Author's Note
Welcome to the main plot! (^-^)
Lead Me Down the Garden Path
Traitor
Inuyasha released his white-knuckle grip on the door handle once the door lay open beside him. Taking a hesitant step forward, the blackness of the house molded around his body as he stepped into it. His eyes scouring for a sound he could recognize, the silence was loud in his ears.
"Inuyasha," he heard Kagome cry as he stepped further into the darkness. "Please be careful."
He inwardly smirked. Even Kagome could sense that something wasn't right.
His eyes slowly started adjusting to the dark. Thanks to the moonlight pouring through uncovered windows, he could begin to make out objects and shapes. However, it was still so dark that even the shadows had shadows. Standing in the middle of the kitchen, he still couldn't hear anything. Nothing about this situation could explain the scream or the glass shattering noise he heard. He had a suspicion why the power was out in the entire house, but he dared not give those thoughts life.
Inuyasha's mouth-breathing was loud in his head as he traced the palm of his hand against the wall to find the front hall staircase. His eyes had to refocus once he was no longer in the kitchen's light. Standing at the bottom of the stairs and looking up, Inuyasha gripped the rail and froze. He tried to force his ears to exemplify their power to pick up some trace of evidence.
This place was too fucking quiet.
Where were his staff? What the hell made that noise? Who the fuck screamed?
The skin between his eyebrows felt tight from furrowed pressure. He had heard screams like that before, the pleading noise someone's throat conjured up right before they died. Inuyasha forced the thought from his mind as he began to ascend the stairs. Standing on each floor's landing, Inuyasha paused. For a few seconds he would lower his body closer to the ground as if the gesture would help his hearing. First floor: nothing. Second floor: nothing. Third floor: still fucking nothing.
Standing on the landing on the fourth floor, Inuyasha's attuned hearing finally heard something. It was barely there, but it was enough. The sound of a door trying to be closed gently.
Turning to his right, Inuyasha steadied himself as he walked down the hallway, slow enough to allow his senses to read his environment. The way he felt his body moving, he could feel his muscles recoiling like an elastic before its release. He knew he was preparing himself for an attack. He couldn't help it. This whole situation screamed 'danger'.
The sound of a muffled cry, then a low frequency human growl—almost like a chest rumbling—came from behind the closed door at the end of the hallway. Flexing his core, Inuyasha narrowed his eyes, hoping the action would help him see better. Then he gripped the doorknob in his hand.
The door opened with a groan, and there were no sounds to greet him. The brightness of the room was the first thing he noticed when he peered through the crack in the door. It wasn't enough of a gap for his body to fit through, but it was just enough for his eyes to scour for something out of the ordinary.
White curtains flapped madly in the breeze. Inuyasha realized the windowpane had been broken and shards of it lay all over the floor rug. Turning his eyes lower, he felt his breath catch. The body of a maid, unmoving, lay amongst the fragments and shavings.
"Fuck," Inuyasha hissed to himself, rushing into the room and crouching beside the woman's body. Pressing two fingers to the side of her neck, Inuyasha growled low in his throat when he couldn't feel a pulse.
She was dead.
The curtains wrapped around his body protectively from where he crouched, a pseudo act of comfort. Violently grabbing the sheer material into his fist, Inuyasha sidestepped over to the window to peer out into the night. It took all of his willpower not to tear the damn things from the rod bolted to the wall. He turned his narrowed eyes downwards. A metal ladder was pressed up against the side of the house.
Inuyasha inwardly swore. That changed everything. As he had initially suspected, but didn't want to admit, someone was in the house.
Taking a step back, Inuyasha's mind leapt to try and make sense of everything he had seen. The ladder and the broken glass was self-explanatory: the closed window had been smashed by whoever climbed the ladder wanting to get in.
Inuyasha's eyes turned to gaze at the corpse, his pulse raucously noticeable in his chest.
She must have been in the room when… Inuyasha clenched his fist and gritted his teeth together. That motherfucker!
The familiar click of a gun cocking caused Inuyasha to freeze. His spine straightened, his stomach was hollow.
"Long time no see, Inuyasha."
