Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha...for the twenty-fourth time...
A/N: Heh...I'm off hiatus! That wasn't too long...Was it? I don't know. Must say, I feel a lot better than I did...whenever it was the last time I responded. I apologize for probably the thousandth time. Don't hate me!! Ah, I feel like garbage right now. Seriously. My head hurts and my throat hurts and my feet hurt - I have no idea why - and...yeah. I'm done.
Thanks so much for your encouraging words...It might not seem like much, but it helped. You shall never be forgotten, my thrice awesome reviewers.
Chapter 24 - Break In
Kagome put both of her feet on the glass door and pulled out until her arms and legs were trembling. She finally let go and collapsed painfully on her back on the sidewalk beneath her; she now stared up at Inuyasha, Miroku, and Shippou, who stared curiously back down at her. "What're you all gawking at?" she grumbled when she finally regained her breath, sat up, and began rubbing her lower back and straightening her arm warmers. "That hurt like hell." Inuyasha reached a hand down to help her up, and she accepted it with exaggerated graciousness - she could have sworn, however, that her feet had left the ground as he hauled her off the pavement.
"I don't think we'll be able to get in that way, Kagome. Besides; they probably have cameras and a security alarm system. We wouldn't make it very far," Miroku stated carefully while scratching the back of his head. "There's gotta be another way in, doesn't there?" Shippou gave him a clueless shrug.
"How do we even know they're in there?" Inuyasha interrupted, crossing his arms gruffly. "There's no lights on anywhere; there's not one car in the lot; and I would be able to smell them, anyway." As if to prove a point, he tapped his nose with his claw. "It doesn't make any sense for them to be here."
Kagome's jaw literally dropped as she stood before him and put one of her hands on his forehead. "Are you feeling okay?" she inquired quietly. At his clearly expressed confusion, she decided it would be best to elaborate: "Only a being with a fair amount of intelligence could come up with an explanation like that," she explained seriously, and slapped a hand over her own forehead. "How could I have been so careless? Naraku wouldn't come here anyway. No...that's way to obvious." Her voice had lost it's cheery enthusiasm; instead, it was troubled and quiet, her face contorted in a mix of confusion and self-animosity.
Inuyasha, however, enjoyed the few seconds that her gentle hand touched his skin, her fingers permeating warmth despite the chilling night air. The way the corners of her lips twitched when she failingly tried to keep from smiling made him smirk from pure amusement. The again...sometimes she could be plain irritating, like when she threatened to permanently maim him; but when she was angry, with a pert scowl on her face, he couldn't deny that she could be somewhat attractive.
Kagome kicked angrily at the glass entrance door, missing Shippou's head by a mere few inches. "I don't know where to look!" she exclaimed, frustration clawing at her features. Her voice had raised slightly in pitch from desperation. Miroku watched with rage-filled - albeit mute - sorrow; Kagome had spoken nothing but the truth. None of them knew where to go, and the statement would only delay them further.
Shippou watched on, frowning deeply as he assessed the situation at hand: Sango was gone, and they had no idea where she - or Naraku - was. Him being out in the open didn't make things any easier. Tai and Rizu had been left behind at the concert stadium, probably wondering where the hell they had disappeared to. It didn't take a lot to figure out that they were left stranded without a direction path. But there had to be something they could do...he sighed and blocked out the sound of Kagome and Inuyasha arguing about something that he figured probably had nothing at all to do with their predicament. "Guys!" he yelled, finally, waving his hands in the air. "Do you think you could stay focused for at least a few minutes so we can try and figure this out?"
Kagome shut her mouth immediately, whereas Inuyasha crossed his arms over his chest, grumbled a few words under his breath, and resorted to quiet growling instead. Miroku was the only one who had refrained himself from the argument - the epitome of innocence - and now held his hand up as if to tell them all to shut up. "We're getting nowhere fast. Let's at least go back to the van; it's freezing out here."
Kagome sprinted, more or less, and made it first inside the vehicle. "I'm driving!"
There was a harsh knock at the door.
Sango bolted awake and ended up falling off the bed. She glared at the door, dreading whoever it was that might be on the other side. But she stood up groggily, her head thrumming, and ambled precariously to the door. Her throat felt scratchy and dry...when was the last time she had something to drink? She released a strangled laugh. She felt ridiculous, being held captive by a crazed 'record dealer'and she had fallen asleep in the midst of everything. Why did they know in the first place? It wasn't her room, and the door wasn't even locked. She contemplated whether she should answer it or just ignore the pounding and go back to sleep. "Who's there?" she finally croaked, her voice hoarse and strained. Sango stood but a few feet from the door, her arms crossed as she attempted to try and tug the blouse she was wearing closer to her. The room had cooled down immensely as the night progressed.
