A Name and a Stranger

The grape was tart and juicy. So far so good... Cautiously I picked up another grape. Slowly the plate of food started to disappear.

"Get out here!" Roared Dr. Carson.

Shocked I got up and opened the door. An uneasy feeling welled up into my throat. When I got down the hall Dr. Carson was sitting in a chair with all the windows closed and the blinds closed. My hands started to get sweaty and I couldn't control my shaking. This was obviously not a good day.

"Do you know who I just spoke with?" I shook my head.

He stood up and walked right up to my face. His breath came in hot puffs of anger. "A PERSON WHO SWORE THEY SAW YOU! THEY ALMOST CALLED THE POLICE!" A hand slapped across my face and I spun to the ground. "ALL I WORKED FOR COULD BE GONE! YOU WOULD BE EXPOSED! DO YOU WANT THAT? PEOPLE MOCKING YOU EVERYWHERE YOU GO!" I curled up into a ball and held my head. Terror filled my lungs and I struggled to breathe. His hot breath blew on my face softly as he whispered, "I'm all you have now."

I cried. This man WAS all I had. Where would I go? Strong arms held me gently. I buried my head in his chest. "I'm sorry!" I sobbed. He patted my back and ran his hand through my hair. The sudden change of emotion in him didn't affect me at all. All I could think of was his words. They rang through my head over and over, haunting me.

He lifted my head and smiled. "I can see how you long for the outside..." He looked down and mused over the situation. "Maybe... well... you need to work up your flight muscles..." My heart skipped a beat. Was he suggesting what I thought he was suggesting? "I suppose it's time to practice flying..." He looked back at me with a new spark of hope.

Two days passed slowly. During the night he woke me and took me to his car. The drive was a long one, but I slept through most of it. I was dreaming. I was walking in a white room. I was alone and screaming a name. I sat down and looked out at a man in red. When he came close he had snow white hair and a soft smell. "Will you save me?" I asked. Then he vanished and tears came to my eyes. "Wake up lovely..." Said Dr. Carson. I opened my eyes and the sun was just peaking over a green valley.

The day was hot and long. For many hours we practiced and practiced again, but my muscles wouldn't cooperate with me and it all ended in useless flailing. When the night started to fall he just sighed and said we would try again tomorrow. I would simply nod and follow him to the car. I just keep disappointing him... I'm never gonna get this. What happens if I don't? Will he get rid of me? If I can't fly what use am I to him? Cold terror gripped my lungs. He must've noticed my uneasiness because he pulled over to the side of the road and looked at me. I couldn't look at him, ashamed of myself. "Don't worry, it was your first day. You're going to get it. I believe you will." He smiled. How does he know? I thought bitterly. "You know, you never once called me by my name... I..." I trailed off. I broke on the inside. "I don't remember my name..."

Dr. Carson looked away. He didn't say anything for the longest time. "Tell me my name." I said sternly. I was looking at him, plain anger written all over my face. "Your name..." He cleared his throat, "Is Kagome..." I didn't ask anything else like if that was my real name or something he wanted me to be called by. "We're almost home." With that he pulled back out into the road and headed for home.

That night I had another dream. I was standing in a village, people standing all around me and staring at the sky. It was raining pink streams of light. Then I saw that man again, pinned to a tree by an arrow and covered in tree vines. He opened his eyes and looked up at me "No matter where you are I'll find you and protect you. I promise Kagome." Then there was fire all around me. A man with black hair stood in the flames. A spider scar on his back…

A bird was chirping ridiculously loud outside my window. I squeezed my eyes, hoping to get in a little more sleep. After what seemed like forever I gave up and got out of bed. "You up Kagome?" I heard Dr. Carson call from somewhere in the house. The house smelled like eggs and pancakes. "I made breakfast, come and eat." I looked at the image of me painted on the door for a moment, lost in it's beauty, before finally opening the door and heading out into the kitchen. The food was heavenly, I ate as much as my stomach would allow. Dr. Carson had his nose in the newspaper, occasionally eating bits of food. When I was finally finished with breakfast I thanked him and sat in silence.

"I'm going to go out for a few hours… need to discuss business about your progress to some of my superiors." He said with little emotion. "You can feed yourself right? I'm locking down the whole house so don't expect to pull another one of your escape tricks." I looked down, a mixture of shame and excitement. Shame that I tried to escape and thought of doing it again as soon as he said he was leaving and excitement knowing that I'll be alone. He put down his paper and grabbed his keys off the table. "I'll see you in a bit." And with that he left. I watched him get in his car and pull away. "Yes! Yes! Yes!" I jumped up and down. "What to do first…?" I looked around. No T.V. or books to speak of. I groaned. I'm going to be SO bored! Collapsing on the coach I turned over all the possible things I could do. I must've fallen asleep or something because I woke up and a half hour already passed. Now really, really upset that I wasted all that time I got up and paced. Something caught my eye. A small piece of paper was sticking out from under the door. Curious, I walked over and picked it up. It said…

Kagome,

I haven't forgotten about you.

Tonight I will come and get you.

He can't stop me, I made a promise.

Don't let him know anything

When you're sleeping I'll get you.

I frowned. Was this some kind of joke? It couldn't be, they know my name and… about that promise in my dream… No, no, no. It's just coincidence. I folded the paper up and put it under my pillow. Only one way to find out… For the rest of the day I laid on my bed, pondering the current situation.

Later that night Dr. Carson came home. He didn't say a word to me, just came in, put the keys on the table, and went to bed. I looked at the clock, 12:15am. Without giving it much thought I closed my door and went to bed, totally forgetting about the note under my pillow. Just as I was about to fall asleep I heard a soft tinking at my window. I peeked open one eye and looked. I held my breath; soft white hair was all I needed to see. The man motioned for me to come over to the window. I slowly got up, not believing what I was seeing, and walked over to my window. No words came to my mouth. He was breathtakingly handsome. Snow white hair fell across his face, burning amber eyes gazed back into mine, strong jaw line, and adorable dog ears.

The man spoke first, his speech sounding muffled through the glass. "Can you open the window?" I shook my head, the window was sealed shut. He cursed. "I'll open it then." With his pointer finger he cut delicately through the glass and made a hole big enough for me to crawl through. "Okay, crawl out and I'll make sure you don't fall." His voice was soft. I blinked, this can't be real. "Come on Kagome! We don't have a lot of time!" The man said harshly. Nodding I put my arms through first, then my head, then the rest of my body. He held on to me like he said he would, his smell intoxicating. I've seen him before… he's so familiar. When I was out we stood facing each other. "Um… thanks." I said. "Yeah whatever, let's go." He picked me up and carried me on his back, running with a speed I've never seen. I closed my eyes and almost felt like I could fly. We ran 'till dawn.

ALRIGHT! I finally updated it fer all ya kids. Tell me what you thought (honestly) and some ideas you may have. Be happy that I finally mixed our good bud inuyasha in dere ;p