Lead Me Down the Garden Path
Dead Famous
"Kagome! What happened at the house?"
"Ms. Higurashi! Over here! Tell us about Inuyasha!"
"Kagome! How is your head? Did you receive any other injuries from—"
"—Kagome! Did you know any of the band members who were kill—"
"When did you meet Inuyasha?"
"Kagome! Are you and Inuyasha really an intimate couple?"
"Ms. Higurashi! Kagome! Just one question! Please Kago—"
The car door slammed behind her as she crawled across the seat. She blinked her eyelashes franticly to dispel the orbs of light clouding her vision from all the flash photography. Her heartbeat sounded ravenous in her ears, and she couldn't fight the sinking, hollow feeling pooling in the pit of her stomach. Releasing a mouthful of air through tight lips, Kagome collapsed her head against the headrest of the limousine, closing her eyes in the process.
Kagome's eyes flew open upon hearing taps on the dark tinted windows. She released another heavy breath in appreciation that the people surrounding the car couldn't see her. Did they really think she would roll down the window to take their questions? Kagome shook her head incredulously.
Turning over her shoulder, Kagome peered through the open privacy window into the front seat of the limo. Through the windshield, she could see the driver, an elderly gentleman of at least sixty or seventy years old, struggling to wade through the hordes of people. She scoffed audibly; how was it even the driver grappled to make his way into the car?
But the driver had come into contact with Kagome Higurashi, the media's newest obsession, and Kagome now knew that that type of celebrity is contagious.
Despite his petite, frail form, she had been grateful the man had escorted her to the car after buzzing her eighth floor unit. With a bony elbow and wrist protectively around her shoulders, he became a barrier between her body and the mass of people, holding out a hand to make a clear path to the car.
Turning to face forward in her seat, Kagome stretched her aching legs. The back of the limousine was so spacious; Kagome figured she could easily stretch her entire five-foot-seven body on the floor. The tapping on the window continued and Kagome gazed through her peripherals to take in the personnel crowding the vehicle and pressing their faces against the windows.
They had been waiting for days outside of her apartment in hopes of catching a glimpse of Kagome. Now, she was merely centimetres away from them, shielded from their questions and photos by a bulletproof pane of glass. Kagome's eyes roamed the faces of her onlookers, her mind racing.
Two days. I became a national sensation in just two days.
Sunday night had turned into the early hours of Monday morning as the police and emergency service vehicles surrounded the house. EMS workers climbed out of an ambulance and guided Kagome to a seat on the back of the vehicle. A female with the bluest eyes Kagome had ever seen wrapped Kagome's shoulders in a large, woolen blanket, which Kagome clasped tightly in her fists under her chin. From her perch, Kagome had watched helplessly as armour-clad officers stampeded through the front doors. After a moderate inspection of her person, the workers determined Kagome had a concussion—at least that explained the throbbing headache.
Despite the questions asked of her—what happened, are you okay, where does it hurt, rate the pain between one and ten—and the quiver that shook her entire body, Kagome refused to take her eyes off the house.
She had needed to know that Inuyasha was okay.
Sitting in the quiet of the car, the sounds of the mob outside were reduced to a shushed muffle. Kagome closed her eyes introspectively.
After he ran from her side, Kagome had no idea what had happened to Inuyasha. She remembered standing alone in the kitchen, scared out of her wits that Mukotsu would come back for her as promised. Miroku's words of escape causing tears to sting her eyes, Kagome had pitched herself forward. Her arms outstretched and waving madly in front of her, Kagome tried to navigate her way out of the house. The sounds of violent conflict shook the very foundations of the house as she mentally urged herself forward.
Her shuffling steps throughout the first floor of the house had been a struggle. Kagome tried to navigate hallways in which she had never been, entered monstrous rooms with vaulted ceilings she had never seen. After minutes of searching, Kagome had eventually felt the stairs' railing against her fingertips, and she released tears of relief. The entire time she wandered, Kagome had held her breath, terrified that at any minute Mukotsu would lunge at her from around a corner and fulfill his promise to get her.
