Blood-Stained

A/N: READ A/N at the bottom of page. Sorry for the extremely long wait…. T_T

ChristyKay: I'm so, so sorry for rushing you like that. I didn't mean to sound childish or anything. I was just really impatiently curious as to why you were slacking off… like moi. ^_~ It's OK if you don't want to write. ~*hug*~ You can wait until the crisis is over with your life. *sad*

On with the fiction! To ChristyKay: Are you still feeling blue? Here… I hope this will make up for the sadness! ^_^

I dedicate this chapter to ChristyKay and her troubled times… or mid-life crisis… whichever comes first.

Don't worry… be happy…. =) Nice song, eh? Bah… too long of an A/N… just read the bottom, OK? *pleads*

                                                                                 Chapter 7~ Patterns

            She stared at the wooden dot of the 100% pine table (That was what the tag underneath the table had claimed.), dressed in comfortable, gray slacks. They were Sango's, of course, and she couldn't imagine why that girl would be kind enough to lend a snippy person a fresh batch of clothes and usage of a bathroom…. After all, she was supposed to be the "bitchy" one here, as Inuyasha had nicely put it during a certain break over at the ice cream store….

           Oh yeah, she had trudged up three flights of stairs (The elevator wasn't working.) while dripping everywhere. When Kagome had reached the apartment, she was now a sticky person… literally. Fat drops of white had hardened into some form of crystallized sugar.

            Well, pity can get you a few, good things in life…. Hehe….

            A cup of tea replaced the hypnotizing, wooden dot, and she glanced up to see Sango offering it to her, a placid smile stretched across her face like the next Berlin Wall. Seeing the slight scowl at her cheeriness, she immediately replaced the grin with a tired face. "Just wondering if you would warm up… don't bite me, please," she mumbled.

            "Well, no one can be this happy at midnight," Kagome replied back, twice as darkly. But, as a semi-retribution for her evil comments (Hey, she was mean, but not without conscience… most of the time.), she took the mug and began to sip delicately, since the lemon brew was just boiled.

            Needless to say, a long, tense silence filled between the two…. Kagome could just imagine the suffocation she was going through.

            "So…" Sango cleared her throat before beginning again. "Is there anything you want to talk about?"

            Expecting some sort of prying question out of her, Kagome countered, "What kind of talking are you suggesting?"

            "Oh, family…."

            Her eyes bulged a bit unnaturally.

            "Friends…."

            She twitched a bit involuntarily.

            "Or even that stalking boyfriend of yours…."

            At the last part mentioned, Kagome really choked on her tea, which she was half-enjoying, too. Coughing, she quickly put up the sleeves to her mouth in an attempt to prevent saliva from flying all over the place. 'What?" she asked weakly, still hacking away.

            H-how did she find out…? Not boyfriend, though…! Never in a million years….

            Sango's eyes had widened, and she rushed over to whack Kagome's back to clear the tube. "I was kidding… you know, HA-HA-HA? It was a joke," she explained meekly.

            Finding her voice to speak again, Kagome stood up suddenly, an angry spark within her eye. As she spoke each word precisely, it was transparent that she was restraining her active temper. "It wasn't very funny."

            "I'm sor…."

            "Yeah, right. Can we drop this… this thing we're talking about, whatever it was?"

            Deciding that boyfriend was a touchy matter, Sango nodded firmly and dallied onto other topics…, which meant that she was nervous. And when she was nervous, she started spurting out random facts. "Well, I'm 24 years old, and I work for the AYHC, or more commonly, in the big, dark, scary building next to the cotton candy factory somewhere in the town."

            Kagome wanted to laugh at the descriptions used to accentuate the building next to a candy store.

            Scary? Scary? I haven't seen scary… I've seen terrified.

            "… And I also like to collect wooden, beaver collections. What about you?"

            "Do I have to answer?"

            "No, not if you don't want to… it's entirely optional, since this is a conversation made up of purely fun and giggles."

            "I have no comments."

            Sango found it hard to chat with a conversation killer.

            "Why don't I just bring Shippo home today?" Kagome asked, staring at the brown depths of the tea remnants. "It's late, and I'm tired… really tired. You have no idea how hard it is to be an ice cream scooper."

            Or wrestling with an out-of-control milkshake machine….

            "Oh, but the auto shop is a few miles from here… it's going to take forever. Oh, I know!" Sango squealed suddenly. "You can sleep over for the night if you want to! I promise you won't have to sleep on the floor, although it's quite comfy, too… but I have guestrooms! And then tomorrow morning, you can go and search for your bashed-up car."

            Her offer was more than just a courtesy act… Kagome didn't fail to see the way her eyes lighted up at the prospect of having a guest over for the night.

            ….

            "Well?" she prodded a few minutes later, impatient for an answer.

            Upon seeing the hopeful face, Kagome relented. "I don't think so," she replied uber politely. "I still need my car back from the shop, and it's a long walk from here, you know."

            "Tomorrow I could drive you there with Shippo…."

            "Yeah… but I tend to oversleep… and I'm trying to cut back on procrastinating… so I don't think so."

            Oops. I sound sarcastic. Dang… those theater classes did no wonder for me at all.

            "Oh," Sango said, voice small. She seemed really hurt and disappointed, but shook her head a bit, cleaning her thoughts. "It's fine. I understand… I'll get Shippo now."

            "I'll come, too," Kagome stood up as if to accentuate her words.

            Motioning for her to follow, the pair left the kitchen. Walking past the living room and into the hallway, Kagome was reminded of how Sango wasn't exactly poor. The thick, peach-colored carpets (Fuzzed, too!)… fine, wooden floors in the kitchen… silver chandeliers hanging over her head majestically.

            Just HOW much money does this girl make, anyway? She must be stinking rich to afford over 15 chandeliers….

            As they neared a door, Sango whispered, "The last time I checked, Shippo was sleeping. So I put Kirara in there to watch after him."

            Before Kagome could question who this 'Kirara' was, she opened the door, face expectant of a sleeping youkai… and revealed a frightened cat bound to the silk curtains, gagged with a velvet cloth (Probably from the chairs, as there were long strips of cloth ripped from it.). Shippo was also there, but he was sitting on his bum with newspapers shredded and scattered all over the ground like New Year's confetti; toilet paper also streaked the room, creating circles and circles of decorative substitutions for tissue paper. The most prominent thing in the room right now was a certain naked statue standing in the far corner….

            Stunned, Sango opened her mouth, closed it, opened it, and closed it again. The Fish Face- as Kagome affectionately called it- was never a good sign.

            Not a good sign!

            "Shippo," Kagome mumbled, eyes glinting an icy shade of blue. "Let's go, shall we?" She just KNEW a blowup would have occurred if they even tried to apologize.

            Shippo recognized the sugary tone she used, and he knew she meant business. He nodded once solemnly before scuttling out of the room. He paused near Sango and added with a hint of pride, "No need to thank me. Just trying to help a person in need."

