Notes: Yawn… I'm so tired.  Anyway.  I'm so sorry for not updating like I promised yesterday.  I totally forgot until about midnight.  I attempted to sneak downstairs and onto the computer.  The scheme was successful except for the fact that the Internet wasn't working… ugh.

Anyways!  Thank you for the reviews.  Seven may seem pathetic to some people, but, hey… it's good enough for me.  So peh!  (Of course, you might only count six reviews, seeing as how one was a result of me giving Anna death threats.)  Enjoy this chapter, please!

Disclaimer: Do I look like I own Inuyasha?  Be honest.  Do I?  No?  Wow, you're smarter than you look.

- Watching Over -

- Chapter Two: Spontaneity -

Kagome gawked for a moment more before finally returning to her senses.  Everything seemed unreal – burglaries happened to other people!  But, she realized with a mental sigh, To everyone else, we're 'other people.'  A sick feeling rested in her stomach as she forced an angry scowl over the instinctive wide-eyed stare that had at first been there and began to speak to the frozen robber.

     "What are you doing in my house?" she hissed, her eyes narrowing as genuine anger finally surfaced.  Shockingly golden eyes gazed in a most unnerving fashion at her as she spoke.  "I ought to call the police right now!  In fact… I think I will!"  She turned on a plush, slipper-clad heel and was grasping the telephone when a strong hand locked onto her shoulder.  The telephone clattered to the floor, spinning in uneven circles as she was thrown against the wall with a painful, dizzying crack.  She was faintly aware of a crashing sound as her eyelids fluttered shut.

*****

Inuyasha hadn't meant to pin her to the wall quite so hard, and a sinking feeling of guilt overcame him as the gentle grey-blue of her eyes flickered away.  Her slim body slumped against him, filling his nose with the scents of lily-of-the-valley and fright.  Great, he growled to himself, leaning against the wall with the girl in his arms.  Knowing my luck, I've probably fucking killed her.  I'm screwed…

     What now?  Review the situation… I've just knocked out a girl whom I was about to steal from, smashed what's probably some sort of priceless family heirloom, and Sesshoumaru is going to kill me… literally.

     The Higurashi girl would most likely wake up soon, too.  He couldn't just leave her here, sprawled among the remains of that vase.  Once again: Sesshoumaru would kill him for leaving that much evidence behind.  That was what it all came down to: no matter what he did, he was basically a dead man.  Later, he reflected that, most likely, that was the moment when he made the "mistake" that set the whole oversized snowball rolling off down the mountain.  A half-baked plan entered his mind…

     Nudging the splintered remains of the vase into a corner with his toe, he hoisted the girl into his arms.  Without bothering to turn off the hall light, he padded soundlessly into the master bedroom.  The figure in the bed was still sleeping, thank the gods.  Of course, sometime a few moments before, he had stopped really thinking about just what in the seven hells he was doing.  Kneeling on the carpet by the window, he opened it further with slow, gentle pushes.  He crushed the frail body he held closer to him and stepped lightly over the windowsill, back hunched.

     Outside, the clouds were beginning to drift away in the pre-morning breeze.  Faint rings of light glowed on the horizon, fading in and out from time to time.  He released his tight grip on the girl and headed towards his home, if the grimy hideout could be called a name with such a positive ring.

*****

Laughter was surrounding her, cruel, mocking laughter tinged with scornful coldness.  Something prodded at the area beneath her ribcage, and she doubled up to try and ward off the unseen blows.  Whimpering, she rubbed at her eyes until blurry vision was granted to her at last.

     A silver-haired woman was sneering at her, baring… fangs?  With this sudden shock, Kagome's vision cleared and she sat straight up, her heart crashing against her ribcage.  The unfeeling eyes of her tormentor were orange, and the pupils were thin, black slits.

     "Hello, Sleeping Beauty."

     "G-Get away from me!" Kagome's voice came out as a harsh whisper.

     The woman shook her head, seeming to become bored.  "You're pathetic… I will get Inuyasha.  Do not move."  The last words were spoken in a menacing hiss, and Kagome resolved to obey them.

     The absence of her once-tormentor left Kagome to take in her surroundings whilst chewing on her thumbnail.  The mattress she was curled up upon was thin and hard, and a ratty blue blanket was folded at the foot of her bed.  Faded blue flowers were imprinted upon the peeling wallpaper, and the three-legged stool the woman had perched upon looked as though it had seen much better days.

     Oh, gods… what am I gonna do…?  She buried her face in her knees, loosely locking her hands in a circle around her legs.  I wonder what time it is… is Souta at school, or are they looking for me?  Are they even awake yet?

     Outside, a faint crash sounded.  "What do you want, Mayane?  I'm dead enough as it is!"  A male voice growled, resounding with poorly held in anger.  "…What?  Oh, hell, that!  I'm coming, I'm coming, get off me, Shippou!"

