InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ 'life' and 'death' ❯ Chapter Twelve ( Chapter 12 )

Disclaimer: I do not own anything regarding Inuyasha.

Previously:

The kitchen became thick with silence. The CD had stopped playing, and they had stopped talking.

Inuyasha's thoughts raced through everything she had said and paused on the fact that he remembered what he was wearing, or lack therefore of.

"Feh. My clothes aren't dry. I'm going back up to my place and I'll bring your towel back later."

"Okay."

`She didn't say not to come back.' `Feh, she wants me.' Inuyasha's tender side faded as his widely known, characteristic one took its place.

He left without saying goodbye heading up towards his own apartment.

*************

Chapter Twelve

Nori stared straight ahead at the bottles that lined the wall behind the bar at which he was sitting at. He was slightly tired from the past week's activities. He had been at a major conference held in Italy for all of the major bosses of the major families from around the world when he received the urgent message Kagome was in danger. He had no idea that Ryo would make his move so soon. He wasn't able to leave right away due to the importance of the gathering. With the law trying to crack down on organized crime all over the world, the major crime families had all joined up together to develop an understanding at least. And now with Ryo's emergence back into the world, it only meant one thing: there were traitors among the Family. Sesshoumaru had worked overtime at figuring out just where everyone's loyalties lay.

The dim lights produced an unnatural glow which only added to the shoddiness of the cheap, sleazy, small bar at which Nori was holding a "personal meeting." The bartender was nervously drying off a glass while trying to avoid any type of unwanted contact from the notorious crime lord and his associates. A single stripper slinked her way up and down the single pole to some music on a small stage in front of the bar.

It was eight in the morning. Under normal circumstances the bar wouldn't be open until mid afternoon. But the Hiragarshi Family was anything but normal. La Casa, the name of the bar, was a Hiragarshi protected establishment, which basically meant that it paid money for the protection from the Hiragarshi Family. This protection ensured that no one would mess with the bar, which included the mafia, as long as La Casa kept on paying. The owners of La Casa graciously opened its doors to Nori and company; they didn't want to deal with the repercussions if they didn't.

Sesshoumaru, posed as an average "goodfella," stood with three other men fifteen feet behind Nori back towards the door that lead to the exit. Nori took a sip of his Manhattan, and then brought it back down closer to the bar, watching the ice cubes as he swirled them around in the glass. Seated next to him was his long time trusted friend, Onigumo, who was rambling on and on.

"So whadaya think boss? Who could it be's? I think it's those low downs, sons of a bitches, Hiten and Maten. They've been pains in the asses since day one. Everyone all knows that they only reason they is working for you is because of their father. Just think of all the times they've been put back into their places and all the times theys fucked up. They musta been the same fuck ups two years ago."

Nori set his glass back down on the bar table and looked Onigumo straight in the eye. Small beads of sweat were forming along his hairline. To the untrained eye, this might have gone unnoticed. But to be in Nori's position, you had to be at the top of your game if you didn't want to be cut, or whacked. Nori took note of Onigumo's non-verbal communication that he was broadcasting to the world without even knowing so. His father had always told him that "in this situation, even though he's saying one thing, the non-verbals will always give a man away."

"I don't think it was Hiten or Manten," Nori stated in a normal tone of voice while shrugging slightly.

Onigumo tensed up and sat up a little bit straighter in his chair. He looked Nori directly in the eye. "With all due respect Nori, what the fuck? They've caused trouble for how long and now you're going all soft on them? They're the most likely suspects to have teamed up with Ryo to get an edge up on ya." Onigumo had raised his voice slightly to Nori.

Nori kept a straight face as the tension in the bar went up. The bartender gulped and took a few steps back. "What I'm saying is I know it wasn't them. I got my sources and don't you question them!" Nori's voice rose up in volume; it was a more threatening tone.

Onigumo fidgeted in his chair. "Then who do you think it was, boss?" Onigumo asked as a lone bead of sweat trickled down the side of his face. Onigumo knew that things were not going as planned. The blame was supposed to have been placed on Hiten and Manten.

Nori got off of his bar stool and stood up facing Onigumo. He placed his hands on Onigumo's cheeks and kissed his forehead.

"I think it was you," he said in a calm voice, softer then a shout, but louder than normal speech.

The kiss of death, Onigumo had just received the kiss of death. He could beg, he could plead, he could do anything but nothing would overturn the boss's decision. Nori turned to walk away as he headed towards his crew. Onigumo followed behind, ready to drop to his knees and gravel for forgiveness, but at the same time, he was still ready to play stupid.

