Thanks to the Reviewers to Chapter Four:
luvinukagome- Well, that was kinda the effect I was going for...thanks for the review
Fluffy'sbabe- Yes they are, and thanks for the review
The Evil Liar- I'm going to try and do that...soon ;;
Rosey Posey- Really? I always try for originality! Glad you liked it!
animeobssessed3191- Glad you liked it, yeah, I know it's messed up...but Black Phoenix has been a little busy. Would you like to help beta? If you want, you can do spelling and grammar check, just E-mail me! Oh, and when will you update your story? I've been waiting!
Suaru- hey look! I didn't forget about this one! Funny actually, when you reviewed for Dogman I was writing this chapter...lol
And for Chapter Five (Yeah, changed the chapter numbers!):
BlackKatKate- Glad your interested in the story! ...and maybe, you never know what evil twists could happen!
animeobssessed3191- uhh...I really hate that format too...but I think it might get stuck that way ;;; sorry
Randomnessgurl - I did! Thanks for the review! And I tried to E-mail you, but it didn't work...heehee, well, I tried...
luvinukagome- Glad you liked it...here it is!
Black Phoenyx- I'm glad you actually review...hope the corrections show up this time!
Suaru- hear it is, I updated, enjoy!
Sorry if I misspelled anything!
Chapter Six:
The next morning
He jerked back as the alcohol contacted his fresh scratch. "Dammit!" He let out a low growl as he continued dabbing his wound.
"Honestly Kouga, I don't get why you bother with that shit, a cut's a cut. It'll heal without that," the younger youkai said as he watched his leader flinch. "I mean, you are a demon. The wound will heal quickly."
"Yes, but there's no guarantee that it won't become infected," he said between his grinding fangs. "Inuyasha will be pissed for the rest of the week for sure. I'm not sure if I can take him on when he's that angry."
"Wha! You mean, you're actually worried? That mutt isn't even full bred. What could he possibly do to you?"
"A lot," Kouga answered simply.
"I never thought you'd say that about anyone, sir," Ginta replied silently. Could a hanyou actually be stronger than Kouga? That can't be!
"Well," Kouga said, slightly frustrated, "we are pretty evenly matched." He threw the cotton ball on the floor, right beside the trash bin. "It's not that simple though." He stood up and brushed his jeans off. "That bastard has a bad temper. He won't give me a break if he stays angry. I have to be ready tomorrow; otherwise he'll beat me into the ground and jump on me. He likes overkill!" he announced as he covered his left knee with a fresh bandage. He sighed and shook his head.
"What's wrong now?" Ginta asked worriedly. He hadn't seen Kouga express so many emotions until Inuyasha had gotten out of juvie. "Are you worried about the fight or something?"
Kouga balled his fists. "I've been asked to speak at the trial," he muttered loudly enough for the young wolf youkai to hear him.
"What's wrong with that? You are the one who framed him and all," Ginta was quick to reply.
"Yea, but if I show my face in that court…Kagome will hate me." Kouga looked down. His deep blue eyes now focused on the carpet. "I don't know if I can face her after speaking against Inuyasha."
"SO?" the innocent youkai asked. "The slut can go to hell; who cares?"
Kouga's eyes filled with rage. "I do!" He leapt at Ginta's young, thin neck. The young one coughed in surprise. "I love that 'slut'! I'm not sure why-but there's just something about Kagome." He realized what he was doing and slowly released his grip on Ginta. "I-I love her! And I'm a little worried that she loves him." He kicked the wall, causing a hole.
Ginta was slowly calming his rushed breaths. "Don't worry then. As soon as his ass is in jail for good, she'll turn to you," he tried to comfort the older wolf.
"But," Kouga weakly began. "I don't want her to fall for me. I want her to already be madly in love with ME, not that faggot HALF BREED!" He swung at the wall with his hand, forming a second hole; he was trying to hide the tears of anguish with his acts of anger. 'It wasn't supposed to happen this way! She wasn't supposed to like him! He wasn't supposed to be nice to her!' He slammed the wall causing it to shake. A picture frame from above, fell off of the nail it had been resting on and fell on the top of his head. It bounced, fell to the ground, and shattered.
He looked down angrily as he rubbed his head. It was a picture of Kagome and him. Is this what would become of their relationship now that Inuyasha was back? He felt fury rush through his veins and was pressured to throw his
fist through the shining paper of the photo, and then he stopped. 'But I can't-I can't let this happen!' He fell to the ground.
"Kouga?" Ginta asked shakily. He had watched the whole scene in fear.
"Get out," The enflamed youkai said, staring at the young wolf with unfocused eyes.
"But Kouga," He protested. "I didn't do an-!"
"GET OUT NOW! I need some time without your whiney ass around!" He threw a lamp toward the young one, purposefully missing.