     Kagome squeaked as the door to the small room she was in was kicked open with a loud clatter.  In the doorway, tall and scowling, stood… the burglar!  He was now sans the black cap, and two white dog-ears poked out from his mane of hair.  A child clung to his arm, with chestnut-coloured hair and a bushy brown tail.

     Kagome groaned and closed her eyes.  A dream… yeah.  This is a dream.

     The burglar sighed and sat down on the stool, shaking off the strange child who held on to him.  His amber eyes were half-closed, and his silver hair slightly disheveled.  They sat there for some time, Kagome with closed eyes as she tried to convince herself that it was some weird dream.  Finally, she sighed and opened her eyes. 

     "Okay… what's going on?"

     The burglar's fists clenched as he spoke.  "I… kidnapped you.  By accident, sort of."

     "That's no explanation!  Who are you?  What are you?  And where am I?" Kagome forgot her fears in her confused anger.

     "…Right."  He frowned as he spoke.  "My name is Inuyasha, I'm a half-dog demon, and you're in what they like to call our "hide-out."  His voice was low and resigned, and his bangs patterned his face with shadows.

     Kagome shuddered, feeling a sudden chill run up her spine and arms.  She had an uneasy feeling that she was in far over her head already – and she hadn't even done anything much yet.  "Youkai?" she half-whispered.  "But – I thought –"

     Inuyasha gave her a bitter look.  "Sorry.  Everything you probably thought you knew about demons is wrong."

     She was about to protest when something tugged at her sleeve, making her yelp and start in surprise.  Feeling her heart thrum in her chest, she turned to see the child who had perched upon Inuyasha.  He grinned at her under light brown bangs, bright green eyes sparkling with a mixture of sheepishness and excitement, and the bottlebrush tail bristled as it waved to and fro, back and forth.  She moaned under her breath – this just got worse and worse.

     "What – who – is that?"

     The hanyou sighed, sending the strange child an if-looks-could-kill glare.  "And that… thing is Shippou," he explained, flipping a hand in Shippou's general direction.

     Shippou stuck his tongue out at Inuyasha and puffed out his chest proudly under his mud stained white T-shirt.  "I'm not a thing, stupid!  I'm a kitsune!"  Kagome was blinded for a moment as he conjured a white flash of light.  As if to prove a point, the fox-child had transformed into a floating pink sphere.  Its eyes ogled at Kagome, and she shuddered, chills running up her nerves.  This was far too much for her.

     She was much relieved when he returned to his natural form, eyeing Inuyasha with a smug smile.  A clawed fist reached out and gave Shippou a sharp whack on the head as Kagome shrank away from Inuyasha, pressing herself flat against a wall.  "Hey!" she blurted out before she could stop herself.  "He didn't do anything to you?"

     Inuyasha turned his gaze to her, golden eyes more curious than anything.  "What?"  As he spoke, the dim light of the lamp in one corner flashed on his fangs.

     "Nothing," she whispered, her throat dry.

*****

He shook his head, retreated from the cramped room after a long, flat pause.  Shippou had stared at the Higurashi for a moment more before sliding off the bed and bouncing after Inuyasha, singing at the top of his lungs and earning more than a few odd stares from passing youkai.  That girl – he still didn't know her name – was so… odd.

     The original plan, half-baked as it was, had been this: kidnap the Higurashi so she couldn't call the cops after him, hold her for ransom so the results of his expedition wouldn't be futile and Sesshoumaru wouldn't kill him, then tell her to not speak a word or they'd come after her as soon as they got out of jail. 

     Sesshoumaru hadn't been happy with him.

     Now… he was sure they would kill her.  They'd probably deposit her body somewhere in the streets with a knife in her back… he couldn't stand the thought.  Part-youkai though he was, the other half of him was human, and he did have a soul, even if it was tainted beyond recognition.

     Shippou squeaked and leapt away when a trembling fist slammed in the wall of the hallway, piercing straight through to the room beyond.  Mumbling an insincere apology to the displeased occupants of the room, Inuyasha blew the bits of white plaster from his still-clenched fist and continued on as though nothing had happened.  An air of unease hung over the odd pair as they crept down the corridor.

     Mayane was thrown in a lazy sprawl over her bunk when the two arrived in their room.  Orange eyes swiveled to meet Inuyasha's.  The three-quarters-demon yawned, baring long, dagger-sharp canines, rough pink tongue curling.  Grey fur covered her slim hands to the elbow, and a perpetually moving tail wove in the air.  Her silver hair was plaited into a hip-length braid for convenience, leaving a few wavy strands to frame her high cheekbones.  A pair of grey cat ears poked upwards from her hair.

