Black Ice: (grins) Wellz...I just finished reading The Princess Bride, the abridged "good parts" version by William Goldman, and it was awesomeness! I now finally understand that quote: "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. Prepare to die." (laughs uproariously) It was hilarious!
Blood Rain: (sighs) Oh, Lord. Here it goes.
Black Ice: And big Fezzik—I have got to create a character after him! And Inigo as well! Westley I could somewhat do without...he wasn't my favorite. Neither was Buttercup. I wasn't too fond of her. Weird, huh? The main characters in the story, and I don't care about either. Hmm. Might model someone after Humperdinck as well, but that's really more up Rain's alley.
Blood Rain: What did I tell you about making obscure references to book people?
Black Ice: (quirks eyebrow) Uh..."book people"? Don't you mean--
Blood Rain: I don't care! Shut up and let's get on with the damn story already!
Kagome had nearly forgotten all about her ookami friend, until about a week later, when he bounded out of the forest, slightly bigger than he used to be for some reason. He dashed up to her as she sat on the beach, wiggling her naked toes in the cool, mushy sound.
(blinks in astonishment) Kouga? What are you doing here? And...did you get bigger?
(voice strains) That's...not...important...now.
Kagome went wide-eyed, blown over by shock. She'd never heard him speak before, and even though his voice was labored, it was still a handsome tenor.
Is there something wrong?
You and...Inuyasha...must leave. Kamikaze...is on his...way here...with police!
Kagome's heart stopped for a fraction of a millisecond, then revved right back up at a million miles an hour.
I too...must escape—he is on...my trail as well.
Before Kagome could say anything, an agonized snarl ripped through Kouga's fangs, effectively silencing her.
There...is not...much time, Kagome. I thank you...eternally for...all you have done...for me, and though...I fear we may...never again cross pathways...in this life...I know we will meet again...someday.
And he leapt into the ocean and dog-paddled with all his fearsome might. Kagome scrambled to her feet, disbelief making tears spring to her eyes.
(cries out) I—Kouga! Where are you—wait!
Swallowing the lump in her throat, she ran into the cave, where Inuyasha was inexplicably destroying everything in there. She also noticed a smelly liquid all over the floor.
(frantic) What are you doing?!
Inuyasha didn't even pause to look at her.
You were coming to tell me that Kamikaze's coming, right? I already heard.
THEN WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?!
Destroying evidence that we were ever here. Well, you anyway. I'm barely a tick on the radar to them at this point. Care to assist?
Though she trembled slightly, Kagome nodded, and in moments, the cave looked like a junkyard. Inuyasha cut the cord of the lightbulb, sending it crashing to the ground. Kagome squeaked jumpily, and Inuyasha took her by the wrist, guiding her out of the cave as quickly as possible. He took a small firecracker and a brushed steel lighter from his pocket and looked at her, his face the utmost of seriousness.
Don't question what I'm doing. Don't even speak until I tell you it's safe. I've been planning this for a while, so I know exactly where I'm going and what I'm doing. Once I throw this firecracker, lit, into the cave, jump onto my back and I'm going to run extremely fast, so I advise you to hold on tight. Do you understand all that?
Wordless and numb, Kagome nodded again, and Inuyasha ignited the firecracker. As soon as the spark appeared, he chucked it into the cave and Kagome hopped onto his back. He rushed out of the vicinity and down the beachfront, barely a few yards away from what used to be his coveted cave before it exploded into millions of tiny bits of rock. Kagome gaped, her grip almost slackening in her amazement. Was he insane? Did he want to alert the police to their whereabouts?
Then again, he couldn't be too crazy, as he was knee deep in the ocean water, so that their—or rather, his—footprints would be unable to be detected, even when the authorities got there. Inuyasha ran as though his, not Kagome's, life depended upon it, and suddenly, Kagome was stricken with a feeling she'd never personally experienced before: guilt. Waves and waves of it. She barely knew this man—hated him, in fact—and yet, here he was, risking life and limb for her. Surely obligation didn't run that deeply, right? He'd destroyed his personal hideaway, one that would've still been intact, had she not barged into his life so abruptly...
No, what was she thinking? Mentally, she shook her head, narrowing her eyes at his snowy head. He had been the one to intrude upon her life, not the other way around! How dare he make her feel guilty, when she had done absolutely nothing wrong? One thing was for certain: he sure did stay true to his title of "royal jackass". Content with these thoughts, Kagome noticed the sand begin to fade, giving way to grassy land. She looked behind them, just catching a glimpse of a bunch of tiny figures in the distance, before the beach scenery was completely gone. She assumed that those figures were the police force, arriving on the scene to investigate that explosion. No doubt it would buy them some time, and Kagome smiled for some reason, the brightest she had smiled in quite some time. That clever bastard! He knew exactly what he was doing! He wasn't insane at all! Maybe she shouldn't've doubted him; maybe she really could put faith in his word.
Of course, it seemed as though she had already done so. After all, she wasn't saying a word, just as he'd demanded, and apparently, in doing so, she had done her little part in this getaway. Or at least, that's how she felt. In any case, they were certainly doing well for themselves, and Kagome allowed her thoughts to wander back to Kouga. What had he meant when he said they might never meet again in "this lifetime"? Where was he going? And for that matter, where was she going? Though Inuyasha said he'd been planning the getaway for some time, he'd never discussed such plans with her; was that his intent? To keep her in the dark about things? If so, then why? It wasn't as though she would reveal any information to anyone or anything. Did he not trust her?
