injury. After finding nothing, despite a likely bump where her head and the counter made contact. Kiko rose and began to verbally attack Naraku,
"What kind of ass do you think you are! You could have injured your own sister, you heartless bastard!"
"What the fuck! She attacked me." Naraku defended. Kikyo snapped, the last straw in her so called relationship with Naraku,
"Yeah, she gives you a whack on the nose, draws some blood and you almost kill your own kid sister. I've had enough of your idiocy." Seeing Sesshoumaru, and knowing that he was the only sober person in the vicinity, Kikyo ordered, "Take her upstairs and make sure she doesn't develop a concussion." Sesshoumaru nodded, and helped Kagura stand up, grasping her hand somewhat warmly, as he felt the cool guilt of his goading the wound Naraku had inflicted done to Kagura, making the wound physical.
"Are you okay, Kagura?" He asked her, while the rest of the party glared daggers into thier once beloved host.
"Yeah,yeah. I just have a headache." She responded rather sanely, though her eyes traveled about her head, as if dizzy.
"Okay, I'm still going to help you walk upstairs." Sesshoumaru stated, and nodding in reply, Kagura remained largely quiet.
While Sesshoumaru began to examine Kagura's head in the upstairs bathroom, the party remained silent from the night's events.
" God, she's alive. You can't be that fucking mad at me!" Naraku barked defensively, "Get drunk off your ass, this is the last party you bastards." He then insisted, and the event was forgotten. Itsumo raised an eyebrow, but divered his attention back to Mariko.
"Naraku, it's over." Kikyo said, just loud enough for him to hear her.
" Not because of this, is it?" He asked, irritated that his own self defense was so frowned upon.
"No, I just genuinely dislike you and think deep down you are nothing more than a large ass." Kikyo explained, smiled slightly, and walked out of the party, glad she was about to graduate. Naraku watched her walk out, noticed Itsumo too busy to care, busy with Mariko, and he then slouched down in a leather arm chair, amidst the mixed emotions of the evening.
Kagura was feeling a slightly better emotion, not neccesarily triumph, but she was not glum about the situation either. Grinning to herself, Kagura was recieving some minor treatment, as she held an icepack to the bump on her head.
"Kagura, why did you do that?" Sesshoumaru asked, looking at Kagura from the bathroom sink.
"Why do you even ask me that?" She said and chuckled slightly, "After that speech you gave me on taking it up the ass I figured you were right and decided I wasn't going to take it anymore." Kagura switched arms holding up the icepack, and shook the now inactive arm, returning feelings to that.
"I didn't expect for you to go that far." Sesshoumaru admitted, still in wonderment at Kagura's sudden bravery. Kagura grinned slightly, still proud of her scene downstairs.
"Sesshoumaru, you had no idea how much that swipe against Naraku's face meant to me." Kagura said very seriously, and stood up.
"Judging by the look on your face I can grasp how much it meant to you." He responded, and Kagura laughed clearly, walking towards Sesshoumaru at the sink. The tattered bottom of her thin, gray-green cargo pants brushing against the cold tile floor while slightly concealing her bare feet. Standing next to Sesshoumaru, Kagura was nearly dwarfed by him, 'She's at least a foot shorter than me,' Sesshoumaru observed.
Sesshoumaru's build was slightly larger, he had a clean form, trim but obviously muscular in all the places a runner should be. With Kagura standing beside him, her hands laying non-chalantly on the bathroom counter, she noticed this about Sesshoumaru then suddenly became concerned about her slight looks. In the mirror, she saw an underfed sixteen year old who, along with being short, never did much with her hair.
'Why the fuck do I care about my apperance?' Kagura asked herself, shaking away the suddenly vain thoughts. Sesshoumaru did the same as Kagura, scrutinizing his looks under the sudden but unintentional pressure.
