Adult-FanFiction.org : Inuyasha / Yashahime

Waiting on a Wish	By : Quillwing717 Category: InuYasha > General Views: 42891 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, nor make money from this story.

Chapter List
- 9
- 10
- 11
Disclaimer:
These things are important. If I don’t tell all of you that
InuYasha isn’t actually mine, I could get in trouble. So be a
pal, and tell everyone you know that I don’t own him. I just
like to play with him…rough and tumble style.

CHAPTER
9

The
first thing he noticed was the stale quality of that damned wolf’s
scent. The clinic still milled with people, but the stench of wolf
had faded from the air, telling him that Kouga and his cronies had
already gone. He fought a growl, unsure whether to be thrilled that
the idiot was away from Kagome, or pissed as all hell that he’d
left her unprotected. Either way, the wolf was dead.

He
did a quick, anxious search of the windows from the outside, certain
she wouldn’t be happy with him if he went storming through the
building, calling her name. He finally spotted her through the
ground-floor window of an examination room at the back of the
building. She was cheerfully telling a horrible joke to a
five-year-old boy, trying to distract him from the pain as she
stitched up a large gash in the side of his head. She was fine. With
his quiet sigh of relief, his body relaxed, and he realized just how
anxious he’d become in the short time since he’d left
her.

He
stood outside the clinic, watching her for a few minutes, transfixed
by the smooth efficiency of her movements, curious about her chosen
profession. He could see how much she loved it. She had something in
her manner, something generous and caring that managed to put
everyone around her at ease, no matter the situation. She genuinely
liked her patients, and loved healing them; her pleasure shone
through in her work, and glowed on her face.

She
turned suddenly to stare out the window, and he hid himself in the
nearest tree. Her brow crinkled as her eyes searched through the open
slats of the blinds. His gaze narrowed slightly, and he wondered if
she could sense him. Eventually, she just shrugged and turned away,
chatting genially with the little boy’s mother as they walked
out of sight.

He
dropped to the ground, a thoughtful frown wrinkling his brow.

Her
spiritual powers seemed so raw. She didn’t know how to use
them. According to the old woman, she didn’t even believe she
had them. He could sense them in her, but it felt weak,
wrong--as if something was off. It didn’t make any sense. He
was certain she should be able to use them. At the very least,
she should be acknowledging that they existed; she should be at least
mildly capable of defending herself against a youkai enemy.

But
according to the old woman, she couldn’t. Not yet, anyway. He
crossed his arms and glared at the clinic. So…why couldn’t
she use them? What the hell would it take so that she could? Better
yet--should he be worried about it? If her powers emerged, would that
put her in more danger, or less?

Just
something else that he didn’t understand. Just something else
that could go wrong.

He
glanced at the afternoon sky and muttered a curse. He needed to go if
he expected to be back in time for the end of her shift, but he was
very uneasy with leaving her without protection. It frustrated him
that he couldn’t just stay and watch over her to make sure she
kept out of trouble.

But
this Naraku person…another chill ran through his body, putting
his back up. He needed information. He knew only one person who was
even better at getting this type of information than Miroku. But it
meant going out of the city, far enough that he couldn’t get
back very quickly if she was threatened by any kind of danger.

He
inhaled deeply, taking in the scents of the city surrounding the
clinic, sorting everything in his mind. Youkai everywhere, but…not
even the slightest hint of jyaki. No malice in the air. Nothing to
rile his instincts.

He
looked at the clinic. Miroku had said it himself. Kagome had never
been in any kind of trouble before, and there was nothing to indicate
that she was in any now. Just because the damn rogues had been
searching for something, didn’t mean they had been
searching for her.

He
would feel better if the word had been given that the rogues had all
been caught, but…

He
turned away, decision made. Rush hour was starting, and he wanted to
move fast. Driving was out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thwack!
Thump.

His
ears twitched, his attention caught by the somewhat familiar sounds,
and he slid to a stop on the nearest tree branch, scenting the air
cautiously. Wild youkai roamed the forested area outside of the city,
and it was always smart to be guarded.

Thwack!
Thump.

A
tiny smirk quirked his lips. Oh yes, he knew this sound. He changed
directions, heading away from the cliffs, following the sounds and
his memories to a small clearing located a little ways from the
building edging the cliff. He halted just before the trees broke,
looking into the clearing before he stepped out.

Thwack!
Thump.

In
the middle of the clearing, Bunzo swung the heavy axe again, and yet
another log split in two and fell to the ground with a dull thud. He
bent over, threw the pieces onto his growing pile, and placed another
on the stump, preparing to swing again. His shirt was off, thrown to
the side, showing the dark tone of his skin, and the heavy layers of
muscle that rippled as he hefted, then swung again.

Thwack!
Thump.

Bunzo paused, tossed his long braid over his shoulder, and flung the
chunks of wood to join the others. “You might as well come out
and say what you’re going to say, pup. You never could sneak up
on me.” He didn’t raise his voice, and his concentration
didn’t move from his task as he spoke. He just placed another
piece of wood on the stump.

With
a slight roll of his eyes and an irritated ‘tsk’,
InuYasha stepped through the bushes and into the clearing. “Keh.
I wasn’t trying to sneak up on you. You’re the one
I’m here to see.” He shook his head, staring at the large
pile of wood. “Still cutting your own wood, old man? Fina
hasn’t demanded a decent heater by now?”

“Fina
has assured me on more than one occasion over the years that she
enjoys the smell of wood and smoke. And it heats the building just
fine.” Bunzo grunted as he swung the axe again.

