Dancing Dragons

-Chapter 12-

My breath was caught in my throat. My eyes were wide with fear and filled with unshed tears.

"The guy I made a deal with today didn't give me all my money. I came here to demand it before he leaves for Europe."

I muttered my apology for my panic attack and got off the car with him.

"We're going to warehouse number fifteen so keep an eye out. You can read, right?"

"Yeah," I acknowledged proudly.

I looked up at the white numbers nailed to the warehouses.

"12, 13, 14, and... 15," I said pointing at the designated warehouse.

He nodded at me and once again put his arm around my waist.


InuYasha's POV
My arm kept finding its way around her waist. I was starting to think my arms had minds of their own. I'll be bloody damned. Once inside of the warehouse finding Naraku was no big feat. He reeked of fresh blood and pure malice.

"Well, well, well," he said looking at me, not at all surprised.

"Where's the rest of my money?"

He raised his eyebrow at me and chuckled, something I thought to be a bit disturbing. He slid a briefcase similar to the first one, at me. I took it and took my arm from Kagome to open it and count my money quickly. I looked up, satisfactory with the amount, and my arm again was around Kagome's waist.

"All's finally settled," I said slowly.

I noticed him eyeing Kagome lustfully. Kagome's eyes were wide with fear and disgust. I hugged her to myself, for her comfort of course.

"Say InuYasha," he said tearing his gaze from her body, "how much do you want for that bitch you're fucking?"

My eyes narrowed considerably before I answered him.

"She's not my bitch or mistress and most definitely not for sell."

I saw Kagome calm down a bit. She trusts me does she? When I looked at her face she looked horrified. I looked up to see Naraku pointing a gun at me. I chuckled and shot the gun out of his hand. Neither he nor Kagome had seen me pull my gun out. Kagome was a bit shocked whereas Naraku was just plain pissed. His minions, as I preferred to call them, stepped up in his defense.

"I'm wondering," said Naraku, "whether you happen to be the Golden Dragon they so fear in the Black Market. The Dragon that dances with his guns and other weapons they say. An interesting rival..."

His question and knowledge of my fame caught me off guard but I smiled gallantly nevertheless.

"What if I am?" I questioned.

I took off my coat and handed it to Kagome, who held it, and followed it shortly by my shirt. The tattoo of a ferocious dragon on my right arm had everyone, including Kagome, staring. They hadn't expected a tap dancing dragon on my arm, had they? I noticed they had not yet tore their gaze from my tattoo and became a bit uncomfortable. Not that I minded Kagome staring, but all the men openly staring at me were making me feel... gay. I took my shirt from Kagome's hands and slipped it on quickly.

"Proof enough?"

Next to me Kagome was whispering 'oh dear Kami' quickly and nervously. I turned to her slightly and asked her if she was okay.

"InuYasha, that guy was supposed to be my next owner," she hissed at me.

I quickly made up my mind to leave as soon as possible.

"Well Naraku," I said solemnly, "our business is finally finished. I hope this will be the last of our dealings."

I nodded at him and we left as quickly as we could without arising any suspicion. Once we were in my car, doors locked and the key in the ignition, we both let go of a breath we hadn't known we'd been holding. I put the car in gear and as I rounded the corner I saw the cops breaking into the wrong warehouse.

"Idiots." I muttered.

Kagome's POV
I was glad to finally leave that warehouse. What little I'd caught of T.V., and even radio from time to time, had taught me men with those looks we're not to be trusted. Also, it taught me some of the vocabulary I knew and the rest was all Maya's doing. Frankly some women were a bit drastic nowadays; what they wouldn't do for a man with hard abs, a hard ass, and a bank account; like InuYasha. I couldn't help but sneak a peek at his covered chest and remember how flushed I had become. I kept this all in my head for further discussion with Nana.

"You're not very talkative are you," he said as more of a statement than a question. Not once did he take his eyes off the desolate road we were on.

"If you knew what I lived through you wouldn't be very talkative either."

"Try me," he said seriously.

"Alright then," I said smiling. Finally somebody to unload my painful story on.