"Come on Nori, what kind of fucking idiot do you take me for?!"

Nori spun around on his heel, and gave Onigumo a deadly cold stare. He shouted with an infuriated roar, "A dead fucking idiot!"

Acting upon those words as a cue, the three men who had been standing along side Sesshoumaru walked towards Onigumo and held his arms behind his back, making him completely submissive. The stripper ran off stage and quickly took cover in the back room while the bartender ducked behind the bar, fearful for what might happen.

Nori walked up to Onigumo as he straightened his own tie and ran his fingers down the edges of his suit. "Nobody fucks with my family Onigumo. You disrespected me. You disrespected the Family." He slapped Onigumo across the face. Onigumo's entire head flew dramatically to the left as salivia flew from his mouth due sudden and violent impact from Nori's hand. Nori gave him the proper sign of disrespect that this situation deserved. He paced back and forth several times before saying anything else.

"Ya know, pops was right, when I was nine he told me `it's always the person you don't want it to be.' I guess the old man knew what he was talking about after all." Nori's voice rose with anger as he began to shout at Onigumo who was now sweating profusely. "The day you decided to betray me, my Family, and endanger my niece was the day you signed your death contract. By allowing Ryo to live when you were supposed to kill only brings you death. But I'm still giving you a choice Onigumo."

Onigumo could barely speak. Fear had completely taken over him. "A…a-a choice, sir?" All formalities had been reinstated. He was no longer considered a friend.

"That's right. I don't wanna mess up this shit hole," in reference to the bar, "any worse than it already is; therefore, you have three choices. I'm sure you're already familiar with the three R's: the roof, the river, or the revolver. You have five seconds."

"One.."

Onigumo gulped and swallowed hard as Nori continued counting.

"Two…"

"Please Nori, I'll do anything. I'll help you find Ryo, I'll give you all my cuts on everything, I'll leave and never come back, you can have it all…" he whined, pleaded, and begged.

"Three, Four, Five!!!" He had purposely sped up at the sound of begging. "Time's up. Take this fuck and dispose of him," Nori ordered with authority. He looked at his friend once more while he was being dragged out the door by the backs of his arms. His eyes pleaded with Nori for forgiveness, a forgiveness that would never come.

Nori shook his head slowly back and forth as he looked at the man he would never see again. "You broke my heart, Onigumo; you broke my heart."

Sesshoumaru walked over to Nori and gave him a nod of understanding as tavern's door slammed shut signifying that Onigumo was on his way to meet his fate. Nori returned the nod. "You do good work, son," he said while taking one last glance at the establishment that they occupied.

Nori turned his head to Sesshoumaru and gestured with his head towards the door. "Come on kid, let's get back to Tokyo. Daichi will be arriving at the airport about the same time our jet lands. We need to get back to Kagome."

Sesshoumaru and Nori got into the town car as the driver headed towards the Kagoshima Airport.

*************

Tai shifted around irritated and uncomfortable. His usually spiky hair was flattened on one side. His green eyes closed tightly as the sun that shot through the windshield tried to blind him. He was still in the same clothes from last night. After faxing the information to Sesshoumaru, "Fluffy" had only called to give him more things to do. One of which included paying off Club Elite so that they would keep their mouths shut about anything that they happened to know about the "happenings" in the back room, and out in the alley.

Sesshoumaru was only teaching Tai a lesson. In this game, you can't fuck up. Tai was lucky that no one wanted him dead for his foolish mistake. If Sesshoumaru wanted to be completely cruel he would have made Tai dispose of the dead body in the alley, but fortunately for Tai, there were people who took care of that kind of thing.

"Fucking Sesshoumaru," Tai mumbled under his breath as he tried to fight the sun's rays. He bit down on his lip ring and pulled on it lightly out of irritation. "Stupid fucking asshole Inuyasha," he added, taking his anger out on both brothers. `I bet it was Sesshoumaru's plan all along to get his brother and Kagome together like that.'

He looked at his watch and noticed that it was 10:38 am. "What the fuck am I supposed to do, sit in this fucking parking lot until Sesshoumaru allows me to move to a different street?"

Tai turned his head to the driver's side window as he heard a faint taping. `Holy fucking shit!' he thought to himself as he turned on the ignition so that he could roll down the window.

"Do you want to keep sitting out in this parking lot because I'm sure that I can arrange that if it is what you truly desire, Tai," Sesshoumaru said in a deep, baritone voice.

