Chapter 44: Pursuit
With a cool wall to his back, Inu-Yasha, his mind spinning, crouched with his forehead resting on his crossed arms on top of his knees. He was frowning intensely in the dark, trying to regain some semblance of himself. He knew he was all wrong. He felt lethargic, and sick, and he couldn't focus. He felt like his heart was going to beat straight out of his chest.
x
He and Kagome had been searching through prison cells, checking for Koga. Instead, in one of the last ones in the hall, they had found a corpse. He didn't know who it was, nor how long it had been there, chained to the wall as the body was, but Inu-Yasha couldn't ever remember feeling as terrified as in the moment he had seen it. Something had clicked in his mind, something he had recalled for a second, but was lost just as quickly. It sent his mind reeling and, having problems functioning for a few minutes after, he had simply collapsed in on himself.
x
He scrunched his eyes shut, trying to think, but all his mind could focus on was the intense discomfort and fear he was feeling. It wasn't long, however, before he felt gentle fingers brushing his head. He took a deep breath and he tried to force his focus on them, on the consistent, caring stroking of his head until he managed to wrap his mind around the thought that it was Kagome.
This is the drugs, he thought, It has to be.
The sudden intensity made sense. Hanyous like himself often processed drugs very quickly, but they also wore off very quickly. Whatever was in his system was going for a second round, however, the first being what must have sedated him in the first place. In a way, it was a good sign. It also meant that he had been out for a shorter amount of time than he had initially thought. If he could keep it together, he would probably be stabilizing in just a little while.
x
He took a deep breath, unsure if he could face images yet, and was finally able to focus on the fact that Kagome was talking to him. Her words only came a few seconds later: predictably, she was asking him if he was okay.
"Just give me a second," he mumbled out, finally.
He heard Kagome let out a relieved, but almost frightened laugh, and she said,
"Thank god you're conscious, I was starting to think I would have to carry you."
Inu-Yasha was quiet for a moment and then lifted his head, cringing against the light as he looked into the world again. To his left he saw Kagome, her eyes wide, her face pale. She looked very worried.
"Sorry," he said.
"What was that about?" she demanded.
"Flashbacks. Drugs. I'm okay now," he said.
He tried to stand but stumbled a bit, only to have Kagome grab him tightly and help him to his feet. His ears perked up a bit and he glanced around. Something was missing. Kagome looked at his puzzled expression with a mirrored one, and she said,
"What?"
"The alarms stopped," he commented.
"Yeah, that was three minutes ago," the girl replied, frowning a bit, "You were really that gone?"
Inu-Yasha frowned.
"That's not good," he said.
"Tell me about it!" she replied a bit shrilly, but he shook his head and said,
"Not that, the alarm stopping. That means there is someone around here to turn it off."
"Oh," Kagome said, but then her eyes went wide and she went very, very cold, "Oh, god, no."
"Out of time," he said, "Where do we go?"
Kagome frowned deeply and then said, "hang on just a sec," before darting off down the hall. Inu-Yasha heard several doors slam over the course of about thirty seconds until Kagome returned, shaking her head.
"Koga's not here," she asserted, and then grabbed Inu-Yasha's hand in her human one, saying, "Follow me," as she began to lead him down the hallway.
"You know the way?" he asked.
"Sort of," she said, "I have a map in my mind."
"What does that-?"
"Literally. I possessed a computer."
"Holy shit."
He looked at her with wide eyes and she gave him a shy smirk as she pulled him along down the hall.
x
Drawing closer to the entrance to the cellblock, Inu-Yasha skidded to a halt in front of the metal bars, his eyes fixed on the barrier, his ears pressing forward. He could hear boots, and mumbling, and the hiss of heat on metal.
"Can't go this way!" he asserted.
"What-?" Kagome began, only to hear the strange hissing noise as well, "Oh, shit, is someone cutting in?"
"Yep, sounds like about two-dozen someones, actually," the hanyou replied a bit urgently as he turned and began to drag Kagome back down the hall hurriedly.
"Wait, this way just goes farther into the building," Kagome said.
Again, Inu-Yasha abruptly stopped moving, this time causing the girl to stumble just a little.
"So which way?" he demanded.
Kagome held up one finger as if telling him to wait, so he went quiet, his ears drooping as he looked at her worriedly. She closed her eyes tightly, trying to keep her mental map solid in her mind. She tried not to panic as she realized that it was getting harder to do so now. She released Inu-Yasha and plopped to the floor, scrunching up her face and putting her hands on her head as if to somehow focus her concentration.
x
In her mind's eye, she saw that one of cells that had been empty actually had a door leading to another hallway through the other side of it. Kagome felt a bout of relief and tried to follow the path on the map, seeing that it was indeed closer to an exterior wall, at least, before she was jerked from her thoughts as Inu-Yasha yanked her to her feet.
x
The boy's eyes were wide and his ears were perked almost straight up.
"They've cut through," he told her swiftly, "Where to?"
Kagome gulped, but then grasped his hand tightly and ran back towards the end of the hallway. As they reached the other barrier, though, they were stunned to see the flame of what appeared be a blowtorch cutting through the metal. Kagome held in a shriek and then dragged Inu-Yasha through a door on their right.
"Another cell?" he asked.
Kagome nodded and closed the door tightly, waiting for a click before turning and rushing towards the door at the other end. Inu-Yasha looked at her questioningly, but she swiftly said,
"It's not a dead end, don't worry."
Despite her panic, however, Kagome opened the door very, very slowly, peeking out into the hallway. She could see nothing suspicious, and then beckoned Inu-Yasha towards her, pointing to the hallway. He caught her meaning after a moment and he edged in and leaned his ear towards the open space. He could hear something, it was far, though, and he couldn't make out what it was. He could also hear what he assumed were the soldiers, but they would be on the other side of the wall, and a strange rumbling in the vents above.
x
He quickly took Kagome's human hand in his and together they hurried from the room.
"Left," Kagome decided, and with a nod, Inu-Yasha whisked her into his arms and raced down the hall.
Her heart beating heavily in her ears, Kagome clutched to the boy as he sped down the hall at a speed that didn't seem possible.
x
After what felt like just a few seconds, though, a blast of energy knocked the wind out of Kagome and Inu-Yasha stalled completely in his tracks as if completely frozen. As the girl gasped, Inu-Yasha quickly put her on the ground, but continued to hold her close. They stood now maybe twenty meters from a 90-degree corner of two hallways intersecting, though neither felt like they could move any closer to it. A rank and stinging energy seemed to assault them, and Inu-Yasha had to physically take a step back.
"What...? What is that?" Kagome whispered, a little short of breath, "You feel that, right?"
She looked to Inu-Yasha, whose eyes narrowed, and his face donned a very serious expression as his eyebrows bent into a deep frown.
"Yeah," he answered briskly, "It's a youkai."
"A youkai?" Kagome repeated, confused, "Isn't that good? Shouldn't we be trying to help each other?"
The hanyou shook his head and drew back a little farther. He had never come into contact with something that felt so evil before. As it drew closer, it merely got stronger, and though Inu-Yasha's first instinct was to run, he stood fast. Something like this might be feral, and if that was the case, movement would simply cause it to charge.
x
Very suddenly, all noise ceased. Inu-Yasha could no longer pick up the sound of the soldiers, nor the vents; even the buzzing of the lights above seemed muted as another wave of energy seeped like a fog from the hallway before them. It was a strange sense, one that neither Kagome nor Inu-Yasha had encountered before. It was twisted personified: wrong in every sense. The creature that bore it should not have existed. The two teenagers cast cautious glances at each other. Inu-Yasha bared his fangs a little and pointedly stood a little ahead of Kagome, positioning himself so he could easily defend her. Kagome gulped, blinking against a bead of cold sweat that flicked down her brow.
x
The silence was broken by a strange clicking against the tiled floors, like the sound one might hear from the toenails of a large dog pacing a kitchen floor in anticipation of a meal. Inu-Yasha's muscles tensed and Kagome grasped his torn t-shirt nervously. The clicking was rhythmic, echoing, increasing in volume each time it was heard. When the creature attached to the sound rounded the corner with slow, deliberate steps, Inu-Yasha took a step back, showing even more fang, his ears pressing back; his expression one of aggression mixed with fright.
x
The beast that approached easily surpassed seven feet in height and was broadly muscled. The creature was garbed across its chest and legs with a thick silver and blue armour that shone with a startlingly sterile sheen under the florissant lights. It was slick and pure black in colour, a darkness seeming to creep like a living smoke under its skin. It had a face with a long, narrow snout that was seemingly canine and huge, thin pointed ears that were reminiscent of horns crowning its head. It stared back at them, long tail thrashing, with eyes that glowed an unnerving, bright blue, blank and thoughtless, and as its jaws parted, shining white teeth glimmered starkly against the black of its pelt.
x
A sense of terror struck Kagome. Before her, Inu-Yasha drew back, snarling, though, to her horror, his movement seemed to trigger the monster down the hall. With an unearthly wail, the black beast hurtled itself at Inu-Yasha at speeds too fast for the human eye to discern. In an instant, Inu-Yasha tossed a shocked Kagome aside and attempted to block the creature with his body. He spun, catching it across the chest and throwing it backwards, but he felt claws rip into his arm and he too was knocked back. He braced his feet against the tile floor to steady himself and the creature opposite him jabbed its bloody nails into the floor as it skid, easily ripping deep gouges into the concrete. Inu-Yasha frowned. The armour had effectively nullified any direct damage. He snorted and he looked to Kagome, who was just now starting to right herself, and then lunged again.
x
Kagome's mind felt numb. She had just seen a violent exchange between the two demons occur in a matter of seconds. The two now leapt at each other, a blur to her vision as they ricocheted off each other. Kagome shakily stood and covered her ears, their fight sounding almost like some sort of explosion. She stumbled away from them, trying to keep herself out of the way, though behind her, the wall suddenly was broken through as one of the combatants was hurled violently through. Dust and shards of concrete whirled in the air as Kagome spun in shock to see, to her horror, Inu-Yasha emerge, panting, from the hole, his entire left arm coated in blood and a thin stream trickling down the right side of his face.
"Inu-Yasha!" she yelped in terror, only to be knocked down the hallway too suddenly for her to realize what had happened.
She slid on her side down the floor until she bumped into the opposite wall and looked up to see the black demon up against Inu-Yasha, who held it back by its wrists with difficulty as they snarled at each other with intense rage. Kagome was still terrified, frozen, as Inu-Yasha raised his knee and was able to throw the demon through the opposite wall with deafening crash, sending debris into the air once more.
"KAGOME, RUN!" He roared, only to have the black beast launch itself directly at his throat, knocking him to the floor, its claws plunging into his shoulders as its fangs tried vainly to lock around his neck.
x
Kagome shrieked and tried to force herself to her feet, only to see Inu-Yasha lash out and punch the creature so hard in the face that she heard a crack and saw it fly back into the wall. The hanyou scrambled to get up, panting, and his eyes darted to Kagome for a second with an expression of such utter ferocity that it gave Kagome pause.
x
Within seconds, the other demon was on its feet, obviously tired, but snarling nonetheless as blood dribbled through its fangs, its ears back, shoulders hunched; tail thrashing violently. Inu-Yasha's ears went back as well, and even though he heart was beating so hard he almost feared that it would break his ribs, he squared his shoulders and kept his eyes level with his enemy's. It was getting hard to focus again as a sort of slow grogginess entered his mind, but he kept himself steady and scowling to the best of his abilities. He couldn't falter: to do so could be his death, or the death of Kagome, and he simply couldn't allow that to happen.
x
The demon moved and Inu-Yasha moved with it, trying very consciously to keep his body between this monster and the girl behind him. It snarled violently and Inu-Yasha braced his feet on the tiles beneath him. The creature lunged again and plowed into Inu-Yasha with a roar, trying to get a clawhold, but despite the pain, Inu-Yasha forced energy into his claws and struck out towards the chest. He felt the metal tear and the renewed scent of blood told him he was at least partially successful, but within seconds, the creature's aura swelled and it let out an overwhelming pulse of energy.
x
To Inu-Yasha's horror, he found himself thrown back into the wall, slamming through back-first again, his head connecting painfully with the concrete as he landed heavily on the ground. Dazed, he scrambled to right himself, only to see the beast headed straight for Kagome.
x
Kagome was frozen on her feet. The monster before her inclined its head one way, and then the other, very sharply as it took two long strides towards her, its jaws parting to reveal its bloody fangs. She gulped. Inu-Yasha wasn't fast enough. It wasn't possible. She thought she heard him tell her not to move. It didn't matter; it was too late. Just a slight step back sent the monster before her charging with an earsplitting shriek. Kagome cried out, stumbling backwards, holding her hands out before her weakly as if hoping somehow to hold back the onslaught. She closed her eyes.
x
The girl felt one claw graze her cheek, and the reaction was instant. What felt like a sudden heat from deep inside her burst forth, and Kagome felt an immediate rush of energy spread from her hands outwards. She opened her eyes only to have to close them again against a painful blue light that shot from her hands and exploded outward with such force that she was flung back into the wall. She grunted and blinked ahead only to see Inu-Yasha, gawking, as the monstrous youkai stumbled back, looking, strangely, completely stunned. He raised one hand hesitantly to round hole that had been blasted through his armor and seared his torso. In an instant, Inu-Yasha was by Kagome's side, cradling her in his arms protectively. The demon before them raised his eyes from his wound to look at them with surprise. It was then that the ceiling caved in.
x
Inu-Yasha let out a shocked "Oh shit!" as Kagome screamed again and he ducked down with her, shielding her with his body as huge chunks of metal, concrete and rubble crashed down on the youkai, blocking most of the hallway with a deafening crash. Kagome coughed through the dust and debris, and Inu-Yasha softly told her, "Just relax; breathe slowly," through the rumbling. She nodded against him, keeping her eyes shut tightly. Carefully looking up and behind them over his shoulder, Inu-Yasha froze with surprise, and got to his feet, pulling the dazed Kagome with him.
