So Long Astoria

He stared at her, taking in the shock of seeing her presence. After all, she did say that she never wanted to see his face again. And a much colourful choice of wording as well. He strolled to his chair and sat down casually, trying not to show her what kind of impact her showing up had caused.

"How are you?" She asked, rather awkwardly.

He scoffed at her words. "If you'd been locked away in an institution for three years, how would you be?"

"Sorry, I was just trying…" She began, but her voice was so quiet she couldn't exactly finish.

"I'm not one for small talk. Just get to the point and get out." His voice sounded hollow and cold as it echoed back to him. "What do you want?"

"I-I want to talk about that night," she said, her voice growing a bit stronger. "The night Kikyou died."

He chose his words wisely. "I don't want to talk about that right now," he said, before adding much quieter. "I've relived that night too many times to count."

"Inuyasha, please. It's the only way I can move on with my life."

He laughed, mocking her words. "You and I both know that you could never move on with your life, no matter how hard you try."

She knew he was right; there was no way she could escape the horrible past she'd tried to for so long. They sat in silence, the only noise were the quiet mumbles from behind the two-way mirror.

"I need to know," She said suddenly, looking up at him with teary eyes. "Did you kill Kikyou?"

"I thought you'd listen to the evidence, since it all points to me. You know, the look on your face that night kind of declared it."

A few tears slid down her cheeks, but she didn't show any signs of breaking down just yet. "Did you, or didn't you!"

He crossed his arms over his chest and kept a firm gaze on her as he spoke his answer: "No."

She lowered her head into her hands, and sat like that. He could hear her quiet weeps and let his arms fall from their place across his chest. Her shoulders shook from her silent sobs and he rolled his eyes. Unlike Kagome, being nice wasn't his weakness. Crying women were, and especially if they were named 'Kagome'

"Kagome?" He said hesitantly. When she continued to cry into her hands he slowly got up, wondering why he always did this. As he made his way over to her, he held his hands up before the mirror, trying to tell them that he wasn't about to kill her.

"Kagome?" He asked again, squatting down to her right. He tried to look at her face, but her hands and hair shielded his view. He was probably about to say something stupid when suddenly she launched herself at him, her arm wrapping tightly around his neck.

"I-I knew you-u didn't d-o it. A-always-s." She said as she poured out her emotions onto his shirt. He wrapped his arms around her again, just like he'd done years ago. She looked like a different person, but she was still the same. Or at least from how he remembered her. The lights above flickered a few times, but remained on.

"Shh, calm down." He whispered, slowly rubbing her back. Her death grip on his neck loosened and she pulled back to look into his eyes. Her face was streaked with tears and left red outlines.

"I-if you didn't d-do it, t-hen who d-id?" She asked, her voice almost filled with hiccups. At that precise moment, the lights flickered again, only more dangerously. And they didn't stop.

"Something's not right here…" He said as he looked above and at the window.

"W-what's wrong?" She asked, confused.

"We have to go." He stood up and walked over to the door, trying the handle. It was locked. He banged on the window, trying to get the guard's attention. "Hey! Lemme out!" Still no reaction. "I'm about to go crazy and kill this girl in here!" Still nothing.

"Inuyasha?" She asked again.

"Just like the good old days, eh?" He said as he walked past her and hefted a metal chair up. "You might want to back up though." She obeyed and watched as he threw the chair at the giant mirror, watching it shatter as the furniture sailed right through it. And inside the small room, not a soul lingered; yet, the door remained open.

He jumped cleanly through the gap, cutting the palm of one of his hands. He turned back to Kagome, motioning for her to come over. She hesitated.

"Kagome, if you don't want to stay in here all alone, with—" Suddenly the lights turned off, leaving them in the darkness. "Well, in the dark, then come over here."

She walked forward and reached blindly for his hands. When she bumped into them, he immediately grasped them and helped her over, saving her from injuring her hands. In the corridor, the emergency lights came on. But everyone knew that they were battery powered and wouldn't last long. They walked along the large place, looking for any sign of life. But they found none. They were just turning a corner when Kagome stumbled. She looked back to see what she had tripped over, and saw a body lying on the ground, blood staining the white uniform.

"Oh god," she said as she hid her face in his arm. Inuyasha grimaced at the sight, not all too happy to know that someone was out killing people in white clothes. He bent down over the body and began searching his pockets. Before Kagome could ask, he pulled out a pair of jingling keys.

"Come on, we have to get out of here." He grabbed her hand and began to run towards the exit. But the more he ran, he seemed to find himself even more lost. The ways where he thought they were supposed to go, led him back to the body. He was losing it.

