InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Escape ❯ Reunion ( Chapter 16 )

Disclaimer: You know the deal. Must I say it again? I don't own Inuyasha, therefore, you can't sue me.

Sorry for the wait. I'm kind of busy with school and all. Report cards are coming up this week and I'm stressed out. I need to maintain my grades and stop neglecting my homework.

Review Responses:

Chibilee: ::sighs:: And I thought everyone would be happy that the foster parents were out of the picture. Oh well. Maybe I won't kill Ron off since he isn't so bad. Oh and I love your long reviews! ^-^ Quite entertaining. And I'm glad you like my newest fic. I needed to lay off the angst for a minute. Party-lover: Me? Talented? You're kidding right?, Leomae: Well you'll be happy to know that Kikyo doesn't play a big part in this chappie. The next chapter will probably evolve somewhat around her. ::ducks and covers:: Please don't kill me, angel of light and darkness: Calm down. Here is the next chappie. Sorry to keep ya' waiting., ish: You really hated Carla didn't cha? I wish I had a bumper sticker like that. Lol. And Kikyo will die, I assure you of it. Just not now. I need to show how much of a bitch she really is before I kill her off., iNiGmA, anime-babe21: Me? Evil? Why do you say that? ::smirks darkly to self::, New Fan, Cryxxy-chan: I love macadamia cookies! ::squeals with delight:: Thank you! But I probably won't be getting any cookies for the next chapter, lele, Demon Girl 16: ::nods sadly:: Yes, Kikyo is coming back, but she won't be around for long…hopefully, PeachesDani, demon angel: Thanks for pointing out the mistake. Its already fixed. Now enjoy this little chapter.

Last time:

Kagome stopped struggling in his grasp. He was right. Blaming herself wouldn't bring her Carla or her family back or wouldn't revive Rin or cure Ron. It would only hinder the healing process. She sniffled, then burrowed her head in his warm chest, inhaling the strong scent of masculinity and cinnamon that was being emitted from him. "You're right. I can't bring them back. And I need to stop blaming myself. I will become stronger so that I can take Naraku out…for all of them."

He sighed and held her tighter to him as the scent of sakura blossoms teased his nose. She would make it. He was sure of it. And maybe in the end, when all of this was over. Maybe he would have the courage to tell her how he really felt about her.

But their peaceful moment was shattered when an bloodcurdling scream rippled through the air.

Reunion

Inuyasha's ears immediately snapped to attention as they tried to pinpoint the direction the screaming was coming from. He growled softly. The air was heavy with the scent of fear and blood. "Kagome, I want you to go wait for me inside the car."

"No let me go with you." She swiped at the few tears that had rolled down her face. "I can help."

"This discussion isn't up for debate." He pulled his keys from his pocket and placed them in her hands. "Now please. Go. I don't want you getting hurt."

Kagome started to protest, but when his golden gaze, full of concern and pleading locked on to hers, she felt her resolve weaken. He was, after all, looking out for the well being of her. She clutched the keys in her hand and reluctantly nodded. "Fine. But if you're not back in five minutes I'm coming after you."

Inuyasha grinned and kissed her forehead in reassurance. "I'll be back in one." Then he sped off in the direction of the park. The sun had already set on the horizon and shadows steadily began creeping into the wooded area as night approached. Inuyasha halted in his tracks and sniffed the air again. Old and new scents lingered in the air, momentarily confusing him, until the unmistakable stench of blood assaulted his senses.

'The scream must have come from over there,' he thought facing the east. With a renewed sense of certainty, he raced off to where the scent of blood was heaviest, and only hoped that he wasn't too late. Inuyasha picked up speed when another painful wail occurred from the direction he was headed in. He skidded to a stop and flexed his claws anxiously as he came into a clearing.

A woman was struggling in the grasp of two neko youkai. Her head was bowed. Her long, black tresses cloaked her face, so he couldn't get a good look her, but what he could see, and smell, was the blood flowing freely from a wound in her left arm. The first youkai who was restraining the girl brought a clawed hand to her throat.

"Scream again like that and die wench," he growled, and slowly let one claw slide across her neck until it rested on her jugular vein.

A formidable snarl appeared on the hanyou's face. "Oi, bitches! Leave her alone before I castrate your asses!"

All three of their heads turned in his direction. The second youkai smirked at the newcomer. "This doesn't concern you doggie, so go on home before I rip those little ears right off of your furry head."

Inuyasha cracked his knuckles and grinned maliciously. "I guess that means no. Suit yourself. If you want it the hard way, you got it." And with that, he launched himself at the second youkai.

Somewhat taken aback by the sudden speed, the youkai wasn't fast enough to evade the hanyou's fist as it smashed into his face. The tremendous impact of the attack sent him flying into a nearby tree. There was a bone-cracking shatter as his skull collided into the trunk.

The first youkai stared in open mouthed horror as he watched his unconscious companion sink to the ground in heap.

"You wanna taste of my knuckle sandwich too bitch?" Inuyasha questioned, his bares bared and his eyes gleaming with annoyance and mild amusement.

