Notes: … Hello. Please – don't kill me. I wouldn't be able to post ever again, otherwise. Plus, I couldn't have gotten on – I was grounded. Imagine my frustration – I had the chapter written and everything, but I simply couldn't get on the computer.
Venus Smurf – I liked the 'unintelligible' review. Write more of those. Your praise makes me kind of nervous for some reason, probably because I read your profile. Twenty years old… that's an eight year difference. I feel hideously young.
Jurei – I'm pretty positive it's 'Ganbatte.' Mostly because the kana character at the end of it is pronounced 'te.' (Like 'tay' and 'teh' mixed.)
Disclaimer: Sorry. Don't own it.
- Watching Over -
- Chapter Five: "This Sucks." -
Kagome waved as she ran, yelling, "Bye, everyone! I'll see you tomorrow!" Her friends waved back, returning the sentiments. Shouldering her bag, Kagome made her way towards the bus stop.
"Huh?" She nearly fell over as she ran into a very solid someone, her bag slipping down her shoulder. "Excuse me—"
A hand gripped her shoulder, and she looked into a pair of flat, yellow eyes. Where's Inuyasha? she wondered frantically. Her book bag thumped to the sidewalk as she was dragged through the crowds, one hand that smelled of cigarette smoke clamped over her mouth.
A dull screech came from the rubber of her shoes rubbing on the sidewalk as she was pulled. They had reached what Kagome's mother referred to as the 'grungy' part of town when something knocked her in the back, sprawling her on the scratched-up cement.
"Just what in the hell do you think you're doing, bastard?" A gruff, familiar voice growled from above her. Moaning and rolling onto her back, she gazed into the angry golden eyes of Inuyasha. Red rivulets made their way down the back of her knee, tickling and paining her at the same time.
"I've come to retrieve her… Naraku is fast growing tired of this pathetic game you are playing, Inuyasha." The voice that answered was almost a monotone, just rising enough to indicate annoyance and the inflections on words. It was deep, and much more cultured than Inuyasha's. "He will come to her, soon, if you do not let me have her. He does not want anyone to find out about us… and he likes killing. He will not give up on her now."
A tremulous growl rumbled from Inuyasha's direction. He snarled, baring his fangs and cracking his knuckles. A storm brewed in dark flashes behind his narrowed eyes. "I won't let you have her, Sesshoumaru!"
"Mm…" Kagome mumbled as she teetered to her feet, putting her weight on her uninjured leg, the left one. Sesshoumaru was tall, even taller than Inuyasha, with the same silver hair in the same unfettered style, reaching to his knees. She would have been tempted to describe his eyes as the same, but the resemblance extended only to the bright yellow colour. Sesshoumaru's eyes were flat, devoid of any sort of indication of any sort of emotion. Inuyasha had a sort of blaze in his eyes that leapt in sharp explosions when he was angry or sorrowful.
She froze when the brothers turned to look at her, wearing identical expressions of irritation. "Yeah… right… I'll just stay here." It made sense: she was human, she was weak, she was unarmed, and she was scared to the point of nervous breakdown. Trying to cover her insecurity with a cheerful smile, she dropped to the graffiti-plastered cement and sat Indian-style with the skinned-knee leg straight out. (Here she remembered a rhyme they said in English at school, "criss-cross applesauce.")
"Well, then, Inuyasha… I believe it would be sensible of you to hand her over."
"Like fucking hell!" With a roar, Inuyasha sprung forward, claws outstretched, as Kagome shrank back slightly. "Sankon Tessou!"
Sesshoumaru sidestepped the attempted blow with a look of pure boredom on his face. "Really, Inuyasha, I had thought that, with all this time between fights, you might have taken some time to practice. I suppose one can't expect that much of you, can one?"
In response, Inuyasha growled again and jumped forward. Sesshoumaru caught hold of his wrist and wrapped his fingers around it. A sickly green glow surrounded his hand, and something that looked suspiciously like flesh began to drip down Inuyasha's arm.
