Author's Note: Please please please!!! Forgive me!! I know that it has been, what, almost like two months since my last update. But what can I say….. well, nothing I guess. Well, nothing but excuses anyways. So I'll just shut up and go to the reader reviews!!
Reader's Reviews:
Jettwolf90: Alright! Just don't set my house on fire my computer is in there!! silently tiptoes over to the phone to call 911
Yasha21: Well, I'm glad that you liked it, but sorry for not updating any sooner than what I had originally planned. Gomen!
ShinobiAyame: Thanks for the review!!
Lady Cassandra Micha: Woot!! Sphinxy got a 10/10! I really hope that you have returned to read my next chapter!!
DemongirlofInuyasha: Hey girl!! Thanks soooo much for reviewing me again! It's always you and my best buds that inspire me to write on! Keep reviewing and I hope that you like this chapter!!!!
On to the Fic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Midnight Sparrow
Returning to the Homeland
He had no idea where he was going as he sped down the freeway. His hair flapped and frolicked in the wind, his knuckles were turned white by the coolness of the night, and his senses were being used to their full capacity. He now understood why Kagome loved this bike so much, and he used it to his full advantage while speeding down the road. He could not remember how far they had traveled, or what route they had taken. He simply went, and he had lost himself in the distance that they had traveled. They had been riding for a strait four hours now, and he could feel Kagome's grip slipping a bit.
His mind went back to Kagome for the thousandth time that night. She had not said a word to him since the incident. She had just been like… a zombie. Her body was with him, but her mind was in another world entirely. Then again, how would you feel if millions of dollars of automobiles were destroyed just for the sake of hiding your name? Her hand fell so that it wasn't even embracing his torso anymore. He feared that she would let go completely and crash to the pavement below. So he decided to pull over and end their journey for the night.
But where would they go? Any hotel room that you had to pay for would recognize them as suspects sooner or later. By tomorrow their faces would be all over the news and every wanted list. He thanked god that his profile was well hidden, although he couldn't say the same for Kagome.
He came to an overpass, and as a last resort, decided to stay here for the night. He veered of the highway and slowly came to a stop under the large concrete structure. It was a rather cold night and the overpass didn't provide much comfort, but in their current situation, beggars could not be choosers. He pulled the key from the ignition, silencing the mighty beast and took off his helmet. He flipped out the kickstand with his foot and leaned the bike to its side, ready to ride it once again when he was ready. Slowly, he got off the bike and finally felt the soreness between his legs.
'I guess it's been a while.' He thought as he went over the years since he was last on a motorcycle.
He looked back to find Kagome still on the bike. She had removed her helmet and was now looking between him and the overpass.
"Why did we stop?" She asked.
"We're staying here for the night. In the morning, we'll continue to Manhattan." She looked up at the overpass in distaste.
"Why here?" Inu-Yasha looked back at her before continuing to scout out places to rest for the night.
"We have to at least remain out of contact for 24 hours. We can't afford to let ourselves be caught in just one night." Inu-Yasha finally rested against the hard concrete of the overpass, not really liking the spot, but not complaining about it either. That was a woman's job. And by the looks of it, he would surely be getting a lot of it tonight.
Kagome on the other hand was a little taken aback by the way the she observed Inu-Yasha throughout the night. When she had first met him, he seemed like the laid back type of guy. He came into the bar, had a couple of drinks, and left, just as many other men had done before him. But just now, when he was giving her orders, he had completely changed in an instant without knowing it. It was as if he had another side to him that was completely hidden to her, similar to the one that was in the hospital the other night. She had no idea about Inu-Yasha, only that his file was well hidden, and that he feared a hospital bed as much as one would be afraid to die. She wondered and wanted at the same time. She wanted to know more about him, almost in a way that was too much for her to bear.
"Well, what do we do from here?" She asked quizzically. Inu-Yasha scratched his head once, and looked sideways towards the long freeway.
"I have an old acquaintance in Manhattan. The first thing we need to do is get out of the country, and I think he can help us out."
There was a long and awkward silence between them before Kagome chose to speak.
"This is for real isn't it?" She said while taking a seat next to Inu-Yasha. She silently hugged her knees to block the cold, all the while keeping her solemn gaze. She had not quite grasped the reality of it. It was almost too surreal for her to be sitting under an overpass, with a man she barely knew, and running from the cops at the same time. Inu-Yasha must have seen through her, because he broke the much too long silence between them.
"You alright?" He asked.
"…no" Kagome finally said.
He couldn't blame her. She, unlike him, didn't know what it was like to be on the run. He was used to moving from place to place. He was a wanderer, a man who had little to stay for because if he did stay to long, he would get himself hurt. But right now, he couldn't afford some one in a depressive state that would only drag him down. With all his courage, he would try to be as honest to Kagome as he knew how.
