Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or its characters. I own this computer I write on and the ideas in my own mind. Can't sue me for those!
A/N: Wow, a little surprised at how few people are reviewing nowadays, but thank you everyone for reading this story again! I'm so very glad to hear you guys again! Let's just keep this going, okay? Sadly, I must admit, this story isn't actually far from its ending… But I'll continue to make this story worth your time! And... gomen nasai (sorry), in advance... You'll understand.
R&R please ^_^
-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-
Title: Me?
Chapter 12: The Perverse Reality
By Sakura-chan88
-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-
~You had been playing at the biggest concert of the year and things seemed great… But then the unforeseeable happens… It takes a moment for you to really understand that it was indeed the floor opening up beneath you, but the instant you do, the surprise turns to panic. The thoughts 'what's going on' and 'honto' pass through your mind several different times in the span of what felt like forever. Did 'revenge' just pull a prank on you? As much as you'd like to think you're friend had… fear still gripped you. Why was this happening…?~
It was a strange sensation, falling through the stage floor. I'm not sure why it happened at that exact moment, but in my mind I grabbed the edge of a hot air balloon basket, my body suspended high in the air. That was the day my little trio was suppose to spend with the band for the last time… Inuyasha had come to my rescue then…
It was too quick this time, my fall. I had no chance of grasping the edge of the staging floor nor did Inuyasha have any chance of reaching me. I opened my mouth to scream, but the moment I did an arm circled around my stomach from behind me and a hand pressed a cool white cloth against my face.
As I made the biggest mistake of my life, my mind with it's random shuffle track of thoughts said to me, 'that's how they were able to set a stage in the middle of the park!' A hatch into underground tunnel work was nearly directly beneath the hole I'd fallen through, and in this I could see the wiring system… Surely this meant everyone would know the escape route if I really was being kidnapped… right?
Then I breathed.
Ah, sweet chloroform… My lids started to fall immediately…
I felt my body be lifted, set down, contorted, and then I heard a zipping sound. Forcing my eyes open, I peered through hazy eyes at a head covered in dark hair, beset by magenta orbs, and a slanted nose…
'Kagura…? ...no,' I thought, closing my eyes completely, 'but those eyes… intense…'
-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-
I cannot say for sure how long I had been unconscious. What I can say is that I have never felt so sore and abused before in my life. Had I been thrown out of a moving vehicle? Or get hit by a freak landslide? Did a building collapse on me? It seriously felt as if all three of those things had happened to me in the past… however long it had been since I last looked into the waking world.
It took a moment for me to recall what had transpired and even longer for me to calm my nerves enough to force my eyes open. I didn't want to relive my nightmare… especially if it meant that I'd relive the one before that as well. All I could remember from that dream was the intense pain in my side and the sting of both shallow and deep incisions scrawled randomly about my legs.
And the panic. That deep-seated, agonizing panic.
How am I suppose to not panic in such a situation…? 'Just think of this as a prank,' my mind suggested. Easier said than done though as I saw my dream materialize…
Hardwood floors, bare shelves, lighting fixture with no bulb – the works. I really was sitting in a closet.
One thing was wrong about my dream though, and it took trying to sit up to notice it. As I levered myself up on one arm, I heard a clink and felt what I thought was a bracelet twist around my wrist.
Handcuffs…
"Really," I sighed, my eyes tearing up. What was I suppose to do now? I couldn't even reach the door from my position. 'Scream for help.' No, I needed to be rational and keep the panic at bay for as long as it took to fully comprehend what was happening and why I was being held captive.
So I started really analyzing my position.
The room was dusty and rather dark, a little light cast from the bottom of the door gave me just enough brightness to see outlines. There were three shelves, one above another, on both my side of the closet and the wall opposite of me. While I couldn't exactly peer onto the shelves higher than the first one above me, I was rather certain that nothing rested on any of them.
'At least I can almost stand,' I thought. One hand was braced by the handcuff, the other side locked around a very sturdy eye-hook, most likely set there specifically for the purpose of detaining little old me. I tugged, hard, already knowing it was futile, but anything was worth a try. I didn't particularly care to hang around and face whatever it was that was coming my way. No matter how hard I tugged, or how many times I did, all I succeeded in doing was cutting the edge of my wrist.
Sitting down with a grimace and rubbing gently at the abused flesh, I conceded my tug-of-war match with the wall for the moment.
I'm not sure what caused it: the fear that was creeping in on me so silently, the thought of my family scrambling around in a panic, or the memories that flooded my mind.
But… I cried.
With all the tough times I'd been through in the past year, good times included, I couldn't remember a time that my cry had been so violent, so deeply heartfelt. All I could do was let my imagination run away with me, carrying me to the darkest of places. It twisted my stomach to think of what would happen to me and my heart tripped over itself at the images of my friends and what they were most likely experiencing during this time.
