InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Changing Lives ❯ Road To Recovery, Laced With Tears ( Chapter 7 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

He was already out the door. If this was his time, he would have killed everything in his path to get to her, but her time was different. Too many smells and sounds polluted the air so he was having an incredibly hard time keeping to her scent. If he didn’t find her soon. . .

Well, then her time would suffer.

~*~ Random Pedestrian ~*~

“You’re going to the police,” she told the camera. “They’re going to need to see this.”

“Let’s go, then,” Hiei said. “Turn it off.”

She shut off the camcorder.

~*~ Inuyasha ~*~

Six. Inuyasha’s previous anger seemed almost insignificant now, faced against this new wave of rage. A pebble in the ocean. He hugged her close and tried his best to keep his mouth shut. In his mind, his envisions of the ways he would kill one man suddenly became six, and his thoughts raced with near unintelligible streams of curses. Damns. They were damned.

He was going to damn them himself.

AE Thirty Nine

That night, Inuyasha held Kagome close while she slept and didn't move. He didn't sleep, either. Although Kagome had taken a long bath, he could still smell the rancid scents of those men, and the scent of her blood. He had to keep himself tense, controlled; otherwise he might have pulled Kagome so close she would have crushed in his arms.

He remembered a long time ago, before he met Kikyo, when he found a woman along the side of a path, deep in a forest. She was crying, huddled over, and the kimono she wore was torn and splattered red with her blood. His first instinct was to hunt down the men who had dishonored her and slaughter them, mercilessly. And he had. A gang of men, more than a dozen in number, were camped not far away from where he found the woman. He killed them all without hesitation.

As for the woman, he gave her a new kimono he found in the camp, along with their food and supplies, and made sure she found a caravan to travel with until she reached her home village.

At the time he didn't fully understand why he cared so much, or why the thought of a woman's rape heated his blood so much. He pondered it over in his mind for nearly a full decade before shrugging it off as an act of kindness, something he did because his mother always told him to do the right thing, no matter what the cost.

He understood it better now.

The true reason why he hated the very thought of rape was because many men accused his father of rape, that Inuyasha himself was rape-born. His mother never said a bad word about his father, so he never believed the accusations, but it still made him angry. He didn't know how people could do such a thing to a woman, to dishonor her so, to take that right from the man she belonged to.

The fact that it happened to Kagome, to his woman, made it even worse. He wished eternal damnation on every man and woman who ever thought of rape in the positive and instant death. But as for the men who took Kagome. . .Those men would suffer. Inuyasha would be sure to make their pain last, until they knew what it was like to be caused the same pain they caused women; the pain they caused Kagome. They would know that pain, repeatedly.

It was a vow as well as a threat. He'd never wanted anything so badly before in his life than to give those men the most painful deaths they could imagine. He didn't care how many humans he'd have to shred to get to them, or how long it took, or how tired he got. He swore by his mother's soul, they would pay.

Perhaps it wasn't something you should swear your mother's soul by, but in his mind, it was justified as the strongest vow he could make. He would never, ever, ever ever ever put his mother in danger, and thus, those men had a lot to fear.

But the problem remained that he didn't know how to find them. Kagome's mother told him that her world was perfectly capable of finding the men on their own, given the time and motivation and clues they needed. All Inuyasha could think was that if he were Sesshomaru, he would have taken Kagome's family and friends away and burned the entire ci-ty to make sure those men burned.

It was probably best, however, to let those men be caught by po-li-ce first. The trial that had been explained to him; that would get the word out. They would go to their jail, be punished. Their story would be out as a warning. . .

And then Inuyasha would kill them. That, as well, would be out. The deaths of those men, so painful and brutal, would scare the rest of those rapists into stopping. In the end, it would be the best thing for Kagome; for her world. The only thing that would suffer would be the loss of souls heading to hell.

That was something Inuyasha could live with.

He was still awake the next morning, when Kagome's mother came running in.

"Kagome! Kagome, get up," she said. She turned on the television, which was moved up to Kagome's room last night by Inuyasha. Kagome moaned in reluctance as her mother flipped through the channels, stopping on one of them.

In the picture, a woman sat at a desk, staring into the camera. " - And once again we are showing the amazing footage we received just this morning by the Tokyo Police. Watch carefully."

Kagome sat up and watched, while Inuyasha remained laying, pretending to sleep and watching from underneath his bangs. It showed someone in red jumping from building to building, while the picture continuously jerking as whoever held the camera ran to keep up. Inuyasha recognized himself, recognized this search. A part of him hated that they were showing it; this was his search for Kagome, what right did they have to show it!

