I'm sorry! I really am. I guess it was unfair of me to leave all of you hanging. Well, I know his is a lame excuse, but I really was busy. I am still busy. This chapter has been made possible (dear lord, I sound like a commercial) because I typed two sentences everyday. Anyways, it's the winter break for me, so more updates will come up frequently. Thanks for all of you who stuck by. I'm sorry for those who waited then left. I don't really mind if no one reviews, actually. So long as I'm writing, I'm happy. Also, this hasn't been edited by FOM, because she's in college right now, and I didn't want to bother her at the moment. So please bear my grammar and spelling mistakes
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha and co. :cries:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Higurashi-san, you must control this temper of yours or your chance of freedom is going to out the window!"
A short quirky man with a Chinese-style moustache stood up to leave the table.
"What window?" Kensuke answered dryly. He gestured to the four concrete walls that surrounded them
Myoga Chisaii had to agree with him, he glanced around the room as shivers went down his back. A flickering light bulb was the only source of light in the dark gray room.
He cleared his throat and started speaking in a calm manner, "Kensuke, we've almost won. Why can't you be good for a couple more weeks?"
"Be good?" barked Kensuke, "I have been fucking good for the last 17 years, old man. I don't need to take this crap from you."
Myoga bristled," You are one to talk about being old. You know its against the rules to hurt another inmate."
"But he was asking for it!"
"Your behavior is no better than my grandchildrens!"
Myoga opened his mouth to speak, but was quickly interrupted by Kensuke.
"I don't care if this is for the best. I only hired you to be my bloody lawyer, not my damned conscience!" Kensuke finished with a pound to the cheap plastic table.
Myoga wiped the sweat off his face with his handkerchief. This man was going to be the death of him.
"Mr. Higurashi, you still have 8 weeks left until the judge officially lets you out. In the span of those 8 weeks, this behavior might change his mind. Don't you want to see your family after all these years?"
Myoga caught his breath when he saw Kensuke's eyes blaze up with fury.
In a surprisingly monotone voice he replied, "I have no family."
Myoga shook his head in pity as he walked towards the door. He turned around and bowed deeply.
"I shall see you again next Sunday, same time."
Myouga closed the door shut behind him and rubbed his eyes from the momentary blindness the lights caused him. The old man wiped the sweat of his face once more and looked back at the door behind him with remorse. He could understand his client's fury and rage, but at the same time he couldn't help the feel of dread that crept on him. It was the same feeling he had on the day of Kensuke's appeal.
"Let go of me you bastards, I can walk by myself." A younger version of Kensuke walked into the large mahogany courtroom accompanied by two well-armed police officers.
A 30-year old woman with short curled hair and small button eyes sobbed as she clutched onto a little girl of 6 closely. The little girl had deep brown eyes and was unusually calm. She soothed her mother by whispering words of encouragement.
Kensuke was led to a chair behind desk, where his lawyer, Myouga Chisaii sat. His hair was thinning and turning into a soft gray. He opened his suitcase and briefly whispered instructions to his client.
The jury consisted of 23 people who started filing in the seats allocated for them.
Finally, a special security officer walked to the front of the room. Judging from his walk, people could tell he was a proud person.
He placed his hands behind him in a uniform manner and took a breath, "Will all rise for the Honorable Supreme Criminal Judge Toutosai Katana."
An elderly man with large eyes dressed in black attire walked briskly up to his place at the head of the courtroom. Like his title, Toutosai Katana held an aura of importance and impatience. His eyes were huge, daring anyone to defy his authority.
The security officer called out, "All may sit down."
After briefly looking at a file, Toutosai spoke, "This is Case 20-957 for Higurashi. Who is his legal representative?"
"I am, your honor." Replied Myouga.
Toutosai peered down and spoke again, "Mr. Chisaii, with all due respect, I am having trouble understanding why you requested an appeal at all. Your client is charged with manslaughter, child abuse, damaging property and injuring 3 people. Bail has been refused and Mr. Higurashi was than charged guilty and must serve 97 years. So what is it exactly that you want?"
Myouga coughed before answering, "Your honor, this legal system was designed for humans and demons. Generally, demons have a longer life span than humans. This means, if a demon was charged with the same accusations, than the demon will be able to live after his life sentence, while a human can not."
