InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Club Refuge ❯ Like Sand in a Hourglass... ( Chapter 2 )

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

Club Refuge ch.2

Kagome's unfocused, stormy blue eyes stared blindly at the opposite wall of the basement.

She couldn't remember how long it had been since she'd eaten anything, drank something, or even since she'd seen daylight.. Hours came and went and she just sat there on the cold, hard concrete floor, half praying he wouldn't come down those worn creaky wooden, steps, and the other half wishing he would, just so he could finish her off once and for all. But Kagome didn't blame her step dad for everything. She hated him, but she blamed her mother and Souta. They were her family, her own flesh and blood, and they had left her there alone to rot away. They just had to die and leave her. Slowly driving her more crazy with each and every passing moment that went by that she spent alone in that basement.

Kagome's head jerked up at hearing him call her name.

“Kagome...” his cold, smooth, mocking voice she knew only too well echoed through the door located at the top of the stairs. Kagome heard the faint `click' signaling that he had unlocked the door. “Come out, come out, wherever you are...”

She had to hide...

Looking around the cold, dark basement, Kagome quickly hid behind a bunch of boxes piled against the wall.

Kagome covered her mouth with her hand to keep from crying out, trying to keep her breathing steady and squeezing her eyes shut, trying desperately to block out what was happening. Tears welled up in her eyes. Kagome shivered, curling herself into a ball, silently willing herself to be invisible.

He was coming for her again and she knew all too well what was to come. She didn't think she could survive another beating out of his drunken rage...

Slamming the door open, Kagome could hear his heavy footsteps descending down the stairs. He cursed as he made his way to the floor, and Kagome was no where in sight. He let out an amused chuckle and decided to play along. He already knew exactly where she was. He could smell her fear...

“Kagome, your mother misses you.” He taunted as he walked over to a random box and flipped it over, its contents spilling out over the floor. “She wants you to join her in hell.” He spat venomously before bursting into a whole new fit of wicked laughter as he pretended to look for her. “Are you.. here?” With a swift flick of his wrist, he flipped over her mother's old, heavy, antic dresser, hit the floor with a loud crash, causing Kagome to flinch and cry out slightly.

“Come out, Kagome...” He made his way to Souta's old bed and flipped it over with seemingly little effort. “You can't hide forever...”

He finally came to a halt where Kagome was hiding behind boxes and trunks of her mother's and Souta's things. He silently bent down beside her, whispering softly in her ear. “There you are...”

Kagome felt a chill run down her spin. She could smell the stench of alcohol on his breath as he grabbed her by her hair and harshly threw her to the floor and out from her hiding spot. Kagome barely had time to catch herself before roughly connecting with the hard concrete, knocking the breath out of her lungs.

He stood towering over her fragile figure in all his drunken glory, his usual glass of whisky in one hand. He took hold of her hair again and hauled her to her feet.

A large hand reached out to roughly slap Kagome across the face. Her head flung to the right from the force of the blow, and already, a red outline began to appear across her cheek. She tried her hardest not to let the tears that stung her eyes to fall as his blows fell upon the teenage girl over and over again.

Kagome fell to her knees in anguish. She felt the tears threaten to fall as they stung at the back of her eyes, but she wouldn't let them fall. She couldn't. Crying only served to fuel his anger. He bent down and yanked her head up, causing her to wince. He looked at her a few moments before his grasp weakened. He gently caressed her bruised cheek as he developed a far away look in his eyes.
Kagome didn't like that look. She breifly wondered what he could be thinking before the doorbell suddenly sounded through the large house, causing him to turn back to her with his previous angered glare. “Shut the fuck up and don't even think about trying anything.” He spat, his eyes daring her to disobey. With that, he stood up and left the basement.

After she was sure he was truly gone, Kagome hurriedly scrambled up the steps and pressed her ear to the door to listen.

“-has been a reported disturbance. Would you mind if I take a look around?” Kagome heard a deep unfamiliar voice say. “No, of coarse not,” she heard her step father's familiar one reply in forced indifference. Kagome heard heavy footsteps of boots on the polished wooden floor on the other side of the door, growing more distant and she could distinctly hear more talking, but she couldn't quite understand what was being said.

After a few moments, the foot steps grew louder and she could understand their conversations again. “Where does this door lead?” came the unfamiliar voice again, this time just outside the door. “Oh, that's just an old storage closet, nothing important.” There was a rattling of the door knob and Kagome was at war with herself of what to do, her heart beating rapidly in her chest. Half of her wanted to run back down the stairs and hide, the other was screaming at her that this could be her chance to escape.

