Author's note: Oh my goodness! I never expected to get so many reviews! I expected maybe 5, but 14! I wuv you guys! ^_^ Now, due to popular demand, I will continue this story of mystery and love. And when I say, mystery, I mean it. When I decided to continue the story, I came up with a kick ass storyline that I hope that many of you will enjoy. Although this is my first attempt at doing a mystery, I think that it's doing pretty good so far. Well, I hope you enjoy, but first, on to the reader's appreciation!
Reader's appreciation:
shadow demon: Thanx for the review. You demon you!
Lime and Lemons: Well, it worked. I continued.
chachi: No need to rush, I continued… eventually.
Frozen Rain1: So sorry to leave you with a cliff hanger, but how would I ever get you to read the second chapter?
WaterGoddess9: I tried to update as soon as possible. Maybe a month later is a little too late…..
Sprout: The most original? Wow, that's a nice comment.
kailoni_seraphina: Cool name. Sorry about the cliff hanger, but thanx for the review!
Aurelia Lothlorien: Another cool name! I've got to say that your review was the longest one that I have ever had! You have made sphinxy very very happy! *purrs in excitement* Ahem… well, as you wanted, chapter two is ready to go! *finishes pocky that was offered* yum yum ^_~.
onnie: To tell you the truth, I can't wait to see how it develops either, I'm kinda writing it as I go.
LemonySweet: Don't be cranky! Here is chapter two!
Chico-chan: Thanks for the review. Do you have a split personality or something? I'd hate to get on your bad side…
lil mama: Thanks to the review!
alicia: Just a quick thanx!
Divine-Heart: Was the beginning that good? Oh well… here's more. And thanx again!
And now on to the story!!
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Midnight Sparrow
"The secrets of two"
At first sight, the old abandoned warehouse seemed to be run down and forgotten. But forgotten it was not. As Inu-Yasha secretly peered into the huge facility, he was astonished (to say the least) to find a room full of automobiles and motorcycles. But all of these vehicles were not the kind to find at a used car lot, they were top of the line models, each appearing as if they were new and untouched. All of the cars held a certain mark that made them part of a claim. Like a herd of cattle, each one of them was stamped with a symbol containing the letters, GEI.
A noise to the left is what made Inu-Yasha's attention turn away from the merchandise and to the girl he was chasing earlier. Still crouching behind the doorway, he watched as she walked through the place, scouting and selecting her favorite pick of the lot. Finally, she stopped by a black and purple colored motorcycle. She gently caressed her fingers over the surface, as if she was petting the fur of a cat.
The motorcycle was a wonder in itself. It was indeed a cycle for speed, but the design of its features made it that much more fascinating. What was more interesting was the design in the front of the cycle. It bore a picture of a raven in the front, while the raven's wings were painted to the very back of the cycle. And, like the other's, it bore the mark of GEI. Kagome smiled at all its splendor and mounted the bike while placing a black and purple helmet on her head.
"It's time to fly." She whispered as she turned the key to the ignition. She roared the engine a couple of times, as if to awaken the sleeping beast. While finding a garage opener from her pocket, she opened the rather large door. Without further adieu, she raced out of the warehouse while closing the door behind her.
After she was long gone, Inu-Yasha made his way into the warehouse. He also examined the various bikes and cars with great attention. One motorcycle caught his interest of the horde. Its main color was black, but it contained white and red stripes that flew like lighting against the bike. The keys were already in the ignition, as were all of the rest of them. His eyes found a wall with various types of helmets, actually, hundreds that were waiting to be placed on a head. All of it was so tempting; it was as if they were just waiting to be ridden upon. But at the same time, it seemed to be too easy. Although it made sense since no one would figure a motorcycle factory to be in a worn down warehouse.
Inu-Yasha was at a fork in the road. On one side, he could simply leave the warehouse and never see Kagome again. He was not the type to go squeal on matters that wasn't his anyway. But on the other hand, he could take the road that was filled with broken glass. He knew that if he chose the take this route, he would get himself into trouble, and he wasn't talking about the illegal type either. He would be chasing a woman that he might not be able to catch, and in the long run, could end up hurting him, just as all the others did before her. As he tried to make his decision, his mind kept wondering to the time he and Kagome first met. If it was not for her, he might have done something that he would later regret, and it didn't have to be suicide. But something besides Kagome was amiss in the air. He couldn't explain it more than he could just… feel it. Before he knew what he was doing he had taken a helmet and started the keys to the ignition.
