A/N: Sigh I give up. I don't mean I'm giving up writing. It's just that I think that I've been putting too much emphasis on the popularity of my writing via reviews. When I do that, I find that I'm not writing the way I should be writing anymore. It's not the type of motivation I should be seeking for my writing. Anyway, in short, I've finally gotten back to the days where I wrote because I liked writing, not because I was looking for praise. This probably doesn't affect you, my dear readers, at all, but it was just something I had to get off my chest.
Anyhow, it's been a while since I've been able to update so quickly. In fact, I don't think I've ever updated a chapter in less than a week. Eh, whatever. Enjoy.
FOR THIS PURPOSE
Chapter 3: Never Wander Dark Streets by Yourself
"Mom, I'm going to meet up with Eri at the mall. I'll be back later tonight for dinner!" called out Kagome from upstairs while frantically picking out a set of appropriate clothes. She had, once again, woken up late despite her rather annoying alarm clock (otherwise known as Buyo, the fat cat that could give Garfield a run for his money in stomach diameter) awakening her at a God-forsaken hour sometime earlier that morning. No, with Kagome's renowned bright morning attitude, she had shoved the cat off of her and threw a pillow over her head to block out the sun, and all of this without opening her eyes once.
Now, however, she was berating herself for throwing the alarm clock out of the window last week (well, school was over now) and forgetting to either fix it or buy a new one.
Growling in frustration, she tried to pull on a pair of jeans while brushing her teeth while attempting to fix the mess of tangled strands amassed atop of her head…and failing miserably. With a yelp, she fell to the floor with a somewhat indelicate thump as she finally pulled up her pants. Any work that she had done to her hair, though, was completely wasted.
Finally, after an abnormal amount of work for such a small task, Kagome was dressed and ready for a day of shopping. Suddenly in a much more cheerful mood, she made her way downstairs only to see her brother lazing about the couch.
"Souta, get off your butt and go do something!" she yelled as she ran out the door.
She completely disregarded the rude comment Souta made as she noticed the voices on the television held something of greater interest. She paused at the door to listen to the rest of the news report.
"Including yesterday's shooting, there have been a total of seven deaths, which are assumed to be all from the same shooter. No one has seen the shooter and the only evidence seems to be a card with the name 'Inuyasha' written on it. Although the authorities are hesitant to point 'Inuyasha' as the killer, friends and families of the victims have now dubbed these cases the 'Inuyasha Shootings."
"Eh, boring," she heard Souta mumbling before changing the channel.
The Inuyasha Shootings, huh? she pondered in her mind before walking out the door.
…
Kagome sighed deeply as she dragged her weary feet down the streets. Now she remembered why she used to hate shopping with Eri. The woman seemed to have feet of steel! The two girls had met up at the mall and Eri had proceeded to dragging the other girl from one end of the mall to the other and back again without so much as a rest. She'd also talked the whole time. No, that's not right. Talking would have entailed thought process. What Eri did was more similar to stream of consciousness. She jumped from one subject to the other in a matter of seconds, and oftentimes in the matter of fractions of a second. To top it all off, the two friends had met a group of cute guys, who looked to be about twenty-five or twenty-six, at the mall and Eri insisted on having dinner with them. It turned out to be a flirt-fest.
All the while, Kagome only wanted to go home and rest her tired feet. But, she did have to admit that one of the guys was pretty cute. Okay, so he was really, really hot. His jet black hair was swept back into a low ponytail and his lavender eyes sparkled with laughter. His deep purple shirt was tight, revealing well-toned muscles to die for (which Eri nearly did). He had a boyish air about him that was disarming, but he had one major flaw: he groped anything and everything that appeared to have breasts. Well, maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration, but he was still the most amorous man Kagome had ever met before.
It made her a bit uncomfortable associating with this group of men whom she had never met before, but they were friendly and showed no signs of wanting anything more than just talking. Well, all except for him, but he was easily dealt with by his friends. Besides, Kagome was not the type of girl who would allow herself to be taken without a fight. Throughout the whole dinner, never once did she let go of her purse or of the bottle of pepper spray she kept inside.
Finally, after dinner was over, the men had left to go about their business and Eri had gone to a club to meet up with some of their other friends. Kagome was never too interested in the club scene and, ever since that incident, nyctophobia and claustrophobia prevented her from going anywhere that would be dark and crowded.
As she walked down the streets, however, she couldn't help but feel that she should have gone with Eri. Though this was an area she had walked pass hundreds if not thousands of times, she had rarely done so by herself or at night. She cast furtive glances at her surrounding environment and shivered when the shadows in the alleys would lengthen and contract with the coming and going of cars with their headlights. The hairs on the back of her neck stood straight up and she rubbed her arms for warmth. It was uncommonly cold for a summer night and the thin material of her t-shirt did little to help.
She froze when she suddenly heard the clanging of metal reverberate from an alleyway further down. Nothing but a cat, nothing but a cat, nothing but a cat, she chanted as she walked closer. She was tempted to cross the street to the other side to avoid the alley, but there was too much traffic to cross safely.
"Help! Please, help!"
Kagome thoughts were interrupted when the shrill voice of a young child pierced the atmosphere. Throwing her previous fear out the window, she ran towards the commotion and found herself facing the dark alley where the clanging had been emitted. Squinting, she could make out three vague silhouettes, deep within the alcove.
"Stop it, you big bully! Stop it!" The child's voice shook with fear, although it sounded as if he were trying his best to keep it hidden.
A second voice drifted out from the alley and Kagome's skin prickled with anxiety. "Shut up, kid! Or your parents won't be the only ones dead."
"That's right. You tell him, brother," agreed the third voice.