"Koga?" he demanded.
x
Before them, indeed, stood Koga, dusty, bruised; newly shortened hair a complete mess as he panted and heaved himself out of a shallow pile of debris and clutched his leg with an, "ow, ow, ow!" Kagome and Inu-Yasha starred at him in a stunned silence for just a moment until, slowly, a wide grin spread over Kagome's face.
"Koga!" she squealed, absolutely elated, and she broke away from Inu-Yasha to throw her arms around the youkai's neck.
He yelped and stumbled, but then gave her a tight hug in return, his eyes wide, and he looked to Inu-Yasha as well.
"I'm so glad I found you guys!" he said.
Kagome let out a relieved laugh as Inu-Yasha approached and couldn't help a tired grin, slapping Koga on the shoulder as the girl drew back.
"Way to break the fucking building," he said approvingly, "Did you get out, or-?"
"No, they shot me at the house and I got away then, and then tracked you guys," he said, "I'm... shit-"
He grabbed Kagome in a quick hug again and then spread his arms towards Inu-Yasha.
"I'm going to hug you," he announced.
"Oh, no, that's okay," the hanyou replied, taking a step back.
"No, seriously dude, I'm going to hug you," he insisted.
"No," Inu-Yasha mumbled, but didn't get far as Koga gave him a quick hug as well.
The hanyou stood awkwardly still as, unbeknownst to him, Kagome smiled at him fondly, and Koga soon backed away, saying,
"I'm so glad you're both okay. I mean... no offence, Inu-Yasha, you kind of look like shit, though."
"Tell me about it," he agreed.
"And Kagome," Koga said, "Your arm, is it okay?"
"Oh, this?" Kagome said, but when he raised her right arm to display it, she cried out in surprise to see that it was no longer the massive dragon hand.
It had returned to normal, though there was some bruising and wavy purple scarring, very similar to stretch-marks, on her skin.
"What the-?" she began.
"Spiritual blast?" Inu-Yasha volunteered.
"Damn," she said, seeming to agree somewhat; wiggling her fingers before she looked back to Koga, "It's... fine. Yeah."
"Good," he said, but as the girl looked at him questioningly, he said, "Long story, but I sort of saw it on security footage. Now let's get out of here."
He pointed down the hallway, but his head jerked back to the rubble, as did Inu-Yasha's as they both began to hear the sounds of many boots rushing towards them from the other side.
"Hurry," Inu-Yasha said.
He grasped Kagome's hand tightly and began to rush her away, with Koga close at their heels.
x
"Which way, Kagome?" Inu-Yasha asked hurriedly.
Kagome had to take a moment to concentrate, all but letting Inu-Yasha drag her down the hall. She bit her lip. The map was fading more and more, but she saw a fork to the left in the hall ahead, but the most logical path was straight passed it, down the hallway. Before she could warn the others of this, however, a man, garbed in blue and black, with a visored helmet covering his head, turned the corner, toting a gun; undoubtedly followed by more. Almost instantly, she found herself stumbling into the pathway to the left, pulled by Koga as Inu-Yasha stood before the now unseen foe, his hand extended in their direction as if he had directed them there.
x
Kagome didn't even have time to call out to him before there was a bang and his body quaked with a bullet's impact. Immediately, his claws were in his blood and he had shot both forwards and upwards as he drew back, breaking the thick concrete ceiling and walls around him in a massive explosion of debris. that muffled more gunshots. Again, Kagome was thrown to the ground; this time Koga huddled over her, shielding her.
"Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit," Koga mumbled hurriedly as he scrunched his eyes shut.
Kagome couldn't even put her terror into words. Shaking, she grabbed Koga's shoulder and pushed him away, stumbling to her feet amongst the massive wreckage of metal piping and huge, thick slabs of concrete from the ceiling and walls. It almost completely sealed off the hallway, but Inu-Yasha was nowhere to be seen.
"Oh god," she gasped, "Inu-Yasha?"
Her eyes wide, her heart sinking, she rushed to the debris and vainly pawed at the crumbling pieces. Koga gawked at her as tears began to dribble down her cheeks through the dirt on her face.
"Inu-Yasha?" she demanded loudly; shrilly.
As the lights above began to flicker just a little, Koga forced himself to his feet and hurried to her side. Before he could move any of the debris, however, he and Kagome both jumped back in shock to see a clawed hand burst through a small gap on their right.
"Inu-Yasha?"
Kagome grabbed the hand and she heard a muffled, "Yeah."
"Are you okay?" Koga demanded.
"Almost," Inu-Yasha replied, "Kags, you're gonna have to let go."
"Oh. Oh okay, right," she said hurriedly.
She released his hand as if it were on fire and he dug his claws into the ground and began to pull himself free. Koga rushed to him and lifted some of the weight off above him, and soon enough the hanyou plopped, bleeding and dishevelled; covered in dust, to the floor, panting.
"Shit, that was a bad idea," he muttered.
He tried to get up, but was unable to at all, slumping back to the ground with a growl. Kagome's mouth dropped open, unsure of what to say at all, terrified, relieved; worried beyond reason. Her hands carefully reached out to what she recognized all too easily as bullet wounds.
"How many?" she whispered.
"Too many," he joked, and his eyelids fluttered a bit, "I think I got tranqued."
Koga dropped to his knees and Kagome felt tears begin anew.
"What do we do?" she asked.
"Don't cry, for one," he replied weakly, smiling a bit.
"Inu-Yasha, this is now time for jokes!" she urged, "How could-? How could you do that, you idiot! I thought you were dead!"
She felt her chest tighten and the boy looked up at her sympathetically.
"Not a chance," he replied.
"And if... if that pile of crap didn't kill you, then I bet that demon that was chasing you guys won't be dead either," Koga added worriedly.
"Shit," Kagome whined, covering her head, "What do we do?"
Inu-Yasha was about to answer, but he and the other all stalled as they heard voiced of men shouting, and a sort of scraping on the other side of the rubble.
x
Kagome's eyes went wide and Koga jumped to his feet defensively.
"Oh god, oh god," Kagome said in a slurred and hurried way, her eyes wide with panic.
She tried to lift Inu-Yasha behind his shoulders, though he coughed a little and blood dribbled from his mouth.
"Oh, oh god," Kagome whispered.
"Gross," the hanyou commented quietly, and then he looked at Kagome very certainly, steadily.
She felt totally locked in his gaze; he seemed much clearer now, much more like himself despite everything.
"Stab me," Inu-Yasha croaked, "One of you needs to stab me."
"What?" Kagome snapped.
"Now. Do it now," the boy said, though his voice was weakening, "I need... I need a very sudden, very dangerous wound."
He raised an arm to point, his hand dripping with blood, to a metal pole in the dusty wreckage.
"You have to," he said.
Kagome froze, whispering, "I can't", but Koga immediately yanked the pole from the concrete and approached the bleeding hanyou.
"Where?" he asked, though his voice was shaking a little.
Inu-Yasha pointed weakly towards his stomach.
"Inu-Yasha, no!" Kagome said in a very shrill way.
"Full youkai," he panted, "Trust me."
The girl looked to Koga desperately and he looked back with an equal amount of fear, but he nodded. Kagome turned back to the bleeding boy on the floor, winced and grabbed his hand tightly. Koga gulped and hurried in front Inu-Yasha, cringing to the sound of banging on the rubble. He raised the pole and, with a hurried whisper of "sorry", plunged the metal through his friend's middle. Kagome had to look away to avoid screaming and Koga took a step backwards, shocked at what he had done as the hanyou let out a choking sound, quickly followed by a renewed stream of blood dribbling from the corner of his mouth.
x
Inu-Yasha however, despite an immense amount of discomfort and a sort of cold sensation of the metal through his body, smiled just a little. He felt his mind wake up in an instant as if he had been splashed with ice-water. It felt wonderful; like a blanket of smog had been lifted from his thoughts. He felt his blood begin to rush like fire in his veins; he never expected to so enjoy this sensation. He gave the distressed Kagome's hand a reassuring squeeze as he felt the fangs in his mouth starting to grow. Taking a deep breath, Inu-Yasha pushed himself to his feet, much to the shock of his friends, especially because the pole he had been gored with was now protruding from his back. He felt a sort of burning sensation and a sort of pulsing in his muscles, and Inu-Yasha felt quite a bit better. He saw Koga before him, covering his mouth with his hands and his eyes wide with horror. He grasped the pole that went through his body and, grinning, pulled it through himself and dropped the bloodied thing to the floor, while turning to Kagome, who looked like she was going to faint, and giving her a thumbs-up.
"It's okay," he he assured them in a voice much gruffer than his usual.
Immediately, Kagome leapt to her feet and hugged him around his neck, letting out a pained whimper. He hugged her in return, and nuzzled against her head.
"It's okay," he repeated softly.
She sniffled, nodded and pulled back, looking into his red eyes with her own beginning to water, and then darted forward, grasping his face in her hands and kissed him in a very panicked sort of way. Inu-Yasha was shocked at this, but he kissed her back very gently. When she pulled back again, still weepy-eyed, and before Inu-Yasha could say a word, Koga approached and hugged both of them tightly.
"Oh my god you guys," he panted.
Kagome couldn't help a weak, warbled laugh and Inu-Yasha bared his fangs in a wide grin before breaking away, his bristling ears perked and his intense crimson glare fixed on the rubble where the armed guards were starting to break through.
"Start to run," he ordered.
"What?" Kagome replied, shocked.
"I'll catch up, don't worry," he assured them.
Kagome was about to protest when Koga grabbed her hands and, looking seriously into her face, said,
"He's right."
"But-!"
"The stabbing worked, Kags," the hanyou interjected, "Please. Trust me. I wasn't at 100% before. I'm way beyond that now."
