InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Circus Red: caged ❯ capter 2 ( Chapter 2 )

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

A/N; The plot thickens.

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

Kagome slide the front door closed behind and slipped of her shoes, replacing them with a pair of fuzzy black and purple slippers waiting for her next to the door. She sighed ends of the day are really hard, even though it's only three o'clock the day feels done, so its done.

“Mom, I'm home.” She called dropping her school bag by her shoes.

“I'm in the kitchen.” She called after her, “are you hungry?”

“Not really.” She said sitting down at the kitchen table, watching her mom pull something out of the oven.

“But I baked cookies.”

`So she's trying to tempt huh?' Kagome thought. “Not hungry.”

“I'd wish you would eat more often honey? It's not good for you if you skip meals all the time.”

“Ah yes, cookies are the healthiest of options?”

“It's better than nothing.” She said handing her a cookie. “Here, eat it.”

“But I don't want to eat the cookie.”

“I'll eat it!” her little brother Souta came running into the kitchen, grabbed the cookie and ran out again chasing his soccer ball. “Thanks mom!”

“Souta, what did I say about playing soccer in the house?”

“I can't remember.”

Kagome chose this moment to escape to her room. She loved her mom to pieces, but honestly didn't like sweets and it seemed that's all her mother made. It's a wonder her teeth haven't fallen out yet.

Closing the door to her room behind her, she made her way over to her vanity, and mirror. She spotted her target, a bottle of very powerful makeup remover. She grabbed it and went into her bathroom. Every day she came home and washed her mask off, and found her natural beauty again. Her whole life was a mask. A game she was playing, tricking the others around her. She'd started it along time ago, it was serious now. She couldn't go back. Kagome couldn't just suddenly become normal again, although secretly she longed for it. She was too deep into her own lies and deceit. At first it was a game, how she suddenly changed from a girl who was smart, witted and funny, to a twisted creature toying with those around her. She longed to be normal, but sometimes it was just too much fun to watch those around wait for her next move, to wait to be next in her string of fun.

Kagome laughed at her thoughts as she pulled her hair up into a ponytail and slipped out of her school uniform. She padded across the floor of her bedroom in nothing but her underwear and socks. She twirled around a bit, enjoying the crisp cool air on her skin that came in through her cracked open window. She shivered slightly at last and pulled a tight green sweat suit out of her dresser and slipped it on.

Leaving the protection of her room, she walked down the stairs, her mother and brother still arguing in the kitchen. At the front door she slipped on her jogging shoes and ran out of the house. She walked to the top of the tall shrine stairway, bending backwards, forwards, side ways and any other which way she could think of, working out all the little kinks that could threaten her jog.

Inhale

Exhale

Inhale

Exhale

She fought to lose all thoughts in her mind focusing only on the rhythm of her breath. She came to a steady calm and made her way down the stairs, out onto the street and started jogging. Whenever Kagome did this she never knew where she would end up, the meditation placed her in a sense that only her instincts and natural born power could control. The entire jog, often her eyes would be closed and her mind blank. This was how she trained her power. To let it control her. To trust in it, so it will trust her.

Kagome jogged and she jogged until her muscles began to quiver in pain, burning sensations shot up through her body her, breathing tight and difficult. She slowed and opened her eyes, taking a moment to survey her surroundings; she blinked shocked to realize it was dark out side. How long had she jogged this time, she didn't even know where she was. Flashes of green, yellow, red, blue, orange, and every other rainbow color caught her attention. She turned, and across the street was the circus, the very circus she ran away from earlier.

`So this is about earlier?' she thought, knowing her power had a mind and attitude of its own. `Alright, let's go see what the fuss is about.'

She walked up passed the ticket counters, no one was in them of course, and the employees were probably off doing something else anyway. She sighed and turned towards the tent. She could here several people screaming, and the ringleaders voice, thanking the audience for there attendance. Soon crowds of people started filing out of the tent. Whispering among themselves, so even adults are afraid of monsters, she mused. Kagome walked around the back of the tent. Knowing that whatever beef her power had, going to be against Red.

“Come on, let's get this over with, I really don't want to be here that long.” She sighed, walking through props, crates, and cages, avoiding circus staff as she went. Finally she found the cage she was looking for, Red's cage, but he wasn't in there, a man was in there with a scrub brush and bucket of foamy water, cleaning the floor of the cage. Red was nowhere to be found.

She ducked around a crate, traveling deeper into the backstage of the circus. If she wasn't careful she could get lost back there. Kagome sniffed the air, the smell of food cooking caught her attention, looking around she spotted a trailer, with the broad side of it opened up, tables and chairs crowed around the trailer, covered by a large awning. A cook stood inside, busying about, moving from one pot to the next. A few people sat at the tables, occupying themselves with their food. Kagome recognized some of them as the performers, from the show.

The sound of people laughing, wafted over the grounds, coming from behind a row of trailers. A few of the people looked up, toward the sound, shook their heads and sighed, bringing their attention back to their food. Walking to the noise she slipped between two trailers, and peeked around the back of them. A group of twenty or so people stood parted around a metal post in the ground. A man stood apart with a hose, connected to a ground source of water, the spray of the hose was hard and gushed out at the post. Someone was drowning beneath the spray, coughing as the water was aimed at the face of the being. Four chains pulled taunt from the post lead the furthest away possible from the cruel spray of water, but to no avail. The creature was wet.

The spray stopped and Red was revealed, bent over on his hands and knees, coughing up water, fighting to breathe properly once again. The man with hose ventured closer holding a large bucket, overflowing with soapy foam, and bubbles. Once the man was as close as he dared he tossed the contents of the bucket over Red's form. He hissed as the soap found its way into his eyes. The spray of water started once again, rinsing away the soap. The show was over, Red was clean, and the crowd dispersed. They left the demon at the post to dry.

Kagome crept out of her hiding place, peeking around to make sure everyone was truly gone. She slowly stepped forward, not wanting to alarm Red, after this was a chained creature, he had to be dangerous. Red's back was to her, crouched down on his haunches, as she got closer he suddenly went into what looked like a seizure, alarmed she stepped back, only to be caught in a light spray of water that flew off of him.

“Eww.” She groaned “It smells like wet dog.”

The wet dog heard her and turned around snarling. His teeth flashed fangs, and a deep growl escaped his throat.

She paused, taken aback by the growling, when she realized her position. He's chained up; I'm not, nothing to be afraid of. “Hey, you're the one who got me wet.” She pointed out the angry demon. “Don't be mad at me, I didn't do this to you.”

Red snapped back to senses, normal, untainted vision returned to him once again, that day. The girl from earlier stood in front of him yelling at him for getting her wet, his temporary state of confusion lifted, and he started to comprehend what was going on. This girl must have some sort of special power, which makes his curse go away.

“What are you?” she asked, looking down at him as she got closer.

Red eyed her suspiciously, how could she not know, when she had powers of her own.

“I'm a dog demon.”

“A demon huh? I thought those were only myths.”

“Your naïve then, I am a half-demon. My name is Inuyasha, and you're here to release me right?” he looked at her, his golden eyes shining, with a look of sadness.

“Hey, no wrong ideas, there's probably a reason your chained up like that, and I don't like to tempt fate.” She said backing away, `this thing, Inuyasha, actually thinks I'm here to rescue him.'

“Hey you!” a voice shouted, Kagome turned her head, and there was the same security guard as before, barreling behind the trailers, intent on catching her this time.

“Crap.” She swore, taking off into a sprint. Running to get away from the officer again. `This was not her day.'

A/N: thanks for reading.