Four hundred and fifty six...
Four hundred and fifty seven...
Four hundred and fifty eight...
The pathetic sight of a hanyou laying on his back, his hands laced loosely on his chest staring up at the ceiling, idly counting bumps on it is the sight that would have met anyone visiting Inuyasha Morishima these days.
If he had any visitors besides his older brother and father.
Granted, Kaede, his dead fiancee's sister, was his cleaning lady and cook, but she wasn't aloud to set foot on the top floor, or in his office, or in the attic.
There were some places where you just didn't go in his house.
Places that left Inuyasha feeling violated. Places that reminded him of a woman who had died fifty years ago.
Four hundred and sixty...wait...
The hanyou groaned, rolling onto his stomach and hugging his pillow to his chest. "DAMMIT!" He yelled into the pillow, pressing his face against the down pillow until his lungs began to burn for air. 'Maybe, if I don't move the pillow...' He closed his eyes, pressing his face more firmly against the soft, Egyptian cotton pillowcase.
"Did I hear someone screaming in frustration up there?"
Kaede's call from downstairs caused the hanyou to rip the pillow away and gasp in steady gasps of air. He gave his bedroom door a dirty look and sighed softly. "I just fucking lost count again, babaa!" He shouted back, resting his hand over the back of his eyes. "Mind your business..." He mumbled as an after thought.
Kaede, who stood at the base of the stairs frowned slightly and went to the house phone, dialing the number of her employer. "Morishima-sama...Inuyasha is locked up in his bedroom once again and hasn't eaten or bathed in two days."
"Hmm...you're still banned from going upstairs aren't you..."
She grunted in response. "Ungrateful little prat." She mumbled darkly.
Inutaishou laughed heartily. "Fine. I'll send over someone to drag his behind out of bed. You might want to get out of there before then."
Meanwhile, Inuyasha was once again laying on his back, staring up at his ceiling. He had resumed counting the spots on the ceiling, not noticing that the looked like stars, seeing only globs of white paint on a white ceiling. His room was plain, unadorned, boring. He snorted, hugging his pillow tighter to his chest. 'One of these days I should get off my ass and actually do something to this stupid room...that way at least it would be more interesting to lay in...'
He lay there for another hour, counting the bumps on the ceiling, hugging his pillow to his chest, until finally, someone slammed his bedroom door open. Then he sat up, furious. "Dammit, babaa! I fucking told you you're not aloud up here-" Something flew at his head and he instinctually ducked, rolling out of his bed and onto the floor. "What the fuck!"
"Morning wake-up, Inuyasha!" A female voice chuckled from beside the door.
"Fuck!" The hanyou got up on his hands and knees, glaring at his doorway. Just then, the small boomerang came back in through his open window and clipped one of his ears and a small hand caught it at his doorway. He clutched his wounded ear and winced in pain. "That fucking hurt, damn it!"
A man's chuckle was heard from the door. "Now, Inuyasha, you're just making this more difficult than it has to be..."
"Who sent you!" Inuyasha snarled. "My bastard brother?"
"You know who sent us..." The female said ominously, then she lept into the room, holding another small boomerang in her hand. "Just come out, we wont hurt you!"
"Don't make this harder than it needs to be, Inuyasha..."
The hanyou growled softly. "I guess you didn't notice, taijiya, that you already DID!" He grabbed something off his bed side table. His alarm clock. Good enough. He turned and heaved it with all his strength at the girl who was attacking him.
Nimbly, she moved out of the way.
The man behind her wasn't so lucky and got hit with the clock full in the face.
The girl watched the man stand very still for a moment then topple backwards. "Hoshimoto-san!"
Inuyasha rested his chin on his hands and waited for the inevitable. The girl leaned over the man to check on him and the man's hand sprung upwards, and grasped the poor unsuspecting girls behind. The girl let out an animal shriek and slapped him hard across the face.
With that, the fight ended and Inuyasha looked at them wryly. "I win, this time."
