InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Children of Light ❯ Chapter 4 ( Chapter 4 )

Kagome slowly feels herself regaining consciousness. The fuzzy fog in her brain not wishing to loosen its hold on her quite yet. Swimming past the thick groggy darkness, her eyes fluttered open.

"Ugh" Kagome groans as she turns onto her side, "What happened, where am I?" She asks herself as she rubs the back of her head and winces at the now tender and sensitive area there, only slightly registering a faint stinging in her palms.

Suddenly, recalling the events of the night, before she had been knocked unconscious, Kagome bolts upright from where she had been reclined only moments ago.

"Wha?" She quietly cries out, quickly realizing that she was now sitting, tucked under a brown fleece blanket, on her own couch.

"How…how did I get here?" She wonders. Now a little unsure as to whether or not she had actually been chased and attacked by a group of thugs, or had simply fallen victim to one of her wild daydreams. She gently touches the back of her head again, and winces at the slight throbbing.

"Nope, definitely not a dream" she thinks.

Carefully rising from the couch, she notices that no lights are on in her apartment and that it is still dark outside. The only faint visible light streamed in through the balcony door windows. She looks up just as a dark shadow moves on the balcony outside.

Screaming, Kagome falls back onto the couch. Shaking her head, she tries to dispel the disturbing image from her mind. She looks up again and quickly realizes that there is no shadow. No figure was sitting on her balcony railing like she had been so sure she had seen moments ago. Her heart thrummed wildly in her chest.

"Geez, how many times is my heart going to start racing like this? I'm going to have a heart attack for sure is this keeps up" She mumbles quietly in an attempt to calm herself.

Regaining her courage, she tentatively walks towards the balcony, clearly able to see that no one was out there. But to further prove to herself that she had just been a victim of her over active imagination and that there was nothing to fear, she steps out onto the dark balcony.

The warm summer breeze caressed her face like a familiar friend as Kagome closes her eyes, breathing in the sweet, fresh, night air.

"What's going on?" She looks out into the brightly lit city, hoping for answers.

Kagome couldn't understand it, but she could feel that something just wasn't…right. Her life had taken on a whole new edge since she had awoken that morning on her balcony. Something had felt `clicked on', but she wasn't sure what that `on' was. Just a stirring, somewhere, in the back of her mind. And right now, right at that moment, she could swear she could feel someone near her.

It didn't frighten her, so much as comfort her, in an odd way. But why, she couldn't say. But there was something… someone…close by. She could feel it, tingling softy on her skin, letting her know that they were close. It was a similar feeling she had experienced throughout her life, in fleeting moments.

"Who are you?" she whispered questioningly into the night air.

The sound of something heavy falling over, nearby, startled her.