But Inuyasha. She hadn't seen him again after that.
She remembered standing in the dark foyer, discombobulated by the sounds of men's shouts and screams from upstairs somewhere. Somewhere to her right she could hear another brawl, this one closer to her. Her proximity to danger and the sounds of men fighting for their lives scared her into immobility. The generic crashing sounds of things falling to the floor and breaking caused her to jump. The sounds of struggled breaths, and frantic, brutal skin-on-skin contact rang loudly in her ears. The coldblooded violence was so much closer than Kagome would have liked.
She recalled recognizing one of those screaming voices on the first floor as belonging to Miroku.
Kagome's hands covered her face in memory of standing, uselessly, immobilized by fear at the front door. She could hear Inuyasha's bellowing, she could hear his screams. She was scared for him. She was scared for Miroku. She had been scared for herself.
Finally, the sound of a gunshot had scared Kagome enough to move again. Her ears rang as the sound echoed throughout the foyer. It happened just feet from where she stood. Kagome recalled the sound of a body, crumbling and thudding against ceramic tile.
Fumbling for the door and without turning back, Kagome had then thrown her body into the cool, welcoming arms of night as uncontrollable tears plummeted down her cheeks.
Running up the treed driveway of the manor's property, Kagome's mouth-breathing was loud in her throbbing head. With shaking hands, she groped through her pockets for her phone. She had been an incoherent, blubbering mess when her fingers were finally able to dial for the police; and somehow, she was able to convey to the police operator a patchwork explanation of what had happened.
Standing outside the rod iron gates, her isolation, fear, and tears didn't last long before sirens, like banshee wails, split the silence of the night and surrounded her.
"We're ready to leave, miss."
The voice of the male driver drew Kagome out of her introspection. Uncovering her face, she blinked her eyes curiously until her current reality finally settled. She was sitting inside the car Miroku had sent for her.
Nodding her head, as if the man could see her, Kagome slunk lower in her seat. She clasped her hands together and tucked them between her thighs. Her body moved in time with the car slowly lurching to life. She watched the camera flashes slowly slip away past her line of sight as the car rounded a corner.
Every media platform had sensationalized the attack on Sengoku Manor. Ever since Monday morning, both the news and the Internet could not stop discussing the incident at the house.
The world learned that the paroled band members broke into the house bearing weapons. Two climbed in through a fourth-floor broken window, likely killing two household staff in the process. One had broken a window to climb into the basement, cutting the power to the electrical box.
The world learned that the break-in led to five fatalities.
The world was told that Inuyasha had been shot, but wasn't in critical condition. The newscasters even speculated that Inuyasha had likely killed the invaders in self-defence; however, the police had yet to comment on that fact.
And the world was told that Kagome had been there.
Kagome had woken up in a hospital bed, her mother and Sango by her side. Kagome's mom had been told the hospital wanted to keep an eye on Kagome to ensure her concussion wasn't the result of an even graver brain injury. Sleeping for most of Monday, her mother had cried tears of relief when Kagome finally opened her eyes. After hugging tightly her best friend in the world, Sango directed Kagome's attention to the CCTV that hung in the corner of the room. Kagome couldn't obtusely ignore the news now, and her heart couldn't bear what she saw.
Kagome Higurashi was now a household name.
From the moment the media caught wind of what happened at Sengoku Manor, they pounced. The magazine photo that first introduced Kagome to the world was the cover of every large newspaper across the country. It was the first image that appeared when Kagome's name was typed into every Internet search engine. Media personnel—including Molly Woo—interviewed Kagome's old schoolmates, hungry to know who she was and why she had been at Inuyasha's house when the attack had happened. Her mother's cellphone vibrated constantly, her voicemail box filled within minutes from requests to interview the family.
The media speculated intimacy and romance as pictures of Inuyasha's patio somehow appeared on the screen. When Kagome saw the evidence of her evening with Inuyasha, when she saw the stilled images of the empty wine chiller and their two glasses, she asked her mom to turn off the TV. Kagome couldn't take it.
