Hojo fumbled stupidly with his belt, fingers clumsy, a drunk and indolent smile adorning his face. He held himself on top of Kagome, using all the weight of his body in his knees to keep her thighs pried apart; she could feel her legs beginning to bruise, but even as she shifted and whimpered it seemed he was insistent to hold her immobile– she knew she wouldn't get away with any quick moves this time.

"Hojo, wait…" As he muddled with his clothing, she weakly lifted her arms and attempted to push him back by the stomach; he immediately flopped down and dropped his chest to hers, landing on her awkwardly. He lifted himself with one hand, hovering over her in a cloud of booze breath and sweat.

"No way, Higurashi." His face wavered into her neck, and he bit, hard, reaching up to cover her breasts with his hands, squeezing tightly before clamping his mouth over hers and biting her lip.

She let out a scream,

"Stop, I don't want…"

"Yeah, you never wanted me." He bit harder, then let go, licking the spot where blood sprang from small indents. She shuddered beneath him, sobbing, trying to push away. Grabbing her face tightly in one hand, he pulled her to look at him, grinning. "You're gonna change your mind soon."

It was over. She couldn't move her arms, the drug had numbed her to near paralysis, her legs were pinned beneath him, his heavy head blocked even her neck from swerving and seeing the well, the object of her attempt, her one hope.

She wished so badly to see Inuyasha appear in a blast of blue and white light, to wave his Tessaiga threateningly, scoffing at a mere human attacking her; to call her stupid, even, for falling into such a position.

"Inuyasha," she moaned as Hojo began to rip the material of her friends' dress, gasping as the cool night air, followed by his heavy hands, hit her naked skin.

"Inuyasha?" Hojo murmured, mocking her as he pinched and pulled, cupping her chest in his hands. Clasping maliciously, he readied to lower his head, but looked her in the eye first to make sure she heard his scorning laughter, "Who's that? Is that your cheating ex who wouldn't touch you? Bet he'd love to see this."

She braced herself, wincing as he pulled back. Closing her eyes, she waited, clenching her arms tightly to her sides, thinking maybe once he was lost in the moment, she could finally summon the strength to head butt him or bite him, something, anything.

When the moment evaded her and Hojo's silence forced her to open her eyes, she was surprised to see that he no longer hovered in her view, he no longer held her down with his weight.

He was gone.

She slowly angled herself upward, feeling the heaviness of her drugged body following her mind like a sinking brick. She would give out soon, the lids of her eyes were falling, but the terror of when he might return - and where he had gone - forced her to curl back up against the wall and take in the empty wellhouse around her.

Empty, she now realized as she settled into the wall to keep herself seated, but for the door, in which a menacing silhouette filled the frame.

She flinched as she zeroed in on this figure, a mass of long hair and trembling features – no not trembling, shaking; angrily shaking, shaking so viciously she could hear the floorboards creaking in protest beneath the movement of its tremors.

She could hear the accompanying growl, a symphony of rage she knew she could place – it was so distinct, and so terrifying, she recognized it immediately – but it was not a sound she feared. This was a sound she had heard many times coming to her rescue, and it was no different tonight than it was in any of her numerous dreams over the years. She focused to be absolutely sure, but nothing confirmed who she thought it was more than hearing his voice mercilessly rumble,

"You wanted to know who the fuck I am?"

The problem with these dreams, of course, was that they often turned to nightmares – way more often than not. Kagome froze, realizing what this must mean -

The drug has taken me, then. She thought to herself, dread settling in as her eyes widened in the dark. Hojo did it. He could be doing it to me right now. And I'm passed out. Oh god, when will I wake up? And when I do? What then?

A scream so anguished she felt herself wince distracted her from her thoughts; it was Hojo. She lifted her head, so heavy, and watched as his horrified expression came into the light of the moon through the sliding door. In a flash he was back into the darkness, his body curling through the air. She watched him fly through the door, splintering it as his body collided in an explosion of wood. The larger silhouette released a bloodthirsty howl as it leapt after him.

She could hear a cacophony occurring outside, quick and awful, full of the sounds of bones snapping, ferocious, threatening noises accompanied by Hojo's withered and pained screams growing more and more violent.

When it all came to an end, she felt herself stiffen – would she wake now to see Hojo finishing above her, on her? Pulling his shirt on and flashing that sickening smile he'd had on all night – would she become aware and find it was all over, and the rest of her life had begun with this one horrible moment?

No, she couldn't bear that – so she shut her eyes tightly, even when the sound of footsteps approaching told her she was no longer alone.

"Hojo, don't." She begged, pushing against the wall behind her as the steps stopped just before where she sat, and used the traction to get herself standing on wobbling legs.

She couldn't see him, she couldn't open her eyes to see what he had done. She felt the wall with her hands and tried to slip in the direction of the well, intending fully to do as she had hoped – maybe it was too late to save herself, but she could still end this terrible night.

A hand whipped out and closed around her shoulder, stopping her. Another. She screamed, knees buckling, though the ground never came. Instead, she felt arms softly wrapping around her.

"Please," She cried, gripping the familiar texture of clothing in a bid to regain her balance. "I just want to be with him. I just want to be with Inuyasha, I don't care… I can't… be here… anymore."

"Kagome."

She blinked through her broken sentences, not caring if it was a dream. The voice sounded so real, so close. So much like him. She could feel warmth replace the cold air on her skin where Hojo had torn her clothes. A body, strong and comforting, held her close.

Looking up into the darkness, she was just able to make out the glint of golden eyes, of white hair. Inuyasha stood before her, gazing at her with an expression of torment highlighted by the streaks of blood drying across his face. Hidden beneath the red of Hojo's suffering, a heated blush peppered at his nose and spread across his cheeks; following his gaze, she looked down to her torn clothing, and rose her arms to cover herself. She couldn't meet his eyes, knowing now how he saw her; Of course, it can't really be him. She heard the rustling sound of Inuyasha rapidly disrobing his suikan and gently wrapping her in it, closing the material over her exposed chest. She thought she saw a tear roll down his face.

"Then I did make it to the well. I did it. I killed myself." She sighed, despite the shocked and hurt look that shadowed his expression when she did so. It didn't matter. She had gotten to him, one way or another.

Lowering her head so the hood of the suikan he had deftly wrapped around her shielded her face, she could finally close her eyes and let the drug push her all the way down.

A/N: Hey all! Thanks for following/reviewing :) I just posted an excerpt from a new oneshot in my profile bio, so if you're done reading here and could stand to read more, there's a little preview there, and also my other story Plight or Pledge, an ongoing drama. Do I ever write anything other than InuKag? Honestly, no, but I've always wanted to write more of Sango's character (she's an all time fav) and modern day AU, so other projects are in development too. Happy reading!