Disclaimer: None of the characters belong to me.
Escape to Transformation
The following morning, the employees saw Sango walking into the museum right on time, as she always did, wearing perfectly matched clothes, with her hair and make up perfectly done. She greeted some of them and gave a few orders before locking herself up in her office. Even there, she couldn't just let herself slip to the ground, like she would have wanted to, because of the picture windows everywhere. Sure, it all looked very nice from the outside, but sometimes it drove her crazy.
So, instead, she walked directly to her desk, and allowed herself to relax only once she was seated, even then barely letting her shoulders sag.
On mornings like these, putting on a show was exhausting.
She liked her job, most of the time. She knew she had climbed the ladder seemingly effortlessly, but she had actually put a lot of work into it, and even now, it occupied pretty much all of her time. Which she didn't really mind. She had always been hardworking, and she liked to give things her all.
It was just… Sometimes… It was boring. That would probably have sounded like the worst insult to a lot of other people, who would have talked passionately about rearranging sections, and the art market, and artists, and Sango knew all of that by heart. She did. She just… Well, there was a time, before Kohaku's disappearance, where there had been talk, between them, of following in their parents footsteps.
They didn't really want to work in the police, but they did consider reopening the family business, as demons slayers. There weren't that much anymore, but the few agencies that were left were really valued. Not as killers, but rather as some sort of highly specialized private detectives.
And, yes, occasionally, as killers, however it wasn't that part of the business that interested her nor her brother.
Sango and Kohaku had trained, as kids and even later, conforming to the family tradition. Sango had actually proved to be very good at hand to hand combat, but also with a boomerang. Kohaku was clumsier, less of a natural than his older sister, but he was certainly getting there before he'd…
Sango took a deep breath, instantly blocking the thought away. The years hadn't softened her pain, and even now, she knew perfectly well that it wouldn't take much to get her to cry.
At least, now, Kagome was looking into it. Maybe it would give her closure. Maybe she would finally accept that Naraku had nothing to do with all that and that Kohaku was dead.
Part of her hoped so. She didn't want to imagine what his life had been until now, if he was alive. Part of her, which she couldn't help but think of as selfish, hoped he was alive anyway and that one day, she would get to hold him in her arms again, and never let him go.
Sango discreetly massaged her temples. She had spent more time than usual putting on make-up, in order to hide the rings under her eyes. She had been drinking late the night before, which meant that when her alarm had rung, she didn't only look like shit, but feel like it as well. She had cursed herself for being so pathetic. She should have known better than to fall for Miroku and to get sad over it. She knew who he was, she knew all there was to know about his reputation, and yet she hadn't been careful enough. Before she knew it, when they had worked together, she had started looking forwards to seeing him again, to hearing his voice.
She was such an idiot.
At least, last night was a good reminder of that. She didn't know why it had been such a shock to her, to see him flirting with someone else. Probably because recently, she had been the only one he'd paid attention to, as far as she knew.
Ah. Right. She just didn't know about the others.
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
She quickly looked through her e-mails. She had an habit of only doing that at her workplace. Important and urgent matters would get to her on her phone, and that helped leaving her job behind, even if, really, Sango never actually left it behind, always bringing back files that needed to be reviewed and all sorts of authorization that needed to be signed.
Among a few various emails of private collectors or invitations to auctions, one caught her attention, enough for her to forget how to breathe for a few seconds.
Naraku had sold The Spider's Web, which was now 'Kohaku's painting' in her mind. However, as she quickly scrolled through the rest of the emails, wanting to look into it soon, she discovered it hadn't been the only Onigumo painting sold during the night. He had sold a lot of them.
In fact, it looked like… It only took her a few minutes to confirm her suspicion, and she then let herself fall back and lean against the back of her leather chair. That was weird. That was suspicious. That was probably the first time this ever happened.
Naraku had sold all of Onigumo's known paintings.
"Yes?" Kagome croaked in the phone.
"Sorry. You were sleeping?"
"Ugh. No. Well, I shouldn't have been. What's going on?"
"It has to do with Naraku. Well, Onigumo. Both. Whatever."
