Hey, guys..sorry for the lack of updating on my part.......You all know how school is, right? ^__^ I was failing English because I didn't do a report, so I had to bring it up to a C. u.u...College Prep English sucks majorly...*sigh*..Make-up work also sucks..but ya know what? X-MAS RULES! XD. I did a special IY fanfart for 150 reviews, it's a chibi yasha. ^.^...Note: My lineart and coloring isn't really the best, I haven't done it in a while. When I get those reviews, I'll post it. This isn't a 'I have to get more reviews to update' thing..It's just a special thank you. *takes out a box of tissues*.....Yeah.
That last chapter freaked me out as much as it did ya'll...Heh, I was writing it at two o'clock in the morning..Arrrgh...The wind hit my window and I jumped five feet in the air..@.@...
Alrighty, I know some you think that this fic is really sad and depressing, etc etc...but it's really not. ^_^ Well, it is right now, but I have to build it up, no? I'll try to add some fluffiness into this chapter and all of the following chapters, but yet again I'm not promising anything HUGE...yet...Kag and Yash just can't be together like that *snaps* ^__^...LoL..I'll add a lot more happy chapters. ^.^.
Okay, here's the next chapter:
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Chapter Seven:
Ode to a New Life
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"Yesterday the body of Mrs. Ellen Shanlie was discovered in a girls facility located at Feudal High School. The body was stumbled upon by a local student, Miss Kagome Higurashi, whom we have yet to speak with. The corpse was found to be marred with a long gash across the throat, as well as minor cuts scraped across the cheek and jugular area. We'll have more on the story later tonight-" A woman's professional practiced voice floated throughout the large living room before getting cut off.
Kagome slammed down the remote control, pushing herself off the couch and into the kitchen with a flourish. She was pissed, period. The news station had been after her since the moment she had woken up in the hospital. They had banged on her door repeatedly, giving her a splitting headache, and one had even gone to the extremes of trying to crawl across the window sill to get into her room. It was ridiculous, really, but they must have needed a story badly.
She had woken up around midnight on Sunday, and was immediately bombarded with twenty million questions flying out at her from every corner of the small, white hospital room. She had just grunted and rolled over, covering her sensitive ears with her hands. The noise was too much to bare, and she could hardly understand a word they were saying; it was like a wave of sound crashing against her skull, and the questions just kept coming at her until her father finally had the decency to push the herd of reporters away. That's when everything flooded back to her. She nearly fainted again when the picture of the principal flashed into her mind, but her father was quickly by her side, along with a few nurses in starch white uniforms, telling her it would be okay. That's what they thought..Nothing would ever be okay now.
A group of people had gathered outside the big glass doors of the building, all crowding around to get a glimpse at the 'freak'. She thought hell had finally taken her when everyone started screaming her name and leaning in to each other to whisper remarks and comments. It was horrible, everyone acted like she was the main act at a local circus. She was just a normal teenage girl.. It could have happened to anybody, and now everyone was blowing it way out of proportion.
As soon as they had gotten home her father had wrapped her up in a blanket and made sure she was comfortable on the living room couch until he rushed off to go do some research. Apparently her 'miraculous find' had opened some new leads to her mother's case. That sort of thing would have hurt her normally, but she was too petrified beyond belief to really say anything about it. Her father's work was important to him, she didn't mind. He could spend all the time in the world with her and Souta after he got the case solved, and the sooner the better. But she still couldn't understand....
It had really happened, everything was real.
She hadn't believed it a first, at least until the news had come on, and she still could hardly believe it. It wasn't possible, was it? Her life had been transformed from normal to tainted in less than an hour. Just a day ago she was just a normal girl going to get a normal bag from a normal school. Now everyone knew her as that freak girl who found the dead principal in a bathroom. It wasn't exactly the reputation she had wanted to achieve.
Bright shocks of light jumped out at her as she pushed the swinging door open, shocking her a moment before realisation dawned.
"GO AWAY!" She roared, pulling the kitchen blinds down and blocking out the annoying flashes of the press. They had been at this for a little over forty-five minutes already, wanting to get pictures of the new girl before anyone else had a chance. Those people were bloodsuckers that never gave up, and she hated it. They didn't even once consider the fact that was just a little upset about what happened.
There were a few bangs and knocks on the window before all the sounds finally ceased. 'Maybe they finally left.'... She sighed, eyeing the phone momentarily before plopping down into a stiff, wooden chair. Her father said he would call whenever he was finished at the office, meaning he would be home later on tonight. Souta was still asleep upstairs in his bed, and other than him she was the only human in the house. It got very lonely after a while.
She would be holding a grudge against her dad, but as he had left the house, the look in his eyes told her everything she needed to know. He didn't want to leave her, he had to. She could understand that. When something this enormous happens, naturally the goverment would hide it, and her father worked for the government, so of course he had to help. Covering the story up would stop the people from panicking and potentially creating a public riot, which she doubted they would, considering it was only a small murder in a small town.
She rapped her fingers against the wood, breaking the silence of the small room. 'I wonder how Inuyasha's doing?' It wasn't exactly the right thing to think about at the moment, but anything, in her opinion, was better than the haunting memory.
He had looked fine when she had left the previous morning. Well, except for the fact that he was still in a pissed off mood because she was still there. That thought in itself made a light blush spread across her cheeks. 'That dumbass..I really would have left if he hadn't been clinging onto me like a lifeboat in the Titanic..' She sighed, pulling a lock of raven hair that was plastered to her cheek away. It was useless to think about it further, so she stood up and stretched, making her way back to her bedroom.