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'Where in the hell did she go?' Inu-Yasha thought as he raced through the crowded and small streets of New York. As always, the streets were never empty, never quiet, just always busy.
He had previous experience riding motorcycles before, so this wasn't anything new to him. It just brought back memories. Memories that were so long ago, Inu-Yasha couldn't seem to remember them. But those were in the past, and this was now. He made his way to Times Square, searching for any sign to where Kagome went. As he stopped at an intersection, he noticed something very peculiar. Cross traffic passed by, and about five to seven motorcycles similar to his rode past his view. Seeing a slight chance, Inu-Yasha suddenly veered left, missing a couple cars, and went to follow the group. He hoped to god, or whoever was watching him, that they would lead him to Kagome.
Trying to cover himself and trying not to lose the group of bikers was a rather difficult task. They lead him through tiny streets and alleyways where traffic wasn't as plentiful. His following paid off when the bikers directed him to a small gathering under a ravine. Inu-Yasha decided to keep a low profile and hide out from the crowd. As he made his observations, he noticed two things. One; the motorcycles were all either stolen or bought with "hot" money. Two; all of the riders were men. Excluding one. Seeing her, he flinched a little. He never expected her of all people to be involved in illegal street racing, but it was not really a surprise seeing all of the bikes in the warehouse before. She stood in front of the men, trying to prove herself big but in reality, was very small. The men eyed her from head to toe, which made him very uneasy. Inu-Yasha leaned in intently to try and hear their conversation.
"How much to play?" Kagome asked. The "cashier," or the head of the illegal race looked Kagome over and grinned.
"It's usually 300, but for you babe, I'll make it two." He said, obviously playing with her. Women like her usually came to watch the race, let alone race in them, so it was easy for him to make assumptions towards her. He was very surprised when Kagome placed the money into his hand.
"Look babe, I was joking." Kagome smiled and placed another 200 into the man's hand.
"Oh really? Well I wasn't." She said. The cashier simply shrugged, and continued to collect bets and entry fees. As far as he was concerned, it was just another 100 dollar profit for him. Kagome then took her place at the starting line.
"Hey beautiful, how's about you and me hook up at my place after the race?" A scruffy, greasy racer said at the sight of Kagome. He tenderly licked his lips, but to his dismay, she simply shrugged him off.
"Fuck you." She said while putting on her helmet.
"I'd love to beautiful."
Kagome gave him a hard glance before replying to his request.
"I'll tell you what asshole; if you catch me I might consider not kicking your ass after the race." Considering this to be a challenge, the man revved his engine.
Inu-Yasha continued to watch the illegal operation nervously. His senses have probably never been so alert before. His ears suddenly picked up a conversation that shot a bullet through his chest. Two men were talking by the starting line, but what startled him the most was what was on their motorcycles. The dreaded mark that would forever be burned into his memory: GEI.
"Is that her?" One of them asked. The other nodded in agreement.
"She's the one. We will go along with the original plan. Try not to make it… too messy." Both simply smiled evilly toward each other. One of them handed a large sum of money to the other. After that, their conversation was done and the one that received the money went to pay his toll to the cashier. Thus taking his place at the starting line: phase number one completed.
'Kagome!' Inu-Yasha thought. That was the last straw; he could not stay back in the dark and wait anymore. He had to warn Kagome of the imminent danger that she was about to get herself into. He mounted his bike and turned the corner when he saw a sassy harlot take her place at the side of the starting line. She removed a red scarf from her blouse and raised it into the air. She waited a moment.
"All racers take your mark!" She shouted. At her statement, the roaring of motorcycle engines blazed on. All of them calling to the night, as if they were wolves themselves. The harlot held her scarf high into the air, a moment of anticipation passed and she suddenly threw the scarf down towards the ground.
"GO!"
On her mark, the riders took off in a screeching stampede. Almost immediately, Kagome had taken the lead, leaving the others in the dust with her raven. But Inu-Yasha had also decided to enter the race. Racing past the cashier and many spectators, he finally followed the route that the other racers had taken before him. What he did not expect, was that the group that he followed to find the desolate area, knew his identity. The leader of the pack, turned out to be none other than the tough guy from the bar who had gotten his ass kicked. Seeing an opportunity to take revenge on Inu-Yasha, he rode his bike to the cashier.
"That is the one that I was telling you about." Was all that he said. The cashier, who was just as greedy and simple-minded as the tough guy, simply found Inu-Yasha to be taking away his profits.