It's difficult to say how they both knew what the other was thinking, but in this moment of silence and observation; Kagura and Sesshoumaru discovered niether of them were unimpressionable. Kagura lay her hand on Sesshoumaru's trim upper-arm and said,
"Thanks Sesshoumaru, I owe you one." Sesshoumaru simply muttered a quick 'don't mention it,' and failed to notice, in the moments deceptive normalcy, Kagura move closer and place a gentle kiss on his cheek that lingered for a moment. As she pulled away, Sesshoumaru turned to look at Kagura, his eyes gleaming in undue curiousity. This halted her retreat, "I was just thanking you, I'm sorry," she said, slightly hurt. Sesshoumaru didn't know what to say, his mind still sorting out the emotions blazing through.
Kagura was beginning to withdraw from Sesshoumaru, blushing in shame at her foolishness when Sesshoumaru himself figured out what he was thinking, and before she could totally escape Kagura was pulled abruptly into his embrace.
It was Kagura's turn to be in shock, her head shoved untactfully against Sesshoumaru's chest.
" Thanks, yourself." He said in return, and Kagura was reminded of Jane Eyre. As Kagura looked up at Sesshoumaru, moving her eyes from his chest, she was silenced as Sesshoumaru softly kissed her in return, on the lips. In that moment, Kagura thanks to some additional adrenaline, kissed him back, but with more emotion and fire, standing on her tip toes to do so. Both parties not knowing what spell had come over them, continued kissing. Yet did nothing more despite the obvious hormones, the cameras would record. And when the game had ended, they still stood in the same position as before, Sesshoumaru looked deeply into Kagura's eyes and brushed his lips against her cheek before leaving the bathroom. Kagura was left breathless and would of sworn that his eyes pierced her soul.
"That was different," she said aloud, turning towards the mirror to observe her heated cheeks. "Did that even happen? Or am I just being bullshited? I know that just happened, I can't read too much into it, but it felt so odd...I'll wake up tommorow, and it will all be a good,good dream." She finished this almost insane musing and smiled to herself, she had never felt so alive.
The End of Chapter 8.
Rissi's Recourse:
Hey! I am aware this took quite a long time, but school makes things so difficult. I don't have ANY idea when I am next to update, for the 2nd quarter English Project we're doing a 6-8 page research paper, and my writting abilities will be very drained I expect. Just commenting on that kiss scene, if it was OOC it was meant to be that way. I intended that it portray just a moment meaning so little that in retrospect it would be a vivid memory but little else. Kinda like my brief Romances (is the queen of one date wonders). Thanks to all the guys who reviewed my previous chapter, you hung in thier for the long haul and Heaven will reward you (heh, heh, Zero) even if you failed to review, I have not held it against you! You can also be saved, the hour of redemption is at hand! Repent, Repent I say, Repent!( umm...didn't mean to go all biblical on you guys...).
Onto my favorite reviewers:
Kerichi: Thanks a bunch for reviewing. Kagura and Sesshoumaru are amoung the more entertaining to write four, being both witty and containing an edge. As a poor soul, sucked into the vortex of track, I can attest to that, it feels cool to be special cause you want to be healthier. I also attend a catholic school myself, so I don't find it odd. LOL! Anyway, Thanks for the review.
Inuyasha and Snago luver: Interesting name....anywho...Thanks... Keep reviewing!
Shaku: I'm afraid I've produced another short work....I'm sorry, its getting so diffucult, but enjoy!
Zero: What on earth am I to say to my favorite writer besides myself....oh....you are a great reviewer and an even better friend! I hope you liked this chapter. Thier kiss scene was a rather random idea, like the kiss, so I kept it....right emotion at the right time....anywhooooo enjoy!
HSSU:Finally, you'll get yourself an email message thingy-mo-bobber. I hope you enjoyed this, and the kiss, i know you were looking forward to it....
Aris2: Update received, enjoy!
Iyazoi: Sorry, Inuyasha not punished yet, but Kagura got redeemed of all her suffering, heh heh! Anyway, enjoy this latest update!
Tinnitus: Well egads, there is your Kikyo priestess ideals...HAPPY! enjoy!
Tuthafaerie: Jane Eyre did indeed kickass like Johnny Damon! Sorry, I'm a sox freak! But anyways, as always your reviews are appreciated, and your insight. Keep that up most definently!
Ahhh, it feels so good to be writting! Well Goodbye all, until my next update!
Rissi