InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Dead Famous ❯ Treading Shallow Waters ( Chapter 32 )

Author's Notes: *peels of a slightly crispy flame proof anorak* "Flame proof" my ass…

Ok, this is probably the second to last chapter. So the reason why it's so short is because it was originally one chapter, but I broke it down into two, partly because I didn't really want to spring the ending on you guys so soon without a warning, and also because I didn't really want to add anything more to this chapter or else the ending would lose its impact. So prepare for a long last chapter the next time I update ^__^

Dead Famous

Chapter 32

Treading Shallow Waters

Kikyo sighed as she snapped her flip-phone shut and slipped it back into her pocket. "The police said that Jinko Aida was allowed out on temporary bail by her brother. They ordered a twenty-four hour surveillance of her house, but it looks like she slipped past their officers. They're sending a couple patrol cars down here now with Detective Sano."

"She's gotta be around here somewhere." Sango reasoned, her anxiety beginning to verge on irritation -most of which she aimed at Miroku. "This is all your fault, you know."

"What?" He didn't need to contrive too hard to look wronged. "I'm not the one who put her name on the guest list."

"Any blind fool could have seen that Kojin Adia was Aida Jinko spelt backwards!" Kikyo snapped at him, ignoring the slightly alarmed looks she was receiving off the guests around them. Perhaps holding this rather unstable conversation in the middle of the first floor corridor was not the best place after all…

"Well, this is in no way my fault." Miroku folded his arms sternly. "How was I supposed to know what she looked like? Plus, I thought she was being held by the police. The last person in the world I expected to turn up to a party like this was Jinko Aida."

Sango sighed in her own reluctance. "He has a point."

Kikyo looked coldly at her watch. "The police will be arriving shortly." She turned to head for the stairs. "I'll go-"

A scream split the air - one which sounded suspiciously like the beginning of Inuyasha's name - but it was cut off halfway through by the second sound of an even louder gunshot.

All movement in the corridor ceased as it began to dawn on the guests what they had just heard. Then the panic rose, and before Miroku or his two female companions could fully grasp the situation, they were already caught in the middle of a stampede. People began fleeing down the corridor, heading in all directions save for the stairs.

"This way," Kikyo snapped out the quick order as she pushed her way through the panicking crowds towards the elevator. Sango and Miroku weren't too far behind, and with all the guests using the stairs to quickly move to the upper floors, there was no one in the elevator to argue about floors with.

"That was a gun!" Sango hissed as the doors slid closed and the lift began moving down at an agonisingly slow pace.

"Three guesses?" Kikyo asked dryly.

The elevator finally stopped at the ground floor and the three employees waited with baited breath… yet they weren't quite prepared for what the doors opened to, though none of them were all that surprised.

The entrance hall was empty of guests except for one tall, blonde woman in a purple dress who held a trembling Kagome against her front like a human shield. A black handgun rested against the girl's temple, assuring her immobility. But at least she was alive and shivering… which was more than could be said for Inuyasha.

Sango stifled a gasp with her hand as she retreated a step back into the elevator. "Oh god… she killed him…"

Miroku's arm gently moved in front of her, preventing her from doing anything rash, or maybe just trying to shield her from Jinko Aida's view. The blonde watched the trio with a serenely indifferent expression. She seemed completely unaware and untroubled by what she'd just done.

Kikyo was the only one who managed to hold her steely resolve as she took a few measured steps out of the elevator into the entrance hall. Her heels clicked against the marble in a slow, steady pace that echoed through the empty foyer. She held her hands out to the side, cautiously approaching. "Please… let her go."

"This is a hostage situation." Jinko answered in a clear, mellow voice. "I can't do that."

Somewhere in the distance, through all the rain and thundering clouds, the sound of a siren faded into existence. Either Jinko didn't hear the approaching reinforcements, or had just chosen to ignore them.

"The police are on their way." Kikyo told the young woman in case she was slightly deaf to the wailing sirens that were quickly growing louder. "There is no chance for you to get away now… unless you put the gun down and run. Run fast."

Jinko shook her head slightly, cocking back the hammer of her handgun gently. Kagome clenched her eyes tightly shut as if in a silent prayer. Jinko was oblivious to her apparent fear. "I don't intend to leave this place. At least not alive."

Kikyo's gaze slid from the terrorist and her hostage to where the first casualty already lay at the foot of the stairs. A morbid puddle of red had already pooled around his head. There was no doubt about just where he'd been shot; an inch or so above where a normal human ear would be placed. Not that Kikyo could see the wound. Inuyasha's head was turned away and he was resting on his damaged side… from where she stood, Kikyo couldn't tell whether or not he was still alive. But Miroku had already warned that one bullet in the head was really all that was needed to take down the 'mighty' hanyou.

"You." Jinko's observations had landed on Sango, who glowered ferociously back at the blonde. "Go outside and greet the police when they arrive. Tell them that if they enter too soon, I will kill this girl as well." She flicked a glance at Miroku as an afterthought. "And maybe him too."

Sango didn't move.

"Please… if you do not leave now, you will only add to the body count."Jinko Aida told her softly.

