o.O.o.O
Tears of Blood
darkenedmoonlightflame
(Hiten/Kagome/Jakotsu/Bankotsu) (Kagome's the affection-receiving being this time.)
HxKxJxB. Welcome to the car shop from hell. Meet Kagome, mercenary with a BAD car and a worse past, who applies for a job. One who's being framed for murders she didn't commit. But with all evidence pointing to her, and a certain blank point in her memories, she's at the mercy of those around her. Go through the pieces of her life to find where her heart and alliances truly lie...
(A/N: Well, I'm starting this chapter early, in compensation of the mini-cliffy I left you on, but I'm sure my readers don't mind. Currently at this point, I've got three reviews, and need four. But since I'm so annoyed today (thanks to someone plagiarizing Schwarz Stein's story, Petal Dance. I sure swore a lot in my review.
Hmm, I know, I know. UPDATE my other frickin' stories! Right? Don't worry, I AM working on an update for Kagome vs. Shikon High. I should probably be doing that instead of this… Heheh… And I've posted and barely edited a one-shot! Save Me, minor KagBan.
So here ya have it, Scroll I of Tears of Blood! If you check out my profile, and scan the upcoming stories, you'll see a side story to this one in progress… Don't kill me. At least let me update this first and squash my muses with glomping.)
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Aiiro ni chirabaru nanatsu no hoshi yo
Sorezore ni ima omoi wa tsunori
Uchikudakarete ai wo sakenda
Nigedasu koto mo dekizu ni yume ni sugaritsuku
Ikasama na hibi nado ni wa mou makenai
Mezameyou kono shunkan wo
Yagate bokura wo torimaku dearou
Musekaeru you na riaru na nichijou
Taisetsu na mono wa ... nanda'!
Zeitaku na sekai no naka ni miekakure suru eien no kakera
Sawatte tsukande bokura no ima wo kicchiri aruitekou
"Koukai wa shinai" to, saki e susunda
Warau ka, naku ka? Kou ka, fukou ka?
Kekkyoku ima mo wakaranai kedo
Kawarihajimeta mirai ni hirumu koto wa nai
Sore ga jinsei no daigomi to iu mono deshou
Girigiri wo ikiru bokura no dashita kotae ga
Chigatta toshite mo omoikomi demo'
Tsuyoku negaeba ii
Honmono ni nareru hi made
Reikoku na sekai no naka de tsubusaresou na aijou no mebuki
Sawatte tsukande bokura no ima ni shikkari kizamikomou
Mezameyou kono shunkan wo
Yagate bokura wo torimaku dearou
Musekaeru you na riaru na nichijou
Taisetsu na mono wa ... nanda'!
Zeitaku na sekai no naka ni miekakure suru eien no kakera
Sawatte tsukande bokura no ima wo kicchiri aruitekou
Saigo ni, warau tame bokura no ima wo kicchiri aruitekou
-the japanese original of grip! (I really, really love this song, lol!)
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Tears of Blood
--Death I--
Scroll I; Collisions
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It happened before Kagome was given any time to react; the hideous vehicle exploded instantaneously, knocking her back a good deal of yards, the insane heat clawing at her sanity. She fought and squirmed relentlessly at its clutches, fighting to stay conscious.
It occurred to her to crawl away from the burning car after a few minutes, and she inched away on all fours, coughing up smoke and dust. She didn't know how long it took her to crawl away and under a palm tree a good half football field from the sizzling ozone. But she knew it was antagonizing and utterly slow work.
At last she slumped against the cold bark, basking in the cool shade, bangs shadowing her eyes. "I… How…?" Her body was numb from the current of air and shock waves that had blown through her, and her mind was thinking slowly.
'How did Naraku find me? How did he know which car was mine? How…?' Thoughts followed one another, and she clutched at her reeling head, finally noticing a thin gash sliding over her brow. It was sticky and warm, dribbling fresh blood into her azure eyes.
