by IronRaven
editorial assistance by Lachesis-chan and Sabbie-chan.
Disclaimer: Kagome and her friends aren't mine. Neither is her protector.
Updated to correct misspelling of names.
---
The wind was uncommonly warm for spring, summer like in both temperature and direction, after a cloudless day. In the man-made canyons of modern Tokyo, one could tell. The mass of the city absorbed heat at the best of times. As warm as it was, the buildings had spent the day drinking in warmth, and were slowly sweating it out from their bodies.
Above the haze and lights of the city, the moon was full and round, calling the first stars out of hiding as the sunlight faded on the horizon. At the edge of one roof, a lone figure observed the flow and swirl of people below. Lost in the giant lights around him, he watched, while the wind plucked at his long hair and the hem of his plain trench coat.
---
"Hey, Kagome, what time is it?"
Frowning, Kagome turned her watch around on her wrist so she could read it. "About 7:30, Ayumi, why? Got some hot guy you need to call?" Grinning at her friend, Kagome glanced around. The warm weather did make it easy to check the flesh. While her friends openly enjoyed it, she was slightly ashamed of that guilty pleasure.
"No, silly. Didn't you say you were born about seven at night? How does it feel to be 14? You are the oldest of us."
"Doesn't feel any different. Ask me in the morning when it's official."
"Oh. Remind me to ask in the morning." Letting her eyes track a rough looking figure in a green uniform, Ayumi dropped her voice to a whisper. "Yuka, isn't that the kind you like?"
"Too arrogant looking." Draping a hand over Kagome's shoulder, Yuka nodded in Green's direction, maybe at a companion. "How about the little guy in black. Traditional clothes, long hair, he's got 'Kagome' written all over him."
"If you don't take him, Kagome, I will." Giggling, Eri urged her friends on. "Come on, Birthday Girl, stop staring or we'll miss the train."
---
Slowly, the watcher's head turned, watching the four girls. His lips turned up slightly, as if at a private joke, when he saw what they were looking at. Then it faded, and he let a small breath, almost like a sad sigh.
Seeing the girls were about to turn a corner, he stepped forward, fearlessly and without hesitation. With just the softest of grunts he landed in the dim alleyway, six stories below. Absently brushing himself off, he stepped into the light, using his height to find his quarry again. When he saw that he was not alone, he stepped up his pace.
---
The six young men walked in a group, a pack. All in their late teens, their faces were hard and angry. Each of them was clad in western style clothes, jeans and black leather jackets, along with pointy toed boots. Dark glasses hid eyes that were flat, pitiless. Each of them had their jackets open in the warmth, the crisp whiteness of their shirts practically glistening in the lighted streets. They had the look of wild dogs looking for deer to run.
One of them smirked evilly as he tapped the leader of their group on the shoulder. The leader, the boy in the satin shirt, while the others wore cotton, smirked when he looked over the pickings his friend had pointed out. Four sweet looking girls. Sure, a few years younger, but that meant they were more likely to be fresh. Without looking away from them, the leader slipped a cigarette between his lips, lighting it quickly and one handed with an American Zippo.
"Yeah, why not. I dibs the one with long hair. The one with the legs."
---
Giggling and joking, the four girls made their way down the street, stopping every so often to peer in a window, or at a boy.
"So, have you seen the guy at the new drugstore? He's kinda cute; I think his name is Hogou." Eri giggled. "He's a year ahead of us, we'll have to wait."
"I have," Ayumi smiled at the others, "and his name is Hojou; his dad runs the store. He is cute, but not too bright. Just right."
"Oh, I don't know Ayumi, I'd rather have a guy who can think for himself." Shaking her head, Kagome ran her fingers through her hair. "Who wants a dog who needs to be housebroken? Smart and strong, with a hidden soft side. A guy who will protect me, but needs to be looked after."
"Oh, come on, you know those don't exist in reality," protested Yuka. "While you are at it, let him be a samurai prince who fights demons with his father's sword, while his wicked brother takes their father's title. Lots of those in manga." That made all four girls laugh.
---
His long hair flowing behind him, the watcher could smell the boys before him, he could tell what they were thinking. If it weren't for all these people here, he could be on them in under a second, and kill them all before the first hit the ground. He knew better.
People were not ready for his kind's abilities, not yet. They had been, five centuries ago, but the Tokagawa period brought an end to that. Thousands were killed, many of them just farmers and artisans who wanted to be left alone. But the humans feared them. It wasn't hard for the warlords to whip the people into a fervor, and armed with guns, the fights had been even. Even if the humans lost a hundred men, there were millions of them, while there had been only a few thousand youkai and hanyou. Now, less than a thousand remained in all of Japan.
No, it was best to wait. People would not understand. Besides, he couldn't kill the fools, people would talk. And he had promised not to kill unless he had to, and he could take these punks without killing them. It would take longer, but it would be a nice warm up.
---
Glancing at her wrist, Eri sobered. "We're going to miss the train if we don't hurry."
Looking around, Kagome pointed at an alley way ahead. "If we take that, we will save ten minutes. Come on!"
"Ah, Kagome, are you sure that's a good idea? It's dark in there." Yuka paused, looking down the passage, not liking the gloom within it.
"It's fine, Yuka. Besides, would you rather explain to your otou-san why we were late? Chichi will ground me if I'm late again!" Waving to her friends to follow, Kagome stepped into the darkness.
The other three looked at each other for a moment, knowing that it was true, it would save them a lot of time. Otherwise, they would have to wait an hour to get the next train out to their suburb, and having to explain that wasn't worth thinking about. "Kagome, wait up!"
Pausing, the taller girl allowed her friends to reach her. "See, I told you, nothing to fear."
