Disclaimer: Would I still be writing fanfiction if I owned InuYasha and Shugo Chara? :P
*sobs* I am so freaking depressed. I just looked at chapter 42 of Shugo Chara. IKUTO'S LEAVINGGGG! *wails* NOOOO!
Anyhoo, I am soooo sorry for the really long wait. But on the bright side, it was only three months as opposed to four like my last update... Ahehe. That still didn't sound very good.
Anyways, I hope you like the chapter!
"Why the fuck did you let Kagome get kidnapped?!" Shippo growled at the blue-haired teen in front of him, livid that Ikuto had let her been taken that easily.
Yoru whimpered softly and said softly, "They pulled a knife on her, nya," before retreating into Ikuto's pocket.
"Then why didn't you knock the knife away? It wasn't that hard!" Red began seeping into the red-haired demon's eyes as he gripped the arm of his chair tightly.
"Shippo," rang the command of Sesshomaru, who, though he was also furious with Easter, remained calm and rational. Immediately, the kitsune youkai ceased his antics and calmed down. "We are no use to Kagome if our minds are hazed with anger. Now what should we do?"
"I'll tell you what we'll do," Kouga said and pounded his fist onto the table, "we'll barge into that company and beat the shit out of the men who took my woman!" This comment earned him an icy glare from everyone in the room. "Okay, our Kagome."
Still glaring at Kouga, Rin spoke up, "I worked there for a few weeks as Hoshina's assistant, so I know all the ways around the security and where everything is, even if he wouldn't tell me anything he was planning."
Amu, who was being used as a shield for a terrified Yaya, coughed slightly. "Is Kagome-chan okay, though?"
Ikuto nodded. "She should be fine. Hoshina wants her for something, so even he's not such an idiot to do anything to her that would get in the way of his plans."
"Do you think they'll use her for something involving the X-eggs?" Nadeshiko asked, worried for her friend.
"Hoshina knows that Kagome is a special girl, and anyone with half their senses can feel the power from the Shikon jewel," Ikuto explained.
"And if they hurt a hair on her head, Hoshina's going to get the shit beat out of him by us," Kouga said with a rogue smirk. He gestured to the older men around him. If Kagome had so much as a scratch on her skin, Ikuto wasn't sure what they'd do to his step-father...
Tadase seemed to be riled by Ikuto's comment. "And what about us, Tsukiyomi Ikuto? We're her friends. We're not going to just sit back and watch her get hurt or anything."
"Oh, please, Kiddy King. What can you do that will help Kagome?"
"We can do plenty!" Tadase exclaimed, affronted Ikuto would think so little of the abilities of the Guardians. "She's our friend too!"
"Your friend, or your target?" Ikuto retorted, his blue eyes narrowing at the blonde in front of him. Said blonde flushed slightly, and Ikuto smirked. He turned to Amu. "We might need to borrow your guys' charas, and we might need you to to help us, Amu. The rest of you, if you can't transform, then stay out of it."
"We can help Kagome, too!" Kuukai objected, ignoring Kouga's incredulous scoff. Ikuto figured it was because he wasn't comfortable with his girlfriend going in alone.
Ikuto rolled his eyes. "You help by lending your charas. The only one who is capable of not getting in the way is Amu. The rest of you, stay out of it."
"But--" Tadase opened his mouth to object but was cut off by Sesshomaru's glare.
"You will stay out of it. I will not have these brats endangering the chances of getting my imouto back." His glare intensified, thus killing off anymore objections the Guardians had. "I am glad we agree. You all may leave now."
Amu gave a weak "Yes, sir," not daring to object against Sesshomaru. Not that Ikuto could blame her; the man was downright terrifiying. He was surprised Tadase didn't piss his pants like he used to. "Contact us if you have any news on Kagome, okay, Ikuto?" Amu pleaded, genuine worry shining through her golden eyes.
Ikuto nodded, promising her that he would inform her of any news that could happen.
With a polite smile and farewell to the other people, Nadeshiko ushered her fellow Guardians out of the house, closing the door behind her.
"Now what is your plan?" Sesshomaru shifted his gaze from the door to Ikuto and raised an eyebrow.
"I know all the ways around the building, and I have my own sources of infiltrating Easter," he said. "Just let me get in there and find out what they want with her. I might be able to get her out, but I'll probably need help." It would be difficult getting Kagome out unnoticed. But with their help, it could be pulled off.
"Fine," Sesshomaru said, nodding, "you will lead us in this mission. However, if we get caught, we will do things our own way."
"I und."
"So what are we waiting here for?" Kouga demanded with a growl. "We should be going to save Kagome!"
