Disclaimer: If it was mine, then this wouldn't be fanfiction.

Chapter Six

Kagome took down the hair that remained captured by her bun. She hadn't realized that it had fallen; then again, the opportunity had never arisen.

She looked at the bruises forming on her skin while she waited for the shower to heat up. The girl had just finished telling her mom what happened. She kept trying to think of what to do next, but she was stuck in the present.

Finally, the water was hot enough. Kagome stepped into the shower and leaned her head against the wall. The dirt that was stuck to her was pounded off and created a hypnotizing pattern as it swirled down the drain. She watched it, her mind blissfully blank.

After a while, Kagome began to see shapes in the revolving filth. She kept seeing his eyes...those cold, leering eyes of his. In her mind, his voice kept saying her name. She froze despite the steaming water and her breathing became shallow. She couldn't pull in any oxygen. She was going to pass out. "Kagome." She quit breathing. "Kagome." Everything was spinning. "Kagome." The edges of her vision were turning black.

A knock on the door shoved her back into reality. Her starved lungs sucked in the air. "Kagome," her mother called from the other side. "Sweetie, are you almost done? I made you some tea to drink."

The girl's breathing wasn't back to normal yet so she answered by turning off the water. She grabbed a towel, dried her hair, and then wrapped it around herself. When Kagome opened the door her mother was still waiting. Her eyes were red her voice sounded hoarse as she handed over the tea and said, "Here honey. Try to sleep tonight, ok?" She kissed her daughter on the forehead and then plodded off to her room.

Kagome walked into her room and set the tea down on her nightstand. She wanted to see him again, to thank him properly. The girl's eyes roamed over her room and landed on his jacket. She'd forgotten all about it.

The girl felt guilty. He'd been so kind and she'd basically stolen is jacket. There was no way she could return it either.

A meow made her jump. Buyo, her very overweight cat, was sitting outside her window, pawing. She got up and let him in and he waddled over to her bed.

She laid down next to him and wrapped her arms around his pudgy belly. The fat cat purred and she fell asleep to the steady sound.

--

Inu Yasha tore down the highway going eighty miles in a fifty-five mile zone. He didn't care though; he'd been driving cars illegally since he was twelve and he was good. Having reflexes at least three times faster then everybody else on the road didn't hurt either.

He flipped a switch and all the windows, including the sunroof, opened up. The wind surged in with wild savageness, pushing out all lingering smells of Kagome. Just what he wanted, her scent was too familiar and it bothered him.

He yanked off his hat and chucked it behind him, not caring whether it landed in the backseat or on the side of the road. Inu Yasha sighed in relief. Covering his ears for so long always made them sore and tender, but in the end the pain was worth endearing. The shrieks of people who had seen his inhuman appendages made his teeth ache with their shrillness. Plus, things always became complicated once his birthrights were figured out.

Sirens filled the air accompanied with flashes of blue and red. Inu Yasha accelerated. Just as he expected the cops recognized his license plate number and who's son he was. They backed of immediately and the paddy wagon turned off on an exit meekly.

Twenty-five minutes later he pulled into his drive way and hopped out. Inu Yasha didn't bother locking the car, if it was stolen it could be easily replaced, just like everything else. He had few items of sentimental value and everything else was just filler.

Entering, he tossed his keys into a stand. He didn't bother turning on lights, he didn't even know if all of them worked, he could see perfectly well in the dark anyways. Inu Yasha made his way to the kitchen and fixed some Ramen. He wasn't hungry, but he felt restless and wanted something to distract him form the unwelcome thoughts forming in the back of his mind.

A ping let him know that the noodles were done. He picked them up and turned on the high definition, plasma TV hoping to find some asinine program to become engrossed in.

Unfortunately there were no cheesy late night show on that could distract him. When he'd finished his noodles he picke dup the remote and turned off the TV. The house was silent except for the whorl of the fan. Nothing moved besides the occasional jumping shadow as a car drove past.

Time passed and Inu Yasha became caught up in the stillness, like he was stuck in a vortex of some kind. Her ghostly imaged drifted around the edge of his sight. He hadn't thought about her, training his mind not to, in such a long time that it was like remembering a stranger. Her spectral form roamed around him and she was suddenly replaced with Kagome.

The resemblance was startling. They had the same soft brown eyes, full pouty lips, long lashes, same height, and dark hair, though Kagome's was wavy as opposed to her straight. The two even had similar scents. Being with Kagome had had a calming effect on him, just as she had, but possibly stronger.

Inu Yasha wouldn't pursue her though. He was wondering if subconsciously he was trying to replace the dead girl with the living one. Plus, he knew that if he took an interest in Kagome then so would Naraku, just like before. He was sure that the loathsome man had just been looking for an outlet for his perverted slef and he would not go after her again.

More time passed, he wasn't sure how long he'd been sitting in the dark, but now Kagome's figure danced through his mind with the one she so strongly resembled. Inu Yasha knew he wouldn't be able to sleep on his own, so he walked into his bedroom and rummaged around until he found a bottle of pills. He popped a few, lay down on the bed, not bothering with covers, and waited for them to kick in.

A/N: That's it for now. I'll try to update my other story soon, but I have the tiniest bit of writer's block. I know what I want to happen, but I'm not sure how I want it to happen. Does that make sense? As always, please continue to review.