Chapter Two:

The Chase

o0o

She wasn't exactly sure why she picked up the case before bolting. She did it out of pure reflex. The man with the gun wanted the case, obviously, so the logical thing to do would be to leave it so that he can have it, and be on her merry way.

However, the other man had been ruthlessly attacked and killed for whatever was in the case, and Kagome felt that if he could die to protect it, the least she could do was run with it and try and hide it from the killer.

She had a good start on him anyway and she had always been a fast runner. 'Thank god I don't work in an office. I could be in heels and a skirt right now.' But no, Kagome was casually decked in jeans and sneakers, and she was flying.

She whipped past dark alleys, her eyes on the lit building in the distance. It was like a lighthouse to her, a beacon of hope. 'If I can make it to the light, everything will be ok.'

It was true, more than likely. The Taisho complex had guards and surveillance all around it. She was bound to run into someone, no matter how late it was. Kagome and Sango had stayed well after closing that day, cleaning up the mess from the children, and Kagome stayed even longer after Sango left. It was nearing eleven pm, and Kagome was nervous.

She heard the slamming of feet on the pavement behind her and picked up her pace. She swung around a corner and crouched into a doorway for a moment to catch her breath, hoping her pursuer would keep running by.

She clutched a stitch in her side and breathed as quietly as she could when she saw her mysterious follower pause at the corner, sixty feet away.

He was agitated, that much she could see. He bounced on the balls of his feet, clenching his hands nervously, the gun lodged in his back pocket. His dark hair close-cut, almost completely shaved off, and he was looking around furiously, trying to determine her direction.

Kagome held her breath, waiting for him to move on, when a scraping metal sound very close to her made her jump. The metal latch, already partially broken from the earlier break-in attempt, gave way and the case tipped open, documents and folders scattering across the sidewalk.

Kagome looked down in shock, and back to the attacker in fear. He had heard, and was rapidly approaching, smiling evilly at her. She could see his black brows narrowed in a nasty smirk, and a gold tooth glinted from his sneering mouth. He wasn't running now, just walking toward her with purpose. He had obviously seen what Kagome realized: She was trapped.

Kagome had fast reflexes from working with small children so long. It is harder than it seems, because kids have the uncanny ability to just vanish at one moment, and appear again in a completely different spot, right next to a large container of paint, or perching precariously on a tall shelf, ready to fling their small bodies forward to see if they could fly.

These well-honed reflexes came in handy, and she did the first thing she could think of. She threw the open briefcase with all the force she could master directly at his face and ran.

Or, she would have run if she hadn't slipped on the papers now scattered beneath her feet. She fell hard onto her back and groaned. Her attacker did as well, picking himself up and shaking his head as though trying to clear it. He rubbed a hand over his face and moaned again. There was still roughly twenty feet between them, and Kagome hurried to pick herself up and take off again when a glinting light made her stop. Something shiny peeked out at her from a soft, velvet bag.

Acting impulsively, she grabbed the bag, shoving the shiny object back inside it, and took off again, slipping it into her jean pocket as she went. She looked behind her to see the man scrabbling through the case's contents. When he apparently didn't find what he was after, he growled, threw the files that he held in his hands down with a yell and bolted after her again.

Kagome squealed in alarm and picked up her pace toward the large office building. He was gaining, and she knew it. She gave her last spurt of effort and flung herself into the well-lit area, weaving between lampposts, benches, fountains, and decorative trees planted in small patches of soil scattered throughout the concrete area. She could still hear the footsteps behind her, and they were louder. 'He's gaining.'

With a cry of effort she threw herself at the heavy glass entrance doors, praying they weren't locked.

Eyes closed, she prepared for impact. She collided with a solid object, but it wasn't the cold glass that she had expected. She heard a grunt of pain, and fell over, rolling into the building only to land upon a solid form that was cursing angrily.

Kagome picked herself half way up to look into the golden eyes of a very irritated man. Not so much concerned with him, she turned her head to peer through the glass doors she had just barged through and saw that her attacker was gone. She was safe.

She breathed a sigh of relief and looked back to the man she was currently straddling. He glared at her and she gave him a weak smile. "Excuse me." And with her body sprawled over his, she promptly fainted.

o0o

"Well, shit."