Sesshomaru turned and looked coolly at the irate wolf demon. "Kagome will be fine overnight. My imouto is a strong woman"--he pointedly ignored Shippo's interjection of, "Sesshomaru-sama, she ain't much a woman anymore..."--"and will be able to defend herself against those bastards." Ikuto noted Kouga's clenched jaw relaxed slightly after finding out Sesshomaru was just as -- if not more -- furious than he at Kagome's kidnapping.
Shippo let out a tired and worried sigh. "Alright, alright. We'll wait," he conceded. "But if Kagome is hurt during the time period where we could be saving her, it'll be on your head." Shippo gave him a glare before walking out with Kouga in a huff.
He really was the king of dramatic exits, Ikuto mused. "Sesshomaru-sama, if it's not too much trouble --"
"You would like to stay here for the night?" Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow. It was more of a statement than a question, really. "I suppose that is fine, seeing as your step-father now knows you are in an alliance with the enemy? It wasn't like my permission affected your last stay," he said wryly.
Ikuto wanted nothing more than to say to Sesshomaru that Kagome was a very nice sleeping partner but bit back the comment so as to not lose the ability to pass down his good looks. Instead, he bowed politely and asked which room Sesshomaru wanted him to stay in.
Sesshomaru waved his right hand dismissively. "Whichever room. It does not matter."
"Alright. Thank you, Sesshomaru-sama." Ikuto bowed once more and exited the meeting room, already deciding to sleep in Kagome's room for the night. Upon arriving into the spacious bedroom, Ikuto wasted no time kicking off his shoes and launching onto the bed, curling up like a little cat. Yoru, who had somehow managed to sit through the entire meeting in Ikuto's pocket, came out and stretched our on the pillow before immediately falling asleep.
Ikuto sniffed the pillow he was on gingerly. Peaches and vanilla. She smells nice. He shifted his body slightly and heard a crinkle. Reaching under the pillow, he pulled out a candy wrapper. Kagome, Kagome, Kagome... He allowed a chuckle to pass through his lips. It seemed like Kagome often had midnight snacks. He looked in the top drawer of the night table and found dozens of food wrappers -- the garbage varied from empty Pocky boxes to candy wrappers to cups of instant ramen -- all crammed inside. In the drawer below, it was stuffed to the brim with Kagome's junk food stash.
Amused, Ikuto sifted through the drawer before stealing a single candy from the drawer and eating it. Mmm. Strawberries. They taste like Kagome. She must have been eating them before they kissed, he decided.
Sighing tiredly at the thought of Kagome, Ikuto tossed the wrapper into the drawer and closed it. He sunk into her pillow and inhaled her scent. As he drifted off into a deep sleep, Ikuto thought: I'll save you, Kagome. Nothing bad will happen to you while I'm here.
Kagome woke up in a dark room, on the floor with her neck aching for some reason and most of her body completely limp. She didn't like it. "This place is like a prison cell," she muttered softly to herself, gently caressing the aching spot in her neck. She had no idea what time it was or how long she'd been out. The last thing she remembered was being carried by that awful man and seeing Ikuto's enraged face before blacking out.
Suddenly, a knock sounded through the room and a three people in lab coats and a maroon-haired woman entered without hesitation. One of the scientists -- a light-haired man -- looked down at her as though he was surprised she was already awake. He whispered to the woman, "Do you think she'll attack us? I mean, I heard she was trained... I don't wanna die."
The woman rolled her eyes. "The toxin will keep her sedated. You'll be perfectly fine," she assured the scientists.
Kagome looked up at the four people in her room. "What do you want with me?" she said hoarsely, her expression twisting into a sour expression.
"You'll find out in due time, my dear," the woman said to her softly and pushed her glasses higher on her nose so it glinted evilly in the little light there was in the room. "In the meantime, I think it would be wise of you to behave." She took out a necklace and swung it around on her finger. "You wouldn't want this little thing to be damaged, now do you?"
She had the Shikon no Tama.
Like hell I do, bitch, Kagome snarled internally, and you wouldn't want it to be either. "Give the necklace back to me."
"I don't think you're in any position to make demands, little girl." The woman handed over the necklace to the female scientist next to her and murmured, "Load it up. See if this thing works."
The female scientist nodded eagerly and took the Shikon from the bespectacled woman and was about to rush out of the room before Kagome said, "What are you doing with it?"
"You'll see," the woman told her idly as she inspected her nails.
Some clanking was heard, and a scream of one of the scientists reached Kagome's ears. But then, a high-pitched hum rang out before it slowly got deeper in pitch, and all went black...
Ikuto woken up in the middle of the night by Yoru shaking him awake. He groaned and wiped his eyes tiredly. "What now, Yoru? I'm not getting you any more fish," Ikuto murmured, the sleep not quite gone from his voice.