            The two walked quietly away from the disastrous scene. She muttered a 'Good day' to the still-shocked girl, letting Shippo and herself out of the apartment. Closing the door, she didn't speak a word to the little, scampering youkai at her feet… just calmly walked down the three flights of stairs, out of the lobby, and into the cool, nighttime air.

            It wasn't until they were walking across the street, did Kagome turn to face Shippo, furious. "How dare you kill her room!" She began, eyes blazing.

            "Um, Kagome…."

            "How DARE you do something like that!"

            "Can we take it onto the next sidewalk? We don't really want to be crushed by some roaming car…."

            "… Fine. But the minute we're on top of the pavement, you are SO dead meat with me, young man!"

            And she meant every word of it. As soon as their feet barely touched the rocky, paved ground, she whirled on him again. "This is out of line, mister!"

            Shippo did the safest thing in this scary situation; he shrank back. (Figuratively.)

            "She takes you in for the whole day, feeding you and lending a gorgeous room for your beauty sleep while I slaved in an ice cream kitchen…."

            At this, he squealed in protest. "It was nap time… at 8 P.M.! And I wanted to help, but they wouldn't let me…."

            "And how do you repay her?" she continued to rant, oblivious to his squeak. "You destroyed part of her house! 'Kabob'-ed it! That looks like my…" she faltered, on the verge of saying brother, but struggled to say it, nonetheless. "… My brother's room."

            Shippo, knowing nothing of about her family's gruesome demise, disregarded the little hesitation. "But…."

            "Even after my rudeness, she helped me…."

            "Yes, but…."

            "She lent me her clothes!"

            "Yes, but…."

            "She even took a load off my back, offering to baby-sit you!"

            He recoiled at this statement, emerald eyes flashing. "I'm a… load to you?"

            Realizing what Kagome had let slip out of her mouth, her anger seeped out of her slowly as his eyes slowly narrowed into slits, obviously misreading the words.

           Great… now the guilt monster is chewing on half my conscience.

            "No… that wasn't what I had planned to say…."

            "But that was what you thought," he hissed angrily, scratching away her hands as she tried to pull him into a comforting hug. "Don't.Touch.Me. I'm just a load to you."

            Rubbing her scraped hands, Kagome winced at the acidic tone he used. It was rare for Shippo to use such a new, harsh voice with her, since he was seldom truly angry. "Shippo, let me explain."

            "No," he said stubbornly, refusing any apologies from her.

            "Please? I didn't really mean it like that…."

            It wasn't the smartest move, since she knew he knew she was lying like a dirty rug. Unfortunately, this set him off even more.

            "I don't need you… I don't need your stupid lies to make me happy," he snapped, turning around so his back faced her. Roughly, he wiped something off his face.

            Oh… never, ever lie to a child. Kids nowadays are too smart for their own good. They should stop eating vegetables. Oh yeah, and the stronger they get, they will be able to hunt you down for any future sheltering… so no milk for Shippo.

            It took some time, but Kagome realized that he was crying a little, but very quietly so she wouldn't hear him. (Clever thing to do, actually.) Now, any leftover of anger of frustration she had 15 minutes ago were vanquished, and only to be replaced by guilt and sadness. Here she was, yelling at a young kid for ruining a measly room when he was still hurt from one month ago, just like she was two months ago….

            Oh, nice, Kagome, smooth working.

            Sighing, Kagome attempted to pick him up again, murmuring, "Don't cry…." This time, Shippo shifted around, halfheartedly, trying to shrug off both her words and her hands, but allowing her in the end. "I didn't mean it like that… see… taking care of a child is a lot of hard work, so…."

            At this point, she trailed off, not really remembering which path to go with a complex sentence she had just created for herself. "We know you said it because you were angry at me," he said grudgingly, not happy to admit Kagome was correct and he was not. Pausing to wipe his runny nose along his cotton sleeve, he continued. "Mommy and Daddy used to say I was a 'force to reckon' with all the time… whatever that was supposed to mean."

            Kagome laughed outright at the accuracy of the phrase and shut her mouth when he glanced at her, confused. "It's nothing… really. Now, back to the point before we got so sidetracked in all this… stuff. Why did you destroy her room like that?" The two had begun to walk in a random direction.

            "I didn't attack it… it attacked me first."

            "Shippo!"

            "OK… I woke up, and it was staring at me eerily across the room… I can feel it wanting to snack on my poor, tiny arm. It's like when you stare at yourself in the mirror on a bad hair day, and your eyes just seem to pop out of their sockets."

            Nice analogy….

            "So what did you do?"

            "Well, I thought maybe smacking the cat with the newspapers would work… but it didn't. So I shredded it up all over the floor, prepared to scare it."

            "Wait… wait… you SHREDDED the paper?"

            "… I thought it might pee from being scared…."

            She kept quiet for a bit after this logical explanation.

            "Anyway, I decided to transform into all sorts of stuff, like a gigantic, spinning top and a pink balloon. But, the cat wasn't really scared at all. It clapped with its paws when I was done with my transformation into a scooter."

            "… And that's when you decided to tie the cat around the curtains with toilet paper and gag it with a pair of socks."

            "Exactly. But you see, it kept running around, and I kept running out of rolls, so before you know it, the paper was everywhere, especially around the naked statue because it seemed to love hiding behind the buttocks. So you know what I did instead?"

            "What?" she questioned, curiosity winning her over… again.

            "I turned into Sango- inside the bathroom, of course- and managed to trick the cat!"

            "…."

            "It saw my tail, though, so it went really crazy, trying to claw me into bacon bits, so I had to drop the critter again. This time, I rummaged through one of those drawers and came up with a ball of sock and- what luck!- a pair of mask tape. By now, the cat was in hiding somewhere."

            "Behind the buttocks."

            "Yes, and I couldn't get between the sides of the wall, so I had to crawl underneath and grab the thing."

            "Wait… why couldn't you have done that in the first place?"

            "… Kagome, imagine if you had crawled between a man's legs. Would that look pretty cool to you?"

            "…."

            "My point!" he declared, raising his little, index finger into the air. "Drastic times call for drastic measures."

            Clichés, clichés….

            "So I caught it by the neck, and it tried to scratch me. But clever me decided to do something else beside trying to restrain it physically."

            "And…?" she was hooked on the story, waiting with anticipation.

            "I grabbed its tail, and it stopped moving. Heehee… I think it was scared of me pulling, which was what I wanted it to think."

            "Oh, you are pure evil, Shippo. Pure evil."

            "I defend, not offend. And so, it remained motionless, and I successfully strapped the cat to the curtains with the masked tape… three times bounding, of course, so it wouldn't try to claw its way out like it tried with my hand. I took the green sock and stuffed it into its mouth, where the screeching wouldn't be heard. But I forgot about its legs, and I didn't think a cat would have such strong, hind legs. It kicked me, sending me sprawling onto the ground, where you guys opened the door just in time. And behold, I was sitting on the ground."

