Intruders
Kagome popped the video into the VCR. "You better watch this," she snapped at her little brother Sota.
Sota stuck out his tongue at her back as she disappeared into the kitchen to do the dishes. Great… she thought to herself. This is great fun. Not only did Mom & Grandpa leave for some temple thing suddenly and expect me to be Sota's caretaker, but I'm two days late for returning to Inuyasha's time and that jerk never understands anything. She scrubbed a pan furiously. Then she dunked it in hot rinse water and slammed it down onto the towel to dry.
I could use a little help, she thought. Sota… that brat.
She looked up and out the window over the sink. It was dark out already, but a clear night. The full moon was very bright. She stared angrily out into the empty yard. Suddenly, she saw something just outside the window move. It was a bush. The wind wasn't blowing, and Buyo was inside, locked up in her grandfather's room (as punishment for clawing the curtains).
Kagome quietly, slowly let the dish slide back into the water and dried her hands noiselessly on a towel. She heard a voice outside. Whoever it was was trying to be quiet but not doing so very well.
She backed away from the window, not knowing what to do, then panicked and fled to the living room. She grabbed Sota's hand and jerked him up. "There's someone outside," she said in a harsh whisper. "Someone is going to try to hurt us. I want you to run upstairs to my closet and lock yourself in. Don't turn on any lights and be as quiet as you can. Block the door as best you can and don't come out no matter what."
Sota doubted her at first, but a crash from a room somewhere close by was enough to convince him. "Go!" Kagome said urgently. Sota took off up the stairs and into her room. Kagome ran halfway up the stairs and called out, "They might make me try to get you to come out! If they do, pretend you're not in there and don't say a word. And DON'T OPEN THE DOOR unless I say… uh, the words 'full moon'!"
"Okay!" Sota whispered down to her.
Kagome raced back down the stairs and crept towards her grandfather's room. The door was closed. As quietly as possible, she tried to open it. The phone. She had to get the phone, call for help—
Someone grabbed her arm and spun her around. It was a big, strong man in a ski mask. "What do we have here?" he said.
"Looks like a little wench trying to escape," another voice said.
"Can we keep 'er?" a slimy voice asked.
Three more men came out of the kitchen and into Kagome's view. The big one yanked her arm to make her stand, then pushed her towards one that hadn't spoken yet. "Take care of 'er quick, then get your butt back in here. We got lotsa work."
The man Kagome had been given to tied a rope tightly around her wrists. It dug into her skin and hurt when she tried to move. "Go," he kicked her through the doorframe.
"Where?" Kagome's voice was barely a whisper.
"Outside," the man replied.
As Kagome walked she prayed that they would not get Sota and tried to think of some route of escape. She had no chance of running away—these men were big and strong and could easily catch up. Was this man going to kill her? What would become of Sota? Would they both die? Would it be her fault? And to think she had been calling him 'brat' several minutes ago…
A somewhat useless thought popped into her head. She heard the voice of her civics instructor, commenting, "The average criminal's IQ is ten points lower then that of a normal person." So they were stupid.
Another irrelevant thought came to her mind about the book she'd been reading to Sota the other night. "…Do please, Brer Fox, don't fling me in dat brier-patch…" That silly folk tale of Brer Fox and Brer Rabbit…
She saw the well house, and everything fell into place. "Where are we going?" she asked. "Whatever you do, please don't lock me in the well house. It's dark in there, and full of rats and bugs. And… and a ghost lives in there. An awful one. We hear it moaning all the time… oh, please, not the well house." It was not hard sounding fearful, for Kagome was already terrified. But her story sounded stupid. There was no way he would fall for it.
Suddenly the man shoved her, and she had difficulty keeping her balance. He grabbed her arm and practically dragged her now. She looked up, though—they were headed for the well.
"What are you doing?" she acted as best she could. "No! Oh, no, please… you can't… not the well! Anything but that! Please!"
"Get in there, coward!" he tugged the door open, threw her in, and bolted it shut.
Kagome listened to his footsteps disappear. Then she scrambled to her feet and ran to the well. She stumbled a bit on the stairs in her panicked hurry, but she soon made it to the edge and was able to jump in.
Coming out in the other era presented a problem—her hands were bound. She called for help first. "INUYASHA!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. "INUYASHA, HELP!" She waited a minute, spending the time sawing the rope on a sharp rock in the well. Nobody came. "INUYasha!" her voice cracked as she called again. The rock did not cut the ropes, and was nowhere near close to doing so. Discouraged, she fell to her knees. She wanted and needed so desperately to cry, but tears would not come. She choked on dry sobs and screamed one last time, "HELP ME INUYASHA!"
