Disclaimer: I wish I owned Inuyasha! …Awww shucks…

A/N: Sorry it took so long to update!!! I've been busy doing lifeguarding of my own, not to mention summer reading…Thanks to all the reviewers and whatnot. I thought I'd better get the second chapter out before summer really does end ;; okay, okay, I'll shut up and get on with the story!

Hotel Horror

Falling Hard

Kagome jolted out of bed, staring frantically at her unfamiliar surroundings looking for what had woken her up. Her drowsy eyes slowly focused on the telephone which was shrilling in her dark room. Blinking the sleep from her eyes she pressed the phone to her ear and groggily muttered, "H-hello?"

"Hello," a sickly sweet and chipper voice said, "Your party has set a 5:30 wake up call! All persons with the school is to report downstairs for lunch and a poolside activity." And with that, the operator hung up with a final click before Kagome's brain had a chance to process an insult to hurl at her.

Blearily, she looked at her clock before groaning. 5:15 glowed in red letters back at her. Muffling yawns groans, and curses, Kagome hauled protesting body to the bathroom, into a bathing suit and clothes, down the elevator, and into a small café. Hojo saw her and immediately waved her over and patted a place beside him.

Kagome mustered her best "early-bird" smile and chatted with Hojo and his friends while munching on whatever was in her plate.

"We were just saying that we're going to take snorkeling lessons in the pool while we're here, Kagome," Hojo informed her.

"How can someone snorkel in the pool? Don't you need like a reef or something?" Kagome asked around a mouthful of scone.

"Nah!" someone exclaimed, "Did you see the size of this pool? It's massive! And it's deep, and heated. It's almost as if we were at the beach itself! Our whole class could fit in the pool."

"And the hotel! Hojo your family must be extremely loaded! It's huge!"

"Well, Otou-san did say that even he doesn't know everything about this hotel. It was supposed to be an ancient castle or something," Hojo responded modestly.

"Wow! I bet you could get lost and not find your way out for years!" one girl said dramatically.

"So did you hear Kagome," one of the girls said to her with a twinkle in her eye, "the lifeguards here are to die for! I can't wait to go down to the pool and see!"

The girls around them began to chip in all that they'd heard and saw of the hotel's lifeguards. The conversation ranged from fairly normal descriptions – tall, dark, ponytail and earrings – to downright farfetched – white hair and doggie ears, but all of the girls seemed to have the same conclusion: lifeguards were the sole boy-treat of the summer. Some even suggested drowning on purpose. Hojo began to look dejected as the conversation swerved off into an unpleasant tangent.

Peering over her breakfast, Kagome just rolled her eyes. They don't even know what these guys were like and they've already got their grandkids named. She turned her ear to a sensible speaker; it was obviously a boy. "Yeah," they said, "But I heard that a girl got dumped in the pool by one of them! They sound like jerks to me. What if she drowned? Isn't there some kind of law against that?"

Kagome didn't really know much about laws – except what she'd seen on Judge Judy, but whoever would throw an innocent into a pool was certainly not worth ogling at all summer. Jerks like that were the last things from hot. She continued to listen to the gossip until someone asked her to put in her two cents. When she voiced her opinion, some rolled their eyes, some laughed, and Hojo looked considerably happier.

Not that Kagome wasn't interested in looking at boys, because she couldn't object to the nice flash of coppery skin that she'd seen on the male lifeguards, but she'd much rather explore the extravagant hotel that they'd spend the next two months in. So far all she'd seen was the lobby, elevator, and the small café; she had little time for anything else. And from what she watched on her telly, anything else was a lot more than she'd expected. When their little brochure said "and much more", it really meant more!

Several minutes and full bellies later, the small high school group made it to the pool after a heated discussion on how to split the tab. Hojo had tried to insist to pay the bill, but the others wouldn't hear of it. So they opted to go through the meticulous procedure of dividing and adding up their totals. When they came up short on cash, however, Hojo had sighed and produced the remainder while the others looked on sheepishly.

Kagome and the girls wandered the pool eagerly for chairs while the boys retrieved towels from a pretty woman behind the counter. Unable to stop them, she was shoved and jostled past a gigantic waterslide, over a rope-and-plank bridge, through a fountain, finally stopping by a bunch of vacant seats near volleyball net…and a lifeguard stand. She nearly snorted as she heard them giggle and stare openly up at the tall, dark, imitating figures seated atop the lifeguard chairs.

