AN: Alright, to be honest, this was kind of inspired after watching "our governor" in action in the movie "Eraser"... pretty good movie, actually, but that's beside the point... anyway, pretty good movie and I got inspired to do this. Now, everything I say about the FBI and stuff- I have no idea if that's the way it really works, I'm just making it all up. So don't send the government after me, kay?

Protect Me

Chapter 1

The Last Night of the Rest of her Life

"Stop fidgeting!"

The boy froze, glancing at the girl with a guilt-ridden face.

"Sorry," he whispered sheepishly.

The girl swatted his arm playfully, giggling as she waggled her finger at him like a child. "Don't apologize, Hojo. And don't whisper, either! Why are you getting so worked up, anyway? It's just my family."

"Easy for you to say," the boy replied sourly. "You're not the guy going to meet the girlfriend's family. It's always hard on us boyfriends, like we're the bad guys or something."

The girl shook her head and smiled her trademark smile, making Hojo's heart beat a little faster and his nervousness dissolve into nothing. "Yeah, but you're not the bad guy," she reminded him quietly, slipping her arm under his and squeezing reassuringly. "You're the good guy, my good guy. My family already knows that."

"You sure?"

The girl rolled her eyes exasperatingly, but could not hold back the warm sparkle within them, shining brightly as she gazed up at the dark-haired man beside her. That's my Hojo, she thought, a little timid and a little shy, but still really sweet underneath it all. Before he could protest any further, she quickly leaned up on her tiptoes to plant a small kiss on his cheek, sending his heart racing and his face flaming.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you," she promised, turning to knock once again on the door.

In the few seconds it took for someone to finally answer, Hojo mustered up the courage to stand his group despite the nervousness he felt returning. He quickly threw on a friendly smile and vainly tried to brace himself for the worst.

"Kagome!"

The door was thrown open and a young boy came racing out, slamming hard into the girl's stomach, arms flung around her.

Kagome laughed, returning the embrace with slightly less enthusiasm. "Hey, Souta! Long time no see, huh?"

"You're brother's been sitting at the window all day, waiting for you to come home."

Arms still around the child, Kagome looked up to find her mother and grandfather standing in the doorway, smiling warmly. With little effort, she peeled herself away from her brother long enough to rush into her mother's arm's, hugging her tightly.

"Welcome home, dear.'

Kagome smiled, taking in deep breathes of the familiar, lavender perfume and baked cookie aroma that lingered on her mother's sweater. "It's good to be home, Mom."

"Uh, Kagome?" Grandpa spoke up, "Who is your friend, there? You're not going to just leave him standing on the front porch, are you?"

"Oh!" Kagome gasped, blushing furiously. For a moment, she had actually forgotten he was still standing there. Letting go of her mom, Kagome wheeled around to face him, throwing him an apologetic smile before taking his arm once again and pulling him forward. "Sorry. Mom, Grandpa, Souta, I want you to meet Hojo."

Smiling rather forcefully, Hojo mechanically stuck his hand out, secretly praying someone would shake it as he said a little loudly, "Nice to meet you Mrs. Higurashi, Mr. Higurashi, Mr..... uh, I mean..."

Mrs. Higurashi smiled, and, to save him the embarrassment of trying to think of a proper title for her young son, took him hand and squeezed it warmly. "I'm glad to finally meet you, Hojo. Kagome has told me nothing but wonderful things about you."

"What else is there to say but that he's wonderful?" Kagome replied, beaming.

"Kagome, that's not true," Hojo protested quietly, blushing.

"Well, I'll be," Grandpa exclaimed, nodding approvingly. "A man that admits to not being perfect. And to think, I wasn't so sure there would be one out there that would be worthy enough for my little girl."

"Grandpa!" Kagome hissed.

"Hojo, won't you come inside?" Mrs. Higurashi asked, gesturing them both into the house. "I just finished a batch of brownies and will have some tea ready soon, so we can sit down and you two can tell us all about college life."

