Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha or any of the other characters belonging to the InuYasha series.
InuYasha has always been a hard headed hanyou with a rough exterior molded by his tragic past. But what if everything that has ever happened to him, all the injustices and hard times that have made him who is, disappeared? With Kagome's help could he get a second chance to choose his fate and map his own course in life?
My Key
Chapter 1 Lost
Lights flashed in a world of bright white before fading to black again. He seemed to be slipping in and out of consciousness ... if you could even call it consciousness. He had absolutely no hold on reality. Not even the faintest idea of what was going on around him or where he was. All he knew for certain was the pain that seemed to have griped his whole body. When he did try to move he was always pushed back or held down. Feeling exhausted he slipped back into complete darkness where his pain was finally left far behind.
Beep bip ... Beep bip ... Beep bip ...
Slowly InuYasha opened his eyes. Everything was dark and quiet, a welcomed change from the awful chaos of before. He breathed deeply and almost choked on the smell. This place he was in reeked of sickness and other strong odors he didn't recognize. Feeling disorientated and sick InuYasha tried to sit up but found his arms and legs where being uncooperative. Looking over he realized he was strapped down. Thick restraints held his wrists and ankles firmly to the sides of the bed.
Pulling against the restraints InuYasha felt his heart begin to race as panic began to set in. The unremitting beeping sound coming from somewhere out of sight began to speed up increasing his nervousness. The pain in his head had not completely diminished and seemed to be getting worse again, but he had more important things to worry about.
Where was he? How did he get here? He couldn't seem to remember much of anything that had happened to him.
An image of his mother came to him along with a searing pain in his head.
"Mother?" he said aloud, questioning the dark and still room as if an answer would somehow appear from the shadows. His thoughts where suddenly stopped short as the sound of footsteps approaching caught his attention. Distant muffled voices floated from the far end of the room, probably from behind a door.
"His heart rate suddenly jumped so it looks like he's awake ... now remember we don't fully know the impact of his injuries yet ... this situation maybe unpredictable ... he may even act vio ..." the doctor's voice trailed off as he swung the heavy door open and walked into the ward. The nurse that was with him stopped short at the sight that lay before them.
It was a typical ward with six beds lining the walls, three up one side and then three more on the other. The furthest bed on the left hand side was sitting askew to the others, the white linen was ripped and hanging off the sides. Also hanging from the sides where the remains of four thick leather and metal restraints, still swinging slowly back and forth from the railings, the previous occupier of which was nowhere to be seen.
Cautiously the doctor made his way towards the far end of the room. Taking a closer look he realized the thick leather restraints had not been undone but ripped apart as if they where nothing more than cheep plastic. The doctor reached over and turned off the monitoring machines that where now emitting an unwavering 'eeeeeeeeeep' sound.
The nurse hung behind moving along the wall towards the light switch. Reaching it she flipped the switch bathing the white room in bright light. Suddenly there was a loud commotion behind her and she turned to see the doctor suspended in the air. The hand of a very angry looking hanyou gripped tightly around his neck. The nurse gave InuYasha a quick look up and down. Wires hung from his bare chest from the electrodes used to monitor his heart. Blood smeared across the back of InuYasha's hand from where he had apparently ripped the IV from his hand, although there was no longer any evidence of the wound. Traces of blood also stained his wrists and fingers from where he had clawed his own flesh in his hurry to free himself from the restraints, but these to had already healed. A few small drops of blood had splattered onto the pale blue hospital pants he was wearing. All together it was startling sight.
"Who are you?" InuYasha barked loudly.
"I'm a doctor ... doctor Williams" the man chocked out.
"What? ... Where am I?"
"Please calm down ..."
"WHERE AM I" InuYasha yelled tightening his grip.
"You're in a hospital ... you're hurt ... we just want to help" squeaked the helpless nurse from the other end of the room. InuYasha turned and growled sharply silencing her.
"What is this place ... how did I get here?"
"Your friend brought you here ... you're hurt very seriously. You need to ... Aaaaaaa"
"Let's try again shall we!" said InuYasha throwing the man against the nearest wall.
"How did I GET HERE!" InuYasha yelled.
The doctor could tell he was confused. His condition appeared to be worse than they had originally thought.
