Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.
A/N: Welcome back! With every day it's getting nearer to Christmas...I must admit, I'm pretty giddy about it all. There's something about sipping hot chocolate, opening presents, and generally lounging around with my family that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. All right, maybe I am a little bit insane, but I'm in too much of a good mood to care. Anyway, enjoy the update!
Chapter 25 - Withstanding the Night
Sango exhaled slowly, allowing a dizzy feeling rush around in her head before she finally allowed herself to inhale again. The only thing she could do was watch and wait, if not impatiently, for them to arrive at wherever she was being taken. She had one of her elbows propped up next to the window, with her chin resting tiredly in it as she tried to keep from falling asleep.
It was nearly five minutes later, after she jerked away for what seemed the umpteenth time in the past minute, when a cell phone began ringing. She patted her pockets only to discover that it wasn't hers...where had she put it again? The thought was irrelevant as she watched Kagura pull a slick black cell from one of her coat pockets. She flipped it open with the same hand and put it to her ear, and even from her spot closest to the door, Sango could hear the voice speaking on the other side. The words were muffled and to her were impossible to understand. She caught bits and pieces of words and phrases; something that sounded like 'fifth floor' and 'meet me at three.' She was unable to comprehend what those words meant, be it because she was too tired or she just didn't care.
Sango drew squiggly lines across the frost-covered window as Kagura snapped the phone shut. Though late, the road they were on wasn't deserted; cars were swerving constantly between lanes, but she seemed to ignore all this and pressed her foot further down on the accelerator. Sango glared at a random car outside, wishing that she was with Kags and Tai and Rizu, have an after-concert late-night party rather than being stuck going God-knows-where with Kagura.
Experimentally, Sango tugged on the door handle. Nothing. It didn't give. So she searched for the power lock button...the only problem was, she couldn't find it. Satisfied that there wasn't even a power lock switch on her door, she sunk lower in her seat and kicked her feet up on the dashboard, ignoring the dirty glares Kagura threw at her. Well, if worse came to worst, she could always break open the window and jump out...
"Do you think I really want to do this?" Kagura asked suddenly. If her tone wasn't so icy sharp and quiet, Sango would have made a sarcastic remark, just to annoy her. But she kept her mouth shut. And, just as she expected, Kagura continued, even quieter than before.
"I probably shouldn't be telling you this, but if Naraku didn't have such a...stronghold over me, I wouldn't be working for him. It wouldn't surprise me right now if he has this car bugged..." She paused, seemingly pondering over the thought. Sango couldn't see her face in the dark, but from the vague outline, she was guessing it was a mix between anger and faint sorrow. "Which is why I can't tell you anymore. Look alive: we're almost there."
Kagome stared up at the building and remained like that for a few minutes. Inuyasha's jacket was warm, no doubting that; but no matter how much she wanted her feet to move, she couldn't. Because she recognized this place.
The road, at a first glance, didn't look familiar at all. Then she recognized it from all those years ago. She knew it wasn't actually a big deal, and should've been able to break in to the place with no problem, but she felt frozen from the neck down.
This road was where her father's car had crashed.
No...this was where Daichi was killed.
A younger Kagome, no more than ten years of age, tossed again under her flower-spotted comforter. Something was shaking her...Her eyes fluttered open, and in the dark of her room she could barely see her mother standing over her. "Kagome..." she whispered, unable to keep her voice from shaking. "You need to wake up. We have...somewhere to go."
Kagome yawned sleepily and sat up, grinding the heels of her palms into her eyes. When she looked, her alarm clock read three forty-seven. "Where're we goin,' mama?" she asked while she swung her legs over the edge of the bed. She felt scared...since when did her mama wake her up in the middle of the night? "Mama? Why won't you answer me?"
Kea remained silent. After a few minutes, she gasped. Tears began to fall mercilessly from her eyes. "Come now, Kagome. It's about your father."
