InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Hidden Hanyou ❯ Open the Flood Gates ( Chapter 8 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

The resounding eruption of the shot and the shattering of glass occurred simultaneously, and though he was fairly certain that the bullet had whizzed past, in that split second of confusion, the hanyou threw Kagome to the floor anyway, using his speed to roll beneath her in order to cushion her fall, while bracing them both for another round. None came, but the room was filled with the sound of barking dogs and shouting men from the outside. The window was too high for anyone to look through.



As they struck the tiles with a thud, Inuyasha kept his arms wrapped protectively around her, clutching the back of her neck to prevent whiplash. He smelled blood, and for a moment was unsure of the source, but quickly recognized it as his own. Not too much, most likely the result of an opened stitch or two.



His thoughts returned to the girl he held. Though she rested rigidly upon him, he concentrated until her rapid pulse and heavy breath could be made out against the side of his head. Her hair had come undone from her loose pony and despite their scare, the clean smell of her engaged his nostrils. He wanted to laugh with relief.



Kagome curled closer into him, bewildered by the speed with which he acted. Her nose twitched at the sulfurous air and cool breeze that drifted down from the broken window, and when pain was not forthcoming, she felt her body relax. Despite having become somewhat accustomed to gunfire, and sleeping more than once on the floor to avoid being shot in her sleep, it was difficult to process how lucky she had been until now.




Her breathing steadied and she became more and more aware of their position and the slight bite of clawed fingers clutching her neck. Though still very frightened and unsure of what to do next, in that moment, she felt inexplicably safer and more taken care of in a way that she had not for so very long.




Please just hold me Inuyasha, she silently beckoned.




Oblivious to her unspoken plea, Inuyasha gently transitioned her onto the still wet floor before he cautiously began to prop himself up. It wasn't an ideal location for her, but he couldn't help it. The pain she caused by her weight on his leg was considerable.



Cradling her head under one hand, he regarded her. “Kagome, hey, you ok?” he asked, troubled at the wide eyed, mask-like features her face was arranged into. Was she was in shock? Inuyasha moved his left palm against her pale cheek and waved the other in front of her unblinking gaze.


“Kagome,” he said more firmly, “Say something, now!” It was a forceful whisper.



Processing his request, she struggled momentarily to shake from her stupor.



“They must be after a human if they're using a gun,” she replied flatly.




Annoyed at her avoidance of his question concerning her emotional and physical well-being, but relieved that she was able to speak coherently, the hanyou watched her rise up at the waist. Glancing about the room, she picked up a piece of broken glass that had landed beside her and calmly pushed a strand of hair behind her ear before tossing the shard aside.




He pinched the bridge of his nose. She was trying, unsuccessfully, to hide her emotions and he didn't know whether to let it go or call her out on it.




Suddenly Kagome whipped around to him. “What about you! Inuyasha are you ok?” she exclaimed. “Why did you take me down like that, on top of you?” she pulled a thick lock of hair that stuck to the blood that seeped through the wound. “Look, you're bleeding!”




“I'm fine, just a popped stitch.” He noted the incredulous look she wore and hastened to assure her further. “Promise,” he said, gingerly pressing the area around his stitches. “It'll stop in a few and my leg's fine. Nothing that a good sleep won’t take care of.”




Switching back to the comfort and emotional security that her role as caretaker provided, she took charge. “Come on, get to bed, then.” She nodded her head in the general direction of his room. “Soldiers might stop by, or even a neighbor or two.”



She moved to get up, but her hand briefly slipped against the tiles. Regaining her balance, she reached forward, using the tub to hoist herself to her feet.




Inuyasha paid attention to her slow, purposeful movements, and stored in his memory the way the damp dress clung to the back of her legs- which he noted were trembling ever so slightly.





“They usually stop by when something like this happens- to make sure I'm ok, I guess,” Without really thinking of what she was saying, Kagome prattled on. “Or maybe they're just worried about Naraku's reaction if something did happen. Probably think he'll take it out on them.” Her back still to Inuyasha, she cupped her elbows in her hands. “I'm sure he's told them of the consequences if anything happens to me while he's away. I'm surprised no one's come already. Can't get afford to get on his bad side, you know?” She gave a callous laugh as she turned and offered her arm to assist him up.




Taking the proffered arm, Inuyasha was silent in his slow ascent up, chewing on this new bit of information. Trading in Kagome's arm for the sink, his mind filed through the possibilities. It didn't really make sense. Who was Naraku and why would anyone be worried about his reaction. What did it have to do with Kagome? Did he even want to know?



“What consequences?” he tried to keep his tone conversational.




Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit. “Hmm?” Kagome said in an effort to avoid the question.




“I...” he trailed off as the blare of a siren pierced the air, as loud as any gunshot. The screech of a quickly moving vehicle could be heard, coming in the direction of the house, and human and hanyou exchanged a look of panic.



“Room. NOW!” She wrapped an arm around his waist and they strode hanyou in pain, girl in terror, towards her room. As they approached the closet, both heard the slam of a car door. Kagome bent over and felt for the little string that would help pull open the movable barrier.



“Can you make it the rest of the way?”



Inuyasha felt incredibly furious and guilt-ridden as they stood face to face.



She should not be here. She should never have been placed in this position. She had enough to worry about- her mom, grandfather. Keeping her home and business. Her own skin. And here she was risking her neck so he could live one more day.



Fuck, he would never be able to pay her back.



Never.



A knock on the front door, loud and insistent, broke the moment.