The familiar scent of honeysuckle hit her as she shoved the door open and plopped down onto her soft sheets. Her father had bought her the body spray the other day and she had definately put it to good use. As a matter of fact, she would be surprised if the entire neighborhood didn't smell it.
She mentally groaned, rolling over and shoving her face deep into the wrinkles of the comforter. The next two days were going to be the longest in her life, she was sure of it. Come Wednesday, everyone would be blaming her for the murder...Even Sango wouldn't be able to lift her spirits then.
School had been called off for a few days due to police investigation, so she was stuck at home along with the rest of the student body. "Why me?" She groaned, rolling back over to face the ceiling before looking out her window at Inuyasha's house. The sun still had a few hours to go before it rose into the sky, so it was still very dark. The stars were twinkling and winking at her from their position in the sky, and her gaze softened as she looked at them. She felt sorry for the heavenly bodies; They were doomed to forever stay in the confines of space, shedding light on a few measly planets, and in the end they either blew up or turned into a dull red giant.
She shook her head, pulling out the second drawer of her nightstand and extracting her diary. If she couldn't talk to somebody about what was going on, she was sure as hell going to write about it.
She irritably clutched the sacred item to her chest as she walked slowly down the steps and across the living room into the kitchen. She clutched the glass knob and twisted it, opening the back door. If it was quiet in her house, then it was deafening out here. It was almost completely pitch black, and if it wasn't for the light of the stars then she probably wouldn't be able to see three feet in front of her. It was quiet, yes, but beautiful.
A light wind dragged the scent of pine towards her nose, and she gave a mental sigh, letting her composure soften for a moment before she shot down the stairs of her patio and onto the slightly damp grass. The cool blades felt wonderful underneath her feat, and she scrunched her nose up, comforted by the coldness.
Her father had set up a hammock between two large pines, and she took off across the yard, wary for any minions from the news. Knowing them, they would be hiding behind bushes somewhere just waiting for her to make the right move before pouncing on her. The hammock swung lazily in the breeze, the branches of the trees creaking and groaning slightly with the pressure of the wool weighing it down. A flashlight was propped up against the trunk of one of the giants, and she flicked it on before climbing into the softness of the gentle cot.
She propped the flashlight above her head, shining the light in front of her and halfway across her peripheal vision. She picked up her diary and pen and began scribbling into her diary ecstaticly.
Dear Diary,
Today was my first day of being a 'celebrity.' The press was everywhere! Normally, when you wake up in a hospital the first thing you see isn't supposed to be bright flashes and people with cameras and microphones nearly sticking the damn things down your throat...It was horrible, diary. I halfway thought that I was dying, and instead of a tunnel I was seeing fireworks.. I didn't get to write yesterday, sorry..I was sort of..busy. I had another vision diary, and it was right..Mrs. Shanlie..I think that was her name..She was the principal. That makes me wonder who the man was that I saw in the office at her desk...This can't be good...I'll have to write later, i'm getting dizzy again.
~Kag.
She signed her name lazily, tossing the pen onto the ground before the diary soon followed. The dizzyness signaled to her that the morphine they had injected into her to kill whatever sort of pain there was supposed to be was finally going away. Now maybe she wouldn't wander around the house like a half-drunk idiot. She sighed, snuggling back into the warmth of the futon and shifting her weight to the left, making it swing slightly. She like the feeling, it was comforting.
She closed her eyes, leaning a hand up to feeling along the bark of the tree until her fingertips rested on the flashlight. Turning off the nuisance, she let the silence surround her. The sound of nothing was strangely making her very very sleepy, and she was halfway asleep when a certain soaking wet white teddy bear splashed onto her chest.
The bear made a sucking sound as it landed hard onto her bare skin, and she shrieked, flinging the unidentifyable object off of her before falling off of the hammock and onto the ground with a thump. The fall had knocked the wind out of her, and she distinctly heard the sound of something sliding down the tree and onto the ground.
A familiar voice started chuckling silently from up in the highest branches of the tree, and her brain suddenly fit the voice together with the last person she wanted to see right then.
"INUYASHA!" She dragged herself off the ground, flicking on the flashlight and shining it into the boughs of the large tree. Surely enough a pair of golden eyes flashed back down into the light. "YOU JERK!! GET DOWN HERE AND FACE ME NOW!" She roared at him, growling slightly as his laugh merely intensified.
"And what are you going to do if I don't, wench?" He smirked down at her, jumping down onto the branch underneath him, but still too far out of her reach. As soon as she got her hands on him she was going to wring his neck!
"Or i'll come up there and get you." She ground out, clenching her jaw together to keep from letting out a string of curses that would make a sailor proud. "Get. Down. Now." She punctuated each word geniunely, putting a hand to her now wet spaghetti strap night shirt.
"No." He teased playfully, pinning back both of his ears in warning.
"Inuyasha!! Fine!! I'm coming to get you, then!" She grabbed the nearest tree branch, resting her foot onto the trunk and pulling herself up. She didn't care if she fell a hundred feet as long as she got to the jerk soon. The branches were twisted and groaning under her weight, but she didn't notice, continuing to drag herself up to the next branch, and then the next. She was getting extremely close, and Inuyasha didn't look a bit worried that she was ready to throttle the boy silly. As a matter of fact, he looked extremely calm.
She was right underneath the branch that he was resided upon when he disappeared. Inuyasha was there, and suddenly it was just then air.
"Huh?" Kagome's eyebrows shot up in exclamation as the bough she was on bent down and creaked loudly with new weight. Out of plain nerves, she tried to turn, which happened to be the worst idea she could have possibly thought of. Her foot shot out from under her and she toppled backwards, her raven hair flying above her as she fell to the ground with a shriek of horror. The branches were passing dangerously close to her face and body, and she tucked her arms close to her body, waiting for the impact. Ten Feet...Seven Feet...