Of all the times to have a woman leaping onto his body and landing breathlessly on top of him, this was not one of them. He shifted a little, trying to shake the young woman without actually touching her. This was ridiculous of course considering the fact that every other part of his body was touching her. Why not his hands too? He rolled his eyes at his own stupidity and reached to gingerly shake the girl by the shoulders.

"Hey." No response. He shook her again. "Hey you." He lifted her shoulders off his body, but her head remained flopped down, her long black hair hiding her features. He let her fall against his chest again with an exasperated sigh. "Damn."

He held the girl close to his body and rolled, setting her gently on the marble floor beneath him. Brushing her long hair away, he tried to get a glimpse of her face. Her eyes were closed, her face flushed and damp with the moisture of exertion. Her bangs fringed thickly over her forehead, and her small mouth was parted slightly, breathing in little wispy breaths.

Something stirred deep within him as he looked over her. 'Gotta admit…she ain't half bad.' His cell phone vibrated suddenly at his hip and he jumped. He reached for it and snarled into the mouthpiece. "What do you want?"

The voice at the other end was calm and collected as always. "I was just wondering why you were still in my building, lying on the floor with a woman."

The man eyed the lobby cameras with distate. "You know, it's really sick how you watch those monitors all the time. Don't you have a life?"

"This is my life. My job and my business are my life. Now, I suggest you get a move on. He couldn't have gone too far. Track him."

"Yeah, yeah. This girl just came pummeling through the doors when I was on my way out. I think she was running from something, but she fainted before I could ask her about it."

Somewhere on the fourteenth floor, Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes at the monitor he was watching. "Well, take her with you. Perhaps she saw him leave."

"She's still unconscious; I need to go find that scientist."

"So carry her. Go, now. Report back to me when you've found him." He flicked his phone shut, and watched his brother make a rude gesture at the camera before getting up, picking up the girl, and dashing out of the building, glass doors swinging.

He glanced to his outdoor camera monitors and narrowed his eyes as his brother's shape disappeared into darkness.

"Don't let me down, Inuyasha. We're all depending on you."

o0o

The first thing that Kagome noticed as she fuzzily came to semi-consciousness was that she was warm. The second was that she was moving. Well, not her exactly, but she was on something that was moving, or in something that was moving. 'Hmmm…' She searched her memory to find out where she had fallen asleep. 'I remember my car wouldn't start. So, warmth…movement…maybe I'm in Sango's car? No, she left way before I did. Did I call a cab?'

She took a deep breath, sniffing the material next to her face. 'Mmmm, smells too good to be a cab.' Unwilling to open her eyes, she played back as far as she could remember. 'Ok, car wouldn't start so…I started to walk home. Walking home, walking home…um…' It came back to her very suddenly. She was being chased! She saw someone killed, she was stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid and grabbed the case that the bad guy was after and she ran with it.

Whatever she was riding on shifted and her eyes sprang wide in fear, taking in the moving buildings rushing past her. 'Those were arms…carrying me.' She looked upward and saw a young man scowling in concentration, the wind whipping through his long silver hair, his golden eyes peering anxiously around him.

She took in a deep startled gasp that he must have heard, because he looked down at her sharply, his eyes wide in surprise.

She screamed with all she had in her.

"Ahhh! Shit, stop screaming!" He dropped her suddenly and put his hands not to his ears, but the top of his head.

When her bottom hit the ground, she stopped screaming abruptly, the wind knocked from her with the impact. When she recovered, she scooted over the ground, trying to get her shaky legs beneath her to stand.

Inuyasha eyed her with annoyance and reached forward.

"Don't you touch me!" she screamed, and scrambled back further.

He rolled his eyes. "I'm trying to help you up."

She looked from his outstretched hand to his face. "Why should I trust you?"

He heaved an aggravated sigh and let his hand drop. "Fine by me, stay down there."

She took in his appearance. He was tall, but not freakishly tall. He was well-built, with strong shoulders, lean hips, and nicely shaped features. He wore jeans and a red shirt beneath a thin black leather jacket that reached to his hips.

