Disclaimer: No, I don't own Inuyasha ::sigh::
"…" – speech
'…' – thoughts
--- - change in scenery, time, or perspective
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Previously, on Lock Down:
{Not a single sound broke through the dead silence.
Until Inuyasha summed up the entire situation in one word:
"Shit."}
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Falling
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Feb.28.299 NA
New Tokyo, Human Division, Sector 118The one word seemed to snap the crowd out of its stupor as all pandemonium broke loose in the area. People were soon pushing and shoving- doing anything to get away from the 'freak'. It didn't matter who got pushed, or who fell down, all anybody thought about was for their own good will. Kagome tried desperately to push her way through the raging crowd, but the mass of people continued to push her further and further away from the hanyou.
"Inu-Inuyasha!"
Dog-ears twitched at the mention of his name, and Inuyasha searched around wildly for the girl… There! He headed towards a hand that was poking out from the top of the crowd and headed in its direction. However, this only increased the people's panic as they immediately assumed that the monster was planning to kill them-
Or worse.
He felt something akin to disappointment at the reaction of the humans. 'Looks like they don't accept me…' His mouth set into a grim line. 'Why would they? I'm just a freak.'
Nevertheless, the continued to pursue the girl's hand- why, he didn't know. He could just escape right now, but for some reason unknown to him, the boy wanted to make sure that the only person who had really helped him of her own accord was safe.
What was the saying?
Feed a dog once and it will be loyal forever?
He quickly made his towards the shuffling crowd, but the hand the half-demon was pursuing was somehow being pushed further and further away from him. The people took no notice of the struggling girl that was trying to push against their ranks. She was steadily being shoved towards wherever the crowd was going.
The boy ran quickly, but he was only succeeding in making the people go faster, travelling away from him. A growl built up in his chest at the reaction of the humans. They really were a foolish bunch.
Suddenly, Inuyasha stopped moving as a frightfully familiar noise reached his ears.
The- Clunk. Clunk. Clunk. Of an android's heavy footsteps.
But it wasn't just one.
"No."
The hanyou turned around in horrid apprehension- and in the distance, was a thin line of flashing gold. A loud alert was sounded from the public speakers, signalling the dreaded Lock Down situation. Silence swept around the crowd, broken only by the loud beeps of the alarm.
Behind him, he could hear gasps coming from the crowd as it ran with renewed vigour towards the nearest building. The stampede rushed away from the danger. However, in all of the push and shove, they really weren't getting very far in too much speed.
His voice was barely above a whisper. "Oh hell no."
He was in for it now…
News travelled fast in New Tokyo.
And upon hearing that a dog-eared boy had been spotted in the Human Division, the Government had sent out the one group that was feared by all.
Red androids.
He looked desperately towards the barrier, but even if he left now, it would be too late. He would be hunted down and exterminated, like the Government had wanted to do years ago. They had been waiting for a reason, and now they had it. They would do everything they could to get rid of the smudge on their perfect world.
He was now a hunted person.
No matter where he went, Inuyasha was doomed.
The half-demon stood his ground, gritting his teeth as the shining army drew closer.
There was no other option.
Grimly, he cracked his knuckles, slowly stretching his limbs. Golden eyes scanned over the line of gold, and everything else steadily faded from his attention. The humans weren't important now.
He'd made his choice.
Hell, if he had to go, he might as well go out with a bang.
So absorbed in his thoughts was the hanyou, that he didn't notice the place had gone completely quiet. All the people had finally retreated into the nearest available buildings that had all been shut off in a sense. The windows had been covered, and the doors had been secured. The streets were completely empty.
Well, completely empty except for…
"Inuyasha!"
In complete shock, the half-demon whipped his head around so quickly that he had nearly given himself whiplash. "What the fuck?"
Running from where the crowd had pushed her, Kagome didn't stop until she had reached the boy's side, panting.
He stared at her angrily. "Why the hell are you still out here? Get outta my sight and into some building!"
