Chapter 7
Everything hurt
Kagome felt like her entire being was on fire, and it wasn't a pleasant feeling.
'Did I get hit by a truck?' She mused, trying to pinpoint the source of the pounding behind her eyes. Kagome had never felt this bad before. The closest she came to this type of pain was the time Eri had smuggled two big bottles of vodka to a sleepover and Kagome learned she was a lightweight.
Kagome took a deep breath and slowly opened her eyes.
Light surrounded her and Kagome instantly regretted her decision. She was now dangerously nauseous. Blinking rapidly Kagome tried to elevate her self to a sitting position.
It was then that she noticed that she didn't know where she was.
'What the hell' She cursed in her head. Last time she checked her room wasn't decked out in 18th century regal furniture. To complete the very English look there was a very high ceiling above her, that she was sure created a turret.
She wasn't even sure if she was in Japan anymore.
Her curiosity about her location motivated her. She swallowed back her headache and nausea and crept out of the bed. She needed to investigate.
The hardwood creaked under her shifting weight as she moved slowly towards the door. A thousand questions were running through her head as she opened the thick oak door and stepped into the dimly lit hallway, complete with armored figurines. Besides the obvious questions about where she was, or how she got there, she wanted to know where Inuyasha was.
She couldn't remember anything after him leaving the room to go get something from the vending machines.
What could have happened?
"Excuse me, Miss?" A timid voice sounded behind her. Kagome turned to come face to face with a short and very young maid. She looked no more than eighteen, maybe younger. She had short black hair and kind eyes that made Kagome feel at ease. "Are you Miss Kagome?" the girl questioned.
"How do you know my name?" Kagome felt her chest tighten. She was in an unfamiliar place with an unfamiliar person who was obviously familiar with her.
"Master Inuyasha will want to know you're awake, but first we need to find you appropriate clothing, follow me" She motioned for Kagome to follow her back into the bedroom she had just escaped from. Before Kagome could even process what had happened and what the woman had even said, she looked at her attire.
And almost screamed.
She had walked out of the room in what was the equivalent of a hospital gown, flap in the back included. Kagome quickly bowed her head and followed the woman inside, cheeks bright red.
" I think this is appropriate for your meeting with Master Inuyasha" She said pulling out priestess robes. Kagome knew what they were on sight, she was a shrine maiden at home after all.
" Um, You said master Inuyasha right?"
"Breaking News: The police department have arrested the woman accused of breaking in at the downtown private library owned by book enthusiast Matsuda Toshiro. She was found, unconscious along with the owner inside the library. Toshiro is still in the intensive care unit of Tokyo General Hospital. An investigation is under way to see if money was a motive in the attack. More at Eleven. The news announcer's voice drifted from a downstairs television.
It came back to Kagome in a rush. The woman-beast who had attacked, the light that had come from inside her, her intense will for both her and Inuyasha to live.
"What did I do?" Kagome felt her feet giving out from under her, she was once again falling into the darkness. This time however instead of seeing a bloodied Inuyasha it was the simple and clean nurse rushing towards her.
"Master Inuyasha!" The nurse screamed for her employer as she reached out to catch the falling girl. Kagome fell into the nurses embrace with a thud, shaking with effort as she tried to maintain a steady heart rate.
" I'll be alright, I just need to sit down for a moment" Kagome panted pushing herself back up onto her feet and moving gingerly back into the bed she had woken up in.
"Is Inuyasha alright?" Kagome had to ask the question, she couldn't remember what had happened after the flash of light. What if that creature had gotten up again?
"He's fine, just a little worried about you, and I believe his is on his way to check on you" The nurse smiled, relieved that the girl seemed all right, "Ahh I believe I hear him coming up the stairs now"
" Kaede, is Kagome okay?" Inuyasha looked disheveled standing at the doorway of his guest bedroom. Kagome blushed at seeing him so concerned about her well-being.
" She's fine, she just had a little confusion getting up" the woman, named Kaede chuckled getting up from her kneeling position next to the bed. Inuyasha looked in her direction and smiled gratefully at her. Kagome looked away instinctually from exchange. She knew nothing extra was going on in the relationship; she had called him master Inuyasha. However Kagome felt like she was intruding on his private life.
'And here I thought we were on the road to friendship' Kagome rolled her eyes with her thought. She had to face the facts, she didn't know jack about Inuyasha. Kagome felt like a fool, here she was letting her 'friend' drag her all around Tokyo like a little doll and she hadn't even known (or noticed) that he was filthy rich.
