Chapter 5

Yash struggled to get from one side of the crowded car to the other, but his senses were screaming that she was in danger. After what felt like an eternity, but was probably only 15 seconds, he finally got to the separating doors and spotted her slouching on the seat. He slid the door open as silently as possible and her voice trembled, "I'm not Medusa, my mother was that she was killed by Perseus. I am no one. Please, just let me go."

The short, fat man made a tsk sound in response and his demon blood almost took over. It had been centuries since his demon had run rampant, but today it seemed ready to attack full force.

He could feel a light rumble in his chest as he entered the door. It took him a second to notice that the man was holding his neck and blood coated his hand and was dripping down his arm. He held back a small smile. At least she got a hit in. As he was staring at the man, he noticed movement and her body fell off the seat and crumpled to the floor. She took a few deep breaths, and her eyes drifted closed. The unknown assailant smiled wickedly, and hauled her up by the front of her shirt, so that her back was against the seats behind her.

Yash moved before he even realized he was. The fat man was pressed with his back against the wall, and Kagome slunk to the floor again. He could smell this disgusting odor radiating off of the man. It was in his sweat, and in the blood that was pouring from his neck. Had this asshole poisoned himself so that no one else could hurt him? The rumble had reached a new level, and the man's eyes were wide with terror.

"Who the fuck are you?!"

Yash spoke the words with such a growl they were hard for even him to understand. The man just shook his head frantically, trying to figure out how to tell him he couldn't understand him. Yash pulled him off the wall and slammed him back into it until his head hit with an audible thunk. His growl reverberated through the car.

"I said, 'who the fuck are you?"

After he slowed his words enough, the man stuttered, as if trying to figure out what to say to calm the beast.

"My name is Muikotsu. I wasn't going to hurt her. I swear. I was hired to collect her. But I wasn't going to hurt her."

Yash sneered back at the man. He could smell that the man was lying, and what he intended to do to Kagome. His demon was furious that this man thought he could have her, that he even thought he could touch her. Yash could feel his fangs lengthening and his claws. He balled his hand into a fist and delivered one blow directly to the man's face. The short fat man collapsed under the punch. Yash threw him against the wall as if he were nothing. The loud bang caused the train to shudder, and the man laid there unmoving. He stared for a moment and was both irritated and relieved that he could see the man's chest rise and fall from his breathing. But the creep wasn't his priority. He would find him and punish him more thoroughly later. Instead, he knelt down and gently picked up Kagome, cradling her close to him. He waited by the door, glancing over occasionally to make sure the fuckhead was still unconscious, until the train screeched to a halt at the next stop. They were a little ways away from her apartment, but he didn't want her waking up on the train.

As he was taking her home, he felt her trying to wake up. Every time she moved, he stopped and found somewhere to wait to give her a chance to get used to the surroundings. But it wasn't until they were almost at her apartment building that her eyes finally opened.

Before she seemed to register who he was, she started frantically fighting. Trying to do anything to escape. He set her down gently, but didn't leave her side. His voice came out soft and gentle, trying to do anything he could think of to calm her mind.

"Hey, hey, it's okay. I've got you. He can't hurt you anymore… You're okay."

Her face swung to his, and he could see tears welling up. Her head drifted to his shoulder, and he held her tight as she sobbed against him.

"Come on, let me take you home."

He felt her nod against his chest, and he scooped her up and finished walking her to her apartment building. She handed him the key, and he carried her the rest of the way home.

The first thing Kagome noticed when she came back to consciousness was that she was being carried. The memory flooded her, and she felt her heart pounding hard again. He had her. That evil, vicious man had captured her. She tried to take stock and to see if she was hurt anywhere else, but her body was still too numb. She began to fight with everything she had. She had to get away from him.

Then something surprising happened. He set her down gently, but she could feel him still right next to her. After all, she was still rather drugged. what danger was he in. 'He's toying with me. He knows he's won.' Tears began filling her eyes. Then a soft deep voice rumbled next to her and her mind quieter down. Her entire soul seemed to relax. The snake's eyes opened, and her own, and she saw beautiful deep golden eyes. She felt herself take a deep breath and released it. And then his voice came again.

"You're okay."

Her head slumped against his chest and she felt herself sobbing. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt so weak. She was the daughter of a God and had been beaten by a mere man. Whoever this Naraku was that had hired the man, he would pay. His voice brought her back to the present.

"Come on, let me take you home."

She nodded in silence against his chest, and he gently lifted her back up. Her eyes closed again as she nuzzled closer to him. Her snakes were waking up as well. And she carefully scanned their surroundings. As they walked up the steps to her building, she reached in her purse and handed him her keys. He managed to open the door without ever setting her down. Then he walked to the elevator and pushed the button, and they rode up in silence until they got to her floor.

"Which way is your apartment?"

She carefully lifted her hand and pointed to the left, and he followed her direction. Her voice sounded too weak to be hers, and it bothered her.

"Number 42. All the way at the end."

He walked evenly, and she used her key to unlock the door from his arms. He set her gently on the couch and disappeared for just a moment. He returned with a glass of water and to find her unconscious again.

Kagome came to, lying on her couch with Yash's jacket over her. She sat up quickly, and her head swam. Yash appeared with a glass of water just in time to catch her before she fell to the floor. Before she could realize who had her, she pushed away from him and huddled into the corner of the sofa. She folded herself as small as she could and covered her head and face with her arms. He couldn't see with her disguise still active, but as a few snakes came to they stared at him and hissed. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, and his heart broke for her.

"Kagame, you're safe. Do you remember me bringing you home?" his voice was a soft rumble.

