InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Spider's Web ❯ Chapter 5

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Tokyo University Hospital

He was lost in a dark cavern. Above him was a crack in the rock that let in a small, steady stream of light and in the distance was the sound of dripping water. These surroundings were eerily familiar. He had spent a portion of his childhood trapped in this place, surrounded by the stench of death that followed him no matter how far into the cavern he went. The smell was so thick he had feared he might suffocate from it until he’d found her. Her scent dispelled the stench of death. Her voice drew him back into the light from the darkness. It was only when he’d heard her voice that he felt he might be able to survive. Her voice was so young and innocent and reminded him of the good things in life and he could almost forget why he was there. Her voice had kept him sane.

And when it had disappeared it took with it his hope.

*---------------------------------------------------------- -----------*

Inuyasha groaned as he began to come too and found himself lying on his stomach, surrounded by several nurses. One woman was attempting to stick an IV in his arm and he growled low in his throat, causing her to back up. Another was alternatively placing bandages on his back and cleansing the gauges caused from flying shrapnel when Kagome’s car had exploded.

Kagome rolled her eyes. She’d been sitting on the bed in the next ER room, the curtain between them pulled to the side so that she could see while they checked her over. “You were hit by pieces of metal and your back’s cut up,” she explained to his unasked question and jumped down, coming into his line of vision. “You were brought to the hospital to get bandaged up.”

“Keh, ain’t nothin’,” he retorted, snorting at the idea he might be seriously injured. “It’ll be gone by tomorrow anyway.”

“You could at least act appreciative,” she chided and then sighed, remembering that he had gotten hurt while saving her – she should act a little appreciative herself. “Do you need to call anyone? I’ll call them for you.”

“No.”

She shrugged. “Whatever. My mom’s here, so we’ll take you back to the dorm if you want or at least back to the soccer field to get your car. The doctor had them give you some pain killers, so you might be a little hazy for the rest of the day.”

“Not if it was a human’s dose,” he corrected, sneering. “I ain’t exactly human, if you hadn’t noticed.”

“Again, whatever.” She waved her hand dismissively. “Look, I want to say thank you. I am grateful for what you did and want you to know that if you ever need anything, no matter what it is, you can come to me and I’ll do my best to help.”

"Feh."

Kagome rolled her eyes, trying to not let him get on her nerves. He saved you. He saved you. He saved you, she thought repeatedly and gave him a last glance before going to find her mom who was talking to two police officers. One of them nodded to Kagome when she approached and headed past her into the ER. She assumed he was going to talk to Inuyasha and mentally wished him luck. Sango and Miroku were sitting in the waiting room. As soon as she was spotted, her mother hugged her again, nearly squeezing her to death.

“Kami be blessed,” Nagare muttered, kissing her daughter’s cheek. “I’m so glad you’re alright. When the police called and said you were headed to the emergency room, I thought…” she stopped and hugged Kagome tighter. “Well, it’s not important what I thought. The important thing is that you’re unhurt.”

Kagome smiled, her eyes beginning to water from the fear she’d initially felt and the relief that she now felt to still be alive. “Mama, I’m fine. Inuyasha protected me.”

“Higarashi, can you tell me what happened?” The second police officer asked after allowing the mother and daughter to have their reunion.

Kagome nodded, pulling away from her mom. “I was going to my car to get our cooler during a break in the game. I unlocked the car from a few feet back, with the keychain, you know. I noticed Inuyasha…eh…Kyousei Inuyasha is a classmate of mine from Tokyo U. Anyway, I noticed him headed back towards the soccer field and was about to greet him when he just grabbed me and jumped into the air. That’s when I heard the explosion. He put himself on top of me so I wouldn’t get hit by the debris and the next thing I knew, everyone from the field was running towards us and my car was on fire.”

The officer jotted the notes down and then looked up at Nagare. “Is there anyone you know of who might have a grudge against your family or against your daughter? Is there any reason you can think of that someone would put a bomb in her car? Have you been threatened in the past?”

Nagare frowned. “No, I don’t think so. Well…there was…but that was so long ago.”

“Anything you can tell us might help find out who did this.”

“Well, when Kagome was little…we lived in Osaka then…someone broke into our house. I was here with my youngest at the time. My father-in-law was ill and I was caring for him. My husband and daughter were at home when some man broke in. He killed my husband when he tried to stop him. Kagome came down the stairs because of the racket and he tried to kill her as well. Thankfully the police arrived in time to stop him, but…well, he was never found.”

"Not even a suspect?”

“He left no evidence; no finger prints or DNA so they had nothing to go on. It was a year or more before Kagome could give a description and even then…Well, she was only four and she was rightfully traumatized. Even with her statement they were never able to find a suspect and the case has been cold ever since.”

“I wasn’t really much help,” Kagome confessed softly. “All I could really tell them was that he had glowing red eyes and the first officer on the scene only caught a glimpse of him before he disappeared.”

Sango and Miroku had approached during the conversation and Miroku put a hand on her shoulder. “Do you think this same person may be responsible for what happened today?”

“Well, I wasn’t with the police department when all this originally happened, but I do remember hearing about it. One of the original detectives had this theory that he was after something specific…some pearl, if I remember correctly. Nothing was missing from the house, so he must not have gotten it. If he wanted it badly enough, he might come after it again.”

“Even after all these years?” Sango asked, frowning.

“He may not have had the opportunity before,” the officer replied and then shrugged. “Or it could be someone completely different.”

The first officer came back down the hall looking agitated, followed by an equally pissed off hanyou. Guess Inuyasha was his usual charming self, Kagome thought, a slight smirk pulling at her lips. He nodded for his partner to join him aside from everyone else while they discussed things. Inuyasha hung back from the rest of the group and Kagome watched him from the corner of her eyes.