"So, are you saying that the legal system is unfair, Mr. Chisaii? Please, keep in mind your client has also taken the life of another."
Myouga coughed again, his hands were becoming clammy, "Yes, your honor, we understand that. But, as we have stated before, the deaths were unintentional. My client was under the influence of alcohol. We believe my client's case was blown out of proportion by the media, because he was a race-star and the deceased victim was Inutaishou Yazumi. I also believe the jurors at the time were biased. More than half of the jurors were male and at that time racing was popular with the men. We also have proof that one of the jurors was an retired professional racer named Miroku Hitomi Sr."
The jurors automatically whispered amongst themselves, astonished at the information.
"Quiet! Order in the court! Order in the court! No need to get excited people." Toutosai barked, "Mr. Chisaii, you are making accusations without no evidence. The jurors were selected randomly from the group of people over the legal age. Even if we were to have another trial for Mr. Higurashi, he still killed a man, regardless of who the victim was or whether he was under the influence of alcohol. I see no point in this, you are wasting everyone's valuable time. I dismi-"
"Wait!" yelled Myouga, "Your honor the main objective of this appeal is not to prove Mr. Higurashi was innocent. He fully understands the destruction he has caused and is willing to carry out his sentence."
"Get on it with it man! I have other cases too today, you know." Toutosai snapped.
"Yes, your honor. We appeal to shorten Mr. Higurashi's sentence to 40 years on account of insanity."
The jurors buzzed with excitement once more.
"What! Are you saying that your client is insane?" Toutosai questioned.
"Not specifically your honor. The court-ordered psychiatrist did further testing into Mr. Higurashi's unusual cases of anger than calmness, and concluded that he suffers a mild case of schizophrenia."
If the jurors were excited before their hearts were ready to skyrocket now.
Toutosai licked his lips dry. In his life, he had never dealt with such an unusual case before.
"Well, I must say, I can not make a final statement with looking further into this. Until, this can be investigated further, I reduce the man's sentence to 40 years."
"No! You can't do that! He's a monster!"
The courtroom hushed as the small six-year-old girl broke free of her mother's grasp.
She held unshed tears in her eyes as she bravely yelled out her hatred towards her father.
Everyone stared at her, especially her father. His eyes were glazed with anger and fury.
Suddenly, he stood up and blindly knocked over the table and, ready to strike his daughter. The guards too surprised reacted slowly. Kensuke Higurashi was poised to hit his daughter with his handcuffed hands when he stopped mid-air.
The little girl started bawling her eyes out. Tears streamed down her face as she wailed and her nose started to become runny. The anger from her father's eyes drained away until they become soft and forgiving. His face turned pale and he lowered his arms. The guards rushed to him and took him by his arms.
"Just take me away." He whispered, leaving all sense of hurt and anger behind with his daughter.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------"This is great Inuyasha! You've mastered the technique in a week!" Kagome smiled brightly.
"Keh, of course I finished in a week. I could have done it sooner if not for your mindless babbling about using the turbo charge or something." Inuyasha said in a tone of arrogance.
The raven-haired woman merely rolled her eyes as she passed a water bottle to the hanyou. Inuyasha muttered thanks before chugging the cool liquid and squirting it into his sweaty face.
Kagome stared at the tendons in his neck that flexed every time he swallowed. She noticed his long lashes that opened up to two pools of bright amber. The whole world melted into the background. She didn't hear the alarm on her watch, indicating that practice time was over. She didn't smell the burned rubber that was thick in the air. She only saw.
"Kagome! Are you listening to me? Do you need to go to the hospital or something?" a voice snapped.
"H-huh?" Kagome blushed. "Oh…sorry. Umm…what did you say?"
Kagome only heard Inuyasha grumbling something about deaf woman and them wasting his time.
Inuyasha sighed, "I said, do you know any jewelers in the area"
Kagome blinked in confusion, she didn't think Inuyasha would be the type to wear jewellery. Sure, he had the occasional chain around his neck, but every guy wore those nowadays.
Inuyasha realizing what Kagome's silence meant, quickly growled, "Not for me, baka! My brother needs an engagement ring, that's all."
Kagome's face brightened, "Seriously? I never knew you had a brother! That's so adorable, I love weddings! I have the perfect jeweler in mind. My mother!"
