InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Heart's Landfill ❯ Proof Positive ( Chapter 44 )

A/N: As always all characters will be walking that fine line called OOCness. This chapter moves pretty fast so try to keep up…lol. I'm not going to apologize for the long wait for this update, because I don't really have an excusable excuse for it except the fact that I haven't been feeling particularly motivated as of lately. I don't think it's anything to worry about, because the plot bunnies still seem to be working overtime even though I haven't really written anything in a few weeks. Oh, and this fic has been nominated once again with the IYFG for best Inu/Kag romance, Best Lemon, and Best Drama, so if you belong to the Guild make sure you vote, okay? Anyway, I don't have much else to say, so I'll thank you all for your reviews and continued support and a special thanks to my wonderful beta, Neko.

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership to anyone with the exception of Gage, Takira, Dinshu, Nya, Nola, and Dr. Aikio. All others belong to the wonderful Rumiko Takahashi.

Chapter 44

Proof Positive

Three days, 72 hours, and 4320 minutes, had passed since Inuyasha had told her about his run in with Ginta, and still she hadn't been able to make sense of everything that he'd said.

Sure, it made sense when she thought about it in the manner a prosecuting attorney or police officer would have, had the evidence been presented before her. But her heart, the part that had loved Kouga, and in a sense still cared for him-in a friendly sort of way-wouldn't allow her to believe that he was capable of this gross atrocity against Sango.

Sure, he was a downright wretched boyfriend, but he wasn't a rapist, a burglar, or a criminal. The Kouga she knew, the wolf demon that she loved at one point in her life was arrogant, selfish, maybe even a little narcissistic, but he wasn't a rapist…he wasn't a sociopath. He just couldn't be this monster that everyone was telling her about.

Sure, maybe he did tell Ginta to locate her. Maybe somewhere within his obsessed mind he was looking for her again, but none of that meant that he would or could do this, did it?

If he wanted to contact her, to see her, wouldn't he have just contacted her family? Wouldn't he have visited them in hopes of garnering her new cell phone number? Wouldn't he have tried to reach out to Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi?

Granted, they wouldn't have given him any information, but wouldn't he have still reached out to them? And in return someone…one of them would've called and informed her of what was going on, right?

Glancing away from her living room window and down at Ashton, who was lying with his head in her lap, Kagome grimaced lightly as realization slowly dawned on her like the sun cresting in the east.

No, they wouldn't have told me. Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi know how much he hurt me. They know what he did to me, how he betrayed me. They would never tell me if he was looking for me, because they would want to protect me. And my family… No, they felt the same way, even though I never told them what took place.

Running her fingers gently through the dog's thick black mane, she sighed despondently. I guess I could call them. I could call and see if they heard anything from Kouga. But…but do I even want to know, she thought as she glanced over at the bouquet of orchids that Inuyasha had, had delivered to her the day before in hopes of cheering her up.

He'd been wonderful the past few days since he'd divulged the information about Ginta to her, hadn't he? He made sure he didn't leave her alone for more than a few hours here and there during the day when he had to run into his office or when Rin demanded he pay his nephews a visit, which is where he was now.

Of course, he'd asked her if she wanted to go, but she'd politely declined by informing him that she could use the alone time, and that she honestly wasn't ready to face Rin or Sesshomaru after the spectacle she'd made of herself. He hadn't seemed like he wanted to comply, but after going with her and Ashton for walk, he'd told her that he'd be back in a few hours and they could go grab something to eat.

In a way, she was happy that he'd left, because when he was around, she felt like she was betraying him by thinking about Kouga. Of course, she wasn't thinking about him in a sexual way, but she was thinking about him none the less.

As of late, he seemed to be invading her dreams, regardless of whether she was awake or asleep. He seemed to be everywhere, and certainly not in a good way.

The few times she'd walked Ashton, went to the corner store, or just out to get some fresh air on her own, she caught herself looking over her shoulders and glancing around as if she expected him to just be there waiting on her with that smile of his.