The girl, who was actually Mirimachi Sango, daughter of the head of security at Taiyoukai Inc., smiled and shrugged. "You usually do, Inuyasha. Your father says you needed a jump start to get you out of bed."
Hoshimoto Miroku sat up and grinned from ear to ear. "He sent us."
"So I have him to thank for the ear..." The hanyou lifted a hand to his ear and winced. "That fucking hurt, Sango."
"Sorry. But...you should have remembered that they do come back..."
"Yeah, sure, blame the wretchedly depressed hanyou." Said hanyou complained, rubbing his shoulders. "At least I'm not out of shape or you'd have nailed me in the face...speaking of which...how's your's Miroku?"
"Tender. Thank you for pulling the throw." Miroku grinned. The hanyou grinned back in response.
Strange as it may be, this kind of wake-up was a normal occurance. For the past five years, whenever Inuyasha got into a good slump, his father would send over the hanyou's two best friends to help him deal with it.
"So...our job is to get you out of the house." Sango cracked her knuckles and get down to business. "So, movies, food, shopping, a little race..." She saw the hanyou perk at the suggestion.
Ah, racing, his most recent reckless hobby. Both Sango and Miroku had their own racing implements, but none had one quite like Inuyasha's. His Suzuki Hayabusa, the fastest production bike available was perfect for tearing up the streets of Tokyo, and in style, because his had a custom paint job in black with silver and gold. It was the envy of most of the illegal street racers that chose to ride on two wheels instead of four.
The only other racer who even challenged his speed was another demon, a wolf-demon, his rival, Yoshiharu Kouga. Both rode upon the all powerful sea bass (Which by the way, is what a Suzuki is, unless you read the Kanji for the company, then I don't know). Kouga's ride was sky blue and only had hints of black and white on it.
"A race in the middle of the day?" Inuyasha wondered aloud, already able to feel the wind ripping through his hair. "That could be nice...but are you two up for the challenge?"
"We are if you are, old man..." Miroku smirked, lightly tapping the hanyou on the shoulder.
Inuyasha climbed to his feet. "Give me half-an-hour." He grabbed a towel off the floor and gave it a cursory sniff. He wrinkled his nose. "Okay, I guess it's time for a clean one..." He walked out of the room and disappeared down the hall.
Sango glanced towards Miroku, a concerned expression on her face. "He's going to go right back into his rut if he doesn't get out and date some..."
"And if he does, then he's going to get right back into a rut if he doesn't meet the right girl..." The boy shook his head, sighing.
"And if he does meet the right girl, he's going to wind up in it if he doesn't get laid..."
"Do you think his father has told him about her, yet?"
Sango looked sharply at Miroku. "I don't know..."
0o0o0o0o0
Inuyasha lifted his face to the spray and sighed softly as the tension was relaxed out of his muscles. The race had been exactly what the doctor had ordered for the day. Yet, as the day wore one, his two well-meaning friends began to wear on him with their 'advice' and 'suggestions' that he should get out more.
That he should start dating again.
He'd made a sincere attempt to explain to them that he didn't need or want a relationship right now. The last failed clone had only been three years ago, and he was still trying to come to terms with the decision he'd made.
The day the last clone had failed, he'd finally snapped on everything. He'd had enough of the failures. When the clone had been sedated, he had thrown a hissy fit and nearly torn his father's office apart. That was when he'd decided that he didn't want to try again.
No more attempts at cloning Kikyou.
No more heartbreak when they failed.
There had been almost fifteen attempts in the past fifty years.
He'd had enough.
His father had been startled by the sudden declaration, and perhaps that was why he'd asked Inuyasha if he was completely certain.
He'd said yes.
All attempts to clone another Kikyou were put to an end. The girls that had been made and shared her DNA were given into adoption to human families, where they would be raised into productive citizens. All of them had been sent very far away from Japan.
