Cloned

Chapter 3

By Demonsaya

Inuyasha stared up at the ceiling in a dazed manner, playing with the lug nut around his neck, his face calm. He'd been released from the hospital a mere two days after his first admission, put on strict bed rest. The girl, Kagome, had never returned.

He couldn't help but feel a faint disappointment. His father had never said word one about the girl, and Sesshoumaru had merely arched an eyebrow when the hanyou had expressed interest in who she was. After all, the girl had claimed she was a fan of his, yet she'd never returned, had never even made an attempt to see him again.

He sighed heavily, hearing footsteps moving up the stairs. He could tell by the rhythm of the steps the heaviness of them, that it was Kaede coming up to inquire if he needed anything. Since he was on bed rest, he'd had no choice but to lift the restriction. He sighed once again hearing the light rap on his door. "Yes, Kaede?"

"I'm heading out, do you need anything before I go?" The old woman croaked, her face calm, yet emotionless.

He sighed softly, shaking his head. "Go home, babaa." He said softly, rolling onto his side, away from her, staring at the window in silent longing. He didn't want to be cooped up in the house. For a strange reason, his heart was urging for him to get up and venture out of his house. The race he would have to forfeit was in two days and at that point he was still supposed to be on 'bed rest'. The pain in his leg had faded to a dull twinge and the pain elsewhere had pretty much disappeared completely. If he continued healing at this rate, he would be able to race this weekend.

He groaned, fisting his hands in his hair. It didn't seem possible, but he was actually going stir crazy. After his months of self-inflicted house arrest, where he rarely got out of bed to do anything besides make a bowl of instant noodles when midnight hunger gripped him, how could he be so desperate to get away from the four walls that had once felt like home and now felt like a prison.

Inuyasha sighed, rolling back onto his back and reached down, lifting the lug nut back up and staring up at it as though it held all the answers to his problems. The girl wasn't Kikyou, that much was obvious. They had similar faces, similar scents, similar voices even. Yet, the girl wasn't Kikyou. With a groan, he rolled from his bed and began digging through his closet.

He found a clean t-shirt and a pair of jeans, pulling them on and snagged a pair of socks from the top draw of his drawers. Without a word, he moved out of his room and ran a hand through his unkempt hair. He had to get out of this house or he was going to go nuts. He grabbed his leather jacket beside the door and his helmet from the key stand. He wasn't surprised that his keys weren't sitting there, and in their place, was a note.

"Inuyasha,

This is for your own good. I had a feeling you'd disobey doctors orders. Go get back in bed.

Miroku"

The hanyou snorted, picking up his helmet and walking outside. "Idiot thinks that's my only set of keys." He looked around a bit, finding his key-box stone and typed in the pass code. It beeped and opened, revealing another set. He smirked, setting the stone back into place and walked towards his bike, climbing onto it. "Don't worry, I'll take it easy." He muttered in apology to the gods, as well as to his friend as he started up his bike and took off out of his driveway, down the silent streets.

The wind through his hair was exhilarating, and it had been years since he'd taken joy in such a simple thing. He grinned, urging his bike faster, not caring where he was going until he realized that he was sitting downtown, across the street from the cafe he'd seen that girl. What the hell had she said her name was? He rubbed his forehead, sighing. Climbing off his bike, he pulled his helmet off his head and looked around, as if searching for a clue. He turned off the bike and turned on the alarm, listening as it activated with a beep.

He began walking down the sidewalk, still not sure where he was going, just knowing that he didn't want to go home yet. As the people on the sidewalk passed him, they would gasp and whisper, nothing he wasn't used to. However, that action changed when someone shouted out that a Clone was getting the shit kicked out of it.

Everyone created a mob and rushed towards the voice. Inuyasha frowned, lifting his nose. He moved slowly towards the group and pushed his way to the front. There, a small form was sitting, pressed as close to the wall as possible, face hidden behind a curtain of black hair. The scent of lavender wafted under his nose and recognition hit him. Without a word, he moved forwards as the people continued hitting and punching her, kicking her sides as she fell to the ground, never crying out once, but he could smell the salt of her tears.

