AN: HOJO IS EVIL! Sorry. No one can be that…....…...... 'stupid'. I'm positive it's physically impossible. So, this is my Hojo-bashing moment. Sorry. I rarely bash characters, even ones I hate. This just has to be done. AND it serves a plot purpose. I'm so proud of myself. By the way, this actually happens during chapter 9. In fact, chapters 9, 10 and 11 all happen at the same time. Just in different places, with different people.

Chapter 10: Faith

I could see her chest heaving as we ran through the halls. All the halls were dark, since, I'm guessing, someone had cut the power.

"Here." Kagome huffed as we reached a large door at the end of the hall. She pulled out her key ring and unlocked the door. We walked in and she closed the door behind me. The lock clicked closed just as something on a lower floor explodes and I could hear the sound of breaking glass. It was a bit muffled even to my ears, and that confirmed my theory that it was on a floor many stories down. (We were on the sixth floor. I don't quite understand this as my cell is on the fifth, but I'm not one to argue with facts.) I looked over at Kagome and see that she hadn't noticed the sound, so I decide not to mention it. She was already under enough pressure as it was. Besides, how would I explain my ability to hear it over the roaring storm? Glancing around, I tried to find something to distract me.

It was a large room maybe three times the size of my cell. It was most likely an office and it was extremely well furnished. Obviously, the owner was very rich or of extreme importance.

"What is this place?" I wondered as I walk over to one of the pictures on the wall.

"The head doctor's office." Kagome sighed as she walked over to one of the large windows.

"You're not the head doctor?"

"No. The head doctor is too high to even have any patients any more. It's just a nice title for the guy who runs this place."

"Ah. Uh, Kagome?" I asked, beginning to have my doubts about this situation. "How did you plan for us to escape from here?"

"This window opens onto a balcony. Careful, there's no railing." Kagome reminded me as we walked out on to the small wet platform. I glanced down and I could feel my palms begin to sweat. Six floors down is a very long way when you're standing outside on a platform with no railing in the middle of a rainstorm. "We can climb down."

"Kagome?" I whispered and she looked at me. "I don't know how safe this is."

"You said yourself you were an odds man."

"I'm not worried about me. It's you I'm…......" I trailed off. Suddenly there was a loud blast and the building seemed to shake. It was as if the thunder roll had come from within the building. Flailing her arms like a windmill, Kagome tried to right her self, but her foot slipped on the slick balcony and I watched as she tumbled back over the edge. She let out a screech and began to plummet to the ground, but I quickly ran forward and reached out my hand.

I slid down onto my stomach and managed to grab her wrist as she fell. I winced as her body weight wrenched my arm and nearly threw me over the edge with her but I was lying flat on my stomach with my other hand gripping the edge of the balcony. I thought I felt a bit of a burn when both her hand wrapped around my wrist, but I passed it off as the sudden weight pulling against me skin.

"Inuyasha." Kagome breathed, as she griped my upper arm with her other hand, obviously thankful to still be alive. Her feet kicked in the air wildly for a minute, and she looked sadly at her shoes before kicking them off and letting them fall to the ground.

"It's okay. I've got you." I told her. "Can you climb up?"

"I don't think so."

"Well, try anyway."

"Oh yes. Do try." A human's voice whispered from behind me. I turned my head slightly and saw a young man. He was probably a bit shorter than I was and had short brown hair. He was wearing a blue suit, and looked fairly normal. Of course, normal guys would have been helping me haul Kagome up onto the balcony, instead of standing in the middle of the room, surrounded by Youkais with machine guns. "Hello, Hanyou."

"Inuyasha? What's wrong?" Kagome asked as she tried to get a grip on the wall so she could climb up my arm.

"Hello, Kagome." The man smiled as he walked over to my side.

"Hojo? Hojo! Help me!" Kagome shouted as she smiled up at the man.

"I can't do that, I'm afraid." Hojo replied. "Look, Hanyou. I'm here to kill you. Oh, and look at this. You can't defend yourself because of this woman hanging onto your arm."

"Hojo?" Kagome whispered, but I doubt he heard her over the rain. "What are you saying?"

"Kagome, it's a pity I had to lie to you before, but I was using you. I needed to learn everything about this place, and you were the key. Besides, who would suspect me? Hojo? The man who was too stupid to notice you were always brushing me off?" Hojo asked, before looking over at me, with a sneer. "You make me sick, Hanyou."

"Look, human. I don't know how you learned about me, but you'd better leave me alone."

"Brave words for something that is about to die." Hojo laughed as he walked back towards his Youkai followers.

"Inuyasha, let go of me." Kagome pleaded.

"No. Try to get a grip on the balcony." I told her.

"Let me go! I'm not just going to let you die for me."

"Neither am I!" I shouted back at her.

"Ready?" Hojo asked. I'm not quite sure whether he was talking to his followers or me.

"Inuyasha, please!"

"NO! DAMN IT!" I screamed at her.

"Aim."

"Oh my God!" Kagome yelled, almost crying as she looked up at me. "Inuyasha."