He got a shock and sat up when the image went around a corner and showed himself knelt down. Though there was no sound, he knew what he was saying. . . "It's okay, Kagome. It's alright. Don't cry. Please, I hate it when you cry. Kagome. . . I'm here now."

The image turned around after he leapt and showed a pretty young girl. "You're going to the police. They're going to need to see this."

And off to the side, a man's voice, "Let's go, then. Turn it off."

The screen returned to the woman at the desk. "Once again, this is the footage we have been showing all morning. The persons who took the film are Hitogasha Kanaye and Hitogasha Hiei. The man and woman in the video are unknown as of yet. The police have yet to issue a statement. Now back to Tayaoshi Hitomi with the weather."

The television went blank. Kagome's mother turned around. "Kagome, this could be either good or bad."

Kagome didn't answer. She leaned back and Inuyasha held her tight, trying to stay calm and hoping she'd pick up on it. Downstairs, the phone rang. Not a moment later Souta was at the door.

"Mama, there's a call from Ayumi. She wants to talk to Kagome."

Kagome shut her eyes and that simple motion let out a tear. "Not now," she said shakily.

Her mother got up. "I'll speak with her, Souta." She left, and shut the door.

Once again Inuyasha was alone with Kagome. He didn't know what to say, what would be a help, or what to do in the least. So instead he simply held her close and allowed her the time it takes to calm herself down. She was shaking at this point, but luckily not crying.

It was hard for Inuyasha to keep himself under control.

Still, he held himself firm and comforted himself with thoughts of slaughter. Their deaths couldn't come too soon or none of the other humans would learn of it. He had to be patient; he had to! It was, however, very difficult given the state of uncomprehendable rage he felt.

~*~ Two Days Later ~*~

It was amazing the spread of talk that went through Tokyo. Eventually Kagome was found and contacted by everyone, or so it seemed. Families sympathized, news reporters gained interviews, police asked for recounting of the tale time and again, and she got visitors of all sorts simply wishing to see her. Most pointedly, her friends, along with Hojo.

They all got to meet Inuyasha this way, who never left her side. He was, however, given clothes to wear along with a cap and had to keep breaking his nails on the concrete to keep them from becoming a point of interest.

Funny enough, it worked.

This day, more visitors came by while Kagome was asleep. Inuyasha sat in her room as her self-proclaimed protector every day and night, only leaving her side when she had to be. As she woke, she murmured about being hungry. Knowing how she got when she woke without him there, he waited until she fully woke up.

She sat up, stretching, and smiled at him. "Good morning," she said.

"Afternoon," Inuyasha corrected, sitting on the bed. "You hungry?" Half the time it was a rhetorical question.

"Yeah," she replied, dropping her chin a little. "You know, Inuyasha. . .I don't mean to be like this."

"It's not a problem."

"Yes, but -"

"I like doing things for you," he interrupted. "Whether it's getting food, rubbing your back, or helping you walk. It's fine - great."

She blushed. "Thank you."

He nodded. "What do you want this time?"

"Um. . ." She thought about it. "I don't really know."

"If you can't make a decision, I can't get anything for you."

She seemed to like it when he worded sentences like that. She hugged him. "You can get me plenty without me having to make a decision, Inuyasha."

"Yeah, but you usually don't like what I pick."

"That's because you always pick ramen."

"Most of the time. Most."

She giggled. "I know."

He put his arms around her and for a moment, they stayed just like that. When they were like this, hardly touching yet being so intimate, he could forget that she was hurt and simply enjoy the thought of being with her. Despite everything she went through, her hair still shone, her eyes still brightened for him, her skin was still soft, and her voice was still a melody that calmed his spirit. It was soothing to be near her, even now.

"Help me downstairs, Inuyasha," she said at last, drawing back.

"There's visitors downstairs," he warned her.

"Who?"

"Hitogasha Kanaye, Hiei, Shinoma, and Toyo."

Her back straightened a bit. "Those are the ones. . ."

"Who filmed us? Yeah. That's why I haven't gone down yet."

She glanced at the wall. "So, then, what. . .what do we do?"

"You stay up here; I'll go down." He stood up.

Sure, he'd be her slave from now until she. . .well, he'd be her slave forever, but when he thinks it's better for her to stay put, she doesn't argue. It was another thing he loved about her; she trusted his judgment.

"Inuyasha. . ."

He paused at her door. "Yeah?"

"You know. . .I'm really sorry."

"About what?" He turned fully towards her, intrigued. What would she have to be sorry about?

"About my being. . .skittish," she tried. "About not letting you kiss me."

He shook his head. "I understand."

"But that doesn't make it okay," she argued. "I shouldn't be scared of you, and I'm not, but. . ."

