A/N: Thank you KiwiClover, you have renewed my faith in the writing world and have made this fun once again! That is all.
Oh. P.S. I'll say this story has some OOC in it, but that should be a given considering they're in adult hood and in a different setting. It will all be explained! Maybe… ^^
P.P.S. Give me reviews please!!!
Disclaimer: Rumiko Takahashi owns InuYasha and Co. I just screw them up to entertain fans.
Chapter Four
Angels and Demons
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The sands of time are being counted, and what more do I know?
In the middle of a false dream, the words were lost...
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"What? Are you kidding me? No way Miko, I'm not wearing that!" He backed away from her, hands raised in defense in front of him as he edged his way around to the front of the couch.
"Kaze, come on! If you're going to meet my family you're going to have to drop the badge and beat up clothes for a smarter look!" She took a threatening step toward him, brown eyes flashing and long black hair swaying gently from a ponytail holder fastened at the bottom of her hair line.
"I'm a cop! I can't just drop the badge, I am the badge!" He yelped as she lunged for him then he grunted with a laugh as they went sprawling onto the couch.
She shifted, the clothes left laying forgotten on the floor and closed the gap between their lips with a flirty smile.
His heart stuttered in his chest.
Kaze shifted slightly as a phone rang, his brows furrowing.
"I'll kill you! I'll fucking kill you!" He roared into the phone as his voice cracked from sheer volume. Screams pierced the air coming from the speaker of the cell phone he held in his hand that shook, knuckles white.
"K-Kaze…" She mumbled out his name, the sound of it sounding garbled as she choked on her own blood.
As she screamed again his throat restricted until he himself felt choked, his lungs burning from lack of air. He sobbed breathlessly as the final gun shot went off and the line went dead.
Kaze opened his eyes slowly, the sounds of the bull pen around him barely breaking through the fog the nightmare left behind in his head.
If only…
Heart pounding hard from the memory he shifted, lifting his head and looked at his computer screen. The marquee scrolling across it blinked on and off in bright pink letters. Wakey, wakey, InuuuYaaasha! He blinked once, twice, then leapt to his feet.
"I'm going to strangle whoever did this!" He shouted then glared as the bullpen erupted in howling laughter.
"Go sleep at home Taishou!" One of the guys shouted over the roar of laughter and heckling and Kaze grabbed his over shirt with a grumble.
"Yeah, yeah." Glancing at his watch he moved to the door, shoving a hand through his hair then froze, looking at it again quickly.
"9:24?! Fuck!"
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She scrubbed the sink as steam filled her kitchen. The soothing sound of the water turned on full blast did nothing to soothe the fury inside of her. She had been stood up. Twice!
The kitchen was spotless, it had been spotless thirty minutes ago. When 9:10 had rolled around she had known he wasn't going to show up.
"Bastard!" She hissed as she slammed the arm on the faucet, turning off the rush of water as she shoved a hand through her loose curling hair.
She looked over at the clock, something she had been doing every five minutes. 9:43 glared out at her in bright green numbering.
"Well, hell." She sighed, her anger deflating as her stomach growled in hunger.
Kagome pushed her hands through her hair again, and grabbed the phone off the charger.
Another night, another box of Chinese food to be devoured.
She moved to the fridge looking at a red and white menu and clicked the phone on. Half way dialing the number she paused and looked towards the door as the bell sounded.
"The Chinese restaurant read my mind." She joked as she turned off the phone and set it down, moving to the door.
Kaze's breath caught as the door swung open, she hadn't locked it. As he looked her over, light blue halter top, tight black jeans and the flush of color on her cheeks framed by her soft black hair, his mind went blank. His explanation dissolved.
"Uh, hi." He waved a hand slightly feeling more than lame and he watched one of her delicate eyebrows arch as she took in his appearance.
Same shirt, same pants, added with blood stain and the look of fresh bruises and a cut.
"You look horrible." She commented idly.
