InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Entrapment: A 21st Century Adventure ❯ Risk ( Chapter 6 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: King Baka 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Adventure / Action | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 06.06.2011 | Pages: 5 | Words: 8.5K | Visits: 864 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Adventure / Action | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 06.06.2011 | Pages: 5 | Words: 8.5K | Visits: 864 | Status: Work In Progress
Disclaimer: I don’t own Inuyasha or any of the publicly known characters, plot, etc. I’m just renting them from Rumiko Takahashi, Viz, etc. I do own the plot of this story and any original characters I’ve created. I will make no money from this fic; I write for my own enjoyment and the enjoyment of my readers.
Risk
A hundred ninety-eight, a hundred ninety-nine, two hundred.
Inuyasha set the weighted bar back on the frame and sat up, stretching his arms over his head. After damaging it yesterday, he had decided to keep the bench press. He had been getting a little antsy lately, having never been cooped up this long before. I thought it was bad when Miroku locked me up to protect me from Rouyakan. That was nothing compared to this. At least the bench press gave him a way to channel some of his pent up energy. Bending a couple pieces of the contraption back into place made it usable again, and he had been lifting five hundred pounds whenever he felt the urge ever since. Two hundred reps weren’t that hard, but it was challenging enough to take the edge off. He didn’t want to exhaust himself; one never knew when the opportunity to escape would arise.
Yoshida had originally refused to let him keep the bench press, probably out of spite, but Sasaki had managed to persuade him otherwise. Inuyasha was grateful, because he’d probably be literally bouncing off the bars right now if he didn’t have a constructive outlet. That was why he was not disappointed when Sasaki approached him and announced that the next test they wished to perform was one of stamina, specifically stamina while running. The device they wheeled into the cage this time was called a ‘treadmill,’ and had apparently been custom made by one of Yoshida’s mercenaries. Sasaki said that no normal treadmill would stand a chance of keeping up with him.
This time there was no snickering as Inuyasha inspected and climbed on the machine. It seemed simple enough; you ran on the movable section and it measured your speed. The tread was very easy to set in motion so as not to interfere with the readings of Inuyasha’s velocity. The hanyou knew he would miss the wind in his face and the sense of freedom he achieved from running in the feudal era, but he was still looking forward to the chance to really stretch his legs. The results were no less amazing to his captors than those of the previous day.
“Well,” Sasaki declared, “it appears we have a new holder of the title of world’s fastest land anim—mammal.”
Yoshida quirked an eyebrow at the correction, but shrugged it off. He didn’t particularly give a damn what Sasaki thought of Inuyasha, as long as he could turn the hanyou into several proverbial briefcases full of retirement money. He had already picked out the island he was going to purchase with his share. And he’d have enough left over to make sure that island was always fully stocked with expensive toys and beautiful women. He smirked just thinking about it.
“I’m keeping this too,” Inuyasha called.
“Of course,” Sasaki answered, not even giving him a chance to refuse this time. Yoshida just shrugged; it wasn’t worth fighting over. He had let the hanyou make a fool of him yesterday. It would not happen again.
Sasaki had been true to his word when he said she wouldn’t see Inoue. He apparently drove into town early this morning to meet the part-time housekeeper and accept delivery of the items she requested. They were sitting on her bureau when she woke up. But at least she was wearing clean underwear, and Inoue knew how to pick out a comfortable bra.
Unfortunately, the only window in the laundry room was locked tight, as was the door. She wanted to try something today, but not from here. Although, I suppose I could threaten him. Let me go or I’ll shrink all your clothes! She shook her head; regrettably, most of her escape ideas were as stupid as that one. She only had a few that could conceivably work, but probably wouldn’t. Still, she’d been brainstorming long enough, and felt the urge to actually do something towards achieving her freedom.
After the laundry was dry, sorted, and folded, the guard escorted Kagome back up to her room. Sasaki was out for the day, probably to see Inuyasha, and Kagome was fairly nervous being alone with this man. But aside from placing his hand too close to her backside for comfort a couple times, the guard didn’t try anything. He seemed irritated, which Kagome later learned was because he had to make and bring her lunch today. Oh, he can’t sit on ass the whole day. I feel so bad for him. Watching her must be the cushiest job ever. Hopefully, that was about to change.
A half hour later, Kagome sat on her bed, studying her handiwork with a critical eye. She had found a few sets of spare sheets on top of the closet, and tied several together to make a long makeshift rope. But was this really going to work? Wouldn’t they anticipate something so obvious as climbing out the window on a bed sheet rope? The answer was probably in the affirmative, but unfortunately it was the best idea she had. Eh, sometimes the simplest solutions are the best.
Her biggest problem was the potential of being seen through a window on the first or second floor. But the guard was most likely in the living room, which was on the opposite side of the house. At any rate, there was nothing she could do about it except move quickly and hope for the best. It took her a few more minutes to rebuild her resolve, a sudden rush of adrenaline causing her to briefly second-guess whether this was really a good idea. But she had already decided that it was her responsibility to rescue both herself and Inuyasha this time, and she couldn’t do that unless she actually tried.
So, after tying one end of the rope securely to the nearest bed post, she tossed the remainder out the window. Leaning outside, she was pleased to see that she had calculated the distance correctly; the bottom of the rope hung only about two feet off the ground. But the action also made her realize just how far up she was. Sure, she had gone up higher, but only while riding Kirara or Inuyasha. Never on her own, where a slip would surely mean a bone-breaking plunge of two and a half unusually tall stories onto dry, hard ground. She doubted the grass would provide much of a cushion. But if she was unwilling to take risks, she might as well just resign herself to staying here until she was released or killed. There was no way she was going to chicken out on this one.
After a deep breath, Kagome swung one leg out the window so she was straddling the sill. Gripping the rope in her right hand, she slowly slid her other leg outside, clutching the rope between them before releasing the sill and attaching her left hand to the lifeline as well. She began to inch her way down toward the ground, and realized that this was not going to be as easy as they made it look in the movies. The rope was not a ladder; it swung unpredictably as she shifted her weight around. She couldn’t get a good grip with her legs, and was basically stuck holding herself up by her arms. Soon the muscles in her arms were burning, and she had to question her ability to continue at this pace. And she wasn’t even halfway down yet.
Her grip faltered for a moment and she slipped down a few inches, grimacing as the friction from the sheets bit into the skin of her hands. But the pain gave her an idea; maybe that was the best way to get down. Climbing certainly wasn’t working. Gritting her teeth, Kagome loosened her grip just enough to allow her to slide down the rope, until finally she was close enough to the ground to release the searing material. The landing was fairly jarring, but she kept her knees bent and came out with nothing more serious than a minor muscle pull. She hissed as she gazed at her hands, tinged an angry pinkish-red color. They hurt like hell, but she would worry about them later. (1) Right now, the only thing separating her from the open road was a few hundred feet of front yard and a low fence. Or so she thought.
The dogs came out of nowhere, two of them rounding the corner of the house barking and growling like the crazed animals they were. Kagome gasped, recoiling against the wall as the huge canines closed to within mere feet from her trembling form, continuing to vocalize savagely the whole time. She liked dogs in general, but these were vicious, and they weren’t hesitant about showing their sharp teeth either. Kagome got the distinct impression that if she ran, they would hunt her down like wolves after a fawn. Of course, from the look of things they might decide to take a bite out of her even if she stayed put. She fought against rising panic, but was truly at a loss for what to do.
A shrill whistle rent the air, and both dogs immediately went silent and turned their heads in the direction of the sound. It was the guard, jogging quickly toward them.
“Get away, boys!” he ordered, motioning emphatically away from Kagome. The dogs hesitated, glancing between the girl and their master; apparently they would rather stay and terrorize her some more.
“I said get!” the guard shouted with more authority this time, and the dogs responded, bounding off the way they had come. Throughout this exchange, Kagome remained standing motionless, hardly daring to breathe. But when the guard turned and shot her a derisive grin, her knees finally unlocked and she slid to the ground, physically and emotionally drained. Those two beasts rivaled any youkai she’d ever faced in pure ferocity. At least she could purify youkai; she didn’t know how effective her miko powers would be against dogs.
“The old bed sheet rope trick, eh?” the guard observed, chuckling to himself. “Sweet. Goto owes me a couple thousand yen!” (2)
Kagome just stared at him incredulously, still too shaky to form words without making a fool of herself. They were betting over how I would try to escape first? What a bunch of jerks!
“You ready to come back inside quietly, baby?” he inquired teasingly.
“Don’t call me that,” Kagome snapped, officially not amused.
The guard only laughed at her defiance. “Well, it’s nice to see you still have some spunk. But I wouldn’t try that again if I were you. Those dogs would have mauled you if I hadn’t stopped them.”