Kagome wrapped her arms around herself as a shiver ran down her spine at just the thought of something along those lines occurring.

A few months ago, before she met Inuyasha, and before she resigned herself to the fact that what she felt for Kouga was not love, the thought of him looking for her…wanting her back would've been inebriating and damn near intoxicating, but now all it did was scare the living shit out of her.

She still didn't think that he would hurt her, or that he even wanted to hurt her. However, what did scare her more than she would ever openly admit was that once she saw him again, once he smiled at her, once he touched her, she was afraid that she'd forget about Inuyasha; her only saving grace and anchor in this storm.

She'd forget that he, Kouga, had broken her heart, she'd forget that he was a mated youkai and in doing so, he'd destroyed her. And just like that, she'd wake up in his arms the following morning like she'd done so many times before; she'd fall back into his world of lies and deceit.

Standing to her feet, she wrapped her arms around herself again as she stepped over to the glass floor to ceiling windows and stared out at the darkening sky.

No, I could…I could never do that to Inuyasha. I'm…I'm not that weak or desperate anymore. I'm not that person, she tried to tell herself as she placed one of her palms flat against the cool glass and sighed dejectedly.

It was possible, wasn't it? It was possible that he was out there looking at this same sky. It was possible that at this very same moment in time, he was thinking about her, wanting her to come to him, wanting to find her.

Why? Kouga, why? Why couldn't you just move one with your life?

The sound of Ashton's low growl drew her from her thoughts, and she turned and glanced down at him before following his gaze towards the front door.

Stepping over to him, she petted him on the head, rubbed gently behind his pointed ears, and whispered, “It's okay, boy, no one's there.” But he didn't stop growling, instead he leapt off the couch and charged towards the door, his growls now vicious barks, his fangs glistening, promising whoever was on the other side of the door, pain.

Kagome stared down at the barking dog, who was alternating between running towards the door and backing away. Allowing her eyes to travel down the length of the door to the crack at the bottom of it where she could see just a sliver of light from the hallway, she realized that there really was someone on the other side.

“Shsssh,” she whispered as she stepped slowly towards the door not totally sure what she would, or what she hoped to find. She knew it wasn't Inuyasha, because he always called her when he was on his way back to her place, and he'd call again once he pulled into the garage so that she could open the door for him. So, whoever it was, had no reason to be at her door.

As she neared the door, Ashton's growling and barking became louder and more vicious, but she couldn't stop herself; it was as if she was being drawn to it by some unseen force.

There was a light tapping almost as if someone was rapping lightly with the tips of their nails or perhaps their claws.

She stopped, swallowed convulsively. “Who's…who's there?” she questioned nervously.

There was no answer, just the sound of that eerie tapping once more. It was so light, almost to the point that she had to wonder if she'd actually heard it all.

“Who's there?” she questioned again, this time a little louder.

The response was a sound, a slower, yet harsher version of the same tapping as if whoever was doing it, was taking their time allowing each nail of their hand to hit her door with vehement precision.

Kagome swallowed, blinked a few times and allowed her eyes to travel down the length of the door again. Whoever it was was still there, because she could still see snippets of their shadow, so she took a step back away the door.

“I swear I'll call the police if you don't leave!” she shouted, trying to keep the fear that was slowly creeping up her spine out of her voice.

“Is your alarm turned on?” the person on the other side of the door questioned in a husky, teasing voice followed by the sound of another light drumming against the door.

Kagome turned and ran to her kitchen. Grabbing the butcher's knife from her cutting block, she clutched it so tight that her knuckles turned white. Starting back towards the door, she swallowed and stepped quickly towards it, and immediately noticed for the first time that her dead bolt wasn't latched.

Twisting it quickly, she stepped back and swallowed again in an attempt to rewet her parched throat.

This isn't happening! This…this can't be happening.

She thought she heard the person on the other side chuckle as if this was some kind of joke before he questioned again, conversationally, “Is your alarm on?”

“Get away from my door!” she screamed. “I'll call the police! I swear I will!”