He winked at her. Kagome bit her lip and then looked between the two boys, but then nodded. Inu-Yasha grinned widely, and then Koga took her and hurried away down the hall with her.
x
He watched them go with a sort of sense of relief, knowing that he could protect them for now. He didn't know how long the full-demon rush would last, but he felt very, very confident for the moment. He narrowed his eyes as he saw the concrete cracking and his ears flattened against his head to the sounds of men shouting orders towards one another. Baring his fangs in a snarl almost involuntarily, Inu-Yasha put both hands to the wound in his torso and soaked his fingers in his own blood. As he saw an opening starting to form, he could see the movement of men swarming behind the barrier. He inclined his head, his eyes narrowing as he saw a human's eyes come up to the hole. The man shouted. Inu-Yasha flung his arm forward, the red on his nails glowing so brightly as to light up the hallway with the colour of blood.
oOoOoOoO
Taking one of Kagome's hands in his and putting his other arm around her shoulders as if to keep her close and shield her, Koga stayed by Kagome's side, terrified, but determined to stay quiet about it and keep her safe. She unconsciously squeezed his hand very tightly, and he cast a wide-eyed glance behind the as they ran. A sudden rumble and crash caused Kagome to stall, stumble and drop to her knees. With an involuntary gasp, Koga nearly tripped over his own feet and he hurriedly helped her up, but before they could continue, the wall behind them crashed outwards in a cloud of dust and debris. Almost immediately, Koga grabbed Kagome and raced down the hall at a supernatural speed and pressed them into the corner of the hallway, shielding her with his body. She let out a quiet whine and covered her ears.
x
As the dust cleared just a little. Koga pulled back and looked to Kagome with an expression that asked her if she was okay, she responded with a nod and he grabbed her hands again and pulled her up, but his eyes darted to the blood on her shirt. Before he could say anything, she quickly answered,
"It's not mine."
With a curt nod, he kept her close and, just as another wall exploded out at the end of the hall way, hurried her away. They raced around the corner and down the hall as walls shattered and collapsed behind them with a terrifying level of noise. Lights began to flicker above then and they clutched to each other and Koga sped them up, but didn't risk lifting the girl incase she were to be hurt by debris. As they rushed around one more corner, they were forced to stall as the way to go ended very abruptly.
"Oh god," Kagome gasped, her heart pounding.
Very suddenly, the lights went out completely, and Kagome let out a yelp, blinded. Koga grabbed her close again, squinting through the dark, and as the collapsing walls followed them, the wolf pulled her towards a closed door against the left wall. He rammed his shoulder against it and it folded easily under his strength. They rushed inside as rubble followed them and in their hurry, Kagome tumbled to the floor, taking Koga with her. At their heels, an explosion that made their ears ring sent debris rattling off the walls and the wolf gasped and threw his body over Kagome's, taking the brunt of the force to his back with a grunt.
x
Things became very quiet very fast, and Kagome hugged the boy on top of her tightly, her body shuddering with fear.
"Shit," she breathed.
The crackling of metal flakes and tile broke the silence and then there was no more. Cautiously. Koga sat back up, unwittingly bringing the clingy girl up with him. They were silent with unease for a few moments until Kagome asked,
"You okay?"
"Yeah," he replied at a whisper.
Unsure of what to do now, Kagome was about to get to her feet when a figure in the doorway startled her still.
x
Bright red eyes stared out as the only features of a black figure that she could discern, with the vague outline of the body of a man. She almost didn't recognize him until she saw what at first appeared to be short horns on the top of his head until one of them flicked back and forth.
x
Stumbling to her feet, Kagome let out a shocked, "Inu-Yasha!" before she rushed to him and put her arms around his chest. He snorted out an affectionate laugh and said,
"Sorry guys, I might have gone a little overboard."
"Urg, you think?" Koga asked sarcastically as he stood, but then inclined his head, "You okay?"
"Yeah," he replied.
He put an arm around Kagome's shoulders and bend forward to nuzzle the top of her head, eliciting a small giggle.
"You both all right?" he asked.
"Yeah," Kagome replied, and Koga nodded as well, though the girl continued to say, "But I can barely see at all."
"Keep close to one of us, then," Inu-Yasha said.
"Inu-Yasha's eyes should be easy to see," Koga said.
"Exactly," the hanyou agreed, and then cast his gaze around the room.
It seemed to be some sort of laboratory, but it was rather bare.
"We need to get out of here," he said.
"Absolutely," Kagome agreed with a sort of tired laugh.
He took Kagome by the hand and lead her back to Koga and left her to head to the wall, leaning up against it and pressing his head close to listen through the concrete and metal. He winced at the tag in his ear clinked against the surface, but his ears abruptly perked up to the vague sounds of the forest out beyond the wall.
"Here," he said.
He knocked on the wall with his knuckles. Kagome felt a jolt of relief, and Koga grinned and took her towards the wall.
"Great," Kagome said.
"We have to be careful, though," Koga said, "Barbed wire and cameras all along the walls out there, and guards too."
Inu-Yasha frowned, considering the options, but he twitched as his ears immediately trained on a crunch and an approaching sound of boots.
"No time for that now!" he said, "Stand back."
Koga stepped back, taking Kagome with him and Inu-Yasha ran his nails through the blood on his torso and put his hand to the wall. The sanguine colour radiated from his claws, lighting up the room around them. Very quickly, he fired off an explosive blast of energy, blowing a great hole in the wall before him with a noise like thunder. Kagome covered her ears and winced, but as she opened her eyes, she found she could see just a little better than not at all. The hole, a few feet off the ground, large, and blasted through a wall almost two feet thick, looked out into a forest beyond a chain fence, letting in a sliver of light from the moon above. Despite the wailing alarms, Kagome drew in a relieved breath of fresh air, feeling Koga relax a little bit against her, and Inu-Yasha began to beam, but his face grew very serious as the footsteps began to get louder. Even Kagome turned to look in the direction of the noise, her eyes widening with a combination of surprise and fear.
"Come on, let's go," Inu-Yasha insisted, trying not to let his urgency show.
He backed away from the hole and lead Kagome to it.
"Wait," she said, "Koga first. I don't want to be out there alone."
She pointed to herself.
"Only human."
"She's right," Koga said.
Inu-Yasha stepped back and Koga hopped up to the hole and scooted out into the night.
x
On the other side of the wall, Koga stumbled into dirt and concrete debris and looked up, seeing a blanket of dark clouds seeping towards the building very quickly; he could scent the impending rain quite clearly. Hurriedly, he reached back through the hole.
"Come on!" he urged.
Within seconds, Inu-Yasha lifted Kagome through the hole and Koga took her hands tightly. She edged carefully around spikes of debris and Koga lifted her down on the other side, saying "Watch your feet," just as the first raindrops began to fall, large and cold on their heads. Behind her, the rush of boots met her ears and she turned swiftly, unable to revel in the freedom for even an instant as she saw a stream of security soldiers flood in behind Inu-Yasha. She let out an involuntary shriek only to be blown back on top of Koga as another explosion of blood shattered the inside of the room.
x
Before she knew it, she was slung across Inu-Yasha's back, held with one arm as his other dragged a befuddled and terrified Koga. They were already in the trees. Kagome couldn't even remember going over the fence. Several loud pops went off behind them and the girl found herself swiftly delivered to Koga, regaining his feet. The rain was getting heavy now; thick, the ground was like a stew of mud, twigs and blood. Above the rain she heard Inu-Yasha make some noise; maybe it was a word, maybe a roar, she wasn't sure, but Koga took her into his arms and began to run at a speed that made her ears pop.
"Wait, wait!" she yelled above the rain, "What about Inu-Yasha?"
"Don't worry, he's right behind!" Koga replied.
Her heart pounding, she gripped to Koga and was forced to close her eyes against the rain.
x
Inu-Yasha kept his pace just a little slower than his friends ahead, just in case their pursuers were gaining. Through the rain it was hard to tell but all his senses telling him to keep going were good enough for him. A sort of painful itchiness in his back was starting to get to him, though. He scanned around through the rain and the forest, trying to figure out a path.
"Koga, which direction did you get here from?" he shouted.
"I can't-! Um, downhill?" he replied a bit confusedly.
Close enough, Inu-Yasha thought, and he called back,
"Head downhill, then!"
Koga veered but had to slow, hardly able to keep his footing.
"Kagome, you're going to have to run with me," he said, "If I fall here, I'll just land on you and that would not be good."
"Okay," she replied a bit hoarsely.
Inu-Yasha smiled a little as he saw Koga let her down and they began to make their way on foot. He felt like this was a good way to go. After just a little ways, though, he felt a sort of lethargy that made him suddenly very uncomfortable. Before he could even voice a concern, Inu-Yasha found himself on the ground in the cold, wet mud as one of his legs went completely numb.
x
The sound of his body hitting the ground was quite loud and Kagome turned immediately to see him collapsed on his side, trying vainly to get an arm under himself. Shouting his name, she rushed back to him and dropped to her knees in the muck and got her arms under his to lift him.
"Ah shit," he grumbled.
"You okay?" she demanded as Koga awkwardly doubled back.
"Guys?" he asked a bit shrilly.
"I think my legs are fucked," Inu-Yasha replied.
Kagome looked terrified and she felt her face begin to heat up with tears despite the rain.
"How bad?"
He was about to answer, but failed to do so as a very intense ringing began in his ears, distracting him. He raised one hand up a bit and Kagome watched him with concern and asked, "What's wrong?" cautiously. As Koga circled them, frowning, Inu-Yasha managed to reach his ear and the metal tag in it, grasped it in his nails and ripped it from himself. Kagome cried out in shock, as did Koga. There was a lot of blood immediately and Kagome whimpered and tentatively covered his ear with one hand as he casually tossed the metal tag away.
"What the hell are you thinking?" she demanded, trying not to look as his blood dripped through her fingers.
"Sorry. It was buzzing," he said, his voice a little downtrodden, "Okay. Let's go."
He tried to stand but merely flopped back down against Kagome.
"You're nuts, you're just nuts," she whispered.
He smiled just a little, unaware that Koga was zeroing in on his back.
"I think this is the problem," the wolf said.
Inu-Yasha felt a dull prick, like the poke of a tree's needle in his back and Koga reached around them to show a red dart.
"Wh-what?" Kagome stammered.
"There's like twelve of them," Koga replied, troubled.
Brushing his soaked hair out of his eyes, he carefully pulled the things from his friend's back.
"Tranq darts," Inu-Yasha grumbled, "Shit, I didn't even notice."
"Full youkai helping out?" Kagome asked.
"Probably."
He nodded and feebly pulled her hand away from his bleeding ear and held it palm up in the rain. The cold water had the deep red on her skin pale and flow away in drops down into the mud below her. She winced; he was still bleeding.
"It's torn. You... you tore the side open," she said softly.
"It'll heal, don't worry," he assured her.
"You still shouldn't be so rough on yourself. You've been gored, shot, drugged, your ear is..."
Kagome choked a little despite herself, tears coming to her eyes again as her throat tightened. Inu-Yasha sighed a little and pulled her hand in close again and then gently bumped his nose against hers.
"Come on, we need you strong, Kagome," he told her.
She grimaced and nodded, and Koga pulled the last dart from Inu-Yasha's back.
"Let's get going," he said.
He scooted over and put Inu-Yasha's arm around his shoulders to lift him. They stumbled a little on the slippery terrain, and Kagome hopped to her feet and took the hanyou's other side.
oOoOoOoO
It felt like hours, trying to be careful, but hurrying down the sludgy hillside as Kagome and Koga hauled an increasingly less conscious Inu-Yasha through the mud. Koga constantly checked behind them, absolutely paranoid about being followed, while Kagome was so worried she was feeling completely sick.
x
The approaching sight of the highway, empty and totally black with rain, was one of the most welcoming things either of them had seen in a long while. Hurriedly making it to the edge of the road, Kagome signalled that she had to sit and the three slumped to the ground, exhausted and sopping. Koga breathed heavily while Kagome held Inu-Yasha to her body. The wet on him felt warm, as opposed to the cold rain, and she cringed; she knew it was blood.
"Inu-Yasha, are you awake?" she asked.
He mumbled out a quiet, "yeah", as a reply, and tried to lift his head. It only partially worked and he slumped almost immediately again.
"Sorry guys," he said.
It was difficult to express how upset he was with himself. The feeling of helplessness was worrying, and infuriating. He loathed it.
"How long do you think you can stay with us?" Koga asked, brushing his wet bangs from his eyes.
"The drugs are... just... they're rushing me," he explained, though he couldn't raise his voice above a whisper, "It's... temporary. I metabolize it fast, it just means... with enough, I'm out fast, but I'll be... back..."
He tried to finish his sentence but his heart jerked to feel that he couldn't. A wave of panic hit him and his vision went dark for a second before fading back in, fuzzy as it was.
"Yasha?" Kagome asked quietly.
He couldn't answer. He simply couldn't. He cringed, his ears drooped flat against his head.
Sorry, he thought.
"I think we lost him," Koga sighed, and then looked to Kagome, concerned, "Ready to keep going?"
"Yeah," she said, sniffling, "Which way though?"