He grabbed the one closest to him and shoved him into another, sending them both spilling to the ground. Quietly, he lifted his gaze as everything around him went silent. "Get your filthy hands off her." He said in a deadly calm voice.

Whispers went up around the crowd and one of them gave her an extra kick in the ribs. "What'll you do if I don't, call your rich daddy!"

Inuyasha smirked, cracking his knuckles a wicked expression on his face. He moved towards the human boy and caught his collar, bringing his lips close to his ear, lowering his voice so only the boy could hear him. "I was thinking more along the lines of slicing off body parts...see, I like to hurt assholes who hurt girls. I think I'd start with your fingers...I'd cauterize the wounds of course, so you wouldn't bleed to death...then your toes, then up to your ankles and wrists..." He took great pleasure in the sudden scent of urine that covered the boy. "Then maybe your knees...I'd save the best for last..." Slowly, he set the boy down and dusted his shirt off calmly. "You get what I mean?"

The boy was pale and shaking, his eyes wide and frightened.

"Then get the hell out of here..." Inuyasha smirked diabolically as the boy turned and ran as fast as he could. When he rounded on the others, they backed away from the girl. He moved towards the girl and caught her chin, lifting her face so he could look at her. Sure enough, it was the girl he vaguely remembered from just before he was turned into road kill. Blue eyes looked up at him, tears and fear dancing in her eyes. Also, he could just detect a little bit of shock and hope.

Gently, he helped her stand, steadying her as she stumbled. He fixed the crowd of onlookers with a cold gaze and it parted out of his way as he helped her away from the onlookers. Now that the action was over, the people began to disperse, looking disappointed that the 'punishment for being unnatural' was stopped. As they walked, Inuyasha noticed that none of the girl's tears had fallen.

Kagome slowly looked up at him, feeling weak and sick to her stomach. "Why...?" She asked softly, unable to understand why a boy who she'd only met once had saved her. She saw a wry smile on his face and blushed, looking away.

"Why not?" He asked. "You did it for me." He pointed out, grinning at her. He saw the shock on her face and helped her sit on a bench near a vending machine. He pulled out some change and bought an iced coffee and a soda. He handed her the soda and cracked open the iced coffee, looking down at her. "You always walk home after dark?" He asked sitting beside her, and ignoring the people staring at him like he was insane for talking to the girl. He leaned back, looking back at them like they were the weird ones. Hell, they probably were.

Kagome took a small sip of the soda, shaking her head. "No...I had a cram session. I told my mom I'd be okay without a ride..." She sighed, staring into the small can. "Guess I was wrong..."

He looked towards her, questions about her eating at him but he could see that she wasn't particularly comfortable. "Maybe because you gave something away that you needed more than the person you gave it to." He pulled the chain with the lug nut from around his neck and held it up in front of her.

Her eyes widened and a blush covered her face. "How did you know I gave it to you?" She asked, blushing darkly.

Now there was a huge difference. Kikyou never blushed like that. He grinned and tapped his nose. "Scent. Ya know it's the sense with the closest link to memory." He leaned over, sniffing her hair and grinned. "Lavender?"

She hid her face, feeling that the blood in her face would be stuck there permanently. "H-hm..."

"I..." He sighed, sitting back and looking away. "You didn't come back. I've been wanting to thank you. My brother and father wouldn't tell me anything." He sighed, then looked towards her ruefully. "At least I got to play the rescuer this time."

She felt a small smile form on her face as she cupped the can between her two hands and looked up at him. "Thank you, Morishima-san..." She said shyly, lowering her eyes.

He grinned, and gently put the lug nut over her head, tying it behind her neck. "You need it more than me." He explained, and ruffled her hair. "And by the way, it's Inuyasha. Morishima-san is my brother." He made a gagging face and was relieved to see the girl giggle softly. He grinned in return and stood. "Come on, I can at least walk you home."

She looked up at him, wide-eyed. "Weren't you really hurt, though?"

He grinned back at her. "Guilty as charged. I was actually supposed to be on bed rest till Sunday morning, Saturday night is my race against Kouga. Looks like I have to forfeit." He sighed, scowling. "I hate to let that bastard walk away with a win, though. Especially without a fight." He paused. "Do you like motorcycles?" He asked, tilting his head to the side a bit.

