AN:

The story tells itself.

I'm completely submerged into this world, and I wanted to address that the loose ends will all come together in the following chapters.

I hope that you enjoy this one.

Chapter 7

The White Rabbit

The night fell, masking the earthly bodies within it's firm fingers. Every shadow was blacker than the flesh that moved along the ashen ground. The spray of the ocean batted against the shore, lapping at the corrosive sand.

The diminished sense of security was washed away with the high tide that rolled over the stones and snowy caps around thistle thrushes.

InuYasha stood, smoking his first cigarette in almost two years. The smoke coiled out of his mouth, catching the breeze that ripped it across the air. There were no stars, no hope hanging in the blanketed sky.

Bakotsu had slipped passed the ravenous water's mouth, being gobbled up by the foam and busy current. The moon could draw him to the deepest trench that laid in between the where the man stood and hell for all cared.

His free hand smoothed over his black coat, feeling the aches that laid beneath the bustling fabic. All of his hair was dancing, creasing his face with its gentle touch. He'd been thankful that no one had seen him drag Bankotsu to the bay.

It was just a matter of time before he had to talk to Kaede. Hojo's parents were surely going to start asking questions, and his answers were heavily crushing him beneath their weight.

What was he supposed to say about the whole ordeal?

No one would believe him that Bankotsu had just shown up out of the blue, for a reason he still couldn't grasp. The fact that he had known his story made his blood run cold. There was a passing moment of serenity, but was quickly chased away with the sound of the tide, crying out in a ghostly howl.

No matter how much he cleansed himself, there was no way to free the binds of humanity, which had slipped through his fingers. People were murderers, yes.

Yet, as he flicked his cigarette into the water, he thought of the rage he had felt. The listless loss in every move he'd made. He had capsized like a small vessal in a hurricane. It was strange, looking down at his once innocent hands.

If he could have blamed them for the action, he would have. But, what good would that have done? It was his mind that had broken, shattered to a point beyond control. It made him doubt that he could take care of the boy he sent away, let alone himself.

The facade he had constructed was slowly chipping away. Every thought darted back to the man's expression before he pulled the trigger.

He was so hysterical that it would have been hard to think that his life was flashing before his eyes. When Kikyo had died the moments before were slow and methodical, as if she was pondering something numbing.

Bankotsu hadn't thought he was going to actually go through with it.

It was defeaning how loud the memory was, going off in his head like a grenade. He cupped his head, stomping the ground in an attempt to make it disappear.

So badly did he want to feel nothing. People felt nothing when they killed innocent people. At least the derranged ones, with the miscontrued channels.

Why couldn't he have been like them?

His face was aging, he could feel it. Within the confines of his head, he knew that if he didn't slow his depression, he would join the lost souls in the watery gravesite.

InuYasha's fingers ran across his wounded face, feeling the stubble grow like bristles. His mouth was dry, sticky with the taste of nicotine.

The taste was still far better than the vomit that had spilled when he buried Hojo near the edge of town. There had been a bushy area where a tori gate stood, and he thought it proper to bury the innocent boy somewhere sacred to his home.

He saw his neighbors on his trip back, but none acknowledged anything wrong. They'd probably assumed someone shot a wild animal, as was common in the area near the forest thicket.

People often caught rabbits, small animals like boar, it wasn't that they were much smarter to think otherwise. Aside from Kagome going missing, this shanty was nothing more than a bare civilization.

Hell, InuYasha could have died in the middle of the street and no one find anything wrong. His musings were curt, guiding him home with silence. When he returned all of the lights were on and his stomach dropped.

He eased his hand on the gun in his pocket, and lowered his head shamefully.

Easing the creaky door open, he saw a woman standing with her back to him. She was crying, her voice sounded shrill like a million strangled violins.

He closed his eyes, fairing that he couldn't take much more when she dropped to her knees, head planting in her hands.

His throat closed, keeping his breath hidden in his lungs. There was something frantic about that moment when she heard him creeping up on her.

Her feet were bleeding, wearing only one shoe. Her body was red, hair mussed and covered with leaves.

The sound of his heart thumped in his ears, leaving the nothingness to overwhelm him. He had almost made it to the end of the hallway, guiding himself gingerly to avoid making any sound.

His tired eyes closed as he allowed himself to breathe. A hard swallow stretched his throat and bore into his chest.

The woman raised her head slowly, shaking from what appeared to be dread. Every inch of her was quivering as she brought herself to turn her head.

InuYasha pressed his mouth into a tight line, unmoving and stoic. He prepared himself for her to run, to scream, anything to draw attention to her presence.

Instead, she suppressed her crying long enough to look at him. Her eyes were welled with tears, making the edges of her eyes reflect the silver of her eyes.

InuYasha's hand absently pulled the gun from his pocket, shucking it against the floor in disbelief. His mouth wanted to move, and so did his body.

His brain could barely process the woman standing up, taking steps backwards to the wall. Her long hair hung about her waist, coiling around her securely.

A moment passed, each searching the other as though they were fleeting beings, being swept along a celestial current.