Kagome quickly ducked against the neighboring wall as she tried to steady her breathing. That man had just killed somebody and was threatening to kill the kid as well! She should do something, but what? Chances are, if she walked into the alley to try to stop him, her name would end up in tomorrow's newspaper in the obituary section. With her luck, one of the men in the alley might be Inuyasha.
Still…if she did nothing, the poor boy would certainly not make it either. What to do, what to do? She looked up to the sky, hoping for inspiration. However, all she received was silent indifference from the cold moon and stars, but no answers.
Wait, why am I hesitating? There's a life at stake here! she suddenly realized. She also realized that had it been three months ago, she would not have hesitated at all. Have I really changed that much?
Shaking her head to rid herself of those unwelcome thoughts, she took in a deep breath only to find that the voices were gone. She stepped into the alley confused and walked straight into a tall and muscular body. Unable to mask a startled gasp, Kagome looked up to find herself staring into a pair of menacing crimson eyes. The intensity behind those orbs of ruby both frightened and enthralled her.
Fear took over, however, when an ambiguous smirk marred his otherwise heart-breaking features. "Well, look at what we have here?" His voice was laced with malice, and it was all Kagome could do to stop herself from running away. He licked his lips suggestively, allowing a fang to protrude from his mouth. He stepped closer to her as he continued to examine her appreciatively. "Brother, this job is turning out to be a lot more interesting than I thought it would be."
"You're right, Brother. You're always right, Brother," replied the other voice. Out of the corner of her eye, Kagome noticed that this man was the complete opposite of the first man. His face resembled that of a flattened snake while his short, stubby body was shaped like a barrel. His pasty complexion and balding head made her want to vomit. If she hadn't known better, she would have thought that he was a demon. In fact, the other man seemed far more than demonic.
Kagome tried to step back but the man quickly whipped his arms around her waist which effectively pinned her against him. Swallowing thickly, Kagome managed to whisper, "Wh-what are you doing? Let go of the kid."
The man's mouth twitched into a sadistic smile as he replied, "Certainly. Anything for you babe…" Kagome was about to breathe a sigh of relief when he continued, "But…what do I get in return?"
He bent down his head as he nuzzled her neck. Kagome gasped sharply when she felt his tongue trailing down her neck to her collarbone. "Stop it!" she shrieked. Her old fire that had disappeared for so long finally returned as she tried to kick the man. When that was unsuccessful, she tried to shove him away. However, she was nowhere near as strong as he was and her shoving him away only seemed to encourage his advances.
"She's a fighter, this one is!" laughed the first man. Suddenly his eyes lit up. "How about this, little brother? Once I am through with her, I'll give her hair to you!"
"Splendid idea! Thank you brother!"
The voice of the little boy she had heard earlier suddenly rang into her ears. "Let her go, you big bully!" Looking down, she saw the boy charging at his legs and punching him with his small fists. Despite the severity of the situation, she couldn't help the amused smile that formed in her mind.
However, it seemed that she wasn't the only one who found the situation amusing. The older brother burst out into a deep and terrible laughter before stopping suddenly and shoving the poor boy away from him with ease. "Get away from me boy. Can't you see I'm busy?"
A scoff suddenly rang out. Though the voice was rough, to Kagome's ears, they sounded like the sweetest thing. "Hiten and Manten, the infamous Thunder Brothers. I should have known just as much. When will you stop screwing around with these little kids and be men? Then again, that'll probably be a little hard for you."
The voice came from behind Kagome, but she could not turn around to see who the newcomer was. Nor could she figure out if he was friend or foe. From his tone, it certainly did not seem that he held any particular good will toward these "Thunder Brothers," but she could never be sure. There was something vaguely familiar about his voice however, but she couldn't seem to remember where she'd heard it before.
An angry growl emanated from Hiten as he faced off with the unknown stranger. "Heh…Inuyasha, what would you know about being a man?"
Inuyasha?! But, isn't that supposed to be the shooter who's been all over the news lately? Kagome shut her eyes tightly as she wonder, What in the world have I gotten myself into? First it's this molester, then a serial murderer?
Inuyasha snarled, "Well, why don't you let the bitch go and see for yourself?"
Hiten laughed a barking sort of laugh. "No thank you. I don't screw around with little kids." He turned his eyes to Kagome and continued, "I'd much, much more prefer to spend my time with this little chick."
By this time, Kagome had clamped her eyes shut as little drops of tears began to form in her eyes. Even if she somehow managed to escape the grasp of this Hiten character, there was the matter of Manten and Inuyasha. Either way, she was dead.
Suddenly, all the emotions that she had bottled up from the incident poured into her body and infested her mind. The fear, the confusion, the rage. They all came together to terrorize her and strangle her with their potency.
"Stop it." Her voice began as barely a whisper. Hiten ignored her and continued sucking away at her neck. Manten watched with glee and burst out into a chuckle every now and then. Inuyasha, despite his words, seemed to hang away from them. The young boy was nowhere to be seen.
"Stop it." Her voice grew in strength as she clenched her hands into tight fists. Hiten looked up in surprise when he felt a surge of power course through her body. Manten stopped his chuckling. Inuyasha tried to act nonchalant, but could not hide the curious glances he threw at the girl.
"Stop it!" She snapped her eyes open and for a moment, a brief moment that seemed to span for millennia though it occurred in a fraction of a second, Hiten stared into her emotionless crystalline blue orbs and felt fear. He was not afraid of anything, yet she frightened him.
Before he could react, a blinding flash of light threw him backwards and stole the voice from his scream as he disintegrated in the blast.
Then, there was only blackness.
A/N: Well, that was pleasant...next chapter Kagome meets Inuyasha. That's when the real fun ought to start...hehe...