The world knew that during the Sunday evening before the attack, she had been at Inuyasha's doing God-knows what. Her mom knew she had been at Inuyasha's that night. Her memory burned with the publics' hunger for knowledge, asking if she had been there to stay the night, if she had a room in the giant house, if she went to Inuyasha's often.
Kagome couldn't stomach the reality that the media preyed on her out of their obsession for Inuyasha. The world wanted to know her with such intimacy that they were going to lengths to track down her old university roommate, former teachers and colleagues. Even poor Souta had been cornered when leaving a friend's house, harassed by reporters to provide input on his sister's relationship with Inuyasha.
Sitting in the unnerving quiet of the hospital room, Kagome's mother had been the one to break the silence, tears in her eyes. She wanted to know what Kagome had been doing at the house.
"Are you really dating that man, Kagome? How could you not tell us?" her mother had asked with hoarse, carefully selected words. "How could you let us find out this way?"
Kagome had turned her face away, unable to provide a response.
She wanted to say it wasn't what the media made it out to be. She wanted to say she and Inuyasha weren't intimate like her family heard speculated on the news. No matter what explanation or excuse Kagome thought up, she realized that, at the end of the day, she had been at Inuyasha's drinking wine and spending time with him.
Hell. She almost even kissed him.
For these past two days, Kagome's relationship with her family became strained. She couldn't explain what happened. She couldn't apologize enough for the sudden hordes of people flocking to the Shrine, hungry with questions about Kagome. She couldn't explain to her mother, brother, or grandfather that she was still respectable, that the intimacy they heard about was unfounded.
But how could she contradict the forums, blogs, social media posts, and reputable news anchors who claimed that Kagome was Inuyasha's new scarlet woman? How could the media make something like that up? Especially when they had a picture of Inuyasha and Kagome together, when they had evidence of her romantic evening in the backyard with Inuyasha?
She couldn't explain it. But even if she could, her mother would never understand.
Kagome opened her eyes when she felt the car stop and she heard the driver put the car in park. The car door slammed and she turned her eyes out the window to her left to watch the driver approach the front door of Sango's apartment.
A few moments later, the driver escorted Sango into the vehicle. There were still media personnel with cameras to their faces the moment Sango appeared in the front hallway. Not as many as those at Kagome's apartment, but still just enough that Sango was given a hard time to make her way into the car.
Climbing into the car, the driver safeguarding her from the camera flashes, Sango sputtered "fucking piranhas," before turning her eyes to Kagome.
Before the driver could close the door completely, Sango leaned forward and wrapped her arms protectively around her friend's neck. Kagome drew Sango into her, clutching at Sango's shoulder blades tightly, grateful for the supporting contact.
"How are you, Kagome?" Sango finally asked after ending the embrace. She took a seat across from Kagome in the back of the limousine.
"I've been better."
Sango turned to look outside as the car began to drive away from her apartment. "It's fucking chaos out there. I can't believe this. I can't believe any of this. They see me once leaving the hospital with your mother and then bam! they're all over me! Jesus," she sighed, releasing a heavy breath. "It's been a long few days."
Kagome released a tired sigh then nodded in agreement. Just having her friend near her improved Kagome's spirits so much. There was such comfort in the familiar presence of her lean, lifelong friend.
"I feel like this is a little excessive," Kagome commented, her eyes roaming the ceiling before landing on the mini-fridge on the opposite side of the vehicle. Kagome could make out fanciful French cursive writing on a bottle of champagne. Upside-down glasses bookended the fridge, clinking against one another in response to the car's motions.
A smile grew from the corners of Sango's mouth. "I agree that the car is bit much. I mean, can you imagine how much this thing probably cost to buy?" Sango shook her head before turning her vibrant, mascara-covered eyelashes towards Kagome. "But the public has gone crazy over what happened at the house. Between the party on Friday and this? You're a big deal now, Kagome. It's only fitting you have an escort like this."
Kagome snorted in response and rolled her eyes incredulously. "This is so crazy, Sango. All of this! I can't even grasp the magnitude of what's happened. I mean," she paused, turning her eyes to the ceiling, "I'm still me, Sango. I'm still just Kagome."