Kagome didn't dare ask any more questions. She didn't even change from her pajamas. Instead, she followed her mama out of her room and into the dimly lit hallway. In there she stood, alone, while Kea went to fetch Souta. He was still sleeping in her arms when Kagome saw her return.
The three of them went out to the car, Souta sitting partially awake in his car seat. Kagome slid in next to him in the back row of seats. Her mother closed the door and drove off quickly, their house disappearing quickly behind them. Not a word was said the whole time.
It was summer, and still warm and humid outside. Kagome entertained herself by staring out the window. She didn't know how long they drove, or where in the world they were going during the dead hours of the night. It was around twenty minutes later when they arrived at the scene.
Police cars and an ambulance were circled around...something Kagome was too short to see, she realized as she hopped unenthusiastically from the car. People she didn't know were bustling around, talking to each other and into walkie-talkies. Even as Kea wrapped an arm around her waist, saying something in her ear, she didn't listen.
She didn't know why, but her legs began moving numbly forward. They managed to stay together and push past police officers and people from the ambulance until they were standing behind the big white van.
Her eyes widened when she saw who it was laying on the gurney, the front of his button-down shirt spattered with crimson stains.
"DADDY!" Kagome shouted, running from her mother's loose hold and into the back of the van. Strangely enough, no one stopped her. She halted at her father's bedside, throwing herself across his chest and wrapping her arms around his neck the best she could. She wept shamelessly onto his shirt, not even caring that some of his blood was soaking onto her pajamas. Sobs tore at her throat, making her chest tighten from the effort to keep breathing. His body was cold...too cold to be the body of a man living for much longer.
"Daddy..." Kagome whimpered, clenching the cloth of his shirt in her hands, squeezing as tightly as she could. She was smart enough to know that he was almost dead...The thought made her cry harder, the tears streaming endlessly down her face. She didn't care if they never stopped.
Kea's arms held Kagome, Souta, and her husband's corpse close all at the same time. Kagome didn't find any comfort in her touch. Instead, she only felt the need to tear away from her...but no matter how much she struggled, her mother's arms held strong. "Mama!" she whispered, trying to speak between gasps, "what happened to daddy? W-why is daddy hurt?"
Kea didn't answer immediately, and instead kissed the top of Kagome's forehead. "I don't know, sweetheart...I don't know." She kneeled down so she could straighten Kagome out, brushing her dampened bangs away from her child's forehead. After a few seconds, she pulled her fast to her chest, laying her cheek on top of Kagome's head as her other arm held protectively to the wailing Souta.
Kagome looked again at her father's pale, unmoving form, the blood flowering on his shirt, and felt a spark ignite somewhere deep in her chest. She knew all too well that she would be haunted by this image forever...how gruesome it was to watch your daddy's life slowly seeping away right before your eyes. How cruel and utterly painful...
It seemed like hours before she, her mother, and Souta had to leave the back of the ambulance. Kagome stood, sniffling, wiping her eyes repeatedly with her sleeve. She glanced around, feeling no longer tired; on their left, there was another road leading back into the city. But on their right, there was a ramshackle building. All the windows were covered from the inside with orange curtains. She didn't care to figure out why, and instead began following Kea back to their car.
Even now, whenever Naraku spoke her father's name, Kagome's detesting of him multiplied a thousandfold. The spark she felt light in her so long ago was no longer a mere spark; it was a flame, with tongues that licked and fed into the feelings of hurt and animosity she harbored. It was an unquenchable flame, one that refused to die...
"Kagome?" Miroku queried, interjecting her thoughts and thoroughly disrupting the flashbacks running through her head like an old-time movie. It was only now that Kagome realized someone was shaking her, two hands firmly gripping her shoulders. Shippou was on the pavement looking up at her, and it was Inuyasha that was causing her to tremble so much.
