A/N: Okay, now before any of you who are still reading this kill me, just remember: a corpse can't update at all! (braces for the beatings to begin)
Now, an actual note for this chapter:
This is where the real plot is starting (in this and chapter 7). There are some serious parts and I hope you guys approve of how I wrote that particular scene. We also get to meet the bad guys in this chappie! So busy! My, my, my…
Well, you know what to do. READ! REVIEW! PLEASEDON'TKILLME!
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Kagome thought about her options:
A) Run and try to catch the bus at a light or another stop.
B) Run home and change and call a taxi to take her to school.
C) Just call a taxi and go through the day looking like a detergent commercial.
D) Curling into the fetal position and crying.
Option D was sounding really good, but her feet were already moving in the direction of her apartment.
If I have to deal with Inu Yasha again, goodness only knows what he'll come up with… I should at least change. If I don't make it to class—so what? I'll probably just have to go up to Hunting after class and beg for my test back. Nothing major. Oh God, I'm screwed…
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…
As she reached her hand out to turn the door knob, Sango was surprised to find it was already turning of its own accord. And now the door was opening-and hitting her face. Oh good.
"Oh! Sango-chan! Gomennasai!"
"Oh! Sango-chan! I am so sorry!"
"Iiye… i… itaii…"
"No problem… oh… ouch…"
Planning to play it up and get some pity points, Sango looked up expecting to find a repentant and fretting Kagome where there was only an empty hallway.
"Kagome? Where…?"
Muffled by the mostly closed bedroom door, Sango heard her roommate call to her. "Oh, I'm changing real quick—hey, do you know a good cabbie service to call?" Once she identified where her friend was, Sango went to the door so as to not shout across the apartment and potentially wake the neighbors. It was only about 7:20, after all.
"What? Kagome, what's going on? Wait. Why are you here? You'll miss your bus!"
"Been there, done that." As Kagome dashed out of the room the door nearly hit Sango again, but she was ready for it this time. Easily dodging and catching the door while looking after her friend, Sango repeated herself.
"So… what happened? Why did you need to change? And you'll never catch a cab at this hour!"
"I know… I tripped and spilled my coffee on myself and while I was cleaning it up I missed the bus. I don't want to spend the day filthy and I'm already running behind, so I figured I might as well change and just call a stupid cab that I don't have the money for." Sarcastically she asked her friend, "So how's your morning going?"
"Kagome… listen: I don't have to go to work today… why don't you just..." Sango paused as if what she was about to say was a source of physical pain. "Why don't you… borrow my …car?"
Kagome froze for a moment, starring at her friend. Suddenly she rushed to the window, searching the sky frantically.
Sango had a feeling what was coming but took the bait anyway. "What are you doing Kagome-chan?"
"Looking for the aliens that abducted the real you! The Sango I know and love would never—"
That was all she got to say before the pillow hit the backside of her head.
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…
Okay… I can still make it to class on time! If, that is, there's nobody on the road at 7:45 on a Friday morning in New York City. …I am so screwed. But I have to try!
And try she did. Valiantly, in fact. Unfortunately, her efforts were in vain.
Looking at her watch reading 8:01, Kagome felt like crying as she power-walked her way to her classroom on the fourth floor. The elevator was out of order so she had to do it the old fashioned way.
She braced herself as she approached the door, wincing in advance as she turned the knob to face the full wrath of Professor Hunting.
Oddly, however, the handle would not turn. It was locked. Kagome's eyes flew open to look down at the knob as if this would somehow solve her problem. Naturally, it did not. But as her gaze moved up to the small window in hopes of catching someone's eye and mercifully being let in, all she saw was darkness and a piece of paper taped to the door:
NOTE:
Class for Prof. Hunting for Friday is cancelled. Will meet next on Monday.
Kagome could scarcely believe her luck. This was too good to be true! She closed her eyes and said a quick prayer to whatever deity or spirit was looking after her. Her mood quite lifted, she decided today was going to be a good day after all.
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She'd never realized how long her math class was until she had to kill that much time. Kagome ended up just walking over to the little private elementary school next to the campus to read a library book under a tree. As she listened to the sounds of life around her, the sun gently warming her between the leaves and branches above her, Kagome felt the rarest of pure emotions: undiluted happiness.
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Sango loved it when her boss messed up on the schedule. Sure she needed all the work she could get, but everyone needs some time off every once in awhile. Still in her pajamas, she went downstairs to check their mail. She usually did this anyway since Kagome barely had time to see two steps ahead of herself. But they'd both been so busy the last week or so that their box was nearly overflowing.