"Look Kagome, I know that you've had a really bad couple of days but your gonna have to try and suck it up." He said with the hardest tone that he could muster. He could only hope that Kagome would take his advice, but as it turned out, she did anything but that. She seemed to have lost all sense of civility as she stared at him with those big, auburn eyes.
"Okay mister big shot! Lets see how you feel when you lose a home, your income AND the only family that you have all in one day! I don't want to hear it so just fuck off!!"
Inu-Yasha realized that her fuse had just withered away, and for good reason. He knew that if she let it all out now, it wouldn't come back and hit him ten times harder later. Out of the corner of his eye he could see her crying out of frustration. She kept her hard gaze but could not keep back those dreaded tears that made her so beautiful. He rose from his spot and took off his jacket. Tenderly, and far from striking distance, he placed it on her shoulders.
"Kagome, I'm all you got. And you're all I got. If you want to leave it at that then I understand. Get some sleep." He went back to his place and sat. He would stay up all night to keep watch until morning.
Meanwhile, Kagome grabbed Inu-Yasha's jacket around her shoulders and pulled it closer to her. She quickly whipped away her tears of frustration and frowned further. She cursed Inu-Yasha for ganging up on her like that. It was his fault that he got her into this mess anyway. So why should she stay with him? She inhaled deeply, taking in the smell of his cologne. She felt as if a wall was broken when she felt the warmth of his jacket. She could feel it in her body that she wanted more than just an acquaintance relationship. She would wonder about it all night before she finally fell asleep against the concrete.
"Kagome. Kagome wake up." Inu-Yasha tapped Kagome on the shoulder in a feeble attempt to wake her. She might have looked graceful and beautiful when she was awake, but asleep was a different story. Not only was she a loud snoozer, but she occasionally would mutter things that he couldn't understand. It made him laugh when he thought about it.
Seeing that his tapping method failed to work, he tried using a more forceful technique. Or in other words, shaking the crap out of her.
"Hey Kagome wake up!!" He yelled into her ear while taking the straps of her tank top and jerking them back and forth. Finally, after what seemed like minutes of this vigorous action, she finally awoke.
"Wha?..." She said, obviously dazed.
She could see Inu-Yasha come into focus as she slowly opened her eyes. But then she realized that her gaze was not filled with sunlight as it should be, but with darkness. She then rubbed her eyes in an effort to wake herself up, but she could still feel the drowsiness within her.
"What time is it?" She asked. Inu-Yasha shrugged a little, he was never used to the fact to wearing a watch, so he never had one.
"I dunno, maybe around four in the morning. Anyway, it's time to start heading out again."
Kagome moaned at his answer and rolled over to her side a bit while pulling his jacket over her shoulders.
"Mmnn….. five more minutes."
"Kagome, if we don't leave now, then we're liable to get caught." Inu-Yasha insisted. But he received her answer once again as she moaned at him. He on the other hand, didn't have time for this. They needed to get moving before the sun came up if they were to have a chance getting to Manhattan safely.
"Humph, fine, get to Manhattan by yourself then." He said while getting on the bike and starting the ignition. He roared the engine and put it into gear just as Kagome shot up out of her spot. She seemed awake enough to walk to the bike and seat herself behind Inu-Yasha. But her attitude seemed no different as she muttered something just loud enough for him to hear.
"You're an ass." But Inu-Yasha saw this coming and expected it.
"Yeah, yeah, I know." He said before putting on his helmet and riding off down the long highway.
It seemed like hours before they finally reached the shoreline. All the way there their travels seemed to become more complicated the more populous an area was. Every time they needed to stop for food, gas or any other miscellaneous things, it was very hard to keep well hidden. Inu-Yasha would always be the one to enter a store, for fear of the cameras that would capture his identity. But even then, he would only stay in a store for less than five minutes. But, in some type of a miracle, they reached the end of the line, and what stood before them was a vast ocean, outstretched as far as the eye could see. Just to the right they could see Manhattan, small and yet welcoming. They searched for the ferry boat that would take them there, and for two dollars, were soon on there way. It took only ten minutes to pass the small harbor, but to Kagome, it seemed more like an eternity. She silently leaned on the railing of the boat watching her home drift further away. She felt like such an outsider now, a trespasser that was not welcome to where she had spent her whole life. But this was her present now; she could no longer go back. She sighed deeply and lowered her head to look at the flowing water beneath her.
"Hey Kagome come on, it's not so bad." Inu-Yasha said jokingly, noticing her mood. Kagome didn't look up to him.
