DarkShadow At Midnight
Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha!
What Holidays Bring
Chapter 51: Shocking Encounter
InuYasha stayed in the stairwell until he was calm enough to face Kagome. He knew she'd be upset with him for just leaving, and taking another one of his mystery phone calls. It would either be that, or she wouldn't be there at all. She could already be in Kita's room, ready to stay for however long she decided to be mad. Or maybe she'd confront him like he'd been expecting. It wasn't like any of these really mattered, though. Kagome would find out one way or the other. Kita seemed pretty tempted to tell her herself. That was the last thing he wanted. InuYasha wanted to tell Kagome himself.
He walked back into the hotel room, letting the door slam shut behind him before going into the room. InuYasha didn't see Kagome anywhere. His head immediately went to thinking she went to Kita, but then he inhaled.
Something smelt foul for one, but he knew that just meant she must have been throwing up again. Concern came over him when he also smelt salt. She was crying...again. That wasn't it. There was something added to her scent. Like a spice. InuYasha didn't really know what that meant, but it only made him more worried. It did seem familiar, though.
InuYasha walked over to the bathroom door, and went to open the door to find it locked. He gave a loud knock,
"Kagome, open the door."
There was silence. InuYasha frowned,
"I know you're in there, stupid. Don't act like you can't hear me."
"You're the one that's stupid, InuYasha!" she retorted. "You know wherever I am...how can you not-"
"Would you just open the door?" he interrupted, frowning at the wooden door before him.
Kagome gave a frustrated cry, and then started calling him a slew of names. InuYasha growled, and then twisted the doorknob until the lock broke. He went to open the door, but something stopped him from opening it all the way.
"No! You can't come in!" she yelled. "Go away!"
"Would you stop acting like a brat, and let me in the damn bathroom!?" he yelled back.
Kagome yelled, "No!"
"Yes!"
"No!"
InuYasha frowned more, and then gently pushed more until she gave up. When he could finally step into the bathroom, Kagome turned her back to him, crossed her arms, and then glared at the floor. He stepped up behind her, taking her arm, and then turned her toward him.
"Kagome, what's the matter with you?" he asked.
She waved his hand away, and then glared up at him. Kagome's eyes were slightly red from all the crying she'd obviously been doing; her cheeks were wet, and she looked so pale. So frail and sickly. InuYasha had never seen her in this type of state, and it worried him.
"I'm sorry if I pissed you off. I..."
Kagome looked at him with searching eyes, but when nothing more came out, she sighed heavily. She brought up her hands, and wiped her face.
"Is this how it's always going to be, InuYasha?" Kagome asked.
He didn't say anything, and instead, his eyes zeroed in on something on the collar of her shirt. After an awkward pause, he spoke.
"You have some toothpaste on your shirt."
Kagome looked at him. Her eyes had slightly widened a bit, and then she looked down at her shirt. Kagome's shoulders began to shake, and for a second, he thought she was crying. From how red her face was turning, though, he knew she was mad.
"What!? I was just telling you!"
"Gah! You're so...so...so dense, InuYasha!" she yelled.
Kagome went to storm out of the bathroom, but he caught her wrist.
"Would you just wait a minute!?" InuYasha retorted. "Look, I'm trying here."
"You're not trying hard enough!" she yelled again, making InuYasha's ears flatten slightly. "How long have we...have we...-"
"Have we what? Spit it out." he said.
Kagome's hands clenched up into a fist, "You know!"
InuYasha blinked at her, and then rolled his eyes, "Been having sex? How hard is that to say?"
"That's not the point right now." she said, intertwining her fingers together and clenching her hands until they turned white. "Just answer the question."
"About a month, why?" he asked.
Kagome sighed, "And our first time was...where? I mean..."
"What the hell is wrong with you?" he asked. "Would you quit beating around the bush, and tell me what is going on?"
"Oh, just forget it!" Kagome yelled, walking out of the bathroom, and back into the bedroom.
