InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Fall From Grace ❯ Chapter 6

Ch. 6

Kagome checked her watch for what seemed like the hundredth time. Sango was late, which was no surprise. She was probably making out with Miroku. Meeting with Kagome for their routine Sunday brunch was probably the farthest thing from her mind.

She sighed and was just about to order some food to go when she spotted her dark-haired friend bouncing through the café entrance. She rolled her eyes, knowing she'd been right on the money with her earlier assumption.

"Hello best friend in the whole world who's not going to be mad at me because I was a few minutes late!" She said in rush, taking a seat across from Kagome. Kagome glared at her before breaking into a small smile. Sango beamed at her. "Blame Miroku and his busy hands!" Kagome grimaced. "Like I really needed to know," She muttered.

Sango picked up her menu, eyeing the choices. "Everything sounds so good!" She exclaimed. Kagome grinned. "You always say that." She pointed out. Sango peeked at her over the top of the menu. "I do, don't I?" She shrugged. "Well, anyways, how was your weekend?"

Kagome quickly looked down at her own menu, pretending as if it was suddenly of great interest. Sango, however, wasn't fooled. She lowered her menu and stared hard at her friend.

"Kagome?"

Kagome reluctantly raised her gaze until she was looking into Sango's liquid brown gaze. "Something happened, didn't it?" Sango accused, leaning forward. Kagome shrugged. "Well, not really…" She said not so convincingly. Sango cocked her head to the side. "Not buying it," She told her. She knew something was up.

She didn't know how to go about telling Sango what had almost happened between her and Sesshomaru. It was as if saying it out loud would make it true and Kagome wasn't sure that was something she was ready to face.

Kagome opened her mouth to blurt out the entire story when a short, stocky woman with platinum blonde hair walked up to their table, a bright smile on her face.

"My name is Christine and I'll be serving you today. Are you ladies ready to order?"

Kagome sighed in relief at the momentary interruption, glancing down at her menu. After the waitress had taken down both their orders, Sango turned expectantly to her suddenly shy friend.

Kagome gave a resigned sigh. "I had sort of a…moment with Sesshomaru." She mumbled, hurriedly taking a sip of water. She dared to peek up at her friend, expecting the worst. Instead of blowing up like she most often did, Sango sat back in her chair.

"What exactly does that mean?" She asked carefully. Kagome shifted in her chair uncomfortably. "Well, umm, we kind of…almost…kissed, I guess." She found herself fumbling over the words. Hearing them out loud made her feel ashamed, like she'd done something terrible.

Sango's eyes widened, but she remained silent. That made Kagome feel even worse. She'd much rather have Sango yell at her than face her silence.

"I don't know why it happened. I'm almost sure I didn't want it to happen, but I…we…" Kagome dropped her head into her hands miserably. "How could I let it happen?"

Sango quickly gathered her composure. She was certainly surprised by her friend's news, but she could see how much it was bothering her.

"Oh, Kagome. It's not as bad as you're making it sound," She told her reasonably, patting her hand. "I guess it's only natural that something like that would happen with the two of you living together and all." Kagome lifted her head. "You think so?"

Sango nodded her head with a small smile. "So you two almost kissed. You didn't kiss him so what's the harm?" Kagome bit her lip, knowing what the harm was. Sango knew too. She squeezed her friend's hand.

"It's because of Inuyasha that you're so torn up about this, isn't it?" Kagome hesitated before nodding slowly. Sango sighed. "Kagome, I know how you felt about Inuyasha, how close you two were, but…" She paused, looking away. "He's gone and you're here. You can't expect to just shut your heart off. I'm not saying that starting something with Sesshomaru is a step in the right direction because it's not, but I do think you should start living again."

Kagome slid her hand from beneath Sango's grasp. "I'm not shutting my heart off," She said defensively. "I just haven't found anyone I'm interested in." Sango gave her a hard look. "What you meant to say is that you haven't found anyone like Inuyasha." Kagome winced. Sango had hit the nail right on the head.

