Chapter 8: Down the Rabbit Hole

Inuyame opened the text message as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. It read as follows: "Dear Inuyame, heh, that sounds kind of formal for a text, doesn't it? Well, anyway, I have something really important to talk to you about. Is there any way you could come meet me in the park? I know it's late and you would probably have to sneak out but, I really would like to talk to you. Sincerely, Kovu….yeah, again, I know that was pretty formal for a text, but whatever."

Inuyame took a deep breath. 'Kovu has something important to talk to me about? At midnight? What could it possibly mean?' She wondered to herself. She sighed and climbed out of bed, she'd never fall asleep at this rate anyways. She changed into her red robe of the fire rat and put her gear on, hey, you could never be too careful, and grabbed her cellphone. Never having snuck out before, she didn't really know what to do, so she did what she saw people do in the movies. First she stuffed pillows under her blanket to make it look like she was sleeping in bed, then she slowly crept downstairs. As she made her way down the hallway, she was startled to hear someone clear his voice.

"Ahem." Inuyasha said, much to his daughter's dismay.

Inuyame froze in her spot, and then turned to face her father. "Oh, hi daddy." She said, using the childish version of calling him her father, hoping she wouldn't be punished too severely.

"Inuyame you can calm down, I'm not going to punish you. I'm going to let you go." Inuyasha sighed.

Inuyame relaxed, dumfounded. "You're going to let me leave? You know what I'm doing, don't you?" She asked tentatively.

"Keh, yeah I know what you're doing. You're going to meet some boy, or so your mother says. I don't like it, I don't like it at all. In fact I can't stand the thought of some boy having his hands on my daughter. But your mom explained to me that telling you no would just make it worse. So I'll let you go, I just have to talk to you about something really quick. It's about the Shikon No Tama." Inuyasha said, his voice taking on a serious tone.

Inuyasha had definitely peaked his daughter's curiosity. "Really? What about it?" Inuyame asked.

"We, your uncle Sesshomaru and I, are pretty sure we've figured out who has it. We believe it's in the possession of a mousey little half demon named Leyla Michaels. When I say mousey, I mean it quite literally. She is half human half demon mouse. Do you know her?" Inuyasha explained then finished with his question.

Inuyame put her hand up to her chin and thought about it, a habit she had gotten from her father. "No, I don't think I know a Leyla, do you know what grade she's in?" Inuyame asked.

"That's the problem; the only thing we know is her type and her name. I'm leaving it up to you to either protect her and the jewel at any cost, or get the jewel from her and bring it home safely." Inuyasha said as he put his hand on her shoulder. "I'm counting on you sweetheart." He said quietly.

Inuyasha looked at her father, amazed. He rarely called her sweetheart anymore. He had called her sweetheart all the time when she was little. From what her mom said, he had changed a lot from the Inuyasha she had first met. Inuyame smiled brightly at her dad and put per hand on his. "I won't let you down, I promise." She said and gave him a big hug.

Inuyasha was too surprised to move at first but then he hugged her back. He whispered quietly in her ear "I love you Inuyame."

Inuyame pulled back and studied her dad's face "I love you too dad."

"Well, you better get going. I'm sure your….friend…is waiting for you." He said gruffly.

Inuyame smiled at that, he was back to his normal unemotional self. She mock saluted and said "Yes sir." And snuck out the front door.

~Meanwhile~

Kovu walked towards the park, his mind tormented with what he was about to do. How come it had to be him? Why couldn't someone else do it? Like his older brother, or his sister. "Grr, how come I have to do all the dirty work!" He howled into the silence of the night. He shoved his hands in his pockets and kicked a rock in his path. He didn't want to hurt Inuyame. Maybe if he explained it really carefully and precisely, she would understand. Ha! Yeah right. Irrational, hot-headed, emotional Inuyame? Fat chance! He sighed dejectedly, his thoughts taking him back to earlier that day at lunch.

~Earlier that day at lunch, from Kovu's view~

Inuyame was stuttering again, Kovu found it quite endearing that she grew nervous around him. He had just told her he was especially happy today, and he hadn't lied, he was.

"R-really? Wh-what for?" Inuyame asked, her voice trembling.

"Hmm, I'd have to say it's because of you." Kovu said, a thoughtful look on his face. He really enjoyed messing with Inuyame and making her nervous.

"Me?" Inuyame asked, stunned.

"Yes, you. I don't know why but I'm drawn to you, Inuyame. I find that I can't stop thinking about you even when you're not with me. There's just something about you." Kovu said earnestly as he looked into Inuyame's eyes. He didn't know why but he felt like it was very important to explain why he was so drawn to her. Not just for her sake but for his own as well.

