InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Dead Famous ❯ News Report ( Chapter 22 )

Author's Notes: Dead famous and all other fics by Rose Frith (A.k.a. Rosefire1, Rosefire, Rozefire, Rosefyre) are © Copyright 2003. Steal any and I'll gut you like a fish. Seriously. It's happened four times now and I get dangerously mad each time. And don't try and pick arguments me, in a battle of wits you would be completely unarmed (that's if you're retarded enough to steal the story).

On a happier note: Merry Christmas!! I know I'm late and I was going to post this on Christmas day but >.< computer did a major crash and I had to reformat the whole operating system. Fortunately my personal files were still safe, but I lost all my programs and a lot of my music (nooooo…!)

But on another note, we have the puppy… and dear god is it insane. Breeder let it bite people, so now it bites ¬_¬ It doesn't hurt but it's not something we want it to be doing when it grows into a horse with fangs. Other than that it's a sweetheart ^_^ Obedience classes here we come!

Dead Famous

Chapter 22

News Report

"Shortly after failing to turn up to a press interview this morning, the limousine transporting the star Inuyasha to the conference was hijacked and held up on Hoka interstate. Inuyasha's short-term guest, Kagome Higurashi, was allegedly held at gun point and the original driver was killed from a gunshot wound to the chest. Police have disclosed little information at this point but have stated that they are speculating the motive for the attack was an angry rebuke for yesterday's boxing match loss."

"Your mother's on the phone."

Kagome jerked her gaze away from the television set in the detective's office to where Kikyo was stood in the doorway with a phone in her outstretched hand. For a moment the school girl regarded the device warily… she could almost hear what her mother was going to say the moment she said 'hello'. With a soft sigh she stood and retrieved the phone and waited for Kikyo to leave so she could be alone to hear the motherly rant.

Cautiously she sat back down and raised the phone to her ear. "Hello-"

"Come home." Was the barked order in response.

"But I'm ok, Mom, I'm at the police sta-"

"Yuka's mother rung me up this afternoon telling me that she'd heard my own daughter had been held up at gun-point on the news!" Mrs Higurashi sounded unsteady. "You were that close to being killed Kagome! - I don't care if it's ok now, I just want you home safe and sound with all body parts intact! What the heck's been going on down there?!"

"Mom - it's ok!" Kagome tried to placate her. She herself was feeling a great deal calmer than before. It was strange - what had happened on that quiet country road seemed more of a vague, distant memory… despite the fact that it had happened only a few hours ago. "Everything's fine. We're all ok-"

"Didn't somebody die?" he mother asked cautiously.

"Well… yes, the driver. But they got the man who did it and he's being interrogated right now." Kagome watched the muted news program with the police man swarming all over the empty road like ants on an ant hill. Every now and then she caught a glimpse of the white chalk outline on the tarmac. She turned her eyes to the floor. "Anyway, they assured me that this doesn't happen very often… in fact it's never happened before. Besides, Kikyo's topped up security tenfold - I'm probably the safest person in the world right now."

"That may be true but perhaps it's best you come home." Mrs Higurashi insisted gently. "You wouldn't have been in danger in the first place if you were back here at the shrine instead of out with a superstar."

"But everything's ok now." Kagome told her. "The lunatic is being held by the police so we're safe now." She wasn't going to tell her mother that the guy seemed to be working for someone else… that would only cause her more worry. "Can't I stay till Sunday? I promise I'll come home on Monday and never set foot in a limo again."

"Well…"

"Please Mama, I want to stay." Kagome pleaded.

"Are you sure?" Her mother asked gently.

Someone in the corridor outside knocked on the window beside the office door. She glanced up blankly to find Inuyasha plastered against the glass, pulling a face at her. She just stared at him flatly, wondering how she was supposed to answer that last question…

~*~

"So no one know who Jinko Aida is." Miroku said as he pulled the car up in front of the villa. "Well that bites."

Kikyo glanced into the back seat where Inuyasha, Kagome and Sango were squashed up on the three seats respectively with Kagome squished in the middle. "How come I always have to sit in the middle on these trips?" Kagome voiced her complaint.

"Because you're the smallest." Inuyasha told her bluntly, trying to open the door, but it seemed jammed. "And you always fall over when we turn corners so you need mine and Sango's support."

