Author's Note: Well, hellos everybody. It's been so long since I put anything up on here. Well, I'm back! And hopefully, better than ever! I just want to make it known that this story is totally AU and is in no way connected to Sammy-sama's stories His Heart and the Only One who can Save Him and You Mean Everything To Me. This story is the love child of my imagination with a little help from Sammy, though it is almost necessary to have red her sequel as well, but not entirely necessary. Also, I was given full permission to use her characters for my own devious purposes. Do NOT use her characters without her permission. Anyway, let's gets the party rolling!

Disclaimer:

I do not own anything associated with Inuyasha TV series. Nor do I own spaghettioes. Don't ask. Just continue reading.

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"Die, spaghettioes! Die!"

The smoke detector was blaring. The temperature was rising.

And somehow Ally's broom wasn't that helpful in putting out the flaming spaghettioes.

Trying to smack the fire out of existence in the enclosed space of the microwave was more of an undertaking than she had originally planned, and it didn't help that the broom was now on fire. Screaming, she dropped the blazing end of the broom into the sink, turning on the water, and after eyeing the sink, she got an idea. She grabbed the spray hose and yelled, "Hasta La Vista, Flamo!" Water shot out of the hose, dousing the fire, and seeing the plan was working, she lightened up. "Ha Ha! Two magic, two magic, two magic!"

After the flame was gone, Soshi busted through the door, wielding a fire extinguisher.

"Soshi! It's out!" she said, smiling.

He set the fire extinguisher down on the table and asked sternly, "Why are you smiling? This isn't funny! You could have set the apartment on fire!"

"Well, I didn't. I took care of it," she said defensively.

"What if you didn't?"

"Well, this wouldn't have happened in the first place if you had gotten the repairman to come by!"

"You know he wasn't there!"

"Yeah, two weeks ago!"

"I was busy! Why couldn't you call him?"

"Because I've been assigned to that nurse strike downtown. I'm busy, too!"

"What about after work!"

"There is no after work for me; I get home and I have to write a interesting story that is worthy of being put on the front page! And what about you? I don't see you doing much after work!"

"Forget it!" he said, storming off down the hall.

"Yeah, that's it! Run!" she screamed, chasing after him. "Whenever we try to get to an issue, you run! Why is that!"

But before she could continue, he put the bedroom door between them.

Groaning audibly, she grabbed her coat and purse and left, not hesitating to slam the door.

Soshi winced at the bang. "Always have to have the last damn word…"

……………………………

Strobe lights, blaring techno music, sweaty bodies.

This was Ally's favorite club, Sanctuary, but she wasn't having fun tonight. As she sat at the bar, sipping half-heartedly at some alcoholic beverage, the young woman contemplated her life, her relationships, Soshi. "My relationship with him is falling apart," she thought.

"Can I get you another drink?" a male voice questioned.

"Go aw-" she turned only to see Riku. She turned back, resting her elbow on the bar and said, "Sorry…I'm not in the best of moods tonight."

He sat down beside her like he had known her forever and asked, "Guy bail on you?"

She snickered sarcastically. "Yeah, but not in the way you're thinking."

"Well, then…" He took a sip of beer. "What am I thinking, and what really happened?" He asked.

She looked at him questioningly. When did he start to care?

"Are you going to tell me to shove it, or are you going to answer my question, because your facial expression right now makes me think it's going to be the first." He looked at her out of the corner of his eye, raising his eyebrow.

The young woman ran her finger around the edge of her glass, shaking her head, thinking about the argument she had been involved in earlier that night. "You're thinking that I had a date and he was a no-show. In reality, he's bailed on me because he doesn't think I can handle myself…he doesn't trust me. Treats me like a kid sometimes."

"And this he…he's your-"

"Live-in boyfriend."

He opened his mouth as if he was going to comment, but all he said was, "…Ah."

Silence fell over the pair. After a moment or two, Ally put her glass to her lips, but nothing was there to satisfy them. Sighing in exasperation and disappointment, she called the bartender over and ordered another drink. When the bartender returned, she was shocked to see Riku paying for her drink; she had almost forgotten he was there.

When the bartender left to serve other customers, she said, "You didn't have to do that." She took a sip, looking at him.

"It's called being a gentleman," he responded simply.

Trying to avoid another awkward silence, Ally asked the first question that popped into her head, "Come here often?" She smacked her mentally, very hard.

Riku knew that this was the opportune moment to tease her for asking such a common pick-up line by mistake, but, instead, he decided to say, "Yeah…Every Friday night. After I put Takara to bed, the babysitter comes over and I come here. I've always thought it was important to have time doing what you want to do… Do you?"

"Do what?"

"Come here often."

"I wish…Soshi…he's not the party-type. He likes to stay home. He's no where near as adventurous as me."

"…So, what do you two do for fun?"

The woman parted her lips, took a breath, but nothing came out. What did they do for fun? "I-…um… Apparently nothing."

Riku nodded, thinking. Suddenly, he spun in his seat, facing her. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, shoot," she said.

"What's that drink?" he asked, pointing to the colorful drink.

She looked down at her glass, and a slight pink hue brushed across her cheeks. "A 'Sex on the Beach.'"

He smirked, shamelessly. "Not as innocent as you let on, eh?"

"Maybe…" she looked at him, mirroring his smirk.

Her amethyst eyes locked with his jade ones.

A familiar J-pop beat flooded the club, and Ally pulled herself away. "They're about to close."

"How do you know? You're not wearing a watch," he said.

"They always play Sanctuary by Utada Hikaru when they close. It's what this place is named after."

"Really?…Hm."

The pair left the club and Ally hailed a cab. "I'll see you around, Riku."

"Yeah. See ya," he responded, shoving his hands in his pockets.

The young woman got into the cab, shutting the door. She gave the cab driver her address and they took off.

"I hope I see you soon," the demon mumbled, watching the cab fade away into the distance.

In the cab, Ally looked out the window and sang the current song in her head to herself. "In you and I there's a new land. Angels in flight. Wonk uoy naht noitceffa erom deen I. My sanctuary. My sanctuary…"

……………………………

The apartment door creaked open, signaling Ally's return. She took off her coat, placed it on the wall hook, set her purse and keys down and turned, seeing something totally unexpected.

"Why are you still up?" she asked, not really annoyed at the fact.

"I was worried about you," Soshi replied simply. He was sitting on the couch, hugging a pillow, staring off into space. "I wanted to apologize…"

She smiled. "How long have you been sitting there like that?"

His face looked as if he was really curious as to how long he'd been there. He looked at his wrist watch and a moment later, he said, matter-of-factly, "Forty-five minutes."

She giggled and went over to him, slipping onto the couch next to him. She slipped her arms around him, kissing his cheek.

"I'm sorry, Ally. I didn't mean to yell at you. I just didn't want you to get hurt."

"Apology accepted. And I should have been more careful."

He turned his head and met her lips quickly. She smiled at him. "Come on. Let's go to bed."

The couple got up and went into their bedroom, desiring a good night's sleep. Ally went into the bathroom to change, and when she came back, humming the tune from the club.

"What song is that?" Soshi asked innocently.

Did she want to tell him she went to the club? Did she want him to know about Riku? "It's from a video game," she replied simply. She slipped under the covers with him, turning off the light. Resting her head on his bare chest, she reasoned to herself mentally, "It was only a white lie. Besides, it's not like Riku and I kissed or anything…"

The couple drifted to sleep, one easier than the other.

……………………………

The plot thickens next time on:…Sanctuary!

Welps, what'cha think? Reviews are much appreciated!