Well hello! Sorry I've been neglecting this story for a while… I had no inspiration. And I've been attached to my pokemon fics… So now I finally want to write on this one again, so here it is!

Oh, and since I'm tired of the hyphons, I'm going to type Inu-Yasha's name as "Inuyasha" from now on. Why? I already told you. So now my compy won't freak out each time I use his name.

Into the Fray

Chapter 12

Escape

I can't recall how long I was out. But when I came to, I felt as if I had been run over by a train. Everything hurt. I gripped my throbbing stomach with my swollen hands and managed to turn over on my tree branch. The dogs were still there, sleeping on the snow. I glared at the slumbering canines. I couldn't get down unless they were in the kennel, and that only happened when a car came. I almost laughed at the entire situation. Saying that I was deeply screwed would be an understatement.

Then, crunching in the distance. I lifted my head to see a peachish, black and white blob coming towards me. Her voice was distorted due to the fact that my brain was racked, but I could tell it was one of the maids.

At her approach, the dogs got up and began to jump around her, yipping and barking happily. She giggled and then asked the dogs something, but I couldn't distinguish her words. One of the dogs left her and then lifted his head and started barking at me. I winced against the terrible pain; he might as well have been shooting at my head with a gun.

Then, I heard a feminine gasp, and a, "Oh my God, oh my God!" I blinked lazily and turned my head to the blob that was slowly changing into the face of Saki, the maid that had helped me out before. She made her way up to the part of the tree I was on and began shaking me softly. "Are you okay? Are you awake?"

I didn't really want to answer; I just wanted to pass out in hopes of relieving myself of some misery for a while. However, I felt the need to reassure her I wasn't dead and replied with a hoarse, "I'm awake."

Her hands flew to her mouth and her head darted around frantically. After a few moments, she said, "Don't worry… um…" My lazy gaze went to her very panicked face. "I'll… I'll get you some help. Um… Yes, I'll get some servants. We'll get you to your room. Um… Oh God…"

As she climbed her way down, I began to sit up. My pale, frozen hand reached to my face, where I could feel dry blood caked onto my face and lips. I grimaced. I must have looked terrible. I glanced back down to the frozen, snow-covered ground and saw Saki herding the dogs to the kennel. I sighed in relief. Now my migraine-inflicted head could have a bit of peace. I lay back onto the tree limb and drifted back to sleep.

………………

I awoke to the muffled, shuffling sounds of quiet feet. I opened my eyes to see a concerned Saki and a few other servants over me. One, a forty-year old man, sighed in relief.

"Well, boy," he began happily, "you gave us quite a scare. You've been out there in the cold for a whole day. I'm surprised you don't have frostbite. You don't seem to have any broken bones either, so you're just a little banged up. You should be up and about in no time."

Saki's head snapped to the man. "'Just a little banged up?' He's got blood all over him!"

The man frowned at her then turned back to me. "She's just a little shocked, boy," he said in a soothing tone. Why he was trying to console me, I didn't really know. I sure as hell wasn't in shock. "We've already cleaned you up."

I pushed myself up and said, "So… all of Stepmother's guests are gone?"

Saki nodded. "They left Saturday evening, while you were still unconscious, I guess. The Mistress was furious at your… appearance."

Sighing, I put a cut hand to my still pulsing head. I was out for a day? Well, at least it wasn't as bad as last time… But of course, if I had been unconscious for a day… what was today? Sunday or Monday? I looked around for any kind of indicator, but there wasn't anything to give me the information I wanted. Finally, I just decided to ask. "What day is it?"

Saki responded first. "Monday. It's…" she looked at her wristwatch. "5:30 in the afternoon."

My eyes widened. 5:30? That meant I missed school! By a lot! When I went back tomorrow, everyone would be asking me what happened! Especially when they saw my bruises and cuts! Another thought formed as my eyes stopped on the loose floorboard. And what about Miroku and Kagome? How was I supposed to explain my absence to them? They weren't oblivious to my situation like Logan, Clara, Max and Mr. Irving were. What was I going to do?

Saki cocked her head as my shoulders sagged. She placed a small hand on my bruised back and stated, "Don't worry, sir, we'll figure out how to keep you safe. The servants here band together." I looked up at her doubtfully, but her confident gaze made me reconsider my doubt.

The other servant, an elderly white woman with wispy white hair, started for the door. Her kindly wrinkled face smiled and she stated softly, "We should let him get a little rest. I'm sure he wants a nap in a warm, soft bed." Saki and the other servant nodded and regretfully, exited my room. After a few moments of staring blankly at the walls, I reached down for my laptop.