After having several long lectures on skin cancer drilled into her brain by her mother, Kagome dutifully fished the sun block from her bag and applied generously and watched the boys approach with their arms full of light green towels and a white ball.

"Ladies," one of the fellows said with a grin, "Are you up for some volleyball?"

Inuyasha grouched as he clambered up the ladder to his spot in the lifeguard post. Because of his escapade with that high school girl, his boss threatened to fire him. Fortunately for Inuyasha his half-demon attributes made him an irreplaceable lifeguard – his amplified senses could hear a distressed swimmer from anywhere in the big pool – so his job was safe. Unfortunately, his boss detailed him an all day shift as punishment, which included mornings.

Inuyasha was not a morning person.

Sango had kicked him out of bed at an hour that no man should be forced to be awake to see with that violent round-house kick of hers and warned him not to come back until his face was red as a tomato. Miroku had just smirked from his place in front of the PC playing CounterBound, eyes never leaving the blipping screen.

Needless to say Inuyasha delivered him a good-morning punch in the gut.

He glared out at the vast pool and stuffed his Oakley sunglasses into place, while smearing Coppertone over his sensitive nose and fluffy ears. With the dark, reflective sunglasses on, he could catch up on some much-needed beauty sleep while it would appear to everyone else that an attentive, hanyou lifeguard was carefully monitoring the poolside.

The sun's heat and the sounds of water soothed the tired lifeguard into a light sleep…

"Papa, throw me up!" squealed a high-pitched voice.

"Okay, ready Shippo-chan?" replied a deep male voice.

"You two be careful over there!" the loud motherly patronizing made Inuyasha twitch in his light snooze.

"One, two, THREE!"

A scream of delight rang in the air, closely followed by a loud splash.

Inuyasha's ears folded back against his head in an attempt to block out the sound – but to no avail. With a roar of frustration, he threw his sunglasses off and resumed staring at the pool, glaring at all the happy guests frolicking loudly around the pool.

It wasn't long before Miroku showed up, dragging his tired body away from the staff lounge, Sango, and his precious PC. The sight of the red handprint on his face made Inuyasha snort. "Was wondering when she'd boot you out," he taunted smugly.

The human groaned, "I didn't even have morning shift! Ah, Sango will be the death of me."

"If you keep on groping her, she will," Inuyasha retorted, "When are you going to learn, bozo?"

"It's my hands!" Miroku insisted, "They have a mind of their own!"

"When are you going to tell her how you feel about her?"

"When you go over to the towel stand and ask Kikyo to reconsider dumping your ass," Miroku replied nonplused.

"What do you know about it?!" Inuyasha replied huffily.

"Inuyasha, I know as much about women as you know about hair care," Miroku retorted dryly.

"Was that supposed to be an insult?!"

"No, no, I think your attention to your hair is very masculine."

"Why I outta – "

"Keep it DOWN!" Kikyo commanded sharply from her booth, "You're ruining the business!"

With a snort, Inuyasha went back to watching the pool through his precious Oaklies. He fingered his whistle threateningly at a passerby whose pace was questionable…I wonder if he's running?...Looks like running to me! He thought, smirking evilly at the strolling, unsuspecting guest.

A sharp blast pierced through the air followed by Inuyasha's sharp voice, "You there! Guy with the board shorts that even Dennis Rodman wouldn't wear! I'm talking to you buddy! Stop running!"

Miroku chortled from his chair. Smirking, Inuyasha leaned back into his seat, filled with satisfaction. Ah…this is what his job's about. Eyes stared at the lifeguard curiously, and he became aware of the attention.

Another equally sharp blast sounded and Inuyasha was back on his feet, "You! Michael Jackson lady with the man-beard! Yeah you! Stop gawping at me and get back to whatever the hell you were doing!"

Half an hour later, his side of the pool was completely deserted.

"Inuyasha, you should learn to use manners," Miroku chided him, as remaining people skittered away from their watch.

"Feh, whatever."

"I'm serious, someone might complain."

"Feh."

"You're not paying attention are you?"

"Bah."

"So, did you know Kikyo's quitting her job to raise armadillos in Portugal with Brad Pit?"