Kouga would have been the first to fall to despair, I'm sure. He had been the closest to me on stage and would be howling rage and self-loathing for not being able to catch me. He'd have probably jumped down after me, too. The fall wasn't much, but I know Kouga and his impulsive tendencies could have very well landed him on his head or twisting his ankle. Until I was found, this man would be on a rampage one day and deadly silent the next. Ayame would be the only one he spoke too and his words would be harsh to hear ears.
Ayame, for her part, would immediately collapse once the news reached her. In a fit of tears much like my own, my dearest friend movie-star friend would most likely fall asleep doing so. It would take a few days for her to leave her bed and join our group at the hotel. There, she'd do her best to put up a front, smile, and attempt to lighten the mood with "remember when Kagome…" Of course, this would just send people into a deeper darkness in their minds once the laughter ceased. Her heart would break more and more with each word Kouga spoke and she would eventually revert to her shy self and shut everyone else out, except possibly Miroku since he'd do whatever he could to keep hope alive.
In my mind, I could see him stunned and still drumming away, slowly losing beat and eventually dropping his drumsticks. After a mental shake, and possibly a small physical one, he'd scramble over to the opening and peer inside with a frantic call for me, voice cracking. When it became apparent that I was gone, he'd sit back calmly, look out to the crowd for a moment, and then break down in tears. This would be the point where the audience would realize the sudden disappearance was not part of the performance and their chaotic shouts would bring our entourage out from behind the scenes, Sango included. It would take a little while, but Miroku would gather his wits about him and put all his energy into calming his pregnant fiancée in fear that she'd go into labor from stress. From here, he'd remain the most outwardly calm and offer as much positive outlook as possible… Inside, he'd be tearing his self apart.
Then there was Sango. The woman who stood beside me at every life changing event, the woman who cradled me in her arms and told me it would all be okay when my mother couldn't. My best friend throughout my life. And I just couldn't bare the sight my mind forced me to see – her eyes sunken and drained of life, bloodshot and dried out from a river of tears spilt for me. Black circles forming from lack of sleep. Hair tousled to show that no matter what she did or what anyone said, she could find no comfort with me gone… And the sight of Inuyasha or Shippo would cause her heart to break and pieces of it die.
And Inuyasha would be swallowed whole in desperation and pandemonium in his heart and mind. The instant I broke eye contact with him… I know him better than all of the other people in my life, but my mind could not focus its effort into conjuring up an action or look from him. It was simply blank. I could just feel these emotions flowing through me. Confusion, desolation, anger… emptiness. In that moment, he felt to me like Sesshomaru did when I first met him – just empty and cold. I could only hope that the man I loved would not act out at the others or blame them for something that was not their fault. After all, who could've know?
That face popped into my mind again. The stranger resembling Kagura slightly… Then her words.
"Shippo would have nothing to hold on to if he lost his puppy and his mom."
'Shippo…' I couldn't, I just couldn't let my mind play through his despair. Just his name was enough to rip a strangled scream from my throat. I'm not sure why the thought entered my mind or stumbled from my lips, but it echoed into my dreams as I drifted into unconsciousness, still crying, and haunted me…
"What have I done…?"
-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-
I would hazard a guess that it was a few hours later that I awoke, though for all I had known, it could have been a full days' time. There was no way to tell, though. No window, no clock, no noise from the outside world to give me a sign as to if it were night or day.
Looking around brought me no new ideas. Everything remained as it were before I drifted into a fitful slumber. What was I suppose to do? Were my captors going to simply leave me to rot away? Was I going to be left here to starve to death for someone to eventually stumble upon my body?
'I'll be totally gross,' I thought, a blush flooding my cheeks in outraged embarrassment. It just hit me. I had to pee, bad. 'So much for not alerting anyone.'
"Hello?"
No response.
"Hello out there! Anyone hear me?" I yelled, standing as far up as I could. "Excuse me, anyone! I really, really have to pee!"
Still nothing.
My wrist started to hurt again from the strain against the cuff.
"Please, someone, I really don't want to pee on your floor, but I will, I swear it!" Surely, that would grab someone's attention, right?
'This is ridiculous! Who kidnaps someone and just leaves-'
Then I heard what sounded like footsteps. Not sure what to do, I quickly sat back down – more because of my knees being week than anything else – and stared at the door. Perhaps I shouldn't have been so glad that my warden was approaching, but I didn't care so much at the moment. At least now I would know who held me hostage.
The steps, as I knew they were now, had ended just outside. I steeled myself for the moment of truth. Then the door cracked open, just wide enough for me to get a glimpse of beige walls and an intricate hallway rail. I was on an upper floor in whatever building this was.
