Ok, so I'm starting swim team tomorrow so you may have to wait until the weekends for me to update because I'll be swimming for 2 hours, riding for 2 or 3 hours, and then doing homework for about 3 hours every night. Hahah, busy busy! Anyways, since everybody wants her stepdad dead quickly, I kind of rushed this chapter. And the next will probably be rushed too for you guys.
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha & crew or "duck and run" by 3 doors down. I also don't claim Patrick and Kat.
Duck & Run
The Day After
Sango was waving her hand in front of her friends face as she tried to get her to move, "Hello, earth to Kagome! Kagome, come on, class is over! We need to go to second hour!"
Kat entered the classroom since she had second hour with the history teacher and she saw her friend and the new girl sitting across the room. Her eyebrows arched in worry and she made her way over to the two, "Is she alright? What's wrong with her?"
"I have no idea, but she won't give any signs that she even knows that I'm here. She's been staring out the window for the past hour." Sango was now clapping her hands in front of Kagome's face only to see the girl continue to stare out the window.
Kat walked around so she was kneeling in front of Kagome, looking her in the face. She scrunched her eyebrows a bit in confusion and thought to herself out loud, "Maybe we can get her out of this stupor by moving her hair out of her eye…"
Kat brought her graceful hands up to the other girl's face, swiping the hair out of her eye with her long fingers. Both of the girls gasped at what they saw. An angry red mark was planted across her cheek and it looked extremely swollen, almost causing her eye to disappear behind the swelling.
Sango and Kat looked at each other and nodded before they let Kagome's hair fall back over her swollen cheek. A few other students had begun to file into the room and they knew they had to move Kagome. Each of them lifted her up and started to walk out the classroom door, getting an odd look from a few people. As they made their way to the girl's bathroom, Kagome began to regain her standings and she was mumbling a bit.
Once she could think clearly she noticed that both Kat and Sango were supporting and looking at her worriedly, and she ran a hand over her weary face, "What is it? What are you doing?"
Both of them kept their arms around her to support her weight because she didn't look exactly steady and leaned themselves against a wall as they stood sort of in front of her and looked at her, "Did he hit you? Did Inuyasha do that to you?" Sango's face was crowded in front of Kagome's and both were holding her up.
Kat's angry reply came in vehemently, "If he did anything to hurt you, if he did this, I'll kick his ass! And so will Patrick!"
Kagome was getting upset and the hands and bodies touching hers were making her closterphobic. She began to breath heavily and her eyes started to run over the hallway feverishly as she began to try and get away from them. She felt like a cornered animal and couldn't get away.
Her voice came through and she was pushing them away, saying in a strangled voice, "Please, please, give me some room. Please, I'm fine, just let me be… I can't… I can't breath!"
Kat and Sango slowly backed away to watch the girl have what looked like a panic attack. Just then Patrick turned the corner lazily and saw her starting to swoon a bit and he ran up to them, grabbing Kagome's hand in his. He ignored her protests as he kneeled in front of her, pulling her down along with him so she was sitting.
His green eyes searched her with concern and he brushed the hair behind her ear, "Come on Kagome, breath. It's not hard, just in and out. Calm down, whatever happened, we'll help make it better."
Kat was kneeling down beside Patrick and looking at their friend while Sango got a wet towel. Kat look towards her boyfriend, "What's wrong with her, Patrick?"
"Panic attack I reckon. Something's bothering her." He said in his Australian accent as he took one of his hands and cupped her un swollen cheek and turned her face so she was looking him straight in the eyes, "Ok Kagome, calm down. It'll be ok, I promise."
She shrank away from his touch and then again when Kat tried to keep her sitting and she stood up, "Sorry, I've got to go, or I'll be late. Bye guys, sorry." She left them all sitting on the floor in the hallway as she rushed off to her art class.
Once in her art class she sat down heavily and listened to the art teacher's instructions on their project. Once they were given she got out the drawing board and the paper and grabbed a tray of charcoal and began to draw the picture that came into her head and expressed her feelings.
The story she wished to tell played itself out slowly as she skillfully drew. A young woman was kneeling at the edge of a cliff and looking down, an arm outstretched to what lay at the bottom, which was an endless well of despair. Behind her were many ugly creatures and then one creature that was half human, on his hands. He was naked from the waist up, and his creature half started at his waist. Without realizing it she gave him long silver hair and dog ears, and innocent yet fierce golden eyes.