"Follow the highway, downhill," he suggested, "Maybe there's a town? Something?"
Kagome wiped her eyes and nodded, and the two worked together to heave Inu-Yasha back up again.
oOoOoOoO
A slow mile or two along the vacant highway soon lead the bedraggled group to what seemed to be a tiny grouping of houses and stores across a bridge over a small river, with a dimly illuminated, battered sign in the distance that said "Hayakawa", followed by some words that were completely illegible. Kagome was too tired to be as elated as her mind told her she was. Through the storm, Koga spied a motel sign off in the distance, so that's where they headed.
x
Upon arriving, the found it was a small, dingy building with a line of rooms and a head office that looked more like a ramshackle house than anything else. Not wasting any time, they hurried to the door. Kagome broke away from the boys, leaving Koga to support the unconscious hanyou as Kagome pounded on the door with her fist.
"Hey! Hello? Is anyone here, this is an emergency!" she called.
"There's someone inside," Koga affirmed.
Kagome frowned and hit the door harder.
"Please!" she called.
Behind her, Koga's eyes brightened.
"Someone's coming," he told her.
Kagome gulped and took a step back and waited. She heard the door lock click. After a moment of silence, the door opened just a crack.
x
"Do you have any idea what time it is?"
The voice was male, tired, crackly with age, and they saw an elderly man squinting back at them through the rain. After just a moment, though, his eyes went wide and he opened the door more. One look at the bleeding, soaked, and muddy teenagers made his face go pale.
"Please," Kagome said, "We... We need a room. Just for the night."
"We can pay," Koga added.
The man was silent for a moment, eyeing the three of them up and down. His eyes then came to rest on Inu-Yasha. A gnarled finger raised to point at him.
"...Youkai?" he whispered.
Kagome stalled and Koga froze, and then looked at her with worry. Kagome took a deep breath.
"Yes. He's badly wounded; we need help," she said.
The man's gaze flitted to her, and then back to Inu-Yasha.
"They're real?" he asked.
"Very," Kagome replied.
The man sighed, put a hand to his forehead and then bent to the side to produce an umbrella. He opened it carefully and then stepped outside. He beckoned to them and they followed him at a bit of a distance.
x
"I've heard noises," the man said, "Up the mountain. Not human. Not animal."
Kagome's eyes went wide with surprise, and she looked to Koga, who also seemed startled.
"There are old stories that say the youkai return because of the evil of humans," the man continued.
He stopped at the door to a room at the end of the building and produced a key from his pocket. He unlocked the door slowly and then turned to Kagome, holding the key out for her to take. She accepted it with a grateful bow of her head and the man nodded at her before heading passed them back towards the main building. Koga looked back over his shoulder and Kagome spun, calling,
"Thank you!"
x
As the man with the umbrella disappeared towards the building, Kagome swiftly opened the door and ushered her two friends inside. The place was dark, though it had a large window taking up most of the wall at the front, with two white, plastic deck chairs that seemed to have been tucked away from the rain. For a place in such a small town, the room was surprisingly large, and had two large beds with floral print bedspreads and soft, fuzzy carpeting. Standing on it, only now did Kagome realize how much her feet hurt. She said nothing and closed the door behind Koga. The quiet of the room was almost shocking. Kagome soon found herself giggling just a little, though tears were coming to her eyes again. Koga looked at her with concern, but then said,
"Should I put him on the bed?"
Kagome took a deep breath to calm herself and wiped her eyes, and then shook her head.
"Hold him for just a little while longer," she said.
Koga nodded and shifted his weight a bit, and she darted away, checking inside the washroom.
x
She turned on the light and,to her relief, she found a deep and clean bathtub inside, and so she poked her head out and beckoned Koga to her. When she showed him the tub, he understood immediately, and the two of them carefully hoisted their friend inside.
"I'll try to wash his wounds," she said, "Maybe dry his clothes a little. We can take turns showering after," she said.
"You first, I'm less likely to catch cold," he said, "And I don't think my face is as muddy."
"I dunno, you're pretty muddy," Kagome laughed tiredly.
He stuck his tongue out at her and she returned the favour and then stood. Koga got the hint immediately and he left, closing the door behind him.
x
Kagome sighed and cast her eyes around the room. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror over the sink and she was a bit shocked. She almost didn't recognize herself for a moment. Her hair was plastered down to her head and her skin was caked with dirt and grime of a nature that she didn't even want to puzzle at. She quickly splashed some water on her face, and then turned back to Inu-Yasha. He was limp in the tub, totally unconscious, and now Kagome had to figure out what to do with him.
x
After a moment's deliberation, she awkwardly approached him and pulled his shirt from him. She bit her lip and had to look away for a moment, seeing the blood that was all over the deep wounds in his body; he had several long claw gashes on his torso, and she counted at least six bullet wounds. The remnants of the hole through his middle were rather ghastly, and she tried not to look at it. She wanted to cry; this was only the front of his body. She sighed again, trying to keep control of herself, and then, awkwardly; hesitantly, and averting her gaze, she removed his pants and then turned the water on in the tub and dumped in some liquid soap she found nearby.
x
While she was waiting for the water to rise, she searched the area around the sink and in the cabinet drawers below it for anything that might be of use. She found a few facecloths and a hairdryer, and some more wrapped bars of soap and some four glasses. Pleased, Kagome pulled out the objects and then checked Inu-Yasha carefully. The water had risen a bit, not enough for a proper bath quite yet though, and the boy was still out cold, slumped back with an arm outside of the tub. A swell of pity hit Kagome and she yearned to tell him how worried she was, how proud she was of him; how much she loved him. She bit her lip, and looked at his sopping clothes. She wondered if she could use the hairdryer to help out with that at all.
x
Quickly, she went to the bathroom door and poked her head out, only to see Koga pacing the room before the window, troubled.
"Hey," he said immediately, perking and turning to her, "Is he okay?"
"Dunno," Kagome said, "But... I found a hairdryer, if I gave you that and Yasha's clothes, do you think you could-?"
"Absolutely, hand it over," he said eagerly.
She smiled gratefully.
"You're the best," she said.
She ducked back into the washroom and then gave Koga the things. He nodded at her and then patted her reassuringly on the head before he turned away. The girl was a little surprised and she stood, watching him plug in the hairdryer at the other end of the room before shaking herself out of her stupor and returning to Inu-Yasha, closing the door behind her.
x
By now, the water was high enough so Kagome grabbed a facecloth, turned off the water, and knelt beside the tub. The water was all ready starting to become a bit discoloured from the blood and dirt on Inu-Yasha's body.
"Damn it, Yasha," she whispered.
She dunked the cloth into the water just as she began to hear the hairdryer running in the other room. Carefully, she began to clean his face, being especially careful around the gashes on what was now both sides of his face. They were raw and red, but not bleeding. That was good, but Kagome couldn't help but think he normally healed much faster than this, even when he was normal.
It must be the sedatives, she thought, Poor puppy...
She almost swore at herself and was glad she hadn't called him a "puppy" to his face.
x
Gently, Kagome washed Inu-Yasha's hair and cleaned the area around the tear in his ear very, very gingerly. It was still bleeding, just a little. She sighed and then bent a little to clean near the metal collar around his neck. She noticed scrapes in the metal, teethmarks from the other demon from when they had fought. She supposed it was ironic that this piece of metal had probably saved his life. She sighed and finished there quickly, and then drew back, only to let out a completely involuntary yelp as her gaze met with Inu-Yasha's bright red eyes. He smiled at her just a bit and she took a deep breath, only to hear Koga yell, "Kagome?"
"It's okay," she called back, and then sighed heavily, saying, "You startled me!" to Inu-Yasha.
He laughed just a little.
"Sorry," he said, "I... seem to be in a bathtub."
"Yeah," she said tiredly, "I'm just trying to clean you up before you bleed to death, you know."
"Thanks."
He tried shifting a little, though his body was still relatively limp and he slumped in the tub. Kagome sat up on her knees and grabbed him a bit under one of his arms and helped him backwards a bit.
"Shit, still useless," he grumbled, "Sorry."
"No, it's okay, you got hit with like twelve shots of sedatives, I understand," she said with a laugh.
He nodded a little and then sat quietly as Kagome rubbed at a wound in his chest under the water just a bit.
"Just tell me if I hurt you," she said.
"You'll be able to tell," he joked, and then paused, "So... Am I...? um... I assume I am not wearing pants."
Kagome froze and Inu-Yasha looked at her inquisitively as her face heated up and went completely red.
"I... I didn't look!" she exclaimed swiftly, pulling back, her eyes wide, "I promise!"
The hanyou stared at her for just a moment and then, startling her again, began to laugh very loudly.
"What?" she demanded, "I didn't!"
This only served to throw him into further fits of hysteria. She frowned and pouted, folding her arms to her chest, and after a little while, he calmed down and said,
"Sorry. Your reaction. It was... priceless," he said.
"Yeah, well I didn't think it was that funny," she grumbled, patting at another chest wound with her cloth.
"It was pretty funny," he replied.
Kagome was quiet for a moment, trying to feign irritation for far too long until she caved and mumbled,
"Maybe it was a little funny."
"Glad to hear a bunch of hyenas are in the bathroom!" came Koga's voice from outside the door, "Inu-Yasha, I guess that means you're alive, eh?"
"Abso-fucking-lutely!" The hanyou chimed.
"Good, now I don't have to carry you anymore!" the wolf replied.
"Oh, hah-hah."
"...Seriously though, I'm glad you're okay."
"Thanks."
x
Inu-Yasha seemed quite cheered by the exchange and Kagome found herself smiling a little as well.
"So, where are we at?" he asked.
"In general or in location?" she replied.
"Both."
"We're in a motel, not sure where. Saw a sign that said Hayakawa. No idea where that is. Guy who let us in seemed to... I dunno, accept demons. It was kind of weird."
Inu-Yasha shot her a questioning glance and she shrugged.
"He was oldish. Sort of like my grandfather; maybe he grew up on the legends, I don't know," she said, "He said something about demons returning because of the evil of man, or something. He didn't... I mean... If I had to put him on a side, I'd say he was on ours."
"Fair enough," Inu-Yasha sighed, "You had me worried for a second."
She smiled tiredly and shrugged again.
"For us, Koga's... Koga seems to be doing well, he's just drying your clothes right now," she continued.
"How about you?"
For the first time in a while, Inu-Yasha's ears drooped backwards and he looked very worried.
"I'm... well, I won't say I'm okay, because that's not true," she said, "I'm not horribly injured though, so..."
Inu-Yasha's face fell and he looked to the ground, and after a moment opened his mouth to speak.
"And don't apologize," Kagome said before he could even begin, "It's not your fault."
"Well, technically it is, because they wouldn't have come if I wasn't-"
"It doesn't matter, it's not your fault they're total assholes," she said, cutting him off again.
He sighed and his body sagged a bit. Kagome reassuringly patted his head, and then she dabbed at his face again; then tenderly went back to his ear.
"Still bleeding," she mumbled.
"What is?" Inu-Yasha asked.
"Your ear. Doesn't it hurt?" she inquired worriedly.
"Not really, it's mostly blood vessels there, not too many nerve endings so it's not bad," he assured her.
"I don't... What?" Kagome asked a bit blankly.
"There's a lot of blood vessels from a sort of body temperature cooling system where the blood pumps through the ears and is cooled more quickly by air, it's all very-"
He trailed off as Kagome merely stared at him vacantly.
"You didn't take biology at all, did you?" he asked.
"No. No I didn't," Kagome replied.
He snickered a bit and shook his head, raising one had a little in a dismissive gesture, saying, "Never mind." She looked a little embarrassed but continued trying to clean his wounds a bit.
x
"I'm sorry you have to keep doing this for me," he said after a while.
"Hey, comes with the job, right?" she joked.
He smiled at her a bit forlornly and after a few minutes of relative quiet, he raised a hand again to weakly grasp her arm. She froze, a little alarmed by the faintness of his grasp.
"You really are, you know," he said quietly.
"What?" Kagome asked, puzzled.
"Beautiful."
The girl's blushed furiously, unable to keep his gaze. She mumbled out an almost incoherent "thank you", and bit her lip a bit. He grinned and then managed to straighten his back a little.
"I think I can handle it from here," he said.
"You sure?" she asked, surprised.
"Yeah, I don't want to you to have to touch the gaping hole in my stomach anyway," he joked.
