A/N: I'm so evil...I know, but don't hate me for it, because if you do, you won't get any more updates. Alright, I'm not that evil. (...) But we do have quite a situation on our hands...Kagome sure knows how to get herself into a lot of trouble. Ah, well, that can be fixed, but not right away. I'm done dawdling. Once again, your reviews were awesome! Ah, well, I'll shut up now.
Special Thanks To...
Shia Demon of Wind, Sienna-shirou, Beautiful.Black.Joy
Random Review Responses...
Beautiful.Black.Joy - You're reviews rock. I actually look forward to reading them. Whenever I do, I start laughing, (and right now, while I have this evil cold, I start coughing) and seriously, I think it brightens my whole day. You're comments are so hilarious!
Sienna-shirou - I'm glad you love it - and you're welcome for the update!
Shia Demon of Wind - You're awesome! Seriously, I think one of the best parts of writing a story is the reviews. Thanks again!
Chapter 13 - Just a Game
Kagome closed her eyes in attempt to block out his unwavering gaze. The piercing, red eyes that seemed to bore a hole into her...and yet, they wouldn't disappear. "No. I refuse," she said adamantly, her tone steadfast as she clutched onto the armrests of the leather chair.
She heard a whoosh as the wide windows she had looked out moments before, staring at the streets below, were opened. Her eyes opened slowly. Snow wafted in, and she wondered, why now, of all times, he had opened the windows. Did he want to freeze? 'Maybe he can't feel the cold,' she mused with dark humor, though that feeling instantly disappeared.
Kagome narrowed her coffee colored eyes and frowned. He was leaning in so close, they were literally an inch from each others' face. She scowled. 'Hasn't this guy ever heard of personal space?' And she did the only thing she could think of - she spit in his face. He retreated instantly and grabbed a tissue from the box off of his desk - Kagome sniffed delicately and turned her face towards the wall. "I said no, and I'm not changing my mind. Maybe it's time for me to leave."
That said, Kagome stood up from the chair, making a move towards the door. But she was stopped by one of Naraku's hands grabbing her wrist - hard. He twisted her arm until she had to lean backwards so it didn't snap off. She could smell his rank breath, and instantly wished she had decided to stay home.
"Do you dare defy me, Kagome?" he asked in a sickly-sweet voice and released her arm. She winced slightly at the tension in her shoulder - that would definitely hurt later. By now, snow was beginning to collect on the carpet beneath the window. 'Damn, it's getting cold in here.' Kagome ignored Naraku for a moment to rub her hands together.
After a pause, where Kagome attempted to warm numbing fingers, she spoke defiantly. "Yes, actually, I do. Unless you're hearing impaired, I think you heard me. I said no. Last time I checked, no means no. Alright? I'm leaving." She spun on the heel of her foot and walked towards the door. One of her hands reached for the doorknob, and she turned it. Well...she tried to turn it. But the door didn't open.
There was silence, albeit the traffic sounding below them and the wind soaring through the open window. Kagome kept her voice low, one hand still clutching the doorknob. "Would you mind unlocking the door?" she clipped through clenched teeth, resisting the urge to knock him out the window and back to last Wednesday. Or, if he refused to fly out the window, she would jump out herself.
More of his irritating ku ku kuing that sounded more like a chicken clucking than a laugh. "I'm afraid that's not possible. Before you arrived, I took the liberty of informing Sango of your whereabouts. But I seem to think that Inuyasha is already here, somewhere." Naraku glided across the room until he was sitting behind his desk, back facing the window.
Kagome stifled a groan. 'It would only take one, hard push...and then I could have the 'liberty' of watching him twitching mercilessly on the pavement.' The thought actually brought a smirk to her face. She brought her hands up to her face and experimentally flexed them. Ah, maybe some other day. She had more important matters to take care of, like getting out of this office.
Kagome weighed the options in her mind. She could always wait for Inuyasha...Ha. Fat chance. Or she could always try to bust down the door. Wait...he said he talked to Sango, didn't he? She wasn't actually listening. Trying to put on her best smile (though it was extremely forced) she turned towards his desk and took light steps towards it. Her two hands were splayed on the desk top, serving as support beams when Kagome leaned in towards him. With one swipe of her hand, the papers that were once occupying his desk flew onto the carpet. Some actually were carried out the window. "Listen, bud: I've had a rough day. And you're little...confrontation isn't helping me at all. So, unless you want to meet an untimely death, ending with your very distorted and form on the sidewalk below, I would suggest that you unlock the door."
