Chapter 72: Unwanted consequences
"So, still nothing, huh?" Miroku asked after taking just one look at the lab lent to the Higurashi's young matriarch.
With a frown, Sango shook her head.
After the unexpected way Koha and Ayame had returned, both Taisho heirs were promptly called for an urgent meeting that had left her with nothing to do but steep in her own nervousness and try to avoid the fake monk's wandering hands. If there was one thing the taijutsu expert couldn't stand to do was to twiddle her thumbs and wait for news to arrive or follow the con artist into tracking down those who'd witnessed the whole spectacle from the beginning. Honestly, she wasn't sure what was worse, having to wait until Inuyasha came back so he could slip whatever bit of confidential information he got; or having to wait until a proper decision was made and the rest of the clan was fully informed.
Of course, since the silver-haired Taisho was still not in the direct line of succession, the information they got remained limited, not that it diminished Miroku's enthusiasm.
Ironically enough, it was by trying to distract herself by replenishing her poison and antidote supplies that Sango accidentally got involved in the middle of things. The weapon experts couldn't help but think it was half intended by her team captain when Sesshoumaru chose to open the door of the lab she was working in with Kagome-chan and her orange-haired bodyguard behind him. Because he just conveniently picked this lab so the younger girl could study a sample of the poison that almost killed Koga...that took the lives of two of his teammates.
"The more we've looked at it, the fewer chances I think we might find an antidote." At this point, both kunoichis were constantly frustrated whenever they entered the lab. "I don't think even Kimi-sama's poison is that potent."
"And we still have no clue what this enemy looks like..." Miroku trailed off as it was becoming increasingly common.
Surprised as she'd been, the teen couldn't help but offer her help to find something that could counter the unknown toxin. While she was a weapon specialist, first and foremost, her family also dealt with poisons, and she held a decent understanding of how the process worked. Aiding the younger girl managed to straddle a fine line between not going against the confidential manner of this whole mess while allowing Sango to do something that felt productive and keep an eye on what, technically, was still their assignment. Five days later, however, they were just as clueless as they were when they began. Which was why the kunoichi finally relented to Miroku's constant insistence. Sure, the fake monk wasn't a poison expert, but at this point, an outsider's perspective couldn't hurt their non-existent progress.
"Whoever this was, they were all too happy to attack Koga's team, even if no one in his team could be confused as a member of the main family. They looked nothing like Kagome-chan's group either." But it looked like the attack had happened somewhat close by.
"There was no mention of any kind of antidote from our beloved matriarch either..." Her teammate looked at her, waiting for her to arrive at the same conclusion. "And it doesn't look like she's been making drastic changes to her schedule, which means she doesn't feel like there's a need to analyze the blood sample for herself."
"There's no antidote, then," Sango finished.
Out of all the families that made up the clan, Kimi-sama's was the one that specialized in anything related to poisons and venoms, anything that had to do with toxins, only fitting considering their bloodline limit. If even their matriarch decided there was no point in trying to create something to counter it, what chances did Sango have?
"Hey," Miroku said, soft tone in his voice. "There's still too much we don't know, true, but we always persevere, don't we?"
"Huh?"
"The clan is still here, despite having encountered this before, so there is a way to get around it." With a gentle gesture, the older teen pushed back a lock of her hair. "We'll figure out a way to counter the poison; we always figure things out."
"Good afternoon, Sango-chan, Miroku-san..." Kagome's polite voice rang through the lab, her bodyguard coughed behind her. "Are we interrupting something?"
Heat rushed to her cheeks at the amused smile on the younger girl's lips, and Sango wasted no time. With a shove, she pushed the grinning con artist back before he could open his mouth and spout something that would only make the situation more embarrassing.
"N-nope, not at all!"
"Good afternoon, indeed." Of course, the annoying pervert was laughing lightly. "Any day I get to be blessed to be in the presence of so much beauty is a good day, wouldn't you agree, Juugo-san?"
"Huh?" The usually silent boy looked like a deer in the headlights. "I'm...not sure that's something..."
"Don't worry about it, Juugo-san, just ignore the idiot over there. It's the most effective way to deal with him," the weapon expert scoffed.
"You wound me, Sango, my dear. Do you really think just a bit of silence would be enough to dissuade..."