She fell onto the bed, and buried her burning face into one of the pillows. Kagome was going to give him a hint through the mere fact they'd been having unprotected sex from day one. That clearly wasn't going to work out, because she never could keep a conversation that had to do with the...'s' word. He was so infuriating! Kagome just wanted him to get it already. To make him see how serious he needed to be about their relationship now. Kagome didn't want to live this way. She didn't want to wonder if he was cheating. Kagome didn't want to fight so much. She didn't want to spend the next few months in agony alone.
The mere thought brought more tears to her eyes, and she buried her face further into the pillow. Kagome felt the bed sink in lightly beside her. She heard InuYasha give a heavy sigh. Kagome knew he hadn't experienced anything like this, but neither had she. He was the first person she'd truly ever fallen in love with, after all. At the end of the day, he was still the one far more experienced than she'd ever be. Kagome wished all that knowledge in that stupid head of his would just get it. Without her having to throw hints. She was worried enough about how he'd react, and if he was even ready for kids. Was she ready for kids?
Kagome's thoughts came to a halt when she felt fingers run through her hair. No matter how angry she wanted to remain with him, her body relaxed. InuYasha ran his fingers through her hair once again,
"I'm sorry I'm not telling you what you want to hear...or just anything. I am, Kagome, but...I'm...still trying to figure stuff out."
InuYasha leaned forward, and placed a kiss on her temple.
"I don't want you making yourself sick over this. I want you to trust that I'll handle it, and until I tell you what's going on, you won't assume the worse." he said.
Kagome looked over at him, "It's hard to trust you when the worse could be true. What would you think if I was doing the same to you?"
InuYasha's amber eyes locked with hers. Should he just tell her? His mouth opened slightly, but nothing came out. Not immediately, at least. How exactly was he supposed to say it? InuYasha wasn't exactly the best communicator here. He didn't want to see her more sad than she already looked.
"Kagome-"
"I'm pregnant." she interrupted.
The words died in InuYasha's throat. He looked at Kagome as if she'd just morphed into some other person, or being. Everything suddenly became so clear. The scent. He remembered now. When Kita was pregnant, she gave off this different kind of scent. It wasn't like it was anything new to him then, though. His father had told him of this when he was explained mating, and all that to him. InuYasha felt like an idiot. How had he not seen it? The vomiting, the mood swings...
"Are you going to say something?" she asked, her eyes saddening.
InuYasha didn't know what to say. This was all a shocker to him regardless of how it all added up. He didn't know how to process what she'd just said. Kagome was pregnant. She was pregnant with their kid. Unlike how he felt upon finding out this same information from Kikyo, InuYasha's heart pounded in his chest, and skipped beats. With Kikyo, he was mortified, and looked at her as if she were the devil. He'd thought it was a lie. That what was growing in her wasn't his, and that feeling never went away when he found out it truly was his. However, this. InuYasha believed her, of course. She was his mate...his wife, and they were having a baby.
Kagome looked like she was going to cry. InuYasha finally snapped back into realization, and pulled Kagome toward him. He buried his face into her shoulder,
"Stop your blubbering. I just...just needed a minute. You're pregnant."
"I'm not blubbering!" she said with a shaky voice, not hesitating to wrap her arms around him. "You're...happy?"
"Why wouldn't I be?" he asked, feeling her beginning to relax in his arms.
Kagome sniffed, "I didn't know if you wanted kids. I mean...we never got to even talk about it. I thought you would have felt everything was moving too fast, and that you weren't ready."
"Keh." InuYasha pulled away, and looked her in the eyes. "Have you forgotten who I am, Kagome? Slow's not my style, and life doesn't wait for you to be ready, right? So I'm always ready. Ready to kick ass, and win."
Kagome blinked at him, and then laughed, "This isn't a competition though."
"Same difference."
"No." Kagome said with another laugh. "This is a baby, and they require a lot of attention and patience."
"We can't be any worse off than Sesshomaru and Kita. They both have the attention span of a squirrel. Sesshomaru has patience until the point he gets irritated, and uses violence. Kita just has no patience at all. If they can do it, so can we."
Kagome could see the excitedness in InuYasha's eyes. Even though his logic was a bit iffy, she could tell he was happy and determined as a future father. If he was confident, then she could be as well.
"Besides," he added, "I know you'll make an amazing mother, and fix whatever I inevitably will mess up."
