Chapter 12:

Monday afternoon-health class. Ms. Marlborough's giving us all a run through of the information she needs for our projects on drugs. We've all been assigned to a different drug. Of course there are a couple that are being researched by more than one person due to the large number of students in the class. I've finished taking my notes. Now I'm a little preoccupied by the thought of getting a job somewhere. It's not fair for me to sponge off Naraku like I am. I should be helping out. I'll have to look around town and see what there are for openings.

A face suddenly appears in front of me. I jump and sit up from my position of being hunched over my desk. Bankotsu. He hasn't bothered me yet today. I don't know about what he said to me the other day after gym. I don't think I believe it. I don't think I should. He's smiling at me and I just look at him dumbly. "Hey, baby," he says.

I frown. "I told you not to call me that. When are you gonna get it through your head? I'm not your baby."

"No you're Naraku's baby, aren't you? Ya know, I still don't know what you see in that guy."

"I'll tell you what I don't see. You." I look around to see who all's close to me in case I need them. Sesshomaru's concentrating on something at the front of the room. He was even later than Miroku today, so we were all separated in the end. Miroku's a row ahead and four desks down. I can call on him if I need to.

"Haven't lost your flame over the weekend, huh?" He smiles. "I like a feisty girl." I glance up at the clock. Perfect. The bell should be ringing in a few minutes. I spent my entire lunch hour with him but I've been deathly missing Naraku. I can't wait to see him in art. I love the little frown he gets when he's concentrating. We're working on a still life portrait now. We have to draw a bunch of objects that hold some sort of value to us. Mine's full of little trinkets and knick-knacks that I got from old friends and a fake rose that Naraku left on my desk for me a while ago. "What're you thinking about? Me?" Bankotsu laughs. He's pulled a chair up to the other side of my desk and is sitting on it backwards with his chin resting in his hand. I roll my eyes. He chuckles. "I was watching you earlier."

"Oh yeah, that's a surprise."

He chuckles again. "You're cute when you're concentrating. Did you know that? Probably not. Even still, you're always cute. It's just a different kind of cute." I stare at him. He stares at my eyes as though he thinks I'm losing myself in his. I shake my head and look back over my notes in front of me. "So what drug are you researching?"

"LSD."

"Hm. I'm doing marijuana."

"Yeah, I bet you are."

He chuckles. "So adorable. I was thinking of doing ecstasy, ya know."

"No, I didn't know and I didn't really care either." He's smiling. I can tell he's smiling. I look up at him. He reaches over the desk and pushes my bangs back out of my eyes. I pull away from him. His hand lingers in the air a moment before he draws it back.

"When do you plan on starting this thing?" he nods at my notes. I shrug. "I was thinking of staying after school in the library if you wanna join me."

"Why would I wanna join you?" He grins. I shake my head. "I was going job hunting after school. Sorry."

"No problem, sweetheart. Some other time." He's quiet for a few minutes while I look at my notes. "Where do you plan on working?" I shrug. The bell rings. Finally. I stand up and pack my things into my bag. Bankotsu waited around for me to gather everything. I'm kind of sluggish sometimes so I'm generally the last one out and Ms. Marlborough just tells me to shut the door on the way. As I'm approaching the door, Bankotsu pulls me back by my waist. He snakes his left arm around my waist and his right hand under my shoulder bag, resting it on my hip. I try to pull away but he pulls me back into him, pushing his groin into my rear. He buries his face in my hair and breathes deeply. He holds his breath for a few seconds before letting me go and we both exit the room. He shuts the door behind us and walks past me as though nothing out of the ordinary just happened. I'm going to have to keep my eyes open. I get the feeling he's starting his old tricks again and his little speech was a lie. Not surprising, I know.

I'm greeted by his comforting arms and sweet kiss. How I've missed it. Naraku was waiting for me at the door of the art room. I noticed his head bobbing above the crowd and huge smile spreading across his face when he saw me. My arms are wrapped tightly around his waist and my head is rested on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. His arms are clasped around my shoulders and his cheek is resting on the top of my head. We stay standing like that in the hallway, waiting for the bell to ring and class to start. Koga and his 'followers'-as I now call them-give me thumbs up sign when they walk by, causing me to giggle.

During class, I often notice Naraku staring at me. Finally, I look up at him and smile. "Something wrong?" He shakes his head and keeps on staring. I try not to laugh.

