Runaway
By: DemonSaya
Chapter 1
Kagome Higurashi was a girl well before her time, or perhaps she was just born in the wrong country, where it was perfectly alright to marry off your daughter to whoever would provide the family with the most financial support. Where daughter's had little say over whatever might happen to them, and yet the men of the family had complete control.
She'd learned her lesson young. You don't talk back to your parents, you don't disagree with their decisions, and you NEVER disobey them.
Even so, arranged marriage was the one thing she refused to abide by.
"Mr. Ishimoro is a high standing member of the demon community, and he's only twenty years older than you." Her grandfather said evenly, nodding, as though pleased with himself. "This union will provide years of protection and prosperity for the Higurashi line."
Kagome shuddered in disgust. Old enough to be her father.
"He's quite good looking." Her mother said, uncertainly. "And very wealthy...He should live quite a while, being a demon as well..."
"It's settled, then!" Her grandfather smiled cheerfully, standing and walking to the phone. "I'll call up Mr. Ishimoro and arrange the ceremony."
"When do I get to meet him?" Kagome asked, her voice frightened.
"At your wedding."
The tone left little room for an argument. She watched the old man pick up the cordless phone and tears welled in her eyes. Without a word, she disappeared upstairs and opened her closet. In the back was her personal stash of money from babysitting jobs she'd held over the summer. She'd claimed she'd been staying with her best friend, Sango, and gotten the girl to cover for her, after all, Sango Momiru was a girl before her time as well.
Total, she'd earned well over 13,000 American dollars.
She took an unsteady breath and shoved her hard earned yen into her overnight bag and grabbed down two of her most 'invisible' outfits, torn up blue-jeans and a ragged t-shirts. She shoved a picture of her mother and her brother into the bag with the clothing, a few of her favorite cd's, dvd's, and her cd player. Hastily, she changed into a black sweater and pair of black, torn jeans, and cracked her window with one hand.
Just then, she heard her door open, and spun, half-expecting to see her grandfather standing there. Instead, she saw her mother and brother wearing a solemn expression. She snatched up a hair tie off her desk and looked at them seriously. "I can't stay, mama..." She said evenly. "I can't stay in a place where my happiness, what I want, doesn't matter. I'm sorry..."
Her mother nodded. "I figured as much, baby-girl. Just be careful..." She nodded towards the window. "I'll tell your grandfather you're staying with Sango for the night."
Kagome kissed her mother's cheek and hugged her tightly. Then, she knelt before her brother. "You understand, right?"
He nodded sadly.
"When you get older, you may find yourself in this same situation. When you do, contact Sango, and she'll get in touch with me, and I'll help you escape, too." She hugged him tightly. "I love you Souta."
"I love you too, nee-chan."
With that, she stood, grabbed her overnight bag and threw her leg over the edge of the window and left without a second look back. She took an unsteady breath, and began walking towards her best friends house.
After all, she had to go hide somewhere for a few hours. She felt rather sick to her stomach, and knew she probably should have grabbed some chocolate or something to keep her blood sugar up.
However, she knew that if she wanted to not get caught she had to stay below the radar at least until she could get out of there. That meant living like a street urchin for at least a little while. Scrounging. Dumpster diving, demeaning as it sounds. Yet, as she walked, the sound of a siren caught her attention and she dove behind a bush. It was heading towards her house.
She jumped up and began running.
In about 15 minutes, she reached Sango's house and found her friend outside. She put a hand over the girl's mouth, and pulled her behind a bush. "Sango, it's me..."
Sango turned and saw the overnight bag and held her breath. "You're running...that could only mean one thing..."
Kagome nodded gravely. Sango knew how Kagome felt about her grandfather's 'ancient' notions on arranged marriage. Unfortunately, these days, those notions were considered perfectly acceptable. With a nod, she hugged her best friend and then held her away a bit. "Could you pick me up some food items that wont be missed? Non-perishables."
Sango nodded and disappeared inside.