He gulped. He was too damn young to die. And besides, he had to report this new development to his Master. In one fluid movement, he flung the semiconscious girl at him and took off into the woods.

"Damn coward," he muttered, then glanced down at the woman in his arms. Gently, he laid her down in the grass and took a closer look at the wound on her arm. It wasn't as deep as he thought it was. It had already stopped bleeding. There were numerous cuts and scrapes along her arms and legs. His nose twitched in perplexity. There was something about this pale girl's scent that mystified him.

Curiosity getting the best of him, Inuyasha brushed back her hair from her face to see if she was still conscious. His heart froze in his chest. "Kikyo."

________________________

Kagome paced impatiently, her furrowing in worry. Seven minutes had passed. 'He should have been back by now. I wonder if I should go looking for him and see if he's ok.'

'No.' she steeled herself. She had promised that she would stay by his car and she would do so. Kagome stopped pacing when she saw his form coming out of the park. Relief washed over her when she saw that he was unharmed, but worry etched her face again upon seeing the dormant individual in his arms.

"What happened?" she asked as he approached the car. "Is she ok? Are we going to take her to the hospital?"

"No. She's just unconscious. Open the back door," he ordered, his eyes void of any emotion.

Kagome frowned, but didn't say anything. Something felt…off. She opened the door for him and he slid in, the girl still in his arms.

"You're going to be driving us back to the apartment," he said looking down into the unconscious girl's sheet white face, his golden eyes uneasy.

Her frown deepened. Inuyasha was letting her drive his Skyline? He must've seriously gone off the deep end. Kagome didn't comment, only did as she was told. "So what happened to her?" she asked once they were on the road.

"She was being attacked by neko youkai, but I stopped them before they did any severe harm," he answered.

Kagome's heart went out to the woman. "Was she carrying any identification or anything so we can notify her family?"

"She doesn't have any family," he replied in a low tone.

"How do you know that?"

Inuyasha's angry eyes met hers in the rearview mirror. "Would you stop asking so many damn questions and just drive," he snapped.

If she hadn't had so much pride Kagome would've sunk into the seat. She had to admit that it did hurt to see his acting so snappish with her when just a moment ago he was comforting her and she actually started to believe that things would be different between them. She felt tears prick the back of her eyes.

Inuyasha sighed when he smelled Kagome's unshed tears. 'Damnit, I made her cry,' he thought and mentally berated himself for being so hard with her. He couldn't help it. After seeing Kikyo's face, a myriad of emotions flooded up from the depths of his mind. Memories that he had buried six feet under within the recesses of mind were now lingering over him like a bad omen.

He suddenly felt very tired. "Kagome, I'm…sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you. I'm just in a pissy mood right now, and I need some time to think."

She only shrugged, the pain fading away little by little. "Its ok. I guess its just one of those days." Kagome glanced in the rear view mirror once more to see him staring longingly at the unconscious woman. Jealousy tugged at her heart, but she ignored it. 'I wonder,' she mused thoughtfully, 'if that woman has something to do with his past.'

_______________________

"Oh, so you're staying at your boyfriend's place," Rei said into the receiver.

"Inuyasha is not my boyfriend and yes, since I don't have anywhere else to go, I will be staying with him for a while," Kagome responded as she swirled her melted ice cream around in the bowl.

"I'm sorry about your family," Charlie said softly over the phone. "You're so lucky you weren't in there when it happened."

Kagome smiled grimly. "Yes, I was the lucky one."

"Hey, Kaggie doesn't need to dwell on such negative things right now. It will only bring her down." Kagome heard her snap her fingers. "Hey, how about we all go to the mall, then the movies, and then out to eat tomorrow?"

"I wish I could, but some of us actually have to work to pay off our cars," Charlie remarked dryly.

"And I would too, but I have to meet with the detective that's working on the case tomorrow. Maybe some other time?"

"You two are no fun," Rei pouted. "We'll be graduating in a couple of days and after that we'll probably never see each other again once we go off to college."

"Jeez, would you cut the drama. We'll go out this weekend, after the graduation," Charlie announced. "Is this ok with your majesty."

"What loyal subjects you are," Rei scoffed. "You're coming too, right Kagome?"

"I'll be there. See you ladies later." Kagome hung up the phone and put her head on the counter in exhaustion. She needed to go shopping. She only had the clothes that Sango had loaned her and those would run out in a couple of days. The sound of a door closing made her come to attention.

Inuyasha yawned and joined Kagome in the kitchen. There were so many questions he wanted to ask Kikyo. How had she gotten away from Naraku? Did she try to track him down? Did she hate him for not keeping his promise?

"So, how the woman?" she asked as he opened the refrigerator.

"Fine. I bandaged her injury, but she's still unconscious. Kikyo will be fine by morning." He popped the cap off of a soda bottle and began to guzzle it down.

Kagome lifted a brow. "So you do know her."

Inuyasha stopped drinking. Instead of answering her, he closed the refrigerator door and went into the small den.

"Answer me Inuyasha," she demanded tailing him as he plopped onto a couch.