Thwack!
Thump. Two more pieces for the already huge pile. InuYasha eyed the
cut wood, visually measuring how many trips it would take Bunzo to
haul it all back to the cliff. His brow quirked skeptically. “That’ll
take you a while, you know. You always overdo it.”

Another
grunt as the badger flipped the axe, allowing the considerable bulk
of the head to sink into the ground as he propped it against the
stump. “If you’re so concerned, you can help me carry
it.” He tossed the remaining halves with the others and turned
to face InuYasha. One absent fist patted against his shoulder as his
dark eyes skimmed over the hanyou’s alert pose, taking in the
red haori, and pausing to hover briefly on the sword at his side.
Then he glanced around the clearing. “So? You didn’t
bring your Kagome this time? Fina will be disappointed.”

He
shifted uneasily. “She’s working.”

Bunzo
paused, his unfathomable dark eyes almost amused. “She’s
interesting, your woman. You are luckier than what you deserve that
she’s a doctor who knows how to heal youkai.” Another
pause, this one considering. “Although, I didn’t expect
her to be a miko. That could make your life difficult.”

InuYasha’s
expression darkened. “Stop pretending like you know everything.
I never thought it would be easy, ok?”

Dark
brows lifted in slow appraisal. “No,” he murmured
finally, his deep tone as quiet as one of his size could get. “I
suppose you wouldn’t have.”

Bunzo turned away, snagging up his shirt and walking over to the
impressive pile, gathering wood chunks into a sling he formed with
the cloth. “So? What are you doing here? You’re not here
simply to talk, since if you wanted to talk, you could have done so
at any time in the last ten years.” Dark badger eyes slid over
him briefly, then back to the woodpile developing in his shirt. “Tell
me what you want…and while you’re at it, tell my why I
should help a spoiled pup who made my mate cry when he disappeared
with barely a word of farewell.” He tied off the edges of his
sleeve and slung the heavy pile around his shoulder with a deep
grunt.

InuYasha
barely suppressed a flinch at the censure in the older youkai’s
tone, but otherwise ignored the reference. “The Council closed
the gates today.” He said it quietly, his voice grim.

Bunzo,
already half-way across the clearing, stopped. He half-turned with
yet another measuring look. “Yes, so I hear. Several hours ago,
after questioning their hunters about the rogues’ attack on the
city last night. What of it?”

The back of his teeth ground slightly. “Don’t play
stupid, old man. You hear about everything that goes on with the
hunters in the city. Do you know why they closed the gates?”

Bunzo
took in the hanyou’s tense stance and sighed. Instead of
answering, he waved to the large pile of wood. “Make yourself
useful and help me with this wood.”

InuYasha
glanced over at the pile, glaring for a second. Then, with a resigned
sigh of his own, he walked the few steps across the clearing.
Shrugging off his haori, he stripped off the kimono underneath and
used the cream material in the same manner that Bunzo had, stacking
up a pile of his own before swinging it over his shoulder.

He
didn’t mind, not really--this was familiar. Things always
worked this way with Bunzo. He required some kind of labor for some
kind of return. A trade. It had been like this from the first day,
when Bunzo had found him wandering in the forest, to the last
day…when he’d finally felt strong enough to leave. He
hadn’t objected then, when it had saved his pride to be able to
work for his keep, and he wouldn’t object now, when he felt he
owed them.

Snatching
up his haori with his free hand, he moved to join Bunzo.

Bunzo
waited only until he was sure he was close behind him before he
started back towards his home. InuYasha followed, impatient for
whatever information Bunzo had, but smart enough not to push him for
it.

It
didn’t take him long. Bunzo had never been one to waste words
or time. “The only reason the Council has ever closed the gates
to the compound was if they felt the Alliance was in danger. That
they’ve closed the gates now means the Council has decided a
threat has arisen--a challenge to the Alliance’s purpose or
existence.”

InuYasha
scowled, his uneasy gaze falling to the ground as they made their way
through the closely grown trees. The threat was to the Alliance--not
the Council, not the city--but the Alliance itself. Sango had it on
the first guess. He shook his head. “You got any idea what
they’re so afraid of?”

“The
only talk going through my place is speculation on the rise of rogue
youkai plaguing the city. No one knows if anyone is even behind it,
much less who or why. At least, not that I’ve heard.” The
trees broke again and they found themselves by the little shed used
to store wood, hidden off to the side of the much larger building.
“Yet.”

Bunzo
threw open the doors and pulled the load of wood from his shoulder,
moving to step inside. InuYasha did the same, setting his bundle on
the ground, brows drawing together as he framed the most pertinent
question on his mind. “You ever heard of someone called Naraku,
old man?”

Bunzo’s
step paused halfway through the door, and for a moment, the larger
youkai just stood frozen. When he did move, it was to turn sharp
brown eyes on the younger male. “Where did you hear that name?”

Amber
eyes narrowed. Bunzo rarely let surprise of any kind show on his
face. “It was one of the questions the Council asked.”

Now
Bunzo was frowning. The load of wood hung suspended from one hand,
forgotten for the moment. “Who asked it?”

His
features twisted at the odd question. “Akadansha. What does
that have to do with anything?”

Bunzo
gave great sigh, then turned to set the wood down, removing it from
his shirt and adding it to the small collection already inside the
shed. “If he’s back, it means trouble. No wonder she
closed the gates.”

An impatient frown. “What the hell are you talking about?”

In
response, Bunzo gestured behind him at the remaining cloth-wrapped
collection on the ground, not bothering to look at him. With an
exasperated roll of his eyes, InuYasha handed over the wood.

Bunzo
continued restacking. “That name is not known in very many
places, pup. Naraku is the name of a youkai who has been around for
some time. He is dangerous, elusive, and very cunning. The few who
have heard of him say that his great passion is power, and that he is
always seeking more.” A pause. “The first I ever heard of
him was during Ryukotsusei’s first rebellion against the
Alliance.”