Naraku seemed to consider it for a moment, and with a slight shrug of his shoulders, he stood up swiftly. Kagome didn't have time to react as he wrenched both of her hands behind her back...the next thing she knew, she was leaning halfway out the window. One hand was roughly holding her hands together, while the other yanked a fistful of hair an inch above her scalp, forcing her head upright. From here, she was staring directly at the building across the street - not exactly a view everyone wants to see if your half-way suspended ten stories above the ground; over a busy street, no less.
"What...the hell do you think your doing?" she griped, attempting not to stare at the people walking around below her. Her neck was starting to ache...he didn't seem to care, however, but seemed to enjoy the fact that she could, in a matter of a few seconds, be splayed out on the ground.
Needless to say, Kagome was more than a little bit nervous.
There was a snide laugh as Kagome's hair and hands were - thankfully - detached from his grip. She took a moment to look down at the sidewalk, and then backed away carefully. The front of her sweatshirt had accumulated a few snowflakes; she brushed them off angrily. "Would you mind explaining what that was about?" she asked darkly, her dark brown eyes flaring.
Naraku clasped his hands behind his back - the epitome of innocence. "You are disposable, at will. You best make your decision soon; I'll be waiting ever so patiently." He sat down in his large leather chair and pushed a button on top of his desk. There was a click as the entrance door to his office was instantly unlocked. He waved one of his hands in the air nonchalantly.
Kagome narrowed her eyes and spun around, now facing the door - she would never agree to anything Naraku said. That was like signing your own Death Wish. Her posture was erect as she stiffly twisted the doorknob - the door swung open easily. If you listened close enough, one could've sworn that a low growl was emitting from her throat.
When the door closed, Kagome closed her eyes and leaned against the far wall a distance away, slowly sinking to the ground. She plunked gracelessly to the tiled floor, her legs stretched in a V-shape, and pinched the bride of her nose. People were staring, but she didn't particularly care. I guess being practically thrown out a window on the tenth story does that to you.
It wasn't only that - she would never accept Naraku's 'proposition,' as he called it. 'Just shoot me now and get it over with,' Kagome mused grimly, beginning to feel the start of a very bad migraine. She allowed her head to loll to one side...If one to even spare a glance her way (which basically everyone who passed did) it appeared she was sleeping.
Whoosh.
Her left eye began to twitch. 'Ah, dammit.' She knew that someone was sitting next to her...and they were staring. The corners of her mouth quirked. "Inuyasha," she muttered, and cracked open one eye. Sure enough, there he was, crouching down next to her, a hard expression on his face. "Go away...please."
There was a brief grunt. "Feh. Not a chance. What the hell happened in there?" Inuyasha queried, wasting no time for explanations.
'Course, whenever you didn't want him there, her was right there. Ironic, isn't it?
Kagome sighed. "Naraku's an ass," she muttered and jumped up quickly. Inuyasha did the same. "He tried to make me agree to some deal...I refused, just to let you know, and he tried to push me out the window. Understood? Great. Let's move on." There was no time left for questions as she began storming away, fists clenched at her sides. Inuyasha ignored his instincts and reached a hand out, effectively grabbing on to one of her wrists.
The footsteps stopped - Kagome weighed the options. She could backhand Inuyasha and make a break for it...or, she could relent and accept his help. If she had been in a better move, she would have gone for the latter, but now that seemed to take too much energy.
Inuyasha was surprised that she had stopped, but decided not to question it. "Wait...he tried to push you out a window?" There was a moment of silence..."WHAT in the seven bloody hells was he thinking?!" His voice had raised immensely, causing everyone in the hall to turn their heads and stare. He didn't even bother to ask what the deal was - if Kagome had denied it, that couldn't mean it was anything good. A few of the office doors opened and heads poked out, glancing around quizzically and trying to find out who had caused such an interruption.
