Thank you to my wonderful reviewers and readers!
I've received some very exciting and warming reviews for the last couple of chapters, and I cherish them. Thank you so much for the feedback everyone.
There's information at the bottom of this chapter about Stockholm Syndrome, if you don't know what it is already. If there's ever anything you'd like answered, feel free to ask me.
And, to answer a question from ninjamidori; Yes. He did - most of it.
SexyxAngelx09 - No worries here. :)
Thanks to Anime Lady PIMP, Child of Dreamz (thank you for such a lovely review), NiceStories (for your sweet comments), Duke-of-Spades (some serious madness), Morrigan Fey, La Pisces. llonaBliss, Pokahydee - Nekoyasha
Chapter 8
The Neons Over Tokyo.
The Shinkansen's wheels had eventually lulled the restless souls to sleep, basking them in a momentary ease. Thawing snow clung to the windows, leaving Sango's weary eyes to look upon the familiar city, covered with lively lights.
Shippo had roused some time ago, excitedly delighted by the neons that flickered like fireworks across his window sill. The world around him was new and capitvating. The colors crossed his pale face, adorning it with a vigor he hadn't felt in months.
Sango couldn't help but indulge in his giddiness. Her mind had wandered into the dark recesses for the duration of the trip, leaving this one moment to enjoy. She was back in the city that brought her so much misery.
Yet, in that Rockwell sentiment, she had found what she was looking for. The boy beside her had long forgotten his woes, leaving him shucking his hands and squealing lightly, as not to bother the other passengers.
He felt a surge of energy as the capsule train skidded to a halt. The evening was ready to engulf him with sensory overload. Sango's only concern was the disillusion he would have. This was magical, like capturing a mythical beast.
Gathering up the one item she had managed to bring, she grabbed Shippo's hand, tucking him back into his warm clothes. She, however, had to make an emergency stop to any store that was open.
Her savings was going to be decimated by the end of the week, she sighed. Waiting patiently as they could, they held tight to one another as they walked down the aisle. Buyo was tucked in the front of Shippo's coat, just as InuYasha had carried him so many times.
Sango's lips pressed in a tight line, looking down at the boy. If there had been any way of contacting him, she would have done so a thousand times over. There was dread washing over her as her foot hit the platform.
However, that little boy ripped at the seams. He instantly buckled beneath the flashing lights and busy noise. He'd never seen so many people in one place. There had to have been over a hundred people standing on that platform.
Most of them were jovial, chatting patiently. It was all Sango could do to keep from screaming at the hysterical reaction her body had managed to muster.
Closing her eyes, she kept calm, walking down the steps gingerly. She was freezing. Her thin, long-sleeved shirt did nothing in the way of warming her. "We've got to get me a new coat!" She chattered, receiving a confused look from the boy.
"What happened to yours?" He asked, realization striking the woman that the boy had nothing.
Lolling her head back, she sighed into the hazy steam that littered the street, which was left over from the hot gears of the train. "I forgot our bags in the car." She groaned in defeat. "We need to get to a store before they close for the night."
Shippo found an odd energy seeping into his stomach. He wasn't sure if he was happy anymore, but he was? The question lingered as they walked down the path from Tokyo Station.
The streets were still packed, lined with girls standing and chatting in front of shops. The chimes of cellphones bleeped and rang, making Sango's head split open. Part of her was glad to only be here a week. There was something endearing about being surrounded by near nothingness. It was something she'd nary trade for anything.
As they meandered down the bustling street, the woman's thoughts drifted back to the events from the afternoon. She couldn't get the look of fear on InuYasha's face out of her mind. No matter how hard she tried to shake the feeling of doubt from her head, it crept back up, hanging like a noose.
Her thin hand wiped across her face as she listened to Shippo ranting. Her patience with him impressed her. None of it had been his fault, but sometimes, anger got the better of everyone.
It had taken her a few tries, but a smile pressed across her mouth. Seeing the auburn haired boy's genuine happiness, she melted into a half-hearted easiness. "Look," She pointed towards a clothing shop that lined the Shibuya-ku street. "Let's try there."
