Disclaimer: Inuyasha isn't mine, but hell I'm not complaining! Unless
you're Rumiko Takahashi, he isn't yours either! *sticks tongue out*
A/N: Hey! Sorry about the lack of new updates, I didn't mean to!!! Besides, it hasn't really been *that* long, has it? Just out of curiosity.. when u edit a story... does it say that I updated or something? Because I don't think I updated 5 days ago other then editing out some grammar errors... and queenoftheskies pointed out to me that there isn't a new chapter, and I suspect that maybe she got an e-mail saying there was? Well anyway, this *is* a new chapter...hope ya enjoy!
A bit of MirSan fluff as well, I know you'd rather see InuKag but MirSan works better with the story right now. Realize that I've never written a romantic story in my life, in fact I've barely ever written stories in my life (hey, I'm only 13!) so if the fluff sucks, consider it lack of experience. It'll probably improve later, so don't give up on me!
Actually I guess you could say that there's InuKag fluff in here too, though not exactly romantic fluff. Maybe dramatic fluff would be better...
Chapter 18
"What do I do?" a worried Kagome asked her companion, chewing on her lower lip as she did so. Inuyasha's scream had carried through the floorboards to herself; she'd be surprised if Kikyo back in Japan hadn't heard it. "Inuyasha's going to figure out that I'm here, he'll be down here in a few minutes ready to kill me! Sango, help me!" she pleaded, shooting worried glances at the door every few minutes, as if expecting it to burst down at any second and reveal a murderous Inuyasha with a rifle.
Sango looked thoughtful for a moment, then her expression brightened as she snapped her fingers. "I got it! C'mon Kagome!" she grabbed the slightly younger girl by the wrist, aiming to lead her away from the dreaded doorway which was so obviously making the girl tremble in fright.
"O-kay," she stuttered out nervously, allowing Sango to lead her to their destination. Sure Inuyasha had been kind to her, but she really had no idea *what* the guy was hiding. What if Sango had been lying, and he WAS some sort of terrorist? If he was, she was sure he wouldn't hesitate to kill her and probably Buyo too.
"Where are we going?" she asked a bit fearfully, and Sango sent her a reassuring smile.
"Don't worry, come on, in here," she pulled Kagome into a tiny room, and even in the dim light Kagome could tell she was in some sort of laundry room. A small white machine protruded from the dusty wall, and spider webs dominated the corners. Another tiny machine, which Kagome vaguely recognized as a dryer, sat on the opposite corner of the room, looking as though it hadn't been used in years. The place on a whole reminded Kagome of the old, creepy attics seen in horror movies, and she shivered unconsciously.
"You don't use this place very often do you?" she asked, knowing the answer even as she spoke. Sango let out a small laugh.
"Oh I do, but not for washing clothing. Stay here for a moment," she let go of Kagome's wrist, leaving the girl to fend for herself. Since she could barely even make out the figure of her female companion, she felt herself begin to go into panic mode.
"This place is creepy. It feels like I'm in the fog in some old park, and some evil guy is going to mug me any second now. Isn't there a light or something to turn on?"
Sango held back a giggle at Kagome's description of her favorite hideout. "Nope, no light. But fear not, young Kagome, we'll be out of here in a minute," she paused, as if concentrating on something intricate. "Got it," Kagome felt a click as Sango said this, and almost screamed as a hand reached out for her. "It's only me," Sango comforted, and she felt her hand reattach itself to her wrist. "Follow me".
Kagome felt herself being pulled by Sango, and she relaxed into her grip. "Where are we going?" she asked the older girl and got her answer when she felt herself fall forward slightly after connecting with something hard. "Oof," she barely kept her frail frame from falling over, and she stopped in fear of repeating the experience.
"Kagome, it's a staircase. Just climb, I'll explain once we get there".
Kagome wasn't sure whether trusting her was such a good idea since she didn't know her all that well, but between falling on her face or getting hacked to bits by an angry hanyou, she'd choose a bit of clumsiness any day. "O.K, I'm trusting you," she hesitantly stepped up only to see that Sango had been right, it was a small step. She reached her other leg a bit higher only to find it land on another. 'I guess I need to be more trusting,' she thought to herself, then proceeded to make her way up the narrow staircase.
She tripped a few times since she couldn't see what was in front of her, and eventually she let go of Sango's hand so she could brace herself against the narrow walls with her own. The stairway was barely wide enough to support her, though she supposed someone slightly larger could probably use it as well, and she vaguely wondered *why* Sango even had this when she could just use an elevator. She felt her foot connect with something hard and (since she had been lost in thought and not bracing herself like she should have been) she couldn't prevent herself from falling forward, head first, toward the jagged steps below. She closed her eyes, bracing herself for the impact when she felt a hand grab her own, keeping her from hitting with full force.
"You're so clumsy," she vaguely recognized Sango's teasing voice, and she grinned in spite of herself. Clumsiness was always something she had always been known for, even as a child. "Come on, we're almost there".
Kagome braced her hands on the step above her and slowly pushed herself to her feet, following once again behind the older girl. Something shone brightly ahead of her and she squinted, her eyes being so used to the utter blackness of the last five minutes. The light began to brighten, and she forced her eyes to accustom themselves to it, as she used the very last of her energy to pull herself from the narrow tunnel into the shining artificial light above.
"Go Kagome! You made it!" a dirty, yet smiling Sango stood in front of her. Kagome shot her a rueful grin.
"I guess I did. Sorry for being such a scaredy cat".
Sango waved a hand. "Think nothing of it. I reacted somewhat like that when Miroku first showed it to me," she felt herself blush as she remembered the experience. Traveling through the darkness with Miroku hadn't been like traveling with Kagome, that was for sure. For one, she was able to concentrate much better when her balance had come from bracing herself against the walls and Kagome, not a "steadying" hand on her ass to keep herself upright. Kagome noticed this blush and giggled lightly, almost positive she could guess what the girl was thinking.
"Anyway, where are we?" Kagome asked curiously, brushing off her clothes as she did so. She didn't even want to know how dirty she was, but there were definitely more impending matters at hand, like where their angry hanyou friend was.
