Okay, dammit, I had to do this twice, cuz I'm dumb, but this weekend has been all about klutzyness, so...bear with me. Like you have a choice eh?
Deds:
S.T. Nickolian - Congrats on being first! I don't know what the heck yer talking about, but I'm going to assume you do, and leave it at that, you monkey!
anime-lover-forever2007 - He's mine, mine ya hear?? He is soooo hot, I totally agree, I want that to come rescue me, cuz I need to be smooched, I mean, saved! lol!
Kitsune's Lover - I won't starve, I promise. If anything, I'll get fatter. It's a bad thing, I know, but reviews are just sooo tasty!
Mikkey Hodge - Thanks, I appreciate lovely compliments. I love them!
cookiemonsterks - You and your cookie dough are making me want to get fat! Arg! I just needed that clarified, thanks, I'm dumb. Aim for my face, cookie!
Sweet Temptation
After the boys had cleaned up, Daichi lit a campfire outside and they all gathered around it, to tell ghost stories and eat s'mores for dessert.
Miroku's ghost story was a flop; he kept drifting off an a tangent in which he was describing the big-breasted, beautiful but extremely stupid girl in his story.
Inuyasha lost his train of thought half-way through his story, and Shippo's wasn't scary. Soon, it was Daichi's turn.
Holding the flashlight under his chin and shining it up on his face, he began.
"This story happened a long time ago; mind you, not so long that its lesson has been forgotten, or its circumstances less gruesome, but it is true all the same."
Kikyou smiled at Inuyasha, this sounded like a real spine-tingler. Sesshoumaru covertly held Kagome's hand in his own, though Kagura noticed. And she became angrier and angrier as the story wore on.
"About fifty years ago, back when colour T.V. was no longer that new, and housewives were plentiful…a crime took place in a small town. Everyone in that town stayed in that town; if you left, you never came back…because they would eat you."
Miroku's jaw hung open, and Sango gently eased it shut.
"The farmhouse at the very end of the street that led out of town had been abandoned for twenty years, or so the townsfolk thought. Turns out a family lives there…a family of such inbred bloodlines that to look upon any one member was to look upon the face of death.
"Corpses had been going missing from the town cemetery in the last couple months, not to mention anyone who drove out that way at night. Terrible screams could be heard, and then…nothing. So, the police decided to see what was going on, and arrest anyone they found committing any crimes.
"So, one night, they went out to the farmhouse. You know, to do a little recon, to see what was going on."
Here he paused, and Kikyou demanded, "What happened?"
He smiled, and said, "They didn't come back.
"A man named Jack ran the grocery store in that small town; everyone knew him, and he and a few buddies had been asked to go and follow up on the cops, in case they needed help but couldn't radio out, for whatever reason.
"Well, Jack and his buddies, Harry and Bill, they go up to this farmhouse in broad daylight. They check the place out, find nothing, and go home. They do this for the next three days, but they never go at night.
"No trace of the cops still hadn't been recovered, and the town was growing scared. Had the weirdos in the farmhouse killed them? Eaten them? What?
"The next night, they decide to go to the farmhouse under cover of darkness, armed with one gun each, thirty-six rounds between them. So, they go to the house, and find a door they never opened in the day; the door that led to the cellar beneath the house."
Kagome squeezed Sesshoumaru's hand, and he smiled, feeding her the marshmallow off his own stick. Kagura glowered, paying no attention to the story.
"They get a whiff of an awful smell coming from the basement, and a noise - a wet, ripping noise, like sawing through wet fabric. Opening the door, quietly, mind you, they witnessed a scene in that cellar that haunted them for the rest of their lives."
He paused again, to make himself a s'more, but in their urgency for him to continue, Kikyou handed him the one she'd just made, taking his half-done s'more for herself.
"They crept down into the cellar, and they see the family down there, sawing something in half. The stench was overpowering; they could hardly breath, but that family, they didn't bat an eye. They were so inbred, see, that they couldn't smell because their palates had been deformed from birth, and they had no nasal passages; a nose was unnecessary.
"The men crept closer, and Bill found a radio on the ground, he picked it up, and as he handed it to Jack, his hand came away red, covered in sticky, fresh blood."
"Eww!" Ayame squealed, hanging onto Kouga, who pushed her away.
"Let's get out of here," Bill said, and Jack and Harry agreed; they'd come back tomorrow with a posse and smoke these bastards out, when suddenly the cellar door they'd come through was closed, and chained shut. Now, they were stuck in the cellar…with them.