            "Hehe… great story… did your mom give you lessons on narrating?"

            "Yep! Plus, I couldn't say that those fairy tales books I've read didn't help me."

            I guess he can swallow saying 'mom' better than I can.

            "But you still haven't been able to defend your punishment for hurting a mindless cat."

            "That's where you're wrong, Kagome."

            The two crossed another random street in five minutes, too engrossed in their conversation to notice that they were heading in some distant direction.

            "What? What do you mean?"

            "The thing was NOT a cat." He looked pretty darn triumphant at this finding, and she just had to delve deeper to recover the mystery.

            "So… you're saying it was a blob?"

            "Remember when I grabbed its tail?"

            "Yes…."

            "I forgot to mention that it had multiple tails. Meaning I had to CHOOSE one of the tails to grab from."

            She promptly stopped walking and dropped Shippo onto the ground. "Ow!"

            "What are you talking about?" she asked, blinking rapidly.

            "The cat also had other, weird features that I didn't notice until I saw her tail."

            "And that would be…" she urged, wanting to know more.

            "For instance, her eyes weren't normal for a cat. I mean, they were really big… too big, actually.

            Also, I just had this… this VIBE from her…. And she didn't smell like a normal kitty, either. And trust me, I've smelled enough kitties… and their litter boxes to know what a cat smells like. This one seemed… to groomed and self-dependent to be a normal cat."

            "What are you trying to say here…? That the cat was some sort of…."

            "… Youkai," he finished for her, staring solemnly.

            For a minute, Kagome's breath was knocked away. She couldn't believe it… a youkai in this town? It suddenly dawned on her how funny this sounded, and she burst out giggling. "Yeah, right, Shippo. The cat really had three tails."

            "I'm not kidding. This wasn't a joke," he answered, looking up at her through indignant eyes. "That was a real youkai, and it was in Sango's guestroom. And I'm assuming she didn't know about the cat."

            "Well, she told me that someone named Kirara was supposed to be watching after you."

            "I don't remember at all. Because the minute Sango left the room, I woke up and began to jump on the bed… before realizing the youkai was staring at me."

            Could… Sango mean Kirara as in Kirara the 'youkai' cat instead of human?

            Shippo seemed to be thinking of the same thing, putting two and two together inside the working mechanics of his head. They both stared at each other, wondering if a human could really have tamed a youkai. In Kagome and Shippo's case, it was different… it was maternity issue. But this was a pet relationship… could that be possible, human and youkai?

            ….

            "Nah," they both said, shaking their heads. "It's not possible."

            "I still can't believe there was a stray youkai inside the room…. Did it hurt you, Shippo?"

            "Nope… but I'm just wondering… Sango said she was sending someone named Kirara into the room, right?"

            "Yes…."

            "And she wasn't there at all. What if Sango thought Kirara was inside the bathroom?"

            "What about that?"

            "Remember how I woke up right after she left the room…?"

            Kagome's eyes flew wide open. That was true…. And suddenly, the pieces of the puzzle clicked together. "The youkai ate the girl!"

            Nodding grimly, Shippo added, "Some youkai can't control themselves."

            "Oh… this is bad stuff right here…. How are we supposed to tell Sango? Wait… I forgot, I have work tomorrow, so it will have to be you who will break the terrible news to her."

            Hearing a little squeak that was starting another argument about who would tell whom, she intercepted with a "Now we can begin our search for the auto shop."

            It was crude, but effective. "Isn't that where we're going, though?"

            "Nope."

            "Where are we going then?"

            "I don't know," she said, rolling her eyes. "I didn't know from the very beginning since we left the apartment. I don't really know where we are. I thought you paid attention…."

            Getting off his poor butt, Shippo clambered into her arms again, where he would have easy journey for the rest of the night. And as she began to notice her surroundings, ambling around like a drunken idiot, he started another round of talking a few minutes after. "You know, Sango is pretty nice," he began quietly.

            "No. We're not going to be friends with her, regardless if she was sweeter than sugar or as bitter as the old hag we encountered along the way," she whispered harshly. She would not be sucked into his enticing words.

            No acquaintances…. Or allies, for that matter.

            "But why?" he asked the dreaded question softly, already knowing the answer.

            "B…because it hurts too much," she answered simply, not wanting to think about it.

            No….

            She didn't want to remember, and from the way Shippo was fidgeting, it was obvious he was doing the same. It hurts too much to have friends… they couldn't afford the price of having a person who could hold secrets and talk to them.

            "… Does it hurt, too?" he asked, looking at his hands. "The images… the loneliness… the pain?" His voice held rare emotions for a four-year-old… anger, sadness, regret….

            "We're not cowards," Kagome murmured, sidestepping the question. She couldn't break down… she wouldn't cry and tell her true feelings, her true turmoil, her reality. In Shippo's eyes, she was a mother and father figure… someone who had temporarily replaced his parents' spot until he was old enough to understand. And no matter how mature he acted, he was still a child inside… still laughing about the silliest things. And Kagome would not break him simply because she loved him. She would be the strong, upstanding pillar for him to lean on in the relationship.

            But inside… she was afraid. Afraid of those horrendous images, the excruciating pain from the images, and worst of all, the coward for whom she really was.

            Her words were lies.

                                                                                                          ~*~*~*~

            The rest of the night, (Technically morning….) was wasted in favor of finding Kagome's white car…, which was in a hidden auto shop, too.

            Oh… nothing like a walk through the park at 2 in the morning to revitalize your already screwed senses….

            When they had, at last, found the shop (It was wedged between two houses.), Kagome immediately went for the car, but stopped.

            They're going to lock it. Duh! Who would be stupid enough to leave it unprotected at night?

            As Shippo headed towards the door, Kagome mumbled, "Forget it. We don't have our car keys. It's not going to open."

            But he still tried to open the door. It didn't work, as expected. "See?" she said rather deflatedly.

            "Kagome, I worked alongside with my dad in a car shop. Car shop. CAR SHOP. Do you think one year of working has taught me nothing?"

            "Yes."

            Whoa… he worked at age three? I was sucking on my thumb back then.

            Sighing, he mumbled a few words underneath his breath before saying, "Do you have anything worth pickable?"

            "… Huh?"

            "You know… pencil, nail file, bobby pin?"

            Kagome patted around her gray sweats before answering, "Nope. But I do have this sewing needle that has been poking me in the back since Sango gave it to me." Frustrated, she swatted behind her back until she had a firm grasp on the tiny, delicate thing. "HaHA!" she yelled happily as the scratch was gone.

            Shippo's eyes bulged. "Don't throw that away!" he screamed, launching himself towards her…, which knocked both of them down.

            "Oof…." The collision knocked both down onto the ground, and for a moment, she saw stars.

