A/N: Oh my gosh guys, I'm SO sorry for not updating! I was depressed that my soccer team was disbanded, and then Thanksgiving happened… Sorry! Xo Great news! My goal to reach 100 reviews is only 6 away! The hundredth reviewer gets the next chapter dedicated in their name! Review, review, review people! Also, chapter 17 will signify the beginning of the end. Don't panic, the end will take at least 5-10 chapters to explain! :D
Inuyasha POV:
Most awkward moment of my life up to date: a double date between me, Kagome, Rin, and Sesshomaru.
Ok, here's how this happened.
It was supposed to be between me, Kagome, Miroku, Sango, and then Rin and Sesshomaru. Then, Sango got sick, causing Miroku to drop out. So, it was just me and my brother as the sole males in the group. Now we had the slight problem of figuring out what to do.
The four of us were standing in front of Sesshomaru's house trying to decide.
"Sooo… go to the movies?" I suggested. My question was greeted enthusiastically.
"Let's go see that new chick-flick!" Kagome squealed. I made a face and opened my mouth, but Rin popped up before I could speak.
"Nah, I wanna see that comedy that just came out!" she said.
"What about that action film?" I called. Sesshomaru shook his head.
"How about that one about the emo serial killer?" he intoned flatly. Everyone looked at him, and then around at the rest of the group.
"Ooookaaaay… no movies…" Kagome groaned. I looked at her.
"Well then, what?" I queried.
"Bowling!" shrieked Rin. Sesshomaru frowned.
"Um, no… I don't really do any sport other than boxing… or soccer." He said lowly. Rin smiled.
"That's okay! No one said you had to play!" Kagome intervened.
"Swimming! We should all go swimming." Sesshomaru stared at her.
"No one has a bathing suit…." He said.
"Killjoy" she called, sticking out her tongue at him. I decided to make my opinion heard.
"Let's go eat!" I yelped. Eating was one of my favorite pastimes! Everyone looked around before giving small noises of assent.
"Where should we go?" asked Kagome.
"Myoga's!" I cried.
"NO!" the other three yelled as one. I flattened my ears to my head.
"Fine…" I muttered. "No need to go biting my head off…"
"May I suggest Peretii's?" my brother asked softly. "It has a four star rating."
"Like I could afford that!" I balked.
"I'll cover you if you like." He sneered. It didn't really have its usual effect due to his fading black eye. He had stitches removed last week, so I couldn't call him scar-head anymore. I reverted to his regular nickname, Fluffy-Maru.
"Yeah, that sounds good Fluffy-kins. You do that." He closed his eyes momentarily in annoyance.
"Dammit little brother, I will take this set of car keys, ram them down your throat and then make you drive. How does that sound?" He asked dangerously. I gulped while Kagome laughed at me from behind her hand.
"No, no that's fine, thanks Sessh." He nodded.
"Let's go then, I'm getting impatient just standing in front of my house." He called over his shoulder as he walked down his driveway to his shiny silver-and-blue Mustang.
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX
Kagome POV:
We arrived at Peretii's in short order, and I had to admit, the place looked nice. We were greeted by a man Sesshomaru seemed to know.
"Hello! Welcome to Peretii's, my name is Byakuya and- Sesshomaru! It's been a while buddy!" The black haired demon cried throwing his arm cheerfully around Sesshomaru's shoulder. Sesshomaru rolled his eyes and ducked out of the other man's hug.
"Hello, Byakuya." He responded dully and in some annoyance. The other demon gave a slight chuckle before speaking again in his lilting voice.
"Sorry, I always forget that you don't like being touched…" his eyes fell upon Rin, who was clinging to Sesshomaru's arm. "Unless it's by her, apparently." Sesshomaru cleared his throat in embarrassment.
"Well Byakuya, we did come here to eat, so if you wouldn't mind seating us…." He said calmly. Byakuya threw a dramatic arm across his forehead.