"I don't need anyone's support." Kagome said derisively as she shoved against him to make room for her lungs to breathe. "I come from a long line of independent women."

"You come from a long line of complainers more like." Inuyasha snapped back. "Why won't this door open?!"

"Because it's locked, you hypocrite." Sango said from Kagome's other side. He whirled on her dangerously, pushing Kagome back against the seat so he could glare at her directly. "Do you want to be working in MacDonalds?" Sango just rolled her eyes at him.

Kagome, however, was glaring at the hand against her chest, pinning her to the seat behind her. "Do you mind?" she gave Inuyasha a warning glower.

"Mind what?" he obviously wasn't noticing the placement of his hand. Kagome decided he had noticed but was just playing dumb, so she rather viciously pinched the back of his hand and twisted roughly.

"OW!"

"That'll teach you for groping me, pervert!"

"Kids…" Miroku cautioned like a parent from the front. He switched off the engine lazily and unlocked the doors, allowing the kiddies in the back to scramble out hastily. Kagome just gave Inuyasha one last huffy shove before marching up the steps and disappearing into the villa. Sango followed after her with a nasty look in Inuyasha's direction.

"May I ask… what the hell did I do to deserve that?" Inuyasha asked dryly as he leant back against the side of the car.

"As if we need to tell you." Kikyo responded pointedly. She folded her arms primly and glanced over her shoulder briefly to check they were alone before turning back to look between Inuyasha and Miroku. "So… did the police ask where you got the gun from?"

"You know they did." Inuyasha snapped, giving her a dirty look. "I told them what I told them last time."

"That is was the killer's?" Kikyo guessed.

Inuyasha nodded.

"Well," Miroku sighed. "He's already been convicted or murder and carrying one gun without a license… who's going to believe him if he denies he had a second gun?"

"And what about Jinko Aida?" Kikyo directed this question at Inuyasha with a penetrating gaze. "Did you tell the police about her?"

Inuyasha shifted uncomfortably against the car. "No. I didn't think it would get us anywhere anyway." He said sullenly. "And that's one name I don't need hearing round about now…"

"I don't like it." Kikyo said bluntly. "She's reared her head again after so long… she must be up to something-"

"Yeah - she's trying to kill me!" Inuyasha snapped angrily. "She put a bomb in my room to try and blow me up and then she sent one of her hitman to do Kouga in so I would get blamed for his murder and when that failed she sent the same man after me in the limo this morning!"

Kikyo regarded him coolly. "We don't know that for sure. It could have all been separate incidents. For all we know Aida has only sent the hitman after you today…"

Miroku cleared his throat to get their attention. "Maybe we should double security anyway? Attempted murder isn't something to be taken lightly - and before you say it Inuyasha - I know that you're a Hanyou but one bullet between the eyes and you'll be as dead as the rest of us."

"Feel free to triple security in that case." Inuyasha told Kikyo sweetly.

She just waved her hand knowingly and headed towards the entrance. "Get onto it Miroku and get Sango to help."

"What about Kagome?" Inuyasha called as she departed.

Kikyo turned to look back at him quizzically. "What about her?"

He opened his mouth to respond but slowly shut it again when he failed to come up with anything to say. Instead he just shrugged and averted his gaze to the gravel at his feet. Kikyo stared unblinkingly at him for a moment before gesturing to Miroku to follow her inside, leaving Inuyasha standing by the car alone.

He just glowered and kicked the stones moodily. "Why do all the bad things happen to me?"

~*~

"Why do all these bad things happen to me?" Kagome muttered miserably as she collapsed on top of her bed.

She was tired, she was miserable and she had never been so on edge in her life. Of course, she'd never been held to gun-point in her life either, so feeling wound up was perfectly justified. Blatant questions kept running through her mind… and she wondered how on earth it was possible to take someone else's life and not feel remorse for it? That phoney driver certainly hadn't been sorry when he'd killed the driver… but he hadn't hesitated at turning into a stuttering coward when the gun had been turned on him instead.

Not for the first time she wondered who Inuyasha had pissed off enough this time to warrant such an assault. This Jinko Aida was behind it all apparently, but no one, not even the police, knew who she was. Probably some ex-girlfriend of Inuyasha's who had some powerful friends…

Was she behind the bedroom bomb? Kouga's attempted murder?