"Will you be joining us, Miroku-san?" At least, it looked like the Higurashi girl took pity on her.
"After hearing how complex this was turning out to be, I thought perhaps a fresh set of eyes could be helpful." At last, the fake monk was back to his sly persona. "Of course, I am no expert, so I'll be referring to your expertise in this area."
"Well. I don't know how I feel about calling myself an expert when I've made no progress at all...but I appreciate the vote of confidence." Kagome's smile was bitter as she went to the table in front of Sango's.
Just like the past few days, the orange-headed shinobi went to sit on a corner of the room, absentmindedly opening a scroll as the Higurashi began to move the papers and tools around. And just like the days before, the older kunoichi couldn't help but feel like she was the one intruding in someone else's facility instead of the other way around. For all that there was frustration seeping through her motions, Kagome-chan remained confident while handling the extremely delicate equipment, commanding the room.
"Have you had a chance to review our reports?"
"Just a little before you arrived." Miroku waved the files that had been resting on their table. "With no pure samples and such limited resources, there is just not enough material to conduct our usual observation and monitoring."
"This is the only thing we can use to test any possible antidotes." Azure eyes flickered to the half-empty vial of contaminated blood.
"Not like anything we've come up with has managed to do a thing."
Childish as it may be, the weapons expert still glared at the dark, crimson liquid. It took them a lot of deliberation before agreeing on how to go about testing their potential antidotes. They'd floated the idea of using some of the lab test animals and see if they could cultivate the poison before discarding it since there was no telling if the effects of the toxin would have different results in different species. With no choice but to use the blood directly, it took them ages to decide which of their potential cures to use, only for it to be entirely unaffected by any of them.
"But it's still a poison, correct?"
"What do you mean?" Her gaze flickered towards her teammate.
"What if there is a chance this poison is just like our dear matriarch, a kekkei genkai?"
"Even if it came from a bloodline limit, those still act with most of the same principles unless they are actively used during a jutsu." Despite her answer, Kagome-chan sounded slightly hesitant.
"Are they, though?" For once, the fake monk was genuinely asking. "Won't the addition of chakra make any difference on it?"
"Perhaps during the jutsu, but after it's been used, the chakra goes away." Sango shook her head.
"...can you pass me an empty vial?"
There was an evident look of confusion on the weapon specialist's face; still, the older teen handed over one of the vials they'd yet to use. Not willing to interrupt her sudden burst of inspiration, Kagome didn't hesitate as she placed the glass in one of the holders. Her fingers closed around one of her hidden needles, slicing the skin of her palm open with a single move, careful to keep her skin open with her fingernails as the crimson liquid dripped inside the container.
"U-uhmm, Kagome-chan?"
"You're right. Most of the time, the composition of the toxins remains unchanged once there is no chakra actively controlling the substance, but there are a few exceptions; there are kekkei genkai that can be passive." She was voicing for herself just as much as she did it for the others. It could also explain why the poison only seemed to reproduce in living tissue and refused to replicate in ordinary neutral blood samples. "If it's passive, then there should be a hint of chakra lingering in it, which means there is something I can do."
"With reiki?" Miroku asked, a glint in his eyes.
"Reiki can be anchored far more easily than chakra, and its effect remains for quite a long time." Or for generations, considering that Kagome could still feel the remnants of it in the barrier surrounding the Taisho estates. "If what is causing this thing to be so persistent, then this could finally have an effect."
"So you're infusing it into your blood?"
"It's the easiest thing to use as an anchor." Her skin knitted back up as she spoke. "It's still a part of my body after all."
"Do we have enough to test it with?"
Sango's question was perfectly valid. During this sort of medical trials, there were a lot of educated guesses and trial and error involved in the process. Considering how little poison they had in their possession, it would be risky unless they had previous tests. Had she remained in Konoha, Kagome would've probably agreed with the older girl's worry, but it would seem like there were more benefits from following Orochimaru than she would've thought in the beginning. After all, the typical morals that made such delicate information almost impossible to gather.
As much as she hated their time there, it had definitely been worth it.
"I have a decent idea of how much blood I should use."
"Should I start prepping a sample?" the older girl asked.
"Please." Really, she'd rather not add her blood to anything that could be studied for anyone, but sacrifices had to be made. "This should give us a good idea if it's going to work at all."