Sango decided to answer her friends query. "Well, that's our emergency escape route".
"Our? Who else uses it?" Kagome figured the answer was Miroku, and she couldn't hold back her laugh when Sango confirmed it. She so obviously had a crush on the lecher, though what she saw in him Kagome couldn't figure out.
"Me, Miroku, and Inuyasha," she saw Kagome pale and look behind her after hearing this. "Don't worry," she patted the doorway fondly. "I locked the door, and only I have the key to my particular part of the route. Thank god for that, seeing as Miroku used to love to say he was "in danger" and run down to my bedroom every chance he got," she smiled fondly at the memories, as annoying as they were. Snapping back to reality, she continued her explanation. "Inuyasha decided it would be fun to connect our apartments to one another, I don't really know why. I guess because it sort of made it seem like we were a family, like we were all connected in some way".
Kagome nodded, urging the older girl to keep going. 'That's weird. Inuyasha seems like he has an emotional I.Q of zero! He definitely doesn't seem the type to tune into sappy stuff like that. Maybe I was right when I thought there was more to him then met the eye,' she pondered to herself, then tuned her ears back to Sango's explanation.
"So, being as loaded as he is, Inuyasha got us to agree and used some of his enormous fortune to build stairways connecting our apartments. Miroku has two, connecting to both my and Inuyasha's apartments. They've actually come in quite handy sometimes when one of us needs to see the other without the hassle of using the elevator, but we don't use them that often. Especially me, since the thought of going to see Miroku is never all that appealing. Miroku used to use his all the time, until I persuaded Inuyasha to get locks for them. He agreed after seeing Miroku whine about the idea for hours. He loves torturing that guy," she laughed at the thought.
"Wow, that's ingenious! I always thought that sort of thing was cool, you know, secret passageways and stuff. I'd love to have one of those!"
"You do! I guess Inuyasha just hasn't shown it to you! It connects to this very room," Sango said, looking quite proud of their fascinating passages, oblivious to the pale expression growing on Kagome's face.
"Sango?" she asked warily.
"Yea?"
"Did you just say Inuyasha's passage connects to this VERY ROOM?" she looked pointedly at the girl, and Sango gasped with realization.
"I didn't think of that. Come on!" she felt her wrist being grabbed once again, and groaned when she realized she was on the run once more.
"Miroku!" Sango called ahead of her softly. "Miroku where are you! It's urgent!"
"Sango? Is that you?" Miroku sounded delighted at hearing that Sango had actually come to pay him a visit. Apparently such was very rare. "Where are you?"
"I'm in the kitchen!"
Kagome, after taking the time to look around, felt a bit of shock when she realized that this, in fact, was a kitchen. It sure didn't look like one. The only thing that this place had in common with a real kitchen was the dirty microwave and the refrigerator; most people don't generally stick couches right in the middle of their kitchens. She groaned when she realized *why* there was a couch there. Could this guy think of anything else?
"The kitchen of all places? Why Sango, darling, I never knew you were so," Sango made cutting motions across her throat and Miroku, who had just entered the room, decided not to finish his earlier suggestions when he noticed Kagome standing behind her.
"Kagome? What brings you here?" a perverted grin crossed his face as he thought of something. "Ahh, you and Sango wished to engage in a bit of- ?" he was cut off when a flying fist smacked the top of his shaggy black head. "Owww," he winced, bringing his hand up to his throbbing skull.
"You idiot!" Sango screeched at the offending lecher. "I need a place to hide Kagome, not molest her!"
Miroku's perverted façade suddenly turned more serious. "Hide Kagome? Whatever for?"
Sango shook her head at Miroku, waving the matter aside. "Never mind that, let's just say Kagome has done something that will surely not make Inuyasha pleased. He'll probably expect her to be down at my apartment, but I have my doubts that he'll think to look here. You've got to conceal her from anyone, especially Inuyasha. If he shows up, no ratting her out. Understand?" she pointed a threatening finger at Miroku.
Miroku stroked his chin in thought. "And what do I get for investing in this little ruse?"
Sango sighed and tapped her foot in annoyance. "What do you want?"
Miroku gave a genuine smile at her, but Sango knew better then to trust it. That Miroku was a great actor. "A kiss from a fair maiden".
Sango cringed in disgust. "Nothing doing. Think of something else," her tongue burned at the thought of kissing that perverted freak.
"Nope. A kiss or I let Inuyasha know that Kagome is here," he winked at Sango. "So what'll it be?"
Kagome silently prayed that Sango would agree; she knew he liked him anyway. Sango seemed to be shuddering at the idea and she sent Kagome a begging glance, hoping she could help her out of this. Kagome sighed. As much as she DIDN'T want to do this, she definitely owed Sango. She sighed and stepped forward, her expression now mirroring Sango's.
"Oh fine. I'll do it if you two are going to be so childish about this," she leaned up toward Miroku, closing her eyes as she did so. If she had to do this, the LAST thing she wanted was to have to watch it. Miroku happily obliged and leaned down toward her. Hey, if he couldn't have Sango, no reason not to settle. A kiss was a kiss by his standards.
Sango sighed with relief, happy she wouldn't have to partake in this silly blackmail. It was rightfully Kagome's job to do this after all, since it was she who needed the favor. Still, the sight of Kagome about to kiss him caused something to twist in her heart, though she couldn't identify the annoying feeling. Whatever it was, it definitely did not like the sight of Miroku and Kagome, and she desperately tried to ignore it. As the feeling grew stronger, she couldn't deny it, especially since she was beginning to realize what it was.
Jealousy?
Deciding she'd sort it out later, Sango's hand shot out to pull Kagome back, just as Miroku's lips were about to descend on hers. "Wait!" she cried out, causing Kagome to turn toward her in confusion, though Sango couldn't deny that she felt happy when she saw relief flying through Kagome's eyes, she suspected at not having to kiss Miroku. For some reason it calmed her to see that Kagome definitely did not relish the thought of kissing him.
And the fact that it calmed her scared her even more.
She ignored the shouting voices in her head and turned to Miroku. "I won't force someone as young as Kagome into doing something like this," she said resolutely, causing Kagome to shout out indignantly.
