Zero

(n) the lowest point or degree

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha and co.

Kagome huffed as she adjusted the strap to her bag on her shoulder. Her heels made a loud, distinct sound against the concrete as she made her way down the side walk. The street was virtually deserted and she could feel her nerves begin to stir.

Shifting her eyes to glare at suspicious shadows, she sought to keep her mind from her less than ideal surroundings. After all, being alone, well after dark on a city street was never ideal. Especially for women.

Don't focus on the creepy feeling crawling up your back, Kagome. Just focus on that asshole you now live with.

Successfully distracted, her ire only increased and pushed away her trepidation. She had recently moved in with a boy she'd met through Sango due to lack of funds or better options. She had hoped that they would be civil towards each other at worst and at best a type of friends.

But that idea had disappeared as soon as he'd opened his mouth.

How dare he order me around like he owns the fucking place? She seethed, his arrogant words still echoing in her mind. Her anger was so great, as were her thoughts, she failed to notice one particular shadow that began to fall in step behind her.

He may have his name on the lease, but I pay just as much as he does! I own just as much of that apartment as he does!

She had told herself that despite his rude and tactless manners toward her that she wouldn't let it get to her. She had to live with him, so harboring anger toward him would only succeed in tiring her out and making him all the more insufferable. She had told herself to just ignore him, but that idea had also failed to come to fruition that morning.


"Hey, woman," Inuyasha called as he trailed from his bedroom. His shirt was slung across his broad shoulders and his jeans hung low on his hips. Things that Kagome refused to admit she noticed and admired.

She sighed and turned back to the dishes she was washing from her dinner the night before. "You know my name, Inuyasha. So why don't you use it?"

He snorted but otherwise made no acknowledgment of her demand. "How many fucking times do I have to tell you to leave your bitch products out of my sight?"

Kagome scowled and turned to him, trying to taper down her irritation. "What 'bitch products', Inuyasha?" she asked as if she were speaking to a particularly slow child.

"The box of twat plugs I saw in the cabinet."

She told herself to calm down, tried to breathe evenly to keep her temper in check. "Where else would I put them, Inuyasha? They belong in the bathroom and it's out of your sight like you told me to."

"Well, I found them, so get rid of them."

Her temper snapped. "You asshole! Half of that fucking bathroom is mine! I pay half the water bill just like you do, but do you see me complaining about the insane amount of condoms you keep in the cabinet; even though I think it's just wishful thinking on your part, I don't say anything, because you have your right to half the cabinet. So until you kick my ass out, you'll just have to deal with my twat plugs. Got it?"

Inuyasha eyed her as if he were afraid her head would spin and she would begin levitating. Grunting, he turned and headed to the bathroom without another word. But despite the fact that she had for all intents and purposes won that argument, Kagome was still spitting mad. And she remained that way for the rest of the day.


"Seriously, what the fuck, Inuyasha?" she muttered as she once against adjusted the painful pinch of her bag on her shoulder. As she turned a corner a block from her apartment complex, she finally caught sight of a shadow disappear down an alley as she passed it. Fighting down a shiver of apprehension, she shifted her eyes all around her, but saw no one. Not even a car drove by.

Biting her lip, she picked up her pace and kept her eyes glued ahead.

Calm down, Kagome. Just get inside and you'll be fine. Just one more block.

Nodding her head, she couldn't fight down a small shriek when she heard something rattle behind her. Whirling around, she clutched her bag to her chest and looked to the shadows for a figure, but saw none.

Shaking her head but unable to deny her fear, she picked up her pace once again to an almost trot. Steps began to echo behind her but Kagome didn't bother to look this time. Instead she broke into light jog as her apartment complex came into view.

She knew it wasn't her imagination that the steps behind her picked up with her. On the back of her neck, she could swear she could feel hot breath and her heart jumped into her throat, causing her to choke on her fear.

Her breaths came in pants as she came within a hundred yards of her building and picked up her pace to a sprint. However, her progress was halted by a body slamming into her back and sending her careening into the brick wall of the building next to her.

She gave a short scream of surprise as her head bounced painfully against the brick and her hands were trapped between her and the building.

Against her back, a body pressed her painfully against the brick and she could feel hot, rancid breath fanning against the back of her neck and fought a shiver of terror.