A
part of him went cold and still. The first rebellion. The one that
led to his parent’s death. His left ear flicked in agitation,
his gaze turning wary, but he remained silent.

“A
select few say Naraku was the one who convinced Ryukotsusei to go
against the Council, but it was never proven, because no one could
find a trace of any such youkai after your father sealed Ryukotsusei
away.” Bunzo turned to face him, his eyes grave. “The
second time Naraku emerged was ten years ago, when your father’s
seal was broken, and Ryukotsusei once again went after the Council.”

Yellow
eyes widened.

“That
time we knew for certain, because he mentioned the one who unsealed
him before he was destroyed.”

He
stared at the ground, unmoving, jaw locked, arms crossed across his
chest; long-dead laughter echoed mockingly through his thoughts.
Half-breed brat. The one who freed me couldn’t defeat me;
what makes you think you can?

He
closed his eyes, then shook his head to clear the sudden memory, pale
hair swishing against his back. “Naraku freed Ryukotsusei?”

Bunzo
finished stacking the last piece, then stepped out of the shed,
shaking out his shirt, and tossing InuYasha’s back to him.
“Indeed. And after you killed him, Naraku simply vanished
again.”

InuYasha
automatically grasped at it, scowling at the dirt and sap clinging to
the material. “And now he’s back. You think he’s
the reason they closed the gates?”

“If
Akadansha mentioned his name, then they must suspect that he has
emerged again. This Naraku’s been behind two attacks to the
Alliance itself, and both have nearly succeeded. If he’s
decided on a different course of action, and the Council got wind of
it, it may have been threat enough to warrant the action.”

An
inaudible growl vibrated through his chest as he quickly shrugged
back into his clothes. “If he’s such a threat, why
doesn’t the Council just have a hunter track him down?”

Bunzo
raised an eyebrow. “You think they haven’t tried? After
both attacks, and numerous times after, the Alliance has contracted
with hunters to track and destroy Naraku. Each attempt has either
failed…or the hunter is never heard from again.”

InuYasha
paused in the act of knotting off his haori. “They can’t
find him?” His tone was sharp, if somewhat disbelieving.

Bunzo
gave a rather impatient sigh and reached back into the shed to gather
a much smaller stack of wood. “Naraku is very secretive. Few
know his name, and we have no description of him because no has ever
seen him and lived. He is a collector of power, content to stay quiet
and hidden until an opportunity arises for him to steal more. He has
been nearly impossible to find.” He tossed the pieces at
InuYasha’s feet and closed the door, the click of the latch
sounding loudly as it fell into place.

InuYasha
glared down at the chunks. “Do you have any leads on him at
all?”

Thick
arms crossed. “Huh. You think to hunt him, pup?”

The
glare transferred to the older youkai towering over him. “Of
course I’m going to hunt him. He’s threatening the city,
isn’t it he?”

Once
again, Bunzo gave eyebrow gave an irritating lift. “He’s
threatening the Alliance, pup.” A pause. “Or did you mean
your Kagome?”

He gritted his teeth. “If he’s behind the rogue attacks,
then he’s threatening the city--and that threatens
Kagome. Are you going to help me or not?”

Bunzo’s knowing stare lasted a minute longer before he
relented. “Well,” he frowned out into the surrounding
trees. “I may know someone who possibly will be able to tell me
something useful. Perhaps.” He nodded at the wood he’d
thrown at InuYasha’s feet. “Take those into the kitchen
and stay with Fina until I return.”

“Stay?
But…” Surprised, he darted a glance at the sun. “I
can’t stay.”

“He
lives not too far from here. I’ll be back soon.” His
glower deepened ominously. “Or did you really think I’d
let you leave without seeing my mate?”

InuYasha
knew better than to protest, or he might not get whatever information
Bunzo came up with. “Damn.” He snatched up the few pieces
and started for the back deck, snapping behind him without bothering
to turn around. “Just hurry up, will ya?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The
kitchen was the second largest room in the place, with a variety of
appliances for cooking and storing food, and plenty of light from a
series of windows facing out over the cliffs. A set of swinging doors
led from the kitchen out into the main dining hall and bar, where the
customers who frequented the establishment ate whatever meal Fina had
decided to cook for the day. Information passed through there like a
sieve, exchanged over sake and various other forms of alcohol.

When
he stepped in through the back entrance, Fina was alone in the
kitchen, looking the same as she always had, red hair tied up, apron
shielding her clothes. She flitted energetically around her generous
workspace, expertly keeping track of the various pots on the stove,
and whatever was on her cutting board by the sink, humming some song
under her breath.

She
didn’t notice him right away, so he just stood by the entrance,
waiting for her to turn his way. When she started singing, a small
grin tipped his mouth. As far as he knew, Fina had three great
loves--singing, cooking, and Bunzo. While he’d stayed here, one
of his many tasks had been helping her in the kitchen while she
cooked, and she’d sung all the time then, too. Mostly
children’s and love songs, although the only reason he knew
that is because she told him--all of her songs were in French.

She
finally turned towards the refrigerator and stopped in shock, her
green eyes widening. “InuYasha.” The wooden spoon in her
hand fell to the floor, and she blinked down at it, then bent to pick
it up. When she straightened, a smile had replaced her surprise.
“It’s good to see you, little one. And so soon after your
last visit.” She looked him over, noting the wood in his arms
with some surprise, before her eyes went to the door behind him. “You
didn’t bring your Kagome with you?”

He
rolled his eyes at the disappointment she didn’t even try to
hide. “My Kagome has other stuff to do than come all the
way out here.”