"You're going to be a great father, InuYasha. I just know it. You show your love in your own crazy, overprotective, loud and hyped way. There's no doubt in my mind that you'll take care of the both of us. I'm...I'm glad you're as happy as I am." she said.
InuYasha grinned. Kagome smiled, leaning forward, and placing a kiss on his lips before wrapping her arms around his neck. It was her turn to bury her face into his shoulder. Kagome felt so much happier than she has for a while now. Despite the nausea, tiredness, and the fact InuYasha was still hiding something, she felt like she could relax for now. InuYasha wrapped his arms tightly around Kagome,
"I'm sorry I didn't realize it sooner."
"I'll forgive you this once." Kagome replied.
He grinned, "Does that mean we'll be having more than one kid?"
"We'll see." Kagome said with a light blush on her face.
InuYasha pulled Kagome closer to him as he lied on his side on the bed. Kagome smiled when she felt his lips on her forehead.
"You feel warm." he said, placing his hand on her forehead.
Kagome liked the coolness of his hand, "Tired, and a bit nauseous but I think my stomach's empty, so there won't be any more throwing up. I hope. Kita was supposed to tell you to get me something that'd help, but I guess she got distracted."
"Right." he said, knowing the real reason she forgot, but then smiled, "I told you. Attention span of a squirrel."
Kagome laughed.
"You should put something more comfortable on." he said.
Kagome smiled, and nodded. She got up, and went to the closer. Kagome didn't even bother looking through her clothes. She took off the dress she'd worn for her day out with Aina, and slipped on one of InuYasha's shirt. It was loose on her like a gown, and closer enough for her. After shutting the light out, Kagome returned to the bed. She rested her head on InuYasha's chest, and relaxed. InuYasha smiled, and then kissed her cheek.
"You should get some sleep. I promise I'll get something for you tomorrow."
"Okay." Kagome yawned. "I love you, InuYasha."
"I love you too."
InuYasha watched as she fell asleep without any trouble at all. He held her close to him. InuYasha's thoughts wandered back to the problem that was now even bigger than it had been before. Not only was Kikyo pregnant, but so was Kagome. Sure, he expected her to be more than upset when she found out, and twice that when she found out his plan for only the both of them to raise the kid. Now Kagome would have to worry about raising not just their kid, but his and Kikyo's as well. InuYasha sighed heavily.
"What the hell am I supposed to do? What if I tell her and gets more stressed than she already is?" he thought, looking down at her as she slept.
InuYasha brought his hand down, running his fingers through her hair once, and then moving his hand to the side of her stomach. A small smile appeared on her face. InuYasha ran his clawed fingers gently over her stomach. He felt that he could be so much happier, but how could he in this mess?
InuYasha shook his head, "I'll worry about it later. It's not like I'm getting anywhere anyway."
He huffed, and then let himself relax. InuYasha pulled some of the sheets over them, and the rested his head atop Kagome's. She moved closer to him before relaxing into her sleep once again.
Nightfall
InuYasha and Kagome were fast asleep. Well, InuYasha wished he was fast asleep. It's near impossible for demons to sleep completely, and even more so for half demons. Demons like Kita could actually fall into a deep sleep if they wanted to, because if any danger were to come, their instinct would let them know, and they'd wake up. It wasn't so simple for half demons. There are times instincts could fail them, and they could easily be caught off guard. For InuYasha, he just always chose to make sure he never allowed himself to truly fall asleep. Most times, anyway.
On this particular night, he was glad tonight was one of those times.
InuYasha caught a scent that he knew all too well. His eyes snapped open, and he sat up on his elbows. The hotel was dark, and the only sound he could hear was the ticking of the clock, Kagome's breathing, and the few cars driving on the streets outside. There was no one in the room as far as he could tell, but that scent. It was close by. InuYasha moved to sit up, but stopped when he felt Kagome stiffen beside him. She had her head rested on his chest, and her arms wrapped around him loosely. InuYasha gently moved her aside. He let out a heavy breath when she settled into her new position instead of waking up. InuYasha sat up, and carefully got off the bed. He found his shirt, and slipped it over his head. InuYasha didn't bother with shoes.