     "Oh," she drawled, turning over to face Inuyasha, so she lay on her stomach.  "You're back.  What an unpleasant surprise."  Pinpoint claws extended from her fingertips as she stretched luxuriously.

     "What do you want, Mayane?" he snapped, lip curling to show off his own teeth.  "Can't you just leave me a-fucking-lone for once?"  Shippou was now hiding under a alphabet-patterned pillow on the middle bunk.

     "Actually, for once there's a reason for my bothering you.  Sesshoumaru's lackey's lackey says to get over to 'Sesshoumaru-sama's chamber.'"  One arched eyebrow raised in mockery as she spoke.

     "Great," Inuyasha spat.  "Just what I need."

     "Now, now," Mayane cooed.  "I would be so disappointed in you if you weren't brave enough to face the evil Lord Sesshoumaru!"

     "Shut up!  I'm going."

     "Aw, is 'oo scared?"

     Inuyasha chose to ignore this last bit of insult as he stalked back out into the hallway.

*

The forty-watt bulb embedded in the ceiling flickered as Inuyasha flopped into his chair, sneering at his half-brother.  Sesshoumaru turned an impassive eye to him.  "I see you have decided to come."

     "Yeah, so?" Inuyasha muttered, scowling.  He was in a positively foul mood.  "What do you want?"  His fingers intertwined, and he rested his chin upon his hands.

     "I, Sesshoumaru, have spoken with Naraku."  There was a long pause as Sesshoumaru adjusted his ragged cuff links, which were situated over his bare, pale wrists.   That was all he could afford: cuff links, but no dress shirt to wear them with.  Just an old, white T-shirt and tattered jeans.

     "And…?" Inuyasha hissed through his teeth.  He just wanted this over with.

     "He wishes the Higurashi girl to be killed."  This was spoken with such utter calmness, such lack of any emotion at all, that Inuyasha growled and slammed a fist into the table, splintering the corner of it into pieces.  Sesshoumaru looked on with a small smirk.  "Do not protest so much, half-brother.  If Naraku wishes her dead, dead she shall be."

     Without bothering to reply, Inuyasha scowled at Sesshoumaru and stomped out.  The few demons left in the long hallway snickered as he passed, but he paid them no mind, not even noticing when Shippou leapt up to perch on his shoulder.

     The Higurashi was curled up on the bed, shivering and biting her lip.  She turned suddenly as Inuyasha slunk in, but did not awaken.  One arm was tucked under her stomach, the other flung over the edge of the thin mattress.  Only one of her original two slippers remained, just remaining dangling on her bony foot.

     He knelt by the bed and placed a hand on her shoulder.  Almost instantly, she screeched and jumped to press herself against the wall.  He could smell her fear rise as she stared at him with wide, blue-grey eyes.  "What do you want?" she whispered.

     "I'm not going to hurt you," he insisted, drawing back his hand.  Mistrust shone plainly in the girl's eyes.  "I'm not!"

     "How do I know you're not lying?" Her voice was slightly hoarse, and her eyes flicked about the room constantly.  Shippou stared at her, his own eyes round and curious.

     "Look, you have to get out of here.  Naraku's going to kill you if you don't leave!"

     She swallowed; loud enough that Inuyasha was able to hear it.  A nervous hand began to run through her tangled black locks as she replied: "Okay, right… kill…" Her head snapped up, her expression determined.  "I'll go."

     He smiled.  "Come on… hurry.  Got a marker, Shippou?"

     Shippou furrowed his brow, feeling around for a moment in his pocket.  After a few seconds, he produced a bright red felt-tip marker and a grin.

     "Thanks," Inuyasha said, a little reluctant.  "C'mere," he ordered the Higurashi, grabbing her chin.  She paled, but closed her eyes and stayed still.  Removing the cap of the marker with his teeth, piercing two small holes in it in the process, he marked a pair of red stripes on each soft cheek.  She wriggled a little under his grip.

     "Done," he announced, after filling in a gap of unmarked skin.  The girl seemed relieved that it was over with.  Shippou, diving under the bed, retrieved the dusty, unused blanket.  "Thanks," Inuyasha murmured.

     Careful not to smudge the new stripes on the Higurashi's face, he draped the blanket over her shoulders and pulled up a fistful into a hood to shadow her face.  All that remained in view was a pair of scared, grey eyes.

     "Come on, girl, let's get going," he said, grabbing her wrist.  She flinched and drew back.  "Come on," Inuyasha repeated.

     She didn't move.  From the look in her eyes, he could tell she wasn't usually like this: timid and fearful just to move.  A tremor of determination passed through her face, so quick as to be near invisible.  "I said, come on, girl."

     "My name is Kagome."  Her voice, though quiet, was strong.

     "Okay, then, Kagome Higurashi… let's go."  He dropped his hold on her wrist, and Kagome jumped from bed to floor lightly, stirring up a frightened Shippou from beneath the rickety stool.

