Chapter 9: Hunted
"We just looked through the security tapes and-"
"And?"
"The hanyou's here… He's got a girl with him, maybe to use as a shield, I don't know."
"So what do we do?"
"Put someone at every exit, patrol the building. We'll catch him eventually."
"Maybe we could issue a fire warning, get every one out and then gas the place; his nose won't be able to take it."
"If worse comes to worse, we will."
x
The conversation from the unseen officers cut through Inu-Yasha's mind like a knife. He felt as if he was about to be sick. He grasped tightly to Kagome's hand, shaking so violently he was afraid he was going to fall over.
"Inu-Yasha? Kagome asked worriedly, "What is it? What's wrong?"
"They're here…" he whispered, his eyes wide with horror, "They know I'm here; they're coming for me."
"What?" Kagome demanded, "WHAT?"
"I'm dead," he whispered, trembling, "I'm dead. They're gonna fucking kill me, Kagome."
Kagome's face turned hard, but for some reason, she began to feel the same fear as Inu-Yasha was. It seemed to be contagious. She decided not to even ask him how he knew, but she could see in his lifeless eyes that he was dead serious and scared as hell.
"We're getting out of here, right now," Kagome hissed.
Kagome grasped his hand in return and started to walk hurriedly into a crowd.
"They'll put people at the exits Kag; there's not gonna be a way out," he muttered.
"Oh yes there will," she growled, "I'll make one if I fucking have to. I'm not going to let them take you."
Kagome tried to keep them in an area with a lot of people, trying to make them less visible. Meanwhile Inu-Yasha was trying to keep it together, trying to stop himself from shaking so badly.
Kagome kept him close and sped up a little. She glared through the crowd. Then, as they came to a large square in the mall that was empty of shops, she saw two men in black suits conversing.
They looked important. And they had guns.
Her eyes widening, Kagome bit her lip and swiftly turned around, pulling Inu-Yasha back the way they had come.
"Kagome? W-What are you doing?" he asked.
"Two guys with guns," she said quietly, "What did the people who took you look like, do you remember?"
"In public they wore black suits, dark sunglasses and they all had greased hair. They kinda looked like those Agents from The Matrix. Why?"
Kagome felt her heart beginning to speed up.
"Yep, that sounds right," she muttered.
"You saw them?" Inu-Yasha demanded.
"Hai."
Inu-Yasha bit his lip.
"Fuck…" he whispered.
x
Kagome increased their speed even more, and as she spotted some mall cops who were no doubt looking for Inu-Yasha as well. With a quiet gasp, she ducked and pulled Inu-Yasha behind a nearby clothing rack.
They squatted on the ground close together, trying to be as small as possible. Kagome couldn't help herself; she was beginning to shake worse than Inu-Yasha was, and her shaking became worse and worse the closer the mall cops got.
Inu-Yasha looked at her and raised his eyebrow as if to say, "Hey, I'm the one who's supposed to be freaking out here, not you."
He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her against him, trying to reassure her that they'd be fine, but didn't risk saying anything. The people who were hunting him knew his voice.
They both sat there and waiting in silence for the cops to pass, and as soon as they did, Inu-Yasha took over. Taking a tight hold on Kagome's hand, he stood and pulled her up with him, and then began to jog quickly through the masses of people, running his other hand along the wall so he knew where he was going.
"Inu-Yasha," Kagome said quietly, "Let me lead."
"I'm fine Kag," he said, "I know where I'm going. Just tell me if you see them."
"Okay," she said. "Damn… I'm sorry, I don't know what's wrong with me."
"Well… Maybe you can feel their aura of evil," he muttered as they continued through the mall quickly, "I know I sure can."
"Aura of evil, Inu-Yasha?" Kagome asked, an almost amused tone to her voice, "Whatever, we just have to keep going."
Inu-Yasha nodded, slowing his pace from a jog to a hasty walk. He could smell fresh air; they were nearing an exit. Along the wall, he felt a corner.
"Kagome, the door's just around this corner, right?" He inquired.
"Uh-huh," Kagome replied.
"Check if they're there."
Kagome nodded and peered around the corner. As she had expected, there were indeed three of the armed men standing right beside the doors. She figured that they would be insane to try to leave from that way. She ducked back around the corner to Inu-Yasha.
"Three guys," she said.
"Shit," Inu-Yasha muttered.
"I know," Kagome muttered, "We need to get out but… how?"
"We'll just keep running until we find a way that's clear," Inu-Yasha said.
Hopefully, before they gas the building, he thought, And if it comes to it, I'll fight our way out. It's not worth dying to hide that I'm a hanyou from Kagome.
x
Turning, they quickly went back the way they had come, but took a different turn this time, into a large portion of the mall that was just for clothes. There could be plenty of hiding spots there. As they kept walking, Kagome could see the door, unguarded.
"Inu-Yasha, this door has no one watching," she said excitedly, "We can get out!"
"I don't think so…" Inu-Yasha muttered.