The sky in her drawing was stormy and by the time she finished it the bell rang and she started to put everything away. She heard Inuyasha talking to the teacher and she quickly got a cover sheet and stapled it to her drawing so he wouldn't see it. With that she finished cleaning up, charcoal all over her jeans and some on her face.
As she tried to duck by him without him noticing her, she scrubbed at her face furiously to get the charcoal and by the time she was half way out the door she thought she was home free. But she was wrong and Inuyasha dragged her gently back and cupped her face, rubbing off the charcoal.
"You smell like Patrick." He sniffed her face once and scrunched up his nose, a little in jealousy and a little in worry. He eyed her suspiciously, trying to find out what was wrong with her.
"I know. I felt a little sick this morning and he was trying to wake me up and make me feel better. If you'd take another sniff you'd smell Kat and Sango on me too." She glared at him slightly and tried to pull out of his grasp before he noticed all her injuries.
"Well, why weren't you feeling well? Do you feel ok now?" He held her still with only a little bit of strength and was surprised by how weak she felt. He thought he might break her bones, she felt so fragile.
"I… Just didn't sleep all that well last night is all. And I had to get up early to finish homework and walk Souta to school. I think my immune system must be weak or something." She faked a yawn and stretched painfully with one arm, the other still held by Inuyasha as he scrutinized her. She finally, slowly, retracted her arm from his grasp, "I have to get to my math class. Sorry Inuyasha, I'll catch up with you later!"
With that he watched her walk away down the hall and he went back into the art room to once again stare at nothing for an hour. Kagome made it to her math class just in time, sitting down in front of Sango this time.
Sango was watching her anxiously throughout the whole class and occasionally would shift in her chair a lot to view the other girls face. Surprisingly, Kagome kept her face centered at the front of the classroom and was listening closely to every word the teacher said. By the end of class Sango was fed up with just watching her friend act like it was nothing and when they were walking out of the classroom to lunch she turned to her.
"Tell me if Inuyasha hit you, Kagome. This is very important, and you have no reason to hide it or be ashamed of it. If he did hurt you, then he deserves to be punished and not just let his cruel actions slide. I mean, I know Inuyasha can be very edgy at times, but I never expected him to take it this time!"
Kagome just continued to walk into the lunch room and grab her food, spacing off quite a bit as she did. She hadn't heard a word Sango was saying, and all she could focus on was how she wouldn't dare touch the food because she'd regret it that night. Plus, the food looked particularly gnarly today.
When they reached their lunch table outside in the cold, barely a few others stuck out in the weather. Many of the Goths and loners and others had abandoned the outdoors to leave only a few and truer loners and such outside. Miroku was already sitting at the table and when he noticed the look on Sango's face and Kagome's pale demeanor he instantly stood up and asked what was wrong.
A stormy look wavered over Sango's face which turned into full blown rage and hatred when Inuyasha came into view. Without even realizing it she had stood up and was glaring down Inuyasha and yelled out angrily, "How DARE you put a hand on Kagome! I can't believe you would hit her Inuyasha! She's probably half your size! Look what you did!" with that she brushed the hair away from Kagome's face and presented the bruised cheek.
It was then that they had gotten Kagome's attention and she was looking with confusion around at her friends. She hadn't caught the yelling since she had dismissed it as just another fight between Sango and Miroku, but when she saw Inuyasha's outraged face and Sango standing her ground, she began to worry. Why had Sango brushed her hair out of her face to show off her bruise?
Inuyasha's eyes lit up in a look of outrage, "How could you even SAY something like Sango? I did not EVER hit Kagome or hurt her! You must not know me as well as I thought you did, because you wouldn't believe that I could sink that low. I'd NEVER hit her." He was now in her face yelling at her, a few veins popping out in his neck as he did. He turned to Kagome, a look of hurt and betrayal in his eyes, "Tell them that I didn't do that to you. And tell me who did. I'll kill the bastard."
The coolness of his voice over the last sentence made her veins run cold. If he killed her father then there would be many more to kill him and most likely herself. She wouldn't mind being dead, but she couldn't stand the thought of Inuyasha coming to any harm on her behalf. She stood up, tears welling up in her eyes, "Of course you didn't hit me. Don't say that thought. Don't say you'll kill."
Sango broke into their conversation, "How can we believe that Inuyasha?!?! She's probably afraid of you beating her again if she tells the truth! Look! She's about to cry!"
Finally Miroku added himself to the argument, "Now Sango, don't jump to conclusions. I'm sure Inuyasha would never do such a thing to her of all people."
But Inuyasha ignored both of them and walked steadily up to Kagome and grabbed one of her small hands and gave her a fierce look, "Tell me who did this to you."
