A/N: Don't even ask . . . All I have to say for myself is that high school = @.@ And GOMEN NASAI.
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"In the Crossfire"
Chapter 9: The Plot Thickens
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Birthday Countdown: 5 days
Knowing that her father was defenseless against tears, Sakura began to bawl. Inuyasha stared in shock for a brief second, and immediately became regretful for being so harsh on her. She was injured after all. Explanations could come a little later.
His daughter stood there soaked from head to toe, crying. Her legs gave way and she fell to her knees. Inuyasha ran up to her and held her just as the rest of the group, curious as to what the shouting was all about, appeared at the doorway. He helped her up and walked her over into the house. "Could someone get a blanket?" Inuyasha muttered in an agitated tone. "Now, please?!" he added loudly as he sat with Sakura and Sango on the floor mats. The other three males all started to the storage room at the same time but Shunusuke was the fastest, quickly returning and throwing the cover over Sakura's shoulders.
"Arigato Shunusuke-kun . . ." she managed to gulp as she shivered slightly and the tears slowed.
"Sakura --," Inuyasha began again in a clear, forceful voice.
Sango intervened. Clearing her throat and shaking her head to silence the enraged hanyou. "Sakura-chan," she began softly. "First thing's first, are you alright?" the demon hunter questioned, eyeing the girl's bandaged wound. Sakura gave a weak nod. "Why don't you go ahead and tell us what happened?"
She nodded again and proceeded to spill her guts . . . with a few minor adjustments, of course.
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"So, you were attacked by a snake youkai and killed it just before you fell unconscious and you dreamt a strange vision of a wolf nursing you?" Miroku asked.
Sakura replied, "Hai."
Inuyasha knew his daughter wasn't known for lying, but something smelled fishy, or rather more like an ookami [wolf] youkai. "But that doesn't explain why you smell like a wolf. That particular scent seems almost familiar somehow . . ." the hanyou mused.
"Daddy, I'm very tired," the girl said, forcing a bit of a smile. "May I go to bed now?"
Just as Inuyasha opened his mouth Sango interrupted again. "Of course Sakura-chan, in fact I believe that rest would be the best thing for you right now." The two women smiled at each other and Sakura gratefully stood up and retreated to the privacy and comfort of her room.
"Sango --!" Inuyasha groaned. She sighed heavily and looked to her husband who shrugged. Shippo was already asleep next to Kirara and drooling all over the wood floor. Shunusuke stared at nothing in particular and in deep thought.
'Something simply doesn't seem right . . .'
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Kouga's weary eyes finally opened to meet the wee light of dawn. He grunted at a slight twinge that shot up his leg, which was almost completely healed. "Damn, it's dawn already . . . I need to get moving and quick!" The ookami began pushing his fatigued body off the ground, mainly using the strength of his upper body. That's when a sound reached his pointed youkai ears.
. . . It sounded like someone was coming outside!
Panicking, Kouga reached deep within himself and just managed to find enough energy to start crawling away to the forest as low as he could. Settling quietly in some bushes, he peeked over at the house. Kouga growled. 'It's that perverted houshi's son . . ."
Shunusuke scanned the area with his bold brown eyes but saw nothing. "I could've sworn someone was out here," he murmured to himself. "More and more strange things have been happening as Sakura's birthday grows nearer." He returned to the house to retire to bed once again.
Nearby an extremely relieved ookami youkai sighed and finally was able to stand up and walk home.
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Sakura awoke just a little earlier than usual to go check on her injured wolf friend. Carefully sneaking out of her window, she crept stealthily to his hiding place.
"Kouga-kun?" she called softly, realizing he wasn't there. She sniffed around and found his scent trailing away from the house and into the forest. "He . . . left?" Sakura whispered dejectedly, rather disappointed.
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Birthday Countdown: 2 days
Dear Diary,
I haven't heard from Kouga-kun for a few days. I'm kind of worried, but I'm sure he made it home.
Dad's finally calmed down, which is such a relief. I think Ill try to go see Kouga-kun today (now that I know where he lives). Hopefully Dad won't catch me! He'd slaughter me if he found out I was leaving the house again. He "grounded" me (?) until my birthday.
Ja ne,
Sakura-chan
Sakura fled the house and ran off into the forest while everyone else was busy. Shippo was trying to help Sango come up with baby names while the other three men and Kirara were working, and Sakura was supposedly "asleep".
So far the plan was working; she had already well passed the midpoint between her's and Kouga's homes. Suddenly, a girl jumped out in front of her from the underbrush, stopping her. She was obviously a wolf youkai: she had reddish hair, green eyes, and was wearing a white wolf pelt and armor. "Hello," the youkai girl greeted in a friendly manner, smiling warmly.
"Um, hi," Sakura replied somewhat annoyed, wanting to get on her way to see Kouga.
"I'm Ayame. What are you doing in MY territory?" Her tone had unexpectedly shifted from friendly to forceful, as if Sakura was a well-known and hated adversary.