"That's not true," She said quietly, the words ringing false to her own ears. Sango just looked at her, not saying anything. After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, Sango spoke up. "If it's not true, then name one guy you've been attracted to since Inuyasha." She challenged. Kagome opened her mouth to respond, but no words came out. The truth was there hadn't been anyone she'd been attracted to since Inuyasha…except for Sesshomaru.

Kagome frowned, the thought taking her by surprise. Was she attracted to Sesshomaru? Or was she confusing her feelings for Inuyasha with his brother? She could see a little of Inuyasha in Sesshomaru and maybe that was why she'd almost kissed him.

If that was true then why did she have the nagging feeling that it was a lie, that she knew exactly who it was she'd almost kissed?

~~~~~~

Inuyasha leaned against the doorframe, exhaling a cloud of thin smoke. The bedroom was all shadows and darkness, due in large part to the thick black drapes blanketing the windows. He knew beyond the panes of glass was a world filled with sunlight and happy people. He was no longer a part of that world.

Kikyo stirred under the black satin sheets, murmuring in her sleep. Inuyasha took another drag from his cigarette. He should be asleep also, but sleep eluded him. Every time he closed his eyes, images of Kagome plagued him.

Giving a sigh of frustration, Inuyasha threw a black t-shirt on over his loose fitting gray jogging pants and went out into the main hall, shutting the door to his living quarters softly behind him. He knew he was more than likely the only one up in the middle of the day, but that suited him just fine.

He descended the grand staircase and headed left down along the hallway to a set of heavy double doors. He pushed the doors open and stopped, surprised to see that he wasn't the only person who'd decided to get in some training time.

A lithe figure in dark red workout shorts and a matching belly-baring tank top stood in the center of the room where a large punching bag hung from the ceiling. Her punches were quick and precise and Inuyasha stood back, admiring her skill. After a couple more jabs, she turned to Inuyasha.

"Haven't seen you here in a while," She said, grabbing a water bottle from the table near the door. Inuyasha smirked. "Well, Kagura, when you've got natural skill like me, you don't need much practice." She rolled her eyes and punched him in the arm. Inuyasha winced, rubbing his arm. "I see you've been training quite a bit."

Kagura gave him a small smile. "I'm an Elder for a reason," She said with a wink. "Yeah, that and because you're one of the oldest fucking vampires around." Inuyasha joked. Kagura frowned. "It's not polite to talk about a lady's age." Inuyasha kept his mouth shut, just giving her a knowing look. Even though she only looked to be around twenty-five, he knew she was well over two hundred years old.

"Alright, you little punk," She challenged, "Since you think you're such hot stuff, let's have a go. Choose your weapon of choice." She gestured around the room, where various weapons of all shapes and sizes were mounted on the walls. Inuyasha grinned, nodding his head in acceptance. He rubbed his chin in mock thoughtfulness.

"Hmm…I think I'll take the…kitana." He said. Kagura raised an eyebrow, but remained silent. Although Inuyasha was adept at handling all kinds of weaponry ranging from sniper rifles to broadswords, he was at his deadliest with the kitana. He walked over to one of the wall mounts and plucked the lightweight sword from its scabbard, brandishing it with a quick flick of his wrist. Kagura chose a straight edged sword, that being her specialty.

They walked to an area of the room covered with bright blue mats and stood facing each other. Inuyasha kept one hand on his sword while the other was placed behind his back. Kagura, however, gripped her sword tightly with both hands.

"Ready?" She asked, her eyes focused. Inuyasha smiled and nodded his head. "Let's go."

Without warning, Kagura lunged at him, her sword moving in wide arcs toward him. Inuyasha deftly sidestepped her attack and brought his sword down on hers, the sound of clashing metal ringing throughout the room. He quickly brought the kitana up and thrust it towards her, but Kagura saw the attack coming and jumped back.

"If only you would use such focus when it came to other things," Kagura said as she twirled out of reach and aimed a strike at Inuyasha's midsection. He knocked her sword back with his own. "What's that supposed to mean?" He asked, his breathing heavy as he dodged another one of her attacks.