Kagome slowly sat up on her bed. She had been up doing researches on Inuyasha's publicist and Onigumo's newest painting for a good part of last night, and while she had found a few interesting informations on Sesshomaru, she wasn't sure any of those were relevant to the case. She ran her fingers through her hair only to find them awfully messy and she sighed, giving it up to rub her eyes instead.
Sango was being weird. Her voice was too tense, and she sounded like she was going to explode at any moment.
"What is it?"
"All of Onigumo's paintings were sold. Naraku doesn't have any of them left in his stock."
Kagome tilted her head to the side, frowning. Hm, okay?
"That must happen all the ti—"
"No, Kags, it doesn't. In fact, it never happens. It's part of the mystery. When a new painting appears, one disappears. Naraku must have a very, verygood reason to be doing that. Either there's a lot more in production right now, as we speak, but Onigumo's a painter, not a machine, or…"
This time, she had Kagome's full attention.
"Or he's got something in mind. And, if the Curse is real, that could be bad." Then she deflated. "Or he's indebted and he needs the money."
"I doubt that. I think I'd have heard about it. I know who he'd ask for help. Plus, even if he did? That's bad for business. He wouldn't have done it all in one night."
Kagome yawned. She knew the information was important, but right now she had no idea what to do with it. She had close to zero good leads, and absolutely no idea what Naraku was doing with these paintings. Hell, she wasn't even sure he was doing something. She had absolutely no proof of that, only suspicions. Yes, it was a lot of suspicions, but nothing she could write an article on. Particularly if she didn't want to get sued for slander.
"Anyway, I have an appointment to go see The Spider's Web at the buyer's house in town."
Kagome blinked.
"Wait, the buyer's in town?"
There was a silence during which she could hear Sango's hands furiously typing on her keyboard.
"Yes, and apparently, everybuyers are. I mean, I know there are rich people who love art here but doesn't that seem…"
"Like a funny coincidence? Totally does. What on earth could he be trying to achieve? Hey, wait, do you happen to know what species the paintings belong to? I may have a hunch."
Once again, all Kagome could hear was typing for a few moments before Sango answered, her voice clearly surprised.
"Nearly all paintings were sold to demons. Pretty powerful ones, with that."
"And I'm willing to bet those that weren't will be having new owners quickly. That buyer you're going to see, he's…"
"Human. You think I…"
"Yup, you should tell him to sell while he still can. Mind if I join you?"
"That's why I was calling. I know you'll probably find nothing wrong with the painting, but I was hoping that maybe, new eyes would…"
"Wait, can I bring Koga too?"
There was a silence, and Kagome knew she was asking a lot right now, but Sango finally agreed with a sigh.
"Alright. After all, maybe his nose will give us new informations. Although, for all I know, wolf-demons are less efficient than dog-demons, when it comes to smell. You wouldn't happen to know anyone like that, would you?"
"Sorry, I don't. I don't really make friends because they'd be of use for me, you know?" Kagome answered with a smile. "Can you pick me up? I'll call Koga to give him the address."
On that agreement, they both hung up. Kagome gave herself a few seconds to breathe before dialing Koga's number. He had been more normal with her recently, but she was pretty sure that was already wearing off. If it was, the following hours would be exhausting.
"Hey there, gorgeous," the wolf literally purred when he answered the phone.
Kagome didn't even bother to hide her groan, despite knowing that he would hear her loud and clear, even over the phone. Oh, this was going to be a long day…
Sango didn't waste any time after calling Kagome. She pretty much sprung out of her office, grabbing her coat on the way, and she was close from sprinting towards the door, which, with her high heels, you would never have thought was possible. Her speed, however, didn't allow her to pass unnoticed in front of the man who had been patiently waiting for her and who flashed her a smile as soon as she was in sight.
God no. Not now. She really couldn't handle that.
"Dear Sango!" Miroku greeted her warmly, stepping right in front of her. "Seeing you is always a pleasure. Here," he added, producing a red rose that seemingly came out of nowhere.
Sango felt her heart melt a little. She had that thing for roses — or, really, all type of flowers. She shook herself as quickly as possible. Kagome was waiting for her, and more importantly, she needed to stop any form of relationship with Miroku. She didn't need that type of pain in her life, on top of everything else.