Something small flew over their heads, landing with a splashing clatter in front of them. The sound of the soda can bouncing on the concrete made all four yelp. Yuka looked over her shoulder.
"She's right, girls, nothing to fear in here. We just want to help you get home. Maybe ours'?" Laughing, the thugs stepped into alley, cutting off one passage of escape. Kagome looked at the other end, but before she could run, the voice in the darkness rang out again. "Oh, I wouldn't do that. You see, three of us run track. I don't think you pretty little girls could outrun us. Well, maybe one of you could, but who would leave their friends behind like that."
Yuka glared at the approaching boys. "What do you want?!"
A new voice, slightly higher pitched than the first, snickered. "What you think, sweetie? You."
"No, please, don't. Just take our money and let us go," whimpered Ayumi.
"Don't need money, but we do need you." One of the boys slide his jacket off, baring the almost glowing whiteness of his shirt in the dim alley.
Kagome caught a glimpse of movement over the shoulders of the boys, and felt a slight buzzing in her head. From the silhouette behind the boys, she heard a soft, cultured voice that projected effortlessly down the alley.
"You forgot another option, boys." As the source of the stepped further into the alley, they could make it out better. Slender, the owner of the voice wore his hair long, much longer than normal, and it was pure white. Kagome's hopes sank as she thought about an old man being beaten while trying to rescue them.
The head thug snarled. "Go home, Jiijii, or we'll mess you up!"
Pale teeth glinted as the old man spoke, an emotionless smile on his lips. "You could not if you wished it. Girls, run."
The thug who had taken of his jacket flung it at the old man, then closed with him. Kagome felt hands at her shoulder, pulling her to the other side of the alley.
"Let's go, Kagome!" Dragged into a run by her friends, they raced down the alley way into the side street on the other side, and much closer to the train station.
"Guys! We can't leave him! It's just one old man, and there are six of them. We have to help him!" As she started to turn back into the alley, the sound of something hitting a wall echoed from the passage, followed by two very separate screaming voices. Neither of them were that of the kindly old man. "Or maybe not. Let's go, the train will be leaving soon!"
When Kagome turned, she saw her friends had already come to the same conclusion and were several meters ahead of her. They ran to the train station, and were not late getting home.
--- A few years later, and several centuries earlier
Slowly, Kagome opened her eyes to the sound of the first birds stirring in the forest. The last stars were visible in the west. She listened as she tried to remember what had happened that night. With everything that had happened since, she had barely even thought about it.
It was Inuyasha who saved us, that night. Why didn't I see that before. Tilting her head back a bit, she looked up at the warrior lounging in the branches above. Since she had come to the Sengoku Jidai, she had not known him to sleep when she did, and rarely at night, unless she was in Kaede's hut. Or in her own time. You stay awake to protect us. You'll always protect us.
Feeling eyes on him, the hanyou looked down. Laying there, looking up at him, Kagome's face was slowly widening into a smile. He rather liked that smile. "What?"
"Nothing, I just wanted to thank you."
"For what?" Frowning, he tried to think if there was anything he had done that wasn't normal.
"For protecting us. Every night." Sliding Shippou aside, gently, so as not to wake him. Carefully, she pulled herself from her sleeping bag. "It's comforting to know you will always be there, looking after me when I sleep."
"Feh. Humans make too much noise, snoring and babbling in their sleep. You keep me awake." Crossing his arms defiantly, Inuyasha leaned back, signaling that the conversation was over, as the reds and yellows of the sunrise turned his silver hair into pinkish gold. She finds it "comforting"? A small smile sneaked itself across his lips at the thought.
Smiling at the show of pride, Kagome let it drop. For now. It's odd, thanking him for something he hasn't done yet.
--- Back in the alley, centuries later and years earlier
Moaning in pain, three of his friends, his lackeys, lay in the dirty alley. The others were silent, hopefully unconscious. The leader of the thugs kicked in vain, not so much as to hurt his foe, but to find the reassurance of ground under his feet. Both of his hands were wrapped around the wrist of the one hand that was dangling him effortlessly. "Who... Who are you?"
"I am a concerned citizen who takes pride in the cleanliness of his city's streets, and the safety of his fellow citizens." Shaking his prey gently, the white haired man's face showed no joy, no pleasure at the pain he had inflicted. Nor did it show pity or remorse. The only sign of any kind of emotion he showed was allowing his eyes to flash red in the dimness, boring into the terror filled orbs of the punk. "Now, will you ever threaten anyone again?"
"N-n-n-noooo. Please, let me go."
"Not yet. I want you to go to the police and confess your crimes. I'm sure this is not the first time you've done something like this."
"No, not like this! We just steal little stuff, like candy and cigarettes. Please, don't hurt me!" Tears starting to flow freely, the leader of the pack of vicious puppies cringed in fear. Any nanoscopic fragment of dignity was erased when he felt something warm start to run down his leg. Facing a monster before him, the pup's breaking voice took a wailing quality, "I'm a failure! All I can do is scare girls and old people! Oh, God, oh, please don't kill me!"
"Good. Admission means you have hope. Go to the police." With a nearly canine snarl of disgust, the warrior tossed the punk contemptuously against a wall. As the thug slid down to the ground, the white haired man stooped, wiping his hand on the shirt of the nearest boy, who flinched away from the claws. "And do not cross the paths of those young ladies again, or this Sesshomaru will be not be as forgiving."
---
Author's notes:
Yes, the boys that the girls were scoping were Yusuke and Hiei. Cameo shots. *passing over the guest appearance checks.*
For anyone confused by the timing, the main part of this story takes place one year and a day before Kagome goes down the well.
It seems that Kagome has a guardian before she goes down the well. And not the one it might have been. Why?