Fragmentation
Chapter Two- Night Out
Yusuke still had his hands in his pockets and a lopsided smile on his face as he made his way home. He was met with a slight surprise when he reached his apartment, a certain redheaded fox boy waiting outside his apartment for him.
"Hey, Kurama," Yusuke greeted, "I haven't seen you in awhile. What's happening? New mission? Usually they send Botan for that."
It's been a couple of months since the gangs been all together, Yusuke reflected.
"Botan's busy apparently so I came in her stead since Koenma has already told me what is going on," Kurama answered. He glanced over at the few people around looking at the two. "Though maybe we should continue this inside…"
Yusuke fished his keys out of his pocket, opening the door and letting the kitsune in. Dropping the keys on the counter, he sat in the chair across from Kurama who sat down on the couch.
"So what's this new mission?" Yusuke asked impatiently after Kurama didn't speak for a minute or so.
"Well, it's not exactly a mission… as of yet, that is. Right now we're just to be on the look out for a certain demon that's been roaming the streets. He's been gathering many followers now for quite awhile and has them killing and rampaging across the city. Apparently, this demon has been searching for something."
"What?"
"We don't know yet, but it's bound to be valuable and important," Kurama informed him.
For a second, Yusuke could see a certain devious twinkle in Kurama's eye after his statement. The sparkle of greed was most definitely from the youkai side of him, always stealing the most valuable items and whatever this object was, would certainly peak Youko Kurama's interest.Yusuke could practically see Kurama mentally shake his head, pushing all thoughts to the back of his mind. First, they had to worry about the mission and this new threat. Then he could see about this object….
"So anything else we know about this demon guy? Is he strong, weak, what?" Yusuke questioned.
"He's quite strong, though only a hanyou, half-demon, half-human. From what resources we have, there's a demon that suddenly appeared six months ago that fits that description, since he is a hanyou. He has long silver hair, golden eyes, and two white ears on the top of his head, not unlike Youko. We're fairly sure that's the demon we're looking for," Kurama explained.
"Any hordes of demon back-up I should know about?" Yusuke asked.
"As I said, he has a lot of followers who are loyal to him, though mostly because they fear him. But this silver haired demon seems to always have a few humans always close by him."
"Humans, but why? These super humans or what? Unless they have powers like me and Kuwabara, I don't understand why he'd have them around," the Spirit Detective said.
Kurama could only shrug. "I don't know anything about the humans, but they don't seem to have any special powers." He glanced at the clock in Yusuke's apartment. "I better be going," Kurama said, standing up, "I still have to tell Kuwabara about all this." He added in a murmur, "I don't know how I suddenly got to be the errand boy."
Yusuke raised an eyebrow. "Is that a complaint I heard from you, Kurama?" he said mockingly with a smirk, "you must be hanging around me too much. I'm starting to rub off on you."
A small smile graced the kitsune's features. "Oh, the horror," he said dryly.
Yusuke shook his head as he too smiled. "And sarcasm too. I guess that's what happens when you spend more or less four years together. Anyway, what about Hiei? You telling him too?"
"I'll wait for him to find me. No use searching endlessly for him when usually he can't be found unless he wants to be."
Yusuke nodded. "Right, I'll keep a look out for this hanyou. Considering how many demons I've fought, one hanyou will be easy to kill."
"Don't get cocky, you'd be surprised how tough they can be." He gave the Spirit Detective a half-smile. "Or did you forget that you too are part demon?" From the look on his face, Kurama could tell for awhile there he had and kitsune laughed slightly. "I'll tell you if Koenma wants us to specifically hunt this demon, otherwise, just be on the look out."
With that he left, leaving Yusuke behind to ponder. Contrary to popular belief, he did think and more often then he cared to, since they sometimes left him with headaches. Shaking his head, Yusuke turned on the TV, in need of some mindless fun.
Shippo pouted, sitting on the couch with his arms crossed and bottom lip sticking out in a childish display. "How come I can't go?" he complained.
