Misconceptions And Misunderstandings by Time on my hands

Chapter 46

Misconceptions And Misunderstandings

Chapter 46

The elevator opened and Mariko left them with a promise to meet Kagome for breakfast in the morning. Kagome was beyond tired. It had been a long day. But she had made a new friend and got some shopping as well as sightseeing in.

Sesshoumaru swiped his keycard and opened the door to the suite. He had an instant feeling that something wasn't right. His mate confirmed it after yawning sleepily.

"That's strange. I could have sworn I left the lights on."

Sesshoumaru took her hand and pulled her behind him.

"Don't leave my side."

He didn't sense any demonic auras. He carefully felt for the light switch and flipped it on. He didn't see anything out of the ordinary. He slowly made his way through the rooms. He wished his mate elsewhere, but since she wasn't, at his side was the safest place for her. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until they reached their bedroom.

Kagome's shopping bags were scattered across the room and the contents dumped. Kagome was now quite upset, but Sesshoumaru was satisfied that whoever had done this was long gone. He left Kagome picking up and inspecting her things while he stepped into the living room and flipped open his cell phone.

"Kenta, send me one of your people. One that Kagome has not seen before. Someone was in the suite. He is to say that he is with hotel security and will be investigating the break in."

He walked back into the bedroom to find his mate very angry.

"I can't find anything missing. The jerk just tossed everything around. Guess he wasn't interested in stealing clothes. Good thing I didn't have any jewelry. We should warn Mariko. And report this to the authorities."

Sesshoumaru helped her lay out her things on the bed.

"I called the front desk. They are sending someone from security up to talk to us."

Kagome went into his arms.

"You always think of everything."

He sighed as he folded his arms around her.

"Not everything. Or I would have told you not to touch anything."

"Oh. Yeah. I've seen enough cop shows to know that. I was just so pissed."

"It's ok. They probably wouldn't be able to get fingerprints from anything you bought anyway."

"Hey. Maybe the guy from security will be a demon and he can scent the jerk."

Sesshoumaru chuckled.

"Even if he could, Kagome. It couldn't be used. Demons don't exist. Remember?"

She giggled.

"Right. I forget it's not normal for other humans."

Sesshoumaru let her go when there was a knock on the door. At least she wasn't mad anymore.

Sesshoumaru opened the door to see Saito standing there. He raised his brow at the computer hacker.

"She knows everybody but me and Ito. He's still following the waiter."

Sesshoumaru nodded and moved aside to let him in.

After a very official sounding interview and a short look in the bedroom to determine there was no evidence left behind, Saito left the suite. But not before Sesshoumaru was able to sneak a replacement key card into Kagome's purse. He then handed Saito the old ones. The hacker had already reprogrammed the lock and presented his lord with the new key cards. No one would have access to the suite tonight. Tomorrow they would figure out what to do about the hotel staff that required entrance for cleaning.

Sesshoumaru sat down on the bed and allowed his mate to show him what she bought. He approved of the clothes that she bought. She even bought a new bikini to go with the sarong. He looked forward to seeing her in it Friday night. He was glad that the sarong would be worn over it. He didn't like the thought of other males seeing his mate's body.

She put the clothes away after she showed them to him. She had two items she had not yet shown him. She turned to him with them in her arms.

"I bought you something too. I know you did not bring a swimsuit since I unpacked your bags. You will not embarrass me Friday night by showing up in regular clothes. Sometimes you can be entirely too stuffy."

She handed him a pair of swim shorts. They were red. The length looked like it would hit him about his knees. He had to admit they were somewhat conservative. The shirt she handed him, however... He held it up. It was a garish red and white Hawaiian print. He gave her a dubious look.

"How is it this Sesshoumaru's normal attire will embarrass you, and this... will not? It will certainly embarrass me."

She giggled at his slip into the third person reference. He only did that when he was really stressed.

"Don't be silly. All the men will be wearing them. Just be glad that Mariko talked me out of the Speedo."

He swallowed his argument and decided the shirt was not so bad after all. Then sent a silent prayer of thanks to the wolf girl. While he was not bothered by his nudity, parading about in public... in front of foolish humans... in something so revealing... came with its own set of problems. Of the female variety. Problems he would prefer to avoid. Like the plague.