'Shit!' She mentally screamed at herself as she screwed her eyes shut in concentration. She was moments away from hitting the ground when two strong arms caught her bridal style, shocking the daylights out of her. The anticpation of hitting the ground shot out of her as she clung for dear life onto whatever it was that had saved her. Two feet hit the ground softly beneath her, but she kept her eyes closed, afraid that the medicine had her completely fooled and that she had really hit the ground, but this just happened to be some sort of weird hallucination.
It was quiet for a few moments before she dared to slide her eyes open, resting them on a pair of golden ones. Everything was still deathly quiet as Inuyasha's ears flicked back and forth on his head, obviously waiting for her to say something. Her gaze softened as she watched the tiny appendages at work. 'It must be nice to have cute ears like that.' She subconsciencely reached a hand up to tenderly caress one of the fuzzy objects, too lost in her thoughts to notice the weird look the boy was giving her. What finally shocked her back into reality was the fact that he was leaning in towards her touch. It had to be the medicine playing tricks on her mind again.
"Oi! Cut that out!" Inuyasha snapped, shifting his weight to his other leg and preparing to drop her.
Kagome finally snapped back into reality, realising exactly who was holding her. "Inuyasha!" She had rolled out of his grip and onto the ground faster than she thought she would ever be able to move in her life. "I am going to kill you!" She lunged at him, determined to show him exactly what a pissed miko was capable of. Her plan didn't exactly turn out right, however, as his hand snaked out and clutched her ankle, stopping it inches away from its mark. Complete shock was mirrored in her eyes as she stared down at the offending limb. That was impossible. Her father had paid for martial arts training when she was five, and she was a fifth degree black belt!
"Let go." Her eyes narrowed to slits as she tried to pull her leg back, but his grip only tightened.
"No." He shot her a coy look, scoffing at her obviously distressed expression.
"Damnit, Inuyasha...Let. Go." The dizzyness had returned to her, and her energy wasn't exactly what it should have been in the first place. Any minute now the morphine would probably kick back in, pushing sleep back onto her. The medicine had a different reaction in her than everyone else for some reason. Instead of killing the pain, it made her dizzy. The doctors said it had something to do with her blood type, but she had shrugged that idea off.
"Please?" She yawned, starting to topple sideways as Inuyasha's hand dragged her ankle forwards, making her fall onto her back with a grunt of protest. He hooked his hands underneath her knees and lower back, lifting her up once again in bridal fashion.
"We have to talk, bitch. Your father called and asked me to watch over you, so in the mean time I am going to take full advantage of the questioning opportunity." He gave her a flat look as he lowered her onto the hammock, crawling up to sit opposite of her with his legs stretched out on one side.
"Forget it..I'm not talking." She narrowed her eyes, offensively snuggling back deeper into the wool hammock. The warmth was comforting, and maybe if she made an effort to ignore him he would just leave. She shot him a stubborn look, crossing her arms over her shirt. She was getting a little cold, but her will overpowered her feelings, and she shrugged it off.
He merely repeated her stubborn actions, and two golden orbs stared into two blue gray ones. It looked like the staring battle was going to last for a while, and Kagome subconsciencely shifted her weight to get the crick out of her lower back. A small ache had appeared right next to her spine, and it was making her extremely uncomfortable.
"What do you want?" She sighed, deflating in defeat. One of her small, pale hands reached behind her and rubbed the dull throb, willing the ache to go away. 'Damn shots' she rubbed her arm thoughtfully, noting in distaste the way the nurse had just plunged the giant needle into her a few moments after she'd woken up. She had always had a phobia of hospitals. They were just so..creepy. And the doctors would always push and prod with little wooden sticks and thermometers.
"Why were you at school?" A look of accusation crossed his eyes, but it was gone in a flash.
"That's none of your damn business." She snapped, shifting her weight again to get comfortable. He reminded her of a detective in a way, always trying to get a straight answer without really getting far into discussion.
"Wrong answer." He growled, his ears flicking back and forth momentarily before flattening in a silent warning.
"Bite me." She spat in a voice covered with venom. It was more caution than anything. The topic of the haunting day wasn't exactly something worth thinking about. Especially since she almost screamed every time the womans's pale, drawn face had jumped into her mind's eye.
"Where?" His voice was perfectly calm and serious, and she gave him a caustic look.
"That's not funny." A thought teetered into her imagination at something he had said earlier. "My dad asked you to watch me? I'm seveteen, damnit. I don't need a babysitter." Her voice sounded foreign to even her own ears. The acid dripping off of the words was enough to make anyone cringe and run. Unfortunately, Inuyasha wasn't one to be pushed aside or intimidated.
"Yes, and you're damn lucky." He scoffed, crossing his arms in traditional 'Inuyasha' style. "Now tell me, or i'll scream to the reporters that have been sniffing around for about fifteen minutes." He motioned to his left side, more directly to the front of her house where the sound of banging resonated across the neighborhood.
"Bull shit." She shrugged simply, attempting to pull her legs over the side of the hammock.
"YO! SHE'S OVER H-" His masculine voice bellowed out of the silence of the trees before getting cut off by one of her hands.
"Shhhh!! Okay, okay..I'll talk..Just be quiet!" She hissed, not even taking into consideration their current position. She had had to straddle her legs over his hips and lean her weight onto his chest to put one of her hands over his mouth. Her other arm was cast out beside them, propping her weight up. She narrowed her eyes slowly as the sound of brush being pushed aside reached her ears.