"They huddled together on the floor behind a pile of crates, and decided to wait till morning before they did anything rash. Harry was afraid; he'd rather chew off his own arm than stay here for even one night. In the end, it was Harry who ultimately caused his own demise."
The people gathered around the fire were silent, attentive, absorbed so deeply in the story that Daichi gave Shippo the signal: when he came to the end of the story, he would scream and scare the shit out of everyone. He winked.
Shippo nodded slowly.
"Half-way through the night, Harry had to go to the bathroom. So, he tried to find a light, since they'd heard the family leave the cellar hours ago. But, just as he was stumbling around in the dark, he bumped into something - something hanging from the ceiling by a chain, for it swung when he bumped it and the chain screeched in protest. Lighting a match, he brought it up to his face, but his face wasn't the only one in the circle of light.
"Harry jumped, but the other face didn't move. Looking closer, he recognised who it was: the Chief of Police. And he was upside-down. Suddenly he heard a noise, and when he turned around, the family was right behind him. Well, Harry, he yelled bloody murder, and dropped the match."
He finally put the s'more he'd been holding in his mouth, chewed, and swallowed. He thought it funny how everyone was leaned over so far in anticipation. He also noted a few hands gripping each other pretty tightly, too.
"There was a ripping sound, and then, nothing. Jack and Bill waited. Then, they heard a buzzing, but soon they realised that it wasn't any bug they were hearing; it was the family, sawing off Harry's legs so he couldn't run away."
"Sick," Kouga whispered.
Rin looked at Shippo, and he leaned over to whisper something in her ear. She smiled.
"So, when morning came, the two men hadn't heard a sign of the family for hours; whether they were still in the room with them, they couldn't say. Deciding to take their chances, they tried to escape. To their astonishment, the cellar door was unchained again, and they pushed it open, never happier to see the sunlight.
"Jack, he turned back to help Bill out, and when they turned around, they were face-to-face with-"
"Ahhhhhhhhh!!!" Shippo screamed.
Everyone jumped. Sesshoumaru dropped his flaming marshmallow in Inuyasha's lap. Kikyou spilled her drink all over Miroku's shirt, and the big chunk of chocolate Kouga was holding popped out from between his hands to smack Kagome square on the forehead, leaving a streak because it was melting while he was holding it.
Daichi burst out laughing, and so did Shippo and Rin. Sango smiled at Ayame; they'd had a feeling Daichi would pull something like this, and even though his other sons knew he was famous for doing just that at the end of a ghost story, they'd still jumped, to their chagrin.
Kagome was trying to wipe the chocolate off her face, but was only smearing it around; Sesshoumaru pulled her up to help her get it off. Miroku followed, to change his shirt, and Inuyasha was picking and scraping melted marshmallow off his pants and eating it.
Kikyou made a face at that.
Kagura got up. "I have to go to the bathroom."
"Hurry back," Kikyou said, smacking Inuyasha's hands away as he tried to wipe them off on her.
Kagura stomped up to the house. All through the story, he'd been holding her hand; it was disgusting. She had a plan, and she wanted to see if he would take a bite of her bait.
She went into the house and saw that the downstairs bathroom door was closed, and she could hear Kagome laughing. Creeping closer, she put her ear to the door to listen.
"Sesshoumaru, you're such an ass!"
"Well, hold still, and I wouldn't have to get frisky!"
"Frisky? You've got more hands than a spider has legs!"
He leaned in to kiss her. Kagura put her eye to the crack in the door between the hinges.
He had her up on the sink, and he was standing between her spread legs, sucking her neck as she ran her fingernails up and down his back. Disgusted, but unable to look away, Kagura continued to look and listen.
"I've been meaning to ask you, did you get a new job?"
He stopped kissing her long enough to say, "Yeah. Kagura's Father, Mr. Onigumo, hired me last week."
"I see. What do you do for him?"
"I'm his new Employee Manager. It's a pretty slick job; I just go around the office and make sure people are doing their jobs. I don't even get my own secretary!"
"Oh, Pumpkin!"
He licked the chocolate from her forehead, while she giggled. Then, leaning his forehead against hers, he whispered, "I can't wait to see you again next Saturday. You were great."