The azure-eyed girl gaped at him. "I came back to you for your own good, and now you tell me to leave? Well I've got news for you, dog-boy: The buildings are locked! I can't get into one now! We'll have to make a break for it!"
He grabbed a hold of her shoulders, shaking her, albeit gently. "Are you crazy?! Look over there!" He pointed towards the rapidly growing line of androids. "See?! Those are android! Red ones! Coming for my fucking head! Why didn't you get safe when the alarm sounded anyway? Do you want to get killed too?! Nobody survives after seeing one of them!" His eyes were opened wide, and his voice was rough with barely suppressed fear
"That's… not true…" Her voice was barely more than a whisper.
"What?" Inuyasha shook his head. "Nevermind. The point it, you are a stupid girl who is going to die. Die. Understand?! And I can't help you!"
"I… I just wanted to…" liquid began to pool in Kagome's eyes.
"H-hey! Stop it!" Inuyasha whisked his hand off as though she had burned him. "Hey! Don't cry! I can't stand it when people cry…!"
She sniffled. "H-how can I not? You said yourself: I'm going to die." Sudden realisation caused azure eyes to widen with complete horror. "I-I'm going to… die…" She was starting to hyperventilate.
He patted the girl's back awkwardly. "L-look. I'll try to… distract the androids, and you can escape. It's me they're after all. You shouldn't have to die when it was my fault… I'll… I'll protect you."
The black-haired student looked at him sorrowfully. "Are you going to die then?" She shook her head and shut her eyed tight. "I don't want you to get killed! No more death." She dropped to the ground onto her knees. Visions from the event she had witnessed flooded through her mind. "I hate it." Her shoulders tensed and shook. "No more."
The strong salty scent of tears hit the inu-hanyou's nose.
The sudden emotional swing threw the boy in for a loop. Why was she all panicked now?
Inuyasha froze at the amount of tension that had suddenly built in the air. It seemed to be heavy with something, and he could feel an uneasiness stir in his soul. Some unseen force was being emitted from the girl- something that was almost painful.
"No more…"
Suddenly, the ground seemed to shake as sobs began to wrack Kagome's body. Inuyasha watched in morbid horror as an eerie green light began to pulse from something on her chest. With every sob, the shaking grew worse, until small cracks began to appear in the unyielding concrete ground. Soon, joining the green pulses, an almost imperceptible pink light outlined the girl's form.
He kneeled next to her. "H-hey. What are you doing? Stop it!" He took hold of her shoulders again and shook her. "Stop!"
However, the girl didn't seem to hear him as she continued to mutter incoherently. When he got a good look at her face, Inuyasha saw that her eyes were wide open, but unfocused and unseeing. She was trapped in some nightmare that he had no way of knowing how to snap her out of.
He stood up partially, and shivered. The hanyou could feel something very wrong, as it seemed as though his blood was starting to boil. He chanced a desperate glance at where the androids were, and realised in consternation, that they were extremely close now. Another quake shook the ground, and Inuyasha very near yelped as a large crack appeared in the ground.
He was now faced with two very dangerous, potentially deadly elements. But right now, he was thinking for two, and he wasn't willing to risk another's life.
So he dropped down next to the shaking girl, hurriedly picking her up. Very carefully, the half-demon nudged her so that she was on his back. She was still ensnared in her own mind, seeing things that the hanyou could not. Getting ready, Inuyasha did something that he had never done, but for the sake of the girl on his back, he would sack his pride.
He was running away from the enemy.
Speeding off away from the incoming androids, he ran off like death was on his heals- which wasn't far from the truth.
Practically flying through the streets, the boy searched around desperately for someplace- anyplace he could hide in. He really wasn't trying to preserve his own life. As of the moment he'd crossed the divider a night ago, he'd sealed his own fate. He wanted to get as far away from the androids as he could to calm the girl down enough so that she could run and hide. As of now, her sobs had diminished somewhat, but he could still hear her erratically beating heart, and shaky breaths.