"Your territory?" Sakura growled, becoming more and more agitated by the minute. "This is Kouga's territory and Kouga's alone. Let me through." She confidently stalked to the side of the older girl. Ayame stood in front of her again.
"And Kouga is my mate, therefore this is my territory as well," Ayame smirked devilishly and waited for Sakura's reaction.
"You're lying," she stated simply. "I don't smell him on you and you bear no mark. Let me pass." Sakura side-stepped and Ayame followed.
"Oh, I'm sorry," the ookami girl replied, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "I'm his fiancée. We're very much in love and he gave me permission to deter anyone who dares enter our territory. So leave now, you stupid excuse for a quarter demon!" she growled.
Sakura had had enough of this girl's talk. "I'm a friend of Kouga's and I need to see him right away, let me pass!"
"No! As Kouga's future wife I will not tolerate such trash through our territory!"
"You are not Kouga's fiancée!" Sakura shrieked.
Ayame couldn't believe it . . . She didn't even see the girl's hand coming, but she definitely felt it make contact with her face. Her cheek stung and she stood in shock for a moment. "How . . . dare you . . ."
Sakura stood defiantly in front of the older youkai girl, glaring with fire glistening in her golden eyes. "Let . . . me . . . through . . ." Sakura spat out every syllable as articulately as possible so as to make her point clear. Once again she stepped to the side to stalk forward.
"I have a tip for you . . ." Ayame sneered.
The quarter-demon girl stopped right at her rival's side facing opposite. "And what's that?" she inquired icily, staring ahead into the green that was the forest.
"Never –." Ayame elbowed Sakura's side with such force that it knocked her over. "—take—." She kicked her in the stomach almost causing the younger girl to throw up. "—your eyes—." The ookami kicked her again in the side and Sakura held back a pained whine. "—off your opponent!" Ayame finished, punching Sakura right in her left eye. Picking her up by her hair, Ayame glared into the pair of frightened amber orbs. "Got that?"
Sakura barely let out a whimper and nodded slightly to show understanding. "Good, now get out," the female wolf demanded, letting go of the younger girl's raven locks. "NOW!" The girl stood quickly and ran in the opposite direction towards home. "And never let me catch you trying to come here again or I swear to the gods I WILL KILL YOU!" screamed Ayame.
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Sakura cried all the way home. She had never been treated this way before! Not even by humans was she ever so brutally beaten and yelled at. Everyone that knew her treated her with kindness . . . she had always been such a sweet and likeable girl . . .
Continuing to let the tears fall freely, she didn't realize she was barging through her front door rather than sneaking in the way she had ventured out. A shocked Sango and Shippo gazed at her with huge, confused eyes. "S-Sakura-chan!" Sango gasped. The girl didn't even try to hide or make up excuses, she simply let the tears come and fell to the floor in a pitiful, crumpled-up heap.
Her body where she had been kicked and punched were sore and red; bruises would undoubtedly form. "Sango-sama!" Sakura sobbed. "G-Gomen nasai, I know I w-wasn't s'posed to leave the house, but I had to. I needed to check on a friend who was hurt recently, but before I got there this youkai onna [woman] beat me up!"
Shippo gaped. "I-I'll go get Kagome's first aid kit!" And with that the kitsune scurried off to the storage room.
"Shh . . ." Sango cooed. "Come here now, it's alright Sakura-chan." She motioned for her friends' daughter to come over so she could try her best to be of some comfort to her. Almost hesitantly, Sakura crawled over to the only mother figure she had ever known and sat with her, eyes downcast in shame.
The demon slayer wrapped a consoling arm around her shoulder and squeezed it lightly, smiling. "It's alright, Sakura-chan. I won't tell your father. Let's keep this a secret amongst the three of us."
Right on cue Shippo came dashing back into the living room brandishing an old first aid. "Secret?" he huffed, catching his breath. "I don't like keeping secrets . . . especially from someone who can pummel me!" The two women couldn't help but smile; the kitsune could be a good comic relief when they really needed it. He smiled back sheepishly. "But I will keep it a secret. I won't tell anyone. Promise."
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"Inuyasha . . . I was wondering, when are you planning to tell Sakura about what happened to her mother?" asked Miroku as they walked home. The sun was already setting.
"On her birthday . . . I know she's been dying to know for a long time. I just wish it would never have happened. It was all my fault," the hanyou rambled absently, gazing up at the darkening sky with Tetsusaiga over his shoulder.
"No, it wasn't Inuyasha. It wasn't . . ." Miroku tried his best to sound convincing but wasn't doing too great of a job.
Shunusuke treaded on in silence with Kirara. He had not been told the entire story either; Sakura wasn't the only one who had been waiting all these years for some answers. 'Guess I'll have to wait just a little bit longer . . .'
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A/N: And so will you guys. ^_^ Review please.