Angel: Hello and welcome to another installment of 'Things Change'! I actually got a little sleep before I typed this up so yay for me!
Inu: -for some reason wearing a turtleneck- I didn't get much sleep... too busy working on things.
Inuyasha: What's with the sweater?
Kouga: It's not that cold...
Inu: -shrugs-
Sesshoumaru: ...
Inuyasha: Are you hiding something?
Inu: No...
Kouga: Tear the shirt.
Inu: Back off!
Sesshoumaru: I agree with Inu.
Inuyasha: Sesshoumaru's in on it too! -tears Inu's turtleneck off-
Inu!!
All: OO
Sesshoumaru: Shit.
Angel: -busts out laughing- It's a hickey!! You GO GIRL!
Kouga: I smell Sesshoumaru's scent on her!
Inuyasha: Sesshoumaru gave Inu a hickey?!
Sesshoumaru: Stay out of this, Inuyasha.
Inu: Butt out!
Inuyasha: Working, huh? You were making out with that worthless dog Sesshoumaru!
Inu: Why would you care? You have two powerful mikos of your own.
Inuyasha: ...
Kouga: Served!
Inu: And you have your own love problem, Kouga!
Kouga: ...
Sesshoumaru: ..Ignorant fools.
Inu: You took the words right out of my mouth.
Angel: -snickers- Ok guys, we have a story to get to here, what they do in their spare time is hilarious, but none of our business.
---
Angel's Disclaimer: Sadly I do not own any characters in this story except Chad, and maybe a few others later. They belong to Ms. Rumiko Takahashi and if I owned them Sesshoumaru would be locked in the hall of bishis for eternity so no fan girl could get drool on his perfectness, except me and now Inu!
Inu's Disclaimer: As she said, I don't own. If I did the pairings in the series Inuyasha and Kikyou would be together, who should be burning in the deepist pit of hell. And that Sesshoumaru would be mine.
Things Change
by Angelmom07 & InuTaiyoukaiGalOfDarkAndLight
Chapter Four: The Date
"This is your car?" Kagome asked as Kouga opened the passenger side door of a black Corvette convertible. "It's gorgeous, American, right?"
"Right you are, my father had it imported for me as a birthday gift," Kouga said, beaming over his new car.
"Psh, I'll be lucky to even get my licence for my sweet 16." Kagome got in and ran her hand over the soft leather of the seats. "I love this car!" she told Kouga as he climbed in.
"Me too," he laughed and headed toward the opposite side of town.
"Where are we?" Kagome asked as they pulled up in front of what looked like a large cottage.
"You've lived here your whole life and you've never been here?"
"Nope, Tokyo is a big city. You can live here for 100 years and still not know the whole place."
"I guess that makes sense. A business associate of my father's told him about this place. It's run by an older couple, the wife cooks everything served and if you don't like it they give you your money back, but they've never had a complaint in 20 years of business."
Kagome stared in awe at the little place. There were flowering bushes planted in front and vines of ivy growing up the sides, trimed to perfection. When they walked in she was shocked to see that it looked like a normal house, except instead of living room furniture there were three booths and two four-seat tables. It was a very cozy environment and the whole place smelled like homemade pies. "I think I'm in love," she whispered as an elderly gentleman led them to a booth and took their order.
After they got their food Kouga decided to strike up conversation. "So, who is Kagome Higurashi?" he asked watching her as she thought about her answer.
"Hm, that's a hard question to answer at fifteen. I'm not really sure who she is yet, I'm still trying to find myself. How about you?"
"Well, I was born to a rich youkai family, okami youkai to be exact. My family is one of the oldest pure demon bloodlines still in existence, the only other would be the inu clan, headed by Lord Sesshoumaru. Lord Sesshoumaru's father was a friend of my grandfathers and they became business partners. When his father died about 16 years ago he inheritied half of the company and runs it along with a company he created himself. I believe he's about 100 years old now..." Kagome looked shocked. "You must remember that demons age differently then humans. We can live for a thousand years or more."