"A friend of yours ... she brought you in ... "
"Friend …? ...Rrrrrr." InuYasha looked around, growling in frustration as he tried to remember something, anything that could tell him what was going on. The only thing he know for certain was he needed to get out of this horrible place.
"How do I get out of here!" he barked as he advanced towards the man in the white coat again.
"You can't .. Aaaaaaa!"
"RrrrrrRRRRRrrrrrrr" InuYasha growled viciously as he grabbed the man again and lifted him into the air. Small rivers of blood began to run down the man's neck as InuYasha's claws dug into his flesh. All InuYasha could think about was getting out of this infernal place and back into the trees. Back home, where ever that was from here. Another vision of InuYasha's mother and a place that seemed familiar flashed through his mind. InuYasha closed his eyes against the pain in his head as he tried desperately to remember where that place was and how he had come to be where he was now.
"STOP IT!" Yelled the nurse. InuYasha's eyes flashed open and he snapped his head around in the direction of the nurse's voice.
"You! Just … be quiet! ... and make these dammed lights go away!" InuYasha barked.
The nurse quickly stood and flicked the switches making the room dark again. The darkness was much easier on InuYasha's pounding head then the strange, painfully bright lights. He took a deep breath and spoke again,
"This is the last time ... How do I get out of here?"
"I told you ... you can't leave."
"Wrong answer!"
"Wait InuYasha!" yelled the nurse, earning herself another snarl from the frustrated hanyou.
"Just wait ... we're not your enemies … we really just to help ... You were hurt. We're ... healers ..." she said searching for the right words he might understand,
"we just want to help." She continued.
"I don't need your help ... I just want to leave!"
"You don't understand ... you're not where you think you are. You're not … you're not 'when' you think you are ..."
"What are you talking about" InuYasha snapped. He was becoming very impatient with these dull stories, and excuses.
"Let me show you..." the nurse said as she slowly stood and inched her way towards the wall, but still staying as far as she could from InuYasha. Getting to the wall she pulled the thick blackout curtains back.
The reaction in InuYasha was instantaneous. He dropped the doctor, who slid to the floor with a thud. The nurse ran to his side. The doctor ignored her concern and watched InuYasha closely. His breathing was fast and uneven, his eyes where wide and frightened.
InuYasha looked out the window onto an alien world. It was night but instead of having stars in the sky they littered the ground in every colour imaginable. Instead of trees, thousands of huge structures shot up from the ground for as far as the eye could see. Many of the 'stars' were caught inside these structures, while others shot across the ground in continuous lines.
"Please InuYasha you need to calm down ... we don't mean you any harm."
"I have to get out ..." InuYasha said aloud but the comment was not really directed at either of the other two people in the room.
"InuYasha there is nowhere for you to run ..."
"I have to get out ..." InuYasha continued to repeat as he slowly backed away from the window.
"InuYasha ... there is nowhere to go. Just calm down and we can help you!"
InuYasha's mind raced. There had to be somewhere to run ... something he could do. His instincts where telling him one thing, 'Get out!'
.
.
.
Kagome pushed her way through countless people and police officers until she finally ran through the automatic doors into the hospital. Doctors, nurses and security guards where racing about everywhere but she was nearly oblivious to all the chaos around her. Kagome tried to fight her way through to the reception desk but a security guard grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back.
"Please Miss. You have to stay in the room for your safety."
Kagome was dragged across the hall, her pleas to be released falling on deaf ears. The guard pushed her into a dark room and without saying a word closed the door again.
"Wait!" Kagome yelled banging on the covered window but he was gone. Kagome turned to see a small group of people huddled in the dark by the far wall. They all stared at her. Not knowing what else to do Kagome made her way over to the frightened group and sat down near them.
She looked at the people around her. They all appeared nervous and many of them where whispering quietly between themselves. Two people where even trying to listen to a portable radio. The room they were in apparently had very poor reception from what Kagome could hear of their quiet bickering.
Kagome had been at home when she'd gotten a phone call from the hospital. A nurse had told her there was a problem and she needed to get to the hospital quickly, but she hadn't said what the problem was before hanging up. A moment later her mother had yelled up the stairs for her to come down.