Kagome shivered.

~~~~~~~~~~~

"Shit!" Inu Yasha growled quietly to himself. What the hell was wrong with him!? Getting clumsy and tripping over that stupid flowerpot like that. Luckily the girls' upstairs neighbor was out for the night. And what was with this girl? Inu Yasha scowled. How did she know he was there? And why…why did she seem so familiar. He knew she looked like a girl he once knew, someone he'd rather not think about, but that wasn't it. It was something else. Something more.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~Flashback~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Inu Yasha came upon the struggling woman just as the drunken thug reached out for her, causing the girl to fall onto the cold, hard pavement. He snuck closer just as the woman screamed into the man's face and jammed her knee into his stomach.

"For a human, she's pretty feisty". Inu Yasha thought as he crept his way closer to the two guys who were cheering their companion on.

Just as the woman hit the wall, Inu Yasha had finished disposing of the two on-lookers by bashing their heads together, knocking the men unconscious, but not before they were able to give a frightened cry of warning as their eyes briefly landed on his inhuman appearance.

Inu Yasha had grinned wickedly, baring his fangs. "Boo!"

The remaining thug, who had thrown the woman, had just enough time to turn and run two steps before Inu Yasha slammed his fist into the man's face. The man flew back several feet before colliding with the alley wall and falling into an unconscious heap among the overturned garbage cans.

There was a slight sound of movement as Inu Yasha's ears quickly swiveled to pick up the direction of the noise. The woman. She had hit the wall and was now slowly sliding down it. Her eyes were fluttering closed.

"Shit! That bitch is not going to pass out on me!" Inu Yasha growled as he leapt towards the girl. Just as his eyes were brought into view of her own, a mere moment before she fell into unconsciousness, he caught a glimpse of sparkling blue, and a spark of recognition, of something familiar, ignited in his heart.

The most disturbing part though, was not that he somehow recognized this girl, who he was certain, he had never met before, but the fact that he could tell, in that brief moment before her eyes closed, she had recognized him as well. He could almost feel the spark of recognition travel into every cell of his body, nudging at him, and it made all his hairs stand on end.

Those eyes. Like…blue sapphires.

Inu Yasha didn't know what to do. All the anger and frustration he felt towards this woman had melted immediately upon seeing those eyes. His heart overwhelmed him at the moment. The pull of the moment so strong, he almost staggered beneath the weight of it. His breathing had become short and shallow.

There was no time to think about this now. He needed to get her out of there. But bring her where? Who was she? A moment of rare genius hit Inu Yasha as he realized he could look for the woman's identification.

Looking around, Inu Yasha spied the woman's purse laying a few feet away. He quickly ran over to retrieve the purse and returned to his spot by the woman. He quickly opened the small black leather bag.

Quietly grumbling to himself, Inu Yasha pulled out a case of make-up, tube of lipstick, pack of gum, house keys, cell phone, change purse, comb, cell phone charger, a couple of tissues, a pair of sunglasses, some feminine items he never wanted to see again, as his face flushed briefly with embarrassment, and finally, a wallet that carried her credit cards and most importantly, her identification.

Inu Yasha's eyes widened in disbelief. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he never would have believed that this woman could have fit all that crap into that tiny purse! It defied the laws of physics for heavens sake! Was she carrying a black hole in there somewhere, where half the stuff hid in waiting? And why did she need all that stuff anyways? It seemed a bit like overkill to him.

Pushing away the mystery for the moment, but making a mental note to ensure he thought about this mystery in greater depth, at a later time, he pulled out the young woman's identification.

Inu Yasha quietly read the woman's name, "Kagome Higurashi".

"Ka-go-me" Inu Yasha softly sounded out her name again.

Why…why did that sound so familiar? He snapped his attention back to the pile of unconscious men that were slowly stirring to wakefulness. Not wanting to waste any more time with the useless thugs, he quickly glanced down at the woman's address marked on her I.D.

"Good. We're not far from where she lives".

With that decided, he collected the woman's purse and scattered contents, and gently picked up the unconscious girl as he cradled her in his arms. Her head rested against his chest as her hands instinctively clutched and twisted his shirt in her hands. He looked down at her and briefly pondered the mystery of how perfectly she fit in his arms. Closing his eyes, Inu Yasha inhaled her scent. It was an enticing scent of lotus blossoms and cherries. He could wrap himself up in that scent, or eat it. Something about it soothed his agitated mind.

He slowly opened his eyes, his senses beginning to fog and haze over. He shook his head and gave a little snort to blow out the last of her scent. Why was it affecting him this way? Not wanting to waste anymore time, he jumped to the top of the building and carefully carried this woman, this Ka.go.me. back to her home.

He spotted her apartment and was relieved to discover that not only did she have a balcony, but as he landed quietly on the railing, noticed that the patio door was slightly open as well. After scenting the air and ensuring that there wasn't anyone else in the apartment, Inu Yasha carried her in and gently lay her on the couch.

Upon entering the small room, however, he was immediately overcome by the strong confinement of her scent in the room. He needed to get out of there and quick. His body was crying out to him, trying to get his attention, but he refused to listen.

"Stupid woman" he grumbled as he began walking back to the balcony. He paused as he noticed a brown fleece blanket rumpled on the floor, next to the couch. Without thinking, he quickly retrieved the discarded blanket and walked back to the unconscious girl as he tucked the soft blanket around her.

"What the hell am I doing?" He wondered as he walked back out onto the balcony. He jumped up onto the railing and crouched down as he watched the girl on the couch. His eyes more then capable of seeing all her delicate features in the dim light of the surrounding city. He struggled to understand the play of emotions running rampant in his head and reeking havoc in his heart.

His ears twitched when he heard the girl slowly rise to wakefulness. He heard her groan softly and caught her quiet question, wondering where she was. He noticed her stiffen and flinch as she reached for the back of her head. Luckily, it was just a little scratch, nothing serious, as he had checked to make sure before bringing her home. She slowly struggled to stand. Inu Yasha could hear the strong, steady thumping of her heart. He followed her with his eyes from his place on the balcony, just as she looked up and…screamed.

A heartbeat before the girl looked up to make full eye contact with him, Inu Yasha, realizing his predicament, jumped straight up and onto a balcony two floors above. His heart beat wildly as he heard her scream. He plastered his ears to his head to muffle the noise, berating himself for being so careless and stupid.

He knew he had moved too fast for her to really see him. It was just a flash. How many times had this happened to him? Too many to count. They would think that he had been a shadow. A trick of the light. Humans preferred it that way. They didn't want to really know what kind of things lurked around in the night. Oh sure, they loved reading their scary fiction novels and freaky movies about werewolves, demons, vampires and other things that went bump and crunch in the night. But for a human to know that those things were real, well, they just couldn't handle it. At least, most couldn't. Miroku and a few strange others were an exception. But even those humans had extenuating circumstances. Nope, most humans were much more content thinking they had nothing to fear from their childhood horror stories.

"Keh" Inu Yasha thought, "If only they knew".

He was stirred from his thoughts by the sounds of the girl, Kagome, getting closer to the balcony. He listened as the balcony door slid open and heard her cautious steps approach the railing. He strained forward to hear her, giving her mental points for being so gutsy, but she was being so quiet. Like she was afraid to disturb the silence that had fallen around them like a cloak. Then he heard it. A soft pleading whisper. The one thing he was not expecting to hear.

"Who are you?"

Inu Yasha shivered.

So caught off guard and shocked by her words, he stumbled and knocked over the stupid flower pot he had unknowingly crouched beside.

"Shit!" He swore quietly to himself.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~ End Flashback~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Did she really know he was there?! But how? How could she sense him? How!?! How dare she have the nerve to ask who he was, he quietly argued to himself.

"Who the hell are you?" he mumbled, continuing the internal battle going on in his very confused head.

