A/N: Sorry for the long periods between updates! The semester is over and thankfully all my studying has paid off! So now I can focus on my stories again, and I will update more often.
Thank you to all my reviewers, I love hearing what ya'll have to say!
It wasn't supposed to happen like this. She stood before him, as static as ever. Her steel blue eyes never wavered, her poker face. The arrow pointed at him was unexpected. Nothing on her moved, except her hair which blew gently in the wind. Usually, the arrow was pointed at some rampaging Demon tearing through a human compound. Taking innocent lives meant losing your life at the end of Kikyo's arrow.
It was questionable as to why he was the one at the end of her hatred. Malice oozed out of her, and she aimed to kill. He was stunned to say the least. Stunned into standing stupidly when he should be running for his pathetic life. But, he couldn't… he had to know.
"Why." He asked. It was all falling apart around him.
"Don't play coy with me, Inuyasha. I was foolish to let you close."
"Please…"
All that she answered with was a loud twang, and then it was dark…
"FUCK!" Inuyasha sat up in his bed, reaching for his chest and feeling the scar that covered his heart. Cold sweat coated his entire body, and his heart was beating hard. The dreams were coming harder than they used to. He hardly ever slept. It had to be that girl…
Ever since he nabbed that girl, Kagome, the dreams came back full force. Her face… it was nearly identical. She was upstairs, sleeping and yet she was haunting his dreams. Had he known he was going to suffer this much, he would have left her.
That wouldn't have worked though… he needed her. His mother had been specific. She was the one who could take out Naraku. He was evil, and he was going to die. Inuyasha just had to figure out how to get around to doing that. His mother had told him, that Kagome, the daughter of Dr. Higurashi would have the answer. That answer apparently was "who the hell is Naraku" which didn't help him out in the least bit. Maybe it wasn't worth it.
"Hey… Inuyasha?" A voice called from upstairs.
Yeah, this defiantly wasn't worth it.
"What do you want.."
"I heard you yell. I didn't know if you were hurt or something."
"Stupid girl, I'm no capable of getting hurt like you weak humans."
She didn't answer. I thought she had gone back to bed.
Until…
"That's funny, because all it took to knock you on your ass was a little nerve gas."
All she was answered with was a deep growl. Stupid human bitch. They all thought they were smarter than they were…
Inuyasha heard her quiet footsteps echoing above him. He waited for an hour, knowing he was not going to get anymore sleep tonight or the next couple of nights. He crawled out of bed and made his way down the hallway. To his left and his right, doors lined this underground stronghold. It was sometimes eerie, knowing this was the birthplace of the Demon race. It was also creepy to see the deep claw marks that scraped down the walls. Doors were busted out, but he had long cleaned up the shattered glass. The old blood stains had faded long ago. Those were a bitch.
He crept up the stairs, carefully listening for her breathing. It was soft and even. She was asleep.
He walked slowly toward the sleeping girl on the couch. He couldn't help but snicker at how she was laying. She was on her back, with one arm thrown over her face while the other was stretched out over the floor. Her legs were tangled around the sheet and one was hanging out slightly. The clothes she was wearing was what he had brought her here in. Even he had to agree that it was pretty gross that she still hadn't gotten her bath…
It was funny to watch this little human sleep, while knowing that before him she had killed countless Demons. She could probably kill him, but fat chance on getting him to admit that. This human was different. Like Kikyo different. She had some sort of power about her that was different than any other human he had ever come across. Not to mention, he felt a strange power coming from her lower abdomen. Kouga had pointed it out to, so he knew it wasn't just him. There was something special, or different, about this girl.
But seeing her sleeping like that almost made her as harmless as a new born kitten. He could slit her throat… instead he pushed the hair out of her face. Weak humans, they could sleep even thought evil Demons stood less than a foot away.
"Momma…" Kagome mumbled and Inuyasha leaped backwards so far he slammed into the wall. Damn, that scared the shit out of him.
She shifted in her sleep and curled in on herself, wrapping her blanket into even a tighter knot, thus uncovering her legs that much more.