Running down the stairs Kagome found her whole family standing in the living room watching the TV.
"Kagome ..." her mother had said turning a worried look on her,
"Something has happened at the hospital ..." but the man on the news began to speak cutting her off.
"We have just received word that the incident at the General Hospital has still not been resolved and the culprit is still at large. We go now to Sammy Mackay live on scene ... Sammy what exactly is going on?"
A pretty young lady appeared on the screen holding a mike outside the hospital,
"Well no one is quite sure what is going on. There are rumors flying of a wild animal loose in the hallways of the ER. So far we have been unable to confirm any eye witnesses. There are however, a number of people saying they heard loud growling sounds as it ran through the hallways. Police are on scene trying to contain the situation but many visitors and patients remain inside at this time hiding in rooms as they wait to hear if this animal or whatever it is has been caught. No one knows when the police will give the all clear and people will once more be able to enter the hospital since the culprit seems to have completely disappeared but they suspect it is still in the building somewhere."
"Kagome what's going on?" asked Kagome's mother.
Kagome just stared at the TV wondering the same thing. As fast as she could Kagome had run the ten blocks to the hospital.
Now, sitting on the cold tiled floor, Kagome couldn't help but hope there was nothing wrong. That she was over reacting but the phone call and the news flash couldn't just be coincidence. It just didn't seem possible that InuYasha could be behind this horrible mess. Why would he do these things?
The whispered voices of the people sitting near her reached Kagome ears and she couldn't help but listen.
"How long are we going to have to stay in here?"
"No idea but I'd certainly rather be in here then out there with that … 'thing'!"
"Did you see it?"
"I heard it ... it was growling! Like some kind of wild animal!"
"Probably has rabies!"
"I caught a glimpse of it ... I think ... ... didn't look like any animal ... looked more like a person actually!"
"I've never heard a person make sounds like that before ... gave me chills."
"It's illegal genetic testing on patients, that's what it is! I read about it in the paper!"
"I heard one of the nurses saying something about an escaped psych patient ..."
"They wouldn't have shot at a patient ... would they?"
"They would if they were a threat to the immediate public ..."
"WHAT? ..."
Everyone in the room jumped a foot in the air and whirled around. Kagome was on her feet, her fist clenched tightly at her sides.
"They shot at him ... why would they do that ... he's not dangerous ... he's just ... just ..."
Kagome trailed off as the looks of surprise slowly change to ones of suspicion. Swallowing her words Kagome sat back down and pulled her knees up tight to her chest. Some of the people closest to her inched away as if she might explode.
'He's just confused ...' Kagome thought to herself. But a confused and frightened InuYasha was probably even more dangerous than any wild animal. She had to find him. If it was InuYasha who had caused all this trouble she didn't know what she'd do. She only prayed that no one had been hurt because of her mistake in bringing InuYasha to this place. She'd been desperate. She'd thought she might really loose him this time. The fact that he was half demon hadn't even occur to Kagome until they were at the hospital. But luck had been on their side this time. It turned out that demons still existed in the modern world, though their numbers where apparently far less than in the Feudal era. They lived as a secret community hidden within the human world. For the most part they blended in and looked and acted the same as humans. The nurse that had helped her when they had first arrived had turned out to be a demon. She had startled Kagome at first but there were more important issues at hand to deal with then fear.
It turned out when demons where hurt or sick beyond their own healing abilities they could be brought to any hospital and doctors and nurses who were either demons themselves or somehow acquainted with their secret world would very quickly whisk the patient away to a special area. Everything that happened to them was kept secret and "off the records".
Kagome had wanted to stay with InuYasha but the doctor had told her it would be best if she went home and got some rest. If she was hanging around people might have started asking questions. So she had left. A decision she was greatly regretting at the moment. Kagome had told them about the unusual circumstances surrounding InuYasha, but she couldn't help but doubt that had been enough for them to predict how he was going to act.
Tears began to well up in Kagome's eyes as she thought about all the things that could happen to InuYasha in a world he didn't understand. Suddenly a small hand came to rest on her arm. Looking up she came face to face with a young boy. He didn't look much older than about eight or nine. He had light reddish brown shoulder length hair that stuck out at odd angles and amazing ember coloured eyes that reminded Kagome of InuYasha's. He starred at her for a moment before smiling brightly.