"Nya, there's something calling out a lot of X-eggs, Ikuto!"
"So let Amu take care of it," Ikuto stated simply before diving back under the covers.
"But I sense Kagome, nya!" That got Ikuto up and jumping out of the bed and out the window.
Ikuto ran as fast as he could with Yoru right at his side. Although he wasn't quite sure where the X-eggs were, all he needed to do was follow the mass of tainted energy they were exuding. But if Kagome was there, why didn't he feel any pure energy coming from her or the Shikon no Tama?
As he got closer to the X-eggs, a low hum filled his ears, and he could feel a power different from the X-eggs radiating from the area. The energy led him to the park where he found dozens of the X-eggs all floating around one lone figure with long, dark hair, surrounded by that strange energy.
Oh, no.
Ikuto bolted to Kagome, roaring her name as he ran. The eggs rushed at him and hit him onto the ground as though protecting Kagome from him. Ikuto signaled at Yoru for a character transformation, and he, as Black Lynx, charged at Kagome, blocking the X-eggs with his metal claw. Ikuto stopped suddenly when Kagome turned around to look at him. Her pupils were completely dilated, leaving no sign of her beautiful blue irises and her eyes an emotionless black. She extended her hand with the Shikon jewel clutched in it, emitting a dark purple glow. Eventually, the glow began taking shape and soon, a blade was gripped tightly in Kagome's palm, the jewel transforming into the sword. Kagome lunged at Ikuto, blade swinging and face twisted in concentration. What was going on?
"Kagome!" he called, fighting off Kagome's attacks. "Kagome, it's me, Ikuto! Snap out of it, dammit!"
If Kagome heard Ikuto, she made no indication. She plowed on with her deadly attacks which were blocked off by Ikuto one by one. She didn't utter one word except for "Embryo." He knew immediately this was all Hoshina's doing. But how did he do it?
Kagome continued to slash at Ikuto's body only to be blocked by his metal claw. Eventually, she landed a blow on him, and a bloody gash ran from Ikuto's chest to the opposite side of his lower abdomen. Kagome ran at him again, sword swinging, and Ikuto barely managed to deflect her. They stood like that for a bit, putting all their strength into their weapons. When Ikuto faltered slightly, he let out a small gasp of pain, and for a moment, Kagome's eyes returned to normal.
"Ikuto?" she whispered, horrified with herself.
"K-Kagome, are you okay?" Ikuto muttered, his voice raw with pain and emotion. Kagome was still there. She was okay, just... possessed.
"No... H-help me," Kagome whispered once more before her eyes turned black once more, and she jumped back from him. After a moment to pause, she lunged once more, her blade swinging dangerously. Ikuto, despite his wound, managed to dodge and effectively knock Kagome down and the blade from her grasp. The blade clattered to the ground and slowly morphed back into the jewel. Ikuto's blue eyes widened at the sight of the dark purple jewel.
"It feels like an X-egg," Yoru whimpered inside his mind.
"I know," Ikuto answered before pushing the chara's thoughts from his mind and turning his attention back to his fight with Kagome. But while he was talking with Yoru, Kagome had managed to snatch back the Shikon and turn it back into her sword.
But before either of them could make a move, Amu ran in as Amulet Heart and Shippou with his fox fire aglow and donning his Hello Kitty boxers.
"Kagome-chan!"
"Okaa-chan!"
Kagome's cold, onyx eyes widened a fraction at the two new people. Immediately, she turned and ran, jumping over trees and sprinting faster than Shippou ever could.
Ikuto heard Shippou drop his sword to the ground, clanging as it fell, and said in a distraught whisper, "Kagome... what the hell happened?"
Amu, on the other hand, was hard at work purifying the X-eggs that were wreaking terror on the park.
Suddenly, the pain from Ikuto's chest wound seeped in, and he dropped on the ground to his knees, back in his normal clothes and Yoru beside him. But despite the agony, Ikuto couldn't get that one image out of his head.
The Shikon no Tama had lost its pure glow, tainted by the X-eggs' energy.
What a shitload of trouble this was gonna be.
I hope it was worth the wait... It took me forever to write this and even longer to come up with it. But right now, it's 3 a.m. and Kana-chan's gonna get some sleep.
Ooh, and by the way. To those who watch Asian dramas. Do you have any suggestions? 'cause I seriously have no more to watch. I don't care what language it is. Taiwanese, Korean, Japanese, whatever. I like 'em all, as long as they've got cute and fluffy moments in 'em. Any recommendations at all will be VERYVERYVERY appreciated!
And so is feedback. ^^