His phone rang and the hanyou ignored it. He enjoyed the feeling of the scalding hot water hitting his skin with stinging force, and shook his soaked silver hair behind him. (Don't tell me you fan girls aren't drooling. I can see it.)
Idly, he blessed Sango and Miroku for dragging him from his bedroom for the upteenth time for the past half-a-decade. If it hadn't been for them, he probably wouldn't have made it when the last clone had failed. They were the ones who helped him realize that he could still survive without Kikyou. That he could still enjoy life.
They were his best friends.
A twinge of annoyance grabbed him when the phone rang again. He grabbed his phone off the back of the toilet and flipped it open. He quickly adopted a German woman's accent. "Harro...zis is Helga's house of pain...how may I help you?"
There was a snort on the end of the line. "Inuyasha! Don't fucking answer the phone like that! What would your mother think!"
"Hey, you interrupted my bath, oyaji." He took a calming breath. "What's up, pops?"
"Just wondering how your day went..."
That softened the boy. He'd almost forgotten that the old man was part of the reason he'd had such a decent day. "It didn't suck as bad as yesterday." He said honestly. "Sango and Miroku went out with me and we tore up a few side streets on our bikes."
A long pause. "And what are you doing tomorrow?"
The hanyou thought about it for a bit. "I don't know. I'll think about it later. Maybe I'll go for a long ride..."
He could almost hear his father smile. "I'm glad."
Inuyasha closed his eyes. "I gotta go, dad..."
"I know. Bye."
The hanyou hung up the phone and sighed softly. Yeah, a ride tomorrow sounds like a good idea. Maybe it could keep his mind off of the only girl he'd ever loved.
The girl who killed herself two weeks before their wedding day.
A girl who would evidentially rather die than spend her life with a worthless half-breed like him.
0o0o0o0o0
The next day's ride had taken him to a lot of places. He'd ate lunch at a ramen shop, before hitting his bike again and finding himself at his father's offices. He looked up at the tall sky scraper and sighed, climbing off his bike and walking through the revolving glass doors in the front. When he entered the lobby, everyone went silent.
He was the rouge son, the bastard hanyou who hadn't followed in his father and brother's footsteps. They accused him of leeching off his families success, but he, as usual ignored it. He hadn't needed his father's money in over eighty years, as he'd learned at a young age where to invest the money you have and when to sell the investments you've got.
Inuyasha Morishima may be depressed due to loss, but he was still a shrewd businessman and he had started several custom car shops on his own, which when he wasn't sunk in a rut, he often visited. He even ran an tuner and custom shop for motorcycles himself, doing a great deal of the work himself.
He knew what he was, so who cares what all these stupid rich bastards think? He gave them a careless wave and walked towards the back, where the elevators were. He stepped into the first one that opened and turned back around, finding all of the occupants of the other room staring at him with disdain. He snorted. Haughty bastards. The doors slid closed in front of him and he jabbed the button for the top floor rather roughly.
He managed to keep his mind blissfully blank as he made the assent, and grinned when others got on the elevator, looking at him in mild shock. Some merely shied away from him, but got on anyways, while others said they'd take the next one. Each rude remark was met with a wicked grin.
When he finally reached the top floor, He stepped easily off the elevator and moved past the various demons doing pointless, non-scientific jobs. He reached his father's secretary, and was startled when she stopped him. "What, he's my father, I can go in if I want..."
"He's in a very important meeting. It's this girl's first check-up since activation and although she hasn't had any problems yet, I'm sure he wouldn't want you to be the first..." Kagura said gently. "Go sit in the break room, I'll send him in immediately afterwards."
Inuyasha scowled. "Keh, like you can order me, I'll wait right here."
Kagura scowled. "I suppose you can...but your father will be displeased..."
After five minutes of waiting, Inuyasha was already bored. He began digging through Kagura's pen pot. "Four pens, ten pencils...eight paper clips..."
"When..." Kagura slammed her hand down over his. "Did you get so obsessed with counting crap!"