Miroku and Kagome had to have been back from school by now… but what if they were at practice? Takegawa liked to hold Monday rehearsals, but usually at about seven o' clock or so. Hopefully, this was one of those days.

I booted the computer and then accessed all of my IM accounts. On MSN, I saw Miroku and would have jumped for joy, had my sore back not stopped me. Before I could type a message, his own popped up in the conversation board.

Every ladies' dream: Inu! Where in hell were you yesterday? You scared Kagome and me to death!

I sighed before I began to type. If he only knew… But I didn't want to worry him too much, so I lied. Dog Boy says: Sorry. I… couldn't. Stepmother kept coming in and out, so I couldn't get my computer out. I didn't mean to worry you.

A pause, then, Every ladies' dream: Well, don't do it again, okay? You really freaked us out.

I was about to respond when the com speaker on the right wall buzzed out a convoluted message. I told Miroku to hang on and went to the com link. I pressed a button and asked, "What? Who's there?"

A moment passed, and then Saki's frantic voice came onto the speaker. "You need to get out of there! The Mistress is in a rage, and she's coming up to your room! I think she has a gun!"

My finger pressed the button as I was about to respond when I heard the footsteps. My face paled and heart quickened as my eyes went from the door to the laptop. Gods only knew what she'd do if she found that!

I leapt from my spot on the hardwood floor to the laptop and then hastily stuffed the computer into my floorboard. Just as I resumed my position on my bed, Stepmother burst into my room. She was obviously drunk -both on liquor and rage- and she glared furiously at me. Thankfully, she was alone. Gon and Edo were no where in sight. Her fading black hair was sloppily put into a bun, and the silk black dress she had was wrinkled and stained.

"You," she snarled, pointing a gloved finger at me, "You ruined EVERYTHING! The people that COULD have set me for life were so DISGUSTED by you, they refused a deal! They want nothing to do with me! You are the worst mongrel I have ever set eyes on, you worthless bag of horse shit!" She pulled out a small handgun from her back and aimed it at me. I froze. "I tried so hard to get that damn money from your despicable father! I even had his first born! But he saw right through me! And when he sired YOU, he gave his whole business title to you! YOU RUINED MY LIFE!"

In that moment, everything made sense. She wanted my inheritance? I didn't even know I had one! Her quivering hand cocked the gun, and my attention was brought back to her. "And now," she began again, "you'll die, and I'll get billions of dollars from your dear dead daddy, like I was supposed to in the first place!" Her wrinkled smile grew to the border of insanity.

I braced myself; there was nothing I could do now. If I tried to escape, she'd still shoot me. I closed my eyes and prepared myself for a bullet in my body.

The gun's sound was explosive. I flinched, but felt no pain. I opened an eye, and saw the gun on the floor, and Stepmother holding her hand. Realization dawned on me. The gun had misfired! Now was my chance! Pure adrenaline aided the jump I made for the loose floorboard as I grabbed the last gold bar my father had given me. I took the mace and knife and then pushed past my drunken Stepmother to the stairs. I jumped from landing to landing, and landed on the foyer rug with a heavy thud. It hurt, but now was no time for pain to hinder my escape.

I bolted for the carport, past the sleeping Edo and Gon, and frantically looked around for some kind of vehicle to escape on. I then saw a motorcycle -a Harley- with the key already in and Saki standing beside it. She looked towards it and said, "Hurry, she'll be calling for her attack dogs soon. I've already opened the gates for you. Get somewhere you can be safe. She won't stop at anything to get you now."

I nodded and I hopped onto the bike and started it up. My father, thankfully, had shown me how to ride a motorcycle before he died, so I knew what to do. I cranked the gas and flew out of the carport onto the snow. The German Shepherds were already on my tail, but another crank of the gas and I left them eating powder. The snow-filled air bit at my face and bare hands, but I paid no heed. My escape was imminent.

I heard a car fire up behind me in the distance, and I knew that the bodyguards were after me. Since the motorcycle was one of Stepmother's, the radio com link she put on all of her vehicles went out to this as well. "Shut that damn gate!" her voice cried out in an inebriated fury through the Harley's loud rumble. "Shut it!"

The gate was about thirty yards from me, and it began to slide shut quickly. I pushed the Harley faster, and I slid through the small opening that was left. The car that was pursuing me screeched to a halt, then bumped up against the gates. My nerves fried, I kept going, heading for the highway. I had to get away from Stepmother as soon as I could.

