Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or anything having to do with it.
*frowning* ... *sniffling* ... *crying* ... *crying loudly*
Inuyasha looked up as something, or rather someone, was thrown into his cell. His eyes widened fractionally when he realized who it was. Kagome was back. Slowly, she pulled herself up off of the floor, holding her side. What was wrong with her?
Turning her head, Kagome saw Inuyasha and smiled at him. Finally, now she would have someone to talk to instead of fight with. She actually enjoyed talking with him, too. Looking at him, a realization dawned on her; they had left him chained up when they had always unbound the other demons. Now why would they that? She guessed that she would have to melt the chains or something.
Inuyasha watched as the girl made her way over to him and wrapped her hands around the cuffs at the ends of the chains. "I'm gonna try not to get you with this, too; but if I do, I'm sorry," she said, an apologetic look on her face. Once she had finished speaking, her hands lit up and the chains began to melt away. Just as he was about to jerk his hands away from the heat her actions caused, she pulled her own hands back and let the chains fall to the floor. She then reached up and behind his head. Not knowing just what the girl was going to do, Inuyasha jerked his head backwards, trying to get away. The wall was in the way though, and he was forced to let her have her way. Removing the muzzle, Kagome tossed it on the floor and sat down.
"Well, its been awhile, hasn't it? How are you doing?" she asked, smiling up at the hanyou. Inuyasha blinked down at her. She was really an odd girl. She hadn't been in there with him for five or six months, and yet she wasn't concerned that his actions towards her would have changed in that length of time? And she was helping him again. Slowly, he took a seat next to her, leaning back against the wall and turning so that he was looking at her.
"I'm fine. What's wrong with you?"
Kagome's eyes widened as she tried very hard not to let her jaw fall open. What kind of greeting was that? "What do you mean? Nothing's wrong with me."
"Something's wrong. You got up too slow earlier."
"Oh, that," Kagome said, the confusion and surprise disappearing from her face. "One of the other demons just got a hit in before I was able to knock him out is all. I'm fine." So saying, she smiled at the hanyou sitting in front of her who looked back unbelievingly. "Really, I'm fine," she said, attempting to convince him.
Not really satisfied but not wanting to ask again, Inuyasha turned and leaned his head back against the wall, closing his eyes. So they had just thrown her in with other demons, and they hadn't given her any protection against them either. He concentrated on not growling; it would arouse suspicion in the girl next to him. He still didn't understand why, but he wasn't too happy with the people making the decision to do that to her, not to mention the demons that had actually harmed her. He supposed that he could just blame it on the fact that she was the only person that had been nice to him since he had gotten there and he didn't want her to leave or get killed. Yeah, that would work.
"So, you've just been back in your normal routine, then, I take it?" Kagome asked, trying to make conversation with the silent half-demon next to her.
Inuyasha nodded curtly. He really hated his "routine" or even just thinking about it, much less talking about it. Turning to her, he heard himself ask, "You?" Why did he care anyway?
Kagome smiled at him, apparently pleased that he was helping to carry on their little conversation. "Just being tossed from cell to cell. I guess that want to see what kind of powers I have and how they react to different demons and their powers. They would basically make the demons mad, unchain them, and then throw me in there with them to see how I faired. I guess I did alright, considering that I'm still here."
Inuyasha snorted at that comment. She, a human, had been fighting with demons and had survived and thought that she was just doing alright? Of course she was doing alright; she had to be pretty good not to get herself killed.
Kagome tried to think of something else to say to fill the growing silence but couldn't. Sighing, she allowed them to just slip off into their thoughts. At least it wasn't one of those uneasy silences that makes you want to just get up and leave the room, considering that they couldn't exactly do that.
It looked like things were back to the way they were before, both of them sitting there sorting their thoughts out and Kagome talking about whatever she could think of. She was happy; she would be able to relax in here with Inuyasha. Inuyasha, even though he wouldn't admit it, was happy to see her as well. She was the only company he'd ever had while in the facility, and she wasn't half-bad.
Kagome could only wonder, though, how long Dr. Kumaki was going to let her stay in there if she and Inuyasha wouldn't fight each other. She really hoped he wasn't planning anything to make them attack one another; that could turn out to be not so pretty. She didn't have to wonder for long.
