Chapter 3

I pulled up to the apartment complex where Inuyasha, Kikyo, Miroku, Sango, and Sesshou resided, parked in front of Sesshou's car, my usual spot, and headed inside with my stuff.

"Hey, I'm here!" I called after unlocking the door with a key Sess had given me as soon as I got my drivers license.

Sango ran in and hugged me tight, closely followed by Kikyo.

"Welcome home." They both said warmly. I liked how that sounded. And against my better judgment, I began to picture what it'd be like to live here. Waking up in Sesshou's arms every morning and falling asleep there every night, cooking for him, not having to worry about him every second of every day… things would be good… great, even.

I was brought out of my thoughts at Kikyo's voice,

"You'll have to stay in Sesshou's room." She said pointing to the room; as if I didn't already know where it was. I stiffened at her words and before I could stop my voice, words spilled from my mouth,

"Do I have to?" It came out as a whimper and I saw hers and Sango's faces fall slightly and their eyes grow sad. There was pity in them, and sympathy.

"There's nowhere else for you to sleep. Kiki and I are turning the living room into somewhat of a… nursing station I guess you could call it. In case…" She paused, looking into my face, as if she was nervous of my reaction, but still wanted to see it. "In case something goes wrong."

Oooooh… So that was it. They didn't expect all of us to come back ok. I couldn't blame her; it'll be a miracle if the both of us get out of there alive, let alone unharmed. I'd been praying to God all week, asking his forgiveness for attacking other human beings, and his blessings. I didn't want to go to jail and I didn't want to die, but I knew that if it was meant to happen, it would, no matter what I wanted. I knew that God didn't condone violence, let alone murder, for vengeance, but I couldn't leave things the way they were, I'd feel guilty forever if I didn't help in some way.

Keeping my face mostly expressionless, I nodded and turned to take a shower, throwing a small, tearful smile at them over my shoulder, hoping they wouldn't worry.

As I climbed into the hot water, I could feel the tears I'd been holding back filling my eyes. I let them sit in my eyes for a while, as the water beat down on my shaking body, before closing them and forcing the tears to run from them, down my face, and into the shower, amongst the rain-like fresh water that fell from the shower head. I knelt on the floor in anguish, stifling a sob with my hands as I tilted my head forward, allowing the steaming water to run through my hair, down my back, arms, and clenched fist before finally receding into the drain beneath me.

After sitting for at least half an hour, I washed myself, turned off the water, dried my hair, and walked into Sesshou's room wearing nothing but a towel, lotion in my hand. I closed the door behind me, holding my eyes closed tightly for a moment before opening them slowly to look around the room. I knew they were filled with despair because that's how I was feeling at the moment.

His room hadn't changed one bit. It was still painted all red with a black ceiling, his bed was still a full with red and black sheets, blankets, and pillows, and he still had all the same posters up. One poster showed a picture of Cassy, one was a periodic table wit a sex position for every element, and a couple posters of his favorite rappers. The room still smelled like him too, even though he hadn't been there for at least a week. The only difference I could find in the room was on his bedside table where he kept his phone chargers, his money, and all the stuff he sold as a "Street Pharmacist." Where before there was nothing but empty space, there was now a bunch of framed pictures of the two of us. One of us when I was fifteen, the first time I'd gone to see him, one was on my sixteenth birthday, there was one of us around Christmas time of that year, kissing under the mistletoe, one on his nineteenth birthday, one on my seventeenth birthday, and one on Valentines day of this year, which had just passed. I noticed that all the pictures had us posed differently, which is why I think he picked those. They were also visible, not only from the door, but from the bed too, and I found myself wondering if he thought about me before he went to sleep, looking at these pictures. I also silently wondered when he'd arranged that collage and why he hadn't told me about it.

I put on lotion mechanically, not completely there, thinking of Sess the entire time I was getting dressed. I then climbed into his bed, not bothering to turn off the light; I didn't think I'd be sleeping before we left. I tried my hardest not to think about Sesshou, about how the last time I was in this bed, he was with me, about how I lost my virginity in this very bed about two years ago, and I tried not to think about how lonely it was laying in his bed, in his room, in his apartment, surrounded by his things and the smell of him, but not be here with him. I was failing miserably. I missed him terribly. It caused a sharp pain in my heart when I thought about the fact that I was here in his bed and he was in a hospital bed alone, comatose, with nobody there to comfort him if and when he woke up. The thought only made me more angry and sad, and I was suddenly glad that I was going to get my revenge that night.

Before we left, I went to the hospital and sat with Kayden for a while. I spoke to him about the most random things, making sure not to mention what I was about to do. I know he was asleep and all, but you never know. That kid is crazy. I got a call from Yasha around ten thirty.

"It's time." That's all he said before I heard the 'click' signaling that he'd hung up. I sighed, nervous, and sat down on the edge of Sesshou's bed, just looking at him. Then, before I could stop myself, I leaned over, wrapped my arms around his neck, carefully, and pressed my lips gently on his. I knew that this could quite possibly be the last time I saw him and I reveled in the feeling of his lips on mine.

"I love you…" I whispered, tearful, as I pulled back.