About half way through the class I take in someone walking by the door quite often. I find it 'funny' how it always seems to be the same person. After about fifteen minutes I set my eyes on the door in hopes of seeing who it is. They walk by again. The face looks familiar. I think about it for a few moments before the face suddenly takes me back to the electronics shop in the mall, and then the voice takes me to the alley on the first night I met Naraku. I gasp. "What's up?" Naraku asks from beside me. Sesshomaru is staring at me as well, but the rest of the class is focused on their work.

"Naraku, watch the door. That guy keeps walking by." We wait and watch. He walks by again, looking in the classroom, right at me. Naraku frowns.

"You gotta be kidding me."

"Who is it?" Sesshomaru asks. "The face looks familiar but I can't place it. Who is he?"

"That's the guy who got Rin," Naraku answers.

Sesshomaru looks at me. "How do you know him?"

Naraku answers for me. "He tried to get her too. That night when we first met." The guys stare at each other for a minute. "After school." Naraku states. Sesshomaru frowns and nods.

"What? After school? Naraku you're not gonna-"

"Yup. We have to, Alicia." I shake my head.

"No. Naraku, you're gonna get hurt again. I don't want you to get hurt."

He squeezes my hand lightly. "Don't worry, Hun. We'll get Miroku, he'll help us. It'll be three on one. We'll be fine." I shake my head again, feeling the tears rising. I push them back down before Naraku notices "I'll drop Alicia off at home and then we'll go find the bastard," he says to Sesshomaru.

After school, the four of us pile into the car. Naraku drives me home. He has the key so I have to wait for him to open the door for me. I get out of the car and slam the door. When he opens the door to the house, he holds up his index finger and follows me in. He catches up to me just before I enter my room, grabs hold of my arm and swings me around to face him. He grips both my arms tightly, which is slightly painful in his strong hands. He's frowning but he doesn't seem angry. "What's wrong, babe?" He watches me intently as I fidget under his towering gaze. "Answer me," he says, a little softer this time and loosens his grip on me.

"I don't want you to go. I don't want you to do this." I pause for a moment. "Naraku, you're gonna get hurt."

"No, I won't. Alicia, just trust me. I have to do this. For Sesshomaru, for Inuyasha, for Rin and for you. I can't just let the bastard get away with this." A tear runs down my cheek. He wipes it away gently and hugs me. "Baby, please don't cry."

"Don't go." He kisses the top of my head.

"I'm sorry." He kisses me again. "I hope you'll forgive me. I'm gonna lock the door. Don't go anywhere, we shouldn't be too long." He lifts my chin up for me to look at him but I avert my eyes. I can still see him a little out of the corner of my eye. I can see the hurt expression that claimed his face when I wouldn't look directly at him. He kisses my cheek and leaves.

I'm sitting on my bed. This isn't right. Fighting is wrong. Fighting should be used for self-defense only. Not to beat someone up over what they did in their past. What Suikotsu did was wrong too but two wrongs don't make a right. I was supposed to go job hunting after school. Naraku left. I know he told me to stay here but I had plans and I'm not about to support his. I'd like to support him, but I can't find the right in what he's doing. It's against my beliefs.

Walking down the sidewalk. I'm sorry, Naraku. I know you told me to stay but I couldn't. It's hard to respect your wishes when you don't respect mine. I stop in front of a video store. There's a sign in the window that says 'Help Wanted'. I think about it. It's reasonably close to home. I enter and look around a bit. It seems like a peaceful place. I walk up to the front counter. "Excuse me."

The lady looks at me and smiles. "Can I help you?"

"Um. I was wondering if you had an application form that I could fill out. I'm looking for a job."

"Well, you're in luck, we hiring." She reaches under the desk and produces a sheet of paper. "Just fill this out and I'll submit it for you."

"Thank you."

"Would you like to fill it out now or would you rather take it home?"

"I'll do it now. Do you have a pen?" She passes me a pen. I move over to the side of the counter and begin filling it out. When I'm done, I pass her the paper and return her pen.

"Have a nice day." I smile and return her greeting. I look at my watch. Almost five. I was wondering around a while before I actually looked for a place to work, so Naraku's probably home by now. I hope he's not too mad at me.