The only words he could formulate were the erubescent at best. He could barely bring his body to function as he took her in. She was the ethereal woman that watched over him, that all of this was for.

"Kagome..."

Her eyes were just about as ragged as the rest of her. She held her hands to her chest, finding the courage to speak up for herself. "What did you to them?" Every word was waving, breathy as she tried to calm herself.

InuYasha shook his head wildly, raising his hands in defense. He tried to step closer to her, only to have her finally let out the scream he knew she was holding in.

"Where are they?" She whailed, finding anything and everything that belonged to her grandparents littered on the floor. Her tiny hands grabbed a broken plant pot and threw it at him.

InuYasha attempted to move out of the way, only to be the victim of more debris. "I didn't do shit to them."

"You're a liar!" She screamed, shellshock completely overwhelming her. Her fingers felt like fire and her bones rattled. It was a miracle the girl could even stand on those nervous legs.

InuYasha huffed, trying to block her blows. "Will you listen to me?" He barked, getting irritated with her explosive outburst. She had every right to be upset, seeing her home in shambles. She didn't to calm down long enough for him to empty himself of questions.

He could believe that she was there. Everything that he had heard about her had been like a Grimm Fairytale. She was a mystery, and he wanted to expose her secrets.

Kagome flailed, her make up smeared across her cheeks. Her face was rubedinous, roseated from sheer pressure beneath her skin. He hadn't the faintest idea what she had replied with as she finally broke down.

The woman panicked, knocking things off the counter before she attempted to run out the sliding door. InuYasha bounded over the crumpled mess of broken furniture and shelving to the kitchen.

She fought with the door, jerking it both ways before it opened. The cold air slapped her exposed skin as she escaped. The man's long legs forced him after her, finding her struggling to run against the snow.

Kagome was nothing more than a silhouette in the night, and when he found her, his body tackled her to the ground. He rolled on top of her, pressing his hand over her mouth, which she had tried so profusely to bite.

It seemed that whatever she had been through left her a shell of her former self, from what he had heard from her family.

Leaves crunched beneath them as she struggled against the wet ground. He shifted his legs on either side of her to cage her, keep her from escaping. Leaning down, he stared into those vibrant gray eyes, that looked as clear as rain.

InuYasha's long hair draped across them, reflecting the dim light from the house. She looked mortified. Her heart pounded so ferociously, he could feel it on his own chest.

He shushed her, begging her to calm down and listen. When she finally stopped thrashing against him, he slid his hand away from her wet mouth.

She panted like a fish out of water, staring into the man's rugged face.

"What did you do to them?" Kagome hissed, low in a failed attempt to growl.

InuYasha's hand knit beside her head, staring at her oddly for a moment before he answered. He couldn't help but admire what he had longed to see for himself. She was a fiery woman, like Old Baba had said.

"I live here." He said plainly, "They're at the hospital, alright? I've been taking care of them, because they took me in." He told her, "They've been looking for you."

"I don't believe you. " Kagome scowled, tying to buck him off of her. "No one was looking for me." Her chest heaved beneath the man as she never tore her eyes from his. His warm was probably the only thing keeping her from freezing to death the cold night.

InuYasha could have slapped her. He pinched the bridge of his nose, and let out a sigh onto her skin. "Look woman, there's not much I can do about what happened. I ended up here with no place to go and they told me about you, I've been trying to find out where the fuck you've been so they'd be happy."

Kagome's eyes narrowed considerably, no warmth laid within them. "How dare you say that to me. You killed them, didn't you?" Her accusation stung him so violently that he let his grip on her fall slack.

The gunshot resounded in his head again, leaving him breathless as he looked away from her. He felt ill.

"I knew it." The woman howled. "I'm going to kill you." She cried, feeling her body shudder again. She wanted to move, wanted to run somewhere safe. It was impossile to remove his weight from her, she didn't have the strength.

InuYasha collected himself, rubbing the side of his face. "Kaede-baba and Old Totosai are at the hospital, if you didn't hear me the first time."

"You'd tell me anything I wanted to hear so I would trust you." Kagome spat, wrestling with him weakly.

The leggy man sat upright and relented to throwing his hands up. "You don't know what I went through tonight, okay? I fucking shot a man that came into that house." He pointed at the inn with distain. "I'd never even shot a gun before today, I can barely process what the fuck is going on in my own head, let alone yours!"

Kagome stiffened. Her teeth nipped at her lower lip as though she was deep in thought. Those peculiar eyes scowered the snow, as if it would answer her questions. Everything was in disarray.

Her thoughts, her home, her life up until now... It was all so jumbled up in this nest of lies, captivity.

She couldn't let herself believe him as she felt him remove his body, taking his precious warmth with him. When she looked up, there was a calloused hand offering its help. Nervously, she sat her body upright and hesitantly took the hand in front of her.

InuYasha pulled her weight with his arm, gripping to his bruised ribcage. His expression was blank as he released her, putting his hands into his pockets. Pulling out the wallet, he flung it at her.

"I assume that you know him." The man rasped, reaching for a cigarette.

