InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Savvy ❯ Chapter Eleven ( Chapter 11 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

A/N: Well, this is just moving right along, isn't it? Oh, and Inuyasha isn't mine. Nor is anyone else in this story, except the very few people I made up.

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"Dark That Follows" Evans Blue (Yeah, two in a row, but it just fits so well.)

"Shed Some Light" Shinedown

"Man That You Fear" Marilyn Manson

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Inuyasha paid little attention to the streets he navigated as he sped his car towards Kikyou's apartment building, his mind a raging frenzy of fragmented thought. He wanted to find that Naraku bastard and end him, but he knew deep down that he wasn't the only one to blame, not by a long shot. Kikyou was capable of making her own decisions, and pushing drugs at his bar had been the wrong one.

Shifting his Chevelle into third gear, Inuyasha hit the gas with a heavy foot.

(*)(*)(*)

Kagome stared at her ringing cell phone on the kitchen table as if it were some horrifying new species of spider. That's the seventh time, she thought. The phone had been ringing more frequently in the past hour, and Kagome was becoming nervous. She hadn't heard Inuyasha come upstairs, and she knew the bar was closed. Not that it mattered; he wouldn't care to help her now, would he? She thought briefly of calling Sango, but decided against it. She didn't want to trouble her.

As soon as the phone stopped ringing, there was only a brief pause before it started again, and Kagome sighed shakily as she flipped it open. "Hello?

"Can't you just talk to me?" Kouga asked.

"Kouga, I don't want to talk to you."

"You won't even hear me out?"

"What could you possibly have to say?"

"Well, I wanted to apologize, but I'd rather do that in person."

"Absolutely not," she told him firmly, trying to keep the tremor out of her voice.

"Kagome, please," he pleaded, and in his voice he could hear the person he'd been when she'd first met him. Not that she would let that matter; not anymore. "I drove all the way here just to see if you'd talk to me."

Kagome's breath caught in her throat. "You... you drove here?"

"Yeah, and from where I'm staying right now, it was a pretty long trip."

"Where are you?" she asked, going to her door to make sure it was locked.

"In the parking lot. I wanted to make sure your little boyfriend wasn't here to get in my way."

Kagome thought quickly. "How would you even know if he had a car?" she asked.

Kouga chuckled. "Because I saw him leave in it."

Oh, no.

(*)(*)(*)

Inuyasha reached Kikyou's door in the long hallway, knocking loudly. He didn't smell Naraku, and was thankful for that. If he'd been there, he might have been tempted to do something that would later prove unwise.

The door opened after a few minutes, and Kikyou smiled lazily at him as she let him enter. As soon as the door was closed, he advanced on her. "Just what the fuck do you think you're playing at?" he shouted.

Her brow furrowed. "What are you--"

"Don't act like you don't know, Kikyou. I don't care how fucked up you are right now; you know exactly what you did."

Recognition lit her eyes. "Oh."

"Oh? Is that all you can say?" He walked away from her, kneading his aching brow with his fingers.

"What am I supposed to do, Inuyasha?" she asked, her voice raising slightly. "I don't have a job."

He stopped his pacing, looking her dead in the eye. "Are you so sure?" he asked. "Because it looks like you became that dirtbag's prostitute to me."

Kikyou's eyes widened in indignation, and there was a moment of perfect silence before everything exploded.

"YOU ASSHOLE!" Kikyou shrieked, causing Inuyasha ears to pin themselves against his head, but he didn't flinch, not until she reached for the vase on her kitchen table, launching it at him. He ducked quickly, and it shattered against the wall, sending a spray of glass, water, and wilted roses across the room.

Making his way back towards the door, he pinned her with a warning glare. "Don't come back into Savvy, Kikyou," he told her, and made his way back into the hall. "That went well," he said with a sigh, taking the steps two at a time and leaving the building at a quick pace. He ignored the fact that his hands were shaking as he got into his car, and he gripped the steering wheel tightly as he peeled out of the parking lot. It wasn't as if he'd had a choice; it was Kikyou's own fault that she was no longer welcome in the only place that was safe for her anymore, and there was nothing he could do for her but wait and see if she'd ever wake up.

He kept his mind carefully blank as he shifted gears through the nearly deserted streets that led back to Savvy. Glancing at the display on his cell phone, he saw it was nearly four, and he felt relieved and guilty at the same time. Kagome was probably already asleep; he wouldn't have the chance to talk to her tonight.