Kagome's eyes widened and she blushed, nodding. "I love them!" She breathed. "Wait...is that how you got here!"

He watched the girl go from meek to super excited in a matter of moments. A bemused expression formed on his face and he nodded. "Yeah. Most of my cars stay at my garage. The 'busa comes home with me." He said grinning. "How about I give you a ride?"

Her eyes lit up and she nodded, smiling brightly.

He gestured for her to follow him, downing the rest of his iced coffee and tossing the can into a waste bin. He heard her footsteps behind him and grinned, glancing back at her and seeing her face turn radiant when she set eyes on the racing bike. "It's going to be a bit uncomfortable for two, but if you keep your head down and hold on tight, it should be okay."

"What about a helmet?" She asked, worried suddenly.

He grinned towards her. "What about it?" He saw the mild fear on her face and chuckled. "Okay, tell ya what. I wont wear mine either. He slipped it into his pack and passed it to her. "You wear that okay? Make it for easier for you to hold on to me." He winked at her.

His light teases were causing her to blush repeatedly. She watched as he climbed on the back of the bike and gestured for her to climb on behind him. She hesitated only for a moment, then climbed on, shouldering the bag easily, gripping the back of his leather jacket. She felt the bike purr beneath them as he turned it on and hid her face against his back.

"Hold on tight." He instructed glancing back at her. He felt her arms slowly move around his waist and felt a blush hitting his own cheeks. She was warm. It had been so long since he'd felt anyone of the fairer sex embrace him in such a manner and it sent tingles through his system. He bit his lip, coaxing the bike forward.

In the position he was in, he could feel her heart thundering against her chest and he grinned, coaxing the bike faster along the street. Their hair streamed out behind them, tangling together, and he grinned, passing a cop at well above the speed limit. He heard the cop pull out behind him and laughed, coaxing the bike faster. He heard the girl's heart skip a beat when the siren was turned on and he felt her turn to look back. "Wanna loose them?" He asked, barely glancing back at her.

Kagome's heart skipped a beat as she looked back at his face. "Why?"

"Because if my dad finds out I'm skipping out on bed rest he'll kill me himself." He said with a wry smirk. "Let's loose them!" He took a sharp turn, and watched as his speedometer pushed up to 150 and grinned, breaking and taking another sharp turn at about 80 mph. He felt the girl hug his waist tighter and he grinned. He could still hear the sirens and his keen hanyou eyes picked out human cops trying to lay a trap for him.

A wicked grin turned up his lips and he yelled back to her. "Hold on REALLY tight, this is going to be a little rough!" He popped a wheelie, landing on the hood of one of the cop cars and driving over it. He glanced back, grinning furiously. They were jumping around and cursing vehemently. He slowed, turning down an alley a good three miles from the roadblock and he moved deeper between streets, till he finally allowed the bike to come to a complete stop. He grinned and looked back at the girl who's face was flushed with excitement. "You okay?"

She lifted her face, and saw the grin on his and grinned back. "That...was SO COOL!" She jumped from foot to foot a few time and then threw her arms around his neck, hugging the life out of him. "Thank you SO MUCH!"

He chuckled, patting her back lightly and waiting for her to realize that she was hugging him. It didn't take long. As soon as she began to calm down, she jumped back away from him as though burned. "Glad you enjoyed it." He teased lightly.

She blushed, lowering her face. "I guess I should really get home..." She said, her voice edged with disappointment. "About this time, mom's probably worried sick..."

That startled him. "You live with your mom?" He asked, looking at her in shock. He saw her hesitate and chuckled. "Relax. I'm actually nothing like those assholes back there. Clone or not, you deserve a family, too." He saw her lips turn into a sad smile and brushed a stray hair behind her ear. "Where do you live, I'll give you a lift. No police chases this time, promise."

She smiled a bit more honestly. "Higurashi Shrine." She said softly. She paused, looking up at him. "Oh, I'm so rude, I haven't even introduced myself..." She extended her hand shyly. "I'm Kagome." She said.

