Lust and Infatuation
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I pull up 'n that hard top
I bet I make ya heart stop
The life I lead
I pop the trunk
I can buy you gifts
When they wanna hate
Ohh shawty won't you slide wit me
Chapter 02
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Drowning out the "GO!" shouted by the announcer, the yellow and red cars sped off down the block. Kagome hugged her arms around her body, pulling her jacket closer to her body for warmth, while trying not to breathe in the awful stench of burnt tires. She heard someone talking just behind her. It was a familiar voice, deep and hoarse.
"Those two fagots just raced last night," the voice hissed.
Kagome turned around cautiously to see Kouga. He was standing only a few inches away from her, but his glare was locked onto the disappearing cars and to Kagome's relief, not on her.
She didn't know Kouga, and had never talked to him before, but right now she figured he was the same as InuYasha, who had ever so casually made her the prize for tonight's race. The man must have caught sight of her staring for he looked down at her with a look that said 'what the hell are you looking at?'
Kagome quickly turned her attention back to the road, muttering a quick sorry.
Something slapped Kagome's rear.
She whipped round to question the culprit, who she was pretty sure it had been Kouga, as he was the one directly behind her. Or so she thought-
A stranger standing right beside The Wolf Prince jerked his head up at her in greeting. This man had short black hair that was tied into a little pony tail at the nape of his neck. He wore a navy blue muscle shirt and tight black jeans.
Kagome seemed to be in a daze; she had not thought before she acted. What was she going to say to this man? While she was in thought, the stranger took his opportunity and reached out and grabbed one of her arms and pulled her close to his own body. Then, he brought his free hand up her shirt in an attempt to grasp her breast. Kagome was about to scream when the man's mouth was forced over top of hers.
Kagome was sure the man's next move was to pull her away from the crowd and do something horrible to her, but all the sudden he released her and she heard him yelp in pain.
Kagome nearly saved herself from falling to her knees; she quickly regained her composure and pulled her shirt back down after quickly arranging her bra so it fitted her form again. She looked up for an explanation for the man's actions, and this time she was less than happy.
She had looked up just in time to see Kouga withdraw his foot from on top of the other man's. Kagome wouldn't have doubted The Wolf Prince crushed the stranger's toes.
"Miroku, you ass wipe, leave her alone," he snarled.
Deciding that staying and chatting wouldn't have been the best choice, Kagome gathered herself and started running away from the two men as fast as she could while trying not to run into anybody. She remembered something Hiten had told her once: 'A woman's real purpose in life is to serve a man's needs, model his car, and other than that, she's worthless!'
Well, that's surely not what her family back home had taught her. Mama had told her the importants of being a young lady, and Grandpa had taught her her lady-like manners, but most of all, being at school taught her to have respect for herself, and how to have fun like a regular teenager. Now, she had none of her supporters. What had happened to her life?
Screaming erupted among the crowd of people around her; she instantly turned her gaze to the road. Not surprised, she could see Hiten and InuYasha's coming closer and closer. One was way ahead of the other, but from the distance, she could not tell who.
"It's Hiten! Hiten's in the lead!" Someone yelled loudly beside her.
Hiten had never lost a race before. He was better than the best, and unbelievably undefeated. Of course, this all just added to his already huge ego. Kagome moved gingerly to where she could see better.
She thought that she had moved far enough away from him and his pal, but she heard Kouga's voice again, and this time it was seething angry.
"And about time," he grumbled. Kouga pushed past her impatiently without a sideways glance, his lecherous friend called Miroku following close behind.
Hiten slowed to a halt once he had passed the finish line victoriously. The crowd engulfed the Ferrari as its driver stepped out, a cocky smirk planted on his lips.
Kouga and Miroku were standing in front of the victor in an instant. The Wolf Prince, who seemed very upset, was talking about something that Kagome could not hear, and Hiten just seemed to be ignoring him. When her boyfriend caught sight of Miroku, the two men knocked knuckles in a way of greeting, and then embraced each other friendlily while patting one another's backs.
'Great, their buddies,' Kagome thought sarcastically. 'Something tells me I haven't seen the last of that pervert.'
In a matter of seconds, InuYasha's red car with the painted dog demon on the side came hurtling down the road, straight towards the back of Hiten's Ferrari. It showed no signs of stopping.
Kouga and Miroku broke out apart and ran away from the Hanyou's target, along with all the spectators, who started screaming and yelling uncontrollably.
Somebody pushed Kagome savagely from behind and she lost her footing and fell face first onto the cold, hard pavement. She was frightened; the red car seemed to be heading straight for Hiten's car, but one couldn't guarantee. What if it decided to run her over?