"GET A GRIP ON THE BALCONY, IDIOT!"

"Fire." Hojo sighed, and I tensed waiting for the blow but instead a strong wind whipped around the room and I heard a couple of screams, but the sound was mostly drowned out by the rushing wind and the storm around me. I sniffed a few times and I could smell the blood scent that was beginning to fill the air. I sighed, knowing that the danger behind me was gone. I arched my back a little and placed one of my hands on the balcony. Pushing up, I helped Kagome back onto the small slab that stuck out of the window. She knelt down next to me and looked at her knees as she tried to catch her breath. When she was finished, I reached up and covered her eyes with my hand.

"Inuyasha?"

"I don't want you to see it." I whispered as I looked around the room. The walls and furniture were slashed to pieces. Even the picture I had been looking at only a minute earlier was in ruins. Blood covered the floor, still running from the deep, wide wounds the Youkai and Hojo had. Some of them had more than one but all the wounds were the same. It was if someone had taken a fine knife and ripped out a portion of the victim's body.

I helped Kagome stand and lead her out of the room. When she was outside, I walked back into the room and nudged a few bodies with my foot. Most of them crumbled at my touch, leaving nothing but their weapons and spilt blood.

Just looking at the blood made me shiver, it's smell, feel and appearance sickening me and reminding me of my past.

"Inuyasha! What are you doing in there?" Kagome shouted through the door.

"Nothing. STAY OUT THERE!" I shouted as I noticed the door was starting to open. The door slammed shut and I let out a sigh. I kicked Hojo's body out of the way, slightly more viciously than was necessary, but then, it simply pissed me off in the most extreme way that someone would be willing to sacrifice their friend. Not to mention he was going to hurt Kagome. THAT made me sick. When I was certain everyone in the room was dead, I walked out of the room and looked over at Kagome. She was soaking wet and her tights were ripped in many places.

"Hey." She smiled faintly and I sat down next to her.

"You should take off your clothes." I told her with out looking her in the eye. Then it came. A fist smashed into my head.

"YOU PERVERT!" Kagome screamed.

"You're WET, stupid! You'll get some sort of disease if you keep those clothes on!"

"Oh." Kagome blushed. "Sorry."

"It's okay." I sighed and I noticed that she was taking off her jacket and her tights. "Uh, Kagome?"

"You told me to take off my clothes." Kagome explained. "Don't worry. It isn't like my skirt or shirt are coming off."

"Oh. Good." I managed.

'DAMN IT!'

"Hey. Inuyasha?"

"Yea?"

"Is Hojo dead?"

"Yes." I nodded, not meeting her eye.

"Oh. He could be really nice sometimes."

'Nice?! That asshole was going to sacrifice you!'

"What did he mean when he called you a 'Hanyou'?" Kagome asked, swiftly, and illogically, changing the subject.

"Uh…......"

"Come on. You can tell me. How bad can it be?"

'Really bad.'

"Kagome, promise me you won't scream at me?"

"Of course."

"You're going to think I'm crazy."

"Let me decide that."

"I don't know how your 'friend' found out about me. I'm a Hanyou."

"Yes. I sort of figured that out. Uh, what is a Hanyou? Is it some type of a gang?"

"It's a rude term for a person. It means that one of my parents was a Youkai and the other was a human."

"A Youkai? As in a demon?"

"Yes. Demons aren't as uncommon as you'd think. That new kid is a Youkai. So is Kouga."

"You're joking." Kagome laughed. "You don't look any different from a human. Well, except for your golden eyes and white hair. And Kouga and Shippo look as normal as anyone else."

"It's an illusion. I've actually got fangs, claws and pointed dog-ears. Kouga has a tail and so does Shippo."

"You mean…...... this isn't a joke?" Kagome whispered. "You really are a half-demon?"

"Yes."

"And Youkai…......"

"Is actually my demon blood taking over." I finished for her.

"Why didn't you ever tell anyone?"

"A few reasons. No one would ever believe me. Sesshomaru has a lot of power. Not to mention, most humans don't believe demons exist at all and Youkai don't readily accepted Hanyou's. We're looked at as inferiors. Purist factions, like the type we just encountered, find and kill Hanyou's all the time. I was luck to be as sheltered as I was when growing up. Some live in constant fear of Youkai and humans alike. I was afraid of what might happen if I were to reveal my true identity."

"You really thought this through, didn't you?"

"I had a lot of time." I spat, even though I knew it was unfair to her.

"Can…...... Can I see you? Could you drop the illusion?" Kagome whispered. I paused and nodded, dropping the illusion I had worn for twenty years. I watched her run her fingers over my claws and ears, feeling their tangibility. I reached up to take her hand but she jerked away suddenly. "I need to think, Inuyasha. Put back on that illusion and let's go. We still need to get out of here."

Standing, Kagome motioned for me to follow her, and I did, but I couldn't help but frown.

'Why is Kagome avoiding my eye?' I wondered as we hurried down the hall.