"I can't do that right now, Mr. Houshi," she answered on a terrifyingly polite tone. "Please see my assistant if there is anything you want with the museum, and if not, I have an appointment and I would be grateful if you could let me pass."
Not so bad for someone who was still hungover and terribly pissed at him, huh?
"Mr Houshi?" Miroku repeated, his tone losing his usual cheerfulness. "You wound me."
And she was about 99% sure that he did not care the least, but he actually did look sad, and so the last one percent managed to make its way to both her brain and her heart.
"Miroku," she said, already cursing herself for playing his game, "I really don't have time for this, and honestly, I'm tired of your incessant flirting. Could we stop this now? Let's just be friends, that way you can stop trying to get in my pants."
That seemed like a perfectly reasonable proposition to her. She couldn't be absolutely sure that she wouldn't sill end up hurt by that arrangement, but it was better than whatever it was that they had going on between them.
"Sango," Miroku answered, grabbing her hand and bringing it to his lips, "I do not wish for friendship, not with you. I…"
She pulled back her hand, rolling her eyes. He just had to do that every time. Invading her space, trying to woo her or being over romantic. It was just getting old.
Or maybe she was just absolutely sure that he did that with everyone and that was what she actually hated.
Nah, clearly, it couldn't be.
"Listen, as surprising as it may be, not everyone wants to end up on one of your paintings, and I certainly have no interest in being a one night stand that you'll forget about the next morning, so save it. Now, if you'll excuse me…"
But Miroku wasn't done.
"Then what if it's serious?"
Sango, who had already started to walk away, stopped dead in her tracks and turned towards him extremely slowly.
"Excuse me?" She looked shocked, probably because she was. Her brain was already running at a thousand miles per hour, trying to find any reason why he would do that, but none of them made sense. Miroku was a hopeless flirt, yes, but he was also an honest person. She didn't think he would offer something serious if he didn't want something serious.
But then, that didn't make sense either, because why on earth would Miroku Houshi want something serious? With her?
"You just said you don't want a one night stand," he explained, "well, me neither. I've had quite enough of that right now. So I'm offering a counter-proposition. Let's make it serious." Sango scanned his face, looking for any indication that he was joking. She didn't find any. She started shaking her head and took a step back.
"No— Listen, Miroku, I— I don't think that's…"
"What, you don't like me?" he asked, his mouth stretching into a teasing grin as he started walking towards her. She felt her cheeks flushing, and suddenly, it felt a lot hotter in the museum, which she knew was impossible, because it was actually damn cold cause the place was a pain in the ass to heat. "Come on, Sango," he added, talking real close from her ear and sending a shiver down her spine that had nothing to do with the temperature, "you can't say you don't want me because I don't want something serious and then reject that too. You know I'm right."
Truth be told, right now, she kind of just wanted to take absolutely anything he was willing to offer her and to just let herself melt in his arms. She was sure he was a great kisser, and fuck it if the place was where she worked.
And as she was thinking that and seriously considering passionately kissing him in front of everyone, what he said slowly made its way to her brain, and she realized that he was actually right. Damn it.
Well, you know what? Fine. Fine. But she was not going to let him toy with her the way he always did. She would be the one calling the shots.
"Okay," she said.
Miroku froze and blinked a couple of times, dumbly. When he managed to turn his face to look at Sango, he met her determined black eyes, and she nodded firmly.
"What did you just…?"
"I said okay," she interrupted him. "I'll pick you up Friday night at seven. Wait, make it six. Wear something warm, alright? I really have to go now. I'll see you on Friday!"
On that, she spun on her awfully high heels, and with just a few clips on the ground, she was gone, leaving Miroku to just stare after her. It took him a long time to finally move again. When he did, he had the biggest, brightest, and probably stupidest smile on his face that anyone had ever seen him with.
Kagome was waiting for her in front of her building, and Sango couldn't help but grin when she spotted her friend. She was wearing dark jeans, a leather jacket, and had her helmet under her arm. Sango was the one who had given it to her, years ago, as a birthday present, but also pretty much as a way of saying "you're worthy of riding my most precious belonging with me". Kagome had appreciated it at its just value.