Now Kagome was annoyed. Not only because there was the possibility that Inuyasha distrusted her, but also because she despised this silence. In silence, one's mind wandered, and one was forced to dwell on otherwise unpleasant things, such as this. She'd much rather do something mind-numbingly menial, or at least engage her mind in something that didn't require deep thought. Something like counting tiles or something. This gave her an idea—she would count the trees!
Only three seconds later, she quickly abandoned that pursuit; Inuyasha was going much too fast for trees to be anything but green and brown blurs, much less counted. She sighed, now bored. Since the threat of discovery seemed far away at the time, there was nothing to occupy her anymore, especially since she'd pretty much covered all the emotional bases. But she dared not inform Inuyasha of her boredom, lest he possibly be angered, so she endured it in silence, deciding instead to listen to the sounds of nature.
She listened.
And listened.
And listened some more.
But Inuyasha's footsteps were so damnably loud on the wet grass, they drowned out any other sounds that might have alerted her to their location. (In all truth, his footsteps weren't loud at all; in fact, they were virtually inaudible. But when one listens too hard, one hears things that usually aren't there.) God, why was he so intent on annoying her? The worst part about it was how he was doing it all inadvertently—he hadn't the slightest idea what he was doing! Taking a mental deep breath, Kagome calmly reminded herself that those "loud" feet were currently transporting her to safety, so who was she to complain about them?
Suddenly, she felt tired, and she rested her chin on his shoulder, committed to blanking her mind completely. This would be a long journey, and she did not need her outlandish thoughts making things difficult...
It had been eight-sixteen when Kagome woke this morning. It was nine when she decided to go out and sit in the sand. Thirty minutes passed before Kouga came to her. Inuyasha had begun escaping with her at around nine forty-two. Now, it was, according to Kagome's watch and squinted eyes, eleven-fourteen, and he was just coming to a stop. She had to marvel at his stamina, especially since he didn't even seem to tire. He had run them inexhaustibly through backwoods for hours on end, and there was no telling how many miles he'd spanned.
When he stopped, he let Kagome get off, helping her to stand when her legs wobbled slightly. Riding on his back was like being on a roller coaster.
Do you know where we are?
His voice startled her, especially since she hadn't heard it for a while, and she took this as her cue to finally speak.
(clears throat) No. Should I?
He chuckled a little, and started walking along a path heading northeast. Naturally, Kagome followed him, and soon, she saw a bright light—in fact, many bright lights—come into view. He seemed to have led them to a gas station. They walked around to the front, but Inuyasha stopped her.
What's your deal?
No shoes, no service.
Kagome blinked, looking down at her feet, and grinned sheepishly.
I thought I felt a breeze between my toes.
Allow me; you wouldn't know how to proceed anyway.
Kagome huffed, crossing her arms, and waited outside while Inuyasha went in.
(grumbles) I swear, that guy is an ass!
Inuyasha returned a few minutes later, with provisions for both of them. He handed her a bag of hot fries, which she dove into. How did he know those were her favorite?
As you may or may not know—I can never be sure with you, because, after all, you just now realized you had on no shoes—I am an inuhanyou. My "kind" is a little bit taboo in our parts, more specifically Sapporo, but I originally hail from this town: Abashiri. This is where humans and demons, as well as practitioners of the occult, live together in peace and harmony and whatnot. My...brother didn't share the Abashirian belief, so he relocated us when I was younger.
Kagome noticed how he said the word "brother" exactly how she said "stepfather": with an undertone of contempt.
(quietly) You and your brother aren't the best of friends, huh?
Precisely the reason I was able to accompany you on this little excursion. Also the reason I even had that cave in the first place—I needed somewhere to get away from him.
...Wish I had had one of those.
It did come in handy, but I can't dodge him forever. Or at least, I couldn't. Now that he's kicked me out of his house, I don't really have to worry about him anymore, I guess.
Is he where you got that gaping wound from?
...Yeah. He is.
And again, Kagome felt that wave of guilt moving all over her skin, accompanied by little uncomfortable goosebumps.
I'm sorry.
Huh? For what?
For...that one day, when I pushed you into the sand just to agitate the wound. I shouldn't've done that.
Aw, don't sweat it; I would've done the same thing. After all, I did call you ugly...even though I wasn't exactly without reason with that one.
Kagome's face burned with humiliation. Since then, her face had healed up quite nicely, and there was only a faint scar here and there.
Was that from Kamikaze?
(mutters) Who else?
Yeah, well...sorry for calling you ugly.
It's okay. I don't care.
The edge that her voice had developed brought an end to that conversation, and Inuyasha sighed, leaning against the building.
Well, anyways...tell me when you're ready to go.
Go where?
There's a friend of mine who lives around here. I haven't been in contact with her for a while, but she'll put us up for as long as we need shelter. I suspect that you'll be on the news before long, so we need to stay on our toes.
Kagome nodded wordlessly, still a little highstrung at the mention of Kamikaze. Sure, he was a long ways away from even picking up her trail, but he'd managed to sneak up on her in the past. What made this time any different?
She looked at Inuyasha and got her answer.