"How the hell do you always do that?" Sesshoumaru always seemed to sneak up on people when they least expected it.

"It's not too hard considering that you are usually too tied up in your own thoughts and are oblivious to the outside world. I do hope that you were not speaking of any important matters out loud in such a manner." Sesshoumaru raised a questioning eyebrow to Tai.

"Shut up."

"What an intelligent response. You know Tai; I would expect that from Inuyasha, but not from you. You are really spiraling down to his level," Sesshoumaru jokingly said with his regular blank face, baring no emotion.

"I was right! You are replacing me with him!"

Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes. "You two truly deserve each other. I suggest you get over this foolish feud and make amends."

Tai started to cross his arms across his chest but stopped right before he realized that it was one of Inuyasha's trade mark moves. Sesshoumaru had caught him but didn't say anything; he inwardly smirked.

"Follow me," he instructed Tai. Sesshoumaru walked away, offering no other explanation, just as command.

Tai ran his fingers though his hair and tried to poof out the one side as he started the car with his other hand. He put the vehicle in drive and followed his cousin's limo.

*************

Inuyasha had made his way up to his apartment. He opened his bedroom door to find three figures underneath his cover.

"Who the fuck are you and what the fuck are you doing in my fucking bedroom?" he yelled out, holding his towel together by the corners with one hand.

Immediately, the three figures emerged from under the covers. "Inuyasha!" one of them shrieked, "you're home!" A naked girl sprang from the bed and immediately wrapped her arms around Inuyasha's waist. Her fake breasts pressed up against his chest. "Come to bed baby, we've been waiting all night for you."

Inuyasha grumbled a few choice words while pulling the girls arms from around his body. `I can't do this right now.' He shoved her away slightly as she looked up at him shocked.

"Get out of here…" he paused to think of there names, but was drawing a complete blank, "…all of you," he said and then added a loud booming "NOW!" to get the point across.

"But we waited all night here for you all night and you never came home Yashie," one of the girl said with pouty lips and eyes.

"Yea," the other one joined in.

"Where were you?" the last one added with a little scowl on her face.

Inuyasha held his hands up to his temples and tried to control his raging temper. "Hold the fuck up! How the fuck did you get in here? And what I do with my time is none of your fucking business" Inuyasha was beyond annoyed. Sure he had brought who ever was up in his room home before, he thought, but he didn't want this anymore. `I have every guys fantasy, coming home to a group of naked women laying in your bed, waiting for you, and all I can do is think of that other bitch… feh' Even in his thoughts he "feh'd."

"Tai did," they all three answered at the same time, pulling him out of his thoughts while putting their clothes back on.

Inuyasha's eyes glazed over as his pupils narrowed. His heart rate increased rapidly. He could feel the heart beat against his chest. His fists clenched tightly to his sides and he looked at the girls with a deadly cold stare.

They might not have been all that intelligent, but at least they were able to recognize a man who was on the brink of explosion with anger. Without saying another word, they scurried out of Inuyasha's place leaving him to his own business.

*************

Nori and Daichi sat on one side of the limousine while Sesshoumaru sat on the opposite side, facing them, deep in conversation. The privacy window was shut so the driver would not hear a word of what was to be said. Sure the driver worked for them exclusively, but one could never be too close of information getting into the wrong hands.

"All that matters is that Kagome is alright, Sesshoumaru. You have done your job well and your services will be rewarded greatly."

The truth of the matter was that Daichi couldn't have been more thankful now for the day they took a chance on the kid known as Sesshoumaru. Daichi and Nori had suspected infidelity within their Family, but until Sesshoumaru had returned with all the evidence, they had no idea that what kind of treachery was running as deep as it did.

When Daichi heard that Ryo had been planning his "great return" for some time now, he couldn't believe it. Ryo was supposed to be dead. If it wasn't for Sesshoumaru, there was a high possibility that Kagome would be dead right now. Daichi would not let that bastard of a brother have the satisfaction in getting rid of Kagome, something he had failed to do two years ago. `Brother or no brother, I'm going to rip that bastards beating heart right out of his chest with my bare hands.'

Sesshoumaru nodded towards the boss and the capo. He had seen to it that as soon as they were all together again the list that he had compiled was handed directly to them. This list contained the names of those who had been unfaithful to the family.

The car came to a halt. The driver quickly rushed to the door and opened it. Daichi and Sesshoumaru exited the car.

"You take care of her Daichi, you give her my love, you hear?"

Daichi nodded his head at his brother.

"Well be meeting soon," Nori said as the driver closed the door.