If he was expecting a ‘thank you,’ he didn’t get one. But Kagome knew when she was beaten, and didn’t offer any resistance as he led her back inside the house and sat her down on a chair in the dining room. Then he pulled her arms through the decorative openings in the back support and cuffed them so she couldn’t go anywhere without either breaking the chair or taking it with her. And that was how she spent the rest of the afternoon, contemplating her failure and building fresh resentment toward her captors.
She heard the front door open a little before six o’clock, light whistling drifting through the house until it abruptly ceased as Sasaki appeared in the entryway to the dining room.
“Kagome? What are you…oh, you tried to escape, didn’t you?” he demanded reproachfully. Kagome just glared at him, having decided to keep her mouth shut so her frustration didn’t lead her to say something that would get her in even more trouble. Shaking his head, Sasaki marched purposely into the living room. What followed was a muffled conversation Kagome could hear, but not make out the contents of. After a few minutes, Sasaki disappeared into the kitchen, his demeanor one of irritation. Kagome scowled. Oh, you’re pissed? Try sitting handcuffed to a chair all afternoon, you pompous ass! And that was why she was keeping her mouth shut.
Apparently cooking did much to ameliorate Sasaki’s sour mood, because he seemed much happier when he returned to set up a modest meal. But although he placed a plate and utensils in front of Kagome, and even served her food and drink, he did not release her bonds. Instead, he sat in his own chair and began to eat, ignoring her all the while. Kagome growled low, or was that her stomach? She was half-tempted to lean over and dig in with her face. Down, girl. You’re not a cow, and you’re not starving to death either. Just wait; Mr. Never-had-a-woman-over will break soon.
“Now, Kagome,” Sasaki began a few minutes later, “I want you to promise me that you won’t try to escape again. Then I’ll uncuff you.”
Kagome’s hackles rose as she bit back a laugh. Sorry, buddy, but bribing me with food isn’t gonna work, no matter how good it smells. “I’m not going to make a promise that I won’t keep.”
“Damn you, Kagome!” Sasaki spat, banging his fist into the table. “Don’t you realize what could’ve happened?”
Kagome was momentarily taken aback by the level of concern her host was showing. For better or worse, he had developed a certain fondness for her that went beyond that given to a mere houseguest. At the moment, Kagome couldn’t tell if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
“I mean, besides nearly getting eaten alive by Yoshida’s dogs,” Sasaki continued. “You’re only being allowed to stay here if you behave yourself. My checkbook and I managed to keep Yamazaki from telling his boss this time, but if you try to escape again, and Yoshida finds out, he might lock you in a closet somewhere, or even put a bullet in your head!”
Kagome digested his words and the emotions behind them. I see, so he likes me, but not enough to stand up to Yoshida. Great. Still, she could probably use that affection to her advantage. But back to the matter at hand, Sasaki was completely right about the potential consequences of her actions. But there were more important things than her own safety.
“I don’t care,” she stated firmly.
“W-what?” he gasped incredulously. “How can you not ca—”
“If me staying alive means Inuyasha has to spend the rest of his life in captivity, then I’d rather die trying to help him.”
Sasaki gaped at her, as if he couldn’t believe the statement which had just passed her lips. “Oh, that’s right, you love him,” he muttered after a moment, sighing and shaking his head. Kagome actually felt an iota of sympathy for the man; he didn’t even know what it felt like to love someone. He probably thought the sentiment was utterly foolish. It certainly wasn’t logical from the selfish perspective Sasaki lived in. And logically was exactly how he attacked her proclamation.
“You told us that Inuyasha cares for you as well. Do you think he’d want you risking your life to rescue him?”
Kagome smiled wistfully. “No, he’d tell me to lay low and not take any risks at all. But if he really thought about it, he’d realize that I’m right. And because he’d worry about me, he would understand why.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
Her grin turned wry. “I didn’t expect you to understand.”
Sasaki’s expression morphed into something akin to a pout. “I still say you’re taking too big a risk with your life.”
“Or maybe not.”
“Huh?”
“Or maybe I’m not taking much of a risk at all. Maybe my fate has already been decided. You can’t guarantee that Yoshida won’t kill me when this is over, even if I do behave, can you?”
Sasaki’s eyes widened, and he stuttered noiselessly for several moments. She had him on that one. Oh, such a wonderful victory, she thought sarcastically. At least now she had confirmation that there was probably still a death sentence hanging over her head. So if she was most likely condemned anyway, why not try to save both herself and Inuyasha instead?
“He might’ve changed his mind,” Sasaki mumbled, sounding decidedly unconvinced.
“I suppose so,” Kagome conceded, just to humor the man. She didn’t want to spend any more time talking about this, mostly because she could see the guilt all over Sasaki’s face and had an idea for a way to take advantage. There was something else she wanted more than clothes or feminine hygiene products, but hadn’t felt comfortable requesting before. She did, however, feel confident asking for it now.
“You know what might help me feel more content staying here?” she posed, pleased when Sasaki perked up immediately. “If I could talk to Inuyasha.”
“You know we can’t let you anywhere near him, Kagome.”
“I know. But what about over the phone? There’s no harm in that, is there?” She saw Sasaki wavering, and then put the icing on the cake. “I…I think just hearing his voice would put me at ease, you know?” She finished off with a dazzling smile, one which had her host looking away flustered. But she could see the wheels turning inside his head, as well as the inherent desire to please her. It almost made her feel bad for using her charms to manipulate him. Almost.
“I’ll see what I can do,” he declared resolutely.
“Thank you, Sasaki-san,” Kagome replied, bowing. It was at this point that her host realized that she was still cuffed to the back of the chair. He got up and went into the living room, returning in short order with Yamazaki the guard, who released her wrists and deftly fastened her ankle to the chair as he had done the previous evening.
And so Kagome was finally able to eat, again praising Sasaki’s cooking when asked her opinion. Her natural excitement at the prospect of speaking to Inuyasha again couldn’t fail to manifest in her tone and demeanor. But she was careful to project nothing more than temporary solidarity; she still didn’t want Sasaki to get any ideas.
Later that evening, Kagome was still gripped by real giddiness. It prevented her from falling asleep, but that was okay. She would use the time to think of what she would say to him. She hadn’t been lying when she’d told Sasaki that speaking to Inuyasha would put her at ease. It would, however, only strengthen her resolve to escape and set him free.
The hanyou rolled his eyes; it had already been a long morning. Sasaki had started out by asking him to strip to the waist and put a pair of thick, funny-looking glasses over his eyes. Then one of the guards had approached and started shooting at him with a gun. The first time one of those tiny colored balls impacted his skin, Inuyasha understood the need for eye protection. Something moving that quickly could really do damage to the eye. (3) Sasaki explained that it was a ‘paintball’ and they wanted to test his reflexes. Inuyasha complied, the sting of the pellets providing enough motivation to dodge them. And so he did, avoiding the paintballs from distances so short that a human would not even begin to react to the firing of the gun.
Next they wanted to test his claws. After subjecting his hand to close examination at gunpoint, they supplied him with a wide variety of materials, most of which Inuyasha was able to slice through easily. Now, Sasaki passed him a long metal bar, which looked like it had been taken from the cage he had wrecked before.
“I can’t cut through this,” he answered honestly.
“Use your ‘Sankon Tetsusou,’ I believe it was,” Sasaki ordered, his expression morphed into curious excitement.
Inuyasha grimaced; he really didn’t want to reveal the full extent of his abilities. Even over the previous two days, he had never truly gone all out on one of their experiments. But he supposed it was unavoidable here; they had already seen Sankon Tetsusou, after all. Hopefully he could at least keep Hijin Ketsusou a secret. Sighing, he summoned his youki and performed the attack.
“Amazing,” Sasaki observed. “How do you do that?”
Inuyasha shrugged. “Just using my youki, I guess.”
“Do you have any other youki-based attacks?”
“Nope.”
“He’s lying,” Yoshida interjected, observing the hanyou closely from the side. Inuyasha glared at him, wanting nothing more than to shove one half of the severed metal bar down his throat. But the mercenary was correct about his untruthfulness; he had to somehow dodge the question or they would force him to reveal Hijin Ketsusou as well.
“If you wanna see more, give me back my sword.”
“That rusty old thing?” Yoshida replied dubiously. “I took that piece of junk to a pawn shop yesterday, and the guy offered me 1,300 yen for it.” (4)
“You sold Tetsusaiga?!” Inuyasha exclaimed, clenching both fists so hard he drew blood.
“Not for 1,300 yen. I’d rather keep it as a souvenir.”
“Why don’t you give it back to me then? Think of it as a gesture of good will.”
“Ha! Nice try. You’ve probably got some crazy hanyou thing going with it. I give it to you, and you slice the cage into pieces before we can blink. Was that the plan?”
