Ohmygosh! I'm soooo sorry for how long this has taken! I was meaning to work on it during march, april, and may, but I made it into the musical at my school, so all my time was eaten up. Then I was gonna start in june, but I had exams and then a trip to france. I finally managed to write a little in france, but I was waaaaaaay too far from my computer. So I apologize! I'm also sorry for the crappiness of this chapter. Oh well. I enjoyed writing it, so maybe you'll enjoy reading it!
Happy reading!
..."Dammit, Cory!" Bakura slammed his fist against the small desk in the tiny office. He glowered at the short, bald man in the eye patch, who was sitting behind the bureau. "Tell me how much this thing is worth!"
As the owner of a small pawnshop in the bad part of town, Cory McDillian was used to seeing some pretty sad items brought in. However, as a link to the black market, he had seen some of the most rare and extraordinary things in the world. The small onyx stone that he held in his hand definitely fell within the second category. It was in near perfect condition and was a rare find. Almost too rare. In fact, there were reports that a similar stone had just been stolen from a local museum. He frowned as he held the jewel up to his only eye. "I don't know, Loki," he said as he returned Bakura's glower. "I just don't know."
Bakura barely batted an eyelash at the name Loki, mostly because he used that as an alias when he did these sorts of "interviews." That way, if the link were caught, he couldn't be identified. I mean, who would look for a god of mischief anyway?
"Shit, Cory," Bakura swore. "I almost lost a leg to get that thing."
/And my shoulder still hurts/ Ryou commented.
/Quiet, fool, I took the brunt of that pain./
Bakura stared down the man in the patch. "Tell me something. Anything."
Cory stared back. "The thing is, Loki, there's a problem with this particular item that you've presented," he held up the black stone. "It's rare. Too rare. I can't move it." He shook his head. "There's no market for it. If you had stolen diamonds-"
"Acquired," Bakura corrected with a sly smile. "I never steal."
/As if./ Ryou said scoffed. Bakura chose to ignore this particular jab to his ego.
"Right. If you had stolen diamonds," Cory continued after the interruption, "I could sell it to anyone. They're easy to move. Everyone wants to buy them. But this," he glanced at the jewel in his hand, "is impossible to sell without getting caught. The only way I could get rid of it would be to find a private collector."
"So find a private collector!" Bakura barked as he gripped the edge of the desk. "Dammit, Cory, at least give me something for my trouble."
Cory smiled. This was always his favorite part. He thought for a moment, "I could give you 15 for it."
Bakura blanched, "Thousand? That's crackers compared to what it's worth! You know this thing is priceless! It's worth more than 10 times that!"
"What do you want for it? And remember, I'm doing you a favor by taking this off your hands."
/Riiiight./ Ryou said sarcastically. /And I'm sure that there's no benefit for him./
"If the fuzz were to find it in your possession, you'd be booked for 10 at least," Cory smirked.
Bakura thought for a moment, himself, "I could ask for no less than 500," he said, looking out over the bottoms of his eyelids.
Cory spit out the coffee he had just sloshed into his mouth. "500…thousand? I hope you're talking in pesos." He bit his bottom lip in thought. "How about 350?"
"450."
"400."
"Done," Bakura shook the man's hand with his right hand and extended his left. "Pay up," he said quite simply.
Cory mumbled something about the truculence of today's youth as he turned around and looked at the large painting behind the desk. He swung it around on hidden hinges revealing a large safe door with an electronic keypad and a green gel square.
"Clever," Bakura jeered. "They'd never think to look behind the ONLY painting in this dingy little office."
"But the cleverness doesn't stop there, Loki," Cory reached out and punched in a code and placed his thumb against the gel pad. An internal computer read his thumbprint and Bakura could hear the click of the safe door opening. Cory reached into the safe and pulled out a remote control. He put in a 5-digit code and held the remote up to his eye. Bakura could just make out the tiny blue laser scan his retina. The remote beeped in response and Cory removed it from his eye. He pressed another combination of buttons and opened up a hidden drawer in the safe. He completely removed it and placed it on his desk.
"Being a little excessive there?" Bakura said as he raised an eyebrow.
"Remember, I deal with thieves and crooks. You can never be too careful," Cory said, as he looked down at the various currencies in the metal drawer.
"How did you afford all that?"
"Remember, I deal with thieves and crooks," Cory repeated as he counted up Bakura's money. "It is commonly known that thieves deal with thieves. I've been known to skim a little off the top of profits." He winked and handed over the bills. "Anything else that I can help you with?"