1992?

Kagome fidgeted uneasily as her mind went blank and she just didn't know what to think anymore. Perhaps some television would take her mind off things?

She made sure she closed the curtains against the dimming sky outside and undressed for bed before grabbing the remote control to switch the telly on.

Surprise, surprise, another news report on the limo incident was on again. Kagome had already heard everything there was to hear and quickly switched channels again. The next few channels were full of advertising, not surprising since it had only just turned nine o'clock and the ad breaks were always on in-between the programs. So she just kept flicking till she found something that was on and worth watching.

She stopped on one program in particular…

It was one of those celebrity watching programs that her friends had always tuned in to watch. All Kagome found it to be was slightly intrusive, assuming and just like a gossip magazine on your Tv screen instead of your doctor's waiting room coffee table. Besides, all the people being interviewed about the celebrities were the magazine editors because, as everyone knows, these people know so much about the stars.

"Dating Inuyasha was like… wow, I guess." An airy blond on screen said as she twirled a lock of improbable yellow around her finger. The caption read her as Eiko - Ex-girlfriend. "We met at a party, he just basically picked me up and took me into the bathroom where we must have made out for like, hours-"

"Ah." Kagome rolled her eyes.

"-And I know it only lasted a week, but we had fun." The girl nodded happily, but she was close to tears. "Yep! Fun, fun, fun!"

"Oh that's pathetic…" Kagome really pitied her and was vaguely glad when they switched to another interviewee.

Angelique Spagni. Oh joy…

"We dated for a few weeks."The super-model blabbered on in French while the subtitles whizzed by underneath. "But then…!" she began weeping in big French sobs while being labelled by the subs as 'Most recent ex'. "But then he cheated on me - with a man! He told me that our love affair was only the product of a bet - that he was really in love with his valet, some guy named Miroku."

Kagome stared at the girl stonily. "He can't speak French - he didn't tell you anything you wet mop-head!" And even if he could speak French all he would have said would have been compliments on her cleavage. Half of that sobbing speech was made up - the rest was Kagome's concoction.

Thankfully another interviewee came on before Kagome could get too riled.

"Oh I've known Inuyasha since he was a child, through connections with his mother, of course." This new woman worked for 'Sure!' magazine. She looked a bit severe so Kagome reckoned she was a reporter. "She liked to give exclusive interviews for 'Sure' before she passed on. There were many times that when I arrived in their residence when all you could hear when you walked through the door was this loud screaming. The first time I heard it I thought someone was murdering a child - but it was just Inuyasha. That boy used to just sit on the stairs and scream all day - god only knew why. It drove his mother spare because there was just no way to shut him up, and his father was never home to lend a hand - whenever I was there he was always at work. That child severely lacked a father figure - he was surrounded by women day and night and his mother wouldn't send him to a normal school to make normal friends. His parents had him shut up in that villa since the day he was born."

Kagome hugged a pillow under her chin as she stared at the Tv. How was it that she was learning more about Inuyasha's childhood from a Tv special than from the actual guy himself? Not to mention the fact that millions of people were probably learning exactly the same thing as her right then.

The disembodied female narration took over as movie clips came up, clips of a little boy with scruffy white hair and triangular ears being dragged along a sidewalk by an impossibly beautiful woman of similar design. There was no doubt in Kagome's mind that the woman was Inuyasha's infamous model mother. But in the clip they were both surrounded completely by press with flashing cameras and microphones… both looked very hassled, and it seemed a real struggle to walk in a straight line down the pavement with so many people barging in front of them shouting trivial questions such as 'Where are you going?'.

Kaede suddenly came up on screen, nearly making Kagome jump in surprise. "Inuyasha was…" she gave a lengthy pause. "… not what I'd call an out of control child. He was naughty and loud - but what little boy isn't?" Yeah, Kagome could relate with Souta. "Sometimes I used to think my brother was too soft on the child, letting him get away with too much too early on in life. He'd scream the house down if he didn't get his own way and it got to a point where my sister in law was too scared to take him out of the house in fear that he'd pull a tantrum in public." Again, one of those lengthy pauses stretched that brought a frown to Kagome's face as she watched the old woman on screen. "He straightened out surprisingly quickly when they began teaching him that ghastly boxing sport. He's been an… an angel ever since."