He walked out of the room, and followed the scent down the hall. It led him to the stairwell that he'd been in earlier. InuYasha was so focused on following the scent that he didn't notice the hand that slipped into the stairwell door to keep it from closing. Instead, he continued to follow the scent up the stairs. The scent stopped at the door leading to the roof. He didn't hesitate to open the door, and walk out. InuYasha looked around, and froze when he saw her. Kikyo. She was standing near the ledge, barefoot, looking down at the streets with no expression on her face. Instead of getting her attention, and immediately demanding why and how she was here, InuYasha's head filled with thoughts of just how beautiful she was. Her long, jet black hair blew in the soft breeze, and the dim lights of the city gave her pale skin a beautiful glow. She wore a beige colored cotton dress that had black polka dots on it. Anyone from any distance could tell that she was pregnant. Kikyo's hand rested lightly on her extended stomach.
InuYasha finally made himself stop gawking, and call out to her, "Kikyo."
She straightened her back immediately upon hearing him. Kikyo turned only slightly. Their eyes met. She smiled,
"I knew you'd come."
"What are you doing?" he asked, his eyes shifted to the edge of the building, and then back to her.
Kikyo stepped away, "Just looking, don't worry."
"Okay, then lets move onto the next question." he said, walking over to her. "How did you find me?"
Kikyo just smiled.
With Kagome
Even though Kagome had been lying in bed since noon, she was still tired, and felt like she couldn't even move when the sound of her phone woke her up. Kagome sighed heavily, and opened her eyes. She was about to ask InuYasha to shut it off only to find his side of the bed empty. Kagome frowned slightly. She sat up, and grabbed her cellphone off the nightstand. Kagome glanced at the caller i.d., and then the time. It was almost four in the morning! She answered,
"Aina, why are you calling so early?"
"I was bored, and I thought you'd be awake." she said simply.
There was something off about her voice. Kagome looked around. Where had InuYasha gone? The bathroom? She looked at the door across the room. Kagome couldn't see any gleam of light from under the door, so he must have left somewhere. She sighed,
"I bet another phone call."
"You there?" Aina asked.
Kagome blinked, "Y-yeah, sorry. I'm still a bit tired."
"Oh, so you were sleeping. I just thought you wouldn't be able to sleep with all that throwing up, but I guess it's the other way around. Pregnant women do get a lot more tired." she said. "I'll leave you alone, then. Sorry."
Kagome frowned again, "It's...okay, I guess. Bye."
She hung up before Aina could say anything else. What was with her? That was a dumb reason to call. She was bored. Regardless of how crappy Kagome felt, it was still four in the morning! Kagome sat her phone back on the nightstand, and then got up. She turned on the lamp, and then went over to the closet. Kagome slipped on a gray long-sleeved shirt, some jeans, and shoes. She walked out of the hotel room, and looked around. Kagome noticed that one of the stairwells were ajar.
"So that's where he's been going to have his conversations." she thought to herself.
Kagome went into the stairwell, but InuYasha wasn't there. She went down the stairs a bit, but that only led to the lobby. He couldn't of gone somewhere, could he?
"The roof is upstairs. Maybe he needed some air." Kagome nodded to herself, and then went back to head up the stairs.
After a couple of minutes, she finally made all the way up the stairs, and smiled when she saw the door. Kagome quietly opened the door, and peeked out. She didn't need to look around. Kagome shrunk back a bit when saw that InuYasha was not alone. There was a woman standing right in front of him. She couldn't see who it was since InuYasha kind of towered over her. Since she couldn't be seen by the woman, the woman facing her direction, Kagome walked out, and then carefully closed the door. InuYasha had sensitive hearing, so he'd probably hear the door click if she closed it. So, she left it open.
Kagome went to stoop behind one of the big ventilators, and watched. Her eyes widened when she saw the person was none other than Kikyo, "What...what is she doing here?"
Kagome's eyes wandered over Kikyo. She looked different. Did she get fat?
"I'm not really sure myself how we found you, InuYasha." Kikyo said with a grin.
InuYasha glared, "I'm tired of your games, Kikyo, and I'm sure you're done losing. You may be pregnant, but that doesn't mean I'll leave Kagome!"