"Because it's for older people," Kagome explained, "you have to be a certain age to get in. Kirara's going to stay here to watch you while the rest of us go."
"Sure, I get a cat for a babysitter," the kitsune grumbled.
"Kagome, you better get ready, we're going to leave soon," Sango called from her bedroom without coming out.
Kagome frowned. "Stop hiding and come out here so I can see your outfit."
There was a pause of silence. Well, except for Shippo's ongoing grumbling, but he was ignored much to his annoyance.
"I—I don't want to," Sango called. Kagome could hear the nervousness in her voice.
"Don't make me send Kirara in there to push you out," Kagome threatened, then thinking about it, she continued with a wicked smile, "or better yet, I'll go across the hall to see if Miroku could persuade you to come out…."
Sango was out of her room in mere seconds. There was no way she was getting caught in her bedroom with Miroku alone in the outfit she was wearing. It would put… ideas into his head. Not that they weren't there already, but it would make it worse. A lot worse.
Her face was crimson as she came out, avoiding everyone's gaze in the room, though it only consisted on a girl, a child kitsune, and a cat youkai. Compared to what she was use to wearing, the clothes were quite revealing. Even after coming to Kagome's time and seeing what other girls wore and even what Kagome usually wore, Sango could never bring herself to wear such things as they wore. Now she was.
Sango wore a black halter top with a glittering pink design on it that matched the pink eye shadow she wore. The neckline was low, but no where near too revealing. A simple black skirt was around her waist and reached to just below mid-thigh and she had black boots that reached to just under her knees. Really, aside from her bare arms and the parts of her legs that were bare, she was completely covered, though she was still embarrassed by the outfit, not use to wearing something like it.
Since she couldn't bring anything so large like her hiraikotsu or a sword, Kagome knew for sure that there were a few knives hidden somewhere underneath her clothes—she rarely went anywhere without them—especially since they were after a demon that night. The only question was where? Kagome couldn't detect any sight of them."Don't be embarrassed, Sango, you look amazing," Kagome commented with an approving nod.
"My words exactly," came a voice from the door.
Both girls spun around, Sango's hair, which was up in a ponytail, whipping around her face as looked, only to see Miroku leaning against the door to their apartment. Her face, which she thought couldn't get a darker shade of red, proved her wrong. He stepped gracefully into the room and advanced on Sango an intense look in his eyes that made Sango very, very nervous.
"I'm changing," Sango said as she spun around, trying to escape
Kagome caught her arm before she could disappear into her room. She felt bad for not letting her escape Miroku's lustful look, but she couldn't have her changing back into her other clothes or else it would take them forever to leave.
Miroku stopped in front of Sango, clasping her hands in his own and looking deep into her eyes. Sango's heart thumped wildly in her chest. What was he going to do…?
"I know I've asked you this before but… will you bear my child?"
Smack.
Her hand connected with his cheek with tremendous force, leaving a red mark on his cheek. "Can't say I didn't try," he muttered.
Shippo shook his head sadly. "Will he ever learn?"
"No," Sango and Kagome chorused.
Inuyasha appeared in their doorway, took one look at first Sango then Miroku, and could more or less guess what had gone on in the last few minutes. Shaking his head, he then turned his gaze to Kagome. "I don't want to be waiting here forever, go and get ready."
Kagome only nodded and disappeared into her bedroom to find something suitable to wear.
They arrived at their destination roughly an hour later, nearly ten o'clock at night, but that was alright since the place didn't even open until eight. They had recently found out that one of Naraku's informants would be there that night, which led them to the entrance of the club, "Ice".
"Alright, it's crowded in there so we'll all split up and search for the demon. We'll meet out here later," Inuyasha instructed.
The rest nodded their understanding before heading inside and into the chaos. Miroku seemed to be in heaven, seeming the intimate dancing going on and he disappeared into the crowd, while Sango rolled her eyes. He was definitely not going to find anything in this crowd besides a pretty girl or two. Or five.