“Oh.”
Her gaze fell distractedly. “That’s right; she’s a
doctor, isn’t she? What a shame. I was truly hoping to speak
with her.”

“Feh.”
His own gaze drifted around the kitchen uncomfortably, not at all
sure he liked the thought of Fina discussing anything with Kagome.
“You gonna tell me where to put these, Fina?”

“Hmm?”
Fina’s eyes jumped back to his before focusing on the wood. The
dimple in her chin reappeared with her smile. “Have you been
gone so long that you’ve forgotten, little one? We don’t
keep the wood in the kitchen.”

Oh,
yeah. Fighting an embarrassed blush, he retraced his steps out the
door, irritated that he’d failed to notice the woodbin sitting
against the wall just outside. Shaking his head, he went back inside.

Fina
had rinsed off her spoon and returned to her pots, but he could tell
her attention was on him as he leaned back against the door. “And
where is Bunzo? He was the one I sent out for firewood.”

“He’s,”
he hesitated, “visiting someone. I’ll be around until he
gets back.”

Fina
nodded. “He didn’t give you a choice, did he?” She
picked up another spoon, and dipped it into the pot she was stirring.

He
snorted, refusing to answer.

She
was facing away from him, so he couldn’t see her face, but her
voice held her smile. “Well, I am pleased to see you. It’s
been a very long time.”

Golden
eyes swept across the room. “This place is the still the same.”

“Yes,
but you are not.” After sipping at the spoon, Fina set it
aside, and reached for a small container of herbs. “You have
come quite a long way from here. A hunter for the Alliance. You are
much stronger. And now you have your Kagome. Are you content yet?”

He
didn’t look at her, and still he refused to answer.

She
gave him a startled look. “She…is the girl, isn’t
she?” His expression turned mulish, and hers turned stern. The
wooden spoon came out of the pot, dripping with liquid as she
brandished it at him like a weapon. “Don’t start with me,
little one. I knew your mother quite well, InuYasha. You know very
well that I heard all about everything. I cannot tell you how
concerned she was about those dreams of yours. This Kagome…she
is the girl, yes?”

For a moment, he stared in disbelief at the wooden spoon pointed so
threateningly at him. Then, with an aggravated huff, his glanced at
the ceiling. “Would I have brought her here if she wasn’t?”

Fina’s
features softened immediately into a slight smile. She turned back to
her pots and replaced her spoon. “No, you wouldn’t have.
I just wanted to hear you admit it.”

“Keh.”

“She
is very beautiful, and seems very gentle. I think your mother would
have liked her very much.”

He
lapsed back into a brooding silence, and she started humming again.
It was a game they’d often played over the years. She would
force brief spurts of conversation from him, and then seemed content
to stand in silence. Or sent him off to do chores.

He
shifted uncomfortably. “You got something for me to do, or am I
just gonna stand here the whole time?”

“Hmm.”
A finger rested on her chin. “The fire in the dining area is
looking weak. You could take some of that firewood out and stoke it.”

“What?”
Rolling his eyes, he turned for the door again, grumbling. “You
couldn’t have told me this before I put it outside?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“…for
two thousand yen. By the end of this week.”

Kagome
was surprised to hear Miroku’s voice drifting back from the
reception desk as she finally got her dinner break at around
eight-thirty. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously and her steps slowed as
she made her way down the back hallway. Two thousand yen?

“Wow.
You have that much confidence in him?” That was…Miso?

“No.
I’ve got that much confidence in her. Letting other creatures
suffer isn’t in her nature.”

“Hmm.
I never thought of it that way…I just don’t think she
can resist. You should have seen them this morning. He didn’t
look like he was suffering.” She sounded shrewd…and
flirty. Kagome couldn’t prevent the momentary roll of her eyes.
If she wasn’t absolutely certain of Miroku’s devotion to
Sango, she’d walk right out and slap him for her. She might
anyway. Miroku had never been completely immune to the attentions of
a pretty…wait a minute. Two thousand yen for what?

“Believe
me,” Miroku’s voice held complete confidence. “He’s
suffering.”

They
couldn’t be talking about…this time, the red in her face
came more from fury than from embarrassment. She marched out of the
hallway to find Miroku casually leaning against the raised counter of
the front desk, where Miso sat in front of her computer screen,
taking advantage of the small lull in emergencies. A thick pile of
cash sat next to her, to which Miso was happily adding several more
bills.

Kagome
propped both hands on her hips, incensed. It was one thing to be the
subject of a betting pool at work. It was quite another for one of
her closest friends to join in. Besides…He’s betting
against me?… it was kind of
depressing, too. “Ahem.”

Miroku
looked up in surprise while Miso just angled her head around with a
grin. “Kagome! You’ll be happy to hear that the odds are
now twelve-to-two in your favor. I’m guessing not very many
people saw you two outside today.” She wriggled her eyebrows, a
favorite habit of hers. “I have the feeling I’m going to
make a lot of money off of you.”

Sighing,
she decided to ignore Miso in favor of grilling Miroku. She started
with a glare. “Just what do you think you’re doing?”

“Come
now, Kagome. It’s just a friendly little bet.” He held up
his hands in a placating gesture, his gaze flitting nervously to the
pile of cash. “You can’t really expect me to pass up such
a sure thing, can you?” When her glower only got worse, he
sighed and dropped his hands. “Never mind. I’m here to
take you to dinner.”

“Dinner?”
Surprised again, she glanced at the giant wall clock in the--mostly
deserted--lobby. “Uhh…” She was supposed to
get two breaks and a lunch every shift; but when, and even whether,
she actually took them was entirely dependant on the patient flow of
the day. Thanks to the rogue incident last night, today had been
especially busy, and with all the broken bones and stitches, she
hadn’t even gotten a break yet. He could not possibly have
known it would slow down now. “How long have you been waiting
here?”