The people around her scurried like rats right past, not one soul bothering to help her or see if she was alright. It was like every guy for himself out there. If InuYasha's car had come any more in her direction, she would have been done for. But then, she felt someone from behind slip their arms under her's and scoop her up onto her feet. After she quickly dusted her pants off, she turned to thank her rescuer, only to meet the startling sky blue eyes of Kouga himself; again.
"Thanks…" Kagome squeaked, feeling intimidated and out of place.
The man snorted and rolled his eyes but waited until Kagome started walking again, and then walked off in the other direction, hands planted on his hips smartly.
When Kagome was sure she was safe, she turned around just in time to witness Hiten (to Kagome's surprise, hadn't moved all that far from his spot beside his beloved ride) finally move, narrowly being missed by InuYasha's speeding car which came crashing right into the back of the yellow Ferrari.
Kagome gasped. The rest would not go down well.
InuYasha probably never meant to completely destroy his car and Hiten's like he did. The whole front of his car and the whole back of Hiten's was completely totaled from the impact.
Steam poured from underneath the hood of the red car. Everyone was hushed. Hiten's eyes gleamed red with bloody rage, but he too remained quiet as well. They were all waiting.
Kagome was intently watching the scene play out before her, while at the same time she prayed to Kami that Hiten wouldn't kill anyone. She knew that he was very capable; what did he care if he took a few lives? He'd brutally murdered more than just poor Houjo.
Finally breaking the eerie silence, the driver's door of the red car popped open slowly, squealing on its broken hinges, and soon a familiar figure hobbled out into the open. InuYasha had to put most of his weight on his car to stop himself from doubling over and collapsing. He had a nasty gash on his forehead where he must have smashed it on the dash board, blood streaming freely down his face because of it. A bruise was already forming on his right cheek bone just under the eye, and he had a few minor cuts and scrapes on his arms, but other than that Kagome was sure he was fine. Hiten chose this time to lash out.
"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO THAT FOR, YOU LITTLE BITCH?" He screamed, waving a hand at the back of his prized car.
InuYasha said not a word, but observed Hiten with tired amber eyes. Unsatisfied and frustrated from not receiving an answer, Hiten marched right up to the Hanyou and slugged him hard across the face. There was no doubt he'd have a black eye in the morn- if he survived the night.
The white haired man's knees gave way and he tumbled to the ground from the force of the punch. Kagome watched wide-eyed. One thing she hated more than the street racing itself was the fact that if something bad was happening, everyone would just stand around and watch.
Though Kagome scarcely thought this through in her mind, one thing was clear: no one deserved to die a death by Hiten Raigekijin, no matter how cruel and sinful they were. Everyone had a good side, and sometimes it just never got a chance to shine through.
Kagome began to push past the mob of people around her and make her way down to where Hiten now stood over top of InuYasha.
"Hiten, wait," she called out to him nervously. "Please don't hurt him."
Hiten turned around to face her. "Back off, wench," he growled.
Kagome was not taken aback. Hiten was always calling her names like that, just like she was dirt. When Kagome didn't do as she was told, Hiten leapt out with an angry cry and smacked her right across the face, making her fall backwards and onto the ground. Then, her boyfriend turned back to InuYasha.
With mighty power, Hiten kicked the Hanyou square in the rib cage. Hiten laughed menacingly, then turned around to face the crowd.
"Let this be a lesson to you all!" He cried, just as Kagome saw InuYasha black out on the ground not a few feet away from her.
From afar, Kouga and Miroku observed Hiten, InuYasha, and the girl. Kouga barred his teeth when he saw the girl fall to the ground from the nasty slap delivered by her boyfriend.
'Damn, that woman is gutsy - standing up to that creep. I gotta give her some credit,' the long haired brunette thought to himself.
Miroku looked up to see Kouga's frowning face, then shook his head in disapproval. Hiten sure could get out of hand sometimes.
"That isn't how you woo a woman," Miroku pointed out the obvious.
"Like you would know - you keep scaring away your owngirl," Kouga snapped.
"I don't mean to. I can't help it that I was born a stud."
Kouga just rolled his eyes. He was feeling zero remorse for the stupid dog lying on the ground. Hell, he deserved it. What was he thinking, crashing his own car like that? And on purpose, too. But not the woman… she didn't deserve that harsh of treatment.
"Where is your chick, anyways, Miroku?" Kouga asked, looking around.
Miroku shrugged. "I dunno, she said she would be right back."
"I bet she took her chance and ran away while she could."