He chuckled again; it was so eerie, so cold and calculating that she felt chills run up and down her spine as the hairs along the base of her neck and along her arms stood on end.

She closed her eyes briefly, swallowed, and then slowly opened her eyes again and searched the room visually looking for her cordless phone.

Picking the phone up off the end table, the blood drained away from her face, leaving her complexion a pasty white as she watched in horror as the doorknob turned slowly to the right then to the left.

He's trying to get in! He's…he's trying-

The petrified woman barreled towards the door, her heart hammering within her chest, her blood pulsating violently as panic gripped every inch of her body, her mind, and her soul. Slamming her body against the door in order to keep it closed should it open, she screamed, “Go away! My boyfriend will back at any second and I swear he'll kick your ass!”

“You smell almost good enough to eat, did you know that?”

Kagome swallowed, clutched the knife in her hand tighter and tried to think past Ashton's continuous barking. She'd heard him, she'd heard exactly what he'd said, and it only caused her to force more of her weight against the door as tears of fear slowly began to drain from her eyes.

“Go away. Please, please just go away,” she whimpered.

“Answer the question,” he repeated matter-of-factly. “Is your alarm on?” He drummed his nails against the door a few more times, and dragged what sounded like knives down the length of her door stopping at the center of her back.

She couldn't think, couldn't function as she stared down at the phone in her hand. Alarm on? What? Why? Not sure what he expected her to say or why he would ask such a question, Kagome yelled, “Yes! Yes! It's on!” She knew it was a lie, because she didn't have an alarm system, but she was not about to tell him that.

A loud boom echoed around her, forcing her away from the door and she turned and stared at it realizing that he'd hit the door with more force than any human should have had.

He's a youkai! He's a fucking youkai!

The sound echoed through her apartment again, and again, and again, and each time he struck the door, she jumped and screamed for him to stop…to leave her alone!

Just as quickly as it started, it ended and the sound of that ghostly tapping started again.

“Kagome, turn your alarm off. I don't want it going off when I kick your fucking door in,” he advised her calmly.

It took a moment for her to realize that he'd used her name, but when she did, she ran to the door. “Who…who are you? How do you know me? Why are you doing this?” she screamed hysterically.

There was no answer, no drumming, no tapping, no banging, no nothing, just silence…deafening silence, because even in that brief second, Ashton had stopped his insistent barking.

Her head was spinning, her heart thrumming in her chest. None of this was making any sense! None of this, absolutely none of this was making a lick of sense to her! How could this…this person know her?

His voice wasn't familiar, but still somehow he knew her. Did he have something to with the attack on Sango? Why was he trying to break into her place? Why was he taunting her when she was more than sure that if he wanted to, he could've broken the door down already?

Kagome sighed, her body slowly relaxing as she inched up on her toes and peered through the peephole. There was nothing there, but darkness as if it was covered with something black.

What the hell-, she started to think, but as if a light bulb had just been turned on in the hallway, she found herself staring back at someone's powder blue iris. It was glaring at her as if taking in the color of her own orb.

She blinked, and swallowed.

He blinked and she swore he smiled seconds before he seemed to vanish from the peephole only to reappear just as quickly and begin to pound violently on the door, jarring her out of her fear induced petrifaction.

Kagome jumped back away from the door and screamed as she turned and ran down the hallway and into her room! After Ashton ran into the room behind her, she slammed the door, locking it!

Pulling on Ashton's collar, she backed up into her bathroom and locked that door as well, then made her way to the tight corner between the toilet and the shower where she slide down to the floor.

Sniffling, she wiped at her tears with the back of the hand that was still clutching the knife as she pulled her knees up to her chest.

I need help! I need-

Glancing down at the phone that she still held in her hand, she started dialing the first number that came to mind as she silently prayed that at any moment she would wake up and find that this was just some kind of horrific dream.

Simonkal of Inuy

Laying the pup down in his bassinet, Inuyasha slowly pulled the blanket up and laid it across Gage's back. He couldn't explain it. He'd only known the runts a few days and he already knew without a shadow of a doubt that if he needed to, he would give his life to save them.