"But-"
"Just toss my clothes in here, I can handle this, I think. Don't worry, I'll scream if I fall over."
He looked at her with quite a reassuring expression on his face and Kagome took a moment to consider, and then nodded, passing him the facecloth.
"Be right back," she assured him, standing up.
He gave her the thumbs-up and she left the bathroom quickly.
x
Outside, Koga still hadn't turned the light on, though he had taken his shirt off and was drying it, along with Inu-Yasha's clothing, hanging from coat-hangers on a chair, with a quite intense look on his face as he pointed the hairdryer like a gun.
"Hey, how's it going?" she asked.
The youkai relaxed very quickly and looked to Kagome as if a bit embarrassed.
"Um, nearly done, I think."
He poked the clothes.
"The shirt is a little cool still, but the pants are basically done. This thing is pretty good."
He held up the hairdryer a bit proudly. Kagome smiled.
"Thanks," she said.
She took Inu-Yasha's rather tattered clothing and went back into the bathroom, only to see Inu-Yasha trying to scrub one of his arms with a bar of soap.
"Dried your stuff," she said.
She placed the clothes on the closed toilet seat and he nodded his thanks, and she promptly left the room once more, closing the door behind her.
x
Koga was now just pulling his own shirt back on, sitting on the floor as if trying not to get the beds too wet.
"Hey," Kagome said.
He looked back and her and said,
"You doing okay? You seem... damp."
Kagome looked back and him blankly and then looked down at herself. Her clothes were practically brown now, and they clung a bit and she realized, now, they were actually quite cold.
"I'm fine," she lied, "I'm..."
She paused for a moment as Koga looked at her with worried confusion. She wasn't sure what steps to take next. Some sort of bandaging things would be good to have, for both Inu-Yasha, and her feet. She looked down at her feet and cringed to see that they were quite torn on the tops; she didn't even want to check the soles.
"I guess," she decided, "I could go ask the owner guy if he has any gauze and bandages."
"I could go," Koga suggested readily.
Kagome thought about it for a moment, but then shook her head.
"No, you should stay with Yasha, just in case."
Koga nodded, and then smiled a bit jokingly.
"I love how I'm like, that guy who just stays and watches the other people. I feel like a gargoyle."
"A gargoyle?" Kagome laughed, but then smiled sympathetically, "Well, you're good at it. You're very reliable."
"Well thanks," he said, sticking his tongue out.
The girl grinned but then cringed to hear a thud from the bathroom, quickly followed by a grumble of, "fucking soap." She cracked a tired smile and Koga looked a little worried, but Kagome waved a hand dismissively, and the youkai fished inside his pocket and pulled out a wallet.
"Here," he said, pulling out some bills and offering them to her, "Just in case."
Kagome took the money, her brow knitting in confusion, and she asked,
"Where did you get all this?"
"Oh," Koga said brightly, seemingly eager to tell his story, "I sort of knocked a guy out and stole his clothes and stuff to break into the building to help you guys. That's why-"
He pointed to his shorter hair and looked rather proud of himself.
"Wait... so, you... did the whole "drag a guy behind the bushes and come out looking like him" thing?" she asked.
Her eyes were wide with surprise; she had never even considered how Koga had broken into the building.
"Well, more like under a truck, but yes," he said.
"I'm... well, I'm sort of shocked that worked," she replied, rubbing her head a bit while pocketing the money.
"Me too," Koga replied, smiling, "...Be careful."
"I will," she said, "I'll be back as soon as I can."
The youkai nodded and Kagome cautiously snuck back outside.
x
The rain chilled her almost immediately again, but within seconds it felt normal. She guessed that wasn't really a good thing. Looking around, she saw that there was a light, like a beacon, at the other end of the building, through the dark and the rain. She headed towards it carefully, though now her feet were starting to hurt a great deal.
x
Once more, she approached the door and knocked on it with significantly less desperation than before. Almost instantly, the elderly man was at the door again, squinting at her in the dark.
"Sorry to bother you again," Kagome said with a quick bow, "But I was wondering if you happened to have any antiseptic, or bandages, or... anything."
The man looked at her with mild puzzlement for a moment before he raised one finger and turned away from her, disappearing back into the building. Kagome inclined her head, trying to look into the building after him, but he returned rather promptly with a very large, pink-and-white striped beach towel, which he handed to her and then stepped outside, umbrella in one hand and keys in the other.
"Follow me," he said.
He closed his door and began to walk slowly, opening his umbrella as he walked towards a small, rusty blue car in the parking lot. Kagome quickly wrapped the towel around herself and followed him.
"I'm sorry, I don't understand," the girl said.
The man unlocked the car door and beckoned to the passenger seat.
"I'll take you to the pharmacy," he said.
Kagome paused. She wasn't entirely sure if she could trust the man, but he had seemed honest enough for now. She nodded and quickly got into the seat while the man got in the driver's seat and turned the car on. Kagome pulled the towel tighter and felt rather appreciative of the warmth on her skin. In fact, it felt almost as if it had just come out of a dryer. The car began to back out of the parking lot, and the man asked,
"What's your name, kid?"
"Kagome," she said, "Higurashi Kagome."
He nodded in what seemed to be approval as he checked over his shoulder as they backed up, and then her turned onto the small road beyond and began to drive.
"Satoru," he said simply.
oOoOoOoO
It was not long after Kagome had left that Koga, staring up at the ceiling of old tiles and keeping his ear on Inu-Yasha, heard the aforementioned hanyou tap a bit awkwardly against the bathroom door. Koga jumped to his feet and went to the bathroom. He opened the door quickly to see the hanyou, his red eyes half closed, sitting up against the wall beside the door. He was wearing his old clothes, still tattered and a splattering of fresh blood on them, but other than that, the boy didn't look nearly as bad as expected.
"Oh, hi," Inu-Yasha said a bit tiredly.
"Need help?" Koga asked.
"Still can't feel my legs," he replied, "You wouldn't even believe how difficult it was to put pants on."
"Yeah, I bet," Koga said, "Come on."
He knelt down and grabbed his friend under his arm and hefted him quite easily to his feet. The hanyou wobbled a bit and, carefully, Koga guided him to the other bed and let him plop down onto it before letting him go. Inu-Yasha sighed and flopped onto his back, and Koga took a seat on the other bed tiredly.
"So Kagome went out?" the hanyou asked.
"Yeah," Koga replied, nodding.
Inu-Yasha sighed and stared tiredly up at the ceiling. He wished Kagome were there. He worried about her, and he wanted to keep her close after what had happened. He managed to shift back on the bed a little, frowning, trying to keep his focus, and then he looked at Koga.
"Hey," he said.
"Yeah?"
Koga looked at him curiously.
"Thanks. You know, for... for looking after her tonight," Inu-Yasha said quietly; a little gruffly, "And, you know, for dragging my sorry ass around."
"Oh," the wolf replied, his eyes lighting up and a small smile coming to his face, "No, don't thank me, I mean... I really do sort of think of you guys like family. So..."
He was a little embarrassed, and his gaze dropped to the floor. He supposed he sounded rather dumb, and his demeanour was still a little clumsy. Nonetheless, Inu-Yasha looked at him with a new sort of unspoken respect.
"You risked a lot," the hanyou said.
"I'd do it again in a second."
He smiled a bit shyly. Inu-Yasha couldn't help a grin.
"Kagome was right about you," he said.
Koga looked a bit surprised but then his expression brightened and he looked very proud of himself, his tail starting to wag unwittingly.
"So tell me," Inu-Yasha said after a moment, "How did you get in, anyway?"
oOoOoOoO
The sound of rain pattering against the outside of the car was making Kagome's mind a little numb, a sort of dazed tiredness washing over her as she stared out the windows. She could barely discern anything through the storm; she was surprised Satoru was able to drive in it at all.
x
They had been quiet for several minutes as they drove, though Kagome had no idea where they were. The patterns of buildings outside was starting to blend and almost seem repetitive. She was about to ask, however, when Satoru finally spoke.
"So," he said, "What happened? To your friend?"
"Long story," Kagome sighed.
The man was silent for a little while, and though Kagome's focus was outside, the man looked at her rather worriedly.
"I grew up in a shrine near Shirikayama, in the east," he said, breaking the silence, "I grew up learning about demons. My father taught me as if they were real."
Kagome turned her gaze from the window and looked at him in surprise.
Sort of like how I was when I was a kid, she thought.
"As a child, I believed, but as I got older, I thought it couldn't be true. It was too fanciful. Like unicorns, or dragons."
"Dragons are real too," Kagome said quickly, without thinking, but immediately felt embarrassed.
Satoru smiled. He said nothing for another little while, though his eyes had lit up in a sort of unspoken awe.
"Then, when I was in highschool," he began again, "I remember... one night, out my window, I saw something. It looked... It looked like a man, but like a dragon, all at once, with more limbs than I thought were possible. I believed, then. I was never sure, but... tonight, I feel... validated."
Kagome was surprised, and was certain she looked it, but she also managed a smile.
"They're all over the place, huh?" she said, "Yeah, demons are... more common than anyone would expect, I think."
Satoru nodded a bit and then cast his gaze at her briefly.
"You were up the mountain?"
"Yes."
"...What happened?"
The man looked at her, seeming worried. Kagome sighed. He seemed strangely intent on knowing, but to look at him she still didn't feel or see any deception. She took a moment to consider her words.
"There are people up the mountain who catch and kill demons," she said a bit weakly, "They... torture them a lot of the time. I don't know what they want, specifically. I know they brought the demons here and are trying to get rid of them. I just..."
Kagome felt her throat begin to clench a bit and tears came to her eyes.
"I just wish... I dunno, that they'd leave everything alone?" she said, he voice getting more quiet, "Demons aren't doing anything wrong here. They're just trying to live, and these people, they do such horrible things."
Kagome felt like she was going to cry, and she sniffed heavily and wiped her tears on the towel.
"Sorry," she whispered, "It's... It's been a long night."
Satoru nodded slowly and, breaking rather suddenly, he turned into a small parking lot before a building Kagome could have sworn they had passed before. It seemed to be half house, have convenience store.
"This is the place," he said, "What do you need, exactly?"
"Bandages, gauze, antiseptic cream or... you know, anything like that," the girl replied.
Before she could even unbuckle her seatbelt, Satoru gestured for her to stay put and got out, leaving the door slightly ajar. Kagome leaned back in her seat to try to watch him through the rain; she could see his feet moving up a small set of stairs towards a door, which he banged on with his fist several times.
"Daichi!" he called, "Daichi, open the damn door, I know you're there!"
A few, slow seconds passed before the door open. Again, Kagome could only see feet, but she heard the voice of a man, old, a little high pitched, and groggy, say,
"Satoru-san, what on earth do you want?"
"Some kids stopped at my place tonight. One of them's hurt real bad."
"What, well-"
The man was cut off as Satoru pushed into his house and slammed the door behind them. Kagome strained to hear if anything else was said, but she could discern nothing. She sighed and relaxed her muscles a little, closing her eyes just briefly. She was tired, damn tired, but her mind was still rushing a million miles a minute. She felt like she might never be able to sleep again.
x
Soon, Satoru emerged, grumbling, from the building and got back in the car as Kagome sat up again, eyeing him curiously. He passed Kagome a large paper sack.
"Should be everything," he told her, starting the car again.
"Thank you," she said.
She sounded quite surprised, and the elderly man cracked a bit of a smile, but said nothing.
x
The way back felt much quicker than the trip there, and as they arrived back, Kagome, hopped out of the car and fished the money from her pocket. It was a bit damp; she hoped Satoru wouldn't mind. As he too, left the car and pulled out him umbrella once more, Kagome darted to him and placed all the bills in his hand.
"Thanks," she said, "Seriously."
He looked at her with surprise, and she hurried away quickly back to the motel room.
x
When Kagome entered the room, she was relieved to see Inu-Yasha, sitting up a little on one of the beds and Koga sitting on the other, his tail wagging as he seemed to be relating, in more detail, the story he had told her before she left.
"Hey, guys," she said brightly.
The both turned to look at her and Inu-Yasha smiled, saying,
"I like your cape."
"Shut up," she joked.
She held up the brown bag and said, proudly,
"Got stuff!"
"Oh, way to go!" Koga said.
"First, though, I need a shower," she said, pointing to the bathroom.
