Through Blood and Tears

Chapter 13: Protection

"Inuyasha," Kagome mumbled as she awoke from a restless sleep. She glanced up to see her half-demon's eyes looking down at her with concern. Her gaze traveled around the room, landing on the small group huddled around a faint glow of light. Their whispers were muffled, but every so often Kagome would catch a few words.

After a few moments, she finally regained her bearings and realized where she was. With a light blush dusting her cheeks, she crawled off of Inuyasha's lap. He stood up, his face a slight crimson, and helped her to her feet. She smiled graciously, but it was lost in the darkness. "How long was I out?" she questioned, stifling a yawn.

"I don't know, an hour or so." His amber eyes followed the dark haired teen as she stumbled towards her classmates.

"Hey, Kags," Sango greeted softly, noticing her friend's awakened state. Kagome smiled towards the group as the light gleamed upon their distraught faces. Her eyes scanned the teenagers before her, feeling as if something was off; something was missing. Realization sparked in her features as she whipped her head around the classroom, trying to find a glimpse of the missing students.

"What's wrong, Kagome?" Rin asked sleepily, pulling her head off of Sesshomaru's shoulder.

"Where's Kouga and Ayame?" she replied, turning her attention back to the eight faces before her.

"They went to the vending machine down the hall," Miroku said, rubbing Sango's knuckles for comfort.

"They've been gone for a few minutes," Kikyo added in, her voice holding no concern for the safety of the two wolf demons. She studied her nails, brushing a nail file over them she had dug out of her bag.

Kagome's anger flared, but concerned emotions overpowered her fury. "Well, did any of you think to look for them?!" she questioned harshly, forcing her voice to remain steady.

"They can take care of themselves," Naraku chimed in, his voice dripping with venom. He leaned his hip against the desk Kikyo sat upon, his arms crossed and a menacing smile on his lips.

She only gave a frustrated grunt and turned on her heel, heading towards teh door. Inuyasha glared at his former beloved and the vile man before following the frantic girl. "Kags, wait up," he quietly called, grabbing her arm.

Kagome whipped her head around in Inuyasha's direction, ready to spit out a nasty remark, when they were interrupted by a piercing scream.

Ayame smiled up at Kouga as their pace slowed, savoring the moment they had alone. She tightened her grip around his hand and glanced forward, stopping dead in her tracks. Kouga took a few steps before noticing she wasn't moving from her current position. "Ayame, what's wrong?" he asked, noticing the absolute terror in her emerald eyes.

"Kouga," she whispered, her gaze unwavering. "What is that?" She slightly pointed with her hand towards a dark corner of the hallway. He followed her gaze to the source of her fear and his own body became paralyzed as he searched the darkness.

It was barely visible, but blood red eyes could be seen through the black abyss. The male wolf demon released his grip on Ayame's hand and wrapped it around her waist instead, holding her close. "Who is that?" the red head whispered, a lump forming in her throat. She was afraid if she spoke too loud, the eyes would launch themselves upon the couple.

Kouga shook his head, thoughts swarming through his mind as he asked himself the same question. His first thoughts were that one of his classmates was playing a trick on them. The idea quickly dissipated. No, not even Naraku is this sick and twisted. he thought, his eyes lingering on the enemy.

The female wolf demon's stomach lurched as a thin, white line appeared slightly below the red eyes, realizing whoever the person was, he was smiling. "Kouga, lets get out of here," she said quietly, hugging herself closer to him. She felt him nod slightly in response as he inched his way along the wall farthest from the dark figure, bringing Ayame with him.

They stopped their movements as an awful sound reached their ears. The person was chuckling in amusement, his bellowed laugh echoing off the walls. A few footsteps resonated in the hallway as the man was brought into the moonlight. Most of his features were still covered in darkness, but the wolves could see bits and pieces. His blood red eyes darted between them hungrily, his whit teeth smiling menacingly, and his dark locks sticking out in various directions.

Kouga growled as he pushed his beloved behind him in a protective manner. The figure only continued to approach, stopping a foot away from the couple's position. The demon's nose twitched as the scent of blood and death invaded. And was that the scent ... of a full-blooded demon?

The dark man spoke no words, only stared at the frightened couple. "What the hell are you staring at?" Kouga asked bravely, taking a few steps to his right. He was trying to ease himself away from the man, in hopes of getting Ayame and himself to safety. His efforts were in vain, however, for each step he took, the monster took one as well.

He chuckled again, smiling as his eyes trailed over the wolves in front of him, soon to become his next victims. He lifted his hand away from his body, holding an object that glinted in the moonlight. Kouga recognized the metallic cover and immediately went into defensive mode.

"Ayame, watch out!" he screamed as the dark man brought the object over his head, intending to bring it down upon the helpless students. Kouga pushed his beloved to the floor behind him and dropped to all fours, covering Ayame's body in protection. The red head's eyes widened as she watched the scene in front of her and let out a high pitched scream.

The object came down upon them and impacted against the side of Kouga's head. He immediately let out a pained groan and flew to the side. His body slammed against the wall and he laid against the tiled floor, unmoving.

"Kouga!" Ayame screamed. Her gaze shifted between Kouga's still form and the dark figure looming overhead. Fear filled every part of her being as she became paralyzed. The red eyes seemed to gaze over her in lust and hunger, bringing the weapon over his head for a second time. She screeched in pain as the object plunged straight through her right shoulder, pining her to the ground.

"Ayame!" Kagome yelled as she ran up behind her. The rest of the group followed close behind except for Rin and Sesshomaru, who stayed back to keep an eye on Hakkaku. The female wolf demon kept her eyes shut in pain, biting her lip to hold back the tears. The figure immediately whipped his head up to see who had come to his victim's rescue. A menacing smile flitted across his lips as his eyes searched the panicked students before him.

Miroku quickly trained the flashlight on their enemy, giving everyone a view as to who the torturing monster was. Kagome's eyes widened with fear and confusion, her heart skipped a beat, as recognition dawned. Her hand went to her mouth, slightly covering it. She couldn't move, she couldn't breathe. All she could do was mutter a single word. "D ... dad?"

A/N: How was that for a twist? I must admit, some of you are pretty clever. 13thDaughter-of-the-night and InuyashaxKagome1994 both guessed the killer was Kagome's dad. Congrats to you two! You get a nice round of applause! lol. Well, you were half right anyways ... So I've decided to finish this story up soon because I've got a load of stories I want to upload and I think I've dragged this on long enough. I'll try to update again soon. Thanks so much for reading and please let me know what you think. Thanks!

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