Inuyasha sighed, loudly. This girl who was supposed to be a great Demon slayer was turning out to be one of the biggest annoyances, and pains in the ass, that he had ever came across. How she had managed to kill off so many of his kind he will never know. When his heart stopped pounding so painfully against his chest, and after he mentally cursed himself for freaking out so much over a little mumble from such a tiny girl, he lifted a heavy blanket from a chair and covered her up with it. It seemed to calm her somewhat and she let loose of her tension. What was he supposed to do now?
His mother had not really explained much on what he was actually supposed to do with this girl. She died long before he was taught, but he figured that at least on Kagome's side someone would have told her something. For fucks sakes, had no one been worried about this but his mother?
Then his mind drifted back to his dream… Kikyo had been the only person who he knew would have cared. She was against evil, and was an excellent Priestess. Her arrows were deadly, and her shot was perfect. Of all the humans he had ever met, she was the only one who really made him hesitate.
But, she was dead, and had been for two years. The Kagome girl seemed oblivious to her power. She only relied on guns and gas, as if she did not know her aura screamed Priestess.
The Jewel was the answer. This girl was supposed to know where it was. It was getting him no where.
Something had to be done. He was going to have to kick her in the ass or something.
Until then he needed to go for a little run.
Kagome was abruptly awaked from her deep sleep, by Inuyasha slamming the metal door behind him. She hadn't even heard him leave this morning but his loud return almost gave her a heart attack. She instantly tried to turn away from him, knowing that crying the night before had taken a toll on her face.
He looked like he had been on some sort of run, his hair was disheveled. He brought back no animals, so it must not have been a hunting trip.
"They are still fine."
"Excuse me?" She looked back at him, not understanding his comment. He narrowed his eyes at her, like he didn't really want to repeat it.
"They are fine.."
"Who?"
"Your human clan or whatever…" he mumbled.
"You went and checked? How did you get there so fast, and back? How long was I out?"
"Kagome…" He waved his hand in front of his face. "Demon… remember?"
"Oh… yeah."
She waited a minute.
"Why exactly did you go…"
"Because I was bored that's why! I don't sleep like you do. And I was out for a run anyways… its not like I went only to check." He folded his arms in a defensive gesture.
She couldn't help but feel gratitude. She knew he was bad-tempered, but she also knew he had a heart somewhere in there, even if she had been trained all her life that his breed didn't.
"Thanks… anyways."
He huffed and muttered something under his breath.
She quickly ran her fingers through her hair and searched the room for her cloths. It was becoming hard for her to put on the nasty cloths. She was what her mother had referred to as a "neat freak" and wearing the same cloths over and over again was about to drive her off the deep end.
Inuyasha was just shuffling around, as bored as she was. She bet that before he was holding her here hostage, he was outside all the time. His tan was darker than anything she could ever hope for. It made his white hair pop…
It was so unfair, in a way. She could never go outside unless it was for a Demon hunting trip, or if she was testing a new toy.
She wished she had a gun to play with now. Something to pass the time. She wasn't one for violence, but she enjoyed the rush of firing a gun. Inuyasha had his, but it didn't work it was missing some important power source, something that she had never seen before. He had said it was a key or something of the like.
She still didn't understand his drive to kill someone named Naraku, and he didn't share much on the subject. Just that a man named Naraku had been the one to create the Demon Virus, and the gun needed a certain power source to fire. She wasn't a scientist, though her father was…
She had some sort of closure knowing now that her father was not the reason for the apocalypse, which was what many believed. Though they would never say it out loud, she sometimes felt what people were thinking when she walked by. She was the daughter of the man who helped create this hell.
Teenagers and younger did not care as much as the older people who had lived in the past world. The older members of their survivor camp had been more or less horrible toward her family, though it was not their fault. That was why she succeeded as well as she had in Exterminating. She had to leave behind her father's name and create on of her own.
"Want to try to figure out how the gun works?" She asked nicely, trying to get on Inuyasha's good side. Maybe he would let her venture out a little more if she did. Maybe he would even let her take a freaking shower.