"Get rid of him." The tough guy pulled out a small hand gun from the back of his pants as the corner of his mouth curved inward.
"With pleasure." He said as he placed his helmet on and took off after Inu-Yasha.
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The exhilaration was an understatement. Kagome felt the air rushing past her body, the vibration of the bike beneath her; to her it was pure bliss. Every time she raced, every time she won, she felt the most magnificent… freedom. She turned the corner of a street, almost making herself fall to her death on the pavement. There was something about riding on the edge of a blade that made the race that much more exciting. She had almost forgotten about the other opponents when she spotted a racer in the corner of her eye. She side glanced to her right to find a red, white, and black bike. Trying to evade him, she sped faster, but the persistent rider kept with her. Turning corners and speeding ever faster, Kagome pressed on, but the persistent rider never slowed down. She silently commended him for simply keeping up, but it also seemed as if he wasn't trying to beat her. The rider kept trying to cut her off and force her to pull over. Suddenly, the rider pulled off his helmet and threw it to the ground. It was then that she realized who he was. Who could ever forget that silver hair that he possessed?
'It's that guy!' She thought.
"Kagome!" Inu-Yasha tried to shout to her, anything to make her stop racing. She was in serious trouble, and he would do anything to try and prevent her from harm. He was about to shout to her again when his sensitive ears picked up something from behind him.
It was too late to dodge when he heard the shot. The bullet came at an alarming rate and headed for Inu-Yasha's shoulder. It pierced the flesh like a knife cutting through butter, finally resting in his muscle, inches from his lung. Inu-Yasha grunted in pain as his bike started to swerve. But his strength could not hold, and the pain was too great for him to hold on any longer. He fell. His skin scraped against the hard pavement, and a moment after the weight of the bike fell on top of him. He could not tell how long he skidded across the road, but it felt like an eternity. He felt as if his skin was leaving his body in every inch he went further. Why in all hell did he have to get rid of his helmet? But then just as fast as it began, he stopped.
Out of the corner of her eye, Kagome saw him fall. Her heart jumped at the sight of it. But she carried on her race; she was doing it for the good of her family and no one else. She could not let distractions prevent her from losing the race, especially for a man that would probably not remember her name in the morning. But for some reason she just could not leave HIM behind.
'Damn it all.' She thought while doing a 180. She sped back to the place where Inu-Yasha lay, hoping to find minor injuries.
It was not as she had expected. Inu-Yasha lay in a pool of blood. The bullet wound did not make his condition any better either. Chunks were literally missing from his skin and were replaced by crimson blood. He was still trapped beneath his motorcycle. Inu-Yasha opened his eyes to find Kagome kneeling over him. He tried to get up, but the soaring pain that went through his body kept him down. Kagome put her shoulder against the motorcycle and pushed, trying to relieve Inu-Yasha of its weight. She succeeded, but only to find his leg in a horrible shape. In simple words, it was crushed. Various muscle and bone could be seen through the skin, the very sight of it made Kagome cringe in disgust and disbelief. But even through all of this, Inu-Yasha still tried to push his way up.
"Stop please! You can't move in your condition." She said while pushing him back down.
"Are you alright?" He asked. She was taken aback by his question; after all, he was the one laying on the pavement in a puddle of blood.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Inu-Yasha smiled back at her lovely face, relieved.
"Inu-Yasha, what's going on-?" She didn't get to finish her sentence when an explosion erupted a few miles away. Kagome watched the fire fly into the sky, leaving a mushroom of smoke in its wake. She felt the fire's heat on her face as she gazed at it with frightful eyes.
"I heard that they were going to do something to you, so I decided to warn you before they could do anything. I guess I made it just in time." Inu-Yasha rasped before falling into a slight unconsciousness.
'He came to warn me?' Kagome thought. She didn't know how to react. This was the first time a man has ever done something like this for her. She was so used to the rough and uncaring behavior that she received at the bar. Before she knew it, a tear fell from her eye. She quickly wiped it away from her cheek, confused why it had come, but looking at him, she silently knew why. Snapping herself back to reality, she took a cell phone from her pocket and called 911.
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The ambulance ride seemed like an eternity, and she could feel Inu-Yasha slipping away from her every second. Bandages were placed all over his body, and there was barely any of his skin that remained unmarred. His heart rate was at a steady slow pace, but she feared that it might soon die. One of the paramedics, who was tending to Inu-Yasha, gave Kagome a small smile.