Then, before I could change my mind about my decision, I grabbed my jacket and left the room, refusing to look back. I passed his mom and auntie on the way out and said hey, but I wouldn't stop to talk, I had to get back now.

I found myself, twenty minutes later, sitting in the car, wearing a red tall tee, a pair of baggy blue jeans, a black and red hat tilted low with my hair folded under it, and a pair of old, beat up white sneakers that'd been in my closet for who knows how long. Roku had also given me a large red bandana to wear around my face, to hide who I was in case someone on the street saw us or someone got away. I drummed my fingers impatiently, waiting for Yasha and Roku to come. It was nice and cool out here, unlike earlier that day, when it was so hot you could've fried an egg on the sidewalk. That was Sacramento weather for you, though…

Right when I was considering going back upstairs to get them, Yasha and Roku came down and slid into the car, Roku in the driver's seat and Yasha in the passenger's. I could see Sango and Kikyo staring down at us from the balcony, fear and worry evident in their eyes. Their fingers were intertwined and clenched around each other in fear. Before I could do more than smile at them, Isaac drove off. Both boys refused to look back, just as I had.

When we reached the block that the safe house was on, Roku stopped the car and parked on the side. Neither him nor Yasha reached for the door and they didn't say anything; they just looked at each other as if contemplating something.

I took a pair of black and white gloves from my pocket and pulled them on, taking a sleek black pistol from my pocket. I saw the boys' eyes widen from the corner of my own.

"Where'd you get that?" Yasha asked, surprise evident in his tone.

"My great grandpa." I said pride evident in my voice. "He's got like eight of these so I snuck one out of his house like two years ago. He never noticed." Miroku stared at me for a moment, probably questioning my sanity, before sighing, pulling another pistol from underneath a patch of carpet under his seat and handing it to me.

"There's gonna be guys coming from all over so you're probably going to need both of these." He muttered. I took it gratefully with a nod to him.

We sat there for a while. The boys were watching one of the houses silently, leaning back in their seats. I noticed people walking back and forth from the side of the house. I assumed that they were gathering in the backyard. As it got to be around two in the morning, people stopped trafficking in and out of the back of the house.

Roku then got out of the car silently, closely followed by Yasha, signaling for me to stay.

I followed Yasha and Roku with my eyes as they headed to a run down looking house on the other side of the street.

I sighed; climbing quickly into the front seat and sliding down so only my eyes and above were at window level before rolling the window down all the way. I saw the two move to stand on the sides of the door for a moment before nodding and kicking the door open and heading inside, guns out. The 'pop pop' of bullets echoed across the street and probably down the street too. From the corner of my eye, I saw a group of guys in blue and white tall tee shirts with blue rags hanging from their pockets. They were standing on the corner, pulling guns from their pants and heading toward the house Inuyasha and Miroku had disappeared into. Lifting both guns from where they sat on my lap and aimed both of them at the group of boys, pulling the trigger. The loud, 'CRACK' of the gun surprised me, mom always gave me earplugs. Shaking that thought and pushing my conscious as far to the back of my mind as I could, I continued shooting, watching as the boys screamed and clutched at their shoulders and hands, where I was aiming for, before falling to their knees in pain. After all ten of the ones going to the house were unconscious, I noticed that one had stayed on the corner and was currently on the phone. "Shit." I muttered. He was calling for reinforcements. Taking careful aim, I shot at him and hit right in his chest. Then I turned away; I didn't want to see anything else. After that, I rolled the window up, put the keys in my pocket and slid out of the car, closing the door swiftly behind me. Going to a car on the other side of the street and getting down on my stomach, I slid down under it and curled so that, in the darkness, I was invisible to anyone passing by unless they focused directly under the car. Then I waited.

A few minutes later, a car turned the corner slowly, stopping halfway turned on the corner. The backseat door on the side facing the corner, away from me, opened and I could hear someone's feet hit the pavement. Taking aim with one of the pistols, I shot the two tires closer to me, preventing them from driving any closer and hopefully alerting Miroku and Inuyasha that more people were here. The driver door opened and I saw two feet sheathed in chuck tailors step out onto the street. I could tell they were confused and stayed still. I didn't want to give away my position yet.

"You think they left already?" A deep yet raspy voice asked as another pair of feet stepped onto the street.

"I don't know. We're going in ta check." Came another deep voice from the direction of the first set of footsteps, by the driver's side front door of the car. The passenger door opened and another set of feet stepped out and the owner spoke quickly to the guy in front of the car who came from the driver's seat, "Ace, he's dead fa'show. There's only one bullet, it's in his chest. And his wallet and stuff is still on him so we know it aiin't no robbery…" the man trailed off.

"We're going in now." The obvious leader, now dubbed Ace, said. They began walking toward the house after a moment, towards me, the leader in the back. Picking up the second pistol with as much care as I could manage, trying not to make any noise. When the men were just feet from the car I was under, I shot three times, hitting them in the legs and causing them to fall and then shot them as high up as I could, reaching the shoulder on two and the chest on one.