Inuyasha's eyes snapped open, clarity and realization drowning him. It can't be, he thought. That voice…
Another muffled female cry and blubbering followed the greeting. He turned slowly on his heel, bending his knees to steady himself. Inuyasha wasn't at all prepared for the emotional and psychological blow. It all felt like a bad dream.
Inuyasha sneered. "Don't tell me I'm your first stop out of prison, Kyokotsu. Did you miss me that much?"
The man returned the snigger and pressed the barrel of his pistol against the temple of the maid he held against him. Her face was scrunched up behind the giant hand clamped over her mouth. Her muffled tears slipped through the cracks of Kyokotsu's fingers. Inuyasha watched her glassy eyes dip to take in the sight of her dead colleague and she shrieked behind the claw. Her blubbering echoed throughout the room.
"You know why I'm here," Kyokotsu hissed, his long almond-shaped eyes focusing on Inuyasha. "You fucking traitor," he added when Inuyasha didn't reply.
"Oh please," Inuyasha snapped, straightening his back. His eyes alternated between Kyokotsu and the maid in his grasp. He needed to find a way to get her out of here. "You brought this upon yourself, you fucking idiot."
"We're all getting out," Kyokotsu laughed maniacally, his bloodshot eyes narrowing. "All of us. The Family saw to that. And, trust me, Inuyasha," he muttered, his low voice cracking. "The Family will see to you."
Inuyasha tightened his fists, his eyes scouring Kyokotsu's visage—his spikey green hair held back by a hairband, his gargantuan form, his bulging, broad shoulders. The asshole hadn't changed one bit.
Inuyasha wrinkled his nose in irritation. "Get the fuck out of my house before I kill you."
Kyokotsu laughed a hearty, belly-shaking laugh. "That's all you have to say to me after all these years apart, brother?"
"I ain't your brother," Inuyasha spat, his words venomous.
"You are," Kyokotsu whispered threateningly. His words floated through Inuyasha's head long after they were uttered. "You will be 'til death. You know it. I know it. The rest of the Family knows it, traitor."
"Get the fuck out of here!" Inuyasha screamed, his throat hoarse.
He couldn't stand here and listen to this shit. This was supposed to be behind him. They were supposed to stay behind bars. They were supposed to fucking rot to their maggot-eating bones and leave him alone. But they're all getting out. Inuyasha's stomach clenched with the repetition of Kyokotsu's words.
They're all getting out.
The next few seconds happened too quickly for Inuyasha to comprehend and react.
Kyokotsu promised Inuyasha he would suffer for his betrayal. Pushing the barrel deeper into the woman's temple, Kyokotsu's finger hovered over the trigger. Inuyasha lunged in his direction, his arms out. He was prepared to grab the woman's upper torso and pull her away from Kyokotsu's maddening form. But he wasn't fast enough. The bullet left the barrel. Her body hit the floor. Kyokotsu's maniacal laughter echoed through the room as he released the dead body from his grasp and it collapsed onto the floor. Inuyasha then watched Kyokotsu propel his gargantuan body into the hallway, disappearing into the darkness of the house.
Inuyasha fell to his knees screaming, mentally begging the spirits of the two women to forgive him. How did this happen? How did he allow this to happen? His eyes shook with rage as he turned his head back and forth to perceive the blood, the unmoving bodies.
Getting to his feet, Inuyasha released a primal, guttural yell that somewhat sounded like Kyokotsu's name. With fists so tight his nails broke the skin of his palm, Inuyasha hurled himself into the hallway. He rebounded off the wall and propelled his body down the hallway, sliding to a stop as he approached the stairs. He mentally promised the dead women he would avenge their deaths.
"Kyokotsu!" Inuyasha screamed at the top of the stairs, his chest heaving. Noises from a few floors down caused Inuyasha's neck to snap in that direction.
With widened eyes, Inuyasha hopped the railing and swung himself onto the next level. He did the same to reach the second floor, swinging his body to land crouched on all fours.
Standing, his environment blended together as Inuyasha's eyes jutted all around him. He knew this house better than anyone did. Kyokotsu wouldn't be able to hide for long. Inuyasha would find him, and he would kill him.
