Teacher's Pet
Chapter 47: Inside Tsubasa's Head
The next morning, Kagome knew that she would find Kanna soon, very soon. She felt it in her soul. She wouldn't give up for anything in the world. She got ready and went downstairs to cook breakfast for Inuyasha and Sesshomaru.
"You're cooking?" Inuyasha asked.
"Yeah. I have to keep my mind on something." Kagome said, her voice hard as steel.
"What happened last night?" Inuyasha was concerned.
"I remembered one of Naraku's dreams. Where he…he…" Kagome bit her lip to keep herself from crying, but Inuyasha understood what his best friend was saying.
"C'mere." He hugged Kagome and she buried her face in his bare chest. "We're gonna get him, Kags. And we're gonna save Kanna."
"I know she's alive, Yash. I can feel it." Kagome whispered.
"You said a little while ago that she actually does have an aura, it's just not as noticeable as everyone else's." Inuyasha remembered.
"You're right." Kagome sniffed and stepped away from Inuyasha to get back to the food she was cooking.
"So what if you follow a trail of her aura or something?"
"Auras don't work like smells, Yash. They don't leave a distinct trail unless the person wants it to. Or unless there was a sudden burst of the person's energy." Kagome explained.
"Well didn't you say that Kanna tried something before you passed out? Maybe she attacked Naraku with a large burst of energy. That would leave an aura signature, right?" Inuyasha was picking out of the skillet Kagome was frying bacon in.
"I hope that grease burns your taste buds off." Kagome paused. "But you have a very valid idea. They were at Naraku's house…wherever that is."
"Someone could follow him home." Inuyasha suggested.
"It can't be either of us." Kagome shook her head and bit her lip. There was a knock on the door. "I'll get it." Kagome opened the front door to see Tsubasa standing there.
"I'll do it. I'll follow Naraku." He said, having overheard Kagome and Inuyasha talking.
"Tsubasa, I can't ask you to do that." Kagome said, frowning.
"You didn't. I'm telling you that I'll do it." Tsubasa insisted.
Kagome shook her head and walked back to the kitchen. "That won't work. He'll know you were following him."
"You can cover my aura." Tsubasa followed Kagome.
"Yeah, that could work but…no Tsubasa, I won't let you do it." Kagome sat down beside Inuyasha.
"Plus you're gonna be at cheer tryouts today anyways. So you can't hide his aura and work with the girls that wanna try out." Inuyasha threw in.
"Actually, I can. I'm familiar enough with Tsubasa's aura to be able to track him. It'd be really tiring, but I would be able to do both." Kagome told her best friend.
"You want to save Kanna, right?" Tsubasa asked.
"Of course I do!" Kagome exclaimed.
"Then let me follow Naraku. I won't confront him. I'll just follow him to his house and then come back to you." Tsubasa said, trying to convince Kagome.
Kagome sighed. "Fine!"
"No, not fine." Sesshomaru entered the kitchen.
"Who the hell are you to tell me what's fine and not fine?" Kagome whirled around to face him.
"Do you realize the danger that you are putting yourself in?" Sesshomaru asked. "That he is putting you in?" He looked at Tsubasa.
"I'm trying to help her, in case you haven't noticed! Kagome is a goal-oriented person! She has a lot of responsibilities to maintain, and one of them just so happens to be leading a group of girls who want to be cheerleaders with her best friend. Do you think Sango would be ok with Kagome just canceling on her without a good enough explanation?!" Tsubasa was angry with Sesshomaru. He was angry with the entire arrangement. He'd gone home the previous night questioning why he wanted to help Kagome, why wouldn't he go straight to the principal about what he knew, and last but not least, just why the hell did he still want to be with Kagome? She was probably the most complicated girl he'd ever met. But that was what had him stuck right there by her side. She was fierce and her drive was something that he greatly admired.
"Tsubasa, you're gonna follow Naraku, at a safe distance, all the way home while I'm covering your aura. Do. Not. Get. Caught. I can't stress that enough. Even though if he traps you, I'd be able to find you, I'm not willing to take that risk. As soon as you find out where he lives, you come straight here, do you understand?" Kagome looked into Tsubasa's warm, brown eyes.
"Yeah, I got it. I'm not stupid." Tsubasa smirked.
Sesshomaru let out an uncharacteristic snort.
"Shouldn't you be at school, Mr. Taisho?" Tsubasa sneered.
Sesshomaru snarled and turned towards the door. He wanted to maim the bear sitting in front of him, but he knew that would upset Kagome.