She inspected herself, finding a laceration going from her shoulder to her wrist on the back of her arm, a gash sliding down her left shoulder to add to the same arm injury, and infinite numbers of bruises and scratches. Not to mention she couldn't step on her right foot, or clench her left fist, or even look at the piece of debris wedged just below her breast without gagging and wincing pitifully.
All in all, it hurt like hell.
"Of course." Kagome said, "Of course. How could I have been so stupid?" Naraku had a sharp memory. He would have remembered killing her family. Especially since her competitive rise in status towards him. He would have been looking for a chance to kill her, surely. What better than looking up her intentions, hotel, and car license plate?
"Knew I shoulda used a fake name." Kagome allowed herself to sulk for a moment before sighing in frustration.
She closed her eyes, sinking down for a minute. "Goddamn it. My family and life just wasn't good enough for you to destroy, eh, Naraku?" Her fist clenched, and she slowly pulled herself to her feet, using the palm tree. She froze and untangled herself when a tattered end of Souta's trenchcoat caught on the leaves.
She glanced angrily at the car- now in shambles- glaring as if it caused the whole problem. "Well, I'd better find someone to fix me up…" She carefully wrapped her fingers around the debris, and nearly doubled over in pain. "I'll just… cover… it up…" Panting, she freed Souta's trenchcoat, and buckled it up around herself, glad it was loose.
She began limping slowly towards the burning vehicle, she was glad to see most of her belongings had been thrown clear, or were still back in the hotel. She felt drained suddenly, and she realized her miko barrier was still encasing her assassination tools- and still draining her energy. She broke off the barrier, but left the concealment spell on it.
She couldn't help it: a maniac grin settled onto her features as she hobbled around, gathering her belongings, careful to stuff everything back inside the black leather suitcase, especially the charred lingerie. Out of breath, she wheezed, "Thank Kami it rolls on wheels!"
Letting out a tense sigh, she walked back around to the front of the hot pink car. It didn't look good; the entire front half up to the steering wheel was either blown away or melted like wax. She cursed, but refrained from kicking it and sending her ankle into hysterics.
Instead she took a seat on the back hood, sitting and staring at the sky. "Why me?" She ground out, as her aching ribs throbbed, and her ankle was screaming at her to do something. She flipped over onto her stomach, and reached inside to browse through her mercenary tools.
It was only expected that there wasn't anything to heal inside a murderer-for-hire's bag. She did a quick check that all her weapons and tools were still safely inside. They were. She rolled back onto her back, and sat up, wincing at the motion.
Kagome thought for a moment before rummaging through her pockets. Not much to be found; a brush, cell phone, a few books (which she put into her suitcase immediately), a couple packs of gum, a bunch of gloves, some different tapes, and a first aid kit. "Thank Kami!" She opened the kit…
…And found it completely empty. Crestfallen, she closed it and tossed it onto the vinyl seat before sliding off the hood. "Manual pushing and shoving, I guess. I hope I don't have to push this all the way to Sango's…" She leaned against it, and bit her lip at the wave of pain.
Ignoring it, she took a step, forcing the car in front of her. It burned in her chest, and she looked up. "It would sure help if you put the car in neutral, don'tcha think, Kagome?" Smacking her forehead, then regretting it, she slid around the side, supporting herself.
Reaching through the shattered passenger's window, twisting her arm painstakingly through the sharp glass, Kagome shifted the gear into the N slot. Untangling herself, she let out a sigh of relief, and limped to the trunk side again, and winced as she lowered herself to push.
She bit down on her lip as she began to push. Her eyes stung, so she stared at the road in case anyone drove by and saw her. Kagome despised being weak. So she hid her tears and agony, and shoved with what little energy remained in her veins.
The hot sun dragged her down, and soon she wanted to tear off the trenchcoat. But that would expose the debris. And that would be a mistake. So she licked her chapped lips and trudged on, inching towards her friends' house. She kept her head down as a car rattled by, slowing to whistle at the damage.