Inuyasha did his best to feign disappointment. Actually, if I had Tetsusaiga, I could blow you all away with one swing.
“You’ll have to do better than that, hanyou,” Yoshida said smugly.
Inuyasha spun on his heel, stalking angrily to the bench press, where he proceeded to begin lifting, ostensibly to work off his frustration. But inside the hanyou was grinning from ear to ear. He knew his captors would never in a million years have given Tetsusaiga back, but by making Yoshida all defensive about it, and playing to his ego, he had successfully avoided Sasaki’s question and kept Hijin Ketsusou confidential. And maybe now Yoshida would keep Tetsusaiga around so when he did break out, he could reclaim it.
Again, a victory was a victory, no matter how small.
It had been quite a surprise when she observed Sasaki setting up an archery target in his yard earlier this afternoon, through her now closed and locked window, of course. She could only assume it was meant for her; she had told them all about her archery and miko powers while under the influence of those cursed drugs. Perhaps Sasaki sought to verify her claims with his own eyes.
Now she knew her intuition had been correct. Her host wanted her to spiritually charge arrows and fire them into the target. Easy enough, and she was secretly grateful for the excursion. It was absolutely wonderful to be outside again; she slipped off her sandals just for the simple pleasure of feeling the grass between her toes. She took the offered bow, a modern compound design with crisscrossing strings and pulleys that looked nothing like her simple longbow from the feudal era. But the principle was the same, and she quickly notched the arrow and aimed with practiced ease. Charging the projectile, she let fly and watched as it embedded in the outer ring of the target. Not bad for her first time using a modern bow.
“Impressive,” Sasaki proclaimed, “I could really see the pink glow. It’s too bad we can’t test its effectiveness. Your spiritual energy won’t work on normal people or animals, right?”
“Nope. Just on youkai.”
“I see. Why don’t you shoot off a few more.”
Kagome was happy to oblige; it meant she could stay outside longer. She held out her hand to Yamazaki, waiting for him to give her another arrow. As she turned back to the target, two dark shapes caught her eye. It was the dogs, lying against the side of the house, watching them. But they were not lounging; their heads were up, bodies stock still. All of their attention was focused on her. Hmm, maybe they don’t like my miko energy? Deciding to run a little experiment of her own, she charged and loosed a second arrow, immediately turning back to observe the dogs afterwards. They were not cowering, but her strange power clearly made them uncomfortable. She would definitely make a mental note of that.
The rest of the day passed in normal course, until dinner where Sasaki seemed especially pleased with himself for some reason. Kagome couldn’t help but smile brilliantly when he told her she would get to talk to Inuyasha tomorrow. She was dying to know how he was doing, and how Yoshida and his lackeys were treating him, and she was sure he was curious about her situation as well. Sasaki said he purposely proposed the idea to Yoshida in Inuyasha’s presence so the mercenary would have a tougher time refusing. In all honesty, it had never occurred to the hanyou that such a thing was possible, having virtually no experience with the modern telephone. But once it was mentioned, Inuyasha had indeed been quite insistent, and Yoshida eventually relented, with certain conditions. For one thing, the call would be electronically monitored. But that was fine with Kagome; she hadn’t really expected privacy to begin with. This was more about exchanging assurances of good health, and simply communicating with each other again after days of forced separation. She hoped Inuyasha was looking forward to it as much as she was.
Yoshida tossed the phone toward him, and Inuyasha snatched it out of the air, no longer caring if he revealed how energized he was. He had tried to conceal his excitement for awhile, secretly fearing that Yoshida would change his mind at the last minute and smash the phone in front of him, or something sadistic like that. But now the handset was in his possession, and the bastard would have to pry it from his cold, dead fingers to get it back before he heard Kagome’s voice.
Putting the contraption to his ear as he’d seen the miko’s family members do, he listened for a moment to the sound of eager, shallow breathing coming from the other end. He grinned from ear to ear; Kagome was as thrilled as he was.
“Kagome?”
“Inuyasha,” she breathed, her voice flowing in relief like a gentle forest stream.
“You alright, wench?”
Kagome chuckled. “I’m glad to see you haven’t changed.”
Inuyasha didn’t know if she was referring to his concern for her or the affectionate pet name. “Answer the damn question,” he replied with only mock irritation.
“I’m fine. What about you?”
“You first. Details, woman. How has that Sasaki guy been treating you?”
“Very well, actually. I’m sure my room is a lot nicer than the cage you’re sitting in,” she stated despondently.
“Don’t worry about that. Are you eating? Have they hurt you in any way? Did they—”
“Inuyasha, wait a second. Yes, I’m eating, and no, they haven’t hurt me. They haven’t even made me uncomfortable…except for a couple times,” she mumbled absently.
“What was that?”
“N-never mind!”
“Kagome…” he spoke lowly, his tone indicating that he would pester her about it until she told him.
“Well…Yamazaki is a little perverted.”
“WHAT?!”
“No, no! He hasn’t done anything, honest! Don’t worry.”
Inuyasha growled, contemplating all the ways he could punish a man for even acting hentai toward Kagome. “Tell him to cut it the fuck out, or he’ll have to deal with me. And I don’t play nice.”
He caught the sound of laughter, and pulled the phone away from his ear momentarily to glare at the source. Yoshida and one of his lackeys were sitting at a table, upon which rested some fancy-looking machinery which was connected to the handset by a long cord. Both were wearing what Inuyasha recognized as headphones. That must be how they’re listening to our conversation.
“Inuyasha?”
Kagome’s voice broke his distraction, and he put the phone to his ear again. “Yeah?”
“I was just saying that it’s your turn. How are you doing?”
He shrugged. “Fine. It’s not that uncomfortable in here; I’m used to sleeping without a bed. They ask me to do ‘tests’ for them, like how strong I am, and how fast my reflexes are, but mostly I just sit around trying to occupy myself.”
“I know what you mean. The boredom is terrible. Sometimes I just lie on my bed and…think about you.”
More mirth sounded from the peanut gallery. “Aw, how sweet,” Yoshida sneered, to which Inuyasha mouthed ‘fuck off.’ He decided that he didn’t give a shit what any of these bastards thought of him. So, swallowing his nerves, he answered from the heart.
“Uh…yeah, me too.”
“But you just said you didn’t have a bed.”
Inuyasha stuttered for a moment, but Kagome’s giggles let him know that she was just teasing him. “Damn wench.”
She sighed wistfully. “I wish I could see you. But I don’t know where you are, or even where I am for that matter. Outside the city is pretty much all I can tell you.”
“Keh. That’s more than I can say. I haven’t seen the world outside this building since I got here.”
“Um, about that,” Kagome hedged, and Inuyasha just knew she was about to say something completely ridiculous. “You should break out and go back to the feudal era. I’ll be fine; they have no reason to hold me if they can’t use me as a hostage to get to you.”
Inuyasha resisted the urge to figuratively bite her head off for that suggestion, and instead literally chomped on his tongue.
“Kagome,” he stated seriously, “do you really think I’d abandon you like that? I’ve sworn to protect you!”
“I didn’t think you’d go for it, but I feel better for saying it. I wouldn’t hold it against you, you know.”
“Yeah, but I would never forgive myself. Besides, I don’t trust Yoshida,” he declared, glowering at said mercenary. He’d do it. He’d have Kagome killed just because I decided to disobey him. Bastard.
“I can see why,” Kagome remarked dryly, probably reliving miserable memories of her own interactions with Yoshida. “But let’s not talk about that.”
“Keh. What do you wanna talk about?”
“Um…well, I’ve always wanted to know more about you.”
“What’s there to know? My name is Inuyasha and I’m a hanyou.”
“I know who you are now, but what about before? Why don’t you tell me a story from when you were growing up?”
Inuyasha hesitated; that was something he’d never done before, in part because nobody had ever asked. But Kagome was asking now, and he couldn’t see a reason to refuse. His early years had been lonely, and he had suffered at times, but it wasn’t all bad. Kagome, however, apparently took his silence the wrong way.
“I’m sorry! I know you don’t like to—”
“No…it’s okay.”
After some reflection, Inuyasha began spinning a harmless tale of one of the many times he’d rescued humans from rogue youkai. Even during his ‘I hate the world and it hates me’ phase, he’d never been content to sit back and watch if he stumbled upon a youkai attacking some helpless human. In this particular instance, he and the boy he saved had actually struck up a tentative friendship. Every day the kid would bring him something tasty to eat, at least until the parents found out and sent an angry mob after him. Inuyasha had simply moved on like he always did. But he hoped the boy remembered the experience, and grew up with a different perspective on hanyou than his fellow villagers.
The talked for another half hour, about nothing and everything. Both knew the conversation was just an excuse not to break the contact. But unfortunately, all good things must come to an end.