"You shouldn't tease him, Tsubasa." Kagome sighed.
"Why the hell not?" Tsubasa turned to look at her.
"Because I said so, dammit!" Kagome yelled. She stood up from the table, following behind Sesshomaru. She caught him before he left out of the door. "If you two are going to act like children about this, then I will do this by my damn self."
"In case you have forgotten miko, he is a child." Sesshomaru said.
"Calling him a child is like calling me a child, Sesshomaru." Kagome rolled her eyes.
"Well, he's already a pedophile, so what's the difference between him calling you a child or a teenager?" Tsubasa entered the living room.
Kagome's aura spiked with anger and she yelled, "You know what?! I can't stand either of you! You're so damn childish! But in case you've forgotten, I'm not with either of you! Sesshomaru, we're done. We. Are. Over. I've made that perfectly clear. Tsubasa, you obviously don't want this chance that you've been talking so much about because you're being a pig-headed jerk! I'm leaving!" She grabbed her belongings and stormed out, slamming the door behind her.
There was silence before Inuyasha finally spoke. "So which one of you is taking me to school?"
In her car, Kagome's tears welled up and she finally let them fall. She was tired. She was angry. And she was confused. She hadn't had time to think of anything except for Naraku and Kanna. Her life wasn't her own anymore. She was used to thinking of other people before herself, but this was getting out of hand! Kagome had to get her life back, before she lost her mind.
At school, Kagome was quiet; she spoke only when she had to. Inuyasha stood by her side giving his quiet support. He knew that his best friend was going through a lot and he was going to be there for her no matter what. He fielded her from the questions their friends were asking and just let her be.
Tsubasa watched Kagome throughout the day and saw how affected she was by all that was happening. He hadn't meant to be so rude that morning, but it just bothered him that he was still there. He simply didn't know how to leave. But as the day continued and he saw how Kagome was lost in thought, trying her best to find a way to save Kanna, he was sure he'd found out the answer. He stayed because he'd never met a person more dedicated than Kagome.
During history, Kagome asked if she, Sango, Inuyasha, and Tsubasa could all be excused and Sesshomaru knew that he couldn't refuse, as much as he wanted to.
"You ok, Kags?" Sango asked when they were in the gym.
Kagome nodded absently. "Alright, let's run through these routines so we can have it together for this afternoon."
Tsubasa and Inuyasha watched Kagome and Sango do a few routines over and over until right before the bell rang when they'd gotten out of the locker room showers.
"Kagome, I need to talk to you." Tsubasa said, catching her arm before she walked to the lunch room. He pulled her in the direction he wanted to go, and was pleased when she followed without argument. He led her to her locker so they could talk. "I'm really sorry for this morning."
Kagome shook her head. "You don't have to do it, follow him, I mean. I know that it's not fair of me to even want you to be here."
"No, no, Kagome. I want to be here. I want to help you. I was just being a jerk. It's just that I really do like you and I see the way he looks at you. He wants you back." Tsubasa put his head down and mumbled, "And the fact that he's already had you kind of bums me out."
Kagome sighed. "I don't know what to tell you Tsubasa. I like you a lot and I like that you're here. But if you two are gonna fight then I'll just do this with Yash. At least he listens to me."
"Hey! I listen to you, too!" Tsubasa protested.
Kagome gave a half hearted smile. "For the most part, you actually do. Now let's go to lunch. I'm hungry."
"Wait." Tsubasa reached forward and pulled Kagome back to him. "I'm really sorry, Kagome." He leaned down and kissed her. Both of them were unaware of the eyes that were watching.
The school day was finally over and Kagome and Sango had to begin cheer tryouts soon.
"I'll meet you in the gym. I just have to tell Yash something really quick." Kagome said to her best friend, turning from her in the hallway.
"Alright!" Sango called after Kagome.
Inuyasha, Kagome, and Tsubasa met in Sesshomaru's classroom.
"Alright, we have about five minutes before I have to go to the gym with my girls. C'mere Tsubasa." Kagome waited as he stepped closer to her. She placed her hands on the sides of his face and closed her eyes. Tsubasa leaned down and pressed his forehead to hers. Kagome opened her eyes and playfully glared at him. "You're gonna make me lose focus."
"Gomen nasai." He said with a smile.
Kagome went back to feeling out Tsubasa's aura and molding it into her own so it would be easier to control. Inuyasha looked slightly confused when he felt Tsubasa's aura disappear and Kagome's grow stronger. Kagome finally looked up ad said, "Done."