*************

Tai had parked in one of the outside lots and was waiting up by the door of the building for Sesshoumaru to give him further instructions. As much as he didn't want to face Kagome or Inuyasha again, he knew that he had to. He hated to admit that he had lost an unspoken game to his cousin. He had signed on for the job, against Sesshoumaru's wishes at first, so he had an unbreakable commitment to fulfill. Taking a lose cigarette into his fingers he quickly lit it and took a quick drag to calm his unsettled nerves, while watching the exchange going on between the men in the limousine.

Sesshoumaru walked towards Tai with Daichi following close behind. Tai took a final drag of his smoke and threw it onto to cement, grinding it with his foot in order to extinguish it as the men approached him.

"Mr. Hiragarshi, this is Tai, my cousin. Tai, this is Mr. Daichi Hiragarshi." Sesshoumaru said, introducing Tai with great respect towards Daichi.

Tai extended his hand towards Daichi while Daichi did the same. They shook hands with firm grips.

Daichi looked Tai up and down. `You can tell a lot by a man's handshake.' `This kid might have potential.'

"It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Hiragarshi."

"Please, call me Daichi, there's too many Hiragarshi's to keep us straight."

Tai opened the door, holding it politely for the capo and his cousin as they made his way to Kagome's floor.

*************

Kagome sat on her bed slipping on her light pink Casadei ankle wrap sandal over her foot. She picked the other one up by its narrow three in heel and proceeded to put that one on as well. She had showered and just finished getting ready for the day. `Daichi or Nori will definitely be making an appearance, I best be ready,' she told her self.

Kagome stood up and walked down the hallway. She walked by the large mirror that was mounted in the hall way over a small skinny table without even paying attention to its reflection. The mirror reflected her image. There walked a confident woman in her white fitted cotton stretch Elie Tahari Rope Stripe Jacket. Its notch collar, three-button front, flap pockets and pickstitch detailing that adorned the jacket stylishly fit her body perfectly as did the matching slim fitting Elie Tahari Rope Stripe Trousers. The black tank that she wore underneath the jacket added a great contrast against the whiteness of her jacket, the paleness of her skin, and the darkness of her hair. The charmeuse lining of the garments aided to that spring in her step as it added extra comfort to her strides. Her bangs, purposely cut uneven across her forehead, lay dangerously close to her eyes while the rest of her hair was pulled back into a pony tail. The several pieces of hair that were too short for the pony tail fell to the sides of her face, framing it. Her mother's white gold 5mm Domed Omega necklace, cast a classy elegance of simplicity that seemed to pull her whole outfit together. She could have easily been mistaken for a high class business woman. She was in business, but just in her own special way.

`You must always look a sharp are you think.' `No one's going to take some underdressed slob seriously, not when you're dealing with the most "respected" business people in the world,' she remembered her uncles teaching her when she was just a little girl. As Kagome walked past the mirror she failed to notice not only the reflection that bounced back at her from its reflective surface but also failed to see that she had taken on many of her father's attributes whether she liked it or not. That, she would never admit.

*************

Daichi rang the door bell. The door was soon opened by Kagome; all emotion was void from her face, except for her eyes. She would at least allow her uncle that much. Daichi stepped in and hugged Kagome. Kagome embraced him back momentarily. Tai started to walk in but was stopped by Sesshoumaru's arm.

"Allow them a minute," he said quietly. Tai didn't object as he stepped back into the hall to wait with his cousin.

"Nori sends his best," Daichi told her before breaking free from their embrace and looked Kagome up and down, noticing every cut, scratch, and scrape. "They will pay… all of them," Daichi told her with a concerned look upon his face.

Kagome nodded at him, but said nothing. `If he thinks this is bad, he should have seen me last night.' `I can only imagine what his reaction would have been.' In all reality Kagome looked one-hundred percent better. Most of her wounds had healed a great deal and now only resembled thin red lines that were a lot less visible to the eye.

She looked at the still open door. Daichi followed her glance and interpreted her non-verbal message. "You may come in boys."

Sesshoumaru entered, followed by Tai who kept his eyes glued to the floor.

"Kagome." Sesshoumaru said to her, implying a hello.

"Sesshoumaru," Kagome replied back.