"Hey! I'm 18 you know! It's not like I've never kissed a guy before!" she failed to mention that all that mess had been back in junior high, when she was young, naïve, and stupid. The only kiss she'd had since then had been with Kouga, and that had been a friendly good-bye kiss more then anything. But Miroku and Sango didn't have to know that...
Miroku laughed. "It's quite all right Kagome. It seems to me that Sango here has other reasons to consider besides your age," he winked at Kagome and said girl felt a lighthearted grin spread over her face as Miroku's words began to make sense. 'Sango's jealous!' she thought to herself, giggling in her mind. 'That's so cute! She doesn't even realize how much he affects her,' she noted, seeing Sango fume at Miroku's words.
"What is *that* supposed to mean asshole?" she asked him, feeling her fists clench in her defensive state and her cheeks turn slightly pink. She definitely didn't want Miroku to figure out that she might've been jealous! The very thought made her gag.
"It's obvious that seeing me with any other woman but yourself displeases you. In short, it's mere jealousy," he commented logically, and Kagome had to agree.
"I'm NOT jealous!" Sango protested, a bit too loudly for it to be the truth. Miroku grinned.
"If you're not jealous, then why not allow Kagome to continue?" he pointed out, and Kagome had to laugh at Sango's predicament. Miroku obviously had that rare ability to turn anything said by anyone against them, and Sango probably knew that she was a goner in this argument. She saw said girl's cheeks heat up at this statement.
"I told you already! She's young, and she barely knows you! She shouldn't be forced into anything!"
"She agreed to it, Sango, she was in no way forced". Both parties seemed to ignore Kagome, who was almost doubling over in laughter. Young love was just plain hilarious.
"Only because her very existence may have been on the line!" Sango argued back, and Miroku sighed.
"Fine, you win. You're not jealous. Now who's it going to be? You, or Kagome?" he tried not to laugh. It was so obvious that the girl was dying with embarrassment. She obviously *had* been jealous, and now she was forced between embarrassing herself or exploiting that jealousy further. He truly was a genius.
Sango felt her cheeks heat up, recognizing what a mess she had gotten herself into. If she allowed Kagome to kiss him she's just end up getting jealous, and Miroku would definitely exploit it. If she herself kissed him then, well, she'd have to kiss him!
'But that's not so bad is it?' she felt a voice nudge her. 'Come on, you KNOW you like him at least a little bit'.
'I do not! I don't like him anymore then I like Inuyasha!' another voice protested.
'Please, you've been trying to hide it for years now. You've liked Miroku ever since you graduated college, possibly before though it was less conscious'.
'I DO NOT!'
'Then prove it,' the other voice continued to nudge her. 'Just kiss him, you're twenty two years old! If you really don't like him then kissing him isn't exactly a big deal. If you really could care less then kissing him is no problem right?'
'Right!' she answered herself, then groaned inwardly as she realized what she had just decided.
'Then do it!'
"Fine I will!" this last line was spoken aloud to an obviously happy Miroku, and he winked at the girl.
"Very well then," and before she could protest, he grabbed her arm and pulled her toward him, allowing his lips to descend upon hers. She closed her mouth tightly, knowing Miroku and his ways with women all too well. Surprisingly he didn't try anything suggestive though, he merely draped his arms around her, allowing them to rest themselves on the small of her back without reaching any higher or lower. Her own arms lay trapped between them, as if trying to shield himself from his advances. She felt a strange tingling feeling deep within her stomach as his astoundingly soft lips caressed hers a few times, in a surprisingly non suggestive manner. If anything kissing him felt, well, astonishingly pure.
After kissing chastely for a few moments they separated, Sango's cheeks flaring from slightly pink to bright red. 'I can't believe I just did that!' she thought to herself, even more confused now then she was before.
"Uh," she stuttered, not really sure what to say now. "I-I need to go home. Kohaku's coming home soon, and I need to meet him. Take care of Kagome, O.K?" he watched her run from him, her head held down and her gaze not reaching any higher then her shoes. He allowed her to go, not mentioning that Kohaku was fourteen years old and perfectly capable of taking care of himself. He turned toward Kagome, ready to fulfill his part of the bargain when he realized she was nowhere to be seen. He looked around curiously for the girl, heading toward the living room since he had the feeling he'd find her in his recliner chair. "Kagome?"
"Mmph," he heard a muffled groan coming from the direction of his doorway. "Leggo me Ivuyafa!" he heard Kagome's detached voice and relaxed when he realized what must have happened. Kagome wasn't being kidnapped after all, Sango wouldn't kill him. It was just Inuyasha!
In his astonishment over the recent events, he failed to remember WHY Sango had brought Kagome there in the first place.
~*~
"LEGGO!" she yelled at the man above her, kicking at him with all her might. Unfortunately her advances were doing her absolutely no good, as all Inuyasha did was ignore her screams and continue walking toward the elevator, she assumed to return toward his own apartment. He stopped upon reaching the elevator and uncovered the girl's mouth for a moment to click the "up" button on the fruitfully decorated wall.
Inuyasha himself had been a bit shocked when he had stumbled upon the scene in Miroku's apartment. After seeing Sango's totally empty and the door to her escape route swinging wide open, it hadn't taken a rocket scientist to figure out where the two girls had gone. He fully expected to just walk right in, grab Kagome, and leave. His plan had worked perfectly, but seeing Miroku and Sango in a lip lock certainly hadn't been part of it. He DEFINITELY needed to talk to Miroku later, but he had more pressing matters at hand. After getting over his initial shock, he had walked right over to Kagome whose eyes, he noted, were pushed WIDE open at the sight in front of her. Since she obviously wasn't paying attention to much else, Inuyasha had found it quite easy to slip a hand over her mouth, pick her up, swing her over his back, and leave without attracting any attention from the obviously busy couple.
The tiny light on the elevator glowed brightly and a small tinkling sound was heard in the background. The doors slid open, revealing an expensively carpeted (and spacious) square, complete with full length mirrors, solid gold trimmings, and an elevator attendant.
"Please leave," Inuyasha asked the attendant and the man shook his head.