"What in the world were you doin' to that poor vehicle, hooligan!" The voice demanded, hoping to leak information from Kagome.
Kagome snapped her head up and turned it slowly to glare at the woman, who shivered at the sight of her cold orbs. Kagome felt a slight twinge, and her vision swirled ice blue for a moment. Her voice was arctic. "Leave this place at once. Speak of this to no one and your grave will be empty for a while longer." The woman left, trembling in the wake of the mercenary's glare.
"That woman's eyes…" She whispered to herself to calm down, "I must be dreaming. I think I've seen her before… No, no. I'm tired, that's all. Hai. That's it, hai."
Then the girl in question's vision cleared, and she felt a little pity at the woman's state. But not much. "Nice job. A potential hand of help is gone." She chided herself harshly.
After what seemed like hours under the sun, she came to see a building in the distance. Her cell rang, then began to play a tune. Kagome hummed along with it as she walked, until it finished. She flipped it open. "Yea. This is Kagome." A pause.
"Hiya Sango. Miro. How are you?" A lengthy pause while Sango could be heard knocking Miroku out. "I see. Sorry, but I don't think I'll be making it on time." She listened to Sango rant about perverts, pushing all the while.
"What happened indeed. Naraku." She explained in one word, before moving the phone from her ear as Sango swore explosively. "Exactly. Don't worry, I'll dial up my agent. No prob. Really! He can give me a ride." Her eyes softened as Sango went into sisterly mode. "Hey, I'm good. I gotta go. Approaching civilization." Sango said goodbye for herself and Miroku. "Yeah, yeah. Love you guys too. See you soon." She snapped the phone shut.
Taking a seat on the back hood of her car, she turned so she was looking back the way she had come from. Her ribs pulsed, and she covered the injury with one hand, using the other to reopen her phone and dial. "Yo."
"WHAT THE FU- er, HELL DO YOU WANT, MOM! GO AWAY!" Kagome smiled at her agent's antics.
"Nani? This is Kags."
"Um… Yea. So… WHY THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING ME SO DAMN EARLY KAGS! And how's the 'Zetsumei Fukyuu'?"
"Fine, yeah, whatever. Gomen, I need ya to come fix me up. Had a little run-in with Naraku."
"Oh, fine. Fine. I'll come. But only if you promise to get Mom off my back. She's a frickin' nosy woman."
"And how would I do that?"
"I don't know! Say you're my partner in business, come for dinner, pester her with questions. You know! All gals KNOW!"
"Whatever. I'm somewhere between San-chan and Miro-san's home and Tokyo. Been driving a good hour or two. Come when you can, 'kay?"
"Okay, just don't hang up on m-"
Kagome flipped the phone shut, grinning as she went back to painfully pushing the beaten old vehicle. When she opened her eyes once more after their rest against the dust, she noticed a strange building near the edge of the road.
"A… car shop? Is that it?"
It was a gleaming steel exterior, or she would have thought if it wasn't covered in red and blue graffiti. There was a vast sandpit surrounding it on two sides, the others covered by concrete-like blacktop. Gleaming cars were parked on the black top, and she could faintly see people her own age working on the cars in the tawny sandpit.
She kept her head down and mentally began evaluating the men to see if they were able enough to even deal with her. Out of the corner of her vision, she read the sign. 'Kakera o Sakae.'
"Seems a bit overrated to me," Kagome mumbled, lifting her head to glare at the passing car. There was a little boy with a huge plushy with both their faces pressed against the backseat window, and to them she grinned and made the victory V sign. In turn, he grinned a million-watt smile back, waving the plushy's arm.
When the Subaru passed, she dropped the face and went back to pushing. After a minute she could hear the employees.
"Hell, main building's like a gaddamn frickin' pizza oven!"
"Hell yeah. Hey, you, remember yesterday? Your woman called back for ya."
Kagome rolled her eyes. Typical mechanical whiz men.