"Don't force yourself, Kaede." Kagome noted the way Kaede's mouth twisted as if a bitter taste touched her tongue as she said 'angel'.

A new clip showed, depicting a more recent event as if to disprove the point Kaede had just put across. Some kind of quick interview with the man of the hour after some kind of awards show. "Well, some days I'm happy to have even been nominated if I lose." Inuyasha said, passing one said award between his hands in a nonchalant, bored way. "But some days I feel like -beep- so when I lose the award on those days I go ape -beep- at anyone who talks to me afterwards."

There was nervous laughter behind the camera.

"Don't laugh." Inuyasha said seriously. "I felt like -beep- today, you're lucky I won the award pal."

No more nervous laughter behind the camera. Kagome felt the corner of her mouth twitch up as she tried to suppress a smile. That was just typical of Inuyasha…

"It was the year before he began training in that savage boxing technique." The 'Sure!' reporter was back and looking more contemplative than ever. "Every year since his birth the press followed that boy and his mother wherever they went. American press was wild with gossip for those first three years, and when the family moved back here the Japanese press started where the US had left off. Every shopping trip to the supermarket to buy groceries was documented. Whenever his mother left the house to put the bins out there was always at least one photographer hiding in the bushes watching her."

Kagome had always found the idea of watching someone putting out their bins a little perverse, no matter how famous they were.

"But in 1992 Inuyasha just disappeared off the face of the earth."

Kagome sat up abruptly, her attention focused solely on the Television screen.

"All of a sudden no one could find him." The Sure woman went on. "The boy couldn't be found, his parents weren't taking him anywhere like they used to and when asked in interviews where their son was there would always be a 'no comment'. Next thing we know it's new years and we hear, out of the blue, that Inuyasha is training in martial arts at the tender age of seven."

Slowly the cogs in Kagome's head were beginning to turn… but still not fast enough to really grasp the truth of 92.

"There was one young reporter, going by the name of Kikyo, who happened to get too close to the family," The reporter went on, looking up as if remembering half-forgotten details. "I remember talking to her one day and she said that there was something funny about the disappearance of our teenage male icon in 1992. The last thing I knew of her was that she was taking on research into that year on her own… she never came back with anything productive. In fact she never came back. As I seem to recall, she's now working as Inuyasha's agent."

Kikyo? One piece of the puzzle slotted into place… but Kagome still didn't see the whole picture.

But at this point the Tv special turned its focus to Joi Ito and suddenly everyone was talking about the musician. Maybe Kagome would have normally stayed to watch the program on her favourite singer, but she was too hyped up on that little titbit of information on Kikyo and 1992. She had a feeling that if the producers of the program knew exactly what had happened in 92 then perhaps the whole show would be dedicated to that year and Inuyasha.

But Kikyo had obviously stumbled on the truth here… and either she had been paid to shut her mouth with a job offer of a life time… or something else had compelled her to shun her reporting instincts and keep the secret within the villa.

"Great, how am I supposed to sleep now?" Kagome asked herself as she switched off the Tv and flopped backwards onto the bed. Her mind was now racing with questions about Kikyo and that particular year…

The kill she'd witnessed that morning was temporarily chased from her mind.

With a sigh she rolled back to her feet and padded over to the window to let some cool air into the close bedroom. But the minute she propped open the balcony door a movement down below caught her eye. Glancing down into the darkness sharply she saw the movement again and quickly ran to lean over the balcony rail to see properly. The murder from that morning came back with perfect clarity and her heart began thundering in her chest. She was just short of shying away from the edge in fear.

But when she caught sight of the movement again, she was calmed somewhat. It was just one of the guards surveying the perimeter of the house. He was dressed completely in black bullet proof everything with a rifle rested loosely in one arm while the other was employed in keeping a large German Shepherd to heel. Kagome relaxed slightly, scolding herself for being so easy to scare, but that didn't stop her from noticing the second guard in similar attire a few metres behind the first. Or the third guard… or the fourth and fifth.

In fact, there were quite a few guards. Kagome cocked her head as she counted the men skulking around the pool, keeping close to the bushes and the walls of the building. Why had security been tripled? Quadrupled even?