Kagome grabbed hold of Inuyasha's sleeve of his button-up and began dragging him away, glaring at each person who caught her eye. The doors slowly closed, and the others eventually returned to their work. One particular girl who appeared to be not too much older than Kagome, was eyeballing them, until Inuyasha flipped her his middle finger. She blushed and turned away quickly. Kagome sighed.
"C'mon, Inuyasha. It's been a rough day, but that sure as heck doesn't mean you can freak out at anyone whenever you feel like it," Kagome chided scornfully, her eyebrows raising slightly as she threw a glance his way over her shoulder. "Unless someone is just having a bad day."
Inuyasha's mouth quirked into what someone might have interpreted as a smirk, although Kagome thought it was kind of creepy. "Nah. Just trying to figure out why some brainless girl like you came to see this Naraku person in the first place." His expression had turned to that of a person somewhere far, far off in Never Never Land. Kagome pursed her lips and turned to face front - the elevator was right up ahead.
The arrogant insult was bypassed. She never had found her father's guitar. From what she could tell, it wasn't anywhere in Naraku's office. But that didn't mean he didn't have it...'If he doesn't have it, then where frick is it?' She massaged her forehead and pressed the down arrow next to the elevator. Her mind wouldn't be able to take much more of this torture.
There was an annoyingly high ding as the elevator doors glided open; Kagome's wallet chain clanged as she stepped inside the small space, only now letting go of Inuyasha's sleeve. Yet she ignored him. 'Damn...maybe mom does know where it is.' But the thought disappeared from her mind quickly - know matter how much she wanted to believe it, that didn't seem likely. She rubbed her eyes on the sleeve of her blue shirt. Her eyelids threatened to close any second, but she fought to keep them open. It wouldn't do any good passing out in the elevator.
Inuyasha watched as Kagome leaned back into one of the corners between the metal railings. The elevator shifted and slowly began to descend after he pressed the button for the first floor. When he looked back at her, her eyes were closed and breathing was level. 'The hell...did she fall asleep?'
In fact, Kagome had.
And as soon as she did, her mind went into dream mode. Literally. Suddenly, she was standing in a completely black expanse of...nothing. The only thing around her was black, black, and more black. The only that actually stood out was what appeared to be a platform beneath her - it was white. She was situated in the middle of the floating platform. If she hadn't been dreaming, she would have thought this place had been freaky. But now she actually enjoyed the quiet...an utter change from the bustle in the halls of the building.
Dream-Kagome blinked...and there was a clown standing in front of her. "Oh...my...God..." she enunciated slowly, taking a hesitant step backwards. "W-what do you think this is? This is my dream! Clowns aren't supposed to be included!" she shrieked, slapping a hand across her eyes.
Now, if you remember, Kagome has a case of coulrophobia ever since she was little...In other words, she was terrified of clowns. She couldn't look at a big, red shoe without positively freaking out and latching herself onto someone else. Namely Sango. Either that, or she would start beating on the clown until there was nothing left.
Seriously. Kagome didn't think this was the least bit funny.
"I'm here to help," the clown exclaimed jubilantly. A face-splitting smile was painted red around his mouth - Kagome peeked out from behind to fingers and frowned deeply. Ten seconds and she already hated this dream-clown.
'It's only a dream, right? Which means the clowns not really there...' Kagome sucked in a deep breath and uncovered her eyes completely. The clown was wearing a blue outfit with lime green polka dots, a red wig that stuck out on both ends, and had white make-up plastered on his face. A blue tomato-sized ball was in the place of his nose. She figured it was a he. "Help me with..." Hiccup. "What?" she asked hoarsely. 'I wonder...if it falls off this floating platform, does that mean it's dead?' The question entertained her for a second, until she decided to at least find out what he had to say. 'After that, this thing's going to be round-housed to last year.'
"Ace." The clown's grin grew wider, dark eyes flashing with hidden mirth. She flinched involuntarily.
Kagome cocked her head to the side, staring at him with narrowed concentration. "Ace?" she repeated dumbly. "How the hell is that supposed to help me?" Her question echoed against nothing. A moment or two after she said this, he began to disappear.
When his form was just a faded blur, he raised a gloved hand and began to wave. "Ace," he confirmed, and then was gone. Kagome stood there stupidly for a minute or two, shivered, and began to actually think about what he said.