"No can do, sorry. I'm not to leave here no matter what the occasion". Inuyasha sighed and felt around in his pocket for a moment, then smirked as he pulled out what he was looking for.
"How about for fifty dollars?" he saw the man's eyes widen at this, and he could've sworn he saw drool coming from his mouth.
"Fifty dollars?" he asked unbelievably, and Inuyasha nodded with a smirk.
"And it's all yours if you scram," he jerked his thumb out the doorway, and the man nodded mutely, grabbing the bill out of the hanyou's hand and proceeding to leave the elevator. Inuyasha stepped in, a glaring Kagome still draped over his back, and pressed the 'door close' button behind him. She waited for him to push the button of her floor, but surprisingly all he did was lower himself to the floor, shrugging her off of his shoulders and turn to face her with a murderous look that caused Kagome to wince unconsciously with fear.
"Talk," he stared at her dangerously, looking angrier then Kagome had ever seen him look before.
Realizing now was not the time to ask questions about why they weren't moving; Kagome gulped and began to ramble off the answer to his one worded demand.
"I'm so sorry; I didn't know what was behind there. I just, you know, was curious, and so I opened it, but then I got really panicked when the crazy alarm went off, and I'm so sorry!" she felt tears begin to well up in her eyes, she hadn't meant to get him so mad at her, and for once she knew he had every right to be. She had trespassed upon his personal life, something she had promised to refrain from doing. She kept the tears back and turned to stare apologetically at him, only to see that he was turned away from her, his arms crossed as he faced the direction opposite from hers. Kagome mirrored his actions and turned away from him so the two were facing back to back. The tension in the small space was growing, and Kagome herself was about to speak up when Inuyasha beat her to it.
"Look," his voice was low and serious. "There are things about me that nobody is meant to know. I don't know whether to believe whether this was accidental or not, but you damn well shouldn't have done it," his back was still to her and he could feel her tense up behind him.
'Is he going to murder me in here?' she thought to herself worriedly, then decided it would be helpful to try to soothe him. "Inuyasha, I understand. I didn't mean to, O.K? I won't look in there anymore. I promise. Just...don't hate me O.K?" she blinked a few times, trying not to let the tears fall. Nobody had ever been this mad at her, and it hurt her more then anything to know she might be losing one of the only friends she had made since she came here. Everything was always too good to be true...
Inuyasha turned around and grabbed her by the shoulders, forcing her to look him in the eye. "DAMN WELL YOU SHOULD BE SORRY!" he roared, forcing her to cringe back. "YOU HAD ABSOLUTELY NO RIGHT TO GO IN THERE! IF BY SOME MIRACLE I CONTINUE TO LET YOU STAY WITH ME YOU HAD BETTER STAY OUT OF THERE, YOU UNDERSTAND? OR I WILL BE FORCED TO FUCKING SLAUGHTER YOU AND STICK YOUR HEAD ON A WOODEN BOARD IN MY ROOM! YOU GO THAT?"
Kagome wasn't sure her ears had survived that endearing speech, but she forced herself to answer him. She turned her gaze up to meet his and gasped when she saw the look his eyes held. To anyone else he would've only looked angry, no, more then angry, unbelievably angry and hateful. But if you were one of those people who knew to look behind the mask, such as Kagome was, there was much more to be seen. It was the same haunting look that had clouded over his eyes when she had first met him, the look that she would've done anything to erase. Obviously his anger was masking something else, something far more deep and powerful that he didn't want to let on to her. Something twisted inside of her to think that this time it had been her, that this emotional haunting look had been at her expense. She felt incredibly low, and this time she couldn't stop the tears that threatened to flow. She stared up at him with a tearful gaze and launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and resting her head on the crook of his shoulder. The impact nearly caused him to fall backwards, but he caught her slight frame just in time and, for reasons he himself was unable to fathom, felt himself soften at her touch. He allowed her to continue crying into his shirt, bringing his own arms up to rest on her back.
He felt his usual arrogant demeanor begin to vanish as she sobbed, after all, he realized, it HAD been an accident. He knew she hadn't seen anything, but the nagging worry that she HAD, that she might have found out about things that definitely weren't any of her business had caused her to blow up at her, something he usually didn't do. He got angry at people, sure, yelled at them, sometimes even reacted violently to them, but he couldn't recall blowing up at someone the way he had at Kagome.
He knew she didn't mind, though. Somehow he felt that she understood him, that she knew he hadn't meant it, that he was only trying to keep her from seeing how he really felt. And though that would've unnerved him to no end coming from anybody else, it felt almost natural with Kagome. He felt almost relaxed, almost as if he were able to forget the pain that had plagued him for so long. Well, not forget, he knew he could never forget, but put aside for the moment. He felt as if maybe he were living again.
He stiffened as he realized exactly what he was saying. He had no right to forget, it had been entirely his fault. He SHOULDN'T forget; he didn't have the right to feel happiness, not after everything that had happened. This girl had no right to try to change that, no matter what she did. He hurriedly pulled out of her embrace, prepared to yell at her, but something prevented him from doing it. He took a look at the sobbing girl who sat on her knees in front of him, and he watched as she tried to wipe the tears away. She stole a glance up at him, and he stood, deciding now would be a good time to leave. He really needed some time to think. He pushed the button that would take him to the floor directly above the one they had been standing on, and waited silently as the elevator made its way up. Suddenly all movement stopped and the familiar tinkling sound from above reached his ears. The double doors slid open and he moved to walk through him, prepared to leave Kagome alone. She would find her way back on her own time. But something couldn't keep him from leaving her with one final thought.
"And just for the record, I don't hate you. Not completely. But I will if you ever try something like that again," and with that final sentiment he left, abandoning Kagome as she watched him walk down the hall and into his own apartment. She herself made to move, but found that she couldn't, that somehow this recent turn of events had frozen her to the ground. She collapsed inside the elevator, her head facing the direction from which he had just left, and she ceased movement as she allowed herself to drift into unconsciousness.
Only one thought continued to invade her brain as she struggled to stay awake.
"Inuyasha...".
A/N: What do you think? I'm not exactly great at writing drama or emotion, though I wish I was, so I hope I was able to get the feelings across all right. Please review and tell me what u think! I'm actually somewhat proud of this chappie because I never wrote fluff before! Just hope u guys think its decent!!