"Hmm…" she hummed to herself as she headed back into her room, wondering at the oddity. Perhaps Kikyo had stepped up security due to that morning's events. Actually, she would have been surprised if Kikyo hadn't done anything at all…

Kagome sat down on the edge of the bed for a moment before running a hand over her face. She needed to unwind somehow… she thought about the piano but eventually decided against it. She was in no mood to make music. Any note she played would be bitter and miserable… she felt enough of those two emotions without needing to hear it in her music.

So she decided on a bath. One with lots of bubbles and scented salts. Kagome sighed with a slight smile as she headed into the bathroom to start running the water… but it was slow, so she reckoned she could just about run down to the kitchen and grab an orange or something to keep her stomach going while she soaked in the tub.

Leaving the water running at an slow stream so it wouldn't flood if she was delayed slightly, she quickly scurried off out of her room and down the stairs. Somehow running down the steps seemed faster than taking the elevator in this instance. By now she could probably find the kitchen blindfolded so she had little trouble locating it in under a minute.

She skidded through the doors, knowing that there was little chance of anyone being up for a snack at that hour… which was why the guy standing by the oven with the knife scared her spitless. "Ahh!"

Inuyasha flinched hard at her short scream and dropped the knife back onto the chopping board. "Bitch! What are you playing at?!"

"Oh…" Kagome held a hand to her chest, once again cursing her frazzled nerves. "It's just you… I thought you were going to kill me!"

"But you ran in on me!" Inuyasha snapped back, picking up the knife again with a scowl as he went back to his little project on the chopping board. "You shouldn't be so damn sensitive, Kagome."

"That's rich." She gave him a critical look as she moved forward to lean against the counter. "Says the guy who was shaking like a leaf when he aimed a little pistol at an evil man."

Inuyasha just snorted, as if not believing her statement. He was probably just trying to avoid being cornered by his momentary weakness back on that roadside. Kagome knew that lately he'd been trying to stop giving her any openings to leap into and drag out the real Inuyasha.

"What are you doing?" she asked, swiftly changing the subject.

That brought a grin from him. "I'm boning a haddock."

Now that… had sounded like something else entirely. She just had to make sure… "You're doing what to a haddock?" she narrowed her eyes.

"Boning!" he replied cheerfully. "I like fish-"

"That much, huh?"

"Let me finished." He held up the knife and pointed to the half de-boned fillet on the chopping board. "Cook never lets me touch the stuff in the fridge during daylight hours, so I have to do it under cover of darkness."

"Dare I ask why you are cooking a fish at half past nine on a Wednesday night?" she raised an eyebrow at him and sat down on a stool near the counter where he boned…

"Hungry," he answered with a shrug. "I like fish and-"

"You just watched a cooking program didn't you." She realised, remembering one of the stations she'd flicked past before she'd found that little documentary on the celebrities.

"Well it was either that or watch a bunch of people I barely know slander me because they're jealous." He retorted. "Angelique Spagni has just blabbed to the world that I'm gay… first time I ever understood what the hell she was saying."

Kagome bit her lip. "Maybe she heard you got shot in a gay bar."

"NEAR a gay bar." He automatically corrected.

She cocked her head slightly. "So you watched the program?"

"Mm… I don't normally. There was just nothing else on." He shrugged. She was just opening her mouth to follow up on that when he cut her off. "And before you ask, it doesn't bother me. People have been talking about me all my life, behind my back and in front of my face like I'm not there. It doesn't bother me as much as you'd think."

"It would bother me." Kagome confessed, thankful that she probably wasn't well known enough to get gossiped about. "If people were saying that I was gay behind my back… I probably wouldn't like it." Of course, this instantly reminded her of cheerful little Seiko at that fateful party. "Although… perhaps it wouldn't be unjust to say that…"

"What?" His ears snapped up, alert. The haddock was momentarily forgotten as he stared intently at her. "Why do you say that?"

"Well…" she shifted idly on the seat. "Remember that party that you took me to? Well… that girl who 'greeted' you in that 'friendly' manner, did exactly the same thing to me."

His mouth dropped open, and it was a moment before it could talk again. "You're saying Seiko kissed you?!"