She appeared pale white moments later. She thrust a bag of food into Kagome's arms, and then whispered one word that caused Kagome's blood pressure to go through the roof. "RUN!"
Kagome ran alright. She ran as hard and as fast as she could. It didn't take a genius to figure out that either her grandfather or the police had called her father and learned she wasn't actually there. That meant they were out looking for her. She saw a patrol car sitting on a street corner and quickly dashed into an alleyway.
Shouts sounded behind her, and she heard the fall of feet, and yelped, pushing open a side door of one of the buildings, admitting her into a black, strobing lit room. People danced on the floor and she pushed between them, hearing the door open behind her, admitting the police. With a desperate sob, she shoved her way through the room and found a small side door, wrenching it open and throwing herself into the room.
In the room sat two young men, who had been playing cards, but were now looking at her as though she had three eyes.
"How the hell did you get in here!" The more irritable one asked, his voice raising, to where she was almost certain he would be heard over the sound of the music.
Her eyes filled with tears and she broke down, sobbing softly, fear clutching her chest. "Please..." She whispered. "Don't let them find me..." She lifted beseeching eyes to them. "They'll send me back..."
Gold eyes met stormy gray, then flicked to his companion. He glanced towards the one-way mirror and saw the police searching through the crowd and his eyes narrowed. "Oi, Miroku, keep an eye on that wench. Some copper shields are messing up the party..." He glanced back at the girl. "Make sure she doesn't go anywhere till I get some answers."
With that, he strode out of the back room, leaving them alone.
Kagome felt relief flood her, and then her vision spun. Too much. Too much too fast. Without a word, she collapsed in a boneless to the floor.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Inuyasha Takashi was 'behind' the times. Men said that about him because he wasn't like most men who took advantage of the women in their lives, he didn't smack them around or order them like children. It was mostly because Inuyasha Takashi was almost two hundred years young, and at the time when he'd been born, and raised, and learned most of his values, women were oddly respected, feared, and always well protected. But in the past years, the woman's magic had faded, and those who'd been born around the turn of the last century had forgotten that women were not supposed to be raised as weak, easily manipulated dolls.
The Takashi line was long, well respected, although their treatment of their women was usually looked down upon by the 'younger' lines.
After all, his father had drilled into both him and his older brother that you treat your mate with respect, and above all, you protect the fairer sex, and you respect their latent powers. Due to his view of women, however, he'd had few friends in the later half of his life. In fact, his only friend that was 'close' to his age any more was Miroku, who'd been raised as a priest, despite his bad habits, and his love of the feel of female flesh, he never struck a woman, or forced her into his bed.
Now, as the shields drew closer, he stood, arms crossed, leaning against the door to his private office, mad as hell. The mistreatment of women made him angry. But shields fucking up his business really fired him up. "What the hell are you doing in my club!" He snarled when they were within earshot.
"A runaway went through your back door, and we believe she's still on the premises." The cop flashed his badge.
"And this is private property, so unless you have a fucking warrant, I suggest you get the hell out of here and stop frightening away my damn customers!" He snarled, stalking towards the cop. "You think your badge frightens me? I could speed dial six on my phone and have all of your jobs before you could say shit."
"Who are you to speak to us in such a manner!" Another cop asked, his face red with fury at Inuyasha's attitude.
"Excuse me, you're addressing Mr. Inuyasha Takashi." Miroku's voice said from the doorway. Any sign of the girl had been hiding there was gone.
Silence reigned. Even the music stopped.
"That's right, you're standing inside Club Paradise." Inuyasha said evenly, his face dark with anger. "And you better be off the premises in Five..."
The cops began scurrying around like chickens with their heads cut off, and the music came back on. With the music, came cheers from the crowd. He waved at the party goers, who'd payed about 2,000 dollars cover charge for the party, then walked back into his office. "Where is she?"
"I took her and her things upstairs. Don't worry, I touched nothing that wasn't necessary." The monk said, following the hanyou as he moved up the stairs, rubbing his temples. "What'd you find out from the party crashers?" Miroku asked, rubbing his shoulders with both hands and grinning. He'd pay to find out how someone got in without paying the ridiculous cover charge.