It was the damndest thing really. How was it that two tiny beings that he couldn't hold an educated conversation with, or even really play with make him forget his troubles and make him fall head over heels in love with them?

Okay, so yeah that was a pretty gay thought, but he didn't care. These were his nephews; his ancestor's blood was running through them. They were the legacy he didn't have and hoped to one day achieve.

Walking over to the other basinet, he tucked the blanket a little tighter around Takira and watched as the pup squirmed slightly and began sucking on his little balled up fist. Smiling down at the pup, Inuyasha sighed heavily as he reached over and rubbed the back of the pup's head with the ball of his forefinger.

“Perhaps you should get your own.”

Not turning around since he knew who it was, Inuyasha rolled his eyes and patted Takira's back as he replied, “Nah, I have these two. Didn't Rin tell you, they're really mine? We didn't want you to do anything crazy while she was pregnant so we decided to wait until-”

“In your dreams, Half Breed,” Sesshomaru snapped impassively, cutting him off as he stepped up next to his younger brother and peered into the bassinets, his hands behind his back as if he was hiding something.

A comfortable silence fell between them and Inuyasha looked up at his brother and smirked at the proud almost invisible smile that he wore as he stared down at his sons, his first born, his legacies.

You did good, big brother, the hanyou thought as he reached out, patted Sesshomaru on the shoulder approvingly, and started towards the door.

“Inuyasha?”

Turning to face his brother who was still standing there looking down at Takira and Gage, Inuyasha noticed that what he was hiding behind his back was two diapers and two bottles filled with breast milk.

“Yeah?”

“Higurashi? How is she?”

“She's good, I guess.”

“Did you fix her leaking problem?”

Her leaking problem? Inuyasha thought before he realized that he was talking about her breakdown at the hospital. “Uh, no, not really, but I'm working on it. Why?”

Sesshomaru was quiet for a long moment as Inuyasha watched him place a bottle and diaper in each of the boy's bassinets, and then just stood there staring down at the two pups as if he was guarding them from any and everything that would want to cause them harm.

“She intrigues this Sesshomaru.”

Inuyasha was taken aback by his brother's admittance since Sesshomaru had never even cared a little bit about any of the women that he dated, and had definitely never inquired about any of them, with the exception of asking him if he wished Kikyo dead after the debacle of a wedding.

“Really? How much does she intrigue you?” the hanyou questioned out of curiosity.

Sesshomaru turned then, stared tellingly at his brother and started towards the chair that sat in the corner for the nursery. Picking up a remote control off the changing table, he pressed a button that turned the florescent lights off and turned on some softer red, green, and blue lights that seemed to spin around the room while a soft classical song began playing soothingly from the speakers mounted in either corner of the room.

Taking a seat in the chair, he crossed his legs and laid his head back against the high back chair as he responded nonchalantly, “She intrigues me about as much as Rin intrigues you.”

Inuyasha couldn't stop the smile that played quickly over his face. His asshole of a brother was basically giving him his approval where Kagome was concerned, not that he needed it, but it meant a lot.

Granted, he didn't know where his relationship with Kagome was going to go, but it did make him feel that much better to know that he wasn't the only one that she'd won over with her erratic behavior, short temper, potty mouth, and gorgeous smile.

Sparing another moment to look at the bassinets, he eyed his brother momentarily, before he started out the door again, but paused at the sound of his brother's voice.

“Perhaps when you come back to visit, Inuyasha, you should bring Higurashi with you.”

Inuyasha frowned quizzically at Sesshomaru. Okay who the fuck are you and what have you done with my fucking brother, the hanyou thought unwilling to believe that Sesshomaru was even going this route. The man hated people, and he despised strangers coming to his house, so for him to tell him to bring Kagome by, well that definitely spoke volumes.

“Why? My company isn't good enough?”

“It never has been, but that's beside the point. I require a lover, that is what you and Rin call it, isn't it? And I believe that Higurashi will do just fine, don't you agree? After all, wasn't it I that she sought out in her time of need?”