When they had stopped moving, I pushed on the curb with my feet, sliding my body forward, and stood up. The lifeless eyes of the three men drew my attention. I'm not sure how long I stood there, staring into the eyes of the three men who died at my hands, but eventually, I felt something press into the back of my right shoulder. Then a man spoke.

"You get a kick outta this kinda shit?"

I stayed quiet. I could tell he thought I was a guy, which I was silently glad for. When I'd donned the tall tee and baggy jeans, I'd been hoping that if I was seen they'd think I was a guy. I also wore the hat tilted low so that my eyes couldn't be seen or my hair, which was folded up underneath the hat and the red bandana hid my face.

"No comment? We'll see. I'll get a word outta you, bitch."

He proceeded to walk around to my front, making sure to keep his gun pressed into my body, to remind me what I was dealing with I'm sure. When he was directly in front of me, he put the gun under my chin and tilted my chin up so that I was looking directly into his angry brown eyes, hate protruding from every inch of my body.

"Still no comment?" The man asked a touch of sarcasm in his voice. I found myself grinding my teeth together trying not to say anything that would get myself killed. My dad had always said that my mouth would get me in trouble. I was soon to find out that he was right. "Well let me tell you something. I'm going to shoot you. Here…" He touched my right shoulder with the gun, "…here…" He touched my left shoulder with the gun, "…here…" He touched my stomach, "…and when you're finally on the ground begging me for death, I'll shoot you here." He said finally touching my forehead. I felt my hands begin to shake again, my temper rising. He lifted his other hand and took hold of my chin with it, holding me there for a moment as he looked into my eyes. I shook my chin from his grasp as my glare intensified. What in God's name were Inuyahsa and Miroku doing that was taking so long?

I could tell the man was confused by my lack of fear, not understanding how angry I was getting. My anger was overshadowing my fear at the moment. He pressed the gun to my temple and said "You move, I shoot." I stood stock still as he pulled down the bandana I wore. I saw his eyes widen for a moment before he slapped the bill of my hat upwards, sending it flying from my head and allowing my long hair to tumble around my shoulders and down my back. I groaned inwardly and longed to stomp my feet. I settled for being a smart ass, my temper finally getting the best of me, "That hat was expensive."

He was startled, I could tell, as his arm dropped, removing the gun from my head.

"What the fuck…" I heard him mutter to himself.

Shaking my head, I spoke again anger taking full control of me and clouding my judgment, "What? Cat got your tongue?" He might've had one gun, but I had two. Plus, he wouldn't expect me to shoot because I'm a female.

"You… You're a female…" He stuttered stupidly.

"No shit idiot. I know that."

"You aiin't supposed ta know how to shoot…"

"Well I do, next subject."

"I'm still gonna shoot you."

I rolled my eyes, putting both hands on my hips and jutting my hip to the side. I was getting cocky, and I was still angry, and it was not a good combination when dealing with people with guns.

"Don't believe me?" he asked. I didn't answer. Taking my silence as an answer, he pressed his gun against my right shoulder and shot.

The pain was so intense I couldn't even scream at first. All was silent as I felt the gun in my right hand slide from my grip and fall to the ground. The few seconds it took for the gun to fall felt like hours. Hours of agonizing silence in which I knew nothing, only pain.

"Name's Onigumo. Remember it if you live."

After those seconds were up, I inhaled as much air as I could muster, and screamed for all I was worth, tears leaking from my eyes as I dropped the gun that was still in my left hand to clutch desperately at my wounded shoulder. I heard the front door of the house Onigumo and I were in front of and saw his feet shift so he was facing the house out of the corner of my eye, heard a gun go off, and a moment later, he was on his back, motionless, not two feet from me. Roku then ran over to me, taking his shirt off, and knelt on my immediate right. He pulled my sticky shirt up over my head, moving my hand out of the way, and assessed the wound while Yasha gathered the bodies.

"It went right through..." He muttered to himself. I was slightly surprised that I heard him, I was still screaming, not knowing what else to do.

"Shut up." I heard Inuyasga call to me. "The last thing we need over here is cops." I worked to stifle my screams, settling for silent sobs.

Roku quickly ripped the discarded shirt at the seams and wrapped it around my shoulder before tying it. Then he lifted me up and carried me swiftly to the car. When I looked out the window, I saw water flowing into the street from the water hose up at the house that was hanging off the curb next to the dead man, Onigumo. His hands were curled around it. Then Yasha was getting in the backseat, since I was in the front, and the door was closing.

It all took less than five minutes.

Next thing I knew, we were speeding down the highway and I could hear Roku talking to Sango. It sounded as though it was coming through a long tunnel and I knew that I was falling unconscious, perhaps even dying. I felt my heartbeat speed up at the second thought and immediately banished it from my mind. I would not die. Not like this. I would die old with Sesshoumaru by my side or waiting for me. I tried to focus on Miroku's voice.

"Yeah I said shot! Kagome got shot in the shoulder so I need you and Kikyo to get home, and get everything ready, we're on our way." He hung up the phone and I heard him speak to me then. "Hold on Gome. I know it hurts but Sango and Kikyo are gonna take care of you. I promise. I promise." He muttered the last part and I knew, as I let myself fall unconscious, that he was promising Sesshou too.