Then, her voice crackled through the com link. "Inuyasha, you bag of vomit! How DARE you steal that motorcycle! When I get my hands on you, I'm going to make you suffer like never before! There's nowhere you can run, mongrel! You know I own the police! I could just say that you've committed a crime and then they'll be after you!"

I gulped as I stared at the sand-covered road in front of me. She was probably doing that right now. I had to get somewhere safe. But where? I didn't know where anyone lived! My mind frantically thought up of random places I would hide from the cold when I tried to find my way back to the mansion after being abandoned. But the cops… I looked to the skyline of downtown Chicago and glared. I knew those alleys better than the rats… If I could hide out until I could find some way to get out of this bloody mess, then I could have a chance.

My choice made, I flew down the frontage road, weaving in and out of traffic and got onto the freeway. The Harley obeyed the new burst of speed I commanded and the speedometer rose to about 87. For a moment, I relaxed ever so slightly. I turned the Harley to a bridge that went over a small portion of the lake and that would take me to downtown. Out of instinct, I looked to my rearview mirror, just to check and to calm my paranoia. I saw Edo's figure with a gun pointed at me. "FUCK!" I screamed.

I swerved dangerously in my lane when the gun fired. The pain in my left shoulder burned through me and my hold on the cycle faltered. I glanced at my left shoulder, where the cloth of my shirt and torn skin revealed bloodied fat and muscle. I cursed. He grazed me! I switched lanes and tried to get off the freeway when another gun shot. It missed me, but I felt it fly by my ear. I looked in the other rear view mirror, and saw a legion of police cars behind me, the shotgun riders aiming for me. "Dammit!" I swore as I sped up and took refuge from in front of another car. It seemed the whole force was after me!

Another gun fired and hit the side of my right calf. It had only skimmed me, but it still stung like hell. I sped on, forcing the Harley to 100. I heard the sound of a helicopter above me, and then the rapid fire of a machine gun. I swerved and dodged as the concrete beside me exploded into shards. There had to be a way out! I scanned the road and saw nothing that could help me.

Except the lake…

There was a break in the guardrail on the bridge I was on from an accident two days ago that the construction people didn't bother fixing. It looked about big enough for the Harley's bulk… and if it worked, I would be thrown about twenty-five feet over the lake. It was insanity. The water would be freezing. If the fall didn't kill me, and I didn't drown in the process, then I would freeze before I could reach land. I looked back to the cars pursuing me and the helicopter in the sky above. Either way I chose, I would be committing suicide.

The break was about fifty yards away from me. That could be enough time to slow down so I wouldn't hit the water at 100 mph and ensure my horrible death. I pulled the clutch and hand brake hard, forcing the cycle to swerve and threaten to fall over. But I kept my balance, and by the time I reached the gap, I was only going about thirty. The police cars and Edo and Gon's car flew by me, and I popped a wheelie for the gap.

The motorcycle flew into the air, and as we descended, I pushed off of the cycle and positioned myself for a dive. The motorcycle crashed into the water a second before I did. I slid into the calm water with a light splash.

The water's frigid temperature knocked the wind out of me. It felt like knives stabbing me all over my body as I thrashed underwater for the surface. I had to find some way to get out of the water or I would freeze. My hand felt cold air and I breached the surface, gasping for breath. My clothes began to weigh me down and my shoes hindered my swimming. I looked around for something to latch onto, to get out of the water with. The only thing I could find was the bridge's supports, but I couldn't get out of the water with those. Still, they were all I had. I began to swim towards them as I fought the frigid cold. I felt my body begin to shut down, and my teeth chattered. But I couldn't stop now. If I did, I knew that I really would drown.

My hand reached the support as I heard a rumble in the distance. I turned and saw a police boat headed for me. I sighed. I couldn't get away now. The boat slowed and the two police officers inside readied their guns at me. One nodded to the other, and then the second put his gun down to pick me up out of the water. I didn't resist; I was too busy trying to fight off the cold. The officer who had picked me up started to get his handcuffs out when the first stopped him. "Hey, Dave," he said cockily, "That woman paid us dearly to get him… and she told us that if he happened to… come to an unfortunate end, then she'd pay us even more. What do you say?"

Dave, the officer about to handcuff me, hesitated. "I don't know… You sure, she'll pay us more?"

"Of course!" the first replied confidently.