"Aw, don't say that. You're just mad 'cause the only girl you can get is-"
Kouga shivered. "Don't even say her name, fuckwit. She won't ever leave me alone! After work, she's always coming over and tryin' to get laid, damn it. She just won't piss off."
Miroku laughed. "You lucky dog."
Kagome gingerly got back onto her feet, resting a careful hand lightly on her cheek where she had been hit. It stung like a million angry bees. She glanced around; everyone had started talking again, going about like nothing had ever happened. Though, unlike her, they were probably used to events like that, and brutal fights were just as normal as daylight. People were now trying to find another pair to race, since InuYasha and Kouga's would not be able to continue.
Hiten pulled something out of his pocket and brought the item up to his nose. Even though Kagome could not make out exactly what the item was, she knew he was refreshing his drug intake.
Kagome shifted her gaze over to InuYasha's limp body, knowing full well that he should be taken to a hospital, though none of the other morons around seemed to pay any mind. She guessed that they didn't want to be the one to explain to the police that he had been street racing, and that they were watching illegally.
She walked hesitantly over to Hiten, who was now just glaring at his wreck of a car, and before she knew it, she was standing in a crowd of her boyfriend, Kouga, and Miroku. She said nothing and just stood at Hiten's side looking like a pretty doll, though she kept a weary eye on the perverted man Miroku.
"So where's Sango?" Hiten asked casually to Miroku as he sniffed loudly.
Miroku frowned. "I was just wondering the same thing."
Kagome's eyes widened drastically as realization struck.
"Damn, she's got a nice ass." Hiten remarked, unaware and unconcerned for Kagome's feelings. He made a slapping movement with his hand to prove his point, then laughed insanely.
"S-Sango?" Kagome echoed.
Hiten nodded. "Miroku's girlfriend."
Kagome wondered if this could be the same Sango that she worked with. As if on que, a woman stalked up to the group, a large coffee in her hands, and stood beside Miroku. She was wearing a loose blue t-shirt with some white writing on it, a short black skirt and black high heels, giving off the 'rugged sexy girl' look. When she laid her big mahogany eyes on Kagome, she smiled instantly, showing off her perfect white teeth.
"Kagome!" She cried.
"Sango?" Kagome asked, still not believing her eyes. "Y-your one of…this crowd?"
Sango snorted. "Yeah, right. Miroku races and comes to watch all the time, so I just tag along. I don't do anything of the sort myself."
Kagome nodded slowly. Miroku wrapped his arm around Sango's waist. The woman's eyes turned to slits in a second, and then she tore away from his grasp, glaring daggers at him.
"Creep," She dead-panned, and dumped her coffee all over the man's head.
Kagome emitted a small shriek of surprise. She hoped for Sango's sake that she wasn't punished for her actions, like she would have been if she had just done that to Hiten. But to her surprise, Miroku only winced from the hot liquid and whimpered.
"But Sango-love…"
Sango folded her arms over her chest and turned away from his pathetic pleading, now for the first time being exposed to the crash scene. She gaped openly.
"What happened here?" She questioned, eyeing the red and yellow car in a heaped mess, and InuYasha lying on the ground not to far away.
"That dumb ass rammed into Hiten's ride after he lost the race and banged himself up pretty bad," Kouga scoffed, referring to InuYasha and talking for the first time.
"Ouch…" Sango muttered, raising a single, delicate brow. "Hey Kagome, lets take a walk," she suggested with a warm smile.
Kagome looked up to Hiten for permission but he wasn't paying the slightest speck of attention, so she left side-by-side with Sango.
While they were walking, Sango flashed Kagome a smirk. "I had a feeling you hung out here," she explained. "I could smell it in your hair when I tied it up for you that day at work."
Kagome blushed. "Was it that obvious?" She asked.
Sango laughed. "Only to some one who knows the smell."
"Oh…" Kagome laughed along nervously.
"Funny," Sango started, "You don't strike me as the kind of girl to be mixed up in this kind of stuff."
"You have no idea."
Quickly growing bored, Sango changed the subject. "So you're with Hiten, hmm?"
"Yeah," Kagome replied. "And…you're with Miroku?"
"Yeah…He's such a lecher though; I don't know why I stay. I…just can't seem to get him out of my head." Seeing the unsure look on Kagome's face, Sango added quickly, "And once you get past his perverted exterior, he's a really nice guy."
The two women talked for some time, wandering aimlessly down the dark and shadowy road, sharing stories and intimate feelings, and laughing at each other's jokes. Though, Kagome was sure not to reveal anything about her real life. She was scared of Hiten, and yet she pitied him at the same time; the matter wasn't even funny, so she decided to keep her mouth shut. It was just nice to be able to have somebody to talk to.