"I think we should try that way." Kagome offered, pointing to a hallway that provided no lights whatsoever. He looked down at her, seeing a minor fear passing her face. Overall, he was impressed that she hadn't broken down to screams just yet. He accepted her advice and began to take the hallway with a rather cautious walk. He could barely make out his own hand, and had to rely on luck. He could faintly make out a door and started for it faster, when suddenly he was crushed against a wall, something cold being pressed into his neck.

"You son of a bitch…" A male's voice seethed. "Kagome, are you all right?"

"M-Miroku?" She asked, trying to make out his features.

"Did he hurt you?"

"Miroku! No! Let him go!" She said, her hands pulling at the man's wrists. "He didn't do anything!"

"He's a dangerous patient." He said in a low voice.

"He's…Miroku! Let him go! He'd never do anything to harm me!" She said pulling again. But he wouldn't budge and she took the liberty of jamming her elbow into his ribs and kicking him in the shin. He dropped to his knee, letting the weapon fall and release his hold on Inuyasha.

"I'm sorry Miroku, but I had to." She said before turning to Inuyasha. His hair was the one thing she could make out through the darkness. "A-are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

"No," he said, a little taken by her concern for him. "I'm fine."

"Kago—"

"Miroku, you said I was a smart girl. Just, just trust me on this one."

"I'm the least of your worries anyway, bud." Inuyasha said as he heard him shift to both feet.

"What do you mean…?"

"What I mean is some wacko is out there killing off everyone in this building, one by on—"

"Come out, come out; wherever you are. You can't hide forever." A voice echoed through the hallway. Kagome whipped her head to the side, only to see at the other end in the dying light, a dark figure. And suddenly, a fear crept through her that it may be the faceless man she'd been seeing.

"Inuyasha." She whimpered as she held onto his hand tighter.

"Just like back in the day, wouldn't you say, Inuyasha?" The man laughed loudly, advancing. "One Higurashi sister down, one left to go."

"Y-you killed my sister!" Kagome screamed, tears beginning to run furiously down her face.

"I'm glad that you haven't forgotten about me, love. Because I sure haven't forgotten about you…"

"Fuck you, you sick senile bastard! You stay away from her, or I'll rip your heart out through your ass!" Inuyasha slowly pushed Kagome towards the doors, though she wouldn't release her grip on his hand.

"An empty threat?"

"It'll be fucking real if you lay a finger on her!"

The man laughed even louder, and they all knew it was time to leave. He ran towards the doors, pulling Kagome behind him. The three of them burst through the door and, Miroku still holding the pole, jammed it through the handle.

"That'll hold him for a few moments." He said as he finished. "I've got the van this way; come on."

He led them through the storage room, and towards the back door. But someone had pushed a shelf over, and the boxes and such were blocking the exit. Both men went to picking up the items, quickly throwing them away as the laughter got louder. Kagome kept peering from the roadblock to the door, knowing that the pole wouldn't hold out for long.

"Fuck, this is heavy." Inuyasha groaned as the two of them tried to lift up the heavy metal shelving unit. Kagome moved forward to help, but her foot hit something. She bent down and picked up a flashlight, relief flooding through her system. She quickly turned on the light and flashed it around the room. There were no other exits, and it seemed that if they didn't get the shelf out of the way, they were doomed.

The door shook, and Kagome jumped, quickly turning the light towards the door. And through the door window, she saw the face of the man who had screwed over her life.

"Kagome, dear. Having troubles?" He laughed, his sinister lips curling into a sadistic grin. She screamed loudly, more trying to drown out his voice than anything. She could hear the shelf creaking, and turned back around to see it halfway up, the two men pushing with all their might.

"You know, you look an awful lot like Kikyou. The same hair, the same eyes, the same lips, the same body." He cackled. "You know, right before I killed her, she gave me a little show. She let me run my hands across her creamy skin and her supple breasts. Maybe you'll let me do the same, when I come for you."

"I told you, you sick fuck, you're not going to touch her." Inuyasha yelled before grabbing her hand and pulling her out the open door that they had managed to open. His laugh died out as they ran outside, the weather already changing to stormy as the rain pelted their bodies. Miroku threw open the back doors of the van, and the three of them piled into the vehicle. He ran to the front and started the car, while Inuyasha locked the back and sat down with Kagome, who had practically fainted.

"Hey, there's a blanket back there—to your left." Miroku said as he turned onto the uneven road, accelerating the whole way.