Practice had Sango place the blood sample at her right, curiosity clear on her face as she added a drop of her own blood to the last mix they'd worked on. The fake monk was more subtle in his interest, but she knew better than to believe his lax attitude. Biting her tongue, the girl pushed those thoughts away and focused on the potential antidote to make sure no unexpected reactions that could throw off the actual components happened. Attempting to use only her blood would be both extremely tiring and inefficient, since, special bloodline or not, blood loss could kill her. This was only meant to destroy the chakra that created the poison while their compound dealt with the toxins themselves.
Besides her, the two Taishos leaned in to get a better view.
Turning to confirm one last time with the older girl, she grabbed the offered blood sample. So far, they'd gotten absolutely no reactions for any of their previous tests; and really, Kagome couldn't deny that they'd officially run out of ideas. If this didn't work, then she wasn't sure what else they could do.
Well practiced hand seals had the monitoring jutsu active. Taking a deep breath, the Higurashi added their latest antidote to the sample.
It only took a few seconds for the papers in front of them to start changing, reflecting the reaction. Just as before, the poison began to attack the new composite. Tension filled the room while they waited for there to be a change. Nothing was happening yet...was it because the girl used too little energy? She'd gone for the average Kabuto asked for whenever he wanted to establish a baseline, but baselines could differ drastically in specific situations...
"...wait...it's working..." Sango's voice broke her out of her irritated mental ramblings.
"That is working?" Miroku asked incredulously.
"It...it's slowing down..." The words were hesitant, but now that Kagome thought about it, the older kunoichi was right. At this point, in all their other attempts, the poison had consumed the antidote. "If I can adjust the percentage enough to push it further back...then we'll finally be able to have something to potentially counter it."
"I'll start prepping new samples." The weapon's expert was already running back for new supplies. "Let's just hope we have enough to get something more definitive."
"Slowing down the process is enough to better their chances until I can get to them."
"Why not use one of our test animals here?" the fake monk asked while analyzing the results.
Idly, the girl turned to look at the older kunoichi.
Honestly, she had to say she was surprised Sango hadn't completely disclosed each and every piece of information they'd found during their research. It was something to keep in mind for later, even a little bit of hesitation could be an advantage.
"From what we could see, that thing mutates the moment it comes into contact with a different species," Sango said with a wince. They'd made that mistake once, and the waste still stung.
"Any results we could gain from cultivating it in an animal runs the risk of not being applicable when we make the transfer to humans." Kagome continued. "There's a chance it works, of course, but it would be the same as betting on a coin flip."
"Wouldn't it work if you use a human?" For the first time since this research started, Juugo spoke up.
"Huh...I mean, sure; there shouldn't be any further mutations since this poison has already changed." It was painfully clear the weapon's expert was confused, and the Higurashi was already dreading where this was going.
"Then how about you just use me?" The orange head smiled, completely oblivious.
"J-juugo-san, you couldn't possibly be trying to imply..." Miroku trailed off.
"Kagome-san can heal me after taking some blood samples, right?"
Crap...
That's right, the former Kiri-nin had been one of Orochimaru's favorite specimens; of course, the idea of delving into human experimentation was just as harmless as proposing lending a sheet of paper for her to solve a random math equation. Aware of her place within the snake Sannin's facilities, the teen just assumed she also had no issues with it...admittedly, he wasn't wrong. Being under the Sannin's wing implied helping Kabuto in many of their inhumane experiments; more than once, the Higurashi herself came up with some of those, disregarding the weight of the innocent people used as sacrifices. Not that that was the image the girl wanted to be known. Sango-chan probably wouldn't overthink what was said, but the fake monk was a different story. She had to do damage control now.
"Juugo-kun," There was a practiced smile on her lips. "I know Orochimaru wasn't one to care for hurting those around him, but I could never do something like testing an unstable substance on someone." Not someone she wanted to keep close, at least. "I can't place you in danger just like that. Besides, I'm always around, aren't I? As long as we can slow this down, you guys can let me deal with it, and that will be it. So don't say things like that again, okay?"
"Ah...ok...sorry about that." The boy looked down, an embarrassed look on his face.
"None of that. I'll keep us all safe; just trust me." She wasn't lying, not entirely anyway. "Now, shall we try different components for the next try?"