She flinched at the sound for a second, then she looked around with the few snakes that were conscious. Once everything he said was confirmed her hands lowered and wrapped around her knees drawing them closer to her chest. She was so scared every movement jarred her senses and she couldn't bring herself to speak.

Her mind landed on the memory of that horrid little man touching her, and she shivered in revulsion.

His voice was barely a whisper, "I spilled the water. I'll be right back with another glass and a towel"

Her head shook slightly, and she focused on the water spreading across the floor. It all rose in a puddle and formed an orb. She could tell it wasn't clean enough to be drunk, so she forced heat into it to kill all the germs.

Yash his eyes were wide as he watched the orb floating before him boil then suddenly the bubbles vanished as she removed all the heat and small ice crystals spread across the surface he was in awe as the water poured gently to refill the glass that was lying on the floor she even used the pressure of the water to upright the glass.

After a moment she realized she had probably gone overboard with her powers, and she needed to pull back. She hadn't even thought about it when she started cleaning the mess. What could you possibly be thinking of her? He avoided her because she was a monster, and here she was proving him right. Her head drooped, and she reached her hand out timidly. After a small sip, she leaned forward slowly and placed the cup on the table.

"I need to get clean. I'm sorry for putting you out, Yash. Thank you for helping me." she tried to stand but wobbled back to fall on her butt. Yash was at her side in an instant.

"I don't think you should be left on your own yet, Kagome. If you don't want me here, I understand; But is there anyone else who can come help you?"

Tears were welling in her eyes. How long had it been since she had someone she trusted? Her head should gently, and she took in a deep breath, releasing it slowly. She forced a fake smile on her face and met his eyes. The deep golden color felt like it could swallow her whole.

"Don't worry, Yash. You've done more than I could ask for. I'll be OK."

This time when she stood, she kept her balance. She hoped her smile was convincing, but Yash seemed dubious. She walked slowly to her room to get a change of clothes and when she came to the door of her bedroom Yash was staring at her, hard.

"If you don't want me here, I'll go, but I don't like it. You could have damage from that fucking toxin or something. I think if you don't want to call someone else, I'd rather stay."

Her mouth fell open, and she imagined she resembled a fish gasping for air when it was out of the water. After what felt like several minutes but was likely only a few seconds, she stammered, "you can stay if you want. After my shower, I can find something to eat."

He nodded a little then she entered the bathroom closing the door behind her. She removed her clothes and placed them in the trash can. She had really liked that shirt, but she could never wear it again without thinking about that monster who touched her.. She turned the water on all hot. Then brush her teeth until her gums were bleeding. She needed to erase every touch, every false caress. She felt so unclean.

She climbed in and removed the small ring on one of the snakes, and her disguise fell away. She gently cleaned them almost lovingly, trying not to think about the occurrence on the train. Until she reached the one that had been poisoned, it was still weak, but alive. She felt a tear fall as she nuzzled the creature; it tried to console her as did a few of the others, but it only reminded her of her terror, disgust, but mostly her defeat. She was the child of a God, and she couldn't stop a human. She finally started scrubbing herself until her hands touched a spot the man had. disgust filled her as the washcloth covered it.

Daring at the soapy skin, it felt filthy. As if his finger still lingered there. She continued scrubbing until the door opened and a nervous Yash entered. She looked up and he looked terrified. Grab the towel from the hook and try to look away.

It was at that moment she realized several things. First, she was staring up at him from the floor of the tub. Second, tears were streaming down her face unbidden. Last, her hands were not clean anymore. She looked at the drain and saw red swirling in the suds, then she looked herself over and her skin was so raw that in many places it was bleeding.

After that incredible show of power, it was a little befuddling to see her switch to a timid and meek response as she slowly extended her hand for the water glass. Carefully hand it to her and she took a few steps before leaning and setting the Cup down.

Her words were low, as if she was afraid of his answer.

". I'm sorry for putting you out, Yash. Thank you for helping me."

She barely has stood before she slipped back onto the couch, and Yash was at her arm to make sure she didn't bounce off the couch before he made the conscious decision to move. New one "I don't think you should be left on your own yet, Kagome. If you don't want me here, I understand; but is there anyone else who can help you?"

He could smell her tears before he saw them. The turmoil she was feeling marred her beautiful scent, and his demon growled in his head. Then she took a deep breath and calmed herself. When she looked at him, he could see the smile was forced.

"don't worry, Yash. You've done more than I could ask for. I'll be OK."

She moved to stand again, and this time managed to keep her balance. His demon was practically feral now and as she walked to her room; he took a moment to re-center himself and assert control over his more animalistic side. She came out and he must have looked angry because she tried to smile as if to calm him down.

His demon inside was making staying calm very difficult.

"If you don't want me here, I'll go; But I don't like it. You could have damage from that fucking toxin or something. I think if you don't want to call someone else, I'd rather stay"

Her mouth hung open, and his ears lowered. Of course, she didn't want him here.

"You can stay if you want to. After my shower, I can find us something to eat."

His ears perked back up, and he nodded in response. She walked into the bathroom and closed the door. He slumped on the couch and put his head in his hands. His demon for the first time in centuries spoke to him.

"Come now, you can't leave that delightful creature in there alone. She needs to be protected."

He could almost see the smug smile on the youkai's face. He growled low as if trying to force his own demon into submission. He lost track of time as he focused on keeping his demon in check. That is, until he smelled her blood coming from the bathroom.

Now his demon would not be subdued. He opened the door to the bathroom, and steam was filling the room around him.