Her eyes squeezed shut as a large hand traveled its way down her sides to cup her hip.

"Can't escape me that easily, pretty lady," a deep voice said against her neck and Kagome fought tears.

"Please," she whimpered, her voice rough with fear. "Please, what do you want?"

She froze when she felt dry, cracked lips graze their way along her throat to behind her ear as the voice whispered, "I want you."

Kagome felt tears gather in her eyes as she focused on the image of her apartment complex. She was so close…

She opened her mouth to scream as the weight against her back shifted before she heard a sharp crack and a flash of blinding pain. Then she knew nothing but silent, cold darkness.


When Kagome came to, she became aware of two things. One, that she was no longer outside, since the cold wind was no longer blowing past and she could feel softness under her that hadn't been there before. Another thing was that she wasn't alone.

"What the fuck do you mean, you couldn't find them?" a rough voice said next to her. Kagome stayed silent and still, hoping to gather more information about her surroundings before alerting her audience that she was awake.

She heard the nervous shuffle of feet and clothing a second before a timid voice answered the gruff demand.

"W-well, sir. They were long gone by the time we got there. Since the victim was unconscious we couldn't question her, so we have no leads to follow up on."

Victim…Is he talking about…me?

There was a disgusted snort and Kagome felt the bed beneath her shift slightly. "Just do your fucking jobs and catch those fuckers…before I do."

Kagome held her breath for a moment as recognition flared. She knew that voice.

Inuyasha…

She groaned as a wave of nausea hit her and she struggled to open her eyes. At her movements, the voices grew silent and she felt the bed dip by her hip. Her eyes blinked open and she winced at the light that burned her eyes.

Blurrily, she was able to make out the general outline of Inuyasha, with his short mussed silver hair and distinct golden irises. She reached up and rubbed the last bit of fuzziness away from her eyes and his face came into focus.

His brows were drawn together in a fierce scowl and his eyes were dark with emotion. Kagome licked her lips and glanced nervously around the room. To her right, she saw a young man in a police uniform and assumed he was the other voice she'd heard. His face was contorted in anxiety and in his hands, he clutched a rumpled and used Memo Pad, a pencil sticking out of the metal bindings on the top. His dull brown eyes glanced between her and Inuyasha nervously and she could make out a faint sheen of sweat along his forehead as he shifted from one foot to the other.

Turning back to Inuyasha, Kagome couldn't contain the wave of panic that seized her.

"What happened?" she whispered, watching Inuyasha's face for any sign of emotion.

His eyes flashed with anger and she felt the hands on either side of her face bunch the sheets in his fists. Closing his eyes briefly, he visibly fought his anger before answering her.

"You…don't remember?" he asked carefully.

He watched as her face paled and her lips began to tremble. Her eyes stared unflinchingly into his and from his vantage point above her, he could see the tears gather at the corners of her eyes. She closed her eyes and turned her face away, her white teeth biting into her bottom lip.

Inuyasha felt a wave of rage so hot, it was all he could do to tear into the innocent detective next to him for not doing his job. But that wouldn't be fair. After all, no one knew that tonight of all nights a would-be rapist would attack his roommate.

Kagome tried to keep the memories away, tried to stop the shudder of fear that racked her body, but she was helpless against it, just as helpless as she'd been that night.


Kagome blinked open her eyes and tried to shift, but stopped because of the wave of pain that threatened to split her head open. Squeezing her eyes against the pain, she didn't try to stifle the moan of pain that escaped her tight lips.

At her movements, the rustle of clothing sounded somewhere behind her head where she lay against the cold, hard ground.

Where am i? Kagome thought distantly, trying to push the pain aside to register her surroundings, but could do nothing but suppress her tears of pain.

She stiffened when she heard a dark chuckle behind her. Her eyes shot open and she could feel her blood run cold.

That laugh…

She knew that laugh.

Her hands scrambled for a weapon, anything to fend off the man she knew had captured her just outside her apartment. Her eyes shifted around her surrounding, but she could see little in the oppressive darkness. She did know that she was sprawled against the cement of the streets, but knew she was nowhere near a rode of any kind. She could distantly make out the bricks of two building flanking what she assumed was an alleyway.

Her eyes snapped forward she registered movement in front of her sprawled feet. Against her will, a small whimper escaped her lips as she struggled to sit up. The flash of pain at her movements only delayed her a moment before she had managed to scoot her back against one of the brick buildings.