"You're right," he replied. "It doesn't make it okay. But it makes it tolerable and that is okay." He smiled at her. "And I know you're not scared of me. I know it, Kagome, and you don't know how much I appreciate it." Turning back to the door, he added, "Decided on anything yet?"

He didn't have to look at her to know she was smiling again. "Ramen."

He couldn't help his grin. "Then ramen it is."

He wasn't quite sure what happened next, but sometime between going down the stairs to make ramen and going back up with it, he gained a crowd. He argued with them all the way up the stairs and swiped at the camera in his face, but without his claws it didn't shred the way he wanted it to; it just went flying into the side wall. The girl, Kanaye, looked completely stunned and perhaps hurt, but Inuyasha didn't much care.

"I won't tell you again to stay downstairs!" he snapped at them as he reached Kagome's door. They backed off, Mama trying as well to get them back downstairs, and he entered Kagome's room again. He made sure to lock the door this time, just in case.

Kagome was on her computer now. He set the ramen down next to her and watched her as she made something on the Paint program, dot by dot. She paused and smiled at him.

"What was that outburst about?"

"They followed me up the stairs," he replied automatically. "What're you making?"

She looked back at the image. "I'm not sure yet. I'll figure it out when I get there."

He took her hand off the mouse and lifted it to his lips a moment. "You should eat first," he said, quietly.

There it was again, her sad, sweet smile. "I will."

"Now," he pressed.

She looked at the ramen. "One minute?"

"Kagome," he said, dropping her hand, "I don't want you getting in bad shape because you aren't eating."

She laughed once. "Keep talking like that and I'm going to call you 'Hojo'."

"Who?"

She giggled. "A friend of mine, remember? He's a total health nut."

"Oh, him. Does he. . ."

She looked at him. "Does he what?"

Inuyasha really didn't want to finish the sentence, but it came out of him anyway. "Does he like you?"

She gave another laugh. "A little too much, I think."

He tensed. He couldn't help it; he's always been this way around Kagome, but now more than ever. He sat on her bed and watched her eat, making sure she finished, as he thought.

He hoped Hojo didn't try anything on Kagome, and hoped more so that he wouldn't ever. Hojo may not know it, but Kagome was his now, and if Hojo got too close to her, if he tried for her affections. . . Well, there would be seven men on his death list, instead of six. Which was fine with Inuyasha, but Kagome might fret at the loss of a friend.

Especially now.

She went back to her image after she finished her ramen - or most of it, at least. The clicking of the mouse was a little annoying, but tolerable. It had been maybe a few minutes before a knock came at the door. Kagome jumped at the sound, so drawn in, and then sighed. Inuyasha didn't move a muscle until she indicated she wanted him to answer it.

It was that family again, though it didn't surprise him in the least. He crossed his arms, narrowed his eyes, and stayed between their line of sight and Kagome. It looks like they had a backup camera, which didn't have a little red light on which usually meant it was off. In any case it was aiming at the floor.

The father, Toyo, bowed in respect. "My children, Kanaye and Hiei, wished to see how Kagome -"

"You call her Higurashi-san," Inuyasha interrupted.

Toyo bowed again. "Yes, of course. They wanted to see if Higurashi-san has improved."

"She has."

Toyo didn't look very convinced. "They wish to speak with her."

" . . ." Inuyasha glanced over his shoulder at Kagome, waiting for her answer.

She didn't look like she wanted another interview, but she swiveled the chair around and nodded. "Alright."

Inuyasha stepped to the side to let them in. His very presence seemed to intimidate all four of them, which was a plus in Inuyasha's mind. The four of them stood while Inuyasha moved beside Kagome and kept up his "power pose", as Mama had nicknamed it.

The standard questions were asked, "How are you," "How do you feel," "How did it happen", etc. Like the story wasn't out in the newspapers as it was with all the answers to the questions they asked. There were even pictures to go along with it, and Inuyasha remained nameless and faceless in all of them. It was something they discussed; not to say Inuyasha's name around strangers, least of all the press.

Whatever that meant.

Inuyasha watched Kagome carefully, trying to find those giveaway signs, those little motions that meant she was through; the guests had to leave. But the conversation dragged on and on. She tried to be animated for them, looking impressed that they kept up with Inuyasha, seeming humbled that they sent the tape to the police, telling them how happy she was that they were taking an interest in her "problems".

Just when Inuyasha was beginning to snap, Mama came in and ordered him to turn on the TV, to the news. Inuyasha did so, and they all watched in a kind of stunned awe.

And then Kagome cried.

