Disclaimer: Sorry, I completely forgot to put a disclaimer on the last chapter… But I'll just say that for this whole story… yeah, you know. I don't own anything but the plot (sad face).

Author's Notes: Hey there my friends! I promised you I'd get this chapter before school started, didn't I?! Actually, school starts today in about six hours. Like I said on my profile, which I doubt anyone read, I won't be updating this story for at least three months since we have a very sucky internet service at school. But that will not stop me from typing out a few chapters while I'm there, then you can have a few to read all at once! So please don't give up on me, 'k? I'm trying my best! Oh yeah, sorry if there's a bunch of mistakes and stuff in here, I wrote this all really fast. Feel free to tell me what's wrong, I'll try to fix it. Ok, shutting up! Read. Enjoy. Review!

Chapter 5: Trouble Starts Brewing

"Houshi-sama? Are you awake?" Sango knelt down by the couch in the living room where her husband lay napping. His eyelids fluttered and then opened, revealing his sleepy violet eyes.

"Sango, how many times have I told you to stop using that name? We're married now so there is no need for the formalities." Miroku sat up and patted the cushion beside him.

Sango took the invitation and leaned heavily against Miroku's shoulder. He lifted his arm and draped it gently over the woman's shoulder and rested his chin on her head. Neither one moved for a few minutes.

"Hou- I mean, Miroku," Sango stumbled, "I'm worried about Kagome. She sounded ok, but…"

"I'm sure she's fine. She is twenty-one, you know. Perfectly capable of taking care of herself." Miroku squeezed his wife's lean shoulder closer to him in an effort to comfort her.

"Yeah, I know. But still, I have a bad feeling about the whole thing, you know?"

"I understand." The young man sighed. "We still have three more days here though."

"That's what really bothers me. I want to stay here so bad, but I also want to be beside Kagome-chan." Sango whined pitifully.

Miroku sighed again and ran a hand through his short black hair. "If it's really what you want, we can just continue our honeymoon somewhere else at some other time, if you really do want to be with Kagome right now."

Sango pulled away and looked into her husband's face. Her eyes searched his as if looking for a sign that he had only been joking about what he had just proposed. "Would you really do that?"

"Anything for my Sango." Before he knew it, he was on the floor, Sango's arms around his neck, kisses peppering his neck and face in rapid succession. Apparently she had been so happy, her hug had knocked him onto the floor. He smiled happily.

"Thank you so much! You have no idea what this means to me! I-" A vein in Sango's forehead bulged. There he went again, at the worst times. Her arm swung in its well-known path and left a stinging red handprint on Miroku's left cheek. She got up off the floor and sat down on the couch seething, arms crossed indignantly over her chest.

"What?! What'd I do wrong? Is it bad for me to know every inch of you now that you're mine?" Miroku knelt down at Sango's knees and looked up at her imploringly. In his book, groping was okay, especially since he was married to the woman (IB: such a hentai. But we love him anyway!).

"You never know when to stop, do you?" Sango sputtered as she looked down into his eyes. She was losing her resolve.

"Why do I need to? I'm memorizing my bride's body!" He took her hands in his and smiled up at her.

Her shoulders slumped and she leaned back against the couch with an irritated sigh. She hated it when he did that, smiled at her that way. He always won like that, no matter how hard she tried. That smile sent shivers up her spine, made her fingers tingle strangely, and made her heart flutter like a frightened bird. She gave up trying and leaned forward, letting her head rest on his forehead.

"Does that mean we get one more time before we check out?" Miroku asked hopefully.

"Don't push your luck!"

xXx

Kagome sat in a tiny booth at the far end of a local coffee house. Jazz music played softly, just barely audible over the many conversations and clicking of coffee mugs. She lifted her own mug and took a sip of coffee. When she had called InuYasha about the photo, he had suggested that they meet somewhere quiet to discuss what was to be done. He was late, again. Kagome tapped the tabletop lightly with her nails and glanced at her watch. Fifteen minutes in counting. A pretty young waitress came up and asked if she could bring her anything else. Kagome sighed and ordered another cup of coffee and resigned herself to waiting just a little bit longer. Just then, who walked in the door but the infamous hanyou himself? He looked around for a minute before spotting her in the corner slid into the seat opposite.

"Sorry, traffic was killer." He said casually as he ordered. Kagome shivered involuntarily.

"So where's the picture?" He wasted no time getting right to the point.

