Escaping Death
Note- Hey! I've been getting great reviews from you guys. I appreciate the feedback and I hope you all are appreciating the quick updates. But I'll be going back to school soon, so expect a slow down. I apologize for it beforehand. But thanks for reading and reviewing. You guys are awesome.
Disclaimer- I do not own Inuyasha.
Summary- Kagome is an average girl. But after a strange online conversation, a psychotic killer wants HER to choose his victims. She can't escape, not without sacrificing everyone she loves. So what can she do?
I hate to inform you all of this, but Broken Hearts is on hold for right now. I have lost interest in it, and I also have writer's block, but it will be back in progress before too long. I apologize sincerely to all of the fans of that story. Please bear with me. Thank you.
I hope you all enjoy. Please review and thanks for reading.
Escaping Death
Chapter Twenty
Death986: No.
Kagome's mouth dropped open in disbelief and she looked over at Inuyasha, who gave her a triumphant smirk. "I told you so," he said. "You should have known he wouldn't kill his only player." His eyes gleamed in the dull sunlight seeping in through her shades. "Besides," he folded his arms across his chest. "Isn't that what you've been telling me? That he won't kill you?"
Kagome narrowed her eyes at him as a warning to be quiet. She hated having her own words tossed back into her face. She also hated to have someone chant, "I told you so," too. "Well," she said defensively, "he could find another player."
"Kagome," Inuyasha regarded her calmly and modestly as he leaned against the wall beside her bedroom door. "Don't tell him that. He might actually come and kill you."
Kagome said nothing. Instead, she whirled around to face her computer.
Miko17: Why not?
Death986: One: You're a fun player. Two: I know what you're up to.
Kagome couldn't help but shiver at the second part. It was as if he were inside her head.
Miko17: I'm not up to anything.
Death986: Of course you are, Kagome. Your decisions have always had a hidden motive.
Miko17: Fine then. The only thing I'm up to is telling you I'm done with this ridiculous game. I'm finished. Find yourself a new player! And I mean it!
Death986: Are you sure about this? Because I'm getting off and if you haven't changed your mind by then, you'll probably end up getting your wish.
She could almost hear his voice, hissing those words at her. It chilled her straight to the bone, but she didn't waver. She had something she needed to do, and she was going to go through with it.
Miko17: Like I said, I'm done.
DEATH986 HAS LOGGED OFF.
Kagome sighed in evident relief. While she was relieved that he had signed off -- cutting off all contact with him, other than phone -- Inuyasha was obviously angry and worried.
"Are you nuts?" He demanded. "I told you not to tell him that!"
"Inuyasha," she turned around to look at him with serious brown eyes. "I had to. How else was he going to listen to me?"
"But you just signed your death wish!" He exclaimed heatedly.
"Didn't you read what he said?" Kagome logged off and pushed her computer chair in, sighing in exasperation. "He said I probably would."
Inuyasha ran a clawed hand through his hair in frustration. "My, God, Kagome! This guy is unpredictable! You'll never know where he strikes next!"
Flashbacks of the night when Kagome had stormed away from the hospital flooded her mind.
"There's a possibility that this man will get tired of Kagome's delays and just slaughter us all -- Inuyasha, me, you, Bankotsu, and even Kagome. We can't control him and we don't know where he'll strike next. I mean, look at Sesshomaru -- his life was nearly taken due to this man's unpredictability. Who's to say that you're not next, huh, Sango? And what about Inu--"
Miroku had been about to say Inuyasha. Miroku had been talking about the same thing that Inuyasha was talking about there, in Kagome's room: Death's unpredictability.
What if they were right? What if Inuyasha and Miroku knew what they were talking about? What if Death -- as well as his accomplice -- decided to go ahead and kill her and, since there was no one pulling the strings behind her friends, killed them too?
"Well," she managed to choke out after swallowing something hard. "We will just have to keep an eye open. We'll just have to get everyone together -- me, you, Sango, Miroku, and Bankotsu -- and maybe we'll be all right."
Even as she said this, the flashbacks of that night -- of her encounter with Death -- continued to invade her mind.
"You're easily scared, Kagome, which gives me the advantage. I am the one who is in charge whenever we have our little chats. Me. You know why? Because you're too afraid to do anything. And you better not get any guts, or you'll regret it. Straighten up, Higurashi, or you'll pay for it. After your friends do, of course." He had put pressure on the knife at her throat, giving her the cut she now had.
She unconsciously rubbed her neck gingerly with her right hand. 'Well, I've gotten guts,' she thought sullenly. 'I told him to kill me instead. So is he going to stay true to his word and kill my friends before me? Or will he go ahead and just kill us all and whoever is first, is first?'