Miroku‘s
head tipped as he glanced around for the clock. “About an hour.
It’s not really a bad thing. For a private clinic, you
certainly get some strange types in here. Not too long ago, there was
a large bull youkai taking up three chairs, and carrying his horns in
his hands.” He gave a perplexed frown, and an ‘oh well’
shrug. “He said they’d gotten torn off while he was
fishing. I’ve actually been quite entertained.”

Kagome
rolled her eyes. “Uh-huh. It’s been a madhouse all day.
But that still doesn’t explain why you’re here.”

He
gave her his easy-going smile. “I told you, I’m here to
take you to dinner. Sango sends her regards. She wanted to come
herself, but she’s locked up in a family meeting.”

“Oh.”
Somehow, she’d been expecting him to say…something else.
“Sango sent you?”

His
dark eyes flashed with laughter. “Well, Sango and a certain
mutual friend of ours. Seems they’re both worried about you.”

She
blinked. Mutual…“InuYasha?”

Miroku
grinned again and reached down to snag the phone from his belt. “He
messaged me a little while ago. He’s elsewhere at the moment,
and wanted me to make sure you’re ok.” He waved the phone
at her, his tone sheepish. “You know, he uses these things so
rarely, sometimes I forget that he actually knows how. He always
manages to catch me by surprise with it.”

She
blinked again, the disappointment in the back of her brain vanished.
InuYasha is worried… “Oh.”

Miroku
shared an amused glance with Miso. “I see what you mean. Maybe
I should have made that three thousand.”

She
grinned back amiably. “Feel free to increase your amount.”

Cheeks
heated, Kagome resumed her glare, this time at Miso. “How about
he doesn’t?”

“How
about we go to dinner now? There’s a place that serves some
excellent sweet-and-sour pork just a few blocks away. My treat.”

Kagome
bit her lip, then glanced at Miso. “Well….” She
was hungry, but she didn’t want to leave if she might be
needed.

The
younger nurse just waved her hand carelessly. “Oh, go ahead. We
haven’t had anything even resembling an emergency in hours, and
there are four other doctors on shift. You should be good for at
least an hour.”

She
gave one last glance over the lobby, then turned to Miroku.
“Let
me get my purse.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The
restaurant was very small and intimate, with soft lighting, short
tables and cushions for chairs. Kagome sighed as she set her shoes
aside and sank down onto the nearest one, leaning her arms against
the table. The sounds and smells of cooking and frying drifted out
from the back, teasing up the ache in her stomach, reminding her that
she hadn’t eaten anything but half a cup of ramen earlier in
the day. She glanced around as Miroku ordered for both of them, happy
to note that the small number of customers promised a quick return on
their food.

As
soon as the server left, Kagome focused on Miroku, noting that he was
in his normal street clothes instead of the robes that he normally
wore at the Alliance. “I’m a little surprised to see you,
considering you sounded so urgent over the phone. Did everything go
all right?”

“As
right as can be expected, considering the circumstances. InuYasha was
his usual self, and the Council was the same as always. The entire
day has been…somewhat unusual.” Miroku gave a casual
shrug. “It reflects badly on the Alliance when the rogues slip
through, and last night was a pretty serious event. It just caused a
lot of work and hassle.” He glanced around ruefully, rubbing at
the back of his neck. “This is the first time I’ve
actually stopped to eat all day.”

Kagome
nodded. “For me, too. We dealt with a lot of victims from last
night’s attack today. The rogues cause problems for everyone,
don’t they?” She propped her chin in her hand. “I
guess it’s a good thing the Alliance is here to take care of
them.”

His
dark eyebrows rose slightly, and he looked surprised. “You
guess?”

She
blushed at his tone. “Well…I never gave it much thought
before. The Alliance has just always been around--like the regular
government, only less pertinent, because normal citizens don’t
affect it at all. I don’t know that much about it, and I never
paid much attention. Until recently, it was just a job you and Sango
worked at.”

Miroku’s
surprise relaxed into a smile of concurrence. “A lot of people
think that way. They don’t know anything about the Alliance
other than that it protects against the rogues--very few know enough
to understand the Alliance and what it’s here for.”

Kagome
nodded absently, her finger tracing lines into the polished wood of
the table. “InuYasha was telling me some about it
earlier--stuff about the rules for the hunters and the other things
the Alliance has jurisdiction over in the city. It sounds pretty
dangerous.” She stopped abruptly, exasperated heat washing over
her feature as she realized she was tracing his name into the wood.
Mortified, she buried her face in her palm, curling her errant
fingers into a fist. Tracing his name?! Get a grip, Kagome!

Miroku
noted the action, but his only response was another indifferent
shrug. “Really? The way he acts sometimes, I’m surprised
he even knows some of the rules.”

His
comment recalled a question that had been stewing in her mind for a
while, and she looked up with a frown. “Say, Miroku….”
She faltered, chewing on her lip, afraid she might be about to tread
somewhere she shouldn’t.

He remained silent, dark eyes patient.

Finally,
she sighed. “Well, about InuYasha…he doesn’t
really seem to like the Alliance very much.” Actively disliked,
was probably a better way to put it. “I don’t
understand….”

“Why
he works for them?”

She
nodded.

A
frown wrinkled his brows. “InuYasha’s father, the Inu no
Taisho, firmly supported the Alliance and its principle. He was one
of the strongest and oldest members of the Council, and he was
convinced that, despite whatever flaws it may have, the Alliance was
the best way to maintain peace between human and youkai society. For
InuYasha, that’s at least part of it. There’s another
reason, but…I think you might want to ask him about that.”