Inuyasha couldn't stop the low growl that slipped from the back of his throat. He knew his brother wasn't serious, but damn it, that did nothing to alleviate the jealousy he felt at just the thought of someone else touching or holding her. He couldn't be certain, but as he stared at his brother's silhouette that was hidden within the shadows of the corner that he was sitting in, the hanyou swore he saw a smile or something close to it.

“Go to hell, asshole,” Inuyasha hissed through clenched teeth. He knew this was nothing more than payback for all of the times that he and Rin acted unseemly in front of Sesshomaru, but damn it-

“Only if Higurashi will meet me there,” Sesshomaru quipped, his tone bored.

Inuyasha wanted to slam the door hard in his face, but knowing that it would wake the twins, he forewent that and instead growled baring his fangs at his brother before turning and starting down the hallway. All the while cursing under his breath about a certain son of bitch that better not bring his little chic-stick dick near his Kagome, otherwise he'd shove his foot, and then his sword so far up his ass that it would become a permanent fixture.

He could've sworn he heard a dry chuckle come from the nursery as he wove his way down the long hallway and towards the staircase, but he wasn't stupid enough to even dwell on it. Because that was one thing that his brother just did not do.

“Hey, Lover,” Rin greeted cutting into his thoughts as she made her way up the stairs in his direction.

“Uh, yeah, about that,” the hanyou started. “I think you're going to have to come up with a new nick-” The sound of his cell phone ringing cut him off and he reached into his back pocket and retrieved it.

Stepping up to him, Rin peered at the screen that read `#1 Wench' and asked, “Who's that?”

Inuyasha eyed her quickly, a grin in place as he leaned in and gave her a light goodbye kiss in the center of her forehead seconds before he flipped the phone open and placed it to his ear, “Miss me, Wench?”

Rin stared up at him as the color was leeched instantly from his handsome face by some unforeseen force.

“What? Wait… I can't hear you. Why is Ashton barking like that?”

Rin didn't know what the person was saying to him, but she could tell that she was yelling and crying.

“Kagome, what the fuck? Calm down! Where are you now? Did he get in?”

“Inuyasha? What's going… Is she okay?” Rin questioned urgently noticing the way his face twisted quickly from rage to fear and back again within a matter of a few milliseconds.

“Gods fuck! Stay in the bathroom and call the police! I'm getting in the car now! Call the police, and then call me back, you hear me? I want you on the phone with me the whole time, understand and don't open that fucking bathroom door for anybody!”

“Sesshomaru!” Rin called urgently as Inuyasha continued to talk to the upset young woman. A few seconds passed before he came to a stop at the top of the stairs. “Something is wrong with Kagome! Inuyasha's on the phone now with her, but something is going on that requires her to call the police!”

“I know you're scared, baby, but I need you to calm down! I need you to be brave for me, okay? I know… Kagome, I know, but I'm not going to let anything like that happen to you, I promise!”

The hanyou didn't know exactly when it happened, but all of a sudden his brother was in front him leading out the front door and toward the garage where he kept the fastest of his sports car collection.

“I know… I know you're scared, but I need you to hang up from me and call the police, and then call me right back, okay?” Inuyasha directed as he watched his brother pull out of the garage in a black Maserati GranTurismo.

“Get in,” Sesshomaru ordered while pressing a button on the dash board that would open the passenger door.

Climbing in quickly, Inuyasha felt numb. This wasn't happening. It couldn't be happening, not now! Not like this!

“He's at the door! He said he was going to kick the door in, Inuyasha!”

“He…he called me by my name!”

“I'm scared! I'm so scared, Inuyasha!”

“He's going to try to rape me, I know he is!”

“He's still here; I can hear him banging on the door!”

“Inuyasha, I'm scared! I'm so scared! I don't know what to do!”

The hanyou shook his head and tried to fight off the feeling of trepidation that tore through him, telling him that this was not going to end well, and that he'd failed her.