"Ah…about that." Kagome shook her head, shifted, and he more than expected the door to slam in his face. Instead she reached out, her fingers brushing very gently against his bruised cheek.
Her skin was smooth and he breathed out slowly, surprise registering in his eyes.
"Come on." She turned and moved to a hallway, disappearing around the corner.
He looked after her for a moment, watched until she was out of sight then shivered.
There was something…
Shaking his head Kaze stepped over the threshold and closed the door.
"Have a seat at the kitchen table!" She called from somewhere in the other half of the apartment and he looked around, tucking his hands into his pockets.
Having been there before he already knew she was raised by her mother and grandfather and had a younger brother from the picture resting on the fireplace mantle. From checking up on her he knew that her grandfather was dead, that her mother lived alone in a large shrine on the other side of town and that her brother had gone to the states for college.
The apartment was small, and he never would have guessed she was a fan of bright colors by the woman he met in the bar. He would have pegged her for black, dark blue. Moving to the kitchen table he found himself having fond feelings for her red kitchen once again. He was rather fond of red himself.
Looking down at his dirty red over shirt he blanched as he sat
"Should have changed." He muttered then looked up through his bangs at Kagome as she moved back into the room, carrying a first aid kit.
She set the box down on the table, pulling one of the other chairs in front of him and sat silently, opening the box. She dug through it a bit and he noted water droplets left on her wrists from her washing her hands and smiled.
He rolled in the dirt and blood, did she think that whatever she had on her hands could be any worse?
His eyes crossed as she held up an alcohol pad to his forehead and gently cleaned off a shallow scrape. He resisted the urge to let out a hiss of pain.
"So…" Kagome worked gently; it was so odd, she thought. The cut on his lip, the slight purplish bruising of his cheek where someone's fist had connected with his flesh, the scrapes and dirt seemed to fit him perfectly. "Do you always show up on first dates looking like a boy who got into a fight after school?" He closed his eyes, and her eyes flicked to his lips as a faint smile crossed them.
"You should see how I look for the second." He parted his lips slightly, and this time he did hiss out a breath as she gently cleaned the cut on his lower lip.
"Oh don't be such a big baby, you'll heal up in no time." She smiled as he opened one eye and half glared at her.
"It doesn't feel good you know!" She shifted, grinned.
"Shall I kiss it better?" She teased then her heart seemed to freeze in her chest by the quick look of need in his eyes that was gone as soon as it came.
"Yes, please." He grinned widely then winced as the cut stung in protest to the movement.
"What's your name?" He shifted, blinked then looked confused.
"My name…?" Kagome nodded as she watched his face.
"I mean, I guess I could just call you Detective Taishou for the remainder of our time together, but seeing as how I think you want to date, that could be a bit awkward."
Kaze blinked again then laughed.
"I'm Kaze, Kaze Taishou." Kagome's brow rose.
"How do you write that?"
"With the character for wind, of course." Kagome shook her head and laughed.
"What an odd name."
"Hey! It's not as bad as Kagome! You're named after a child's game." He grinned as she scowled at him, ignoring his statement.
She stood and picked up the wrappers, moving to the kitchen and grabbed the wall as dizziness and nausea swamped her.
"Well, I guess I'll order us some Chinese food since no respectable place would accept a ragamuffin like you." She cleared her throat, shaking her head a bit to get rid of the feeling and tossed the wrappers into the trash and turned to look at him then gasped, startled as he stood nearly in front of her.
"Actually, there is a place I want to take you." He watched a look of suspicion cross her face and he wrapped a hand around her waist, pulling her to the door with a smile. "Do you like hamburgers?"
"American hamburgers?" She moved with him, without a choice, and not much wanting to fight against an injured man.
"Mmhmm." He lead her out, made sure to lock the door behind him and pulled her to the parking lot.
"As long as they are chocolate milkshakes." He looked at her as he stopped next to a street bike.
"There could be hamburgers without chocolate milkshakes." He grinned then let her go, grabbing a helmet and strapped it on.