"I think I'm gonna be sick," Kagome said under her breath. She was loath to keep looking, and yet she couldn't seem to make herself stop staring. To her relief, Sesshoumaru let Inuyasha's arm drop, although it now sported a dark burn scar.
Sesshoumaru shook his head. "You are a pathetic nuisance, aren't you? I can't really be bothered… be sure that Naraku will get a hold of the Higurashi, though, eventually. I don't understand the fuss you're making… but, I suppose it is fitting of you, to mate with a human, after all, considering your heritage. You are tiresome, though. I shall fetch the girl later."
Before Inuyasha could even begin the loud string of cussing that followed, Sesshoumaru had somehow vanished. Kagome's gaze lingered for a moment after, and then she dropped her eyes to stare at the ground.
"Damn him!" Inuyasha whirled around and, lizard-quick, punched straight through the pole of the streetlight next to them. It wobbled for a few seconds, and then leveled somewhat, although it now leaned precariously far to the right.
Kagome closed her eyes and lay panting. She liked to think of herself as brave, but it was beginning to register with her brain… she could actually be killed. Her short, fifteen-year life would end, and she would have accomplished absolutely zero in her existence on Earth. What would she matter to anyone besides her classmates and family? They were fifty people out of millions. She wouldn't get in the newspapers, besides the obituary. She wouldn't even make a dent on the problem of overpopulation: at her death, five babies would be born. Her breathing came fast and ragged, burning in her throat with the taste of vomit. It felt as though a heavy hand was pressing on her chest, burying her deep in the ground, squeezing the breath from her lungs.
*****
Something was definitely wrong with Kagome. She wasn't moving; she was just sitting there on the ground, panting. Inuyasha squatted next to her and poked her in the shoulder, scowling.
"Um… Kagome? Hey, wake up, woman!"
For a moment she continued to be utterly stationary, and then – she turned to him with the weirdest look he'd ever seen her wear. For almost all the time he had known her (a week and a half), she'd been smiling or shivering. Now, her entire being blazed with anger.
Inuyasha gulped. "Uh, Kagome…? Are you okay? Hey, I'm sorry about Sesshoumaru… he's really a bastard…"
"Kagome?"
She narrowed her eyes and began to yell at him, full-volume. Full-volume like ear-splitting; deafening; so loud you can't even hear yourself fucking think.
"Why couldn't you have just left me alone? I was happy, you know, Inuyasha! Happy with my boring, normal, SAFE life! I wouldn't have told! I would have thought it was dream, or something!" She stared at him.
"Ah, Kagome…" He swallowed again. What could you say? It was his fault, really. He'd been the stranger in her kitchen, he'd knocked her out, he'd accidentally – sort of – kidnapped her, and he had endangered her life.
Her glare became even fiercer. "Do you know what it's like, to know that it's more possible that you will die than you won't? I'm just a human, you know! It's not exactly reassuring, especially with you as my protector!"
Inuyasha, who had been just about to retort, stopped dead as he was leaning forward to yell. Did that mean… he wasn't a good protector? Didn't he ease her fears at all? Maybe he scared her even more.
Kagome, who had been raised on her good leg in a knight-me position, dropped back down to mermaid position, blinking at her hands and the sidewalk. Now, she looked confused more than angry.
Gods, woman, you get weirder and weirder all the time. Inuyasha mimicked her blinking, trying to figure out what Kagome was thinking.
"I'm trying, okay?" He had intended for a full-fledged, angry roar, but it came out quiet and withdrawn.
This sucks.
Why the hell are things so complicated? Why can't I just let her be killed, if worst comes to worst? I'm sure Sesshoumaru would be proud, he thought in disgust.
What is it, though? It's not like she matters, right? I want to be a full-blooded youkai, right? If Sesshoumaru is any example, that would mean having zero compassion, especially for humans. Except that little girl he gave candy to in the park… but she doesn't count. Or does she…?
Kagome sighed audibly. "I'm sorry, Inuyasha. I guess… I guess I'm just scared."
