AN: ducks flying tomatoes Ow! Ow! Yes, I know, I know! I haven't updated in... forever... but blame my school and my job for pinning me with so many hours that I hardly have time to sleep five hours a day, let alone write at all... And I'm afraid to say that the inspiration streak is being affected by the lack of rest, so writing is coming a little hard... when I have the time, that is...

Anyway, I'm really really sorry this was so late in coming. Honestly, chapter 14 still is unfinished... about 70 done, but still unfinished. I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask for your patience as I struggle through with this... excuses, I know, but at least they are excuses that are true. I'm really worn out, and trying to do the best I can in all areas, but it's not working out too well... But, at least the end of the term will be soon, and I'll have a chance to recouperate and hopefully win my inspiration back...

My apologies, once again...

hEyKyRa13

Protect Me

Chapter 12

Rage

Inuyasha awoke the next morning to an unfamiliar wall and a splitting headache. The headache, at least, he recognized as a nasty side effect from his re-transformation into his hanyou self. As if the pain of changing in the first place wasn't enough. But the wall he stared at blankly, brows furrowed.

Due to his lack of coffee to reawaken his senses, it took him a rather embarrassingly long time to finally recognize the wall-like structure as the side of his bed, ex-nay the red, fluffy comforter.

His first reaction was to merely accept it and close his eyes again, preparing to lull back into sleep. A few moments of laying there, waiting to fall unconscious, gave way to his second reaction- Wait… bed?... side?

One eye cracked open a second time to reconfirm the sight. He slid his gaze upward, and, sure enough, there was his white sheeted bed, lacking its covering. Further one-eyed exploration found the missing comforter lying beneath him like a cushion, his head resting on his pillows.

Did I sleep on the floor? Was his second thought as he forced both eyes open. With a great effort, he pulled himself up into a sitting position, yawning and drawing his arms over his head, arching his back until a satisfactory crack announced his body was adequately stretched. He glanced around, pleased that his acute hanyou sight had returned, if only a little blurry from just waking.

He lifted his nose, testing the air. The wench is up, he thought absently, recognizing her scent in the kitchen and hearing the softly beating of a wire whisk in a plastic bowl. Smells like eggs, too. Eggs and… mmm, pancakes. Hmm, should I risk trying to snatch them again?

With all senses completely focused on food, it didn't strike him until he got up and sluggishly moved to the door that something was wrong. Something was very wrong.

Spinning around, his eyes widened in surprise. With the exception of the rumpled comforter on the ground, his room was spotless! A pile of the clothes he distinctly remembered tearing from his closet last night in his thrashing were now folded and stacked neatly on his bed, which he also noticed was made as tidily as one could without the comforter. The lamp beside his bed was also standing, missing the small dent he himself placed on the stand near the base. His bookshelves were restored and refilled, with no clutter anywhere to indicate anything out of the ordinary took place the previous evening.

Must have been her, he realized, frowning as he was finally aware of the fact that her scent drifted over everything in his room. Wonder how she could have…

Kagome finished pouring the last pancake into the griddle when a scream made her drop the bowl, scattering the scant remains of batter across the floor.

"What the-"

"WENCH!"

Guess he's awake, Kagome thought timidly as she made to walk to his room. But, before she had hardly took two steps, the hanyou himself nearly whipped the poor door off its hinges and stormed to face her, face and hands trembling in suppressed rage.

"Inuyasha, what's-"

"What the hell did you….. how the hell did you… why the hell did you!"

"Inuyasha, would you calm down?" Kagome sputtered, her own anger slowly rising in defiance to his. "I can't understand a single-"

"YOU WERE THERE, YOU BITCH! YOU SAW… you saw…" Unable to finish, his voice slowly tapered to a low, guttural growl, eyes focused a little unnervingly on Kagome, pupils thinning to dark, feral slits.

Peaked anger quickly fell before the combined forces of surprise and confusion as Kagome looked at the hanyou, staring at him as if he had just grown a second head. "Inuyasha, what are you-"

The next few seconds Kagome didn't even remember until much later when she spent her time recalling her adventures while curled up on a couch. She remembered taking in a deep breath, opening her mouth to yell her next word. The word itself was temporarily forgotten as the next thing that registered through her mind was the mind-reeling sensation of a rough, calloused something brushing against the sensitive skin of her throat.