Kagome stood, watching him and crossed her arms.
"You have to be crazy if you think I'm getting on the back of that thing with you." He swung a leg over and looked at her.
"Why not?"
"Because! It's dangerous and fast, and dangerous!" Kaze shook his head, shifted and held out a hand to her.
"I won't let you fall." Kagome looked at him through the wind shield then at his hand. "Trust me." He watched her, his voice confident and she felt a blush start at the base of her spine as she took his hand.
Trust me…
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She pressed firmly against his back as the wind rushed past them, the sound of it dampened by the helmet over her head. Her arms were wrapped around his waist, hand clamped tightly together in front of him as he weaved in and out of traffic.
Kagome was glad she had decided again the dress and had opted for the more simple style of her jeans and halter top, otherwise she'd have been flashing the world.
Kagome tilted her head to look around his shoulder. Lights, cars, and buildings flew past them in distorted blurs. She felt like they were leaving the whole world behind them.
She felt free.
"It's like you fly…" She breathed out as her stomach tingled in excitement, the tree tops a ways below them.
She had never felt so free.
Tightening her arms around his neck she pressed her cheek against the back of his silver haired head and closed her eyes, relaxing. She knew that he would never let her fall.
Her eyes opened as her breath caught in her chest, Kaze's warm fingers brushing down against her clasped hands lightly.
Had she fallen asleep?
"How're you holding up?" Kaze turned his head, peering at her through the shield on his helmet.
Kagome shifted, noticed that had stopped at a red light then smiled reassuringly at him.
"Well, I could live with having to ride one of these." He watched her face for a moment, brushed off the feeling that something was wrong and grinned.
"Maybe I'll teach you then." He took off as the light turned green and she yelped then laughed, tightening her hold on him.
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"I want to stay by your side." She whispered softly, gently moving her fingers over his face.
His head rested in her lap, pale skin marred with dark bruises and cuts, his eyes closed and shielded by his silver bangs.
"There isn't anything in this world, in your world or mine I wouldn't do for you." She continued to brush her fingers gently, soothingly down to his neck as his face blurred then cleared, a tear dropping down onto his cheek.
" 'gome…" He whispered softly and she gasped, moving a hand to wipe the tears from her face quickly. Stilling, her eyes widened a bit as his hand got there first, cupping her cheek gently and wiping away a tear with his clawed thumb.
"Being a cop is like being a teacher. You get to lecture, show off your knowledge and have the added bonus of carrying a gun and getting to punch people in the face." He grinned then waved a hand. "Anyway, that's enough about my job, why don't you tell me what you do for a living? From what I saw it looked like really exciting stuff." He joked.
Kagome blinked slowly as the world seemed to fade in and out of perspective. They were sitting in a diner just like she had seen in an old American movie, from the…seventies? She shifted in the booth, grabbed the edge of the table as nausea swamped her and closed her eyes. Hadn't they just been riding down the road on his motorcycle?
"Kagome…?"
"Kagome, we should wait for him!" Kagome slipped her arms through the top of a red kimono and tied it tightly around her waist with shaking hands.
"He can't fight now, he's hurt!" Kagome shouted over a low roar and looked over at a taller woman with long brown hair pulled up into a ponytail. "It's just one demon. We can handle this!" Kagome yelled to her as the roar grew then shielded her eyes quickly, the ground on the other side of the hill exploding.
She blinked rapidly to clear the spots from her vision then leaned, grabbing her bow and quiver of arrows off of the ground. She would protect him this time. Glancing down at the red sleeves covering her arms she prayed it would be enough as she took a deep breath and ran to the edge of the hill and jumped.
It was hot.
The air around her was thick, thick and wet.
She shifted as something pressed down hard on her chest, felt her lungs protest the lack of allowed movement and lifted a hand to push the offending object away.