"Wh-Where am I? What do you want with me?"she whispered, her hands still groping in the darkness for a weapon, but her eyes still trained on the dark outline of a man.

A sinister chuckle answered her. The man took a small step toward her and Kagome pressed herself as close to the building as she could, her heart racing in her ears so loudly she almost missed his satisfied words.

"Oh, you know what I want from you…"

There was movement to her left and Kagome snapped her head in time to see yet another figure of a man step from the thick darkness. IN his hands, he held a length of rope and she could see the whites of his eyes in the darkness.

She couldn't stop the tears from falling down her stiff and frozen cheeks. Her eyes looked along the darkness, looking for an escape, looking for a weapon. Anything to help her. But she saw nothing.

"You know what I want from you," the man to her right said darkly, causing her attention to shift to him. "And I'm going to get it." He took another menacing step towards her. With a gesture of his large hand, the man to her left stepped close to her and she see him caressing the rope in his hands like a lover. "Don't worry, I'll make sure you enjoy yourself…"

Kagome sucked in a breath to scream, but quicker than she could see, the man with the rope clapped a hand across her mouth harshly, making her cry in pain. In one swift movement, he pulled her towards him and had the rope around her throat before she could draw another breath. As she struggled against the man's iron grip, all she could hear was the menacing chuckle to her right and feel the excited, rancid breath of her attacker, harsh and hot against her face.


In a wave of panic, Kagome tried to surge from the bed, but Inuyasha's large body blocked her. She knew that she was safe, knew she wasn't in that alley, but at the feel of his body, her brain went dark with fear so real, she could taste it.

Screaming, she thrashed against him, her fists hitting his chest weakly, as her eyes squeezed shut.

"Get off me!" she screamed, bucking her hips in an attempt to dislodge him. Inuyasha stared down at her in shock, but kept himself firmly against her in the fear she might hurt herself. "Get off me! Let me go! Please, let me go!"

Inuyasha cursed and wrapped one hand around her wrists to keep her from hitting him as he hauled her against his chest with his other arm, sitting up with her in his lap. She continued to struggle against him, her screams echoing shrilly in his ears.

"You're safe, Kagome. Stop it!" But she could no longer hear him. Her eyes were wide with panic and she could see nothing but the shadowing figure of the man, could see nothing but the whites of his eyes and his sneering face.

Inuyasha shook her a little roughly and pulled her back so she could look at him. "Kagome. You're safe. It's me. It's Inuyasha."

She blinked at him, her eyes clearing a second before they were consumed with tears. She struggled a little more before collapsing against his chest, her sobs echoing loudly in the quiet room.

Over her head, Inuyasha's eyes connected with the shocked and horrified eyes of the young detective. Rubbing a hand along her back, Inuyasha dismissed him in his mind and focused on the broken, scarred woman in his lap.

What happened to you, Kagome? And why does seeing you this way tear me up inside?


(AN: Okay, before you kill me, I decided to split this one up in two pieces because I wasn't exactly sure how I was going to tie it up, I'm still a little conflicted about it. But because I didn't want to delay posting it, with the fear that I might not post it at all, I wanted to get the first part out to see the response I got. I'm not really sure how well I portrayed her fear, her panic, so if you have any ideas on how I could improve this, I would LOVE to hear it. You're suggestions really help get me going.

As usual, I would like to thank those of you that reviewed and actually reply to your reviews, as I have not done thus far.

Ligercat8- Thanks! I love writing these short stories and I'm glad you liked them!

Tipsu- Thank you! I'm glad you liked it!

Say0mi Saki- Thanks! I've actually been meaning to reply to your reviews, but never had the time. I really appreciate your input on each installment and it has helped me leaps and bounds, so thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it!

Rose-Aki - Thanks! I have to say, that part was the hardest. Those types of scenes with Inuyasha always give me trouble because I want to keep him in character and not turn him into a sudden-Romeo, but I still want to be able to portray his emotion properly. So thank you and I'm glad you enjoyed it!

Ice-Kitsune-317 - Thanks! I was hoping that the emotion would be portrayed the way I wanted. I'm glad you liked it!

Thanks to every one that read and I hope you enjoyed my latest installment! Until next time...)

Jane