Next thing she knew, the back of her head crashed against the refrigerator door, her fingers clawing uselessly at the pressure at her neck which she suddenly and chillingly realized was the grip of the ex-murderer hanyou. Her eyes went wide, creamy skin paling to a bleached white like she had just seen a ghost.

"I-swear," he snarled, punctuating each word with a threatening squeeze of his fingers, "if-you-ever-tell-anyone… I'll make sure Naraku won't have the pleasure of seeing you die at his…"

Suddenly he stopped, eyes shifting elsewhere. Air hissed through Kagome's teeth, the poor girl only now realizing that she had it held in the first place. However, with Inuyasha's hand still around her throat, recovering that breath proved almost as difficult as taking her eyes away from Inuyasha's untamed manifestation.

The hanyou merely ignored her, instead completely focused on the distant sound, quickly approaching. With an irritated growl, his eyes snapped back onto Kagome, teeth bared, noting her pulse quickening beneath his palm. Jutting his face forward, he stopped, his nose millimeters above hers, a deep snarl rising from deep within his gut.

"Keep your lips shut," he hissed, squeezing one last time before releasing, letting gravity pull the girl back to Earth in a heap of coughing, sputtering flesh. On her hands and knees, she was a little distracted to notice Inuyasha storm away, or the front door open.

"Oh my God, Kagome!" Sango gasped, crossing the living room in a few concerned bounds to kneel by her friend, not forgetting to throw Miroku a pissed off look that screamed 'See? What did I tell you?' The young man merely sighed in defeat, shaking his head as he made his way toward the women.

"Kagome, are you alright?" Sango asked, her hand on the girl's back, alternately thumping and rubbing when necessary to assist in her struggle to breathe.

Kagome nodded, although not looking rather convincing as she attempted to fight back the purple coloring in her cheeks. Miroku appeared with a glass of water, which she greedily accepted with little more than a wheezy 'thank you'. After a few more back thumps and gulps, she could finally sit up, breathing much easier.

Sango's hand never left Kagome's shoulder, nor did her threatening glare ever leave Miroku. "Now, what on earth happened? It wasn't Naraku, was it?"

Kagome shook her head, taking her time in answering. With her head still bowed slightly, she glanced through a veil of bangs at Inuyasha's door. It was cracked open, not a creature in sight. But no one needed to be, she told herself. Not with his unnaturally acute hearing. The open door served no other purpose but as a reminder. She frowned only briefly, her fingers brushing up against the indentations left from the hanyou's claws, before covering the frown with a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry, Sango," Kagome replied sheepishly. "It was my fault. I was trying the eggs to see if they were done, and, stupid me, it ended up being too hot. Problem was, it was already too far down my throat, but my body was trying to cough it up anyway."

"Well," Miroku spoke up, inspecting the contents on the stove. "I don't think anybody'll be making the same mistake with these eggs. Not even Inuyasha could swallow these things," he added, holding up a charred lump of evidence.

Kagome giggled while Sango rolled her eyes, although obviously pleased that her friend was recovered enough to laugh. Nonetheless, her brows creased in her ever-familiar motherly fashion. "Geez, I leave you alone for one night, and look what I come back to find? I swear, Kagome, between Naraku going after your life and Inuyasha going after your sanity, and now you yourself- you're not making it easy on me, are you?"

"Sorry, Sango," Kagome replied, genuinely apologetic.

Kagome's sincerity worked at Sango's frown, turning up the corners just slightly. "Yeah, well, as long as you don't go strolling along in front of Naraku's office, we'll call it even, kay?"

Kagome grinned. "Deal."

"Well, now that the tear-jerking part is over," Miroku interrupted, earning a playful glare from both girls, "can we do something about breakfast? That airplane food was horrible."

The girls exchanged looks, rolling their eyes exasperatedly, but got to their feet with smiles nonetheless.