Shippo said something to Buyo along the lines of "I can't believe we're actually here."
When he followed Sango into the shop, he could barely move. The lights were brightly shining down on him, basking him in their flourescent glow. Everything was crisp, pristine in comparison to what he was used to back home.
"Sango, should I even be in here?" Shippo asked, eyes catching the light that blinded him.
Sango scoffed, picking through the technically designed coats. "Why would you ever say something like that? This place is for anyone." She cooed, trying to sympathize with how he felt.
The boy nodded lightly, looking at the racks of womens clothing. Everything was fancy, lacquered with neatly placed tags and glossy finishes on the hangers. It overwhelmed him as he and Buyo clung to Sango's leg.
Absently, she ran a hand through his hair, plucking out a grey peacoat. It was thick and warm as she slid it on, sinking into the arms of the fabric. It would do, she sighed.
Slipping it back off, she headed towards the center of the shop. There was a small thrush of children's clothing tucked away to the side. Shippo furrowed his brows when he saw the area they had discovered. "Where are my things?" He asked, nervous to hear her answer.
"I told you, baby, I forgot them in the car." She said, kneeling down to his level. "I'm going to get you a few things, okay?" Her voice was low, soothing as she grabbed his tiny hands.
The boy looked her in the eye, searching for the truth. "Sango, where's InuYasha?"
The woman went slack, pulling him towards her as she hunkered down on the glossy wooden floor. "He's coming, baby." Her eyes closed for a moment, praying that he was alright. "We're gonna have fun, so don't worry. Let's just get you some things and go get some food in that tummy."
Being strong was something she learned in all of her years working at the hospital. It was all a facade. No matter how much you suffered, or ached for someone else, you always put on your best face and rolled across the current.
It seemed to appease Shippo well enough that he complied and sat down while she picked through clothes. She peeked into his collar, the back of his pants, even checked his shoe size.
After they had decided on the items, she lead him to the register. Nervously, she reached into her purse. The first thing her fingers touched was the wallet that InuYasha had thrown at her, and her hand pressed against her forehead.
The woman at the counter offered her some water, but she declined as she merely handed her a credit card from the depths of her bag.
"Shippo, let's get some food and we'll go see Miss Ayame," Sango said, waving his arm back and forth. As soon as she stepped out of the door, she let go of him, digging through her bag to put on the new coat.
Shippo popped off the tag when they made to a lonesome ramen cart, selling the day's last stock. The boy had clenched his jaw, so excited that he shuddered. It was quick, simple and gave her ample amount of time to get to her destination.
The boy ate his fill while they walked, heading further into the clutches of the lively city. They talked about this and that, and different places they would go. It hadn't been too far of a walk before the boy grew drowsy.
Sango had been sore when she picked him up, every step from there on out feeling like she was carrying a sack of stones. In the distance, she found the familiar highrise that housed her childhood friend.
Relief washed over her, taking the tired child inside the slick, black building. He was hardly awake when he inspected the golden interior, and plush furniture that rested in the lobby. It looked like wealthy people lived inside those walls, and he envied them.
There were paintings, crystal decorations and lighting, around them. It washed his skin with a warm glow as they got into the elevator, being whisked away to the unknown.
The unknown, that was something that those damned to the disconnected town had felt envelope them. The only sound heard for hours was the hush of a broom, and scrubbing of Brillo pads across the floor. It smelled of bleach and stark and burning cleaner.
Nothing was removing the scene that replayed like a skip in a film. InuYasha's memory was broken as a record. The draft that beseiged him with the disconcerted reminder that he was a murderer, inhuman.
The thought made him scowl and scrap the floor harder, more violently. The watery mess on the floor reflected an impression of him as he grunted. His efforts were shit, he thought miserably, stopping his motions only to roll up his sleeves.
He hadn't seen Kagome since she locked herself in her room, whailing like a wounded animal. When she'd caught him lingering in her room, half asleep, she'd hit him several times and screamed until she couldn't any longer.