"Watch it, okay!?" Kagome yelped, pinching one of Inuyasha's arms. He gave her the reaction she wanted: both his hands recoiled, and she was free to take a few steps backwards. "I know where we are...well, sort of, anyway." She shifted her weight from one foot to the other and gave the three of them a deadpan sort of gaze. A few moments later and she finally got her feet to move towards the entrance of the old worn-and-torn building. It took some effort, but Miroku finally managed to get Inuyasha and Shippou to follow.
Kagome let her fingers slide along the cool brass of the door handle before she clasped it tightly. It was locked - she knew it was - but she turned it anyway...and strangely enough, the door swung open with ease.
No alarm sounded. No one jumped out and began screaming 'Intruder Alert!' in their ears. Kagome took a few seconds to glance around the - even stranger - lavishly decorated lounge type area, complete with a full wall of bookshelves, couches, display cases, wall paintings, and everything else that made it look all the more like a hotel lobby.
Miroku whistled from behind her. "Damn...what is this, some kind of mansion?" he muttered, instantaneously running forward and doing a belly-slide onto one of the couches. Inuyasha was nonplused; Kagome was no where near impressed. Shippou made his way onto her shoulder before the firework show started.
"Miroku," Kagome addressed, adopting a sickly-sweet tone that laced oh so falsely into her words. Her smile dropped a second later, her expression turning hard. "Get off the damn couch and maybe I won't completely maim and or strangle you. Have you forgotten so quickly why we're here in the first place?!" Amazingly, she managed to keep her voice down to a sort of hissing-like whisper. Shippou's snicker was an amiable one.
Miroku leapt off the couch as if someone had suddenly poured kerosene over it and threw a match on one of the velvet-like cushions. Apparently, and much to Inuyasha's amusement, he didn't need to be told twice to move. Along with Miroku's jumpiness came a look of guilty recognition. Inuyasha never knew his attitude about anything was able to change so quickly.
Kagome sighed and warily pinched the bridge of her nose. "Well, we haven't been completely exposed yet. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Not one of them bothered to answer her question.
It took her but a few seconds to cross the room to what looked to be a door leading into a hallway. Inuyasha was beside her in an instant, and did the honor of opening the door; it looked to be almost three feet thick. What met their eyes was stark whiteness.
Blinding fluorescent lights were hanging from the ceilings. The walls were painted white. Spotless white tiles covered the floor, inch by inch. Shippou clapped a hand over his eyes, as if he was afraid he was going to become blind. "What is this?" Miroku exclaimed, pushing past them and taking a few steps inside.
Doors lined either side of the walls, sparsely spaced. What looked to be automatic locking number pads was situated to the right of most doors. Inuyasha took a few seconds to examine one of these, but he didn't dare touch any of them, half-afraid that some sort of alarm would be set off.
Kagome glanced up the hallway, towards the ceiling...and tried to keep herself from cursing. There were cameras on the plaster above them, every few meters; no doubt at least one of them had spotted them by now. If they were even on...she toyed with the thought and quickly discarded it. She had anticipated being caught by someone, unsure of exactly who. This was only a minor setback in their plan, and also a warning sign telling them to hurry the hell up.
Before she could ask any questions, Inuyasha began walking at an overly fast pace down the hall. Kagome and Miroku had to jog to keep up with him. "Can you sense something?" Miroku huffed as they rounded the corner. "Sango, maybe?"
Inuyasha shook his head. Kagome felt her heart sink...if he didn't sense her, then where in this God-forsaken building was she? Clearly, her feeling of distress was shared. Miroku didn't appear none too pleased with the answer he received. "Well, then, what is it?!" he demanded, none too kindly.
Inuyasha cast his head over his shoulder so he could send a heated glower towards his friend. "It's Naraku...or someone with his scent, anyway."
Kagome sniffed delicately. If it was Naraku...well, they could always force him to tell her where Sango was being held. And since Inuyasha was around, she was sure there would be no You're gonna be flying out this window threats tonight. At least she could be grateful for that much...
She didn't even realize that they had stopped moving until she collided ungracefully with Inuyasha's sturdy back. "Why in the hell-" Kagome yelped, only to shut her mouth when she saw someone standing a few meters ahead of them.
