JtHM / IY xover

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Frantic eyes flitted between the crowds of strangers. A large man dragged the boy by his wrist through the shoppers. The hefty man and reluctant child went by mostly unnoticed. Squeezing his teddy bear tighter, the young boy glanced up at the man who was supposed to lead him to his mother.

"I think she's back here." The man grunted while pulling the boy down a deserted hallway. Then he opened the fire-escape door, seeing it lead into a small deserted alleyway, and smirked down at the wary child. "Yeah... she's in here."

Frowning, the boy squirmed as the larger man tried pushing him into the alley. He winced at the rough treatment and shut his eyes in an attempt to block it out. Then a soft voice called out, distracting him and the pushing stopped.

The pot-bellied man scowled before glancing over his shoulder. "Whaddaya want?"

Peering over the man's hairy arm, the boy spotted a dark-haired lady walking down the emptied aisle. She was dressed casually, carrying a small shopping bag and purse. The lady was very pretty, but her blue eyes were glaring coldly at the man who had been pushing him.

"I asked you what you thought you were doing." Her soft voice demanded of the man, a slight edge to her tone.

Beady eyes took in her form and the man slowly turned to face her. He sneered, still looking her up and down. "S'none of your business."

This only made her gaze sharper and she came to a stop a few feet in front of the pair.

"Um, he was just taking me to my mommy..." The boy spoke up, not wanting them to keep looking at each other like they were. But when the big guy's eyes bore angrily down at him, the boy shrank back, frightened.

The lady took another step forward. "Oh, is that so..."

Turning back to her, the man released him completely. "Look, this here ain't none of your business... unless you want to take his place...?" His snarl turned into a whispy murmur as he leaned in close to her. "If not, then I suggest you mind your fuckin' beeswax."

She ignored the sweaty, fat man and brushed past him. Kneeling before him, the lady smiled at the boy. Blue eyes stared earnestly into the boy's innocent brown ones. "You and your mom got separated, huh?"

The boy nodded tentatively, only a light squeek escaped his lips. He lightened the grip on his bear as her smile melted most of his unease.

"Why don't you stand at the corner up there and look for her. I'll talk real quick to this good man, and then I'll show you to Security where we can call your mama. Okay?"

She was so pretty and nice, the boy nodded again and gave her the tiniest of smiles before scampering back up the hall to wait on the corner.

Before redirecting her attention to the fuming fuck-head, she made sure the boy wasn't looking their wya. Then she let him have it.

He scanned the pedestrians passing by, but didn't see his mother anywhere. After a few minutes, the boy began to fidget a bit. The slight pressure of a hand on his shoulder startled him from his search and a gasp tore from his lips as he jumped in surprise.

Her honest smile calmed him instantly. It was strange how peaceful he felt in the pretty lady's prescence. She was kneeling again, talking to him eye-to-eye. It was nice... not being looked down on.

"What's your name?"

He blushed slightly, noticing that he had her full-attention. "Todd."

She ignored his embarrasment and flashed the boy another heart-warming smile. "Well, Todd, it seems your mama's MIA, so I'll help you find her." She rose to her feet and brushed off her jeans before offering him a playful grin. "Ya know, before I found you, I was a little lost myself. I'm new around here, today's my first time at this mall, actually."

Todd nodded. Gathering some courage, he raised his normally quiet voice to ask her, "What's your name?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I am Kagome. Kagome Higurashi."

He blinked up at her.

Chuckling lightly, she took his hand. "You can call me 'Gome."

As the two began making their way to the front desk, a young man dressed darkly paused at the corner where they had just introduced themselves. It would seem his little neighbor-friend didn't need any more help. He sighed, perhaps he'll pay a visit to that annoying man who stands outside MacDoodle's in a clown costume. A twisted smirk appeared on his pale face. That could be fun...

But before he departed, a pain-filled groan echoed from behind him. Turning on his heel his dark eyes spotted a figure slumped against the back wall at the end of the hall. His eyes narrowed. The over-weight man was still alive, that girl had merely knocked him unconscious. Such a waste. "Well, we can fix that, now can't we..."

Tosing the black bag to carry over his shoulder, he strode calmly towards his drowsy victum. He hummed a nameless tune while riffling through his bag. And, not even bother to take him out into the isolated alleyway, the young man got to work.

--end--

's 3am...

my hand hates me at the moment...

**passes out from exhaustion**...

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