~Chapter Thirty-Six~
The man on top of Kagome smiled wickedly, bringing one hand up to capture her wrists and pin them above her head. She let out another scream, violently kicking at him. He growled, effectively pinning her legs down as well with his own. Kagome choked out a sob, struggling under Taro and shaking her head from side to side. He stared down at her bouncing breasts, his tongue running along his bottom lip in excitement.
"Oh, you have such a lovely figure, my dear. I'm looking forward to ravishing it."
"NO!"
"My, you are such a feisty one! But that is alright. I like it when a girl is full of spirit. It makes it that much more enjoyable to break them in."
Kagome yelled out as he ran his free hand up her leg, the tops of his fingers brushing the hem of her skirt. He pinched the soft skin when she yelled, causing tears to form in her eyes.
Taro's hot breath blew over her cheek as he chuckled, opening his mouth as to kiss her. She pursed her lips into a thin line, straining her face away. He brought his hand sharply against her thigh, causing her to cry out again.
"Don't resist me, bitch. I'll break you down until all your determination is gone."
He pulled out a knife from his pocket, starting to cut away her blouse. She continued struggling, her breathing going unsteady from the glint of a blade. He grinned, seeing the fear on her delicate face. Buttons popped off as he cut away at the fabric.
It was right then that the door burst open. Kagome's eyes widened and her heart clenched.
Inuyasha.
The familiar crimson kimono whipped around him, caused by the air disturbance he made while breaking the door. Snow white hair blew around his stunning and rugged features, his hand resting on the hilt of Tesusaiga. His golden eyes widened considerably upon seeing Kagome, her clothes torn and hanging loosely. Taro froze in his actions, the blade hovering over Kagome's bra.
It was probably the worst thing that the man had ever decided to do. The hanyou standing in front of him was over-flowing with mixed emotions. His normally guarded expression was proof to that. Shock, fury, relief, worry, frustration, and tension were all inside his body.
Kagome swallowed, her chocolate eyes never leaving Inuyasha's face. He had come for her, just like she had always known he would. He always came for her, and she had never expected anything less. Though, she would admit that the moment Taro pulled out the blade, her trust had faltered.
I will never doubt again.
Inuyasha's eyebrows pulled downward in anger as he flew forward. His claws came out, connecting with Taro in a blurry instant. The sudden relief of weight flowed over Kagome's body as Inuyasha lifted him into the air, his hand curled around the guy's neck.
"You fucking bastard! Death will be a sweet relief compared to what I am about to do to your sorry ass! How dare you even think of touching her! YOU ARE A LOWLIFE!"
Yuka stood at the doorway, watching in shock as Inuyasha slowly pulled the dagger off the ground, slicing it down the man's chest. He trailed it gradually down, closing toward the most important piece of the man's anatomy. Blood seeped from every inch the blade touched, and tears spilled down the man's cheeks at the pain. Taro let out a choked-off cry, his eyes wide with panic and fear as the blade got closer.
"You want to touch something with this nasty thing of yours? How would you like me to help?"
The glinting steel stopped right at the man's groin, causing him to writhe and squeak loudly.
"Inuyasha! NO!"
The half-breed froze in surprise as Kagome's small warm hands wrapped around his own, stopping his movements. Her innocent brown eyes sought out his own amber ones. There was fright and concern swirling in their depths.
"Kagome, do you even realize what this asshole was about to do to you?"
She swallowed and the tears that had been held back were finally released. They fell freely down her cheeks, burning a hot wet trail in their wake.
"Yes, but I'm fine now. Inuyasha, hasn't enough blood been shed?"
Her words stung, hitting a part of him that he had forgotten about. The human part of him that hated war and blood-shed. The same human part that was willing to do anything to stop those tears from falling down Kagome's cheeks. He slowly turned his head to look at Taro. The man stared at him in fear and anticipation. He was obviously expecting Inuyasha to ignore her, and from the wet spot on his groin, so was his little buddy.
Inuyasha reluctantly pulled his hand back, letting the blade fall to the floor. He released Taro, letting the man's coughing body hit the ground. The hanyou turned around, his eyes softened as he looked down at Kagome. She let out sob, burying her face in his chest. Inuyasha wrapped his arms around her, letting her small, shaking body rest again him. Yuka ran forward, her eyes full of some unfathomable emotion. Behind her were Katsuo and Hojo, both looking down at Taro's slumped body in shock and anger.
Inuyasha turned to walk toward the door, Kagome following him weakly.