Azure eyes managed to catch the side glance the two Taishos gave each other before moving to gather materials.
Juugo's background would help blurry how involved she'd been with all the activities that anyone with a sliver of conscience would condemn. The real question here was if that would be enough for someone like Miroku. It had been subtle, but the older boy had definitely been scouting to see how much information she let slip. Already she'd been forced into having to explain her bloodline in far more detail than was ideal.
Sasuke was right...being here was as much of a risk as following Orochimaru had been, at least until they figured out just what kind of deal her ancestors had sealed with the Taishos.
Curious eyes stared at the soft, diluted pink that filled the vial in her hand.
In the end, they'd made two more tests before deciding this was the best they could get for the day, and Kagome-chan insisted on creating a batch of workable counters based on the most effective mix they'd gotten. It wasn't quite an antidote since all it would do was slow down the propagation of the toxin for a little while. Unless the Higurashi girl was close, anyone attacked wouldn't make it. Still, Sango didn't expect to be given half of the batch.
"Do you think Kimi-sama would be able to get something out of this?" she asked as they walked to the main office.
"Hmmm, I wouldn't say the odds are quite that high." Miroku was still going through the results. "As much as I would love to say this is a breakthrough, I fear we'll hit a wall soon."
"I know our progress doesn't amount to much yet, but we're still working on it.
"Perhaps, but if there is no other way to slow down the toxin without Kagome-sama's reiki-infused blood, this research is entirely dependant on her." Violet eyes flickered to her, unspoken words evident in his gaze. "Even if we were to find an antidote, we'd forever be missing one key ingredient."
"Isn't that still something to be happy about?"
"Of course, of course." The fake monk sent her a placating smile. "I will say, that girl has only become sharper."
Sango frowned at the tone in the con artist's voice.
"She gave us little to no real information," he rushed to explain. "Sure, I managed to get some details on how her bloodline limit works, but this here." He waved the papers in his hand. "Is basically worthless to us if she decides there is no need to remain close to us."
The brunette shook her head. What her teammate was saying wasn't illogical, but she didn't like the feeling she got when being so openly suspicious of the young kunoichi. After all, as much as she admired their rulers, there was no denying they were keeping secrets too. The reality of the world they lived in was that everyone was always looking for something that could let them get ahead of others. How could she blame Kagome-chan for doing the same thing their leaders had been doing for decades?
Simply being strong wouldn't give them any respect if they weren't cunning enough to outsmart the other villages when handling information.
"Come on, we need to deliver this."
Danger and death were constants in the life of a shinobi; in a way, these were all things Inuyasha was used to. After all, he himself had almost died and dragged his friends through the gates of hell before. Every member of his family was well aware that the inherent risk of taking such high-level missions, was never coming back.
It was precisely because of that that their death rate during missions was relatively low, and eventually, the idea of one of the people he saw almost daily vanished from his mind. But Kimi confirmed that the idiot heir to the Okami clan, his childhood friend and the most annoying person he knew, had been moments away from death. Had anything been slightly different, Koga wouldn't have made it. It left a bitter taste in his mouth...it left him confused too.
"So...how the hell did this happen?" Inuyasha asked without looking at the heir to the wolf clan.
"Ayame hasn't given her report yet?" Of course, the jerk couldn't give him a straight answer. "She wasn't hurt, was she?"
"Not that I know. And I don't have access to mission reports, you know what I mean."
It was just half of a lie.
As the second born, Inuyasha truly had no right to be reading anyone else's statements, and he certainly hadn't read it, but his father called Sesshoumaru and him both. His father had been vague when explaining what had happened to Kouga, but the focus of the meeting were various fragments of old tales and legends that were only supposed to be known to the current head. According to their stories, there was no new threat but instead an old one, one that went back further than his mind could comprehend. What had been made clear was that this odd enemy was extremely dangerous, and it linked his family to the Higurashis for generations. Miroku had been overjoyed at finally getting his hands on some new info about this whole debacle, the guy thrived in political machinations, and this was as classified as it could possibly get... And Inuyasha prayed their esteemed matriarch didn't think every word uttered in that meeting would make their way to his teammates. They should know him well enough by now to know he just didn't take to political secrets.
That said, the details of the mission hadn't been shared, and no physical description was given since this enemy of theirs had an easy time changing their appearance.