When the officers joined them again, the first spoke. “We’ll contact the university’s officers and help them tighten security on campus. Also, we’re going to have a car keep an eye on your family’s shrine for the next few nights to see if there’s anyone suspicious hanging around. If you can think of anything else, please let us know. We’ll contact you if we need you.” They bowed and went their own way down the hall.

“So, you still feel like giving me a ride to the soccer field?” Inuyasha asked, finally joining them. “I’ll get my car from there.”

“Yeah, sure, if you think you can drive,” Kagome replied.

“I’m fine.”

They were about to walk out when Kagome’s phone rang. She dug it out of her purse and answered, her quickly draining its color. “Kaede-san? You…wait…I can’t understand you…Take a breath…slowly, Kaede-san…Where are you? Yes, of course, we’ll be right there.” She hung up and looked at her mom, her expression worried. “Something happened and Kaede-san is nearly hysterical. She said she was at Kikyou’s building. You don’t mind if we go by there, do you?”

Miroku and Sango shook their heads while Inuyasha rolled his eyes. “What happened? Her mother asked, brows furrowing.

“I don’t know,” Kagome admitted. “I could barely understand her. She was crying and saying something about Kikyou.”

Nagare put her arm around Kagome’s shoulder and led the group quickly out of the hospital and to her car.

*------------------------------------------------------------ ---------*

Apartment Building

When she saw the building surrounded by police cars flashing blue and white lights, Kagome knew something horrible had happened. Before the car had even come to a stop, she’d jumped out, running towards the front of the commotion. Kaede was waiting for her at the front of a police barricade and embraced her the moment she was close enough.

“Kagome…Kagome…” She muttered over and over. Her normally tanned skin was pale and cold to the touch and for the first time since she was a child, Kagome could see the wrinkles that lined Kaede’s mouth, showing her age.

“What happened?” She asked softly. “Where’s Kikyou-chan?”

The older woman shook her head, fresh tears filling her eyes. “Oh, Kagome…They said a neighbor heard a scream and commotion coming from Kikyou’s apartment and went to check on her. The door was open and Kikyou was…someone had…she’s dead, Kagome.”

“No. No, you’re lying,” Kagome accused, pulling away and shaking her head though she knew Kaede would never say such if it weren’t true. “Who? Who would want to hurt her? She hadn’t done anything…why?” She sobbed and held onto Kaede who cried silently, taking comfort in the fact that her favorite patient and friend was there.

Nagare turned from the group and wiped her eyes. Kikyou had been only a few years older than she and, like Kagome, she had developed a close friendship with the woman over the years.

Kaede allowed herself a few moments comfort and then dislodged herself, taking the Kagome’s hands in her own. “Kagome, I’ve already told the officers this…Kikyou never stopped searching for that man and she was very close to finding the answer. Her research and notes are missing. That’s all that’s missing.”

Kagome frowned, confused. “She never said…How? Even the police have stopped looking.”

“It was only a theory at first and she didn’t want you to have to think about it,” Kaede explained. “But she gave me a copy of everything, just in case.”

“Just in case…” Realization crashed down over her and Kagome squeezed her eyes shut, taking a shuddering breath. “I’m so sorry, Kaede-san. This happened because of me; because she wanted to find that man…It’s my fault…I’m so sorry.”

“No, dear, no. Kikyou knew what she was doing and the risks involved, but she couldn’t rest knowing she’d let someone so horrible get away. She may have quit the force, but in her heart she knew her duty was to serve and protect. This was her way of continuing that duty.” She put her hand up and cupped Kagome’s cheek. “Honor her by knowing that. She would be disappointed if she thought you blamed yourself.”

*------------------------------------------------ ---------------------*

Tani no Niji Iori, Takayama, Japan

The week after Kikyou’s funeral service, Kaede asked Kagome and her friends to join her at Tani no Niji Iori to discuss Kikyou’s research. While everyone had been surprised Miroku, Sango and Inuyasha had been invited as well, the older woman wouldn’t say why they needed to be there.

Kissing her grandfather and mother good-bye, Kagome boarded the train to Nagoya with her friends and settled in for a long ride.

"Hey there little one," said a cheerful voice from her doorway. She turned to see a smiling woman, about her mother's age, standing there, waiting for permission to come in. She was very pretty. Like an angel, she thought and found herself smiling in return. Her dark hair was pulled back in a braid, but she could see that it was long, falling below her waist.

"Hi." Her own voice was rough and cracked from misuse. "Who are you?"

The woman came in and sat on the edge of the bed, her smile still there, but not as bright. "I met you once before, but we were never introduced. My name is Tenreino Kikyou. I'm Dr. Kaede's onee-san."

She turned to get a better look at her, scrunching her face up thoughtfully. "You're the woman with the strange gun...you scared Nimetsuki Kaijuu away."

Kikyo nodded. "That was a miko's gun. I'm a miko, you see." She brushed the hair out of the little girl's face.

Kagome stretched and opened her eyes, blinking at her surroundings. Where was she? Oh yeah…Slowly she started remembering why she was on the train in the first place. Everyone was lost in their own thoughts, it seemed. Sango and Miroku sat on one side of the compartment; Miroku was staring out the open door into the hall and Sango was flipping through a magazine. She and Inuyasha sat on the other side. She sat in the corner with her head leaned against the wall while Inuyasha stared out the window.

Seeing she was awake, Sango smiled and pulled a deck of cards out of her backpack. “Go fish?” She and Miroku nodded while the hanyou ignored them completely and continued to watch the landscape go by.