The bright moonlight filtering into the well was suddenly blocked. The owner of the shadow leapt into the well beside Kagome, and they began to travel back through time. "Kagome—"
Kagome gasped, "The house is being robbed, they locked me in the well house, and Sota's in danger!" She turned to show him her wrists.
Inuyasha slashed the ropes with his claws, careful not to cut Kagome's soft, delicate skin. They arrived on the other side and he lifted her by the waist and carried her out of the well in one leap.
"I'll kill those bastards—"
"No! Then they'll suspect us of murder! Just throw them out and save Sota!" Kagome pleaded. Inuyasha kicked the door open. Kagome saw that the men were exiting the house with some of her mother's jewelry. The door swung shut behind Inuyasha, and she listened to him talk to the men. At first they prepared to fight him, but suddenly they were screaming "WEREWOLF!" at the top of their lungs.
Kagome looked out. She decided to try to sneak into the house and be sure Sota was okay.
Inuyasha had the frightened men cornered. However, the sound of an approaching car made them want to escape and they ran out into the street. "STOP!" one of them shouted, and there was a squealing of brakes. Inuyasha leapt into the air.
"Be sure Sota's fine—he's in my closet," Kagome said aloud. Inuyasha, with his heightened senses, was able to hear her. Then she ran out to the woman in the car. "Do you have a cell phone?" she asked.
The very confused and somewhat frightened woman nodded.
"Call the police," Kagome ordered.
"We swear, officer, she has a werewolf!" one of the four men said angrily. "She locks it in the well house and sics it on people that threaten her!"
"Therefore, you would have to have been doing something wrong," one of the police officers in their midst deduced.
"They broke into my house," Kagome offered. "They were going to hurt my brother and me—"
"But you told me that you had a ghost in the well house! She did, officer, she did!" the man that had been charged with Kagome said.
Kagome looked calmly at the police officer. "I did. I made that story up because I figured he would believe it. The lock on the well house door doesn't work, and I know how to open it from the inside. I was hoping to escape, but first I had to get the rope off of my wrists. They tied me up," she explained.
The officer nodded. "Smart girl."
"But he wasn't human!" one of the men exclaimed. "He had ears like a cat—"
Or a dog, Kagome corrected him in her mind.
"—and fangs and claws and he could fly!"
"Alright, boys…" the police officer tried to calm them.
"I really don't know what they're talking about," Kagome said quietly to the officer in charge. "When I came out they were running off with some jewelry and made a car stop in the middle of the road. I got the woman to call the police, and you know the rest."
"I'm sorry they bothered you, miss," the police officer said kindly as Kagome exited his patrol car. He handed her all of the stolen valuables through the window. "Do you need help boarding up the window for now? It'll be their expense, of course."
"I'll get it," Kagome replied. She thanked the man and entered the house through the front door, using her key.
Kagome went up to her room. "Sota? Inuyasha?" she called cautiously.
"Kagome!" Inuyasha exclaimed. He looked relieved, yet frustrated. "Sota won't come out," he said flatly.
Kagome's hand flew to her mouth. "I forgot to tell you! Hey, Sota, there's a full moon tonight!"
The door handle turned seconds later, and Sota rushed out and into Kagome's arms. He started crying. "Kagome!" he exclaimed. "Those men were up here in your room and they tried to open the door! They thought the knob was stuck…" his words became incomprehensible as he began to sob into her shoulder.
Kagome rubbed his back. "Sssh. Ssssssh. Everything's fine. Everything's fine now. Those bad men are in jail and they'll never scare us again."
After a while, Sota calmed down.
"Are you sure we're safe?" he asked timidly. "I wish Mom was here!"
"I'll stay here," Inuyasha spoke, and brother and sister were startled, having forgotten he was there. "I'll protect you until your mom and grandpa get back. You'll be safe—I promise." He held out his hand to Sota and smiled at him, hoping he would take it.
Sota was still a minute. Then he slowly let go of his sister and reached out to shake Inuyasha's hand. "Deal," he said, which seemed funny coming from a nine-year-old to a large half-demon.
Kagome managed a little smile for Inuyasha, then scooped her brother up and carried him down the hall. "Let's get you to bed," Inuyasha heard her say.
Kagome slowly exited Sota's room and closed the door softly behind her. It had taken quite a while to get him to sleep.
She went downstairs, looking for Inuyasha. She needed his help fixing the window. But, much to her surprise, he was already working on it. He was measuring the window size with a huge sheet of wood, slashing the wood to fit the window with his claws. When it was a bit bigger than the hole Inuyasha shoved it in. Like a cork, it would take quite a bit of pushing and pulling to remove it.