'Oh no...please don't let them find me.' She lifted her eyes to gaze just past his head and into the darkness. After a few long moments of the sound, the reporters sullenly cursed and went back around to the front of her house. She let out a mental sigh, slowly taking her hand off of his mouth.
"Don't EVER do that again." She pulled her face close to his, snapping the words out harshly before sliding back to her side of the now swinging hammock. "What do you want to know?" Her eyes softened slightly as she looked to the bottom of the tree trunk, spying her now squishy teddy bear.
He scoffed before continuing with his questioning. "Why were you at school, bitch?" He shot out, his golden eyes burning with fierce determination.
She pursed her lips, biting her tongue for few moments before responding. "I had to get my bag..I left it there." She shuffled back farther into the cot, squirming at his intense look before shooting one of equal opacity back at him. "Now I have a question for you. Why did you tell me not to go to the party?" She said under her breath, very aware that the hanyou could hear every word.
"I didn't want to have to smell your rancid scent the entire night." He growled, flashing a coy smile at her.
She rolled her eyes. He wasn't exactly the best liar in the world, but she decided to drop the subject for the time being. "Fine. What else do you want to know?"
"Why were you so scared when I came into the bathroom?" He pointed to his nose with his forefinger. "I smelled fear all the way out in the hallway."
"I thought I saw a zit?" She smiled, giving him with what she thought was a cocky look, but it came out more uncertain than anything. It would be better not to tell the truth.
"You're lying, bitch." He shifted his weight, causing the hammock to once again swing from side to side.
She bit her lip thoughtfully for a few moments. He couldn't find out about her visions. If she told him now then she would never hear the end of it. "I just had a really bad case of butterflies, that's all." Her final answer wasn't exactly the most convicing, but it worked.
He looked at her a few more minutes before shrugging. "Whatever." He scoffed, turning his head to look at her house.
"Anything else?" She paused, uncrossing her arms to try and lift her legs out of the hammock. A warm hand landed softly onto her pale skin, stopping her. Her gaze lifted up to once again see him staring intently at her. It was the same look he had given her the day of the party.
"Why did you take me home?" His voice was once again calm. The sound was surprisingly gentle in her ears as well.
His look was starting to make her uncomfortable again, and she looked at the giant sillhouette of her house before glancing back at him. "I couldn't leave you there..You might have gotten hurt." A loose strand of hair darted out in front of her and she tucked it behind her ear shyly, refusing to meet his eyes. The first rays of sun were starting to peek over the horizon, the light dancing on the dew covered trees creating an iridescent shower of nature.
The pause went on what seemed like forever before she finally decided to break it. "I think I should get some sleep." She murmered when silence was her only answer, and she stood up and stretched her swore muscles. The crick in her back had dissipated a long time ago, and she picked up the flashlight and soaked teddy bear, walking towards the house slowly.
The sound of cloth scraping against cloth sounded out from behind her, and she imagined Inuyasha was probably trailing behind her. The silence between them was almost too much to bear. He could have scoffed, snorted, or made his trademark 'feh' sound; anything to make noise. She sighed, shifting the objects in her arms. He was impossible sometimes.
Suddenly the world turned upside down, and she was startled to find out that the ground was moving instead of her. A strong arm was wrapped around her waist, holding her in place. "Inuyasha!! I'm not a log, put me down!" She squirmed, but his grip merely got tighter so she gave up, fancying tapping on his shoulder blades instead. The smooth muscles contracted each time he took a step, and she watched in awe the feeling of them underneath her hands. She had never really noticed how perfect they were..
Inuyasha took a sudden leap onto her patio, and she sucked up air, clutching onto the fabric of his shirt like a life support. This action merely caused his chest to vibrate in silent laughter.
"That's not funny." She grumbled, yawning loudly as her back door opened and slammed in front of her.
"You have no idea." He smiled, and she felt the motion against her leg.
A light blush was working its way to her cheek, and she pushed it down forcefully.
The house was empty and cold, and it reminded her too much of a morgue. Not exactly the most pleasant thought in the world. Someone had turned the kitchen light out, probably her brother, but Inuyasha stomped through the room as if it were lit by the sun. He really was something else...
He plopped her down onto the couch, turning to huff across the room to the front door. She shot him a withering look before pulling the small fuzzy blanket from the back of the make-shift bed and covering herself with it. It was the small comforter she had wrapped around her father a few days ago, and the warmth was definately welcome.
"Thank you." She whispered, propping her head up on the arm. The morphine had kicked in long ago, and she could barely feel her legs anymore. Pain killers could do wonders for one's sleeping habits..The slight rustle of cloth was heard as she turned to face the wall, and she didn't even have to look to know that his eyes were following her. For some reason the amber globes burnt like fire whenever he looked at her. She sighed before musing back over his poor attempts at a investigation.
Inuyasha's little outburst of kindness had startled her at first, but she didn't get her hopes up. He pitied her, and she had still yet to figure out the reason behind his questioning.
He scoffed, propping his back on the blue wall next to the door. "Feh."
She didn't hear him, though, because she had already drifted off to sleep.
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"She has found her, then?" A smooth masculine voice floated out of the shadows of a pitch black room.
A single candle was burning on one side, its wicked flame casting shadows against floor.
"Yes, she had found the body." Another voice shattered the momentary pause.
"Good." The first voice echoed solemnly. "Kill her."
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Sorry this chappie took so long to be posted, guys..School has been hectic lately due to all the make up work i've had shoved at me. @_@...Sorry!