"Oh, if you toss your stuff out here, I'll dry it for you," the wolf volunteered.
"Good call," Kagome replied.
She left the bag on the bed beside Koga as she passed and then headed for the bathroom, and closed the door. After a few seconds, the door opened again, just a crack, and Kagome's clothes flew out of it before it closed again swiftly and the shower water started to run. Koga hopped to his feet and grabbed the mud-soaked t-shirt and pants and then turned the hairdryer on them. Inu-Yasha cringed to the noise, but then looked at Koga.
"So, where were you?" he said.
"Oh, right," Koga said, raising his voice above the noise, "So there I was, in the vents. It was weird, because the lowest ones were above like a foot of concrete. So, I was in the one above that level, which was another... maybe 6 feet up."
"Holy shit, thick ceiling," Inu-Yasha mused.
"I know, I couldn't help but think there might be more evil crap up there, but I didn't have time to look," Koga replied, "So I'm in there for like 15 minutes, just running around trying to find you guys. And when I finally do, I'm like... holy shit, there's a giant demon trying to kill you. I saw you through these weird grates they had sometimes into a hall or a room. So what I did was, I found this junction in between the two levels of piping."
He made a "T" shape with his hands for a second, accidentally blowing hot air at himself. Inu-Yasha snickered as Koga puffed and put the air back on Kagome's things.
"Anyway, it was like that, so I went up, and then I saw it really going after Kagome and I just sort of kicked down and through about three layers of vents and concrete, and that's about it."
He shrugged a bit absently, as if it were all in a day's work, and Inu-Yasha smirked, managing to shift his back against the wall behind him a bit more.
"You did good," he assured him.
"Kind of wish I had gotten there sooner," he admitted.
Inu-Yasha shrugged.
"I don't think you could have done much more than you did. Don't worry."
Koga's face went a little grim for the first time in a while, and he nodded slowly. He wasn't sure how to admit it, but such praise coming from Inu-Yasha meant a great deal to him. He was quiet for a little while longer, his brain zoning out to the repetitive hairdryer sound. After a few moments more, he softly said, "thanks." Inu-Yasha nodded and slumped again. Koga paused the drying for a bit, touching the clothes tentatively. They were much warmer and drier, so he turned the machine off, to still hear the sound of the shower in the bathroom.
x
Inside, Kagome was scrubbing herself rather feverishly, trying to rid herself of of the dirt. It felt like it wasn't coming off. After a while of dousing herself in soapy shampoo sampler bottles and such, she gave up, deciding this was as clean as she was going to get. Sighing, she reluctantly turned the warm water off and stepped from the tub, grabbing a clean blue towel and wrapping it tightly around herself. When she cast a glance in the mirror, she took note that she no longer looked like a mud person, and was rather happy of the fact. However, she noticed her shoulder was quite red, so she drew closer to look at it both curiously and tentatively. She pulled down the towel a bit, pointedly ignoring the old scars on her chest to see her shoulder, and in fact most of her right arm, looked raw and red, and was coated in small lines of purplish scar tissue. The girl sighed and covered herself a bit more closely and then went to the door, knocking on it gently with her knuckles.
"Can I have my stuff back now?" she asked through the door.
Within seconds, she heard the sound of feet and her door opened just a tiny crack and the clothes were held through it.
"Thanks," she said, taking them and closing the door.
"No problem," Koga's voice assured her.
x
Kagome dressed quickly, quite pleased with the warmed clothing, and then left the bathroom, the towel still clutched close.
"Thanks for drying it, Koga," she said.
He smiled at her and gave her the thumbs-up, and then looked between the two, and said, "My turn!" before scampering past Kagome and into the washroom. She smirked just a little and then headed to Inu-Yasha's side, taking the brown bag from the other bed to him.
"How you holding up?" she asked.
"Fine, all things considered," he assured her, "Did you know Koga's insane? Like, completely nuts, did you hear what he did to save us?"
"Part of it," Kagome said.
She looked at her boyfriend a bit blankly, and he merely shook his head in disbelief.
"I'm glad you brought him in," he said.
"Oh, now you're glad," she joked, "Jealousy gone?"
"Jealousy gone out the fucking window," he agreed.
Kagome grinned and patted his head affectionately, and he narrowed his eyes and stuck his tongue out at her, only to accidentally bite it a bit with his overly-long fangs.
"Ow," he grumbled, and Kagome giggled a little and then began to look in the bag.
She pulled forth a long roll of bandages and some gauze, a small tube of antiseptic cream, and a much larger one of what seemed to be some traditional, organic anti-irritant cream.
"Weird," she muttered at the latter, but then shrugged and said, "Let's get to those wounds now, huh?"
oOoOoOoO
Now rather efficient at such a task, Kagome treated and bandaged the majority of Inu-Yasha's wounds. She had to wrap almost his entire torso in cloth by the time she was done, using copious amounts of the soothing compound on him, especially on the healing hole through his middle. Only after that did she take a moment to bandage her feet. She was still too scared to look at them, but the cream did wonders for the pain.
x
Inu-Yasha was incredibly grateful for her hard work: so grateful that he didn't even know how to put it into words. As he watched her treating a gash in his arm, he felt his brain begin to go fuzzy again. This surprised him quite a great deal, and sent a sort of fear through him so intense that his body began to tremble just a little. To make even his full demon self have a relapse, the drugs must have been incredibly strong. He probably had enough meds in his veins to send his regular hanyou self into a coma, at least. He raised a hand lethargically to his forehead and Kagome's gaze jumped to meet his, her brow furrowed with worry.
"You okay?" she asked quickly.
"Fine," he lied.
Kagome's frown deepened.
"C'mere," she insisted.
She grabbed him gently and then helped him to lie down despite a very, very feeble protest. She pulled the blankets up around him and he looked back at her, a bit embarrassed.
"You didn't have to do that," he said.
"You were shivering," she replied, concerned.
Inu-Yasha wasn't cold; he was too ashamed to tell her the real reason he was shaking. He was starting to feel dazed again, knowing he wouldn't be able to hold himself in consciousness for much longer again. He beckoned her down and when she leaned in close, he gently put a hand to the back of her head and pulled her in to kiss her softly on the tip of her nose. She blushed a little, and he quietly said,
"Thanks for everything."
She smiled bashfully as a reply and then stretched herself out a little, lying down with him to give him an affectionate hug around the shoulders. His heart thudded heavily in his chest and he managed to rest one hand on her head to pet her damp hair. She was quiet for a little while, and Inu-Yasha soon noticed that she was trembling as well.
"You okay?" he asked her, concerned.
"Yeah, I... I dunno, I just wanted to be close, is that okay?" she asked quietly, "I mean, your wounds, are they-?"
"They're not bad, no worries."
She nodded and then carefully slipped herself on top of him, giving him a quick and gentle kiss. He was stunned. Maybe it was the drugs, or maybe it was that he knew he looked like a monster, but it made him freeze entirely to feel her lips against his. She didn't seem to notice, for which he was grateful, and she clutched closer to him, whispering,
"Sorry, I just... I thought I might lose you like, three or four times tonight. Sorry if I come off as... you know."
"I know," he agreed, gulping a bit, "Don't worry."
Reassured, Kagome lay with him awhile, her ear pressed to his chest, listening to his heart beat. After a while, she sat up just a bit, propping herself up with on hand beside him on the bed and she leaned in close to his face, looking at deep marks that ran from his temple downwards. She had no idea what had caused most of them; only one was from the demon he had fought. She didn't have bandages small enough to bind them; she hoped they would be okay in the open again, but even now they seemed to be less red than before. Gently, she cupped his cheek and leaned in closer.
"What're you doing?" the hanyou asked.
"Just... I dunno, trying to figure out what made these, do you remember?"
"No. I was out."
Kagome sighed and pulled back a little, frowning worriedly.
"Wouldn't be surprised if some guy just hacked at me for a bit with a knife or some shit," he admitted.
Kagome's heart sunk and her eyes went wide as she looked mortified.
"How could they...?" she breathed.
Below her, the boy managed to shrug one shoulder a little. Kagome gently patted his head, careful around his ears as she did, and he could barely keep his eyes open.
"Shit," he breathed.
"Drugs?" she asked, pausing.
He hardly felt strong enough to nod now, and he forced out an, "Mm-hmm," and was quiet for a moment, trying to recuperate.
x
Above him, Kagome looked at him worriedly and carefully traced her fingers beside the deep gashes in his face and leaned down to kiss him once again. He didn't move much in response, despite how much he wanted to. After a few moments, he lifted one hand up and let it rest on her shoulder, and his eyes opened to red slits as she pulled back.
"Totally crashing, huh?" she asked.
"Yeah, a bit," he said quietly.
She patted his forehead and he forced his eyes open a bit more. His turquoise pupils scanned over her face and locked on hers. Staring a bit awkwardly, his gaze darted away as he saw glints of his own red eyes in the reflection of hers.
"Sorry, I look like such a freak," he muttered.
"Why do you say that?" she asked, inclining her head.
"Because I do," he sighed.
Kagome sighed, rolled her eyes, and slumped on top of him, wrapping her arms around him.
"Maybe you think so; I still think you're cute," she said.
"You're saying the fact that my fangs are almost jutting from my face and the whites of my eyes look like they're bleeding doesn't bother you?" he joked.
"Honestly, it doesn't."
The girl laughed and shook her head and leaned forward to touch her nose to his. His lip curved up into a tired smile and he stretched up by barely an inch to kiss her very, very gently on her lips before sinking back down onto the bed. Kagome patted his head affectionately and smiled at him, watching as the raw flesh on the side of his face gained a another layer of normalcy. She slid her body off his and slumped beside him instead. He didn't move but his eyes darted to her, and she said,
"I'll sleep right here and keep you all warm and stuff."
He snorted out a laugh and closed his eyes.
"Thanks," he said.
Kagome grinned and kissed his forehead, and then sat up and reached for the soothing compound again. She squeezed some out onto her fingertips and then took his wrist, slid the remaining shackle up just a little and rubbed the goo on his skin. His arm remained limp, but he muttered,
"You don't have to do that."
"Yeah, I know, but these are pretty tight, and if I can't get them off yet, I'd like for you to at least not be having your skin cut into," she replied.
"It wouldn't scar."
"I don't care."
She laughed a little and the boy smiled again and said nothing as the girl proceeded to do the same to his other wrist, and then worked her way around his neck. He remained quiet, uncomplaining, until the girl stopped, wiped her hands on her slacks, and lay close to him, hugging him close.
"Thanks," he said again.
"It's no problem. Go to sleep, you'll get the drugs out of your system faster," she advised.
"Yeah," he agreed horsely, and was still.
x
Kagome leaned in close to him, listening to his steady breathing. She watched in fascination: as he dozed off, the paling of his wounds sped up. She kissed his face once more and then slid up and off the bed and prowled to the window. She plopped down in the white plastic chair and gazed out sleepily at the rain. Through the grim scene, watching the cold and wet from within the dark of the motel room, she felt safe. It was like the rain was a cloak, a shield and a veil, hiding her and her companions. She crossed one leg over the other, and then rested her elbow on her knee, and her chin on her fist.
x
After just a little while, she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder: the one that had been swollen and scaly just a little while ago.
"Your shoulder is still really red, is it okay?" she heard Koga inquire.
He hopped over the back of the chair beside hers, and she looked to him and nodded, trying to hide her surprise: she didn't even hear the bathroom door open.
"Yeah, it was just because the skin got so stretched," she said.
She raised her right arm and displayed the wavy and purplish scars on her skin. Koga cringed a little and he took her arm and ran his fingers over the scars in a curious sort of way.
"Does it hurt?" he asked.
"Nah," she replied, smiling.
He let her go and then folded his arms to his chest and let out a deep, tired sigh.
"I don't think I can sleep," he admitted.
"Me neither," Kagome agreed.
They sat quietly for a while, listening to the rain. After a little while, Kagome leaned back a little and rubbed her shoulder tenderly. Koga looked at her worriedly and then stood went to the beside table of the unconscious hanyou. He took the antiseptic cream and returned to Kagome.
"Can I?" he asked, holding up the tube.