Inuyasha grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around Kagome, who seemed to be in shock. He leaned against the side of the van, closing his eyes. Then he felt something move at his side. When he reopened his eyes, he saw Kagome curled up at his side, her head resting against his chest. He put his arm around her shivering figure and pulled her closer.

"Okay, does someone mind filling me in here?" Miroku asked when he had pulled onto the main road.

"I would, but seeing as how I don't know, it's don't really work out." Inuyasha barked at him, still not over the fact that he'd tried to kill him.

"H-he was the one who killed my sister, Kikyou, three years ago." Kagome said in a weary voice.

"And the one who framed me." He added in.

"Shit…" he said, picking up his cell phone. Obviously going to call Sango.

"Who's this bozo?" Inuyasha whispered to Kagome.

"That's Sango's boyfriend, but he's four years older than her."

"Where'd she pick him up?"

"Actually, he was the one picking her up."

"The things you miss when you're away." He said softly, giving a short laugh. Kagome listened to Miroku's conversation, catching everything that had pretty much happened—including his suspicions of Inuyasha, and the fact he was aiding and abetting a patient's escape.

"I'm sorry," she said softly, looking up at him.

"Why are you sorry?"

"Because I didn't believe you when you told me right off that you didn't kill her."

He tried to say that it was okay, and he didn't care, but it was hard. Because he'd wanted her to believe him, but she chose to listen to everyone else. He had told her that he would never lie to her, but she hadn't believed him. He was at a loss for words, and couldn't lie to her.

"I don't expect you to forgive me," she whispered laying her head back down on his chest. "Because I wouldn't."

SCENE CHANGE! SCENE CHANGE! SCENE CHANGE! SCENE CHANGE! SCENE CHANGE!

The van pulled with a screech into her driveway, and they all piled out to an awaiting Sango. Inuyasha came out with his arm around Kagome, who was still wrapped in the brown woolen blanket. Miroku rushed out and gave her a quick kiss, letting her know that he hadn't endured a scratch. But when she saw the old lovers walking together, a hardened expression crossed her face.

"Kagome, are you all right?" She asked, pulling her away from Inuyasha and under the cover of the roof. "Let's get you into something dry…"

Inuyasha began to walk towards the small house, Miroku watching him. "Does no one trust me?" He asked the stranger, a little irritated that just because he broke out from an institution, he was considered unstable.

"Under the circumstances; of course not." Miroku followed the two women, beckoning for the man to follow. He did as he was told and stepped into the house with a little uncertainty.

"Come with me and I'll get you some dry clothes." Inuyasha followed the man to a door off of the living room. He wasn't surprised to find Sango in there with Kagome, handing her some of her own clothing that would fit her. When he entered, his white shirt sticking to his skin, Sango straightened and fixed a cold expression on him.

"It's been a while," She said, watching as he walked in a bit.

"Same could be said."

"Sango," he heard Kagome whisper. "Don't." He smirked triumphantly as Sango went back to searching her drawers for clothes.

"Here," Miroku thrust his own clothes into his arms. "You can change in the bathroom right there."

Inuyasha did as he was told and disappeared into the room. And while he left the room, Sango took this chance to voice her opinion on the matter. A little harshly too.

"Kagome! What are you doing with him? Did you break him out!" She scolded her. "You know better than that! I thought you were 'just going to talk to him'? What, did you need to bring him home to finish your conversation?"

"It's not like that." She said quietly.

"Then how is it! I'd like to know why I let that, that monstrosity into my home!" She pointed at the bathroom door. Kagome grabbed the clothes and stood up, shrugging off the blanket and walked away.

"You wouldn't understand. Your sister wasn't killed before you, and you didn't have the details delivered in the darkness either." She said rather coldly, closing the door loudly.

"Sango, you were a little hard…" Miroku said, reaching his arms around her.

"If I won't be, then who will? If she tries to get back the love she had for him, he's just going to break her heart again." She sighed as she leaned into his chest.

END OF CHAPTER! END OF CHAPTER! END OF CHAPTER! END OF CHAPTER!

NOTE;

Err, yeah. Chapter three. You know, I really like this story. And for those of you who think I am just forcing it, I'm not. I'm just working through it at this speed because that's the pace of the story. You know?

I don't care about genre's being wrong and such, so don't bother me. I care about spelling mistakes, and if you don't get something, then read it again and try to figure it out. But if it's quite noticeable, and makes absolute, 100 no sense, then that's when you can tell me. Okay?

So yeah, feedback!…

Adieu!

Melody Unwinding:;,