Kagome nodded. It didn't really bother her that much… but it really was one of the only memories she had of that night. "Yeah. Full on the lips the moment you left."

"Oh man!" he whined, raising his hands to his head. "I missed it!"

Kagome rolled her eyes. "What is so appealing of seeing two girls kiss? It's not that big a deal."

He shrugged, though he looked misty eyed and distant all of a sudden. "Two girls making out is so much hotter than watching any other kind of couple."

Kagome stared at him. "I don't know…" she said with mock nonchalance. "I wouldn't mind watching you make out with a guy for once… and…"

She trailed off as his misty-eyed look transformed into something else entirely. He switched his attention firmly on the haddock on the chopping board. Kagome frowned. "What's going on with your face-"

"Nothing." He said quickly. Too quickly.

So perhaps the incident of '92 was deluding her… but she knew what was staring her in the face right then. A slow smile spread across her face as watched him bone the haddock(¬_¬;;). "So…" she leaned forward, resting her chin in the palm of her head. "What was his name?"

He made a weak, defeated noise in the back of his throat as he dropped the knife again and looked heavenward as if in a silent prayer for mercy. "You know that time I got shot near a gay bar…?"

"Possibly." Oh, this was sweet, delicious torture. Her smile only got wider.

"Well… I wasn't just passing by… I was actually in there for most of the night before I came out and got shot."

Kagome's eyes widened. "What the hell were you-?!"

"I didn't know!" he snapped loudly, making her snort with a poorly suppressed laugh. "I thought it was an ordinary bar - the drag queens looked really authentic!"

"Oh Inuyasha…" Don't laugh, Kagome, don't laugh…

"And there was this one chick." He said miserably. "She had legs to die for and a really pretty face… so we went behind the club into an alley to get down to it-"

"You don't have to go into detail here-"

"Everything seemed real enough!" he said defensively. "But then when I put my hand under her skirt… I felt something in my hand."

Kagome didn't give a toss to her earlier thoughts as she gave into the laughter. She couldn't stop laughing either - even when she saw Inuyasha's disgruntled expression, it only added to her mirth and soon she was clutching her stomach as she fought to breath and laugh at the same time. Inuyasha watched her in a disgruntled manner, fingering his knife lovingly.

"Y-You kissed…" she gasped between laughing. "A drag queen!"

"It's not that funny!" he snapped.

"Yes it is!" she chuckled. "You should see your face right now!"

"You're not to talk to anyone about this." He told her sternly. "If anyone finds out I made-out with a drag queen then I'll be the joke of Japan."

"Don't worry, don't worry." She patted his tensed arm. "I won't tell anyone about our little secret."

"If you do I'll sue you for all your worth." He said airily, but Kagome had no doubt that he would hold her to that threat if she broke her promise. She watched him casually for a moment before speaking something that had been on her mind since that morning. "Thanks for saving me…"

He rolled his eyes. "What was I supposed to do? Let him continue threatening you? It's not like it was out of my way - and it was in my interests too to stop him - I mean, once he'd killed you he would only turn the gun on me and do the same-"

"Just stop." Kagome touched his arm lightly. "Just accept my thanks and don't argue about it."

"But-"

"Inuyasha!" she gave him a shove and turned away, snatching her glass up off the counter as she headed for the door. "Thank you. Let's just leave it at that."

"Yes ma'am." Inuyasha saluted her as she walked out of the kitchen.

Right… back to boning the haddock.

~*~

"So what's happening?" Sango yawned as she entered the security room.

Miroku copied the yawn and pointed vaguely at the screens. "It's very quiet." He shrugged. "Inuyasha's doing that thing in the kitchen again and everyone else has gone to bed."

"Oh good… then maybe we can go soon?" Sango rubbed her face tiredly. "I'm knackered…"

"You're knackered?" Miroku squinted at her. "You weren't the one who had to convince the press that Inuyasha didn't shoot anyone today…"

"Mm." Sango just grunted her consolation and sat down at the desk beside him. They sat for the next few minutes in silence, idly watching the surveillance monitors. Eventually Sango yawned again. "I'm tired."

"I know. You have to…" Miroku broke off, staring intently at one of the pool monitors. "What was that?"