Hojo glanced down at Kagome. She smirked up at him with an expression that plainly read, 'See? I told you they wouldn't bite,'. With a grin, Hojo looked back at the woman and nodded. "Thank you, Mrs. Higurashi. I would like that very much."

"Hojo seems... nice."

Kagome looked up from the dish she was drying to smile at her mother.

"He is," she agreed. "And very sweet. 'A perfect gentleman' is what Yuri and the girls call him."

Mrs. Higurashi didn't look up as she finished scrubbing the bowl and handed it to her daughter, pulling out another from the sink. "A perfect gentlemen," she repeated.

Kagome quirked her head to one side, staring at her mother curiously. "What are you thinking about?"

"Oh, nothing," Mrs. Higurashi replied calmly. "Just thinking about how happy you seem."

Smiling again, Kagome nodded, sneaking a glance into the living room where her grandfather and boyfriend were deep in a discussion about Hojo's archeology major. She shouldn't have been surprised. Her grandfather was always hung up about legends and myths and stories that were always far above her comprehension, but Hojo seemed to be drinking it in, adding his archeological input wherever he thought necessary. At least they seemed to be getting along.

"I am happy," Kagome said quietly. "I mean, Hojo's the perfect guy. He's so sweet and considerate. He spoils me rotten, though. Always bringing me lunch or offering me little gifts for no apparent reason other than he wanted to. And I love how he's so... focused. He's really got his future planned out. He's so dedicated to his studies, and even though he likes me a lot, I appreciate how he's..."

"Got his priorities straight?" Mrs. Higurashi supplied.

"Yeah. He really knows what's important, and he works hard to get what he wants."

"Sounds like he hardly has any faults," Mrs. Higurashi said nonchalantly.

Kagome looked at her mother and quirked an eyebrow. The woman showed no sign of noticing, calmly placing the bowl in the pile of dishes to be dried and picking out a cup from the sink. Kagome furrowed her brows together and sighed. "You can tell, can't you?"

"Tell what, dear? That you're uncomfortable around him, even though you act happy and no one else notices?"

Kagome nodded solemnly. "Yup."

Mrs. Higurashi glanced at her daughter from the corner of her eye. "Kagome, I carried you for nine months, then watched you grow from diapers to degrees in nineteen years. I'm afraid there isn't too much you can hide from me."

"What about Grandpa? He's watched me grow up, too."

Mrs. Higurashi shrugged. "He's a guy."

Kagome giggled.

With a smile, Mrs. Higurashi took another dish and began scrubbing. "Now why don't you tell me what's really bothering you?"

"I don't know, really," Kagome admitted, frowning at her distorted reflection in the bowl. "I guess I'm a little... intimidated?"

"Because he's so perfect?" Mrs. Higurashi guessed.

Kagome shrugged. "I guess so. I mean," she sighed, "I don't even know what I mean. But, I suppose I'm too scared to let go of him, just because I think he's too perfect. It's like giving up gold because I think I'm better suited to silver, you know? Hojo's perfect, so why would I want to give him up? It's not like I can ever find anything better than perfect."

"Don't worry, honey," her mother replied, smiling as she wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer. "I understand. It's hard, I know. You're father was a lot like that when I first met him."

Kagome looked up at her mother. "Inhumanly perfect?"

Mrs. Higurashi chuckled. "Yes, very much so."

"How did you get over it?"

"I talked to him. And you know what surprised me the most?"

"What?' Kagome asked, curiously.

"He told me he thought I was too perfect for him," Mrs. Higurashi replied, laughing. "Me, the 3.4, average student who hated school and grew up wanting to make it big as an actress."

"Really!?" Kagome gasped, stunned. "You wanted to be an actress?"

Mrs. Higurashi nodded, smiling with the warmth of old memories. "Yup. Ran away from home once when my father refused to pay for acting lessons. Grandpa could tell you the story. But when I found out he thought I was perfect, I laughed, and asked him why."

"What did he say?"