The door opened without an answer: Kagura stepped in, a grim frown plastered on her face. Her hair was up in a bun - then again, Sango had never seen it styled any other way. She was only surprised that Kagura was still awake. From inside th room, it was impossible to tell what time it was, but Sango was sure that it was getting late. "What do you want?" she asked; her voice cracked twice.
"Ah," Kagura spoke, sauntering forward and crossing her arms over her voluptuous chest. "It seems our little captive's getting sick. Let's just hope it doesn't get too serious now, because you won't be leaving this room for a while." She smirked and sat down on the bedraggled bed, crossing her legs and kicking off her heels. One of her hands smooth the comforter somewhat. "You fell asleep, huh? Any idea what time it is?"
Sango couldn't help but think it was some sort of trick question, so she merely shrugged. The chopsticks she had holding her hair up on the side of her head had fallen out - sometime when she had been sleeping, she guessed - and now her hair was hanging disastrously around her shoulders.
Kagura sighed disapprovingly, her eyes flickering observantly around the room. "Well, anyhow, you'll be coming with me to go see Naraku." At the look of expressed confusion on Sango's face, Kagura stood and strutted towards the closet. "You see, Naraku and Onigumo work in separate buildings. Naraku will be at his...hideout right now, and he requested to see you. Afterwards, you'll be brought back here. Now let's go before Naraku gets impatient and starts killing off the workers crazy enough to stay there overnight."
Sango realized that she wasn't kidding, and didn't waste a second in following Kagura out the door.
"WHERE IN THE HELL DID SHE GO?!"
Rizu threw his hands in the air as Nanami ran around the stage, talking to anyone and everyone she came in contact with. Tai was venting his frustration out on one of the innocent stage assistants.
If it wasn't Sango, it was Kagome.
Nanami grabbed Rizu by his wrist and pulled him over to Taiko, who had found a chair and flopped down in it. "Some said they saw the band van leave," she reported, wringing her hands out in front of her. "Do you think Kagome took it?" she wondered aloud, her eyes flashing briefly in anger. "She can't even drive yet! None of them can!"
Tai put his hands on his shoulders, and - standing a full five inches taller - gazed down at her, attempting solely to ease her somewhat. "It's Kagome - what do you think she did? Her and Sango have been friends for as long as either of them can remember. Kagome took the van and went off to find her. Inuyasha, Miroku, and that runt kid Shippou are gone too. But we have no idea where they are, so what do you suppose we do?"
Nanami gave him the Make a smart-ass remark like that again and you will so totally not live to see the light of day look. Considering the fact that she had to deal with this group of adolescents since they were thirteen - or somewhere in that general area - she had mastered the whole glare enchilada. Tai's hands were shrugged off her shoulders, and she took a step backwards, glowering pointedly at the two of them. "You expect me to know?" She snorted loudly. "Like hell. Kagome and Sango are your age, where do you guys think they went?"
Rizu gave her a blank stare, as if he didn't know what the hell she was talking about, while Tai shrugged helplessly, his face portraying nothing but innocence. Nanami made some sort of noise that someone might classify as a condescending growl and eye roll. "I will never understand you two. Seriously - I could just strangle you right now, if not for the fact that I would be in trouble with the law and your parents. Besides, I'm your publicist. Without me you would be nothing. Remember that in a few years when I finally crack and decide where to put your severed heads on my mantle." With a huff, she stomped off, shooting them one last ferociously stony glare before she exited the backstage area.
"You know, it wouldn't surprise me at all if she had flat knives hidden up her sleeves and a couple semi-automatics in her apartment," Tai whistled, nervously scratching the back of his ruffled head. "Damn. She's somethin' else when she gets like that."
Rizumu nodded slowly, carefully rubbing his tired eyes. He could've really used a cup of French Vanilla coffee right about now. "There's no denying that; she can be downright scary sometimes. Forget the fact that she's probably close to five inches shorter than use, because her attitude - should I say temper? - makes up for it." He paused, not failing to realize the obvious fact that the area was clearing out quickly. "Maybe she's right, though; Sango's gone, Kagome's gone...you think we should go look for them?"
"Since when did you start thinking rationally? Whatever...Let's just go before Nanami changes her mind and blows our heads off."
Sango tried to keep composed and devise some sort of escape route. She really did. But - much like her fingers and toes as soon as the they stepped outside - her mind was frozen. No matter what she tried to do, all she could think of was the very gradually intensifying throbbing between her ears and her raw, scratchy throat.