Kagome had eventually stood once Inuyasha disappeared into the house. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was horribly, horribly wrong. Inuyasha's order to 'stay here' forced her not to enter the house, despite her worry and her curiosity. Not knowing what else to do, she began to pace.
Until she heard the gunshot.
For fear of Inuyasha's life, Kagome couldn't force her limbs to move fast enough to get into the house. Her arms flying in front of her madly, Kagome tripped, only to regain her composure by coming into contact with a wall. Her fingers pressed against the cool, painted drywall. She took a deep breath, her chaotic heart the only thing she could hear. She needed to stay alert. She needed to find Inuyasha.
Please, God. Please don't let Inuyasha be dead.
That led her to her next fear. Who had the gun? Was Inuyasha the shooter? How did a gun even get mixed up in all of this?
Her fingers trailing the wall, Kagome headed into the kitchen. Taking in the bit of light let in by large windows, she sighed. Facing into the hallway, Kagome strained her ears to try and listen. She cursed herself for being so worked up that she couldn't hear anything over her frantic heartbeat.
Kagome's entire body seized up when a cold hand reached around and covered her mouth. Kagome tried to scream as she felt her back press tightly against a masculine chest. She kicked her legs violently, lurching her body forward.
"Kagome," a familiar voice hissed directly in her ear, squeezing her arms to her side. "Kagome, it's me. Miroku."
Clenching a hand to her chest, as if hoping to physically stop her heart from lurching out of her chest cavity, Kagome spun on her heel. Miroku released her quickly; however, he stood close, keeping his hands on her biceps. He opened his mouth to speak before she had a chance to say anything.
"Kagome, listen to me. You are in danger here, do you understand me? I scoured the property, and I've seen three of them. I heard the gunshot. I don't know if the others have a gun. You need to get out of here and call the police, immediately. Do you understand?"
"Inuyasha," Kagome screamed in as silent of a whisper she could muster. "He's here, Miroku. He ran in here as soon as the power went out. I need to know that he's okay."
Miroku's eyes were saturated with concern. Turning his eyes to the ceiling, he released a tense breath.
"I promise you, I will find him, Kagome. I just can't, in my right mind, allow you to stay here and endanger yourself. Inuyasha would kill me if I allowed that to happen. Please," he stressed. "Get out of here."
Kagome opened her mouth to speak but Miroku shushed her. His body tall and erect, gazing into the hallway's darkness, she instantly understood his reaction. Two whispering male voices were approaching the kitchen. Grabbing her arm and pulling her along with him, Miroku crouched behind the kitchen island, yanking Kagome down beside him. He exchanged a look with Kagome that she knew to mean stay quiet, and she held her breath. Her breathing was so laboured she thought she might choke.
"Do you think he got him?"
"Nah, he would have come got us if that were the case."
"So what's that fucking retard doing, then? Shooting up all the staff? Fuck, it was a little unnecessary when he snapped the neck of that bitch when we first crawled in here, but really? We just need Inuyasha dead. It's not a hostage situation."
"Keep your fucking voice down!" the other hissed. "We don't know who else is in the house."
The other man's tone caused Kagome to suspect he rolled his eyes in response. "Well, this house is too fucking big. It's like a giant game of hide 'n' seek just to find anybody in here. How the fuck is Kyokotsu supposed to find Inuyasha in here, anyway?"
"Will you please shut your fucking mouth? We're supposed to be keeping watch."
"Pfft, then maybe we shouldn't have cut the electrical cables."
The sound of a gun cocking caused Kagome to jump, but Miroku gripped her bicep tightly to keep her from moving.
"I swear to God, I will shoot you in the fucking head."
The other released a throaty laugh. "Don't be a bitch, Mukotsu."
"Then stop running your mouth, Ginkotsu."
Kagome felt Miroku go rigid beside her and she turned a frightful, questioning gaze to him. Turning his head to meet her stare, he gave her an almost apologetic look. A moment of silence caused him to cock his head to the side to see what was happening with Mukotsu and Ginkotsu.