Kagome's blood ran cold. Kikyo's...pregnant.
"Well then, what will you do!? Ignore this child and focus only on hers!? That isn't fair!" she exclaimed. "If that's your plan, do you think I'll let it just happen!?"
Inuyasha didn't say anything. Kikyo blinked at him, and then she seemed to pale slightly.
"Oh. I get it now." she spoke, a smirk forming on her lips. "How stupid do you think I am? Do you really think I'm going to let you just take my baby, and let your bitch mother it?"
"Kikyo, do you think I'm stupid?" InuYasha asked with a dark look on his face. "Your only intention through all of this was to only get me back. To trap me somehow. That kid wasn't mine to begin with, was it?"
Kikyo's smirk widened, "So you finally figured it out. That, or someone spelled it out for you. No, no it wasn't. I had nothing to get you back with, InuYasha. No words, and no weapons, because you kept the target so well protected. This...this thing inside me happened by chance, and that's when I thought. If you found out I was pregnant, and thought that it was yours, I'd have some sort of leash on you. Something that'd tie you to me."
"Then it isn't mine." he retorted.
Kikyo laughed, "Don't get so happy just yet. It wasn't yours at first, no, but now it is. When I bit you, I used my miko powers to take some of your DNA. That DNA immediately became apart of this parasite in me. It's now part mine, part yours, and part another man's. It's beyond a half breed now."
"You bitch!" InuYasha growled. "Regardless of what you wanted, it didn't deserve that! It'll never be normal!"
"Oh no, it'll fit right into our family. As if the rest of the Takahashi's are normal." she said.
The air filled with silence. InuYasha stood before Kikyo with clenched, shaking hands. Kagome was still frozen in her place. She hadn't noticed her eyes had filled with tears until they fell from her eyes, and onto her hands that lay flat on the ground. Kagome angrily wiped them away,
"Why...why did this have to happen?"
Kagome didn't even know why she was crying. Was she sad, because of this secret InuYasha had been keeping from her? Or maybe it was the fact he'd let their relationship progress whilst knowing his ex-mate was pregnant. Kagome felt betrayed. She felt used, even though a large part of her knew that wasn't InuYasha's intentions. Regardless, an even larger part of her was angry. Angry at him. Angry with Kikyo. Angry with herself! She'd known the morning she woke up after they'd mated the previous night. The first time she'd truly been able to look past InuYasha's facade. He'd said that he couldn't tell her yet, because he wanted to enjoy the time they were having then. So all he cared about was his own feelings? For a month, he told her to trust him. Where did he think she'd find trust in situation like this!? Kagome felt a sharp pain shoot through her, and she gasped, grabbing at her stomach. She covered her mouth with her other hand, and leaned away from the edge of the ventilator.
It was still silent. Kagome heard Kikyo give a scoff, and then say,
"You're such a fool, InuYasha. How did you not notice her here before? I do not have the sensitivity of smell like demons, and yet I knew she was here the moment she started up the stairwell."
There was growl, "Because maybe you're the one that planned this!"
There was no point in hiding, but Kagome didn't want to stand. She didn't want to see his face.
"Kagome..."
Kagome clenched at her shirt as she heard him approaching. She breathed, focusing on easing the pain that'd shot through her just a second ago. Momentarily forgetting about InuYasha, she panicked,
"The baby..."
"Kagome."
Kagome looked up. Her eyes met with bright, amber ones. They shone brighter than any light provided for them on the roof. It reminded her of when they were in the kitchen at her parents house. How he looked at her so sincerely when he held out the wine glass to her. Dropping her hand from her stomach, Kagome got up from the ground, but did not break her gaze with him.
"So Kikyo really was what you were hiding all this time, huh?" Kagome asked. "You know, a part of me knew, but I didn't want to believe it. I wanted to believe it was work, Sesshomaru, your father or mother...but it wasn't."
"Kagome, let me explain." InuYasha retorted. "I wanted to tell you, but I didn't know how to explain this. How was I supposed to tell you that Kikyo was pregnant? How was I supposed to ask you to mother a kid that isn't yours? Even more so now that you're pregnant."