All of this was intresting to Kagome. Sure Inuyasha was a hanyou, but he was shunned by his demon family so he never spoke of them. "So what about a hanyou? How long can they live?"
"Not as long as pure blood demons, but much longer than humans. I'd say about 500 years is an average life span."
"So what does your father's company do?"
"Well, they make this device that masks demon traits. Some demons and hanyou find it easier to live among humans if they keep themsleves hidden. A demon can sense another demon, but humans can't tell a difference, except powerful mikos and monks. Lord Sesshoumaru detest humans and often expresses his discontent with demons 'parading around' like those 'vile creatures'."
"Then why not sell his half of the company?"
"Because he has to carry on his father's legacy. Demons are very proud, Lord Sesshoumaru is no exception, if he sells his half of the company then it is like giving up. Ok, enough about me. From what I saw yesterday it seems you and your stepfather don't get along very well."
Kagome snarled slightly before calming herself. "You could say that... What can I say? He's an abusive alcoholic."
"Is that where the bruise came from?" Kagome lowered her head and hid her eyes behind her bangs. "I guessed as much, you know there are people who can help you."
"I won't leave my family there with that psycho. Somebody has to take the beating, better me then them."
Kagome jumped as he grabbed her hand. "You shouldn't have to live like that, you deserve much better. Why not go to the police? They can arrest him for what he's doing to you."
"I can't... Even if they arrest him, he'll eventually get out and then what? He'll be angry and he'll find us. I would rather live like this then risk him getting out of jail and hurting my family."
"You really care about them don't you?"
"Yes. When dad died mom...lost it... She went into a deep depression, she started drinking... I was all my brother had until we went to live at the shrine with grandpa. Then mom started to get better. She met Chad at an AA meeting and at first he was so great, but then after they got married and he moved in it was like everything had changed. He refused to work, he started drinking again, then he started hitting her. I got fed up one night and got in between them and he beat the crap out of me, but he has very rarely hit mom since then. I became his punching bag and as long as he isn't hurting my family I don't care." Kagome's stomach turned as she talked about Chad. You're hiding something, a voice rang through her head. "Can we talk about something else please?"
"Sure, I'm sorry for prying."
---
The rest of the date they talked about their childhoods and their friends. When it came time to go home Kagome dreaded the thought. As they pulled up in front of the shrine Kagome sighed. "I had a great time tonight Kouga," she said as they stood at her front door.
"Me too, maybe we can do it again sometime?" Kouga asked "And, not to bring it up again, but you don't deserve to be treated like that, just please think about what I said."
"I will."
Kouga leaned in and kissed her gently on the lips. "Do you work tomorrow?"
"Yes, until 3."
"Then I'll pick you up after work, we can just hang out or something. You can invite your friends if you want. See you tomorrow Kagome." She smiled as she watched him get in his car and drive off.
"I thought you were just friends," a voice came from the shadows beside the house. Kagome strained to see who it was and sighed when Inuyasha stepped into the light.
"What do YOU want?"
"I just thought I'd come by to see how you were doing."
"Why do you even care?"
"I told you Kagome, I have a bad feeling."
"Yea, it's called jealousy, get over it because green isn't your color."
"I'm not kidding, Kagome. Something isn't right with you and I can sense it. Please tell me what's wrong."
"Why? Why do you keep doing this to me? You say you want Kikyou, you say you love her, but everytime I try to move on with my life you try to hold me back. Well not anymore. I'm done playing these games Inuyasha, I can't take it anymore. I love you, I always will, but you and I will never be anything but good friends."
Kagome's eyes widened as Inuyasha moved faster then she could follow and captured her lips with his. Inuyasha looked hurt when she pushed him away. "Fine, do whatever you want, but I warned you."
Kagome opened her mouth to say something in return but he was already gone. "Mom, I'm home," she said as she walked into the kitchen.
"So, how was work?" her mom asked, setting a cup of hot chocolate in front of her.