He watched her check him out and shifted his stance, trying to force down his blush. Kagome caught the movement and blushed herself, realizing she had just been caught gazing at him in open appreciation. This definitely wasn't the guy who was chasing her. She searched around her frantically, but saw no sign of him.

"What are you looking for?"

She jumped and looked back up at him. "Someone…someone was chasing me." She swallowed nervously. "He…he killed someone."

"Yeah, he did. Did you see which way he went?"

She looked up at him in confusion.

He rolled his eyes yet again. "I saw the body, now I need to know where the killer went. Did you see him?"

"He…he disappeared after I ran into the Taisho building."

"Damn."

He looked angry now, and he ran a hand through his bangs in frustration.

"Why do you need him? Are you a cop?"

He eyed her. "No, he took something."

"The briefcase?"

He jumped on this. "The briefcase? You saw it? Did he take it?"

Kagome shifted on the ground in discomfort. "Actually, no…I did."

"What?" He rounded on her, kneeling before her and shaking her shoulders slightly. "Where is it? Where is the briefcase?"

"I…I don't know. I hit him with it when he gained on me."

"Awwww, shit." He stood up again and anxiously walked a few feet away, his back turned from her.

"H-he just…k-killed that man. And he was…he was chasing me, and he w-would have killed m-me too…" She was losing it, and tears started to quickly leak down her cheeks as her chin wobbled. "I-I couldn't have been k-killed."

Inuyasha looked over at her in alarm. "Woah, what? Don't start crying. Stop it…stop crying." He looked anxious and worried. He had never been good at dealing with tears. "You're not dead! He didn't catch you, stop crying!"

Kagome took in a deep catching breath and sobbed some more. "I'm s-sorry, I can't h-help it!"

He kneeled next to her again and pulled her to his shoulder, awkwardly patting her back. "Don't cry. Please don't cry."

Kagome nearly did stop crying in shock. This man that she didn't even know was holding her next to his chest, doing his best to comfort her in the middle of a darkened street in downtown Tokyo. She took advantage of the situation, though, and burrowed her face into his soft shirt, the smell of his leather jacket giving her comfort. This man obviously was not out to hurt her, at least at the moment. She sniffled and hiccupped and eventually gained some control.

He leaned away from her then and looked at her face, relieved that she had once again gained control of her waterworks.

"Thank you. I needed that. I'm sorry."

He blushed again and shot to his feet in obvious embarrassment. "Feh, whatever."

She gave a watery half-grin at his flustered appearance before shaking her head and attempting to stand.

A hand on her elbow steadied her, and she looked up into the man's face as he helped her to her feet. When she was safely standing, he tore his hand away as though burned and flushed yet again.

"I…I should be getting home." She shivered slightly in her light jacket. "I'm sorry about your friend, and about the briefcase."

She turned toward the direction of her apartment but stopped abruptly when something warm and heavy fell over her shoulders. She turned back to him in question, and he shrugged and looked away, his cheeks pink. "Don't need it at the moment."

She fingered the soft, smooth leather and slipped her arms into the sleeves. "Thank you Mr…?"

"Inuyasha."

"Mr. Inuyasha?"

"No, just…Inuyasha."

She shuffled her feet. "Oh. Then, thank you…Inuyasha."

He groaned and rolled his head around, stretching his strained neck muscles. "Come on…let's get you home."

"Oh, I can walk there."

He scoffed. "Yeah, and you were probably doing just that when you were running for your life, weren't you?"

She bit her lip. "My car wouldn't start."

He nodded tiredly. "Come on. I'll walk you."

Chin tucked down in shy pleasure, she scurried to catch up with him and his long strides. She told him where she lived, and he nodded in familiarity. "I live in the complex across the street."

How come she had never seen him before? Maybe because she was never looking?

They reached the Taisho building once again and Inuyasha glared at the cameras, knowing his brother was watching. His cell phone vibrated again, and he answered it with a sigh. "Yeah?"

"She's awake, I see. Did you find the scientist?"

"Yeah. He's dead."

Kagome looked over at him, hearing only his half of the conversation. He caught her eye briefly before looking forward. "She saw him killed."

