Thank you for all of your reviews! Woo! They make me happy!

Just so you know, it's September in this story. I think it might be snowing in Chicago in September… I don't know -I've never lived there. Please bear with me.

Into the Fray

Chapter 9

Chicago

The next morning came too soon. At 7:34, I heard a knock sound from downstairs. I had been looking out my window with my luggage in my arms, but upon hearing the impatient knock, I sighed and got up. Sota was already at school and the girl was downstairs, helping with luggage. I made my way downstairs and saw Stepmother in a lacy blue dress with white gloves that went up to her elbows. I looked down to her feet and didn't know whether to laugh or puke. She had the same horrible black shoes on.

She saw me and her fake smile was put in place. "Inu-Yasha, you're up! I was thinking that Gon and Edo were going to have to wake you up." I grimaced inwardly at the thought. I would be coming down with missing limbs if that happened.

Mrs. Higurashi was running about, looking panicked. She saw me and ran to me, giving me a giant bear hug once she reached me. "You be good now," she whispered in my ear. She broke the hug and looked at me, tears in her eyes. "You've been like a son to me these last few days. Please, keep in touch with us. I would love to hear about Chicago." She looked at the living room, where my furniture still lay. "Are you sure you want to leave your furniture?"

I put my own fake smile on and nodded. "Yes, if that isn't a problem. I'll try to call you about Chicago, but I'll be busy for a while, what with getting used to everything -so it might take a little time for me to call." I bowed to her, and said, "Thank you for letting me stay for as long as I did. I really appreciate it."

When I erected from my bow, she gave me another hug. "We're going to miss you. Aren't we, Dad?" She turned to Grandpa Higurashi, who was looking even fouler than Stepmother, if that was possible.

"Meh," he replied and then left the room. I almost laughed at it, but then the girl came to my side, and surprisingly enough, gave me a hug too.

"You have everything?" she asked softly. The knives, mace and acid came to my mind and I couldn't help but smile.

"Yeah," I replied. "I've got everything." She broke the hug and then smiled brightly at me. Edo, the larger goon, put his hand on my back and pushed me lightly towards the door. I obliged and walked out of the shrine, trying to keep the thought of that that moment was the last time I made my way down those stairs out of my head. I saw a few other suitcases in the open trunk of the Lexus and was honestly surprised that I wasn't going to be put into it. I placed my suitcase gingerly in the trunk and kept my backpack (which included the acid, mace, knives, my CD player, CD's, and batteries) with me. I looked back up to the entrance of the shrine to see mother and daughter waving to me.

"Don't forget about us!" they called. I waved back to them, got in the back seat of the car and prepared myself for Hell.

………………..

I was correct about Stepmother. The moment we were in the car, she turned to me, that same growling sneer on her face. "I don't want a single sound out of you, do you hear me, filth?" she demanded in her grating voice. "Not one. I haven't had to listen to your stupid voice for four years and I don't want that to stop."

I actually wasn't daunted by her. Not yet. She just looked like an old, angry hag. I gave her my own little sneer and then asked, "Fine, but not before you answer a question I've been harboring."

She growled and then said, "Fine. What is it, little bastard?"

"Why are you doing this? You could've just let me stay here. Do you really miss me that much?"

She nearly coughed up a lung by laughing. "You wish, slimy son of a whore. Someone leaked to the authorities that you had been missing a year after I booted you out. I tried to tell them you didn't exist, but they found your social security number. So, we've been leading the police in the nation on a fake search this whole time, and then, they caught wind of you up here and found you. And since there was no way I could bribe the entire national police academy, I had to take you back in."

Now it makes sense…I sighed and nodded. "Fair enough."

The ride to the airport was long. Each minute that passed, my stomach turned a new flip and compressed. I became more and more uneasy. What was she going to do to me once I got back into that mansion? Her goons would probably drown me in the well outside, or beat me senseless and throw me into the river… or the lake… I felt a lump in my throat form. Oh God, I might not even make it to the mansion…

My rational side took over. Stop being so morbid. She can't do anything until the media and police back off, and there's no telling how long that'll take. At least a few days. She can't touch me for that entire time. Then, during that time, I'd be able to find all of my old escape routes. I'd be able to run away and go the police…

Then, an old memory came to my mind. I had been abandoned by the lake in a blizzard once, and a policeman found me when I almost froze to death. He took me back to the mansion, and when I thought I was finally free, she bribed him and he let her off. My shoulders sagged. I couldn't go to the police. At least not in Chicago. She owned them.

I looked out the window to my right and saw an airplane taking off nearby. I let another sigh escape my lungs. We were there, at the airport.

I shrugged my backpack, and took a piece of luggage from the trunk. Stepmother and her goons were walking off without me, so I had to go ahead and hurry to catch up. Our flight was already boarding, and suddenly, I got really nervous when the security line appeared before me. The blades… What would they do about them? And the acid? The security guards might think I was a terrorist! However, Stepmother slipped the guard a Ben Franklin while no one was looking, and he let us right through. I almost thanked her out loud.