"Eh? Your mom's a jeweler?"
"Yeah, my mom used to have her own shop before we moved in my grandfather's shrine." Kagome's eyes dimmed slightly.
"Great! Let's go right now. I'll just call my brother." Inuyasha said, as he was unaware of the sudden change in Kagome's attitude.
She replied numbly, "Yeah…let's go." Kagome walked to her car but was stopped by Inuyasha's hand. She looked back at him, her heart thudding in her chest. "What?" she asked. "Aren't you forgetting something?" Inuyasha asked, "I don't know where your mother's shop is." "Oh right...why don't you just follow me and we can get going." She replied. Inuyasha shook his head, "I ain't no follower." Kagome groaned, "You have got to be kidding me. Oh for goodness sakes, let's just get going." "No." Inuyasha turned around in defiance. "You can be such a big kid, Inuyasha." Kagome ground out turning Inuyasha to face her. Her breath got stuck in her throat. It was happening again, she noticed his deep amber eyes and the way his nose was the perfect shape. She saw a small freckle above his upper lip and wondered what it'll be like to kiss him. He had such a comfortable smell. "You're staring at me again." He smirked. "W-what?" Kagome broke out of her stupor. "I know I'm irresistable, Higurashi, but really. We have more important things to do at the moment." Inuyasha replied smugly. Kagome wondered again what she saw in him, "Ugh...baka." "How about you just ride with me and give me the directions." Kagome looked up, "What?" "Do I really have to repeat myself again? You, on my bike, with me, go to your mom's shop." Inuyasha made gestures mocking Kagome. "Oh all right, caveman." She teased. "A very good-looking caveman." Inuyasha grinned. "Yeah, yeah, in your dreams." She walked over to his motorcycle. Inuyasha got on his pride and joy and pulled the helmet over his head. He looked at Kagome expectedly. She swung one leg over the motorcycle and pulled herself closer to him. She awkwardly wrapped her arms around his torso, pulling her flush against his back. "Ready?" Inuyasha asked. She nodded in response, content to be as close to him as possible.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------They arrived at Kagome's mother humble jeweler shop. Sesshomaru arrived in all his splendor. He wore a silver blazer over his white button shirt. His black belt was worn loosely around his straight-cut white pants. He had designer sunglasses propped over his silken hair. Inuyasha and Kagome looked quite different in contrast with their smudged cheeks and burnt rubber smell.
Maya Higurashi's shop was a small quaint building next to hovering offices. The front of the shop was all glass displaying rings and necklaces of all kinds. The sign on top of the building was gilded gold that said, "Maya's Jewelers".
Kagome and Sesshomaru shook hands.
"Nice to meet you, my name is Kagome." She smiled. Sesshomaru nodded in reply and walked into the store.
Kagome looked at Inuyasha questioning his brother's attitude.
"Uh…he's shy?" He offered good-naturedly. He followed his brother into the store.
Kagome sighed in frustration and follow suit. The interior of the store was lush and inviting. The floor was covered in a purple velvet and the walls were pained a pale lavender. Display cases filled with pearls and diamonds took up most of the area. There was a glass counter in the back of the room also filled with precious and semi-precious stones. A mahogany door behind the counter opened, revealing a bustling woman in her 40's carrying large boxes.
She was muttering to herself, "I asked for 40 Tiffany pearl necklaces, and what to they give me? 40 gold charm bracelets from Zales! How on earth do you screw that up!"
"Mother!" Kagome scolded.
The woman stopped her muttering at once, putting down the boxes on the counter, "Kagome! It's so nice to see you. You haven't visited me for so long I almost thought you forgot me."
Kagome groaned, "Mom…I visited you yesterday."
"Oh you did? Well, goodness gracious, my memory is getting as bad as grandpa's. Anyways, who are these handsome young men?" She winked.
Sesshomaru seemed to be unaffected by the compliment but Inuyasha tried to stifle a blush.
"This is Inuyasha and his brother, Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru needs an engagement ring."
"Oh? So this is the young rebel that you have been talking about?" Her mother inquired.
Inuyasha's eyebrows rose up, "So…you were talking about me, eh?" He smirked.
"Just about what a nuisance you are." She retorted, "Anyways…engagement rings, mom?"