Inuyasha, obviously beaten or tired of fighting, sat down on her bed. She sat down beside him. "Look," he said, "I'm just uptight."
"I understand. And I don't blame you. Especially since Kikyo and Sesshomaru--" She broke off and turned to examine him. She had said the wrong thing -- at least, the wrong names -- that much was clear from his expression. His ears were pinned back and he glared at the wall above the head of her bed. In order to prevent him from falling into a silent fit of rage, she said, quickly, "Look, I'm sorry--"
"Don't worry about it." He interrupted. "She's dead. And Sesshomaru is in a coma. I need to get over it."
"But…" She wasn't sure of the consequences of pointing this out, but she was willing to take her chances. "I was the one who told him to go after Kikyo. And if I had known about your brother, I would've done something to prevent it."
"I know." Was all he said in response.
Kagome would have dragged on the subject further under normal circumstances. This time, however, Inuyasha didn't look particularly happy to discuss the death of his ex-girlfriend and his brother being in a coma. The poor guy had it rough - and it was all pretty much all her fault.
Inuyasha was lost in his own sea of thoughts when Kagome randomly asked, her voice low, "Inuyasha, what are we going to do about him?"
"I honestly don't know, Kagome." He said slowly. "I guess we'll have to wait and see if he actually comes after you. And if he does, I'll be here. Maybe I can kill him."
"But remember," she pointed out, "he's not alone in this. You kill Death, and Death's partner can kill you."
Inuyasha smirked. "And then you can kill Death's partner." He laughed, causing Kagome to laugh as well.
'It's nice to see him laughing,' she thought. 'He's been so troubled lately, and I just made it worse by putting myself as a victim.'
She leaned against him as her fit of giggles dissipated. "I'm sorry about everything, Inuyasha."
He draped his left arm around her and brought her closer to him. "Don't worry about it. We'll deal with him if he shows up."
He turned his face down to look at her. She looked up at him.
The phone rang. They jumped and pulled apart.
"It's probably Sango," Kagome said sheepishly, getting to her feet and heading toward the phone. She lifted it to her ear. "Hello?"
"Kagome."
That was all he said: her name. And she thought she would faint right there in the middle of her bedroom. That's how she felt every time she heard that sickeningly disguised voice.
"What do you want?" She demanded. Inuyasha must have noticed how her voice quivered since he looked up at her curiously.
"You wanted me to find another player?" He asked.
She gulped and realized that she was trembling. "That's right. Why?"
"Because I have. Say hello." He said. Then there was some shuffling and she heard, "Kagome?"
She gasped. "Sango?"
"Kagome, help me, please." She sounded frightened. More than frightened. Terrified. "He's at my house--"
"All right, that's enough," she heard Death say and then he was back on the phone. "I'm doing exactly what you wanted, Kagome. I have a new player, and now all I have to do is kill you."
It grew quiet and Kagome felt her heart slip to her stomach. Then she heard Sango scream, "No, Kagome!" She heard the unmistakable sound of a slap and Death shouted, "Shut up!"
"Leave her alone!" She found herself yelling.
Death ignored her, however, and said, "It's such a shame, Kagome. You were doing so well in protecting yourself, your friends, and your family. Now it's going to go to waste because, since you made me angry, I'm going to kill all of you but Sango."
There was a click and the dial tone greeted her.
She dropped the phone back into its cradle.
"Kagome? That was him, wasn't it? What did he say? What's going on with Sango?" Inuyasha looked worried.
"We have to go," she said urgently, turning and slipping on her shoes before running to the front door. Inuyasha was on her heels and before they really realized it, they were racing down the street.
Once they got to Sango's, Kagome realized immediately that only Sango had been home at the time. Only now, she had some unwanted company. Kagome didn't care. She opened the door -- it was unlocked -- and raced inside before Inuyasha could take hold of her wrist and pull her back. It was quiet downstairs, informing her that there was a strong chance that Death and Sango were upstairs.
She crept into the kitchen and found the largest butcher knife she could and headed for the stairs. She heard Inuyasha creep into the house and that, for reasons she couldn't fathom, comforted her.
Once she was upstairs, she heard Sango sobbing and pleading for Death to leave her alone. 'Thanks, Sango,' she thought. 'Your crying is going to help me find him.'
The only problem was, she wasn't sure what she was going to do once she did so.
She finally came to the door of Sango's room and listened. They were in there, all right.