She frowned. "You don't want to see me before then? I thought we had a little relationship budding here Sesshoumaru, and I won't-"
"I didn't mean it like that. I want to see you every night! Good thing you live right next door, I can sneak in through your bedroom window!"
She smiled. He wasn't using her like she'd thought. "I look forward to it," she hissed, and licked his lips. He smiled. "I love you, Kagome," he replied, and her heart melted, for the first time feeling light since her parents' accident. She wasn't alone anymore.
Kagura clenched her jaw. If she had her way, they wouldn't be happy for long, not when she told her Father what Sesshoumaru was about to do to her.
"Come on, let's get back. I wonder if Inuyasha got any marshmallow in his hair?"
"That poor thing. If marshmallow's anything like gum, it'll take a nice huge gob of peanut butter to get it out."
They walked out of the bathroom, hand in hand, and went back to the fire, sitting practically in each other's laps. Anyone with half a brain could see they were madly in love with each other.
Kagura remained behind the open bathroom door for a moment, changing her plan. She had originally planned to get Sesshoumaru to take her for a drive to Senzuru to get some things, but decided a new plan was in order. She quickly ran back to join the others outside.
S.T.
That night, as everyone trickled upstairs to go to bed, Kagura put her plan into action. She was the last to come up, making sure to leave right after Kagome and Sesshoumaru did. She watched from around the corner in the hall as Sesshoumaru took Kagome to her room and kissed her goodnight before closing her door behind her.
She smirked; now that he was alone…
He turned to come back her way, and she bumped into him on purpose as he tried to round the corner.
"Oh, Sesshoumaru, I'm so sorry!" she gushed, really pouring it on thick. A little too thick, he thought.
"It's alright, it's my fault." he tried to pass her, but her arm shot out, stopping him.
"Umm, Sesshoumaru..."
"What?"
She paused; he didn't sound like he was in any mood to hear what she had to say, so she said the first thing that came to her mind.
"Daddy tells me you're a very good manager. He said something about promoting you yesterday."
Sesshoumaru's eyes lit up, and his smile came out. "He did?"
She smiled back. Now that she had his attention, she just had to hook her claws into him, and reel him in to her web.
"Yeah. I think he really likes you. I was telling him about what a nice guy you were, and he asked me why I haven't told you my feelings yet, but I'm just too shy; I couldn't tell him why I haven't told you."
Sesshoumaru raised a brow. He didn't know where she was going with this, but she obviously wasn't going to let him leave until she'd said her piece.
"The reason is…I love you, Sesshoumaru!"
Both eyebrows went up this time. Didn't see that one coming, he thought.
"Kagura, I know you think you love me, but-" he was trying to let her down easy, but she shook her head rapidly, her eyes already beginning to narrow.
"I don't think you understand me, Sesshoumaru. I said I love you; you will love me back, or at least pretend to, or…" here, she pulled him down to her level, and whispered menacingly, "I'll tell Daddy that you raped me tonight and you will lose your new high-paying job, Sesshoumaru. Are you willing to risk all that?"
He frowned at her. Was he? That depended on her demands. He decided to hear her out before making his decision.
"Are you threatening me, Kagura?"
She smiled evilly. "That depends."
He sighed heavily. "What do you want from me?"
She smiled again. This was going to be easier than she thought.
"I want you to drop Kagome like the slut she is and be my man. I want you to kiss me like you were kissing her earlier." She glared into his eyes as she smiled, a hauntingly beautiful but scary image. "I want you to help me destroy her."
His first thought was that he would never agree; he didn't love Kagura, and he would never even dream of hurting Kagome, let alone helping someone else to hurt her. She'd been through enough in the last two years than most people go through in a lifetime, and he refused to do that to her.
Kagura could see his indecision in his eyes, and in the defiant look on his face as he thought it over. She threw in a last little warning, as insurance for his cooperation.
"If you don't do as I ask, Sesshoumaru, Daddy will know that you raped me, and he will destroy you. You will never work in an office building again, or anywhere else for that matter. Don't fuck with me; I have more power behind me than you'll ever know. Don't make me hurt you, Sesshoumaru."
She really had his balls in a vice. Did he do as she asked, and hurt the only woman he'd ever loved since his Mother? Or did he throw in the towel right now and try to weather the storm that was sure to follow his refusal to Kagura's demands?
He was starting to get a headache. Why him? He decided to ask her.
"Why me, Kagura? What did I do to deserve this?"