"Do you always pass out on every date you go on, or is it just because you're so comfortable with me?" A hand grabbed hers gently and the pressure was gone from her chest. Her eyelids felt heavy, too heavy to lift and then the tentacle slapped her in the face.
"What the fuck…?" She muttered and moved her other hand, grabbing the slimy creature and pulled it away, opening her eyes to stare at it.
The offending washcloth stared back.
A hand reached out and took it, pressing it back to her forehead. It was cool enough to make her shiver and she tilted her head, looking at Kaze.
"What happened?" She slurred then furrowed her brows as a soft beeping slowly grew louder. Was she hearing things too?
"Well, I thought we were having a nice conversation about jobs and hamburgers and the next thing I knew you were falling out of the booth. If I could put every body to sleep as fast as I did you, I could make a killing with stealing wallets." She lifted her other hand, looking at an IV sticking out of the crook of her elbow and groaned. "Then again, it could have been the fact that you have a rather serious concussion…" He looked thoughtful then stood. "I'll get your doctor."
She watched him move out and looked up at the ceiling then went rigid as it turned dark and rocky. A cave with dripping water.
"Ms. Higurashi?" She jumped, startled, and blinked at the white ceiling above her then slowly moved her head, looking at a short, balding doctor. "I'm Dr. Takahashi. How are you feeling?"
Kagome shifted then reached up and pushed a hand through her hair. "Kind of like I've been run over by a bus." She watched Dr. Takahashi scribble down something on a clip board then check her vitals.
"Having any strange feelings? Dreams? Hallucinations?" He looked back at her face and she opened her mouth then closed it, with a strange look. "Ms. Higurashi? This is an important question, you must have hit your head very hard, you have quite a bit of brain swelling. Quite frankly, I'm surprised you remained conscious at all."
Kagome furrowed her brows, touched the lump on the back of her head and frowned. "Stange dreams. That's…that happened to me when I fell and got knocked out I guess. Then later when I was with Kaze, I don't remember getting to the restaurant, I just remember these really, really odd dreams." The doctor nodded a bit, scribbled something else.
"Those should pass as your brain stops swelling, you're really a lucky girl."
"So I've been told."
"I'm going to have to keep you overnight for observation at the least."
She stared at the doctor in disbelief and knew the color had instantly drained from her face at his words.
"Overnight?" Her voice felt thick and suddenly the room seemed too confining.
Kaze's eyes flicked to the heart monitor as her heart beat skipped then jumped into a panicked rhythm.
"We really do need to keep you for observation, the type of head trauma you've experienced is a rather big deal. If we let you go and something happens, we'd be held responsible." Kagome shook her head as the doctor spoke.
"No, no, no. I'll sign a release form, I'll sign anything. I can't stay here."
"Ms. Higurashi…" The doctor hesitated.
"I'll stay with her."
Kagome looked at him quickly and the doctor shifted as he watched Kagome's face silently and hopefully.
"It's important that you stay, if you don't want to be alone here then I'll stay here with you." He smiled at her reassuringly and Kagome nodded slowly, defeated.
"O-okay."
"Well then, it's settled. I'll get you a blanket and pillow brought in. And I'll be back to check on you in the morning." He turned and walked out, briefly patting Kaze on the shoulder and closed the door gently behind him.
Kagome watched Kaze silently for a moment then looked down a the bed covers.
"Ah, well. Hospitals suck, so I won't let you face this battle on your own."
"Why are you so nice to me?" She asked softly and Kaze tilted his head to the side then shrugged.
"I'm hoping to get laid." She looked at him again quickly, saw his heart stopping grin and laughed.
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"So why do you hate hospitals?" Kagome bit into the grape flavored popsicle and a bit of juice ran down her chin. Kaze shifted, laying next to her on top of the covers and brushed his thumb along the line of purple before sticking it in his mouth, licking it clean and shrugged.
"Doesn't everyone?" She flushed then shrugged back at him.
"Most people who hate hospitals hate them for a reason."