            "Yes! Just in time," he cheered silently, grabbing the needle from her hands and bouncing off her stricken body. "If you had thrown that away, we would have to camp outside. Now stand up and watch me pick the car. Hehe… this will be a piece of chocolate…."

            Struggling to sit up, she managed to catch Shippo fiddling with the door handle for a few moments before a faint click aired briefly. Both blinked quietly at the car before he tried the door handle.

            It opened.

            Kagome's eyes widened at the thought of how a small child could have easily unlocked a car without car keys.

            Darn vegetables….

            "Whoa! Your car doesn't look like a catastrophe anymore!" Shippo exclaimed, eyes gleaming like a child with a hidden stash of suckers. "I can do cartwheels in the back seat now! How cool is that?"

            ….

            Well, the reaction wasn't that surprising… considering that the amount of toy trucks he owned duplicated the number of pairs of shoes Kagome bought over any day… and that saying a lot.


            "Oh God…."

            "Yeah! I can't believe they gave us a bill of 15,000 yens! Just for fixing the benders and cleaning out the car? What do you think of this?" he muttered furiously, glancing over at the bill. The time spent being a secretary was well spent.

            "They didn't remember to put back the windshield wipers! Do you know how particularly dangerous this is, when it's raining? I could crash!"

            "Maybe someone wanted it that way… they were trying to set you up so you would crash horribly and die of a horrible death that includes burning."

            "Oh, lay off the chips at night. Who would want to do that to me?"

            Really… I know of a certain person who would love to do that to us….

            "I don't know… someone with a grudge against us, say, that white dude in the grocery store."

            "Inuyasha?"

            "Yeah."

            "He wouldn't kill us, you weirdo," she argued back.

            "And why not? He tried to the first time!"

            Not one to admit that it was partly her fault for stealing, she agreed. "OK… that was just a minor boo-boo. But everyone makes mistakes, you know."

            "He doesn't like me."

            "Well, he doesn't like me, either, so we're both even. And he wouldn't hurt us… we're under custody… or parole. If he kills us, he'll be sent to jail. Hehe… so he'll know better than to mess with us weak humans… er, youkai."

            Shippo nodded, mulling over this new perspective to the situation. It certainly brought a fresh lemon twist, in his opinion. "You have a point there… so I guess I can tease him all I want, and he won't be able to grip his sticky, little fingers around my throat?"

            "Yep. And who knows, if you mess his room around long enough, he'll have to kick you out and send you to me," she added, winking.

            But the thought of hurting Inuyasha just oh-so pains me…. I'll cut off his hair to make amends for that. Heehee….

            "Yeah… I like your style of thinking, Kagome. We could be really good friends," he said slyly, patting her shoulder.

            "That's good I'm on your side. Now it's time for bed. I have to get to work tomorrow. And I know, I know, it's four in the morning, and I don't have a lot of hours left for snoozing, but I'll need all I can get. After all, ice cream is a mean, mean thing to deal with in the real world."

            As they entered the mobile, Kagome prepared herself for a two-hour sleep, while Shippo stared at her, face intent. "What's the matter?" she asked, ruffling his hair a bit.

            "… I was just thinking about earlier…."

            This caught her attention. "Yeah?"

            "And I know from experience that it's bad to have people to confide in…."

            A little, sharp pang in her heart sounded.

            "But friends are different…."

            And another.

            "Why is it bad to have friends?"

            And one more.

            Her hand withdrew from his head, almost burnt from him physically instead of emotionally.

            No…. I won't tell. Never spill or tell.

            "Well," she said, her voice almost to the extent of cracking. "I guess I'll tell you some time later. Just not now, since I'm really tired."

            He frowned at the unsatisfied answer, but shrugged. It was better than "When you're older" repetition adults seemed to say when wanting to get out of a sweaty situation. "OK…" he answered unsteadily. Kissing her numbing cheek, he mumbled a "G'Night" to her before settling down into a peaceful sleep.

            More naïve than me… more than when I was two months ago….

            Suddenly, the urge to sleep inside her spotless car was now overwhelmed with another feeling. The feeling that she often felt every night, late when Shippo was far too asleep to notice her muffled sounds. The feeling that seemed to dampen her lively spirit to live, to continue forward, to try to escape her stalker. The feeling that had surfaced itself two months ago, just when she had begun traveling with Shippo… the feeling that would never go away unless….

            She stared dully out the car, forehead pressed against the cooling window, which was quite unusual at night with its humid air and all.

            I don't want to….

            She pressed her hands to her ears in an attempt to block out the oncoming thoughts. They had been surging forward lately, and she wanted nothing to do with them anymore…. But the harder she tried to will the voices to disappear, the louder they became. Increasing louder and noisier, her eardrums would burst any minute now….

            I don't want to live…

            "No…" she whispered, knowing that Shippo had just fallen asleep and would wake up easily. Already, she could see his breathing become irregular. "Go away…."

            Flitting images passed through her mind… her grandpa gutted… Souta stabbed with no chance of living… her mother's neck nearly decapitated… Mr. Tsuyo's haunted head….

            She choked on more of her mumbled words, and a few tears dribbled down her chin. "No more… please…."

            Once the tears formed, they couldn't… no, wouldn't, stop falling.

            For the first time since two months, Kagome began to cry silently. The images were never so vivid… so surreal before… it was no longer her imagination or haunted conscience… it was her reality at night. She was living through the pain… the shock… the terrified feelings all over in one night. The tears streamed downwards, falling between her fingers that covered her grieving face.

            Make it stop! Anything….

            One image came into mind, but remained there, glaring down upon her. It was the worst….

            The worst one….

            Tears escaped her eyes faster and harder, wetting her lap.

            "Stop…" she whispered, begged. "I… I don't want to live Yue's memory anymore…."

            Her lips began to run with blood… she had bitten her lip too hard.

            No more… no more….

            "I don't want to… relieve anymore memories…."

            But most of all, I don't want to be responsible for anymore… deaths….

                                                                                                     ~*~*~*~

            Every night… it's the same….

            "Images… two months…."

            Her eyes glazed over as images took over her mind and eyes.

            Shippo… ran… claws… the feral eyes that burned into her head, wanting to hurt her…. Her own gradually lost its unique shine that would tell someone she was paying attention, and she slipped into one of the grayed images playing forth inside her mind, teasing her.

            She felt something sharp, almost knife-like, thrust itself into her soft, tender flesh on her back just beneath her shoulder blade; she didn't move, thinking that if she did, then it would encourage the Huskie to do even more damage to her back.

            Suddenly, the pointed object jerked itself away from inside her, and she winced as some of her skin ripped from inside and around the hole, sticking onto the knife-like thing. Kagome thought for a fleeting second that it wouldn't try a second time.

            How foolish that thought was.

            The pain came back, this time-

            "Higurashi," a voice shook her from the silenced images. "You're in my office next."

