Disclaimer: Hmm, do I own Inuyasha? Well, if I did, I promise you I wouldn't be writing this on FanFiction…it would be on TV (duh).
And I would like to thank EVERYONE for your reviews! I'm already past 100! You guys are the BEST! I love you all!
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Chapter Ten: Worry
She couldn't stop it. She couldn't stop the force that was pulling them deeper and deeper, farther and farther into eternity of darkness. An endless void of insanity.
Kagome couldn't let him be stuck here, not Inuyasha. If he could be brought back then they could both be saved but she had to help him. He didn't understand.
He never would.
His hand was cold and clammy in hers as she unconsciously grasped it tighter.
Let go.
The voices seemed to chant to her, the endless stream of nightmares called out to her, willing to destroy her. The vengeful and hate-filled spirits that refused to move on shrieked.
Let go. Let go. Let go.
She couldn't let him go. If they separated, they would never be saved.
And that's when she felt Inuyasha start to pull his hand away from hers.
Kagome panicked within her mind, feeling Inuyasha start to draw away from her.
"Inuyasha!" She screamed with everything she had but his fingers still tried to pry loose of her grasp. She had to send him away from this place now; she had to bring him back to reality.
Kagome never thought this would happen but she should've thought of it beforehand. For some reason, she and Inuyasha had a connection and that connection was brought together when she dug deep within her mind, when she tried to open the door for the voices. Now, when she tried to go too deep on purpose, holding his hand as a lifeline so she wouldn't get stuck, the connection was made and they ended up stuck too deep together.
Stupid universe. It only figures that Inuyasha would be her 'one and only' connection. Sigh.
Kagome focused all of her energy on Inuyasha, thinking of the room they were in and the scene before them in reality. Bracing herself, she "pushed" her energy with everything she had and willed for Inuyasha to resurface. It was definitely an example of mind over matter, so when Inuyasha let go, she used it to her advantage and willed him somewhere where the voices wouldn't speak.
Suddenly, the world around her went dark and Inuyasha's presence was no longer with her. He was back, breathing and alive. She just hoped Inuyasha would be able to save her as her mind gave away and scattered to the endless ways of oblivion.
---
He couldn't stop it. He couldn't control the pull that dragged him down, drowning him of life as his mind blanked and no longer were his moves certain and graceful but now jerky and robotic. He was moving and he was doing nothing to influence it.
Where was he? What was he doing? Vaguely, Inuyasha could feel small warmth in his hand and he heard the rapid heartbeat that seemed to die within the body –or soul- of the woman beside him. Kagome…
Get away.
A shiver passed through him, one he had never felt before. Whispers that he had never experienced, never heard before crowded within his mind, surrounding him and suffocating him in the unbalance of body and soul. The drifting feeling of being everywhere and yet nowhere gave him a sense of insecurity, a characteristic he had never felt before, and the voices that echoed in his mind seemed to crash like waves.
Let go. Get away. Now!
That didn't sound like Kagome but whatever voice was urging him to pull away from her was something Inuyasha had never heard before. His grip on Kagome tightened and Inuyasha was unsure of what to do.
Let go. Pain and suffering… Get away. Let go.
Was Kagome suffering? Was this hurting her more than it was him? He couldn't see anything and his lips were unable to move. It was like all his senses were on hold and the only thing that he could use was his hearing, and right now the vibrations of the voices made it almost deaf.
Let go.
The urgency, the desperation in the voices stopped them. The pain and suffering…it was all them but still, should he let go? Was he killing Kagome by keeping her with him? Did Kagome even want him to come here?
Let go.
Maybe it would be for the best. Slowly, as if his body was stiff from lack of movement, his subconscious started to draw away from Kagome and soon, the voices started to leave him. But then Kagome's hand, that pull that held him to her, kept him near and he struggled against her.
Just then, one voice stood out from the rest and everything within him froze.
Inuyasha, you can't do this without her.
Wasn't that…?