“Wrap it up, lover boy,” Yoshida called, and the hitch in Kagome’s breath suggested that she’d heard him. (5) Still, Inuyasha couldn’t bring himself to feel too embarrassed; Yoshida could insinuate all he wanted about their relationship. It was not as though the thought of being with Kagome that way had never crossed his mind. He just didn’t know if it was ever going to happen, or if that was even what he wanted. As for what Kagome wanted, well, she had been sending mixed signals ever since he met her. Sometimes he swore he saw something more than friendship in her gaze. At other times, he didn’t know what to think. He did know that he had far too much of his emotional well-being invested in her safety, what she thought of him, and whether she was happy at any given moment. Somehow, he didn’t regret any of it.
“Ass.” “Jerk.”
Their simultaneous insults resulted in mild amusement on their parts, but wound up antagonizing Yoshida and his pet peeve.
“Pulling the plug in five seconds!” the mercenary announced.
“Ah! Bye, Inuyasha,” Kagome said rapidly. “It was great talking to you. I hope they let us do this again soon.”
“Yeah. Bye.”
*Click*
Kagome sighed happily and flopped back on the bed. Just hearing Inuyasha’s voice had been special, since neither of them could even be sure they’d ever see each other again. And he had really opened up. Her suggestion had come on a whim; she’d been trying to think of something they could talk about that their captors couldn’t use against them. Memories from Inuyasha’s past fit the bill, especially since he could act as his own censor. And she’d always been interested in learning more about him, including what made him the man he was today. Of course, she’d been so giddy at the time that she had blurted it out without thinking of his feelings. Inuyasha guarded his past closely, rarely revealing anything of substance unless he couldn’t avoid it. That he had decided to grant her access to even a small piece of it made Kagome feel privileged indeed. Maybe she could persuade him to tell her more stories in the future.
That is, if they even had a future together. There had been no promises of more phone calls after this one, but she hoped their captors would allow it. She did know one thing, however: if that was the last time she spoke to Inuyasha, it would be because she was dead. Nothing else would ever be able to stop her from trying to reach him. It was too bad neither of them would be allowed to keep the phones, because she remembered the number from watching Yamazaki punch it in. Actually, it was really too bad she couldn’t call the police from this phone.
Wait, why couldn’t she call the police from this phone? It was a normal telephone; Yamazaki had plugged it into the wall and dialed as anyone would have. Then he had left, telling her to unplug it and leave it by the door when she was done. So the only question was whether Yoshida would intercept an outgoing call from her end. All the monitoring equipment had been at Inuyasha’s location, right? And if her call went somewhere else, they wouldn’t even know she had made a call! Unless Yoshida had anticipated such a move, and bugged the line at her end too.
So here she was, presented with yet another risky proposition, probably even more dangerous than climbing out the window on a fabric rope. For if she miscalculated here, then Yoshida would be made aware of her ‘misbehavior,’ and she knew he would not be as forgiving as Sasaki. But on the other hand, human beings were imperfect creatures; no man, no matter how intelligent he was, could possibly contemplate every eventuality. Yoshida could very well have overlooked something like this, or perhaps he was expecting Yamazaki to monitor her use of the phone more closely. Either way, there was a decent chance she could make her escape with one phone call. It was worth the risk.
With shaking hands she picked up the handset, glancing over her shoulder to make sure the door was still closed. Then she punched in the numbers 1-1, hesitating a moment before finally pressing 0 to complete the call. (6)
“This is 110. What’s your emergency?” a mid-range male voice asked.
Kagome grimaced; she would have felt a lot more confident speaking to a woman. But if that was one of Yoshida’s men, then she was already busted, so there was no reason not to press forward.
“I’ve been kidnapped, but I don’t know where I am,” she answered quickly, again glancing toward the door. She wasn’t sure how long Yamazaki would wait before checking on her as he’d already done several times during the original call. It probably depended on the commercial breaks in whatever TV show he was watching.
“Okay, well I can trace your call and send the police over. Are you hurt?”
“No, I’m fine.”
“Can you describe your location?”
“It’s a big house. I’m on the third floor.”
“Okay. Are there any other hostages?”
“No.”
“What about your abductors?”
“I think two of them are here.”
“Do you know their names?”
“Sasaki and Yamazaki. Listen, I should go. I’m afraid to stay on any longer.”
“Okay. Just sit tight and the police will be there shortly.”
“Thank you.”
*Click*
Kagome immediately got up and placed the phone by the door so as not to arouse Yamazaki’s suspicion. Then she returned to the bed, sitting on the edge and gazing anxiously out the window. There was nothing she could do now except cross her fingers and hope for flashing lights and blaring sirens on the horizon.
“And now you see why I don’t trust my subordinates,” Yoshida declared darkly. “Yamazaki is getting my boot up his ass for this.”
“You can trust me, boss,” Goto teased. “I’ve never let you down.”
“Bullshit. You were pretty convincing though.”
“Thanks. I took a theater class in high school.”
“Pansy.”
“Fuck off.”
“Can someone tell me what the fuck is going on?!” Inuyasha demanded suddenly. “That was Kagome, wasn’t it?”
“Your hearing is pretty good, hanyou,” Yoshida replied. “Yes, that was Kagome, trying to call the police to rescue her. It obviously didn’t work.” With that, Yoshida turned and marched toward the warehouse exit. Inuyasha did not like the cruel glint in his eye.
“Where the hell are you going?” the hanyou barked, an edge of vicious threat in his tone. Yoshida stopped, turning slowly back with a malicious grin marring his features.
“To teach that little bitch a lesson.”
A feral snarl tore its way from Inuyasha’s throat; his eyes flashed crimson. “You don’t fucking touch her,” he growled low, taking two of the cage bars in his hand and twisting them, creaking and groaning under the pressure. Yoshida immediately saw the situation for what it was, and motioned to one of subordinates, who pulled out his cell phone and dialed. His thumb hovered over the ‘send’ button, waiting for the order.
“Calm yourself down, hanyou,” Yoshida ordered. “I won’t kill her, if you behave yourself. Try anything else, and I’ll have her shot in the head. Then I’ll bleed you like a stuck pig.”
Inuyasha took several deep, rasping breaths. Without Tetsusaiga to keep his youkai blood in check, he was rapidly losing control of his more savage side. Later he would question why his youkai side rose up so vehemently at the threat of physical harm to Kagome, but right now he focused solely on getting it back under control. Finally, he was able to release his vice grip on the bars and take a tortuous step back.
“Smart choice,” Yoshida declared, turning to his subordinate. “Call Yamazaki if he tries anything, and we won’t stop at teaching her a lesson.”
Then he was gone, leaving Inuyasha to fend off another flood of brutal, yet strangely protective bloodlust. His more instinctual half thought in only the most basic terms. Stop Yoshida! Save Kagome! It did not understand why he could do neither. He turned to the only objects in the cell besides himself—the exercise equipment. He needed an outlet for his frustrated rage, and those contraptions would do just fine.
Ten minutes later, neither item was remotely recognizable; pieces of both littered the floor. Inuyasha was not surprised, however, that his actions provided little comfort. If anything, being forced to take out his fury on inanimate objects only made him feel even more helpless. He flopped on his back, banging his head against the floor several times. But self-inflicted pain didn’t make him feel better either. The only thing which could soothe him now was Kagome, safe and undamaged in his arms. Unfortunately, it appeared at least part of that wish was unlikely to happen any time soon.
I’m sorry, Kagome…
(1) You see the bed sheet rope all the time in movies and TV, but it actually works in real life. They tested it on “Mythbusters,” (yes, I am a nerd) and that’s also why Kagome gets rope burn. I probably wouldn’t have thought of that on my own. Did you know you can also escape from prison using ropes made of hair or toilet paper? Though it might be easier to pull an Andy Dufresne and dig/crawl your way out
(2) 2,000 yen is about $25
(3) In high school, one of the kids in my grade was playing paintball without goggles, and got shot right in the eye. I think he had to have surgery, and I don’t know if he ever got full vision back. The lesson: don’t be stupid! Wear goggles!
(4) 1,300 yen is about $16
(5) “Lover boy” would really just be the approximate English translation here; think of a phrase in Japanese that both Kagome and Inuyasha would recognize as insinuating something about their relationship
(6) 110 is the emergency number for the Japanese police. Fire and medical used 119. Thanks, Wikipedia!
(7) 5,000 yen is about $62. Not a lot, but the bets are really more about male ego than getting rich. These guys do have to work together, after all
Converting /tmp/phpMZkjZf to /dev/stdout
Risk
A hundred ninety-eight, a hundred ninety-nine, two hundred.