Luckily, the tremors had ceased, saving the Government from having to repair too many dents in their roads. Thoughts flew through the running hanyou's mind, focusing on what exactly this girl was, and why she had caused such an effect in the atmosphere. The energy that had radiated off of her… It had been intense.
For some reason, it had been alluring, and Inuyasha had felt a desire to take possession of that power, and to harness it. However, some of his primal instincts had screamed at him to run as far away as he could from the danger- self-preservation normally overruled all.
So he'd compromised.
He'd run away, taking the girl with him.
The boy spotted a small isolated alley that, for some reason, appeared to be appealing to him as a hiding spot. It was small, and at the end, was a pile of… something that he could hide behind.
Dashing into the narrow path, Inuyasha hopped over the lumps in a single bound, crouching to the rear of it. Regaining his breath, the hanyou gently brought the trembling girl in front of him. Her eyes were still glazed, but she had stopped mumbling, taking to staring listlessly at nothing. Sweat gathered on her forehead, her face was pale, yet redness filled her cheeks, and her small hands gripped onto the front of the boy's shirt.
Her mouth opened, yet no sound came out.
He cradled her shaking frame in his arms- something that he normally wouldn't have been caught dead doing. Her mouth opened again, and he bent an ear closer.
"… no… no… more…"
No more what, the half-demon didn't know, but all the same he replied softly. "No more. I promise."
The shivering seemed to still somewhat, but her eyes remained unfocused. Taking this time to examine his surroundings, Inuyasha discovered, with some curiosity, that the heap he was hiding behind was a pile of… rubbish. Normally, the cleaning crews that swept through the streets at night cleaned up any traces of garbage, but clearly, they had missed this one. In fact, there was evidence that this particular pile had been here for some time.
It seemed to be a collection of old pieces of technology and metal just… melded together. It was a strange structure that looked like it had been glued to the ground. Segments of it were covered with a very unagreeable mold that would definitely keep anyone from wanting to touch any part of it.
Very peculiar indeed.
Light glinting off the surface of something caught the boy's attention, so he leaned over in to study it. Golden eyes squinted- it appeared to be… a lens?
It was.
A lens of some sort was positioned among the pile in such a way that it was extremely difficult to see it. In fact, the only reason Inuyasha had caught notice of if was because of the reflective properties of the glass it was made out of. Shrugging, the hanyou disregarded the glass as just another randomly strewn piece of rubbish.
Leaning in closer to the base of the accumulation of junk, the hanyou reached out to closely inspect a piece of pipe that was sticking out near the floor. He didn't really care about getting his hands dirty- it never had bothered him about touching things that repelled 'normal' people. After all, a person was already covered in millions of bacteria- what was a few more going to do?
Suddenly, distant footsteps started to approach where Inuyasha was hiding with Kagome. In fact, they seemed to be headed straight for where they were located…
Shock filtered into the boy's shell-shocked mind, and he stared at the narrow opening that lead to the wider streets. There was nothing there, but the army of footsteps was getting closer.
Any moment now, a metal foot would cut through there followed by…
'Hell… No. No. No. No. No…'
Unconsciously, his grip on the metal stick tightened, and golden eyes flicked everywhere, looking for some means of escape. He could find nothing at all. There was nothing that would even remotely boost his chances of survival. In trying to hide in this ally, Inuyasha had backed himself up into a trap.
Then, the half-demon's gaze hardened, and he made up his mind.
He would hide Kagome, and fight the androids.
Single handily.
True, it was a foolish and fatal plan, but he really didn't have much of a choice anymore. He would die, but take down some red androids while he was at it. Hopefully, once he'd been disposed of, the fire-fighters would go back to wherever they had come from, leaving Kagome alone. Their target was him, and he'd be damned if they forgot that.
She didn't deserve to have a share in his troubles.