"Mmm hmm…wait, what?"

"Nothing, nothing."

The hanyou drummed his claws on the stand. God he was bored. Got to get out of here…he thought wearily applying his fifth layer of sunscreen, How could anyone in their right mind take this job? You just fucking sit here! He thought angrily. Right now Miroku's probably getting tons of points on the computer game he had worked so hard to beat the stupid bozo at.

Not that he didn't like his job, because he'll be dammed if he lost it. Boss-man was all right, as far as bosses go. He took him in when it was extremely hard for hanyou's to get a job, what with the whole people vs. youkai political war going on. No one tended to trust a mix of the breed – except Boss-man. He was pretty cool for a human, and Inuyasha's skills as a lifeguard were as priceless as Kouga's or Sango's.

And, Inuyasha had to admit (grudgingly), that the pay wasn't half-assed. He got to afford the luxuries in life, and got to live at a hotel. Plenty of babes checked in and out all the time. Of course it was any hanyou's…or male's fucking dream come fucking true. In Inuyasha and Miroku's minds anyway.

The staff weren't so bad either. Sango, Miroku and he had formed a kind of violent and odd friendship. Complete with insults, morning kicks, gropes, and slaps. And hey! The Internet bill was free, and the job came with a dental plan. After all, Inuyasha couldn't have been a stud without his pearly white fangs.

To make matters worse a group of giggling girls made their way over to the chairs near his post. What a bunch of stupid females, he thought thoroughly disgusted as they pointed and stared openly at him. He glared threateningly at them while applying more sunblock. I mean I know I'm a stud but this is ridiculous! I guess it can't get worse than

"Hey, dog turd!"

Aw shit…

"Looks like I got the morning shift with you!" Kouga grinned evilly at Inuyasha from the other end of the pool. "What's wrong? Got sunscreen stuck in those ears of yours?"

"Oi, wimpy wolf! You better shut your trap before I go over there and kick your ass into the pool!" he yelled angrily, pounding his fist into the lifeguard chair. The parents that still lingered within hearing distance of the grumpy hanyou glared at him and covered their children's ears.

"Ah, Inuyasha," Miroku rebuked, "You should really watch your language. You're making the children's ears bleed," he said pointing to the bawling children.

"Yeah, well if Kouga doesn't shut the fuck up that won't be all that's bleeding!" he snarled angrily at the wolf.

"I'm quivering in my sexy board shorts!" Kouga shot back, flashing the giggling females a grin.

"Bah! Not even Dennis Rodman would wear those!"

"Inuyasha, that joke only works once a day…perhaps only once a month," came Miroku's interjection in the heated argument.

"Can't think of any other insults insolent puppy?" Kouga taunted smugly.

"Oh go screw a penguin!" …he's right damn him!

"I didn't know you liked that kind of think, Inuyasha!"

Loud clicks of heels on tile announced the arrival of a pissed off towel woman, "You, three, shut up before Boss grills your asses! I can hear you from across the pool!" Kikyo snapped.

"Yes, Inuyasha, I strongly recommend you to give up, clearly Kouga's skill in this sort of fighting far outsmarts yours," the human sagely advised.

"Miroku, shut the fuck up and find something else to occupy your mind!"

"The testosterone levels here are unhealthy! Stop it!" Kikyo ordered.

"Stay out of this!" Inuyasha barked.

"Ignoring me now are you, puppy?"

"Inuyasha, as you've noticed, Sango has proven to me that she can read minds, and she will issue pain when I think such thoughts."

"I'LL KILL BOTH OF YOU!" Inuyasha growled, jumping up in his seat.

"Now, now, what would the boss say?" Miroku clucked.

"Honestly, did you see your doctor about anger management?" Kikyo asked coldly.

"Hah! I'd like to see you try! Like a little puppy like you could scare me!"

"Can too!"

"Can not!"

"The idiocy here is too much," Kikyo snorted stalking back, heels clicking loudly on the poolside floor.

"Can too!"

"Oh god…" Miroku said with dread.

"What is it?!" Kouga and Inuyasha asked, looking around alarmed. If the boss caught them like this…

"For once I must agree with Kikyo – this is immature…" Miroku sighed.

"ARGH!"

"Can not!"

"Can too!"

"Can not to infinity!"