He was still two blocks from the club when the scent reached him, and Inuyasha let out a snarl. "Fuck!" he growled, not bothering to shift down as he jerked his steering wheel to the right, causing the car to fishtail wildly as he entered the alley that led to the parking lot. Let Kagome be alright, he thought wildly before his headlights rounded the corner, pinning Kouga in the glare.

Inuyasha wasn't going to give Kouga a chance to get away; he threw the car into first and pulled the parking brake, not bothering to shut it off as he jumped from the vehicle, running at Kouga and pinning him against the brick wall by his neck. "Thought you'd creep around here, and I wouldn't know?" he asked, baring his teeth at the wolf.

"I really didn't care if you knew or not, dog shit," Kouga replied, his voice straining against Inuyasha's grip on his throat. "I don't think you own this place."

"You're right," Inuyasha replied with a menacing smile. "But I think you'd rather deal with me than Kagura. She'd be more than happy to put you in some serious pain." He pulled away Kouga from the wall, pushing him down into the gravel lot, where Kouga nearly fell, but caught himself at the last moment, coming back at Inuyasha with amazing speed and kicking him square in the stomach. Inuyasha flew against the wall, his head colliding with the brick, and leaving an indention where he'd hit. It barely phased him, however, and he used the solid surface of the wall to push off, landing a kick to Kouga's side as he swiped his claws, barely missing flesh as they passed before the wolf's face.

(*)(*)(*)

Kagome went completely still when she heard footsteps in the hall. Had Kouga found a way in? What would she do?

"Kagome, open the door." She sighed, feeling the knots in her stomach loosen, and on trembling legs, she went to let Inuyasha inside.

She gasped as she opening the door and saw him, and it wasn't just because his hair and eyes were once again their normal color. "Oh, kami," she whispered, her eyes traveling over the bruises and large gash on his face.

"You should see the other guy," he quipped in a tired voice, walking in and letting her shut the door behind him. "He won't be back for a day or two, at least."

"I have some stuff, I'll get you cleaned up, it's just--"

His hand circled her wrist before she could leave the room. "Don't worry about it. We need to talk."

"But you're hurt!" she exclaimed.

He smiled slightly. "I've had worse," he assured her before leading her to the couch to sit down.

Kagome sat with her hands in her lap, staring down at them. "If this is about last night, I'm sorry."

He sighed. "A little of it's about that, but I'll get to it." She looked up to him, confusion written clearly on her face. "This might take awhile; I told myself I'd never tell anyone else."

"It's okay," she told him.

"I hope it is." He took a deep breath, wondering where he should begin. "You said before, that it was scary how Kouga could always find you, right?" She nodded. "Well, it probably is scary for you. You... you don't know what he is, do you?"

"Is?" Kagome repeated, obviously not understanding.

Inuyasha wanted to take her hand, to soften the blow that he was going to land on her, but he stopped himself. She might not want the comfort once she knew... "Kouga can track you, Kagome."

Her eyes widened dramatically. "What? How? Did he say something to you? Did he hire someone? Did he--"

"Stop babbling," he said, and Kagome immediately shut up. "It's nothing like that. He can... smell you, Kagome."

She cocked her head to the side adorably. "Eh?"

Inuyasha fought the urge to laugh; this wasn't the moment for it, especially with what he had to say next. "Kouga... he's not human."

Kagome's brow furrowed, and she studied his face, looking for the slightest clue that he was messing with her. "I don't get it."

"Did you not ever notice anything strange about him?"

"Like what?"

"Anything. He could always find you; you already said that. Did you ever notice that he was stronger than normal, or faster?"

Kagome looked thoughtful before her eyes lit up. "Yeah!" she said. "We were moving furniture once... it was really weird."

Inuyasha nodded. "And he was still probably hiding the fact that he could have lifted that furniture with one hand and tossed it. He's youkai, Kagome."

Her face went blank at the word. "Youkai? But..." He seems mostly normal, completely human, she thought. "I mean, I grew up in a shrine, and I've heard a lot of stories... How would you know?" she asked. "If I didn't, I don't understand..."

Inuyasha exhaled loudly. It was time, wasn't it? "Because I'm half youkai. Hanyou."

"Hanyou?" she echoed before her eyes widened. His name. Oh, kami, is he really telling the truth?

"Yeah. I knew what Kouga was the second he came into the club. He's a wolf youkai. If you had ever..." He blushed. "Well, wolves mate for life."

"Wolves..." she trailed off. "And you're a... dog. Right?"

