Chapter 10: Stormy Night.
Kyoko touched her cheek, the thin jagged line had healed, but she could still see the faint line, and she could still feel it. The memory behind the scar chilled her to the bone, but she had survived, gotten away, and managed to leave a scar of her own on her attacker. That she was sure of.
"Kyoko, are you ready?" Izaoi asked catching her sister feeling her scar again. "Kyoko," she whispered softly, watching her sister drop her hand to her side. Izaoi smiled softly, walking to Kyoko and wrapped her arms around her, hugging her tightly.
"Sorry." Kyoko whispered back, accepting her sister's hug.
"Don't apologize. It's not your fault, Kyoko. No one blames you. Everyone thought Renkotsu had fled the city, to ashamed to chance a meeting with his brothers." Izaoi said framing her sister's face and smiled.
"I know, Iza, but it's not going to end until someone is jailed or dead." Kyoko replied softly. "You know I'm right. So does everyone else. My life is like living in witness protection in the US. There are patrol cars driving by every four hours, Mom and Dad are texting every half hour to check on us when they're gone. Everyone at school is avoiding us. This is your last year and you can't even enjoy it because some nut job is trying to hurt our family by targeting me." Kyoko said sighing. She looked to the small window in the bath room.
Rain fell from the sky, pelting the house. Kyoko sighed again, she had been hoping to get out of the house for a little while with her sister and her boyfriend. Bankotsu was starting to be a very steady presence in their house. Bankotsu and Jakotsu. Kyoko enjoyed having Jakotsu around, she had gone through tough times in her life that helped Kyoko with coping with her own recent experiences.
"Is Jakotsu still coming over later?" Kyoko asked knowing Izaoi would have the information she needed.
"No, she said that she and Tatsuki were going out to the movies." Izaoi replied smiling. "I still can't believe they're dating. They're such an odd ball couple." she added laughing softly.
Kyoko agreed, but sometimes oddball couples lasted the longest. "What about Bankotsu?" she asked next. Even though nearly four months had passed since Renkotsu and Onigumo had attacked her, she still felt leery about being home alone. Inuyasha had upgraded their security system and added a video monitoring system that was periodically checked by someone in a 24 hour office.
Kagome was due to give birth at any time. She'd been ordered to bed rest, her bed being at the hospital until the baby was born. Inuyasha felt torn between being there for his wife and newborn and protecting his daughters. Both Kyoko and Izaoi had told him to stay with their mom, she needed him more than they did. They promised to keep all doors and windows locked, they would keep the alarm system on at all times, and wouldn't open the door for anyone they didn't know.
Phones were kept fully charged and on their person at all times.
"No, he said there was a family matter that needed to be addressed. He seemed pretty pissed off about it too. I'm not sure if it is Renkotsu related, but he was really mad about it." Izaoi said walking to the bathroom door and looked down the hallway. She felt uneasy, she'd felt that way for over an hour before checking on Kyoko. "I hope Mom and Inu Jr. is okay." she muttered absently. Since their mother refused to reveal the name of the new baby, Izaoi and Kyoko took up calling him Inu Jr. Their father hadn't found it funny at first but slowly it grew on him, they'd catch him referring to the baby as Inu Jr. too.
"Dad would have called by now." Kyoko said standing next to Izaoi as they both stared down the dimly lit hallway. "I have a bad feeling too." Kyoko said shivering. "Does the security system work if the power goes down?" Kyoko asked feeling even more uneasy as the wind and rain began to pound the house.
Izaoi pulled out her phone and dialed her father's number. She didn't know the answer, but it was a good answer to have. The storm had been predicted almost two weeks ago, giving anyone sinister more than enough time to come up with a plan to attack an unsuspecting family. Letting out a curse when her call went to voicemail she decided to call Sesshomaru, he would know the answer as well. He'd been the one that had put her dad in contact with the security firm.
"Is every thing okay?" Sesshomaru asked instantly.
"Yeah, we're okay, but Kyoko asked a good question. If the storm knocks out the power, will the security system still work?" Izaoi asked still staring down the empty hallway. She couldn't explain it but she just felt like something would pop out of the darkness and rush them.