The next morning, things went normally. The cell mates woke up and talked with each other occasionally until their meal came, at which time they inhaled their food and slid the plates back to the door. They had just settled into a comfortable silence when a noise from somewhere down the hall caught their attention.
A noise wasn't exactly what it was. It was more like a din, with thuds, crashes, and screams. Inuyasha, being part dog demon, could hear every detail of what was going on. He tried to make sense of it all, but the only thing he could come up with was that they had lost control of one of the demons. Walking over to the wall separating them from the hall, he leaned his head against it, listening intently to what was going on.
Suddenly, his eyes widened and he leapt back from the wall. Rushing over to Kagome, he yanked her to her feet and threw her to the other side of the room, standing in front of her in order to block her from whatever it was that he had just heard. Confused, Kagome looked up to ask what was wrong, trying to push herself up from her position against the wall. She didn't even have time to ask her question before she figured it out for herself.
The noise and confusion from outside came screeching down the hall and stopped outside their door. Well, almost. Just as Kagome thought they had gotten the situation under control, a thunderous noise range through the cell as the wall came crashing down in front of them. As the debris settled to the floor and the dust cleared, a lone figure could be seen standing in the gaping hole that had once been the only wall keeping them in the cell.
Kagome gasped. The man before her had a regal presence about him that commanded respect, and fear. He was dressed in fine clothes, nice enough to have been imported from somewhere in Europe. His long white hair flowed down his back, stopping a ways below his waist. Golden eyes flashed as they took in the scene of the girl and hanyou before them. Those eyes, that hair, his face – it all seemed familiar somehow.
Inuyasha apparently knew who it was. Kagome's heart began to beat even faster when she noticed Inuyasha tensing and heard a deep growl emanating from his throat. Inuyasha flexed his claws, his knuckles cracking as he did so.
"Sesshomaru," he hissed, his eyes narrowed towards the individual. If looks could kill, the other man would have been incinerated in an instant by the glare that Inuyasha was sending his way. Instead of bursting into flames, Sesshomaru merely stood there, a calm and collected expression on his fine features.
"Inuyasha," he replied. OK, now that everyone knew each other, what was going on? Kagome was about to burst with the level of intensity that filled the room as she clambered to stand back up. Sesshomaru's head tilted almost unnoticibly as Inuyasha's ears twitched. With their keen senses, they could hear men coming from far away in the maze of halls. That, apparently, was enough for Sesshomaru to end the staring contest by explaining at least somewhat the reason for his rather violent entrance.
"Come, brother, we must leave now if you do not wish to stay here forever." Kagome blinked. So that was how they knew each other. Oh, wait! That meant that this was the demon that had escaped over a year ago. She didn't know what to do now; this guy was supposed to be even more powerful than Inuyasha.
Looking over Inuyasha's now stunned figure, he eyed the girl. "I did not realize that you would have a female with you. You will have to come with us as well, girl, unless you want them to kill you or worse." So saying, he turned and walked a few calm steps down the hall.
Finally regaining the ability to move, Inuyasha turned behind him and grabbed Kagome's arm. "Come on, girl. Let's go!" he commanded as he proceeded to drag her out the door by her arm, following his brother. They stopped suddenly, Kagome running into the hanyou, went they saw the demon punch a fist through the wall just above Inuyasha's cell. When he retracted his hand, it held the Tetsaiga.
Inuyasha snarled as he prepared to lunge at his brother; no way was he going to let that creep take his sword even if he was helping him get out. He probably had ulterior motives for that anyway, such as getting the Tetsaiga. He was surprised again, however, when the sword was cast at his feet, Sesshomaru having not been able to grasp it.
"Yeah, that's right. The sword's mine and you'll never get it!" Inuyasha smiled tauntingly, remembering just why he had finally felt safe from his brother's constant obsession with getting the Tetsaiga for himself. He couldn't even touch it without being singed by the sword's barrier; only those with human blood could hold it. "Did you forget what happened last time?"
"Of course, not. We couldn't have you forgetting that and transforming on us, now could we? Now come; we must hurry if we are to make it out of here before they capture one of us again." That said, he once again turned and walked away. Well, he really wasn't walking anymore. Now it was more like sprinting at high speed, but his whole composure was far to calm from him to have been running all out.