It was then he saw the cuts that licked at her cheeks. They looked like the handy work of branch switches and the impact of falling down against pavement. Her mouth had been bruised and bloodied. Even so, he mused, she was beautiful.
Somewhere in this heaping mess of death and confusion, he still found solace in that. She humbled him, even with her frantic state of being. He wondered if she had even slept properly in the year that she'd been gone.
He knew that he hadn't, and still didn't on occasion. Hell, he knew for a fact that sleep was a fleeting prospect tonight. It was like this inn was going to collapse upon itself in shame of what had happened.
Such a sincere place was desecrated by a fucking crazed man, and a fight with a woman that he barely knew. Kaede-baba would lose her mind, had she not already, if she saw the place like this.
There was no way of fixing it, completely. Nor, he sighed, was there remotely enough time to complete the task before they came home. Closing his eyes, he sank back on his bottom, brushing a grimey hand through his hair.
The leggy man curled his legs to his chest tiredly, relishing in the draft that crept in through the open door. He was tired, so ungodly tired.
Absently, he let his arms fall across his legs as he shimmied his back to the couch. He was perched, trying to stay awake. All of his will had left him well past the point of exhaustion, and his mind had finally begun to slow.
Little did he know, Kagome was standing at the end of the hallway, hands curled around the corner. She had listened to him cleaning and curses himself and everyone else. It was a defense of hers to hide, being as silent as possible.
Nervously, she found the courage to shuffle through the kitchen and stand near the counter. The man turned his head, nose still tucked into his arm. He swallowed hard, trying to figure out what to say.
His heart faltered, skin reddening like a school boy. He was about to speak up, when she lowered her head and let out a sigh. "Thank you." The woman smiled awkwardly, her emotions staining her eyes. "Thank you for trying to find me, and what you did today. I don't think I can face Baba and Jiji, yet."
InuYasha searched her face, inspecting every curve. Her voice was so pacifying, like a soft breeze. She sounded so much different than she had earlier.
"It's fine. I have to get this cleaned up before they get home tomorrow. I'm probably going to be homeless again." InuYasha laughed in defeat.
Kagome's hands began to shake as she took slow, unsure steps closer to him. It was like she was trying to identify him. Those eyes of hers seemed to read his very soul, and everything in between as she parted her mouth.
She wanted so badly to tell him that she was sorry for trying to injure him, but she was still leery.
InuYasha adjusted himself with his arms laying across his chest. She was wearing one of his long sleeve shirts. It was like a dress on her small frame, he noticed. If things had been different, he would have been happy she had done such a thing.
It was hard to be a noble person when his thoughts drifted into the gutter. He wanted to kick himself. After all that she'd been through, that was something that he couldn't even dream of doing to her.
The man's body tensed up as she stepped closer, resting only a couple of feet away from him. Kagome looked like a skiddish animal, about to be chased down by a ravenous wolf.
Defensively, she wrung her hands together in front of her chest. Her vision focused on her feet, and the side of the man's denim covered legs. "I'm sorry for the way I treated you. I-I-I j-j-ust can't do this anymore." Kagome choked, the surging pressure of her upset completely ate her alive.
Her chest forced the muscle to tense as she grimaced, trying to hold in her cries. She was broken apart. The man that she had spent the past year of her life with was dead. She had hated him, hated him with the last fiber of her being.
Still, she had depended on him for everything. She'd played the game, gotten close, slept with him, let him abuse her, anything to keep herself alive.
Stockholm Syndrome had kicked in after the first couple of months, and still lingered in the newness of her temporary freedom. The confusion of losing a person so close to you, regardless of relation, leaves you distraught and more confused by the abscence.
Her captor had been a demon, a burning thorn in her side, but without him, she felt like nothing. Dropping to her knees, she sniveled still fighting the erractic cries that tried to spill out of her.
Instinctively, InuYasha extended a hand. He would have pulled her into him, but he refrained as to not frighten her away. The girl looked up at him curiously, searching his palm as though it was a trick.