He gently took her hand, shaking it firmly. "Inuyasha." He replied back, watching as she blushed, and idly wondered if she was going fangirl on him. He straddled his bike again and felt her climb on, wrapping her arms around his waist without hesitation. He relished the feeling and directed his bike towards where she'd told him. They sped off and he felt the girl burrow into his back and smelled sadness on her. He frowned a bit and eased slowly to a halt in front of the long stair case. He felt the girl jump off the back of the bike and she handed him his bag, looking at the ground, wearing a strange expression. "What's wrong?" He asked evenly.

She looked at him in surprise. Then, she sighed, giving him a weak smile. "Would you like a cup of tea?" She asked softly, shuffling her feet shyly.

He blinked, and idly wondered if he was willing to see her walk out of his life again. It could be months before he saw her again. He grinned, nodding. "Yeah, that sounds nice." He said, and turned off the bike, activating the alarm. He saw her standing a little ways up the stairs and jogged to catch up with her, wincing as he put a little too much pressure on his bad leg.

Kagome saw the slight twisting of his face and moved down the stairs to his side quickly, catching his arm, steadying him. "Are you okay?" She asked, looking up at him through wide eyes. She saw the wry grin on his face and blushed darkly.

"You know, you keep doing things like that I'm gonna think you have a crush on me." He teased her lightly. He saw her cheeks darken further and she quickly looked away, releasing his arm and gesturing for him to walk with her. He frowned, wondering why she hadn't responded, why she'd released her grasp on him so quickly. There was a deeply troubled expression on her face and she was refusing to look at him. He fell into step beside her and gently rested his hand on her shoulder, giving it a squeeze.

She rewarded him with a weak smile as they cleared the top of the stairs and she saw her mother pacing worriedly by the front door. When the woman's grey-blue eyes rested on her, there it was. Her mother's famous anger.

"Higurashi Kagome, you were supposed to be home over an HOUR ago! Where the hell have you been!" She asked shrilly. She didn't even register the boy at her daughter's side, nor the mild bruises which were fading quickly from the girl's face. "I've been worried sick! I was about ten minutes from calling the police and having them start LOOKING FOR YOU!"

Kagome opened her mouth to speak, but the boy beside her jumped in for her.

"I'm afraid it's my fault, ma'am." He said, smoothly, giving her one of those smiles that he gave to his fans when asked an embarrassing question. It was a slightly nervous half-smile, just giving a hint of the over-sized canines. It sent most girl's swooning.

"I didn't ask you, young man!" Mrs. Higurashi, however wasn't a fan, she was a worried mother still. "No matter who you're with young lady, if you're going to be late, you better CALL!"

Kagome lowered her head and felt guilt overwhelming her. "I'm sorry, Morishima-san..." She said softly. "I know I offered you some tea for you rescuing me, but it looks like this might be a bad time-"

The woman froze, and looked at the boy for the first time, REALLY looking at him. Upon realizing that she was in the presence of the youngest Morishima son, she paled and backed up a step. Then, the rest of her daughter's words registered. "Wait...rescued you..." She saw the faint bruises on her daughter's face and tears filled her eyes. "Oh, baby girl..." She pulled her into a warm embrace, pressing her face into the girl's hair. "Oh, baby..." She began crying into her daughter's hair. "What did they do?" She pushed her daughter back a bit, beginning to fuss over her.

"They were just beating me up, mom. It's not the first time..." She said softly, gently soothing the older woman. "I'm a tough girl, mama, I'm okay..." She glanced towards Inuyasha wearing an expression that said how sorry she was.

Her mother turned towards Inuyasha, tears still in her eyes. "You saved my little girl?" At his nervous nod, she threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly and bawling into his shoulder. "Oh, bless you! Thank you so much, Morishima-san!"

He looked towards Kagome, and chuckled a bit, patting her back. "Hey, I owed her one. And like I told your daughter, my BROTHER is Morishima-san. He's got 12 years on me. It's just Inuyasha." He said softly, then glanced back at the sobbing woman. "Let's get her inside." He told the teenager gently, easing both towards the door and sniffed the air carefully. He could smell something that didn't make him very comfortable. It smelled like that stupid bastard that worked with his father. That bastard Naraku.

As he kicked his shoes off at the door, he heard the padding of footsteps heading towards the door.