"You don't need to know," he said simply and began drinking again.

She felt her eye twitch. "How are we supposed to be a team if you don't trust me?" Kagome inquired while seating herself beside him.

Inuyasha scooted over to the edge of the sofa. "Why the hell won't you let this go?" he growled in irritation.

"Because," she started, and leaned over to place a gently hand on his arm. "I'm your friend. And friends trust each other. I trusted you to come save me when I was kidnapped by Kagura and Kouga. I trusted you not to drop me when you took me to the top of that building that night. I even trusted you enough not to try anything lecherous that night when I got drunk. Inuyasha, I've always trusted you, now why don't you trust me for a change?"

Inuyasha fidgeted nervously under her pleading look. Damn, he couldn't resist those beautiful sapphire eyes. But the knew it was for her own good if he didn't tell her the things he had went through. Then again he also knew that if he didn't tell her, she probably wouldn't trust him anymore. And the last thing he needed was to feel was more guilt. He already felt tremendous guilt for not being there for Kikyo, and allowing her to suffer under that bastard hanyou.

"My father," he began, his eyes fixed on his hands, "my father was a powerful taiyoukai, who owned nearly half of the major industries and corporations in the country. All of them were built from scratch. He was very strong and very proud. He and his first mate, Yuri, had a son named Sesshoumaru."

Kagome's eyes widened. Inuyasha had a brother? Why did he never mention him? She had thought he was an orphan like her.

"A few years later, he met my human mother, who was to work for him as his secretary. He instantly fell in love with her, and she with him. They had an affair and a year later I was born. Yuri was the first to find out." He paused for a moment. "She killed herself. I don't know if it was because of the fact that her mate was cheating on her with a human, or if it was because she didn't want to suffer the humiliation."

A wry smile formed on his face. "Sesshoumaru was furious and hated my father for what he did. So he released to the press of my father's affair and of my birth. That's when everything got crazy and the huge empire he created began to crumble. Those youkai that hated humans and were working for my father all quit, which was a pretty big chunk out of his work force. The humans that hated youkai all boycotted my father's industries. Somehow my mother got caught up in all of the confusion and was killed in an explosion that was set off by a bomb in one of my father's banks."

He could feel water pooling his eyes but blinked them back, and tried to suppress the pain that came alone with dredging these recollections up. "Whether it was from his disintegrating empire or the death of my mother, my father became crazy and went on a rampage, but just before he did, he gave Sesshoumaru and I two swords. I have the Tetsusaiga and my brother has the Tenseiga." Inuyasha stared at the wall. "He was gunned down a couple of days later by the police."

Pain wretched Kagome's heart. Unable to control herself, she moved closer to Inuyasha and leaned her head on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry Inuyasha," she murmured with tears slowly trickling down her cheek.

He bowed his head so that his bangs hid his pain and tear filled eyes. "Nobody wanted a hanyou child that was responsible for all of the bad things that had happened. So I was sent away." This was where he would have to lie. She didn't need to know that Naraku recruited him to do his dirty work.

"In the care of child services, I met Kikyo and we became friends. Her parents died I in a car crash and she was all alone. I promised that I would always protect her and we kind of fell into love. But then she was adopted and I was left alone, that was when I ran away to find her. After years of searching I gave up and just began to wander around, in which how I came to be here today." He swallowed a lump in his throat. Damn, he hadn't thought it would be this painful to tell his tragic tale of sorrow.

Kagome slid off of the sofa. She cupped his tear stained cheeks her hands and lifted his face to meet hers. She felt her soul stir when she saw the pain, bitterness, anger, and regret swimming in his golden orbs. "Inuyasha, I'm so sorry about what happened. Both of us aren't very different after all. Both of our families were killed. Both of us have had to suffer through a lot. And both of us now have something to look forward to."

"And what would that be," he replied bitterly and tried to look away, but she tightened her grip on his face so that they were nose to nose.

"We both have a future, after we kick Naraku's ass of course," she added with a grin, making him grin in return.

"I guess you're right." She released her hold on his face and he wipe the lingering tears from his face. "Dammit wench, you got me crying like a baby."

Kagome laughed, wiping her own tears away. "Its ok for guys to cry."

Inuyasha smirked at her. "I seriously doubt that."

She stopped laughing and stared at him. "Thanks Inuyasha."

"For what?"

"For trusting me." Kagome smiled at him.

His heart fluttered in his chest. "Keh, don't get used to it. Barin' my soul ain't my style." His ears stood to attention when he heard the guest room door open. Inuyasha turned around to see Kikyo coming down the hall.

A wide grin broke out on his face as his eyes lit up with happiness. "You're awake."

Jealousy clawed at Kagome's heart when she saw how excited he was about Kikyo. She only hoped that this newer woman's presence didn't put a damper on she and Inuyasha's relationship.

End.

AN: This kind of like a filler chapter. This chapter would have been longer but I need to go do two of my essays that are due tomorrow. ::slouches in seat:: I hate school.

Next chapter: Jealousy

Until next time people! Review!