DISCLAIMER:
I don't own any part of Inuyasha..::sobs::.
.¤¤Thick Throaty Molasses¤¤
¤ By: Telpelindewen ¤
¤¤ recap ¤¤.
"Ugh cowboys!" She was pulling on the black t-shirt when she heard her cell phone ring. It was a cheap phone because Kagome had to keep getting her number replaced, and the phone was her sixth one that year after her ex had constantly thrown it and shattered it into tiny pieces. Her poor parents had to constantly call to find out her phone number, or what it would change too. She sighed and looked at the front of the cover, the call was something she didn't recognize, but it came form her hometown thinking it could be her parents, so she picked it up anyway.
"Hello?" She said sweetly but her smile quickly disappeared when she heard the voice on the receiving end.
"Hello my jewel."
¤ Chapter Five ¤
"Naraku." She heard the familiar laughter on the line when she whispered his name in fear.
NO! Think!
Twenty four seconds. Kagome snapped the cell shut and threw it on the floor across the room. The silver mobile phone crashed against the wooden floor and the light blinked out as the phone died. It's screen blank and power gone, Kagome leaned back against the wall and lost her will to stand. Her hands gripped for steadiness but there was nothing and slide slowly down the wall shaking. Twenty-four seconds was all he needed on a phone to trace her location, she knew that very well now, but the quicker she was the less the chance of him finding her was.
How did he get her number? She had been so careful this time. It was a new phone which she had just gotten replaced after the last four numbers, and the second phone company switch. All of the known numbers he could call from were blocked. Even though she had a restraining order, he always made sure no witnesses to were there to prove he was breaking that order. She rubbed her hands on her face trying to not let the tears escape, she didn't want to be weak, she promised herself she wouldn't be. No weakness, no fear, but no matter how hard she tried to force herself, she always found herself shaking when confronted by him.
She had left her parents behind, hoping to keep them out of danger, had them change their number and take any public listings out of the phone book. But Naraku had never met her parents so they should be safe from harm. She left her friends back home when it became too dangerous for even them. Ayame, her co-worked tried to convince her to stay back in the city but Kagome didn't want her to get harmed, for she had met him and she was afraid. But Sango's ranch had been a godsend, and Kagome hoped that nothing would come to hurt the people she so recently met here. She had just moved again, would she have to leave so soon?
She sat there quivering looking at the now broken phone and at her empty suitcase.
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She placed her fingers on her lips lingering there in thought for a moment, after putting on her pajamas, thinking about that almost kiss, and how she wanted nothing more than for Miroku to have kissed her lips, and not have let his hands kiss her ass.
She climbed into bed and put on her secret pair of glasses for reading, the embarrassing but adorable kind, hidden in the top draw of her dresser and went over that day's worth of mail. She put aside a few bills, feed store, tack store, electric, water... she sighed. Their ranch did well, but it was hectic to run, especially with all the rowdy ranch hands. One in particular she couldn't get off her mind, a perverted on at that. She would never admit to anyone the way she felt about him, and how she didn't really mind when he tried to sneak touches of her. He didn't always try to touch her rear end, sometimes he would try to brush across her cheek when she wasn't expecting it, or stroke her lower back when in passing.
She heard a thud from somewhere in the house. She paused before opening the towns newsletter waiting to hear if anything else was going on. It must have been Kohaku playing his late night video games again. He always got violently frustrated with a game if he couldn't beat a level or some such wonder. She shook her head and open the rest of the mail. A few catalogs here and there for clothes and shoes and horse tack, and then some flyers for nearby shows and rodeos. She put those flyers in a pile to put on the kitchen table in the morning for the hands, and anyone else who wanted to enter.
She liked nothing better then watching the boys compete against each other in the rodeos. Sesshoumaru usually the champ, but with his recent devotion to Rin would skip out on the shows allowing Kouga and Inuyasha to go at each other for the prize. Miroku sadly tried, but usually ended up on his butt on the ground before the bell, although he was pretty amazing at the calf roping. Sango herself usually entered in the barrel racing contest, and Kohaku would seek out the English riding rings, show jumping and dressage... a bit too much fancy for Sango and the hands.