Footsteps echoing in the main hall of the house suggested the two men on whom they had eavesdropped headed away from them. Before Kagome could say something to Miroku, she heard Inuyasha scream a man's name, a name she just heard spoken: Kyokotsu.
Suddenly, a colossal thud shook the structure of the house. Loud masculine grunts and curses emanated somewhere above her and Miroku's heads. Animalistic roars reverberated a floor above them. Turning her gaze upwards, knowing one of those voices belonged to Inuyasha, her heart began to ache; the combat sounded so violent.
Another crash caused her to shudder and withdraw into herself. Flakes of the ceiling floated down and landed on the counters around them.
"I need to help him," Miroku said, turning steeled eyes towards her. "If this becomes three-on-one, Inuyasha will stand no chance. Please, Kagome. Get out of the house. Get to safety. Call the police. I promise you I'll return."
Before she could argue, Miroku shot up and took off out of the kitchen, leaving her alone to her fears and assumptions of the worst. She fought the urge to cry as she got to her feet. She leaned her body against the counter, immobilized by fear.
Kagome knew the smart thing to do was as Miroku said. She knew she should leave, but her legs refused to move. More pieces of the ceiling's drywall crumbled around her following another violent thud, causing more crashes and things to shatter.
Her eyes searching for answers in the dark, her hands were shaking. Kagome screamed and crouched down at the sound of another gunshot. Covering her head with her hands, Kagome couldn't help the few tears that found a way to escape down her cheeks.
It didn't hit him. He's fine. Inuyasha's fine, she repeated in her mind, rocking her head from side to side gently.
"Heh, I thought I heard a little mouse."
Kagome's head shot up in fear at the voice. Still crouched, she strained her neck upwards to stare into the face of one of the men she and Miroku had spotted.
Thinking on her feet, Kagome screamed Inuyasha's name as loudly as she could. Before the last syllable of his name left her lips, the man in front of her charged at her, knocking her to the ground. The back of her skull cracking into the tile, Kagome's eyesight waned and she felt light-headed. Lolling her head to the side, she pressed her cheek into the cool ceramic tile. She felt her body being rolled over and large hands clasping her wrists together behind her back. The man tugged her to her feet. Blinking her eyes furiously, Kagome tried to focus her eyes on her attacker. He had large round eyes with small, beady pupils. His mouth formed a large, almost inhuman smile. She tried to work out which of the two men—Ginkotsu or Mukotsu—this man could be, but her trail of thought was interrupted. She heard another thud upstairs before all was silent in the house.
"What have you done with Inuyasha?" Kagome shrieked, trying to jerk her body free.
The man simply laughed. "Only what he deserves."
"He doesn't deserve any of this!" she argued, her eyes wide. "You're the ones who broke in here. You're the ones with guns. If one of you gets hurt, it's your own damn fault! Inuyasha's just trying to protect himself!"
He rolled his eyes and simultaneously brought the back of his hand across Kagome's cheek. The flesh stung and caused immediate tears to appear. As she tried to turn her head away from her attacker, he gripped her chin between two fingers and painfully tugged her face toward his.
"Hey, I recognize you," he clucked, narrowing his eyes a few inches from her face. "You're that girl on the cover of Arama! Magazine. You're Inuyasha's new girl."
Kagome's eyes widened fearfully. What magazine? What picture?
He chuckled a throaty laugh then released Kagome's chin painfully. "I wonder what Kyokotsu will have to say about this."
Suddenly, Kagome heard crashing from somewhere just outside the kitchen, followed by Miroku yelling.
"Mukotsu!" The familiar tone of Ginkotsu's voice screamed from the darkness. "Get your ass over here! There's another one!"
More grunts and crashes followed the comment.
"I can't!" Mukotsu grumbled, his eyes turning to Kagome's face. "I have a prisoner! I have Inuyasha's girl!"
"Get over here now!"
Mukotsu swore under his breath then pushed Kagome to the floor. She grunted when her bottom crashed onto the uncomforting floor. Her laboured breathing ragged, she looked up at him anxiously.
