InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Pack Law ❯ Anger ( Chapter 12 )

Pack Law

 

A/N: Happy Birthday, Pinkit!

 

Chapter 12: Anger

 

Kagome groaned to herself as the group walked the vehicle; a smallish sports van this time, large enough to carry all six of them. She kept her eyes to the ground, looking up only to see InuYasha open the door with a force that nearly ripped it off. Earlier that day, Tsukiyoshi had told her seriously that she was never, ever to take her ring off. He couldn't go into too many details, since he didn't have them, but they didn't want to take any chances. Daring a quick look at InuYasha as she climbed into the vehicle; his aura was a violent roiling red and yellow.

 

She bit back a sigh, settling between Sarah and Hitomu in the far back of the vehicle as InuYasha and Miroku slid into the front seats. InuYasha's ear flicked at them as she shifted, trying to get comfortable. Not a moment later, a low growl filled the car and Hitomu very quickly vacated the seat next to the miko, joining Tsukiyoshi in the center seats. The tension was so thick, Kagome almost instinctively threw up a barrier to hide from it.

 

The trip back to the den felt like it took a lot longer than usual. Miroku would open his mouth as if to say something, but closed it each time Inuyasha let out a terse growl. Kagome hunkered down in her seat. `Great. Now he thinks I've done something horrible and he thinks I enjoyed kissing Hitomu!' She sighed. Then she grew a bit angry. `He's been such a jerk to me! What does it matter if he's angry? So Hitomu kissed me, so what?' She shook her head. She couldn't help it. Even though Hitomu was very good-looking, suave and kind, and a great kisser, she couldn't help but feel she was being disloyal to her favorite hanyou.

 

Sarah clapped happily as they pulled up. Kagome spied a second vehicle in the driveway and looked questioningly at the kitsune hanyou.

 

“Grandpa is here with Misery!”

 

Now that was news Kagome wanted to hear. “Shippou is here?” The idea of seeing her kit after so many years made her almost forget the tension between her, Hitomu and InuYasha. She had heard a lot of their pack-sister, whom Shippou had met in Europe many, many years ago.

 

It appeared Shippou had been waiting to see his mother again, too, because the van side door was opened before Kagome could unbuckle her seatbelt.

 

“Okaa-san!” A fluffy ball catapulted into her arms. Kagome blinked several times as a very young Shippou clung to her with glee. At her obvious confusion, he giggled.

 

“I couldn't wait another moment for a hug, so I shrunk myself!” He sounded so proud of himself Kagome couldn't keep in the giggles. “I'll go back to normal once we're outside, okay?” The miko didn't answer, and instead just squeezed her kit like she had done several days ago.

 

“You must be Kagome.” A beautiful woman, taller than even Sango, strode out of the house as everybody got out of the vehicle. With a pop, Shippou took on his normal form. He stood about even with the woman, whose wise gray eyes were taking in every inch of Kagome's body.

 

“This is Misery.” Shippou introduced his long-lost mother to his best friend. “Her mother was hanyou; her father was a fallen angel. That makes her Nephilim.”

 

Kagome's eyes widened as she took in the young woman with a similar appraising glance. Misery had a powerful, otherworldly aura about her. Kagome's miko's aura tingled as it made contact with this new woman's. It was only when Misery smiled that Kagome breathed a sigh of relief.

 

“I've heard a lot about you. It appears the stories I heard were not exaggerations, either; I can feel your power even standing here.” Kagome blushed at the inadvertent praise, “In fact, we'll have to get you outfitted with the rest of the pack. I've got a great-”

 

Whatever the Nephilim had, the rest of the sentence was lost to InuYasha's most menacing growl.

 

“Oi! We may have accepted you into our pack, but that doesn't give you the right of deciding pack sisters. She ain't pack.” He stubbornly twisted his head away from the miko, cringing a bit inwardly as he smelt the tell-tale tang of salty tears.