Kagome lifted her shoulder bag to her lap and pulled out a tiny folder. She opened it and did her best to finger through six or seven pictures with one hand in a sling before finally finding the one she was looking for. She pulled it out and handed it to InuYasha. He took the procured piece of glossy paper and held it close to his eyes, even though his eye sight was far better than any humans, he wanted to make sure that he was seeing right. After a moment of studying it intently, he sighed and set the picture down, replacing it with a cup of coffee.

"Well? Was I right?" Kagome peered into his face, which now was hidden behind silvery bangs.

"Yeah, ya were. So what?" He looked across to her over his cup, his golden eyes pinning her to the booth.

"Can't we do something? Like take this to the police or newspaper?" She asked hopefully.

"Won't do ya any lick of good."

"Why the heck not? This guy caused a lot of deaths, obviously the police would be looking for him!"

"He owns half of Tokyo. And he's a good-for-nothin' slippery weasel. There is no way on earth that this photo would do anyone any good." The hanyou leaned back against his seat and stared at the young woman squarely.

This was the first time he had really truly looked at the girl. Her long raven-black hair was pulled into a tight twist at the back of her neck, her fair skin slightly flushed with annoyance, her chocolate brown eyes flickering with some hidden light. Even with her pink lips pulled into a frown, Kagome was beautiful. She had a spunky spirit, independence, and heart the size of "the continent" (IB: I'm pretty sure that's how the Japanese refer, or referred to, China).

"Well, if you're not going to do anything, then I will!" She reached across the table, grabbed the photo, and made as if to leave, if InuYasha had not grabbed her wrist when he did. She turned a glare down at the man.

"You're playin' with fire, take that from someone who's been burned a few too many times. I know what I'm talkin' about here." The way he looked at her pulled her back down into the booth.

"What do you mean?"

"That's a long story, and I don't wanna go into it, not right now. Just believe me when I say you're makin' a big mistake. The best thing to do is just let it go. There's no way you can win." He said slowly as she settled back down.

Kagome stared at him for a minute, trying to find the reasoning behind the statement. Had he been a victim of Naraku's plans at one time? What had he lost? Her gaze softened and a slight smile replaced the frown that had graced her features mere minutes before. If he was going to tell her how he had been burned before, he would tell her in his own time, so she simply sat back and gazed out the window into the busy streets.

xXx

InuYasha and Kagome sat in the tiny coffee shop for a few hours just talking about whatever seemed good at the time. They ordered lunch and sipped on at least three cups of coffee before Kagome announced that she had some things to take care of. So they both went their separate ways, Kagome to her home, and InuYasha to his hang out. Yet neither of them was aware of the eyes that followed their every move as they left.

"You're what?! I thought you'd be in Fiji for a few more days! Why the heck are you coming back now?" Kagome held her cell phone close to her ear trying to hone in on the sound of her best friends voice over the din of the busy streets.

"I wanted to be with you. Plus I can't stand Miroku's 'cursed' hand a moment longer. Is Kirara doing ok?" The woman replied.

"She's fine. Plucky as ever. Hey, if you're gonna be stopping off at my apartment, you'll need to use that spare key, I won't be home for a while,"

"Why? Got some hot date or something?" Sango smirked when her friend groaned.

"No, I have to do something at the local newspaper. I should be back around six, so if you want to hang around till then…"

"Sure. And tell ya what, I'll fix some supper for us too!"

"Great. I'll see you then." Kagome smashed the end call button and shoved her phone back into her bag, heading unwaveringly towards the local newspaper's headquarters. I have some serious business to attend to!

xXx

Kanna's lifeless eyes followed each move that Kagome made and kept her little ornately decorated hand-mirror focused on the girl so that the boss could see the goings-on too. He had sent her out to keep and eye on Kagome, make sure she did not fess up about anything she had seen. From the looks of it, she was doing just that. Kanna shifted her gaze to a sign above the door into which Kagome had disappeared. Tokyo Sun. Not good.

"Kanna. Where is she?" Naraku said quietly inside Kanna's mind.

The young girl pointed her all-seeing mirror towards the door that Kagome had just entered. The bright neon letters flashed happily over double glass doors that never seemed to be able to get all the way closed before someone pushed it in or out again. Kanna heard Naraku give a small sigh that seemed almost remorseful. Almost.

"She insists on being difficult... No matter. She'll soon be out of my hair." Naraku chuckled.

Deep down in his twisted mind, Naraku was thinking of all the sick and twisted ways that he could bring about this young girl's definite demise. Would it be to slowly picking off her family, breaking into her apartment late at night and doing what any evil man would do, or an "accident" in the streets or at home? The possibilities were infinite, and he was determined to think of all of them before making his selection. Back in his office over looking Tokyo Harbour, an evil smile smeared over the man's handsome features (IB: He is sort of cute, you have to admit that!). This was only the beginning…

xXx

"Haven't you taken this to the police yet?" The old man behind the desk looked over his glasses at the young woman that sat calmly in the seat facing the desk.