"The Family will want you," the man sneered. Kagome could feel his eyes leering over her body. "You will stay here until I return. I swear to God, if you move girl…" He pointed a finger at her. "You don't want to imagine the things the Family would do to you."
"You don't want to imagine the things I'll do to you, you bastard."
Inuyasha's low, strained voice was a welcome one to Kagome's ears. Relief washed over her in waves. She couldn't help the tears that escaped out of sheer respite that he was okay.
"Inuyasha," she whispered, closing her eyes and releasing a thankful sigh.
"Did he hurt you, Kagome?"
Kagome looked up and saw Inuyasha standing in front of her with his arms out, facing Mukotsu. The man was backed into a corner.
"No," she groaned, getting to her feet. "I'm okay."
Mukotsu saw the way Inuyasha responded to her, the way he wanted to turn toward the girl and comfort her. That magazine had been right. The bitch was Inuyasha's newest weakness. Knowing he could use that to his advantage, Mukotsu released a devilish chuckle.
"The woman lies, Inuyasha. I hit her over the head. She's bleeding, concussed, probably. She doesn't know what she's saying."
Inuyasha turned then, his body angled to face and inspect Kagome, worry on his face. Before Kagome could scream that Mukotsu was lying to him, the man slunk out of the kitchen before Inuyasha could grab hold of him.
"What's happening Inuyasha?" Kagome cried, her throat sore from so much intense whispering and laboured breathing. "Why are they doing this?"
"I'll tell you after, Kagome."
That was all he said before taking off after Mukotsu, leaving Kagome alone in the kitchen.
Inuyasha could feel the dried blood on his clothes. His arm had finally gone numb from where Kyokotsu shot him. Inuyasha had him pressed against the wall, intent on choking him to his death, before Kyokotsu drew his weapon and pressed it into Inuyasha's bicep. The gun had been so close Inuyasha was confident the bullet fully passed through him.
That didn't mean it didn't fucking hurt. Thankfully, though, the adrenaline and pure anger coursing through his body made the pain bearable. At least for now.
Standing once again in the hallway, Inuyasha's breathing was arduous. His chest quivered with each inhale from exhaustion. He could have killed Kyokotsu if he hadn't heard Kagome scream his name. She didn't listen. That stupid bitch didn't listen. She didn't stay put. She followed him into the house, and she put herself in danger. Inuyasha had tore himself away from the conflict to find her then. He may have failed to protect those two women, but he would not fail to protect Kagome.
Now, he was eager to get back into it. His rage felt rejuvenated. He was prepared to finish where he left off, and that meant tracking down Kyokotsu once again.
Inuyasha crouched at the base of the stairs, straining his ears for sounds revealing the whereabouts of any of them. He fought Kyokotsu. He saw Mukotsu. He remembered Molly Woo's words that three of seven were on parole. Inuyasha suspected there was one more asshole roaming the property. He had to find them before they found him.
A gunshot echoed throughout the house. Standing erect, the unexpected sound took Inuyasha by such surprise he couldn't place its origins. The sound of a body collapsing followed, and he knew it came from the fourth floor. Pushing his body to ascend as fast as he could, Inuyasha stood on the landing of the fourth floor, trying to filter through the silence for a sound, for a direction.
Then he heard it: "I'm sorry. Fuck! Kyokotsu. Kyokotsu? Fuck! No-no-no-no. God dammit! I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
Over and over again, the melancholic voice whispered, like a chant. Turning his head over his shoulder, Inuyasha saw the large crumpled pile that was Kyokotsu's dead body. The form of another was crouched over him.
At the sound of Inuyasha's feet approaching, the chanting man looked up with a gasp. There was just enough light for Inuyasha to identify the shooter as Ginkotsu. Inuyasha would have recognized that hulking red-haired beast anywhere.
Inuyasha scoffed. "Thanks for doing my work for me," he crowed menacingly, cracking his knuckles as he approached Ginkotsu.
The man stood, his arms flailing around him as he tried to get his bearings.
"It was an accident! I didn't know it was him," Ginkotsu blubbered, his eyes stuck on Kyokotsu's body. "I heard a noise. I thought it was you. Fuck it all to hell, I thought I killed you! I didn't mean to kill him. I didn't know it was him."