A yell filled the room as Taro's fingers curled around the knife's hilt. He lunched forward, the blade coming up against Kagome's throat as he pulled her back against him. Inuyasha tensed, refusing to make any movements lest the blade cut into his priestess' skin.
"I've had enough of this shit! Now, either you drop that sword around your waist and any other weapon on you and back away, or I kill her."
Kagome stayed very still, her eyes pleading as she looked at Inuyasha.
"Please don't do this." Katsuo said softly, so softly that it could have been a whisper.
"I can do anything I want to. This is my building, and my lounge. I don't like being humiliated."
Inuyasha narrowed his eyes, trying to think over what he should do. All that he could think of was plans that would end with Taro's death. But still, Kagome was obstinate that no harm should come to him. He could already see from her body language that she was ready to surrender to death before letting him.
Ugh, sometimes I wish she wasn't so self-sacrificing.
His eyebrows rose slightly as Yuka crept up behind Taro. Ah, yes, he had forgotten about her. Still, he tried to maintain a passive expression.
"I said, 'Drop your weapons and back-off'!"
Inuyasha sighed, "I can't drop my sword. It…erm…keeps me from losing my temper."
"Bullshit. Drop it, man."
The half-demon swore a few colorful words, glancing at Katsuo. He jerked his head toward Yuka and Inuyasha made a thumbs-up behind his back.
"You are giving me a headache, you idiot. I said 'drop it'!"
"Well, I know something else that gives you a headache."
"Oh, really? Enlighten me."
"Enlighten this, dumb ass." Yuka muttered, hitting him over the head with her stapler.
Taro slumped forward, the blade clattering to the floor. Kagome ran forward, jumping into Inuyasha's arms. She let out a few more sobs, losing her composure. He glanced one more time at the limp figure, making sure the baka wasn't going to wake and hurt his miko again. Inuyasha used his thumb to brush away her salty tears, his eyes full of concern.
"Are you alright? Did he hurt you?"
She shook her head, her chest still heaving from crying. She couldn't stop the tears, and they both completely forgot about their surroundings. Inuyasha cupped her face with his hands, leaning down to brush his lips over her cheeks. Her tears made his lips wet, leaving a salty taste. It was his first animalistic instinct to lick her face, considering that that was what a dog would do to their owner. But instead his human instincts took over, and for a split illogical second, he didn't care.
My mate. Kagome, my mate. A man tried to touch her, he tried to take my mate from me.
"I thought you were dead." He whispered against her skin.
Kagome's heart skipped in her chest, causing her to gasp. What the heck was he doing!
Oh, who cares! A voice in the back of her mind screamed at her.
"Inuyasha…"
Someone cleared their throat, causing the two to be rudely awakened from their rare 'moment'. Inuyasha jerked back into reality, pulling his hands back swiftly like he had just touched an electric wire. He turned to meet the eyes of their three companions. Hojo was half-fuming and half in shock. Katsuo had one eyebrow raised, a smirk playing on his full lips. Yuka seemed to have regained her normal behavior, for she snuck an encouraging wink to the hanyou.
"Well, are the both of you ready to leave this nasty place, or would you rather we leave you to make-out?"
Inuyasha pursed his lips and crossed his arms, his face turning a light shade of pink. Kagome hiccupped, an after-effect from all of the stress and crying.
The group exited the building, Inuyasha avoiding any physical contact with the girl. He had humiliated himself to no end back there, and he wanted to crawl in a corner and nurse his wounded pride. So instead, he did what he was good at. He gripped and complained all the way back to the bus.
"What about…Ta...Tar…that man?" Kagome whispered to Yuka.
"Oh? Well, I've decided to make an anonymous call to the police. Y'know, he is a wanted man for attempted rape, or so I hear." The girl offered a grin, placing her arm around Kagome's shoulders.
The young priestess hiccupped again, wiping her eyes with her sleeve. They were greeted with many hollers and worried exclamations upon their arrival back at the bus. Eri and Ayumi tackled Kagome in a tight bear hug, patting the girl on the back as she hiccupped through her explanation of what happened.
Inuyasha sat in the back, his arms crossed and tucked into his sleeves as he looked out the window. He was expecting an onslaught of questions from Kagome's friends on how he was able to do the things he had done to get to Kagome. But surprisingly, they didn't say a word. He expected that they probably would later after all of the fuss would die down.
His mind wandered back to what he had down earlier.
How could I have been so foolish? I shouldn't have done something like that right in front of people! Ugh, what if she thinks I'm weak or something? You know what, forget it. I'll just ignore it if she tries to say something.
He set his mind on the new decision, though he couldn't help but wonder.