Chapter 4

"I got your clothes out of the dryer," Kagome said as she set the pile of crimson fabrics on a stool. Peeking out of the bathroom, she decided that no one was following and closed the door.

"Thanks, Kagome," Inuyasha mumbled from the bathtub, trying to get the last of the sludge out from under his claws.

She hummed and sat down near the door, her bath time already done. Her damp hair had been brushed by her mother, who didn't even begin to question Kagome's motives when she asked if she could leave the tub filled for Inuyasha. Still donning her white towel, she decided to keep Inuyasha company while he bathed and made sure her mother didn't walk in on him- he really didn't like when that happened.

"Quit staring, ya little pervert," Inuyasha growled, finally raising his gaze to glare half-heartedly.

Kagome pouted. "I'm not staring," she retorted.

"You are- your stare is burning holes in my head," he muttered, agitated as he tried to sink deeper into the bathtub and out of sight. "It's creepy."

"I'm not staring!" To make a point, she twisted her body ninety degrees, facing a corner. "There." Water sloshed in the tub, followed by his light footsteps on the tiles. "Mama and I bathe all the time," she commented, looking up at the steamy ceiling, "Why don't you bathe with us? I can let you have my ducky and I can get the sailboat and Mama can have-."

"I don't want your rubber duck," he immediately replied, making Kagome moan in disappointment. "Go get dressed, already. What is it with little kids streaking?"

"What's 'streaking'?" she asked, leaning back more to look at his face upside down. He already pulled his clothes back on, leaving his freshly washed haori off as he walked toward her.

"A word you should avoid at all cost," he grumbled, helping her up, "Now go get dressed."

"Okay..." Kagome frowned as she padded to her bedroom across the hall. Passing by the stairs, she stopped when she heard a noise coming from below. It was getting past her bedtime so she hesitantly snuck down the stairs, peering through the banisters into the living room.

Her mother was sitting on one of the recliners they owned, slouching with her head in her hands. For some reason, Kagome felt scared. Especially when she saw the woman's shoulders shake. It was a sob she heard, coming from her mom. Kagome's own eyes teared up for her- she hated seeing her mother cry. Unfortunately, it was a frequent occurrence and she couldn't help but feel it was her fault, somehow.

A hand grabbing her arm nearly made her jump before she looked at Inuyasha. He had crouched beside her silently while she stared, his own eyes were sad too. Kagome felt her bottom lip tremble and took a step toward him, wrapping her arms around his neck. Inuyasha picked her up soundlessly, carrying her into her bedroom.

"Mama's... sad again..." she murmured, her voice thick with the tears that started rolling down her cheeks. "Why is she crying?"

"I don't know," Inuyasha answered softly, picking up the clothes her mother left for her on her bed. He picked up her shirt and slid it over her head, forcing her arms in where they belong. Reluctantly, he took her panties and slid them over her towel before tugging off the towel itself, with her almost properly covered. Kagome rubbed her tears away with the back of her hand and put on the cotton pants herself.

"It's 'cause of what I said earlier," Kagome answered herself, frowning.

"It was the truth," he replied in a hard tone. "It's not your fault that they don't believe it."

Kagome nodded slowly and allowed Inuyasha to coax her under the covers, tucking her in. Her mind went back to the afternoon, after her mother changed her clothes and sat her down in front of the stranger.

"...A couple of kids told me that you were with them the other day," the stranger told her. Kagome nodded. "Can you tell me what happened?"

"I was walking home from school," Kagome started and hesitated, looking down at the tape recorder. Her mother had been asked to leave her alone with him. Would she mind that Kagome brought up Inuyasha?

"Your parents don't pick you up?"

She shook her head. "Mama was at work. She walked me to school and showed me the way, though. She told me that if anything happened, to go to the nearest house and call 9-1-1."

"What about your father?"

"Papa left." He left when she was just a baby, her mother told her. Inuyasha' gripped the chair she sat on, standing behind her.

"You don't have to tell him any more than you want to, Kagome," he murmured in her ear. She nodded.

The detective noticed the movement but thought nothing of it. "So you were walking home from school by yourself. When did your friends tag along?"

"They're not my friends," she replied with a frown.

"...Okay, when did the other kids come to you?"

"I was almost home when they called me over. They said they wanted to see Inuyasha." A girl wanted to talk to her and brought up Kagome's panic when she first arrived. Kagome had explained who Inuyasha was. She thought that she finally met someone who believed in her, judging by the girl's growing excitement. It wasn't the best choice, Kagome realized now. The girl had brought a couple older kids who had heard and wanted to play too. "When Inuyasha's not around, he's usually in the forest, so I led them there."