            Standing up, she nervously smoothed the creases on her wrinkled blouse. This was the fourth day of her parole… unfortunately, it was her first day meeting with the police.

            They had called the ice cream store, and Miroku had picked up. Realizing it was the police station, he handed the receiver to Kagome, who cradled it between her shoulders (She was washing the dishes….). The police officer had explained tearfully that there was utter chaos in the police station. Someone had stolen some top-secret file that they needed, and until things calm down, she wouldn't be able to go to the station, let alone visit the chief.

            For a brief moment, she wondered if it was him who had taken her file, but thought better of it. Four days wasn't very long, and she highly doubted that he would be able to crack a safe code that easily. He was a good hacker, but not a great hacker. There was probably no such thing as a great hacker….

            He sounded so sad and regretful… hehe, but I was practically doing a victory dance.

            Kagome followed the man into the small, cluttered room, watching the officer search for something under a pile of old, rotten bananas.

            Eewwww….

            "Success!" he yelled triumphantly, holding up a blue, ballpoint pen.

            As she settled into the provided seat, he sat behind the desk and took out a piece of paper, scribbling something indecipherable to her eyes. "OK, let's begin," he suggested, "Let's start with the first day and progress towards today."

            And Kagome knew, just knew, the session would last longer.

            But even if she retold the past, four days' events, her mind still lingered on a few memories that have yet to be played out, haunting her for the rest of the visit….

           Yue….

                                                                                               ~*~*~*~

            Kagome exited the police station, a bit uncomfortable. True, the session with Mr. Hamaki had gone off well; she even liked him, regardless of his pig-living ways. But the images HAD to come at the particular time, and she had stumbled through her words, sounding as convincing as the next worst con.

            Great… he thinks I've been doing genocide in my spare time.

            She continued down the street, lost in thought, and the images came once more. Stifling frustration, outrage, and a scream, she clamped her mouth and refused to open it, no matter how hard she trembled. The extravagant scenes just would not leave her alone….

            I refuse to remember…!

            Her mind had another thing in mind, though, as it drove onwards, not caring for its effect on the slowly crumbling girl…. The build-up tension inside her was wearing her will and spirit down slowly.

           "Hey," a bright voice called, "What's your name?"

           "Kagome… and this here is Shippo-no, Shippo, put down the pear. Why do you want to know?"

           "You look lonely."

           "Um… not to be rude with your happy beliefs, but there are plenty of people shopping her alone. And don't they look lonely to you?"

           "No, not really. From you… I… I just feel a sort of lonely presence emanating from your spiritual aura."

            A funny look.

           "Um… yeah. I'm sorry, but I don't do drugs. Why don't you just… um… go bother someone else with them? Like that poor man outside the store… he looks like he is in need of a good friend… no matter how cracked she is."

           "That's not funny! I was trying to make someone's day a special day! And if you can't appreciate it willingly, then dammit, you're going to become my friend, whether you like it or not!"

            "Go away," she gritted, her anger and outrage replaced by growing fear. "I can do this… I don't have to remember everything…."

           "Hehe… that was actually cool."

           "I told you a nice, relaxing film would work! I mean, I was once a cook at that chili palace… but I quit in favor of becoming a secretary… for something."

           "You don't know what profession you're in?"

           "Well… not exactly. All I do everyday is type up mounds of stuff. And the transcript is there for me, too. And the money isn't exactly shabby, either."

           "Whatever. But that's funny… not knowing your profession."

           "Yeah… but it couldn't have been funnier than when the guy in the movie tried to declog a toilet."

           "Eeww… I'm not one for toilet jokes… but Shippo loves them. Too bad he's asleep. Not so good for him."

           "Ha… I'm dragging my husband, too, so it's all good… we're even."

           "At least Shippo doesn't weigh two boulders and more."

           "Pssh… that wasn't funny… it was true, but it wasn't funny…. Don't laugh!"

            But Kagome already did.

            Leave me alone…. I don't need this crap….

           "Hey… you don't look too well. Are you feeling all right?"

           "It's fine. Nothing to worry. See?" Kagome smiled a big, old' smile.

           "You're lying. You don't smile like that. Usually, it's lopsided…. Man, you lie really bad, you know that? Have you considered taking acting classes?"

           "Yes, I have taken classes, and they did little more than inspire me to become the Next Worst Thing. And how do you know I'm lying? I don't smile lopsided. I've smiled to myself in the mirror plenty of times."

           "You see… that's because you force it. When you're not, one edge of your lips usually quirk up a bit further than the other."

           "Man… do you inspect EVERYONE'S smiles?"

           "Yep. I'm weird like that. Now, why are you lying to me, your good friend?"

           "Darn… have YOU considered becoming some sort of detective?"

            A small, delighted laugh. "You're avoiding the question. Talk… or face my fingers… I didn't grow nails for nothing."

           "…."

           "Well? Say it, or I'll scratch it."

           "That is so lame."

           "Kagome! Stop changing the subject!"

           "OK… but you CAN'T tell anyone…."

           "Cross my heart, hope to die; if I lie, stick 12 needles in my eye."

            She rolled her eyeballs, but continued, "PROMISE…."

           "I PROMISE… the secret will be with me forever… taken to my grave. The spot where I push up daisies."

           "I'm actually worried for my safety… and…."

            And take it to her grave she did.

            Slowly, her mind reached for the farthest image in the darkest corner of her mind, struggling to pull it to the present for her to watch over. "No," she gritted, grinding her teeth together. She forced herself to conjure up pink ponies and non-rabid bunnies….

            Happy… happy… happy… happy… I'm going to need a new set of teeth after this….

            Kagome reached for the end of the block and turned… to walk smack into a person's back. "Ow…."

            Hmm… it was funny at how coincidental the ice cream store was on this side of the block.

            Maybe I should give Miroku more credit than he deserves… maybe the ice cream store is actually more popular than I had imagined. Or the line is heading for a nearby concert in a stadium with some ultra-famous pop star. Of course, I don't know who the famous person is. The last time I checked for famous people, my favorite person was The Beatles… and I wasn't even born when they were playing!

            "Watch it," the person snapped, turning around to glare.

            Ai….

            Kagome had her first look at the man in front of her, and he was not normal. With two golden eyes that slightly resembled a certain someone who shall remain anonymous on her hit list, he could pass for a girl. But some… er, attributes, denied the conclusion. The long, white hair didn't help the male factor, either….. "Wow! Cool moon tattoo," she admitted grudgingly as she spotted his forehead. "Nice… uh, tiger stripes, too, but I really think that getting those tattoos were a bit over the top for some nameless band who will die out within five years. It's pretty painful to remove tattoos, too, you know. I'm afraid you can't stand here, either. I have to get to work. Excuse me, please."