Those were the men, then, that did this to her. They were being "arrested", put into cars and being driven off. One of them turned around in the seat and stuck his tongue out at the camera, and then it changed views to a woman: the newscaster.

"What we just saw here is the capture of six men," she said. "The gunfight was brutal, and as you can see, two police officers are now in critical condition." The camera showed two men in stretchers being loaded into an ambulance, then turned back to the woman. "These men were wanted for many, many crimes for several years, and are to be convicted very soon -"

"Turn it off," Kagome said, choking on her words.

Inuyasha hit the power button and faced the family. "Out, now!" he ordered.

They got up and left, bowing in respect. Mama left too, showing them out.

As soon as the door shut, she broke. She cried harshly, into her hands. Inuyasha very nearly panicked, holding her close and trying to make her stop. From that moment on the day seemed to be dragging by incredibly slowly, filled with sobs and hiccups and tissue boxes. While he did everything he knew would help, none of it seemed to be doing much good.

Mama came upstairs with a notice that they received a phone call, that the police were asking to have Kagome testify when the court date was set up, and that Kagome's friends were here. Kagome just shook her head, her face buried in his chest. The way she clung to him fully explained that she'd only been going on by pushing the thoughts of those men out of her head, and that with them around, she would never calm down. A part of his heart always stopped beating when she was hurt, in any form of the word, and at the moment it seemed half of it went dead.

Just as soon as the sun set, she became more hysterical, both begging and screaming at them, at times threatening. He didn't hear the individual words after so long, but instead, he heard her fear and anger lacing the words. The most he could do anymore was simply hold her and let her cry herself out, so he kept holding her, wishing there was something else he could do.

He didn't look up again at the picture she was making.

~*~ That Night ~*~

She wasn't sleeping well.

Well. . .She hadn't been since the incident, but now was worse. Just knowing Inuyasha was there let her sleep soundly, only whimpering from time to time. But now she held herself rigidly, shaking, and clung to him.

It was funny in a twisted, dark sort of way. The moment they kissed the first time, Inuyasha could literally feel himself growing more possessive of her, more protective, even obsessive at times. When he found her in that alley, he felt it grow again, becoming twice as strong. Now he felt it again, but this time with a gradual loss of control. He had no doubt at this time that if something happened and he lost his soul to his demon blood, he would still protect her and not ever lift a claw towards her.

She meant too much to him, to both his soul and body. His thoughts of slaughter had thankfully slowed down, and now he could practically plan what he would do, in what order, to which man.

Correction - to which beast.

They weren't humans. They couldn't be. Humans were born with an innate sense of right and wrong, and always leaned more towards the right; it was their nature. Which stood to reason, if only his reason, that the humans who were evil were not truly human. At the very least, their souls were corrupted deep in the bowels of hell and sent into human bodies, taking the place of a rightful human soul sent from heaven.

These beasts would later grow continuously more malicious until at last they did unspeakable things, such as setting up raids, murder without reason, and rape. These were the ones that. . .How did Mama describe it? . . . They were "executed" within a "prison" by a number of ways. The "death sentence". It seemed ridiculously overdone and useless; if they deserved to die why wouldn't they let the person or people they wronged do the killing? It was more fitting that way, more ironic. Killed by the very people you harmed.

It's what Inuyasha wished for. If ever he did anything to harm Kagome, in any sense of the word, he wished it would be her that killed him. It was this form of thinking that allowed him to forgive Kikyo's arrow so easily, because she thought he had wronged her. It wasn't necessarily okay, given Naraku's betrayal, but it was tolerable.

And that was okay.

In her sleep, Kagome woke slightly and whimpered, her arms tightening around his chest. He did likewise, reaffirming his hold on her, hoping it would reassure her that he was here and wouldn't leave. That her dreams were just dreams and couldn't harm her. She didn't settle at first, not until he kissed her hair and whispered to her, "I'm still here."

It seemed to work a little. Perhaps. . .perhaps he could help her more. "Kagome, what's happening? Where are you?" he asked, very quietly.

She whimpered. "I. . .don't. . ."

"Tell me where you are."

"It's. . .an. . .room, there's a. . .a window. . ." She jerked in her sleep. "Don't let them. . .touch me," she whimpered.

"I won't. Look around, Kagome. I'm here with you."

She shook her head. "No. . .they. . ."

"Look for me."

She was quiet for a moment. And then, "I see you. . ."

"Yes. Now listen. I'm coming. They won't touch you."

She shuddered. "Yes, I. . .I see. They. . .they won't. . ."

"They won't touch you. Watch me, Kagome, and only me."

She settled a bit, relaxing. "Inu. . .yasha."