"Well, when I was five my parents were murdered brutally. I didn't see the whole thing itself," I explained quickly, "but I was forced to see the severed body parts. They threatened to do the same to me if I ever told anybody."

I saw InuYasha's eyes narrow painfully. This made me start to rethink the retelling of my life story and my thoughts on his character before.

"Go on," he said gripping my hand.

"W-Well," I stuttered, "they sold me to a couple of slave traders who kept me, until now, as a maid."

He nodded thoughtfully as we halted in front of the huge mansion we'd come from. I hadn't paid much attention to it before, but now that I had I was awed. We got out and walked inside. My hand, I realized, missed the warmth of his hand. I blushed and thought myself childish for it. Once inside he led me, his arm hanging loosely around my waist, through hallways I hadn't known were there before. He opened a door and flicked the light on.

"This is my room," he whispered so that only I could hear.

"Inu de-."

We both looked up to find a half naked female on his bed. It was the woman from before.

"D-Does this happen often?" I questioned softly.

He shook his head pulling me out of the room.

"Get dressed Aya," he said loud enough for her to hear inside of the room.

I gripped his shoulder and looked at him meaningfully.

"I'll leave you two alone. I mean your girlfriend must think I'm invading her territory. Our conversation can be continued another day, it's truly no trouble."

I made to leave, but he held onto my waist. No matter how much I tried to loosen his hold he wouldn't relent.

"Aya, leave."

The enraged Aya shoved past me, causing me to hiss in pain.

"Don't tell me I hurt your shoulder!" she exclaimed angrily, her words dripping with sarcasm.

"N-No, I'm okay. I-"

InuYasha growled next to me, and I wished that this hadn't happened.

"What the fuck is your problem?!"

"She is! Why the hell is she going into your bedroom?! You've never invited anybody in there, not even Nana."

InuYasha turned me so that my back was facing them and gently lifted my top up slightly. Aya gasped at the sight of my wounds, some probably still red and bleeding.

"No matter," she said a bit out of breath, "she still has as much right as anybody else to go into your room."

"I reserve the right to invite whoever the bloody hell I want in there."

"InuYasha," I said cutting into their argument, "it's okay. Let her in here, I mean I'll probably tell her about my wounds sooner or later."

"I-"

I grabbed hold of Aya's hand before InuYasha could reply and pulled her inside. They both looked at me a bit startled. Once the door was firmly closed InuYasha sat down on a sofa and me and Aya sat down on his bed.

"Where'd you get those wounds?" InuYasha asked, quickly getting down to business.

"Well as I told you I was a maid to two slave traders," I said while Aya gasped at my side, "and I was also sort of something they could vent their anger on."

"Who exactly are they?" questioned Aya swiftly.

"Their names are Kar and Maya Lishohitz."

They nodded softly, absorbing the new piece of information.

"When I reached the age of fifteen I was fully developed and Maya took to calling me a dirty whore from then on. When Kar was out she slammed me into walls, threw pots and pans at me, and even broke my arm once. Kar took me to have it put in a cast against Maya's wishes," I said pausing to take a breath.

InuYasha got up and started pacing back and forth.

"Continue," he muttered thoughtfully.

I proceeded to tell them both of the latest beating with the broomstick on the roof. As soon as I was done Aya shot out of the room saying 'hold on'. I looked to where she left the door open and I sighed. I looked at InuYasha questioningly and he shrugged. Neither of us knew where she'd gone.

"I wonder what she's up to," I said softly.

InuYasha came up to me and offered me a cold soft drink, which I graciously accepted. He revealed to me the small refrigerator he had in his night stand.

'Smart...'

Minutes later I heard Aya coming back with somebody with her. In a matter of seconds I had Nana fussing over my wounds.

"Why did they open up again? Oh it must've been all that scrubbing," she said answering her own questions. "Why didn't you tell me it hurt?!"

I smiled softly at her. She took me by the arm and led me out of the room.

"Come along Aya. InuYasha's got places to be tomorrow and so do we. As for now I need your help in curing some of these wounds on Kagome's back!"