Inuyasha set the weighted bar back on the frame and sat up, stretching his arms over his head. After damaging it yesterday, he had decided to keep the bench press. He had been getting a little antsy lately, having never been cooped up this long before. I thought it was bad when Miroku locked me up to protect me from Rouyakan. That was nothing compared to this. At least the bench press gave him a way to channel some of his pent up energy. Bending a couple pieces of the contraption back into place made it usable again, and he had been lifting five hundred pounds whenever he felt the urge ever since. Two hundred reps weren’t that hard, but it was challenging enough to take the edge off. He didn’t want to exhaust himself; one never knew when the opportunity to escape would arise.
Yoshida had originally refused to let him keep the bench press, probably out of spite, but Sasaki had managed to persuade him otherwise. Inuyasha was grateful, because he’d probably be literally bouncing off the bars right now if he didn’t have a constructive outlet. That was why he was not disappointed when Sasaki approached him and announced that the next test they wished to perform was one of stamina, specifically stamina while running. The device they wheeled into the cage this time was called a ‘treadmill,’ and had apparently been custom made by one of Yoshida’s mercenaries. Sasaki said that no normal treadmill would stand a chance of keeping up with him.
This time there was no snickering as Inuyasha inspected and climbed on the machine. It seemed simple enough; you ran on the movable section and it measured your speed. The tread was very easy to set in motion so as not to interfere with the readings of Inuyasha’s velocity. The hanyou knew he would miss the wind in his face and the sense of freedom he achieved from running in the feudal era, but he was still looking forward to the chance to really stretch his legs. The results were no less amazing to his captors than those of the previous day.
“Well,” Sasaki declared, “it appears we have a new holder of the title of world’s fastest land anim—mammal.”
Yoshida quirked an eyebrow at the correction, but shrugged it off. He didn’t particularly give a damn what Sasaki thought of Inuyasha, as long as he could turn the hanyou into several proverbial briefcases full of retirement money. He had already picked out the island he was going to purchase with his share. And he’d have enough left over to make sure that island was always fully stocked with expensive toys and beautiful women. He smirked just thinking about it.
“I’m keeping this too,” Inuyasha called.
“Of course,” Sasaki answered, not even giving him a chance to refuse this time. Yoshida just shrugged; it wasn’t worth fighting over. He had let the hanyou make a fool of him yesterday. It would not happen again.
* * *
Kagome hummed softly to herself as she pulled a load of clothes out of the washing machine and stuffed them in the dryer. It wasn’t so bad being locked in the laundry room; at least she was out of her bedroom. Sasaki had been happy to allow her to wash her own clothes, and had accepted her offer to wash his as well. Hell, even the guard had joined in. That was fine; it was something to do. She could only spend so much time watching TV or reading a book from her host’s small library before she pulled her hair out. She couldn’t spend every minute of every day planning her escape, after all. Sasaki had been true to his word when he said she wouldn’t see Inoue. He apparently drove into town early this morning to meet the part-time housekeeper and accept delivery of the items she requested. They were sitting on her bureau when she woke up. But at least she was wearing clean underwear, and Inoue knew how to pick out a comfortable bra.
Unfortunately, the only window in the laundry room was locked tight, as was the door. She wanted to try something today, but not from here. Although, I suppose I could threaten him. Let me go or I’ll shrink all your clothes! She shook her head; regrettably, most of her escape ideas were as stupid as that one. She only had a few that could conceivably work, but probably wouldn’t. Still, she’d been brainstorming long enough, and felt the urge to actually do something towards achieving her freedom.
After the laundry was dry, sorted, and folded, the guard escorted Kagome back up to her room. Sasaki was out for the day, probably to see Inuyasha, and Kagome was fairly nervous being alone with this man. But aside from placing his hand too close to her backside for comfort a couple times, the guard didn’t try anything. He seemed irritated, which Kagome later learned was because he had to make and bring her lunch today. Oh, he can’t sit on ass the whole day. I feel so bad for him. Watching her must be the cushiest job ever. Hopefully, that was about to change.
A half hour later, Kagome sat on her bed, studying her handiwork with a critical eye. She had found a few sets of spare sheets on top of the closet, and tied several together to make a long makeshift rope. But was this really going to work? Wouldn’t they anticipate something so obvious as climbing out the window on a bed sheet rope? The answer was probably in the affirmative, but unfortunately it was the best idea she had. Eh, sometimes the simplest solutions are the best.
Her biggest problem was the potential of being seen through a window on the first or second floor. But the guard was most likely in the living room, which was on the opposite side of the house. At any rate, there was nothing she could do about it except move quickly and hope for the best. It took her a few more minutes to rebuild her resolve, a sudden rush of adrenaline causing her to briefly second-guess whether this was really a good idea. But she had already decided that it was her responsibility to rescue both herself and Inuyasha this time, and she couldn’t do that unless she actually tried.
So, after tying one end of the rope securely to the nearest bed post, she tossed the remainder out the window. Leaning outside, she was pleased to see that she had calculated the distance correctly; the bottom of the rope hung only about two feet off the ground. But the action also made her realize just how far up she was. Sure, she had gone up higher, but only while riding Kirara or Inuyasha. Never on her own, where a slip would surely mean a bone-breaking plunge of two and a half unusually tall stories onto dry, hard ground. She doubted the grass would provide much of a cushion. But if she was unwilling to take risks, she might as well just resign herself to staying here until she was released or killed. There was no way she was going to chicken out on this one.
After a deep breath, Kagome swung one leg out the window so she was straddling the sill. Gripping the rope in her right hand, she slowly slid her other leg outside, clutching the rope between them before releasing the sill and attaching her left hand to the lifeline as well. She began to inch her way down toward the ground, and realized that this was not going to be as easy as they made it look in the movies. The rope was not a ladder; it swung unpredictably as she shifted her weight around. She couldn’t get a good grip with her legs, and was basically stuck holding herself up by her arms. Soon the muscles in her arms were burning, and she had to question her ability to continue at this pace. And she wasn’t even halfway down yet.
Her grip faltered for a moment and she slipped down a few inches, grimacing as the friction from the sheets bit into the skin of her hands. But the pain gave her an idea; maybe that was the best way to get down. Climbing certainly wasn’t working. Gritting her teeth, Kagome loosened her grip just enough to allow her to slide down the rope, until finally she was close enough to the ground to release the searing material. The landing was fairly jarring, but she kept her knees bent and came out with nothing more serious than a minor muscle pull. She hissed as she gazed at her hands, tinged an angry pinkish-red color. They hurt like hell, but she would worry about them later. (1) Right now, the only thing separating her from the open road was a few hundred feet of front yard and a low fence. Or so she thought.
The dogs came out of nowhere, two of them rounding the corner of the house barking and growling like the crazed animals they were. Kagome gasped, recoiling against the wall as the huge canines closed to within mere feet from her trembling form, continuing to vocalize savagely the whole time. She liked dogs in general, but these were vicious, and they weren’t hesitant about showing their sharp teeth either. Kagome got the distinct impression that if she ran, they would hunt her down like wolves after a fawn. Of course, from the look of things they might decide to take a bite out of her even if she stayed put. She fought against rising panic, but was truly at a loss for what to do.
A shrill whistle rent the air, and both dogs immediately went silent and turned their heads in the direction of the sound. It was the guard, jogging quickly toward them.
“Get away, boys!” he ordered, motioning emphatically away from Kagome. The dogs hesitated, glancing between the girl and their master; apparently they would rather stay and terrorize her some more.
“I said get!” the guard shouted with more authority this time, and the dogs responded, bounding off the way they had come. Throughout this exchange, Kagome remained standing motionless, hardly daring to breathe. But when the guard turned and shot her a derisive grin, her knees finally unlocked and she slid to the ground, physically and emotionally drained. Those two beasts rivaled any youkai she’d ever faced in pure ferocity. At least she could purify youkai; she didn’t know how effective her miko powers would be against dogs.
“The old bed sheet rope trick, eh?” the guard observed, chuckling to himself. “Sweet. Goto owes me a couple thousand yen!” (2)
Kagome just stared at him incredulously, still too shaky to form words without making a fool of herself. They were betting over how I would try to escape first? What a bunch of jerks!
“You ready to come back inside quietly, baby?” he inquired teasingly.
“Don’t call me that,” Kagome snapped, officially not amused.
The guard only laughed at her defiance. “Well, it’s nice to see you still have some spunk. But I wouldn’t try that again if I were you. Those dogs would have mauled you if I hadn’t stopped them.”
If he was expecting a ‘thank you,’ he didn’t get one. But Kagome knew when she was beaten, and didn’t offer any resistance as he led her back inside the house and sat her down on a chair in the dining room. Then he pulled her arms through the decorative openings in the back support and cuffed them so she couldn’t go anywhere without either breaking the chair or taking it with her. And that was how she spent the rest of the afternoon, contemplating her failure and building fresh resentment toward her captors.