"So, Nee-chan what your...excuse..." The boy's eyes suddenly landed on him and flew wide. "Oh my GOD! You're Inuyasha Morishima!" The boy ran over, darting back and forth. "How do you know my sister! Oh, my GOD, this is so COOL! Shippou is NEVER going to believe me!"

Inuyasha glanced towards Kagome, a bemused expression on his face. "So he's a fan, too?" He teased her lightly, watching that sweet blush paint her cheeks. He was beginning to love that blush.

0o0o0o0o0

Kagome watched from where she sat on the couch, her books spread out around her. The hanyou and her brother were sitting on the floor quite comfortably, trying to out race each other at GT4. It appeared that Inuyasha had slipped into their family situation quite comfortable and didn't seem fazed at all with the bar codes on the back of their necks.

If only she weren't being gifted. She could really see herself falling completely and easily in love with the light-hearted hanyou. He laughed so easily, and her brother adored him, yet he wasn't acting like the arrogant star they had seen on TV. He was acting...like part of the family. She blushed faintly at the thought and quickly looked away, embarrassed and ashamed with herself. After all, she was probably being gifted to some old person who wanted to screw the brains out of some young girl.

Inuyasha saw the slightly sad expression on Kagome's face and looked away from the game. Just in time to crash into the wall of the track. He heard the crunch and looked back to the screen watching as Souta passed him on the track.

"HAH! VICTORY!" Souta shouted, thrusting a fist into the air.

"Souta, it's time for bed!" Their mother called from the kitchen. The boy opened his mouth to object when the voice came out once again. "No, not one more race, go to bed now young man!"

"Aw, man..." The boy groaned, but looked at Inuyasha and grinned. "Can you come back tomorrow!"

Inuyasha looked startled, glancing over towards Kagome uncertainly. "I don't know." He said evenly. "We'll see what I can do."

That was good enough for the boy. He bounded up the stairs while Inuyasha set about shutting off the TV and Playstation, and winding up the controllers so they were out of the way. He glanced at his watch and winced. It was getting past midnight. "Damn...I should head back..."

Kagome looked towards him, a mildly disappointed expression on her face. "You probably have a long drive, huh..."

"About two hours." He admitted. He stretched, yawning widely. He covered his mouth with a splayed hand and heard the girl giggle softly. He grinned back at her. He felt uneasy, however, leaving while Naraku was still outside, and he could definitely smell that worthless excuse of a hanyou outside.

The middle-aged mother peeked her head out of the door and glanced at them. "Two hours is too far a drive this late, Inuyasha." She said firmly. "You stay here for the night. I hope you don't mind the couch, but all of the other rooms are full...Unless you'd prefer sleeping with Souta."

The hanyou grinned ruefully. Leave it to the woman to solve his problem for him. "I don't think Souta would get a lick of sleep with me in his room. The couch is probably the safest bet." He looked towards Kagome and saw her blushing slightly and grinned. "That is, if you don't mind." He said in a teasing manner, watching her face darken.

She hummed, tapping her chin with her pencil, pretending to think about it really hard. "I suppose I could go finish studying in my room..." She said evenly. She began cleaning up her scattered papers and was startled when Inuyasha flopped down right beside her on the couch, leaning his head back and staring at the ceiling. He grinned a bit after a moment.

"You don't have a textured ceiling..." He said, glancing towards her.

She blinked, looking up at the smooth ceiling. "No, mom hates them." She paused, frowning. "She says they remind her of hospitals..." She said softly, her face growing upset.

Inuyasha felt her mood go from playful to melancholy and looked towards her, seeing her cleaning up the schoolwork once again. "Ne, Kagome, do you have problems like today often?" He asked softly, gently stilling her hand with his.

She blushed at the contact and looked towards him. "You really don't know?" She asked softly, her eyes lowering to the ground as she settled back to the seat, hugging herself tightly. "You don't know how clones are treated..."

He frowned, seeing the resigned expression on her face. He opened his mouth to speak, but she raised her hand. He stopped and really looked at her. Her bruises had already faded completely from view, making it impossible to tell she'd ever been attacked. He looked down and took a steady breath. "Kagome, I want to know." He said evenly.