"I, I don't know what to say. But I feel the same way about you." Inuyame said, her face turning scarlet.

"You don't have to be embarrassed, it's a perfectly natural feeling." Kovu said as he grabbed both of Inuyame's hands in his own. Although he said she didn't need to be embarrassed, Kovu secretly enjoyed the flush of red that swept across Inuyame's cheeks. It really was adorable. And the way her Inu ears twitched was so cute.

"I, I know. It's just, I've never felt this way about anyone before." Inuyame said quietly, so quietly so that Kovu had to lean forward and strain his ears to hear it.

When he realized what she had said, his face lit up and he smiled. "I'm really glad to hear you say that. I've never felt this about anyone either." And he meant every word of it. Never had anyone make him feel as if there was nothing he couldn't do, as long as she was by his side. He was about to say this when she spoke again.

"Really? So I'm the first girl you've…liked?" Inuyame asked hesitantly.

"Er, yeah. Yeah, that's right." Kovu said, deflated, and pulled his hands back. 'No, that's wrong' he wanted to say. 'I love you.' But the words couldn't find their way out. She only liked him? Never had he felt so deeply about another person before, and she didn't feel the same? He couldn't process it, and luckily he didn't have to. Just then his phone rang and he reached into his pocket and answered it. "Hello?" He asked. "Kovu, I believe we've made a breakthrough in finding the sacred jewel. You are making good progress with the girl I assume? Good, she is vital to finding the jewel. That's why I put you on this job in the first place. I'm glad I did, too. Me sending you to meet her for this mission was the best thing I ever did." Kovu's father, Koga, said. "Yeah okay." Kovu said, carefully avoiding Inuyame's curious gaze. "You need to come home right away so we can discuss our next move. We must get that jewel at all costs." Koga demanded. "Alright I'll be right there." Kovu hung up the phone and looked at Inuyame. "I have to go, I'm really sorry. See you tomorrow?" He asked. A small part of him wanted her to say no, to deny him seeing her so he didn't have to use her this way, but his hopes failed.

"Yeah. Yeah definitely. See you tomorrow." Inuyame said and pasted a smile onto her face.

Kovu smiled and walked away. He knew her smile had been fake, but he didn't know why. He shook his head as he took off towards home.

~End of flashback~

Kovu cursed at the ground for what he had to do, all because of his stupid father. Well, okay, he took that back. His father wasn't stupid; he just hadn't made the best choices in life was all. Kovu groaned as he reached the park and glanced at his watch. She would arrive in about two minutes, he had that long to try and come up with a plausible explanation that wouldn't make her hate him.

~Meanwhile back to Inuyame~

Inuyame walked nervously to the part, twirling the string from her robe on her fingers. She didn't know what he wanted, so she had no idea what she was going to say to him. Not only that, but she hadn't told him her true feelings yet, she hadn't told him how she loved him. Inuyame wasn't sure how she knew she was in love with Kovu, but she knew she was. There was no other way to explain his effect on her. She walked along like this, deep in thought, for quite some time before reaching the park. She looked around for Kovu but couldn't see him.

"Boo." Came a gravelly voice from behind her. She wasted no time in nocking an arrow and aiming at the noise.

Kovu put his hands up in surrender. "It's me! It's just me." He said and waited for her to lower the weapon.

Inuyame sighed and put the arrow back in the quiver and put her bow back on her shoulder. "You shouldn't startle me like that, I could have shot you." She complained, more mad at herself for not recognizing his voice than mad at him for scaring her. Not that she was scared, mind you, just startled.

"My sincerest apologies." Kovu said and took her hand and bowed over it. "It won't happen again." He said looking up at her then kissed her hand.

Well that was weird. Why was he acting so nice? "Umm okay. So, what did you want to talk about?" Inuyame asked and took her hand back, rubbing the spot where Kovu had kissed it.

"Well, okay. Let's walk." Kovu said and grabbed Inuyame's hand. He led her to a path that wound around the park and through the little forest on the grounds.

"Alright." She said and followed him.

Kovu was silent for the first few minutes, still trying to think of a way to tell her. Finally he spoke, he decided asking her questions she believed he didn't know the answer to first would be a good way to open the metaphorical door. "Have you ever heard of the Sacred Jewel?" Kovu asked, studying Inuyame's face through the corner of his eyes. His ears picked up a hitch in her breathing as his eyes saw her ears perk up.

"Umm, yes I've heard of it. I mean, what demon, or half demon, or even human for that matter, hasn't?" Inuyame said, trying not to give away too much.

'Good, she doesn't suspect a thing…yet.' Kovu thought to himself.

"Why do you ask?" Inuyame asked, curious.

"Well, I was just wondering what your knowledge of it was." Kovu said and avoided Inuyame's eyes.