Inuyasha looked less pleased, not liking to be surrounded by so many people and so many scents. It made it harder to locate the demon among them. In a manner of minutes, Kagome lost sight of Inuyasha as well when he was swallowed by the crowd. The only reason she was still with Sango was because she held onto her arm.
They searched the crowded room, trying to see if they could find someone who seemed different from the others, but all Kagome could see was a dark room with too many packed bodies too close together in such a small space. The music pumped loudly, vibrating into Kagome's core. Sango turned to her friend and tried to say something, but her words were lost in the beat.
Sango abruptly slipped out of Kagome's grasp and Kagome did her best to continue following her, but when she turned around when she thought she heard someone call her name and turned back again, Sango, like the others, was gone.
"Sango?" Kagome yelled. No response.
"Sango!" she cried out again.
Someone touched her arm. "Hey, do you wanna dance?"
Kagome spun toward the voice and not recognizing the owner, shook her head and moved away. Her heart beat fast in her chest and the temperature seemed to double as she squeezed her way between people. Her breathing quickened and her mind screamed at her to escape. Everything was too close, she needed to breathe, needed air. She had to get out of there. Seeing the exit, she made her escape, pushing her way through the crowd. It had been awhile since she was out like this and she wasn't use to it. It disoriented her.She stumbled out of the club and began walking in the night's chilly air, the temperature changing drastically from scorching hot in the club and icy outside it. It made her wonder what had possessed the people to call the club "Ice".
Kagome enjoyed the air for only a few moments before she became cold and hugged her arms to herself. Her eyes darted across the area and they quickly found a pizza parlor nearby. Perfect. That would be an ideal place to stay and wait for the others, while still being warm.
A bell sounded as she opened the door and the warmth enveloped her. A content smile lit up her face as she made her way over to the counter. Well, if she was there she might as well get something to eat too.
That's when her eyes met with the person's working behind the counter.
"You," Kagome said in surprise to the boy she had met on the streets a week prior, though she had a half-smile on her face.
"And you," Yusuke agreed with a wide smile.
She lost the little respect she had had for him before as he looked her up and down with a heated gaze. Then again, the first time he saw her she had been wearing normal clothes. Now she wore a rather revealing shirt (in her opinion) and a short skirt and she found herself blushing at his inspection, (now she knew how Sango had felt) but she pushed it out of her mind.
"Funny how we keep running into each other like this," he said.
"Yeah, funny," she mumbled a bit nervously, hoping the blush on her face was not too noticeable. Yusuke, himself, had normal clothing with a white apron on over it. She was disappointed there was no paper hat that went with the outfit. She would've had fun making fun of it.
"So, what'll you have?"
"Um, just a soda, I think."
He handed her a soda as she forked over the money and they stayed in an awkward silence. Not able to stand it any longer, Kagome began to talk, never able to stay quiet for too long. She sat down at a table so that she was across the counter and could still talk with him.
"So, you work at a pizza place? I wouldn't expect you to—" she stopped mid-sentence and regarded the punk-looking boy with his gelled hair style up and down and changed her words, "actually, never mind, I would expected you to work here."
"I feel like I should be insulted," he told her with a smile on his face as he leaned against the counter in a luxurious way, watching her take a sip of her soda.
"Feel like it? Yes. Are you? No," Kagome teased, "so how late are you working to?"
Yusuke raised an eyebrow and was about to ask if that was an invitation, but from the look on her face, he decided against it. It could lead to a comment that would end up earning him a slap like the one she had given him the other day and he decided he'd rather have her not hate him. Instead, he glanced at the clock and she followed his gaze. It was almost eleven-thirty.
"'Til three."
"All by yourself?"
"Yep," he told her with a shrug. "But I get paid extra for working late nights."
"Wow. If it was me I'd get so bored with so few customers. I would probably be talking to the wall by midnight."
