Different Sides of the Track
Chapter 2: A Less Than Perfect Meeting
It was midnight, and the girl still hadn't gone to sleep. InuYasha was starting to get mad. He really didn't want to waste too much energy on this job. It would be easy if that damn girl would just shut her fucking eyes! He glanced at the form on the couch again.
She was watching a movie, eating pizza, and…crying? InuYasha glanced at the screen. It wasn't a sappy chick flick, if anything it looked like a really crappy copy of that American movie,Austin Powers. That didn't make any sense to him, so he turned to Miroku.
"What the hell is she crying for? The movie doesn't look that bad."
"I don't know, maybe she broke up with her boyfriend or something. Don't most girls eat junk food and cry when they get broken up with?"
"Yeah, maybe that's it. Anyway, it's midnight, you ready?"
"Alright, but we have to go take care of her father first."
"Where's the map Sesshomaru gave you?"
"Here."
Miroku pulled a folded piece of paper out of his back pocket and handed it to InuYasha. He glanced at it for a few seconds, and then sighed a looked at Miroku.
"We have to go to the 3rd floor. Then down a hall, 15th door on the right. If he's even in his room that is."
"Yeah. Something is wrong here InuYasha. Where are the mom and little brother?"
"Miroku, we don't have time to worry about that. Personally, I don't mind that they are gone, that means that we don't have to kill them."
"Good point. Killing innocent bystanders is pretty mean."
"But I don't mind it. More entertainment for those as skilled as us."
A sly grin crossed InuYasha's face, letting Miroku new he was just kidding. Though in this line of work, you had to enjoy killing. That or tolerate it, something they both had learned when Naraku first took them in.
A young Miroku, around 14, walked into Naraku's office. Next to him stood a tall, though still young, InuYasha, hair tied back and a bandana covering his ears.
"Naraku-sama, what do you want us to do?"
"You heard me Miroku, you need to kill this man. Here's a gun. Don't mess up."
Naraku placed the gun in his hand, the cold steel instantly stinging Miroku's palm. Glancing up, Miroku looked at the fear in the man's eyes. He gulped. Naraku had two employs of his tied up. Target practice for InuYasha and himself. Miroku didn't know what these men had done to deserve this, but he knew what he had to do. Hesitantly, he cocked the gun. InuYasha could smell the confusion and apprehension coming from his friend. He wasn't having that hard of a time excepting what he had to do.
"Mr. Naraku? If I go first, then can Miroku wait until tomorrow?"
"That sounds like a fair deal InuYasha. Go ahead. If you kill Hiten here with one shot, than Miroku can wait until tomorrow to kill Monten."
InuYasha took careful aim, pulled the trigger back, and muffled a gasp as he heard the bullet make contact with Hiten's skin. InuYasha looked up to see Hiten's eyes close, and Monten staring at him, very, very angry.
"You killed my Brother!"
InuYasha was shaking, but tried to cover it up with his tough guy act.
"Y-Yeah I did, so what? He deserves it, after all, you guys are the ones who messed up."
Miroku and InuYasha left the room, but they were still able to hear Monten's screams.
"Miroku, you can't think about, you just have to do it ok? You can't mess this up. If you do, it's out to the streets for you, and personally, even this hell hole is better than out there."
Miroku shuttered. He had lived on the streets for only two weeks before InuYasha's family found him, but that was more then enough time to get…acquainted with the ways of the lowest class.
"Alright, but you need to help me aim. I can't do this alone InuYasha."
"Ok…Here's what you do just pull back the…"
Miroku killed Monten the next day, and the memory still brought back feelings of guilt, but he pushed them aside.
"Alright, lets just get this done."
They quietly snuck around to the backside of the house, and scaled the wall. It wasn't hard for InuYasha, him being the half demon that he is, and Miroku had learned how to keep up with InuYasha over the years. They crawled inside the window, and out into the hall.
Kagome couldn't help herself, she just had to cry. She had grown up with a relatively happy childhood, the lack of parents never bothered her, since she always had nice nannies on hand. Her brother had been a surprise, but she learned how to share in time. And her mother tried to be there, but never was. She had a lot of friends, probably because she had a lot of money, but she didn't mind. She was never hit, never yelled at, never harassed or anything. Surprisingly enough, none of this had gone to her head.
Wiping away her tears, she stood up and went to the bathroom. Looking in the mirror, she saw that she had dark circles under eyes, and her eyes themselves were red. She looked bad, and she needed to think. So she grabbed her p.j.s, which were in her room. Her room was on the bottom floor, so it was close to that bathroom. She brushed her teeth, combed her hair, and went to check on her father.