He looked almost like Naraku...But he wasn't. She knew that much. There was a difference between the two of them; but if he wasn't Naraku, then who was he?
"I thought we had intruders," the man snickered. Most of his hair was pulled back in a ponytail and cascaded to his mid-back. A devilish sneer was painted on his face. Tightly clasped hands were held behind his back. "But I wasn't sure who it could be. It's getting late, after all; but I see you're the friends of that one girl...What was her name?"
He was toying with them; that much Inuyasha could tell. If there was one thing he couldn't stand, it was when someone who thought they were superior to you (when, in the harsh light of reality, they weren't) tried to get a rise out of you.
Miroku glanced along the walls, looking for some way to escape...getting Kagome away was first priority, seeing as how whoever it was didn't hesitate to take Sango. The thought made his eyes narrow. "Where is she?" he demanded, stepping past Kagome so she was hidden behind him and Inuyasha.
The man snickered, glaring pointedly at him in return. "Now why," he chided, clearly finding a certain degree of amusement from the reaction he received, "should I disclose any of that information to you?" The tension in the wide hallway increased exponentially within the next few seconds that passed. "But I will tell you this; she's been taken by one of my colleagues to see Naraku. She's not going to be back for...another hour, at least."
Kagome glared vehemently at the pale-complexioned man over Inuyasha's shoulder, seeing as how the wouldn't let her simply pass them. "You've got some issues, buddy," she stated icily, clearly unafraid of any of the consequences sure to follow. "I don't remember Naraku talking about a guy like you." She pursued full heartedly, though Inuyasha was pinching a bit at the skin on the shoulder, as if telling her to stop. It was ignored.
Miroku and Inuyasha were only slightly fearful that she was going overboard. But they didn't do anything else, partially curious for the man's answer.
He didn't reply right away, and simply glared stonily at Kagome, more than anyone else. It was minutes later when he finally spoke, his voice brittle. "My name? It won't do you any good to know it. But I'll tell you anyway: Onigumo is what you will address me by."
His words down Kagome's spine like cold, claw-like fingers scraping a chalkboard. Onigumo...where had she heard that name before...?
"You used to work with my father!" she exclaimed, snapping her fingers and giving him a wry smile. "There's no mistaking it. Why are you working for Naraku, anyhow? Got fired?"
It was true; oftentimes, Daichi would come home from his work as the manager of a company making pricy items; jewelry, clocks, specialized swords and daggers, anything that you could buy from a fancy store or market and pay a fortune for. He would speak of the other workers and a man named Onigumo, whom he thought to be - to put it bluntly - a bit screwy in the head.
He didn't smile. Rather, he frowned, the heatedness of his glower intensifying. "It would be too complicated for someone as incompetent as you to understand."
A heavy paused layered the hallway. With Shippou still pulling at her hair, she was getting more irritated by the second. It was a stare-off: Inuyasha and Miroku scowling at Onigumo and vice versa. Kagome felt somehow misplaced...So it was only moments later that she spoke up again. "Why was Sango brought here anyway? I'm here, and it would do any good to you if you keep us separated."
A slow chortle sounded from Onigumo. "Oh, I assure you, we don't plan on it. In fact, we were anticipating getting this whole deal straightened out by morning, even if the rest of your friends aren't here."
Inuyasha allowed his fangs to show. "The hell are you talking about? There ain't going to be any sort of deal made, not while I'm still around here to stop it."
Kagome's throat tightened even as the two bickered. It was all well and good that Inuyasha was making a great attempt to help her...but she felt that if Naraku and Onigumo wanted to make some sort of deal, it was going to happen. That didn't necessarily mean it was a deal that they would like, if she had anything to say about it.
"Excuse me!" Kagome interrupted, so loudly that her voice echoed throughout the hall. "Just what the hell are we supposed to do now?" she asked, folding her arms tightly. Her eyes narrowed as she spoke, occasionally darting a scowl Onigumo's way. "In fact..."