She heard the front door open a little before six o’clock, light whistling drifting through the house until it abruptly ceased as Sasaki appeared in the entryway to the dining room.
“Kagome? What are you…oh, you tried to escape, didn’t you?” he demanded reproachfully. Kagome just glared at him, having decided to keep her mouth shut so her frustration didn’t lead her to say something that would get her in even more trouble. Shaking his head, Sasaki marched purposely into the living room. What followed was a muffled conversation Kagome could hear, but not make out the contents of. After a few minutes, Sasaki disappeared into the kitchen, his demeanor one of irritation. Kagome scowled. Oh, you’re pissed? Try sitting handcuffed to a chair all afternoon, you pompous ass! And that was why she was keeping her mouth shut.
Apparently cooking did much to ameliorate Sasaki’s sour mood, because he seemed much happier when he returned to set up a modest meal. But although he placed a plate and utensils in front of Kagome, and even served her food and drink, he did not release her bonds. Instead, he sat in his own chair and began to eat, ignoring her all the while. Kagome growled low, or was that her stomach? She was half-tempted to lean over and dig in with her face. Down, girl. You’re not a cow, and you’re not starving to death either. Just wait; Mr. Never-had-a-woman-over will break soon.
“Now, Kagome,” Sasaki began a few minutes later, “I want you to promise me that you won’t try to escape again. Then I’ll uncuff you.”
Kagome’s hackles rose as she bit back a laugh. Sorry, buddy, but bribing me with food isn’t gonna work, no matter how good it smells. “I’m not going to make a promise that I won’t keep.”
“Damn you, Kagome!” Sasaki spat, banging his fist into the table. “Don’t you realize what could’ve happened?”
Kagome was momentarily taken aback by the level of concern her host was showing. For better or worse, he had developed a certain fondness for her that went beyond that given to a mere houseguest. At the moment, Kagome couldn’t tell if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
“I mean, besides nearly getting eaten alive by Yoshida’s dogs,” Sasaki continued. “You’re only being allowed to stay here if you behave yourself. My checkbook and I managed to keep Yamazaki from telling his boss this time, but if you try to escape again, and Yoshida finds out, he might lock you in a closet somewhere, or even put a bullet in your head!”
Kagome digested his words and the emotions behind them. I see, so he likes me, but not enough to stand up to Yoshida. Great. Still, she could probably use that affection to her advantage. But back to the matter at hand, Sasaki was completely right about the potential consequences of her actions. But there were more important things than her own safety.
“I don’t care,” she stated firmly.
“W-what?” he gasped incredulously. “How can you not ca—”
“If me staying alive means Inuyasha has to spend the rest of his life in captivity, then I’d rather die trying to help him.”
Sasaki gaped at her, as if he couldn’t believe the statement which had just passed her lips. “Oh, that’s right, you love him,” he muttered after a moment, sighing and shaking his head. Kagome actually felt an iota of sympathy for the man; he didn’t even know what it felt like to love someone. He probably thought the sentiment was utterly foolish. It certainly wasn’t logical from the selfish perspective Sasaki lived in. And logically was exactly how he attacked her proclamation.
“You told us that Inuyasha cares for you as well. Do you think he’d want you risking your life to rescue him?”
Kagome smiled wistfully. “No, he’d tell me to lay low and not take any risks at all. But if he really thought about it, he’d realize that I’m right. And because he’d worry about me, he would understand why.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
Her grin turned wry. “I didn’t expect you to understand.”
Sasaki’s expression morphed into something akin to a pout. “I still say you’re taking too big a risk with your life.”
“Or maybe not.”
“Huh?”
“Or maybe I’m not taking much of a risk at all. Maybe my fate has already been decided. You can’t guarantee that Yoshida won’t kill me when this is over, even if I do behave, can you?”
Sasaki’s eyes widened, and he stuttered noiselessly for several moments. She had him on that one. Oh, such a wonderful victory, she thought sarcastically. At least now she had confirmation that there was probably still a death sentence hanging over her head. So if she was most likely condemned anyway, why not try to save both herself and Inuyasha instead?
“He might’ve changed his mind,” Sasaki mumbled, sounding decidedly unconvinced.
“I suppose so,” Kagome conceded, just to humor the man. She didn’t want to spend any more time talking about this, mostly because she could see the guilt all over Sasaki’s face and had an idea for a way to take advantage. There was something else she wanted more than clothes or feminine hygiene products, but hadn’t felt comfortable requesting before. She did, however, feel confident asking for it now.
“You know what might help me feel more content staying here?” she posed, pleased when Sasaki perked up immediately. “If I could talk to Inuyasha.”
“You know we can’t let you anywhere near him, Kagome.”
“I know. But what about over the phone? There’s no harm in that, is there?” She saw Sasaki wavering, and then put the icing on the cake. “I…I think just hearing his voice would put me at ease, you know?” She finished off with a dazzling smile, one which had her host looking away flustered. But she could see the wheels turning inside his head, as well as the inherent desire to please her. It almost made her feel bad for using her charms to manipulate him. Almost.
“I’ll see what I can do,” he declared resolutely.
“Thank you, Sasaki-san,” Kagome replied, bowing. It was at this point that her host realized that she was still cuffed to the back of the chair. He got up and went into the living room, returning in short order with Yamazaki the guard, who released her wrists and deftly fastened her ankle to the chair as he had done the previous evening.
And so Kagome was finally able to eat, again praising Sasaki’s cooking when asked her opinion. Her natural excitement at the prospect of speaking to Inuyasha again couldn’t fail to manifest in her tone and demeanor. But she was careful to project nothing more than temporary solidarity; she still didn’t want Sasaki to get any ideas.
Later that evening, Kagome was still gripped by real giddiness. It prevented her from falling asleep, but that was okay. She would use the time to think of what she would say to him. She hadn’t been lying when she’d told Sasaki that speaking to Inuyasha would put her at ease. It would, however, only strengthen her resolve to escape and set him free.
* * *
“Here you go, Inuyasha. This will be the last object for today.” The hanyou rolled his eyes; it had already been a long morning. Sasaki had started out by asking him to strip to the waist and put a pair of thick, funny-looking glasses over his eyes. Then one of the guards had approached and started shooting at him with a gun. The first time one of those tiny colored balls impacted his skin, Inuyasha understood the need for eye protection. Something moving that quickly could really do damage to the eye. (3) Sasaki explained that it was a ‘paintball’ and they wanted to test his reflexes. Inuyasha complied, the sting of the pellets providing enough motivation to dodge them. And so he did, avoiding the paintballs from distances so short that a human would not even begin to react to the firing of the gun.
Next they wanted to test his claws. After subjecting his hand to close examination at gunpoint, they supplied him with a wide variety of materials, most of which Inuyasha was able to slice through easily. Now, Sasaki passed him a long metal bar, which looked like it had been taken from the cage he had wrecked before.
“I can’t cut through this,” he answered honestly.
“Use your ‘Sankon Tetsusou,’ I believe it was,” Sasaki ordered, his expression morphed into curious excitement.
Inuyasha grimaced; he really didn’t want to reveal the full extent of his abilities. Even over the previous two days, he had never truly gone all out on one of their experiments. But he supposed it was unavoidable here; they had already seen Sankon Tetsusou, after all. Hopefully he could at least keep Hijin Ketsusou a secret. Sighing, he summoned his youki and performed the attack.
“Amazing,” Sasaki observed. “How do you do that?”
Inuyasha shrugged. “Just using my youki, I guess.”
“Do you have any other youki-based attacks?”
“Nope.”
“He’s lying,” Yoshida interjected, observing the hanyou closely from the side. Inuyasha glared at him, wanting nothing more than to shove one half of the severed metal bar down his throat. But the mercenary was correct about his untruthfulness; he had to somehow dodge the question or they would force him to reveal Hijin Ketsusou as well.
“If you wanna see more, give me back my sword.”
“That rusty old thing?” Yoshida replied dubiously. “I took that piece of junk to a pawn shop yesterday, and the guy offered me 1,300 yen for it.” (4)
“You sold Tetsusaiga?!” Inuyasha exclaimed, clenching both fists so hard he drew blood.
“Not for 1,300 yen. I’d rather keep it as a souvenir.”
“Why don’t you give it back to me then? Think of it as a gesture of good will.”
“Ha! Nice try. You’ve probably got some crazy hanyou thing going with it. I give it to you, and you slice the cage into pieces before we can blink. Was that the plan?”
Inuyasha did his best to feign disappointment. Actually, if I had Tetsusaiga, I could blow you all away with one swing.
“You’ll have to do better than that, hanyou,” Yoshida said smugly.