"What?" Kagome asked.
All of a sudden, from around the corner, Kagome spotted one of the armed men.
"Oh shit," she muttered. "Duck."
Inu-Yasha nodded and squatted down, and then rushed them into a nearby change room. It was tiny, only a curtain covering the entrance. It wasn't even much of a hiding spot; this was a change room for shirts only, so their feet were clearly viable. There was also a very wide bench.
"Quick, on the bench so they can't see our feet," Kagome hissed.
Inu-Yasha nodded and jumped onto the bench, sitting cross-legged on it. Kagome placed their bag of clothing beside him, but then realized there wouldn't be enough room for her.
Clearly, Inu-Yasha noticed too.
"Sit in my lap," he ordered.
"What?" Kagome demanded.
"Just do it, a little bit of closeness ain't gonna kill you Kag. Those guys will."
He sat back against the wall, trying to make more room for her. Kagome bit her lip and then nodded, attempting to sit in Inu-Yasha's lap. He grabbed her and pulled her against himself, putting one arm around her to pin her down.
"Now just… shush, okay?" he whispered.
"Uh-huh," Kagome said quietly, "As soon as he leaves, do we make a run for it?"
Inu-Yasha nodded. He could hear the man's footsteps approaching as he thought he heard a noise. Kagome could hear it too.
"Oh God…" she whispered fearfully.
Inu-Yasha nearly jumped at hearing her speak and swiftly covered her mouth tightly with his other hand so that she couldn't make any noise.
"Sh-h-h-h-h," he whispered, trying to calm her down. "Don't talk, don't make any noise, don't fight me, whatever you do."
Kagome nodded shakily.
"Good girl," Inu-Yasha whispered almost inaudibly.
His brow knitted as the footsteps came closer. He felt Kagome begin to tremble again, and he could feel her heartbeat racing.
She's more scared than I am, he thought, Why?
"Sh-h-h-h," he whispered in Kagome's ear. "It'll be okay."
Kagome tried to relax, but she couldn't. She couldn't understand where this fear of these people had come from, but it was worse than anything she had ever felt before.
x
At a painfully slow pace, the man's footsteps passed them, and then faded. Inu-Yasha released Kagome, who was still trembling.
"You okay?" he asked worriedly.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she lied, "You?"
"I'm good," he said, sliding off of the bench from behind her, "Now we gotta run or-"
He stopped as he realized that she hadn't stood with him.
"Kagome?"
"I… I can't move," she whispered fearfully.
She's paralyzed with fear? Inu-Yasha thought worriedly, Oh shit.
"We can't wait," he whispered, "C'mon, piggyback time. I'll carry you."
Kagome looked at him worriedly.
"But your wounds…"
"Screw 'em," Inu-Yasha growled, "Get on. Now."
He squatted in front of her.
"C'mon, all you have to do if grab my shoulders; you can do that, can't you?"
Kagome nodded and slowly placed her hands on his shoulders, and he held onto her and lifted her up on his back.
"Wait," she hissed "Your stuff."
She reached out and grabbed the bag, and then shoved it under her body.
"Brace yourself," Inu-Yasha muttered.
Inside, he counted slowly.
One…
By scents, he mentally judged how long it would take him to get from there to the door.
Two…
He held onto Kagome tighter; he didn't want her to fall if she was so freaked out that she could hardly move.
Three!
Without a second thought, Inu-Yasha bolted for the door. Many people let out startled cries as he rushed by, nearly knocking them over. The man in the black suit turned and saw them only as Inu-Yasha stepped on the plastic mat for the automatic door and it slid open.
"Hey-!" the man called, but was cut off as the door slid shut behind them again.
oOoOoOoO
Inu-Yasha ran as hard as he could for blocks on end. After five minutes, they began to hear sirens.
"Shit…" Kagome muttered, "The fuzz is after us now?"
"Not us, me," he said, "They're after me, not you."
"No way Inu-Yasha, it's us and you know it," she said, prodding his shoulder.
Maybe she's right, he thought.
"Turn right here," Kagome ordered suddenly.
Inu-Yasha nodded and skidded around the corner and kept running. The sirens were getting louder. Inu-Yasha bit his lip and kept running.
"How long can you keep this up?" Kagome asked him.
"A while," he said.
"We're almost home," Kagome said, "Think you can do four more blocks?"
Inu-Yasha let a smug grin cross his lips.
"Hell yeah," he said.
He increased his speed just a little and kept running. After less than a minute, they had arrived at the house, but the sirens had gotten even louder.
Kagome smiled in relief and grabbed Inu-Yasha's hand as he let her down and jogged up the steps to the door despite the fact that her legs felt like lead. She opened the door quickly and dragged Inu-Yasha into the house.
She slammed the door behind them and locked it, and then releasing his hand, they both slumped down against the wall. They sighed simultaneously, and then turned to grin at each other.
"I don't believe it," Inu-Yasha said in awe. "I don't believe it. We did it."