"My knowledge of it? Hmm." Inuyame thought deeply. She decided to give him the generic information everyone knew. "Well, I know that it's said to be able to grant wishes. And that before we were born, the jewel was shattered into pieces and just a shard could increase the powers of any human or demon alike." Inuyame said, walking alongside Kovu.

"Hm, that's all you know?" Kovu asked, getting the feeling that she was holding back.

Inuyame didn't know what to say. She didn't want to lie to him directly, but since he had asked specifically if that was all she knew, she didn't really see a way out of it. "Umm, no, that isn't all I know. But it's all I can tell you." She decided to go with that.

"Oh?" Kovu said, surprised. So she did know more. "Come on, you can tell me." He said and squeezed her hand, trying to remind her of how close they had gotten.

"Kovu I'm sorry, but I really can't." Inuyame said and let go of his hand, walking ahead of him on the path.

Unable to stop himself, Kovu reached out and grabbed onto Inuyame's shoulders and spun her to face him. "Come on Inuyame, I really need to know. You don't trust me? After all I've done to earn that trust?" Kovu said.

"All you've done to…what do you mean?" Inuyame asked, narrowing her eyes. She didn't know why but for some reason that sounded suspicious.

Kovu coughed and dropped his hands. "I mean, after all I've told you." He said quietly.

"Kovu, that is not what you meant and you and I both know it." Inuyame said sternly. "Now what did you mean?" She asked quietly, afraid of the answer.

"I—." Kovu started to say but was cut off.

"Kovu! Did you get the information yet?" A female voice rang out as a form appeared behind Kovu. She had long reddish-brown hair and emerald green eyes. Her facial features were similar to Kovu's but she wore a tight fitted shirt and a knee length skirt made of white fur.

Kovu sighed and turned to the newcomer. "No Koya, I haven't gotten anything out of her yet. What are you doing here?" Kovu demanded, more than a little upset.

"Why dear brother, I am here to make sure you do your job." Koya said and looked over at Inuyame.

"Brother? Information? Kovu, what is she talking about?" Inuyame stuttered.

Kovu growled at Koya before turning to look at Inuyame, but his eyes couldn't meet hers. "Inuyame, please tell me what else you know about the jewel." Kovu looked into her eyes, "Please."

Inuyame looked back and forth between the two siblings, unsure of what to do. "N-no! I can't! I promised I wouldn't tell anyone! I must protect the jewel!" Inuyame shouted, backing up a step for every word.

"Hmm, pity. All of that hard work you put in getting the girl to like you, and she still won't tell you anything. Looks like you were just wasting your time." Koya mused at her brother.

Inuyame froze. "Wh-what? Kovu? Is that true? You were just using me?" She asked, stunned.

"No! Well, yes. But only at first!" Kovu said as Inuyame started backing away again, trying to get her to stay. "Inuyame that was before I got to know you. Before I fell in love with you!" He pleaded.

"Liar! I can't believe I fell for it. I actually fell for you! Kami I'm so stupid. I don't ever want to see you again!" Inuyame shouted at him before turning around and running down the trail, tears streaming down her face.

Kovu glared at his sister. "This is all your fault." He said before running after Inuyame.

Koya just clicked her tongue and walked after the two.

"Inuyame wait!" Kovu shouted, trying to catch up.

"Leave me alone!" She shouted, trying to wipe the tears out of her eyes, she couldn't see where she was going.

"Please wait for me! I just want to talk!" He called after her.

"I don't want to talk to you!" Inuyame shouted back. Suddenly the ground beneath her feet changed, she wasn't running on smooth path anymore, she was running along uneven forest floor.

"Inuyame where are you going?!" Kovu yelled out. He was finally catching up to her.

"Away from you!" She screamed back. The tears were still blurring her vision. She scrubbed fiercely at her eyes and got her sight back just in time to notice the well right in her way. She tried to stop but slipped on some leaves and went over the side of the well. Just as she was thinking she was done for, her hand was grabbed from above. She looked up and saw Kovu trying to pull her back out. "Kovu! Please don't let me fall." She said, sobbing.

"I'm not going to let you fall, I promise. But I need your other hand." Kovu grunted, trying to reach for Inuyame's other hand.

Inuyame reached up, but the position of her body wouldn't let her get close enough. "I can't do it Kovu." She cried.

"Yes, you can. Come on one more time." He encouraged.

'Alright Inuyame, you can do this.' She thought to herself. She swung backwards to gain momentum then swung forwards again. Just as her fingertips grasped onto Kovu's, the combination of sweat and tears on her other hand made them lose their hold on eachother, and Inuyame tumbled into the darkness. "Kovu!" She screamed.

"Inuyame!"