Reality came crashing back. His senses went haywire as flashes of colour, disgusting tastes, the feel of a cool breeze, and the pungent smell of blood filled him. Inuyasha's eyes shot open and his first reaction was to fling out, attack whatever was near but when he saw the hazy figure of Miroku and Sango hovering over him, Inuyasha just moaned.
"What happened?" he asked groggily and started to look around, rubbing his eyes to rid them of the heavy-sleep feeling. Lights and a blinding white shine confused him and before he could ask, it clicked.
"Where the hell am I?" Inuyasha barked, though he already knew the answer.
"Chief, calm down," Sango said firmly and rested her right hand on his shoulder as if to comfort him. "You're in the hospital."
Inuyasha shook his head and slowly brought his hand up, massaging his temples. "And that's supposed to make me feel better? What happened?"
"I see he's up," a feminine voice said and Inuyasha turned around to the best his ability on the bed to face her.
A woman with the appearance of a young child walked into the small hospital room and made her way to the bed. Silver hair loose at the back, her black demon eyes glinted as they surveyed his body, looking for outward affects. "Inuyasha Taisho, my name is Shiori Bouma and I've been looking after you. Now, if you remain still I want to check some things to see if you may or may not go."
"Mind answering some questions first?" Inuyasha asked sharply. "I hate repeating myself but what the hell happened?"
Shiori looked towards Miroku and Sango who stood beside his bed, her pale pastel lips curved into a frown. "Shall I?" she asked and Sango shook her head.
"I'll do it. Inuyasha, you know that connection thingy you and Kagome have? Well, as Miroku explained it, Kagome needs an anchor sometimes if she purposely goes too deep. She chose you as an anchor but instead of keeping her attached to this…reality, you went with her."
Miroku nodded his head in agreement. "Because of what occurred at the warehouse. You two connected somehow, for some reason, and when she went in so did you. I'm guessing Kagome was already too deep to stop it but somehow she managed to push you out of that place, wherever that place is."
A shiver ran through his body at that moment, the remembrance of the emptiness and fear within him and that voice… It was so familiar…
"Kagome! Where is she?" Inuyasha asked with a hint of fear in his voice. He looked at Sango who kept her eyes lowered and then Miroku, whose facial expression was grim.
"She's…," Miroku paused for a moment, looking to the other half of the room Inuyasha was in, "Kagome's in a comatose state. We don't know how she is."
Whipping his head to the left, Inuyasha saw the outline of a bed with a slight bulge on the top of it, green curtains providing the picture with the help of the sun's rays that made it through the small window. Kagome…?
"Oh hell no," Inuyasha muttered as he looked at the curtains that hid Kagome's body. "She's not…"
"She's still alive Inuyasha," Dr. Bouma said slowly. "Ms. Higurashi is in a comatose state, like your friend said."
Inuyasha gulped. "How long…? Do you know?"
Dr. Bouma shook her head regretfully. "I have Dr. Nogami looking after her at the moment. She's one of the best but there's nothing you can really do. It's up to Ms. Higurashi now if she wants to live."
Inuyasha watched as a pale woman walked in as if on cue and Shiori watched her for a moment before turning her gaze to Inuyasha. "This, sir, is Dr. Nogami."
The pale woman spun around very slowly, her snowy white hair a shocking match to her ghost-like skin and dark black eyes that held oblivion within them. She merely looked at Inuyasha, Sango and Miroku before shifting her gaze to Shiori.
"Are they friends of hers?" the woman asked; her voice so quiet it was barely audible.
Shiori nodded. "Yes."
"Is she…" Miroku's voice ended abruptly as he choked on his words. "Is she…okay? Will she be? She's going to wake up, right?"
The moment he looked at Dr. Nogami, Miroku regretted asking the final question. Whatever happened to Kagome was on a paranormal level, no doctor would understand that.
Dr. Nogami searched Miroku's violet eyes for a moment and a cold shiver ran down his spine, freezing him so that his breath hitched. He wasn't aware that he was holding his breath until she looked away and drew back the curtain just enough for her to squeeze in and just enough to show a pale limp hand resting on the bed, palm upwards towards the ceiling.