"You had a month, InuYasha!" Kagome shrieked in a burst of rage. "In all of those days, neither of us knew that I was pregnant, and you still didn't tell me. You had no excuse, but your own selfishness! And do you really think so low of me that you thought I couldn't take it? I'm not a child, InuYasha!"
"It's not that simple with you!" he shot back angrily. "You overreact to everything. I didn't know what you'd do. Yeah, I am selfish, so what? At least I thought about your feelings in all of this."
"My feelings was the last thing to cross your mind!" Kagome yelled, tears gathering in her eyes. "I have a right to overreact to this. I could have overreacted every time you lied to me, but instead I walked away. I gave you more time than you deserved! When you didn't even bother to acknowledge I was sick, I didn't overreact. When I had to tell you myself that I was pregnant, I let it go!"
InuYasha didn't say anything. In the silence that developed, Kikyo clicked her teeth,
"Well there you have it, InuYasha. One reason you shouldn't have gotten with a worthless human girl that has no experience whatsoever with demons."
"Stay out of this!" InuYasha spat, glaring back at her, and then looking back at his mate.
Kikyo's eyes narrowed, and she sneered.
"Kagome." InuYasha started when he turned back to her. "I'm...I'm sorry. Hurting you wasn't what I wanted. I'm not good at handling crap like this, but I promise you...I can fix this. Just-"
He tried to reach his hand out toward her, but Kagome stepped away. As she looked up at him, the angry expression fell into one of sadness,
"How? How can you fix this? It's...it's not that simple anymore."
"What do you mean? Are you-"
"No, no...I won't leave." Kagome interrupted. "I won't do that to our baby, but I don't know if I'll ever be able to trust you again."
InuYasha went to speak, but they were interrupted by Kikyo.
"I'm afraid you've lost your right to decide in the matter, Kagome."
Kagome looked past InuYasha to see Kikyo now standing right behind him. Her hand had a faint, pink mist about it. Kagome's eyes widened, and she reached forward, grabbing InuYasha's arm,
"InuYasha, move!"
Everything seemed to go in slow motion. InuYasha's head slowly turned back toward Kikyo as her hand went towards his back. Kagome watched as Kikyo's hand connected with InuYasha's back, and a shock with through her. Kagome went flying back. She exclaimed in pain when her back connected with near the door. Kagome caught herself when she fell to the ground, not wanting to fall forward onto her stomach. She quickly pushed herself upright. Everything around her spun, and it took several seconds before her vision settled.
Not far in front of her lied InuYasha on his stomach. Kagome watched as, what appeared to be smoke, left a burn mark on his chest. Her eyes widened.
"Inu...InuYasha?"
He didn't move. Kagome crawled toward him, her voice slowly building to a scream,
"InuYasha! InuYasha, wake up! InuYasha!"
When she finally reached him, Kagome shook him lightly. She could still feel him breathing, but it was haggard and faint. Kagome heard a heavy sigh, and looked up to see Kikyo standing right next to them. She'd been so focused on getting to InuYasha, she hadn't even noticed her. Kagome clenched her hands into fist,
"What did you do!?"
"Oh, relax." Kikyo said with a grin. "Why would I kill the one person I'm doing all of this for?"
"But he's barely breathing! You could have killed him!" Kagome exclaimed.
She rolled her eyes, "I know how to control my powers, he'll be fine. I gave him a bit of a purification shock. Being half demon, it's a lot more fatal, but like I said. I know how to control my powers, and he'll be fine. He has to be, or else I'll truly go mad."
"You've already go past the point of mad, you...you psychopath!" Kagome spat.
Kikyo's face flushed red with rage. Kagome ignored her, and looked down, continuing to shake InuYasha,
"InuYasha, please. You have to wake up!"
She looked at his burn. It looked really bad. Kagome could still seen the the faint pink mist of Kikyo's attack. Hearing a bunch of beeping sounds, Kagome looked up toward Kikyo once again to see her texting away on her phone. What was she doing? It then dawned on Kagome. She remembered what Kikyo had said just a moment ago,
"I'm afraid you've lost your right to decide in the matter, Kagome."