"Don't worry" he whispered,
"He's ok. He got away."
Kagome opened her mouth to speak but was silenced by the boy putting his finger to his lips. Looking around to make sure the other people were preoccupied, the boy crawled away motioning for Kagome to stay quiet and follow.
They made their way across the floor to a door which the boy carefully pushed open and wiggled though followed by Kagome. Once the door was safely closed behind them the boy jumped up and began rummaging through the room. The room was very dark and Kagome struggled to see what he was doing. The boy suddenly threw something at her saying,
"Here put that on"
Holding the items up she realized they were scrubs like what a nurse would ware. The boy continued to rummage through the room looking for something else. Kagome decided it would be best if she held her growing list of questions for later.
Once Kagome was dressed, the boy reappeared at her side wearing a ball cap which he pulled down over his face. The boy led Kagome through the dark room. Kagome realized the walls were actually lockers and they were most likely in a staff room or change room. The boy made his way through the maze of lockers and finally to another door. This door had a window with blinds covering it, just allowing Kagome to see shadows of people outside moving about in the hallway.
The boy didn't even stop to look around. He pushed open the door and pulled Kagome into the hallway. There were a lot of people around and he kept close to Kagome's leg directing her around corners and down hallways by slight pulls of her hand.
As they came into yet another hallway, a women's voice stopped them dead,
"NURSE! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?"
Kagome whirled around to see a short heavy woman marching towards her. The boy instantly side stepped hiding his face behind Kagome's leg.
"I asked you a question nurse! What are you doing with this child?" She barked angrily.
"I um ... aaaa ..." Kagome stuttered unable to think of a believable excuse. Then suddenly a shriek rang through the hallways that made both women jump as well as anyone within ear shot it,
"I WANT MY MOMMY!" the boy screamed at the top of his lungs.
"I WANT MY MOMMY! I WANT MY MOMMY! NOW NOW NOW!" he continued, and began hitting his small fists against Kagome's legs.
"His mother" Kagome said, trying to be heard over the boy's ear piercing screams
"They got separated in all the commotion ... she was very worried and panicky ..."
"I don't care!" the nurse cut in,
"Get this boy back to his room now or else!"
"You said I was going to see my mommy! I WANT MY MOMMY!" The boy's screams (if possible) were increasing in volume by the second. He flopped down on his stomach kicking and screaming and beating his fists against the tiled floor.
The nurse rolled her eyes as she covered her ears,
"Fine just get him out of here now before I change my mind and lock you in a room with him!"
"Yes Ma'am." Kagome answered before she knelt down and swung the still screaming and flailing child onto her hip. She almost ran down the hallway, but she still had no idea where she was going. The boy continued to yell for his mother and Kagome was starting to hope that this kid hadn't just been pulling her leg and was actually just looking for some idiot to help him find his mother. Then between cries she heard him whisper,
"Next right."
Kagome turned around the next corner and into a much quieter hallway. Once past the few scattered people moving about in hallway the boy lifted his head and smiled at Kagome,
"Good job!" He said happily.
"I don't like that nurse. She's always so crabby!"
Kagome let slip a small giggle at the boy's adorable smiling face. She looked into his amber eyes and something deep down inside her said "demon", but her head was saying "human". She just couldn't be sure.
The boy led Kagome down one more hallway, into an elevator and up six floors. The door to the elevator slid open on a deserted hall. The brass coloured plaque on the wall opposite the elevators read, "Psychiatric Ward". After more deserted hallways and turning what seemed like a dozen more corners, they came to a dark hallway. The lights were out but a window at the far end let in the city lights below. Through the darkness she could see a pile of debris lying on the ground near the far end.
The boy jumped down from her arms and raced down the hall and disappeared though a wall. Kagome could hear muffled voices and followed cautiously. Stepping over the debris she realized there was a hole in the wall where she could only imagine a door had once been. Peering in she saw the boy with another nurse. The nurse picked him up and hugged him tightly, kissing his cheek before turning and seeing Kagome,
"Kagome! I'm glad you guys made it. I was afraid you would get stuck downstairs."
