InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Dashed Hopes ❯ A New Charge ( Chapter 14 )

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

Thanks for the reviews you guys! I'd love them even more if I could READ THEM!! Mm.org, won't let me in to read my reviews, so I only get to see them when I can get a friend to copy and paste them all in an email. Keep reviewing, thought! I'll find a way to make them work. This is one of my favorite chapters. A darker side to fic isn't all that bad...right...?

RANDOM FACT: Keade means ‘maple leaf’, did you know that?

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Disclaimer: What do you think? ::looks at lawyers:: FINE! I do not own the wonderful story created by Rumiko Takahashi! (Inuyasha, doy!)

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Dashed Hopes

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--- Last Chapter ---

Kagome may end up betraying her friends to get to Naraku.

She would end up betraying Inuyasha.

And she no longer felt that that could be helped.

--- End of Last Chapter ---

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Chapter 14: A New Charge

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Inuyasha left the room with purple eyes full of hurt and confusion. Kagome had made it clear that she was no longer comfortable with him being in her room, and no matter how much it pissed him off to be ordered out of a room in his house, he’d leave because Kagome wanted it.

‘What’s going on? She woke up screaming, and when I tried to comfort her, she winced like my touch hurt. She seemed scared of me,’ Inuyasha thought. “I told you before, and I’ll say it again, I will never hit you Kagome. You don't have to be afraid of me.” He whispered to the door.

“I’ll protect you,” He added as he walked down the hall.

Kagome had, of course, heard his declaration, but it didn’t make her feel any better. In fact, it made her feel worse. Tears pricked her eyes. She didn’t want to hurt him, or Sango or Miroku either, but it couldn’t be stopped.

They, including the stubborn Inuyasha, had accepted her, Kagome Higurashi, as one of their friends. And she felt she didn’t deserve that.

Kagome curled up under the covers and willed herself to sleep. Her reddened eyes closed reluctantly, but she did sleep.

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Sometime during the early autumn night, Kagome awoke. What she felt she needed to do was now clear.

The idea, the knowing, just filled her as soon as she reached consciousness.

Souta and Shippou didn’t deserve to have their life dragged down by her mistakes. Inuyasha, Sango, and Miroku didn’t deserve to spend so much of their time protecting her.

Kagome stood and walked silently over to her side drawer and slipped it soundlessly open.

The velvet felt cold and dark in her small hands as she slipped the folds open. Lifting out the pink sphere, Kagome slipped the crystal chain around her slender neck.

Within minutes, the room was empty. All clothes were clean and folded in piles on the made bed. A folded note rested on top on the fabric.

And Kagome was gone.

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“Kagome?” Inuyasha said gruffly as he tapped on the door. Keeping his anger checked at being bossed around in his own home, he called out a little louder, “We need to talk.”

Oh, those four evil little words.

Inuyasha sighed and rubbed the lingering tiredness out of his eyes as he shoved the heavy wooden door inward.

“Kagome-!"

Sesshoumaru, Souta, Shippou, Rin, and several of the building’s servents shot their heads up as a single word resounded through the halls.

“SHIT!”

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Kagome pulled the brown trench coat tighter around her frail form against the wind.

She was wearing the same green skirt and white blouse as the day she left Kyoto and found the newest version of what she called life.

And the Shikon-no-Tama was hidden safely under her collar.

Autumn was chilly, but Kagome didn’t want to take the coat she had bought with Sango with her. So, instead, she had borrowed one of Inuyasha’s.

The worn, rough, cloth felt good on her tired body and it smelled strongly of its owner. A tangy, masculine, musk scent.

Kagome trudged through the crowd of Tokyo on her tired feet. She had been wandering the streets since she'd left the Youkai castle, at four in the morning.

Ebony wisps of her hair whipped around her downcast face as she shuffled along the pavement, not noticing the eyes of a nearby pedestrian.

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--- My dear friends and family,

It is no longer safe for me to stay in your company.

I love you dearly, my Souta and Shippou. Soon, if everything is as I
hope, you can go back home to be with Mama and Jiisan. I hope you
understand that I never wanted you to be dragged into this, try to
keep your innocence as long as possible. I’ll miss you and pray that
you will always stay safe.

Sango, you were my first real friend, did you know that? Sure I had
Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi, but they never got me like you did. I feel so
close to you that I would have been the proudest person in the world
if we had been sisters. Please donate the clothes to the SHA. I’ll
miss you, and I’ll thank Kami everyday for meeting you.

Miroku, you have no idea how much you helped me. My new identity
allowed me to once again have a taste of a normal, successful life,
even if it only lasted so short a time. Stay safe, you really are a good
person and deserve nothing but pure happiness. I’ll miss you and pray
that you figure out your feelings.

Sesshoumaru, my dear ice prince of a boss, please thaw out a bit,
please? Give Rin a hug and a kiss from ‘Auntie Kag’ for me and tell
her to be a good girl.