"Who is 'Inuyasha'?"

"He's my friend."

"Who lives in the forest?"

"He lives with me, most of the time."

"How old is he?"

"Um..." Kagome looked up at Inuyasha, who shrugged and told her. "That's really old," she murmured, making him frown at her. With a smile to the detective, she answered, "About five-hundred years old."

"...Really?" The man hesitated before schooling his features, "...What does he look like?"

"He's got dog ears!" Still smiling, she raised her hands to her head to imitate Inuyasha's twitching, loveable ears. When her visitor looked unamused, her smile slowly faded and her hands fell to her lap.

"...So you had them follow you into the woods. What happened?"

Kagome hesitated once more. "The older boys in the group started getting mean to me. They... They pushed me and Rin around... and... and..."

"It's alright, now. Take as much time as you need," the detective soothed.

"I taught them a lesson." Inuyasha grumbled to her.

"Inuyasha taught them a lesson," Kagome repeated.

"I see..." He was silent for a moment before reaching over and turning off the tape recorder, gathering it in his hands. "I might call again later. Thank you for talking with me."

Kagome nodded, her eyes following the man as he left. He had a few words with her mother and Kagome snuck over to listen in.

"...what happened?" Seiko asked as she opened the door for him.

"One of the kids returned home late at night, mauled nearly to death and incoherent," he answered. "Normally, we would chalk it up to wildlife but the parents had asked us to check in." Stepping out, he turned to face her. "The boy that was injured had mentioned 'Inuyasha' as well, does the name ring a bell, ma'am?"

Seiko was quiet. "It's Kagome's imaginary friend," she told him.

The detective nodded. "In any case, I'd like you to keep a closer eye on your daughter. It obviously isn't too safe out in the woods."

Kagome blinked and glanced around when Inuyasha flipped the light switch, coating her bedroom in nothing but darkness.

"The night-light's broken again," Inuyasha murmured. She felt him pat her leg in assurance, knowing all about her fear of the dark. "You okay?"

"They're gonna come again," she whispered, screwing her eyes shut and turning away from the wall.

"They won't touch you," he replied fiercely, grasping her hand when she groped around for him. "Sleep."

"O... okay." Slowly, she relaxed, holding Inuyasha's hand tight when his grip loosened. It took her a while to get comfortable in the shadows. Her eyes focused on the moonbeams glimpsing through her window blinds, finding safety in their dim light. Inuyasha sat beside her bed, against her nightstand so that their hands would remain easily connected. "Inuyasha?"

"Hm?"

"...Are you really five-hundred years old?" The fear eased some as she asked the question, already comfortable in Inuyasha's protective presence.

"Hell if I know," he snorted, "Demons don't celebrate birthdays; we live too long for that."

"But you're old, right?" He hummed affirmatively. "But you don't have wrinkles... your hair's white though..."

Inuyasha sighed. The exasperated note made Kagome hush up, her fingers almost slipping from his.

"Goodnight, Inuyasha." Disappointment evident, she closed her eyes, pushing her fear back. When he repeated her 'goodnight', sleep finally came to ease her mind completely.

It was strange. Right when she was at the edge of sleep, on the brink of being unconscious to the world, something woke her completely. The sound was so familiar and common that Kagome should have thought nothing of it. However, this noise was loud and raspy, bringing with it a foreign presence that made her go still with dread.

Breathing.

And it came from under her bed.

A/N: Reason why it's a bit longer than usual: I cheated and worked on some yesterday :) But you guys don't mind, right? Also, I'm changing the prologue into a chapter because it wasn't much of a prologue to begin with. 'Kay? 'Kay.

thekitten420 & & Xanna: Thank you ^-^

vampireinu95: The only thing I can assure you is that it will be InuKag. Even when it's not InuKag, it's InuKag xD

Warm-Amber92: Do you mind if I store that 'guardian demon' bit as an idea for another story? ^_^;

Sahora: I don't even know what he is, yet. . And it's good to be back.

HopelessRomantic183: You blew up my mind with your guesses! But it's alright; I consider it a fun challenge. (My readers have better ideas where to take the story than me- it's ridiculous)

I love snowy owls: I would like to know if you liked or disliked the story at least, please. I don't ask people to review for another chapter so if you have nothing to say, you don't have to -_-;

xXxAddicted2ChocolatexXx: That's my reaction every time x) And we didn't even get to the crazy part yet.

And now I fade to the darkness.

FxA