Sango still remained reluctant to leave. Miroku gave her a gentle nudge. "Go." he said quietly.

"But-"

"We'll take care of it." he cut her off and gestured towards the open doorway. "Now go."

Sango blinked at him in bewilderment, probably not at all happy that she was going to be snubbed from such a situation. But in the end her common sense won over and she headed for the doors.

"And shut the door on your way out." Jinko reminded bluntly.

The doors closed with a curt thud after Sango, and once more the entrance hall was plunged into an eerie calm and quietness. The closed doors protected against the sound of the rain outside, as well as the approaching police.

The silence was nearly unbearable. The guests upstairs and in the other rooms still hadn't gained the courage to investigate yet; either that, or security had kicked in and locked the doors. But Jinko was making no move or gesture to follow up with her threats, and Kikyo was at a bit of a loss of how to deal with her.

Kagome broke the silence.

"Why are you doing this?" she whispered, her voice strained with tears and suppressed sobs. "Why couldn't you just leave him alone?!"

Jinko's eyes remained on Kikyo, pretending she didn't hear the girl in her arms.

"I told him it was over!" Kagome's words caught as her breath hitched unevenly with emotion. "I t-told him that there was no need to be scared anymore because-"

"Because he'd killed Fushira?" Jinko snapped harshly.

Kagome sniffled slightly. "Yes…" she said quietly. "But he deserved it!!"

"He did not!"

"He tortured a little boy! He didn't even do it for money - he just did it for his own amusement!" Kagome cried. "Someone sick like Fushira probably deserved to be killed!"

"Not to mention…" Kikyo added quietly. ".… all the people who were found dead in the warehouse where Inuyasha was recovered. Multiple members of a rival gang… old neighbours he didn't particularly get on with… a few old bosses who fired him. Even two of his own cousins. They didn't deserve to die, and I think that Fushira's punishment fit the crime perfectly, don't you think?"

The tip of the gun wavered uncertainly for a moment between Kagome's temple and Kikyo's direction. But then it was back, firmly planted to Kagome's head. "I loved him… and he died! Do you know how much it is killing me inside?!"

Kikyo shrugged. "I don't particularly care."

"You think it didn't kill Inuyasha to pull that trigger?!" Kagome clawed at Jinko's arm that braced her against the woman's front, but it was futile. Her despair was making her feeble and hopeless and Jinko's anger only made her stronger.

"At least he suffers no more!" Jinko snarled. "And soon I'll be where they are… and you too. You're in pain, aren't you?"

"I…" Kagome couldn't manage any more than that. Not that she was given much chance to continue…

A deep rumble shook the foundations of the building… emanating from somewhere above their heads and reverberating downwards. The conscious members in the entrance hall looked around in confusion.

Was that just lightning or…?

The ceiling above groaned, followed by the sound of cracking timber and screaming guests. They turned their eyes heavenward in dumb bemusement as the tiled roof literally began swelling and dipping. Tiles cracked and splintered, and some even began falling, raining down around the group.

A tile shattered close to Kikyo's feet but she didn't dare flinch or move her gaze from the ceiling.

She had a bad feeling about this.

Then a scream sounded, confirming her worst fears. "BULLSEYE!!"And with that, the ceiling caved in completely as a gaping hole in the tiles opened up directly above Jinko and her hostage.

Water cascaded by the tonne upon the pair.

Neither had the fleeting chance to even scream as the full force of the waterfall hit them head on and crushed them both to the floor. It was like having a couple bags of potatoes dropped directly on the head. Kagome crashed to the floor, spluttering and winded, trying to drag in air that was continually pushed away by the water. Jinko's grip was gone and so had the gun, so Kagome wasted no time in scrambling away. Her hands and knees skidded on the slippery marble, but it only took a moment to break free of the downpour to kneel, shivering, in a steadily growing pool of water. It was already up to her ankles…

"What on earth is…" Kikyo had resorted to removing her heels or else risk slipping and breaking her neck.

The water continued to pour down in torrents, washing away the odd napkin that had been dropped like little sailing boats on a lake. Kagome wobbled to her feet, oblivious to the fact that she was now drenched head to toe with a dress that clung to her like a wrinkly second skin.

Her eyes were on Jinko.

The gun was gone from her hands, probably dropped during the downpour. She was drenched as well, but like Kagome, she didn't seem to care. She was tottering towards Inuyasha looking pale and drained… she looked like she was in shock.

The water from the continuing downpour lapped against him gently, dragging the red pigment of the blood away from it's puddle as the water met it. Rather than diluting the blood, it only seemed to intensify it's vibrant shade as the liquid around Inuyasha's head turned crimson.

"Inu-chan…" Jinko whispered as she drew nearer.

"Don't touch him." Kagome snapped bitterly, taking a step in her direction. She was ignored.

"Inu-"

"Don't touch him!" Kagome screamed, splashing a few steps further.

Jinko was already crouching down beside the fallen superstar, hands hovering above him as if uncertain whether or not to disturb him. "Inu-chan… what have I done to you…?"