Kagome smiled knowing she had won. There were times, few though they were, that he could be so easy to read. This was one of them. She headed off to the bathroom to shower. They would be leaving early in the morning. But she couldn't resist one last taunt.

"If they mysteriously disappear before tomorrow night, I will just have to buy you something else to wear. I promise the shirt will make this one look tame. And the Speedo is still an option."

She giggled as his face fell. He had never heard it said that mikos had telepathic powers, but he could swear sometimes that she could read his mind. He draped the offending shirt over a chair before deciding that it would be better to hang it in the closet. Not for care of said garment, but to remove it from his sight.

As Kagome showered, she began to think about everything that had happened today. Something was definitely not right. She had already noted that Sesshoumaru was acting strangely. She didn't think it was all because of her pregnancy. She wondered what the call had been about. The one he got just before they left. Was it business? Would he tell her if she asked?

And he had really been acting strange at dinner. He had been nice to her new friend and her brother. But his insistence on tasting all of her food was really weird. Especially since it was mostly fruit and vegetables. He was most definitely a meat eater. The rarer the better. Come to think of it, her new friends had not seemed to think her mate's behavior was strange. And then there was the coke that Mariko had not touched. She drank two others that arrived after that one. The whole thing was just bizarre. Almost as if they all expected something to be wrong with the meal.

Her mind was still working when she stepped out of the bathroom toweling her hair dry. Sesshoumaru had already changed out of his clothes. He was reading, patiently waiting for her to come to bed. He set his newspaper down and noticed her contemplative frown.

"What's wrong?"

She draped the towel over the back of the chair and crawled into bed beside him.

"Some things have begun to bother me. Well, not really bother me. But I'm trying to make sense of some things that have happened."

A feeling of dread slowly settled as he looked into her eyes.

"What things?"

He pulled her into his arms.

"Well, dinner tonight for one."

He kissed her shoulder.

"What about dinner?"

Then he licked his way to her ear.

"Ah... You don't really like fruits and ..."

His warm breath ghosted over her ear.

"And...?"

"You had to taste..."

He drew her earlobe between his lips.

"Yes. I like to taste."

She shivered as he suckled her earlobe.

"It was kind of..."

"Um. Hm."

His hands had begun to roam across her flesh.

"Strange... Oh Gods!"

He left her ear and moved lower. Stopping here and there to pay homage to a particularly interesting spot.

"You were saying?"

"I don't know..."

He continued to travel down her body leaving little nips and kisses.

"What was that?"

He arrived at his destination and with a flick of his tongue had her writhing.

"Oh! Who cares?"

He smirked at his successful derailment of her train of thought and concentrated on pleasing his mate.

Kenta was pacing. Matsushita's plane had landed a half hour ago. He would be here any minute. He at least had the location of the demon he believed had hired the waiter. And the other two. He was indeed a snake demon. Ito had followed the waiter to a small beach bungalow where he was met by an angry snake. Angry that his lackey had failed his assigned task and that he had come to him.

Ito was very good at hiding his aura. And snake demons were not known for keen senses. At least not at distances. Ito had called in and reported the information to a grateful Kenta. He had been instructed to only watch the goings on and report any change of location or pertinent information. So Ito had watched as the angry snake killed the waiter for his failure. Ito chuckled. At this rate they were going to have to recruit some new employees.

The ride to the hotel was quiet. Matsushita was still going over possible scenarios for the resolution of the current situation. Inuyasha had ceased to growl, but sat with his arms crossed, staring out the window. He wanted to see Kagome. To know that she was safe. And to give his asshole brother a piece of his mind.

Once the car pulled up at the hotel entrance, Matsushita made his way directly to the suite his people occupied. Inuyasha followed. He would get the current status report and then take great pleasure in waking his brother up.

Kenta opened the door trying to find clues to his boss's state of mind. He tried to remember that he was also a friend. And far too professional to come down on him in front of his team. No, Matsushita would reserve his censure for when they were alone. He stepped back to allow him to enter and was surprised to see Inuyasha.

Inuyasha took in the faces of the demons staring first at Matsushita and then at Inuyasha. Then they remembered themselves. All rose almost as one and bowed. Kenta rose from his bow.

"What brings you here, Lord Inuyasha?"

"Your fucking screw ups. You are supposed to be here to protect Kagome. How many times has she been almost killed now?"