"Inuyasha…" she said softly in awe.
He turned to her with a half-smile, trying to keep himself from looking worried. "Well, whaddya think?"
"Thanks," Kagome smiled gratefully. "Thanks for everything… for offering to stay—"
"No problem," Inuyasha said quickly. "We weren't busy or anything, and I wouldn't allow myself to go home knowing you may be in danger."
Kagome tried to smile, but it was becoming harder. She couldn't help but think of Sota… and what could have happened…
"You can sleep in Grandpa's bed," she said quickly, trying to busy her mind with other things. She turned and made her way there. Silently, Inuyasha followed.
The door to her grandfather's room had been left open. It was only slightly upset, with a few scrolls knocked from his desk and several books on the floor. She straightened things absentmindedly, then noticed a pillow on the floor. Its case was in shreds.
"Oh, Buyo," Kagome reprimanded the cat. "This isn't a good time…" she lifted him, depositing him outside the doorway of her grandfather's room. She turned to Inuyasha for only a second, saying, "Goodnight," as quickly as possible and reaching to close the door.
"Are you going to be okay?" Inuyasha's voice startled her.
Kagome's hand lingered on the doorframe. She didn't answer, just stared at her feet. Silent tears suddenly fell from her eyes. Before, she had wanted to cry, but now she didn't—she just wanted to stop. She brought her hands up to cover her face. You big idiot, she insulted herself. Why do you always do this? You always start crying in front of him. Idiot, idiot, idiot! Please, Inuyasha, just leave me alone…
Inuyasha enveloped Kagome in his embrace. His strong, gentle arms went protectively around her little body as it shook violently from sobs. He slowly closed the space between them and rested his chin on top of her head, whispering gently to her, much like she had earlier been comforting Sota. "It's okay… it's okay… everything will be all right…"
Kagome seemed to squirm after a bit, and Inuyasha started to back away. But he found that she was just readjusting her arms—they parted from her face and went around him. She pulled herself up to him tight, resting her cheek against his chest. She could feel and hear his heartbeat and took comfort in his warmth.
"If you hadn't come when you did—"
"Kagome, I was so worried—"
Both of them tried to speak at once. Kagome slowly backed away so she could look up at him and said, "I'm sorry. You finish."
"…I was so worried… when I heard you calling out to me. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to save you…" Inuyasha looked sincerely into her eyes, letting a fragment of his inner feelings show through.
Kagome looked down at their feet. Her face was suddenly burning, for she had begun to realize what she was doing. Never before had Inuyasha held her so tenderly—never before had she felt such loving trust. Never had her heart beaten so fast… The feelings scared her; almost embarrassed her to the point of turning away.
Inuyasha was surprised and a bit depressed by her reaction. His face fell and he stammered, "Y-you don't… do you want me to leave you alone?" he recovered quickly on the outside but was still taken aback in his heart of hearts. How foolish he had been—believing Kagome loved him, needed him, cared about him. How stupid he had been to fall in love with another human. Humans and their stupid feelings… stupid hearts… stupid grudges…
His arms loosened, and Kagome looked up suddenly. "No! I mean… no, that's not it. I'm just…" she had difficulty finding a correct word. No, not worried or confused or scared. Not necessarily sad, or embarrassed or afraid. Not really shy, either. She was… "flustered."
"Flustered?" Inuyasha made a strange face.
"No… kind of… surprised. Excited…" She averted her eyes again, this time focusing on the prayer beads around his neck. "Um… Embarrassed in a good way. I was…" she trailed off helplessly.
Inuyasha lifted her chin. She could not meet his gaze, but she noticed out of the corner of her eye that he was smiling. "Blushing?" he asked.
Kagome nodded, feeling the hot color creeping up into her cheeks.
"Kagome," Inuyasha said softly, turning her head and forcing her to look his way. She giggled. His face was redder than hers. But suddenly it tilted to the right and he leaned down. Kagome rose up on her tiptoes, and for a glorious instant their lips met.
Inuyasha grinned widely—which made him look quite silly—and Kagome laughed.
"Why are you laughing?" Inuyasha asked, feigning anger.
"You're adorable when you're happy," Kagome sighed. She slowly reached a hand up and started playing with one of Inuyasha's ears. She giggled as he turned red. "And when you're blushing," she added.
"And you're always beautiful," Inuyasha said, leaning down. They kissed again, and Kagome's hand dropped limply from where it had been.
"Kaaa-goooooooooooo-meeeeeeeee! Wheeeere aaaaaare yoooooooou?" Sota's shouts echoed through the house.
Kagome groaned and opened her eyes. "I don't wanna get up," she complained to Inuyasha.