"Well, no. I had this feeling that they wouldn't be of much help." Kagome said quietly.

"Ah. Well, these are great pictures. Very well exposed and developed…" The old man said as he went through the pictures again for the fifth time.

"But…?"

"I'm not sure it's safe to print these. You know how these villains get. I can't guarantee your safety."

"No worries. I'm not asking you for that. I'm sure that they won't be able to find out who took the pictures if you don't publicize it, especially since there were dozens of people with cameras there. Just don't publish my name along with them, if you wouldn't mind." Kagome said with a quick smile as she pushed a lock of stray hair out of her eyes. She was determined to get those pictures into the news. People needed to know who had taken away so many loved one's lives.

The old man looked at her for a moment then sighed in resign. "Alright, Miss Higurashi. I'll put them into tomorrow's edition, with no affiliation to you. Is this going to be enough yen?" The man asked as he scrolled out a figure on a check.

"Yes, that'll be fine," Kagome took the slip of paper and placed it in her wallet. "Arigotou gozai-masu." She stood and bowed politely to the man.

"Dou-itashimashite. My pleasure. I hope to continue doing business with you, perhaps when you do not have a picture of such questionable… er… well, you know. But I do admire your tenacity. You remind me greatly of my daughter." The man's eyes sparkled with tears unshed as he ushered the young woman out.

Kagome stepped out into the street and breathed in deeply. Somewhere deep down in the pit of her stomach, something did not feel quite right. Something was wrong with what she had just done. But what? She quickly pushed it aside and shook her head. Time to get home! I have to catch up with Sango-chan and eat some of her cooking! With that, she briskly began to walk back to her tiny home and her awaiting friends completely unaware of the hot pot she had placed herself into.

xXx

InuYasha's silver dog-ears twitched back and forth from their perch atop his head as he lay sprawled out on his crimson and black covered bed. This girl was driving him crazy! He had only met with her a few times, but he could not put her aside as one of his normal flings. Now she had put herself into the worst kind of danger imaginable. He had followed her after she left the coffee house, followed her right up to the door of the newspaper. Right up to the lion's den.

He let out a tired and mournful sigh and rolled over onto his stomach, pulling a bright red pillow over his head. Images of his mother's horrifying death engulfed his mind. All her suffering… and blood. And there he was, in the corner of the room, a tiny pup huddled in his mother's discarded kimono, shaking like a leaf in a gale. What a night that had been, seeing his mother raped and killed right in front of him.

"Okaasan. Why? Why couldn't I avenge you?"

Just as always happened, no answer was given. The question met silence. And the silence was deafening. His ears rang louder than his thoughts. In desperation the hanyou leapt off his bed, scattering his pillows hither and yon, smashed the power button on his stereo and turned the volume up full blast. Hard rock music pounded away, almost threatening to bust the speakers, but he did not care. InuYasha threw himself back down on his bed and watched the condensation on his forgotten glass of soda trickle down to form a pool that then turned to a stream of water dripping off the bed stand to the floor. No matter what happens to me, I'll protect her. I will not let him take another innocent life! And in doing so, I pray, Okaasan, that I will avenge your death.

With that, the young man slipped into a forgiving sleep. It was the most restful sleep he had had in who knows how many years without sake or a woman's (IB: ahem!) pleasurable company to help. No one dared bothered him until the next morning, when his alarm clock issued the start of a new day, and perhaps even a new mindset.

xXx

Taking the steps two at a time, Kagome made her way straight to her apartment. She fairly sprinted to the door in her excitement. Not very lady-like, she had to admit, but she did not care at the moment. She turned the key in the lock and stepped down into the entrance. This area was a slight depression in the floor most common in Japanese homes, where one's shoes were discarded and house shoes replaced (IB: kinda funny, but I've known a lot of Asians that have that same thing. Keeps the house clean!). Kagome pulled her flats off, slipped into her blue house slippers, and entered the living room all grins. She could her Sango singing along with the radio, and guessed that Miroku was sitting at the table writing sutras as he always did when he was not being a pervert

"Sango? I thought you quite singing after Yuki said you were tone deaf!"

The afore mentioned woman poked her head around the kitchen entrance, flour covering her face. She squealed with delight and rushed to embrace Kagome in a tight hug.