Kagome was seeing red. She was also seeing a rather tempting looking handgun in the water a few feet to her right. Without a second thought, she snatched it up and levelled it at Jinko Aida's back. "I'll shoot you! I swear to god I'll shoot you if you touch him!"

"Kagome!" Miroku moved forward to stop her, but Kikyo caught the back of his shirt. Evidently she didn't care all that much for Jinko's safety, or felt any interfering would set Kagome off the deep end.

As if that hadn't already happened.

Jinko reached down, touching Inuyasha's shoulder, gently turning him on his side.

Kagome's agitated fingers slipped against the wet gun, but she didn't shoot… no matter how much she was determined to carry out her threat. It was pointless - she was going to be ignored and overlooked…

"Oh god…" Jinko's voice was a choked whisper as she finally got an eyeful of the damage she'd inflicted. "I didn't mean to - I'm sorry - please forgive me!"

Kagome's teeth ground together. "Don't you dare touch him!!" With a frustrated sound, she tossed the gun away into the dwindling downpour of water beside her and ran at Jinko's turned back. She didn't care about anything other than protecting Inuyasha. Adrenaline and anger turned the tables. Soon Jinko found herself torn forcefully away from Inuyasha and sprawled backwards into the water a few feet away.

She retaliated as soon as she had her senses back in order. The moment Kagome was close enough, she grabbed the girl by the leg and dragged her down into the water. They tousled and spat, tore at each other's hair and tried to push the other underwater.

Despite their adrenaline-fuelled strength, they were no match for Miroku. He first made a grab for Kagome, pushing her away from the fight in order to then grab Jinko and hold her down. Kikyo slipped forward in order to help and together they managed to haul the sopping wet blonde to her feet.

"Let me go!" she spat at them, but was unable to free her arms to break loose.

"I doubt you'll be allowed bail now, Aida." Kikyo said calmly. "Let's get her out of here."

"I think the police are already here…" Miroku muttered as they both half-lifted, half-dragged Jinko towards the front door.

Kagome watched their progress for a moment from where she sat in six inch deep water. They couldn't hold her attention for long, as she quickly got to her feet and waded her way back to Inuyasha's side.

She collapsed on her knees beside him with a splash. Jinko Aida had turned him over… and it was hard to miss the wound through the matted, red mess of wet hair. No way in hell could anyone have survived that… not even Inuyasha, apparently.

"Inuyasha…?" she whispered as she crept closer, hesitant to touch him in case she broke him any further. "Inuyasha, please sit up…"

He remained pale, limp and pretty much lifeless.

Kagome clenched her fingers in the front of his wet shirt. "Inuyasha - open your eyes." she said a little louder. "Please - just show me you're ok!"

Her only reply was silence.

Tears welled up with a hard lump in Kagome's throat. She couldn't stop the pressure from building and began to cry. "Inuyasha!" she begged, wrapped an arm around his shoulders to drag him into her lap. "Inuyasha - I'll fish your stupid fat head out of every toilet for the rest of your life if you'd please sit up! I'll let you smoke all the damn cigarettes you want! Just - move!" She gave him a trembling shake as her grief and despair spiralled to desperate heights. "Move! Move! Move! MOVE!"

With a cry she hunched over him, clawing at his shoulders, shaking him, screaming at him to show he was alive. "Anything!"

"Kagome…" Miroku was back and he wasn't alone. Several police officers along with Detective Sano had entered the hall and were approaching slowly and carefully. A highly distressed girl was something to be treated with extreme caution. Miroku stopped a few metres away from the shaking girl. "Is… is he…?" His voice shook slightly, despite his bravado exterior.

"He's dead!" Kagome cried, completely anguished and lost. "She shot him and he's dead!"

Miroku's face fell a little… dismay and grief appeared in his expression.

Well… it wasn't like a superstar's life expectancy was particularly impressive…

Kagome was broken hearted. She had gone back to shaking him as she rocked back and forth, pleading with some invisible force to make it all better. She wasn't accepting that he was gone… and she wasn't about to let Inuyasha out of her grasp any time soon. The girl sobbed against the blood stained material of his shirt. "Please, come back… please… I'm begging… I'll do anything… you can't die now… not after what I said…"

Inuyasha's head lolled back with a grimace, completely unseen by Kagome, but it didn't escape the attention of Miroku and the police. Miroku's face was wiped of his misery in favour of shock as she stared in bewilderment at his superstar.

Inuyasha opened his eyes and peered up at Miroku. "Call… an ambulance…" he managed with a little difficulty… more likely due to Kagome's agitated rocking and shaking than the bullet in his head.

A grin of relief spread across Miroku's face as he nodded and quickly made for the front door.

Kagome, having been too busy crying and begging to have heard Inuyasha's little request, carried on crying and begging. "Please… come back… you can't die like this… it isn't fair!"

Inuyasha sighed with a shallow exhale of breath and let her get on with it.

It wasn't all that bad being cradled by the girl he loved in a time of need.

AN: And since I'm already half way through writing the last chapter, I can give you the title ^__^ "The Engagement" …Hmmm… that sounds promising…