Sango nodded in understanding and crossed her leg over the other. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
"I know you're you, Kagome," she replied softly.
Kagome shook her head. "But they're making me out to be something I'm not, someone I'm not." Kagome raised her head sharply, tears burning behind her eyes. "They make me out to be some kind of whore, Sango. I'm just Inuyasha's new side piece, a makeshift replacement for Kikyo. How can they say that? They have no idea what has happened between him and me. They have no idea who I am."
Tears began to tumble freely down her cheeks. "We're not a thing," Kagome cried, turning her tear-soaked eyes towards Sango's. "Inuyasha and me aren't an item. I went there to apologize not to fuck him! Why are they making up these lies? Why am I being punished like this?"
Sango immediately rose from her seat and took crouched steps towards Kagome. Her leggings shushed against the leather seats as she turned her body towards Kagome, clutching the girl's right hand in between both of Sango's.
"Shh. It's okay, Kagome. It'll be okay," Sango tried to comfort. "It's what they do, Kagome. I know it's not fair, and I know it's not true. But it's what the media does. They obsess, and they conjecture, and they fester, and it's sick. You're a good person, Kagome. You shouldn't question that."
Sango sighed, squeezing Kagome's hand in hers. "It's not fair, Kagome. You don't deserve this. I'm so sorry this is happening to you."
Kagome sighed and rested her cheekbone on Sango's bony shoulder, the pressure forcing her one eye closed slightly. She sniffled, wiping away the tears with her free hand.
"I know you probably don't want to talk about it, but have you heard from him at all?" Sango asked, turning a hesitant glance to Kagome. Without naming him, Kagome instantly knew Sango meant Inuyasha. "I mean…he must know what's happened. How your face and name, fuck even where you live, has exploded all over the Internet. What does he have to say about it?"
Kagome snorted and forced herself to sit upright. A restlessness began to stir within her.
"Nothing," she expelled, her eyes roaming the seams on the expensive leather seats across from her. "I haven't heard from him."
Sango's eyebrows furrowed. "But, isn't this his car?"
Kagome nodded. "Totosai said he was commissioned by Miroku to drive me around."
"Totosai?"
"The driver," Kagome answered, nodding her head over her shoulder to motion towards the driver. Sango bowed her head in understanding.
"So the public believes that you and Inuyasha are this romantic new big deal, and Miroku gives you one of Inuyasha's cars to be shuttled around in?" Sango shook her head in disbelief, calling Miroku a fucking idiot in her mind's voice. "It's not exactly denying it."
Kagome nodded, the truth of Sango's claim weighing heavily on Kagome's shoulders. A quiet and popping "yep" left her lips.
"Do you know why Totosai came for you today? Or me, for that matter?"
Kagome shook her head. "It was a surprise for me. I haven't left my apartment in two days."
Sango bit her lip as another thought came to mind. "Have you heard from Kouga at all?"
Kagome snorted a breathy laugh. "Would you believe he's the one who told me to take the week off? My second week on the job and I'm not even working. My life is a disaster."
Sango squeezed Kagome's fingers in response to the melodrama leaving her friend's lips. Sango couldn't blame Kagome's reaction. This was all so surreal. The subject of Inuyasha in the media alone was explosive; however, the world now had another person to sink their teeth into, to turn to, to rejuvenate their decade-long obsession with Inuyasha.
"What did he say though?"
Kagome released a sputtering laugh, her phone suddenly feeling very heavy in the back pocket of her jeans. "Which time?"
Sango's eyebrows tightened. "What do you mean?"
"He's called me at least three times."
"What?" Sango cried sceptically. "For what reason?"
"Well," Kagome sighed. "The first time was to say he saw the news and wanted to know if I was okay. The second time was to tell me not to worry about work. That my job would be there for as long as I needed time away to look after myself. Then, the third time was to tell me that their contract with Sengoku Manor was cancelled."
"Cancelled?" Sango echoed, her eyes searching Kagome's face for the answers.