As I'm walking down the street, I notice his car is parked in the driveway. I walk up the driveway and into the house. Three pairs of worried eyes rest upon me. I shut the door. Naraku's on the phone, silent. "Never mind," he says and hangs up. He rushes over to me and wraps his arms around me tightly. "Holy hell, Alicia! Where were you? I came home and you were gone! You had me worried half to death!" He pulls away from me and holds me at arms length, cupping my face in his hands. Again, I avert my eyes. "Where were you?"

"I was out job hunting, that's all."

"Alicia…I told you to stay here 'til I got home."

I look into his eyes-one of which is black. "And I told you not to go start a fight."

He sighs. "You don't understand-"

"Yes I do." I push his hands away and walk up to my room. As soon as I flop down on my bed, Naraku knocks on the door.

"Alicia?"

"Not now, Naraku."

The door opens. I roll over to face the wall. He sits on the edge of my bed. "You're mad."

"No. I'm pissed."

"How come you won't look at me?"

"Because it doesn't feel right at the moment. Please, I don't wanna talk now."

His voice is shaky now. "I need you to talk to me, Alicia." I don't answer. "Will you talk later?"

"I might."

"Okay," he whispers. He leans down and kisses my cheek gently then exits the room.

It's dark outside now. I heard Miroku and Sesshomaru leave quite a while ago. Naraku brought me supper and left it on the desk. It's still there. I feel terrible. I want to talk to him. I want to tell him how I feel but I don't even know how I feel. I look at my alarm clock. Almost eleven. I change into some night clothes. I won't be able to sleep but I crawl under the covers anyway. About a half an hour later I concentrate on the sounds downstairs. The television's on. I pad my way down the stairs and make a right turn into the living room. Naraku's sitting on the couch, staring through the TV. He's thinking. His eyes are so sad. I take another step forward. "Naraku?" He looks up at me. He draws his feet off the coffee table and a small piece of the sadness fades. I feel the tears rising, but I don't fight them. I let them stream down my face. "I'm sorry," I squeak. Naraku's face changes from confused and sad to worried in a snap. He stands up and I run to him.

"I'm sorry too," he whispers. He holds me firmly as though he's afraid I might dissolve into the air. He sits back down, pulling me into his lap. I see tears forming in his eyes before I burry my face in his neck. "I'm so sorry. I didn't realize how much it hurt you. I'm so sorry."

I pull away and gently touch his cheek underneath his blackened eye. He wraps his hand around mine, holds it next to his heart and his eyes close. I touch my forehead to his and close my eyes as well, breathing him in. I find comfort in this position; knowing he's still there even when we're not sure what to do. I think back to everything that happened today and it makes me want to cry more. I fight it; I fail. I whimper slightly and rest my head on Naraku's shoulder again. He hugs me comfortingly and rubs my back gently. We sit like that until we're both sure that we're not going to cry anymore. We share a sweet, soothing kiss before we somehow manage to both stretch out on the couch in each others arms and drift off to sleep. Everything's going to be alright.

I wake up the next afternoon; alone. It's almost three. Where's Naraku? Why didn't he wake me up for school? As if answering my unvoiced questions, Naraku appears from the kitchen. He looks at me and smiles pleasantly. "Hey. How you feeling?" He walks over and sits on the edge of the couch. I don't say anything; just look at him. He places a hand on my forehead. "You had a it of a fever when woke up," he explains.

"Naraku…why aren't we at school right now?"

"Well, it was already past ten when I woke up and like I said you had a fever. I wasn't sure how I was feeling either, so I called the school and told them we wouldn't be in today."

"Do you feel alright now? Does your eye hurt?" I sit up and look at him worriedly. He smiles and takes my hand.

"I'm fine. Do you still feel sick?" I shake my head. He nods, kisses my forehead and I pull him down for a proper kiss.

Do I dare say it? Does he feel the same way? He seems to, but could I be mistaking? There's only one way to find out. I'm not sure about this. Go for it! "Naraku," he looks at me intently, waiting for me to finish what I was going to say. I remain silent, trying to find the right words.

"What is it, sugar?"

"Naraku…I…" I sigh. What am I waiting for? I gaze into his eyes, searching for reassurance. There's that sparkle he gets when he wants to know something. The sparkle of guilty innocence. "I love you." There it is. I said it. He smiles brightly; happily; excitedly.

"I love you too." I smile relieved and kiss him passionately. "I'm so glad you said that. I knew I would eventually, I just didn't know if you felt the same. But I guess you were probably worried about the same thing, huh?" I smile and kiss him again.