'Now what?' A voice hissed in the back of her mind. She reached out and clasped the doorknob in the sweaty palm of her right hand while firmly holding onto the knife in her left. She threw the door open and there he was, wearing the same hockey mask, baseball cap, and holding the same hunting knife. The only problem was that the hunting knife was pressed against Sango's throat.
"Let her go," she said slowly and calmly.
"Why, Kagome, how nice to see you again." He said in his deep voice. He obviously wasn't surprised that she had come to Sango's aid.
"Let her go," she repeated, more sternly than before.
"Why should I do that?" He asked, still holding Sango tightly by her hair as he kept the knife in front of her throat.
Kagome had stepped into the room and moved away from the door so that her back wasn't exposed to anyone in case he had his partner hidden there. She kept the knife in front of her where she, Sango, and Death could see it with perfect clarity. She glanced warily at Sango and saw that her face was stained with tears. "Just let her go," she said.
"But why?" He asked.
She wasn't sure why she said it. Perhaps it was due to Sango's fear-stricken face. Or maybe because her life, as well as Inuyasha's and Miroku's, was on the line. Or it was probably because she didn't want Sango to have to go through the same ordeal she had had to endure -- plucking out innocent people to kill unmercifully. It didn't matter the reason. She said what she said, which was:
"I'll come back and be the player. Just leave her alone."
Death seemed to like that idea for he released Sango, who collapsed onto her bed, and he approached Kagome, who ignored Sango's screams of, "Run, Kagome!"
Instead, she stood her ground, knife in hand, as Death crept closer and closer until he was inches from her face, his knife against her throat. She felt compelled to copy his actions with the knife she wielded, which cause him to smirk in satisfaction.
"I told you to straighten up, not quit." His hot breath tickled her cheek.
"Whatever," she said. It took a lot of guts, but she did it anyway. "Besides, you have to listen to me, not the opposite."
"On the contrary." He said, grabbing a fistful of her hair and pulling her closer. "I only listen to you when it comes to victims. Other than that, you have to listen to me and do what I tell you to. Or…" He pressed down on the knife, cutting open her old wound and possibly making it deeper and larger. "Take that as a warning."
She was about to give in to her fear, but prevented herself from doing so as his words rung in her head, over and over: "You're easily scared, Kagome, which gives me the advantage. I am the one who is in charge whenever we have our little chats. Me. You know why? Because you're too afraid to do anything. And you better not get any guts, or you'll regret it. Straighten up, Higurashi, or you'll pay for it. After your friends do, of course."
That's when she applied pressure to the knife at his throat and said, "No, you take that as a warning…to shut the hell up!" She shoved him off of her, virtually eluding the blade that would have cut her throat. She noticed with satisfaction that his neck was bleeding. "You only like me because of my rebellious behavior. That's why you play with me. Because I make it more interesting. I make it worth your while." She kept herself from smiling at the somewhat stunned expression on his face. "And that's what I'm doing -- spicing it up a bit."
After that, he wasn't taken aback anymore. He appeared to be smirking. "Well, then, Kagome. Do you still wish for me to kill you?"
Kagome ignored the warm blood oozing down her neck and collar bone. "You can try…some other time. And I expect you to leave my friends alone. Now get out of here before I actually try to kill you."
He tossed his head back and laughed. "You?" He asked when he was finished. "You kill me? I don't think so, babe. But I'll leave." He headed toward the door.
"And ignore Inuyasha on your way out." She commanded sternly, but it was too late. She wasn't sure who hadn't ignored who, but there was definitely a fight going on in the hallway. She heard Inuyasha cry out in pain and she raced to see what had happened.
Death rose to his feet, wiped the blood on the sleeve of his jacket -- as was his custom -- and said, "You should've told him that." Then he turned and left.
"Inuyasha?" She collapsed by his side.
"I'm okay." He muttered. He only had a gash on his left arm.
"Did you attack him?" She demanded.
"What else was I supposed to do? Let him walk out of here, no strings attached?"
"Yes!"
Inuyasha looked taken aback. "Why?" He sniffed the air and turned toward her neck, "Kagome! You're bleeding!"
"I know." She said. "I got him, too. Don't worry."
"What is going on here?" Sango demanded, coming from her room. She was shaking terribly and her hair was an unkempt mess. She had managed to stop the tears, but it still didn't do any miracles for her appearance.
"Long story," Kagome answered. "Get you things together, leave a note, and come stay the night with me."
Sango had no objections to this whatsoever. She hurriedly gathered her belongings that she was going to need and she, Inuyasha, and Kagome went down the street to Kagome's house.
Note- There. I hope you are all satisfied. Please review and let me know what you think!
