Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha . . .
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"So . . . what are we going to do now?"
Kagome had finished her lesson for the week, and along with Inuyasha headed out back to the car.
"Don't you have anything else on your itinerary?" Inuyasha asked sarcastically, fishing the keys out of his pocket.
The young miko rolled her eyes, choosing to ignore his sarcasm. "No, I don't; I was planning to meet Sango up at the mall, but I haven't had a chance to call her, and I left my cell back at home."
"Heads up!"
She was startled to see a silver flip phone fly towards her. The young woman quickly caught it, and looked up at the hanyou curiously. "Hurry up and call," he grunted, disappearing into the car.
Kagome shrugged, and dialed her friend's phone number. ::ring . . . ring . . . ring . . .:: "Hello?"
"Sango-chan!"
"Kagome? Hey!" answered the demon slayer. "What's up?"
"Nothing really . . . are you doing anything today?"
"Nah, not really . . . I have a hearing to attend around 7, but I have lots of time to burn . . . what do you have in mind?"
The heiress grinned to herself. "Shopping."
"Great! I've been meaning to go to the mall . . ." Sango trailed off for a second, before a loud THUD and the sound of whimpering could be heard in the background. "Stupid hentai," she muttered.
"Sango? What's going on?"
"Oh, Miroku's at it again," she replied, annoyance apparent in her tone.
Kagome raised an eyebrow. "What's he doing with you?"
There was silence, before her friend stammered, "No-nothing, he decided to drop by since he was in the 'neighborhood.'"
"Uh huh . . . well, might as well bring him along."
"Are you crazy? You're suggesting to let this lecher loose out in public?"
The miko sighed. "Well, Inuyasha's coming, might as well give him someone to talk to."
"Oh yeah . . . how's that whole 'body-guard' thing going?"
"Don't ask . . . so, I'll meet you at the mall in fifteen?"
"Sound's great . . . see you later Kagome-chan."
"Bye."
Kagome closed the phone, and with a sigh, opened the door and slid inside the car. "Took you long enough; I thought you were going to waste all my minutes."
She glared at the driver. "Sango has some trouble with Miroku . . . he'll be coming with us to the mall."
The dog demon groaned, hitting his head against the steering wheel. "Please tell me you're not serious . . ."
"Dead." Kagome responded. She rubbed her forehead and buckled her seatbelt as Inuyasha started the car, muttering something about, "bouzous" and "shopping".
The four strolled down the open airways of the mall, the girls chatting casually while the boys stumbled along with a dozen bags in tow.
"This was definately not in the job description," Inuyasha grunted, running into another pole. "Damn bags blinding my vision!"
"Use your super-human senses," Mirkou retorted, slamming into another "sale" sign.
"Oy, wench!" The two women froze, the younger turning to glare back at him. "What is it?"
"Can we get outta here? My arms are starting to go numb."
Kagome glanced at Sango, who nodded her head. "Fine, we'll go just as long as--"
"Kagome!"
The young heiress turned, coming face to face with a tall young man, around early twenties, with striking blue eyes and long black hair. "Kouga?" she breathed, her face paling.
Sango turned sharply at the sound of his voice, her eyes narrowing as he approached. "Long time no see! How's it going?" he greeted, his eyes roaming her body.
Inuyasha watched as Kagome tensed, her eyes wide and fearing, and her body trembling. He could smell the scent of anxiety on her, and he couldn't help but wonder if this was the bastard that haunted her life.
"Ko-Kouga . . ." Kagome breathed, her heart pounding in her chest.
The hanyou smelled the air once more, realizing that this "Kouga" was a wolf demon. "Hey you mangy wolf, stay away from her."
Kouga frowned, looking behind Kagome and seeing Inuyasha for the first time. "Hey Kagome, who's this loser?"
"Loser?" Inuyasha growled, flexing his claws. But Sango intervened. "Kouga, this is Inuyasha, Kagome's body guard. Her grandfather hired him on her behalf; surely you've been watching the news lately?"
"Of course; I was so worried when I heard what happened," the wolf said, taking a step closer to the young miko. "You're alright, aren't you?"
She managed a brief nod, and backed away slowly. "Aww, don't tell me you're still holding a grudge, Kagome? That was two years ago--"
"Get out of here!" Inuyasha growled, stepping in front of the shaking woman. Kouga was about to pounce on the hanyou when a sudden beep filled the air.
The wolf stopped, took out his cell phone, glanced at it, and put it back in. "I have to go; we'll finish this later, mutt-face," he glared, and ran off into the crowds.