 

“But I thought-” Misery turned concerned gray eyes from the alpha to Kagome and back again. She suddenly noticed nobody was looking anybody else in the eye.

 

“You thought wrong.”

 

Misery nodded, changing the subject. “Well, fine, but in any case, I've brought you a gift as well. I made some adjustments to your-” Cutting her off for a third time, InuYasha grabbed the researcher and stomped away. She chuckled, unfazed by his sour attitude, as he nearly snarled to himself, “Good. I need to blow something the fuck up.”

 

**********

 

There's only us... There's only this.

Forget regret…Or life is yours to miss.

No other road, no other way…

No day but today…

 

Kagome loved the finale. She focused on Sarah's melody, harmonizing with her as the men began the refrain of a different song. The words and notes mingled so well, it gave her goose bumps.

 

I'd die without you (No day but today)…

I'd die without you (No day but today)…

I'd die without you (No day but today)…

No day but today!

 

The song was over too soon. The miko felt the warmth that had filled her body fade as the room grew quiet.

 

“That was amazing!” Sarah's excited voice cut through the silence. “We're going to get a great grade, for sure!”

 

Tsukiyoshi chuckled quietly, pushing a lock of silver-blue hair behind his elfish ear. “I'm not sure how it sounded to human ears, but it sounded fine to mine.”

 

Hitomu flopped onto a western-style leather couch, grinning ear to ear. He took on a very InuYasha-sounding tone. “Sounded great to my pathetic, human senses.”

 

Kagome bit back both a laugh and a sob, unsure of how to respond. She heard InuYasha's tone in Hito's teasing and it really hurt. The day before, Sarah had told her a bit about how he referred to InuYasha as “Uncle” as well as “alpha.” He really respected the hanyou, and now there was a wedge between them.

 

Sensing the mood swing, Tsukiyoshi and Sarah hurried out of the room, muttering something about getting refreshments and needing a bathroom break. As they left, a tense silence formed between Hitomu and Kagome.

 

Kagome eventually looked up from playing with the hem of her skirt. What she saw infuriated her; Hitomu just sat there, grinning at her!

 

“What was wrong with you earlier?” She demanded, leaning forward. The sudden change in her attitude would have shocked Hitomu had his family not regaled him with stories of her infamous temper.

 

He raised an eyebrow calmly. “Would you have rather been suckered into a date with that Houjou moron?” He almost laughed at the look on her face. “It was obvious to anybody with eyes and a brain that you were uncomfortable.”

 

“So you thought you'd make it better by kissing me?” Kagome asked incredulously. “That was your master plan?”

 

“It worked, didn't it?” Kagome didn't know whether to thank him or scratch out his eyes, fixated on her and filled with silent laughter. She clenched her hands into fists and put them on her hips so as not to throttle the teen.

 

“I just don't know what to say to that! InuYasha looked like he wanted to slaughter you!” At the mention of his irate alpha, Hitomu's amused grin turned into a grimace. “See? You know it as well as I do! And you know I love InuYasha! Why would you do such a thing?”

 

“I didn't expect him and father to come in so soon.” Hitomu's mumbled reply was barely discernable. “I'm sorry I made you feel uncomfortable, though.”

 

A pair of triangular ears twitched, soaking in the entire conversation. `So she didn't necessarily want to kiss him. But she didn't push him away, either! She put her head on his shoulder!' InuYasha wasn't sure whether he felt more betrayed by her actions today or those of five hundred years ago.

 

Smelling Sesshomaru's son and the kitsune hanyou returning, InuYasha straightened.

 

“Pup,” he called out to Tsukiyoshi, “Your old man called. He and your ma'll be back tomorrow. He wanted you to know, though, the Neko no Taisho's youngest brat is about your age and wants to meet you. He couldn't think up a valid excuse, so you'll be headed to France in a few weeks.”