"Fine!" the young one pouted as he stubbornly walked out of the apartment.
Kouga angrily pounded the floor as he sobbed angrily. "This isn't fair!"
Her eyes slowly opened as she stared at the door. She could hear him moving in the house- probably planning to rape her she assumed. 'I'm going to die in this blasted house, aren't I?' she thought miserably to herself as she pulled the sheets closer to her shivering frame. 'But…if he does it soon-kills me- maybe it won't be so bad.' She cried nervously, waiting for her death wasn't really her favorite pastime.
She heard a light knock on the door, and she froze still. 'Why is he knocking?' She confusedly answered the knock. "Yes?"
"Turn on the TV," he instructed her through the door.
"Huh?" She looked around, and for the first time, she noticed that there was a small television set in the room. "Why?" she inquired as she stood up and looked for the power button. She wasn't about to ignore his directions.
"There's something on the news you might want to see," he replied coldly. She could hear him walk down the hallway afterwards. Obviously it wasn't that important to him.
"How would he know what would interest me?" she asked herself as she pressed the red button on the base on the set.
And then she knew…
He drank from the steaming cup. If the caffeine didn't wake him up, he figured the heat of the drink would. He hummed lightly as he looked around the café. Yes, for the umpteenth time that week he was in that small café. (I didn't think umpteenth was an actual word...stupid me)
If he was sitting in this seat last night he would have been sitting opposite of Sango. He was beginning to wonder if he maybe would have enjoyed that better. He poured the contents of a sugar packet into the cup and took another sip.
He loved Koharu, he really did. He would do anything he could for her. But there was one slight problem. He loved Sango too. He hadn't realized this for sure until last night. Koharu had looked at him suspiciously and said that he had been smiling his head off. He hadn't noticed this fact, and so now he assumed he had been smiling because he had spoken to Sango.
But how could that have made him happy? She practically laughed about them having a relationship. If she knew he liked her, didn't she realize how hard he tried to get her to feel the same way towards him? Was it just a joke to her?
But it wasn't a joke. Never could she have treated HIM of all people that cruelly. She would never toy with his emotions like that. He just didn't understand her at all...
He took a quick gulp of the remaining coffee before he threw it into the bin and shuffled outside. 'Maybe I should stop dwelling on this. I'm involved with Koharu now. She loves me and I...I like her. I can't just leave her in favor of a high school fantasy.' He rubbed his hands together for warmth and began walking back to work. Fun, fun.
"But officer, I don't understand." Mrs. Higurashi looked up hopefully at the young policeman. "They're only children, they could be in danger!" She wiped away a newly fallen tear. "My Kagome has been gone since two nights ago-
last night and the night before- and Souta, Souta never came home from school yesterday! What if they're hurt? What if- what if they're dead!" She dug her nails into thighs as she grabbed her jeans tightly. She didn't want to overreact and touch the officer, that wouldn't help her at all.
"Ma'am, it's common that children Kagome's age run away from home. It just sounds more appealing to them then homework and chores. She should be back soon," he said dryly as he ushered her out of his office. It was his lunch break and he was dying for a doughnut. (Reminds me of the policeman from the Simpsons.)
"And what about Souta?" she questioned frantically. "He's much younger than she is! Are you going to tell me he just went to stay at a friends house?" This man didn't care about her children; she could see it in his eyes. She knew the drill, she did HAVE two children. Kagome had once stayed at a friend's house over the weekend without telling her. But Souta was a lot more responsible than her daughter. That kind of behavior was unusual indeed for him. And Kagome. That girl would never run away. She's the kind of person that got homesick when they left for the beach over a weekend. She couldn't do that; she simply wasn't capable of such a thing.
He grimaced at her. "Look ma'am, your children aren't the only people missing. It happens all the time. And since they are both gone- they probably are going to go do something together. Get over it. If they aren't home in the morning, then you give us a call." He gave her a blank stare and turned to the paper work on the desk behind him.
Get over it? Had he been joking to her? Or was he really some kind of sadistic fool? She most certainly would not get over the fact that both of her fairly trustworthy kids were missing. Both of them! That was just absurd! This moron was going to be reported as soon as her kids were found...
He kicked the crumpled can that stood in his way. With every five or six steps it was before him again, and he kicked it…again. The cool air brushed through his long hair that was probably tangled and matted- he didn't really care. He had planned on going to school, but since he didn't see Kouga or Kagome there again he didn't see a reason in staying. School just wasn't any fun if you couldn't kick any ass or beg for forgiveness.
