Lauren: Congratulations to either Inuyasha-Loves-Kagome or Raiye!! One of you was my 400th reviewer! I sort of don't know which one for sure but....THANKS TO BOTH OF YOU!!! Ick, due to me being sick at the moment the production of the chapters might be a bit slower than usual due to the fact I feel drowsy and all fuzzy. It's so funny, my kitty won't come close to me because my Vick's vapor rub smells so strong. D Did everybody have a good Thanksgiving? I hope so! Mine was good, lots of yummy food.
Nekomon- Well, an army of bishonen might not be a bad thing!
Ryu- Aww, where do you work? Did they at least let you out early? Good luck with it though!
Tenoko- No, your comment didn't wig me out or anything. Just gave me a bad mental image, hehe. Try imaging Naraku breaking into a Michael Jackson dance while fighting Inuyasha.
Aberuncate- Ahhh!! You can't eat me! Plus, Skittles is my cat, so if you eat him you'll probably get a lot of hairballs! Thanks for the world's greatest turkey. I hope you had the best too!
Asilin- I know! I want Bernard now too! Guess what? Today on the Disney channel they had "The Santa Claus" on so I got to watch more Bernard sexiness.
Raiye- *cowers at the echo* Is this good enough of an update for you?
Syren- Do you feel special? You should! That must be the warm feeling. Are you feeling it again? But I don't just reply to reviews to get more reviews. I like to take the time to answer things people have said in reviews because I appreciate the comments and everything so much. Without you guys, this story would never exist and I think you all deserve some credit also!
WarriorGL- Hehe, that's funny! Don't hurt yourself if you fall down! Ack, these review replies are slowly getting shorter today as sleep tries to claim me!
Cherrymecha- Yeah, that would be just gross. And jeez, I'm not that good of a writer! I wish I was! D
Rurouni Angel- HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!! *Hands her a scantily-clad Inuyasha*
Tori- I've read "Shadow" and "Two Faced" and I agree, they're both wonderful stories.
Thank you all so much and now...on with the story!
~*~ Where Did You Go? ~*~
~By: Lauren~
-Chapter 16-
"Fairly-Priced Freedom"
Kagome clung desperately to Inuyasha's arm as he led her through the massive side-street crowd. Her pale skin crawled as she watched blurred faces push pass her, going to some unknown destination. Everyone had someplace to be- something to be doing. The pair was walking down the street towards the parking garage that Inuyasha was forced to park his car it. It was a few blocks down for the clinic was very cheap when it came to assigned parking places. Kagome began to tremble as people were shoved into her, pushing past her. She tightened her grip on Inuyasha's strong arm but somewhere along the way, the people seemed to pull at her, tugging her down with them. It was as if she were a fish trying to swim upstream but instead of water, she was swimming against people. Kagome's heart began to flutter with fear as she felt her fingertips brush Inuyasha's shirt and then he was gone.
She let herself be pulled along, away from Inuyasha as she still reached out for him.
There were so many people- so many. Too many. Kagome began to take in uneven, gasping breaths, as the noises became unbearably loud. There was thousands of voices talking and chattering mindlessly- cars honking at each other on the nearby street- dirty and ragged homeless men and woman begging for money next to her- a snotty-nosed child sobbing- people talking on cell phones as they impatiently pushed past her and others.
They were surrounding her, closing in on her and Inuyasha wasn't there to protect her.
It was all just too terrifying for Kagome. She had been used to seeing only one person a day and often it was only for a few minutes to deliver her food or her medication. Now...they were everywhere. Moving, talking, pushing, shoving, yelling, crying, laughing...so many- everywhere. Everywhere she turned, people were there. She had no where to escape to. Not only that, but to add to her fears, she realized that the demon could be any one of them.
Kagome sunk to the paved ground as she pulled her legs up against her chest tightly. She wrapped her arms around her knees and rocked back and forth slightly, her entire body shaking with tremors as a strangled sob escaped her lips.