OMG! I finally saw the commerical for FFX-2! Lmao...Rikku looks..different.......I really like it though, and I can't wait to get it! *high five*
Alright, changing subject again. I'll update the next chapter next weekend, hopefully. *snuggle hugs audience* Thanks for everything, guys!
Next Chapter: Mall Mayhem.
((Sorry for the typos, btw..I haven't really scanned it through, yet.))
That last chapter freaked me out as much as it did ya'll...Heh, I was writing it at two o'clock in the morning..Arrrgh...The wind hit my window and I jumped five feet in the air..@.@...
Alrighty, I know some you think that this fic is really sad and depressing, etc etc...but it's really not. ^_^ Well, it is right now, but I have to build it up, no? I'll try to add some fluffiness into this chapter and all of the following chapters, but yet again I'm not promising anything HUGE...yet...Kag and Yash just can't be together like that *snaps* ^__^...LoL..I'll add a lot more happy chapters. ^.^.
Okay, here's the next chapter:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter Seven:
Ode to a New Life
-----------------~*~*
"Yesterday the body of Mrs. Ellen Shanlie was discovered in a girls facility located at Feudal High School. The body was stumbled upon by a local student, Miss Kagome Higurashi, whom we have yet to speak with. The corpse was found to be marred with a long gash across the throat, as well as minor cuts scraped across the cheek and jugular area. We'll have more on the story later tonight-" A woman's professional practiced voice floated throughout the large living room before getting cut off.
Kagome slammed down the remote control, pushing herself off the couch and into the kitchen with a flourish. She was pissed, period. The news station had been after her since the moment she had woken up in the hospital. They had banged on her door repeatedly, giving her a splitting headache, and one had even gone to the extremes of trying to crawl across the window sill to get into her room. It was ridiculous, really, but they must have needed a story badly.
She had woken up around midnight on Sunday, and was immediately bombarded with twenty million questions flying out at her from every corner of the small, white hospital room. She had just grunted and rolled over, covering her sensitive ears with her hands. The noise was too much to bare, and she could hardly understand a word they were saying; it was like a wave of sound crashing against her skull, and the questions just kept coming at her until her father finally had the decency to push the herd of reporters away. That's when everything flooded back to her. She nearly fainted again when the picture of the principal flashed into her mind, but her father was quickly by her side, along with a few nurses in starch white uniforms, telling her it would be okay. That's what they thought..Nothing would ever be okay now.
A group of people had gathered outside the big glass doors of the building, all crowding around to get a glimpse at the 'freak'. She thought hell had finally taken her when everyone started screaming her name and leaning in to each other to whisper remarks and comments. It was horrible, everyone acted like she was the main act at a local circus. She was just a normal teenage girl.. It could have happened to anybody, and now everyone was blowing it way out of proportion.
As soon as they had gotten home her father had wrapped her up in a blanket and made sure she was comfortable on the living room couch until he rushed off to go do some research. Apparently her 'miraculous find' had opened some new leads to her mother's case. That sort of thing would have hurt her normally, but she was too petrified beyond belief to really say anything about it. Her father's work was important to him, she didn't mind. He could spend all the time in the world with her and Souta after he got the case solved, and the sooner the better. But she still couldn't understand....
It had really happened, everything was real.
She hadn't believed it a first, at least until the news had come on, and she still could hardly believe it. It wasn't possible, was it? Her life had been transformed from normal to tainted in less than an hour. Just a day ago she was just a normal girl going to get a normal bag from a normal school. Now everyone knew her as that freak girl who found the dead principal in a bathroom. It wasn't exactly the reputation she had wanted to achieve.
Bright shocks of light jumped out at her as she pushed the swinging door open, shocking her a moment before realisation dawned.
"GO AWAY!" She roared, pulling the kitchen blinds down and blocking out the annoying flashes of the press. They had been at this for a little over forty-five minutes already, wanting to get pictures of the new girl before anyone else had a chance. Those people were bloodsuckers that never gave up, and she hated it. They didn't even once consider the fact that was just a little upset about what happened.
There were a few bangs and knocks on the window before all the sounds finally ceased. 'Maybe they finally left.'... She sighed, eyeing the phone momentarily before plopping down into a stiff, wooden chair. Her father said he would call whenever he was finished at the office, meaning he would be home later on tonight. Souta was still asleep upstairs in his bed, and other than him she was the only human in the house. It got very lonely after a while.
She would be holding a grudge against her dad, but as he had left the house, the look in his eyes told her everything she needed to know. He didn't want to leave her, he had to. She could understand that. When something this enormous happens, naturally the goverment would hide it, and her father worked for the government, so of course he had to help. Covering the story up would stop the people from panicking and potentially creating a public riot, which she doubted they would, considering it was only a small murder in a small town.
She rapped her fingers against the wood, breaking the silence of the small room. 'I wonder how Inuyasha's doing?' It wasn't exactly the right thing to think about at the moment, but anything, in her opinion, was better than the haunting memory.
He had looked fine when she had left the previous morning. Well, except for the fact that he was still in a pissed off mood because she was still there. That thought in itself made a light blush spread across her cheeks. 'That dumbass..I really would have left if he hadn't been clinging onto me like a lifeboat in the Titanic..' She sighed, pulling a lock of raven hair that was plastered to her cheek away. It was useless to think about it further, so she stood up and stretched, making her way back to her bedroom.
The familiar scent of honeysuckle hit her as she shoved the door open and plopped down onto her soft sheets. Her father had bought her the body spray the other day and she had definately put it to good use. As a matter of fact, she would be surprised if the entire neighborhood didn't smell it.