Inuyasha began to stand up, applying pressure to the protruding metal in his grasp. He tightened his hold on the silent girl in his arms, before starting to place her on the floor.
But then, under his applied force, the stick moved.
"What the fuck?"
Golden eyes whipped down in surprise as the rod sunk heavily, followed by a solid clank as something moved underneath the ground. The hanyou only had time to catch a brief glimpse of a metal foot enter the alleyway before the floor seemed to disappear right beneath him. Having nothing supporting him, gravity took over the boy, pulling him down into the blackness below. His arms tightened instinctively around Kagome's form, keeping her from falling away from him.
"Holy fucking shit…!"
Looking up to the sky above, Inuyasha watched as the tiny rectangle of light slowly closed until no light permeated through the darkness that enveloped the entire space. He was falling freely, and not even his sharp eyes could penetrate through the thick murkiness.
It was almost like some strange dream.
The wind whistled past his ears, and in all certainty, the half-demon thought that he was going to fall for all eternity- or until he hit the centre of the earth. Cryptically, he frowned in thought. He wouldn't even last to the core, would he? He'd be melted before then.
The hanyou looked almost sadly at the girl in his arms. If she hadn't been stirred up in his business, she wouldn't have been in the mess they were in now. Seriously, she seemed to have some problems with all the 'no more' and strange behaviour. They'd once learned in class that persons who had traumatical experiences often lapsed into emotional breakdowns in the most unexpected moments. They could be triggered by the smallest things- often something that reminded them of the occurrence.
Maybe she'd been traumatised in the past?
He studied her face- she was sleeping. All of that crying must have finally taken its toll on her energy. Her face had upturned to him in the freefall. She looked so innocent, especially in her sleep that Inuyasha found it hard to believe that she could be anything less than what she portrayed. Certainly, the girl's almost annoyingly cheerful attitude had convinced him that she could overcome anything and everything.
But as this situation had provided an example for- Kagome really was only human.
Checking his watch, the teenager startled in slight surprise. What had seemed like an eternity of falling had only been about two minutes. Then, as if sensing something coming up, the hanyou looked down.
Was that…?
-Yes! It was!
Solid ground was coming up fast towards Inuyasha, and for a split second, he thought that he would be flattened by the force of gravity. Acting on instinct, he shielded Kagome protectively with his own body, and braced his legs for the impact.
He landed.
But there was no shock, as he'd anticipated.
Oh no.
He'd bounced right back up.
Literally.
"Whoa!"
Inuyasha found himself trying to steady himself on a ground that was almost- squishy?
Once the tremors had stopped running through the cushioned landing area, the hanyou very near breathed a sigh. Dropping to his knees in a mixture of sheer relief and shock, the teenager released some of his vice-like grip on the girl in his arms, and looked around.
His relief evaporated. "Aw, shit."
What had he gotten himself into this time? The adolescent was trapped in a small squared area barely 2 metres across. He'd escaped certain death at the hands of the Government- only to end up in a place where he and Kagome would slowly die from starvation, or worse.
He inspected the walls, but there were no grooves whatsoever in the smooth metal walls that would provide a firm handle for anybody to climb out of. Sure, he could try and utilise his sharp claws to grip his way up to the top, but then what? Even if was able to slowly make his way up the chute, there was no way he'd be able to maintain his leverage while searching for a way to open the sliding trapdoor again.
Then, there was also the matter of the girl he'd brought here. For some unexplainable reason, he just didn't have the heart to leave her. Kagome had been willing to help him out of his situation, and now, there was no way he'd abandon her.
He did have a sense of compassion, you know.
…
However remote it was…
Sighing, the hanyou fell back onto his posterior.
The minutes ticked by.
…
Well, death certainly was coming slowly, and the girl was still showing no signs of waking up.
Wasn't life supposed to flash before one's eyes before they died?
If so, it was going to a very long slideshow.