Kagome and Sango were busy working a new breakfast when Inuyasha finally emerged from his room, not looking any more pleasant than he had earlier. He made sure to shot Kagome a long, meaningful glare before he tossed his jacket over his shoulder and strode toward the front door.

"And where do you think you're going?" Sango asked, her voice dripping sugary sweetness.

Inuyasha didn't stop, but his swiveled ears belayed his attempt at pretending he didn't hear her. "Walk," he muttered gruffly.

"Not while we're here, you're not," Sango snapped, sweetness dropped in favor of bitterness. "Kagome needs as many bodyguards as she can get, now."

The hanyou paused long enough to throw the officer a lazy, disinterested gaze. "Yeah, uh huh, just page me when the part where I actually care comes around, kay?"

Sango's face boiled red. "Inuyasha," she began in a warning tone.

"Sango, why not just let him go?" Miroku suggested, wary of her eyes suddenly snapping on him, the heat around her growing. "I mean, we're here, aren't we? Why can't he go for just a little?"

"Miroku, this isn't the time to be changing sides," Sango warned him.

Miroku blanched, and opened his mouth to plead his defense.

"No, he's right."

All eyes fell on Kagome, the entire room stunned into silence. Even Inuyasha frowned, wondering what the girl was trying to pull. Miroku's expression bled relief while Sango stared at her questioningly.

"Excuse me?" Sango replied, both irritation and shock battling for control of her face.

Kagome, feeling the weight of Inuyasha's suspicious gaze on her, looked at Sango with a smile. "Well, why not? After all, like Miroku said, you two are here. And Kouga is sure to be here sooner or later, right?"

Sango narrowed her eyes. "You look like Kagome, but you certainly don't sound like her. Are you a Kagome clone Naraku placed so that he could take the real Kagome and kill her?"

"Of course not!" Kagome replied light-heartedly. "I'm just saying-"

Sango interrupted, placing her hand on the girl's forehead. "If that's the case, then are you sure you're feeling okay? Do you have a fever or something? Was the egg rotten?"

"Sango!" Kagome giggled, swatting her hand away playfully. "I'm fine. I just think that Inuyasha deserves some time to himself now and then, right?"

"Are you kidding?" Sango replied. "All he ever does in sit in his room. Are you saying that that doesn't count?"

Kagome shrugged. "I don't know. All I'm saying is it's unfair to keep him cooped up in here. A simple walk can't do any harm, right?"

Inuyasha watched her in silent curiosity. He had no doubt she was trying to suck up to him, keeping him off her neck. At the same time, he hated how everyone seemed to be talking like he wasn't in the room. As if his life was to be determined by whether or not he had their permission. Of course, he couldn't stand for that, now, could he? No matter how nice… no, but rather, in spite of how nice Kagome was trying to be.

It was out of his mouth before he realized what he was doing.

"Yeah, just like the simple little walk that got you here in the first place, right?"

For the second time this morning, the room was trapped in a dead silence. Miroku and Sango both stared at him, eyes wide in shock. Slowly, both head swiveled around to look at Kagome, waiting for her reaction.

The girl stared unblinkingly at Inuyasha, her face expressionless. Her mouth gaped open only slightly, lips trembling furiously.

CRASH!

Sango and Miroku both jumped at the sound of the glass, only seconds before being scrubbed down by Kagome, crash to the ground, exploding into thousands of tiny shards. But no one made any inclination to clean it up.

Internally, Inuyasha winced. Maybe he had gone just a little too far…

His ears perked. Kagome said something, but it was so soft, even he couldn't make it out. He frowned.

"What, wench?" he spat, ignoring the tiny voice in his head that was screaming at him to shut up.

This time, when she repeated herself, he could hear what she said. He distinctively heard two, tiny words. Get out.

The hanyou snorted, making no effort to move. "Excuse me?" There went that little voice again. But, of course, Inuyasha never was best at listening to others, even if it was a voice in his head.

"Get out, Inuyasha," she said, in a clear enough voice that, now, Sango and Miroku heard her. Her fear of Inuyasha's wrath was long gone. Her own wrath had taken its place.