She
stared at her hands for a moment before raising her eyes to his.
“Then…why does he dislike them so much?”

He
gave her a strange, probing look. “Kagome…do you know
how I met InuYasha?”

She
frowned again, and gave a slow shake of her head. What does that
have to do with anything? The server returned with their food,
surprising them both, and Kagome waited silently while Miroku thanked
her for the food, picked up his chopsticks, and poked at the steaming
sweet-and-sour pork that he had raved about.

“We
were pretty young. InuYasha used to get pushed around regularly by
some human boys at the Alliance. He was still small, so he would
growl and swipe, but since they were bigger in number and size, they
had the advantage. The Alliance has a strict prohibition against
fighting within the walls of the compound, and I remember thinking
that it was unfair that some of the adults wouldn’t stop it
when they saw it.

“I
stumbled on them by accident one day. The whole group of them had
InuYasha pinned to the ground, and no adults around. The leader, Jin,
had a knife out…and he was threatening to cut some of the skin
off his cheek to add to his collection of hanyou teeth.”

Kagome
almost choked on her first mouthful of rice. She coughed, then looked
up, horrified. “What?!”

“Yeah.
Apparently they’d made a game of it, hunting him around the
grounds like they might a rogue youkai.” He was staring down at
his bowl, toying with his food. “InuYasha fought back--he
always does--and he managed to hurt Jin, and I got a hold of the
knife. I suggested they take their fun elsewhere. That was a problem
for them, because, while they didn’t mind hurting InuYasha,
damaging my person would have brought most of the Alliance
down on their heads.” He shook his head, disgusted. “After
that, as long as I was around, they didn’t come near him.”

Kagome
shook her head in disbelief. “What about his parents?”

“Izayoi
and the Taisho were both important members of the Alliance. If they
were on the Alliance grounds, Alliance business kept them busy, so
the boys usually caught him alone. And if he did end up with a wound
that hadn’t healed by the time his parents saw him, he just
blamed it on an accident. Without an accusation, they were helpless
to confront anyone about it.”

Her
hand fisted again, this time in rage. “That’s…unforgivable.”
She seethed her words out quietly, wishing she could get her hands on
the boys who had been so cruel. Somewhere deep inside, she felt a
stirring of warmth and pressure, expanding outward in a brief
flare--so faint, only a small part of her brain even acknowledged it.
At the moment, she was too angry too wonder or care.

Miroku
looked up sharply. His dark eyes swept her profile carefully, but she
didn’t even look at him. She just sat quietly fuming, glaring
down at her food.

After
a few minutes of silence, he sighed. “You have to understand,
Kagome, attitudes are different in the Alliance. Respect is necessary
for cooperation, but by virtue of their money and history, elitism is
rampant among the families. Youkai and humans may work together as
allies, but mixing blood is still considered taboo--not by all of us,
but by enough. Whatever intolerance you’ve seen out here is
nothing compared to what some in the Alliance had to say about the
former Taisho’s decision to mate and marry a human…and
InuYasha is the only hanyou ever to be born of the Alliance
families.”

Kagome
made a vicious stab at the pork in her bowl. “No, I don’t
have to understand. And I hope I never do. Does he still face that
kind of prejudice? If he does, I don’t blame him for staying
away.” She popped the steaming piece in her mouth, then
checked, surprised to find it as good as Miroku said it would be.

Miroku
looked thoughtful. “Sometimes. It’s not as bad as it used
to be, and not everyone looked down on him when we were kids. There
were those who stopped the bullies if they saw something, and these
days, since InuYasha has come back as one of the top hunters in the
city, no one bothers him.” His mouth tightened slightly, and
his voice dropped to disgruntled mumble. “Too
much…although sometimes they push it.”

She
stabbed at another piece, more gently this time. The meat really was
very good. “Well, while you’re telling me this, is there
anything else I should know? Anything else that might make me want to
kick everyone at the Alliance in the shins?”

She
expected him to smile at her question, but instead he was quiet
again. Her eyes drifted up to find his gaze considering her
seriously. “I think you should be asking InuYasha these
questions, Kagome. The story that I just told you…well, it’s
my story as well as his. It’s not something he’d ever
tell you himself. If there’s anything else…you should
get it out of him.”

She
nodded, looking repentant. “I’m sorry. I didn’t
mean to pry. I’m just…curious.” Her eyes fell to
her bowl. “He seems very…determined. And worried.”
She glanced up. “Has he always been so paranoid?”

Something
flickered briefly in his eyes, and the beginnings of a smile turned
the corners of his mouth. “He does seem rather obsessive these
days, doesn’t he? Ever since he met you, hmm?” His smile
widened into a grin and he resumed his enjoyment of his food. “I
wouldn’t worry about it too much, Kagome. I think that this is
probably as normal as you can expect him to be, under the
circumstances.”

She
frowned, more suspicious of his grin than his words. “Circumstances?
Are you…do you mean me?”

His
mouth was full, and he took a moment to chew thoughtfully. “You
know, for a while when we were little, InuYasha would occasionally
tell me about…” He trailed off for a moment, staring at
her. Then he shrugged. “Well, he’s always been very
tenacious. I’ve never seen him stop once he sets his mind on
something. And I guess, since he’s set his mind on you, he
feels it’s now his job to…” his smile widened
again, “protect you.”

She
almost rolled her eyes. Ok, now she just felt like she was missing
something obvious. “Is this little talk of ours supposed to
reassure me or send me running?”