The journalist jumped behind her, putting the helmet on, and then they took off. It wasn't a crazy ride, like they did when Kagome was still in college and Sango was just starting with her job at the museum — not the job she had right now, obviously. Sango had always enjoyed the adrenaline that came to her with speed, and Kagome liked adventure. They had gone on more than one of those, most of which would forever remain a well-kept secret between the two of them.
Things were different now, though, and they had been for a while. Sango didn't have time for that kind of stuff, nor to carry Kagome around when she needed to. The director of the museum was also more careful, either more aware of the danger or just not willing to get in trouble with the police. But still, there was a moment, as they climbed up a hill and Sango took sharp bends probably a little too fast, when her heart raced and she heard Kagome's laugh.
It was still exhilarating, it was still fun. It didn't last as long as it used to, because she didn't let it, but she could still enjoy it. For now, though, all of her thoughts were on what was waiting for them in the fancy house they were now facing.
Koga was already there waiting for them. He had no car nor bike with him, which left Sango to guess that he had gotten here by himself. It was no surprise, to be honest. Many demons could travel by themselves, just as fast, if not faster than humans.
Sango had to resist the urge to scoff when he flashed his wolfish grin at Kagome. Her friend had mentioned how he had been less flirty since the massacre of his tribe, but it looked like he had recovered. Kagome herself answered with a tense smile, skillfully avoiding Koga's embrace when they walked towards him.
"Now's not the moment," she protested, putting a clear distance between them.
"So there will be a moment?" He replied cockily, absolutely not thrown back by her answer.
Kagome rolled her eyes. "No, Koga, there won't be a moment. Ever. I think we've discussed that more than enough."
As much as Sango wanted to see her finally make things clear with the wolf-demon, they had an appointment. Kagome had insisted on bringing him, and there he was, so they had to deal with it. Plus, if she was completely honest, she desperately hoped he would be able to give them new informations, about things she had never —could never — noticed. She had spent house looking at that painting, unable to find anything helpful about Kohaku's situation, so if there was even the tiniest chance that his demonic sense of smell would help, she would take it. Without so much as a hesitation.
She rung the doorbell, and they waited until the gate opened, sliding without a noise.
"We're going to meet with Mr. Gashira," Sango explained while they walked to the door. "He's an old man and a priest, so treat him with respect, alright?"
Koga sniggered, earning two dark, and rather confused, looks from the young women.
"You girls can't tell, huh?"
Kagome tilted her head, looking at the wolf-demon with attention. Truth be told, she'd had a weird feeling when they'd arrived in front of the mansion, but she had thought nothing of it. Now that he brought it up, though…
"Could it be…"
"Guy's a spider demon. You humans really are bad at that stuff, huh?"
Kagome and Sango exchanged a glance. He wasn't wrong. Society had been changed by humans, and demons were completely outnumbered, but they held much more power. That was the basis of the current, and admittedly reluctant, cohabitation. Most humans didn't give much thought to demons as they went with their day. There were not that many people who did control spiritual powers, but most also did not care. Species stayed away from each other more often than not, and everyone was very satisfied with that, making sure that they didn't give any of that too much thought.
It did annoy Sango though, to find out about it like that, because she was actually pretty good at that stuff. She was rather sensitive when it came to demons, even if she didn't have any spiritual powers. Kagome, on the other hand, was just learning about her abilities, and the fact that she had been right about the weird atmosphere around her was good… But also had her wary. As a journalist, she didn't know how much she could or should rely her new powers. It had worked well for Kaede, sure, but what would happen with her? What if her intuition ever betrayed her?
"Let's get in," Sango said with a motion of her head. "Remember what I said," she added for Koga. "Don't let him know we know, I'm not sure what he'd do then."
Koga was about to shrug and brag about how he could easily protect them when an old man appeared in front of them. He was bald, short, and was wearing a kind smile that had none of them fooled. It didn't stop Sango from greeting him warmly and introducing the others to him, presenting Kagome as a journalist, and Koga as an expert, although she didn't say on what.