"You're the last person that I want to talk to right now." But Inu-Yasha didn't give up, with his stubborn attitude, he only tried harder.
"Ah come on Kagome! Look at it this way, now you don't have to pay any more bills, work, all sorts of stuff!" He said with a little chuckle. But again, he was given the same answer.
"Go away. Leave me alone." She said, still frustrated with the whole situation.
"Fine. Stupid woman." He said most of it under his breath, but she could hear it all. She just wished that the ride was almost over with.
On the outskirts of Manhattan, they rode Kagome's bike into the worst parts of downtown. Inu-Yasha had little sense of where he was going, partly to the fact that most of it was based on memory. Finally, they reached their destination. They got off the bike in front of a small gun and ammunition shop. It was quite old, with rusted iron bars over the windows, and a small plastic sign that read 'closed.' It looked to be about ten o'clock, just in time for Inu-Yasha's acquaintance to open shop. And, right on cue, a man of about forty was in the process of unlocking the door from the inside. As he opened the door, his eyes laid upon Inu-Yasha, and his eyes were frozen in shock.
"It's been a while." Inu-Yasha said while smirking a bit. The old man regained his composure and began to smirk as well.
"So it has… Inu-Yasha."
He motioned them inside the tiny shop in welcome, and they gladly accepted. The shop keeper closed the door behind them and locked it shut. He kept the closed sign standing; he could always open a few hours later.
He led them up the stairs to an upper part of the business where the area was reserved for the shopkeepers living quarters. He had bought the small studio apartment about ten years ago, and with it came the little shop, which he decided the turn into an ammunition shop a little later. It was stuffy with cigarette smoke when they first entered the room, but other than that, it was adequate. The shopkeeper walked over to the antique looking stove and set a kettle of water on the burner. While he did this, many questions started to turn up inside his head. Like many other people before him, he had seen what happened on the news involving Kagome and Inu-Yasha. They were wanted everywhere, but as he expected, Inu-Yasha was always one step ahead of them.
"So, I take it the reason why you've come to me is to ask me a favor. Right?" He motioned with a raised eyebrow. Inu-Yasha only laughed at his statement, because he knew in his mind that he was right.
"Ha ha! Well, I guess your right for once." He glanced over to Kagome, who was giving both of them a rather blank look.
"Oh! Kagome, this is John. We go way back don't we?" It was more of a smart ass remark than a question, and John only seemed to glare back.
"Way back… right." By this time the water was boiled, and John poured three glasses with tea bags in them to offer to his guests. They thoughtfully took them, and finally John was able to take a closer look at Kagome for the first time.
"Kagome right? How is it that you came to know Inu-Yasha?" He asked. Kagome stopped sipping her tea and placed it on the table. She found herself caught in thought, because she didn't really know how to explain it.
"I guess it was just coincidence. He came into my bar, got in a fight, and then left." She purposely cut it short, not really wanting to go further into their relationship for fear that she would say something that she would regret. Instead she just decided to change the subject.
"So… how do you two know each other?" Inu-Yasha gave John a hard look, as if to warn him not to go in places that he shouldn't. But John gave him no heed, and started to grab a small photo album from a nearby dresser.
"I found Inu-Yasha when he was only twelve years old. It was raining, and I found him wandering the streets in such ragged clothing. I asked what a boy his age was doing in the rain but all that he did was tell me to go away. Of course I kept following him, and eventually he broke down. But instead of crying, he started to hit me, telling me that he would never go back to the orphanage. So I made a deal with him and said that he could go home with me. Ever since then, he'd been like a little brother to me." He opened to a certain page in the old photo album and placed it in front of Kagome.
"Cute wasn't he?" Kagome stared at the portrait. It contained Inu-Yasha, looking no older than the age of seven; his hair was just to his shoulders, and his eyes were a gorgeous violet. But something bothered Kagome and it was something that only Inu-Yasha could answer, unfortunately.
"Inu-Yasha. Your hair, it's black. And your eyes, they're violet." But before Kagome could think on it further, the photo album was ripped from her hands by Inu-Yasha.
"Look old man! If I wanted a trip down memory lane I would have told you when I came to your doorstep!"
'Inu-Yasha.' Kagome thought. She worried with all of her might whenever she saw Inu-Yasha act this way. It was as if he was barring his life from her. It was as if he didn't trust her with his past, however horrific it must be. But at the same time it made her even more curious than it had before. More than ever she wanted to know why he would hide such things from her. Could they be that horrible? Her feelings were interrupted by Inu-Yasha's loud shouting.
"John, I need to know if you can get us out of the country without too much notice." Inu-Yasha said.