A/N: Hey! Sorry about the lack of new updates, I didn't mean to!!! Besides, it hasn't really been *that* long, has it? Just out of curiosity.. when u edit a story... does it say that I updated or something? Because I don't think I updated 5 days ago other then editing out some grammar errors... and queenoftheskies pointed out to me that there isn't a new chapter, and I suspect that maybe she got an e-mail saying there was? Well anyway, this *is* a new chapter...hope ya enjoy!
A bit of MirSan fluff as well, I know you'd rather see InuKag but MirSan works better with the story right now. Realize that I've never written a romantic story in my life, in fact I've barely ever written stories in my life (hey, I'm only 13!) so if the fluff sucks, consider it lack of experience. It'll probably improve later, so don't give up on me!
Actually I guess you could say that there's InuKag fluff in here too, though not exactly romantic fluff. Maybe dramatic fluff would be better...
Chapter 18
"What do I do?" a worried Kagome asked her companion, chewing on her lower lip as she did so. Inuyasha's scream had carried through the floorboards to herself; she'd be surprised if Kikyo back in Japan hadn't heard it. "Inuyasha's going to figure out that I'm here, he'll be down here in a few minutes ready to kill me! Sango, help me!" she pleaded, shooting worried glances at the door every few minutes, as if expecting it to burst down at any second and reveal a murderous Inuyasha with a rifle.
Sango looked thoughtful for a moment, then her expression brightened as she snapped her fingers. "I got it! C'mon Kagome!" she grabbed the slightly younger girl by the wrist, aiming to lead her away from the dreaded doorway which was so obviously making the girl tremble in fright.
"O-kay," she stuttered out nervously, allowing Sango to lead her to their destination. Sure Inuyasha had been kind to her, but she really had no idea *what* the guy was hiding. What if Sango had been lying, and he WAS some sort of terrorist? If he was, she was sure he wouldn't hesitate to kill her and probably Buyo too.
"Where are we going?" she asked a bit fearfully, and Sango sent her a reassuring smile.
"Don't worry, come on, in here," she pulled Kagome into a tiny room, and even in the dim light Kagome could tell she was in some sort of laundry room. A small white machine protruded from the dusty wall, and spider webs dominated the corners. Another tiny machine, which Kagome vaguely recognized as a dryer, sat on the opposite corner of the room, looking as though it hadn't been used in years. The place on a whole reminded Kagome of the old, creepy attics seen in horror movies, and she shivered unconsciously.
"You don't use this place very often do you?" she asked, knowing the answer even as she spoke. Sango let out a small laugh.
"Oh I do, but not for washing clothing. Stay here for a moment," she let go of Kagome's wrist, leaving the girl to fend for herself. Since she could barely even make out the figure of her female companion, she felt herself begin to go into panic mode.
"This place is creepy. It feels like I'm in the fog in some old park, and some evil guy is going to mug me any second now. Isn't there a light or something to turn on?"
Sango held back a giggle at Kagome's description of her favorite hideout. "Nope, no light. But fear not, young Kagome, we'll be out of here in a minute," she paused, as if concentrating on something intricate. "Got it," Kagome felt a click as Sango said this, and almost screamed as a hand reached out for her. "It's only me," Sango comforted, and she felt her hand reattach itself to her wrist. "Follow me".
Kagome felt herself being pulled by Sango, and she relaxed into her grip. "Where are we going?" she asked the older girl and got her answer when she felt herself fall forward slightly after connecting with something hard. "Oof," she barely kept her frail frame from falling over, and she stopped in fear of repeating the experience.
"Kagome, it's a staircase. Just climb, I'll explain once we get there".
Kagome wasn't sure whether trusting her was such a good idea since she didn't know her all that well, but between falling on her face or getting hacked to bits by an angry hanyou, she'd choose a bit of clumsiness any day. "O.K, I'm trusting you," she hesitantly stepped up only to see that Sango had been right, it was a small step. She reached her other leg a bit higher only to find it land on another. 'I guess I need to be more trusting,' she thought to herself, then proceeded to make her way up the narrow staircase.
She tripped a few times since she couldn't see what was in front of her, and eventually she let go of Sango's hand so she could brace herself against the narrow walls with her own. The stairway was barely wide enough to support her, though she supposed someone slightly larger could probably use it as well, and she vaguely wondered *why* Sango even had this when she could just use an elevator. She felt her foot connect with something hard and (since she had been lost in thought and not bracing herself like she should have been) she couldn't prevent herself from falling forward, head first, toward the jagged steps below. She closed her eyes, bracing herself for the impact when she felt a hand grab her own, keeping her from hitting with full force.
"You're so clumsy," she vaguely recognized Sango's teasing voice, and she grinned in spite of herself. Clumsiness was always something she had always been known for, even as a child. "Come on, we're almost there".
Kagome braced her hands on the step above her and slowly pushed herself to her feet, following once again behind the older girl. Something shone brightly ahead of her and she squinted, her eyes being so used to the utter blackness of the last five minutes. The light began to brighten, and she forced her eyes to accustom themselves to it, as she used the very last of her energy to pull herself from the narrow tunnel into the shining artificial light above.
"Go Kagome! You made it!" a dirty, yet smiling Sango stood in front of her. Kagome shot her a rueful grin.
"I guess I did. Sorry for being such a scaredy cat".
Sango waved a hand. "Think nothing of it. I reacted somewhat like that when Miroku first showed it to me," she felt herself blush as she remembered the experience. Traveling through the darkness with Miroku hadn't been like traveling with Kagome, that was for sure. For one, she was able to concentrate much better when her balance had come from bracing herself against the walls and Kagome, not a "steadying" hand on her ass to keep herself upright. Kagome noticed this blush and giggled lightly, almost positive she could guess what the girl was thinking.
"Anyway, where are we?" Kagome asked curiously, brushing off her clothes as she did so. She didn't even want to know how dirty she was, but there were definitely more impending matters at hand, like where their angry hanyou friend was.
Sango decided to answer her friends query. "Well, that's our emergency escape route".