He hadn't really left her in three days, and today of all days… This son of a bitch picks today of all days to show the fuck up!

Hitting his fist hard against the dashboard, Takahashi felt that part of him that he loathed rear violently forward as his fists clenched and unclenched repeatedly, begging for something or someone to tear into.

I'm coming, Kagome, and I swear to all that is holy, I'm going to rip that mother fucker to shreds! Just hold him off! Just fucking hold him off! I'm on my way!

Watching his brother out of the corner of his eye, Sesshomaru floored the pedal, and gunned off the private road and into traffic as he watched his brother's eyes flash repeatedly between red and gold.

She's his mate, he thought as he shifted the gear into overdrive. “Is she at your place or her place?” he questioned while cutting off more than few cars and zipping through several red lights and onto the highway.

“Her place,” Inuyasha replied as he flipped his phone open and dialed Kagome's home number only to get a busy signal, which only caused his anger to rise even more.

I'm going to gut that son of a bitch! I swear to the gods I will! If he fucking touches her…if he fucking lays one fucking finger on her-

“Inuyasha, perhaps you should tell me what's going on,” Sesshomaru stated in hopes of distracting the hanyou long enough to get him to calm down a little before he started ripping through the car's red leather interior. “Exactly why is Higurashi calling the police?”

Inuyasha stared at him then out the window as they passed objects that looked like nothing more than colorful blurs. Inhaling deeply a few times, he closed his eyes, tried to quiet his mind and allowed the story, Kagome's entire story-as he knew it-to flow from his lips.

Simonkal of Inuy

The time flew past. He wasn't sure if it had been 10 minutes or hours, but as soon as Sesshomaru pulled up in front of Kagome's building and parked behind an ambulance, he was out of the car, barreling through the lobby as if the demons of hell were on his heels, and into the stairwell.

Inuyasha couldn't think past her voice. He'd tried calling her back, but the line was busy all of the 500 times that he'd tried calling her back and that in itself almost made him jump out of the car and run the rest of the way to her building.

Taking the stairs seven at a time, the hanyou yanked open the stairwell door to her floor and stepped out quickly only to be greeted by more than a few cops attempting to stop him.

“Get your fucking hands off of me!” he shouted, pushing one against the far wall, and punching another one in the jaw, sending him flying as he stomped towards Kagome's open door. “What the fuck did I say? Get the fuck off of me!” he repeated, head-butting another officer, that he knew was somehow only doing his job, but he didn't care.

He needed to get to Kagome. He needed to see her, to talk to her, to hold her. He needed to make sure she was alright.

“Sir, you can't go in there!” one of the officers shouted, drawing his weapon.

“I already told you; get the fuck out of my way! My fucking woman lives here! Where the fuck is she?” he questioned angrily, his fist clenching and unclenching repeatedly.

Staring at the seething hanyou, the officer stepped back, cocked his gun, and stuttered, “That's…that's my orders, Sir. I'm not supposed to let anyone in.”

Inuyasha growled and stepped towards the man his intentions to gut him where he stood for standing between him and what was his, but he paused at the feel of his brother's hand on his shoulder.

“If you do that Inuyasha, even I won't be able to save you,” Sesshomaru offered stepping smoothly around him towards the young officer.

“This is fucking stupid, Sesshomaru! She's in there! She fucking needs me, and because of this pissant I can't get to her?”

“Inuyasha, do you smell any blood?”

He sniffed lightly. “No, but-”

“Can you smell her?”

He sniffed again. “Yeah, but she's afraid, Sesshomaru! She's so fucking scared!” The hanyou shook his head and stared up at his brother's back which was blocking him from the officer's view. One eyebrow quirked higher than the other, he stepped forward quickly and darted into the apartment.

Officers were all over the living room, kitchen, and in the hallway touching things that didn't belong to them, but Kagome was nowhere to be found, nor was Ashton.

The officers turned and looked at him, but he ignored them, knowing they would follow him.

“Kagome!” he called urgently as he neared the bedroom. Stepping into the room, he stopped short as he came eye to eye with a male and female detective standing by the bathroom door apparently talking softly to one another.