"What's going on where is InuYasha?" Kagome asked as she looked around the room.
"Kagome ... he's gone." The nurse answered hesitantly.
"Gone ... what do you mean he's gone? Where did he go?"
"Judging by the size of the whole he's made in that wall I'd say anywhere he wants!" said the boy who was now sitting on one of the beds swinging his legs back and forth. Both women turned and just stared at him with a 'did you have to say that?' look. He just smiled and said,
"What?"
Kagome turned looking around the room and found the doctor she had met with earlier standing in what was left of the doorway behind her.
"What happened? ..." Kagome asked but stopped as she saw the scratches on his neck.
"He attacked you ... didn't he ..." Kagome continued in a quieter voice.
"You forget I too am a demon. This injury is minor, nothing to worry about. Kagome please we have to act fast. InuYasha is not himself THAT we can be sure of, but to what extent this injury has altered his memory we just can't know until we find him. I have made a few calls and I have people out looking for him or anything suspicious."
"Out looking for him? How could you let him run away in the first place?" Kagome said taking a step towards the doctor.
"We tried to stop him Kagome .."
"Did you really shoot at him?" Kagome continued cutting the doctor off. The doctor stiffened slightly. Clearly he had hoped Kagome wouldn't find out about that.
"Tell me what happened here!" Kagome demanded. The doctor paused for a moment, his eyes shifting from Kagome to the nurse.
"Kagome …." The nurse said in a calm voice.
"I'm sorry to say we were less then prepared to deal with InuYasha's strength or aggression."
"I told you who he was and what happened to him. I told you what he was capable of doing!" Kagome argued.
"I know … and it's our fault for not taking more precautions. As it was we needed to restrain him …"
"You WHAT? Tell me you didn't tie him down?" Kagome asked.
"We had to Kagome. He was going to hurt himself or someone else. We tried to sedate him so we could take care of his injuries but for some reason the drugs took forever to take effect. Restraining him was the only option we had left." The nurse answered. She knew Kagome, like any worried friend or family member, was not interested in their excuses. She just wanted InuYasha to be safe and she had trusted them to do just that and they had failed her.
"I can't believe this is happening!" Kagome said putting her hands over her face.
"Kagome …. There is something else I need to ask you about." Doctor Williams said taking a step closer to Kagome.
"What?" Kagome snapped.
"I spoke to a nurse downstairs who saw InuYasha … she said he was acting dazed and confused until a security guard approached him. The guard was understandably startled by InuYasha's rather unusual appearance and when InuYasha refused to listen and advanced towards the guard he well … tasered InuYasha."
"Oh my god … this isn't happening!" Kagome said aloud again.
"Kagome please listen … all hell broke loose downstairs. The taser had no effect in subduing him however it changed his behavior …. and his appearance entirely."
"What?" Kagome asked as the little colour still left in her face seemed to drain away.
The doctor was startled by Kagome's sudden reaction. Her eyes were wide and she looked visibly shaken by this news which worried him.
"Did he have his sword with him?" Kagome asked moving towards the doctor.
"What?" asked the doctor.
"You said he changed!" Kagome said.
"Yes .. his eyes and his face …"
"I told you, you had to keep his sword with him at all times!" Kagome yelled.
"Please tell me he didn't kill anyone!" Kagome asked.
"No .. although the first security guard required stitches for a gash on his arm." The doctor answered.
"He's lucky he's not dead! InuYasha has no control of his demon blood. If his life is threatened then it takes over. He is stronger and faster and brutally vicious to anyone who crosses his path. His sword protects him, stops him from changing! I told you it was important!" Kagome yelled. Neither the doctor nor the nurse said anything. They had underestimated InuYasha and were now paying the price.
"Where is his sword?" Kagome said. The nurse got up and moved to the end of the room and retrieved InuYasha's sword along with a bag with InuYasha's clothes. She handed the items to Kagome. Kagome grabbed Tetsusaiga and through the bag on the nearest bed before turning to leave.
"Where are you going?" the doctor said grabbing her arm.
"I have to find him. I have to ... before he …." she yelled pulling against the doctor's grip.
"You shouldn't be out there by yourself. Let us handle this ..."