Kagome closed her eyes after she looked at the indentification card. A sinking relief wrapped around her, letting her tense muscles ease themselves. "Bankotsu..." She sighed.

Her thin hand wrung across her face before biting back the urge to scream. The skin on her throat tightened as her teeth clenched together, "I hope that that fucker is dead. After what he's done to me." Her voice was menacing, dripping with a satisfaction she didn't know she could feel.

Her nails dug into the photo, clawing away the dumb grin on his smug face. She hated him with every molecule in her being. A shudder hit her, making her wild with emotion.

InuYasha swallowed, relishing in the smoke that hit his throat. "Is that why you're here?" He asked solemnly, watching her eyes raise darkly behind her bangs. He couldn't place the emotion that filled him, but it was smothering.

Kagome's breath danced in the air, looking at him curiously. "I-I-I was forced to come with him, and when he left today, I thought that he would be back. When he never showed up, I ran." Her eyes closed, as if remembering that feeling of freedom. "I ran for at least two hours.I had to get away from him."

InuYasha removed his coat, handing it to her. She looked startled, but took it delicately. He helped wrap it around her, though his mind raced around her family, his adopted child, and the woman he had scared half to death.

"I'll help you with whatever you need," InuYasha said, starting to head back to the house, leaving the girl mute in his coat. She looked at him as though he had sprouted another head.

She still didn't know what the hell was going on. How in hell was she supposed to trust him after coming home to this?

It had been months since she had even see the outside world. Bankotsu had kept her stuffed away like a prisoner, which admittedly, she was. It had been a miracle that she had even gotten out alive.

The past year was so understated by the world around her. It struck her blind with rage to know that others could live their lives while she suffered.

Her memories were like a black hole, inhaling the world she had remembered. She was isolated, didn't know how to interact with society anymore. He had been everything to her. He protected, guarded her from any harm, other than his own.

Now that he was gone, did that necessarily mean that she was free?

No. It didn't. She frowned.

Her large eyes watched InuYasha leaned against the counter inside. What kind of man would even remotely think of helping someone he had just met?

She watched him as though she'd never seen a human being. There was something inside of him that she could see that was untapped. Her heart was aching at the very idea of standing on this familiar ground.

Everything was melting.

Everything was still and stagnant.

The blood, the fresh death that lingered...

There was nothingness.

Wretching a sigh, the girl's hands cupped her face, standing there as the snow started to fall. She couldn't stay there.

They would find her.

Bankotsu surely thought that they would cough up a nickel and dime for her safety but she knew better. The man that had spawned her, only thought of her as pawn.

She'd been used, dismantled by the very essence of hell itself.

The sharpness of her nails dragged from her temples to her chin. She'd been one of the lucky ones. Most kidnapping victims never made it past the first few days. She had managed to lie, to stagger through her existence this long.

There was no reason to waste what precious time she had left.

The will in her legs allowed her diminutive body to move into the warmth of shelter. Her nerves ticking as she observed InuYasha attempted to clean some of the mess from the room.

He didn't say another word to her, letting her bask in her thoughts. She supposed it had been a blessing when she locked herself in the bathroom.

Her reflection, which she hadn't seen in some time, looked at her as though she was hollow. Her eyes had no shine, nothing in them. Her skin was pallid, marred with age beyong her young years.

For now, she merely turned the water on and sat with the shower nozzle pouring across her cold skin.

How long would it take her to feel normal again? Would she ever?

The woman asked herself, finding herself crying into her knees.

Outside, InuYasha sat with his back to the bathroom door. He listened to her voice garble and blame herself for the way things had been. She sounded a lot like he had when his life drowned him in the circumstance.

He tried to wrap his head around today. Faintly, it didn't seem possible to grasp the things that swayed to and fro. There was too much to comprehend.

The only thing he could focus on was this wily song bird had flown back home. His eyes raised to the photo on the wall and placed her voice to the photo. That girl seemed to move, running with laughter, kicking the waves with her toes.

That was the girl that he wanted to know.

His hands ran through his hair, brushing back his bangs. He could have fallen asleep knowing that she was safe. It felt like all of those hours wondering about her, had made his heart swell with relief.

Tonight there would be no sleep. It wasn't something he had expected anyway, but he had to make sure she didn't go crazy with emotion. Losing her after he just met her would be the final blow.

Kaede-baba and Totosai would probably die if they knew she had returned.

Tomorrow would be strange, foreign for her as the day that he had ended up here. The blood caked under his fingernails would never let him forget what he had done for her.

When the time was right, she would have to lead him to the rabbit hole. There was no wonderland here. There as no love to be found within the dishelved walls.

Eden couldn't flourish without the scriptures being scribed by the right hands to rebirth it.

Lolling his head back, he faintly heard the water shut off.

It certainly wasn't going to be any greener tonight.

AN:

FINALLY, RIGHT?

This is the turning point for the entire story, so bear with me through the transition.

I hope that this has been satisfactory and that you guys enjoyed it. I LOVE this chapter.

Thank you to my reviewers and readers.

-Jiru