After a moment, she closed her eyes, placing a quivering hand in his. He felt sturdy, secure as he slowly moved her closer. Her head stayed down, staring vacantly at the wet spots on the floor.
"Will you tell me what happened to you?" InuYasha whispered, laying her head on his chest. She jerked upon the contact, but relented as his arms loosely fell around her.
"I don't want to remember." Kagome said, hands searching the rising and falling of his chest. Her fingers curled within his shirt, aching from the very last inch of her soul. "I don't know w-why I'm even d-d-doing this. I don't know you."
InuYasha shook his head lightly, staring at the broken tables and pictures on the floor. His tongue ran along the length of his lip, idly brushing his fingers in her hair. "You don't have to tell me. I just want to know why the hell this happened to you. I've already killed a man, why not another?" He scoffed bitterly.
Kagome shook her head, basking in the way he smelled. Bankotsu had smelled like high priced cologne, sweet and stout. It made her sick. "Please, just stay with me for now. I need this." Her eyes were blank, inhaling the soothing smell she had found.
InuYasha lolled his head back against the couch, "Do you trust me at all?" He asked, knowing that it was a premeditated inquiry. There was no way that she would, but she seemed like she did enough to seek refuge.
Kagome scoffed so softly, he could barely hear the breath she took. "No. What else can happen to me tonight?" She said, her legs coiling closer to feel his warmth. "I just want to make it through tonight."
The man relaxed and grabbed a discarded afgan. Wrapping it around her, he rested his head ontop of hers, guarding her from the monsters that she feared. "I promise I won't let anything happen to you tonight."
Kagome didn't believe it, but she stayed still. She couldn't take the solitary arms of her room, doing nothing to soothe her. The only person she could run to was him. It may have been stupid, but she was willing to take that risk, to just not be alone.
It wasn't long before her tired eyes closed, sinking beneath the scent of patchouli and fennel that engulfed her. Her guard stood alert, barely awake, but enough to watch over her as she had done so many times in his dreams.
Part of him was selfishly keeping her close for his own reasons, but he couldn't let her fend for herself. He was just a man after all. There was nothing in him that was any different than the other.
She smelled like apples and some sort of blossom. It was astounding that the woman was laying in his arms.
The rest of that night, InuYasha held her close, keeping even the faintest of insects from getting near her. He coveted her, protected her from the nightmares that were following her to her slumber.
One day, he hoped that she would be well and restored. For now, he was just content, sitting within the rubble of the home she had loved.
The tidal wave of the morning would be washing over them soon, leaving behind the murky grit of the night to sift through. Every answer would have to be panned, like finding gold amonst the mud.
"Due time, due time, that's what the world says to those weary travelers searching for the answers that they can never find." InuYasha said in a rasp, hazily watching the snow fall gracefully.
Such contrast to the violence fate and thrust upon him.
It was nice to know that there was a simplicity in the aftermath.
AN; There wasn't a whole lot going on in this chapter, I just needed a good breeze way. I wanted to establish a need between InuYasha and Kagome, and I'm sorry if it was too soon, but considering that she had Stockholm Syndrome, I thought it as appropriate.
Since Wikipedia is on SOPA BlackOut for 24 hours, I had to gather a less thorough definition of what SS is.
The Stockholm Syndrome comes into play when a captive cannot escape and is isolated and threatened with death, but is shown token acts of kindness by the captor. It typically takes about three or four days for the psychological shift to take hold.
"A strategy of trying to keep your captor happy in order to stay alive becomes an obsessive identification with the likes and dislikes of the captor which has the result of warping your own psyche in such a way that you come to sympathize with your tormenter."
Also, as a side note to this;
The captor often is violent, brainwashing, and strings the victim along . They let the captives eat, sleep, bathe, live and the detainees often become attached to their captors.
In this case, Kagome had spent a year with Bankotsu. Within that year of being attached to that person, there is still that experience of loss and utter confusion when they are gone.
She DOES feel remorse over his loss, even though she hates him. So, this is something that she will have to over come in this complete moment of loss.
Thank you to everyone that has reviewed and supported this story.