            Leaving the slightly baffled man behind, she brushed past him, trying to find the scary, sea foam restaurant. As she pushed and grunted her way near the restaurant, the crowd thickened and seemed to spread out, weirdly. At one point, a young lady with quite the scaly skin had screamed in her ears unintentionally, 'Get the bastard!"

            Maybe it's more of a wrestling competition… and would it hurt several people to get into lines to purchase tickets? God… I think the whole town is here….

            Confused, she pushed her way through, curiosity overthrowing her logic senses. Finally reaching the front of the source of talk, she found several people clad in army suits, screaming orders at the uproarious town behind yellow tape.

            "Settle down!"

            "Shut up! Government business!"

            "AYHC is taking over!"

            At this, the crowd became even more boisterous, if possible.

            "Shut up, you good-for-nothings!"

            "Who gives a care about government business? It's all about money, not job for you hoggers!"

            "AYHC sucks! Go move your base somewhere else! Make someone else's lives miserable!"

            In the midst of the orders and insults thrown back and forth was Sango, her being female the unique, outstanding of the people. Her general outfit stuck to her through sweat, and she was pretty tired. "Nothing to see here, people! Go away and resume life activities!" she yelled at the top of her voice, like the rest of the working people.

            "Shut up, you filthy breed!" And following the harsh comment was flying mucus, hitting her across the cheek. Sango quickly wiped the disgusting phlegm, unfazed by the treatment.

            What nerve of that guy….

            Kagome shook her head disgustedly, momentarily distracted at the foulness of some town people. She shook out of it, though, and screamed, "Sango! Over here!"

            Thankfully, she was in front row, and the girl heard her. Looking over, her face broke out into a slight smile. Jogging away from her position, she headed for Kagome. Grabbing her wrist, Sango pulled her from under the yellow police tape and dragged her into the store, where she flung both inside and shut the door tightly.

            Immediately, the ear-splitting noises were immediately cut off, and Kagome set straight to questioning. "What the hell is going on out there? Why is everyone screaming obscenities at your working base or whatever? Why are they lined outside the ice cream store? And don't tell me they all had mad cravings for some dairy products… at least one of them must be lactose and tolerant."

            It was when she stopped for a gasp of breath did she notice the slight flakes of dried tears on Sango's face. They were faint, so it must have been some long time ago…. Gulping, she whispered, "Turn around." Her voice cracked a bit, and with raised eyebrows, she did as told, but in a leisurely fashion.

            God….

            It was happening… again. Blood… everywhere. The normally scrubbed counters had bits of torn flesh playfully scattered, forming a brightly-displayed mural. The milkshake machine was on… and it was creating a terrible noise, as if it was grinding something. The nozzle was spurting out a steady jet of blood… splattering her. The grinding stopped momentarily, and a flecks of white smacked her across the face. Bringing up a hand, she felt the hard, white substance, and nearly gasped as she realized they were bones of the newly dead….

            The tables… hacked fingers standing upright in burnt ashes of cigarette butts, still bleeding out blood… random pieces of fingernails were wedged into the colored tables, and they held crusted blood. Sawed legs dangled on the edges of elegant, looped chairs, the leftover pieces of skin blowing gently by the ventilator… resembling frills on a little girl's dress. Arms… they, too, were hacked up. And this time, she could see the white bones… how some broke through the middle of the muscle, just like a brittle twig. Pieces of the arms were gripped around the bottom of the edges, still there for a grand look.

            But on the baby chairs to the left in the corner… Kagome screamed shrilly, stumbling into Sango.

            It's been months….

            Four baby chairs, the belts strapped across the front…. Mr. Tsuyo's head rotting head. The nose turning a sickly, charred ebony, and the hair falling off the brown scalp… still falling, actually, and landing into a fresh batch of blood nearby. The lips were torn savagely from the face, leaving the squirming flesh behind to pour out the crimson sin.

            Next to him, propped up sideways, was her mom. Her hair was also falling, and a long, thing strip of olive skin near hung loosely over the chair legs. One eye remained in tact with her head, but the eye was dangerously distorted… no pupil. Carved out caveman-like… with just the white to look at… and a hole through her eye, allowing everyone to see what was behind the pupil.

            The last was… Yue. Her long, black hair was tied sharply to the back of the chair… exposing her neck. Multiple slashes glared off the light, strutting proudly in her eyes. Yue's nose was broken off… literally. Flesh around her nose was pushed sideways, showing the pink, eaten flesh beneath, marking the beginning of her hollowed-out cheeks… Her tongue was ripped away, showing a helpless bit of muscle that had trailing pieces of taste buds still lingering outside a bit of her mouth…. Dried streams of blood around her mouth began to run again.

           He's been working… recreating more images for me to see….

            The fourth chair was surprisingly clean, but a piece of paper was taped to it. A dark, noticeable '?' was scrawled on it… Kagome's breathing heightened.

            "Kagome? Kagome?" Sango whispered, giving her arm a shake. 'I need to talk to you."

            Nodding, she numbly leaned against the wall… but pulled back sharply. She had touched running blood. Something else stuck to the blood like glue… looking up, Kagome rubbed the circular object between her fingers… sleek and smooth. Bringing it close to her face, she peered for a few seconds before quickly hurling the object towards the opposite wall with a hyperventilated gasp.

            It was an eyeball… complete with fragile eyelids over the green iris. It was most likely that he had just stuck his hand into the person's eye and sliced the whole thing out….

            Sango led her carefully over sprawled, naked, decapitated bodies on the floor. They passed by a headless woman… without any arms or legs. But a huge hole was apparent through her left breast. Her pale skin was tainted with her own, dark blood. Kagome resisted the urge to vomit upon the body.

            "Commander Heika," Sango addressed bowing slightly. "I have her."

            What?

            "What's this?" she asked, voice high. "I didn't do this… I 'm not murder-material…. I swear…."

            "Relax… we don't arrest without proof. It's only because of this object right here," he answered smoothly, holding out an envelope with a gloved hand. The beautifully cursive letters of her name resembled an innocent that of a wedding invitation…. As she reached out to take hold of the letter shakily, he took it back. "Fingerprints."

            Nodding, Kagome waited as he struggled with the letter. When he opened it successfully, he took out a tape recorder. The three stared at the simple electronic. A small, unnoticed, white piece of paper that had been tucked in the envelope fluttered onto the floor, landing in a small pile of wet crimson. Before the red had fully swallowed the whole, pure white, all could make out the dark scrawl on the piece of paper. Only one word, after all, and they were obliged to follow it. After all, what could they do, throw away the tape recorder?

            PLAY.

            Slowly, Commander Heika pressed the play button, and immediately, noises filled the room, silencing small talk. Car screeching… women screaming… crashes… Kagome vaguely heard her brother's screaming voice in the background.

            Collections of the past….

            BANG!

            The noise echoed the dead room, filling each and every person, especially the quivering girl, with a sound that seemed to sound menacingly. And everyone knew that sound, that noise….

            "I SEE YOU. DON'T YOU FORGET THAT."