Miroku dropped his grin for a play at sham innocence. “Now,
Kagome. We both know if you wanted to get away, you would have
already asked Sango to run interference for you.” His voice
dropped to a low murmur. “Not that that helped any.”
He stuck a rather large piece of pork in his mouth.

“What
was that?”

Raising
his eyebrows, Miroku just gestured innocently to his mouth with the
chopsticks and shrugged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After
Miroku walked her safely back to the clinic, and left her with a
cheerful goodnight, the rest of the night seemed to drag by. Kagome
checked on several overnight patients, then treated some minor
late-night cases, but overall, she was happy to sign out at exactly
eleven.

She
stopped by the supply room on her way out to pick up her medical bag.
Miso--also at the end of her shift--was already there, looking for a
coat she swore she’d left in there earlier in the day.

The
bubbly nurse grinned and waved as Kagome stepped into the room. “Odds
are still in your favor, Kagome, now five-to-fifteen.” She
shrugged, then stuck her head in between two heavy cardboard boxes
marked ‘bedpans’. “I guess the night shift has even
less confidence in your patient-turned-seducer than the day shift
does.” She muttered a muted curse, then pulled her head out,
glancing at Kagome before she bent over and stuck her head under the
metal table where Kagome kept her bag. “Your friend Miroku put
another two thousand yen in the pot, though.”

Kagome
sighed, and shook her head, resisting the urge to mumble something
unflattering about her best friend’s fiancé. She
unzipped the large bag, carefully checking her supplies, then shoving
her much smaller purse inside. She zipped it back up and shouldered
the heavy bag as she headed for the door.

“Oh,
Kagome…did you want this?”

She
turned to see Miso climbing to her feet, a small, folded square of
paper held in her hand. She frowned at it. “What is it?”

Miso
extended her hand. “It fell out of your bag.”

“Oh.”
Carelessly, she reached out and took it, unfolding it as she bowed
her thanks. “Thank you.” She paused, straightening as she
read the scribble of ink.

Scrawled
in scratchy characters across the slip, were the words ‘Takegawa
InuYasha’, and a set of numbers…cell phone numbers? Her
eyes widened and her lips parted in another ‘oh’ of
surprise as she recalled their argument just that morning. His
private phone number…and his family name? A tiny, shocked
thrill tightened the muscles in her chest, giving her gooseflesh. Her
fingers came up to brush across her open mouth. Had he really…

“It’s
from him, isn’t it?”

Her
hand quickly fisted around the note at Miso’s question, and the
faint flush that had already started grew deep. Her mouth snapped
shut, then opened. “It’s…nothing. Just some, uh,
information that I needed from a…a patient of mine.”

“Uh-huh.”
Miso’s look went from eager to sly. “So that silly blush
and grin you sprouted the second you read that thing has…nothing
to do with him?”

“No,
no.” She hesitated. “No.”

“No
it doesn’t have nothing, or no it does?”

“What?”
She shook her head, frowning, her thoughts too fragmented to focus on
making sense of the question. This wasn’t helping at all. She
drew a deep breath, and let it out slowly. “Never mind.
Whatever’s in this has nothing to do with you, and I’m
leaving now. Good luck finding your coat.”

Miso
shrugged, and gave another wave. “Ok. See you soon. Enjoy your
day off.” She turned away, mumbling to herself as Kagome pushed
out the door. “Now I’m wondering if I shouldn’t
change my bet.”

Out
in the hallway, she leaned against the wall, pressing her disobedient
lips together to keep them from tugging up, one hand going to a cheek
that was hotter than it should be. Her pulse was a little high, too.
Another deep breath, another deep exhale. She certainly hadn’t
expected that. She looked down at the paper still crushed in her
hand, then smoothed it out and looked again.

Scratchy,
short, impatient strokes. His name. His number. When on earth did
he…? She blinked. Her shower this morning. Both he and the
bag had been by the door when she came out of her room.

She
gave in to compulsion, and a tiny, delighted grin curved her mouth.

Folding
the paper over, she tucked it safely into one of the front pockets of
her medical bag. A loud ‘aha!’ from the supply room had
her hurrying out of the hallway before Miso emerged to grill her some
more.

A
quick sweep of the area told her he wasn’t in the lobby. She
waved a goodnight to the nurse currently manning the reception desk,
and headed for the parking lot, her teeth worrying at her bottom lip.
She had said she’d be working late, and he’d made her
promise not to leave without him. She might be stuck here waiting for
him. She pushed open the glass doors, noting he wasn’t lurking
behind them, and walked into the well-lit courtyard.

She
didn’t notice him at first because he was wearing regular
clothes again--jeans, a t-shirt, a jacket--and was sitting on one of
the benches. But then he stood, and the silver hair and perky ears
drew her eyes like a magnet.…

And
just like that, the silly little smile was twisting her lips.

He crossed the short distance between them and stopped in front of
her, glancing around the area. “You done already? I thought you
were going to work late?”

She
shook her head. “Turns out I didn’t have to.” She
hesitated. “Miroku was here earlier. He said you asked him to
check on me?”

He
scowled at the entrance doors. “Yeah. I was out of town and I
wasn’t sure I’d make it back in time. But he was supposed
to stay with you until I got here.”

She
tried to mute her smile as it widened. “He said you’d say
that. He also said to remind you of a few things.” She held up
a finger and started ticking off the points. “One: he has a
life outside of you, including and especially a beautiful
fiancée who needs ‘looking after’; two: the rogue
scare has been called off as of this evening, so I’m probably
not in any imminent danger; and three: that you should be
thanking him for even coming all the way out here, not to mention
feeding me, so he doesn’t want to hear any complaining about
not waiting around for you.”