He didn't care about the past; the past couldn't matter less. What mattered here was that members of his clan had been killed. Past treaties, long-time enemies, whatever details there were to be picked apart didn't change the fact that there was a chance this was just the first encounter with this threat.
"We were on our way back," Kouga's voice was quiet as he spoke again. "The attack wasn't related to the mission at all...we were camping. Our captain was scouting ..." The black-haired teen shook his head. "He started acting weird, came after us. We managed to stop him, you know. Incapacitated him...but then some thing came out."
"A...thing?"
"It looked like some sort of...of tentacle... I don't know. Hiro pushed Ayame and me back, and it got him." It felt weird to hear the arrogant teen be so subdued. "All I know is I felt a strong bloodlust and tried to pull Ayame away from it when I got hit." Frustration bled through his words. "It wasn't a single strike either. It burned. Things got hazy after that...there is something else to this, isn't there?"
"Huh...?"
"Your acting skills are shit," Kouga scoffed, his voice finally back to the cocky asshole he usually was. "You shoulda let Miroku make the interrogation."
"Look, we don't know who attacked you, and I didn't read your report..."
"Are intelligence teams being deployed?" the jerk interrupted his lackluster excuses.
"I guess so..." the silver-haired nin trailed off. "I'm not involved in those kinds of decisions."
"I will hunt that thing." Kouga was almost snarling now. "That bastard tried to manipulate one of my people. It killed members of my clan, so I will kill whoever was behind it."
The Taisho winced.
One of the first things Kimi made sure to make clear was that they needed to keep their distance until they had more information. The poison that almost killed the boy was far more potent than anything Inuyasha had ever seen, to make things worse, medical jutsus apparently didn't work. According to their writings, the only thing that had proven effective was the Higurashi's kekkei genkai.
"You know that's not up to me either..." And he couldn't be more grateful for it. "But that poison is bad news; I don't think we have an antidote for it."
"Then I just won't get hit. I was unprepared last time, but now that I know, things will be different."
It took some effort to keep himself from hitting his head against the wall. Proud didn't even begin to describe Kouga, the guy was the heir of one of their oldest families, and the black-haired teen had taken in the responsibilities along with the recognition that came with it. Annoying as the jerk could be, he was also fiercely loyal; there was no force on this planet that could stop him from chasing after whoever killed his teammates. Not like Inuyasha could blame him. Were they to switch places, the Taisho would be just as obsessed with revenge.
"Hold on..." the slightly older teen spoke up again. "If no one here has an antidote, how am I still alive?"
"About that..."
Truthfully, he wasn't even sure what he wanted to say next when a soft knock on the door cut him off.
"Excuse me..." An increasingly familiar soft voice rang through the room. "Is it alright for us to pass?"
Higurashi Kagome was peeking inside the hospital room, an innocent expression on her face. Oh...right, he'd been told the girl was to be given access to basically everything related to this mess, the current one, at the least.
"Wait..." Kouga trailed off, turning to look at the girl as she entered. "You are..."
"I fear we haven't been introduced before; we left for Suna so soon after arriving, after all." There was a warm smile on the girl's face as she stepped in, her bodyguard right behind her. "I am Higurashi Kagome, and this is Juugo."
"She's the one who healed you," Inuyasha added.
"I only did what anyone else would've done in my place." Her reaction really fit the kind image she'd been cultivating. "I was just lucky enough I got to you in time."
"It wasn't a dream..." Kouga's voice sounded weird.
"Dream?"
"Back then, when I thought I wasn't going to make it, I remember thinking an angel was the one who saved me." In a flash, the annoying teen had jumped out of the hospital bed and clasped the Higurashi's hands in his own.
"Whoa, whoa, the hell you think you're doing, you mangy wolf?"
"This must be a sign of destiny," he was smiling now, all seriousness faded in an instant. "A fated encounter."
"U-uhmm..."
Hold on, hold on!" Inuyasha attempted to pull the idiot away, only to be ignored. "She already has a boyfriend, and aren't you betrothed already?!"
"Betrothed?"
"To Ayame!"
Shit...oh, fucking hell...