"What did you do?" Inuyasha asked.
"I more or less took over his aura and made it match my own. That way I can have better control of it. I can hide his aura better because it's in sync with mine." Kagome explained.
"That sounds like courting." Inuyasha said absently.
"Courting? You mean like what demons do when they wanna mate someone?" Kagome asked.
Inuyasha instantly backtracked when he felt Sesshomaru's eyes on him. "Uh yeah but I didn't mean it like you and Tsubasa were courting or anything."
Kagome laughed. "No one said you were saying that. But it's time for me to go. Follow him closely, but not too close. Tsubasa, please be careful." Kagome looked at him, her eyes serious. "If you have to fall back and we have to think of another plan, we can. I just don't want you to get hurt."
"Have some faith in me Kagome. Geez." Tsubasa said.
"I do have faith in you. I'm just scared. We already don't know where Kanna is, and I don't want to lose you too."
Tsubasa placed his hand on the side of Kagome's face. "I promise you that I will be ok. You're a really strong miko, so I know that my aura is gonna stay hidden. And I'm pretty sneaky, so I'll be just fine." He leaned down and gently brushed his lips against Kagome's.
Kagome blushed furiously and smiled.
"Do you not have to go with your cheerleaders?" Sesshomaru asked rudely.
"Oh shit! I almost forgot about them." Kagome dashed from the room. She poked her head back in and said, "Tsubasa, meet me at your house when you're done with surveillance."
"Will do." Tsubasa watched with a smile on his face as Kagome disappeared around the corner.
"Well…uh…I think Kags will probably want me there with her, so I need to get going." And Inuyasha left the classroom.
"Shouldn't you be leaving too, boy?" Sesshomaru asked.
Tsubasa shook his head. "Naraku is still in the building. I can't just go after him right now. I'll leave when he leaves." He paused. "Why did you cheat on Kagome?"
"What I did or didn't do is of no concern to you." Sesshomaru growled.
"I was just wondering how anyone would want to give up a great girl like Kagome." Tsubasa shook his head. "She's truly spectacular."
"You are telling me this like I do not already know. I know how she sleeps. I know how she doesn't like her food to touch. I know things that you can only imagine. I know how she feels wrapped around me. I know how she tastes. I know far more than you will ever know, bear. And I suggest you stay in your place before I put you in it." Sesshomaru snarled, his beast barely contained.
Tsubasa shrugged. "The fact that you've had her doesn't bother me like it did at first. So what? I've slept with other people, too. So how could I be mad that she has?" Just when Sessshomaru was about to reply, Tsubasa put his hand up, halting any words the DaiYoukai had to say. "He's on the move. And so am I." He left Sesshomaru's room with Kagome on his mind.
There was so much more to her than a cute smile and a pretty face. Sure, there was her body, too. But there was also her mind. Her intellect matched no one else's that he knew. She was wise beyond her years because she'd had to grow up faster than most people their age. Her kind hearted ways were sure to make any man fall for her, just as he knew that he had. He was caught up in his feelings of Kagome, and he knew that there was no way to change that.
"Kagura, I wish you wouldn't wear that perfume anymore. It's nauseating." Tsubasa heard Naraku saying from the front seat of his car.
"Sesshomaru might like it." Kagura replied.
Tsubasa made sure he kept a comfortable distance behind them, while still thinking of the blue eyed beauty named Kagome. He remembered a conversation he'd had with Kimiko just the other day and she'd made a startlingly good point. She'd told him that he admired the way that Kagome cared for everyone around her because he'd never had anyone to care for him the same way. Also, the way that Kagome's mother was more or less absent reminded him of his own life.
His parents had divorced when he was young, so he didn't have many memories of the three of them together. The bear demon mostly lived with his father, and that was pretty much like living alone. His father was always at the hospital where he was the top surgeon, which was why Tsubasa spent the holidays with his mother. Oh, she loved him enough, but there was always a different man in her life that took precedence over him. A month ago there was Renjo. Then there was Daiki one week after that. Then Hajime a week later. She used men to fill the void Tsubasa's father had left when he divorced her. Not that she wasn't filling the void with different men, and sometimes women, when they were married anyway.