I took my seat beside Edo and Stepmother beside Gon behind us. My backpack lay on my lap and I took my CD player out. Edo looked at me, and I returned the glance. "Yes?" I asked.

He peered into my backpack. "What CD's you got?"

…………………….

I slept most of the way to Chicago. It was non-stop (thank God) so it was kind of long. There wasn't much excitement, except for the fact that I now knew that Edo liked System of a Down and Tenacious D. It was actually kind of pleasant, since I wasn't sitting beside Stepmother herself. And Edo didn't seem to be that bad of a guy.

I fumbled around in my pockets -trying to find my pencil- when I found a piece of paper instead. I took it out and realized it was the Higurashi's home number. Knowing full well that it would probably be confiscated from me once we got back to the mansion, I memorized it, and then put it back in my pocket for safe-keeping.

About 21 hours later, (we had trouble taking off) I woke to the captain's monotonous voice come on the PA. "We are now in Chicago Airport. The time here is 8:34 am Monday, September 30th, so please adjust your watches appropriately. Thank you for flying with Sakura Airlines, the safest planes in the sky. Have a nice day."

I felt sick. Now that the shock had finally settled in, I was scared out of my mind. When I didn't get up immediately, Edo gently pulled my arm. I looked at him and then sighed defeatedly. I put my things back into my backpack (being very aware of the chemical in it) and got up.

We all got off safely, (Stepmother slipped the security guard another Ben) and didn't even pause as Stepmother set the grueling pace out of the airport. I barely had time to get my suitcase. Though, it worried me that she was actually bribing the guards that much. That meant her goons were packing heat. Or she was. With that in mind, I took extra caution not to piss her off too badly.

It was actually snowing when I stepped outside of the airport. The city looked as I remembered it -snowy, clouded and smoggy. I inhaled and smelled the same smell that was here the last time I was. Nostalgia almost overtook me when Gon grabbed my arm and yanked me forward and out of my reverie. Sighing, I let myself be led by the giant man to Stepmother's newest car, a black, slightly stretched limousine. I put my things in the very back and climbed in, while Edo took the steering wheel and Gon the seat in front of me. Stepmother, of course, took shotgun.

It wasn't a very long ride. The mansion was located on top of a hill overlooking the lake, which was convenient for Stepmother, since she always "dealt" with business rivals and enemies by drowning them. I knew, since she always threatened me with those words. "You shut up or else I'll drown you like those fucking people with the Shinkens Corporation -do you understand, you bastard dog!" My stomach turned over at the memory.

I looked out the window to look at the city. It hadn't changed much -except now there were a lot more neon signs. The smog over the city was a little heavier, and there were more hobos with fiery trashcans. I distinctly remembered many of those hobos, since they were the main reasons I usually found my way back to the mansion. They were actually very nice and welcoming.

I felt the car stop and I looked ahead to the windshield. I saw the main gate, an iron, fifteen-foot tall black gate, with the letter M in the middle of it. (Stepmother's last name, since she went back to her maiden name, was Mensho). There was a pause, some incoherent dialouge from Edo, and then the gate opened, making an eerie groaning sound as it did. We slid past it and made our way to the driveway, which was a good half-mile from the main gate.

I looked over the front yard again and was not surprised. It hadn't changed a bit. The grass that Stepmother's servants always toiled over was covered in a light blanket of soft snow, newly fallen. There were a few red oak trees lining the fence and road, and bushes bordering the house. I couldn't see them, but I knew there were about twenty trained German Shepherds roaming the grounds, searching for an intruder. But not at the moment, since they were always called back into the kennel whenever a car drove up.

After a while, I could see the house. It was five stories tall, pearl white, and glamorous. If it didn't harbor so many bad memories, I would have liked it. There were white pillars in front, before the door, supporting the second floor balcony. The many windows lining the face of the house reflected the pale, dreary gray sky and falling snow. The house suddenly vanished from view when a concrete wall came before the window. I leaned back and gathered my backpack in my arms. Then, the car stopped as we arrived in the carport.

I got out, my luggage in tow, and followed Stepmother's goons through the back door and into the house. The back door was connected to the cook's kitchen, which looked something like a school cafeteria kitchen. Nothing too stunning. Just big.

When we entered the dining room, Stepmother turned around and glared at me. "Your room is still open. Go up there and don't come down until I say so." I didn't do anything to respond, except leave the room.

I went out through the side door and into the foyer, the largest room in the house, save for the ballroom on the fifth floor. It was much like a movie set -a gorgeous chandelier hanging from the ceiling, a gigantic, hand-woven, maroon and gold Turkish rug in the center of the floor, and the grand staircase. The foyer's color scheme was gold and maroon, so the stairs were a rich color of brown, to intermingle the two other colors. I almost ran up the stairs, being careful not to make too much noise. Stepmother seemed like she was preparing for company.