"Shut the fu-"
"WATCH YOUR MOUTH, MU-SAMA!" A booming voice was heard, and the man continued as Kagome bit her lip in attempt to not scream in laughter. 'Mu-sama! HAH! What is he? A COW?'
"-ck up, bitches. Get back to work or we'll lose our jobs." She could suddenly feel his eyes linger on her. She raised her gaze to meet his. The shriveled old man sneered, "Hey, you, wench. What're you lookin' at?"
'A cow with a toilet bowl for a head, apparently.'
The twinge returned, beckoning for his blood to spill on the pavement, but she chained it back, her ice-tinted eyes glinting steely as she glared at him, a feral snarl threatening to rip from her lips. So instead she turned away.
"Well?" He prompted. He was provoking her.
"Urusai, yaroo." Kagome retorted, shifting back to work mode. Her cell rang, and began playing Grip! again. She froze, and flipped it open, eyes gleaming again.
"Hnn?"
"Has that sexy agent of yours got to you yet, wench?"
"Iie. I had a little… run-in with Naraku." She said under her breath, in case the men had sharp hearing.
"I see. Can't handle a little monkey, ne?"
"…" Kagome deemed it best not to say anything, less he change his mind about calling.
"Aw, no fun at all, wench. Anyhow. I called about the job. It's been moved to Sunday night. Yep, tomorrow. The agent should come by soon with details. If he doesn't I'll send you a message. Do a good job, and maybe I'll see about increasing your pay."
"Arigatou," Kagome whispered, knowing he already knew why she needed the money.
"Hnn. Don't get all sappy, for Kami-sama's sake. Tell him I said hi." A feminine giggle was heard before the line went dead.
Kagome smiled, and gently closed the phone, placing it back in the proper pocket. Before she could return to kicking and shoving, a voice asked, not unkindly, "Looks like your junk needs a hand."
Smirking at the highway concrete, she nodded slightly. "Hai, hai. How long will it take?"
She could feel the surprise radiating from his aura before it disappeared. "Judging by looks, this'll be in the scrap metal pile."
"Really." She stated more than asked.
"Uh…" He seemed unnerved as she glanced up, her eyes switching back to their usual calm sapphire. "I guess we could try…" He seemed dazed now. "Is it scorching here or is it me?"
"Arigatou. Yeah, I seem to have that effect."
"What happened anyway? The junk is pretty screwed up…" The corner of her mouth twitched. He got the hint, and simply waved to his buddies. "Hey Sui, Kyokotsu! Give me a hand!"
Wordlessly, Kagome snatched her mercenary tools, not caring it looked like she was holding pure air.
"Hai, one moment, Renkotsu-" What else the man was saying was lost as a mammoth figure cut in.
"OKAY, REN-SAMA."
"Arigatou," Kagome grinned and flashed the victory sign again before walking slowly to the shade of the building's east side, careful to conceal her limp. It was deserted. She opened her phone, and dialed carefully.
"What the hell do you want! You called a frickin' two minutes ago! I'M FINE!"
"Kakera o Sakae. That's what you look for. Sayonara." She beamed as she hung up on her agent again. It gave her a type of sadistic joy. Walking back around to the highway, she watched the three men shove the car around like it was a toothpick.
She blinked, and turned her gaze to the sandpit, where they were heading. Most men had their shirts off, and a faint blush tinged her cheeks and she felt compelled to look away. Doing so, she seated herself on the edge of the highway careful not to wrench an injured body part.
The traffic had increased by now, towards noon. The sun was intense, and she sighed, watching the cars speed by. For lack of activity, she fiddled with loose rocks next to her, skipping them across the road. After doing a quick check that no one was paying attention, she hurled one as hard and fast as she could manage with her aching shoulders. It zoomed through the air smoothly, like one of her arrows leaving the bowstring.
The result was fairly impressive. It zoomed across the highway, and out of sight. She strained her orbs to see it, at last spotting it popping someone's tires and continuing to disappear in the distance. She blinked dumbly as the driver stared at the tire in horror, having jumped out of the car. Then it dawned on her. "Shimatta! Gomen, gomen, gomen, gomen!" Then it dawned again; he hadn't seen her hurl it, and he couldn't hear her either for that matter.
