Teacher's Pet
Chapter 55: Determination
Sesshomaru was the first one to reach Kagome, and though he was pleased with how his miko was handling things, he did not want her to kill the bear demon. "Miko, you must release him."
"No! He knows where my brother is!" Kagome growled her best human growl.
Tsubasa choked as Kagome's grip got tighter. He coughed, his vision getting black around the edges. He couldn't move a single muscle in his body. He was sure that Kagome was going to kill him.
"Kagome!" Sango burst through the door next. She stood on the other side of her best friend while the rest of their crew looked on in horror. "Kagome, this isn't what you want to do."
"Why the hell not? I know he has something to do with my brother being missing." Kagome pressed just a little tighter.
"How will you know if you kill him? He will pay for what he has done, but not this way." Sesshomaru placed his hand on Kagome, bringing his youki forth. He pressed against her spiritual powers, literally forcing them back into her body. "Stop fighting me."
"Stop trying to stop me." Kagome bit back.
Sesshomaru pressed harder, wrapping his youki around Kagome and dissolving her miko energy altogether. Tsubasa fell to the floor, choking and gasping for air.
"No!" She screamed, and pushed Sesshomaru. She tried and failed to bring her energy to the front again. "What did you do?!"
"I forced you to submit." Sesshomaru said sadly. He never had any intention of forcing his woman to submit, but he knew that was necessary.
Kagome narrowed her eyes at Sesshomaru. She would deal with him later. In the meantime, she turned back to Tsubasa. "Start talking. Now."
The bear demon was still struggling for breath, and he knew that his throat and neck would be sore for days to come. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Naraku has my brother, you fucking prick." Kagome went to Tsubasa and punched him in the jaw.
Tsubasa coughed and spat out blood. Kagome was really small, but she hit like someone twice her size. "That wasn't…that wasn't part of the plan."
"What plan?! What the hell are you talking about?!" Kagome hissed through clenched teeth.
Tsubasa was terrified of the miko in front of him. He could feel her powers fighting to come to the front again and he knew he'd better talk fast because Kagome probably actually would kill him as soon as her powers came back. "When you rejected me yesterday, I texted Mr. Onigumo. I told him that I would help him take down Mr. Taisho. I talked to the principal yesterday and said that I saw him trying to force himself on you. Mr. Onigumo said that he wanted to talk to you and I said the easiest way to get a message to you would be through your little brother, since you and Sango were friends again. He said that he was going to send Ms. Kaze to give him a message to bring to you. He wasn't supposed to kidnap him."
"He's a fucking psycho! Why did you think he was going to go along with your little plan?!" Kagome was livid. She stepped to Tsubasa, who was still cowering on the ground. "If anything happens to my little brother, I will kill you. I will purify you from the inside out and make sure you're alive until the very end." She kicked him in the stomach. "Do you understand, you miserable excuse for a fucking demon?!"
Tsubasa whimpered and nodded. "I-I just wanted you back. It wasn't supposed to come to this."
"Fuck you! Once I get my brother back, if I ever see you again, I'll make you regret ever meeting me." Kagome felt herself finally able to use her powers and she ignited her fist with her spiritual energy and knocked Tsubasa unconscious.
"What's the plan?" Sango asked, just as Kagome's phone rang.
"What do you want, you sick fuck?" Kagome spat into the phone.
"Ah, ah, ah. You wouldn't want anything to happen to your precious little Sota, would you?" She could tell Naraku was smiling into the phone.
"If anything happens to my brother, I'll rip you to fucking pieces."
Naraku laughed. "I'd love for you to try, my little miko. It could be foreplay, before I finally take you."
"What do you want?!" Kagome bit.
"Why, you, of course. I want you. And I want to destroy that mangy dog that seems to have claimed you." Naraku said as if it was the simplest thing in the world. "You and all of your little friends, who I'm sure are there, will go to school as if nothing has happened. You will go to the principal and tell him that your beloved Sesshomaru tried to force himself on you, and his brother stood watch. After school, you will come to my warehouse, I'm sure you still remember where it is. There, we will discuss the rest of the arrangement. And you might want to hurry. I think Hakudoshi is looking to take his revenge on you out on anyone close to you."
"He touches a hair on Sota's head and-"
"Tick tock, Kagome. Tick tock. And if you'd be a dear and bring my little pet, Kanna, with you, that would be great. I'd like her back now. And it should go without saying, but if you involve the police, you will never see your little brother again." Naraku hung up.
Kagome let out a frustrated scream and threw her phone directly in Tsubasa's face, breaking his nose and giving him a black eye. "I should fucking kill you!" She screeched and lunged at him. Sesshomaru caught her in his arms and purred deeply in his chest to calm her down just slightly.
"You need to focus, Kagome. Now isn't the time for anger at him." Sesshomaru said. He was furious, but he was focused. He needed Kagome to be on the same page as well.