Inuyasha, ---

Inuyasha frowned at the many scribbles and unreadable parts.

--- Inuyasha, hope you don’t miss your coat too much.

With love straight from my heart to all of yours,
Kagome ---

Sango slid down the wall she had been leaning on and the rest of the adults gapped at Kagome farewell letter.

“Why?” It didn’t matter who said it, all were thinking of it and everyone echoed the question.

“I know,” Souta stated as he glared at something lying on the wooden floor. A crumpled piece of blue velvet.

“Souta, no!” Shippou cried when he realized what Souta was doing. “You can’t! We promised Kagome that we would never tell anyone, no matter what.” The little boy pouted.

Souta looked down.

Inuyasha glanced between the youngest males in the room. “What’s going on and why did Kagome leave?” he asked out loud. ‘Why Kagome? You could have stayed and been kept safe from Naraku, we would have protected you. I would have protected you.’

Souta sighed. “I promised Kagome,” he began unsure.

“Go on, boy,” Sesshoumaru commanded firmly.

Souta chewed his bottom lip in nervousness. “Naraku, well, Shippou and I always knew what was happening,” he started at the beginning. “And we did nothing to stop it!” Several of them flinched as the young boy slammed a fist into the floor and stubborn tears streamed out of his eyes.

Shippou nodded to show he felt the same way.

“We-we-we went to visit N-Naraku at his company two weeks ago.” Souta stuttered.

“He promised to take us and Okaa-san to the zoo and lunch,” Shippou added miserably.

Souta nodded. “Kagome told us to stay near the front of the building when she went to go find him.” Souta hung his head, “She seemed so cheerful just at the thought of seeing him.”

“Yeah,” Shippou added his part.

Souta looked Inuyasha, someone he’d grown to trust and respect in the short time, straight in the eyes as he continued. Inuyasha gazed steadily back at the runt.

“We don’t know exactly what happened, but we suddenly heard shouting and two shots fired from a gun. Kagome came running out of his office with blood on her face and a jewel in her hand.”

“Its pink, and on a chain with crystals on it.” Shippou explained.

“We don’t know how Kagome got it, but she made us promise not to tell anyone,” Souta confided. “Naraku did something to someone and its what finally knocked some sense into that sister of mine.”

“She finally left. And she took us with her; we had to travel all over the place to reach that shelter place. That’s when we met you.”

Miroku nodded, all serious and calm, and Sango stared at the two boys.

Inuyasha looked grim. It explained why Naraku was going so far to scare Kagome into coming back to him. Kagome took that jewel, something that must belong to him, and he wants her, but also wants her to pay.

But a lot was missing.

What was the murder and blood that Kagome had confided in him about? Was there really a gun involved at that last meeting or did the boys mistake what they heard?

Only one person could fill in the blank spots for him.

And that person happened to have stolen his favorite coat.

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Inuyasha stomped around town, glaring at anyone who refused to get out of his stubborn way.

“Where the fuckin’ hell is she?” Inuyasha yelled at nearby old woman as she passed him on the street.

She, of course, scuttled quickly out of his way and glanced worriedly over her frail shoulder.

Inuyasha was back to being his irritated self. He didn’t notice that he’d only grown arrogant again after Kagome’s disappearance.

Grumbling his way into the ice cream parlor that he’d taken Kagome and the gang to on her first day in Tokyo, he glanced around to find a seat.

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The bell that notified a customer’s entrance into the shop rang, but Kagome paid no attention.

The falling twilight didn’t allow much light into the corner booth that she sat in, but the light in her hands still entranced the young woman.

Even in the semi-darkness, the Shikon jewel shone with a proud brilliance, like a victorious knight smiling at a crowd of the saved villagers.

The chain still firmly clasped around her neck, Kagome kept watching the moving fog in the pink ball. Her cupped hand held it snuggly just below her nose.

“It looks beautiful on you,” a young man’s voice startled her out of her trance.

Kagome quickly fumbled the necklace back under her shirt and out of sight. She nervously glanced to her right, and followed her eyes up from the pair of feet standing beside her.

Kag could just see in her mind’s eye a menacing Naraku or a glaring cop.

But sapphire eyes met amethyst ones, and she knew she was safe.

“Inuyasha?”

“Yeah?” He mumbled as he crawled in beside her, anger instantly gone.

“Why did you find me?”

“Because,” he muttered stubbornly.

Kagome nodded.

“I know a little more about your past.”

Kagome’s face, at a loss as to why Inuyasha would still try and find her after he knew about her, crumbled.

Inuyasha scrunched his face up in frustration as he allowed her to bury her face into his shoulder. Amazingly, she did not cry, just took comfort from his warmth.

Sighing he slipped out to sit across from her in the lonely both.

“Thank you,” Kagome mumbled, “for finding me. But you really shouldn’t have! You’ll all just be happier if I left and took my problems with me!”

“Shut up.”