Dave's hand scratched the back of his neck. "But… I didn't think we'd be killing him like this…"

I looked from one to the other as they began to bicker about the money Stepmother would pay them. This would be my only chance… I reached slowly into my pockets, where, thankfully, the mace and knife still were. My heart pounding, I leapt and pushed the knife against Dave's neck and squirted mace into his eyes and mouth. He began to scream, and in his confusion, he dropped his gun. I picked it up before the first officer could react and aimed at his chest while on one knee. Dave fell into the water beside us.

"Dave!" the first officer cried. He turned to me, saw the gun, and growled as he put his hands into the air. "You damn punk," he snarled.

"Damn straight," I replied as I stared straight into him. "Now, you're gonna make like your buddy Dave and get into the water. Right now."

He growled again and then, before he went, I commanded, "But first, put your gun down."

He considered it, then tried to shoot me, but my reflexes were too quick. I shot his gun hand and his own clattered to the ground as he held his injured hand with the other. "Get in the water!" I commanded. He snarled again, then jumped in. After throwing my gun to the ground, I hurried to the boat's steering wheel and then took off, leaving the corrupted officers in the icy water.

The boat sped towards the other shore, on the opposite side of Stepmother's mansion. It wasn't far, as I wasn't that far out in the lake, but I had no where else to run. I landed the boat and ran all out into the city. I disregarded traffic, pushed past bewildered civilians, and eventually, stole a bike from some kid. I rode past the school, and ditched the bike in an alley behind the dilapidated school. I climbed fences, raced past hoboes crowding around a fire-lit trash can, weaved my way in and out of the back streets.

At an abandoned pet shop along the alleys I used to sleep in, I collapsed to my hands and knees, panting. My heart pounded in my ears, my arms shook from the cold, and my freezing, damp clothes chilled me to the bone. I sniffled and looked about the old store for something warm I could wrap myself in. All I could see in the dim light was a blanket thrown carelessly in the corner, but it looked like it would make me sicker than without it.

I sighed and leaned against the stained wall, still trying to catch my breath. My hand went to my shoulder, and then to my calf, which hadn't really made itself known until then. Now that the adrenaline was gone, it throbbed and ached. I looked down to it and saw my entire sock and upper half of my shoe saturated with blood. My jeans were soaked as well. My left arm had streams of bright red all over it, and the wound itself was disgusting, puss and other crap oozing out of it. I grimaced and repositioned myself against the wall. I needed to bandage the wounds, but how? There wasn't anything sanitary I could use.

After a few minutes of simply sitting and waiting in the dark, I heard footsteps: soft, clicking sounds. My head perked to the noise, and my pulse quickened. I thought I had lost everyone! I tried to get up, but my calf protested, and I collapsed back to the tile floor. Dammit! I can't run anymore!

I crawled to the back of the counter and froze. At least I could try hiding. They might not notice me. I glanced back to where I had been and cursed quietly when I saw a puddle of blood and a smeared trail of the liquid leading to my current position. I sighed. I was doomed.

The door creaked open and I heard voices. Three of them, two guys, one a girl. As I listened, their voices made something click in my head. I knew them…

"I swear I saw him run in here…" one guy stated, irritated.

"Well, apparently not. No one's here," the other guy replied. His voice was higher than the first.

"Wait…" the girl began as two pairs of footsteps began to fade, "don't your eyes work at all? Look!"

From my viewpoint, I could see three pairs of sneakers step to the puddle of my blood. I cursed. They found it! I reached for the knife that I had pocketed on the boat. They weren't gonna get me without a fight.

"Look!" the higher-voiced guy exclaimed. "It goes over there…"

I watched the top of the counter with the knife in my hand. The moment I saw a head come over it, I would strike. I waited as the footsteps came closer, and then finally stopped in front of my counter. Then, a shadowed face looked over the counter.

My arm flew and the knife with it. However, the guy was faster than me, and he dodged my blade. I did nick him in the cheek, though. I hopped over the counter, falling to my knees when my calf made collapse. I was about to go after the guy I had nicked when a foot kicked me in the side of the face. The knife flew out of my hand and I hit the tile hard. I was down.

I tried to make out the fuzzy form in front of me, and I saw the three people surround me. The guy I sliced was holding his hurt cheek, muttering something about me having good aim. Then, the girl leaned in close, and finally, I could see the details of her face.

Clara smiled as the recognition dawned my eyes. "So," she began slowly, "you recognize us now?"

……………

Yay, happiness! You all got a nice long chapter for my absence. Good for you. Happiness!

Ja!