            The tape ended, and everyone remained quiet, staring at the shaking girl clenching onto Sango's arm with white fingers.

            Her eyes were screwed shut, and she bit her lips in restraint of hurling the recorder towards the wall, like the eyeball.

            Why…?

            Why?

            WHY?

            No matter how far she traveled… how long she hid… HE was there. She couldn't escape from him… haunting her everyday had grown worse. "You… you cause these images…" she mumbled, dancing pictures of grandpa swinging dully with a rope around his neck for deadly support. "You cause these… I want out…."

            "Kagome?" Sango asked tentatively, shaking her a bit.

            "I want out," she answered, sounding strangled. Her eyes opened widely, holding back a deluge of tears.

            Letting go of her elbow, Kagome turned, walking away towards the door, prepared to push her way towards the overly demanding crowd.

           This is it….

            No, no, no, no….

           Time to do it….

            Shut up!

           You can't get out now… you're stuck, Kagome. You can't escape. You want out.

            "I want out, but I want to live," she whimpered.

           You want out… you want out, and you know it…. Face the challenger.

            She could no longer deny it…. This was it. She would face him… the damned who had ruined her life…. This was going to be the place. He ruined her… he isolated her… brought her down to the level where she thought only scums like stealers would be…. Kagome had nowhere else to hide. She was infinitely stuck here for the next three weeks, and she… she, Kagome Higurashi, ex-daughter of a family who took care of a shrine, valedictorian of her college, would face him….

           What was there to lose?

            Her life. She was scared… every fiber of her human nature was telling her rationally, calmly, that she would not live when that day came. That when the man, the sadistically brilliant man who was a stalker, brutal killer, and a hacker, was after her, she never had a chance to live in the beginning.

           How… how stupid am I to believe that… I would live through escaping Tokyo…? Stalkers don't come and go… they stay with you….

            "Wait!" a cracked voice called out.

            Turning around, Kagome saw one of the most astonishing scenes in her life: Sango crying silently. Wiping her nose hurriedly, hair sticking to her face, she begged gently, "Please… help me."

            That should be me…. Me, begging for help.

            She kept quiet, but asked, "With what?" It was the least she could do for Sango's acts of kindness.

            As she was about to answer, Kagome suddenly felt something brush against her hair. She turned around, ignoring Sango again for a moment. It was a foot… a dangling foot. A scratched-up, bashed foot. With agonizingly slow movement, she craned her neck up to see who was it….

            It was a repetitive dream from so long ago… one she couldn't remember… when she had first spotted her family hanged in the middle of her bedroom… she couldn't believe… she wouldn't believe it…. But the funeral proved it was true. And so was this one….

            The foot belonged to a grown woman… and her skin was also that of the scaly kind. Her elbows were twisted into an unimaginable position, where the joint would point upwards instead.

            Souta….

            Next to her were two children, one female, and one male. The girl was hanging there, eyes dully glazed over, not looking anywhere. But she was naked… and multiple, deep slashes across her breasts and stomach proved that she wasn't unharmed. Her hair was in patches… Kagome could only imagine how it felt to have your hair ripped and pulled away harshly from the head…. The imagination was no where near the real thing.

            Mom….

            The boy was the last. He was lynched, as all the others, and he had his ear ripped off. Not to be outdone like last time, his entire left side was cleared of any organs… or so it seemed. His left ear was missing, showing a small, bleeding hole where the eardrum began. His hair on his left side were ripped out, exposing a bleeding skull. His left arm wasn't in tact with his socket… instead, there was another, slightly bigger hole there. The meat… the flesh around the socket were loose, and some were falling heavily towards the ground, all wiggling and squirming like it was still alive. His leg was somewhere amidst the other body parts, and the toes on his feet were dangling by mere skin. In front of her very eyes, Kagome was privileged to see each one of the toes rip away delicately from the feet due to gravity and fall with a dull thud into the flesh on the ground.

            Grandpa…. No… no…! He's playing with my mind… he's not killing everyone I know…. He's not killing strangers to scare me… he's not… he's NOT… he's NOT!

            But the last person proved her wrong. The last person was a male… a male with black hair, tied to a low ponytail. The male with his neck lolled to the side, fingers bloody with flesh hidden underneath his nails. The male with an apron that tied his hands behind his back, rendering him helpless. The male with a name tag that had read 'Miroku'.

            For a moment, she stared. She stared at the person hanging above. She stared at her boss… the young man who had sexually harassed her a few days ago… the man who claimed mimes were too loud for the area… the man who had been in the sticky situation with her a few days ago….

            Miroku was dead, gone… and Kagome knew why Sango had been crying now. She still hesitated… not wanting to touch a dead body…. She had already tried to comfort her mom, Grandpa, and Souta, but they had been dead long before. She had no need to touch the corpse of a young man now.

            "Please… help me give him a proper burial," Sango pleaded once more, her eyes crying more than before.

            Feeling she owed Sango for using her arm like a grip device, she nodded slightly. However, before any action could take place, the familiar ripping sound occurred, and a loud thump sounded behind her as all four bodies fell simultaneously, with Sango's rough cry for accompaniment.

            Just like then… so long ago….

            Again, the quiet chatter that had been resurrected only a few moments ago stopped as AYHC members alongside with police officers stared. Fat drops of salt rolled down Sango's cheeks as she stood stiffly, watching the actions.

           She doesn't want to see Miroku's broken neck.

            Kagome realized this only after she started for the clump of bodies. He had ended up at the bottom of the pile….

            I may be mean, but I'm no cruel….

            She easily removed the girl's body, since it weighed no more than 70 pounds. But the boy was a harder matter. He was a bit older, and therefore, weighed somewhere along 200 pounds. After much struggling, she managed to move him away a bit… she never noticed how she was also struggling with a surprising sob that threatened to escape her.

            I forgot how the dead who died for no reason affected me so much….

            The woman was another matter… she was a big woman, weighing around a rough guess of 400 pounds. And this time, Kagome used up all her energy just to move the woman over a bit. Feeling the need to tear her hair out in frustration, she saw that all her hard work, for the past 15 minutes, had just created a small hole fit enough to grab some hair of Miroku's. It was useless, and some members of the AYHC finally realized that she needed help. As a few started to migrate to the center of the store, she bent down, her dark hair spilling over her.

            A hand shot up and grabbed her hair… then pulled.

            And she screamed.

                                                                                               ~*~*~*~

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A/N: o_0 *screams* I FINISHED Chapter 7! *faints* T_T I just wanted to apologize first and foremost for taking over TWO months to write this. I cannot even begin to tell you of this chapter's wrath. *shakes fist* Shall I being my groveling? But I wanted to clarify some things up before I beg for forgiveness.