`Oh god.' `Why didn't I notice the resemblance before?' `For fucks sake, they could pretty much be twins if I didn't know better.' `It must have been the alcohol.' `But you meet Inuyasha for the first time, sober,' her inner voice reminded her. `UGGGGGGGGGGH!' `Perhaps he won't find out about it.' `If I can push the incident to the back of my mind, then nobody else has to know.' `I will not have Sesshoumaru find out.' Her mind had made up its mind. She respected Sesshoumaru and always received his equal respect back. She felt so unprofessional for sleeping with her "partner's" brother. It was scandalous to her mind. `It's not like I knew they were brothers anyway.' `But it doesn't make the situation right.' `Relationships are weaknesses.' `You are a Hiragarshi.' `You are not weak.' `You will not be viewed as weak.' `You are unstoppable.' Kagome had long respected Sesshoumaru's choice for lack of relationships and she was not going to let him know that she had engaged in one herself. On a level, Sesshoumaru played the role of the older brother that she had never had. He backed her up, he watched over her, and he protected her if the situation deemed necessary.

Kagome's trademark cool and collective composure took over as she pulled her mind from its inner turmoil and brought her focus to the center stage of her mind.

"Kagome, this is Tai. He is a trusted by Sesshoumaru and is therefore trusted by the family. He will be escorting you until this situation is dissolved."

Kagome inwardly cringed. `Isn't that what he hired Sesshoumaru for?' `Just my fucking luck.' `Tai won't even look me in the eye.' `I don't blame him.' `I acted so inappropriately towards both him and especially Inuyasha.' `God damnit… there's no point in even arguing that I don't need a so-called bodyguard, a term that Daichi has so kindly avoided saying.' `I'd have better luck at arguing my way into becoming a federal officer.'

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Kagome," Tai politely said while bringing her hand to his mouth like the first that he laid eyes on her.

"Likewise," Kagome lifelessly stated.

Her change of composure startled him. She was no longer the girl, no, the woman with the charming, charismatic, playful demeanor. She seemed anything but; she was as cold as ice. It reminded him of Sesshoumaru. `And that is not a good thing,' he thought. `But she's still as beautiful as ever.'

Sesshoumaru answered his ringing phone, saying only one word sentences, much to the annoyance of the person on the other end of the conversation.

Sesshoumaru turned to Daichi. "We've had several items on the list erased."

Daichi knew that he meant that several of the traitors had been taken care of and eliminated.

"Very well," Daichi replied. "Take the car out front, Sesshoumaru," he added, already knowing what Sesshoumaru's next statement would be.

Sesshoumaru left without saying goodbye to anyone, leaving Tai, Kagome, and Daichi behind.

"Kagome, why don't you get a few necessary things together? I don't want you staying here anymore, it's too risky."

Once again Kagome listened and went back to her room to pack a few suitcases. She wasn't sure if she would ever be coming back here so she took mostly anything that could never be replaced. For everything else there would always be money.

*************

Daichi reached into his pocket, pulling out a set of keys and threw them to Tai. "You'll need these kid." Daichi was used to calling anyone younger than him "kid."

Tai caught them effortlessly just as Kagome came back into view, pulling two black Coach Suitcases behind her, with a tote bag hanging over her shoulder, her light pink Fendi handbag dangling on her wrist while her black leather jacket dangled on her other wrist as she tried to get everything in one trip. Tai noticed her and immediately took her two suit cases and the tote off of her hands.

"Thanks," she callously said.

"Not a problem."

"I've given Tai the keys to the Shalini Estate," Daichi said in reference to his mansion. "I hear the guy that lives there is a prick but some how I think that you'll manage." Daichi smirked, awaiting a reaction from Kagome.

"Hopefully," Kagome said softly, allowing the corners of her mouth to curl upwards slightly.

"I'll see you later then, Kagome. Tai, you take care of my niece."

"Yes Sir," Tai replied as he made his exit to the elevator, Kagome following him as he left.

Daichi stuck around, he needed to do some investigating of his own, checking for bugs and other types of surveillance that may or may not have been planted without her knowing. Ryo played dirty, everybody knew that.

*************

A/N: Sorry folks, I had this almost done the day after I posted the last chapter... just needed to finish up this last section. Feel free to beat me like a rented mule, lol. It was so fun to write, hehe. And Krystal, I hope that your questions have been answered. Thanks for the encouragement and inspiration my faithful readers! Te he he. In case you like visual aids. Kagome's fabulous suit outfit! Hehehe (ps- is it illegal to post links on here or something because people always put spaces in-between there's on other stories?)

http://img67.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Auti2hottie/Shoes.j pg

http://img67.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Auti2hottie/ElieTah ariSuit.jpg

Had to upload the pictures to photobucket for Katina108 since she informed me the other link wasn't working; and now there's even the shoes! Yey.