/Can we get out of here, please/ Ryou whined. /I reeeeeaaaallly need to wash my hands. I feel so dirty. Gah./
"Actually," Bakura started, much to his hikari's protest. "I was wondering if you could give me an estimate on something." Bakura pulled out the jar of jewel shards. "Do you know anything about these?"
..."I wonder if Kagome has calmed down yet?" InuYasha approached her closed bedroom door. He had been thrown out last night after the incident and had spent the night on the bathroom floor. He eased the door open, "Kagome?" He poked his head through the crack and swiftly got a face full of pillow.
"Go away, InuYasha!" Kagome yelled reaching for another pillow for a second shot. "I still can't believe that you did that. I mean, how could you? Didn't you even stop to think that I was gonna have to face this guy in the future? Can you comprehend what this is going to do to my social face?" Kagome let go of the second projectile-pillow and instead flopped facedown on to her comforter. "I'll be lucky if I get a date in 5 years because of last night," Kagome groaned into her bed.
InuYasha sighed softly and sat down on the floor in front of the bed. "I'm……." InuYasha was having trouble speaking. "I'm….." he tried again. "I'm sooo- sooorrr-" He took a deep breath. "I'm sorry," InuYasha finally got it out. He looked pained to do so. "I'm sorry," he said more steadily.
"You are?" Kagome looked up from her blanket. She eyed him over. His face was sincere and he looked at her thoughtfully.
"Yeah," he said quietly.
"Well, okay, then," Kagome sat up on the bed rather quickly. "Let's go back!"
"Wait," InuYasha looked confused. "Just like that? I thought you were mad at me."
"I was…last night," Kagome admitted, blushing. "I thought that I might make you sweat it out a little more. But now that I know that you're sorry, we can just forget about it and go!" With that upbeat sentiment, Kagome ran out of the room, leaving a very confused half-demon standing by the bed.
InuYasha stared at the open door that Kagome had just taken flight through. "Women," he muttered.
...Cory looked down at the small glass jar of jewel shards. "Interesting," he murmured, squinting. He picked up the jar and examined it more closely. "Very interesting."
"Is that an 'I know more than I'm saying "Interesting"' or an 'I'm faking it for the sake of looking good "Interesting"?'" Bakura asked, leaning in.
"It's a 'simmer down now "interesting"'," Cory said reaching out and pushing Bakura back behind the desk. He looked up at the tomb raider, "Where did you find these?" he asked with an inquisitive eye.
"I picked them up," Bakura said, nonchalantly. "Do you know any thing or not?"
Cory set the bottle down on the desk and looked the white-haired individual in the eye. "Unfortunately, not a lot. I do know, however, that this is part of what I think was the Jewel of the Four Souls. I also know that whoever possesses the jewel, wields great and terrible power. It is said that everyone who came in contact with the jewel met an untimely demise, except for the few elite who could control its powers. It also has been missing for hundreds of years. Now, where did you find them?"
Bakura didn't answer. He was too busy talking to himself.
/What was that girl doing with them?/ Yami asked with furrowed brows.
/That's a good question./ Ryou asked without interest.
/Does it have something to do with her boyfriend, what's his name?/
/InuYasha/ Ryou provided.
/Yeah, something like that. What does she see in that thug?/
/'Cause you can totally cast stones./ Ryou said with sarcasm.
Bakura was about to point out that his hikari had taken part in most of those illegal escapades whether conscious or not, but he was interrupted by Cory shaking him.
"Loki? Are you there? I've been calling your name for practically 10 minutes! What the hell happened?" the concerned pawnbroker asked.
"Nothing," Bakura squirmed out of the link's grip. "I'm fine." He looked up at Cory, "the truth is, Cory, that I found these shards. I just found them." And with that sentiment he grabbed the jar and bolted out of the office.
/Why the rush/ Ryou asked.
/I'm gonna find that girl and ask her what the hell is going on./
/Is that…Concern…I hear/ Ryou asked with fake interest. /Is the great and powerful Loki actually getting attached to a mortal/
/Of course not,/ Bakura said, indifferently. /Besides, I'm already attached to a mortal and it's a freaking pain in the ass./
..."C'mon, Kagome!" InuYasha yelled up the stairs. "I want to get back before dark!"