The female reached for her gun, but the male detective stopped her and instead bowed slightly to him. “Takahashi-sama-”

Inuyasha growled and pushed past them and towards the bathroom door. He heard Ashton growl low and he sighed, relieved, both of them were still there. Turning the knob, Inuyasha said softly after noticing that it was still locked, “Wench, I'm here. Open up!”

“Inu…yasha, is that you?” Kagome called from the other side of the door.

“Who else would it-” He didn't get to finish that sentence as the door swung open and she threw herself into his arms. The relief she was feeling was a palpable thing.

Ashton leapt up, his front paws resting on Inuyasha's right thigh as he barked happily and wagged his fury tail.

Sparing a moment to pet the dogs head and tell him what a good job he did protecting Kagome, Inuyasha quickly turned his attention back to her. Pushing her away from him, he brushed her hair away from her face, ran his hand down the sides of her neck, her back, her sides, and stared her in her eyes silently asking her if she was okay.

She shook her head vehemently, unshed tears in her eyes as she stared back up at him.

Everyone else in the room melted into oblivion as he pulled her to him and held her close. He kissed the top of her head, pulled back and kissed her forehead, the tip of her nose, both of her cheeks and descended on her lips in a heated kiss of sheer relief and thankfulness that she was unharmed.

Kagome held onto him like he was her salvation, her White Knight, and her reason for living.

The sound of someone clearing their throat caused the kiss to end, but neither party turned to look to see who it was. Instead they stared at each other, silently thanking the heavens for small blessings.

“Perhaps it would be best to give my brother and Higurashi-sama a moment to themselves,” Sesshomaru offered from the doorway.

Detective Shu turned towards the older brother and bowed deeply, “Takahashi-sama, I was not expecting either of you to be here.”

“Well that's why one should not expect,” Sesshomaru chastised as he turned and started down the hallway. “Might someone fill me in as to what happened here?”

Starting out the room behind him, Shu stopped as Lui passed him and advised, “Higurashi-sama, we will need to talk to you before we leave.”

There was no reply from either party as the younger of the Takahashi's held the woman close again.

“Inuyasha,” Kagome started once the officers were gone and it was just the two of them, “He had baby blue eyes. Kouga's eyes are a darker shade of blue.” She pushed away from him, stared him in the eyes, and finished, “I didn't know him. I…I didn't recognize his voice, but he knew me. He called me by my name.”

Releasing her, Inuyasha walked over to the dresser where he knew she kept her sweat pants and pulled a pair of them out for her to slip into since she was only wearing an oversize sweat shirt at the moment. “Here put these on, we need to go talk to the cops.”

“Did you hear me, Inuyasha? Did you hear what I said?” she questioned taking the pants from him and quickly stepping into them.

“Yeah, I heard you. I'm just…I'm just… Right now I'm just glad that you're okay,” he whispered reaching out to her and pulling into his arms again. He was quiet for a long moment before he spoke again, his voice holding a seriousness that she hadn't heard before, “Whoever he is, Kagome, I am going to kill him.”

“Inuyasha?”

He shook his head cutting her off. “He's fucking dead, Wench. This shit that he pulled here tonight… If I ever cross paths with him, whoever he is, he's fucking dead!” he growled.

That should've unnerved her, shouldn't it have? But it didn't. Instead it reassured her that as long as she was with him…around him, she would be safe and protected.

Kissing the top of her head, he stepped back, her fingers interlaced within his much larger ones. “Come on, let's go speak to the officers, and then I want you to get your stuff. For now and until this asshole is caught you're staying with me.”

“But Inuyasha…”

“But nothing. Do you know how many laws Sesshomaru broke getting me here, and how many laws I broke between the stairwell and your bathroom? Wench, if they don't take me jail tonight, I'm one lucky bastard.” Noticing her reluctance, Inuyasha stopped in the hallway and turned to her. “It'll be fine, okay. I just don't…I can't take another chance with letting this prick get to you and besides, my building is much safer than yours.”