"Oh, and you may want to know," Sango said with a grin, "Ayame and Yura come here as well."
Kagome blinked in surprise. "Really?"
"Ayame doesn't race, but she comes here 'cause she's got a thing for Kouga." Sango winked mischievously. "Nice girl though. Yura, on the other hand, races. Bit of a slut, that one, and perhaps not a great friend, but she's company."
Kagome listened to Sango's rambling, startled to hear that who she thought were ordinary teens with regular lives, and who she worked with no less, came down to these parts as she was forced to. Then again, maybe it was normal for people their age to take part in this street racing, which seemed to be a huge hit right now.
"I have never seen you, Miroku, Ayame or Yura down here before. That's pretty weird." Kagome mused aloud.
Sango chuckled. "Hiten must keep you pretty well unexposed then, ne?"
'Like you wouldn't believe,' she thought, then, "He's pretty protective."
"Well," Sango began, "Yura is pretty popular with the guys. She's quite lenient on the first date, if you get what I mean. Kouga is down here twenty four-seven, showing off his great ride, but he's pretty cool once you get to know him. I swear his ego is almost as big as his mouth! He stands up for what he wants, you know? I think we all know that he doesn't love Ayame the way she loves him."
Kagome nodded her understanding.
"And I don't know if you've met InuYasha, but I'd watch my back around him if I were you. He just about as bad ass as you can get, and he's got so much pride he might as well be Kami himself." Sango imitated InuYasha once when he had freaked out because of a girl who called him a 'weak puppy.'
Kagome laughed, enjoying herself for the first time in what seemed like ages, and then stole a quick glance at her watch. It read quarter past two in the morning.
"We should be heading back," Kagome said sadly.
Sango agreed, and together they headed back to the racing block.
- - -
"Where did that bitch go?" Hiten screamed in fury.
Kouga had left an hour ago, saying he had errands to run, along with most of the crowd of people who slowly started leaving. There was only fifty or so people left on the road now, even though there was no racing going on, and they were content sitting on the sidewalk and on top of their cars in their own groups, drinking and laughing obnoxiously.
To Hiten, Miroku didn't seem to give a crap where the two girls went off to, for he was far too busy chatting up a young blonde woman who had come over out of curiosity.
"Calm down, Hiten, Sango is with her. They'll be back," Miroku guaranteed.
Despite Miroku's reassurance, Hiten was panicking inside. 'What if she goes to the cops?' He thought, over and over again. More than anything, Hiten didn't want to go to jail. He whipped out a small baggie of white powder and started dumping it into the palm of his hand.
Miroku must have noticed the sweat dribbling from Hiten's face. "What's up with you?" He asked, turning away from the flirtatious blonde.
Hiten could feel his body beginning to shake as he inhaled as much cocaine as he could. "Nothing – nothing's wrong with me," He told him.
Miroku shrugged and thought no more on the subject. He went back to letting his hands roam the blonde's body. She was so wasted she wouldn't remember a thing in the morning. And why give up such an opportunity?
The braided haired man started pacing back and forth. If he started running now, surely the fuzz would never find him? No, it was no use. They would catch him. And what would happen once they did? He was eighteen; he could go to jail now. The police would show no mercy to a murderer.
Miroku watched Hiten out of the corner of his eye curiously. He was literally having a freak out. He was now ruffling in his coat pockets, as if he'd lost something. Then, he turned to Miroku.
"Do you have anything on you? I just ran out," he told him urgently.
"Nah, I don't do drugs, Hiten. You could have asked InuYasha if he were conscious…"
"Shut the fuck up!" Hiten snarled.
Cringing from the other man's anger, Miroku turned back to the young lady in front of him, pretending that Hiten was no longer there. He was scary when he got like this.
"Hey, Miroku!" A definite girl's voice bellowed out from across the street.
Miroku jumped in surprise and he felt his heart beginning to race a mile a minute. He looked over in the direction of the voice to see Sango and Kagome walking towards him.
"Jeez, get away from me!" Miroku pushed the blonde woman in front of him away, acting like she had come onto him"Why, S-Sango, how was your walk?" He stuttered innocently.
Sango rolled her eyes and drove her fist onto the top of his head.
Hiten turned to see who was coming his way. "Where did you go?" He snapped as soon as Kagome had come closer to him.
"Sango and I just went for a walk," Kagome said, looking up at him, her brown eyes dancing with nervousness, though she tried not to let it show.
Hiten suddenly grabbed her arm roughly and pulled her away from the small group until they were out of earshot.
"Where exactly did you go?" He asked her in a low, dangerous voice.