"But then if someone came in there would be the whole them-calling-the-police thing and then them putting me in a mentally institution…" he joked, droning on.
"Well, you don't tell them you were talking to the wall," Kagome huffed, pretending that she was offended that he didn't like her theory.
"Yeah, I'll just say it was talking to me," Yusuke said dryly.
"Then they'd really put you in an institution."
She finished her soda, throwing the can away in the trash. Not feeling like leaving just yet, she sat on the edge of the table, her feet dangling off the side, kicking slowly back and forth. She enjoyed speaking with the punk-appearing boy and she figured if her friends really needed her help, Inuyasha would be able to pick up her scent and find her. That's what she told herself anyway.
"How is it over there?" Yusuke asked, jerking his head in the direction of the club. "Man, if I wasn't stuck working, I'd be over there, but I need to earn some money somehow."
"Crowded. Loud. Hot," Kagome responded, counting the list on her fingers. She gave him a half-smile. "I'm not exactly a 'club person'."
"Then why go?"
What could she say? Yes, I was there because me and my friends—one of them being a hanyou, another a demon slayer, one with a hole in his right hand, and two mini youkai—hunt and kill demons so we can complete this jewel called the Shikon no Tama and kill this really evil demon named Naraku. Yeah, like she could tell him all that. He'd be the one putting her in an institution if she told him all that. Or just laugh in her face. Neither one sounded very pleasant and she was surprised to learn that she'd be hurt if he did either. Two brief meetings and she was already more or less attached to the guy.
"My friends dragged me there," she told him. Well, it was at least partially true.
She leaned forward from the table she was sitting on and to her dismay, she fell off it and right onto her rear on the floor with a loud thud. The chair made a loud clang next to her, falling with her graceful-self. Yeah, riight. She seemed to be doing a lot of falling lately.
Yusuke began laughing, not even trying to be polite and hide his amusement, while Kagome got up, beet red, grumbling about stupid tables. When she was finally back on her feet, avoiding his eye and brushing the dirt off her skirt, he said through laughter, "hey, come over here."
Curiously but still without looking up at him, she walked over to see he had a pen in hand with a napkin on the counter with a few scribbled words on it, obviously something he wrote just now. He offered the pen to her.
"I want you to sign this," he asked with a grin.
"What is it?" she inquired, eyeing him suspiciously.
"It says 'if you injure yourself in any way because you're a total spaz, you can't sue us'," he joked.
Kagome stuck her tongue out at him but did not move back. Feeling daring, she leaned against the counter. Was she—dare she even think it—flirting with him?
Of course, what she didn't realize was by leaning forward, she was giving him a perfect view of some cleavage and he certainly wasn't about to correct this mistake. She obviously wasn't use to wearing something as showy as she was now, that's why she was unaware of the effects of it.
He too leaned forward, bringing his face close to hers but brought the pen up so that it was in between their faces. She snatched it out of his hand, and even though she knew he was joking, wrote her name on the crudely drawn black line with a smug look, since she thought he hadn't believed she'd actually do it.
He looked down. "'Kagome Higurashi'," Yusuke read with triumph and grinned, "looks like I finally found out your name."
Kagome huffed, remembering how carefully she had refused to give him her name, just because he had seemed so curious about it and she had just wanted to annoy him. Worse than that, he had tricked her into giving it! Of all the nerve….
Still, a smile she tried to hide crept onto her face.
She handed back the pen rather grudgingly and his hand brushed against hers. Both froze while Kagome blushed and their eyes met. He opened his mouth and seemed to be about to say something—
—when Miroku 'happened' to wander into the parlor, ruining it all.
Kagome jumped away from the counter, and Yusuke looked curiously from Kagome to the man that just entered.
"There you are," Miroku said, "we were looking for you."