Shaking his head to clear it from his confusion, Inuyasha turned and told Kagome to get going. After running for a few seconds, he looked over his shoulder to see her already falling behind. Stupid humans. Huffing, he ran back to her, told her to climb on his back, and then took off again. Kagome's grip around his neck tightened when he did so. Inuyasha smirked; the girl had never traveled like this before. He put on some more speed in to catch up to Sesshomaru, and to take advantage of the opportunity to scare Kagome a bit.
As Kagome clung on for dear life and Inuyasha raced through the corridors after his brother, there was only thing that either of them could think; they were finally free. Now the only question was why. Why had Sesshomaru, the demon that had hunted Inuyasha down so many times in the past, the brother that had tried to kill him and had practically disowned him because of his human blood, rescued them and set them free from that place?
AN: Here's chapter 9! It didn't take too long, either. :) I have all day tomorrow to write, so hopefully I can get chapter 10 out by Sunday! Next chapter: Has Sesshomaru just turned over a new leaf and decided to help out his only brother, or is there something behind his motivation to free Inuyasha? What will Inuyasha do when he finds out? Hope ya'll enjoyed it! Thanks for the reviews; they're awesome!
Riftwar-Slave – So glad that you like it :) I hope that you enjoyed this chapter as well! Thanks for the review!
purplepeopleeater – OOO, the anticipation! It's great to hear that people are excited to read new chapters and find out what happens! Oh, I hadn't come up with anything to cause Inuyasha and Kagome to fight, but I need to use something in another chapter (like when Kumaki tries to get himself out of trouble). Just a quick little thing, but do you mind if I use your idea? Pretty please *puppy-dog eyes* Thanks so much for reviewing!
MiraiYume – Yeah, the last chapter was basically all filler with no plot. LOL Happy to know others think their necessary, too :) I hope that you really liked this chapter! There was action for you! Thanks for the review!
smoothtalker – I'm so glad that you reviewed! They really do make my day! Here's where one of the twists comes in, so I hope that you enjoyed this one! Thanks again!
Storm-Maker – Oh, but cliffhangers are such a good way to get people to read the next chapter! :) No more evil doctors for a while, at least not in a position to do anything to Inuyasha and Kagome. I hope that you enjoyed this chapter! Thanks for reviewing!
Inuyasha looked up as something, or rather someone, was thrown into his cell. His eyes widened fractionally when he realized who it was. Kagome was back. Slowly, she pulled herself up off of the floor, holding her side. What was wrong with her?
Turning her head, Kagome saw Inuyasha and smiled at him. Finally, now she would have someone to talk to instead of fight with. She actually enjoyed talking with him, too. Looking at him, a realization dawned on her; they had left him chained up when they had always unbound the other demons. Now why would they that? She guessed that she would have to melt the chains or something.
Inuyasha watched as the girl made her way over to him and wrapped her hands around the cuffs at the ends of the chains. "I'm gonna try not to get you with this, too; but if I do, I'm sorry," she said, an apologetic look on her face. Once she had finished speaking, her hands lit up and the chains began to melt away. Just as he was about to jerk his hands away from the heat her actions caused, she pulled her own hands back and let the chains fall to the floor. She then reached up and behind his head. Not knowing just what the girl was going to do, Inuyasha jerked his head backwards, trying to get away. The wall was in the way though, and he was forced to let her have her way. Removing the muzzle, Kagome tossed it on the floor and sat down.
"Well, its been awhile, hasn't it? How are you doing?" she asked, smiling up at the hanyou. Inuyasha blinked down at her. She was really an odd girl. She hadn't been in there with him for five or six months, and yet she wasn't concerned that his actions towards her would have changed in that length of time? And she was helping him again. Slowly, he took a seat next to her, leaning back against the wall and turning so that he was looking at her.
"I'm fine. What's wrong with you?"
Kagome's eyes widened as she tried very hard not to let her jaw fall open. What kind of greeting was that? "What do you mean? Nothing's wrong with me."
"Something's wrong. You got up too slow earlier."
"Oh, that," Kagome said, the confusion and surprise disappearing from her face. "One of the other demons just got a hit in before I was able to knock him out is all. I'm fine." So saying, she smiled at the hanyou sitting in front of her who looked back unbelievingly. "Really, I'm fine," she said, attempting to convince him.