When Kagura led her to what looked to be a well worn parking lot, she examined her surroundings; the moon, now high in the sky, would have provided plenty of light even if the street lamps weren't on. The building that she had been in was surrounded mostly by trees and the parking lot in back, the only other exception being the open front. The building itself looked to be abandoned, the structural red and brown bricks crumbling and fading. A lot of work must have been done, she realized, because it looked like some sort of fancy-schmancy modern white hospital type thing from the interior. She snorted and crossed her arms ruefully: not only were they crazed bastards, they were rich crazed bastards. The title fit Kagura's profile perfectly, so much so that it was almost scary.
It took a moment or two of staring mutely at the building she had left before Sango realized she was lagging behind. Kagura was taking a hopeless attempt at opening the driver's door of some sort of expensive-looking car, fumbling hastily with the lock. Sango heard her cuss under her breath before she finally thrust the door open and slid inside. "Well, you coming or not? I could just leave you out here to freeze."
Sango rolled her eyes and half-jogged to the backseat's door. It was only when kagura motioned gruffly towards the empty leather passenger seat. Instead of protesting, she shot her a wry - nonetheless sarcastic - smile, if you could even call it that. "Right." So much for an escape. "How far away is this place? I'd really like to go back to sleep, if you don't mind."
Kagura, with her hands hidden in the sleeves of her goose down parka, started the car's engine and turned the heat on. "You'll be able to sleep when we come back here. If you haven't figured it out yet, Naraku's not a very patient man. I won't have you speaking out of turn or acting with disrespect. You might just find yourself gagged with a rag dipped in sleep triggering toxins and bound to a chair."
Sango swallowed past the scratchiness in her throat. Where had she heard that threat before? She could only watch in unwilling acquiesce as Kagura pulled out of the forsaken parking lot and onto the pretty much deserted road.
Kagome's foot made contact with the brake pedal as she put most of her weight on the stupid thing. The van halted to a screeching stop just before the white line painted on the road. "Fuck," she muttered, and waited for the light to change back to green, her index finger consistently tapping the steering wheel. Finally, after a few minutes of steadily growing apprehension and impatience, she declared, "We're never going to find her at this rate. It's taking too goddamn long."
Shippou had learned to keep his mouth shut. Occasionally, he would busy himself with looking at the boxes that had been wrapped specifically for Kagome and Sango, trying to figure out who they were from and what they were for. After a few minutes, he gave up. Miroku shifted every few seconds on the floor he had sat on when he couldn't find anything else. Inuyasha had taken the chair first, and was now sitting cross-legged on it, staring off at nothing in particular. He had begun to feel slightly sick, since Kagome had been exaggeratedly jerking the van at every single turn and stop light.
But there was a time to speak. Inuyasha's nose twitched, his ears perked, and he turned his gaze so he was staring at the back of Kagome's head. "Turn left at the next corner," he commanded, leaving hardly any room for retaliation or contradiction. She simply nodded her head and flicked on the turn signal when they came close to the said turn.
It was a couple minutes later when she finally slowed down and turned in her seat to glance at Inuyasha quizzically. "Now why did I just turn?" she asked, not bothering to watch the road. She drove with one hand. And she was pretty damned lucky that no one else was on the road, else they all would have been dead.
Inuyasha smirked at her and, much like before, tapped the end of his nose. "Because I can sense Sango somewhere around here. Looks like she's closer than you thought, Kags."
Kagome flipped him the finger, and upon almost driving onto the sidewalk, she spun back around in her seat. Inside, she was delighted. If there was one thing she knew for sure, it was that Inuyasha's nose never lied. She shot the three boys a grin through the rear-view mirror. "Maybe bringing you along, Inuyasha, was a good idea after all. Great job, dog-boy."
Inuyasha lurched forward, his hand outstretched - Kagome had called him dog-boy one too many times. He was inches away from the back of her head before Miroku and Shippou both latched onto him. "You really think now's the time to get in another argument? Let's focus on finding Sango, first, then you can brawl all you want." That said, Miroku let go (somewhat hesitantly, of course) and settled back on the floor.
Inuyasha snorted, but instead of sitting down again, he climbed into the passenger's seat. Kagome glowered at him for a few seconds before she turned her focus back to the road. "You just tell me where to go. I think I'm finally getting the gist of this thing," she commented, maneuvering it easily around a curve. Inuyasha was gripping his seatbelt for dear life. "I thought you were some sort of Oh-almighty-and-invincible-never-fearful hanyou. Maybe I should throw your door open and see how you react then."