Kagome nodded. "Apparently Inuyasha has doubled his security measures and that means no one is being given access to the property."
"But what about all the work on the gardens and stuff? All of that is only half-finished."
Kagome shrugged. "Apparently it's gonna stay unfinished then."
The topic of work weighing heavily and guiltily on Kagome's mind, she turned a raised eyebrow to Sango.
"Speaking of work. How are you not working right now?"
Sango shook her head at Kagome and sympathetically rubbed the back of Kagome's hand with her palm. A look of hesitation fluttered from Sango's eye.
"I told you on Monday. I quit."
"You quit!?"
Sango laughed. "You don't remember this conversation, Kagome? I told you at the hospital. I didn't feel right putting energy into this job when I should be taking the time to find something in my field." Sango sighed and turned her wide brown eyes to her friend. "After seeing all that's happened with you and Inuyasha, and the house. I just couldn't do it anymore. You said you understood," Sango trailed off, guilt rising heavily in her stomach.
She knew it wasn't an easy decision to make. After all, she felt reckless and irresponsible for rashly taking on a commitment she just couldn't morally commit to. She felt guilty, as if she were abandoning Kagome, but Sango knew that her friend, at the end of the day, would want Sango to do what was best for her.
Kouga had been understanding when Sango went into the office on Monday morning to submit her notice of resignation. In memory of their confrontation, Sango shook her head with a smirk on her face. Maybe four or five sentences that escaped his mouth were related to Sango's leaving. It was evident, however, that his thoughts were preoccupied on Kagome.
Sango laughed to herself. She wasn't at all surprised to hear that Kouga had called Kagome three times.
After turning in her work shirt, Sango had received a phone call from Kagome's mom explaining she received a call that Kagome was in the hospital due to a concussion. She offered to pick Sango up to take her to the hospital; however, Sango just said she would take a taxi.
When Kagome finally came around, combatted her mom about moving back to the Shrine, and was ready to leave the hospital, Totosai and the limousine had been there waiting.
Live video feeds displayed the front of the hospital, stating Kagome had been admitted into the hospital overnight for sustaining head injuries. Media vans and reporters with cameras hanging around their necks drank coffee and socialized in the front parking lot, just outside the patient release exit. They were no worse than vultures.
Sango hadn't been at all surprised that the car had been waiting, or that Miroku or Inuyasha had known where to find Kagome. It turned out that everyone now knew where to find Kagome. Now that someone was always watching, her privacy had been completely eliminated.
Once the car dropped Kagome off at her apartment, she hadn't left for two days. Looking out her windows, she saw civilians with posters and lawn chairs swarming the sidewalks, and reporters hungry for the first interview or photos of Kagome since returning home. Not able to face her new reality, she tried to distract herself with movies and books. She did whatever was in her power not to turn to the news or the Internet, eager to know what blasphemy was being shared about her.
The whole situation made Kagome's stomach hurt.
Sango's verbalized musings drew Kagome out of her lamentation. "Do you think maybe Inuyasha feels responsible for getting you wrapped up in all of this? The car could be his way of apologizing for everything. I mean, you told me Mukotsu wanted to abduct you because he recognized you from a photo with Inuyasha? Kagome, that's really scary shit."
"I know, Sango." Kagome sighed. She leaned backwards in her seat, not appreciating the reminder of events from Sunday night. "I'm honestly surprised my mom didn't forcibly drag me back to the Shrine with her."
Sango laughed, her warm eyes sparkling at Kagome. "She tried," she said with a shrug of her shoulders. "She just raised a really stubborn daughter."
Kagome scoffed. "I'm not 15 years old anymore though," she grumbled. "I moved out of that house years ago. I hate that she still treats me like a baby. Shit happens," she argued. "That doesn't mean I need to move back home because of it."
Sango squeezed Kagome's fingers. "Yeah, but you're her baby, Kagome. You always will be. I mean, put yourself in her shoes. Imagine turning on the news Monday morning and seeing your daughter's face mixed up in all this shit. I mean, a celebrity break-and-enter, murder story? Your mom must have had a heart attack. She had no idea about your new job, and then she hears gossip that you're dating the scandalous Inuyasha? Of course she overreacted."