He
didn’t look impressed. “Oh, I’ll thank him all
right.” He hesitated. “He fed you, huh?” His gaze
went over her features. He took a step forward, his hand reaching for
her face. “You look tired.”

Behind
them, the door to the clinic flew open. “Kagome, are you going
to introduce me to your friend?”

Kagome’s
eyes closed briefly. She’d forgotten about Miso. With a tiny
sigh, she turned as Miso walked up to join them. “Miso, this
is…” she peeked at him from the corner of her eyes,
“Takegawa InuYasha.” He gave her a surprised look.

Miso
noted the exchange, and a grin played with her features. “It’s
very nice to meet you, Takegawa InuYasha.”

He
gave a slight wince, and shifted uncomfortably. “InuYasha. I
don’t use the surname.” He directed his comment to the
nurse; his gaze, however, never left Kagome.

Miso’s
gaze slipped between them, and she nodded. “InuYasha. You look
even better up close than you did far away.” She bowed. “If
you’ll both excuse me, I have things to do tonight. I hope you
two have a pleasant evening.” She winked at InuYasha.
“Don’t let me down. I have five thousand yen riding on
you. Ja ne.” With a bounce of her curls and a wave, she was
gone.

“What?”
InuYasha stared after her, perplexed.

Kagome rolled her eyes. “That was Miso. She’s one of my
co-workers, a nurse here. We generally work the same shift. She, uh,
saw you when you dropped me off this morning.”

He
blinked, then looked at her skeptically. “Miso?”

She
gave an involuntary half-grin. “She’s only half Japanese.
Her mother was American and thought the word sounded pretty as a
name.” Her grin faded, and she bit her lip. “InuYasha? I
found…the note you left in my bag.”

His
eyes widened and he shrugged, then awkwardly shoved his hands into
the pockets of his brown leather jacket. “Yeah, well, no big
deal. All you had to do was ask.” He hesitated. “Takegawa
was my mother’s name. My father didn’t have a surname, so
I got hers when I was born. I don’t really use it, so I didn’t
think about it before.”

She
nodded, a tiny frown forming between her brows. His mother? Miroku’s
parting advice from earlier in the evening rang through her head. Get
him to tell you about his mother. Listen to what he says. Well,
he’d definitely just talked about his mother, but for the life
of her she couldn’t discern any hidden meaning. What had Miroku
meant by that, anyway?

He
frowned at her frown, head bending forward to look her in the eye.
“What’s the matter?”

She
focused on his eyes, and her face cleared as her mind filed the bit
of information away for later analysis. Instead, she smiled and shook
her head. “Mm-mm. It’s just…” Impulsively,
she stood on tiptoe and brushed her mouth against his in a soft,
butterfly kiss. The same electricity that any skin-to-skin contact
seemed to garner passed between them, but she ignored it and drew
back quickly, unwilling to let him make it anything more. She was
immensely satisfied to see she’d surprised him twice in one
day--his left ear had cocked at a funny, downward angle as he stared
at her. “Thank you.”

He
didn’t say a word as she shifted her bag over her shoulder. She
could literally feel his gaze on her face, and she cleared her throat
as her pulse gave another uneven jump. “It’s late. We
should go.” She started to turn away.

His
hand, darting out to wrap around her upper arm, stopped her in her
tracks. Gently, the pressure of his fingers and palm tugged her back
around to face him. His eyes, focused so intently on her, seemed less
human in the yellow cast of the parking lot, and her lips parted
slightly to help draw breath into suddenly tight lungs.

He
didn’t move a muscle. “Kagome…are you sure
the orphanage is where you want to go tonight?”

The
deeper than normal rasp of his voice hit her like a punch in the
stomach, and it took her a minute to realize what he was asking. Then
she sucked in another breath.

She
surprised herself. No blush. No stutter. Just a sincere, direct gaze,
and a gentle nod. “They’re sick, InuYasha. I need to be
there.” Her expression was calm, but her eyes were cautious and
pleading. Not yet. I’m not ready yet.

After
a few seconds more of that intense stare of his, his hand loosened
its grip and slid up over her shoulder, slipping under the strap of
her bag and sliding it away from her arm. She watched him quietly as
he slung the bag securely over his own shoulder. Then he looked at
her, simply waiting.

She
sighed, both relieved and disappointed by the easy capitulation.

On
another impulse, she reached out and softly grasped his hand. “Come
on. I really need some tea tonight, and I’d like to at
least check on the children before I get some.”

His
eyes focused on their hands, on her warm palm clasped around his,
then rose to meet hers. His mouth curved upward in a tiny smile that
thrilled her down to her toes. His fingers curled around hers. She
gave a smile in return, and a tug, and they started the short walk to
the orphanage a few blocks away.

To
fill the silence--not because it was uncomfortable, but because she
could--she started telling him about her day. The whole way, she
never once let go of his hand. He didn’t seem to mind.

Somewhere
in the back of her mind, Kagome was beginning to agree with Miso.
Maybe it was time she thought about making a bet of her own.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N:
Hello, everybody. Quill is very
tired right now. Why? Because she lives life in spurts of boredom and
excitement, during which the ‘dreaded RL’ only leaves
time to write when normal, sane people are sleeping. Good thing Quill
isn’t quite sane. (Ask around--anyone will tell you so.)

And,
before I forget, three cheers for blackberry! Thanks for catching my
flubs (bowl sounds so much better than bowel O.o), and you’re
right, message works much better than text. What would I do without
you? :D

Ah
well, here it goes: Chapter 9, up for your reading enjoyment. I hope
you like. Let me know if you have any questions or comments. *crashes
onto her bed, unconscious*

Cheers
and blessings, ~Quill
- 9
- 10
- 11
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Waiting on a Wish