Inuyasha spun on his heel, stalking angrily to the bench press, where he proceeded to begin lifting, ostensibly to work off his frustration. But inside the hanyou was grinning from ear to ear. He knew his captors would never in a million years have given Tetsusaiga back, but by making Yoshida all defensive about it, and playing to his ego, he had successfully avoided Sasaki’s question and kept Hijin Ketsusou confidential. And maybe now Yoshida would keep Tetsusaiga around so when he did break out, he could reclaim it.
Again, a victory was a victory, no matter how small.
* * *
“Try anything funny and you get tasered,” Yamazaki declared humorlessly as he held out the bow and single arrow, keeping the rest attached to his belt. Kagome shot him a disbelieving look. What does he expect me to do, turn around a shoot him? She could never pull it off, not to mention that she wasn’t ready to murder anyone to effect her escape. It had been quite a surprise when she observed Sasaki setting up an archery target in his yard earlier this afternoon, through her now closed and locked window, of course. She could only assume it was meant for her; she had told them all about her archery and miko powers while under the influence of those cursed drugs. Perhaps Sasaki sought to verify her claims with his own eyes.
Now she knew her intuition had been correct. Her host wanted her to spiritually charge arrows and fire them into the target. Easy enough, and she was secretly grateful for the excursion. It was absolutely wonderful to be outside again; she slipped off her sandals just for the simple pleasure of feeling the grass between her toes. She took the offered bow, a modern compound design with crisscrossing strings and pulleys that looked nothing like her simple longbow from the feudal era. But the principle was the same, and she quickly notched the arrow and aimed with practiced ease. Charging the projectile, she let fly and watched as it embedded in the outer ring of the target. Not bad for her first time using a modern bow.
“Impressive,” Sasaki proclaimed, “I could really see the pink glow. It’s too bad we can’t test its effectiveness. Your spiritual energy won’t work on normal people or animals, right?”
“Nope. Just on youkai.”
“I see. Why don’t you shoot off a few more.”
Kagome was happy to oblige; it meant she could stay outside longer. She held out her hand to Yamazaki, waiting for him to give her another arrow. As she turned back to the target, two dark shapes caught her eye. It was the dogs, lying against the side of the house, watching them. But they were not lounging; their heads were up, bodies stock still. All of their attention was focused on her. Hmm, maybe they don’t like my miko energy? Deciding to run a little experiment of her own, she charged and loosed a second arrow, immediately turning back to observe the dogs afterwards. They were not cowering, but her strange power clearly made them uncomfortable. She would definitely make a mental note of that.
The rest of the day passed in normal course, until dinner where Sasaki seemed especially pleased with himself for some reason. Kagome couldn’t help but smile brilliantly when he told her she would get to talk to Inuyasha tomorrow. She was dying to know how he was doing, and how Yoshida and his lackeys were treating him, and she was sure he was curious about her situation as well. Sasaki said he purposely proposed the idea to Yoshida in Inuyasha’s presence so the mercenary would have a tougher time refusing. In all honesty, it had never occurred to the hanyou that such a thing was possible, having virtually no experience with the modern telephone. But once it was mentioned, Inuyasha had indeed been quite insistent, and Yoshida eventually relented, with certain conditions. For one thing, the call would be electronically monitored. But that was fine with Kagome; she hadn’t really expected privacy to begin with. This was more about exchanging assurances of good health, and simply communicating with each other again after days of forced separation. She hoped Inuyasha was looking forward to it as much as she was.
* * *
“Here you go, hanyou.” Yoshida tossed the phone toward him, and Inuyasha snatched it out of the air, no longer caring if he revealed how energized he was. He had tried to conceal his excitement for awhile, secretly fearing that Yoshida would change his mind at the last minute and smash the phone in front of him, or something sadistic like that. But now the handset was in his possession, and the bastard would have to pry it from his cold, dead fingers to get it back before he heard Kagome’s voice.
Putting the contraption to his ear as he’d seen the miko’s family members do, he listened for a moment to the sound of eager, shallow breathing coming from the other end. He grinned from ear to ear; Kagome was as thrilled as he was.
“Kagome?”
“Inuyasha,” she breathed, her voice flowing in relief like a gentle forest stream.
“You alright, wench?”
Kagome chuckled. “I’m glad to see you haven’t changed.”
Inuyasha didn’t know if she was referring to his concern for her or the affectionate pet name. “Answer the damn question,” he replied with only mock irritation.
“I’m fine. What about you?”
“You first. Details, woman. How has that Sasaki guy been treating you?”
“Very well, actually. I’m sure my room is a lot nicer than the cage you’re sitting in,” she stated despondently.
“Don’t worry about that. Are you eating? Have they hurt you in any way? Did they—”
“Inuyasha, wait a second. Yes, I’m eating, and no, they haven’t hurt me. They haven’t even made me uncomfortable…except for a couple times,” she mumbled absently.
“What was that?”
“N-never mind!”
“Kagome…” he spoke lowly, his tone indicating that he would pester her about it until she told him.
“Well…Yamazaki is a little perverted.”
“WHAT?!”
“No, no! He hasn’t done anything, honest! Don’t worry.”
Inuyasha growled, contemplating all the ways he could punish a man for even acting hentai toward Kagome. “Tell him to cut it the fuck out, or he’ll have to deal with me. And I don’t play nice.”
He caught the sound of laughter, and pulled the phone away from his ear momentarily to glare at the source. Yoshida and one of his lackeys were sitting at a table, upon which rested some fancy-looking machinery which was connected to the handset by a long cord. Both were wearing what Inuyasha recognized as headphones. That must be how they’re listening to our conversation.
“Inuyasha?”
Kagome’s voice broke his distraction, and he put the phone to his ear again. “Yeah?”
“I was just saying that it’s your turn. How are you doing?”
He shrugged. “Fine. It’s not that uncomfortable in here; I’m used to sleeping without a bed. They ask me to do ‘tests’ for them, like how strong I am, and how fast my reflexes are, but mostly I just sit around trying to occupy myself.”
“I know what you mean. The boredom is terrible. Sometimes I just lie on my bed and…think about you.”
More mirth sounded from the peanut gallery. “Aw, how sweet,” Yoshida sneered, to which Inuyasha mouthed ‘fuck off.’ He decided that he didn’t give a shit what any of these bastards thought of him. So, swallowing his nerves, he answered from the heart.
“Uh…yeah, me too.”
“But you just said you didn’t have a bed.”
Inuyasha stuttered for a moment, but Kagome’s giggles let him know that she was just teasing him. “Damn wench.”
She sighed wistfully. “I wish I could see you. But I don’t know where you are, or even where I am for that matter. Outside the city is pretty much all I can tell you.”
“Keh. That’s more than I can say. I haven’t seen the world outside this building since I got here.”
“Um, about that,” Kagome hedged, and Inuyasha just knew she was about to say something completely ridiculous. “You should break out and go back to the feudal era. I’ll be fine; they have no reason to hold me if they can’t use me as a hostage to get to you.”
Inuyasha resisted the urge to figuratively bite her head off for that suggestion, and instead literally chomped on his tongue.
“Kagome,” he stated seriously, “do you really think I’d abandon you like that? I’ve sworn to protect you!”
“I didn’t think you’d go for it, but I feel better for saying it. I wouldn’t hold it against you, you know.”
“Yeah, but I would never forgive myself. Besides, I don’t trust Yoshida,” he declared, glowering at said mercenary. He’d do it. He’d have Kagome killed just because I decided to disobey him. Bastard.
“I can see why,” Kagome remarked dryly, probably reliving miserable memories of her own interactions with Yoshida. “But let’s not talk about that.”
“Keh. What do you wanna talk about?”
“Um…well, I’ve always wanted to know more about you.”
“What’s there to know? My name is Inuyasha and I’m a hanyou.”
“I know who you are now, but what about before? Why don’t you tell me a story from when you were growing up?”
Inuyasha hesitated; that was something he’d never done before, in part because nobody had ever asked. But Kagome was asking now, and he couldn’t see a reason to refuse. His early years had been lonely, and he had suffered at times, but it wasn’t all bad. Kagome, however, apparently took his silence the wrong way.
“I’m sorry! I know you don’t like to—”
“No…it’s okay.”
After some reflection, Inuyasha began spinning a harmless tale of one of the many times he’d rescued humans from rogue youkai. Even during his ‘I hate the world and it hates me’ phase, he’d never been content to sit back and watch if he stumbled upon a youkai attacking some helpless human. In this particular instance, he and the boy he saved had actually struck up a tentative friendship. Every day the kid would bring him something tasty to eat, at least until the parents found out and sent an angry mob after him. Inuyasha had simply moved on like he always did. But he hoped the boy remembered the experience, and grew up with a different perspective on hanyou than his fellow villagers.
