A/N: Yello! Back again! It's amazing what a difference having a few reviews can do to a gal's creativity. Thank you all so much for reviewing. It means so much to know that people enjoy this story as much as I love writing it!
A warning: parts of this chapter are a little more adult. Nothing too specific or blatant but I wanted to warn any young'uns out there.
Also, this chapter focuses almost entirely on Inu Yasha and Kagome. Sorry, but none of the crew back in NYC this chapter; it just didn't feel right yet. I feel kind of guilty, but I liked writing this chapter because I could focus on the two main characters so much.
Enough of that. On with da story!
Back safely in the car, Kagome thought that perhaps she should have stuck with gas stations.
TEN MINUTES EARLIER
As Kagome entered the restaurant, a feeling of confusion washed over her: It was empty. The entire restaurant was empty! As she approached the un-manned counter, she peered into the empty kitchen beyond and felt a twinge of annoyance.
Alrighty. I'll pee and we'll get out of here, I guess. You'd think they'd lock the doors or turn off the lights if they're not open… right?
Kagome shrugged and looked around for the women's room. She finally found it across from the kitchen entrance and couldn't resist peeking her head into kitchen. Where is everyone?! I'm hungry, dammit! Inu Yasha won't stop again until we're in friggin' Arkansas! …if that's even on the way…
Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt a dull and heavy object making contact with her hindquarters.
"KKYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Kagome had fallen onto the floor of the kitchen, leaving the door propped open accidentally by her foot.
"Goodness!" A sweet southern accent drawled into Kagome's conscious. She looked up and saw the bathroom door being held open by a matronly woman with a cashier's uniform, a name tag proudly introducing "CLARA" and an indecipherable expression on her face. Seeing what must be a customer sprawled on the floor, the woman's hand flew to cover her mouth. "I'm so sorry! Are you alright?" the woman said. Kagome smiled weakly and expected CLARA to then either help her to stand or take some recompense to make up for scaring the snot out of a customer.
Much to her chagrin, CLARA took no such action, but instead looked relieved that the customer wasn't mad. Then, as if remembering her training, she pasted on a vapid smile and went into her rehearsed line, "Can I help yew?"
Again, shock impeded Kagome from doing more than mutely shaking her head. Seemingly satisfied by this answer, CLARA creased her ample cheeks into the resemblance of a smile once more and turned to re-enter the women's room, closing the door behind her.
Wha… what just happened here?
Driven by curiosity and a "Danger-Implosion-Imminent" bladder, Kagome pulled herself up and entered the women's room.
It was a single, large room with a solitary and rather dingy-looking stall on one side and a sink with a rusty-framed mirror on the other. It was next to the mirror and sink that she found CLARA with what must have been the only other employee of this fine establishment. Her initial irritation at finding ALL the staff in the bathroom AT THE SAME TIME quickly dissipated when she noticed the other woman was a girl not much older than Kagome, with a bad dye job and heavily-painted eyes puffy and red from crying. She sniffed pathetically and chewed on a fingernail after handing an obnoxiously pink cell phone to CLARA.
CLARA smiled encouragingly at the other girl and seemed to either not notice or not care that Kagome had followed her into the restroom. As she lifted the phone to her ear, CLARA delicately removed and held her chewing gum between her forefinger and thumb. With a hand on her hip and a small shift of weight, the metamorphosis was complete. Right before Kagome's eyes she watched the woman morph from a faded southern belle to Jerry Springer trailer-trash. With a sudden and violent wrench, CLARA cracked her neck and squared her shoulders.
"Now, yew lissen here, hon."
It was obvious to Kagome that this was not going to be pretty. Nor was it going to be private. Feeling herself flush from embarrassment, she shielded her eyes from the increasingly louder scene and sought sanctuary in the one bathroom stall.
Unfortunately for her, the acoustics were such that were CLARA whispering, Kagome would have heard every syllable.
"…I know thangs have bin hard.I know how hard thangs are for yew. But yew jes lissen ta me. I've got her wit' me right now and let me tell yew, she is ga-reeving. Mm-hmm. She cain't stop cryin, Jimmy! … I know, I know…"
Kagome was sitting there, trying desperately to do her business as quickly as possible and get out of this horrible place. In Japan it is extremely rude to conduct such personal and emotional business in a public place. As if that weren't enough to make her uncomfortable, these women knew perfectly well that there was a complete stranger in the very same room at that moment but really didn't seem to care! And to top it all off, Kagome had this… thing… about going potty around other people.