Just then, a suspicious beeping sound reached dog-ears, and Inuyasha hopped to his feet in shock.
"Wha-?"
He turned his gaze to the wall to his right, and leaned closer to it. There seemed to be voices coming from the other side of the metal- but that had to be impossible! The Government had strictly taught that existence below 2 kilometres ground surface was infeasible!
The half-demon readied his claws, never once slacking his hold of the human.
If what was over there was of any threat- he'd destroy it.
That is, if he could.
In fascination and trepidation, Inuyasha watched as a small horizontal slit of light separated the panel of metal. Slowly, the light widened, temporarily blinding the hanyou as his sensitive eyesight adjusted to the sudden increase of light. However, his hearing had not been impaired, and the voices grew stronger.
"What are you opening the door for?"
"To let them in!"
"Stupid! For all we know, they could be spies sent by the Government to eliminate us!"
"They don't look harmless… See, the girl's not even moving! Hey- I wonder if she's cute…" The last part had been in a voice that obviously suggested ulterior motives.
There was a sharp smack.
Two bickering voices broke into the previously silent enclosure as the half-demon blinked to clear his vision. One was undoubtedly female, and the other was that of a man's.
"Be quiet, pervert! Close the door! Close it!"
"I can't just let them stay in there! Besides, they must know about us if they were able to locate the trapdoor in the first place. Isn't locked all the time?"
There was a momentary silence.
"Yeah, well, maybe they… I dunno…" The first voice was deliberately slow. "got lucky?!"
"Oh… well, there's that too…"
A third voice inturrupted in the argument, "Excuse me you two, but these two civilians are to be taken to the conference room immediately. Kaede-sama wishes to see them- it was her who ordered for the entrance to be unlocked. Although why she let in a half-breed, is beyond me…"
A pause.
"I told you so. They aren't dangerous." The male voice was victorious.
"Shut up."
Another pause.
"Don't touch me there!"
The sound of flesh connecting with flesh at full force echoed through the enclosure.
"Not there either!"
Another smack.
"But Sango dear, my hands have minds of their own!"
A third smack.
Silence.
"Uh…I don't think he's moving… He never learns, does he?"
The female sighed. "No, he doesn't."
As his vision finally stopped being filled with dancing spots, Inuyasha looked out of the hole that had now become tall enough for a person to easily walk through.
His mouth dropped open in astonishment.
"What the hell?"
Two men and a women, each looking very much normal, stood there- well actually, one of the men was just starting to get up from the ground, but they were all studying him. Sniffing the air, the hanyou discovered that two were human, but the third was a demon- wolf, if he wasn't mistaken.
That threw him for the first loop.
What were humans and demons doing together, and co-operating, no less?
Actually…
What were they doing here, underground, in the first place?
The greatly confused teenager blinked at the people.
Sensing his insecurity, one of the males- the human one, took a small step forward, sticking out his hand in greeting. A red handprint decorated a cheek, and his other hand clutched an area on his arm. His friends watched in silence. However, Inuyasha only backed away from the man, doubt etched all over his face. Kagome's sleeping form still lay in his arms.
The man, who had two earrings in each of his earlobes, quickly raised both hands up as a sign of peace. "Look, I'm not going to hurt you. You were allowed down here, for what reason, I don't know." Here, he tossed a curious look back at his companions. "But you really should get out of our entry way- some more people might be coming soon, and the only way out of here is not located in there."
The hanyou took a cautious step out of the 'entrance'. Years of being taunted and bullied had given him remarkably good defensive instincts. "And where the hell, exactly, is here?" He was weary, but none of the people had shown any hostility towards him (although the wolf had lost points due to the 'half-breed' comment).
Seeing he had coaxed the hanyou out of the enclosed space, the violet-eyed man waved his arms around him. The female stepped towards the two, while the wolf stayed back, ready to spring into action if force was needed. His companions were more than able to defend themselves, but back up was always useful.