The woman looked past her daughter, smiling with a wistful look glazing over her eyes as she recalled the day. "He said that, to, I was absolutely perfect. Maybe not to others, but in his eyes, I was the perfect woman."

"Wow," Kagome said quietly, awestruck.

With a small smile, Mrs. Higurashi shook her head, returning to the present. "Kagome, you're young and full of gifts. Don't ever sell yourself short, thinking you don't deserve something or someone."

Kagome nodded, thinking quietly to herself.

"But," she added, tilting her daughter's face up to look her in the eyes, "remember that your specific 'perfect someone' doesn't have to be a 'perfect' someone. Understand?"

Kagome frowned, but nodded. "I think so."

"Good," Mrs. Higurashi replied, smiling as she released her face. "Now why don't you let me finish these dishes up and you go enjoy the rest of the evening with Hojo."

"Thanks, Mom," Kagome said quietly, waiting for her mother to put down the dishrag and face her. "Thanks for everything."

"Always," she replied softly. "And don't worry too much about Hojo. If he really isn't your perfect someone, you'll know."

"Are you sure?"

"Promise."

Kagome hesitated before finally nodding and making her way into the living room. Mrs. Higurashi watched as Hojo welcomed her arrival and made a spot next to him available on the couch while Grandpa continued complimenting the boy on his superior knowledge, and started lecturing Kagome on what they had just discussed. Kagome smiled and nodded and laughed when appropriate, but the ever-clever Mrs. Higurashi could see her daughter still mulling over their own conversation.

She'll make the right decision, Mrs. Higurashi thought confidently, returning once again to the unattended dishes. She's smart and has a good heart. Just like her father.

"Kagome?"

Kagome blinked, shaken out of her thoughts, and looked up at Hojo. "Yes?"

"I asked if you were cold. Didn't you hear me?"

Kagome shook her head, smiling sheepishly. "Sorry, I wasn't paying attention."

Hojo frowned, studying her curiously. "Is something the matter?"

Again, she shook her head, trying to ease his worry. "No, I'm fine. Just kind of dazed off, that's all."

Satisfied with her response, Hojo promptly stopped and removed his jacket, gently throwing it on her own shoulders. "Well, here."

"Hojo," Kagome began to protest, but Hojo only shook his head and playfully pulled the hood over her head.

"I don't want to hear it," he said firmly, grinning. "I worked hard to get on your grandfather's good side. I don't want to mess it all up with bringing you home with a cold."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Hojo, they already liked you. And even if I did get sick, they'd never blame you."

"But I would," Hojo said quietly, suddenly growing serious. "I want to take care of you, Kagome."

Kagome looked up into his warm, chocolate brown eyes staring so calmly into her own stormy blue. Her heart started racing, and suddenly she found her mind clouded with all of her previous doubts she had forced into the back of her mind earlier that evening.

How did she really feel about him? She was always showing off to her friends and now her family how wonderful he was, but when she tried to think about how she felt, all she came up with was a blank.

I guess I like him... But at this point in our relationship, I shouldn't be guessing, I should know. So why don't I? What's wrong with me?

Kagome frowned, and opened her mouth to speak. "Hojo, I-"

Suddenly, a loud bang and a short scream interrupted their moment. Their heads swung around to identify the sound when a woman came tearing out of an alleyway, stopped, looking around wildly. It took a few seconds before she noticed their presence in which she promptly started stumbling toward them.

"Help me... please!" she pleaded, gasping for air.

Kagome looked up at Hojo, who looked just as stunned as she did. Turning back to the woman, Kagome began, "What do you-"

BANG

The woman stumbled over something and went crashing to the ground, face first. Without a second thought, Kagome rushed to the woman's side, trying to help her up.

"Kagome!" Hojo cried.

BANG

Kagome jumped, the unfamiliar noise startling her. "Hojo?" she called out, turning to face him.

Hojo stood motionless, eyes wide, mouth gaping, trembling horribly. "Hojo? What's the matter?" Kagome asked, abandoning the girl.