"Don't worry; I'm sure that he'll be fine." His smile turned downward at her reaction as she kept her solemn look. The paramedic knew himself that it was probably only a matter of time until this man died. He recalled when he tried to take a blood sample for the blood transfusion. What he did not expect to find, though, was that this man's blood, was of another nature in itself. He could not even get a reading on it, let alone transfer blood into the man's system. So, he let the man be, and now it was just a matter of a waiting game between life and death.
As they arrived at the hospital, Inu-Yasha was quickly wheeled into the emergency room. Kagome followed, but was held back by security at the doors.
"Let me through!" She persisted, but the guards held her back. He shouted something about hospital personnel being the only ones allowed beyond this point. Not wanting to create a big scene, she pulled back, but not before silently calling the big oaf a son of a bitch. She took her seat in the waiting room; the dull, everlasting waiting room that felt like an eternity. There, she laid her head on her hands and prayed. She prayed for Inu-Yasha's safe recovery, for her good will, and anything else that came to mind. She felt as if this was the longest that she had ever prayed for in her entire life.
The minutes slowly ticked away, the hours seemed like forever, but finally, a doctor made his way into the waiting area. Kagome eagerly rose, wanting to find out Inu-Yasha's condition. The doctor introduced himself and motioned for Kagome to sit down. He held his head low, as if to figure what he wanted to say. Unfortunately, Kagome wasn't the patient type.
"Well?" The doctor met eyes with her again.
"The wounds are all dressed with bandages, and the patient is in the very best of care." Kagome let out a sigh of relief at the doctor's words, the very worst that she was expecting was to find out that Inu-Yasha was dead, but now that he was alive, she could breath a little easier.
"But there is another problem." The doctor said suddenly. Kagome snapped up again.
"He needs blood, badly, but his blood type is… unique. His blood does not match any of the records known to mankind. In fact, it seems as though it was genetically engineered." Having her full attention, Kagome intently listened.
When he first met her, Kagome did wonder about Inu-Yasha's weird features, such as his white hair, long fingernails, and weird ears, but she just passed him off as a freak and didn't think another thought about it. Now that the doctor has brought it up, her wondering has been brought up to a new level.
"There is also something else that is a miss. His records are… no where to be found. No medical records, identity files, insurance, anything. I'm not sure how much longer we can treat him if we do not have a billing address." Kagome gave the doctor a hard look. It was typical; doctors would cut off the umbilical cord of an unborn child if they didn't know where to send the bill to. But an idea popped in her head that might save a lot of confusion, not to mention a lot of paperwork.
"I'm sorry; all of this talk about my husband is just too much to bear. Is it alright if I see him now?" As soon as she said it, the doctor gave a look of utter surprise, which is what Kagome had expected. The doctor gave a reassuring smile as his attitude towards her completely changed.
"I'm terribly sorry Mrs.…. um-"
"Higurashi." She finished for him. He started to lead Kagome through the halls of the hospital. Finally, they reached a small room where the living quarters were kept. They both entered the room to find Inu-Yasha lying on the bed, asleep. To his right was a nurse that was observing the life support, and also measuring the liquids that were being pumped into his body. After Kagome was all the way into the room, the doctor left the three of them alone, quietly shutting the door behind them.
Kagome slowly walked to Inu-Yasha's bed, almost afraid to wake him. She slowly pulled up a chair and sat next to him. She observed his bandages, the very thing that was holding him together. He, as she expected, was in horrible shape. The deep gashes were sewn together during operation, while all of the rest of his cuts were wrapped in gauss and cloth, but even those were soaked through with blood. She placed her hand on his, gently stroking it while trying to ignore the I.V. that was placed into his hand. He looked inhuman, like an alien that was being studied with all of the wires and life supports in him. But while she was holding his hand, something extraordinary happened. It was small, but she could feel his hand twitch. She glanced up at his face to find that he was awake, alive and well; well… maybe not well.
"Inu-Yasha." Kagome whispered, overwhelmed. Inu-Yasha glanced back at her, obviously dazed.
"Kagome?" Inu-Yasha was surprised to find Kagome of all people when he awoke. But after he noticed the person that was by his side, he also noticed the room that he was in. What was about to happen would fill his heart and also his mind in horrible fear. The first thing that he noticed was his heart rate on the monitor, suddenly jumping to a faster rate. He looked down to his hand to find an I.V. pumping a clear liquid into his body, but there wasn't just one of them, there were several. He could smell the medicines and bandages that infiltrated the room. To him, it was a smell that would haunt him for the rest of his life. But the thing that scared him the most was the walls. Everything in the room was white, almost too much white for him to bear. The walls seemed to go on forever. Everything in the room just seemed so… familiar.