Kagome withdrew her hand from Sango's grasp to cross her arms under her breasts. A pout was visibly present on her features. "Whose side are you on here, Sango?"
Before Sango could speak, Kagome opened her mouth to release a tense exhale, her anger directed at her friend dissipating. "But you're right. I know I worry her, and you don't have to explain how messed up this situation is. I mean—I don't want to be famous. I just wanted to stay in this landscaping job to earn a living and then find a new teaching job when the school year started up again."
She groaned and ran a frustrated hand across her face. "This is so bad, Sango."
"It'll be okay," the older girl tried to comfort. "At least Inuyasha is trying to make amends for—"
"Miroku is the one who arranged the car, Sango," Kagome interrupted with stern eyes. "I haven't heard from Inuyasha since I saw him at the house on Sunday. Jesus, I didn't even know he was shot until I saw it on the news." She bit her lip, trying to focus on her breathing to prevent tears from appearing.
Sango smiled. "But Miroku is Inuyasha's errand boy," she consoled in a softened voice. She could tell Kagome was emotionally unbalanced and the topic of Inuyasha was causing Kagome to teeter on the edge. "Once you talk to him, I'm sure—"
"Pardon the interruption, miss; but, we're here."
Kagome turned over her shoulder to look at the expansiveness of Sengoku Manor outside her window. Had that really been twenty minutes already? Ever since Sunday time was flying around her. Kagome felt helpless, vulnerable. Where had all her agency gone?
Kagome hadn't noticed the gates opening for them after Totosai pushed a button on the car's visor to open it. She hadn't even noticed the shadows dancing through the car's windows as they drove underneath the treed canopy.
The car having pulled up in front of the stairs leading to the front door, Kagome felt her stomach dip nervously.
Why was the car sent for her today? Why were she and Sango here? Was Sango right? Could Miroku have acted because of Inuyasha's instructions? Could Inuyasha really have been worried about her and that's why he commissioned Totosai to be her personal driver?
Kagome's head hurt with her unanswered questions.
The girls sat in silence in the presence of the intimidating house until Totosai opened the double-doors of the car, allowing the girls to exit.
"Totosai," Kagome said meekly, accepting the older gentleman's hand to step out of the vehicle. "Do you know why we're here?"
Totosai's large, vague eyes turned to meet Kagome's. "I'm not sure, miss. I only received a page from Mr. Houshi to pick up yourself and Ms. Sango and bring you here."
"It wasn't Inuyasha?"
Totosai's large, almost lizard-like round eyes blinked in confusion at Kagome's words. "Pardon, miss?"
"It wasn't Inuyasha who asked you to get us?"
Totosai smiled knowingly—the privacy window between the front and back of the vehicle had been down after all. "No, miss. Mr. Taisho hasn't sent for me since Friday evening. I would presume you're here today at Mr. Houshi's bequest."
Kagome offered him an appreciative, small smile and nodded her head. Sango thanked Totosai for the ride then linked arms with Kagome.
Turning her head slightly to face Sango, Kagome felt a compulsive rush to tell Sango that Kagome had been right, that Inuyasha really hadn't sent for her. Guilt and upset made the muscles along Kagome's neck and shoulders hurt.
"Ladies, welcome."
Kagome's eyes upturned to watch Miroku appear through the front doors, a burly man dressed in black immediately behind him. Kagome's brows furrowed at noticing how the man didn't follow Miroku outside. He just remained a large presence in the open door.
"Hi, Miroku," Kagome called softly as he descended the stairs.
Kagome felt her eyes widen as she took in the sight of him. He wore dark blue jeans and a purple long-sleeve shirt with three undone buttons below his neck. Kagome could see traces of bruising along his jaw line and around his left eye, along with dark bags under both eyes. Stitches ran the length of his one cheek, the traces of dried blood lining the thread. He looked like he had been beaten to an inch of his life. The memory of Miroku's screams made Kagome's stomach feel queasy.