After a few awkward tries, she managed to get everything. As she closed the door, however, she saw one more letter trapped in the side of the box. Sighing to herself, she shifted the bulk in her arms around until she could get at the letter. It was tightly wedged in between the side of the box and the eighth of and inch that wrapped from the bottom up to the sides. Sango thought darkly to herself: why do they even have that?
Once all the mail was free, she waddled her way back up to the room to begin the sorting.
Kagome… Kagome… Me… Kagome… Kagome… Kago—why the hell does she get so much more mail than me? …Kagome… Me… Resident… Kagome… Me… Kago—hmm… this one's in Japanese.
Sango turned over the letter that had been stuck in the mailbox earlier to examine it better. At first, she'd assumed it was from home but that didn't seem right as her mom usually tried to write in English. Mrs. Higurashi was so cute sometimes. But this one seemed different. And goodness knows how long it was in their like that… I guess I'll just let Kagome know about it when she gets home…Sango chewed on her lips in her curiosity. Just who sent this? The only people she talks about from home are her family and …well she did mention that one guy the time I got her smashed… but she said it was a one-sided crush, so I seriously doubt its him. But then again, she can be really clueless sometimes…
Her face was marred by warring emotions: temptation to snoop into her friend's mail and knowing the consequences it would bring. While her mind was busy trying to settle on what to do her hands began moving of their own accord. By the time she'd accepted that a slow and torturous death was not worth waiting until Kagome got home, she looked down to see the envelope torn open.
Well, no point in not reading it now…
The letter was penned in immaculate Japanese. A flood of nostalgia hit Sango. It had been a long time since she'd seen proper writing like this.
"Dear Kagome-san,
As I was finishing packing I was struck by the terrible need to send one last note before I left. I know that my last letter was a bit forward and may have surprised you, but I must admit that I was worried when you didn't call me to let me know your feelings like I had so boldly requested.
Then I understood: it is most expensive to call Japan from America, isn't it? Please forgive my insensitivity to your situation. I assure you I never meant to make you feel uncomfortable!
This brings me to my reason for writing you again. As I stated in the previous letter, I have spoken with your family on this matter and they all heartily approve. If they haven't mentioned it to you yet, I apologize, but I asked them not to.
My dear Kagome-chan, please, do not feel obligated. I have been planning to visit America anyway, so if this isn't what you want, I can still go on with my trip—no hard feelings. I promise.
Well, I have to go. I'm not sure how long it takes a letter to go from Japan to you, but I hope this gets to you before you pick me up at the airport. If not, then maybe I'll wait outside while you read it. Remember: I land at 3:43 PM Eastern Standard time. I can't wait to see you again!
-Hojo"
Sango sat in stunned silence for a moment, the paper held taught between her two hands, and trembling like the rest of her body.
What the hell is this?! Friday? This Friday? Why is this guy so freaking vauge? …but… Kagome-chan never told me about …well ANYTHING like this! She's getting married? How could she keep this from me? She is so dead when she gets home!
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Kagome waltzed into the DMV humming gently to herself. Her day had already been a roller coaster ride of ups and downs so she felt unshakable. Today was Friday. She got to drive Sango's car. She didn't miss her math class because it was mercifully cancelled. Add to that a few hours of reading a favorite book under an obliging tree and things were getting frighteningly close to good. And… she would get to see Inu Yasha at least one more time.
She couldn't think of any other possible way for him to screw up—he had to take the test today. Now if he just so happens to fail on his own, now that's another story completely. A deliciously evil smirk found its way to Kagome's face. If he fails, then she'll get to see him again…
With a heavy sigh the smirk fell away. I really need to get this guy out of my head. This is very unhealthy. Not to mention unprofessional. With the last thought she looked over to see what Mary 1 and 2 were up to. Mary 1 had fallen asleep in mid-knit and Mary 2 was busy doing today's crossword puzzle. Oh yeah. I'm the disgrace of the DMV.
Alright. 11:57. He should be here soon. For some reason, Kagome was nervous. Suddenly her chair was uncomfortable. Her skirt felt too short. Her hair wouldn't behave itself—at one point she swore she heard it growl at her attempts to tame her bangs.
11:58. AGH! Why is time moving so slowly? Deep breaths, Kagome. Deep. …why am I so worked up over this? I'm the one giving the test, not taking it. There's no way for me to screw things up here. …On the other hand…
Kagome's thoughts were interrupted by the door opening. There was no tinkling bell today—after yesterday's fiasco they had barely been able to tape the door back together.
After carefully replacing the door to its resting place, Inu Yasha slowly and purposefully turned to face Kagome. From the way his hat tilted and shaded his eyes from the florescent glow, she half expected to hear music from a bad spaghetti western in the background. He just gave a brief nod to the Marys and looked at Kagome again.
"Let's do this."
"Papers."