The man seemed to be extremely happy with showing them his house. He had an enormous collection of spiders, which had Kagome shuddering. She wasn't really arachnophobic, but seeing the boxes covering the walls surely didn't make her feel at ease. She was extremely happy when they finally walked into the room that was dedicated to paintings… Only to realize that said paintings were all about spiders as well.
There were days when nothing seemed to go her way. With a sigh, she grabbed her camera in her bag and pulled it out.
"Do you mind if I take a few pictures, Sir?" she asked politely.
"I would be delighted," he answered, looking rather proud of the place. "I can also show you more spiders if you want to!"
Kagome giggled lightly. God no. "Thank you, I think I have more than enough material here!"
She took a picture of the Spider's Web in front of which Sango had stopped. She was worried about the reaction her friend would have, but she looked rather calm. Of course, Kagome had no way of knowing that Sango knew the painting by heart now, and that she hadn't thought she would find anything new by coming here. It still brought an uncomfortable sadness in her heart, to look at it, but it was nothing she couldn't crush and bury deep inside of herself.
"Noticing anything?" she whispered to Koga. She wasn't sure how much she trusted the guy. She knew Kagome considered him a friend, but Sango had been taught not to trust demons, and it was hard for her to go against that.
"Smells weird," he simply said before putting some distance between them, and she realized he was probably pretty much in the same state of mind when it came to her.
After a few more questions to the man, the small group got out again, and Sango thanked him profusely. She wasn't stupid and knew what he would expect in return; that if the museum ever acquired a work of art he liked, she would sell it back quickly. It wasn't really legal and it was that kind of stuff, among other things, that had gotten her predecessor fired. She wasn't one to give favors, but she tended to lose her ethics when it came to Kohaku. She would give anything to get her brother back. Even if it destroyed her life.
"So?" she questioned almost immediately. "Did your nose get anything?"
Koga ignored her to turn towards Kagome.
"The thing's weird, but I don't think it had anything to do with my Tribe."
"What do you mean weird?" Kagome asked him while Sango rolled her eyes. Couldn't help but try to impress her, huh?
"Just the smell. It's too real. It's…" He glanced at Sango, which didn't go unnoticed to Kagome, but stopped and shook his head. "Never mind. There's probably some demonic shit going on here, but I doubt it had anything with my wolves. I think I'll get on the ass of the guy that was there yesterday."
Naraku. If he was even half as dangerous as Kagome was starting to suspect, this was a terrible idea.
"Wait, Koga, I don't think that's…"
"No need to worry about me, Kagome," he grinned, grabbing her hands. "I'll prove myself to you, and I'll be free for you as soon as I'm done with all of this."
She very visibly grimaced, which Koga either didn't notice or ignore. Turning around, he winked at Sango, and just took off, running.
"He's fast," Sango commented, her voice completely indifferent.
"That he is," Kagome mumbled. "I precisely wish he would listen a bit more, you know? Anyway, apparently, he didn't find anything with the painting."
"Or he didn't want to say," Sango added. "That didn't mean there is nothing to be found." She knew how she probably sounded, like someone who just refused to let go of a crazy idea, but she couldn't help it. If there was even the slightest chance that the painting was linked to Kohaku, she wasn't going to give up on it.
Kagome looked down at her camera. The sight of the painting made her shiver once again. There was a giant spider's web that took the upper half of the canvas, in the middle of which the head of man could be found, his hair turning into the threads. On the bottom half, there were people, all connected to the web, all frozen, all with dead eyes. It was far from being one of Onigumo's most violent works, but Kagome still found it to be very unsettling. Maybe it was because of Sango's story.
Or maybe there was more to it, and the impression came from her powers. She couldn't tell. Perhaps she should take Kaede on her offer to help her mastering her abilities. She hated the idea of being able to hurt someone, but it made sense that she would learn more about it.
"I have a date with Miroku," Sango blurted out, almost making her jump.
"Oh my God! What? You finally accepted?"
There was the loveliest blush on her friend's cheeks when she nodded.
"It's Friday. I thought I'd take him on Kirara and show him the cave on my family's property, you know?"
Kagome emitted an impressed whistle.
"On a first date? Are you sure? You're going to scare the poor boy to death, you know."
Sango grinned.
"I know. It's the point. If he comes back, then he's worth it."