'Ace...it's got to have some significant meaning, right? Unless he's just some crazed bastard who intrudes on people's dreams, corrupts them and then disappears.' Her hands were trembling as she sat down on the platform, examining her...surroundings wearily. 'Now just how in the hell do I get out of here?'
As soon as the thought left her mind, she was blinded momentarily by a flash of white...and then everything turned black.
"Kagome? KAGOME! Are you awake yet?!"
Said-girl's eyes snapped open - she was sitting on the floor of the elevator, Inuyasha kneeling in front of her, looking about ready to slap her across the face. Kagome began making a noise, much resembling a growl, and blinked a few times. There was no blackness...no white platform...and best of all, no clown. She could feel a cool bead of sweat running down her face - the elevator now felt hot and stuffy and incredibly too small. There were people standing outside the door - obviously impatient but not daring enough to do anything about it, unless they wanted their heads ripped off and placed on a platter.
She swatted Inuyasha's hand away, glaring fiercly at nothing. In one swift movement, she jumped to her feet, pulling Inuyasha up with her. The two of them quickly exited the elevator as the small crowd slowly flooded in. Just when Kagome though she was home free, Inuyasha grabbed onto her shoulder and whirled her around to face him. "Are you sick or just stupid?"
Kagome felt a pang of anger as she stared into his eyes. They were cold and harsh, just like she had always known them to be. "I don't see why you even care. Let's just go...I've had enough of this damn place." That said, she began stomping down the hall and towards the lobby.
Inuyasha shook his head before following. For a minute, he had been actually worried. Worried that Kagome might have been sick, or passed out, or something else completely random...and she had thrown it back in his face. Well, damn it all. Now, he really couldn't care less if she had been disease-ridden and on her death-bed.
Yeah, right.
Sango groaned and skidded to a stop - the falling snow had only increased within the hour, and she really didn't feel like running any further. The cold was starting to get to her, making her hands numb and her eyes constantly blink to get the snowflakes out of her eyes. She chose this moment of stop to stuff her hands inside her hoodie's pocket in attempt to warm her numbing fingers. It didn't seem Miroku was faring any better - snow slicked across his black hair. "Damn the snow...we're only like...two blocks away, right Miroku?"
But Miroku wasn't listening - he continued walking. Sango began running after him. "Miroku! What are you-" but it didn't take long for her to spot the source of his attention. There, at the end of the block, was Kagome and Inuyasha. She appeared angry, for some reason unknown, and Inuyasha was lagging a few feet behind.
Sango forgot the snow and started sprinting, brushing eagerly past Miroku. Before Kagome had a chance to respond, Sango let out a muffled shout and tackled them both to the sidewalk. They fell in a jumble of arms and legs. Miroku and Inuyasha watched from a safe distance.
"What were you thinking, Kagome?!" Sango demanded hoarsely, now kneeling beside Kagome's still sprawled out form. "You had me worried, for God's sake! Do you even have an explanation?!"
Kagome picked herself up slowly, bringing herself into a cross-legged position. She stared into Sango's frenzied coffee-colored eyes and immediately felt a pang of guilt - sure, Sango could lose her temper at times, but she was only concerned. "I...I think I do." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Miroku step closer so he was in hearing range. Inuyasha 'feh'd,' but moved closer to them anyway. "Well...uh, after I came home from school, I was going to get dad's guitar...but it was gone. I guess I went crazy and instantly assumed Naraku had something to do with it...God only knows why, and then I ran to his office. But it was useless - I didn't see it anywhere."
Sango softened instantly. Her father's guitar was gone? That guitar was basically the only thing Kagome had left from Daichi Higurashi, also known as her dad that had died many years ago. Losing his guitar to Kagome would be like your house burning down or your best friend moving away - it wasn't fair. Without thinking too much about it, Sango wrapped her arms around Kagome's neck and squeezed her shoulders lightly. She couldn't think of anything else to do.
And Kagome did something she hadn't allowed herself to do ever since her father died - she let a solitary tear trail down her face and onto the snow. She let her arms hang limply as she stared off at nothing.