He smirked. The voice was still singing a chorus of Shut the hell up, but he had long since pushed that to the back of his mind. "You think I'm gonna listen to an ugly, egotistical, freakishly aggressive chick like-"

"I SAID GET OUT, YOU ASSHOLE!!" she screamed, slamming her hands onto the sides of the sink with as much force as she could muster, her entire body now quivering with the force of an earthquake in an uncontrollable rage. Her eyes bore holes into Inuyasha's, not blinking for an instant despite the tears that swelled along the lines of her lower lids. "GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT!"

Without a second thought, Inuyasha spun around and, as casually as he could, walked out the front door, slamming it shut behind him. He stood outside with his ear to the door, trying to determine what would happen next.

CRASH!

"Fuck!" he cried, jumping away from the door, rubbing his affected ear gently. She was throwing dishes at him! Even through the door, the noise was like a foghorn in his ear.

CRASH!

Not wanting to wait for the next round, he grunted, stuck his hands in his pockets, and promptly walked away, trying to shake the image of the ghost-like Kagome from his mind.

Sango and Miroku exchanged helpless glances as they let Kagome hurl dish after cup after bowl at the closed door. They both knew Inuyasha was no longer listening, guessing from his muffled "Fuck!" that he had decided against taking his chances with the rampaging human girl. Not even they had the nerve to ask her to stop, or to even offer her a supportive hand on the shoulder. At this point, she was completely uncontrollable. Not even their words could penetrate the madness that had taken over. There was nothing left for them to do but wait it out. Eventually, she'd run out of steam, they figured. Either that, or she'd run out of dishes to throw.

Neither had to voice aloud their thoughts, for they knew they were thinking the same thing. Hopefully she'll stop at the dishes. They didn't want to think of what would happen if she began looking around the room for something else to throw.

But, all too soon, Kagome did run out of dishes. Sango and Miroku watched her with baited breath, not daring to say a word.

Kagome leaned heavily on the sink, her chest heaving as she gasped for air. Her throat was sore from screaming, and her fingers were bleeding in places where her fierce grip cracked the glasswares before throwing, but she ignored them all.

Some vague part of her mind reminded her that Sango and Miroku were still in the room, so, ignoring them both, she stormed into her room, slamming the door so hard, the nails in the hinges rattled precariously.

Sango and Miroku stared after her, still a little too unnerved to say anything. They didn't need to.

Kagome's scream pierced through the door, having both officers on their feet with their weapons in hand in a heartbeat.

"Kagome!" Sango called out, racing to the door a step behind her partner. She reached forward for the doorknob.

Miroku's hand held her back, and she twirled on him, pressing her gun to Miroku's forehead threateningly. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" she hissed.

Miroku, miraculously disregarding the gun barrel at his head, held a finger to his lips and hissed for silence. A low noise that sounded more like Inuyasha's growl erupted from Sango's throat as she opened her mouth to scream a string of select vocabulary even Sesshoumaru would flinch at. However, all those vocabulary words were lost in their formation as Miroku, in a stunning feat of either bravery or stupidity, clamped his hand over her mouth, demanding silence once again.

If looks could kill, Miroku would be dead long ago, but the look Sango sported now would be enough to raise him from the dead long enough to kill him all over again. Surprisingly, the officer's normal fear of his partner was gone as he looked sternly at her, tilting his head to point at Kagome's door.

A loud wailing suddenly brought things into perspective. Sango ripped her head out of Miroku's grasp to stare at the door, tip toeing forward to push it open just slightly. With Miroku hovering over her shoulder, for once no perverted inclinations on his mind, the young woman peeked through the crack.

Kagome sat on her bed, her chin tucked into her collarbone as she screamed in agony, tears that were stubbornly held back now flowing freely. A large, somewhat worn out brown leather jacket was held to her chest, her fingers coiled around the collar.

It tore Sango's heart to see Kagome so… broken. After the girl's cries softened to whimpers, Sango had to finally look away. Only Miroku noticed the girl lay slowly on the bed, her body curled in a fetal position around the jacket, still sobbing. Without a word, he reached forward and quietly closed the door, leaving Kagome to her privacy.