And "amazingly" enough he felt like a rather large piece of crap right about then. First, Kagome was off somewhere and it was probably his fault. It usually was, so he assumed that it was the same this time. What really surprised him, though, wasn't about Kagome…more like Kouga. He had beaten the pride out of the wolf youkai in front of all his young companions. 'I bet those little shit-heads really think that bastard is all-that.' He scoffed as he kicked the beaten up can again.
'I might have been pretty mean to him earlier. He WAS playing a joke right? But that wasn't much of an excuse. The bastard made me believe he had had Kagome. Maybe I should have sniffed for the scent of the hair first, but that bastard shouldn't have done that.' He rounded the street corner and was now on a busier street. He left the can behind in favor of kicking a small dead kitten he found. (No just joking!) He left the cat behind in favor of looking interested in the shops.
But every time a girl passed him by, he couldn't help but think of Kagome. 'Where is she anyways? Could she have really run away? Would she really have left me like that? I want to say no, but something tells me that I'm wrong. She's probably really ticked off at me.'
He looked up at the dimming sky. 'Kagome, where are you?' He sighed; the sky wasn't about to answer his questions. He turned yet another street corner, this time running into someone.
"Inuyasha?"
"Souta...is dead?" she asked the television screen. Sure enough, he was. Or the evening news was playing a horribly sick joke on her. She grasped the strange sheets tightly with her thin fingers. "They...they have to be lying...they're lying!" she yelled at the blinking screen. How could she just believe that her little brother was dead? And if he really was...who could possibly kill an innocent child?
'What am I supposed to do now? For all I know I'll be killed in this strange house. That creep wouldn't even let me go to the funeral, that is, if Souta is really dead and this isn't some vile dream...' She shot a menacing glance at the hallway. 'What does he want with me anyways? He couldn't have possibly seen me more than once...could he? The only time I can remember seeing him is when I introduced myself to him and we went to the ice cream parlor. He couldn't be a stalker could he?' She involuntarily shivered.
For her whole life she had been pretty sheltered. She was just an innocent girl and she thought the best of everyone. So how was it that she got herself into such a mess? It all began with a simple act of kindness-she invited the new janitor for a snack- and now she would probably die before ever seeing her family again. ...She would never see her brother again.
But, after a few minutes of random news reports, it finally clicked. Souta was dead. Her poor, sweet, innocent little brother was dead. She would never see him again. That toothy grin would never appear on his fragile face again. The thick tufts of brown hair would never need combing again. And all his friends, so young, would have to experience a death so close to them. Their lives would be changed permanently.
She thought the past few days were going to be the worst days in her life...but now, without Souta...there wasn't really much to come home to now but sadness, right? And her mother!...No one suffering with her.
Kagome could feel the warm tears prickle the bottoms of her eyes, the shining droplets rolling down her cheeks. She gripped the sheets tightly and shook. The bed frame screeched as she beat on the mattress. She was sad,
yes, but she was also angry. 'Someone harmed Souta, MY BABY BROTHER! The sweet child who had done nothing wrong in his entire life. How could anyone be so cruel?' And... she couldn't do anything about it, not unless she knew who the murderer was...
'Is there any way I can help Souta? I'm stuck in this confounded room...but, maybe this is just the right place...' She stared at the empty hallway.
'Maybe...' She thought intently as she slowly stepped off of the bed. She slowly made her way to the doorframe and looked down the hall. 'That's his bedroom. Maybe...'
'Who is this guy?' Inuyasha asked himself as he looked at the stranger in front of him. He was as tall as Inuyasha himself, but he appeared to be almost ten years older. He was still young though. His eyes were bright and lively even though they were such a dark shade. His short black hair was pulled into a rat's tail behind his head. 'He doesn't look familiar at all, but he knows my name?' Inuyasha raised his eyebrow at the stranger.
"Inuyasha? That is your name right?" the man asked again patiently.
"Who are you?" he asked rudely.
The stranger looked slightly taken aback by his rudeness, but recovered quickly. "I'm Miroku," he said happily.
"And you know me, how?" Inuyasha motioned with his hands to emphasize the question.
"Umm..." Miroku thought a moment. "Oh that's right, you've never met me!" He laughed dumbly. 'I've talked to Sango about him...but I never actually talked to him in person.'
Inuyasha gave him a bland look. "No, I'm afraid I haven't. Should I know you?" he asked. He wasn't very interested, but it's not like he had anything better to do then to question the complete stranger. And there was the fact that he wanted to know how this guy knew his name anyway.
Miroku scratched his head nervously. 'I bet I look like a weirdo now...' "Um, well, I guess there's no reason for you to know me." He quirked a brief smile. "I only know you because Sango speaks of you a lot," he began to
explain.
"Sango talks about me?" Inuyasha asked softly. 'I didn't think she really cared...'
"Yea, all the time." Miroku answered quickly.