He nodded. "Half. My mother was human."

"And Sesshoumaru?"

Inuyasha scowled. "All youkai."

"Kami." She took a deep breath. "Do you all look like... like people?"

"Some look mostly human. Some have concealment spells, or charms."

"Oh, so... you don't really look like... like you?" She was struggling for the right words, he could tell, but he didn't understand her disappointed expression. "I mean, yesterday, when I saw you. That's what you look like?"

"No. I don't have a spell. But on the new moon, I'm human for the night. It happens to all hanyou."

"And you were mad because you didn't want me to know?"

He nodded. "Right." His eyes scanned her face. "You doing alright?"

"Uh, yeah," she replied with a nod. "It's just... it's a lot." She wrinkled her nose. "So, does Kouga have a spell?"

"Yeah, but he could get along without one. It's just his ears. Sesshoumaru's the same way, except he has markings on his face, too."

Kagome suddenly remembered something Rin had said once, something that had confused her at the time. ("I might have made a mistake, though. Inuyasha's ears are cuter.") He always kept them covered up, except for the night before, when he'd been human. It hadn't really struck her as strange that he was always wearing a bandana, or a sock cap, but now she was curious. "Inuyasha?"

"Yeah?"

"What about your ears?"

His eyes widened momentarily, but he regained his composure quickly. "You don't need to see my ears," he told her.

"Why not?"

"Because I said so," he replied, looking increasingly uncomfortable.

She smiled. "But Rin said they were cute."

Inuyasha gave her an incredulous look before snorting and crossing his arms. "Well, Rin's a nut."

Kagome's face softened with sudden understanding. "Kikyou was the last person you told, wasn't she?"

Inuyasha twitched visibly. "Yeah. What about it?"

"She didn't take it very well, did she?"

Normally, if Inuyasha had been asked such a question, he would have shrugged it off with his usual surliness. Something in Kagome's voice, however, reached him. There was no pity, or even sympathy, really. Just the willingness to listen.

"No," he heard himself say. "She... Well, she freaked out. Things went downhill for us from that point. It scared her. She wouldn't even talk to me for a week, or come into work. I think knowing I wasn't the only one here scared her even more."

"There's more?" Kagome asked.

"Yeah. Kagura, that Emily girl. Shiori, too."

"Oh. Well, I guess it's not really so strange, is it?"

He raised an eyebrow as he looked at her. "You don't think so?"

"Well, I could see someone being overwhelmed by it, but..." She stopped, her eyes lighting up suddenly. "I still have to clean your cut!" Before Inuyasha could reply, she was running into her bedroom. He heard the sounds of her fumbling through her closet, and she emerged minutes later with a plastic storage box, which she placed on the floor. She pulled various items out of it, placing them on her trunk before she rejoined him on the couch. "There's not a lot I can do for the bruises," she told him.

"Why bother? The cut will be gone in a few days."

She gave him a stern look. "Because it could get infected, that's why." Opening a bottle, Inuyasha wrinkled his nose at the stink as she wet a cotton ball with it before dabbing it onto his wound, causing him to let out a hiss. "Sorry," she told him, her voice distracted as she focused on the task.

"Kagome, why did you drop out of medical school?" His eyes widened just as hers did at the question; he hadn't meant to ask her anything about it, and wondered if she'd be angry at him.

"I had to," she said after a moment. "My grades were already slipping before I decided to leave home."

"Because of Kouga?"

She opened a box of butterfly bandages. "Maybe. I don't know. I was really stressed out."

"Well, why don't you try to go to school here?" he asked as she applied the bandages to his face, closing the cut.

"Going back to school is kind of the last thing on my mind right now. There. You're done." She turned away from him to put her things away. "Besides, when would I sleep? I'm paying my own bills now." Closing the box, she let out a sigh before she faced him again. "Well, since you've obviously been going through my things," she said with a smile, "I think it's only fair I get to see your ears."

Inuyasha scowled. "That ain't fair."

Her smile only widened. "What's not fair about it? Now, are you going to show me, or am I going to have to wrestled that cap from you?"

Inuyasha fought the blush creeping up his neck at the thought of Kagome wrestling him for any reason. Giving her a look that clearly conveyed how unfair he found the whole situation, he reached up with a shaking hand, pulling the sock cap from his head and freeing his ears.