"What do you need us to do?" Sango asked.
Kagome took a deep breath. "If Kagura is at school, we're going to give her hell in class. That's number one. Be as obnoxious as fucking possible. Other than that, nothing. Pray for me."
"But Kagome-"
"This isn't your fight, Sango." Kagome cut her off. She looked at all of her friends. "This isn't any of your fight. This is mine, Sesshomaru's, Inuyasha's, and Kanna's."
They all filed outside to get into their separate cars to go to school. Sango stayed behind to talk to Kagome.
"Kags, I'm really sorry about that stuff I said to you." Sango said.
Kagome shook her head. "Don't worry about it. I love you and if any of us don't make it back…"
"Shutup. All of you are making it back." Sango said, tears in her eyes. "You haven't told me about what it was like to sleep with the hottest teacher at school." She gave a weak laugh and Kagome smiled at her.
"Bring Sota home. I love you." Sango hugged her best friend, and got into the car with her boyfriend.
Inyasha, Kanna, Sesshomaru, and Kagome were the only ones left behind. Kanna looked at Kagome, her eyes full of sadness. "Just give me back to him. I don't want anyone else to get hurt."
Kagome turned to Kanna. "No! We're getting out of this, all of us are getting out of this. And we're going to be rid of him once and for all."
"You seem so sure." Kanna was shaking her head. "We can't beat him. He's ruthless. He's been planning this for years."
"The problem with that is, he probably has not left any room for the unknown. Who is more unpredictable than my miko?" Sesshomaru said, gently placing a hand on his love's best friend. "We will not let anything happen to you."
"I really don't deserve any of you." Kanna sniffed.
"That's not true, Kanna." Inuyasha said in a voice softer than they'd ever heard him use.
"Okay, we need to figure something out. Sess, since you can't go to school today anyway, I guess you can brainstorm while we're there." Kagome said.
"What if when you go to the warehouse, you wear some sort of recording device?" Inuyasha suggested.
Sesshomaru shook his head. "He will be expecting that. I have an idea for that, though." He knew not to tell them because he was sure Kagome would have fought him on it and refused to let him out of her sight. "Go to school. I will take care of what I can from my end. And before you go back to the warehouse, come here and we can discuss the final part of the plan."
Kanna and Inuyasha got into Kagome's car and waited for her. Sesshomaru held Kagome's face in his hands. "We will get your brother back unharmed, miko. No more harm will come to you and your friends. This I promise you."
"I trust you, Sesshomaru." She whispered, trying not to cry. "I love you so much."
"I love you as well. And I am sorry that our relationship has caused this much trouble." Sesshomaru said lowly.
Kagome shook her head. "Naraku is a sick bastard. Yeah he wants to destroy you, but he would've caused hell regardless of who I was with." She took on her tiptoes and kissed him, then got into the car with her friends. "He's planning something that he knows I won't approve of." Kagome shook her head then backed out of the driveway. "Why does he want to destroy him so bad?"
"My dad said that a long time ago, like way back in the feudal days, when Sess was Lord of the West, Naraku pretty much tried to take over Japan and Sesshomaru stopped him. Since then, ever few hundred years or so, he's come back after Sesshomaru. Like when you were in his memories, you saw that Naraku always failed, but he learned something each time."
Kagome chewed her lip and thought about what her friend was saying. "How did Naraku come into existence? Was he born or is he a created demon?"
"He was created. During the time that Inuyasha was talking about, he was born from a bandit with a dark soul. And throughout the years, he's absorbed demons to get stronger." Kanna answered.
"And a lot of the times, created demons hide their hearts in another vessel, so they can't be defeated. Like in the book he made us read. That's probably why he hasn't been able to be killed all these years." Kagome ran through a red light and continued to think.
"Kags, you know that was a red light right in front of a cop, right?" Inuyasha said, fear evident in his voice.
"Yeah, but it just barely turned red and cops know my car. They don't stop me most of the time." Kagome said as she parked. "Look, we're gonna figure this out, guys. We just have to think."
Kanna and Inuyasha nodded. One of them believed the young spirited miko standing in front of them, the other one was skeptical.
There were whispers in the hallway that Mr. Taisho had been suspended, but no one knew why. That brought Kagome some relief. At least she didn't have to do damage control. In History class, a tall man walked in.
"Hello, I am your substitute teacher Byakuya Kuro." His black hair was pulled into a ponytail and he smiled a friendly smile.
"Where is Mr. Taisho?" Koga asked.
"He is currently unable to attend class." Mr. Kuro answered.
"Why?" Koga pressed.
Mr. Kuro shrugged. "I do not know. I was not privy to that information. Now, if you all will turn to page 423 in your textbooks, we can begin class."
Inuyasha turned in his head and looked at his best friend, who wasn't paying attention. Instead, she had her eyes glued to their substitute teacher. Something was wrong, and Inuyasha could tell. He looked back at their teacher. Could he have something to do with Naraku, too?