ARGH! So… awkward… I can't pee with all this noise going on… but if I do pee, those people will hear it even over their stupid phone call!
CLARA was reaching new levels of pissy with 'Jimmy' and the girl in the corner seemed to be crying loudly again.
"I KNOW, JIMMEH. But yew lissen 'a me. Yew don' jes walk out like that. It's wrong! To walk out on 'er… AT A FUNERAL?!"
Kagome couldn't stand it anymore. A FUNERAL? What is wrong with these people?! With this outrageous development, Kagome let out a snort of laughter before she could catch herself. Snapping her hands over her mouth to stifle the fit of giggles threatening to over-take her, the pressure finally won over her embarrassment. She felt the laughter melt away as she was finally able to relieve herself. After cleaning herself up and delaying as long as possible, Kagome finally bit the bullet and left the safety of the bathroom stall.
Prepared for stony silence and piercing gazes for intruding on such an important situation, Kagome was instead completely ignored again. Telling herself that she might as well finish her business here, she boldly walked past CLARA to the sink and began washing her hands, all the while praying no one would say anything to her. When she went to grab for a paper towel, though, Kagome's heart nearly stopped when she felt a small tug on the hem of her shirt.
She looked down and saw the crying girl clinging to her shirt, looking beyond pitiful. Kagome felt a wave of compassion, thinking that this poor girl must be horrified that a complete stranger overheard the pathetic details of her love-life. Instead the girl pointed over Kagome's shoulder.
"Could yew hand-me one? (sniffle)"
It took her a moment to realize that this woman just wanted a paper towel, presumably with which to blow her now dripping nose. Kagome forced herself to smile as she handed a paper towel to the woman on the floor.
"(sniffle) Thanks." The woman smiled and inhaled deeply before blowing her nose loudly into the towel. The blow lasted for at least ten seconds, it had to have, Kagome thought in horrified amazement. After a few auxiliary attempts, she wrenched her face into a look of extreme concentration and hawked an enormous loogie into the remnants of the paper towel. With a last pitiful sniffle she handed the towel back to a shocked Kagome who's hand was still numbly extended.
"I'd appreciate it if yew'd throw tha' away fer me, too. (sniff)"
Kagome let the paper fall from her hand into the waste bin on the other side of the sink. Once more she scrubbed her hands with scalding water and soap, never letting the plastic smile leave her face. She turned the water off, shook out her hands and reached to get a towel and get out of this nightmare. She stopped short once more, however, when she saw that there were no more towels left.
Wiping her hands on her shirt, Kagome turned to flee from the room before her good Japanese upbringing failed her and she opened a can of 'crazy-bitch' on these two psychopaths. As she jerked the door open she heard CLARA break-off in mid-rant to call after Kagome, "Oh, y'all come on back an' see us again!"
Not trusting herself to answer Kagome made a break for it and ran all the way back to the car, past a confused and flustered Inu Yasha and didn't stop until she was buckled into her seat and gripping the dash board. She briefly noted in passing that he seemed to be hiding something behind his back but didn't care. Kagome wanted some serious distance between herself and that bathroom.
When it became obvious that Inu Yasha didn't know how to react, she rolled down the window and thumped the side of the Volvo with her palm while yelling, "YO! LET'S MOVE-IT DOG BOY!"
--
After a few miles down the road, Kagome felt a little more relaxed about everything. Inu Yasha had thought it hilarious. He still couldn't look at her without having to stifle a laugh. This enabled Kagome's mind to wander once more until her stomach pointedly reminded her that she had only emptied one tank without filling the other.
"Inu Yaaaashhhaaaa…" Kagome whined.
His ears flattened slightly. "I hate it when you do that."
Taking a deep breath Kagome upped the ante by driving her pitch even higher, "Innuu Yaaaaaaaasssshhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…" She punctured the performance by adding a pouty lower lip and what she hoped looked like sad puppy-dog eyes.
She tried not to let him see her smile when his ears folded even further back.
"Nani?"
"What is it?
"Watashi no hara…"
"My stomach…"
"Eh? Hara-kiri ka? Ra-ki no hi, ne?"
"Eh? Hara-kiri? It's my lucky day, huh?"
"Urasai, inu- baka!"
"Quiet, stupid-dog!"
"Seriously, though, Inu Yasha, I'm starving! Can't we stop at a truck stop or something? Please?" She put her hands together over her head, as though offering a prayer at the temple of irritable-hanyou.