"Ah, Sesshomaru, as cold as ever!" his smile returned as his drama-king cover fell away and he got back to business. "But of course I'll seat you! I apologize." We were then led to our table. Byakuya pulled out a chair for Rin, and opposite from her Sesshomaru, next to Sesshomaru was me, and next to Rin was Inuyasha. I gave Sesshomaru a side-long look.
"I call for a Chinese Fire-drill!" I said to the other occupants of the table. Sesshomaru nodded.
"On my mark… one… two… three." Everyone got up and shuffled seats. However, it didn't really help anything. Sesshomaru and Inuyasha were next to each other while I was seated across from Inuyasha and Rin across from Sesshomaru.
"There!" I said cheerfully. "That's much better!"
"But I'm next to Sesshomaru…" whined Inuyasha. I sighed.
"Fine. Again!" I crowed, and once more everyone shuffled seats. At last I was next to Inuyasha and across from Rin, while Sesshomaru was next Rin and across from Inuyasha. "Is everyone happy now?" I asked in exasperation.
"They better be!" trilled Rin, "Because I'm not moving anymore!" Sesshomaru's lips curved up in a rare half-smile at her words, and I saw his diamond-hard eyes soften as he looked at her. I looked at Inuyasha, and he was making a paper airplane. I sighed internally. Why couldn't Inuyasha be romantic like that?
In the end, I ordered chicken cordon-blue, Inuyasha ordered Alfredo (he said it reminded him of Ramen…), Rin ordered a Rueben sandwich, and Sesshomaru ordered some kind of seafood soup-thingy. Everyone enjoyed themselves, and somehow, Inuyasha and Sesshomaru actually started having a civilized conversation. About boxing.
"So who is your next match against, little brother?" Sesshomaru inquired in utterly uncurious tones.
"Feh, just some guy called Goshinki." Inuyasha replied in an offhand voice. Sesshomaru's face darkened fractionally.
"You should be wary, Inuyasha." He said lowly. Inuyasha pricked his ears.
"If you're sayin' that, he must be trouble."
"He is. He's related to Naraku and is endowed with the unusual power to read minds." Inuyasha swore under his breath.
"Well then how the hell am I supposed to beat him?" cried the younger of the pair. Sesshomaru gave a humorless smirk.
"Think of nothing and act on instinct. Shouldn't be too hard for you, you're brainless to begin with." He said calmly as Inuyasha fumed. So much for a civilized conversation.
We departed shortly after and went our separate ways. I was close enough to home to walk, so Inuyasha accompanied me home. He and I took some of the less crowded back alleys to avoid getting crushed by rush-hour workers.
"So," I said with some satisfaction, "I noticed that you and Sesshomaru were semi-getting along."
"Feh," came his grouchy reply, "only cause he ain't in boxing this year. If he was still in the running there's no way he woulda told me how ta' beat Goshinki." I rolled my eyes at his lack of grammar.
"In any case-" I was cut off as his whole body stiffened, suddenly whipping around to face the opposite direction. "Inuyasha, what…" he narrowed his eyes and swept me up bridal-style, launching sprinting off in the other direction.
The world was a blur, but as the walls grew darker and more covered graffiti, I became aware of the screams of a young girl. The closer we got, the more I could hear.
"No! No, Naraku, please!"
"You are here only because I allow girl!" came the bellowed reply.
"I won't do it! You can't make me-kkkh!" her delicate voice was cut off in a choking cry. Inuyasha skidded to a halt, and I could make out the little girl. Barely more than twelve at the most, her porcelain skin contrasting with dark eyes was Kanna. Her feet dangled in open air as Naraku held her to the brick wall by her throat, pinning her there like a rare butterfly.
"N-no!" she rasped in her quiet voice as her cream fingers scrabbled uselessly at his much stronger hand. "I-I can't do it! K-killing h-him would-uhn!" her words ended with a soft gasp as Narku brought a blade up to press against her white throat. Black demons' blood started in a trickle down the side.