Not really satisfied but not wanting to ask again, Inuyasha turned and leaned his head back against the wall, closing his eyes. So they had just thrown her in with other demons, and they hadn't given her any protection against them either. He concentrated on not growling; it would arouse suspicion in the girl next to him. He still didn't understand why, but he wasn't too happy with the people making the decision to do that to her, not to mention the demons that had actually harmed her. He supposed that he could just blame it on the fact that she was the only person that had been nice to him since he had gotten there and he didn't want her to leave or get killed. Yeah, that would work.
"So, you've just been back in your normal routine, then, I take it?" Kagome asked, trying to make conversation with the silent half-demon next to her.
Inuyasha nodded curtly. He really hated his "routine" or even just thinking about it, much less talking about it. Turning to her, he heard himself ask, "You?" Why did he care anyway?
Kagome smiled at him, apparently pleased that he was helping to carry on their little conversation. "Just being tossed from cell to cell. I guess that want to see what kind of powers I have and how they react to different demons and their powers. They would basically make the demons mad, unchain them, and then throw me in there with them to see how I faired. I guess I did alright, considering that I'm still here."
Inuyasha snorted at that comment. She, a human, had been fighting with demons and had survived and thought that she was just doing alright? Of course she was doing alright; she had to be pretty good not to get herself killed.
Kagome tried to think of something else to say to fill the growing silence but couldn't. Sighing, she allowed them to just slip off into their thoughts. At least it wasn't one of those uneasy silences that makes you want to just get up and leave the room, considering that they couldn't exactly do that.
It looked like things were back to the way they were before, both of them sitting there sorting their thoughts out and Kagome talking about whatever she could think of. She was happy; she would be able to relax in here with Inuyasha. Inuyasha, even though he wouldn't admit it, was happy to see her as well. She was the only company he'd ever had while in the facility, and she wasn't half-bad.
Kagome could only wonder, though, how long Dr. Kumaki was going to let her stay in there if she and Inuyasha wouldn't fight each other. She really hoped he wasn't planning anything to make them attack one another; that could turn out to be not so pretty. She didn't have to wonder for long.
The next morning, things went normally. The cell mates woke up and talked with each other occasionally until their meal came, at which time they inhaled their food and slid the plates back to the door. They had just settled into a comfortable silence when a noise from somewhere down the hall caught their attention.
A noise wasn't exactly what it was. It was more like a din, with thuds, crashes, and screams. Inuyasha, being part dog demon, could hear every detail of what was going on. He tried to make sense of it all, but the only thing he could come up with was that they had lost control of one of the demons. Walking over to the wall separating them from the hall, he leaned his head against it, listening intently to what was going on.
Suddenly, his eyes widened and he leapt back from the wall. Rushing over to Kagome, he yanked her to her feet and threw her to the other side of the room, standing in front of her in order to block her from whatever it was that he had just heard. Confused, Kagome looked up to ask what was wrong, trying to push herself up from her position against the wall. She didn't even have time to ask her question before she figured it out for herself.
The noise and confusion from outside came screeching down the hall and stopped outside their door. Well, almost. Just as Kagome thought they had gotten the situation under control, a thunderous noise range through the cell as the wall came crashing down in front of them. As the debris settled to the floor and the dust cleared, a lone figure could be seen standing in the gaping hole that had once been the only wall keeping them in the cell.
Kagome gasped. The man before her had a regal presence about him that commanded respect, and fear. He was dressed in fine clothes, nice enough to have been imported from somewhere in Europe. His long white hair flowed down his back, stopping a ways below his waist. Golden eyes flashed as they took in the scene of the girl and hanyou before them. Those eyes, that hair, his face – it all seemed familiar somehow.
Inuyasha apparently knew who it was. Kagome's heart began to beat even faster when she noticed Inuyasha tensing and heard a deep growl emanating from his throat. Inuyasha flexed his claws, his knuckles cracking as he did so.
"Sesshomaru," he hissed, his eyes narrowed towards the individual. If looks could kill, the other man would have been incinerated in an instant by the glare that Inuyasha was sending his way. Instead of bursting into flames, Sesshomaru merely stood there, a calm and collected expression on his fine features.