I am proud to say that this is probably my most joyous chapter. Probably because after being hit with writer's block TWO times, I was able to make a great comeback and kick some writer's block's booty! ^_^ You will be proud to know that this chapter is the second longest I've done. Although only filling out to 12 pages, this baby IS the second longest chapter… so it kind of makes up for the lateness. The longest chapter? Chapter 4, Pt. 2, coming in with 16 pages for written draft, and 10,000 words… or 20,000. ^_^() I think it's 10,000. This one? 9,555 words. *proud*

            Now, I have to give you my reasons for being so late, because I make up excuses all the time. But this time, I think it's legitimate. ^_^

Writer's block: *sigh* This THING here gave me CRAP. If you think I bummed off the whole summer, you were right. ^_^ But I also attempted to work on Chapter 7. The problem? I scrapped SIX ideas before settling with this one. And after writing seven pages, I hit another pothole. So I went ahead and scrapped another idea… making it SEVEN ideas in all. -_-* Flame: *sigh* After some consultants, I found out that the flame wasn't exactly a flame. *ducks chairs thrown at her* I admit, I sometimes exaggerate, but I really did believe it was some sort of flame. After checking it out with another older person, I found that it was more of criticism than flame… and I began to see that it was. I guess what I'm trying to say is that while I appreciate the criticism most often and take note of it, I don't like the really harsh ones where I just feel stupid. So go ahead and tell me what you think might be wrong with this chapter, but please don't include stuff like, "Oh, because of all these mistakes, this was just OK. Not the best I've seen, but OK." I'm sure you've read better works than my story, and I know you will prefer other stories to mine, but please keep in mind that I'm only 13, and this is the best I can do. I'd prefer not to have competitive comparing…. Am I asking too much here? (Totally sincere question.) Moving: Yes… I'm in the process of moving. I was supposed to tell you when I would be moving, but I guess my computer was packed away before I could. *grumble* So this is it. I'm receiving my new screen today because I lost some adapter, so my computer couldn't work without a screen… and I can finally be online! *pumps fist into air*

            ~PEOPLE WHO HAVE SUPPORTED ME OR REPLIED TO SOMETHING~

            Hehe…. ^_^

           ChristyKay: Hehe… I REALLY, REALLY appreciate how you have managed to help me pull through this 'crisis' of mine. I hope you get over yours soon… especially your mid-life crisis… no one likes those. =( Just wondering… are the good people in your hometown going, or the bad ones? =) I'm so glad you're still sticking to this story… I mean, my updating schedule is so shaky it's not even funny. *mumble* ^_^

           Kagura4: *laughs evilly* Man, this computer is pure evil! =( It froze on me, and I had a nice, long review for you, too! *huff* THANK you so much for the support. So I guess you would prefer a nice, wonderful chapter in TWO years than a rushed, sloppy chapter in one week? Hmm… the disadvantages AND advantages. I bet you're reminiscing of the wonderful days where I used to update once every week, eh? *wink* Well, I'm reminisicing, too. LOL.

           Silver Magiccraft: *bows* Thank you for loving my chapter. Now, I've got to wonder why I'm not on your favorite's list if this was a wonderful story. *blinks before dodging some of the chairs* OK, OK, I wasn't pressuring you or anything… I was just KIDDING… you know, HA-HA-HA? LOL. Thank you for your rushing needs. Sometimes, a good, ol' push in the butt will get me going. Heehee….

           San-chan1: WOW… you're REALLY nice about this one. LOL. I mean, you also swing off-topic, LIKE ME! ^_^ Cool… I went to France once… but I didn't like the smelly cheese… I never really liked cheese in the first place if you really think about it…. Yeah, writer's blocks sucks!

           Clu3less: *laughs* I'm glad you appreciate my hard work at trying to make you want to retch. Personally, the part with the toes made me want to fall out of the chair, hurling. o_0 Don't get me wrong… I just think it's kind of emotionally disturbing that way, you know? LOL… well, I hoped you enjoy this chapter and tell me what you think of it. ^_^

           Caitlin6767: THANK you for not abandoning my story. ¬_¬ IF you're reading this, send me a review, telling me you love this chapter and you're still reading! ^_~ Or you can just send me a review, saying that you're still reading. But include something about the chapter! LOL…. ^_^ And I'm DEFINITE this IS one 'frickin' kick-ass' story! LOL.

           Silver Dragon12: You, my friend, are NOT nice. *huff* The two front legs of a chair ain't gonna help me through this troubled time. LOL… and when I say I'm moving in a couple of weeks, that means that in a few weeks, I'm going to have to pack my computer away and go to a new house. *cries* My computer isn't working… so I hope you review this chapter… I'm at my cousin's house. *thanks God*

           Crystal Sapphire: *Tsk tsk* Man, I expected BETTER of you! LOL… I wanted to SCARE you… not make you laugh. But oh well. Not everyone can get what they want, right? LOL… Heehee… I just didn't think Kagome seeing her family hanging in the middle of her bedroom pretty funny… unless you're some sadist. *poke*

           Maiden of the Moon: Like a dutiful citizen (of Fanfiction.net), I left you a wonderful review to why I was dead for the past… *cough* TWO WEEKS *cough*. Heehee… THANK you for wanting an update. I hoped you like…. *cackles* I mean, whoa… talk about major mood change. I think this one contrasts greatly to most of the chapters back then. It had a bit of (attempted) angst, humor, and horror/suspense. -_- Man, talk about combo, and you STILL have no romance…. LOL… wait, young grasshopper, and you shall be rewarded. LOL.

           Kagomesjewel: O_O I'm doing you last because you're like, SO kind to me! ^_^ *hugs* And I NEVER use that for anybody. o_0 *cough* You made my day SO much happier… saying that my time and effort is actually worth something. ^_^ You praise well, my friend…. Heehee. Thank you so much for the compliments. I felt like my ego was going to pop… but you see, my ego isn't big, as stated everywhere, so how big did my ego get before popping? The size of a small, water balloon. *laughs* I hope that was a pretty good description for you. And I'm so sad I can't see your drawings. I don't send my emails to random people. *sigh* I'm just the paranoid type of person. o_0

            Well, I'm done talking here. *wince* I know it was a bit long, but hey, two months here, right? *smiles nervously* I'm so sorry if this sucks, but it feels GREAT that I put in a cliffhanger. *smiles happily before running away* Don't hurt me if you want to see Chapter 8…. LOL.

           Kirby [^(^_^)^]: Review my friend's chapter… any complaints *cough* CLIFFHANGER *cough* shall be made to me, so I can rub it in her face. Otherwise, help her poor ego… God knows she needs some sort of ego inflator.

            Me: …. Shut up…. ^_^() Ignore the gum and its mouth. ^_^

            Next chapter: Ready, Set, Aim!

            (Don't ask me when this will be out… I have no idea. ^_^ I'm going over to my cousin's house in the north, so I might be able to regain control over the Internet for a while… but my cousin is really picky about Internet times. *mumble* Heehee…. See you next chapter!