The door creaked open and a police officer stood in the doorway beside her step father who didn't look too pleased. The officer looked in surprise to see that there was actually a basement instead of a closet and then his eyes widened once they landed on Kagome's beaten form. He reached for his gun only to find it wasn't there.

A loud `bang' sounded followed by a piercing silence.

A few drops of red spattered on the steps in front of the officer as he slumped to the floor. Kagome couldn't hold in her scream as the corpse's glazed eyes stared back into hers, blood slowly seeping out from beneath his body and a slight stream of blood ran down the corner of his mouth. Kagome stared in shock, unable to think straight.

“Now, look what I've had to do.” She faintly heard her step father say. “This is all your fault... If it wasn't for you, this man would still be alive...”

Something in Kagome snapped and she suddenly tried to make a break for the front door, bolting past her step father. Her shaky hands grasped the door knob, fumbling with it slightly before throwing it open, but before she could escape, she felt his strong hands yank her back inside. Kagome fought them with all her might.

Suddenly, another man dressed in uniform appeared from the police car parked in the driveway and quickly made his way to the house.

Kagome noticed her step dad pause as he caught a glimpse of the other cop. While he was distracted, Kagome kicked her captor and ran out the door and to the cop as fast as her legs could carry her.

“Wait inside the police car, I'll handle this.” He told her reasuringly. Kagome nodded and climbed into the police car. The cop went inside the house, his gun in hand, Kagome waited anxiously in the police car, waiting for him to return.

There were three more loud bangs and a few moments later, the door opened again, but it wasn't the cop standing in the doorway. Wiping the blood off his hands, using the end of his shirt, he looked at Kagome as a preditor would it's prey. Kagome hurriedly jumped out of the car and ran as fast as she could and never looking back.

He didn't chase after her. He didn't need to. He just watched her go and smiled. He would find her one way or another...

~ * ~

“You know, she's actually kinda pretty...”

Inuyasha rolled his eyes at Kouga. “Feh, yeah and she's probably gonna try and sue us first thing when she wakes up.”

“Now, now Inuyasha, why do you always have to assume to worst of people? ” Miroku lightly scolded.

Inuyasha just rolled his eyes.

“Would you cut it out you three?” a feminine voice cut into their musings. “It looks like she got hurt pretty badly and looks really beat up. Her whole body's covered in cuts and bruises. She'll probably be in a lot of pain when she wakes and it'd probably be best if you guys just left her alone to rest. Besides, she doesn't look too intimidating or backstabbing to me... And she definitely doesn't look like your typical hard rock fan girl...” Sango defended.

They all started to back away, Inuyasha muttering a quick, “Whatever.”

She had been muttering things under her breath, but none of them could really understand what she was saying. Their attention turned back to the strange unconscious girl who laid on the couch of their break room just as she began to stir and regain consciousness.

~ * ~

Kagome groaned painfully as she woke and tried to open her heavy eyelids. The first thing to register in her mind was that she wasn't alone.

Kagome hurriedly sat up, ignoring the searing pain that shot through her body in protest. She tried desperately to blink away the spots that appeared before her eyes. As her vision started to clear, she could barely make out the figures in the dim light of the room. “Where am I?” she asked weakly, still not too sure of her surroundings, but strangely felt safe. Her voice sounded rough and a little tired. She tried to swallow, her throat feeling raw and a little sore.

“You're at the night club called `Club Refuge'.” Sango spoke up. “You got hit over the head, so I took you to the back room.” Kagome felt relief wash over her. Her body still felt weak and bruised, but she was glad to have gotten away. She had feared that escaping had all been a dream. She half expected to wake up back in the dark, cold basement of the place she once called home... She was so tired of waking up in that nightmare... Waking up at a night club was definitely an improvement. Then again, anywhere would have been an improvement...

“So, I'm Kouga, what's your name?” Kagome blinked at the dimness of the room, trying to focus on the boy with long black hair and inhumanly blue eyes before her.

“Uh, Kagome.” She managed to reply.

“Kagome,” Kouga repeated as if he were trying it out. He flashed his best smile and took her small hands into his. “What a lovely name. Perfect, for such a lovely woman such as yourself...”

Kagome blushed a fierce shade of red. She wasn't used to being complemented... Quite the opposite, really... “Uh, thanks, I guess...”