'That was stupid of me, thinking he saw and all…' She averted her eyes to innocently stare into the distance towards where Sango and Miroku's house would be at. Sighing, she tensed up as someone approached her, taking a seat next to her.
"Well, it took a bit of convincing to get the best of us for that ku- anou, CAR of yours, but it's in good hands now." Renkotsu inspected his grease-covered hands, flipping them over every so often, as though there was something more to see.
"Oh." That was all Kagome could think to say, as she inconspicuously changed the positioning of her assassin's luggage. "So that's… nice. Arigatou…?" She paused, searching for a name.
"Hinote Renkotsu." There was an awkward pause, and it seemed as though he felt he was obligated to say more. Clearing his throat, he added, "I'm the guy in charge of forging parts and meltdowns. Blowtorch, welding. You know." But Kagome didn't really know that well.
So, acting the part, she smiled graciously, "Hai. That must be…" Kagome groped for the word, "interesting?" She ended weakly.
Renkotsu nodded a bit more than necessary, "Fun's the word, actually."
Kagome blinked, and whispered, "Would it be alright if I stayed here… just for a bit? Until my car is ready?"
"Erm… That might take a while…" Renkotsu seemed to shrink. "But you'll have to ask the lead mechanics first, if you don't mind."
Kagome aimed for a graceful standing, but the end result was lurching and clumsy. Her sense of balance hadn't returned. "Okies!" Her eyes formed the shapes of cheery rainbows. "Can you lead me to them?"
He nodded solemnly. "Let's ask Kouga first. He's amiable."
Wordlessly, Kagome followed his long strides, and Renkotsu tried not to seem jittery and impatient. "She wants to stay a bit." He muttered, chucking out introductions.
'Thanks. Thanks a lot.' Kagome thought.
"Higurashi Kagome." She smiled brightly instead, not minding the fact her hair was a mess, and her face was a smudgy nightmare.
Kouga glanced at her, appraising. "Yeah."
Renkotsu lead her away. "Suikotsu. Can she stay?"
Suikotsu looked up, and wiped off his dirty hands. "Ika Suikotsu. Pleasure to meet you, Miss." He had a quiet, calm and soothing voice. Kagome introduced herself as well, and they both bowed formally. "You may stay as long as you wish, Higurashi-san."
"Kagome is fine. Arigatou, Ika-san."
"Please, say Suikotsu."
"Suikotsu." Kagome repeated, tired.
"Only a few more," Renkotsu promised.
Ten minutes later, after meeting just about every mechanic, Renkotsu let out a big sigh. "Are we done?" Kagome asked in a small, weary voice.
"Nope, just Mukotsu and… him left."
"Him?"
Renkotsu seemingly ignored her.
"Mukotsu can she s-"
"Yeah. Go away, go away. This beastly car." The withered old insulting man complained, ignoring the two.
They left.
"Anou… Rakurai-sama…" So this must be the most important of them all. Worst for last.
"Stop stuttering, Renkotsu. Just say it. I'm busy. I have a job to get to tonight." The individual was immersed in his work, not caring to glance up and show his face. He wiped his brow with his sleeve. Kagome caught a glimpse of deeply tanned skin.
"Higurashi-san wishes to stay for the time being…?" He trailed off into questionable silence. The mysterious persona said nothing.
"Oh?"
"Hai… Your decision?"
"Gender?" He asked, so insultingly casual in tone. Kagome bristled.
"Female."
"…" Suddenly the grip on the wrench tightened, and his knuckles went white. His hand started shaking, and he slammed it down on the hood, leaning farther over it. "NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT! LEAVE IMMEDIATELY! And don't let me catch you here inside again!" His voice dropped to an ominous whisper, dredged in a deep, husky tone. "Women are good for nothing. Nosy, getting into trouble. Bring the place about our ears. Not cut out for this…"
Kagome was shocked into silence. Her eyes stung slightly, and she brushed off the feeling. What did she expect? After all, the world wasn't peaches and cream.