Sango, on the other hand, felt like she couldn't breathe.
Before uttering a greeting, Sango took a step towards the man, her hands raised slightly with a compulsion to greet him with a hug. Sango retracted her hands slowly into her chest, her heart beating in her throat.
"Miroku…" she uttered, her eyes unable to take in the sight of him. "What happened to you?"
Miroku smiled at her and tucked his hands in his front pockets. "Don't worry about me, Sango," he laughed. "You should see the other guy."
Sango closed her eyes with a small laugh, but her soft brown eyes still hummed with worry. She remembered Kagome's explanation of the fights, the sounds of gunshots. For the first time, at the sight of Miroku, Sango couldn't bear to think about what her friend had been through.
"Kagome," Miroku finally said, turning his emotive eyes from Sango.
Kagome felt a blush rush to her cheeks as Miroku collected Kagome into his arms. She turned her eyes uncomfortably to Sango as Kagome felt her breasts flatten against Miroku's chest from the contact. It wasn't a tight hug—Kagome could feel Miroku wince slightly from the pain of the contact—however it was male contact none-the-less. Remembering how desperately he had wanted her to stay safe, Kagome's heart throbbed in appreciation of his concern.
Sango cleared her throat with such a forceful ahem it caused Miroku to end the embrace with a playful laugh. He held Kagome an arm's length away from him, his hands still on her shoulders.
"I'm so relieved to see you're alright, Kagome."
"I'm glad you're okay too," Kagome said, smiling softly. "You look awful though," she continued, drawing a laugh from the man. "Are you in any pain?"
Miroku laughed again and shook his head. "The stitches are quite bothersome, and it's a bit inconvenient to have broken my dominant hand," he said raising his casted right hand, "but other than that, I can't complain. Inuyasha got the worse of—"
Miroku immediately retracted his words with a constricted inhalation of air. He saw the way Kagome reacted to the mention of Inuyasha's name.
"Why are we here, Miroku?" Sango suddenly spoke up, distracting the group from how Inuyasha's name had caused Kagome to respond.
Miroku smiled. He really did appreciate how forthwith Sango could be.
"It was Inuyasha actually," Miroku conveyed, his eyes darting between the two women before him. He couldn't prevent the smile appearing on the corner of his left cheek as he saw Kagome's eyes widen at the realization.
The reality of his confrontation with his employer that morning on the forefront of his mind, Miroku's demeanor suddenly changed. His gaze focused on Kagome, a strong look of sympathy flowing from his eyes.
"We saw the news, Kagome. The people at your apartment. It's sickening," he grieved. "Inuyasha—" he paused, mulling over his words for a moment or two— "Inuyasha, well, he heard you had essentially been cornered in your home for days and he knew he could send Totosai to get you out safely. Hiding in your home is no way to live. Inuyasha would know that better than anyone."
"Inuyasha really sent for me?"
Miroku tilted his head to the side. His stitches painfully pulled at the flesh around his cheek as a tooth-bearing smile appeared on his face. He couldn't help the feeling of relief rushing through his body at the confirmation that Kagome was as equally intrigued in Inuyasha as he was in her. Her body language and the tone of her voice couldn't have been more obvious.
"He told me this morning to arrange for you to come this afternoon."
"And me?" Sango questioned, her eyes never leaving Miroku's face with her arms crossed.
Miroku smiled and bowed his head slightly. "Ah, I must admit you were my idea, Sango."
She flushed at his words, uncrossing her arms and turning her eyes down bashfully. Miroku inwardly guffawed at her response.
"Kagome's last experience here," he paused, his face becoming serious again, "was horrific." His eyes turned to Kagome as his hands reached for her own. Kagome's palm resting on Miroku's cast, she grimaced slightly from the feeling of the coarse material. "I truly cannot apologize enough, Kagome, for what happened here. I—There's no words," he said, ending his lament. His emotive periwinkle irises narrowed at her sympathetically.