Seeing Kagome's blushing face, he looked from Kagome to the boy behind the counter and back again, before raising an eyebrow. In his experience, he had some idea of what was going on. Trying to hide a grin, he put his hands on Kagome's shoulders with a very fake grim expression on his face. Kagome sent an annoyed glare at him.
"Thank you for taking care of my little Kagome here. She has a tendency to get herself into trouble."
Yusuke glanced at the table she fell off of for just a second. "I've noticed," he said with a small smile at Kagome, while in his head, thinking, his little Kagome?
It only made her blush more however, him remembering her mishap and she looked away from him. Miroku squeezed her shoulders lightly and she wondered if it was for comfort or some part of his usually lecherous plans.
"I hope she didn't cause you too much trouble, but thank you for looking after her." He spun Kagome around so she faced the door. "Now say goodbye to the nice man and we'll be on our way."
Kagome gave Miroku a suspicious glare, but decided to play along, even though she didn't really want to leave. Knowing Inuyasha would get pissed off if she stayed, she looked over her shoulder at Yusuke. "'Bye nice man," she repeated in the same part joking tone as Miroku.
Miroku slipped an arm around her waist and Kagome was about to protest—most likely by slapping him—but the look he sent her told her not to do so. Sending one last half-joking pleading look at Yusuke, they both walked out with a little ring from the bell above the door.
When they were a few feet away from the place, Miroku's hand began to slip lower which earned him a hard slap from Kagome.
"Now, what was that all about?" Kagome asked as she turned to him, arms crossed. From the way he was acting, he was making it look like the two had been involved which was so far from the truth.
"Inuyasha gets jealousy when you're even near another guy and if you stayed in there any longer, Inuyasha would've found you. Plus, you don't want to get too friendly with someone like him."
"And why not?" Kagome questioned defiantly.
Miroku shook his head. "Kagome, Kagome. Poor unknowing Kagome…" he said with a sigh, though smirking at the same time. "That man was like me, only to a lesser degree."
Kagome glared, though she was beginning to have doubts. "That guy was not a lech like you."
"I know what I sensed and he didn't seem that innocent to me."
Even if he is, he has more tact than you, groping every female you see, Kagome thought.
Miroku continued. "But still, we don't need some poor human at Inuyasha's wrath especially when he's already pissed off." He smirked. "And getting to hold you was just an added bonus." She lifted a hand threateningly and wisely, the monk shut his mouth.So just because I know a hanyou means I can have no social life? Kagome thought grumpily. Out loud, she said, "so I guess you didn't find anything?""
Nothing on Naraku, but we did find the location of a piece of the jewel," the monk told her, "the demon we were looking for let something slip about a demon and a jewel shard before Inuyasha destroyed him in one of the back rooms."
Kagome said no more until they reached the front of the club where Inuyasha stood waiting. Kagome could faintly see the twitching of his ears from under his hat that were sensitive to the banging they called music, even outside.
"Where's Sango?" Kagome asked suddenly, noticing the demon slayer no where around.
"I thought she was with you," was Inuyasha's response.The three exchanged the same worried glance.
Sango stepped outside the club, eyes searching for Kagome. "I could have sworn I just saw her pushing her way outside…" she mumbled to herself as her keen eye kept searching the darkness surrounding the club.
What her eyes did catch was a flash of black at the edge of the trees on the other side of the parking lot. For a second she had thought it was Kagome, but as she walked closer she sensed an unfamiliar demonic energy around. Unable to stop herself, she began walking across the parking lot.
Once she reached the trees, she let one of her concealed knives slip into her right hand as she continued forward. They hadn't found out anything about Naraku in awhile. Maybe this demon knew something useful….
Her boots hardly made any noise against the soft grass, but if this demon was strong, there would be no sneaking up on it. It could probably sense her already. What she really needed to do was figure out where it was before it decided to attack her.
She heard something behind her and abruptly turned around, silver dagger lifted and ready to attack at any moment.
And just behind her, unknown to her, a sword was silently raised and swung down, aiming right for her neck.