She clenched at InuYasha shirt lightly. What could she do? Kagome didn't want to leave InuYasha here, but she couldn't just let her get away with whatever she was planning. A loud bang made her jump. Kagome looked toward the door that led out to the roof to see a couple of men coming toward them.
"She's all ready to be taken." Kikyo said with a grin.
Kagome's eyes widened, "Taken? Taken where? No! Let go of me!"
"Shut up, and stop struggling!" one of them hissed.
"I said let go of me!" Kagome rammed her elbow back into one of the men's nose, and getting him to loosen his hold.
She managed to get him to release her, and she managed to dodge the other mans outreached arms trying to grab at her. Kagome knew all she had to do was get someone's attention. Anyone. Bankotsu. Miroku. Kita. An employee would even be great right now, but was there even anyone in the lobby at this time? Kagome almost made it to the door, but stopped when noticed someone step into the doorframe. She almost lost her footing, and fell forward. The men finally got to her, and grabbed each of Kagome's arms. She didn't struggle, because she honestly could not believe who stood before her.
"Hiya, Kagome."
Kagome's mouth was suddenly dry, and she could hardly get the name out, "Ai..Aina...what are you..."
Everything that's happened between them in the past month suddenly made so much sense. The fact that every time she was around, she caused some argument between InuYasha and her. Plus, the fact she asked so many questions, and always wanted to know what was going on. The phone call that woke her up, and made her go look for InuYasha. She'd been in on everything this whole time.
"Why?" Kagome asked, unblinking.
Aina gave a shrug, and then walked toward her, pulling a cloth from her back pocket, "I honestly didn't have that much of a choice. They're boss is kind of persuasive, you know? Who would choose to die when all they have to do is give some information? Thinking about it now, I can't believe I didn't just agree to become their allies right off the bat. You think you're so perfect because you have the rich boyfriend, and dramatastic lifestyle. In reality, you're nothing but a homewrecker. Kikyo told me everything. How you stole her husband right from under her. I never thought you were that type of person, but I should have guessed how much you've changed from how much of a bitch you've been lately."
"I don't know what's she'd told-"
"Would you stop this conversation, and just shut her up, already? Or are you going to waste the little time I have left?" Kikyo sneered at Aina as she knelt beside InuYasha, writing on some paper on her knee.
Kagome looked back at Kikyo, "What are you doing?"
"Yeah, my attentions are to get InuYasha back, but to do that, he needs to be manipulated. I think that'll be quite easy when he learns you've been taken. I still plan to kill you, but when he comes and finds you dead, he'll be so empty that he lost his mate; he won't care about anything anymore. He'll agree to be with me."
"If you honestly think he'll fall for that, then you're an even bigger psychopath than I originally thought!" Kagome yelled. "InuYasha will kill you!"
"Will he?" Kikyo asked, running her hand over her stomach, and then grinning at her.
Before Kagome could say anything else, she felt a cloth being shoved into her face. She exclaimed in surprise. Her world immediately began to become spotted with blackness. Just before she passed out, she saw Kikyo slip the paper she'd been writing on into InuYasha's pocket.
Five Hours Later: 9:20AM
"Something...something's cold."
Something cold, and wet was dripping on his back. It hurt. Rain? Hail? What the hell was it, and why did it hurt?
"My eyes...they're so heavy. My body too. Why can't I move?"
Five minutes or so passed, and InuYasha could finally feel the heaviness beginning to lift. He slowly opened his eyes to see he was level with the ground. InuYasha frowned, and pushed himself onto his back. A shock went through him, and he gritted his teeth,
"Damn it.."
InuYasha forced himself up into a sitting position. He reached his arm back to where he felt the burning to feel bare, raw feeling skin.
"What happened?"
InuYasha sat there looking around.
"The roof?"
It soon hit him. InuYasha's eyes widened. Last night. Kikyo, Kagome, and then nothing. Of all that'd happened before he'd blacked out, the only thing to repeat itself in his head was the panicked expression on her face, and now the fact she wasn't anywhere around.
"No." InuYasha growled. "No. Kagome! Kagome, are you up here!?"