She mentally groaned, rolling over and shoving her face deep into the wrinkles of the comforter. The next two days were going to be the longest in her life, she was sure of it. Come Wednesday, everyone would be blaming her for the murder...Even Sango wouldn't be able to lift her spirits then.
School had been called off for a few days due to police investigation, so she was stuck at home along with the rest of the student body. "Why me?" She groaned, rolling back over to face the ceiling before looking out her window at Inuyasha's house. The sun still had a few hours to go before it rose into the sky, so it was still very dark. The stars were twinkling and winking at her from their position in the sky, and her gaze softened as she looked at them. She felt sorry for the heavenly bodies; They were doomed to forever stay in the confines of space, shedding light on a few measly planets, and in the end they either blew up or turned into a dull red giant.
She shook her head, pulling out the second drawer of her nightstand and extracting her diary. If she couldn't talk to somebody about what was going on, she was sure as hell going to write about it.
She irritably clutched the sacred item to her chest as she walked slowly down the steps and across the living room into the kitchen. She clutched the glass knob and twisted it, opening the back door. If it was quiet in her house, then it was deafening out here. It was almost completely pitch black, and if it wasn't for the light of the stars then she probably wouldn't be able to see three feet in front of her. It was quiet, yes, but beautiful.
A light wind dragged the scent of pine towards her nose, and she gave a mental sigh, letting her composure soften for a moment before she shot down the stairs of her patio and onto the slightly damp grass. The cool blades felt wonderful underneath her feat, and she scrunched her nose up, comforted by the coldness.
Her father had set up a hammock between two large pines, and she took off across the yard, wary for any minions from the news. Knowing them, they would be hiding behind bushes somewhere just waiting for her to make the right move before pouncing on her. The hammock swung lazily in the breeze, the branches of the trees creaking and groaning slightly with the pressure of the wool weighing it down. A flashlight was propped up against the trunk of one of the giants, and she flicked it on before climbing into the softness of the gentle cot.
She propped the flashlight above her head, shining the light in front of her and halfway across her peripheal vision. She picked up her diary and pen and began scribbling into her diary ecstaticly.
Dear Diary,
Today was my first day of being a 'celebrity.' The press was everywhere! Normally, when you wake up in a hospital the first thing you see isn't supposed to be bright flashes and people with cameras and microphones nearly sticking the damn things down your throat...It was horrible, diary. I halfway thought that I was dying, and instead of a tunnel I was seeing fireworks.. I didn't get to write yesterday, sorry..I was sort of..busy. I had another vision diary, and it was right..Mrs. Shanlie..I think that was her name..She was the principal. That makes me wonder who the man was that I saw in the office at her desk...This can't be good...I'll have to write later, i'm getting dizzy again.
~Kag.
She signed her name lazily, tossing the pen onto the ground before the diary soon followed. The dizzyness signaled to her that the morphine they had injected into her to kill whatever sort of pain there was supposed to be was finally going away. Now maybe she wouldn't wander around the house like a half-drunk idiot. She sighed, snuggling back into the warmth of the futon and shifting her weight to the left, making it swing slightly. She like the feeling, it was comforting.
She closed her eyes, leaning a hand up to feeling along the bark of the tree until her fingertips rested on the flashlight. Turning off the nuisance, she let the silence surround her. The sound of nothing was strangely making her very very sleepy, and she was halfway asleep when a certain soaking wet white teddy bear splashed onto her chest.
The bear made a sucking sound as it landed hard onto her bare skin, and she shrieked, flinging the unidentifyable object off of her before falling off of the hammock and onto the ground with a thump. The fall had knocked the wind out of her, and she distinctly heard the sound of something sliding down the tree and onto the ground.
A familiar voice started chuckling silently from up in the highest branches of the tree, and her brain suddenly fit the voice together with the last person she wanted to see right then.
"INUYASHA!" She dragged herself off the ground, flicking on the flashlight and shining it into the boughs of the large tree. Surely enough a pair of golden eyes flashed back down into the light. "YOU JERK!! GET DOWN HERE AND FACE ME NOW!" She roared at him, growling slightly as his laugh merely intensified.
"And what are you going to do if I don't, wench?" He smirked down at her, jumping down onto the branch underneath him, but still too far out of her reach. As soon as she got her hands on him she was going to wring his neck!
"Or i'll come up there and get you." She ground out, clenching her jaw together to keep from letting out a string of curses that would make a sailor proud. "Get. Down. Now." She punctuated each word geniunely, putting a hand to her now wet spaghetti strap night shirt.
"No." He teased playfully, pinning back both of his ears in warning.
"Inuyasha!! Fine!! I'm coming to get you, then!" She grabbed the nearest tree branch, resting her foot onto the trunk and pulling herself up. She didn't care if she fell a hundred feet as long as she got to the jerk soon. The branches were twisted and groaning under her weight, but she didn't notice, continuing to drag herself up to the next branch, and then the next. She was getting extremely close, and Inuyasha didn't look a bit worried that she was ready to throttle the boy silly. As a matter of fact, he looked extremely calm.
She was right underneath the branch that he was resided upon when he disappeared. Inuyasha was there, and suddenly it was just then air.
"Huh?" Kagome's eyebrows shot up in exclamation as the bough she was on bent down and creaked loudly with new weight. Out of plain nerves, she tried to turn, which happened to be the worst idea she could have possibly thought of. Her foot shot out from under her and she toppled backwards, her raven hair flying above her as she fell to the ground with a shriek of horror. The branches were passing dangerously close to her face and body, and she tucked her arms close to her body, waiting for the impact. Ten Feet...Seven Feet...