“What?” startled Kagome looked up into Inuyasha’s eyes to see a fire blazing behind them.

“Quit talking.”

Kagome glanced down. “Fine.” She answered dejected, too tired to argue back.

“You are going to get the damn idea of running away out of your head, come back with me to your worried friends and family, explain everything, and answer this question.” Inuyasha commanded arrogantly.

Kagome only nodded.

“Why, pray tell, did you leave me such a short goodbye in your letter?”

Inuyasha raised a questioning eyebrow, which only went higher when Kagome turned a pretty pink color.

‘Why is she blushing?’ he asked himself.

Kagome went a deeper red for a moment before going back to her normal color. “Well,” she paused searching for why she really did leave such a short message.

“Yes?”

“I didn’t know what to say,” she shrugged helplessly. Kagome had no idea why it was hard to write goodbye to Inuyasha in that letter. It just was, and she hoped she didn’t have to do it again; it was frustrating enough the first time.

Inuyasha chuckled. Kagome was entertaining when she was embarrassed.

So the two twenty-odd years olds sat in the booth, eating ice cream sundaes, for several hours. Most of the time wondering to themselves why it felt so awkward and comfortable when they spent time together.

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“Be glad Kagome,” Kagura whispered told the reflection of said young woman through the glass, “That I saw you first and not Naraku.”

Kagura watched a bit longer from her position across the street. She saw Kagome smile and laugh with the ebony haired man across from her.

“Spend as much time as possible, Kagome, with your friends and those that make you happy. You never know when Naraku will find you. I can only postpone it for so long.”

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Kagome finished telling what happened in Naraku’s office to the silent audience before her.

“So that’s what happened. That’s why I finally left,” she finished nervously.

“Kagome,” Sango whispered. No one should have to witness lives being taken away so brutally, especially two of them.

Inuyasha and Miroku grew angry at the bastard in their protective ways and Sesshoumaru simply nodded.

Now they knew.

“Um, Miroku?”

“Yes, Lady Kagome?” the name had stuck even after the Feudal Era Ball.

“Do you have,” Kagome asked hesitantly, “A phone that is untraceable?”

“Yes,” Miroku replied slowly, not understanding where this was going.

“Could I call my mother?” Kagome squeaked out, preparing for the unavoidable ‘are you crazy’ and ‘no’s that she felt coming.

“Sure,” Miroku chirped cheerfully.

Kagome blinked.

“Really?”

“Yeah.” And said cell phone (Government workers get the best gadgets!) was handed over to the joy filled Kagome.

Kagome crawled from the living room for a more private phone call.

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“Mama?” Kagome asked quietly.

“Honey!” The normally cheerful voice was now frantic.

“Yes, Mama, its me.”

“Where are you, are you all right, sweetie?”

“Of course.” Kagome was smart enough not to mention where she was in case the phone was bugged, but she doubted it would do any good. Naraku probably already knew where she was.

“Kagome, dear, I’ve missed you, we’ve all missed you,” her mother cooed gently.

“I know. I’ve missed you too,” now the tears were beginning to appear and slide down her cheeks.

Kagome was homesick.

Inuyasha heard the sniffling as he waited outside the door. ‘Damn women and their uncontrollable emotions! They’re embarrassing and should be controlled at all times. Kagome cries too often and too easily.’

Of course all the negative thoughts and arrogant behavior in the world couldn’t have stopped Inuyasha from entering the dark room and wrapping his arms around Kagome’s waist from behind.

Kagome right now needed support and protection.

And Inuyasha would give them both to her in as large a quantity as possible, because she was his friend.

Granted his emotionally unstable, insane, irritating friend.

But a friend nonetheless.

And Kagome didn’t object the move and just accepted it, taking all the support and warmth she needed.

And the friends stood there like that, in the middle of the dark room, as Kagome assured her mother that she and the boys were healthy and in safe hands.

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“She’s safe,” Mrs. Higurashi whispered as she hung up the phone. Tears slid down her cheeks and she stubbornly swiped at them. Her doe brown eyes deepened into an even deeper chocolate brown as she said it again, only louder. “She’s safe.”

Cleaning off her face, the loving mother took a deep breath and marched out of her kitchen.

Time to tell her father and Kagome’s friends.

It was about time they heard from their favorite blue-eyed female, and it was about time that it was good news.

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Kagome snuggled even closer to her source of warmth. Curling up into a tighter ball at Inuyasha’s chest, she had never felt so safe in all her life.

Inuyasha, not minding sleeping in the thickly padded easy chair, wrapped his arms protectively around his charge.

He’d protect her, no matter what.

He’d protect her.

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One of my best friends, Catty, loves fluff so I try to put some in every once in awhile for her. If you knew her, you'd be surprised she's a fluff lover...::means no offense::

Woot! Thanks Catty and Ev for helping me out with story!

So the past is explained! Next up: Naraku and Kagome’s encounter, although it may not come for another chapter or two.