Aya collected my drink and quickly left after us. Soon I learned Kaede was a sort of healer and Aya was her apprentice. They tried their best to be gentle on my back and left me, shirtless with my back to the ceiling, on a hospital bed with medicines drying and seeping into my wounds. I fell asleep and for once I knew that I wouldn't wake up to beatings or screams.

The next morning Aya woke me up. She was outspoken and gave me clothes of hers, after promising to take me shopping. She had me in sandals, a black skirt, and a white spaghetti strap shirt. After brushing my teeth I made my way downstairs. I bumped into Rin who smiled at me and excused herself quickly. I walked into the kitchen and found InuYasha by himself. I quickly assumed he ate by himself and turned around, thinking he still hadn't seen me over the newspaper he was reading.

"Sit," he said suddenly.

I flopped down on the nearest chair.

"I'm a bit disoriented on the daily routine here," I said softly.

"I know," he said folding the newspaper. "Breakfast is early, as you can see."

"Where is everybody?"

"They normally eat in the kitchen together."

He paused eating some of the fruit on his plate.

"I should be in there with them."

He shook his head 'no' and stood up.

"No?" I questioned, confused.

"No. You eat here with me. Rin and Sesshomaru will be here occasionally."

"O-Okay," I said not quite, understanding.

"I'm usually gone until five in the afternoon. I work in a business office managing imports and exports."

He walked up to me in a grey business suit with a red tie blown out of proportion. I stood up as he wrapped his arm around my waist, again. He handed me a phone.

"It's yours to use. I'll always answer if you call me. Sango will be waiting for you in the library."

"A-Aya said she'd take me out."

He stopped to face me. He grabbed me by the shoulders and looked into my eyes.

"You're too trusting Kagome," he said softly. "Don't trust Aya. She'll do anything to have you out of this house."

"But-."

"Trust me before anybody else."

I nodded. He kissed my forehead and left. I stood there dumbly staring at the closed door. He kissed my forehead. Touching my forehead softly I headed to the library. Inside I found Nana dusting InuYasha's desk.

"Hello Nana," I said cheerfully.

She looked up at me, smiling.

"Hello Kagome! Have you had your breakfast yet?"

"I-I don't know where the kitchen is," I stuttered.

"The hallway next to the dining room."

I nodded and left. I found the hallway quickly and there was one door. Once I was in the kitchen I blended in and helped myself to pancakes. I sat down in one of the various chairs and accidentally overheard one of their conversations.

"So what're you going to do about the new girl Aya?"

I spotted Aya among a group of giddy blond girls.

"Well," said Aya, "Kagome isn't that smart. She's been a prisoner and whore for a while."

"To hell with how smart she is," yelled a guy I recognized as Rohan, "she's got a fist of iron!"

Aya scoffed.

"As I was saying, I'll take her to the mall and lose her. Easy."

"What about InuYasha?" asked a girl.

"What about him?" asked Aya.

"He'll look for her. We all know that."

Aya went livid and said, "Not if I tell him she left on her own."

This was about as much as I could take of this. I got up, careful to not be seen. I left my plate half full and slipped out. I wiped away angry tears. I had trusted her! I shook my head softly. No, they wouldn't hurt me or take advantage of my situation. I walked towards the library and bumped into Rin, again.

"Are you okay Kagome?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm going to meet Sango in the library."

"Oh. Okay. Sango's a good person. You can trust her."

I nodded softly, but I knew I was going to be wary of everybody from then on. I walked away after excusing myself. This time the library was empty. I walked towards InuYasha's desk and sat down on his black swivel chair. I moved his mouse and a small screen popped up. I clicked on 'tour' and quickly learned the basics of operating a computer. I smiled after I exited the program. A window popped up that said "News". I clicked on it and it gave me an article on a problem it wanted me to solve. It was dated back a week or so. I read through it and racked my mind for answers. The idea hit me and I bounced on the chair proudly.

"If the background information on Daya's Technology is correct then they need exactly one-hundred loads of technology I hold. If I sell them this Daya's Technology agrees to pay me double the price as long as I allow them to pay me later... But it says here my goal is to get paid as soon as possible because of pending debts. This is a great game!"