"Yes. I have Tetsusaiga; do you see? I've lifted it. They're already backing off. See me, Kagome? I've swung it. They're gone now. It's just you and me."

She shivered, once, and then settled completely. "Inuyasha. . ."

"I'm here. Look, I'm coming closer. I'm helping you up. Do you see? We're leaving. We can fly for as long as you want now."

He glanced down at her and noticed her smile then. "Flying. . .with you."

"Yes." He released one hand from his grip on her and stroked her hair, softly. Just light enough for it not to bother her, perhaps give the feeling of wind.

Her smile disappeared a moment, then returned. "You can. . .kiss me," she said.

A part of him leapt up when she said that. It was something he missed greatly. Though she probably meant his dream form, he couldn't stop himself from maneuvering until his mouth touched hers.

And she didn't flinch.

Considering it was dawning already, he could safely say that this was the start of a nice day.

It was still a nice day when she awoke, smiling. She snuggled into his chest, a feeling which always made his heart go a bit faster. And then her eyes opened and she looked up at him.

"Inuyasha. . ."

"Kagome." He ran his hand through her hair. "Good morning."

"It's morning?"

He nodded. "You slept well."

Her smile grew a bit. "I had a nice dream."

"What was it about?"

"You," she said, sitting up. "You saved me."

He rolled onto his back and linked his fingers under his head. "Did I?"

She grinned. "You know very well you did. I heard you talking to me."

"It must've been your dream," he teased. "I didn't say a word all night."

"You mean to tell me," she said, lying on her side with her chin on her hand, "that you didn't tell me we could fly for as long as I wanted?"

"Yep. I don't fly."

"It felt like it to me."

"Now you're suggesting I took you out of the room and flew?"

She giggled. "Don't be ridiculous."

"And hearing me talk to you in your sleep isn't?"

"No," she said, shoving his shoulder. "But that's because one, it's a dream, and two, you really did talk to me."

"Nope, sorry. You've got the wrong guy."

"Dog-boy."

"Human-girl."

She laughed and touched the tip of his nose. "Cutie."

He blushed and sat up. "I am not a cutie!"

She sat up, too, and grabbed his ears. "Then what would you call these?"

"Tools!" he snapped, pushing her hands away.

She giggled again. "That doesn't mean they're not cute."

"Feh!" He looked away, crossing his arms.

He saw her hand in his line of sight, and then she was turning his head towards her. She kissed him then, and he couldn't help but hold her close when she did.

"You are cute," she said.

"Not that again!" he said, wishing he could back up and hide his face.

"You are," she pressed. "But besides that. . . You're also a complete jerk."

He snorted. "Right."

"So you're a cute jerk."

Had he the nerve to say what he was thinking. . .

"A cute jerk who's also very sweet when he isn't a jerk."

"How far are you gonna go with this?"

"A cute, sweet jerk. A cute, sweet, strong jerk. Cute, sweet, strong, caring jerk. . ."

He was getting a headache. "I like how you arranged them," he said sarcastically.

She laughed. "Inuyasha, for all these reasons and more. . .I know you spoke to me last night."

"Back to that again!"

:End Chapter:

Heh. Poor Inu's getting so flustered. Sounds like Kag's getting better, hehe. Hope you liked this one. I had to add the cuteness at the bottom or it technically wouldn't be in the right genre. Clever Inu, talking her through her dream. Isn't he clever? Ya know, I had more planned for the whole "Inu finds Kag" scene but decided against it. Didn't wanna get hate mail, erm, e-mail.

Inuyasha's thought of "not okay but tolerable and that's okay" I repeated for a reason. Because I really think he'll think like that and live by it, and thus think it quite a bit. Also kind of proving the point that he does believe in it.

The picture Kagome was making on her computer? I already have it drawn. However I still don't have a scanner and therefore you can't see it that way. Plus it isn't done yet so mwa ha ha, you won't see it for a while yet! Next friday is when I'm going back to Arizona, to my computer, to my scanner. . . And whent that happens, I can scan the picture properly. I would've copied it onto Paint, and I did try at first, but I suck with Paint.

:Blows up Naraku: Innit lovely how he splatters? Mwa ha ha!!

Naraku: I do not deserve this!! I do NOT deserve this!!

Me: Hahaha, funny. Tell me another one. :Frees Onigumo from Naraku: Now you go live a happy life with Kikyo, kay? I need her outta the way. . .

Onigumo: Ki. . . kyo? :Blinks: You mean she's still alive?! YIPPEE!! :Tries to find her:

Naraku: Not fair not fair not FAIR!!

Me: Mwa ha ha!! :Blows up Naraku again:

See ya!