"Hey! I'm glad to see you too, but don't forget about my shoulder." Kagome reminded Sango as she pulled away from the finely toned woman.

"Oh gosh! I'm sorry! I didn't hurt you, did I?" Sango asked worriedly.

"Not really. It's just really tender, ya know?"

"Well, come on into the kitchen. I need some help getting the meat bunsready." Sango said over her shoulder as she walked back into the kitchen.

"I've been slaving away over these things, so I hope they taste ok." She muttered as she went back to work.

"I'm sure they will Sango, you're a great cook! Oh, hey Miroku-kun!" Kagome walked over the table where the priest was doing just as she guessed, writing sutras. He pulled her into a gentle hug, but not without copping a quick feel.

Kagome sprang back and placed a stinging red handprint on Miroku's left cheek. "Miroku! You have a wife now!" She sputtered as she backed up a few steps.

"Just for old times sake. Meant nothing by it." He said innocently enough, his hands held up in defeat.

Kagome just raised an annoyed eyebrow and turned to see Sango's reactions to the incident. She too, looked slightly annoyed standing there in the kitchen doorway with her arms akimbo but as a whole not overly worried or concerned. She knew very well that he meant it in no harm to his wife, simply fulfilling an old habit. Too bad it was so hard to shake.

"Come on Kagome-chan, I still need your help here with these blasted things." Sango said as she pinned the houshi to his seat with a dangerous glare.

"I'm coming. Did you see Kirara?" Kagome hurriedly changed the subject.

"Oh yeah! She was the first one to greet me when I got in here. She's getting a bit fat." Sango smiled over at Kagome. "Have you been slipping her scraps?"

"Uuuuh… Of course not. Must be your imagination playing tricks on you!" Kagome laughed nervously as she wrapped some meat in the pastry dough Sango had just rolled out.

Both woman laughed happily and continued to work as they talked of various aspects of the other's life during the honeymoon. When the work was done in the kitchen, they moved to the dining room table. The three old friends sat and reminisced on their high school years and enjoyed the food that had been prepared along with some warmed sake. Finally, sometime around midnight, Sango sighed and got up from her favourite spot on Kagome's overstuffed couch saying that they had had a long day and a good night's sleep was in order. So Kagome bid them goodnight and followed suit shortly after.

xXx

"InuYasha-sama! InuYasha-sama! Please wake up!"

InuYasha was awake, had been for at least an hour. But he saw no need to get up at the time; his bed was far too comfortable for that, not to mention the fact that it was barely eight in the morning. Now Myoga was banging on the door, probably with some news about his brother's recent dealings in town or about the issues in their father's will again. Myoga's voice seemed almost too desperate for any of the above though. So with a growl, the hanyou threw aside his blankets and yanked open the door, causing an old man to fall face first into the blood red carpet at InuYasha's feet. He quickly righted himself, brushed off his kimono, and cleared his throat.

"Well, what the (bleep!) is it?" InuYasha asked, the irritation in his voice unmistakable.

"There is a phone call for InuYasha-sama. It is of a most important nature!" The old man stumbled as he rose to his and offered the sleepy man a respectful bow.

"Myoga, you got me out of bed for a (bleep!) phone call?! Take a friggin' message!" the young man was just about to slam the door shut when his old caretaker spilled out more details about the call.

"No! InuYasha-sama! The man said that if you did not take the call, he would be forced to take drastic measures! He said his name was one Onigumo!" He babbled quickly.

That stopped InuYasha dead in his tracks. His heart leapt up into his throat and then down to the pit of his stomach all in a matter of two seconds. He shoved his way past the old man, down the stairs into the den, and yanked up the black cordless phone that lay on the coffee table. Putting it up to his ear, he could hear nothing but silence on the other end.

"What the (bleep!) do you want, Naraku!" He growled menacingly into the receiver.

"Is that anyway to speak to an old friend?" Came the sickeningly sweet reply.

"What do you want Naraku?! You've got a lot of nerve to call me!"

"Well, I have a message for you concerning your new friend. I believe her name was Higurashi Kagome, am I right?" InuYasha's heart stopped beating as the blood drained from his face.

"You would do well to keep her on a leash. I have reason to believe that she put some incriminating pictures in this morning's paper. You wouldn't want her to end up… missing… would you?" Naraku chuckled ominously.

"You keep your filthy hands off of her, ya hear?" The hanyou growled.

"Just keep in mind what I said, we wouldn't want anyone to get hurt, would we?" The line went dead, leaving a fuming and worried InuYasha who looked about ready to crush the headpiece in his hand.