As if everyone was out to add on to her troubles. They kept building and building; soon, the stack would get so high that it toppled, leaving Kagome in a giant mess. It would become impossible to clean everything up. For once, she wished that she could just toss everything aside and pretend that none of it ever happened.
Another teardrop made an imprint in the snow. Kagome sucked in a deep, shuddering breath and released it in a small sigh. She wasn't supposed to cry...With a small push, Sango backed away and Kagome wiped her eyes furiously with the heels of her palms. "Thanks, Sango," she whispered, and stood up carefully.
Inuyasha could have fainted dead away when he saw Kagome cry. Kagome Higurashi was actually crying. Not only had he never seen her cry before, he didn't even think it was possible. She had always held herself as prideful and stronge, but never arrogant. She had never cared what anyone else thought about her, and she always stood up for herself. But now, she seemed weak and almost frail - he began to wonder what had happened that made her like this. Whatever it was, he vowed to find out.
Sango stood up as well, brushing snow off of her bottom and front. She glanced carefully at Kagome, as if to make sure she was okay. "You alright, Kags?" she asked softly, watching as Kagome blinked and, again, and began to rub her eyes. There was a muffled, "I'm fine."
"Kagome...I don't mean to intrude or anything, but what all happened during your encounter with Naraku?" Miroku queried, now standing next to Sango. He had never seen Kagome like this before...truth be told, he was more than a little bit worried.
A small, wry smile lifted at the corners of Kagome's mouth. "He tried to get me to agree to some sort of wacked-out record deal, if that's what you would call it. He said if I didn't consent, he'd expose our band to the public. I wasn't sure if he was bluffing or not - but I said no anyway. And then after he tried to push me out a damn ten-story window, I left. I tell you, he's a lunatic, in more ways than one."
Inuyasha snorted. Naraku was way more than a lunatic. He had only heard bits and pieces of their conversation, but it was enough for him to know that Naraku was messed up in the head. "We can talk about this later," he griped, purposely avoiding their eyes. "It's been a damn long day, and I'm getting hungry."
Sango shook her head at Inuyasha's lame excuse. "He actually tried to push you out a window?" she asked in disbelief. But Kagome had already started walking; she began jogging to catch up, vaguely aware that Miroku and Inuyasha had started walking behind them. "Kagome, can you wait up? I'm sorry...I shouldn't have asked. Let's just go back to your place...I'm sure your mom will be home by now, right?"
"Oh...damn," Kagome muttered under her breath and abruptly stopped walking. "I completely forgot: Kouga was supposed to come over today for our History project! He's probably wondering where the hell I am." She released a loud groan and covered her eyes with her hand. "Of all the damn, mother-effing luck..."
"I'm sure Kouga's fine with waiting, Kagome, just try and cool down a little bit," Miroku assured, placing a hand carefully on each of her shoulders...he decided to lay off the teasing, for now, anyway.
Kagome resisted the urge to kick the something, proposedly the fence that lined the sidewalk, until it fell over in shambles. Or to slap the next person to ask how her day was. Instead, she sucked in a wavering breath and held it until her head began to hurt, her vision starting to get blurry. Or were those more tears? She blinked the fuzziness and sighed, slowly nodding her head.
"If he asks how my day was, or anything pertaining to my afternoon, I'm gonna kick his damn ass all the way to hell."
Stephenie: Where WERE you guys, for the umpteenth time!?
Kagome: We were...uh, out buying cheese!!
Miroku: Yeah, for dinner. We love our broccoli and cheese ::feigning a cheery smile::
Stephenie: ::blank stare:: But you hate broccoli...
Inuyasha: Well...yeah...but that was before we tried it with cheese!
Sango: Everybody likes cheese!
A/N: Just to let you know, that was a lead-off from Beautiful.Black.Joy's review. The Inu gang's in for a rough night...anyway, I apologize if this chapter was a little short. I have an evil case of writer's block...which sucks, by the way. That, and school has me completely booked. Curse all the teachers for giving too much homework! I'll get the next chapter up as soon as possible - I'm really sorry you guys if the updates are a few days late. Right now, I'm really worn out. Anyways, R&R, please! Until next time.
I'm back, aren't I? Please don't kill me...I'll update soon! I swear!!