"Listen here you little freak." He snarled in her face. "You belong to me, and only me. You will do as I say, or face the consequences." He tightened his grip on her neck and she briefly tried to restore the flow of oxygen before passing out. As her dark pupils rolled up into her head, Inuyasha snapped.
He barreled forward, knocking the blade from Naraku's grasp and leaping on top of him with fierce pleasure at the chance to beat the other guy into a pulp. As the two demons rolled into the shadows of the alley with mingled snarling and cursing, I ran to Kanna's side. She lay crumpled on the ground where Naraku had left her, her glass limbs contorted into odd positions.
I lifter her head up with my arm and examined her cut. It wasn't bad, but it was enough to be uncomfortable. I tore a strip off her colorless dress and wrapped the makeshift bandage around her neck. To cover the small spot of blood I tugged out the white ribbon that had been in my hair, tying it into a sweet little bow around her ashen throat. The little glass strawberry that adorned the ribbon gleamed like a ruby against her skin.
She stirred faintly before her eyes flew open. She gave a panicked cry and tears brimmed in her eyes.
"I'm sorry!" she sobbed. "I'm sorry Naraku! No more, please! I'll do whatever you want, I promise! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" I made efforts so sooth the hysterical girl, my voice contrasting oddly with the swearing and screeching of the fight behind me.
"Shhhh, It's fine. It's okay now, you can relax." I murmured comfortingly. Her eyes widened at the sight of my face.
"You are… Kagome… right?" she asked in muted tones. I nodded and a tinge of fear slighted her eyes. "Naraku is planning something against you and your friends, you must leave here!" she cried fearfully.
"No, no, it's all right. Inuyasha is fighting Naraku now." I told her in my most soothing voice, despite the fact that her words had sent a violent chill flashing through my chest. Kanna shook her head firmly.
"Your interference will only make my punishment worse! Now that you know what Naraku does to us… he will have to kill you." I sucked in a breath. The other girl's reference to 'us' made me think that Naraku threatened all of his 'siblings' like this.
"Lie to him then! Tell him that…. That Inuyasha and I came with the sole intent of fighting him! Tell him that we didn't see!" I cried quickly. "Who was it that Naraku was trying to make you kill anyway?" I asked in morbid curiosity. She opened her mouth, but I never got my answer. A sudden bout of cursing drowned out her words. We both turned to see Inuyasha pull his claws out of Naraku's chest, trailing blood.
With a sudden 'Whoosh' a cloud of thick purple smoke billowed from the other demons' body. Inuyasha dropped to his knees clutching his throat before springing back out of the noxious vapor. I retreated and Kanna came to her feet as the miasma swirled around her ankles.
"Thank you. I'm sorry." She mouthed as the cloud swallowed her. Naraku's voice echoed around us as the smoke dissipated.
"I'll make you regret this you miserable half-breed! You will all learn suffering previously unknown by your kind!" He screeched at us.
And I have to say, at that moment, my heart was chilled with fear.
Inuyasha POV:
I broke off into another fit of coughing, my throat feeling as if someone had rammed hot coals down it. The vile smell of the miasma clung to my body in a sickening cloud.
"Damn!" I rasped. "We still don't have any concrete evidence against Naraku! If only we-" I gave vent to another shuddering cough. Kagome laid a concerned hand on my arm.
"Don't talk; it will only make it worse." I responded with a noncommittal jerk of the head, and she gave me a stern look.
"The problem is, should we tell the others?" she asked thoughtfully. "I mean, we don't have anything that could get Naraku in serious trouble yet." I rolled my eyes.
"Didn't you just tell me not to talk?" I croaked at her.
"Yes."
"Than why are you asking me questions?" I cried.
"I'm just thinking out loud! In any case, I don't think we'll tell the others. Not until we have good, hard evidence any ways."
I didn't reply. I simply wondered whether hard evidence would come in the form of a body. And if so, whose?