Opening the door her mouth dropped open, the tears in her eyes coming even stronger then before. Right in front of her face was her father, hanging five feet off the ground, his neck in a rope. She was in shock. Her father had killed himself. Frantically she looked for something to distract her attention. She saw a white piece of paper sitting on the ground, next to a tipped over stool. Picking it up, she noticed that there was writing n the other side. It read:
Dear Kinoke, Kagome, and Souta,
As you know, I've quit my job. And having done that, Torishimo cancelled my account. It was worked out that I save all my money through the bank at Torishimo, and gain interest, but I didn't know that if I quit, it would cancel all of my account. Making me broke and in debt. I love you all, and I want you to know that even though I wasn't there, I was thinking about you. I've decided that there is no point in my going on, so if you're reading this letter, it means that I killed my self. I'm sorry.
Love forever,
Kadoko Higurashi
Kagome sank to her knees, her body quietly shaking with held in sobs. She didn't notice the clawed hand slip around her shoulders in a comforting embrace.
InuYasha and Miroku had sensed her coming up the stairs, so they ducked into a closet, and watched her slink by. She entered the room they were headed for.
"Damn. Now we have to wait till she's done."
InuYasha didn't like to be kept waiting, and by the minute he was getting angrier. Luckily, Miroku was keeping quiet, so as not to further piss off his annoyed friend. That was a very good thing. After a few minutes, InuYasha's delicate ears started to pick up a strange sound. It sounded like something was sobbing, but trying to hide it. He motioned for Miroku to listen. Even though he had human ears, Miroku had heightened senses, and was able to pick up the same sound.
"I…I think she's crying. But why? I mean, its not liked we've killed him yet."
"Yeah, I think we should go check on her."
"Alright InuYasha... lead the way."
They quietly climbed out of the closet, and crept to the door. InuYasha peered in and retracted his head quickly. He signaled for Miroku to lean closer.
"He hung himself. Now what do we do?"
"I don't know, but I think we should go get Kagome."
"Alright, I'll go. I lost my Mom to suicide, so I have experience with this type of thing."
"Alright, call if you need help."
InuYasha opened the door all the way and crept inside. He kneeled down next to the silent form, her body jolting with hidden sobs that were hard for even his keen dog ears to pick up. He placed a comforting arm around the girls' shoulder, and was surprised when she leaned into him. He slowly stroked her hair, and then he got a good look at her face. He just about jumped out of his skin.
She looked exactly like Kikyo at first glance. He studied her face with the same intensity a doctor might have when examining the body of a recently deceased patient. There was a scar over her right eyebrow, small and barley noticeable to the human eye, and just barely visible to his hanyou ones. She also smelled different, like flowers, where as Kikyo had smelt like spices. Her scent tickled and teased his senses, while Kikyo's had just bombarded them.
She finally seemed to wake up from her shock, and realized that she wasn't alone. She had her arms wrapped around the waist of a stranger sitting next to her. Well, actually, under her, seeing as she was basically sitting in his lap. What caught her attention most however, was a lock of bright white hair before her eyes. This white made all others dull in comparison, it was that pure. Her gaze roamed up to his golden eyes, which were currently doing the same on her bluish gray. They locked gazes for a few seconds, before Kagome stood up. It was weird, but she somehow felt as if a part of her heart had been removed, like she was empty, only half full.
InuYasha was experiencing a similar feeling, but he didn't show it. He watched, as her eyes continued to roam over his body, making him feel very vulnerable.
"Who are you, and what are you doing in my house?"
"Um well…"
Miroku, who snuck up behind the girl, hit her in the back of the head, and saved him. Kagome fell, and InuYasha easily moved to catch her before she hit the ground. He looked to Miroku who only shrugged.
"I had no choice. Your poetic words didn't seem to be working."
"Oh haha. Just get the door for me. I'll get the girl."
They took Kagome out to Miroku's awaiting truck. He gently placed kagome in the back, and then crawled into the passengers' side while Miroku started the car. InuYasha glanced back at the lifeless form. He was still trying to figure out what the feeling he had felt when she was crying in his lap was.
Kagome awoke with a major headache. She moaned and sat up. It was dark in the room, making her think that it was still night. She was puzzled however, to find that her clothes had been changed, and that she was in a comfortable bed. A vision of that silvered haired boy drifted into her mind.
"H…He couldn't have been the one to…to change me could he?" She asked herself.
"No, don't worry. I changed you. Sorry if the clothes are a little big on you. But you are after all, younger than me."
Kagome started, then turned to look at the voice. A girl with dark brown hair hung in a low ponytail stood next to the bed. She wore a tight green skirt with a matching halter under an open trench coat. Kagome eyed it. In That outfit with the bright makeup she looked a lot like a hooker. Kagome automatically went into judgmental mode.