She opened her mouth as if to tell him and then closed it quickly. The tears were begging to pour over but she refused to cry anymore over it. She shrugged her shoulders nervously, gave a tiny sniffle before putting on an ultra fake smile, "I can't do that."
"Kagome, please. I know somebody has been hurting you, but I can't protect you if I don't know who it is!" He held her wrist tightly, even when she tried to get away.
"Oh, don't worry! I'm fine! I'm just a little clumsy is all, I did this myself! Well, why don't we go to gym? Sound like a good idea? GREAT!" She got her hand out of his grasp and clapped her hands in eagerness.
The bell rang that instant and Miroku continued to try and calm the over zealous Sango and Inuyasha continued to badger Kagome about her injuries. When they finally reached the gym Kagome ducked instantly into the girls lockers to avoid his scrutinizing glare.
She knew she would not make it in one piece through gym and so she hoped that they were running around the courtyard so that she could hide behind the bleachers for a while. She hurried while dressing so she could avoid Kikyo's gang bothering her. Luckily for her she narrowly avoided them because right as they were coming in the locker she'd pulled her shirt over her head.
The girls steered clear of Kagome as she gave them all glares and she made her way out to sit down and wait for directions to what they needed to do. All of the boys were looking at her curiously since normally the girls didn't make it out until the very last minute.
Inuyasha sauntered out into the gym and sat down next to Kagome and stayed quiet for a little while. Right when the coach started to talk he leaned over and whispered into her ear, "You're going to have to tell me sometime. And soon."
"No I won't have to. Don't be so arrogant." Her eyes remained trained on the coach as he told them that they were going to be running outside around the courtyard.
"Well, even if you don't tell me, I'll still figure it out. At least you're not denying it anymore." He felt good that she would trust him enough that she could at least admit that somebody was hurting her. But at the same time her admitting it overwhelmed him with a sense of dread.
She shrugged and looked away from him again and focused her eyes on the ceiling as she said calmly, "You see right through me. Denying does me no good when it comes to you." She turned and looked at him and gave him a half cheerful smile, "Don't worry about it Inuyasha, I can handle myself."
"Well you don't need to handle being beat up like you are! Whoever does that to you deserves to die, the coward!" He shifted angrily and pounded his fist into the palm of his other hand, focusing his unnerving golden eyes on her.
She shifted nervously and shrugged again and then finally stood up when the rest of the class had started to file out the door. Most of them were complaining about how cold it was but she ignored it and began to run as soon as she got out the door. She didn't have to think about anything whenever she ran. All that registered in her mind was to place one foot in front of the other.
When they reached the bleachers she ducked beneath them and rested her head against one of the bars and sighed. Her whole body ached terribly and she couldn't get the overwhelming sense of dread out. The idea that her mother wasn't alive anymore was eating her up inside.
Meanwhile, Inuyasha was continuing to run but finally noticed that Kagome was nowhere to be found. His worry grew and he began to run faster, at his demon speed so the whole class was beginning to grow frightened of him. Most of them just thought he pretended to be a half demon.
He finally caught scent of her and followed it to beneath the bleachers where he found her, staring off into no where without emotion. Something wasn't right about the look she had on her face and he crawled over to her since she hadn't noticed him yet. He slowly put his arm around her shoulders, trying to get her to acknowledge him.
The response he got from her was the complete opposite of what he'd been expecting to get. She jerked wildly out of his arms and backed away from him so quickly that she bumped her head against one of the bars beneath the stands. The look she gave him was one that said she didn't remember who he was at the moment.
He held up his hands to show her that he meant no harm and he edged his way slowly towards her, "Don't worry Kagome, calm down. It's just me, Inuyasha, and I'm not going to hurt you, ok? Calm down!"
Her eyes were wild with fear and suspicion and her breathing rapid as she looked at him. Finally she began to realize who it was again and her nerves began to calm down enough to allow her to sit down and put her head in her hands. Her hands were shaking heavily as she said quietly, "Don't scare me like that Inuyasha!"
"But I hardly did anything! You looked sad and I just wanted to comfort you. Kagome, who could do something so horrible to you? To make you so scared of any touch?"
As his eyes scrutinized her she twirled her fingers nervously and said uneasily, "Nobody of any consequence. Well, we'd best be going. It sounds as if everyone if going in." Even as she stood up she could feel his eyes boring their holes into her. Every bone in her body screamed in distress as she crawled back out of the stands and began to run towards the school with Inuyasha behind her.