"Hm…" He watched her take another bite and resisted tasting her lips to see how good that popsicle really was; how good she tasted. "That's a good point. Why do you hate hospitals?"
She paused then raised her hand to push through her hair. A nervous or irritated habit, he noted and caught her hand in his own right before she tugged the IV out of her arm.
"You don't have to answer that if you don't want to." He brushed his thumb over the back of her hand gently.
The heart monitor beeped as her heart stuttered in her chest.
'Traitor." She mentally grumbled and he didn't' seem to notice the beep. Sitting still for a moment she looked back down at the bed covers, and ate the rest of the popsicle, setting the stick to the side. Shrugging again she grabbed a loose thread and played with it a bit.
"Well," Her voice cracked and she cleared her throat, embarrassed.
Kaze watched her, watched the embarrassment come and go and a look of dull pain settled on her beautiful face.
He regretted asking.
"In my second to last year of middle school I was in a car crash that I don't remember." He made a soft noise and shifted, putting his arm around her shoulders. "Mama says it was really bad." She hesitated then shrugged a should gently. "I suppose the worst part of it was that two years later I woke up from a coma and had missed two entire years of my life." Kaze felt his blood run cold and he struggled to shake the feeling of dread off.
"You were in a coma…?" It was more of a faint statement than a question.
"I know, weird right? I only have a few scars to show from the accident to begin with. It's strange, sleeping for two years…" She trailed off, shook her head. "Anyway, that's why I hate hospitals. " Kaze sat silently for a moment then leaned his head back against the pillow and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.
Kagome looked at him.
"Well, long story short. When I was seven my mother got sick. She went into the hospital and we visited her everyday. A year later my old man stopped wanting to visit, but I still wanted to see my Mom. So I decided to run away from home. I managed to grab enough change to take the train an hour away to the hospital and I hid in her room with her while she slept. Of course he found me a few hours later, he was livid. Mom woke up, confused, she couldn't figure out why her husband was screaming while her child was screaming and crying and begging her to be allowed to stay so when I tried to fight against my old man it put too much stress on her and she had heart failure and died right there, in front of both of us." Kagome stared at his calm face, her throat tightening with tears.
"My father blamed me for her death, I blamed me for her death and there you go. That's why I hate hospitals." His voice remained calm, but she saw the muscle in his jaw jump as he briefly clenched his teeth then sighed heavily and opened his eyes. "Not the greatest story in the world." He shifted, looking at her then froze.
"Jesus…Kagome. Don't cry!" Panic flooded him and he sat straight taking her shoulders in his hands. "It was a long time ago. It doesn't matter now." His own throat tightened as he watched the silent tears run down her cheeks.
She was crying for him.
Kagome shifted then wrapped her arms around him, hugging herself to his chest and tangled her fingers in the back of his shirt.
Kaze stared at the white wash wall as his heart beat hard in his chest.
"Oh Kaze, everyone has their own sad little stories, don't they? What's the point in bringing up the past? Your mother is dead whether you caused it or not; it's irrelevant now."
"I'm sorry." Kagome whispered softly in his ear and he slowly wrapped his arms back around her, and closed his eyes.
What was it about this woman?
Quotes: 'Getsumei Fuuei' from Juuni Kokki
A/N: Okay! I had to make a rather big decision on this chapter, I had quite a bit more to add to it, but I think that it would make it so much longer than the other chapters and filling in so much information of the story line that it might be hard to take in! So, Chapter 4 is going to be split up. I'll have the connections still run smoothly as possible between the chapters, but it's likely that the next chapter will be rather short as well as not being as loaded as this chapter is. Hope that's okay with everyone! I didn't want to have like…seven page chapters, then all of a sudden like a random 15 page one!
…Nuclotei
Thanks
KiwiClover-You're an amazing reviewer, made me feel so much better about writing! I hope you continue to like the story!
GrlWthThrnNHrSd-Thanks! I'll try not to make things sound so rushed, I've always had a problem with run on sentences as you can see. Thanks for the support!