"There is a back up battery system to keep the security alarms and cameras up and running for up to five days." Sesshomaru explained. "Are you having power issues?" he asked quickly.
"No, no, it's just..." Izaoi exchanged a look with Kyoko. "We have a really bad feeling and we thought it was about Mom, but we can't seem to take our eyes off the hallway upstairs. Uncle Sesshomaru, can you come and get us?" Izaoi asked as her heart rate spiked.
"Have you seen anything outside the window?" Sesshomaru asked, shuffling could be heard on his end of the phone followed by the sound of keys.
Izaoi didn't answer immediately, fear hitting her hard. "Please, just come get us. We can't explain it." Izaoi said looking to Kyoko, she sister stood shivering next to her. "Kyoko?" she asked softly.
"Someone's in the house." she whispered looking to Izaoi. I heard the downstairs door close." she whispered back looking to the stairs. A few of the downstairs lights were on, not a lot leaving many shadows, but she swore she saw a shadow move. "Mom and Dad's room." Kyoko whispered pushing Izaoi towards their parent's bedroom. Kyoko knew where a good hiding spot was in their room, one she rarely used.
"Izaoi, talk to me." Sesshomaru demanded, his voice muffled against her shoulder.
"Someone's in the house. We don't know who it is." Izaoi whispered watching her footsteps. If they made the floor squeak, the intruder would find them.
"Stay on the line. I'm coming." Sesshomaru promised.
"Please hurry." Izaoi replied, her voice shaking. She grabbed Kyoko around the waist and pulled her into the bed room, keeping her close as she closed the door quietly. Kyoko and Izaoi froze when the sound of weight on the stairs creaked. Izaoi shivered, hugging Kyoko tightly. Flashes of memories from her childhood flash across her mind. Her cold biological father's face foremost in her mind. She remembered how ruthless he had been with her. She didn't dare think what his older brother would do to her sister.
Kyoko turned around pointing to their mother's closet. They tip-toed to the closet and Kyoko moved a large panel from the wall. "Get in." she instructed kneeling down as the floor creaked just outside the bedroom.
"Izaoi, tell me what's happening!" Sesshomaru demanded.
"Shhh, the person is close." Izaoi whimpered. Her hand went to her mouth, trying to hush her breathing. Kyoko saw how scared her sister was, the fear outlining her like a halo. Smiling softly, Kyoko pressed her finger to her lips.
"The panel will pop out if you press here." she said pointing to the top right corner. "Stay still and quiet. I have to put the panel back." Kyoko said slowly putting the panel back in its proper placing. She shoved the clothes back around the secret door and went to hide under the bed. She knew no matter what Izaoi wouldn't be found.
"Kyoko!" Izaoi whispered as loudly as she dared. What had her sister been thinking. "Uncle Sesshy, she's out there!" Izaoi whispered ready to push open the panel when she heard her mother's door open slowly, the hinges creaking uncharacteristically. \
"Where is she?" Sesshomaru asked his heart beating double time. It felt like time was moving to slowly, he couldn't move fast enough through the empty city streets.
"I don't know, someone's in the bed room." Izaoi said listening as foot steps came into the closet. She could feel the heavy vibrations and clamped her mouth shut, shoving her phone into her best.
"I know you're in here." Renkotsu's voice said from outside Izaoi's shelter. "I know about that secret panel." he added striking fear into Izaoi's heart. How did he know about the hidden panel when she hadn't?
"Surrender to me and I won't hurt your sister." Renkotsu said and Izaoi realized he thought he'd found Kyoko.
"The hell you will!" Kyoko shouted whacking Renkotsu across the back of the head with her old aluminum bat. She watched his body fall to the floor, unconscious from the hard whack.
"Kyoko!" Izaoi shouted not sure what was happening outside her shelter.
"Izaoi! Answer me!" Sesshomaru ordered.
"Kyoko, answer me!" Izaoi shouted again, pushing against the right corner of the panel as Kyoko had told her to do.
Kyoko turned at the sound of another set of footsteps. She felt how leisurely these steps were, as if the owner had all the time in the world. Her eyes widened at the sight of Onigumo standing in the doorway, a gun in his hands, pointed at her.