He straightened his back then, cleared his throat, and released Kagome's hands. A hint of pink still coloured Kagome's cheeks from the contact. "I wanted Kagome to be comfortable here, Sango," Miroku said, turning his body to face the other woman. "As her closest friend, I wanted you here as well."
Is that really the only reason? Sango's mind pouted. She had seen the way Miroku's eyes hurt for Kagome. She felt her whole body hurt just from the sight of Miroku. She genuinely felt at a loss for what he had been through. However, she couldn't deny the small mirth that developed in her belly at the sight of Miroku. She was just as happy to be here.
"Anyway," Miroku chimed, his demeanour once again changing. Sango couldn't help but smile at how he seemed to yo-yo between being serious and his usual impish ways. "That's enough of us chatting out here. Let's get you two inside. Kaede has made a wonderful lunch."
Miroku turned to ascend the stairs with Sango a step behind him. Before Kagome could even lift her left to take her first step, Inuyasha burst through the front doors, pushing aside the large man who lingered in the doorway. His chest heaved with panting, yearning breaths. Inuyasha's amber orbs looked aflame. He looked terrified.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome called, startled as his sudden appearance. "Are you o—"
"Get Kagome inside!" Inuyasha yelled at two men. "Now!"
Kagome watched the men immediately lunge down the stairs at Inuyasha's demand, their towering forms approaching Kagome like a loosened freight train.
Her eyes bounced between taking in the sight of Inuyasha's broken nose, his arm in a sling, and the two men charging down the steps towards her. Kagome heard Sango gasp as Miroku grabbed her bicep and pulled her towards him, out of the path of the men leaping the stairs to reach Kagome.
Kagome, suddenly scared by the sudden fierceness of Inuyasha's appearance, took a recoiling step back. Something was wrong. Just like the premonition she had had when Inuyasha left her on the patio, telling her to stay there. Kagome felt the same dark cloud swell within her chest.
"What is it, Inuyasha?" Miroku demanded, Sango's back pressed against his chest from where he pulled her. "What happened?"
Kagome felt strong arms attach to her biceps and guide her quickly towards the stairs. A strong man's grip on each arm, she felt like she was flying as she ascended the stairs.
"Her apartment," Inuyasha began, his breathing still ragged from running down the stairs from his office. Half walking, half being carried, Kagome floated her way across the threshold of the house, watching Inuyasha leap into a room, barking for everyone to follow him.
Inuyasha had heard the driver pull up. He heard Miroku greet the girls. He had been on conference calls with his team of attorneys all morning, the TV on in the background on mute. His eyes absentmindedly turned now and again to skim the closed captioning of the speaker's words that appeared on screen a few seconds delayed.
Inuyasha had sat lazily, bored, listening to his lawyers' back and forth about who to press charges against, insurance claims, and apprising the extent of the damage to the house. Trying with all his might to not poke or touch his aching, healing nose, the TV had caught his eye suddenly.
Kagome's apartment was once again on the screen.
Without even thinking, Inuyasha pushed a button to end the call and picked up the remote, unmuting the TV. The female news anchor's voice poured into the room. Her voice was nasally and rushed. She sounded frantic.
"—The seventh, eighth and ninth floors, plus the roof, of the building are sustaining the most damage by the blaze. What started as an explosion involving gasoline on the eighth floor has led to this raging inferno.
"As you can see behind me, Toyko's bomb-arson unit, under suspicion of arson, has joined local firefighters, and they are struggling to try and contain the 90 foot flames. The fire has prompted authorities to issue an evacuation order for the surrounding area threatened by the fire and explosions.
"We've received multiple calls with concern for the safety of Kagome Higurashi, and I can confirm that Kagome was not home at the time of the explosion. Earlier reports confirm that she left her home approximately ten minutes before the call came in regarding the explosion.
"At least 13 people have been confirmed dead. Police say only four of those have been formally identified."
Author's Note
I have so much thanks to send to all of you who have reviewed and kept up with this story. There's so much to happen over the next few chapters, I can barely contain my excitement.
What do you think will happen next!?
Review with your thoughts! :D