Kagura grunted as she back flipped, narrowly missing a slash by the kitana. Although they were only training, all Coven members were taught to train as if they were involved in a life and death battle.

"You shun the traditions and rules of the Coven as if they don't apply to you," She told him with a quick thrust of her sword. Inuyasha's eyes flashed as he leaned back out of reach. "They don't." He said firmly, coming at her with a barrage of thrusts. Kagura grit her teeth as she desperately tried to keep up with Inuyasha's pace, barely blocking his attacks.

"You're a member of the Coven and therefore bound to the Coven's traditions."

"Not…by…choice." He punctuated each word with a hard jab of his sword. Kagura staggered back; managing to catch her balance but not before Inuyasha unarmed her with a flick of the kitana. Her sword flew from her grasp and landed a few feet away. Inuyasha brought the sword back and quickly brought it forward, stopping just short of her neck. Her chest was heaving and her short black hair was plastered to her face as sweat dripped from her pores.

He slowly lowered the sword. "You lose."

Kagura lowered her head. "You've gotten better since our last match. I guess I was wrong about you not training enough." Inuyasha gave a light shrug of his shoulders, replacing the kitana back on the wall.

"You know, Naraku wants you out," She said suddenly. Inuyasha looked at her before grabbing a towel from a plastic bin in the corner. "He's not the only one, though," She continued, catching the towel he threw to her. "All of the Elders want you out." Inuyasha sighed, kneeling down on his haunches.

"Why should I care?" He muttered. Kagura stood over him, her hands on her hips. "Because, Inuyasha, if the rest of the Elders decide to boot you out, you're on your own. You won't get he protection of the Coven, no living arrangements, nothing. And that would mean you would be fair game for the Dark Clan."

Inuyasha rose to his feet, his eyes hard. "I do pretty good on my own," He stated. Kagura shook her head. "This world, the world of the Immortals, is a whole other league. You can't just go off on your own and expect everything to be fine. There's the problem of not being able to be in direct sunlight, needing a steady supply of blood, oh, and let's not forget about what would happen to you if a member of the Dark Clan found you and figured out you were an ex-member of the Coven."

"Feh." He mumbled in response, not wanting to hear another bullshit story about the Dark Clan, a gathering of vampires who'd broken off from the Coven. It was rumored that the rogue vampires, dubbed the Dark Clan by the Elders, were dissatisfied with the Coven's long-standing decision to remain underground, therefore keeping a sort of harmonious relationship with those of the living. No one but the Elders themselves really knew the story behind the formation of the Dark Clan, only that their only aim seemed to be the eradication of all Coven members.

"What's with all this shit about the Dark Clan?" He asked. He could see Kagura's gaze instantly change, becoming guarded and unreadable. "I mean, you Elders are always talking about how dangerous they are to the Coven and how they need to be stopped, but you never tell us why. Why do they hate the Coven so much?"

Kagura threw her towel in the tall laundry bin and walked towards the double doors. "You're on patrol tonight so be ready when I call." She said over her shoulder before leaving the training room. Inuyasha sighed. He should have known he wouldn't get any answers out of her. Even though he and Kagura shared a bond of sorts, whenever he brought up the topic of the Dark Clan, she would automatically shut down, refusing to talk.

He walked over to the punching bag, deciding he needed to work out more than a little pent up frustration.

~~~~~~

"I'll call you later!" Kagome called out, waving as Sango climbed into her metal gray Volkswagen Jetta. The elevator doors closed and she pressed the button for her level. She yawned loudly as the elevator made its slow ascent. After brunch, they'd decided to head to the mall for some much needed shopping. It was now well past eight o'clock and all Kagome wanted to do was drop into bed. The elevator doors slid open and she stepped out, readjusting her packages as she dug in her purse for her keys.