"She's a runaway." He said, and opened the door at the top of the stairs. He found the girl sleeping on the small twin bed he sometimes used when he was trying to hide from his family. "She's practically a child for crap's sake..." He shook his head and sat in one of his rather contemporary arm chairs. What in gods name could be so bad that someone who probably wasn't a day over 16 would run away from home?
"Abusive father, perhaps?" Miroku wondered aloud. "Yet, there's no visible bruising on her..."
"Hitting someone isn't the only form of abuse." Inuyasha hated thinking that things like that happened to girls these days. Even Miroku shuddered at the suggestion. With a temperamental sigh, he snatched up the TV remote and turned on the small LCD screen on and turned it to the news.
"If you've seen her, please call the Tokyo police department main branch. The girl is considered a danger to herself, and possibly to others. Once again, Kagome Higurashi, pictured here, ran away this morning. If you see her, please call Tokyo police department." The man on the monitor said, a wicked glint in his eyes. "Now, a word from her family."
"Kagome's a good girl, and we just want our baby girl home..." The old man said, but it was obvious to someone as easily angered as Inuyasha, that the old man was lightly disguising fury behind his sad demeanor.
Another man took the microphone. "I'm Naraku Ishimoro, Kagome's fiancee, please, if you see her, contact the police or myself." His number flashed at the bottom. "She is very precious to her family and we all want her back home."
Ahh, things suddenly became clear. Inuyasha gave his friend a knowing look, then glanced towards the sleeping girl on the bed. "Arranged marriage." He said evenly.
"We shouldn't get involved."
Inuyasha nodded in agreement, but he couldn't forget the look of sheer terror on her face when she'd burst into his office. It caused something deep and almost forgotten to rise inside of him, which was strange, especially since this girl wasn't family. With a deep sigh, he picked up his phone and speed dial sixed. A deep voice, his father's voice, answered the phone.
"Inutaishou Takashi..."
"Dad..." He said evenly, his voice a bit tight. "Are you watching the news right now?"
"The Higurashi girl? What about her?"
"About 30 minutes ago, she burst into my office at the club, and she's now sleeping on my twin bed upstairs."
"Inuyasha..."
He jumped in before his father could erupt. "She was fucking terrified, dad. Something has her scared as hell. Something is telling me not to tell the police she's here. I don't know what's going on with me right now, but my head is all screwed up."
There was a long silence on the other end. "Keep her there for now. When she wakes up, bring her home with you, and all three of us are going to discuss the risks that we can take without pushing it."
Inuyasha nodded, glancing towards the girl. "Make yourself comfortable, Miroku. Looks like we could be here awhile..." He said as he hung up the phone. Looked like it was going to be a longer night than he'd planned.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Whatever Kagome was sleeping on was comfortable, with a firm mattress and soft, downy pillow. It was with mild reluctance that she opened her eyes and returned to the world of the living completely. The room was mostly dark, but there was a soft watt light bulb over a small round table, where two young men sat playing what looked like poker. She did a mental check of herself and was almost startled to discover there was nothing wrong with her. They hadn't touched her except to move her.
"Good evening, Ms. Higurashi."
She jumped, startled. Neither of them had looked up at her. How could they know her name? An unsteady breath left her as two golden eyes lifted, pinning her beneath them. It was an unnerving gaze. "How do you know...?" She whispered.
He lifted a remote and suddenly, a wall mounted LCD TV flicked on, and her face, name and age were pasted across the TV.
She paled, seeing that her 'fiancee' was offering a rather large sum of money for her return. "P-please don't turn me in!" She begged, jumping to her knees, her hands shaking furiously. "I can't go back there!"
"Why'd you run?" The demon asked, stacking his cards carefully and gathering the rest, shuffling them in an expert manner. Inuyasha could easily see that she was fighting with herself. She didn't know if she should tell him or not.