John pondered a little bit while scratching his chin.
"Hmmm. I probably could get you out on a boat, but I'll have to tell you that it won't be very glamorous." Inu-Yasha felt relieved, he was just glad that there was even a chance to escape this retched place.
"Great. When do you think we can leave?"
"I have a shipment of ammunition leaving the harbor at four o'clock this afternoon."
"Great! We'll take it!" Inu-Yasha said in exclamation. He certainly had his doubts, but now it seemed as if they would escape successfully. Feeling a jolt of energy, he leaped from his seat and shook John's hand vigorously.
"Thanks John. Thanks for everything." John just shook his head in disagreement. He then rose to grab a piece of paper and a pen. He took the pen and wrote a small note, then gave it to Inu-Yasha.
"It's nothing. But you two better get going. It's a while before you reach the harbor. And give this to the captain; he should let you on then." After that, they all headed downstairs, but before Kagome could follow Inu-Yasha, John called to her, causing her to look back.
"Kagome, you said that you meeting Inu-Yasha were just a coincidence. Others would think that it be fate." Kagome questioned his statement for a little while, not quite sure of what it meant. But as she was just about to ask John about it, he had already started to make his way down the stairs.
"Fate? I don't believe in such things as fate." She whispered to herself. This statement she truly meant, for if fate was in her life, surely she wouldn't suffer so much. Instead she decided to let the statement go and follow them down to the lower level. When she arrived, she found the both of them having a small conversation that soon stopped as soon as they saw her.
"Well, it was really nice to meat you Kagome-chan. And you too after all these years Inu-Yasha." Both of them thanked him deeply and started to exit the store.
"Oh! Inu-Yasha." John called to him. Inu-Yasha turned to his old friend.
"Yes?" John reached under the countertop and pulled out a small gun, then handed it to Inu-Yasha.
"You will need this." Inu-Yasha thanked him and was finally gone, along with Kagome. And yet he wondered about Kagome more than anyone. It had been a long time since Inu-Yasha had kept a woman through all of this hardship. It was partly the reason why he had told her so much about his past. Maybe because it was that he really believed that she could save him from his future. However horrific it was.
Silently he opened his shop to the public once again, glad that they had finally gone. But there was one more thing that needed to be done. He walked over to his phone and started to dial a number. A few ringing tones passed before a woman answered on the other line.
"G.E.I. technologies, this is Hitomi speaking, how may I direct your call?" The language that escaped the receiver was Japanese, but John seemed to answer it right back.
"Yes I would like to speak to Yuji please."
"… One moment." After a few seconds, a husky male voice answered the phone.
"Yes? Who is this? I'm very busy."
"It's John. I know where they are."
Both Inu-Yasha and Kagome were silent on the way back to the harbor. Both of them were too busy to worry about petty little differences between them, instead they deeply thought about what John had said to them before they departed from his store. Inu-Yasha glanced back towards Kagome before focusing on the road again.
(Flashback)
"Inu-Yasha, do you know why I told Kagome of the first time we met?" John said. He was standing in front of the entrance to the shop; Kagome had not yet come down the stairs at the moment. Inu-Yasha pondered this for a moment, coming up empty handed.
"No. But it must be a hell of a reason." John gave him a small smirk while crossing his arms.
"All that I can say is that she's different. She's the type of woman that you can trust your life with. Just thought that I needed to say that."
"Do you always have to be so mysterious?" Inu-Yasha said with a sigh.
"Ha ha, yeah I guess I do."
They were almost there now, and it was almost the time that John said that the boat would be leaving. It had been a long journey so far, and it seemed to them that it was just beginning.
Finally, they reached to dock where their rendezvous would be at. But when they both gazed at the boat, they could tell that John was right. It looked very old, and the paint that once made the small boat magnificent. The boat was already quite full with boxes and crates, and there didn't seem to be much room left for them, but Inu-Yasha couldn't depend on comfort and decided to go along with the original plan.
"Excuse me." Inu-Yasha said while tapping what looked like the captain's shoulder. He gave him the note from John, hoping that he would except without too much trouble. The captain looked from the note to Inu-Yasha and Kagome a couple of times before motioning them to get on the boat. They both accepted, but would have to leave the motorcycle behind. The captain agreed to keep it in storage until they returned. But Kagome needed to know one more thing before they headed off to the unknown.
"Um, excuse me sir. Can you tell me where we're going?" The captain half way turned to Kagome. Halfway muttering, he gave her his answer.
"Japan."
Well, well, well, it seems like I have waited for eternity to update this story but do not be deceived!! I have finally updated! I give many thanks to the people that have stayed with me all this time! Hopefully, the next chapter will not take more than three months to make.