Kagome chuckled.
She had a hunch that Miroku would come back, and while that had nothing to do with her spiritual powers, she was willing to trust it.
"…and then she said she'd see me on Friday," Miroku concluded with a dreamy sigh.
If Inuyasha had to hear the story one more time, it didn't matter that he was his best friend, he would fuckin' kill him. He wouldn't hesitate, he would just go for it. Yes, he knew the guy had been going after Sango for months, and he was thrilled for him that she'd said yes, although he did stand behind his opinion that Miroku did not deserve her, but he didn't want to hear about it four times in a row.
Each time Miroku had told him the story, his eyes shining, Inuyasha had felt the vague — and stupid — urge to let him know that he would be meeting Kagome on Friday as well. Except that he couldn't tell him that, because the moron would never let it go.
Why did humans want to share their feelings so much, dammit?
"Okay, so because I'm so nice, I'm going to make you a proposition, Inuyasha," Miroku said dramatically, and Inuyasha turned his attention back to him. "I will ask Sango if she's fine with making this a double date and bring Kagome too."
Shit. Now it looked like he didn't have a choice, did he?
"Nah, thanks."
Miroku would never take that for an answer.
"What?" he protested, looking outraged. "Come on, Inuyasha, you can't reject my offer! Kagome is probably the sweetest thing that has ever walked this earth…"
Inuyasha repressed the growl that rose in his chest at his friend's words. He knew he was being dumbly possessive over someone who most definitely didn't belong to him and that never would — not just because she was a person and not an object, but because he didn't have any right to claim her in any way.
"Don't let Sango hear you say that," he mumbled instead, effectively interrupting his friend. Miroku actually stopped talking, and for a second, his eyes seemed to drift to a very, very different place.
"She accepted to go on a date with me when I said I wanted to take it seriously," he said. Inuyasha rose an eyebrow. How on earth had he managed to say the story four times without mentioning that? "I think I might be in love with her."
Inuyasha could have scoffed at that, he could have laughed at his friend. He did not. He just looked at him, and concluded that Miroku was, in fact, saying the truth.
"Y'know, if you're sincere, I think you might actually make a decent boyfriend."
Miroku's eyes were still serious when he looked back at the other painter.
"You think so?" he asked slowly. "I actually don't have that much experience with that. I think I can say I'm a great lover, and I can certainly amaze the ladies, but I can't recall any serious relationship. You have more experience in that domain than I do."
Inuyasha tensed at the man's words. Not because he was wrong, but because of the memories it brought to him. He tried not to think about Kikyou, not to think about how she'd screamed that night, about the things she'd said and about the disgust in her eyes when she had looked at him. Particularly tonight. But Miroku had no way to know, and it was too late now. He didn't bother to force a smile and just shrugged. He didn't care if he didn't have as much experience with women as Miroku.
"Well maybe don't remind her about that on the date, got it?"
Miroku looked at him like he had just been insulted. "Do you think I'm the type to brag about it?"
Inuyasha stared at him. "Yes."
Miroku tried to come up with excuses, but Inuyasha was completely right. Most women who came up to him wanted him to paint them or to sleep with them. Talking about previous conquests was typically a part of foreplay. Plus, to be honest, he did tend to act like a moron around Sango.
"She's going to kill me before the end of the date and to dump my body into the sea," he commented with the voice of a man who came to a conclusion and has already accepted his fate.
Inuyasha was certainly not going to contradict him. Sango was definitely capable of doing that, if he was less than a gentleman.
What did worry him was whether or not Kagome was the type to help hide the body. If that was the case, maybe he should watch himself as well on Friday night.
"Aaaand here you go!" Kagome happily chirped, handing Sango her hamburger and merrily biting into her own, letting out a small groan of pleasure as she did so. Next to her, Sango took a huge bite as well. She looked just as satisfied as the journalist.
It wasn't just the food, although those were certainly the best hamburgers you could find in this part of town, and it definitely wasn't the place, because between the truck-drivers and the incessant passage of cars, there were far nicer spots to enjoy some food. They were mostly both happy to find themselves together.
"This feels like college all over again, doesn't it?" Kagome giggled, wiping her mouth with the cheap napkins that had been handed to her with the food.