Inuyasha tightened his hold on her and pulled her closer. "Then don't," he replied, sleepily kissing her forehead.
"Well," Kagome sighed, "it's either that or have him come in here and tell Mom everything…"
"What's to tell? That we were cuddling?"
Kagome rolled her eyes and said, "Just trust me, it wouldn't be good." She wormed her way out of Inuyasha's grasp and combed her fingers through her hair a few times. She climbed out of bed and started walking but fell down.
Inuyasha sat up. "What was that?!" he asked.
"Your shirts," Kagome replied, tossing him a wadded-up bundle of red and white material.
"See my pants anywhere?" Inuyasha asked sleepily.
"No. You're wearing them," Kagome replied with a laugh.
"I knew that." Inuyasha moved his foot around under the blankets. "What's all this?" he asked. He disappeared under the sheets and quilt and emerged seconds later. He threw two socks at Kagome, missing her hopelessly and upsetting a scroll that was atop her grandfather's dresser, following with her shirt and skirt. "You're going to scare Sota walking out there in your underwear."
"Ha ha," Kagome said dryly, pulling her clothes on.
"Kaaa-gooooo—" Sota stopped screaming when Kagome emerged from their grandfather's room. Inuyasha could hear their conversation through the wall because of his heightened senses.
"What were you doing in there?" Sota asked.
"Looking for Buyo," Kagome invented an excuse.
"He's in your room," Sota said suspiciously.
"Well, I must've missed him somewhere. I was looking all over the house."
"Your hair looks like a rat slept in it."
"Thanks."
"I'm hungry."
"I'm Kagome, pleased to meet you."
"Kagomeeee!" Sota whined.
"Alright. What do you want for breakfast?"
"Scrambled eggs!"
"No, I'm not taking the time to make them. And speaking of which, what time is it?"
"Eight forty-five, bedhead."
"EIGHT FORTY-FI—oh, yeah. Today's Sunday."
"Ding ding ding, we have a winner! —And why are you wearing your uniform?"
"Well, duh. I thought it was a school day."
"You're a regular genius."
"Shut up. What do you want for breakfast?"
"How do I answer if I'm supposed to shut up?"
"Because you don't know how."
"Oh yeah?"
"Prove me wrong!"
"Nah, I'm not falling for that one again."
A shrill ringing noise to Inuyasha's left scared him so badly he fell out of bed.
"I'll get it!" Kagome shouted.
"No, I'll get it!" Sota argued.
"EEEEEE!"
"Ow!"
Inuyasha shook his head as he heard them collide. Soon the weird ringing stopped.
"Higurashi residence, Kagome speaking. Oh. Yes, but he can't come to the phone."
"Whaddyou mean I—"
"Yes. Mm-hmm. I'm sure he'd love to…"
"Kagome!"
"Hold on just a sec—WHAT?!"
"I can too come to the phone!"
"How do you know it's for you?"
"I'm the only 'he' in the house who would get a phone call! Grampa doesn't get phone calls, and it's not like anyone here except us knows Inuyasha!"
"Well, I don't want you tying up the phone all day! Besides, you have awful phone manners. It's Satoru's mom. Do you want to go meet Satoru and some other school friends at the park?"
"Boy, would I!"
"Get dressed, noodlehead…. Yes. He's getting ready. And we'll be there in about ten minutes… uh-huh… oh, that's—thank you! I hope it's not any trouble… good! Great! Well, see you soon. Bye!"
Kagome soon returned to her grandfather's bedroom. Inuyasha was on the floor, in the same state of dress she had left him in. "What in the world are you doing?"
Inuyasha pointed to the phone on the bedside table. "That evil thing scared me out of my wits!"
Kagome laughed for a long amount of time, and Inuyasha became embarrassed. "What?"
"It's a telephone," Kagome explained finally. "It rings when someone wants to talk to you. You pick up the receiver—" she demonstrated, "and talk into here. You hear their voice come out of there."
"You mean, whenever someone suddenly decides they need to talk to you, they can make that thing—" Inuyasha's tone was disbelieving and flat.
"No! The other person has to have a telephone, too!"
"Oh. I think I get it."
"Well, I have to take Sota-"
"To the park."
"Yes. I'll be back soon."
Inuyasha, who was now standing, pulled her close and kissed her. "Hurry," he whispered into her ear.
"Mmm." Kagome kissed him back and then replied, "I will."
She was closing the door when Inuyasha added as an afterthought, "And brush your hair."
"Why you—" Kagome started, then saw the playfulness mixed with helpless love in his eyes. "I love you!" she exclaimed instead, then smiled at the look on his face as she closed the door.
Fin.