"Our? Who else uses it?" Kagome figured the answer was Miroku, and she couldn't hold back her laugh when Sango confirmed it. She so obviously had a crush on the lecher, though what she saw in him Kagome couldn't figure out.
"Me, Miroku, and Inuyasha," she saw Kagome pale and look behind her after hearing this. "Don't worry," she patted the doorway fondly. "I locked the door, and only I have the key to my particular part of the route. Thank god for that, seeing as Miroku used to love to say he was "in danger" and run down to my bedroom every chance he got," she smiled fondly at the memories, as annoying as they were. Snapping back to reality, she continued her explanation. "Inuyasha decided it would be fun to connect our apartments to one another, I don't really know why. I guess because it sort of made it seem like we were a family, like we were all connected in some way".
Kagome nodded, urging the older girl to keep going. 'That's weird. Inuyasha seems like he has an emotional I.Q of zero! He definitely doesn't seem the type to tune into sappy stuff like that. Maybe I was right when I thought there was more to him then met the eye,' she pondered to herself, then tuned her ears back to Sango's explanation.
"So, being as loaded as he is, Inuyasha got us to agree and used some of his enormous fortune to build stairways connecting our apartments. Miroku has two, connecting to both my and Inuyasha's apartments. They've actually come in quite handy sometimes when one of us needs to see the other without the hassle of using the elevator, but we don't use them that often. Especially me, since the thought of going to see Miroku is never all that appealing. Miroku used to use his all the time, until I persuaded Inuyasha to get locks for them. He agreed after seeing Miroku whine about the idea for hours. He loves torturing that guy," she laughed at the thought.
"Wow, that's ingenious! I always thought that sort of thing was cool, you know, secret passageways and stuff. I'd love to have one of those!"
"You do! I guess Inuyasha just hasn't shown it to you! It connects to this very room," Sango said, looking quite proud of their fascinating passages, oblivious to the pale expression growing on Kagome's face.
"Sango?" she asked warily.
"Yea?"
"Did you just say Inuyasha's passage connects to this VERY ROOM?" she looked pointedly at the girl, and Sango gasped with realization.
"I didn't think of that. Come on!" she felt her wrist being grabbed once again, and groaned when she realized she was on the run once more.
"Miroku!" Sango called ahead of her softly. "Miroku where are you! It's urgent!"
"Sango? Is that you?" Miroku sounded delighted at hearing that Sango had actually come to pay him a visit. Apparently such was very rare. "Where are you?"
"I'm in the kitchen!"
Kagome, after taking the time to look around, felt a bit of shock when she realized that this, in fact, was a kitchen. It sure didn't look like one. The only thing that this place had in common with a real kitchen was the dirty microwave and the refrigerator; most people don't generally stick couches right in the middle of their kitchens. She groaned when she realized *why* there was a couch there. Could this guy think of anything else?
"The kitchen of all places? Why Sango, darling, I never knew you were so," Sango made cutting motions across her throat and Miroku, who had just entered the room, decided not to finish his earlier suggestions when he noticed Kagome standing behind her.
"Kagome? What brings you here?" a perverted grin crossed his face as he thought of something. "Ahh, you and Sango wished to engage in a bit of- ?" he was cut off when a flying fist smacked the top of his shaggy black head. "Owww," he winced, bringing his hand up to his throbbing skull.
"You idiot!" Sango screeched at the offending lecher. "I need a place to hide Kagome, not molest her!"
Miroku's perverted façade suddenly turned more serious. "Hide Kagome? Whatever for?"
Sango shook her head at Miroku, waving the matter aside. "Never mind that, let's just say Kagome has done something that will surely not make Inuyasha pleased. He'll probably expect her to be down at my apartment, but I have my doubts that he'll think to look here. You've got to conceal her from anyone, especially Inuyasha. If he shows up, no ratting her out. Understand?" she pointed a threatening finger at Miroku.
Miroku stroked his chin in thought. "And what do I get for investing in this little ruse?"
Sango sighed and tapped her foot in annoyance. "What do you want?"
Miroku gave a genuine smile at her, but Sango knew better then to trust it. That Miroku was a great actor. "A kiss from a fair maiden".
Sango cringed in disgust. "Nothing doing. Think of something else," her tongue burned at the thought of kissing that perverted freak.
"Nope. A kiss or I let Inuyasha know that Kagome is here," he winked at Sango. "So what'll it be?"
Kagome silently prayed that Sango would agree; she knew he liked him anyway. Sango seemed to be shuddering at the idea and she sent Kagome a begging glance, hoping she could help her out of this. Kagome sighed. As much as she DIDN'T want to do this, she definitely owed Sango. She sighed and stepped forward, her expression now mirroring Sango's.
"Oh fine. I'll do it if you two are going to be so childish about this," she leaned up toward Miroku, closing her eyes as she did so. If she had to do this, the LAST thing she wanted was to have to watch it. Miroku happily obliged and leaned down toward her. Hey, if he couldn't have Sango, no reason not to settle. A kiss was a kiss by his standards.
Sango sighed with relief, happy she wouldn't have to partake in this silly blackmail. It was rightfully Kagome's job to do this after all, since it was she who needed the favor. Still, the sight of Kagome about to kiss him caused something to twist in her heart, though she couldn't identify the annoying feeling. Whatever it was, it definitely did not like the sight of Miroku and Kagome, and she desperately tried to ignore it. As the feeling grew stronger, she couldn't deny it, especially since she was beginning to realize what it was.
Jealousy?
Deciding she'd sort it out later, Sango's hand shot out to pull Kagome back, just as Miroku's lips were about to descend on hers. "Wait!" she cried out, causing Kagome to turn toward her in confusion, though Sango couldn't deny that she felt happy when she saw relief flying through Kagome's eyes, she suspected at not having to kiss Miroku. For some reason it calmed her to see that Kagome definitely did not relish the thought of kissing him.
And the fact that it calmed her scared her even more.
She ignored the shouting voices in her head and turned to Miroku. "I won't force someone as young as Kagome into doing something like this," she said resolutely, causing Kagome to shout out indignantly.