"Feh," Inuyasha spat. "You were always a pussy. You never did have a backbone. You always brought them all down. Can't even tell your own fucking enemies apart."
Ginkotsu's raving, mad eyes locked on Inuyasha. "You don't get to speak to me like, you fucking traitor!" His voice gave out from the intensity of his wail.
A growl ripped through Inuyasha's teeth as he threw his entire body towards Ginkotsu. The man dodged, then spun on his heel and ran down the hallway. Inuyasha growled. He hadn't been able to knock the man down, but at least he had caught Ginkotsu off-guard and he left the pistol behind. Leaping over Kyokotsu's corpse, Inuyasha was hot on Ginkotsu's trail, bouncing off walls when his speed was too much for the sharp angled hallways of the 18th century house. Turning one more corner, Inuyasha saw Ginkotsu disappear behind a door, slamming it behind him. The frame shook in its hinges from the force.
Inuyasha froze.
He could have begun hyperventilating he was so full of rage. He hadn't been in his father's office since his dad died. Now, he had to go in there, disturb his father's things. He growled in frustration. He had to enter that fucking room because that asshole was in there.
Inuyasha gulped out of impulse, despite the dryness of his mouth. His hand shaking, he threw open the door. Nausea and nostalgia hit him in the face simultaneously.
The moment the door opened, Ginkotsu screamed and drove himself into Inuyasha's body, slamming him into the floorboards of the door's threshold. Scrambling to stand, the two of them scrapped. Inuyasha was clearly the stronger of the two, having no troubles removing his arms from Ginkotsu's grasp and throwing all his strength into a punch.
Inuyasha's knuckles came into contact with the cartilage of Ginkotsu's nose. His nose cavity crunched and collapsed under the pressure, blood seeping from Ginkotsu's nose. Following the blow, Ginkotsu's body went flying across the floor, sliding into Inuyasha's father's desk. The items atop the desk shuffled. A billow of dust floated upwards and disappeared in the darkness. A picture frame crashed to the floor and shattered.
Ginkotsu rolled around the floor, cupping his face, uttering a combination of apologies to Kyokotsu and grimaces about his aching face. While his enemy was down, Inuyasha knew he had to act. He had failed to act before and that led to a maid's death. It had allowed Kyokotsu to get away. He wouldn't fail to do what he needed to do again.
Spinning on his heel, Inuyasha knew what he was looking for.
His father had loved those swords. As far back as Inuyasha could remember, they were mounted delicately on the wooden crest attached to the wall, the blades crossed just above the hilt. They hadn't been touched in years. The antiques brought a rush of emotional congestion to Inuyasha's chest. The blades were the dullest and most lacklustre he'd ever seen them in his life. Of course they were dull, his father wasn't around anymore to look after them. The memories were overwhelming. Inuyasha hadn't dared to step foot in this room after the house became his. When he attended the reading of his father's will. His breathing slow and painful, he couldn't believe that two inanimate objects could have such an enormous presence.
Inuyasha swore at himself as he heard Ginkotsu stand behind him. Nostalgia had caused him to lose his advantage of time. Inuyasha gasped for breath as Ginkotsu threw his weight into Inuyasha once more. Ginkotsu attached his upper torso to Inuyasha's waist, tackling Inuyasha to the floor.
Ginkotsu was in an unstoppable rage. He wanted blood.
He split the skin on his knuckles against Inuyasha's cheekbones, causing Inuyasha's head to whiplash against the floor. With his other arm, Ginkotsu punched Inuyasha in the eye. Then his fist connected to Inuyasha's side, trying to break a rib. Before continuing his assault on Inuyasha's face, Ginkotsu noticed the wound on Inuyasha's bicep. Screaming maniacally, he pushed his index finger into the wound, laughing at Inuyasha's screams in pain. Blood continued to seep from Ginkotsu's nose where Inuyasha had shattered it.
Rage overpowering his inertia, Inuyasha kneed Ginkotsu in the groin, forcing the man off him. Ginkotsu toppled in a heap onto the floor. Struggling to breathe, Inuyasha stood on shaky legs, wiping the blood away from his lips with the back of his hand. He laughed at Ginkotsu's cowering form. The strained, tired laugh revealed bloody teeth within Inuyasha's mouth.