Turning back around, Miroku saw Sango stomping toward the door, a determined expression on her face, being sure to take off the safety mechanism from her weapon.

"Where are you going?" he asked, racing after her.

"I don't care what Sesshoumaru says," she growled, yanking the front door open. "I'm going to kill him."

Upon glancing back, many would find Miroku's sudden bravery rather admirable. However, suffice it to say, Sango was not one of those many. If her look before was fiery, her glare now was scalding molten lava as, for the second time, Miroku's hand reached out to stop her.

"Come on, Sango. Don't do anything hasty, now."

"Hasty! Hasty? Miroku, what that jerk just did doesn't deserve imprisonment, it deserves supreme torture!" Sango hissed, fighting Miroku's grasp. "And you're defending him? What he did to Kagome is-"

"Unforgivable, I know," Miroku finished calmly, not letting go. "But weren't you the one who said you wanted to protect Kagome. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I doubt leaving her to chase Inuyasha was what you had in mind."

Sango ripped her arm away, taking one last glance at the open doorway before slamming the door shut, walking around Miroku to collapse onto the couch, arms folded over her chest stubbornly as if to say, 'There. Happy now?'

Miroku sighed, shoulders slumped. Between the two overly emotional women, he wasn't having a very good start to the day, was he? And, as far as he was concerned, it was all due to one thing…

"I guess we won't be having breakfast, then, will we?"

AN: So... with the chapter entitled Rage... I'm a little surprised that only two people guessed at the mad person being Inuyasha, no one guessing it would be Kagome, and one personhoping it wouldn't be the both of them. But I'll let you digest it all and wait to see if you approve of their arguement... I know some have commented that they didn't want to see Inuyasha and Kagome fight like this, and that they've appreciated the few tender moments, but as you should know by now, anytime a major fight occurs, especially when it's between Inuyasha and Kagome, that simply makes it all the more worthwhile to see the efforts they make into making up and becoming closer later...

Review Responses:

suppup17: By all means... chores come first... cause then, parents can't get pissed and revoke internet priveleges... and yes, in case you are wondering, I am speaking from experience...

Rikana: smile thank you...

koinu-no-ai: I am very glad you brought that up. As I was writing, it was something that bothered me, as well. But no one made a mention of it, so I sort of ignored the feeling and continued. But since you brought it up, it gives me motivation to do something about it. And I think I know what I'll do... and it has something to do with something that Kagome did in this chapter... if you figure it out or have more ideas, please email me. I appreciate any type of feedback that can improve my writing.

IceSpikeXBlackRose: sigh There she goes again with the dramatics... I still say you could play the villaness in some soap opera... and btw, I believe you are still in my kitchen right now, eating eggs and bacon before we go to church... just to let you know...

Kagome92111: smile Feel free to ramble all you like... I'm not picky about what kind of replies I get...

allin656: applauds Congratulations. You were the only one to even come close to guessing who the fighting was between. You should be proud. And as I said before, the harder they fight, the sweeter the make-up, right?

helmet-head: grin Can't deny it. Mushy is good... mushy is very good... Anyway, you were one of the two people that imagined Inuyasha as getting mad... of course, Kagome also got mad, but you still got half of it so take pride in your accomplishment!

Kuro-chan : shudder Is there even such a thing as a Hojo/Kagome fic?... shudder I really hope not... that's just morally wrong, in my opinion... Sure, Kagome and Inuyasha aren't the only way to go... but Kagome and Hojo... that's just not an option... Anyway, I'm glad you like the fic. Please, if you have any comments, feel free to email me. Of course, I understand what it's like not having enough time to do so sometimes... but whenever you do have time, I'd really appreciate the feedback!

Inuyasha'smistress: nods I agree... friends contribute a lot towards our downward spiral to insanity... glares at IceSpikexBlackRose eating in kitchen... in fact, they contribute way too much, if you ask me... But anyway, I'm glad things are making sense and that you are enjoying the fic!

Next chapter: Inner Turmoil and Ramen

Inuyasha gets enlightened by a bowl of ramen... that's really all I can say... I'll let you gnaw on that one for a while, and wish me luck in getting more chapters out!