When they got inside she parted from him quickly and then rushed to get dressed and leave before he was done. Kikyo's gang seemed strangely sedated as she dressed and one girl even approached her and asked worriedly, "Hey, are you alright? Did we do that to you? I didn't know we were so hard on you…"
Surprise leapt into Kagome's eyes as she brushed the girl off with a smile, "Nah, it's fine. Just forget about it." With that she left the girl standing in the locker rooms, totally bewildered.
So the rest of the day passed by excruciatingly slow and the last bell rang slowly. As she walked out of the school Inuyasha jogged up to her side and grabbed her hand so she would slow down enough for him to walk beside him. She was dragged toward his car and he said evenly, "I'm going to give you a ride, alright? You look tired."
A worried nod came from her and she followed him and quietly said as he dragged her, "We need to pick up Souta though, if that's alright with you."
A smile and a nod came from him, "Yah, I've wanted to meet this brother of yours, that you seem to love so much. Sounds good. We going to the elementary school then?"
"Mmmhm." She was surprised into silence at his ready willingness to pick up her brother. He started his car and they quickly drove off toward Souta's elementary school and arrived at in within thirty minutes. When they pulled into the driveway both of them were silent for a while since they had to wait another hour for them to get out of school.
Inuyasha yawned and looked over to her, "I wish you'd tell me who hurts you so. It would be a lot easier for me to hunt them down."
A light growl came from her and she looked at him in frustration, "Can't you just drop it for once Inuyasha? I'm fine, I'm still breathing, aren't I?"
"No, I can't drop it. I like you too much to drop it." He gazed coolly out of his side window with his arms folded in an attempt to look calm. But his hands were sweating heavily and a few drops of sweat had placed themselves on his brow. What if she hated him for telling her that he liked her? I mean, it wasn't as if he was telling her that he outright loved her or liked her more than a friend.
Her dark blue eyes settled on him and she smiled lightly, a happiness settling into her desolate heart. He liked her! Maybe it wasn't a like like or a love, but it was still admittance to having at least a little feeling for her. It proved that he at least liked her as a friend, and if that was all he felt like admitting to or all that he felt, she was fine with it.
Before she could respond to him Souta was knocking on the window of the car and Inuyasha unlocked the doors to let him in. As he jumped in he said with a little suspicion in his voice, "Is he driving us home?"
"Yes he is… This is my little brother, Souta, Inuyasha. Souta, this is my friend Inuyasha." She watched as Inuyasha turned around in his seat and held out his hand to her little brother.
Her little brother stared at it with a little disgust, "He's your friend? I thought you couldn't stand having friends! Not after what happened to…" She quickly covered his mouth before he finished the sentence and glared at Souta, before smiling nervously at Inuyasha.
Inuyasha gave Kagome a sharp glance and asked in a very low tone, "What is he talking about Kagome? Not after what happened?"
Kagome continued to glare at her little brother while she answered him, "Oh nothing, its nothing. Souta is just a little weird around my guy friends, is all. A little protectiveness… Anyways, why don't we go do something for a while? Does that sound good to you guys?"
Both males looked at each other while they nodded nervously. Inuyasha put the car into drive and took off the parking break as he asked them both, a little unhappily, "Well, do you guys want to go to the park or something? I feel like lazing around myself."
The siblings nodded and they drove off to the park in silence. When they finally got there they filed out of the car and Souta took off to the swings yelling, "Inuyasha's it!"
For a moment both Inuyasha and Kagome looked at each other in surprise because his attitude towards Inuyasha had changed so dramatically in such little time. But Kagome caught on a little before Inuyasha and started to run away from him towards Souta, laughing a little.
It was just like being a little kid again and she forgot all her problems for a moment. As she ran she heard Inuyasha advances towards them and she grabbed Souta's hand so they could run faster.
They ducked beneath playground equipment and jumped over other things while Inuyasha faked a slow run. Souta continued to run quickly but Kagome's injuries were slowing her down so he left her behind. Inuyasha came up from behind her and grabbed her around the waist and yelled out in the loudest childish voice he could, "TAG!"
Another laugh escaped her throat and soon they were both laughing so hard that they could barely stand. Kagome was the first one to wobble and fall onto the ground, bringing Inuyasha down with her. They laughing in the grass, side by side with Kagome still in Inuyasha's arms for a while before they heard footsteps running quickly towards them.
Inuyasha sat up quickly, alert and ready for any danger when he saw Souta sprinting towards them with a determined look on his face. It wasn't until he yelled out, "DOGPILE!" that both teenagers attempted to flaunt his oncoming attack.