He watched Ginkotsu struggle to his feet.
"Fuck, you don't know when to give up, do ya?"
Ginkotsu groaned, crouched over. He spat a wad of blood onto the floor, wiping at his jaw afterwards.
"You're the one who doesn't get it, Inuyasha." He stood up, looking weak on his feet. "It doesn't matter if you kill me. It doesn't matter that I killed Kyokotsu. It doesn't even matter if you kill Mukotsu—"
So there is a third person here. Inuyasha rolled his eyes.
"—The Family knows what you've done, Inuyasha, and they're not pleased."
Inuyasha scoffed, taking a tentative step behind him. He knew Ginkotsu was going to try and take Inuyasha by surprise. He wanted Inuyasha's guard down. Inuyasha inwardly chuckled. He would let the asshole monologue, but the second he tried to jump Inuyasha one more time Inuyasha would be ready.
"I don't give two fucks about the Family. I'm fucking glad what happened to you assholes. You all deserve to rot in a God damned cell for the rest of your miserable lives."
Inuyasha bent his knees, preparing himself for the impending attack. Ginkotsu only had one move, and he couldn't use his large size to an advantage if Inuyasha was expecting it. He knew Ginkotsu would try to tackle Inuyasha to the ground, but Inuyasha had a plan.
"What, don't tell me I tired you out already," Inuyasha goaded, taking another step backwards.
A growl seeped between Ginkotsu's lips.
The next few movements happened just as Inuyasha anticipated.
Ginkotsu lunged at him, but Inuyasha was able to dodge the towering form just in time. As Ginkotsu stumbled against the wall and tried to regain himself, Inuyasha was quick on his feet. He grabbed one of the swords from the mantle. Two hands gripping the hilt, Ginkotsu took no time at all to dive at Inuyasha once more. The roar that exploded from Ginkotsu's mouth became a bloody gasp as the blunted edge of the sword yielded little resistant into Ginkotsu's midriff.
Inuyasha grunted as Ginkotsu skewered himself onto the blade. He turned his eyes away from Ginkotsu's face, not interested in watching the life fade from his eyes. The blade became even heavier as gravity claimed Ginkotsu's lifeless hulking mass. Releasing the blade with a groan, Inuyasha watched the man and the sword hit the floor.
Falling to his knees, Inuyasha took an agonizing breath. His arm ached and his head was pounding. Scuffling feet in the hallway drew Inuyasha's head upwards. Trying to muster the stamina for another battle, Inuyasha sighed heavily with relief. Miroku stumbled into the room, blood coating his hairline. His face contorted in pain as he sat himself down by Inuyasha's side. Taking in his employer's visage, he silently motioned toward Inuyasha's arm. The room was alive with the sound of them both trying to catch their breath. Inuyasha merely shrugged away Miroku's gesture.
"Kagome?"
"She's out front waiting for the police."
Inuyasha nodded, closing his eyes. "Good."
"I saw Kyokotsu," Miroku sighed. His eyes could barely take in the sight of Ginkotsu's bleeding body.
Inuyasha snorted. "This idiot," he said, motioning with his chin, "killed him by accident." He paused to release a laboured breath. "Mukotsu?"
"He's dead," Miroku sighed, wiping the blood away from his scalp.
"Good," Inuyasha sighed.
Sirens grew in intensity to finally blare in all directions around the house. Inuyasha grimaced, the sound causing his head to pulse in pain.
"Kyokotsu said the Family knows."
Miroku turned, open-mouthed towards Inuyasha. "So this isn't an isolated event."
Inuyasha growled deep in his chest as four police officers stormed into the room, weapons leading the way. Men's voices and threats conquered the former silence of the house. Putting his hands above his head in a gesture of peace, Inuyasha turned to Miroku. His eyes shone with concern.
"It's just getting started."
Author's Note
I've honestly never written a chapter like this before in my life. Please be gentle with your reviews! I'd really love to know how it was received.