"NO! You told me to go home and then I wasn't here when he needed me. I am going to find him ... I'm probably the only person who has any chance of stopping him!" Kagome turned her head away as tears where building in her eyes. When she spoke again it was in a quieter voice, talking to herself more than anyone else,
"I have to find him ... I need to find him."
The doctor looked over at the nurse searching for her opinion. The nurse smiled after a moment and walked over to Kagome and gave her a reassuring hug,
"You're a good friend Kagome and I think InuYasha is gonna need you right now to."
Kagome wiped her eyes as the nurse stepped away.
"I think it's best if you search the area between the hospital and your shrine. Maybe he'll find his way home somehow."
"Thank you." Kagome answered before turning and running out of the room.
There was silence in the room as they watched Kagome go.
"That girl cares for InuYasha very much ..." said the nurse. The doctor nodded his head in agreement.
"I just hope she's ready for what she's going to find."
Kagome ran down the hallway to the elevator. Her mind was racing as she descended. Why had InuYasha run? Why was he acting so crazy? Didn't he know she'd never have left him somewhere he wasn't safe? Didn't he know she'd come back for him ... that she'd never leave him...
'But I did leave him ...' Kagome thought to herself.
Kagome's mind wondered back to a desperate scene that already seemed so long ago.
Sango, Miroku and Kagome were gathered around a transformed InuYasha. But it wasn't the same as his previous transformations when his demon blood had overpowered him. He wasn't destroying and killing everything in sight. He seemed only concerned with protecting himself ... though he would do so by any means necessary no matter the cost. Kagome had pleaded with him to calm down, to remember who he was. She hadn't dared use the "sit" command because he was already hurt so badly from the fight with one of Naraku's horrible new minions.
Disregarding her own safety and InuYasha's vicious growls, Kagome walked right up to him. Staring InuYasha in the eyes she felt as if he truly had no idea who she was. Slowly she'd reached up and placed her hands on his forearms and gently lowered his hands. She could see in his eyes that he was fighting the urge to rip her apart. Slowly she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him, pleading with her heart for him to return to her. The minutes crawled by before he suddenly relaxed and collapsed with a painful groan. Kagome wasn't strong enough to hold him and fell to her knees supporting his weight as best she could.
"Thank you InuYasha." She whispered through her tears.
InuYasha's reply, though faint, chilled her heart to the core,
"Who are you?"
After that he fell unconscious and had not woken up until only a few hours ago.
Kagome had told herself that he'd just been so injured and exhausted and disorientated that he hadn't recognized where he was. But what if it really had been more than that? What if he didn't remember... ?
"Are you coming?"
Kagome jumped. Looking up she hadn't even realized the elevator door had opened and the little boy who'd led her to the room upstairs was standing before her.
"How did you get down here so fast?"
"I took the stairs. Come on aren't you coming?" He said turning down the hallway.
"Where are you going?" Asked Kagome as she stepped out of the elevator.
"With you!" The boy answered.
"This is dangerous! I don't think your mom would want you tagging along with me!" Kagome answered as she ran to catch up with the boy.
"She not my mom and don't worry about me. I can take care of myself!" The boy said grinning widely.
"Wait didn't we come from that way?" Kagome asked stopping and pointing in the opposite direction.
"Yup!" he answered and continued walking.
Kagome hesitated a moment before following him again.
"They're still dealing with the mess of people and reporters and stuff at the front doors. If you ask me they way over reacted to all this. It'll be a lot easier for us to get out this way." The boy said as Kagome caught up to him.
"You really seem to know your way around here!" Kagome said sounding impressed.
"I spend a lot of time here." The boy answered casually shrugging his shoulders.
"What's your name?" Kagome asked.
"Maverick." he answered smiling up at her.
"Thank you Maverick." Kagome replied, returning the smile.
A few blocks away a tired and confused InuYasha stopped and leaned his pounding head against a wall. The cool smooth material helped his pounding head but the unfamiliar smells that clung to it from the strange world he had found himself in continued to make him feel nauseous.
He had hoped that once he'd gotten away from that horrible place he'd find something he recognized, but everywhere he turned there was just one strange unfamiliar sight after another. InuYasha tried to calm down and concentrate. To think about where he was and how he'd gotten there. But he just kept drawing a blank. The only clear memory he could muster was that of his mother sitting with him by the water.