"Read 'em and weep, wenc—uh, …Miss DMV," he concluded lamely.
"Well it looks like you're ready. As you so eloquently put it: Let's do this." Kagome grabbed her red pen and clipboard and began to lead the way. When they reached the door, Inu Yasha neatly jumped in front of her.
"Allow me." He lifted the door and held it out of the way while she passed through.
Flattered and blushing just a little, Kagome smiled as she waited for him to catch up. "Thank you. Wow. I never figured you for the gentlemanly type."
"Keh. What the hell are you going on about? There's no way a skinny thing like you could lift that door. We'd be here all day if I waited for you to move it by yourself. And then you'd get a splinter and start crying… and then I wouldn't be able to take my damn test AND my ears would hurt. I'd rather move the damn thing myself."
As he sauntered by coolly, Kagome felt her face burning with humiliation and pain. That was really uncalled for. Her mind flipped through her retaliatory tactics: yelling? No… Crying? Definitely not—that's too risky, he might see through it. Silent treatment? Perfect.
Without speaking or looking directly at him, Kagome followed Inu Yasha as he wove through the parking lot towards his car. After a few seconds, she could feel the air growing heavier by the second. His walk was definitely less cocky. He was questioning himself for saying those terrible things. Oh, I am good.
Trying not to smile while lost in her own small victory, she nearly bumped into Inu Yasha's backside when he came to a sudden stop. Forgetting her vengeance, Kagome broke the silence due to her irritation.
"Hey, easy with the brakes!" Kagome slipped into business mode: her voice lost its personality as she began to recite the usual spiel. "Now, I'll need your keys so that I can begin to… Hey! Are you even listening to me?"
He wasn't listening to her. He was frozen. As in not moving. She wasn't sure if he was even breathing, actually.
"Inu Yasha, what's—"
Suddenly Inu Yasha moved. Dropping to his knees, he wailed like his heart was broken. Like a child. But what started as sob ended in a wail of fury.
"What is going on! You're kind of scaring me, you know…" It was true, she didn't realize it but she had begun to back away from the crying hanyou.
It was barely a whisper when he finally spoke.
"How… how could he?"
The sudden speech startled Kagome. "Wait. What? Who? How could who what?" Mutely, Inu Yasha pointed a few feet in front of where he was crouching. It was his car. Or at least what was left of it. Probably. It was red, Kagome could tell that much for certain. What she couldn't figure out was when someone had had the chance to slash the tires, cut every wire, and cord in his engine AND set the car on fire. And do so without being noticed?
"Oh my… Inu Yasha… but…" Before her consolatory words could reach him, Inu Yasha had stopped his war cry and was speaking again.
"Do you have a car I could borrow?"
"What?"
Inu Yasha was standing now. Kagome could feel the hate and anger radiating from him. "But shouldn't we call someone to take care of—"
"No. I need my license. NOW." He turned to her and for the first time she saw the passion burning in his eyes. This wasn't the passion like in her day dreams. This wasn't from some trashy romance novel. This was the way a man looks when there is nothing but hatred in his soul. She felt like she had been hit in the stomach. Overwhelming.
This was frightening.
"Do-you-have…a …car?" He repeated himself. Kagome was frozen. She couldn't speak. She couldn't move. He wasn't the one she'd been dreaming and thinking about constantly for the last week. He wasn't. This was another man. This was something out of a nightmare and she didn't know if she could handle it.
Suddenly he lunged and grabbed her by her arms. His eyes were turning red. All she could do was cry silently while her mind screamed for her to run. His fingernails were beginning to dig into her arms, and she cried out in pain.
"I don't have time for this. The bastard is going to pay and soon." His voice had lost all traces of cockiness and turned to a deep and growling threat.
Panic was taking over Kagome's body when suddenly she heard a familiar voice in an unfamiliar context.
"Bullocks to the lot of ya! Good fer not'ins! Shoore, lat par little Meray poot out da fiyar!"
The flaming car behind them was being extinguished by Mary 1. Her tiny figure was nearly being knocked off of her feet by the power of the fire extinguisher but this was not a woman to be trifled with. She wouldn't be beaten quite so easily.
Mary 2 was running toward the stunned Inu Yasha and Kagome. "Dios mio! What are choo doing! In de light o' dey no less. Ef choo gonna play kissy-face don' do et here, mkay?"
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FIVE MINUTES LATER
"I told you—I wasn't going to kiss anybody!"
"Don't. You'll only encourage them."
"Hmph. Keh. …What time is it, anyway?"
Kagome looked at her watch. "12:43."
Inu Yasha mutely nodded. After the Marys came to the rescue Inu Yasha had passed out. It took all three of the women to drag him back into the office. And as if on cue as soon as they had gotten him into the room he immediately woke up and began to accuse them of molestation.