'Shit!' She mentally screamed at herself as she screwed her eyes shut in concentration. She was moments away from hitting the ground when two strong arms caught her bridal style, shocking the daylights out of her. The anticpation of hitting the ground shot out of her as she clung for dear life onto whatever it was that had saved her. Two feet hit the ground softly beneath her, but she kept her eyes closed, afraid that the medicine had her completely fooled and that she had really hit the ground, but this just happened to be some sort of weird hallucination.
It was quiet for a few moments before she dared to slide her eyes open, resting them on a pair of golden ones. Everything was still deathly quiet as Inuyasha's ears flicked back and forth on his head, obviously waiting for her to say something. Her gaze softened as she watched the tiny appendages at work. 'It must be nice to have cute ears like that.' She subconsciencely reached a hand up to tenderly caress one of the fuzzy objects, too lost in her thoughts to notice the weird look the boy was giving her. What finally shocked her back into reality was the fact that he was leaning in towards her touch. It had to be the medicine playing tricks on her mind again.
"Oi! Cut that out!" Inuyasha snapped, shifting his weight to his other leg and preparing to drop her.
Kagome finally snapped back into reality, realising exactly who was holding her. "Inuyasha!" She had rolled out of his grip and onto the ground faster than she thought she would ever be able to move in her life. "I am going to kill you!" She lunged at him, determined to show him exactly what a pissed miko was capable of. Her plan didn't exactly turn out right, however, as his hand snaked out and clutched her ankle, stopping it inches away from its mark. Complete shock was mirrored in her eyes as she stared down at the offending limb. That was impossible. Her father had paid for martial arts training when she was five, and she was a fifth degree black belt!
"Let go." Her eyes narrowed to slits as she tried to pull her leg back, but his grip only tightened.
"No." He shot her a coy look, scoffing at her obviously distressed expression.
"Damnit, Inuyasha...Let. Go." The dizzyness had returned to her, and her energy wasn't exactly what it should have been in the first place. Any minute now the morphine would probably kick back in, pushing sleep back onto her. The medicine had a different reaction in her than everyone else for some reason. Instead of killing the pain, it made her dizzy. The doctors said it had something to do with her blood type, but she had shrugged that idea off.
"Please?" She yawned, starting to topple sideways as Inuyasha's hand dragged her ankle forwards, making her fall onto her back with a grunt of protest. He hooked his hands underneath her knees and lower back, lifting her up once again in bridal fashion.
"We have to talk, bitch. Your father called and asked me to watch over you, so in the mean time I am going to take full advantage of the questioning opportunity." He gave her a flat look as he lowered her onto the hammock, crawling up to sit opposite of her with his legs stretched out on one side.
"Forget it..I'm not talking." She narrowed her eyes, offensively snuggling back deeper into the wool hammock. The warmth was comforting, and maybe if she made an effort to ignore him he would just leave. She shot him a stubborn look, crossing her arms over her shirt. She was getting a little cold, but her will overpowered her feelings, and she shrugged it off.
He merely repeated her stubborn actions, and two golden orbs stared into two blue gray ones. It looked like the staring battle was going to last for a while, and Kagome subconsciencely shifted her weight to get the crick out of her lower back. A small ache had appeared right next to her spine, and it was making her extremely uncomfortable.
"What do you want?" She sighed, deflating in defeat. One of her small, pale hands reached behind her and rubbed the dull throb, willing the ache to go away. 'Damn shots' she rubbed her arm thoughtfully, noting in distaste the way the nurse had just plunged the giant needle into her a few moments after she'd woken up. She had always had a phobia of hospitals. They were just so..creepy. And the doctors would always push and prod with little wooden sticks and thermometers.
"Why were you at school?" A look of accusation crossed his eyes, but it was gone in a flash.
"That's none of your damn business." She snapped, shifting her weight again to get comfortable. He reminded her of a detective in a way, always trying to get a straight answer without really getting far into discussion.
"Wrong answer." He growled, his ears flicking back and forth momentarily before flattening in a silent warning.
"Bite me." She spat in a voice covered with venom. It was more caution than anything. The topic of the haunting day wasn't exactly something worth thinking about. Especially since she almost screamed every time the womans's pale, drawn face had jumped into her mind's eye.
"Where?" His voice was perfectly calm and serious, and she gave him a caustic look.
"That's not funny." A thought teetered into her imagination at something he had said earlier. "My dad asked you to watch me? I'm seveteen, damnit. I don't need a babysitter." Her voice sounded foreign to even her own ears. The acid dripping off of the words was enough to make anyone cringe and run. Unfortunately, Inuyasha wasn't one to be pushed aside or intimidated.
"Yes, and you're damn lucky." He scoffed, crossing his arms in traditional 'Inuyasha' style. "Now tell me, or i'll scream to the reporters that have been sniffing around for about fifteen minutes." He motioned to his left side, more directly to the front of her house where the sound of banging resonated across the neighborhood.
"Bull shit." She shrugged simply, attempting to pull her legs over the side of the hammock.
"YO! SHE'S OVER H-" His masculine voice bellowed out of the silence of the trees before getting cut off by one of her hands.
"Shhhh!! Okay, okay..I'll talk..Just be quiet!" She hissed, not even taking into consideration their current position. She had had to straddle her legs over his hips and lean her weight onto his chest to put one of her hands over his mouth. Her other arm was cast out beside them, propping her weight up. She narrowed her eyes slowly as the sound of brush being pushed aside reached her ears.
'Oh no...please don't let them find me.' She lifted her eyes to gaze just past his head and into the darkness. After a few long moments of the sound, the reporters sullenly cursed and went back around to the front of her house. She let out a mental sigh, slowly taking her hand off of his mouth.