"I..n...u...yash...a..." She murmured as droplets of crystal tears dripped down her flushed cheeks. Kagome ignored the staring people as the gray clouds above her slowly began to open up and a few cold raindrops landed on her face, mingling with her own tears. She felt so sore, sore inside and out. But at this very moment, she felt sore in only one spot- her heart. At first the rain was light, a mere drizzle of cool water that gently fell to the earth, making quiet pitter-patter sounds while they rolled off of leaves and cars then drained onto the paved street. Suddenly, the clouds erupted, opening up their marsh mellow bodies to allow thousands upon thousands of water droplets to pour down. With every impact on the ground, a shroud of mist would shoot up until the street seemed to disappear within a gray mass. The people around her ran for cover but Kagome could only sit there, letting the rain soak through her clothes, chilling her to the bone but she didn't really care. It felt good- refreshing- as if the rain was washing away a bit of her sorrow. She cleared her mind for just one second, allowing the sound of the rain to fill her ears, feeling herself trying to keep her composition. She clenched her fist in determination. Kagome had no strength left in herself to be proud and there was nothing to say that her heart didn't need mending or her soul didn't feel torn. The patter of the rain began to grow dominance as it almost echoed out her thoughts. Why hadn't Inuyasha returned to her side yet? Had he left her, getting lost in the mists of the crowd? Kagome wanted to be with him forever and she knew that she could never forget about him, even if she tried. She wanted them both to have many happy times and she wanted Inuyasha to smile often- only for her. She wanted to do everything in her power to make him happy. The rain echoed in her ears but no matter if the rain were to sound like the crashing of the waves or the fierceness of thunder, it could never drown out the sounds that so plagued her mind at that very moment.
Suddenly, Kagome wasn't getting wet anymore- the rain above her had disappeared but it was still falling around her. Glancing up in shock, she looked up to find Inuyasha's face beaming down at her. He was holding an open black umbrella and the rain was streaming down it, dripping off the sides. He held down his hand and helped to pull Kagome to her feet.
It had only been a few minutes and yet it had seemed like an hour.
"Almost lost you there, it nearly gave me a heart attack!" Inuyasha exclaimed as he pulled Kagome to his side, wrapping one of his arms around her. "Look at you- you're soaking wet! You'll catch your death out here! Come on, the car's not that far off." He paused as they stumbled down the sidewalk. He was sure to keep her by his side to be sure that he didn't lose her again. "Feh, sorry about that. Stupid people made me lose my grip on you..." He muttered.
"It's ok." Kagome replied, leaning into his warm body. She was trying to memorize her feelings; to forever freeze this moment in her mind, for she knew this could be the last time, the only time that she could be in his arms. She took in his rich scent, letting his long soft hair caress her face while she listened to his thudding heartbeat. Hot tears pricked at her eyelids as she pushed them back, trying to cease crying. Her heart was pounding in her ears, thrumming through her limbs and tingling at her fingers, but somehow, she was sure that she had never been so relaxed in her life. Everything was a strange, warm contradiction and these last thirty seconds had somehow smoothed into a lifetime.
"I-I couldn't fight back to reach you a-again. I was s-scared..." She murmured into his chest.
"Is that all?" Inuyasha smoothed her hair out with his hands gently. "There, there...everything is okay now! Don't cry. It's okay now. Hey...I said stop crying!" Inuyasha held onto her tighter, letting her almost sink into the contours of his body. "It'll all be okay Kagome. I will...stay with you and take care of you...forever!!"
Kagome smiled as she understood something her mother had once told her. "Love wasn't supposed to be socially acceptable. Love is supposed to be about catching your partner when they fall- it's about knowing you can be caught. Love is about sweet kisses stolen in the dark. It's about worrying about the person when you haven't seen them for a while. It's not about what everyone thinks, it's not about acceptance. It's about love."
Kagome's smile seemed to grow bigger. "Yes...that's what it's about." She thought to herself. "It's about love." She felt Inuyasha's hand tighten his grip on her shoulder and she turned, meeting the young man's eyes. Within them she saw Inuyasha's own concerns, his own fears, his own realizations...but she saw something else, too. She saw determination, and instantly understood. It didn't matter who he used to be. All that mattered was that he had chosen to protect her and no matter how difficult it might be, that's what he chose to do.
Kagome held onto Inuyasha tightly the rest of the way and he never let her go.
~*~
Inuyasha watched her chest rise and fall as he sat her slumped figure down on his bed. Kagome had fallen asleep on the car ride home and so he had carried her up to his apartment, ignoring the glares he had received from Yura in the stairwell. As he watched Kagome, he realized he needed to get her out of her soaked clothing or else she'd get sick. Closing his eyes and being sure his hands only touched her clothing, he pulled off most of her wet outfit and slid a pair of his pajama pants and shirt on her. Smiling and blushing ever so slightly, he pulled the bed's covers up around her and let her cuddle into them. Turning to Kirara, he poured out the cat some food before he produced a spare pillow and blanket and settled down on the couch.