The tack room in the barn was littered with ribbons and trophies and the likes from Sango's family and everyone thereafter who entered on the ranch. Sango wrote a few checks to be mailed and gave herself a mental note about the flyers. She went to throw down the newsletter when it flipped open to a page on recent news, and it wasn't the caption but the picture that caught her attention. It was of a tall black haired woman holding up a trophy and ribbon smiling and sticking her tongue out at the camera. The caption read, "Rodeo Queen Returns!"
"Shit." Sango rolled her eyes and turned off the lamp.
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Bankotsu was sitting on the porch, Inuyasha and him were on duty that night. Every hand had duty at least once a week for a few hours as the ranch was shutting down for sleep. A couple of months ago they had some teenagers on a cattle tipping high and had to set up watches, and then there was of course coyote and bears which showed up every once in a while. But Inuyasha was at his post on his rooftop (where he liked it) and Bankotsu stayed on the porch with a rifle and a journal which he was secretly writing a book. He shut the book when the door of the porch was suddenly opened by a sleepy Miroku who was rubbing his eyes.
It was hours after the ranch hands had gone to sleep, why was he up and walking around in his jeans and bare chested?
"What's up?" He asked Miroku who dragged out a pillow and blanket and dropped on the bench outside across from him.
"Don't make me go back in there, please!" Bankotsu raised on of his eyebrows in inquiry at Miroku's request to sleep outside on the porch.
"He's at it AGAIN?" Bankotsu sighed exasperated when Miroku's wide and horrified eyes said indeed it was happening again. Bankotsu got up and walked to the door to the house, "I'll take care of it Miroku."
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Hojo jumped awake, his hair completely ruffled and his pillow held up as a weapon. He wiped away the drool and glanced around hearing the sound of Bankotsu screaming in the mini house connected to theirs. He sighed and rolled back over. He heard some slapping and shouting and the whine of Jakotsu's voice in protest.
"Jak I TOLD YOU A BILLION TIMES to JACK OFF ONLY WHEN NO ONE ELSE IS AROUND." Whack, "HOW DO YOU EXPECT ANYONE TO SLEEP IF YOUR WHACKING OFF EVERY DAMN NIGHT." And a resounding whack again.
"But BAAaaa-chan I couldn't crawl and sleep with you in your bed!!! I was sooooo lonely!!" He whined and whined back. Kouga meanwhile in the same room, slept through the whole episode.
"I AM NOT GOING TO SLEEP WITH YOU."
A few rooms down Kaede smiled in her sleep as her earplugs were put to good use.
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The next morning came and went breakfast was served to the grumpy ranch hands and they were off to work again at the rise of the sun. Inuyasha and Miroku off to tack up and check fencing while Kouga and Bankotsu went to see which animals needed shoeing and feeding and then planning for the future upcoming calves which were going to be born earlier that summer. Kaede and Hojo went after breakfast to gather more food at the supermarket on whatever they were running low on. Jakotsu was still asleep on the porch after being kicked out of the mini-house last night and allowing Miroku, Bankotsu, and Kouga to fall asleep in their rightful beds. Whether or not he finished his 'business' no one knew or wanted to know.
Sango woke Jak up and then preceded to the mailbox and mailed the checks for the bills she had received the day before. She made a mental check list of things to do that day. Feeding animals, checking property were the main concerns. She headed off to the barn to help out the hands with feed.
Talking to herself mentally, she had to take the cattle out of the western pasture next week and move them into the southern end of the ranch, and then the following day would need to separate the birthing mothers from the bulls, etc. It was the weekend, she knew some of the guys would want to go into town that night an to some of the bars. She wondered if Kagome would want to go with. Miroku tried numerous amounts of time to get her to go, but she hated to watch him dance with other women and so far protested going after the first couple of times. Kohaku would probably want to stay over Shippou (the neighbor's kid's) ranch and she would have the place to herself then. Even Sesshoumaru and Rin would probably go out.