"So what are you, her boyfriend or something? She mentioned something about a fiancé or so before," Inuyasha asked with mild interest. He suddenly found more interest in his lawyer.
"Uh," He could feel his face heat up slightly. "Not really." He laughed lightly. 'Why am I blushing?'
"But you wanna be huh?" Inuyasha asked, snickering a little. 'This guy's so readable. He's got it bad.' (Too bad Inuyasha can't realize that about himself)
Miroku gave him an odd look. "Uh, well, the whole story's a little complicated..." He mumbled.
Inuyasha sighed. "Uh huh...well that's great." He began to walk away.
"Hey wait a minute." Miroku grabbed his arm. "I think we should talk." He motioned towards the cafe down the street.
"About what?" Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. "I'm not helping you with your relationship problems." Inuyasha rolled his eyes. 'What on earth does this guy think I am? A matchmaker?'
"Not that!" Miroku said, a little agitated. "About your case! I think I could help you out a bit if you would just listen to me for about thirty minutes." He shot Inuyasha a stern look and released his arm. "Dinner's on me." He offered with a bright smile.
'What's with this guy?' "Uh...well if I don't have to pay for dinner...sure," Inuyasha shrugged.
"Hey boss, what are you doing?" Ginta asked, jumping. They had done nothing but hang around the apartment all day and the young freshmen couldn't wait until something interesting finally happened. He straightened his cotton T-shirt and looked expectantly at Kouga.
"Look Ginta, I want you to keep watch here, I have something to do," Kouga said curtly as he made his way to the door.
"But Kouga, what do I have to stay for?" he whined. "I've been cramped in here all day!" He sent an angry glace to the older youkai.
"Well, you'll have to be here a little longer. 'Cause there's something I have to do alone!" He slammed the door behind him and stomped down the street.
"What's biting him?" Ginta slumped on the couch and blew at a loose strand of hair. Kouga had been acting very peculiar lately. Was it possible that he really loved Kagome? Would she ever feel that devoted to him?
The dim lights of the cafe cast a morbid shadow across Inuyasha's face. The way he looked in the dark...that was the image Miroku had expected to see when he first met THE Inuyasha. Koharu had constantly described him as a
menacing, trouble making hanyou. Miroku loved the girl, but he couldn't block her racism. She often reminded him of his ominous reputation around the high school. But sitting across from him, Miroku found all of it hard to believe.
He hadn't had much experience with demons in his life. He had only met with Sesshoumaru and Shippo. The two were just so different in personality that he didn't know what to expect from Inuyasha. But out of all the things he imagined...Inuyasha was nothing like. Sesshoumaru seemed so cold. He was mean, mysterious, and strong. Shippo was the exact opposite. The little squirt was open and honest, he was as nice as a little kid, and, well, Miroku could probably stand a chance against him if they every fought. They were both very much like humans...but so very different.
And Inuyasha, from what Miroku could tell, he was just a confused adolescent. It was funny though, Inuyasha was the one who looked most inhuman with his dog ears, but as far as personality goes...he was more human than Miroku. He was angry, he was sad, and he was in love.
From what Miroku understood, Inuyasha was in love with this girl Kagome. The youkai he claimed framed him, was in love with the girl as well. And from what Inuyasha could guess, Kouga was jealous and wanted to get Inuyasha
killed through the death penalty.
Currently, Inuyasha was twiddling his thumbs and staring off into space. Miroku was thinking about what he had just heard.
"So you believe that Kouga guy was the one who killed the other guy what's-his-name-Houjo?" he asked, looking up from the table.
"No, I know that Kouga was the one who killed him." Inuyasha answered stubbornly.
"Do you have any proof?"
"Well, I didn't do it. But Kouga didn't exactly leave any clues," Inuyasha answered.
"Well, maybe you could get him to admit that he did it on a recorder or something," Miroku offered the idea.
"Wouldn't work."
"Why not?"
"He won't admit to it, he's not stupid."
"Yea, right, I forgot." Miroku nodded.
"I do too sometimes..." 'Kouga! How is it that the moron could frame me so perfectly! And where the hell is Kagome? He better not have anything to do with it...'
"Do you have a picture of him?" Miroku asked, an idea popping in his head.
Disclaimer: If I owned it, do you think I'd bother writing this?
A/N: So...well, my mood has changed a lot since I started writing this fic. I'm not as...negative I guess you'd call it...Do you guys mind? I know I've added a few of my cheesy comments in here, and I just wanted to know if that was ruining this story for you. Please tell me! Oh, and tell me if the quality of this story has changed. The chapters have been getting a little longer, but it seems like less is happening, please tell me if that's making a big impact!
Really guys, tell me if I should change anything, really! Oh, and don't forget to review! I live off of reviews...and I'm practically dead...
So review! Tell me the good, the bad and the ugly!