---
When Inuyasha was finally allowed to leave the hospital, he put up quite a fight. Kagome's unconscious body still lay limply on the bed and he refused to leave her side. Dr. Nogami refused to let Inuyasha see her and that negation itself was enough for him to tear down the curtains. After much persuasion on Sango's part, they finally got him out of the building, Miroku volunteering to stay in the hospital and call them if anything should happen.
Of course, even as they got out of Inuyasha's black Tahoe, he was grumbling. Slamming the door, Inuyasha's face was set as hard as stone and the look in his eyes were dangerous. Sango didn't know what happened to him, she didn't have a clue what he and Kagome experienced together. Personally, Sango would rather that it stayed that way.
"Sango, I want the recent profile out, as well as reports from whatever I missed. You have three minutes to get it and into my office, now."
Rolling her eyes but picking up the pace, Sango did what she was told, her raven hair swinging side to side while up in the ponytail. Warning Ayame, Kouga and Hiten and Manten who she passed along the way about Inuyasha's mood, Sango finally made it to her office. Grabbing a folder that contained the profile and picking up a bunch of papers that lay scattered on her desk, Sango dashed out of the room and into the chief's office.
Inuyasha sat there with a large scowl on his face, his amber eyes glowing. Throwing him the folder, Sango sat down across from his desk and casually rested her feet on the top of it, twiddling her thumbs.
"The profile hasn't changed much from the original," Sango said slowly, looking at the wall. "Still mostly likely male, around the age of twenty-five to thirty-five and is also probably insane but that's not in the profile."
Inuyasha raised his brow towards Sango who shrugged. "I can't exactly be wrong now, can I chief? The way he perfectly sliced up Yuri? The way he chopped up…Kirara like- like w-w-wood…"
Again, Inuyasha smelt a mix of salt and water as Sango blinked rapidly, trying to brush away her tears.
"What's he going to do next chief? Tell me because pretty soon the entire town is going to know what happened. Yuri was murdered in a field near the outskirts of town; Kirara was murdered in a local café. Once Kirara's story is out, Yuri's will be tagging right behind."
Inuyasha growled. He knew that, and knew that all too well. Instead of agreeing and having to face the fact that he needed to go out to the public, he changed the subject. "So this guy is killing women because of…what? There's not even a suggestion here."
"That's because Yuri and Kirara are completely different in looks and personality. Yuri's a hairdresser and Kirara's a waitress. Yuri lived in the outskirts of town, Kirara in the heart of it. They probably knew about each other but I doubt they ever spoke."
Sighing and glancing at the clock that showed the time of eight p.m., Inuyasha stretched and yawned. "We're getting nowhere fast," Inuyasha grumbled. "Let's continue this in the morning."
"Right chief," Sango said automatically and stood up, looking at Inuyasha for a moment before shaking her head. "Try and get some sleep tonight, will you?"
"When there are two murdered girls and a woman in the hospital? Not likely Sango but…thanks. I guess."
The sudden vulnerability that surrounded Inuyasha was thick and Sango didn't know what to do. He was never like this and she was unsure whether to laugh or hold him. Trite was a small town where nothing ever happened.
Ever.
So what had changed it? What happened to make this all start?
Those last two questions she could only answer with one name.
---
It was nine-thirty in the morning when Sango called.
"Chief, the background on Kirara is complete. Basically there is nothing there that we didn't already know. I have two people to talk to: Mrs. Nekomata and Shippo Watanabe. Other than her mother, she has no family and with the rumours about her, Shippo and Nazuna…"
"I know. Not much is kept secret in this town."
"Do you think it would be worthwhile to investigate Nazuna?"
"No," Inuyasha said in the phone, shaking his head. "Let's leave Ms. Orikasa until after we talk to Shippo. Let's make sure that this isn't just juicy 'for the hell of it' gossip."
"Understood. Meet you at the station," Sango said and then after short goodbyes, Inuyasha ended the call.