For one endless moment, Inuyasha was back over a year before, with Kikyou, his heart racing as he watched Kagome's eyes widen, her mouth falling open as she stared up at his ears, which were twitching from being freed from their prison. He wanted to run as he watched Kagome's chest rise, expecting to hear a terrified scream.

"Oh, wow," Kagome breathed. She blinked several times, letting out a breathy, little laugh. "I mean, I'm sorry, but... Wow." She rose up on her knees, lifting her hand before she stopped herself. "Can I?" she asked.

Inuyasha was confused by the question until he realized what she was asking. She wants to touch them? "Uh... sure. I guess."

Smiling nervously, Kagome brought both hands to his ears, grasping them softly as she rubbed the fur between her fingers. After a moment, Inuyasha was fighting to keep his eyes open, and found himself wondering... When was the last time anyone had rubbed his ears? They received the occasional tweak from Sango and Rin from time to time, but that was all.

Had it been when his mother was alive?

"They're so soft," Kagome commented, and the words, combined with her touch, caused a reaction from Inuyasha's body that he most definitely had not been expecting.

"Okay, you've had your fun," he said, trying to keep his voice steady as he leaned away from her. Kagome giggled, falling back onto her mountain of throw pillows. "Aren't you tired?" he asked as he silently willed his body to calm down.

She shrugged. "I know it's late, but I don't think I could sleep if I wanted to. This whole Kouga thing..." she trailed off, making a face.

"Well, now that you know about him, you have to understand how dangerous he could be. The locks on the doors won't keep him out, and I don't know how long threatening him will work. When he hit you... I don't want to scare you, but that was nothing compared to what he could have done." He watched as her face paled, and feeling guilty, his hand reached for hers of its own accord. Feeling her tiny fingers squeeze his only reinforced how fragile she seemed to him. How could Kouga have laid a hand on her? It wasn't that he was youkai; that only meant he could have crushed her if he'd chosen to, and only served to piss him off more. He knew exactly what Kouga had thought of hitting Kagome; he'd seen it as discipline.

"Kagome," Inuyasha continued, "I don't think Kouga ever really meant to hurt you."

"You don't?" she asked quietly, looking confused.

"I'm not saying he wouldn't do it again; he obviously sees nothing wrong with it. But he's a wolf youkai, and he's chosen you as his mate. He's going to get pissed off sooner or later, because you're refusing him, and he'll be ready to take out anything standing in his way." He caught the rising scent of Kagome's fear, and squeezed her hand. "I'm only saying this so you know how careful you need to be. I'm not going to let him touch you, I swear." She nodded, her lips a thin white line as she pressed them together. "Are you alright?"

She nodded, using his hand that she held to pull herself up, and she was suddenly leaned against him in a loose embrace, her head tucked under his chin. "Thank you, Inuyasha," she whispered as his eyes widened in panic. "When I thought you hated me, I didn't know what I was going to do," she admitted, and he smelled the salt of her tears again.

"Wench, do you ever stop crying?" he asked, trying to sound gruff, but failing miserably.

Kagome giggled through her tears, hugging him tightly. "I'm sure I'll dry up one day." She pulled away, but only enough to grab the television remote, turning it on and settling back against him. "Oh, look, Charmed is on."

Inuyasha snorted. "I'm overjoyed."

"Are you staying?" she asked just before her jaw nearly unhinged with a huge yawn.

"Yeah, in case Kouga decides to limp back this way."

"'Kay. I'll watch this, and then I'll go to bed."

"Whatever," he replied with a shrug.

Inuyasha was wondering exactly what the allure of such a stupid show was when his ears twitched from a noise other than the television, and he smiled.

Kagome was snoring.

I'll carry her to her room in a minute, he told himself, the end of his fingers dancing over the remote before he managed to grab it. He found a UFC fight, and rested his head against the back of the couch.

Five minutes later, he was asleep.

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inuyashaloverr- yay! i updated again!

shaylablade- i know i can always expect a good beating from you, dear.

sublimetrickster- yeah, it was a little ironic.

White Luna- well, i'm not sure kikyou will get her butt kicked, but trust me, it's not going to be pretty.

savii- neato name!

badgirl093- i am so going to look for a song called that now. muahahaha.

HollisterGirl29- you wish is granted. =)

Melzilla- that would be funny to see kagome's take of the calculus book. "chronicles" is so awesome.

Rinlover- wow... that was officially my first big, sloppy kiss via internet. thanks!

serendith_- thanks!

The goddess Rhiannon- thank you.

xXDarkLadyXx- yes, they are nasty. thanks for the review!