She nodded, and smiled tightly as she squeezed his hand. “Okay. I'm just glad that you got here in time.”

“Why was the line busy? I was trying to call you back,” he questioned absently as they continued down the hallway.

“I guess I forgot to hang up when I got off the phone with the 911 operator,” Kagome offered softly.

Taking a seat on the chair in the far corner of the room, she pulled on Inuyasha's hand silently asking him to sit next to her on the armrest. As he took the seat next to her, their fingers intertwined, she quickly eyed Sesshomaru who was staring at her door quizzically while talking to the woman detective, Lui.

Looking away from him, she turned her attention to Detective Shu, who was standing a few feet away from her.

“Begin by telling us how this started,” Shu began, pulling his notepad from his pocket. “Was there anything that seemed familiar about him?”

Simonkal of Inuy

Nice ride, Din thought as he watched from the darkened alley across from Kagome's building as a black Maserati pulled up and double parked behind the ambulance that had arrived a few minutes before with the police.

Watching the white haired hanyou jump out the passenger seat and sprint through the lobby to the stairwell, he stepped back deeper into the darkness and watched as the driver side door opened slowly. The full demon from the hospital waiting room stepped out and seemed to stare directly at him, his face impassive as his head tilted questioningly to one side and his eyes narrowed slightly.

Dinshu knew he probably wasn't seeing anything since he'd made sure that the alley was pitch black by busting out the lights from the street lamps that bordered the alley and by making sure that every inch of him was covered in black with the exception of his face. He also knew that there was no wind blowing so it was not his scent that he was smelling. Therefore, if it was anything, the demon was merely going off of intuition and nothing else.

Their eyes seemed to connect for a brief moment before the demon lowered his head, shoved his hands deep within his pocket, and stepped around the car and into the lobby, only stopping long enough to whisper something to the doorman.

At that moment Dinshu took another few steps back deeper into the alley and leapt onto the roof of the building. He then made quick work of racing through the shadows of the tops of the roofs at breakneck speed and back to his previous hiding place.

“15 minutes,” he mumbled staring down at his watch. “From the moment she ran deeper into her place, it took seven minutes for the police to arrive, and 15 minutes for that half-breed to arrive. Fuck, I need more time.”

This was all a test he'd decided to put into action once he saw the hanyou leave, heading in the direction of the interstate. He'd had no desire to truly break into her place this time, because if he'd wanted to, with one blow, he could've knocked the door down.

The thing was, this building that she lived in was entirely too fucking busy. There was always someone coming or going, so he knew before all this that if he was to break in it would be something that had to happen in the dead of night or in the middle of the day when fewer people was around or up and about.

In the few days that he'd been watching her, he'd seen the hanyou come and go a few times, but he seemed to only leave when there was lots of movement around the building. This made it that much harder for anyone to sneak in, not to mention the damn mutt was never gone more than an hour or so it seemed.

He'd also trailed Kagome on one or two occasions when she walked that damn mutt, but the dog was so attuned to his scent that whenever he got within 20 feet of her, he'd turn and start barking or some shit causing Kagome to walk faster and pay more attention to her surroundings.

No, getting to her was not going to be easy at all; it was going to take some precise planning and patience, which was something that until now, he didn't know the meaning of.

`Soon, Kagome, real soon. Don't you worry your pretty little head.'

Until Next Time… (Your .02 cents are appreciated!!)

Next Chapter: A Flicker of Hope(I was going to give you guys and excerpt here, but decided against it..lol. I will say this though, “…and the plot thickens”.)

Acknowledgements:

Pokiepal ~ Angel-up-above-heaven ~ Silverwolfhalfbeast ~ Olddog333 ~ Deipurple ~ CookieCookie ~ EarthSong ~ Zetsuii ~ Mynera ~ Xyanblue ~ Niiicko ~ Tueske ~ Madmistress65 ~ Miss_Marilyn69 ~ Ai Kisugi ~ 1love1 ~ Inuyoukai24 ~ Lunabell ~