She pulled them out triumphantly and made her way down the row toward her parked at the very end. Since the mall was closing, there weren't many cars left in the parking deck, the few remaining mostly belonging to mall employees. Kagome was suddenly very aware of her surroundings, a chill creeping up her spine. She frowned, not knowing what brought on this sudden fear. She looked around the empty parking area, not seeing anything unusual. Nevertheless, she found herself walking faster, her eyes searching about cautiously.

She breathed a sigh of relief when she finally reached her car, reaching out to push the key into the lock. Her relief was short lived, however, when she was suddenly grabbed from behind, a hand clamping down over her mouth.

Startled, Kagome dropped her keys and packages, her eyes wide with fear.

"Don't try anything stupid, girl." A cold voice whispered in her ear. Kagome shivered, the voice seeming to slither all around her. She nodded her head quickly. The hand moved from her mouth down to her throat where it tightened. Kagome let out a small whimper, knowing she was going to die at the hands of some lunatic rapist.

"I can feel your heartbeat," The voice whispered. Kagome could tell that it was a man by his deep rasp. "The more scared you get, the faster it beats." Kagome closed her eyes and prayed that someone would come and help her before the unthinkable happened.

"No one will come." The voice said as if reading her thoughts. "Not before I drink you dry."

Kagome had the insane urge to laugh at the man's words. What the hell did that mean?

"Please, just let me go!" She whispered frantically, her fear heightened threefold. She didn't even want to imagine the horrors she would endure if…

She blinked, realizing she was free of the restraining hand. She raised a hand to her neck, and turned at the sound of scuffling.

Kagome gasped and ducked as a body was tossed over the car, landing on the other side with a hard thud. She closed her eyes, feeling as if she'd been thrown right into the middle of a horror movie. She heard footsteps approach slowly and opened her eyes, realizing she could still be in danger. She quickly searched for anything that could be used as a makeshift weapon, her eyes falling upon her forgotten keys. Attached to the key ring was a Swiss army knife she'd gotten for a camping trip a while back. She snatched up the keys and flipped open the knife. She rose to her feet swiftly and brandished the knife in front of her.

"Don't take another step or I'll-"

The words stuck in her throat as she stared dumbly at the person standing before her. He looked so much like…

She shook her head. It couldn't be. The man standing before her did, indeed, have long silvery white hair, but his eyes were blood red and he was sporting a nasty looking pair of fangs. Wait, fangs?

He reached beneath his long black leather jacket and produced a thin metal sword. Kagome took a step back, thinking he intended to use it on her, but realized his gaze was locked on something behind her. She turned just as the body she'd seen tossed just minutes before jumped up onto the hood of her car and hissed down at her. Kagome assumed he was the man who'd attacked her earlier. Just like the man standing behind her, his appearance was drastically altered, his eyes crimson and his sharp fangs glistening.

"Get back." The man in the black leather jacket ordered her. Kagome hesitated before doing as he said, placing herself well out of harm's way. The man on her car hissed and jumped down, watching his opponent warily. Kagome couldn't keep her eyes off the man in the leather jacket, not wanting to believe what her heart was telling her.

`It's him.' A voice inside whispered.

Her attacker lunged at the man, but he was too quick, spinning gracefully out of reach. Quick as lightning, the man suddenly appeared behind her attacker, his sword pressed against the man's throat. Without hesitation, he sliced the thin metal clean through the man's neck, beheading him. Kagome watched in disbelief as the body slumped to the ground before disintegrating into a pile of dust.

Calmly, the man sheathed his sword and slowly turned to her and Kagome let out a small cry. Gone were the dark crimson eyes and deadly looking fangs. Dark amber eyes looked back at her. Here was the face of her savior, her love.

"Inu…yasha." She whispered before blackness engulfed her.

a/n: yeah! another chap done! thanks for the reviews…i luv u guys! hope u all like the story so far and i'll see ya next chap!