Inuyasha resorted to covering a giggling Kagome as Souta cannon-balled Inuyasha's back and sprawled out. Kagome got none of the force of it but soon the awkward position Inuyasha was in caused him to collapse on top of her so they were all piled up like a ton of kids, laughing.
They spent the rest of the next few hours playing throughout the park until Inuyasha decided to sit down and rest for a while. Kagome and Souta continued to play and Kagome chose a swing to sit on and swing on while he watched her through half closed eyes. He didn't want her to know that he was watching her.
As Kagome swung back and forth he followed her, seeing the thrilled smile on her face and he couldn't help but smile himself. Her smile really did light up anybodies day, when it was genuine. The skirt she was wearing was lifting a bit every time she swung forward, revealing a little more of her skin every time.
His mouth began to drop open and he couldn't help that his eyes were glued to her long delicate legs. When he finally noticed that she was looking at him he averted his eyes and shook his head violently, cursing Miroku for causing the perverted thoughts running through his head. He let out a frustrated sigh and closed his eyes finally, falling asleep.
About half an hour later Kagome and Souta began to grow cold so Kagome went over to Inuyasha and shyly tapped his shoulder. When he didn't wake up she leaned forward and took off his hat, tugging on one of his ears. It took only one tug for him to wake up with a start and lean into her hand instinctively.
Kagome laughed and said shyly, "Umm, can you take us home now? I'm getting cold." She slowly took her hands back from his ears and noticed the quick frown that played across his face when she did.
He nodded and stood up, stretching, "Sounds good to me. I'm getting kind of hungry anyways."
So all of them got into his car and headed off to her house. When they reached her house he pulled his car to a stop and looked out the window, gazing at the odd house with interest. Something of the house reeked of evil, and he was having second thoughts on letting Kagome and her brother leave the safety of his car.
Before he could stop them they'd already gotten out of the car and were waving at him to leave. He waited until they both reached her door before he drove off, feeling as if he'd delivered Kagome into the hands of an enemy. For the rest of the night he couldn't blow the feeling off.
Done! This was a fairly light-hearted chapter, eh? I was getting sick of writing such dramatic stuff, though I still have some left to write.
Umm… Another 10 reviews possibly? Thank you for all the reviews for my last chapter!
The-Darkest-Abyss: I know what you mean, I get lazy too. And thank you.
Demented Angie: I'm trying to get to more light-hearted chapters… Haha, thank you though!
Neko-angel666: I'm doing a big research paper for school right now, but I'm trying to get around to your story! And don't worry, I'm not offended, I get that way too when people leave big cliffhangers.
SSJ04 Mewtwo: Oh yes, when Inuyasha finds out there will definitely by dire consequences.
WallMagnet19: Thank you! And my intentions should be clear soon enough… Hehe
Marufan: I'm definitely getting very close to that part of the story, don't worry!
BlackParade: Don't worry, it won't be in the last chapter…! Man, so many people want it that I'm going to have to hurry it into the story sooner!
Kouga's Archi: Thank you!
Topazchick08: I will write as fast as I can with swim team coming up!
Shippo700: Thank you!
Manga-boy-lover: Thank you so much!
Pay Backs a Bitch: Actually, all the Chuckie movies are cheesy… Haha. And I'm anticipating being able to write lots of happy chapters in the future, but I have to wait one more chapter I think… So don't worry! I made this chapter pretty light-hearted for you! WOOT!
To this world I'm unimportant Just because I have nothing to give. So you call this your free country, Tell me why it cost so much to live, Tell me why. This world can turn me down But I won't turn away, oh no I won't turn around. All my work and endless measures. Never seem to get me very far, Walk a mile just to move an inch Now even though I'm trying so damn hard I'm trying so hard. This world can turn me down but I Won't turn away, And I won't duck and run, cause I'm not built that way. When everything is gone there is Nothing there to fear. This world cannot bring me down, No cause I'm already here, oh no! I am already here, Down on my knees, I am already here, on no, I am Already here. I must have told you a thousand times, I am not running away. I won't duck and run I won't duck and run I won't duck and run No pass away. This world can turn me down but I Won't turn away And I won't duck and run, cause I'm not built that way. When everything is gone There is nothing there to fear. This world cannot bring me down No cause I'm already here. This world can turn me down. But I won't turn away, And I won't duck away Cause I'm not built that way. When everything is gone there Is nothing there to fear. This world cannot bring me down, No cause I'm already here.