My room was on the fourth floor, along with Sessho-Maru's old room (I assumed he moved out), the goon's two rooms, and three guest bedrooms. Stepmother's room was on the second floor. When I reached my old room, I heard muffled footsteps behind me. I turned to see my enigmatic stepbrother, Sessho-Maru himself, leaning on the wall.

His hair was as long as mine, but stark white and pulled back in a low, masculine ponytail. His eyes were golden from the contacts he always wore, and his clothes were formal. A nice black suit, a matching black tie, and expensive-looking black shoes. I cocked my eyebrow at him. "Were you the one that called me?"

He nodded and then said, "Someone had to tell you. Mother wanted it to be a surprise -said she couldn't wait to see the look on your face." He took a look at me and then said, "You look well."

I eyed him cautiously. He never really spoke to me before. "Why are you here? Haven't you moved out by now? What are you, twenty-something?"

He gave me a stale look. "Twenty-three. I'm here because Mother wants to show me off. I'm going to inherit her business and the people visiting are future business associates, so she says." He sighed and stood straight. At full height, he was taller than me by a head. He straightened his tie and then said, "You better be off now. I think I saw their car."

I scoffed. "Don't have to tell me twice." I opened the door to my room, leaving Sessho-Maru to dine with the "business associates" and Stepmother. I looked at my room -bare, unkempt, and dusty. It seemed no one had been in here since I was booted out. I wasn't surprised though. I knew better than to expect Stepmother to keep this room clean -what, with how much she hated me, even though I hadn't lived in there for four years.

I set my luggage down on the floor and removed my weapons from my backpack and looked at them. I needed a place to put these -the goons would be going through my stuff soon. I then remembered my old cubbyhole, a loose floorboard on the floor, which was the door to a small opening where I could keep little, precious things. I searched for the floorboard, weapons in my pocket, when my hand found a familiar crack. I smiled. This was it!

I opened it and found all my childhood treasures: my only surviving picture of my mother, creased and faded, a stuffed dog I used to carry around before the accident, and, the most valuable, a small bar of solid gold my father had given me as a birthday present. (He actually gave me five, but I used the other four to get back to Japan). I had never taken it out of the floorboard, since Stepmother would love to get her grimy, withered hands on it. I put the weapons in the hole and closed it securely. Hopefully, no one had discovered it in my absence.

As I righted from crouching on the floor, I heard a knock on my plain, white door. Before I could say "come in", one of the maids peeped her head in. She was Japanese, was about my age, had short, black hair, and bright, green eyes behind small, dainty oblong glasses. She seemed shy about talking to me as she said, "Um… are you getting along in your room all right?"

I blinked. Either this girl was acting on her own or Stepmother sent her to the wrong room to greet. I assumed the latter and said without much cheer, "Sure, why not?" I turned back to my backpack, which was sitting upright on the dusty bed, and returned to unpacking what little I had. When I didn't hear the door shut, I turned back to the door and saw her still standing there, looking shy and rather red. I cocked my eyebrow. What was her problem?

"May I help you?" I asked, to which she jumped.

"Um…" she murmured uncertainly as she scuffled into my room, closing the door softly after her. "I… Well, I've never seen you here before. The Mistress didn't say anything about someone being in here… otherwise, I would have dusted."

I nearly laughed out loud. "That's all right. I'm not surprised. She wouldn't have announced me. Don't worry. I'm fine." However, she didn't seem pleased with this. She looked about the room, seeming to scowl at all of the accumulated dust.

"Well, she can't expect you to sleep in here," she said with a little more confidence. "You'll be sneezing until your lungs come out."

"Oh yes, she does," I replied swiftly. "I'll be living here for a while. Don't bother to dust the room… I'll end up doing it myself."

There was a moment of silence where we waited for the other to do something, but when niether of us moved, I went ahead and broke the silence by returning to unpacking. "You can go now, miss," I said dismissively.

"Well," her tiny voice chimed from behind me, "I… um… What's your name? I'm Saki, by the way."

I didn't turn back around. This girl was trying to get to know me, but that would only lead her to ruin. I didn't want to take this Saki down with me. "You don't want to know my name. You don't want to be associated with me. You'll only get your bloody Mistress's panties in a twist. I'm the bastard stepson she's probably told you about."

I heard the girl gasp. "Really? I had no idea!"

This time, I did turn. "What do you mean?"

She shrugged. "The Mistress is always saying how you were ugly, evil and corrupted…" She took a moment to look me over. "You don't really match the image I had in mind."

I shook my head. I had to get this girl out of my room before Stepmother found her and fired her. "Look, just get out please. I…" I searched for some excuse to get her out. "I need to change."

Her eyes widened and she bowed deeply. "Forgive me. I'll be out of your way." She turned and left, leaving me to my own devices. I sighed and watched as the many dust particles surrounded me from my exhale. I plopped down on my bed face up and covered my face with my hands.

How was I going to get out of this mess?

………………………..

And he's back at the mansion! Sessho-Maru makes his first (and probably only) appearance! Woo! And I have had this chapter sitting in my computer for about a month now!

Why am I so hyper? I DON'T KNOW! WOO!