He shrugged his shoulders, seemingly nonchalance like he didn't care. She knew he did. She also knew that she was supposed to know how to fix the gun. Her dad had died when she was too young to remember him, and so she didn't know this great answer Inuyasha needed.
"Well let's do it!" she faked enthusiasm because she knew there was no way in hell that gun was going to fire anytime soon. She needed some sort of hint. Maybe her dad had hid the missing part in the Well and just never knew it.
"Just what exactly are you expecting?" his eyebrow was cocked, as if he could smell her devious plan from a mile away.
She just shrugged.
"Tryin' to help."
"Pfhhh."
She glared at him. That—that Demon! How dare he imply that she wasn't able to help!
"Fine then! You can take that gun and shove it right up your high and mighty Demon ass!"
From the look on his face, Kagome knew he was surprised at the insult she threw at him. Not that she cared. He sputtered for a fraction of a second.
"Bitch, if you think I really need you then I'll show you by throwing your human ass out to the wolves, literally, and from the 'help' you have given me I might as well have kidnapped a tree!"
"So! You admit it! You kidnapped me!"
"And I curse myself every day."
"You are an insensitive, bull headed, basterd if I have ever seen one!"
"And you are a loud, useless moron that thinks the pitch of her voice determines whether she is winning a fight or not."
Kagome threw up her hands and stomped her way to her little area that included the couch. It didn't have quite the effect of slamming a door, but it was the best she could manage.
Inuyasha on the other hand still stood, his ears thrown back in a defensive posture.
Kagome didn't turn around, even though she felt those golden eyes burning holes into her back.
"Want a bath?"
Kagome turned so fast she almost fell down. His posture was still in defense mode, but he had offered her something she wanted desperately. Was this his way of making-up? Was she finally going to smell good again!
"Where? Down stairs?"
"No, I know someone."
That made her stomach drop slightly. Who did Inuyasha know? And how safe could that be bathing in some Demon's lair? But then again… Inuyasha had shown her a whole other world that made everything she had ever known a lie. The need for bathing was overshadowing her need of rationality and she trusted Inuyasha to not allow harm to come to her no matter what insults he slung her way.
Kagome looked over her shoulder ever few steps or every time she heard a sound. Inuyasha trudged on ahead, seemingly unaware of the inherent danger that was all around them. Kagome missed her weapons. If a Demon attacked she was as vulnerable as a newborn.
"Keep up the pace wench." Inuyasha's voice shattered her thoughts and gave her a start.
"Don't do that!"
He looked back at her, no understanding.
"Sorry," she mumbled, "I am just nervous being out here."
"Why? You are with me."
Like that made everything better.
"Demons are probably lurking about."
"Nah, they have better things to do than pick their teeth with your bones."
Kagome did not find that funny the least bit. She was much to disgusting for that. Inuyasha had set a ridiculous pace to reach her plausible doom. What kind of Demons Inuyasha knew she could only imagine. Anyone that could put up with his attitude for more than a day enthusiastically couldn't be much on etiquette either.
They came to a break in the forest and Kagome marveled at what she saw before her.
A large, multi-leveled building stood in the middle of a large clearing. It had probably been a parking garage, the only building still standing after nearly twenty years. It had been completely transformed into a suitable habitat. Walls were built and from what she could tell, water lines ran to it. High levels had windows that could probably see for half a mile. It was a stronghold.
"What are you gawking at?"
"Nothing, just amazed."
Inuyasha snorted and walked to where a large metal door stood at the front. He then knocked and she could hear the echo on the inside. Only a Demon could knock on metal that hard and not break his hand. She moved closer to Inuyasha, just behind him in case something came through the door. He probably rolled his eyes, if she knew him like she thought she did.
It was quiet for a moment, and then the large metal door started to move. It created an appalling screech of metal on metal. Kagome instantly threw her hands over her ears to block out the noise. She looked up at Inuyasha to see that his ears were pressed so hard down on his scalp that they almost disappeared. She almost felt bad for him. Almost.
When the door quit moving, Inuyasha stepped in the obscurity. Kagome looked up the height of the building, searching for life but when she found none, she took a deep breathe and stepped into the darkness behind Inuyasha. Nothing made a sound as she took a few steps in. Except her heart, which was pounding so hard that it drowned out any of her thoughts.