Sango quickly followed his gaze, full of alertness. Whatever Miroku had seen… it was gone. "Maybe it was one of the guards?"

"Didn't look like a guard to me."

They watched carefully for a moment, Miroku even radioed one of the guards to check out what he might have seen. They saw the informed guard on the screen turn and head in the direction of the pool.

Then the power cut and they were plunged into darkness. The monitors crackled and flicked off, leaving Sango and Miroku with nothing but a few small specks of light on each screen.

"Shit." Miroku staggered to his feet, already putting his hand to his earpiece. "Kikyo - the power's gone!"

"I know." Came the muffled response. "Find Inuyasha."

"The kitchens." Miroku said shortly to Sango.

They both abandoned the security room in favour of finding the kitchens and Inuyasha, hopefully to come to his aid if needed. To their relief they met him half way. "Something's happening." Sango informed the fairly perplexed star as the met in the foyer. "You have to stay with us and-"

"I heard something upstairs." Inuyasha interrupted carelessly, already moving in the direction of the stairs.

"Inuyasha!" Miroku yelled after him. But with Inuyasha's supernatural speed, they were hard-pressed to follow him at a good enough pace. As the Hanyou disappeared up the stairs Miroku could only beckon for Sango to follow him as he raced after him.

They seemed to be heading for the second floor, down the same corridor of rooms where both Inuyasha and Kagome stayed. They turned the corner in time to see Inuyasha throwing his weight against Kagome's door.

"What's going on?" Miroku jogged forward, but slowed as his footsteps became wet slaps. Looking down he noticed the floor was completely soaked.

"Was there a flood?" Sango panted as she caught up and noticed the state of the wet carpet. It seemed to be emanating from under the door Inuyasha was trying to break down.

"Kagome?!" Inuyasha yelled as he threw his weight one last time. There was a solid crack of wood and the door jerked open grudgingly. Inuyasha wasted no time diving into the room as Miroku and Sango followed slightly more hesitantly, still wondering at all the water on the floor.

The Hanyou made a straight path towards the open bathroom door, sending water flying with each running step. He stopped dead in the doorway.

Miroku came up behind him and looked into the bathroom over Inuyasha's shoulder, mounting panic and confusion already gripping him. "Where is she?"

The taps of the bath were still running into a bath full to the brim, a steady stream of water spilled over the edges onto the lino floor, flooding the entire bathroom. Kagome wasn't in there. Inuyasha took only a moment to survey the damage before turned to look sharply at the window. "She's not here…" he murmured softly, shoving past Miroku as he started for the balcony.

The light drapes swayed gently in the breeze with the balcony door open.

"Oh god…" Sango covered her mouth as she realised what had happened.

Miroku was too shocked to manage more than running his hand through his hair.

Inuyasha took a moment to glance around the empty balcony before looking back at Miroku and Sango. He issued one last order. "Get the power back!" and before they could even both protesting, he jumped over the side of the balcony and fell the two stories to the paved ground below.

He didn't spare much time looking around, he had the scent and that was enough. He bolted off around the edge of the pool and flew down the steps etched in the cliff, heading down towards the beach.

Sounds of shouting and engines echoed from the sands and as he arrived at the electric fence, he discovered that it was already deactivated and open. The guard beside it was unconscious. He ran through it without hesitation. "Kagome!!"

What he saw began to horrify him. Kagome didn't answer, or couldn't probably because she was wrapped up tight in a blanket and being bundled onto a speedboat by several people wearing dark clothes. Masks covered their faces, making identification impossible, but even so Inuyasha didn't care. His eyes lay solely on the limp bundle of the blankets being jostled between them. "KAGOME?!"

Screaming her name probably hadn't been a good idea. The people in the masks had already noticed him and were quickly climbing into the boat, revving the engine.

Cursing for all he was worth he pounded through the sand, desperate to get to that boat before it took off. "Kagome!"

The boat was already speeding away into the darkness, and he still hadn't reached the surf yet. But he was convinced he'd still make it. Even when he'd lost sight of it completely he still kept running as he heard the buzz of the boat's engine fade away into the distance.

He splashed into the waves and finally came to a stop, knee deep in the freezing water. He listened intently.

It was completely silent.

"No…"

AN: Soooo tired….