Inuyasha grunted in what he hoped was an understanding fashion. He just… couldn't bring himself to say he understood, though he did. He'd been scared a lot before.
"Really scared… I don't want to leave this world at fifteen years old."
"Yeah," Inuyasha managed. "Guess I don't really get that scared anymore. It's not like there's anything useful I could do, anyway. I've lived my two hundred years, time's up." More confusion: why was he telling her things that he didn't tell anyone? She was the only one with the capacity in her eyes to hold his troubles in with hers; the only one who wasn't so troubled she couldn't bear to listen to the problems of others as well. It prompted him, somehow, to rid himself of the loads of his life.
"Mm," she said. Blood was trickling down her leg, and, as they both watched it paint an 'S' on her shin, she started and knocked him in the face with one arm.
"What was that for, woman?" Inuyasha growled, rubbing his left eye where she'd stuck her thumb.
Kagome sent him a panicky look. "I've gotta find my book bag! And I have to get home, Mama must be worried! Aack!"
Sigh…
*****
One frantic search, two bumpy piggyback rides, and a stop-to-pick-up-the-fallen-backpack later, Inuyasha dumped Kagome at the street in front of her house. His entire manner exuded world-weariness as he handed her backpack and heaved a deep, drawn-out sigh.
"Damn," he muttered, rubbing his forehead.
Kagome slung her backpack over her shoulder and looked back at him, curious. "What's wrong?" He looked more surly and irritable than usual, with an almost permanent scowl carved into his features, and his eyelids lowered. He also now sported an I-will-smite-your-existence-in-this-universe-permanently-if-you-piss-me-off-and-I'll-enjoy-it-too look.
Inuyasha remained silent for a moment, then spoke. "Do you think that my ever-loving brother will be happy to see me tonight?"
Kagome was about to offer for him to stay again. Perhaps seeing her slight blush, he shook his head before she could even open her mouth.
"No. I'll sleep in a tree. Maybe that one over there, so I can keep watching over you." He pointed to the thick, gnarl-rooted Goshinboku. "That tree looks pretty strong."
"It is… that's the sacred tree. It's been there for over six hundred years, most likely more. Nobody's sure, only that it's been alive for as long as anyone can really remember."
"Sounds good," Inuyasha said with a nod. Before she could move to stop him, he had literally jumped the fence and clambered with languid ease into the tree.
Her Mama poked her head out from the house. "Kagome!" she called. "What are you doing out there? Come in!"
"Coming, Mama!"
*
All throughout the evening, she could feel his eyes on her. When she lost to Souta at his racing game, she glanced outside and saw naught but a pair of glowing, golden eyes at the window.
As she slogged through her piles of homework, she saw him balancing on the tree limb outside, arms crossed and eyes curious. No doubt he's never gone to school.
And when she emerged from her closet in her cat-adorned pajamas, flopping tiredly onto her bed without even bothering to get under the covers, she saw a flash of claws and a pair of gleaming spheres, managing to make her feel both unnerved and completely safe at the same time. Still… she was grateful. After all, she would be dead if he hadn't agreed to protect her from his own folly. In a convoluted way, he was taking responsibility. To keep her safe… yes, she was most definitely grateful.
*****
Notes: Wasn't that cute and corny? I hope I've satisfied your need for cute fluffiness (that's the closest they can get, you know). I have to admit that I like writing Inuyasha a lot better than I like writing Kagome. He's much more interesting, I think. Also… I apologize for the shortness of this chapter. I promise the next one is longer (I know because I'm only about halfway through it and it's four/five pages long. I gave Sango glasses and Miroku a leather jacket, I hope you don't mind).
A few questions: I've had two inspirations. Would you read either a) a story about a cripple and an earth spirit or b) a story about a magician and his unfortunate assistant? Tell me, please.
I think you know what I'm going to say here, ne? (Hint: It starts with an 'r' and ends in an 'e-v-i-e-w'.)