Her speech was cut short as he started towards their small group, his pace deliberately slow. Kagome felt Shippou cower into a small ball on her shoulder. Miroku put a hand on her shoulder and held it there, as if telling her to stay put. She did, her back erect as Onigumo stopped a mere foot in front of her. She bit her lip and stared up at him, daring him to try something.
So it was natural that she was surprised when he gripped her throat in his oversized hand and literally lifted her feet off the ground. Shippou fell, Miroku's grip fell away, and Inuyasha swore loudly. 'One...two...strike...' "Damn it!" she cursed as he dropped her, and she fell on her bottom, sending a shot of jarring pain up and down her spine. She bit down on her lower lip so hard it split and began to bleed.
Shippou, small though he was, began jumping up and down, waving his fists frantically in the air. "What was that for?! You can't hurt Kagome like that!" he shrieked as he climbed onto one of her unbent knees.
Inuyasha grimaces as the metallic scent of her blood reaches his nose; though only a small bit, he hates the smell more than anything. "You bastard," he muttered, clenching his fists to try and minimize the rage-induced shaking.
"In answer to your question," Onigumo snarled, sweeping imaginary lint off the sleeves of his overcoat, "you'll be staying in the conference room a short walk from my office. Which, mind you, has security cameras covering every square inch of the space."
"And if we refuse?" Miroku countered defiantly as he helped Kagome off the floor. Her face held a sour grimace-like glower, blood pooling at the spot where she had bit down too hard on her lip. "What if we decide to leave?"
Onigumo already had his back turned on them. "Have fun trying, since the doors and windows all around this place are locked by now. They won't open until morning."
Kagome wanted so much to grab one of the fluorescent light bulbs above them and crack it over his thick, arrogant head. Who would purposely lock himself in an abandoned building overnight? "Oh my God..." Kagome exclaimed when he was out of earshot. "He's crazy and we're all going to be brutally murdered!"
None of them commented on it.
Sango was painfully aware - if she didn't want to get lost in the maze of hallways and elevators and stairs, that is - she'd have to stick with Kagura. She could be grateful for the mental-mutual agreement of silence between them, at least.
She wasn't quite sure about where they were. From what Kagura said, their 'team' (in other words, colleagues of Naraku) had three main buildings: Yokoshima Records, the building where she had been first taken to (what they called The Asylum, for whatever reason: she was too freaked out by the name to ask), and this one, currently unnamed.
This building was made of a sort of brownish colored stone, and unlike The Asylum (she was never going to get used to that), it wasn't secreted in trees; or anything, for that matter. It was standing out in the wide open in Tokyo's suburbs, appearing as sterile, fancy, and trimmed on the outside as it did on the inside. That maze of hallways was endless. More than once, Sango turned the wrong way by accident and had to backtrack to find Kagura tapping her foot impatiently.
She didn't know how much longer it was when they reached a room that looked something like a waiting area; couches were scattered throughout and bookshelves lined the walls. The floor was carpeted with a chocolate-y brown sort of colors, the walls painted a reddish-maroon. Sango snorted; it was all too played up for her.
She walked the perimeter of the room, very aware that Kagura was watching her every step. Seconds later, a door on the opposite wall of the one she was looking at opened, one that she hadn't seen before. Sango cringed when a voice began speaking, one that she did not want to hear at the moment; she was tired, irritated, and felt about ready to break someone's neck if they dared to grace her last nerve with their stupidity.
Naturally, when she heard Naraku drawl out her name, she flexed her fingers and wished to God that she would somehow be able to withstand him for the evening.
A/N: Honestly...that took longer than I wanted it to. I guess that's what happens around Christmas. I was gone yesterday, all day, and it took about three hours to drive home because of icy roads. We were going probably twenty mph for more than half the way. Talk about irritating...
Be kind and review! It's the holidays, after all.