He recognized the determination shining in the stupid wolf's eyes. But he seriously needed to pull the moron back because there was no version of this that didn't end with the Uchiha finishing the job their unknown enemy did. The guy was probably the most jealous person he'd ever met; it had been that way since they were younger, and nothing he'd seen so far pointed that part of Uchiha Sasuke had changed. If anything, the sullen bastard got worse; the younger nin glared at practically everyone who spoke to the Higurashi. The only ones who'd been spared so far were Rin-chan and his mother.
"Oh, that?" Kouga waved his hand dismissively. "Come on, that was just some childhood nonsense. No way she took it seriously."
"Of course, she took it fucking seriously! She introduces herself as your fiance!"
"There's never been a contract," the stupid wolf scoffed before turning to look at the girl who'd momentarily froze at the sudden declaration. "It can be easily corrected, especially when it's fate itself that's connecting us."
"...c-connecting?"
"She has a boyfriend!"
"That has an easy solution."
"Kouga-kun, was it?" Her voice finally got the idiot to shut up. "I am quite happy with the person I'm with; I actually came here to do a check-up, if at all possible?"
Did the stupid wolf pay any attention to what he'd say? Now that the guy wasn't fantasizing anymore, he looked confused, as if Inuyasha didn't tell him it was the girl who healed him. Whatever pity he'd felt for the last few moments vanished more with each stupidly stubborn nonsense his friend spouted.
"Oh yeah!" He was being unnecessarily loud, but whatever stopped Kouga from talking again was ok in his book. "I was told to give you this if you passed by."
"What is that?"
"A full medical report." It seemed Kagome wanted the same as she explained it to her teammate. "Since I didn't get the chance to do an immediate follow-up, this could be quite helpful to perfect an antidote."
"You understand all that?"
"Kagome-san is one of the best medical ninjas there are." So the girl's silent bodyguard could talk to praise her, huh?
"You give me too much credit, Juugo-kun." After all of Miroku's warnings, Inuyasha wasn't sure how much of the girl's modesty was real. "I was lucky to have been born with Higurashi blood."
"No way, I've seen you heal the people from the compounds with normal medical jutsus."
"Oh dear, I think you might hold me in too high esteem." With another smile, Kagome placed her hand on the orange-headed nin's shoulder for only a second. "But thank you anyway."
Golden eyes narrowed, he wasn't even half as observant as Miroku, but even he had noticed the girl was very much aware of her partner's jealousy and kept her hands to herself with pretty much everyone other than Rin-chan, who received head pats and short hugs every so often. According to his more observant teammates, it wasn't just that; it seemed that she also made sure to keep a certain distance from the people she talked to, not enough to be noticeable, but still very much there. But for whatever reason, the orange-headed shinobi was the one exception to the rule.
He and Sango wondered if perhaps her bodyguard simply wasn't interested in girls, but the con artist was quick to shut the thought down. Uchiha Sasuke was way too possessive for that to matter.
"In any case, is it alright for me to perform a diagnostic of my own?" Surprisingly, Kagome's smile looked a little forced.
"Anything you want." Not like the idiot noticed, judging by the bright grin on his face. "Is there anything I need to do?"
"Not at all, just don't move."
Silver brows furrowed as she felt an itch on the back of his head, just as the pink glow began to form in the hand the girl had placed on top of Kouga's. It happened every time she used her blood limit anywhere close to him, it gave him quite a surprise three years ago during the chuunin exams, but that was how he'd been able to locate her team inside the Forest of Death. His bastard of a half-brother scoffed when he asked, and his father refused to answer, meaning they'd felt it too, but the reason was confidential. The teen resisted the urge to groan. He loved his family and enjoyed the way the clan lived. They were the strongest shinobis in the elemental continents, free to move around without needing to bend over backward for some idiot noble, and they could just focus on taking the missions that were worth it. Sure, there were a lot of secrets and delicate political manipulation, but Inuyasha was happy to not be included in the handful of people who were selected to handle classified information. Sesshoumaru could deal with all that nonsense, except...all of this ancient history shit was clearly starting to affect them now. Because his family was definitely, deeply entangled with the Higurashis, there wasn't going to be an easy way to ignore the mess Kagome was involved with.
Looking at the girl as she finished her diagnostic and how close at hand her companion remained, he couldn't help but wonder if her group was aware of how connected their families were?