Someone from the shadows of the dim room spoke up. “Man, Kouga, you're really starting to sound like Miroku..” Kagome tried to see who was speaking, but it was too dark and she couldn't see anyone. Why did that voice sound familiar? Another boy with black hair pulled into a small low ponytail and bluish-purple eyes glared into the shadows before beaming cheerfully at Kagome and flashing a huge grin. “So, where do you live Kagome? Anywhere close?” Miroku asked politely.

Kagome briefly noted déjà vu before turning back to the question he had asked. Kagome thought a minute. She couldn't tell them the truth, she didn't want to go back home. She still didn't quite know if she could trust them yet. They seemed friendly enough, but... Kagome knew all too well that looks could be deceiving.. She couldn't go to the police; she didn't want anyone else to get hurt. Two men had already died trying to protect her. She wouldn't be able to bare it if another person died for her sake. Her step father's words came back to her. “Now, look what I've had to do. This is all your fault... If it wasn't for you, this man would still be alive...”

Kagome just wanted to put the whole thing behind her and so nobody else would find out. Maybe since he let her go, he wouldn't come looking for her... Fat chance. Kagome knew he would come looking for her. It was only a matter of time... The only reason he let her go was because he knew she was too chicken to go to the police...

“I-I'm looking for my uncle.” Kagome finally replied as she pulled out the envelope and held it out to the boy. “There's his address. Can you guys tell me where to find it?” she asked hopefully.

Miroku took the envelope and looked at the address with a grim expression. “Forgive me if I'm wrong, but didn't the man who lived in that house die in a fire a few nights ago?”

Kagome paled and the other girl nodded sadly.

“I'm sorry. Is there anyone else you can call?” Sango asked hopefully.

Kagome knew it had been her step father who killed her uncle. He had been the one who started that fire, no doubt, knowing that he was the first person she'd go to. Her uncle had been the only real family she had left... “No.”

“Look, I'm sure we can work something out..” she said. “My name's Sango. This is Miroku and Kouga.” She said gesturing to the two boys beside her who smiled flirtatiously at her. “And that's-”

“And that smelly mutt over there in the corner is Inutrasha.” Kouga finished before Sango could say anything else as if the words left a bad taste in him mouth.

Suddenly an empty pop can came flying from the shadows, smacking Kouga up side the head. “Ow! What the Hell!” he shouted as he clutched the back of his sore head. He turned around to glare at the smirking Inuyasha slouching lazily in the recliner through the shadows. “Mutt, I swear if you don't cut it out I'll-”

“You'll what?” Inuyasha challenged.

“I'll... uh...” Kouga stalled. “I'll pound your ugly face in!” he finished lamely.

“Keh, and you'll be lookin' for a new gig...” Inuyasha retorted. “Besides, I'm not afraid of you! You couldn't even hurt a fly if you tried!”

“Yeah? Well, who ever made you the leader of the band anyway?!”

“I started this band, don't forget! And without me, there wouldn't even be a band!”

Kagome suddenly realized the reason why they all looked so familiar and why this `Inutrasha's' voice sounded so familiar. They were the band that was playing on stage before she got hurt. Kagome suddenly viewed these people in a whole new light.

Miroku nervously laughed and turned back to Kagome who stared wide eyed. “Heh, just ignore them. They can be idiots sometimes...”

Both Kouga and Inuyasha stopped their heated argument in mid-insult and turned they're glares to Miroku. “What'd you just say?!” they shouted in unison.

Sango rolled her eyes. “Smooth move, moron.” she commented dryly.

Kagome was captivated by the group before her.

Her family was rich and she'd been home-schooled her whole life. She'd never really had friends before. After her mother and brother died, Kagome had been locked away in the basement and wasn't allowed to come out very often. She had barely even met anyone her own age before. Her step dad was always drunk. After her mother died, that was when he snapped and went crazy... Dangerous even. If he found her... She was as good as dead.

Kagome couldn't help but feel hopeless.

No matter what she did, where she went, or who she was with, he'd find her eventually...

~ * ~

A/N: Well, I don't really have too much to say, but for those of you who are waiting for me to update on my other fics, I'll hopefully be able to post them soon, but we'll just have to see how it goes. I haven't given up on them, just to assure any of you who were wondering. I really don't have much of an excuse other than I'm being lazy.. ¬_¬ Yeah, um sorry..