Kenta paled. His job was history. Hell, maybe even his life if the look in the hanyou's eyes was anything to go by. He didn't notice, but Mariko had her fists clenched at her sides and had begun to growl.

Matsushita turned on the hanyou.

"If you have issues with my team or their actions, take them up with me, my lord."

The ‘my lord' was emphasized rather harshly.

"They have done their jobs quite well. Our lady is still alive and still quite oblivious to the threat against her. Your brother has made no complaint . I have no doubt that if he were dissatisfied, I would have heard about it long before now. And he is here, with full knowledge of the circumstances surrounding the attempts. Knowledge, I might add, that you lack. Until you have that knowledge, I would think that you would refrain from insulting your employees. It is decidedly unprofessional."

As an afterthought, he added, "My lord."

Inuyasha stiffened at the damn cat's upbraiding. How dare he talk down to him? He flexed his claws. He was going to have a piece of cat. And before breakfast. He always had enjoyed working up an appetite before a meal.

Matsushita smirked at the waves of anger coming of the hanyou. He wondered if it would give him a workout. Sure he was inu. And had powerful blood flowing in his veins. But he was half human. He was reasonably certain that as long as he didn't kill him, his brother would have no problem with them working out their disagreement. But it would have to wait. There were other things that needed their attention. And they took priority over having fun.

Matsushita suppressed his grin at the thought of taking on the hanyou.

"Might I suggest we return to the business that brought us here, my lord? There will be time for us to... play... after we have concluded our business."

Inuyasha smirked at the thought of bringing the damn cat down a peg or two.

"Yeah. It's a date. Get on with it."

Kenta let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. So, it really wasn't his team's performance that had brought Matsushita here. If so, he would not have defended them to the point of pissing Inuyasha off. He waved his team to seats and took one himself.

"So what do you know that we don't?"

Matsushita sat down facing his people. Inuyasha headed for the kitchen to see what was available. He was starved. And he'd heard all of this before.

Kenta clenched his fists once he had heard what Matsushita had to tell them.

"So he's here? On the island?"

Matsushita nodded.

"Yes. Sources tell me that he arrived yesterday. We don't know where he is staying. Only that it is a private accommodation and not any of the hotels."

"We've managed to locate one of the higher ups. The one spreading the money for the amateur assassins they've used so far. Ito is watching him now. He says it's a snake."

"Tell him to maintain surveillance. The snake could lead us to someone more useful."

Kenta's phone rang. He checked the caller ID.

"It's Lord Sesshoumaru. He said he would check in before they left today."

"Don't tell him anything yet. We need to meet. Tonight. If you tell him I am here, he will want to cancel any plans he has for the day. We need the enemy to think that everything is normal for now. No need to tip off our hand at this point. We're too close."

Kenta nodded as he answered the call.

The call was short. Kenta informed him of the snake demon. Sesshoumaru had agreed that he was to be watched. He gave him their itinerary for the day and requested that Mariko and Tsukuda meet them downstairs.

Mariko and Tsukuda prepared to leave. Inuyasha stood up.

"I'm going with you."

They both sucked in a breath and turned to their leader.

"No."

Matsushita did not even wait for the questions.

Inuyasha bristled.

"What the fuck did you just say?"

Matsushita stood up.

"Quite simple. I said, no."

"Who the fuck do you think you are to tell me what I can and can't do?"

Matsushita growled.

"The person who is fucking paid to keep Lady Kagome alive. And I'm not going to let you interfere with that."

They were now snarling at one another. Claws extended. Fangs bared.

Mariko took a deep breath and stepped between them.

"Please, my lord. Don't do this. If you go, then my lord Sesshoumaru will want to know why you are here. Lady Kagome will want to know why you are here. We have worked very hard to keep all this from her so that she can enjoy her trip. If she sees you, she will have to be told. If she doesn't figure it out herself."

She could see her words were having no effect.

"Dammit! She deserves to have some fun. Don't spoil it for her. Don't you care about her at all?"

Inuyasha turned on her.

"Of course I fucking care. How could you ask me...?"

He calmed down as he realized he was acting like he didn't care. Not about her feelings anyway. And her feelings were important to him. He had disregarded her feelings too many times. It had resulted in his losing her to his brother.