Kagome couldn't move. She felt like she'd seen their teacher before, but she couldn't quite place her finger on where she'd seen him. She didn't hear anything the entire class, trying to figure out just who the hell the new teacher was.
"When are you going to talk to the principal?" Inuyasha asked, when they were leaving the class.
"After lunch. I've heard that Naraku isn't at school today, so I'm hoping what I have planned works." Kagome sighed when she looked down at the food on her plate. She was too upset to even eat.
Finally, it was time for Kagura's class, but instead of walking with her friends, she walked to the principal's office. She'd stopped by earlier that morning to let him know that she would come later in the day, and she was hoping that he remembered.
"Miss Higurashi, please, come in." Principal Higotomi said. He was a large fox demon who Kagome saw often enough in passing, but she'd never actually been in his office before. "I hear that there are some things that you need to talk to me about."
Kagome nodded and swallowed. She walked into the office and felt herself being stripped of her powers. It was a barrier that the school had deemed necessary so the student body couldn't use their powers against the principal to hide their deceit or try to compel him to do their bidding. "Well…there's a teacher here who…who tried to force themselves on me. I was too afraid to come forward before, but my friend Inuyasha finally convinced me to."
"Inuyasha Taisho finally convinced you to come forward?" Higotomi was skeptical.
She nodded again. Kagome took a deep breath and told the principal what she needed to tell him to free her brother.
Principal Higotomi couldn't say that he wasn't surprised. "Thank you so much for your time, Miss Higurashi. The school board and I will have to have a meeting about this. And we will bring Mr. Taisho in to speak with him as well. Are you willing to press charges?"
Kagome nodded. "I will do what I have to do." She said weakly.
"Would you like me to call your mother?" He frowned when Kagome shook her head. He should've known the answer to that already, he never saw the young miko's mother at school. "You are excused from classes for the rest of the day."
"I can't leave without Inuyasha and Kanna. They're the ones who have gotten me through this whole ordeal." Kagome explained.
"Alright. They are excused as well. If you need to speak with the school counselor, I am sure that she can recommend a therapist if need be." Principal Higotomi said softly. It was obvious to him that the bright student in front of him was hurting and he wanted to do everything that he could to help her.
"I will be alright. Thank you." Kagome stood and left the principal's office. She walked back to class slowly, masking her aura when she passed by Mr. Kuro's class. She peeped in the window and saw him teaching a class. She stared for a few seconds and swore that she saw his body flicker in and out, like she was staring at a hologram. "What the hell was that?" She mumbled to herself. She was sure that no one else in the class saw what she saw, so she scurried the rest of the way to Kagura's class. She heard the commotion her friends were keeping up before she even entered the room and smiled. Her friends were the absolute best.
"But I don't understand the formula." Sango was saying.
Kagura opened her mouth to reply, but Koga interrupted her. "You just gotta use what we learned yesterday."
"No, that's not right you idiot. You're forgetting to measure." Inuyasha countered.
Kagome had no idea what they were talking about, but she couldn't help but laugh. They were definitely being obnoxious. She loved them so much. That strengthened her resolve to end this fiasco with Naraku once and for all. He was done terrorizing her.
Kagome decided to stay at school the rest of the day. She didn't feel comfortable leaving her friends, and she wanted to make sure that nothing else weird happened. She was glad when she did when she got to Naraku's class.
"Hey, I thought everybody said that Naraku wasn't here today." Kagome whispered to Inuyasha.
"He isn't. There's literally a substitute in front of us." He looked at Kagome's face and was confused.
"No, he's standing right there." Kagome narrowed her eyes. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"What the hell are you talking about? That's Mr. Kuro. The same sub from Fluffy's class. I guess they didn't have enough time to get a sub for both of them." He paused. "Do you actually see Naraku?"
Kagome nodded. She wasn't sure if she was supposed to be seeing Naraku, but she definitely was. She asked Kanna who she saw, and she said that she also saw Mr. Kuro. Kagome closed her eyes against the fuzzy image of Naraku lying over their teacher and shook her head. There was seriously something wrong and she wanted to know just what the hell was going on.
Finally, the bell rang and they were out of school. Kagome's friends all gave her varying words of encouragement, but it was Sango who knew that they had to help. Of course Kagome would say that she didn't want their help, but she was their friend and they would help her.
"I'm going with you. I hope you know that." Inuyasha said firmly.
Kagome gave her friend a small smile. "I figured you'd say that. And as much as I want to argue with you, I know that there would be no point. Plus, Naraku is targeting you, too." She drove to the warehouse. They all took a deep breath and walked inside.
"Ah. Welcome, my little miko. I see you've brought the mutt as well." Naraku smiled at Kagome, then frowned at Inuyasha. He let a smile touch his face again when he looked at Kanna. "Hi there, Kanna. Did you miss Daddy?"