"Inuyasha," he replied. OK, now that everyone knew each other, what was going on? Kagome was about to burst with the level of intensity that filled the room as she clambered to stand back up. Sesshomaru's head tilted almost unnoticibly as Inuyasha's ears twitched. With their keen senses, they could hear men coming from far away in the maze of halls. That, apparently, was enough for Sesshomaru to end the staring contest by explaining at least somewhat the reason for his rather violent entrance.
"Come, brother, we must leave now if you do not wish to stay here forever." Kagome blinked. So that was how they knew each other. Oh, wait! That meant that this was the demon that had escaped over a year ago. She didn't know what to do now; this guy was supposed to be even more powerful than Inuyasha.
Looking over Inuyasha's now stunned figure, he eyed the girl. "I did not realize that you would have a female with you. You will have to come with us as well, girl, unless you want them to kill you or worse." So saying, he turned and walked a few calm steps down the hall.
Finally regaining the ability to move, Inuyasha turned behind him and grabbed Kagome's arm. "Come on, girl. Let's go!" he commanded as he proceeded to drag her out the door by her arm, following his brother. They stopped suddenly, Kagome running into the hanyou, went they saw the demon punch a fist through the wall just above Inuyasha's cell. When he retracted his hand, it held the Tetsaiga.
Inuyasha snarled as he prepared to lunge at his brother; no way was he going to let that creep take his sword even if he was helping him get out. He probably had ulterior motives for that anyway, such as getting the Tetsaiga. He was surprised again, however, when the sword was cast at his feet, Sesshomaru having not been able to grasp it.
"Yeah, that's right. The sword's mine and you'll never get it!" Inuyasha smiled tauntingly, remembering just why he had finally felt safe from his brother's constant obsession with getting the Tetsaiga for himself. He couldn't even touch it without being singed by the sword's barrier; only those with human blood could hold it. "Did you forget what happened last time?"
"Of course, not. We couldn't have you forgetting that and transforming on us, now could we? Now come; we must hurry if we are to make it out of here before they capture one of us again." That said, he once again turned and walked away. Well, he really wasn't walking anymore. Now it was more like sprinting at high speed, but his whole composure was far to calm from him to have been running all out.
Shaking his head to clear it from his confusion, Inuyasha turned and told Kagome to get going. After running for a few seconds, he looked over his shoulder to see her already falling behind. Stupid humans. Huffing, he ran back to her, told her to climb on his back, and then took off again. Kagome's grip around his neck tightened when he did so. Inuyasha smirked; the girl had never traveled like this before. He put on some more speed in to catch up to Sesshomaru, and to take advantage of the opportunity to scare Kagome a bit.
As Kagome clung on for dear life and Inuyasha raced through the corridors after his brother, there was only thing that either of them could think; they were finally free. Now the only question was why. Why had Sesshomaru, the demon that had hunted Inuyasha down so many times in the past, the brother that had tried to kill him and had practically disowned him because of his human blood, rescued them and set them free from that place?
AN: Here's chapter 9! It didn't take too long, either. :) I have all day tomorrow to write, so hopefully I can get chapter 10 out by Sunday! Next chapter: Has Sesshomaru just turned over a new leaf and decided to help out his only brother, or is there something behind his motivation to free Inuyasha? What will Inuyasha do when he finds out? Hope ya'll enjoyed it! Thanks for the reviews; they're awesome!
Riftwar-Slave – So glad that you like it :) I hope that you enjoyed this chapter as well! Thanks for the review!
purplepeopleeater – OOO, the anticipation! It's great to hear that people are excited to read new chapters and find out what happens! Oh, I hadn't come up with anything to cause Inuyasha and Kagome to fight, but I need to use something in another chapter (like when Kumaki tries to get himself out of trouble). Just a quick little thing, but do you mind if I use your idea? Pretty please *puppy-dog eyes* Thanks so much for reviewing!
MiraiYume – Yeah, the last chapter was basically all filler with no plot. LOL Happy to know others think their necessary, too :) I hope that you really liked this chapter! There was action for you! Thanks for the review!
smoothtalker – I'm so glad that you reviewed! They really do make my day! Here's where one of the twists comes in, so I hope that you enjoyed this one! Thanks again!
Storm-Maker – Oh, but cliffhangers are such a good way to get people to read the next chapter! :) No more evil doctors for a while, at least not in a position to do anything to Inuyasha and Kagome. I hope that you enjoyed this chapter! Thanks for reviewing!