She took one step toward him before she realized it. His shirt. A beautiful creamy white silk shirt she had given him for his birthday last year. The shirt he purposefully wore today to make an impression on the family he was to meet. It always had reminded her of how angelic he seemed to be sometimes. It was now red.

"HOJO!!!" she screamed, running forward. Before she could reach him, however, she saw his face contort in pain as he opened his mouth to speak, but coughed up blood instead. He grunted, not bothering to wipe the crimson liquid off his face before he tried again.

"Ka...go...me... r-run..." he muttered weakly before finally succumbing to the pain and closing his eyes, falling forward to the ground before Kagome's feet.

"HOJO!!!"

"You!"

Startled once again, Kagome whirled around to face the speaker.

A figure stood in front of the alleyway, half immersed in the shadows, watching her. From the half that she could see in the dim streetlight, she could tell it was a dark-haired man, rather tall and in at least his late twenties dressed in long, black leather. Shivers ran up and down her spine as she gazed into his pale, ghost-like face. From that distance, she could not see any distinguishing details but his eyes- his eyes she could not be drawn from. A deep wine color, they bore right into chest and sent her heart beating rapidly once again, but this time, in cold fear.

The stranger narrowed said eyes at her suspiciously. "What are you doing here?"

"M-me!?" Kagome squeaked.

"You never mentioned you were coming early," he continued, not hearing her response. "Had I known, I could have spared these... trivialities." He gestured with his hand to include the woman on the ground, which Kagome realized shockingly was dead, and Hojo, lying motionless beside her.

Suddenly, as if viewing the whole scene on a TV screen, it all clicked. "You shot them?" she stated more than asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Of course," the man replied warily, not understanding her bewilderment. "That's how we, in this business, do away with the insignificants."

Kagome tore her eyes away from his to look down at the man at her feet. "Hojo," she whispered, voice trembling terribly.

"Wait a minute," the man said suddenly, returning her attention back to him. His eyes were narrowed at her, studying her, and Kagome felt herself shiver involuntarily. He noticed this, and frowned. "I see," he muttered, as if disappointed in something before finally pulling his hand out of his pocket. Kagome gasped. He was holding a gun. A smooth, shiny black pistol. She gulped.

"I'm afraid the mistake is mine, then," he muttered, somewhat to himself. Shaking his thoughts from his head, he slowly lowered the pistol to take aim for her forehead. "I'm sure you understand."

Kagome was frozen in fear, unable to move.

What in the world is going on? she thought frantically. Is this really happening to me? Wasn't I just in my house a few minutes ago, laughing with Hojo and Grandpa? How can I be standing here, waiting for my life to end like this?

She watched, almost as if in slow motion, as the slim, bony finger pulled on the trigger.

Somebody... help me...

BANG

The hit felt as if she had just been punched in the stomach by a charging rhino. All the air she had held in her throat escaped rather violently as her body was hurled backward, crashing onto the cold pavement several feet from where she had stood. She could feel her back and ribs strain with the force of the collision, but strangely enough, it wasn't the pain her mind was focusing on. In fact, she was having a hard time focusing at all.

Her eyes blinked rather sluggishly, vaguely taking in the details of the abandoned street. Even the bright light in front of her slowly swirled in fantastic, dancing little spots before her eyes. It didn't take long before even the dancing lights faded and everything dissolved into black.

AN: okay, there's the first chapter. Personally, I'm pretty proud of it and proud of how well everything's playing out. I've apparently been in mad mania writing mode for the last few days and I've already got the first four chapters done, still working on the fifth. For those of you who know me, this is incredibly rare. Nonetheless, I'm gonna try and pace the chapters. Even though I have some chapters done, I won't put them all out there, just to make you wait forever for the next chapter I'm working on to be done. So, hopefully, if I can keep up the writing, you won't have to wait too long in between each chapter... at least that's the way I'm trying to work it out, anyway. Wish me luck, and hope you enjoy!