"Hey! I'm 18 you know! It's not like I've never kissed a guy before!" she failed to mention that all that mess had been back in junior high, when she was young, naïve, and stupid. The only kiss she'd had since then had been with Kouga, and that had been a friendly good-bye kiss more then anything. But Miroku and Sango didn't have to know that...
Miroku laughed. "It's quite all right Kagome. It seems to me that Sango here has other reasons to consider besides your age," he winked at Kagome and said girl felt a lighthearted grin spread over her face as Miroku's words began to make sense. 'Sango's jealous!' she thought to herself, giggling in her mind. 'That's so cute! She doesn't even realize how much he affects her,' she noted, seeing Sango fume at Miroku's words.
"What is *that* supposed to mean asshole?" she asked him, feeling her fists clench in her defensive state and her cheeks turn slightly pink. She definitely didn't want Miroku to figure out that she might've been jealous! The very thought made her gag.
"It's obvious that seeing me with any other woman but yourself displeases you. In short, it's mere jealousy," he commented logically, and Kagome had to agree.
"I'm NOT jealous!" Sango protested, a bit too loudly for it to be the truth. Miroku grinned.
"If you're not jealous, then why not allow Kagome to continue?" he pointed out, and Kagome had to laugh at Sango's predicament. Miroku obviously had that rare ability to turn anything said by anyone against them, and Sango probably knew that she was a goner in this argument. She saw said girl's cheeks heat up at this statement.
"I told you already! She's young, and she barely knows you! She shouldn't be forced into anything!"
"She agreed to it, Sango, she was in no way forced". Both parties seemed to ignore Kagome, who was almost doubling over in laughter. Young love was just plain hilarious.
"Only because her very existence may have been on the line!" Sango argued back, and Miroku sighed.
"Fine, you win. You're not jealous. Now who's it going to be? You, or Kagome?" he tried not to laugh. It was so obvious that the girl was dying with embarrassment. She obviously *had* been jealous, and now she was forced between embarrassing herself or exploiting that jealousy further. He truly was a genius.
Sango felt her cheeks heat up, recognizing what a mess she had gotten herself into. If she allowed Kagome to kiss him she's just end up getting jealous, and Miroku would definitely exploit it. If she herself kissed him then, well, she'd have to kiss him!
'But that's not so bad is it?' she felt a voice nudge her. 'Come on, you KNOW you like him at least a little bit'.
'I do not! I don't like him anymore then I like Inuyasha!' another voice protested.
'Please, you've been trying to hide it for years now. You've liked Miroku ever since you graduated college, possibly before though it was less conscious'.
'I DO NOT!'
'Then prove it,' the other voice continued to nudge her. 'Just kiss him, you're twenty two years old! If you really don't like him then kissing him isn't exactly a big deal. If you really could care less then kissing him is no problem right?'
'Right!' she answered herself, then groaned inwardly as she realized what she had just decided.
'Then do it!'
"Fine I will!" this last line was spoken aloud to an obviously happy Miroku, and he winked at the girl.
"Very well then," and before she could protest, he grabbed her arm and pulled her toward him, allowing his lips to descend upon hers. She closed her mouth tightly, knowing Miroku and his ways with women all too well. Surprisingly he didn't try anything suggestive though, he merely draped his arms around her, allowing them to rest themselves on the small of her back without reaching any higher or lower. Her own arms lay trapped between them, as if trying to shield himself from his advances. She felt a strange tingling feeling deep within her stomach as his astoundingly soft lips caressed hers a few times, in a surprisingly non suggestive manner. If anything kissing him felt, well, astonishingly pure.
After kissing chastely for a few moments they separated, Sango's cheeks flaring from slightly pink to bright red. 'I can't believe I just did that!' she thought to herself, even more confused now then she was before.
"Uh," she stuttered, not really sure what to say now. "I-I need to go home. Kohaku's coming home soon, and I need to meet him. Take care of Kagome, O.K?" he watched her run from him, her head held down and her gaze not reaching any higher then her shoes. He allowed her to go, not mentioning that Kohaku was fourteen years old and perfectly capable of taking care of himself. He turned toward Kagome, ready to fulfill his part of the bargain when he realized she was nowhere to be seen. He looked around curiously for the girl, heading toward the living room since he had the feeling he'd find her in his recliner chair. "Kagome?"
"Mmph," he heard a muffled groan coming from the direction of his doorway. "Leggo me Ivuyafa!" he heard Kagome's detached voice and relaxed when he realized what must have happened. Kagome wasn't being kidnapped after all, Sango wouldn't kill him. It was just Inuyasha!
In his astonishment over the recent events, he failed to remember WHY Sango had brought Kagome there in the first place.
~*~
"LEGGO!" she yelled at the man above her, kicking at him with all her might. Unfortunately her advances were doing her absolutely no good, as all Inuyasha did was ignore her screams and continue walking toward the elevator, she assumed to return toward his own apartment. He stopped upon reaching the elevator and uncovered the girl's mouth for a moment to click the "up" button on the fruitfully decorated wall.
Inuyasha himself had been a bit shocked when he had stumbled upon the scene in Miroku's apartment. After seeing Sango's totally empty and the door to her escape route swinging wide open, it hadn't taken a rocket scientist to figure out where the two girls had gone. He fully expected to just walk right in, grab Kagome, and leave. His plan had worked perfectly, but seeing Miroku and Sango in a lip lock certainly hadn't been part of it. He DEFINITELY needed to talk to Miroku later, but he had more pressing matters at hand. After getting over his initial shock, he had walked right over to Kagome whose eyes, he noted, were pushed WIDE open at the sight in front of her. Since she obviously wasn't paying attention to much else, Inuyasha had found it quite easy to slip a hand over her mouth, pick her up, swing her over his back, and leave without attracting any attention from the obviously busy couple.
The tiny light on the elevator glowed brightly and a small tinkling sound was heard in the background. The doors slid open, revealing an expensively carpeted (and spacious) square, complete with full length mirrors, solid gold trimmings, and an elevator attendant.
"Please leave," Inuyasha asked the attendant and the man shook his head.
"No can do, sorry. I'm not to leave here no matter what the occasion". Inuyasha sighed and felt around in his pocket for a moment, then smirked as he pulled out what he was looking for.