"Where am I?" Kagome questioned the boy. She wanted her answers, it was no longer the time or place to play 'mystery man'. She had been seriously hurt. Kagome could remember the beastly woman closing in on her, her clawed hand raking its way down her side, shredding her flesh like paper.
Kagome shivered, she didn't want to think about her brush with death anymore.
"Oh, Yeah I've got a lot to explain…Kagome…." Inuyasha looked away before staring at the girl who looked so small in frail in the giant four poster bed, he didn't want to drag her into this at all, " I'm sorry for this…I wish there was another way"
Kagome was confused. Little did she know that her life was about to change with the words he had to share.
" Okay..Ummm can you leave for a moment? I'm going to change now-can I meet you downstairs" Kagome asked, trying not to let his words scare her at the moment.
"Sure if you're up to it." He gave her a half-smile and closed the door tightly after his exit.
When he was sure he was alone in the hallway he dipped inside his shirt bringing a small necklace to his eye level. On the flimsy silver chain was an old fang, that looked like it didn't belong to just a simple animal. Inuyasha sighed as he looked at it-the necklace had been with him for a long time, but he always remembered the first time he had seen it, and he'd always remember the fateful day he had received it.
'I promise, I won't let her down like I let you down' Inuyasha thought kissing the necklace before letting it drop back down into his shirt. Though it was the day he wished would never come, it was here and he promised her that he would be ready the second time around.
Inuyasha walked down the deep cherry stairs of the mansion. He could remember the first time he had entered this place, when it was his father's house. His mother had brought him there for a visit. He remembered the stares he got and the harsh treatment.
Inuyasha's father wasn't kind or gentle. He rarely smiled and he never told jokes. The only semblance of emotion was the warmth radiating from his old man's eyes every time he looked at his mother.
Inuyasha remembered hating that look. His mother would always give him her best smiles when she saw his piercing eyes. Even though when the visits were over and they went back to their small little house she cried like there was no tomorrow-she still smiled for him.
Inuyasha hated his father.
And then his father died.
When he died Inuyasha and his mother received money, and lots of it. It seemed that his father had included him and his mother only in his will. Despite the rumors that Inuyasha had a half-brother and that his father had another wife; they were placed into the lap of luxury. But, as all good lies do, their world succumbed to the truth.
The truth, which he would somehow have to explain to Kagome when she came down those stairs.
"This place really is beautiful, do you really own all of it?" Kagome was carefully making her way down the stairs. She was still tired, he could tell but she still managed to take his breath away.
Her dark tresses were pulled into a tight braid that swung near her mid back. She was dressed in the robes of a high priestess and even though they weren't meant to be hers, she filled them perfectly.
"uh, its nothing really, belonged to my father…come have a seat" Inuyasha nervously bushed off the armchair next to the table, motioning for Kagome to sit.
"I want the truth, Inuyasha. No lies, no secrets."
" I'm not the one who can tell you it. I have an old friend who can tell you everything you need to know! But it…it isn't my place to tell you"
"No! I'm not going to be following you around like a puppy! Before I thought that was my place; that it was okay, that you were on the way to being truthful. But I was wrong-I didn't even know you were rich, I don't even know your last name.
How am I supposed to trust you Inuyasha? All you've done is lie and use me…I…I don't know what happened today. Don't you think I'm scared? That horrible woman almost killed me. I almost died! And still your lying to me. Your still dragging me around like a puppet." Kagome exhaled, rage shaking her entire puppet. She had never felt so stupid in her life
'All for a pretty face'
" Are you done? No I can't tell you a lot but you'll get your explanations I promise, you'll know everything about this situation soon enough. As for me? The less you know about me the better. We aren't friends and we'll never be friends. I'm not stupid. And once you know everything, you won't be so naïve either. C'mon we've got to go somewhere, so you can get your information. Feh. The more you know, the least your gonna wanna be in this situation but maybe you'll shut the hell up" Inuyasha felt his ears burning. He never intended to be mean. He had been trying to be the 'gentleman' the entire time.
But this girl had spent five minutes complaining and whining. He wished she wasn't the host
'K-…she was never like this' He thought darkly 'she accepted her duty with grace and honor'
Kagome looked at him for a long time, watching his anger wash over him. The only words she could think to say were the words her mother and her friends constantly told her, what they constantly reminded her of.
"We're not detectives, not even close. We're wasting our time. Let me go home-let the police do their job"
Inuyasha chuckled
"Its not that simple anymore Kagome, I don't think it was ever that simple. Kagome, this is more than just a few women getting beheaded, this is more than a murder spree. And you…you're the link"