     A spark seemed to light in Kagome.  Pulling the cloak tighter around herself, she set her face in a stoic grimace.  Shippou clawed his way up her blanket-turned-cape to pose in his I'm-way-cuter-than-you-and-I-so-know-it position, but she didn't seem to notice.  "Let's hurry up and go – there's no way I'm letting some stupid demon kill me."

     Inuyasha thought he liked Kagome Higurashi a lot better than 'the Higurashi girl.'  Nodding, he cracked open the door to peer outside.  No one was there – it was late and most were either masquerading at bars or asleep.  He beckoned Kagome forward, into the hall.  We'll have to sneak her out…

     They prowled down the stained linoleum hallway, Shippou reclining on Kagome's shoulder.  In the bad light, at least, she could pass for a youkai.

     "Going somewhere, dears?"

     Inuyasha spoke even before he had whirled around to face the owner of that insidious, horribly familiar voice.  "I'll kill you, I swear I will!"

     Mayane laid a hand on her chest in a dramatic sweep.  "Oh – me?  Whatever for, dear?"  Her slit-pupiled eyes were wide and innocent.

     He growled low in his throat and cuffed her on the temple, hard.  "Could you leave?  Now?  And, please, cut the 'dear' crap."  Her gaze swept to Kagome.

     "Who's your little friend?"

     "I-I'm Kagome Higu-Higurashi."  Kagome quaked slightly under Mayane's curious gaze, but held her ground and stared right back.

     "Oh, it's you!  Higurashi, hmm?" Mayane leaned over on the balls of her feet, examining Kagome closely.  "Wasn't that the house the idiot here was supposed to rob?  What are you doing with her now?"

     Cracking his knuckles, Inuyasha explained, "We're sneaking her out.  Tell anyone, and I'll kill you."

     She placed one slender finger to the corner of her mouth, pretending to think it over.  "I'll tell Sesshoumaru that you went to kill her yourself if anyone asks, okay?"

     "What's the catch?"

     "Nothing!" For once, Mayane looked genuinely offended.  "I'm just trying to help, okay?" The rhythm of her waving tail picked up speed.

     Inuyasha stared at her for a moment more before nodding, very slowly.  "… Fine.  Now get the hell back to our room!"

     Taking the moment to stick her tongue out at the hanyou in a decidedly dignified manner, Mayane smirked and dissolved into the semi-darkness.  Inuyasha shook his head and gestured for the small, ragtag group to continue.  Shippou's claws were buried in the fabric draped around Kagome's shoulders, making her flinch slightly.

     Hollow footsteps clomped down the hallway, echoing as they walked, accompanied by the softer, rustling sound of Kagome Higurashi's purple slippers.  Almost malevolently bright green eyes peered through the darkness at the side of a more melancholy pair of blue-grey orbs.  One small hand tugged in nervous jerks through the kitsune's unruly mass of long, glistening chestnut-coloured hair.  A single door awaited them at the end of the hallway.

     A sudden giggle burst forth from Kagome, and she clapped her hands over her mouth in surprise.  Inuyasha frowned down at the laughter-stricken girl.

     "What's so funny?"

     "Oh, nothing!  We're just so ridiculous, you know?  There's me, wrapped in a moth-eaten old blanket with red smears on my face, you with your constant scowling, and Shippou sitting on my shoulder like a parrot!"

     "… I see."

     He didn't, but he suspected that he never would, anyway.

     At last, they reached that infernal door.  His grimace losing some of its edge in his relief, Inuyasha opened the door with a casual kick.  The old office building was squat and rectangular, grimy and hate filled.  Myouga, the decrepit caretaker, had been easily bribed into giving it over, and then shocked into silence.

     Kagome stood still for a moment, eyes half-lidded.  Sighing in pure relief, she breathed heavily of the night air.  Yes, some cigarette smoke lingered, but beneath it was freshness, and dew, and all that which makes up the nighttime.  Shippou stared at the street in awe, and Inuyasha remembered suddenly that Shippou had never really been outside before.

     Inuyasha seized Kagome's upper arm.  She jumped.  "I know the way," he hissed in her ear.  She shuddered slightly at his touch and the cold, but nodded.

     Shippou played lookout as they sneaked down the street, Kagome shivering and Inuyasha scowling.

*****

Notes: Yikes, this chapter was a lot longer than the last one.  (Chapter one was three and a half pages, this chapter was just over six pages, chapter one was about 1900 words, this is over three thousand, etc.)  Anyway: the reason Inuyasha's being so nice: guilt.  Guilt, guilt, and guilt.  It's like with Kikyou in the real series.  He feels overwhelmingly guilty for endangering Kagome's life.  Kagome, of course, is just in shock, but she'll get over it.

Hate to grovel, but… please review!

   Jaa,

--Peri--