He grinned. "Dunno. Probably when I was a kid. I've spent the two of the past three days trying to determine the number of paint bumps on my ceiling."
"My god...you need a life..." She shook her head. "No, you need more than a life. You need a girlfriend. You need to get LAID. BADLY."
His grin turned a bit evil. "Why, you offering, Kagura-chan?" He teased.
She turned ghostly white and backed away from her desk. "Don't you go acting like Miroku, Inuyasha Morishima! You're a hanyou so I know you can take a lot more hurt than that puny little human your father hired as your driver!"
He relented. "Relax. I have NO intrest in anyone related in any way, shape, or form to that creepy obsessive bastard, Naraku."
"Wouldn't that be the pot calling the kettle black?"
The slimy voice behind him caused him to turn slowly, seeing Naraku exiting from his father's office. "Naraku...teme..."
"After all, I have long since moved on about that silly woman, Kikyou..." Naraku sneered. "While you still pine over her..."
There was something in the man's eyes that didn't let him believe him. "Eat shit, you piece of shit..."
"Ah, from the sound of that colorful language, my brother is here..." Sesshoumaru glanced through the crack in the door. "You're rather loud, little brother. Please go to the break area as Kagura instructed. We'll be with you shortly."
"Forget it..." Inuyasha glared Naraku dead in the eye as he stalked past him. "Call me on my cell, I'm going for a ride..." As he reached the elevator, Naraku spoke behind him.
"You should be careful on that bike...It would be bad if you were ever in an accident..."
Inuyasha absorbed the threat and took a steadying breath. Yes, a ride is just what he needed. He got into the box and pressed the button for the bottom floor and let the doors close. Stupid bastard always pissed him off...
Back in his father's office, Inutaishou was watching the clone girl leave, his face tired, weary. "Do you think he'll be happy with her? Should we wait another year before we give her to him? Do you think they'll both be happy?"
Sesshoumaru merely shook his head and shrugged. "I can't tell you if he'll be happy with her or not. Vice versa with the girl. She was raised by a clone family. She was never really supposed to go to Inuyasha. She was supposed to be...a form of control, a test. To see if nature or nurture really were what made a person. The girl has fire, a temper, but she is also compassionate. I don't think they'll kill each other, now." A near smile. "It just depends on how well my darling little brother behaves himself."
Inutaishou put his head in his hands. "They're both screwed..."
0o0o0o0o0
Inuyasha sat on a bench, surrounded by people shopping. He was watching the sky as it slowly darkened from sky blue to lavender purple and gave a weary sigh. 'Why couldn't just one of them have succeeded...if one of them had worked...just one...then maybe I wouldn't always feel like I'm alone in the world...'
Only moments later, above the sounds of the city, a familiar voice reached him.
"Don't be silly, Yuka, I'm sure there's absolutely nothing wrong with him."
His eyes flew wide as he realized the reason the voice seemed so familiar. He sat upright and desperately looked around. He thought he caught a glimpse of her, and strained his ears for her voice again.
"No, no, Morishima-sama assures me that he's a nice young man 'once you get to know him', which could be said about anybody!"
That way. He sprung to his feet and began moving through the crowd to the voice.
"Yuka, be nice! I'm sure he's not hideous!"
He broke through the crowd and found himself staring at a group of school girls, who were sitting at a square table, drinking soda or eating some kind of parfait. "Kikyou?" He whispered softly, his eyes narrowing slightly as he examined him.
"Ohmigod!" One of the girl's squeaked out softly, grabbing another by the arm. "Is that Inuyasha Morishima!" She whispered, thinking he couldn't hear her. "He's looking right AT us!"
All of the girls turned around and he found himself staring into the face of his old lover. He sucked in a soft breath and his eyes widened. A moment later, he saw horror fill the girls' faces and one of them screamed, hiding her face. The one who bore such a resemblance to Kikyou shouted.
"WATCH OUT!"
He looked to where she was pointing just in time to catch a speeding car in the face.
0o0o0o0o0