Chapter 5
It hadn't been the first time they had fought. Of course, Inuyasha was angry. But as time wore on, he only felt the residues of hurt and betrayal residing in his heart and in his mind. He wondered why Kikyo would ever have done this to him, because it didn't make sense. In all the years they had known each other, in all the times he had peered into her clear, brown eyes, he had not felt she was capable of such betrayal. But then, it was very much like her to keep many things to herself. She was…reserved. That was the word for it.
In the next few days, when he wasn't at work or at school, he found himself either by the phone, with his hand hovering over the phone, or lying in his bed wondering what she doing at those very moments. Deep down inside he was hoping she would call, and they would talk it out. But even at school he never saw her, and believed she was just avoiding him. She was doing an usually good job of it, as he hadn't seen her at all in the past few days, not a quick sight in the hallway or lunchroom or even at the beginning of the school day during the mad chaos as kids pushed their way to homeroom.
One peculiar thing did happen, that didn't have to do with Inuyasha's broken love life anyway. When Inuyasha walked into the living room one of the evenings after work, an odd green folder caught his attention. He picked it up, with a curious ignorance about what was inside. Flipping the front cover open, he found a picture of a little girl, who looked about five or six years old. She had bruises and scratches all over her face, a tooth missing, and an innocent grin over her small face. Part of her hair was put up in a small pony tail that stuck up on the side of her head. The name "Rin" was written in neat, curvy hand-writing, as well as some other information about weight, eye-color, and such was written below the picture.
Inuyasha didn't have long to stare or be confused, as he heard the front door open and close with a heavy bang. The sound seemed to rattle through his body. He quickly stuffed the folder back, while trying to make it look the same as it had before. The feeling of a five year old child who accidentally knocked his mom's favorite vase, and was trying to conceal the evidence was running as fast as the adrenaline was in his body. He stalked away as calmly as he could to his room, and that was the end of that episode. Except for the fact that the question about what the folder implied that popped up in his head every now and then, he didn't think much about it. If only he realized how significant that piece of information really was.
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It had been exactly four days since Inuyasha and Kikyo had last seen each other. When Inuyasha came home, there were cardboard boxes in each room, and he could hear someone bustling around in the small kitchen. Shesshomaru along with several other men he didn't recognize seemed to be packing at an usually fast rate, as if the world was coming to an end.
"W-what's…going on?" Inuyasha demanded of his brother. Shesshomaru didn't even bother to look up as he stacked a pile of plates into a nearby box. Then he grabbed a folded box and tossed it to Inuyasha.
"Go. Pack up your belongings from your room," he ordered.
"Wait a second. Don't you think you should tell me what's going on?" Inuyasha said, refusing to budge until he got an explanation.
"We're leaving. That's all you need to know. Now pack. Or you can be left behind," Shesshomaru told him, still not bothering to spare his brother even the slightest glance as he packed away the silverware. He didn't even bother wrapping them up or anything, just emptied them into the box and they clinked as hit each other.
Inuyasha picked up the box his brother had chucked at him and sulked off to his room. The whole fact that he was packing for good didn't even hit him yet. He looked around his room, and saw he really didn't have that much to begin with. He emptied his drawers of the few possessions he had collected from his childhood and on. He tossed his clothes into a worn-down suitcase he had on his closet shelf. The last thing he took was the framed picture of him and Kikyo. He held it in his hands for what seemed like ages and stared hard at it, debating on whether or not to take it, and at the same time wondering what went wrong…where she was now or what she was doing…
He was jolted back to reality, when Shesshomaru rapped on Inuyasha's door, telling him it was time to leave. Inuyasha slipped the small-framed picture into his pocket. It took two trips, just two, for Inuyasha to haul out the two boxes, the beat-up suitcase, and the sleeping bag. He packed them into Shesshomaru rusted truck. Right then, Inuyasha wondered two things. How on earth that truck was still working, for it had been working as long as he could remember. And second, why Shesshomaru wasn't bringing any of the furniture. Surely they would need something in the place where they were going. Unless they were going to a motel or something…but that wouldn't explain the fact that they were packing up their personal belongings…
"Maybe Shesshomaru's on the run from someone," Inuyasha mused. That would explain the quick getaway. Shesshomaru had gotten in trouble once or twice before, but had always managed to get out of it with little trouble.
Well at least he didn't have anyone he wanted to say good-bye too. But then his mind wandered back to Kikyo…he knew he should…he knew he wanted to say good-bye to her. Somewhere deep inside, his heart sunk, but then he decided Kikyo would be better off…now that she had that guy. That's right. Onigumo. Inuyasha glared at the passing buildings, outside the window, his fists clenching. Whatever. She probably wouldn't even miss him. Inuyasha closed his eyes and began to doze off, despite the uncomfortable position he was in. His neck already began to hurt, but before long he slipped out of reality and into the dream-world.
Inuyasha was unaware of how long they drove, or where they were headed to. He never heard Shesshomaru make several stops. He never knew the scenery had changed from a city setting, to a quiet, urban neighborhood. And last, but not least, he never heard a little girl wake up and ask Shesshomaru where they were going.
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When they finally arrived Shesshomaru took his belongings and dropped them in the parlor of the cozy, three-story house. It had three front steps, and a porch with an overhang. There were two windows on either side of the front door, with blue shutters. In front of the house was a trimmed lawn, and dying flower bed that lined the brick side-walk. There was also a small cherry tree, and the backyard was lined with a deep wood.
On his next trip he told the little girl this is where they would be staying for a while, and she followed him, wide-eyed at the house, which was nicer than anything she had ever seen in her life. Inuyasha didn't even bother to look back at the sleeping Inuyasha. He'd figure it out soon enough. Inuyasha had taken moving better than he thought he would. Shesshomaru had been expecting hassle. He didn't think too much more on the subject. The important thing now, was that they were safe for now. Rin tugged on his pants leg, and Shesshomaru looked down. She looked up at him with big brown eyes, almost with a look of reassurance.
"You're room is up there," Shesshomaru pointed. Rin jumped up, excited, and hopped up the white, spiraling stair case, and ran across the open hall to the room on the left. Shesshomaru himself carried his things and headed up the stairs to the room beside hers, the master bedroom. He didn't sleep that night. Didn't see any reason to. The sun would be up in a bit. He wouldn't be able to sleep now anyway. He did however, lay down on the bed, but kept his eyes cracked just slightly and his ears open for an approaching vehicle. He didn't think anyone had followed them, and he made sure they wouldn't be able to be traced either. No…they would be safe for a good while. In time, he may have to think of a new plan, but for now at least, he wouldn't have to worry about it too much.
A/N: Ok. Because I'm lazy…I probably won't be doing any previews. So yeah…pointless but that's it. Sorry I haven't posted in a while…and that my writing sucks…though no one's really reading anyway. That's all.