"I'll be right there!" Kagome called. "Let me finish packing!" Should I really be leaving right now? After last night? Kagome stopped putting clean underwear in her bag. Should I at least call Ryou and apologize? No. Kagome grabbed a couple of clean outfits and shoved them into her bag. He won't mind. Besides, I don't even have his number. Still, Kagome sat on her bed, I think that I'll miss him. THAT'S SO WEIRD! I only just met him. Maybe I should leave him a note or something. STOP IT, girl. He'll be here when I get back. Kagome sat up and finished her packing. "Let's see," she said aloud. "I've got my toothbrush, toothpaste, clothes, socks, clean underwear, girly things, that should be it." She picked up her backpack and turned around. "Now, all I need are the Jewel shards, and I can leave with InuYasha." She looked around her room. "The jewel shards," she said looking. "The jewel shards?"
InuYasha heard the scream from the bottom of the stairs. "Kagome?" he yelled with concern. When he received no answer, he ran up to her room. "Kagome?" he yelled louder opening her door. He found a very stressed out Kagome on her hands and knees looking for something. "What is it?" he asked getting close to her.
"The jewel shards," Kagome breathed. "They're gone!"
...Ryou heard the scream from down on the street.
/Was that a man screaming/ he asked his Yami who was now in his soul room.
/I think so./ Yami said, exhilarated. /I do love a good morning torture./
/You're so twisted./ Ryou said, mouth agape. He got a hold of himself and sprinted up the steps of the Higurashi home.
..."Where are they?" InuYasha screeched. "Did you lose them? Can't you just feel where they are?"
Kagome was calmer now, but InuYasha was just getting started. "Easy, InuYasha. We have to remain calm, and we'll find them. Now, I can't just feel them, because I don't sense them until they are activated. Just calm down, and we'll think rationally. Where could they be?"
InuYasha took a couple of deep breaths, "Okay, you look down by the well, and I'll look up here."
"Right," Kagome said and took off for the shrine. "I'll call you if I find them."
"I'll just come down and find you after awhile," InuYasha promised.
Kagome smiled and sprinted down the steps, heading towards the well where it all started.
.../There she is/ Ryou said spotting Kagome's raven hair entering the family shrine.
"Kagome!" he called, but she didn't seem to hear him. "Kagome!" he yelled louder to no avail. He took off towards the shrine. He walked in and found her stand next to the well. She turned at the sound of his footsteps.
"I didn't find them here, InuYa-" she started looking up. "Oh," She said, realizing that it wasn't InuYasha standing there. "Hi there Ryou! What brings you here?"
Ryou walked over to her and pulled out the jar of shards, "I got home the other day and found these in my backpack," He said smiling. "They wouldn't be yours would they?"
Kagome was so shocked to find the shards that she simply looked up at Ryou and stared at him. Then the relief sunk in and she grabbed him.
...Before Ryou realized what was happening, he got hugged. He stood there, stunned, for a second then reached up and hugged her back.
...InuYasha couldn't find the shards, no matter where he looked. He tried under her bead, on the nightstand, on the desk, hell; he even went into her bathroom. That was a mistake. The instant he stepped into that room, he got hit with the strong scent of her perfume. And, of course, being part dog-demon, his super sensitive nose caused him quite a bit of trouble. He fell backwards out of the bathroom and ran out of the house. He had to get away from that scent. He came to the shrine, and it may have been the perfume messing with his mind, but when he found Kagome hugging the same boy as last night, he panicked. He wasn't going to make the same mistake of just swinging at him, so he did what any perfume-high half-dog demon would do. He tackled the couple.
...Ryou was enjoying his hug quite a bit. Almost too much. His Yami started getting impatient.
/Well, are you gonna ask her, or what?/
/…./
/Fool?/
/…../
/Fine, I'll ask her myself./ and with that heartfelt sentiment, Yami tried to get control of Ryou's body. He managed to take control the right eye, so he could see InuYasha's death lunge coming.
/IDIOT!/ he yelled, finally getting Ryou's attention.
/Hmmm/ Ryou asked contently.
/You might want to move./ Yami said forcefully.
/Hmmmm/ Ryou asked, puzzled. But by then it was too late. InuYasha got a hold of both Ryou and Kagome and they toppled into the well, jewel shards and all.
...TBC.
So what I lack in quality, I make up in quantity. This sure was a long chappie. Hopefully I won't take quite as long getting the next one out. Well, anywhoo…..remember to review!