"Feh. Not until we're out of Iowa."
At that moment, Kagome thought that if there were any justice in the world, she would be able to flatten her own ears to show her displeasure. Scowling apparently was not sufficient to affect Inu Yasha.
Through gritted teeth she said in a low growl, "We just got to Iowa."
He seemed positively cheerful by the prospect and smiled broadly. "Yep. Don't worry, though. We're about half-way there."
Kagome perked. "Really?! I thought Iowa was bigger than—"
Inu Yasha interrupted her. "That's not what I meant. I mean that we're about half-way to Vegas."
"Oh." Kagome grew quiet. For some reason this was unsettling. She hadn't really thought about what would happen when they got to Las Vegas. Her stomach complained again as though agreeing that this was not a good time to start thinking about the end of their trip.
It was late afternoon and the air had turned into a steam that seemed to suck the air out of Kagome's lungs. She'd never actually been outside of New York before. So far some parts of America had been absolutely breath-taking. Rural Pennsylvania especially caught her fancy. That was her favorite part about visiting the country-side in Japan: the trees.
The middle of the country was far-less pleasing it seemed. Somewhere she'd hear about the different "belts" in America. The Bible Belt in the South, the Rust Belt in the Northeast. Now she knew why they called it the Rust Belt. The big cities weren't that bad but the small towns seemed to be like pockets where they'd traveled backwards through time.
"So I guess it's your lucky day."
Kagome snapped back to reality at Inu Yasha's words. "Oh? And why is that?"
Instead of an answer, he just pointed a claw at the fuel gauge which was pointing at "E".
Kagome clapped her hands together excitedly while bouncing in her seat and saying, "YAY!" repeatedly. Inu Yasha just smirked in reply.
They took the next exit and turned into the first gas station they could find. As they were getting out of the car Kagome remembered something.
"Inu Yasha?"
He was standing inside the opened car door, surveying the area. She thought he might not have heard until, without looking at her, he muttered, "What?"
"Oh. Remember when we stopped earlier? How did the tires look?"
At this, the hanyou spun around to look at her suspiciously. "Why do you ask?" he asked a little too quickly.
"Uh, maybe because I'm curious? This isn't my car, remember? Sango-chan loves this car more than her life—or mine! I don't want anything to happen to it… Besides, I think my side does look a little low."
"Keh. What do you know? I looked at t before and it was just fine."
Kagome had closed her door and was now peering down at the tire intently. She stood up again with a frown. "It looks like someone hit a curb or something…"
Inu Yasha turned to avoid eye-contact. Rubbing a finger under his nose, he sniffed and replied, "Well, gee. I guess it's impossible that your precious Sango-chan could have possibly hit a curb! It had to have been me!"
"…I never said it was you. It couldn't have been—I've been in the car with you, remember?"
Inu Yasha coughed guiltily. "Oh, uh, right. No possible way."
Kagome tucked her arms thoughtfully around her waist as she surveyed the damaged wheel further. "You know… hmm… its funny, but this almost looks like someone… bent the hubcap or something. But what kind of idiot would do that? You don't think someone was trying to steal our caps, do you?" She said with sudden anxiety.
Inu Yasha snorted. "Off this car? You can't be serious." He looked around uncomfortably. "Look, I thought you were dying of starvation? They've got a sign up that says they have a buffet inside." Inu Yasha pointed behind Kagome to divert her attention away from the rim he'd bent earlier that morning.
Thankfully for him, she took the bait and hopped off happily towards the promise of large quantities of greasy foods.
--
Jakken checked the time again. It had already been 36 hours since Lord Sesshoumaru's mission began and he was no closer to getting the sword from the half-breed Inu Yasha. His first step had been to go to Las Vegas. Jakken may not have been a smart demon but he knew that he personally would have no chance of taking the sword himself by force. He did know, however, that Inu Yasha was headed for Las Vegas. Why bother racing when he could wait at the finish line? He'd sent out messages to some of the high-profile demons for hire to try and finish the job while the sword was in transit, if possible.
A cold breeze blew through the room and Jakken shivered in disgust. He knew the wind quite well, as it belonged to a demon who was infatuated with Lord Sesshoumaru. The air was filled with the scent of exotic flowers as the wind began to turn faster and faster upon itself, first forming a funnel, then slimming and shaping into an hour-glass and finally exploding once again, sending objects and toad demons alike flying. In the midst of the maelstroms' wake now stood a strikingly beautiful woman with cream-colored skin and hair so dark that all light seemed to have disappeared from it. Her icy blue-green eyes had a haughty defiance to them. They sent an unmistakable challenge to anyone who looked into them. Aside from her ears delicately ending in a point and the whole being-one-with-the-wind-thing, one would never suspect she was actually a 400 year-old demon.