They sat in silence for a moment when suddenly Inu Yasha stood and faced Kagome.
"So. Don't tell me: I have to come back tomorrow?"
For a moment she was confused. "…wha… Oh. Well, hold on, I don't think I have anyone else scheduled for today… let me double check." After glancing at her calendar she smiled. "I believe it's your lucky day! I'm free until 4:00. That is—so long as we don't have any other walk-ins." She smiled and winked at him. She wanted to cheer him up but even more so wanted to not bring back the monster from the parking lot. She had been afraid for her life. He was dangerous—feral. She had been afraid of him.
She had heard of hanyou, sure. But she didn't really come across that many of them. It always made her so angry to hear about hanyou being discriminated, hated and even hunted. She had forgotten that Inu Yasha wasn't all human. He certainly didn't act like a demon. The only demons left in the modern world were cold, secluded and filthy rich.
Seeing the demon in Inu Yasha was like a shock of cold water. She had gotten carried away with her day dreams. It was time to get on with her life. Without Inu Yasha.
… Yeah, right! That's really lame, Kagome. Seriously, you're not the star of some shojo manga. Snap out of it!
"Keh. You've got a weird sense of luck." Inu Yasha's words helped to shake Kagome out of her thoughts.
"Hey! Be grateful! Now all we have to do is find a car for you to…" She stopped herself as it came to her.
The idea was a bad one. She knew it from the beginning. But she really wanted to do something nice for him. This guy had really had a crappy week and now someone totally destroys his car? His reaaally nice car, no less. Sango would kill her. But if she told Inu Yasha he had to come back again, he might beat Sango to the chase.
"Oi. Here in America we like to finish our sentences."
"Ah… Well, you see, we don't have a loaner car like some of the bigger offices in the city." She could see the frustration rising in his face and the tension in his clenched hands. "But! Heh heh, um it just so happens that I have my roommate's car today. So if you promise to be S-U-P-E-R careful, I guess I could let you use that one…"
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"Brr. What was that?" Sango felt a chill run down her spine. She held her arms around herself and rubbed them for warmth. After the feeling passed she returned to her task at hand. "Hmm. That was odd. Now, should I put the 'congrats' so she sees it when she walks in? Or maybe in the kitchen? Hmm…"
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It was truly a sight for sore eyes. The avocado green paint was peeling off the frame of Sango's 1980's station wagon. Rust accented the grotesque color and almost made it look like the car was bleeding slowly to death. Trying to turn on the engine only re-affirmed this feeling.
Inu Yasha grimaced as the engine gears grated against each other in their vain struggle for life. After pumping the gas pedal a few times he was able to coax the car into turning on.
Sitting in the passenger side of the front seat, Kagome had already begun sweating. This made her really nervous. Using her best friend's car for a stranger's driving test was beyond irresponsible. It was more along the lines of suicidal. Especially considering how protective Sango was.
"Whatta piece of crap."
"Hey! That is not your piece of crap so I don't want to hear it! If you've got nothing nice to say then zip it mister."
"Keh."
"Seriously, what is it with you and that noise? It's bizarre. Nobody makes noises like that."
"Shut up."
"Ooh. Nice vocab. Can I borrow your flash cards?"
"What?"
"Just pull out of the parking lot and turn left at the light."
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The cold voice that came through Jakken's cell phone never failed to remind him why not to piss off his boss. Jakken's boss was not to be taken lightly and definitely not to be disappointed.
"Let me use small words. Where. Is. The. Sword?"
Jakken felt like ice on the back of his neck. "W-well, my most honorable lord… I, that is… it was… he.."
". . ."
The silence coming from Jakken's boss made the ice spread through his neck and down his spine. It was hard to breathe when his boss was displeased.
"Please! Give me another chance! I thought he'd have it with him but it wasn't in his car like I thought! But don't worry, Sesshoumaru-sama, I saw it! He's carrying it on him! I—"
"Why, then, are you making me waste precious words? Jakken. I want that sword."
"Ye-yes, my lord! But, you see, he's not alone… he's in a different car now—there's this girl there and—"
"Jakken."
The poor toad demon cowered and flinched away from the phone involuntarily. Sesshoumaru knew no kindness. Jakken knew only fear—and absolute loyalty to the demon lord who froze blood with a single word.
"Ye-yes, my lord?"
"Do not bore me. The hanyo has been allowed to play but it is time to take away his toy. I do not care about humans. Do what it takes to bring me Tetsusaiga."
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A/N: Well, I know it's been a while and I am sorry for that. I'm just glad to be back to work on DMC.
Now on to chapter 7! Ha-ha!