Suddenly, a hand encircled her wrist and she screamed. It held tight as she floundered around trying to escape. She searched the dark, wide eyed and helpless. Inuyasha? Where was Inuyasha?
"Kagome. Stop."
His voice broke through her panic and she stopped as soon as he told her too. A cold chill ran through her as relief broke through her adrenaline rush. Of course it was Inuyasha. Was she really that on edge? Yeah, she was that on edge. How in the hell could he saunter on in a dark room full of Demons? Especially since he killed them too.
A light suddenly tore through the dark, and suddenly Kagome felt very naked. She could feel the eyes on her. The abrupt light made her eyes hurt. She became aware at just how close she stood next to Inuyasha.
"Inuyasha, what have you brought us today?" A masculine voice above her made her heart beat that much faster.
What was she? Their meal? Was Inuyasha some sort of sick human herder?
"She reeks and needs a bath."
That made Kagome look up. Instead of being met with a few blood red eyes as she expected, she found herself looking up to a balcony of sorts filled with men.
Human men.
Human.
The room was shaking. The lights grew dimmer around her, and the last thing she recalled was Inuyasha's face falling away with a horror-struck expression. The lights went completely out as she landed in someone's arms.
Sango threw her gun on her bed. Next to it laid her survival pack and a change of cloths. Canteens were full and bullets were packed. Her load was light, but she had to move fast. She had to hurry. The time opening for her escape would close shortly. She had told no one of her plans or rest being held in prison. They would have told her she was in need of an evaluation. Anything to keep her under their control. She did not want to dwell on the punishments for her actions. She could not remember the name of the last person who had made an escape attempt but Sango could not ever remember hearing her name again after.
She stopped when she heard footsteps outside her door. Fear curled in her stomach and she reached for her knife. No one was stopping her now. She was in to deep.
The footfalls stopped outside her door and she stopped breathing. The doorknob twisted and she raised the blunt end of her knife. She had to strike quick.
When Miroku's head popped around the edge, she about screamed.
"Ah, is that for me, Sango?" He smiled quite to largely for someone who was almost struck down.
"Why are you here?"
"I noticed you were not asleep. I took a stroll and found this."
"Get in here before someone sees you!" She reached for him and yanked him all the way inside her room, slamming the door behind her. it was too late to hide from him now.
"Leaving?" he asked quietly.
"I have to go after Kagome. I know it is stupid and I will probably die along the way, but I can't sit by here and not save my friend."
"I agree."
For the first time, Sango noticed that Miroku was dressed as if going on a hunting trip. His pack was slung over his back and his gun was tucked in by his side. She felt instant relief.
"How did you know?" She whispered.
"I noticed you were on edge, and I know you, you would not let Kagome die like this."
Miroku began to gather her stuff up and pack it himself. She just watched for a second or two, more astounded than anything. Miroku…
"Take those cloths off."
"Excuse me!?" Sango crossed her arms over her chest.
"You need your exterminating suit, it has the most weather resistance." He explained as if to a five year old.
"Don't look then."
"Sango, you have my word."
She knew that meant absolutely nothing, but what choice did she have. When she was done getting dressed, Miroku handed her pack and gun and they both listened for any noise. They each decided to take separate routes out, incase one guard was still out they both would not be caught.
Sango reached the outside first, and waited five minutes for Miroku. He finally emerged, and out of breath.
"It's a nice night, but I think it would be in our best interests to get out of here." Miroku broke into a dead sprint and Sango wasted no time in following.
After five minutes of running, they slowed and Sango turned to him.
"Why? Why risk everything you have to come with me?"
Miroku smiled a crooked smile.
"Because if something happened to you, then I do not think I could quite live with myself afterwards."
Sango was taken back by the forwardness of Miroku's confession. She felt a blush form and she turned away from him.
"And there is no way I could go the rest of my life without looking at that ass again."
Sango stormed off, after leaving Miroku unconscious on the ground. She took out the map that she printed off the main computer and stared at the point she had marked Kagome's last known position.