"Keh! Fine. But you better take care of her."

Mariko nodded.

"We'll protect her with our lives."

Kagome was in awe. The trip to the big island did not take long. Once they got there, Tsukuda had flown over the island to give her a spectacular aerial view of the rainforests. It was one of the most incredible sights she had ever seen.

After renting a car, they started with Volcanoes National Park. Kagome was glued to the side window as she took in every change of scenery on the way to the visitor's center. She was disappointed once they reached it, that due to a new vent, Crater Rim Road was closed for a good distance beyond the visitor's center. To continue on they would have to hike.

Kagome took the short tour at the center and was fascinated by the history of the volcanoes. She learned that Halemaumau Crater was supposed to be the home of the Volcano Goddess Pele. She also learned that while Mauna Loa had last erupted in 1984. Kilauea had been continuously erupting since 1983.

Kagome was leaning against the car when Sesshoumaru noticed her mood had taken a turn for the worse.

"What's wrong? I thought you would be enjoying this."

She kicked at a rock and crossed her arms.

"I was looking forward to seeing the rainforest up close. Since the road is closed, I can't."

"Of course you can."

"But you said you weren't letting me walk a lot. If the road's closed, how am I going to get there?"

She looked like a petulant child. He chuckled and reached out to lift her face to look at him.

"I said you I wasn't going to allow you to walk and exhaust yourself. You had no problem letting Inuyasha carry you all over feudal Japan. Can I not carry you through a rainforest?"

Her smile was bright.

"You'd carry me so I can see the rainforest?"

He turned around and offered her his back. She climbed on, wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. He folded his arms under her thighs and made sure he had a firm hold so she wouldn't fall.

Kagome snuggled close and kissed his ear with a whispered, "Thank you."

Mariko just laughed at them and followed as he headed for the designated trail.

It didn't take him long to reach the Thurston Lava Tube. He carried her through it listening to her marvel about how this used to be a river of lava until it drained off leaving the tube like structure. When they emerged from the tube, they were in a tropical paradise that words weren't sufficient to describe.

Sesshoumaru raised his head and sniffed the air. He could scent the waterfall. He headed that way. He knew Kagome would be impressed. She had a love of nature that was rare in a human.

Traveling through the forest, Kagome tried to identify all of the trees and flowers. She recognized a few from the tourist guides. Mostly the more well known ones. Hibiscus, orchids, and various fruit trees. Sesshoumaru passed close to a papaya tree. Well, it wasn't really a tree, she remembered reading. It was referred to as a large herb with a trunk. And the trunk was hollow. She'd never had a fresh one before. Only canned. Or juice.

She let go of his neck and reached up to snag one on their way by. She should have asked him to stop. The papaya didn't come loose as quickly as she thought it would and she tipped a little too far backward. She let go of the papaya to regain her balance and her hold on Sesshoumaru. The papaya decided that now it was ready to drop. There was a soft, but distinct thud as the papaya bounced off of a silver head.

Kagome closed her eyes and covered her mouth to stifle the giggles before being appropriately apologetic and contrite. A clawed hand appeared over his shoulder handing her the papaya he'd caught before it could hit the ground. She carefully took the fruit and murmured her thanks and another apology. She didn't see the small smirk on his face.

Mariko saw it. She couldn't believe the things she was seeing. This loving, solicitous mate was nothing like the stories she had heard of the ruthless lord. Kenta had told her of the interrogation session with the would-be assassins. It was almost as if that man and the one she was seeing now were two completely different individuals.

The reason for the smirk became apparent as his arms dropped and so did his mate. She squealed and scrabbled to retain her hold on him. In actuality she didn't drop more than a few inches before the arms were back in place. A clawed hand once again appeared over his shoulder to hand her the papaya she had dropped to cling to him. She took the offered fruit and swatted her mate's shoulder.

"Jerk!"

Mariko would not have believed it were she not seeing it. And hearing it. Her ruthless lord was laughing. A rich, deep sound that echoed through the forest. Where was the fearsome demon lord? The stuff of nightmares. And not only children's.

They began to walk again. Mariko heard his low voice. Low enough that only she could hear.

"Not a word to anyone, wolf. Not if you value your... job."

She gulped. There he was. Her ruthless lord had just been on a short coffee break.

To be continued....