"This is going to be one hell of a day," he muttered and sighed. Kagome was still in the hospital. She still hadn't woken up.
Miroku had been there all night. And for some reason, Dr. Nogami would let any of them remotely near her. Miroku was so furious about it but had been too tired last night to start something. This morning though, it would be raining fire and brimstone.
He got to the station five minutes later and braced himself before he got out of the truck, closing his eyes. This would be his only moment of peace…
"Inuyasha, what the hell is going on?"
Jumping up in surprise, Inuyasha shot open his eyes and looked outside his car window, only to see Totosai Yanami, the so-called 'mayor' of Trite. Sometimes people got the impression that the chief or sheriff ran the town they were in charge of.
In all honestly, he wished. It would've made the job a lot more fun.
And more stressful…
"You better get out here now or I swear on your father's grave…"
"You better not swear anything on my old man's grave, you old coot. What are you rambling about anyways?" Inuyasha already knew what Totosai was talking about but he wanted to hear it from the mayor's mouth, to see how much he knew. Sometimes, it was better to keep your mouth shut.
Totosai stroked his long salt and pepper beard and his large eyes widened in thought. He looked every day of his age and the hunched up frame of his body did nothing to change that. "Kirara has been murdered. How much do you know?"
"Not much," Inuyasha admitted. "I was just going to do that now."
"Can I tag along?"
"No," Inuyasha answered firmly and got out of the truck, locking the Tahoe before making his way towards the building.
"You imbecile, this is no time to…"
Yep, sometimes it was better to just keep your mouth shut.
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Sango held the keys to her truck in hand, the jingling sound irritating to her ears. She watched Inuyasha with mild annoyance and curiosity, wondering what he was doing.
"You found no clues at the crime scene right?" Inuyasha asked Sango in a rush.
"Right…" Sango said slowly, not sure where he was going with this. "Forensics checked the place out with a fine tooth comb. They found nothing."
"What about an axe?"
Caught off guard, Sango made a few incomprehensible sounds before answering properly. "Axe? You mean the murder weapon?"
"That's the one," Inuyasha said impatiently, looking through a pile of papers related to Kirara's murder. "That's what I saw. When that…thing with Kagome and I happened…that's what we saw. Or, what I saw anyways. The murder weapon, covered in blood. In a closet of some sort."
Sango frowned and shook her head. "Nothing like that was found. So, you believe it? You believe her?"
For a minute, Inuyasha stopped dead in his track, unmoving. The only sound to be heard was the uneven sound of his breath as his amber eyes reflected emotions behind his long silvery bangs. "I…don't know. It's crazy I know. How could someone do that? You know, to have that ability to dig so deep in the subconscious…to hear things and know things no one else can. It's more than that…" He took a deep break and shook his head, a bitter smirk on his face. "It's scary."
Sango's voice softened as she looked at her best friend, wondering what he was going through at that moment. "You really believe she didn't do it, do you? You're not following the proper procedure of a suspect for her…you're not investigating her at all."
"She didn't do it," Inuyasha said, his voice firm. "And, this is too serious. We needed more resources, and Kagome could be that extra help. She said we can't do this without her. That I believe. So right now, I need to find this weapon."
"And I need to do some interrogations," Sango said with a sigh. She was about to leave when she turned around once more. "She's going to be alright chief I know it."
---
I want to kill her.
I have to kill her.
But she's out of my reach.
Not yet…not yet…
Just one more to go and then it is checkmate.
Think carefully now because soon it'll be all over.
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Wake up.
Kagome felt her body jerk and something cool was put on her forehead.
Now, you have to save him, her imaginary friend urged.
"Kagome, stop what are you doing!" a scream resonated through her mind, echoing. Miroku… The coldness was removed and suddenly a chill went through the air, a gasp was heard and then the sounds of gaping breath.
Wake up, Kagome. He's going to die.
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Sorry guys, for some reason the divider line wasn't working. I'll just make-do with this for now!
Next Chapter: Chance- "I did it," she whispered. "I killed Kirara."
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