Another window popped up with a message attached. I opened it and read through it carefully. It was from a guy named Maruto.

"This must have more than one player!" I exclaimed. "Cool!"

His message explained that he wanted my negotiation terms. It was signed with the Daya's Technology logo. I smiled and slowly typed my response.

"If I'm not wrong you just got a loan from your personal bank. I suggest you pay my services off. After your product goes out on the market the profit could be used to pay off the loan and the next shipment."

I clicked send gleefully.

"Excuse me, Kagome?"

I looked up to see a girl around my age with black hair up in a ponytail.

"You must be Sango," I said smiling, "I'm Kagome. Let me finish this game and we'll start whatever it is we're supposed to start."

She nodded and I turned to face the computer. The answer was patiently waiting for me.

"Allow a week for the transaction and 15 of the profit will go to you."

Once again the message had Daya's Technology's logo as the signature. I rocked on the chair thoughtfully.

"Make it 20 and we'll sign the papers Monday over lunch."

I had always wanted to say that. I clicked on the send button. I tapped on the desk, waiting for a response. I receive the message with enthusiasm.

"Done. Pleasure doing business with you. I'll send you the information on lunch later. Bring the papers and a pen."

I smiled as I exited the window and faced Sango.

"Sorry for making you wait this long. The game was interesting."

InuYasha's POV
As I stepped into the elevator I couldn't help but think of the kiss I'd given Kagome that morning. Her skin was amazingly soft. I forgot to ask her if her wounds hurt and reminded myself to call her as soon as I was safely in my office. I stepped out of the elevator and was greeted by people saying 'congratulations' and 'I knew you had it in you boss!' I had no saintly idea what was going on.

"InuYasha, sir. This came in for you," said my secretary handing me a memo.

I took it and walked into my office. I sat down at my desk and moved my mouse to get rid of the screensaver. I had over fifty unread e-mails. Clicking on the first on, the second one, the third one... They all said 'Congratulations InuYasha!'

"What in the seven bloody hells is going on?" I questioned myself out loud.

I sighed and picked up the memo. I read it over and found it to be an e-mail from Daya's Technology, the most prestigious company out there, other than my own of course. It was clearly a lunch appointment for Monday at La Belle Heure. It asked to bring a female companion to keep his wife busy while we signed a contract. I stared at this, then at my computer. I got down to thinking. Only two computers had access to the mainframe. The one in my office here and the one in the library. I picked up the phone and asked my secretary if anybody had been in my office without my permission today. The answer was 'Of course not sir.' I put down the phone, silently tapping on the desk. The one in the library? I picked up the phone again and quickly dialed.

Kagome's POV
Sango found it best, after I explained my situation to her, that I learn life's lessons by watching movies with her at the mall. I had the phone InuYasha gave me that morning in my hand at all times. I left with Sango and we watched 'Honey' and 'Uptown Girls.' After that we went to the food court and ate pizza.

"So then InuYasha works because he wants to, right?"

"Right," said Sango, "Sesshomaru can easily take over and InuYasha can have his life."

I nodded in understanding.

"Well," she said happily, "next we'll go see 'Troy' because I've been dying to see those cute guys in skirts. Then we might go see the 'Chronicles of Riddick' and after that we'll go shopping for your new wardrobe."

Without noticing I started trusting Sango, even more so than I trusted Nana. All she knew about InuYasha was that he'd always been a bit reserved and on the border of being anti-social. Aya and the other people in his house were there because they worked for him and had no place to live. Now I had more knowledge on InuYasha and I found myself curious and anxious to know even more.

"Alright then. I'm done. You?"

Sango nodded. I stood up and jumped when my phone started ringing. Sango giggled, I ignored her and took the call.

"Hello?"

"Kagome! Where are you? Are your wounds okay – I forgot to ask this morning."

"Yeah. I'm okay InuYasha," I smiled, "I'm with Sango at the mall. We just had lunch."

"Kagome, we're you on my computer in the library today?"