'So what? Zanmoto-kun is coming anyway.' She tried telling herself. She was incredulous that a persona she barely knew was about to make her embarrass herself and cry.
That did the trick. She stopped at once before the watering even began. She drew in a deep, shaky breath, and far as she could without pain. And she began.
"Certainly it will be such an astonishing relief from your demeaning and cynic personality! I look forward to the marvelous un-biased fresh air!" 'Might as well over-do it,' She doomed herself mentally. "I hope you CHOKE on my car's disgusting FUMES, in addition!" Her eyes gleamed ice blue, and she grabbed the nearest object (a set of pliers), and all but threw it in a deadly beeline at the insulter's head. And with that (although a smug smile did appear after the yelp emitted by the rude persona was noted), she wheeled around, and marched out of the sweltering garage-like steel building without another word.
And so Kagome lapsed into a pensive silence, pondering the odd tension in the air under the cool, twinkling stars that night.
A/N: Left it on a low note, kinda subtle. Not terribly inviting to come back and read, but…
Ah, YES! I'm doing good with my goal: updating every story by Christmas! This is my second update! Only a jillion left! WHOOOOOOOO!
So, anyhow. This wasn't the most terribly interesting thing in the world. I won't try and say it was. Because it's not. So therefore, I owe you all a better one next time (REMIND ME!).
Well, at least we're trudging past the boring chappies and deeper towards the plotline! And so, characters will be more profoundly introduced in the next chapter. Such as Kagome's agent, etc.
Important Notes:
(review if you have a question or are completely confused)
I've forgotten just about any and all important notes to record. Sorry.
Oh, and unfortunately, because I'd forgotten what 'shikumei' meant, the car shop's name will be Kakera o Sakae instead for now. At least until someone tells me the meaning.
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Next Chapter:
Kagome's agent shows up, and in the span of time it takes to have some decent tea, Kagome's furious and decided to prove that conniving little mechanic wrong. She's going to apply for a job. That's it. Final. Until her agent and employer has a say. Whose side will they take?
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Vocab:
Miko- Priestess
Kami-God
Hai- Yes
Nani?- What?
Zetsumei Fukyuu- Death Eternal
Gomen- Sorry, informal
-san- add-on, adds respect. Depicts Mr., Mrs., Ms., or a companion.
Kakera o Sakae- Shards of Glory
-sama- add-on for deep respect. Usually for people of high importance, etc.
Urusai- shut up
Yaroo- bastard
Iie- no
-ne?- add-on to the end of a question, for emphasis. Like 'eh?' (EX: Inuyasha sure likes his ramen, ne?)
Arigatou- thank you
Shimatta- shit
Anou…- well…, erm…, er…, ah…, um…
Hinote- flames
Ika- doctor
Rakurai- thunderbolt, lightning (HINT HINT)
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Reviews:
Kage Otome- Wow, thanks!
reki-sama- Adorable smiley, by the way. Sure thing, no prob. BUT keep in mind this could go to any of the members of the square. Just Bankotsu/Kagome or Hiten/Kagome are most likely. (grin)
Suggaro- Psst. You just may be right. And now you know what's happened, too.
shikumei6- Heheh, that's encouraging.
Hoku-chan- You don't have to now, but it's good to know anonymous personas are reading this too. And yes, that IS a good reason in my book.
Luvspanky- )
Squishy Penguin- Lol, love that name. And thanks.
Emotions Can Be Your Weakness…- Really? I love my A's. Hope it stays continually unusual then.
silverspun- Wow. I'm overwhelmed with compliments. Hope you liked this as much as the first.
MewCherry- (beams)
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Ja Ne,
o.O.o.O darkenedmoonlightflame O.o.O.o
And company. The Grumpy One and 'Kotsu. My adorably annoying bishounen muses.