Kagome looked to him and was a bit surprised, as if she had forgotten about it, but then nodded. Koga seemed pleased and he grabbed the chair he had been in and moved it behind hers. Kagome, without thinking much, pulled her shirt up over her head, clutching it to her chest to cover herself. Koga froze immediately and then awkwardly asked,
"Are you okay like that?"
She shrugged and nodded, and so carefully Koga squeezed some paste onto his fingers and began to rub it onto the raw skin of her back. They were quiet for a while as Koga did his best to treat her wounds until she leaned her head back and smiled just a little.
"Thanks," she said.
"You okay?"
"Yeah."
She turned in her chair a bit and Koga averted his eyes, and then pointed to his shirt.
"Want to trade?" he asked.
Kagome looked surprised and then smiled and said,
"Sure, thanks!"
He nodded and took his shirt off and passed it to her. She looked grateful and, still with her own shirt clutched close, she stood from her chair and went to the washroom. After just a few seconds, she returned clad in his black t-shirt and she passed him hers, which he pulled on quickly.
"A rip in the back is a little less awkward for me," he stated, finally looking to Kagome again without blushing.
She smiled and she leaned down and hugged him around his shoulders and he gently hugged her in return.
"We'd be dead without you," she whispered as she pulled back, "Thank you."
"Well, you guys are my family," he said.
The girl looked surprised for a moment but then smiled and nodded.
"Yeah," she agreed.
She took her chair and sat beside him again. She looked thoughtful and then, seeming rather pleased with the notion, whispered, "Yeah," again.
x
Together, they sat up a while longer, neither entirely willing to sleep after what had happened despite their exhaustion. Koga gave up first, however, as he found himself drifting off in his chair. He bailed, and collapsed onto the vacant bed, almost immediately tossing the blankets into a mess as he curled up. Kagome sat up a while past that, unable to concentrate on anything in particular, every once and a while experiencing a bout of residual fear and disbelief so intense that it made her tearful again. It was around 6am by the time she finally worked up the courage to let herself rest beside Inu-Yasha again. Even so, the girl's nightmares were vivid.
oOoOoOoO
When Kagome awoke to the knocking on a door, she felt her heart beating feverishly and cold sweat on her brow. She blinked up at the ceiling and gulped, trying not to panic as she couldn't remember where she was for a few seconds. When she finally regained her senses, the girl sat up slowly and cast her gaze around the room and squinted in the light. The window before her shone through with the morning sun as droplets of water sprinkled down from a wet awning outside. Beside her, she saw that Inu-Yasha was still soundly asleep, and across, Koga hardly budged, even when there was another knock at the door. Blinking heavily, Kagome lazily got to her feet, grunting at the pain in them as she touched the carpet. Rubbing her eyes, Kagome walked to the door and opened in. Before her stood Satoru, eyes crinkled in the light, holding a brown paper bag out in one hand. Wordlessly, he passed it to her and she took it with surprise.
"Thank you," she said, dipping in a bow before him.
He bowed in return and turned, walking back towards the main office room. Kagome backed into the room and closed the door. Curiously, she looked in the bag only to see what appeared to be toothbrushes. She sat down in the middle of the floor and dumped out the bag. Toothpaste and toothbrushes in store packaging tumbled onto the carpet, along with nail clippers, a comb, some lip balm, bandages, and an assorted bunch of moist towelettes. She smiled and gathered up the things again and carried them to the washroom. Eagerly, she brushed her teeth and trimmed what could be salvaged of her fingernails, and then ran the comb through her hair, and then cleaned and rebandaged her feet. She realized she was a mess, but this made her feel a little better.
x
When she left the room she tiptoed to Koga's bed and leaned over him curiously to check on him. He was sleeping quite soundly, so Kagome quietly headed to Inu-Yasha. He looked like he hadn't moved much since last night and she dropped to her knees and stuck her face close to his, frowning intently. There was still a purple stripe on each side of his face, so she assumed he was still not quite himself. She was relieved to see, however, that the large cuts on his face were all but completely gone. She sat up a bit taller and leaned in, checking the ear he had ripped. She quietened an "oh!" of surprise to see there was no longer a tear, the only trace of it being a slight unevenness in the fur.
"Unbelievable," she breathed.
It was a very good sign, however. Last night, he had barely been healing at all; she supposed this meant that the majority of the sedatives were out of his system.
x
Kagome got to her feet quietly and slid on the bed beside him. She reached under the blankets and took his hand to look at it. She almost mistook the stripe on his hand for a wound at first, then took a deep breath and checked under the shackle carefully. As he had predicted, there were no marks that she could see despite how tight it was. The girl blew out a puff of air and brushed her bangs back just a bit. Her mind went back to the fight from the night before and she cringed a bit despite herself. She remembered Inu-Yasha's golden eyes, so feral and intense in the heat of the battle. It hadn't really sunk in before then just how "unhuman" Inu-Yasha really was. He looked relatively human, but to see him in action, to really see him fight against another youkai: there was nothing human about that. He didn't frighten her, though; she felt a little foolish for not realizing how different he really was. She supposed much of the same could be said for Koga as well.
"So weird," she whispered, putting his arm back down on the bed carefully.
He shifted at this and Kagome froze, though he didn't wake. His mouth opened just a little and only then did Kagome notice that his lower lip was quite torn. She guessed it was because his fangs were a bit too long for his mouth. She wondered if maybe they had something she could use on it, so she slid from the bed, trying very hard to be quiet as she returned to the bathroom.
x
She scoured what she had at her disposal and her eyes lit up as she found the stick of lip balm that had been in the bag. It was for chapped lips, obviously, though Kagome cringed upon reading that it was watermelon flavour.
Oh, whatever, it's better than nothing, she thought.
She returned to Inu-Yasha and popped the cap and, very cautiously, ran it over his lower lip.
"If that's lipstick I'm going to be very upset," he said rather suddenly, his voice low and gravely, but rather groggy.
Kagome jerked back, startled, to see his eyes crack open just a little and she smiled shyly and held up the lip balm.
"It's just for chapped lips," she said.
He smiled just a little and he said,
"Smells very odd."
"It's supposed to be watermelon."
"Oh great, girly flavours," he sighed.
"Sorry," she laughed, "How are you feeling?"
He cringed a bit and sat up, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand and then felt his ears carefully. He grinned, feeling the healed tear, and he turned to Kagome, saying,
"Much better, actually."
Kagome smiled brightly and slumped on him, putting her arms around his shoulders.
"Good," she replied.
She cuddled up to him and he smiled fondly, putting a hand on her head to ruffle her hair affectionately.
"Are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?" he asked quietly, "I was really out of it last night, I don't know that I would have noticed."
He sounded rather ashamed. Kagome merely pushed closer, smiling to herself, and closed her eyes.
"I actually came out pretty okay. Bruised mostly, and I cut up my feet, but other than that-"
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. We all got out okay," she assured him.
He was quiet for a little while, running his fingers through her hair absently. She was quite content; it felt like they hadn't sat like this in an eternity. After a while of silence, he said,
"You didn't sleep well, did you?"
"No."
"Nightmares?"
"I don't remember. Probably."
"I'm back to normal. It's safe for you to relax now."
"Don't know if I'll ever relax again."
She laughed weakly and Inu-Yasha's lip curled in a very small, very sympathetic smile. He knew she was barely joking.
x
They said nothing for a while, though Inu-Yasha continued to stroke her head in a sort of absent way, her presence comforting him just as much as his touch comforted her.
"This isn't your shirt," he commented quietly.
"No, Koga and I swapped because of the hole in the back."
"Nice of him."
She nodded against his chest and sighed again, unable to stop tears from welling up in her eyes once more. It kept happening; bouts of fear and shock would take her and she'd find herself crying again. It was too common now for her to be frustrated with herself. Almost immediately, however, Inu-Yasha clung to her tighter, his eyes going wide.
"Don't cry," he said, sounding a little alarmed, "I mean... oh, shit, are you okay?"
"Fine," Kagome said, though her voice was a little tight, "It's just... the shock, it comes in... in waves."
She sniffed and buried her face against him, mumbling, "sorry."
"Don't... Don't apologize," he said quickly, flustered; his ears drooping.
His heart sank and he stared at the tearful girl in his arms with such regret; such a desire to keep her safe that he felt like he never wanted to let her go. The scent of her tears sent his mind reeling and he wanted nothing more to comfort her, but he didn't know what to do. Awkwardly, he put a hand to her back and patted her gently, only to feel her shoulders begin to shake as she began to cry audibly. He jerked, eyes widening even further.
"Oh, god, I'm sorry," he said swiftly.
"No, no, seriously," Kagome said softly; tearfully, "It's shock. It's just shock. I'll be okay in a minute."
Inu-Yasha didn't quite believe her, but he nodded even though she couldn't see it and merely held her close.
x
After a few minutes, she pulled back a little and Inu-Yasha hurriedly, but reluctantly, released her so she could gain a bit of space. She stared blankly at the bed as she kneaded her eyes with her knuckles and then looked at the boy with tired, red eyes. However, much to his surprise, she smiled and laughed a little cupping his cheek and saying,
"My eyes must look like yours now."
The hanyou smiled a little, though it came out more like a grimace; as she dropped her hand, he raised his to gently wipe her cheeks, his fingers very gently passing over a red, scabbing claw wound on her cheek; he hadn't noticed it before.
"Poor kid," he mumbled.
"I'm okay," she assured him, and he merely responded with a, "Like hell you are," as he stared at her with a concerned frown.
She stared back at him for a while and he looked at her quite intently until, very suddenly, she reached to his face and tweaked his nose.
"Agh!" he yelped, clapping his hands to his face as Kagome began to laugh.
She hugged him tightly for a quick moment, cooing, "love you", and then pulled back and asked,
"What should we do now? Can't really just pick up and go home."
Inu-Yasha put a fist under his chin to think and Kagome mused to herself for a moment before they both said,
"Sessho-Maru?"
Inu-Yasha grinned a bit embarrassedly and Kagome laughed and then stood, saying,
"I'll find a phone."
Inu-Yasha nodded and then carefully untangled himself from his blankets and looked at himself for the first time in a while as Kagome scurried around the room.
x
Though blood covered most of his clothes, when he gently prodded himself, he found that he was mostly whole; it was quite a relief, though there were still remnants of the wound to his stomach and a few of the smaller bullet holes when he peeked under the bandaging. He stretched his legs a bit and then lowered his feet to the ground and, cautiously, stood. He righted himself quite easily. He was feeling a little sick, but his legs felt strong beneath him and he didn't find his mind to be in any disarray. He was a bit astonished; his healing system must have increased in sophistication quite a bit overnight as a full youkai. It was quite a pleasant surprise, and he was also very happy that his thought processes seemed normal.
All the training I did actually paid off, he thought proudly, No loss of control, no mood-swings, no maulings. This is good. This is very good.
It used to terrify him to let his youkai blood take over. For now, though, he felt pretty good. He knew he would have to be careful, however: any discomfort he felt now would be quite a bit worse when he returned to normal. However, he didn't know when that would be, seeing as he had no idea how to change back naturally.
x
Putting it out of mind, he checked the opposite side of the room to Kagome for a phone, though she found it first, letting out a triumphant, but quiet, "Ah-hah!" as she pulled it over to Inu-Yasha's bed and sat it down beside it. He hopped back onto the bed and sat cross-legged as he picked up the receiver and dialled his brother's number.
x
The phone only rang once before Sessho-Maru's voice, growled,
"Who is this? It better be important."
"Whoa, relax, it's me," Inu-Yasha said.
Sessho-Maru was silent for a moment, almost as if in shock.
"Inu-Yasha?" he asked hesitantly.
"Who else?" the hanyou asked, confused.
"You sound... never mind, what-?"
"Hang on, let me try to put you on speaker," Inu-Yasha said.
He heard his brother grumble as he searched the phone for a "speaker" button, but Kagome found it first and hit it, and the boy quickly put the phone down.
"Okay, speaker on," Inu-Yasha said.
"What the hell? Where are you? I've been calling," Sessho-Maru growled.
"We're in a motel in near Hayakawa," Inu-Yasha explained.
"Where the fuck is that?" the demon retorted, and then sighed, "Never mind. Googling."
Kagome tried very hard not to laugh and before Inu-Yasha could respond, Sessho-Maru said,
"Oh shit, over there? Why the hell are you over there?"
"We got caught," Inu-Yasha explained.
"What? ...Oh. Oh. Shit."