The girl obviously knew what she was thinking because the next words out of her mouth were:
"I'm not a hooker. I'm a stripper. Not that it's much better. My family all died about six years ago, and a lady named Madam Zenski took me in. I didn't know that she owned a strip joint, called the Jewel of Souls. She trained me, and said I was good at it. And I needed money to live on my own. I get to keep most of my tips and I get paid. But I don't sleep with anyone. Except Miroku. My boyfriend, I think you've met him. He knocked you out."
Kagome just sat listening, surprised that this girl had just told her life story to her. She hadn't even learned her name. Again, the girl seemed to read her mind.
"My name is Sango. What's yours?"
"Kagome. Where am I? And where is my family?"
"You are in my room right now. It's in an apartment in south Tokyo. And as for your family, the only person I know about is your father. Don't you remember what happened to him?"
Memories from last night came flooding into her brain as if by command. Her father hanging off the ground, the note, and then the white haired boy floated into her mind. She wondered just who he was. She looked to Sango, hoping for some answers.
"How long have I been asleep?"
"About a day. InuYasha and Miroku dropped you off around 1:oo yesterday morning, still unconscious. So I put you into some more comfortable clothes. The ones you were wearing were ripped when they went through security. The guard, OniGumo, can be a bit… rough. InuYasha gave him hell about ripping your clothes. He thought OniGumo was trying to rape you or something. He was so loud, I knew he was here before I ever saw him."
"Who is InuYasha? Does he happen to have really white hair and doggie ears?"
"Yeah, that's InuYasha. How did you know?"
"H… He comforted me when I found my father. Right before… Miroku… Knocked me out."
"Inu…InuYasha comforted you? Wow, he almost never shows any kind of compassion."
Sango's head was reeling. According to this girl, InuYasha had acted nice to a complete stranger. And the only other time Sango had heard about him showing compassion was when he saved Kikyo from being mugged by a rowdy Noh Mask. But he loved Kikyo. He couldn't possibly love Kagome? She was jumping to conclusions. Maybe it was just because of the fact that InuYasha had dealt with this type of thing before. She shook her head.
"Do you want to get dressed? Then you can meet everyone first hand. And I promise this time you wont get knocked out."
"Sure."
Kagome had instantly taken a liking to this Sango. She was nice enough, and even though her appearance was that of a stripper, she seemed a generally nice person. Kagome looked up to Sango, pointedly looking at the big pair of sweats she was wearing. Getting the message, Sango went to the closet, and pulled out a pair of jeans, and a black tie up top. She then left out of the door to give Kagome some room to change. Kagome quickly dressed, and went out of the bedroom. She walked into a small living room, it was very cozy. Sango was making some coffee, and handed Kagome a cup. She smiled, and then led her out of the apartment, into a hallway. They paused while Sango locked the door. Kagome spotted a little boy sitting next to door, looking about ready to cry. She quietly went up to him.
"What's wrong little boy? Are you locked out?"
The little boy looked up at Kagome, and instantly trusted her. He jumped into her arms and cried. Threw the sobs, Kagome could pick up things like, "Mom's Boyfriend," and "locked me out." She felt really sorry for the boy. From what she could gather, the little boy's mom was in there with an abusive boyfriend. If Kagome listened carefully she could hear soft thuds, and little cries. She knew she needed to take the little boy away from there, and fast. Out of nowhere she heard a gunshot, and a loud thud. She grabbed the little boy and ran around the corner. A man walked out of the room the boy had been at. He looked around and Kagome guessed what was going to happen next. She covered the boy's eyes, and watched as the man carried out the beaten body of a middle aged woman. She waited till they were out of site before uncovering the boy's eyes.
"What's your name?"
"Shippo."
"Well Shippo, how would you like to come with me? You never have to go back there, and I promise you'll never get hurt by that man again."
"Ok! That sounds like fun! Lets go!"
Kagome walked back to where she had left Sango, about six doors down. She gave a small sad smile to her new friend, then let Shippo down.
"I see you met Shippo? Where is his mom?"
"I think she just got killed."
Sango stared for a second, then she sighed.
"This isn't the best part of town, though we have a guard he's easily persuaded with money.. A whole different world from what you grew up in huh?"
"Yeah, but I have a feeling I have to get used to it."
"Yes you do. Naraku will see you now. Come on."
Kagome and Sango turned to see a black pony tailed male Youkai standing behind them. He had bright blue eyes, and fangs. He was very attractive, but Kagome didn't like the way he was acting.
"Didn't you hear me? Naraku is waiting, and you don't want to keep the boss waiting."