"Did she see what happened to the case?"

"Yeah, she said she ran with it, but hit him with it when he caught up with her. She doesn't have it now."

Kagome bit her lip. "Um…Inuyasha?"

He raised an eyebrow in question. "The case…the man left it on the ground."

"What! Where? Why didn't you tell me before?"

She scowled slightly. "Well, I didn't exactly remember everything that had happened right at the moment. It just sorta…came back to me. It's still in front of that little sushi place…the one a block from the Taisho building." She frowned at the ground in concentration. "Whatever he was looking for in the case…he didn't find it. He left it and chased after me instead."

"He didn't find it?"

The phone he held talked again and Inuyasha jumped, having forgotten he was still on it. "Didn't find it? What does she mean he didn't find it?"

"What do you mean, didn't find it?"

Kagome shrugged. "Well, he looked through it all, tossing some papers around and then he stopped, looked up at me, and ran toward me. So I…ran away. And then I ran into you. Literally." She winced.

"He didn't find it in the case."

He could hear Sesshoumaru sigh in impatience. "Shit."

"Yes, shit. If he didn't find it in the briefcase, where could it be?"

"Perhaps he handed it off to someone already."

Inuyasha scowled. "I don't know. Maybe. But he wasn't out there very long. I found his body next to his car."

"The girl doesn't remember anything else?"

He spoke to Kagome this time. "Is that it? Do you remember anything else?"

She thought back. It was still very fuzzy, but she could remember nothing else...just throwing the case into the killer's face and then running like mad. She shook her head. "No, nothing. It's all so fuzzy." She looked at him apologetically. "I'm sorry I can't help more."

"She's got nothing," he said into the phone.

"Take her home and then get back here. I'll send some people out to find the briefcase, and to check the body."

Inuyasha flipped the phone closed and attached it back to his belt. They were almost to the apartment complex now. He pulled out a pen and turned to her upon reaching the entrance to the complex lobby. He held it out to her, the palm of his other hand out toward her as well.

"Your number."

"huh?" Kagome stared at the hands in confusion.

He sighed in impatience. "I need your phone number. I don't have any paper, so just write it on my hand. I need to know how to contact you. The police are going to want to question you, and so is Sesshoumaru and his security. They're going to want to know who the attacker was, what he looked like, anything you can tell us. So…number."

She took the pen and held his other hand in her own, writing her phone number down on his warm, dry palm.

Inuyasha tried to ignore how soft and small her hands were as she wrote the number carefully down. She stopped and looked up at him. "This top one is my home number." She wrote again before looking up. "And the bottom one is my work number." She wrote again. "I don't have a cell, so that will have to do, but here is my apartment address, and the address of where I work, so you can find me. I live in 309 A. It's all right there."

He stared at her momentarily. "Um…I didn't catch your name."

"Oh. I'm sorry, I forgot." She smiled warmly at him. "Kagome. Kagome Higurashi."

He looked at her small handwriting on his hand and nodded before taking his pen back. "Goodnight, then. Expect a call, Mrs. Higurashi."

"Oh, it's just Miss. And…you can call me Kagome."

"Right. Goodnight…Kagome."

She nodded and turned for the entrance. She looked back over her shoulder at him as she opened the glass door. "Thank you…for helping me."

He blushed and crossed his arms over his chest. "Feh…whatever."

She smiled at his gruff, yet obviously pleased, manner and slipped through the doorway. A short elevator ride later found her in front of her apartment.

"Ah, home sweet home. Finally." She reached into her pocket to pull out her key, but something velvety and round froze her in mid-motion. Another memory shot through her and she saw herself picking up the shiny object that had fallen from the briefcase.

She pulled it quickly out of her pocket, and opened the soft velvet bag with shaking fingers.

A round, glowing object rolled into her hands.

"Oh, shit."

o0o

A/N: Weee, second chapter. Dang, that was long. Well, long for me. But, considering the fact that I wrote it in one day, not too shabby.

Please review? I would like to know what you think so far, because I don't want to waste my time on a crappy fic, if I can work on my other ones. (I still plan to work on the others anyway, but…yeah.)