 

Ignoring the look of disgust on his nephew's face, InuYasha stalked down the hallway. He had to escape Kagome's scent, or he was going to break something.

 

**********

 

Finally alone, waxing moon rising high in the sky, InuYasha glared at the pup in front of him. The demon in him was torn between tearing the boy to shreds for touching what was his and cackling in pure pleasure of the pure nervousness he could feel radiating.

 

`Keh. I don't need a connection to know he's not as cocky as he's trying to look. Pup looks like he's gonna wet himself.' InuYasha let Hitomu sweat, contemplating how to make his point without invoking the wrath of his beta.

 

`Not much of a concern there. The beta knows his pup must submit.' InuYasha's youkai side was still bristling at the image of Kagome pressed up against the teen. `And once he submits, we will turn to the bitch.'

 

`I'm not doing anything to hurt Kagome!' He needed to get a hold of himself. Raging at the young woman and Hitomu wouldn't help; in fact, it'd probably do more harm than good. He suddenly recalled the pained look on Kagome's face when he had told Misery the miko wasn't one of the pack. `Okay, anything to hurt her physically.'

 

He suddenly turned on Hitomu, making the teen jump. “What in all the hells were you thinking today?” His youkai rumbled through, adding a deeper layer of rage to the tone of his voice. “Not just at the restaurant, either. You lied to Kagome earlier. You're familiar with my youki, you grew up with it. You knew I was nearby.”

 

Anger flashed in Hitomu's eyes, turning the violet a darker shade of purple. “You were listening to our conversation earlier!”

 

“Don't sound so wounded, pup. I'm alpha here. I have every right to know what you were saying to my mate!” The anger in his voice left even InuYasha blinking in astonishment. He was startled by the bark of laughter from Hitomu, making him sound more inu than he should as a mortal.

 

“Your mate?” the teen spat back angrily. “For somebody who supposedly loves her, you sure treat her like shit!”

 

InuYasha's hackles rose as he began to growl. “You watch your mouth, pup. You're not a full member of the pack yet. You won't get your talisman until you're twenty. I can still have you kicked out of the den!”

 

“You'd put an innocent pup on the streets?”

 

“For putting his lips and hands on my mate? Yes, I would!”

 

“She's not your mate, damn it! For her to be your mate, she'd be alpha female. But she's not even part of the pack, is she?” For all he'd learned his father's smooth-talking ways, growing up around InuYasha had given the teen quite the temper. Hitomu's anger overrode all sensibilities as he threw his alpha's words back at him. “Do you know how much that hurt her? Could you feel the pain and sorrow in her aura?”

 

InuYasha flinched. That had been a low blow. Even he knew he was acting irrationally, but that didn't mean he had to admit it, damn it!

 

“Look, you have two options here, sir.” The title was less of a show of respect and more of a sarcastic reference to his station above the teen. “You can either tell her you love her, and let her know that you've just been upset about being alone for so long, or you can let her find somebody better.”

 

In a moment, InuYasha had his hand wrapped around the pup's throat, eyes sparkling with tinges of red. “You're telling me what my options are? Is that a challenge?”

 

Hitomu squirmed in the hanyou's grasp for a moment before going limp and tilting his head as far from the flashing fangs as his precarious position would allow. The sign of submission pacified InuYasha's youkai blood enough for him to loosen his grip. The teen slumped to the floor, coughing.

 

“No, not a challenge.” Hitomu remained on the floor, eyes on InuYasha's feet. Sure, he had been told of the hanyou's blood-rages, but had never experienced one for himself. Knowing that InuYasha hadn't completely lost himself was no consolation. Hitomu would be willing to fight for this girl, but he knew now wasn't the time. InuYasha would wipe the floor with him. `I can't take the battle to InuYasha, so I'll win the war through Kagome instead.'

 

InuYasha could smell the fear rolling off the teen. Allowing the submissive act to soothe his wounded pride, he turned his back to Hitomu and gazed out the window.