"Yeah. This morning," I said happily. "It was such a fun game! It was interactive and everything!"

I heard InuYasha bust out laughing on the other side of the line. Sango came up to me and I handed her the phone. She frowned comically and gave me the phone back.

"Is that InuYasha?" she mouthed.

I nodded and she smiled at me. We walked out of the food court, InuYasha still laughing.

"Are you okay?" I asked finally.

"Yeah," he said, "I'm fine. I'll explain all of this later to you in private, alright?"

I hung up frowning. How was my playing a game funny? Sango pulled me into the theater and we watched 'Troy' and then 'The Chronicles of Riddick'.

When we got back, Sango's car was filled with our shopping bags. We laughed when we realized there was no way in hell we could carry all those bags inside.

"My friend can help us," said Sango in between laughs.

We walked inside and Sango asked me to wait for her while she went to look for said friend. She left quickly, her footsteps echoing in the nearby hallway. There were so many hallways in this mansion that I had to wonder how big it really was. I twirled around for the heck of it and fell down on a chair. I sighed, happily closing my eyes. Then I was startled by someone calling my name.

"Kagome? Kagome!"

"Hn?"

"I've been looking for you all day!"

Aya was in front of me, smiling for all she was worth. I smiled back.

"Aya! I'm sorry! InuYasha told me to meet up with Sango and I got caught up. I'm really sorry."

Aya looked at me, she obviously didn't know how to react to my, how shall I say, forgetfulness?

"Hentai!"

I diverted my attention from Aya to Sango and her male friend.

"Excuse me Aya," I said softly.

I left Aya there and went outside with Sango and her 'hentai' friend. I soon learned, in between shopping bag trips, that his name was Lu Miroku. Miroku was really a great person, but a tad bit lecherous. He liked to grab and fondle a woman's body; appreciation he called it. I quickly learned how to avoid his wandering hand, much to his disappointment.

"So Miroku, do you know anything about InuYasha that we don't?" questioned Sango.

"Maybe," said Miroku softly.

We both looked at him, then at each other smiling.

"Miroku," I said softly, "I'd like to know more about InuYasha."

"I don't know..."

"I'll hurt you."

"Alright, alright. I'll tell you. I heard enough moaning and groaning from Rohan to know you can punch."

Sango looked at me incredulously. I had forgotten to tell her about that...

"I sort of punched the living day lights out of Rohan for insulting Nana."

Sango sighed, about to go into a lecture which Miroku graciously saved me from.

"InuYasha's never had a girlfriend for one."

Sango turned to him appalled.

"How could he not?! Every girl throws herself at him before knowing his name!"

"I know, I know."

Sango frowned.

"Well, keep going," I said, startling Miroku and Sango from their eye lock.

I smiled, it was obvious Miroku and Sango had a thing for each other.

"Uh... He's alone practically 24-7. I guess he's Sleeping Beauty."

"Sleeping Beauty?" I asked, once again confused.

"Yeah. He's waiting for Princess Charming to come and wake up that animal he keeps caged."

"Oh!" said me and Sango at the same time.

"So, Kagome," Miroku said, changing the subject, "you don't know your way around here yet, right?"

"Right," I confirmed.

"Well, as long as you know where your room, the kitchen, and the way out of the mansion are you're alright."

"I know those and the library... Except my room."

"Well," said Miroku thoughtfully, "where'd InuYasha take you yesterday?"

"His room," I responded meekly.

His eyes widened and his smile grew. Sango shoved him, muttering 'hentai'.

"What about after?" Sango asked me.

"I was in some room being attended to by Kaede and Aya."

Sango nodded in understanding.

"You'll just have to ask InuYasha then."

"Well, you have access to everything except the library and the old building behind the mansion."

"InuYasha said I had access to the library."

Miroku looked at me, then at Sango. I guess that it came as a shock to him.

"So why can't I go into the building behind the mansion?"

I guess that was a little more than late right? Right? Oh well... I finally got a new computer and Kyasurin-chan gave me her copy (seeing as she's my beta and muse and all.) Hope you and enjoyed. Critical reviews accepted and welcome. Mwahz!