"They found the house," Kagome voiced.
"You all okay?" the youkai asked, sounding surprisingly concerned.
"My arm mutated," Kagome said.
"Koga's passed out and I'm a full youkai right now," Inu-Yasha added, rubbing his eyes with his knuckles.
Sessho-Maru let out some aggressive, foreign curse words and then said,
"I'm sending a driver. And I'll send someone to get your shit. We'll set you up in a rental house."
"You don't have to-" Kagome began, but Sessho-Maru swiftly said,
"Give me a few hours. This shit won't stand."
x
The line was dead immediately. Inu-Yasha looked up from his hand to Kagome with a tired and slightly amused smile and she sighed.
"Can't say he wastes any time, at least," she said.
Inu-Yasha nodded and leaned back in his seat, tired. He was a bit surprised when Kagome slipped onto his lap and kissed him quickly, and then put a hand on each of his sides.
"Shirt off," she said.
"What, why?" he asked, confused, only to have her roll her eyes and say, "Just do it."
Shrugging, he took his shirt off and she eyed the bloody bandages with concern before tugging at them to pull them away and place them in a pile. Her eyes went wide to see how little damage was left. She leaned in closer, her fingers tracing the spot where the pipe had punctured him yesterday. The skin looked a little raw, but other than that he seemed fine. Inu-Yasha watched her as she frowned and poked at him with confused concern and his ears drooped. Her worry touched him, and he said,
"It's fine, Kagome."
"Yeah, but..." she mumbled, and then met eyes with him, "Your insides. You know, organs and stuff. Don't they get screwed up? You're not sore?"
He shook his head and the girl raised an eyebrow skeptically. He looked back at her, his ears perking and his eyes a little wide, and after a moment she sighed and hugged him around his shoulders tightly
"I'm sorry all this happened," she whispered.
The boy frowned to himself at her words. He didn't understand why she should hold any guilt at all. He cautiously put his arms around her as well and he folded one leg under himself to give her a bit more support.
"Don't be," he said finally.
"I guess... this sort of puts us on even ground," she said, "Just a little. I mean... I understand now. You know?"
Despite her lack of coherence, Inu-Yasha knew exactly what she meant.
"Yeah," he agreed.
She was quiet for a moment, and then whispered, "I love you." He smiled.
"I know," he replied.
Kagome huffed and pulled back, whacking his shoulder.
"You're supposed to say 'I love you, too'!" she exclaimed.
He laughed and inclined his head, staring at her with a sort of affectionate gaze that made her cheeks go as red as cherries. He leaned in and kissed her lips gently and she absolutely melted in his arms. When he pulled back, Kagome blinked back at him in a groggy way and he grinned, joking,
"You should just know by now, idiot."
Kagome stuck her tongue out at him and then clutched him close again.
"Shut up, you bastard," she replied.
She stayed there for a moment and then pulled back and awkwardly stumbled from the bed, jerking her thumb at the bathroom and saying, "water." Inu-Yasha nodded and stretched his arms above his head, only satisfied when he felt his elbows pop a bit, and then pulled his shirt back on and relaxed against the wall. Within seconds, however, the phone rang again. Inu-Yasha eyed it curiously and then picked it back up. Before he could even say hello, Sessho-Maru said,
"Scratch whatever the hell I said, I'm coming to get you, do you need anything?"
"Um... clothes would be good," Inu-Yasha replied a bit dumbly.
Sessho-Maru didn't say anything for a moment before he replied,
"Sorry, your voice keeps throwing me off. For all of you?"
"Yeah; is it really that different?"
"Over the phone a bit," he said, "And... let me ask you, are you far from where you were taken?"
"I... don't know," he admitted, and then held the phone away a bit and called, "Kagome?"
She poked her head out of the bathroom with a toothbrush in her mouth and said, "Yeah, what?" around it before taking it out.
"How long did you guys walk with me?" he asked.
"Um... dunno, couldn't have been more than two hours though," she said.
"Two hours walk," the hanyou said into the phone.
"Anything more specific? Uphill, downhill: was there a river?" Sessho-Maru pressed.
"Was there a river?" Inu-Yasha echoed to his girlfriend.
She paused and looked confused for a moment.
"Yes," she said, "We went out of the building, downhill to the highway... then along the highway, sort of, and then across a small river."
"Heard it," Sessho-Maru said immediately, "Okay. I have someone near you, she can be there in half an hour with new clothes. Then just... stay there, wait for me, okay?"
"Uh, okay; Sessho, what the hell is going on?" Inu-Yasha asked as Kagome walked over and sat beside him with a curious expression on her face, "What do you mean you have 'someone'?
"Don't really have time to explain, I need to get a bunch of shit together. You'll know her when you see her. Just... trust me, okay, little brother?"
"Okay, but-"
There was a click, and his brother was gone. Inu-Yasha sighed and hung the phone up.
"What's going on?" Kagome asked.
"I really don't know," he said, "He sounds... I'd say anxious, but that's not quite it."
He scratched his head.
"So what now?" she asked.
"I guess we wait," he replied.
Kagome groaned and flopped to her side, and then consciously rolled off the bed and onto the floor. Inu-Yasha leaned over the edge to look at her, both his eyebrows and ears cocked in confusion.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"Nothing," she said innocently, looking up at him.
Inu-Yasha looked at her curiously, and then flopped on the bed, drooping his upper half over the side towards her.
"This is an awkward question," he started.
"No, you don't look like a freak," Kagome replied.
"What? No, that wasn't... I was going to ask," the boy said, a bit flustered, "If you'd be up to telling me what happened in there."
Kagome looked up at him in confusion.
"It was terrible. Why do you want to know?"
"Well, when we were at the hospital a while back, that doctor said I should try to make you talk about stuff when it was really bothering you," he explained, "He was talking about Tsuyomaru more specifically, but I thought... you know, maybe it would be... helpful?"
He raised an eyebrow at her and she stared back at him for a moment, contemplating her options.
"Okay," she said a bit reluctantly, and then sighed, "Yeah. You're probably right."
x
Kagome clambered back onto the bed and began to relate what had happened from the time she had woken up to when she had found him. Soon after she began, though, Koga woke and was eager to join in the conversation; it wasn't hard for her to start over. She explained all about the room, and the plan to have her killed, and how she injected herself with the serum that had caused her arm to become like the late Tsuyomaru's. Her story elicited much shock and hugging from Koga, though Inu-Yasha listened, ears perked, red eyes narrowed, his face grim. By the time Kagome had concluded with finding Inu-Yasha, Koga seemed like he would be on the edge of his seat if he hadn't been sitting on the bed with them, and Inu-Yasha merely shook his head, stared downwards and growled out something inaudible.
"Huh?" Kagome asked.
"I'm going to kill them," he said simply, he eyes darting up to meet hers, his expression deadly serious, "I will kill all of them."
"Hey, at least we got out," Kagome said weakly, trying to smile a bit.
"No. No, that doesn't cut it this time," he said.
"We can't go back," the girl squeaked.
"Not yet," Inu-Yasha said, "But when I'm stronger. I will get stronger. I will kill them."
Koga's expression turned very worried and he looked to Kagome, who was at a loss for words. The hanyou frowned deeply, but then shook his head and put a hand to his forehead.
"Sorry," he said quickly, "I... think that was the demon in me talking."
He lowered his hand and smiled a bit.
"I get... a bit extreme sometimes when I'm like this."
It was a half-truth. Normally, he wouldn't- no, he couldn't kill them like his urge to avenge his friends demanded. But as he was now, he would do it, no problems. He might even enjoy it. He tried to hold back a shudder: such thoughts terrified him.
I guess I'm not as normal as I thought I was.
As if to reassure him, Kagome cupped his cheek and gave him a gentle kiss on the forehead and then drew back.
"It's okay, I get it," she said.
"Yeah," Koga agreed, "I don't know if I could do it. But... they have to be stopped."
Inu-Yasha nodded and Kagome slumped where she sat, only to spring up a second later in surprise as there was a knock on the door.
"Demon," Inu-Yasha said immediately, turning to look at the door.
x
Kagome scrambled off the bed, toppling to the floor awkwardly, and then jumped to her feet and opened the door a crack. Before her stood a woman, almost unnaturally tall, with dark hair tied back in a bun and bright blue eyes much like Koga's. She looked at Kagome with a sort of analyzing stare and said,
"Three of you, right?"
Kagome nodded, a little stunned, and the woman passed her four plastic bags she had against the wall to her left.
"Thanks," Kagome said.
"I took the liberty of bringing you some food as well," she said.
A chorus of "thank yous!" were heard from the boys and Kagome smiled shyly as the woman before her grinned a little, showing fang.
"I'll wait around," she said.
"You don't want to come in?" Kagome asked politely.
The woman shook her head and turned to leave, waving over her shoulder. Kagome stared after for a moment before she ducked back into the room, taking the bags with her and putting them on the ground. It seemed as if one was food, and each of the other three contained a set of clothes per person, t-shirts and jeans for all.
"Who wants what t-shirt, black or white?" Kagome asked her friends.
"Don't care," Koga said.
"But I care less," Inu-Yasha moped.
Kagome snickered a little and tossed Inu-Yasha bad with the black t-shirt.
"In case you start bleeding all over things again," she explained.
"Good call," he said, giving her the thumbs-up as she tossed the other bag to Koga.
x
Though Inu-Yasha traded t-shirts immediately, they rotated through the bathroom to change, though Kagome insisted that the boys go first because they would, logically, be faster because she felt the need to comb her hair again. When it was Kagome's turn, she changed quickly, but gawked to see her shirt was a pink one with a white cat on it.
Oh god, they're all gonna laugh at me, she thought.
She sucked it up and put on the new shirt, though was a bit surprised to find how well it fit, and how nice it felt to have proper clothes on again. Quickly, she brushed her hair and walked out of the bathroom, trying not to blush. Despite her insecurities, however, neither Inu-Yasha or Koga had anything to say about what she was wearing: they seemed to be playing "jan-ken-pon", sitting on the floor with a bag of chips open. After staring at them for a moment, Kagome said,
"So?"
Inu-Yasha looked at her, confused.
"So?" he repeated.
"Is something wrong?" asked Koga.
Kagome stared back at them and then shook her head and sat with them.
"Can we play this three ways?"
oOoOoOo
As the three teenagers played their simple game to numb their boredom, almost 200 miles away, Sessho-Maru, his face a little gaunt from lack of sleep, hurried up the steps to a quaint, pretty house in the suburbia of north Tokyo. As he approached the door, he knocked on it heavily, containing his anxiousness quite effectively despite everything.
x
After a few seconds, the door opened to a tiny girl, looking up at him with wide, bright eyes.
"Hi, is your mother home?" he asked, leaning down a little.
The girl nodded and scurried away, returning, dragging a young woman behind her. The woman was small, wiry, with a pointed face and sharp, brown eyes; black hair tied back in a ponytail. She froze when she saw him, and then knelt to the girl, whispering,
"Honey, why don't you go have some more toast, huh?"
The child nodded once more and hurried away, and the woman approached Sessho-Maru with a frown.
"What is it, Sessho-Maru?" she asked.
"Nomi," he said, nodding a greeting, "I've got something big."
"Oh?" she said, her eyes going wide, "How big?"
"They caught my brother," he said, and though the woman raised a hand to her mouth in horror, Sessho-Maru continued, "He got away. He knows where they are."
Nomi still looked shocked, but she lowered her hand and said,
"You need me?"
"I need your whole team," he said, "The more spiritual power, the better at this point."
Nomi nodded and held up one finger.
"Just let me make some calls. You want to come in?"
"No, I need to call some people as well," he said, "I'll be in the car."
She nodded and ducked back into the house hurriedly, and Sessho-Maru immediately whipped out his cellphone. As soon as he heard an answer of the weasel demon, Itachi, on the other end, he said, unable to keep a fangy grin off his face,
"We've got them."
A/N: Again, a huge thanks to all readers and/or reviewers, with special thanks to the users: Saria Forest14, Leneia and Claireness77, for being awesome.
Also, "jan-ken-pon" is the Japanese version of "Rock-Paper-Scisors", which is basically the same as non-Japanese "Rock-Paper-Scisors".
As always, suggestions for future events and critiques are greatly encouraged and appreciated, and please feel free to correct any atrocious spelling/grammar things that come up.