But Tsuabsa knew that the only reason his parents had gotten married in the first place was because of him. His mother had gotten pregnant to trap his father into marriage because she knew that he made a lot of money. Yes, his mother was a gold digger. And with the substantial amount of money she was getting for alimony, she was still leeching off of his father. Of course, Tsuabsa knew that his father could more than support his mother and the both of them, he just didn't want to. His father had told him once that if he could've just gotten custody of him without marrying his mother, that would've been the plan. But he'd been young and in love at the time so he did what he thought was right. Tsubasa knew that his father still loved his mother, though. He just couldn't be with her.
Perhaps that was another thing that drew him to Kagome. Both of their fathers were genuine, kind-hearted men who loved the mother of their children, despite the pain they'd caused.
Naraku stopped at a red light and Tsubasa was five cars behind him, still trailing his aura. He knew to stay far behind and not make the same turns that Naraku was making all the time. After about an hour and a half, Tsubasa found out just where Naraku lived. He was half tempted to follow the demon and his partner in crime inside the large house, but he knew that wouldn't be the best thing to do. Plus, Kagome had told him specifically not to do that. So he turned around and made a mental note of where he was, and headed for his home, stopping to get sushi for them on the way.
Kagome was nervous all during practice, but she didn't let that stop nor distract her from what she knew she had to do. There were thirty seven new girls trying out for the team but only eleven of them made it. After the try outs were over, there was a lot of crying, but Kagome and Sango encouraged them to try out again the next year and go to the cheer workshops that they would be having during the school year and during the summer break.
"You wanna go get some ice cream?" Sango asked.
"Nah. I have to get home and work on my report. I had to ask for an extension." Kagome lied quickly.
"Well it was given on such short notice. Alright. I'm gonna go catch up with Miroku and see if he'll take me out for ice cream." Sango smiled and waved Kagome and Inuyasha goodbye.
"You're gonna bite your bottom lip off if you don't stop that." Inuyasha said casually to Kagome gnawing on her bottom lip while they got into her car.
"Sorry." She said absently, flying down the street.
"Kags! You just ran that red light!" Inuyasha exclaimed, holding onto the handle on the passenger side of the car.
"No I didn't." Kagome answered, taking a turn sharply.
"Who the hell taught you how to drive like this?" Inuyasha's heart was pounding. Sure, he liked to drive fast, and he'd crashed more than his fair share of cars, but Kagome was going to wrap them around a tree!
"I taught myself." She snorted with laughter. "I like fast cars and motorcycles."
Inuyasha was relieved when they pulled into the parking lot the condos were located in. They'd arrived at the same time as Tsubasa.
"I'm so glad you're ok!" Kagome exclaimed, jumping out of the car and running over to hug Tsubasa.
"I told you I'd be fine Kagome." He said, but hugged her back.
"I know. But that didn't stop me from worrying. Let's go inside so you can tell me what you found out." Kagome threaded her arm through his and they walked inside of Sesshomaru's condo with Inuyasha in front of them. "Oooh! Sushi!" Kagome said when she noticed the bag in Tsubasa's hands.
"Well somebody's hungry." Tsuabsa laughed when Kagome snatched the bag from him and sat down at the living room table.
"Worrying plus cheering, I'm famished." Kagome answered, starting to stuff her face. She nodded and swallowed. "Tell us where Naraku lives."
"He lives close to the old abandoned warehouse on Nyla Street." Tsubasa answered, getting a plate of sushi out for himself, then he passed one to Inuyasha and sat one on the table for Sesshomaru. "Where's your brother?" He asked Inuyasha.
Inuyasha shrugged, having ripped the lid off of his food and started eating. He pointed up the stairs and rolled his eyes.
"You bought Sesshomaru something to eat?" Kagome asked.
"Yeah. Why not? We're all working together on this, and we've all gotta eat, don't we?" Tsubasa answered simply. When he'd ordered the food, he hadn't even thought of just ordering something for himself and Kagome. He really did genuinely want to get some food for Sesshomaru. After all, he didn't hate the demon, even if he wanted the girl that Tsubasa could have only dreamt up before he'd met her.
Kagome smiled and leaned over and kissed Tsubasa on the cheek. He really was as sweet as she'd thought he was in the beginning. "Wait…you said Naraku stays by an old abandoned warehouse?"
"Yeah." Tsubasa said with his cheeks full of food.
"That's where Kanna is! She's in the basement of the warehouse."
"How do you know?" Inuyasha asked.
"I just have this…feeling that that's where she is." Kagome said.
"Well, I trust your feelings." Inuyasha slurped down the rest of his drink. "When are we going to get her?"
"Tomorrow morning." Kagome said, her voice serious.