She lifted her gaze to look at him. "Clones are made for three things. Companions, sex, and food. Most born humans look at Clones, especially the companions designed for youkai and hanyou as unnatural. Once our chips are activated, we don't grow old. We stagnate at a steady age for the rest of our existence, until the hanyou or youkai we're gifted to tire of us, then we are terminated." She saw the shocked expression on his face and looked at the ground again.

"Humans...and most youkai who's families aren't in the field of cloning treat us all like meat. We are quick to heal, so abuse goes unreported. When one of us land in the hospital from the treatment, the police don't care and we generally get the most poor treatment." She looked down at her hands, sighing. "There are about ten families like mine in the country. We were clones from random DNA, and put into random situations. Morishima-sama explained it was a kind of 'test' of the theory of nature versus nurture. But we are treated the same as every other clone."

Inuyasha lowered his gaze, his heart aching for the girl and the girl's family. If only there was a way he could take care of all of them.

"I've been beaten up regularly since I was a child, all because of a stupid bar code at the back of my neck." She looked towards the hanyou and saw his face hidden from view. She smiled ruefully. "I move on, and I live with it. I like to think that I'm too strong to let the actions of petty, prejudiced people affect me."

He lifted his head and looked towards her. "You shouldn't have to force yourself to cope with stupid bastards." He said softly. Gently, he brushed a strand of hair back from her face and leaned towards her a bit, a serious expression on his face. "I wish there was a way...that I could stop people from treating you and your family like dirt..."

She blushed at the gentle caress and her heart skipped a beat at his words. "Inuyasha..." She said softly, feeling warmth wrapping around her.

"I tell you what..." He said softly. "Tomorrow morning, I'm giving you and your brother a ride to school." He saw her eyes widen with shock and grinned at her. "Hey, I still owe you. I just rescued you from a few stupid bastards. You saved my life. Until I feel I have sufficiently returned the favor, I'm going to protect you."

Kagome closed her eyes and felt her heart swell in her chest. "Thank you..." She whispered softly, wrapping her hand gently around his and squeezing it. A tear fell down her face and she hid her face.

"Go to bed, Kagome." He said softly. "I'll see you in the morning..."

She turned towards him a bit and gave him a warm smile, standing and nodding. "Sleep well, Inuyasha." She said softly, walking towards the stairs and stopping at the base. "If...if you need anything, I'm first door on the left." She said softly.

He watched her leave and pulled out his phone, dialing a familiar number. It rang several times and a tired sounding Miroku answered the phone.

"Inuyasha...what the hell do you want at...12:48 in the morning?" Miroku asked blearily in an irritated tone of voice.

"I need you to bring me a car from the Garage at 6:00 am." He said evenly, stretching out on the couch and closing his eyes.

"What the hell?" The boy asked. "You're on bed rest, remember, not supposed to get out of bed, not supposed to walk around, not supposed to leave the house."

"Too late. I'm at Higurashi Shrine right now."

There was an eruption of cursing on the other end of the phone and the hanyou grinned ruefully. "Miroku, I found her. The girl that saved me. I'm taking her to school in the morning." He heard more sputtering and chuckled softly. "Look, I'm fine. Tell dad and my brother not to worry too much, I'm just watching after her for a bit. Life debt and all...Yes, she's pretty, you git." He frowned. "Look, just bring me a car, and I'll deal with the rest...g'night, Miroku."

He hung up the phone and looked up at the ceiling with a determined expression. No one was going to hurt these people anymore. A wry grin turned up the corners of his lips. Well, at least he had something to do.

0o0o0o0o0

AN: Another Chapter gone, and this story is now far away from my original plans for it. As everyone can see, I posted a test chapter for two of my new stories. I'm still thinking about posting the other two. One of them WILL have mature content, and since does not support such content, only a partially butchered part of the story will be posted here, one that includes no lemons. I will post the full, uncut version on mediaminer. I really hope I can keep it tasteful, like terri botta's "Lucky One's" (If you haven't read it yet, I HIGHLY recommend it). Anyways, you know the drill, Once you've read, please review. Saya-chan might just get up off her butt and write another chapter. Love, Peace, and Doughnuts!