"Oh yes, of course. I heard you the first time. Err…Mr. Sesshomaru if you will follow me to the back, I just received a new shipment of engagement rings from Italy." She shared intently at Sesshomaru, while his eyes mirrored hers.
Maya opened the mahogany door that led to a fairly sized storage room. The walls were slabs of concrete and so was the floor. It was cold and uninviting, which reflected Maya Higurashi's sudden attitude change.
"I thought we had an agreement. We will never see each other again." She said coldly.
"Yes, I never intended on breaking our agreement. I did not know that my younger brother's new coach would be Kagome." He replied echoing Maya's frigidness.
Maya suddenly become scared, "You mean, your brother is the man who my Kagome is working with? No! Do you realize what the media will say about them?"
"The media does not know as of yet. Miroku did not what to tarnish his reputation so he asked Kagome to stay hidden." Sesshomaru gritted his teeth.
She sighed and rubbed her hands over her temple, "I never had anything against you Sesshomaru, or your brother. In fact, I remember when I used to be the best of friends with Inuyasha's mother."
"I know." Sesshomaru said quietly, "You brought cookies." Sesshomaru's mask melted for a brief moment before he turned back to his cool self.
"We will not speak of this to Inuyasha and Kagome. Inuyasha does not know that Kagome is the daughter of our father's killer."
Maya flinched, "But how? Wouldn't they know at first glance? Isn't it obvious?"
"No." Sesshomaru explained, "Inuyasha does not know your husband's full name. He only knows your husband's racing alter ego, 'Naraku'. Likewise, I believe Kagome only knows our father's alter ego, 'Speed Demon."
Maya sighed, "This is all too complicated, I don't want to know think about it."
"Yes, I understand." Sesshomaru breathed. They stood in an awkward silence.
"Kagome said that you were getting married. Congratulations." Maya offered, "Izayoi would have been so proud. Even if she wasn't your birth mother, she loved you all the same."
Sesshomaru coughed, "About the ring?"
Maya's face brightened, "Oh yes, if your marrying Kagura, who you had a crush on for ages, I have the exact thing you need."
"What's taking them so fucking long." Cursed Inuyasha. He impatiently tapped his foot.
"Your brother is getting married. Can't you be a little patient?" Kagome was itching to go back to her house. She desperately needed a shower and she desperately needed to get away from Inuyasha.
"No." Inuyasha snapped.
Kagome groaned in frustration, "You're so difficult."
"You give me a good reason to be." Smirked the hanyou. He loved to make her mad, she always went red in the face and her scent was more enticing. She was beautiful. He stopped his thoughts abruptly. Did he just say that Kagome was beautiful? The thought nearly made him gag.
Kagome was about to lash at him but the door finally opened again.
"We're done honey!" Maya sang out.
"Took them long enough." Inuyasha muttered under his breath.
Both Sesshomaru and Kagome glared at him. "Thank you for your kindness. Mrs. Higurashi." Sesshomaru gave a short bow. "Oh, your most welcome." Maya laughed, "Have a good day now."
Kagome quirked an eyebrow, something seemed so artificial about them. She brushed the thought away.
The three young adults walked out of the store. Sesshomaru faced Inuyasha and Kagome.
"I must get back to the office. I appreciate the help. I shall see you later Inuyasha. Good day to you Kagome." He walked briskly in the other direction.
Inuyasha stretched, "I'm hungry and bored. Let's go to the amusement park Kagome."
She scoffed, "What? All I want to do is go home and take a nice long bath."
"You can do that anytime. I'm bored and going to the park is no fun alone." "This is coming from a grown man?" Kagome inquired. "Hey, I'm not kid but I ain't a old man either. C'mon, it'll be fun." Inuyasha took Kagome by her hand to his motorcycle. Kagome sputtered the whole way, "You know you can't make someone do something against their free will." "Oh? Then why are you getting on the bike with me?" "Oh, zip it. I'm doing you a favour." She pouted.
Inuyasha laughed and started revving up the engine. Kagome cast her gaze down to the ground. Even his laugh seemed so masculine and handsome. She shook her head, and put her arms around Inuyasha's waist. She rested her head against his back and closed her eyes. She didn't see Inuyasha smiling behind his dark helmet.