"Except that in college, Hojo followed us around everywhere," Sango answered with a grin. "He was so afraid something would happen to you."
"No, Hojo was afraid for the both of us," Kagome corrected her. "Remember how he would always be awfully slow and then yell at you for not respecting the speed limit?"
"Ugh, tell me about it. I took him for a ride once. Once. Never again."
Kagome laughed and nearly choked on her food. Clearly, that was a sign from her karma that she was being a bitch, but all of this was true. Hojo's passion for following rules wasn't rivaled by anything in his life. And certainly not his passion for her, at the time.
"So, date with Miroku on Friday, huh?" she asked innocently.
But Sango wasn't one to dissect the conversation she had had with him over and over again. Kagome had the information, it should be more than enough.
"What about you, no plans with Koga?" Sango teased in return, refusing to play her friend's game. She really didn't expect anything of the question. Kagome was not interest by Koga, and she had made it clear before. And yet… She blushed.
"What?" she spat. "Seriously, Kags? You're…"
"Not with Koga!" Kagome immediately protested. "Inuyasha. On Friday too."
Sango quizzically rose an eyebrow, and that look on her face clearly meant 'Don't even try to hide anything from me'. Kagome being precisely one to dissect everything, she just started to talk and didn't stop until Sango had gotten every little detail that might be of use.
Once she was done, she glanced at her friend, and her heart stopped when she saw her frowning.
"What is it? Inuyasha is actually a psychopath and everyone knows about it and that's why he's still single?"
Sango shook her head, the theory bringing a smile to her lips.
"No, Inuyasha's still single because he has the shittiest temper ever. I just… feel like there's something I should be thinking about right now, but it's not coming back to me."
"How bad is it?" Kagome instantly started up again. "Should I worry? Is it the 'your heart will break' type or the 'he's going to make clothes and lampshades with your skin' type?"
"He's an artist, Kags. If anything, he would probably make paint with parts of your body. Ugh, this is so frustrating."
"If you're not serious, please don't talk about my date making paint with my body parts."
"You started it, Kagome." She shook her head and uncrossed her legs. "Forget about it. It's probably not that important anyway. I simply feel like there's something I've been thinking about and now it's gone."
Kagome shrugged. Now all she wanted to do was know about it, of course, and part of her also wanted to look for every piece of information she could find on Inuyasha, but she refused to do that. That was a line she simply refused to cross. Which made her remember…
"I don't want you to find creepy stuff about him, alright?" she warned her friend, raising a finger. "I'm not even sure how much I like the guy yet," even though the way he looks at me when he paints me makes me go crazy, "but I don't want you ruining anything for me. Understood?"
"Sure," Sango answered, blinking innocently.
She proceeded to take a sip of her bottle of water under Kagome's suspicious gaze. The journalist was going to let it go, until she realized something.
"And you will not tell your mom about it either, okay? I really appreciate how concerned she is with my dating life, but I really don't need that."
Sango sighed loudly and Kagome grinned. So she had planned to do it. She wished discovering Naraku's secrets was as easy as deciphering her best friend's antics. Truth was, one of the reason she was looking that much towards this date with Inuyasha was probably because of how dark the week had been.
Or maybe she already liked the guy more than she wanted to admit and more than she would have thought was possible, given how little they had talked. She honestly didn't know.
"Hey, think there's any chance I could get a meeting with… Sesshomaru? Inuyasha's publicist? He bought Naraku's last painting and I think I have a hunch here."
"Ooh, I wouldn't bet on that," Sango grimaced. "Sesshomaru really doesn't like humans, particularly journalists. I can try for you, though, but I don't think I'll be able to come with you this time. I'll let you know about that later, alright?"
Kagome nodded, and Sango stood up. With a motion of her head, she pointed at Kirara and Kagome stood as well, sighing. Back in the days, they would probably have spent the rest of the night trying to find fun spots that they didn't know of yet. That was over though; Kagome had work to do, and Sango would probably have to stay up most of the night to make up for the time she had spent out.
Oh well. It had been nice to do that again. They both felt somewhat of a sad twinge in their hearts as they went home. Nostalgia could be a bitch sometimes.