"Can too to infinity plus one!"

"Can not to the infinite power times infinity!"

It was going to be one of those days…

Kagome sighed as she wandered hopelessly around unfamiliar territory. Humming a random tune, she scanned the area for anyone remotely human. She passed what seemed like thousands upon thousands of rooms with the antique decoration theme: wood, dark, and scary people, portraits all along the sides. The same velvety red rug under her feet that she'd gotten shocked numerous times when reaching towards a brass doorknob or metal frame.

Fear had long since taken residence, not that she was scared of the stupid portraits that seemed to follow her every move, and not that she was avoiding Hojo and company, because they were a blast and their day was fun and it wasn't even noon…but…

She was hopelessly, undeniably lost.

All that she knew was that she somehow stumbled upon a tropical room with massive trees, both real and fake, that loomed over her and seemed to stretch into forever above her head. She decided this room would be much more comfortable to settle down in if she were to be lost. And there was even company, a rather talkative Taro, albeit he was slightly annoying and was a bird…She had spent the past hour trying to strike up a conversation with the dumb bird in hopes of a thoughtful trainer who had taught the colorfully plumaged bird how to repeat directions.

"Squak! Squak! Polly want a cracker!"

Scratch that – she was hopelessly, undeniably lost and was about to lose the remainder of her sanity to a bird.

"You stupid parrot," Kagome sighed wearily at her partner, "You're name is Taro!" She retracted her hand away from the sign that said "Hello! My name is Taro. Talk to me!" hastily, remembering that no, birds can't read, and two, she was having a pointless conversation with a bird who thought its name was Polly.

After their game of volleyball, the girls decided to take a trip to the spa, and the guys to the game room. After wandering around for a good 20 minutes separated from her friends, Kagome realized a couple of things:

1. She had no idea where the spa was.

2. She should ask for directions.

3. She was in a deserted part of the hotel with only a parrot to talk to.

4. All she had was her bathing suit, watch, and a towel.

After fruitless attempts to find her way to the spa, Kagome sat near the bird and resolved to wait until someone had to feed him…or her? Polly was an English girl's name…right? In any case, Taro couldn't just sit here all the time – surely someone cared for him enough to feed and water him, perhaps even move him to a sleeping area at night…preferably somewhere away from where anyone could here him…or her, she amended silently in her head.

She settled herself down in the embrace of a giant tree, plopping down near the base of its colossal trunk. Leaning her head on it for support, she had to admit that being here was peaceful and gave her a chance to think, about her life, her future and her relationships.

Her friends were constantly pushing her and Hojo together, and while she was extremely flattered with his attentions, gifts, dates, and extravagant room, she couldn't help but feel that…

Well…Hojo was a bit of a lump.

He was charming, handsome, rich, and extremely nice, but on the whole, Kagome found him dull. Of course she'd never voice her opinion aloud to her friends or family or anyone, and she hardly admitted it to herself, but frankly Hojo just wasn't The One. Her friends had called her naïve, but she held fast to her belief. No matter how many "dates" or gifts she went on, she couldn't bring herself to look at Hojo that way…and yet she couldn't find the heart to tell him so.

She glanced at her watch. "Two thirty-three?" she said aloud in surprise and whistled. It had meant that she'd been here for at least three hours. She eagerly looked at her skin. "Do I look any darker to you, Taro-chan?" Kagome asked the bird sweetly.

He looked at her as if to say, "Are you kidding?"

"Well, gee," she griped, "If I'm fishing for a compliment I sure won't ask you! If I don't get any darker, that'll be a disappointment, but as long as I don't freckle, I'll be fine."

Their conversation dwindled, which conversations do when only one member is constantly talking, and the other is repeating "Polly want a cracker" every two minutes, so Kagome did her check for any other life forms and dejectedly found none. But her eyes did find an English sign at the corner of one room. Squinting at it, Kagome tried to remember her classes and letters.

"E…eg…eg-shit? Eg…ex-stra…" she mumbled staring at the unfamiliar glowing red letters, "Ex-si-to…no that doesn't sound right…damn!"

Giving up on the sign, her thoughts wandered around until she began recalling her last year of middle school. High school entrance exams had finished, and Kagome had yet to receive any news to which school she'd be attending the following year, and although it was the beginning of summer, she and her mother were very worried. And with her grandpa's failing health, her family really needed her to get a degree and a job.