Kagome tried to get a bit of distance between them, but Hiten had a tight hold on her upper arm. He dug his nails into her soft skin when she didn't answer.
"Just around the block, I swear!" She cried in pain.
Hiten leaned closer and inspected her eyes closely for any trace of a lie, but he found nothing. He sighed, and loosed his death grip on her arm. He should have known. The girl was so pure and innocent, and plus, she had never lied to him before.
Kagome looked down at her arm in shock: it had bright red finger marks where Hiten was holding on to it. Then she looked back up to his relieved face.
"Don't you ever shit with my mind like that again," he growled, and then strutted stiffly back to where Sango and Miroku were arguing.
Kagome breathed in deeply, and then exhaled. She raised a hand and laid it on her pounding heart, then followed her boyfriend.
"But Sango, that woman was drunk, she didn't know what she was doing when she started hitting on me!"
"Oh, give it a rest." Sango breathed. "You need a babysitter, I swear."
Hiten opened the hood of his Ferrari with a big heave and surveyed the engine with the hood held above his head. After a minute of shaking his head angrily, he dropped the hood which landed with a crash, silencing Miroku and Sango. Then, ever so casually he flipped something out of his pocket, having now gained everyone's attention.
"If I can't have her," he mumbled, more to himself than anyone else and starting a flame with the lighter he had retrieved, "Then nobody will."
And with that, he locked the flame on, opened the hood once again and tossed the lighter into the engine. As soon as the lighter left his hands, he turned and bolted in the other direction, knowing full well what was to happen next.
"Watch out," was his only warning to the people around him, who instantly got the clue and ducked down low, just as Hiten's yellow Ferrari broke out into uncontrollable flames.
All the people who still lingered around the block screamed in surprise as they watched from their spots, the Ferrari's frame completely engulfed now, and now spreading onto InuYasha's car.
Hiten watched with twisted satisfactory as his and his opponent's car burned away. There was no way they were going to race again after the crash anyways. He gave Miroku, who was giving him a questioning look, a salute, and then he winked at Kagome and Sango, and took his leave.
'This isn't the end of my racing days. No,' Hiten laughed to himself. 'I'll be paying him a visit tomorrow. He'll hook me up with a set of new wheels tomorrow.'
- - -
Kagome climbed to her feet, followed by a stunned Sango and Miroku. She couldn't believe what she had just witnessed; Hiten loved his car and he fussed over it like an old man. Kagome bit her lip. How was she to get home now?
The small crowd immediately started running in every which way, hopping into their cars and onto their motorcycles and driving away like speeding bullets. A tall red headed girl ran up to Sango, and grabbed both of her hands in hers.
"You and your group better get out of here. The cops will no doubt come to check out the fire," She warned.
Sango nodded. "Thanks, Geena. We will."
The two girls hugged, and then the red head ran off and hoped into a flashy pink car and sped off. Sango looked to her friends.
"She's right. Kagome, you want a ride home?" Sango asked.
"Since Hiten just decided to up and leave…" Miroku muttered.
Kagome nodded sullenly, and looked back to the flaming cars. InuYasha was still laying unconscious dangerously close to the scene. If nobody did anything, he would probably die. The last thing Kagome could ever want was more death.
"Sango, help me move InuYasha," Kagome said as she knelt down on one side of The Hanyou. Sango nodded, and moved quickly to help her.
Together the girls dragged InuYasha's body clear away from the fire. Miroku watched them with an incredulous look plastered onto his face. "What heroes," he said sarcastically. "Now can we go home?"
After some quick thinking, Kagome turned to Miroku. "Do you think you could give me a ride to the hospital? I can drop him off there and say that he was mugged or something…"
Miroku thought this over, and then sighed. "You sure you wanna do this, Kagome?" He asked her.
Kagome nodded the affirmative. "If I don't, I know I'll feel guilty later on."
Miroku reluctantly agreed, and he helped Sango and Kagome hoist the white haired man into the back seat of his navy blue Mustang.
"I like your car," Kagome complemented, even though she didn't know a thing about it. Hiten liked to hear it, so Kagome thought she was being polite.
Miroku hopped in the driver's seat, and Sango and Kagome shared the passenger's seat, neither of the girls wanting to split it with the unconscious InuYasha.
Miroku grinned. "Thanks."
- - -
Miroku's Mustang was the last car to roar away from the racing block that night, leaving behind the two burning cars. Sango helped Kagome turn InuYasha into the hospital, and then, not wanting to stick around to see if the man would be ok, Kagome was dropped off at her apartment at three o'clock in the morning.
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Revised 8/20/07