"Seriously Miroku, you need to get the fuck out, now."
"Oh come on," the painter protested, "what is going on? Is someone on his time of the month?"
"You know what? Add that to the list of stuff not to say on your date," Inuyasha growled, literally pushing his friend out of his house. "Actually, never say that to any woman. Ever. Even if she's actually on her period."
"Why not? If she is—"
"If she is on her period, it doesn't mean that she'll stop being angry just because you mentioned it. Her feelings won't change or matter less. Plus, chances are you're actually just being a complete asshole," Inuyasha explained, managing to get his friend out on the doorstep while he was listening, surprisingly paying a lot of attention to Inuyasha's explanation.
"How the hell do you know that?" Miroku breathed out. Inuyasha rolled his eyes and didn't answer the question. He had spent most of the day precisely avoiding the subject of his past relationship with Kikyou, and he couldn't believe Miroku hadn't gotten the hint yet. Knowing Miroku, he probably had, and still wanted him to get to talk about it.
Fuckin' idiot thought that since he refused to see a therapist about it, he should be a replacement for that. Okay, maybe that was actually rather thoughtful and the next best thing, but Inuyasha didn't like to talk, dammit.
"Night, Miroku," he simply muttered, before slamming the door in his friend's face.
He knew he was being a bit of a dick right now, but to be fair, Miroku had really gotten on his nerves tonight, and most importantly, he was always nervous on the new moon. As soon as the door was closed, he practically ran towards his painting room. Tetsusaiga was there, in its scabbard, carefully put on the mantelpiece. He grabbed it, and instantly felt better at the familiar feeling of the sword's hilt. He didn't know why holding a sword felt so good, so natural, but he managed to calm down a bit.
He closed all the curtains and locked the doors, still holding the sword tight. He knew he was being completely paranoid. There was no way anyone would come to the property, and he was really isolated — Sesshomaru had made damn sure of that, precisely for nights like that — but he wouldn't have the same thing happen to him twice. He would never see that look in anyone's eyes again, the hurt, the betrayal, the disgust…
He held the sword tighter and, without a word or even a sound, he let himself fall down behind the sofa, directly onto the ground. He swiftly took of his shoes, a simple habit that turned out to be really important on those night, at least if he didn't want to ruin the shoes.
He couldn't feel himself… changing yet, which was normal since he still had about an hour of daytime left. He knew, though, that there was no way he would get anything done in these conditions, so he just waited there, almost perfectly still.
He tried not to let his thoughts wonder too far, but it was hard not to, with Miroku constantly bringing up Kikyou. Thinking about the past undoubtedly made him think about the present, and that scared the hell out of him. Thinking about Kagome, thinking about her lovely mouth and her beautiful eyes, thinking about how nice she was, even to him. Thinking about how he didn't want to lose that and yet he didn't have any right to any of that. For both of their sakes, he should let her go.
He should. But he desperately didn't want to. He tried to tell himself that on that date, she would see him for who he really was and be the one to walk away. He sure didn't have what it took to be the one to send her away.
Just as he was thinking that, it finally came. The change. It started in his mouth, as it always did, and he opened it slightly, trying to get use to the new feeling. He ran his tongue against his teeth — no, fangs — and cursed when he cut himself. Almost instantly, though, his tongue healed, probably the only advantage to this transformation, he thought bitterly. He adjusted his fingers around Tetsusaiga's hilt, trying not to hurt himself this time with the claws. Sure, he'd heal from that as well, but his hands were important to him.
He was happy that there were no mirrors in this room. He didn't want to see himself right now. Oh, he knew what he looked like. White hair, golden eyes, fuckin' fangs and claws on his hands and feet, and to top it all off, those stupid dog ears on top of his head.
He looked like an animal, like a monster.
He was sure Sesshomaru would have agreed with him on that one. Kikyou probably would have too.
And that was when the dumb question popped inside his head, and just the thought of answering it made him want to scream.
What would Kagome think?
And here you go! I hope you've enjoyed this chapter, someone was right with their theory on Inuyasha eheh, even if things are actually even more complicated than explained here. Please leave a review if you liked it, it helps motivating me to write more!
Dya.