She draped her arms around his neck, and pulled his face close to her own.
"I love you, Sesshoumaru! And what I want, I get, one way or another."
Slinking away, she said over her shoulder, "You have until tomorrow morning to decide. Think carefully, Sesshoumaru. Is her love more important than your own skin?"
He glared at her smiling face as she sauntered away, singing to herself all the way to her room. As soon as she was gone, he headed straight for the Master bedroom to tell his Father everything.
S.T.
When Sesshoumaru had finished his story, Daichi had a frown on his face. His Father hadn't frowned like this since their Mother had left, and it made him feel uneasy.
Finally, he said, "Go fetch your brothers. This is your ordeal, Sesshoumaru…your family will stand behind you in facing it."
"Right."
Leaving the Master, he crept down the hall, noting that Kagura and Kikyou's door was still closed.
Quietly, he woke all his brothers, having to go into Rin's room to find Shippo, where they'd fallen asleep playing Risk.
He thought that that was ironic as he hefted Shippo over his shoulder. The bulky boy refused to wake up, so Sesshoumaru would let their Father handle him.
As soon as all six members were standing in the Master, their Father began.
"We have a problem, boys. Sesshoumaru just had a conversation with Kagura, and it turns out that she's got more in mind than just having a good time."
Inuyasha rubbed the sleep from his eyes and looked at Sesshoumaru, who stood next to Daichi with his arms crossed, worrying at his upper lip with his teeth. His face was slightly sweaty. He began to feel anxious. If Sesshoumaru was this worried, whatever Kagura said must have been really serious.
Sesshoumaru took over from here, but Kouga interrupted, "What did she say, Sesshoumaru? Hurry up and spit it out so we can go back to bed."
Miroku elbowed Kouga in the ribs, and he went down on one knee, properly chastised, and muttering obscenities at his older brother. Miroku looked back to Sesshoumaru.
"Please, continue."
"Kagura is trying to blackmail me into helping her hurt Kagome."
Everyone perked up at that, even Shippo, who was fond enough of Rin to be concerned if someone was trying to hurt her or her family.
"What are we gonna do about her?"
"Wait, what else did she say? I want to hear everything she said to you before we decide what to do with her." Miroku eyed Inuyasha angrily; he was so impatient! Always action, not words with him.
"Well, she said that unless I gave her what she wants, which is namely myself - she actually demanded my love, too - and helped her destroy Kagome, she was going to tell her Father that I'd raped her this weekend and have me fired from my job."
Kouga gritted, "That little bitch! Where does she get off, anyway?"
Miroku nodded, and Inuyasha snarled, "Let's hide her somewhere and make her Father pay to get her back, and show her not to mess with a Taisho!"
Daichi shook his head in disagreement.
"As good as I'm sure that plan sounds to you, Inuyasha, unfortunately, it is terrible. We have to decide together what to do about her. I'm thinking that I'll call Naraku Onigumo; maybe if he has a little forewarning about his daughter's intentions, her claims will go unfounded when Sesshoumaru refuses her."
They all looked at their Father; he spoke as if there was no question that Sesshoumaru would refuse Kagura's demands. It gave them all more confidence to hear him say that.
"Look, we're all going home tomorrow. If I call him tonight, he'll be expecting her story tomorrow, so we'll have the jump on her. And Sesshoumaru, in the morning, when she asks you, you will tell her that you absolutely will not help her. Understand?"
Sesshoumaru nodded, and his Father sat down on his freshly made bed, and picked up the phone.
As he talked quietly to Mr. Onigumo, the boys all sat down on the bed, talking amongst themselves until Daichi hung up the phone.
"What did he say, Dad?"
Daichi sighed. "He said that he was grateful for the warning, and would be sure to have a discussion with Kagura when she came home tomorrow. He assured me that he would solve the problem."
They all relaxed, and Sesshoumaru felt better immediately. "Thanks, Dad."
Daichi nodded, and when they'd all filed out of his room, he grabbed Sesshoumaru and pulled him aside.
"Listen to me, son: don't let your guard down around her. She's the daughter of a very rich man, who really can destroy you, should the fancy strike him. Don't turn your back on her, ever."
He nodded, and walked slowly back to his room, a lot on his mind.
S.T.
Oooooohhhh, Kagura's being such a skeez! Lots of surprises to come in following chapters my lovelies, so help get there faster by reviewing like you've never reviewed before! Muahahahahaha!