The talked for another half hour, about nothing and everything. Both knew the conversation was just an excuse not to break the contact. But unfortunately, all good things must come to an end.
“Wrap it up, lover boy,” Yoshida called, and the hitch in Kagome’s breath suggested that she’d heard him. (5) Still, Inuyasha couldn’t bring himself to feel too embarrassed; Yoshida could insinuate all he wanted about their relationship. It was not as though the thought of being with Kagome that way had never crossed his mind. He just didn’t know if it was ever going to happen, or if that was even what he wanted. As for what Kagome wanted, well, she had been sending mixed signals ever since he met her. Sometimes he swore he saw something more than friendship in her gaze. At other times, he didn’t know what to think. He did know that he had far too much of his emotional well-being invested in her safety, what she thought of him, and whether she was happy at any given moment. Somehow, he didn’t regret any of it.
“Ass.” “Jerk.”
Their simultaneous insults resulted in mild amusement on their parts, but wound up antagonizing Yoshida and his pet peeve.
“Pulling the plug in five seconds!” the mercenary announced.
“Ah! Bye, Inuyasha,” Kagome said rapidly. “It was great talking to you. I hope they let us do this again soon.”
“Yeah. Bye.”
*Click*
Kagome sighed happily and flopped back on the bed. Just hearing Inuyasha’s voice had been special, since neither of them could even be sure they’d ever see each other again. And he had really opened up. Her suggestion had come on a whim; she’d been trying to think of something they could talk about that their captors couldn’t use against them. Memories from Inuyasha’s past fit the bill, especially since he could act as his own censor. And she’d always been interested in learning more about him, including what made him the man he was today. Of course, she’d been so giddy at the time that she had blurted it out without thinking of his feelings. Inuyasha guarded his past closely, rarely revealing anything of substance unless he couldn’t avoid it. That he had decided to grant her access to even a small piece of it made Kagome feel privileged indeed. Maybe she could persuade him to tell her more stories in the future.
That is, if they even had a future together. There had been no promises of more phone calls after this one, but she hoped their captors would allow it. She did know one thing, however: if that was the last time she spoke to Inuyasha, it would be because she was dead. Nothing else would ever be able to stop her from trying to reach him. It was too bad neither of them would be allowed to keep the phones, because she remembered the number from watching Yamazaki punch it in. Actually, it was really too bad she couldn’t call the police from this phone.
Wait, why couldn’t she call the police from this phone? It was a normal telephone; Yamazaki had plugged it into the wall and dialed as anyone would have. Then he had left, telling her to unplug it and leave it by the door when she was done. So the only question was whether Yoshida would intercept an outgoing call from her end. All the monitoring equipment had been at Inuyasha’s location, right? And if her call went somewhere else, they wouldn’t even know she had made a call! Unless Yoshida had anticipated such a move, and bugged the line at her end too.
So here she was, presented with yet another risky proposition, probably even more dangerous than climbing out the window on a fabric rope. For if she miscalculated here, then Yoshida would be made aware of her ‘misbehavior,’ and she knew he would not be as forgiving as Sasaki. But on the other hand, human beings were imperfect creatures; no man, no matter how intelligent he was, could possibly contemplate every eventuality. Yoshida could very well have overlooked something like this, or perhaps he was expecting Yamazaki to monitor her use of the phone more closely. Either way, there was a decent chance she could make her escape with one phone call. It was worth the risk.
With shaking hands she picked up the handset, glancing over her shoulder to make sure the door was still closed. Then she punched in the numbers 1-1, hesitating a moment before finally pressing 0 to complete the call. (6)
“This is 110. What’s your emergency?” a mid-range male voice asked.
Kagome grimaced; she would have felt a lot more confident speaking to a woman. But if that was one of Yoshida’s men, then she was already busted, so there was no reason not to press forward.
“I’ve been kidnapped, but I don’t know where I am,” she answered quickly, again glancing toward the door. She wasn’t sure how long Yamazaki would wait before checking on her as he’d already done several times during the original call. It probably depended on the commercial breaks in whatever TV show he was watching.
“Okay, well I can trace your call and send the police over. Are you hurt?”
“No, I’m fine.”
“Can you describe your location?”
“It’s a big house. I’m on the third floor.”
“Okay. Are there any other hostages?”
“No.”
“What about your abductors?”
“I think two of them are here.”
“Do you know their names?”
“Sasaki and Yamazaki. Listen, I should go. I’m afraid to stay on any longer.”
“Okay. Just sit tight and the police will be there shortly.”
“Thank you.”
*Click*
Kagome immediately got up and placed the phone by the door so as not to arouse Yamazaki’s suspicion. Then she returned to the bed, sitting on the edge and gazing anxiously out the window. There was nothing she could do now except cross her fingers and hope for flashing lights and blaring sirens on the horizon.
* * *
Goto replaced the handset, grinning widely. “I knew she’d try to call the police. Nakamura owes me five thousand yen!” (7) “And now you see why I don’t trust my subordinates,” Yoshida declared darkly. “Yamazaki is getting my boot up his ass for this.”
“You can trust me, boss,” Goto teased. “I’ve never let you down.”
“Bullshit. You were pretty convincing though.”
“Thanks. I took a theater class in high school.”
“Pansy.”
“Fuck off.”
“Can someone tell me what the fuck is going on?!” Inuyasha demanded suddenly. “That was Kagome, wasn’t it?”
“Your hearing is pretty good, hanyou,” Yoshida replied. “Yes, that was Kagome, trying to call the police to rescue her. It obviously didn’t work.” With that, Yoshida turned and marched toward the warehouse exit. Inuyasha did not like the cruel glint in his eye.
“Where the hell are you going?” the hanyou barked, an edge of vicious threat in his tone. Yoshida stopped, turning slowly back with a malicious grin marring his features.
“To teach that little bitch a lesson.”
A feral snarl tore its way from Inuyasha’s throat; his eyes flashed crimson. “You don’t fucking touch her,” he growled low, taking two of the cage bars in his hand and twisting them, creaking and groaning under the pressure. Yoshida immediately saw the situation for what it was, and motioned to one of subordinates, who pulled out his cell phone and dialed. His thumb hovered over the ‘send’ button, waiting for the order.
“Calm yourself down, hanyou,” Yoshida ordered. “I won’t kill her, if you behave yourself. Try anything else, and I’ll have her shot in the head. Then I’ll bleed you like a stuck pig.”
Inuyasha took several deep, rasping breaths. Without Tetsusaiga to keep his youkai blood in check, he was rapidly losing control of his more savage side. Later he would question why his youkai side rose up so vehemently at the threat of physical harm to Kagome, but right now he focused solely on getting it back under control. Finally, he was able to release his vice grip on the bars and take a tortuous step back.
“Smart choice,” Yoshida declared, turning to his subordinate. “Call Yamazaki if he tries anything, and we won’t stop at teaching her a lesson.”
Then he was gone, leaving Inuyasha to fend off another flood of brutal, yet strangely protective bloodlust. His more instinctual half thought in only the most basic terms. Stop Yoshida! Save Kagome! It did not understand why he could do neither. He turned to the only objects in the cell besides himself—the exercise equipment. He needed an outlet for his frustrated rage, and those contraptions would do just fine.
Ten minutes later, neither item was remotely recognizable; pieces of both littered the floor. Inuyasha was not surprised, however, that his actions provided little comfort. If anything, being forced to take out his fury on inanimate objects only made him feel even more helpless. He flopped on his back, banging his head against the floor several times. But self-inflicted pain didn’t make him feel better either. The only thing which could soothe him now was Kagome, safe and undamaged in his arms. Unfortunately, it appeared at least part of that wish was unlikely to happen any time soon.
I’m sorry, Kagome…
(1) You see the bed sheet rope all the time in movies and TV, but it actually works in real life. They tested it on “Mythbusters,” (yes, I am a nerd) and that’s also why Kagome gets rope burn. I probably wouldn’t have thought of that on my own. Did you know you can also escape from prison using ropes made of hair or toilet paper? Though it might be easier to pull an Andy Dufresne and dig/crawl your way out
(2) 2,000 yen is about $25
(3) In high school, one of the kids in my grade was playing paintball without goggles, and got shot right in the eye. I think he had to have surgery, and I don’t know if he ever got full vision back. The lesson: don’t be stupid! Wear goggles!
(4) 1,300 yen is about $16
(5) “Lover boy” would really just be the approximate English translation here; think of a phrase in Japanese that both Kagome and Inuyasha would recognize as insinuating something about their relationship
(6) 110 is the emergency number for the Japanese police. Fire and medical used 119. Thanks, Wikipedia!
(7) 5,000 yen is about $62. Not a lot, but the bets are really more about male ego than getting rich. These guys do have to work together, after all
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