Kagome recalled with a grimace of the late night conversations she'd had with her extremely agitated mother. They had explored all of the options, and had narrowed down to two…the first: getting a job to help support the Shrine was highly unlikely because she was so young, but it was Kagome's preferred plan because the second…

"Polly hungry!"

Oh dear…

Thoughts of her family's plight were chased away with the reminder of her company. With a furtive glance at the bird's feeder, she realized that it had been empty for quite some time. No doubt the result of neglect or inability to find Taro in the massive reaches of the hotel. Her first reaction was pity. No wonder the blasted thing yabbered on so much! It lacked company of any sort. Reaching a tentative hand out towards the creature, she let it rest on her hand as she ran her fingers across its glossy back, cooing reassuringly.

Her mind wandered as she babbled to the bird, motherly instincts reaching out to the obviously neglected and attention-craving parrot. All smiles, Kagome turned to the bird and chatted on and on as if it could understand her. After all, she thought, animals respond well to a kind voice and gentle hand.

"Don't worry, Taro, I'll keep you company," she baby-talked to the bird as it blinked curiously at her, "I'll teach you how to solve equations!"

"So…for example, you have 'x2y=15' and '25x=y'…first you have to carry the 2y, subtract it from both sides…show your work…and simplify…then you use the property of whats-his-face…"

"…and that is how we get: '2yx=15' and 'y=25x'…no…I think I explained that all wrong…I hate math…"

"On the bright side, someone will have to come eventually."

Hopefully a nice tanned cute lifeguard.

"And then we'll take you to sunflower-seed heaven!"

Having a lifeguard rescuer would be heaven…

Her eyes fluttered shut and she took a nap.

Kagome didn't want to wake up, she was warm and cozy in her dream's embrace. But wakefulness persisted, tugging her dream away and out of her memory, where it would be a forgotten part of her subconscious. For a little while she kept still, her eyes shut, in hopes of the pleasant dream to come back and sleep to reclaim her. But while her mind wished to go back to sleep, her senses protested and became more alert to her surroundings so that it became impossible to deny that she was, infact, awake.

Stretching with a yawn, Kagome tried to remember her dreams, and failed.

"Wow," she said glancing at her watch, "6:30?" she squinted as if it would make the little numbers appear differently. She remembered being lost, finding a parrot, and falling asleep. "I guess no one came for me…I guess no one will…"

Her own words weighted her heart, and she jolted into full wakefulness and full paranoia.

"OhmiGodOmiGodOmiGod!" she screamed, as Taro squaked from his position next to her. "What if I die in here, Taro?! All alone! Without anyone! It's a big hotel right? Even Hojo said that his father could get lost in it! What'll I do?! What'll I eat?! Where will I sleep?"

Kagome began to hyperventilate as her imagination roamed wild.

"How will my family get on without me?! Will I die of starvation?! MAMA! SOUTA! JIICHAN! BUYO! HOJO!!!"

As if thoroughly disgusted by her behavior, the bird took off in flight, finding a haven in one of massive trees.

"Taroo!" She called pleadingly, "Come back!"

Exhausted, despite the fact that she just woke from her sleep, Kagome slumped back into her tree with a devastated sigh.

"Help me…" she whimpered, eyes filling up with unshed tears.

Kagome expected to die, alone, crying in this room without anyone and with all her dreams incomplete. She didn't expect what happened next.

"What the – FUCKING BIRD!"

Kagome whipped her head towards the sound, eyes still shiny and wide.

"Polly hungry!" she heard the bird insist.

"Yeah well, you're sure as hell not going to get any food from me – OW THAT HURT YOU STUPID CHICKEN!"

The last thing Kagome remembered was someone yelling and the sound of twigs breaking above her.

Inuyasha shot up off of the ground. He was extremely pissed, and one little feather ball was going to feel his wrath! Too long he had waited to get off duty, too long had Kouga tried his patience, and this bird had to come and make his day a living hell!

Preparing to spring off of the ground to leap after the bird, he felt something quite unlike the floor.

It was rather squishy.

Glancing wide-eyed down at the ground below him, Inuyasha said to himself for the second time:

Aw shit…

A/N: Love it? Hate it? Review please! Until next time! Ja-ne!