The barest of smiles flickering over her face, the woman, who looked no more than a teenager, bowed.
"Welcome to the underground, base of the rebels!"
The human male frowned thoughtfully. "Well that was… blunt."
She shrugged. "Might as well be. He's going to find out sooner or later anyway…"
Stunned by the sudden, and certainly unexpected invitation, Inuyasha collapsed onto his backside. "Wha-what?"
The demon spoke up. "Those things on your head are ears, right? Use them." His tone was daunting.
The hanyou bristled. "Shut up, wolf shit."
"Dog turd," was the reply. But even as he glared at the teenager, his gaze alighted on the girl in his hold. "Hey- she's pretty cute." Cobalt eyes narrowed in suspicion. " What were you doing with such a beautiful woman?"
Inuyasha tightened his hold, very near snarling at the wolf demon. "You keep your hands off of her, scum bag."
The other two had watched the exchange with mild interest, but it was apparent that their patience was wearing thin.
Eventually, the woman broke into the argument. "Look, Kouga. Didn't you say Kaede-baa-san wanted to see these two?"
"Huh?" Broken out of his staring contest with the inu-hanyou, the demon called 'Kouga' blinked stupidly at her.
She sighed. "Civilians? Kaede? Conference room? Ring a bell?"
The male stepped in. "Kouga, did Kaede-baa-san not ask you to bring these two to the conference room?"
"Oh!" the demon snapped his fingers. "Right!" He gestured rather rudely at the hanyou. "Come along, dog shit."
"Keh! I'm not going anywhere with you." He turned to the humans, a little unsure, but not showing it. "And what about her?" He shifted Kagome. "Can't you do something to heal her or something?"
The girl- Sango, was it? Stepped closer with a polite smile on her face. "Kaede-baa-san will know what to do, and in any case, we can't bring you anywhere around the base until you're brought in front of the leaders."
The other human eagerly held out his hands. "If you would like, I could take her off of your hands…" The expression on his face was a little… unsettling, to say the least.
He was awarded with another smack over the head.
Gritting his teeth, Inuyasha stood up angrily. "Fine. Bring me to this baba, but make it quick." The human male started towards him. "You, stay the fuck away from Kagome." He backed off, dejectedly.
The humans exchanged weary looks before walking off towards a hallway with a hanyou carrying a girl in tow. Bringing up the rear was Kouga, in a rather sullen mood.
Review Responses:
-- Sarcasm Girl8
Ah… To tell of my adventures in Italy… How about I send you (and everybody else who would want to know) an email, eh?
--buyo neko
I know, I am damn lucky, ne? And thanks for the review!
-- Katami
Heh. I agree. You think that'd be uncomfortable for him? Here's the update (finally…!)
-- luckykittykagome
Entertaining, yes? That's why I'm writing, yup! I'm baaack!
-- Shadow Stone
See where it ends up? How about everybody dies? … whoops… maybe I shouldn't have said that… But don't worry, they shouldn't end up like that…
-- BabyBat0127
I did leave you people hanging, ne? But I'm back, and writing…! Sugar high? At… 1:19am?! No wonder!
-- boo yah
Thank you! I'll try… And every chapter is important in the plot development, or in order to help me get to a major event in the story. Miroku? As I said… plot development… And thanks for all of your reviews! Evil cliffy? Because I can? Will that answer suffice?
-- CJ-Chan
Wasn't he? Ah, but he sacked his pride… how noble. -.-;; And, don't we all?
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If I missed any review responses… I'll catch up to you soon. After my mind clears up.
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Something I just had to share with you people: a blooper.
-- She shook her eyes and shut her head.-- {Is that even possible?}
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[You could say that the title has a sort of double meaning. One would be the literal falling into the ground, the other would be the emotional fall of Kagome…
Oh lala. Look at the drama…
Sorry if this chapter was slightly… weird. I blame it on the delirium caused by this damn fever.
Bah.
Till next time…
Ja!]