"Let's get her out of here," Sango said, pulling Kagome gently by the arm.
Kagome and Inuyasha said their goodbyes to the other two, and walked silently to the car. That wolf . . . he mentioned something that happened two years ago . . . The woman next to him was silent, her face still white. She walked like a robot, her eyes dull and lifeless.
Inuyasha opened the door for her, and slamming it shut, slid into the driver's seat on the other side. He glanced at her, and seeing as she was still immobile, put her seatbelt on for her. She isn't looking too good . . .
He pulled out of the parking lot of the mall, about to turn the wheel to head back home when he got an idea. He turned right instead of left, heading towards the ocean.
The car ride was silent, Kagome's breathing becoming more even, her color eventually coming back. Inuyasha drove the fifteen minute ride to the beach, his head still spinning with possibilities. Was he the guy . . .
They reached the coast, and parking the car, turned off the engine and turned to Kagome. "Are you alright?"
The young miko blinked, but didn't say a word. Inuyasha sighed, and leaned back into his seat, staring at the beach. It was 6:30, and the sun was beginning to set. The sky was streaked with orange, gold, purple, red, and yellow, the colors mixing to look like an artist's painting. Children ran across the sand to return to their parents, who were packing up to leave. Lovers walked down the edge, hand in hand, saying loving things to each other.
"Arigatou, Inuyasha."
The hanyou tore his gaze away from the sunset and looked at the girl sitting beside him. A tear was rolling down her cheek, her hands in fists. "Let's go for a walk, ne?"
Kagome nodded, and turned slowly to unbuckle her seatbelt, and got out of the car. Inuyasha pulled the keys out, and emerged on the other side of the car. He walked towards the heiress, and taking her hand, led her down to the sand.
They walked down to the water, silence between them. As they approached the water, they stopped, and just looked out at vast ocean, each lost in their thoughts.
A passing man who was walking his dog glanced at the two, and stopped to admire them for awhile. They were a beautiful couple, he thought. Their hair was flying behind them, black mingling with silver. His strong body stood close to her small one, protecting her. They look like they just jumped right out of a fairytale, he thought, smiling, as he walked away.
"Who was that Kouga guy?" Inuyasha asked gently, his curiousity getting the best of him. He expected the girl to either remain silent or smack him senseless for prying into her life, but she did neither. Instead, she answered his question. "I met him two years ago . . ."
Inuyasha held his breath. Is she going to tell me? The incident . . . was he the guy? He turned all his attention to her when she began to speak again.
"I met him . . . through someone else. It seemed like he was attracted to me . . . but I didn't return his feelings. I only saw him as a friend; at the time, I was seeing someone . . ."
"If you don't want to talk about this, you don't have to," the hanyou interrupted. So he wasn't the bastard . . . damn, I was kinda hoping for a reason to beat up that flea bag . . .
Kagome shook her head. "I want to." She sighed, shifting a little closer to him to block the wind.
"I considered him one of my best friends; he was always there for me . . . helping me through my problems. Then one night, he asked me to meet him at the park. It was that night . . . "
She paused for a moment, another tear falling down her face. "I don't know why I'm telling you this, Inuyasha . . . I hardly know you as it is. But I know I can trust you . . ."
"I met him at the park, behind the swing set. He told me to follow him, so I did. We walked into the woods, where there was a little clearing with a bonfire. He asked me to sit down, so I did. We chatted for awhile, eating smores, when it happened."
"He tried to make a move on me, but I wouldn't allow it. I shoved him away and was about to leave when he pulled me down to the ground and . . ." the miko gulped, before continuing, "and . . . he tried to rape me."
Inuyasha stared at her in horror. He had no idea what to say, but she went on. "I clawed and pushed and everything, I tried everything to get him off me. But nothing worked . . . until . . . he came . . ."
"He scared Kouga, and that idiot took off running into the woods, leaving me with him . . ." She stopped as she choked back a sob. "And then . . . he . . . he . . . ."
Inuyasha held her in his embrace as she sobbed. This woman has gone through so much . . . she's like a broken doll . . .
He soothed and comforted her, stroking her hair. "Sssh, it's alright . . . I'm here now . . . nothing will happen to you again . . ." He stared off into the sunset again, his eyes narrowing in anger.
I swear on my life, Kagome . . . I won't let anything harm you . . .
AU: aha! another clue to . . . THAT NIGHT! I swear, I'll reveal what happened soon . . . and who did it . . .
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