She wore a traditional kimono of particularly fine make. Its varying shades of light and darker pinks accentuated her eyes and the swirls of colors mimicked the wind on which she rode. When she spoke it was in sharp words and quick to the point. "What do you want with me, wretched creature?"
Jakken had fallen from his chair during her entrance and was currently disentangling himself from the curtains when she spoke. Trying desperately to preserve the little dignity he had left, he bowed deeply to the woman before responding.
"My lady. My master, the extraordinary Lord Sesshoumaru wishes to engage your invaluable services for a mission of the utmost import on his behalf."
She eyed him warily. "Well said, toad. And what would your master have of Kagura?"
"My Lady Kagura," Jakken bowed and began again. "There is something of my master's which has been… misplaced," he finished delicately.
Kagura laughed heartily, betraying the elegance she eminated. "Don't be coy with me. Lord Sesshoumaru would have your oily tongue if he heard you say that. 'Misplaced'? HA. You mean 'stolen'." She grinned viciously at him. He gulped and nodded quietly, unwilling it seemed to offer more information as of yet. Kagura paced and fiddled absently with her earrings. They each consisted of three pearls, each slightly smaller and all the exact shade of her exquisite eyes. After a moment she rounded on Jakken and spoke again.
"Any fool who dares to steal from Lord Sesshoumaru cannot possibly know what they're dealing with. It would be suicidal to cross the great inu youkai. And yet… Something tells me…" her voice faded as she stared down Jakken. "…something tells me that there is such a fool. A fool who unfortunately shares the blood of our illustrious lord but none of his refinement." She bore down on Jakken until she was towering over him, looking imperiously down upon him with her frozen eyes and a wicked smile.
"Tell me, my slimey toad. What has the half-breed stolen from its rightful owner?"
--
Kagome's hopes of a food smorgasbord dissipated the moment she walked through the doors. She was so hungry she was willing to eat at a truck stop in the middle of po-dunk Iowa but she wasn't this hungry.
The station was poorly lit, even for midday. The windows were so caked with dust and lord only knows what else that no light could make it through. The people inside the rest stop seemed about as clean as the windows and she didn't even want to think about what was making that god-awful smell.
None-the-less, Kagome was desperate. She started breathing through her mouth and began her march towards the grease-smeared glass display case containing the alleged "buffet".
The man standing behind the counter looked like he weighed about as much as Kagome but stood probably over six feet tall. It was hard to tell exactly how tall the man was as his slouching took at least three to four inches off his height. His hair was probably blonde under the layers of grease. Kagome was struck with the terrible image of the man scraping grease off the window of the buffet and slicking his hair back with it and covering all but his long rat-tail with a black mesh hair-net big enough for a mouse to crawl through.
As she got close enough to see inside the glass, however, the man bent down under what must have been a counter and returned with a sign reading "BACK IN MINUTES".
Sighing, Kagome decided to try her luck with the bathrooms here, lest she make them stop again later. She spotted the obligatory sign indicating the restrooms to be down a dark hallway leading past the buffet. Kagome braced herself and began to walk resolutely into the hallway, determined not to let the truckers notice her hesitation to go into the dimly lit corridor alone.
After a few steps, however, Kagome was no longer alone. A door had suddenly opened to reveal the man from behind the buffet counter, looking over his shoulder but apparently not even noticing Kagome. She waited for him to turn and go back towards the front area from which she came but to her vexation, he instead headed straight towards the restroom.
Knowing my luck it's a unisex, single toilet bathroom and I'll have to wait ten minutes for him to leave. And mm-mmm, I bet that'll smell good.
She shuddered at the thought and felt a moment of relief when the man walked right past the restroom to another door that was made of heavy metal. He reached up with a fist and pounded viciously on the door a few times, stopping Kagome in her tracks. She was completely in the darkness in this particular spot and felt her heart racing. This is like something from a horror-movie! They probably keep bodies of random travelers in there and he's letting them know that there's fresh meat here!