With a painful groan he lifted his arm to inspect the wound that had become his price for his freedom from that horrible hospital place. As he had tried to leave the building several people had tried to stop him. Most of the encounter was just a blur in his mind. It barely seemed real. The last thing he clearly remembered before suddenly finding himself outside was a man looking at him with a wide eyed expression. When he had advanced towards the man trying to pass him, the man fired a strange device at him. InuYasha remembered something hitting his side before a piercing pain caused all his muscles to seize and stiffen so he could barely move. Everything after that were just flashes and blurs. He only vaguely remembered people running and screaming, a loud bang followed by the pain in his arm. Bits and pieces of a chaotic mess that made less sense the more he tried to piece it all together.
InuYasha buried his face in his hands as he tried to sort through his scattered thoughts but all he got for his efforts was the now familiar pain pulsing through his head. He felt exhausted but he couldn't sleep until he figured out where he was.
"Hey!" A voice yelled.
InuYasha jumped and looked up to see several figures walking towards him. He felt apprehensive as the men approached.
"What do you think you're doing?" The man in front asked.
InuYasha didn't know what to do and said nothing in response.
"Hey man! I'm talking to you?" He man said again. The group came to a stop creating a semi circle around InuYasha, cornering him against the wall of the building.
"Are you drunk or something? Don't you know where you are?"
InuYasha shook his head no.
"Well then you've got more problems than I thought!" The man said. The whole group laughed.
"For one, Halloween isn't for a few months so I would ditch that look! Two, this is my street! Nobody goes down my street without paying up to me and from the looks of it you've got to be high on something so why don't you just fork it over!"
"I don't have anything!" InuYasha answered. He had no idea what the guy was talking about or what he was expecting to get from him but InuYasha was feel more and more nervous as the men continued to slowly close in around him.
"If you don't fork it over we'll just have to take it from you!" The guy said advancing towards InuYasha. InuYasha stepped back until he hit the wall. He didn't like this feeling of being pinned; it reminded him of what it had felt like being trapped in the hospital. Suddenly the pain in his head spiked. InuYasha's hands flew to the sides of his head and he doubled over groaning loudly.
InuYasha tried to focus on the people around him but he could barely make out their taunts.
Then out of nowhere a new voice appeared. InuYasha strained to understand what they were saying but everything sounded muffled through the pain in his head. He looked up to see a tall figure standing a few feet in front of him. It appeared to be another man, he was facing away from InuYasha yelling at the group of guys who had confronted him. InuYasha watched as the group slowly moved off and the man turned and knelt down in front of him.
"Son, are you ok?" the man asked. His voice was firm but gentler then the others had been. "Just relax its ok." The man continued.
InuYasha closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths trying to focus his thoughts again. Finally he dropped his hands and looked up into the man's eyes.
"Are you ok?" The man asked again.
InuYasha didn't say anything. He stumbled back to his feet and started to back away.
"Hey it's ok." The man said putting his hands up to show he meant no harm.
"Can you tell me your name?" The man asked trying to keep InuYasha's attention. InuYasha considered him for a moment before answering,
"My name is InuYasha …"
"Good. My name is Kaiman." The man answered with a smile.
"I need to go." InuYasha said and turned to leave.
"InuYasha wait. I know you have no idea where you are or where you're going."
InuYasha stopped.
"I know you're hurt and you must be feeling confused right now. Why don't you let me help you find your way home?"
InuYasha turned back towards the man. He considered him for a long moment. He didn't make InuYasha feel cornered or scared the way everyone else he had met so far had. All InuYasha knew for sure was that he needed to find his way home and so far he wasn't having much luck on his own.
"I have to …" InuYasha started as he closed his eyes as if fighting the pain in his head again,
"I have to find my mother …" InuYasha said finally as he opened his eyes and gazed off into the distance as if again searching for something he knew. Kaiman paused and looked at him quizzically.
"I promise, I'm going to help you InuYasha," he answered after a moment,
"You just have to trust me!"
End of Chap one,
Not sure how long it will be until chap two is up but I will do my best!
R&R Please ;-)