"It was good, I really like it AND I made $20 in tips today!"
"That's good, and how was your date? Imagine my surprise when it wasn't Inuyasha you were with."
"MOM! Were you spying on me?"
"No, Inuyasha came by looking for you earlier. I told him I thought you had a date with him and he stormed off muttering something about a 'damn wolf bastard'."
"He's new to our school, I've been helping him catch up and he offered to take me out for my trouble."
"He's cute," her mother said glancing at her over the cup.
"I knew it! You were spying on me!" Kagome whined and stuck her tongue out at her mom.
Both of them looked up when they heard someone come in the room. "Whasss all this racket? I can't hear myself think," Chad said from the door way.
Kagome's mom got up and placed a hand on his arm. "Honey you've had quite a bit to drink tonight, why don't you go sit on the couch and I'll bring you a snack."
She let out a small cry as Chad grabbed her arm. "Don't you tell me what to do bitch."
Kagome jumped up and stood between her mom and Chad. "Mom, go to Souta's room, lock the door, and turn the radio on as loud as you can. I don't care what you hear, don't come out here until I tell you it's ok." Her mom just stood there. "Mom, I said GO!" At that her mother ran up the stairs and Kagome heard the door close and lock and the radio blast through the house.
"What, you couldn't wait to get me alone?" Chad slurred.
"I won't let you hurt my family," Kagome said blocking his way up the steps.
"Sure, you just wanted to get me alone."
"Chad, you're drunk, you need to go lay down and sleep it off."
Kagome flinched as he pulled back a hand and smacked her across the face. "I don't listen to little whores, don't fucking tell me what to do."
Kagome stood her ground. "Just go lay down for a few hours and you'll feel better."
This time Chad grabbed a handful of hair and threw her to the floor. Kagome struggled as he climbed on top of her. "You want me to go lay down, fine, but first you have to do something for me."
Kagome's eyes filled with tears as Chad pulled at her jeans and panties, then her whole mind went blank as he violated her body. When she felt him move from on top of her she opened her eyes and gathered her clothes. Chad laughed from behind her and she thought she was going to be sick. "You're nothing but a little whore and that's all you'll ever be." Kagome didn't see him come stand over her, she didn't sense anything until his foot connected with her ribs. "You're pathetic. You talk about how you're going to save your family, but you can't even protect yourself." Another kick. "You act like you're so goddamn perfect, but all you are is a slut." And another, and another until her whole world went black.
When Kagome woke up she could barely move. She didn't know how long she'd been out, all she knew was that she needed to check on her family. She gathered her clothes and slowly pulled them on. Her whole body hurt and she couldn't think straight. Where was Chad? She guessed he was probably in his room sleeping now. She drew in sharp breaths as she slowly walked up the steps. Finally reaching her room she grabbed the key she kept to Souta's door. She found her mother and Souta sitting on the bed huddled in fear, both relieved to see her. "I'm so sorry Kagome..." her mother said softly.
Kagome just shook her head and walked to her room. Sorry wasn't enough anymore. She was being raped and beaten just to keep her family safe and it wouldn't have to happen if her mother would just leave Chad. And everytime she stopped Chad from beating her mother all she got was a 'sorry', like she had just beaten her at a game of checkers, not stood by and let her daughter get beat then refused to leave the man doing the beating. She carefully laid down on her bed and looked at her clock, 1am. She had to be at work in 9 hours and she couldn't even move. As she fell asleep she wondered why she put up with it at all.
-
Angel: There you have it! Let us know what you think, REVIEW!
Kouga: How do you put up with this?
Inuyasha: Inu and Sesshoumaru had a makeout session last night!
Inu: Because she knows not to pry into my business.
Angel: Exactly, what THEY do is none of OUR business.
Sesshoumaru: Inu and Angel are right. Go to your human mikos, little brother.
Angel: Speaking of them I saw Kagome yesterday, but I haven't seen Kikyou around. How is the dead pile of dirt anyhow Inuyasha?
Inuyasha: Grrrr...