"Either I kill you here and now, or you come with me." Onigumo told her his gun flicking to his left. "I have someone who is dying to meet you." he chuckled watching Kyoko walked with her hands at her side. He backed out of the room, waiting for her to step into the hallway before forcing her to walk a head of him.
"Kyoko! Kyoko!" Izaoi screamed.
Onigumo laughed, his attention distracted. "Did you lock your sister in the wall?" he asked not seeing Kyoko picking up the vase next to her and smashed in against his arm forcing his hand to drop the gun out of shock.
"Stop! Don't move!" she shouted her hands shaking, adrenaline coursing through her body. "Why are you doing this to us?" she asked trying to keep Onigumo stalled long enough.
"I may not have liked my brother every much, but no one fucks with my family." Onigumo said knowing his time was running out. "Do you think that gun is loaded?" he asked in a mocking tone.
"You might have out smarted the idiot in there, but I am on a whole different level." Onigumo said pulling a second pistol from his coat and fired it at Kyoko. Her body twisting as the bullet ripped through her arm. She screamed, cradling her wounded arm, blood soaking into the carpeting.
"KYOKO! KYOKO!" Izaoi screamed pounding against the paneling, not understanding why the door would not give away to her furious beating.
"She's not dead." Onigumo said laughing. "But she will be soon." he adding laughing when Izaoi began pounding against the wall with a renewed vigor. He walked to Kyoko's crying form and grabbed her by the hair, forcing her to stand up. "Move, girl." he commanded pushing her towards the stairs. Kyoko stumbled down, the pain in her arm overriding her need to fight. She'd never know such pain before.
"I'm sorry." she whispered as she stepped outside into the storm. She doubted her family would find her again.
Sesshomaru screeched into the driveway, his threw his car into park and ran into the house through the open door. Gun in hand he swept through the house, following Izaoi's horsed screams. He entered his brother's bed room and found the young man Renkotsu on the floor, still out cold. The house was cold and dark, but he could hear Izaoi still pounding against the hidden door.
"Izaoi!" Sesshomaru called following her noises to the door. He inspected the panel and didn't know how Kyoko had been able to pen it. "Stand back!" He ordered standing up and thrust his leg into the panel, the piece of wood bursting inward. "Izaoi! Where is Kyoko?" he asked helping the shaking girl out of the wall.
"He shot her!" Izaoi shouted, her voice horse from crying.
Sesshomaru felt his blood run cold. "He shot her?" he asked grabbing Izaoi by the shoulders and looked her in the eyes. "Izaoi! Who shot her?"
"Onigumo! I heard a crash and he dropped something! Kyoko told him to stop and asked why he was doing this! He told her he had someone who wanted to meet her, then I heard a loud pop and Kyoko screamed! He said she wasn't dead yet." Izaoi croaked, her hand going to her throat as she tried to talk.
Pulling her into his arms, Sesshomaru vowed to destroy Onigumo. But who was Onigumo talking about? Who else was plotting against his family?
By the time the police arrived, Renkotsu was awake and tied up. Izaoi had been taken to the hospital shortly after he woke, Miroku and Koga arriving just a few minutes after Sesshomaru. Tempers flared and hearts broke at the news of Kyoko's kidnapping. No one could go by the blood stain, fear clutching them hard as officers took photos and statements. Renkotsu had been taken into custody, driven to the police station where he would be interrogated by detectives.
Sesshomaru vowed to replace the carpeting before Kagome returned home with the newborn, although he doubted she'd willingly come back for a while.
"Sesshomaru, who else could be in league with Onigumo?" Miroku asked as they gathered in the kitchen.
Sesshomaru shrugged his shoulders, he didn't have an answer to give. "I can only think of Naraku, possibly a partner of Onigumo. Nothing concrete. I haven't gotten any alert that Naraku has been release or escaped from prison." he said perplexed.
"Mr. Takashi?" Officer Kai called from the doorway. Sesshomaru looked up at her, he could see it wasn't good news she needed to speak to him about.
"What?" he growled.
"We've just received word from the station. Naraku has escaped."