~~~~~~

Kagome gasped as her breath caught in her throat. "Who…who said that?" she quietly asked, attempting to keep the shaking from her voice.

~~~~~~

"Shit! Fuck! Shit! Fuck! Shit!" Inu Yasha screamed in his head, as he smacked a hand repeatedly against his head.

"I can't believe I said that out loud! Shit, I'm getting dumber then that ass Miroku!" he continued to silently curse himself.

He bit his lower lip hard and unknowingly drew blood as he began to shake lightly in straining concentration on the woman below him.

~~~~~~

Kagome strained her ears as she listened intently for any kind of reply. After a prolonged silence, she simply couldn't help herself anymore, as she still continued to feel the presence around her. She needed to know what it was, this familiar presence that scraped at her senses, more desperately then she had ever needed to know anything in her life.

"I know you're out there" She whispered softly, "I…I can feel you" she added a little hesitantly. Wondering if she was a fool for talking to herself.

~~~~~~~

Who the hell was this woman!? How the hell did she know he was there? What was he suppose to do? He couldn't show himself to her…could he? But why would he even want to? He didn't care about this weak human…right?

Closing his eyes, Inu Yasha inhaled a deep calming breath to steady his shaky nerves. But before his mind had caught up to the actions of his body, Inu Yasha dropped down one balcony, landing silently, so that he was directly overhead of the girl. He kept to the deep shadows and watched as she leaned over the balcony railing, straining to hear a reply. Any reply that would be given to her from the darkness.

Before escaping back into the darkening shadows of the city, before she would even have a chance to fully draw her gaze to him, Inu Yasha dropped down on the balcony directly below him. Her balcony. Landing on the railing, just off to her left side where he would be the most deeply shrouded in dark shadows. He whispered two words that carried easily to her ears. By the time her brain even had time to react to his quick and unexpected appearance, he was already gone. Swallowed up by the concealing night.

~~~~~~~

Kagome stepped back abruptly as a shape dropped down from overhead and landed quietly just off to her left, concealed in the shadows. A shape that moved so fast, all she saw was a dark fuzzy blur. But she caught the impression of something flowing, like a cape perhaps, and had to blink her eyes a couple of times when she thought she had seen the unmistakable shadowed image of two triangular ears. Hadn't she seen that in the alley? She thought she had only been delusional.

"Wha..?"

Before any coherent thoughts could be formed, two words carried themselves softly to her ears. Her eyes widened at the sound of that voice. That rich dark timbre, that whispered two simple words, which opened a flood gate of emotions into her heart.

"…a friend"