It was all Inuyasha could do to not wrap his claws around her throat and strangle her till she screamed 'mercy!' He shook his head instead and turned to look out the window, muttering a gruff 'feh' under his breath.
It was only a few minutes later when his nose started twitching again. "Turn right into the parking lot up here," he directed, pointing at a turn that was coming up ahead. Kagome had to strain her eyes to try and see before she flicked her right turn signal on.
"What do you sense this time? Is it Sango?" Shippou asked anxiously from behind them, jumping up and down to try and glimpse the outside through the windshield. He ended up getting suspended in the air by his tail, courtesy of the ever-patient Miroku. "What's the big idea, 'Roku?!"
Miroku sighed warily, as if his actions should have been explainable to anyone. "Shippou, we don't know where we are or what's up ahead. You're going to have to tone it down, alright? Especially when Kagome's driving," he added under his breath. Shippou fell to the ground with an ungraceful thump as Kagome turned sharply - yet cleanly at the same time - around the corner.
Inuyasha swirled around in the leather seat so he was facing the bickering couplet. "Who's the one who's arguing now? Park here," he ordered spontaneously, pointing at a space mostly hidden by trees. The whole parking lot was enclosed by woods, and cowering behind a particular line of trees was what looked like the back entrance to some sort of building.
As soon as the van was geared in 'Park,' Kagome was the first to jump out, rubbing her arms to try and maintain some heat. 'Damn...shoulda brought a jacket. Not only that, but a cinnamon coffee sounds really good right now.' With a great sigh - knowing full well that she wouldn't be getting her coffee anytime soon - she started towards the line of trees. "You guys coming or am I going in alone?"
Inuyasha only grunted in response and started after her while Shippou scurried to catch up to Kagome. Miroku lagged a few steps behind to get a mental mind-image of the lot. To him, it appeared they were in one of Tokyo's suburbs. It was more difficult to see anything than he had anticipated, seeing as how it was almost completely dark outside. Even so, this place was...ominous, in more ways than one.
"Kagome, where are we?" Shippou piped, his teeth chattering even though he was wearing two different jackets.
Kagome merely shrugged, stepping aimlessly over a crack in the pavement. "Who knows. All I know is that I'm freezing my ass off over here."
A few minutes of silence befell them before Kagome belt something heavy draped around her shoulders. When she looked up, Inuyasha was walking beside her with his hands buried deep in his pants pockets. The red and black jacket he had worn there wasn't being worn by him anymore. He was jacket-less.
She felt her lips quirk, twitching into a small smirk, but she didn't say anything for the first second or two. And when she did, the only thing she said was a soft "Thank you."
Inuyasha looked down at her reproachfully. For once, in the whole span of time that they had known each other, he didn't retort with a witty comeback. He didn't keh or feh and he didn't growl. He only nodded his head and - had it not been dark - Kagome would've seen his facing flushing oh so slightly. As it was, she didn't see, and Inuyasha forced himself to direct his attention elsewhere.
Had it been a few weeks before this incident, he wouldn't have even spared Kagome a second glance. He wouldn't have bothered to shrug off his jacket and offer it to her instead, knowing that she was suffering from the cold chill that made her hair tumble, even when half of it was still pinned up. He wouldn't have even come with her, to the concert, or anything; because then, he thought that they were mortal enemies. How wrong he had been.
All this time, Inuyasha realized, Miroku had been right. The lecherous but seemingly innocent teen had chided him for his unannounced attraction towards Kagome, even if he didn't show it visibly. He didn't think so, anyway. Maybe that was his flaw; he was too ignorant to realize how he actually felt towards the girl he had once ignored and dubbed a loner. He was, after all, considered popular among the other students, but also a very well-rounded idiot.
And, by the quick glimpses that he caught Kagome sending him, he knew that she was thinking. What about, he couldn't be sure. But he could tell this: her gaze was calculating, undeterred and somewhat grim, if he wasn't mistaken. Her lips were set in a thin line, leaving hardly any room for readability. Whatever she was puzzling over, she was exceptional at hiding it. Almost better than himself. It was strange to think that her efforts to keep her life a secret matched - maybe even surpassed - that of his own.
But what were her secrets?
A/N: Alright, I'm aware that this isn't the greatest chapter. But I didn't want to leave you guys hanging around too long. Just be aware that the chapters won't be updated as quickly as they used to...I discovered this right after I realized that my teachers don't feel like laying off on the work they hand out any more than Santa's going to stop handing out Christmas presents...Okay, that was pretty lame, but I don't really care. Whadda y'all say t' that?
Review on your way out!