She looked at him, uncertain if he would understand. Most men would just laugh at her. Right now, she could laugh at herself. "Don't ask me..." She whispered, fisting her hands. "Look, I'll pay you to keep quiet, I just want to get on a plane and get away from this country."
"I doubt you could pay more than your fiancee is offering." He set the cards aside. "Let me tell you what I think." He said evenly. "I think that you ran away to get out of marrying that demon, Ishimoro. I think your grandfather arranged it, and that you're one of those rare females in this generation who don't want to let their men determine their fate." He saw the panic on her face and smirked a bit, flicking some hair back over his shoulder. "Sound about right?" He asked.
"I have 13,000 American dollars..." She whispered, desperate.
"And I have no use for your money, girl..." He sighed, shaking his head. When her face fell, he stood. "Miroku, could you get the driver to bring the car around to the front entrance. I'm afraid the cops are still around the back." When the other young man was gone, he moved towards her. "You can relax, girl. I'm not going to turn you in. Back when I was brought up, men had a healthy respect and fear of the fairer sex. Arranged marriage was common back then, but usually, the women of the family made those decisions. Women held the power."
Kagome stared up at him in shock. Then, tears began falling down her face. Great, relieved sobs shook her body, and she pressed her hands against her eyes, trying to stem the flow. "Thank you..." She whispered, then jumped in shock when she felt something draped around her shoulders.
"Hood up, and wrap the coat tight. Head down at all times, till we're in the limo. The police are probably watching this place pretty closely, since you disappeared inside. My dad wants to talk to us, especially since I expressed...I suppose the word would be concern, for your mental state." He said evenly.
Obediently, she pulled the hood up, understanding the need to keep her identity hidden. "Why would you be concerned for a stranger?" She asked, warily.
He looked her dead in the eyes. "Because you burst into my office stinking of fear so thick, it was like walking through a blizzard in zero visibility." He saw and smelled her shock. "Don't look so surprised, Ms. Higurashi." He said, wearing a positively sinful smirk. "I am a dog demon, after all."
Kagome turned a deep red. She hoped he didn't notice, but if he did, he didn't say anything. She quickly lowered her head, so her face wasn't visible. She'd met cute boys before. She'd even met cute demons. Yet she'd never seen any of them give her such a predatory smile. She let him lead her out of the building, and kept her head lowered despite the flashing cameras, and let the boy put her into the 'car' which turned out to be a limo.
Oh dear god, what had she gotten herself into.
"Mr. Takashi! Who's the girl!"
"A cousin from my mother's side." He lied smoothly, looking towards the press. "She's not used to all this attention, so if you don't mind..." He watched as they lowered the camera's. "I'll tell you what. I'll give you all exclusive entry at the opening of my next club, Jewel, next month, on the condition that you don't publish any of these pictures. You have my word."
"How do we know you'll keep it?"
He reached into his pocket and found pulled out a ring, on which were several small flat, metal circles with an M in the middle. He snapped the ring in half, and then tossed the membership coins at them. While they were fighting over them, he disappeared into the limo as well.
"Very smooth, Inuyasha..." Miroku said, frowning. "Now we're going to have to honor that promise you made..."
"I'm aware..." He said evenly.
The girl sat stiffly on the other side of the limo. "You're...Inuyasha Takashi..." She said unsteadily. Her gray eyes were wide with shock.
He nodded simply. He wasn't surprised when she hid her face for the duration of the ride.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"There is no way in hell that girl is Inuyasha Takashi's cousin. He's 200 years old. Any and all relatives on his mother's side have long since died." Naraku Ishimoro complained, flipping off the TV, scowling at the set. "It's her. The keeper of the Shikon no Tama..."
Her grandfather frowned, tilting his head to the side. "If the Takashi's have her, then we don't have a huge chance of getting her back..." He fisted his hands, and called his daughter into the room. "Did you know she was going to run away!"
The woman trembled, but a picture of her daughter's face flashed in front of her, hair pulled back messily, her clothing baggy and common, her face wearing an expression of defiance. "Yes."