She walked back into the house to get some water for her and Miroku and then as she was pulling bottles out of the fridge she looked up in wonderment, where was Kagome anyway? She didn't come down for breakfast and it was already rounding noon, it was unusual for something so important to concern her, but she wasn't used to Kagome being around. She decided she must be around the barn with her camera. Kagome had decided to just send all of her work to the gallery manager of hers in the city she came from, and would sell her works that way. She went under an alias for her career, because of personal reasons, but her alias was becoming quite well known for the beautiful images she took.
Sango took the bottles of deer park water and walked back out the door going to seek out Kagome, but forgetting when she saw one of the cattle which Miroku was tagging rip out of his hands and run back towards the other cattle which were at least a mile away. She placed her hands on her hips and he grinned sheepishly, which then Inuyasha threw a rope at him and Miroku shot off after the rogue cattle. "Damnit Miroku." Sango said and was shocked when she felt a quick pinch on her butt cheek as he flashed back for a second and then ran off again dodging her fist and laughing at a run.
Her cheeks flushed bright red.
"You likeeeeee it." Inuyasha taunted and then grinned like a bobcat when Sango launched a small bag of tags at him.
"Don't forget who pays you."
"Keh." He pouted and then went back to cleaning up until Miroku came back with the cattle that went running.
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Rin threw open the door after a wonderful night of sex with Sesshoumaru. Sesshy had gone out early that morning to the barn to talk with his half brother and help with the work. Rin stayed in bed not having to be on duty till later on that night and decided to get up around noon. She showed and then decided to ride on over to the house to introduce herself to the new girl Kagome.
She rode her paint over to the main barn where Miroku could be seen in the distance still chasing a cattle. "Hey! She called to Sango and Inuyasha who were having a good laugh watching Miroku scramble, "Don't you think he could use a little help?" Rin asked sweetly. Sango and Inuyasha just kept on watching.
"Nope." They both responded and laughed again.
Sesshoumaru came up and held onto the paint's bridle as Rin dismounted and planted a big juicy kiss on his lisp. Jakotsu carrying hay into the barn wolf whistled and grinned at Sesshoumaru's glare and slight tint to his cheeks as what would be a blush for him.
"So, where is this newcomer of ours?" Rin asked looking around for Kagome.
"Oh dammit I meant to search for her. I forgot, I haven't seen her since yesterday." Sango commented and noticed Inuyasha's perk of attention. Sesshoumaru noted this as well and looked over to the house.
"I can smell her scent." Rin looked towards where he glanced at the house and saw the light was on in the guest room of the main house.
"She's still in her room? Whatever for when the weather is sooooooo nice!" Rin bounded off towards to the house with glee and winked back at them all. Sango grinned when Sesshoumaru threw the paint's reins to Inuyasha and tried to quick pace it after Rin holding onto his hat with one hand.
"Hey! What do I look like someone's pet bitch?!" Inuyasha called after his half brother.
Sesshoumaru just growled and Inuyasha looked at the paint with disdain.
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Rin ran into the house and walked up to the guest bedroom door and then threw it open. "Helllllloooooooooooooo!!!!!!! Kagome!!!!!" She made a very dramatic entrance only to find Kagome still huddled in the corner of the room with her eyes drifting closed but not letting them close. She jumped when Rin entered the room. Rin noticed the pen and paper on the ground next to the huddled figure and the broken remains of what looked like a burnt cell phone.
"Kagome?!" Rin asked panicked. She went over to the shaking figure and bent down. Sesshoumaru walked into the room and cringed his eyes with worry at the scene that laid before him. They should have been there sooner.
"I'm sorry, what an awful guest I must be." Kagome stood not very steady on her feet, but Sesshoumaru leaped forward as Kagome's body sagged back towards the ground in a dead faint.