"IiiinuYayayaysha-sama?" Myoga stuttered nervously.

"I'm goin' to the hang-out." He replied as he tossed the phone at the fat old man.

He stomped off to his room and threw on some loose jeans and semi-tight red shirt. To top off the whole outfit, he pulled on his black combats, a few chains, and his black leather cuffs. He then went out to the garage, straddled his motorcycle, and kicked her to life. He pushed out of the garage and sped down the road towards his only real haven, though even now it was starting to turn into a hellhole. There seemed to be no place that he could go to be at peace. Sure, he enjoyed the young kitsune boy's company; he had practically raised him, but all his workers, the constant music, the pounding of the welders, the roar of the airbrush compressors, all of it gave him a headache with his heightened senses. The only place he could think of that could give him peace was with Kagome. At least with her he could sit and be at rest. He constantly worried about her safety, but that pulled his mind away from his own worries. Now he had even more to worry about with Naraku going after her. There had to be some way to warn her or get rid of the danger.

With his mind completely preoccupied on Kagome, he barely registered the fact that he was heading straight to uptown Tokyo, where Kagome's apartment was situated. He had already let the motor shutter into sleep in front of the double glass doors before he was totally "in contact" with his surroundings. He sat on the bike for a few minutes just staring into the lobby wondering if he should go up and see her. He decided to go for it, dismounted the bike, and walked briskly up the stairs to her door. Once he reached his location, he stopped and stared hard at the wooden door, almost as if just looking at it would open it wide before him. His brows gathered into a deep look of worry when he took a pull of the air in the hall. Something was not right.

Knock, knock, knock! "Kagome, are you there?" He called out.

He stood for at least five minutes without any hint that someone had heard him. He knocked again, this time much louder, hoping that she was just in the back room sleeping behind a closed door. Yet again he got no answer, or even hint of an answer. Knowing that if she was just sleeping and would not appreciate a broken door, he searched around the door for a spare key. He eventually found one on the wooden ledge above the door and opened it as fast as he could.

The smell that assaulted his nose the moment he stepped into the entrance made his nose tingle. He put his arm over his nose and mouth and made his way toward the back.

"Kagome? Are you here? Kagome?" He called out.

His heart started pounding ninety to nothing as he got closer to her bedroom. From the kitchen he could hear the fridge motor whirling and the coffee pot brewing a fresh pot, so she had to be up.

Finally he reached her door and placed his hand on the doorknob. It was cold, much colder than it should have been, almost frozen. He turned it slowly, pushed it into the bedroom, and stepped in. Her blankets where thrown aside as though she had gotten up in a hurry, steam poured out of the bathroom where the shower streamed forgotten. Even with the hot steam flowing in from the bath, the room was deathly cold. Then he spotted something that made his heart stop.

On the other side of the bed he could see black hair sprawled across the cold tile. A long pale arm was just visible through the hair as well as a very slow spreading pool of blood. Her name leapt to his lips even as his sprang toward her prone body. He knelt down beside her and turned her from her side to her back. The wound on her shoulder had reopened and was to blame for at least half the blood around her, though she also had a very painful looking cut that ran from her temple and followed the hair line to about the middle of her forehead. InuYasha gently shook the woman and received no response.

"Kagome, you have to stay awake! Wake up! Kagome!" He did the best he could to revive her, but his efforts amounted to nothing.

Chills ran up and down his spine, and it wasn't just the cold. Kagome, you can't die, not like this. Please, keep breathing just a little longer. He carefully lifted the girl bridal style and made a beeline for the hospital. With each passing minute, Kagome's breathing became a little bit shallower, and InuYasha's desperation grew a little more evident.

End of Chapter

Translations:

Houshi: Buddhist priest

Hanyou: Half demon

Arigotou gozai-masu: Thank you (polite)

Dou-itashimashite: You're welcome

Okaasan: Mother

Sake: Japanese rice wine served hot, sometimes cold. Often drunk at special occasions.

Sutra: Buddhist text written on pieces of paper. Often used to exorcisms.

Notes to the Reviewers:

Here we go, words for the reviewers! I love you guys!! darkfire can purehearts: thanks a lot for your support! Petpeeves12: yes, he did get his money… I think. Keep reading! Kagome2234: thank you for you support! I'm trying my best to make this enjoyable! Hope swings: no problem! He is an ex-felon, so a concealed gun is not a huge thing to him. The assassins target wasn't InuYasha, Naraku didn't even know he would be there. He just happened to be a long for the ride ! IamHermioneGranger: Thanks for reading! Sasha the water goddess: thanks, I hope this chapter is just as good!