"Oh good, the patient is awake." The nurse, that was tending to his injuries said. She made her way over to a nearby table that held another type of liquid and a shot. She filled the shot with the liquid, preparing to inject its substances into Inu-Yasha. With the prepared shot, she squeezed the injector, causing some of the liquid to squirt out. She then walked over to Inu-Yasha.
As he saw her doing this, suppressed memories ran through his head. Memories that were meant to be forgotten, but came back.
He remembered staring into a blinding light.
There were many men standing around him.
He could hear his heartbeat in the back round.
All of a sudden they injected the serum.
Then he would be forced into a nightmare that would last the rest of his days.
He would not let that happen again…
Inu-Yasha violently forced the nurse to a nearby wall, which she hit very hard. Then, forcing all of his strength, he arose from the bed and out the door. Behind him trailed the I.V.'s that once pumped liquid into his system. He aggressively pulled them off, along with the other various needles and wires that were forced into his body. As he stumbled out the door, all that was left was the monotone beep of the heart rate monitor. Kagome, who watched the scene with utter confusion, came back to her senses and ran after Inu-Yasha, leaving a very sore nurse behind.
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Kagome ran, following the path that she first came, never slowing down. She just couldn't figure out why Inu-Yasha had reacted that way. The Inu-Yasha that she knew wasn't scared of anything, let alone a little needle. His face was also a miss, there was so much fear. Something must have happened in the past. Something… awful.
She made her way past the entrance to the waiting room, where two of the guards were already knocked unconscious. A good sign that Inu-Yasha had already been there. But other than the damage that had already been done, he was no where to be found. She started to ask around, but it seemed that everyone was distracted by the confusion that they didn't know where he had gone. Feeling frustrated, Kagome sat down in a nearby chair to gather her thoughts. A moment later, a child no older than the age of five came to her feet. She held a teddy bear that was at least twice her size that was dragging behind her. She gave Kagome a big smile, showing that two of her teeth were missing. Then she pointed to the exit.
"Kitty went that way." Kagome smiled at the girl and patted her on the head.
"Thank you." She said before exiting the hospital.
Now that she had entered the streets of New York once more, there was no telling where Inu-Yasha could have gone. Feeling as though she had lost him again, she dropped her head in defeat. But when she did so, her eyes caught a slight trace of blood on the floor. She glanced onward and noticed that the blood led a trail to her left. She had a good feeling that the blood belonged to Inu-Yasha, so, using the blood as a guide, she followed it to a nearby alley. She could hear rasped breathing in the shadows, so she wondered a little further into the alley, not quite knowing what to expect. And there he was, Inu-Yasha as his former self, but in a much worse state. The jerky movements caused some of his injuries to reopen, sending vital blood out of his body. His breaths were raspy and short, definitely not a good sign. He was leaning against his back on the wall, and Kagome feared that he could no longer hold himself up. She slowly walked over to him, but just as she was about to put a hand to his face, he spoke.
"What the fuck were you thinking?!" He rasped. Kagome pulled back, shocked to hear that he was the one that was mad at HER. She was at a loss of words; how could she respond to what he just said? She wanted to comfort him, touch him, anything that would make him feel better, but she was frozen still.
"Never, EVER take me to a hospital ever again! Do you know what they do to you in there Kagome? They take your life away, not save it. I know." He was slipping away with every word, Kagome could tell, but she wanted to know more.
"W-what are you talking about?" She managed to say. Inu-Yasha grabbed his side in pain.
"Nevermind, you wouldn't understand."
"Inu-Yasha." But Inu-Yasha could not hear her; he had fallen into the world of unconsciousness. Kagome managed to grab his limp form before it hit the ground, cradling his body into her own, they tumbled to the ground.
"Inu-Yasha!" She shouted in an attempt to wake him. But he never woke to any of her calls.
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Well, the second chapter is finished. Man! You don't even know how long and frustrating it is to put characters into stories and not have names for them! It just feels like I'm putting that same thing over… and over again. Anyway, let me know what you thought, whether it be to comment, flame, or simply put a whatever. All that matters is that you press that little button in the corner. I have a simple policy that I think will work out very well. You read my stories, I read yours! Sounds simple right? Well, here's how it goes. You review me, and I'll go and check out your stories! After all, authors deserve to be heard! It's a win-win situation. Well, my master just got home and it's time to her to pet me, yeah! Until next time, ja ne!