"Don't EVER do that again." She pulled her face close to his, snapping the words out harshly before sliding back to her side of the now swinging hammock. "What do you want to know?" Her eyes softened slightly as she looked to the bottom of the tree trunk, spying her now squishy teddy bear.
He scoffed before continuing with his questioning. "Why were you at school, bitch?" He shot out, his golden eyes burning with fierce determination.
She pursed her lips, biting her tongue for few moments before responding. "I had to get my bag..I left it there." She shuffled back farther into the cot, squirming at his intense look before shooting one of equal opacity back at him. "Now I have a question for you. Why did you tell me not to go to the party?" She said under her breath, very aware that the hanyou could hear every word.
"I didn't want to have to smell your rancid scent the entire night." He growled, flashing a coy smile at her.
She rolled her eyes. He wasn't exactly the best liar in the world, but she decided to drop the subject for the time being. "Fine. What else do you want to know?"
"Why were you so scared when I came into the bathroom?" He pointed to his nose with his forefinger. "I smelled fear all the way out in the hallway."
"I thought I saw a zit?" She smiled, giving him with what she thought was a cocky look, but it came out more uncertain than anything. It would be better not to tell the truth.
"You're lying, bitch." He shifted his weight, causing the hammock to once again swing from side to side.
She bit her lip thoughtfully for a few moments. He couldn't find out about her visions. If she told him now then she would never hear the end of it. "I just had a really bad case of butterflies, that's all." Her final answer wasn't exactly the most convicing, but it worked.
He looked at her a few more minutes before shrugging. "Whatever." He scoffed, turning his head to look at her house.
"Anything else?" She paused, uncrossing her arms to try and lift her legs out of the hammock. A warm hand landed softly onto her pale skin, stopping her. Her gaze lifted up to once again see him staring intently at her. It was the same look he had given her the day of the party.
"Why did you take me home?" His voice was once again calm. The sound was surprisingly gentle in her ears as well.
His look was starting to make her uncomfortable again, and she looked at the giant sillhouette of her house before glancing back at him. "I couldn't leave you there..You might have gotten hurt." A loose strand of hair darted out in front of her and she tucked it behind her ear shyly, refusing to meet his eyes. The first rays of sun were starting to peek over the horizon, the light dancing on the dew covered trees creating an iridescent shower of nature.
The pause went on what seemed like forever before she finally decided to break it. "I think I should get some sleep." She murmered when silence was her only answer, and she stood up and stretched her swore muscles. The crick in her back had dissipated a long time ago, and she picked up the flashlight and soaked teddy bear, walking towards the house slowly.
The sound of cloth scraping against cloth sounded out from behind her, and she imagined Inuyasha was probably trailing behind her. The silence between them was almost too much to bear. He could have scoffed, snorted, or made his trademark 'feh' sound; anything to make noise. She sighed, shifting the objects in her arms. He was impossible sometimes.
Suddenly the world turned upside down, and she was startled to find out that the ground was moving instead of her. A strong arm was wrapped around her waist, holding her in place. "Inuyasha!! I'm not a log, put me down!" She squirmed, but his grip merely got tighter so she gave up, fancying tapping on his shoulder blades instead. The smooth muscles contracted each time he took a step, and she watched in awe the feeling of them underneath her hands. She had never really noticed how perfect they were..
Inuyasha took a sudden leap onto her patio, and she sucked up air, clutching onto the fabric of his shirt like a life support. This action merely caused his chest to vibrate in silent laughter.
"That's not funny." She grumbled, yawning loudly as her back door opened and slammed in front of her.
"You have no idea." He smiled, and she felt the motion against her leg.
A light blush was working its way to her cheek, and she pushed it down forcefully.
The house was empty and cold, and it reminded her too much of a morgue. Not exactly the most pleasant thought in the world. Someone had turned the kitchen light out, probably her brother, but Inuyasha stomped through the room as if it were lit by the sun. He really was something else...
He plopped her down onto the couch, turning to huff across the room to the front door. She shot him a withering look before pulling the small fuzzy blanket from the back of the make-shift bed and covering herself with it. It was the small comforter she had wrapped around her father a few days ago, and the warmth was definately welcome.
"Thank you." She whispered, propping her head up on the arm. The morphine had kicked in long ago, and she could barely feel her legs anymore. Pain killers could do wonders for one's sleeping habits..The slight rustle of cloth was heard as she turned to face the wall, and she didn't even have to look to know that his eyes were following her. For some reason the amber globes burnt like fire whenever he looked at her. She sighed before musing back over his poor attempts at a investigation.
Inuyasha's little outburst of kindness had startled her at first, but she didn't get her hopes up. He pitied her, and she had still yet to figure out the reason behind his questioning.
He scoffed, propping his back on the blue wall next to the door. "Feh."
She didn't hear him, though, because she had already drifted off to sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"She has found her, then?" A smooth masculine voice floated out of the shadows of a pitch black room.
A single candle was burning on one side, its wicked flame casting shadows against floor.
"Yes, she had found the body." Another voice shattered the momentary pause.
"Good." The first voice echoed solemnly. "Kill her."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~*~*
Sorry this chappie took so long to be posted, guys..School has been hectic lately due to all the make up work i've had shoved at me. @_@...Sorry!
OMG! I finally saw the commerical for FFX-2! Lmao...Rikku looks..different.......I really like it though, and I can't wait to get it! *high five*
Alright, changing subject again. I'll update the next chapter next weekend, hopefully. *snuggle hugs audience* Thanks for everything, guys!
Next Chapter: Mall Mayhem.
((Sorry for the typos, btw..I haven't really scanned it through, yet.))