The old man jumped to his feet and struck the woman hard across the face. "That girl was your ticket to an easy life! All we had to do was wait until she turned sixteen, when that damn jewel could be harvested from her!" He raised a hand, hitting her again. Suddenly, a hand stopped him, and he found himself staring into the furious gray eyes of his grandson.
"Leave her alone." He said softly. He looked the old man defiantly in the eye, his hands fisted tightly. "I don't care how you think women should be treated, you hit my mama again, I'll hit you."
Naraku Ishimoro arched an eyebrow in interest. "And what if I hit her, child?"
He turned towards the demon and glared at him. "Then I'll take Mama and we'll go to the Takashi's as well." He fixed his grandfather with an icy glare. "And you can't stop me, because since I am eldest son, I'm technically in charge." He tossed his law book at him, and watched it hit the floor hard. "So read the rules, old man!"
Without another word, the boy went to his mother and helped her stand, guiding her to her room. Upon arrival, he sat her down and looked her directly in the eye. "Mom, I need to know everything you know about the Shikon no Tama."
The older woman nodded, the bruise raised slightly on her cheek, already turning purple from discoloration.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
The limo pulled through the gate onto the extensive property and up towards the front of the, for lack of a better word, palace. Kagome stared out the window in shock and awe, from the carefully structured topiaries, to the 3,000 odd year old banzai tree, beautifully manicured lawns, and a thirteen foot tall rose bush in the back corner.
"Do you have your own gardener?" She asked, staring at all this stuff breathlessly.
"My mom does most of the work herself, or puts Sesshoumaru or I to work on stuff like the lawn."
She blinked, looking towards him, startled. "Your mom puts YOU to work?" She asked, astonished. "And you don't argue?"
He looked back at her, a bemused expression on his face. "Miroku, please tell her a little bit about my family. I'll go let my dad know you're here." He left the limousine and jogged lightly up the front steps.
"The Takashi's are an old family. Mrs. Takashi, Takashi-sama's second wife is...convincing." The human smiled a bit, chuckling. "Takashi-sama and his wife are a very relaxed couple, and in the past three years I've worked for them, I've never seen them argue. When guests...abuse Mrs. Takashi in any way, they are swiftly dealt with, and reminded that in this house, both the men and the women get equal respect."
Kagome looked at the ground, nodding. Just then, the hanyou popped his head back in.
"Come on, they're waiting." He offered his hand to help her out of the car.
Kagome accepted his assistance with a trembling hand. The Takashi's were a well known family, but their private life wasn't as well known. She stepped from the limo and walked slowly up the grand stairs at the entry. "Would you think I was weak if I told you I was scared spitless?" She asked, looking over at the dog-eared man.
"I'd think you were weak if you didn't admit it." He pushed the door open and walked inside ahead of her. "But there has to be some courage to admit your weaknesses." He led her to a room down the hall.
They entered and immediately, a male voice spoke.
"Inuyasha, don't you have any manners at all! You could have at least held the door for her!"
She saw the hanyou cringe a bit, and let him guide her to a tall, wing backed chair in front of a desk. She sat down slowly, and jumped when the swivel chair spun around, revealing a man with strikingly high cheek bones, with long slashes along both, pure silver colored hair, and the same gold eyes as the youngest Takashi son.
"Miss Higurashi Kagome, I presume."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
AN: Le GASP! I know, I know. I started another story, before a bunch of my other's are complete. Progress on several other's has been slow. Anyways, I came up with this one, although it's changed a bit from it's original format. I also did a few character changes. Kagome is much more meek in this, although she does have a backbone, Inuyasha is a good bit more gentle with her, and here's the biggy, Souta has a damn backbone! YAY!
Anyways, I'll see how the response to this one is. I've got one other story started, still in the beginning stages. Unlike this and several of my other newer ones, it's a continuation. I'll post more about it up on my main page.
Love peace and chicken grease, DemonSaya.