Again the man pounded on the door but this time, before he could finish, a flap in the door opened—it reminded Kagome of a porthole. She couldn't see a face but heard quite clearly a woman's thick country accent angrily declare, "Look, I told you I won't buy any!"
Kagome's heart stopped in her chest. What was going on here, some illicit drug ring? The woman obviously knew the man but refused to open the door for him. Heck, she was downright hostile towards him! Before she could finish concocting her conspiracy, however, the man yelled his immediate response, "Dammit, I jes wan' a light bulb!"
After a moment of silence, the door opened grudgingly and the man disappeared again. Kagome felt her face fall into an expression of exasperation. She couldn't tell if that was some bizarre code or if that man really just wanted a light bulb. She ducked into the bathroom and stood with her back to the door, telling herself that she was being ridiculous and paranoid.
That was something else, though…
The bathroom had several stalls, as it turned out; one of which was currently occupied. She quietly stepped into the other stall as the occupant next to her flushed and exited the stall. As she heard the water running, she looked at the door of her stall and froze.
It had been a simple door; just unvarnished wood, she guessed. It was impossible to tell now, though, as it was literally covered in writing. Not your typical graffiti of "I love so and so" or "Call so and so for a good time", etc. No, this was like a log… Anyone sitting in this stall would know exactly who had had ahem …adult relations… right where Kagome was sitting. Most signatures were dated and some even had the time listed. And the entire stall was covered with entries.
Horrified Kagome finished her business and ran back to the safety of the outside world. Inu Yasha was looking at the front right tire and swearing softly to himself until he saw Kagome's expression and stopped in mid-curse.
"What happened now? Where's the food? All you bitc—uh—whining made me hungry too."
Kagome didn't break stride as she blew past him. "Nope. Not here. We need to leave here." She closed the door and strapped herself in to make her point perfectly clear.
"Oi. Maybe you didn't hear me…"
"In! Now!" Kagome barked at him. With his ears folded back and a scowl on his face he got back into the car.
"So what, you think we've got all the time in the world?!" Inu Yasha complained as they got back on the highway. Raising his voice he mocked Kagome's unspoken words. "Oh, let's stop and have a picnic! Oh, but not here! It's not good enough for me—try again, Inu Yasha!"
"That's not fair! YOU wouldn't want to eat there, either—trust me, buddy." Kagome told him about the grease and the smell and the lightbulb and the bathroom. To her immense satisfaction Inu Yasha stopped making fun of her about not eating there. Even though he didn't come straight out and say she was right, Kagome knew the victory was hers.
They rode for a few more miles, looking hopefully at each new sign for the telltale "FOOD" signs. As the sun began to set they finally found a decent motel with a 24 hour diner attached. Kagome waited for a table while Inu Yasha checked them in. If he was ever away from the car, now, he had the long leather case over his shoulder. Kagome was wondering how long they would get away with carrying it in public when the hanyou plopped down across from her in the booth.
They grabbed the menus and began searching in mutual silence. Food was priority at the moment. When their pleasantly plump waitress brought breadstick and took their orders Inu Yasha ordered the top cut steak, rare. Kagome ordered the chicken-fried steak and egg breakfast. After the waitress left Inu Yasha lifted an eyebrow in what was either respect or disbelief.
Kagome caught his look and sputtered, "What?! I don't really know when I'm gonna eat again, okay? I need the calories!" Her cheeks were stained a rose color as she jutted her chin defiantly at him as she tore off a bite of breadstick.
Inu Yasha just laughed. "Yeah, you could! That highway has more curves than you do. Ha!"
"Excuse me! In case you haven't noticed, Asian women aren't built to be curvy!" She retorted hotly.
"True, true. But you're too small. What I like is a woman who can fill her kimono."
"Pig." Kagome stuck her tongue out and crossed her arms in a pout. The only thing that ruined the effect was her poorly-suppressed smile.
He laughed and shook a finger at her. "Dog, honey. I'm half dog."
"And all pig, I say!" Kagome laughed and lobbed a chunk of breadstick at him.
Inu Yasha held his hands up to defend the yeasty attack. Laughing, too he said, "Yeah, a pig you're in love with!"
"…………" Kagome stopped laughing. The rose and all color had drained from her face. Inu Yasha saw the tears beginning to form and cloud her dark eyes before she slid out from the booth and left for the restroom.
Reaching vainly after her he watched her disappear into no-man's-land. Taking the last breadstick he stuffed it all into his cheeks and muttered softly to himself, "… crap…"
A/N: A nice long chappie. Hope you like...