The only response he got was a rumble from the sky. He cursed angrily, and then quickly got to his feet. InuYasha ran around the roof, sniffing for Kagome's scent, but the rain was only getting heavier. He couldn't even catch a hint of it. InuYasha looked at the ledge of the building, and felt his heart beginning to pound. He walked all around, studying the ground below to see if Kikyo had...had...
InuYasha couldn't even bring himself to think it. He saw nothing, though, and despite the fact Kagome wasn't within his range, at least he knew she was not dead. Not wanting to waste anymore time, InuYasha ran for the door, and re-entered the hotel. He jumped down all the stairs until he got to the door that led the way into his hall. InuYasha ran to his room, unlocked it, and then went inside. He walked into the room, and felt his heart begin to sink more upon seeing she was not there. InuYasha cursed again, and then left the room. He went across the room to Kita's, and began to bang loudly.
"Kita, open the door! Kita!" he shouted.
After about a minute, the door opened to reveal a very pissed Kita, "What the hell, InuYasha? Why are you banging on the door!?"
"Is Kagome with you? She is, right?" he asked, ignoring her death glares.
The anger fell from her face, and she slowly shook her head, "No...InuYasha. Why are you all wet? What happened?"
InuYasha didn't answer her, he ran down the hall to Miroku, and Sango's room. He banged on their door, calling out their names just as he'd done to Kita's door. When he turned his back to her, Kita saw the hole in his shirt, and his charred skin. She gasped,
"InuYasha!"
Miroku finally opened the door, Sango not far behind him, "InuYasha...what...why are you all wet?"
"Kagome. Is she in your room?" he asked.
Sango frowned, "No, she isn't. Why?"
"Damn it!" he shouted, and then turning, going to Bankotsu's.
Kita followed this time, "InuYasha."
He banged on Bankotsu's door.
"InuYasha." she said again.
The banging got louder.
"INUYASHA! SHE'S NOT IN THERE!" Kita shouted.
The banging stopped. The hallway filled with silence. The fist InuYasha had been banging with tightened, and then lowered to his side.
"It's my fault."
"InuYasha, tell me what happened?" Kita asked, walking up to him.
Bankotsu's door opened. His hair was wild, and glared at InuYasha who he knew to be the one that'd been banging on his door.
"What the heck, InuYasha?" he grumbled, rubbing his face.
Kita looked at Bankotsu, and shook her head. He furrowed his eyes, and then looked back to InuYasha, taking in his appearance. Kita looked back at her brother-in-law,
"InuYasha."
"Kikyo," he started after a short silence, "she found us."
Sango gasped, "What? No...no, wait. She has Kagome?"
InuYasha's eyes fell to the floor, his bangs covering his eyes. The hallway filled with silence again. Kita, Bankotsu, Miroku, and Sango all had looks of disbelief on their face. The assumption of the worst, all clear in their eyes. Bankotsu was the first to snap out of it, though,
"How long ago did this happen? Do you know?"
"It was four in the morning when I found her. I...I don't know what time it was when she knocked me out." InuYasha said slowly. "I should have seen it coming. I should have known. Damn it. Damn it!"
"We need to act quickly here. Kagome...I'm sure she's okay. We...we just need to act quickly. Four o' clock. It's..." Bankotsu looked into his room shortly before looking at all of them. "It's nine, now."
"And now what?" Sango asked when he stopped there. "What does this do for us?"
"Nothing if we don't know who took her." Kita answered. "They could be anywhere with that much time under their belts, but I've got a guess. I've got a pretty god damned good guess as to who brought Kikyo here."
"Who?" Sango, Miroku, and Bankotsu asked.
InuYasha's soft cursing stopped, and he looked up with narrowed eyes. His eyes had reddened, the pupils becoming a dark blue. InuYasha growled,
"Aina."
A/N: Whoa. Just...whoa. I can't believe What Holidays Bring is finally wrapping up. *wipes tears* Are ya'll ready? Are you? I don't think I am. *goes to cry in a corner*
On a funnier note, did you guys see what I did there? With the title of the chapter, I mean. Shocking Encounter. Get it? Poor InuYasha, right? Must've hurt. Huhuhu. *goes into an episode of maniacal laughter*