"It looks like everything is healing just fine," the girl smiled as she opened her eyes. "Is it fine to take a blood sample?"
"Of course, I'm not about to deny my woman."
"O-oi! What the hell!"
For once, it would seem like the girl was having trouble keeping complete control over the situation. Now that he thought about it, even though she'd been popular in Konoha, with the Uchiha acting as her shadow, there were probably many guys brave enough to be so damn brazen.
"Are you done here...Kagome?"
Well...fuck.
Of course, this was when Uchiha Sasuke decided to come to look for her, followed by the last member of their group.
"Her boyfriend!" Maybe it wasn't wise to scream, but Inuyasha couldn't care less by now.
"Oh right, the Uchiha..." Kouga sneered at the newcomers. "Keh, not much by the looks of it."
"You sure you're the right person to be saying that?" The lavender-haired nin scoffed right back. "I mean, if not for the princess here being so damn nice, you'd be six feet under."
"I was taken off guard, trust me. I can beat you in a fair fight with my eyes closed."
"...huh, so even in the Taisho clan, delusional people manage to survive..." Damn, the Uchiha was pissed.
"I'm almost done!" Shoot, if Inuyasha could hear the slight panic in the Higurashi's voice, this was bad. "Just give me a sec."
All in all, he'd only ever worked with Higurashi Kagome once during the Konoha invasion. But even so, Inuyasha could decipher the look the girl was sending his way as she got a syringe out of freaking nowhere to get blood out of the idiot. It was the exact same look Sango would have when she knew Miroku was about to get them kicked out of a hotel because his horny ass was crossing lines a monk wanna-be shouldn't be crossing.
"Ohhh, right, right!" ignoring those glares never ended well for him. "Mother wanted me to tell you guys that your clothes arrived before I came here, so we really should go and see if those things need to be fitted or whatever."
His hands stopped just short of touching Kagome before thinking twice and turning to push the clan-less pair of bodyguards out of the room instead of daring to touch either of the clan heirs.
"So, let's hurry it up." Later, he'd smack the idiot up. "Oh yeah, I'll send a message to Ayame, you know, your fiance. Let her know you've been given the green card for visits."
It wasn't proper behavior to let her head bump against the wall right outside the hospital in the eyes of not just their companions but Inuyasha and anyone else who might be watching. Right about now, she didn't care, though. Everyone knew she and Sasuke were together; every single rumor made it evident they were in a relationship and that where one went, the other followed...so why the hell did that guy think she'd smile and agree with such a pointless proposal?!
Not to forget that Koga was already betrothed.
And here she thought the toad Sannin was the epitome of shameless; clearly, she'd been terribly mistaken.
"Please tell me he's going to let that go soon." It was less a question and more a request.
A groan escaped her at the way the silver-haired shinobi just burst out laughing at either her poorly hidden annoyed expression or the whine she couldn't quite keep out of her voice did not make her feel any better. Going by the almost painful grip Sasuke had on her hand, he was just as pissed, if not more.
"That guy..."
"I spent a lot of time trying to get that guy to survive; please don't make it worthless." Hopefully, her comment sounded like a joke.
"You sure you didn't miss something while healing him, princess?" Suigetsu asked, tapping his head. "You know, up here."
"Hmph."
"Feeling insecure?"And, of course, Inuyasha had to be goading Sasuke. "Really?
"What?"
"Oh, wow, there's some confidence over there," the former Kiri nin wasn't helping the situation either.
"H-hold on."
"It's fine, ain't it?" The silver-haired Taisho grinned. "It's been a while since the last time we sparred."
There was a glint in the Uchiha's eyes that the girl recognized as a mix of genuine wrath and the silent threat of violence being barely contained. At this point, it would be far easier to just let this go on as they wanted. Sasuke was just as stressed as she'd been after what happened in Suna. And even though he knew there was no reason for him to feel jealous of the delusional shinobi resting in the hospital...well, she couldn't deny her own possessiveness didn't threaten her control.
"Fine..." Kagome relented. "But I am not healing any broken bones, alright?"
"Hmph, as if any of his hits could land."
A/N: I'm not entirely sure how this chapter came out since there were a couple of issues with the draft and I had to do last minute corrections but here it is.
Thank you guys so much for reading and any and all review/comment/criticism is greatly, greatly appreciated.