 

“I'll handle Kagome, pup. We may have our issues, but in the end, we're meant to be together. If you have a brain in that head of yours, you'll stay out of our business.”

 

**********

 

Hitomu wasn't the only one dealing with an angry family member in the den that night.

 

“He did what?!” Sango shrieked about an hour after coming home from a quick check on her supplies for an upcoming hunt. Miroku held his hands up in a gesture of submission, unconsciously baring his neck to her. “No wonder InuYasha was pissed off! I could feel his anger from across the city!”

 

Miroku rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “To be honest, I was pretty sure we were going to feel his anger the moment it happened. I'm surprised he didn't sharpen his claws on our son.”

 

“I'm surprised we still have a son. What have you been teaching him?”

 

“Me?” Miroku held his hand to his chest with an innocent look on his face. “Why do you think-”

 

“Oh, don't even try to pull the innocent act with me! I'm not the lecherous one here!”

 

“I haven't leched anybody but you since Kagome left us the first time!”

 

Sango narrowed her eyes at her husband. “Speaking of which, have we found out what happened yet?”

 

Shaking his head, Miroku looked concernedly out the window in the direction he knew Kagome lived. “I have no clue. Misery drove her home today and called to report the well was still exuding energy when she checked it.”

 

“What if Hito's actions today had something to do with it?”

 

The monk stared at his wife in shock. “You think Kagome sealed the well to be with our son rather than InuYasha?”

 

“Well, not exactly. Obviously, she's met InuYasha of this time. But maybe Hito has something to do with it?”

 

Miroku hugged his wife to him, soothing his hand down her back to ease the tension from her. “I'm just as worried as you are, but idle speculation isn't going to solve anything. We're just going to have to wait and see.”

 

Sango stiffened, “We've been waiting for five hundred years!”

 

Miroku's eyes twinkled as his hands moved lower on her back. “This is true. I've also been waiting. You promised to bear as many children as I wanted, correct?”

 

She twisted her mouth in a wry grin, “You know as well as I do why we've only had two. What would Japan be like if Naraku came back and all our children had a black hole in their hand?”

 

He nodded, knowing she would feel the motion of his head against hers. “I'm aware of the dangers. But that doesn't mean we can't work on our third now.” He captured her mouth in his, feeling her smile against him.

 

“You mean our second? We may not have a son once InuYasha is done with him.” Sango let him halt that train of thought with his well-placed, well-practiced hands.

 

A/N:

 

Somebody pointed it out, and I'll acknowledge it - I do have a tendency to switch back and forth with Japanese and English (okaa-san vs. mother, for example). It's mainly because I watch a healthy dose of both Japanese & English episodes, and I'll admit I'm kind of drawing on what “sounds” right to me in my head. Eventually I'll probably go back and fix it up, but right now… sorry, you'll just have to deal with it!

 

“Thank you” to everybody who's reviewed so far. Especially the reviews for the last chapter, I was absolutely cracking up. Specifically -

catbaker, kokoronagomu, pokiepal (“real life” is really overrated…), DragonKitsune (*evil grin* There's just so many possibilities, aren't there?), sakuralovesinuyasha, Sovereignty (I think I laughed the loudest at your comment, while at work, too! Actually, I <3 Hitomu… but you're right, InuYasha doesn't, especially not now!), inuyashaloverr, Kryptoinuyasha (Who knew lechery was a genetically transferred trait?), angel-up-above-heaven, phalon23, Jinn Ryu, anonymous…, Pinkit (the secret of the well is coming up, don't worry! I just cross my fingers that people won't see it coming…), Ryo5492

 

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha or any other characters from the anime/manga. They all belong to Rumiko Takahashi.

 

I do, however, own the original characters in this story. Please don't steal them! (I may let you borrow them if you ask politely.)

 

Misery is owned by kodiaqkitten, and is playing a small role only due to her awesome mistress's agreement.