"How about for fifty dollars?" he saw the man's eyes widen at this, and he could've sworn he saw drool coming from his mouth.
"Fifty dollars?" he asked unbelievably, and Inuyasha nodded with a smirk.
"And it's all yours if you scram," he jerked his thumb out the doorway, and the man nodded mutely, grabbing the bill out of the hanyou's hand and proceeding to leave the elevator. Inuyasha stepped in, a glaring Kagome still draped over his back, and pressed the 'door close' button behind him. She waited for him to push the button of her floor, but surprisingly all he did was lower himself to the floor, shrugging her off of his shoulders and turn to face her with a murderous look that caused Kagome to wince unconsciously with fear.
"Talk," he stared at her dangerously, looking angrier then Kagome had ever seen him look before.
Realizing now was not the time to ask questions about why they weren't moving; Kagome gulped and began to ramble off the answer to his one worded demand.
"I'm so sorry; I didn't know what was behind there. I just, you know, was curious, and so I opened it, but then I got really panicked when the crazy alarm went off, and I'm so sorry!" she felt tears begin to well up in her eyes, she hadn't meant to get him so mad at her, and for once she knew he had every right to be. She had trespassed upon his personal life, something she had promised to refrain from doing. She kept the tears back and turned to stare apologetically at him, only to see that he was turned away from her, his arms crossed as he faced the direction opposite from hers. Kagome mirrored his actions and turned away from him so the two were facing back to back. The tension in the small space was growing, and Kagome herself was about to speak up when Inuyasha beat her to it.
"Look," his voice was low and serious. "There are things about me that nobody is meant to know. I don't know whether to believe whether this was accidental or not, but you damn well shouldn't have done it," his back was still to her and he could feel her tense up behind him.
'Is he going to murder me in here?' she thought to herself worriedly, then decided it would be helpful to try to soothe him. "Inuyasha, I understand. I didn't mean to, O.K? I won't look in there anymore. I promise. Just...don't hate me O.K?" she blinked a few times, trying not to let the tears fall. Nobody had ever been this mad at her, and it hurt her more then anything to know she might be losing one of the only friends she had made since she came here. Everything was always too good to be true...
Inuyasha turned around and grabbed her by the shoulders, forcing her to look him in the eye. "DAMN WELL YOU SHOULD BE SORRY!" he roared, forcing her to cringe back. "YOU HAD ABSOLUTELY NO RIGHT TO GO IN THERE! IF BY SOME MIRACLE I CONTINUE TO LET YOU STAY WITH ME YOU HAD BETTER STAY OUT OF THERE, YOU UNDERSTAND? OR I WILL BE FORCED TO FUCKING SLAUGHTER YOU AND STICK YOUR HEAD ON A WOODEN BOARD IN MY ROOM! YOU GO THAT?"
Kagome wasn't sure her ears had survived that endearing speech, but she forced herself to answer him. She turned her gaze up to meet his and gasped when she saw the look his eyes held. To anyone else he would've only looked angry, no, more then angry, unbelievably angry and hateful. But if you were one of those people who knew to look behind the mask, such as Kagome was, there was much more to be seen. It was the same haunting look that had clouded over his eyes when she had first met him, the look that she would've done anything to erase. Obviously his anger was masking something else, something far more deep and powerful that he didn't want to let on to her. Something twisted inside of her to think that this time it had been her, that this emotional haunting look had been at her expense. She felt incredibly low, and this time she couldn't stop the tears that threatened to flow. She stared up at him with a tearful gaze and launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and resting her head on the crook of his shoulder. The impact nearly caused him to fall backwards, but he caught her slight frame just in time and, for reasons he himself was unable to fathom, felt himself soften at her touch. He allowed her to continue crying into his shirt, bringing his own arms up to rest on her back.
He felt his usual arrogant demeanor begin to vanish as she sobbed, after all, he realized, it HAD been an accident. He knew she hadn't seen anything, but the nagging worry that she HAD, that she might have found out about things that definitely weren't any of her business had caused her to blow up at her, something he usually didn't do. He got angry at people, sure, yelled at them, sometimes even reacted violently to them, but he couldn't recall blowing up at someone the way he had at Kagome.
He knew she didn't mind, though. Somehow he felt that she understood him, that she knew he hadn't meant it, that he was only trying to keep her from seeing how he really felt. And though that would've unnerved him to no end coming from anybody else, it felt almost natural with Kagome. He felt almost relaxed, almost as if he were able to forget the pain that had plagued him for so long. Well, not forget, he knew he could never forget, but put aside for the moment. He felt as if maybe he were living again.
He stiffened as he realized exactly what he was saying. He had no right to forget, it had been entirely his fault. He SHOULDN'T forget; he didn't have the right to feel happiness, not after everything that had happened. This girl had no right to try to change that, no matter what she did. He hurriedly pulled out of her embrace, prepared to yell at her, but something prevented him from doing it. He took a look at the sobbing girl who sat on her knees in front of him, and he watched as she tried to wipe the tears away. She stole a glance up at him, and he stood, deciding now would be a good time to leave. He really needed some time to think. He pushed the button that would take him to the floor directly above the one they had been standing on, and waited silently as the elevator made its way up. Suddenly all movement stopped and the familiar tinkling sound from above reached his ears. The double doors slid open and he moved to walk through him, prepared to leave Kagome alone. She would find her way back on her own time. But something couldn't keep him from leaving her with one final thought.
"And just for the record, I don't hate you. Not completely. But I will if you ever try something like that again," and with that final sentiment he left, abandoning Kagome as she watched him walk down the hall and into his own apartment. She herself made to move, but found that she couldn't, that somehow this recent turn of events had frozen her to the ground. She collapsed inside the elevator, her head facing the direction from which he had just left, and she ceased movement as she allowed herself to drift into unconsciousness.
Only one thought continued to invade her brain as she struggled to stay awake.
"Inuyasha...".
A/N: What do you think? I'm not exactly great at writing drama or emotion, though I wish I was, so I hope I was able to get the feelings across all right. Please review and tell me what u think! I'm actually somewhat proud of this chappie because I never wrote fluff before! Just hope u guys think its decent!!