He stared up at the ceiling, thinking over all that had happened recently. He had really dug himself in deep this time but he didn't really care- it was for the woman he loved. He tried to sort out what Kagome had told him in the car but it was very confusing and hard to think of when he was so tired. She had told him that a demon was after them, a very deadly one and it was what had made them all come together as they were now. He shrugged. He could probably deal with that, or at least, that's what he told himself. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Kagome's sleeping figure through the opened door of his room. A tiny smile spread across his lips before he let out a quiet sigh. If only things could stay like this. If they could stay together. He prayed that everything would never change but for now, he told himself, he belonged to her.
~*~
Inuyasha really didn't feel like being at work at this very moment but there was nothing he could do. He had to make sure everything went smoothly with Kikyo and be sure that Naraku didn't find out about the switch. What truly worried him the most though was leaving Kagome in his apartment alone. What if the demon decided to show up then? What if she went wandering outside? He sipped his coffee to ease his nerves as he headed down one of the many hallways. Inuyasha had given Kagome the direct number to his pager, cell phone and work office. He also had left her a spare key incase she decided to leave the apartment but he advised her against that. He had woken Kagome up early before he left, explained things to her and giving her his numbers, before he left her to return to sleep, with Kirara nuzzling her leg.
Inuyasha groaned, crumpling his now-empty paper coffee cup up in his hand. He tossed it into the nearest trashcan before he walked into the reception office. He nearly gagged as he saw Miroku passionately kissing Sango behind his desk.
"Get a room." Inuyasha barked, walking pass them and trying not to watch.
Miroku laughed at what Inuyasha said as a huge grin spread across his face.
WHACK
Sango glared at Miroku, getting up and straightening her clothing. "Don't even think about it." She smirked at the large red handprint she had put on him from her slap before she walked out of the office.
"Thanks a lot." Miroku grumbled angrily at Inuyasha.
Inuyasha snorted. "It's your own fault." He wandered down the hallway before something suddenly grabbed his shirt and yanked him into a dark closet. "What?!" He exclaimed, struggling against the cold hand that was now pushing him roughly into the plastered wall. What if someone had found out about the switch...?
"One question." A cruel voice hissed. "What the hell were you doing with my woman last night?!" Naraku pulled back his arm, bringing it forward fast to connect with Inuyasha's cheek.
Inuyasha tasted coppery blood in his mouth as another punch smashed into his jaw. He was in too much shock to do anything before it dawned on him. Naraku must have seen him holding Kagome when they were walking to his car the day before and since she was posing as Kikyo, he must have come to the conclusion that she was...cheating on Naraku with Inuyasha!
"Listen, it's not what you think!" Inuyasha retorted, trying to move in the tiny, narrow room. His elbow smacked into the wall as he pulled back his arm to punch Naraku. Cursing, he felt a searing pain in his stomach as Naraku knocked the wind out of him. Inuyasha doubled over before he brought his knee up and hit Naraku in his leg, sending his footing off balance.
"Sure, and I'm the king of hell!" Naraku sarcastically stated between gasps. "Explain and maybe I'll let you live."
Inuyasha clenched his fist, thinking up a quick lie. "Kikyo was sick with a high fever so I offered to take her home. She didn't want to worry you so she didn't ask you to take her home. She refused my help but then collapsed, overwhelmed with weakness from her sickness, next to me. So with my support, I helped her home. You should be thanking me." Inuyasha pulled back his arm, growling as he felt a faint, throbbing pain in his cheeks. Throwing his fist forward as hard as he could, it slammed into Naraku's nose, sending the man backwards as blood streamed down from his injured nose and over his mouth and chin.
Naraku knew he was beaten in both the physical battle and the one fought over Kikyo but he refused to go down alone. He grabbed onto Inuyasha's shirt as he fell against the closet door and because of their weight and the force of the fall, the door gave away and they both went tumbling into the hallway.
"And you tell me to get a room..." Miroku grumbled as he stepped over Naraku and Inuyasha. "But I suppose a closet is better than out in the open." He strutted past them now, grinning. "Didn't know you both swung that way." He chuckled before he disappeared from sight.
Naraku had pulled Inuyasha down with him and so Inuyasha was now lying on top of Naraku. Instantly, both men shoved the other away and jumped up. They turned on their heels, stomping in opposite directions down the hallway with red faces while they grumbled curses.
~*~
Gross, huh? See, this is what happens when I get sick and try to write.
Misspelling #1: Inuyasha groaned, crumpling his now-empty paper coffee cup up in his head.
Wow, I didn't know he possessed such power.
Misspelling #2: And so Inuyasha was now lying on top of Inuyasha.
What can he say? Inuyasha loves himself so much that he cloned himself.