All I saw of my captor was a black sleeve and a man's hand as a pan was tossed haphazardly in my general direction.
"You cannot be serious!" I screeched. "You don't expect me to-!"
And the door slammed shut without a word from the pot-tosser.
"Hey! HEY! I WAS TALKING TO YOU!"
The footsteps retreated at a leisurely pace, my continued ranting doing nothing to stop his exit. Soon after, only my own breathing reached my ears. Whoever it was holding me hostage, they were going to pay dearly when I was finally rescued… or I finally escaped.
Sadly, I had no doubt in my mind that it would be the latter. After all, this person, or these people, or this organization… whatever or whoever it was… they'd gone through a lot of trouble to capture me in the middle of a concert, on stage, with thousands of fans and my crew to witness and attempt stopping their retreat. I was dealing with a mastermind.
That thought chilled me more than any other. They knew what they were doing and had undoubtedly done this before, probably multiple times. But… Why me? Why now?
"You know, this isn't funny!" I yelled. "Are you even going to tell me what's going on? Why I'm here?"
No, I didn't expect an answer, but what else was there to do?
Nothing but think, and that just led to darker places than the room I currently occupied.
"AND WHERE'S THE TOILET PAPER!"
-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-
After a lot of screaming and pleading, I exhausted my voice box and my mind, took another nap, and woke to a surprise.
Food.
Well, that wasn't the biggest surprise, really.
Have you ever imagined yourself being in a position like this? Being kidnapped and held captive in a basement, or attic, or shed, or any room purposefully made for simply holding a being of one kind or another captive?
If you have, you imagine darkness, right? You imagine the handcuffs and any useable objects for escape plans to be nonexistent or far, far out of your reach. You imagine silence, or hearing traffic, or birds chirping, or the voice(s) of your captor(s). You imagine dusty, damp, musty, moldy smells. You imagine getting very little to eat, if anything at all, and normally something like bread crumbs. You imagine falling asleep and waking up to the same sight every time.
Well, my food was served on a paper plate – I believe this was to ensure I didn't use the plate as a weapon – and was a extravagant sight. I briefly entertained the thought that my captor could have possibly been one of those Iron Chef people from the Food Network. If there was a name for this dish, you'd never hear it come from my lips seeing as how I'm almost kitchen illiterate.
However, I could actually see my food, clear as day. My room was lit up without a light bulb… and my door was shut.
"-iggest news for the past four days. The other members on Demonic have been unavailable for interviews as of yet, but Sesshomaru Himitsu recently announced a press conference will be held tonight at L'Hôtel du Paradis. Live coverage of this event will be airing at in just two short hours."
I had a television now.
In absolutely no imagining of mine pertaining to hostage situations did I ever expect the victim to get a TV.
This had to be a trick! They were trying to brainwash me!
'Wait…'
I felt my left eyebrow twitch a little when I balled up my fists in my lap, the thought just occurring to me…
"FOUR DAYS!"
Surely they couldn't be serious! 'I've only slept three times since I woke up here the first time and I haven't stayed awake all that long any of those times,' I thought dejectedly as I scooped up some noodles in my hand. Yeah, they gave me a wonderful dish of food, but they made sure to keep silverware away. Even the plastic kind was apparently dangerous in their opinion.
"Please, we urge anyone with any information regarding the whereabouts of Kagome Higurashi, inform your local authorities or dial 1-800-555-KAGS. That's 1-800-555-5237."
This little announcement via the TV screen made me smile a small, comical smile. Was this supposed to be reverse psychology or something? All this did was make me believe everything would be fine and that someone would save me. It was building up my confidence. How could this possibly work to the bad guys' advantage?
Well, after eating the delicious food, giving a disgusted shout out to the outside world about the lack of a 'toilet' again, and about two hours of waiting, I understood.
I understood all too well.
=0=0=0=0=0=0=0=0=0=
A/N: I know, this is a bit of a short chapter, but I wanted to give you a feel of the environment more than anything else right now. Plus, I just updated not even a week ago, which is considerably less of a time gap than the one ^_~ Hope you enjoyed!
Reviews:
The Hatter Theory: I thank you, so much! I'm glad to know you enjoyed You! even though you don't like Inu/Kag. I'm still working on my Sess/Kag stories, but one is very old and the writing is pure "blech!" in my opinion as far as… well, maturity. Hopefully I can get to revising it shortly since I've merely been editing it right now.
Ryokomayuka: I promise you, no matter if I disappear for again after this or not, THIS story absolutely will be finished. Period. No exception… Except, well, the unimaginable happening to yours truly. =)
xXxAddicted2ChocolatexXx: I have already replied to you via PM… BUT, you were the first reviewer since my return and I must thank you once more! =D