“Yeah, go. Just be careful.” He carefully dropped to his knees, and stifled a scream as his leg tightened with pain. He hoped she didn't notice. All the work Kagome had put into his medicinal bath was wasted. He crawled as quickly as possible while she held the hidden closet door open, and felt the small gust of air as it softly shut. With his last bit of strength, he collapsed onto his fresh pallet.


Inside the closet, Kagome grabbed a cluster of hanging sweaters and threw them onto a pile in front of the little door, in a weak attempt to mask the string and hinges.



Another knock and shouting from the front. She heard her name. Without giving pause to her attire, the girl sprinted through the hall and with a heaving breath, leaned an arm against the door.


“Who's there?” she called, guardedly.




“Miss Higurashi, it's Bankotsu Isobe. Can I come in?” The voice of Naraku's second in command requested urgently from behind the oaken barrier.


Kagome unbolted the door and stepped aside. Bankotsu stood before her and bowed before walking into the entry room, hat in hand. “Thank you. Firstly, are you ok?”



When the girl kept walking towards the formal living room, he continued. “One of your neighbors called and informed me that there was gunfire near your home and that you may have been a target of an attack by the Opposition, as it is known who you are in a relationship with. I have already sent word to Commander Takeda. There has been no response on his part, but it was my duty to call. As soon as I may, I will call and report on the condition with which I have found you.”



As he inspected her, his head visibly bobbed up and down, and Kagome was uncomfortably aware of how the dress blatantly outlined her stomach and legs. When his eyes stopped (actually stopped) at her chest, she herself looked down and noticed for the first time that the top two buttons of her dress had come undone. It revealed more of her cleavage than she would have normally permitted-especially in the presence of this moron.




The thought of whether Inuyasha had noticed flew in before she could shut it down. Concentrate!



“Yes, I'm fine,” she sat on the little couch, not having to feign the exhaustion she felt. “I was running a bath when a bullet entered through my bathroom window. I wasn't hit, but I was so startled I fell partly into the tub,” she lied smoothly so as to explain the wetness and her disheveled look. She didn't want Bankotsu to run to Naraku and report that she looked like she had just been through a bedroom romp. That's just the kind of filth he would run to his master with.



She thought of the almost kiss.



“I am very sorry, Miss Higurashi, and you must be assured that it was a bullet shot from the resistance, and not from our own troops. In fact they killed Hiyoshi Ati just now.”




“I'm sorry,” Kagome told him, though she was not. “I didn't know him.”



“He was very young, only 19, but Naraku, er, Commander Takeda was certain that he had potential. Oh well, what's war if not a time when everything is upside down? When young men die and young women are left all alone” he grinned lecherously, still leering at her bare legs. He was a creep, whom she had never liked, and a man whom she was always wary of.




She had the feeling that if it weren't for Naraku, she would be in a whole heap of trouble.




“I thank you for coming down here, Bankotsu, but really, please call and tell Naraku that I'm fine.” She articulated the words slowly. “It's only a busted window. I'll board it up tonight and order another in the morning. It isn't a big deal.” Kagome held her smile and hoped to the gods that she spoke naturally and without suspicion. All she could think of was the hanyou a room away.


He said nothing and continued to regard her. Kagome nearly panicked, and thoughts of an angry Naraku clouded her mind. She decided to work with what she had.



Running her teeth along her bottom lip, Kagome crossed her legs while tracing a finger over the skin of her chest. She felt stupid, but hoped she looked somewhat appealing.




“In fact, I'm more embarrassed at being like this right now, all wet,” she looked up to see the effect and, as predicted, he was leaning forward, not even trying to hide his appreciation of her many assets.



“Yes, of course. If you would like, I can board it up for you now,” he offered hopefully.



“No, please you mustn't burden yourself. If it was the hanyou opposition as you claim, then I'm sure you have much to do,” she said in a pleasingly airy tone which almost made her gag. “In fact, I will call and leave message with Naraku myself.”



He stood, and placed his hat sternly back on his head. “I would greatly appreciate it, if you mentioned how quickly I was able to get here,” he walked towards the door, looking back and giving her yet another glance over.



Pig, Kagome thought with ire.




“It will be the first thing I mention,” she smiled again as he opened the door and stepped out.




“Good night then,” he said. “Any trouble, please do not hesitate to call.”




“Goodnight, Bankotsu,” and with a nod and polite smile, she shut and bolted the door. Kagome leaned against it, the cool wood uncomfortable against her wet body. She should get dressed.




Instead she went to the laundry room and grabbed a spare piece of plywood, hammer and nails. She snatched some towels as well as her broom and dustpan and upon entering the bathroom, placed the towels on the floor to soak up the water before sweeping up the glass. She then got to work on the window, humming softly, blocking out the bullet, Bankotsu, Naraku, and everything else but the brief moment of respite she felt while wrapped in his embrace.




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Inuyasha, though in pain, was awake and leaning against the wall, straining to hear what was being discussed. The venture was less than successful.

Damn weak hanyou ears.




From the even tone of her voice, and the deeper, conversational one of the intruder, Inuyasha assumed that Kagome knew the visitor, and he swore he heard the name Naraku come from both. He allowed himself to relax momentarily.



So apparently this wasn’t the elusive Naraku, but someone who at least knew of him and of Kagome's relationship to him.



Inuyasha narrowed his eyes. What the fuck was going on?



If Kagome was seeing someone (his ears flicked in annoyance), he was sure that Sango would have told him. It seemed like a handy bit of information seeing as he was to be sheltered in her home for an indeterminate period of time.



Inuyasha leaned his head against the hard wood. He wanted to put his fist through it. Wouldn't Kagome have told him herself?
The voices grew fainter, and before he could comprehend, the firm reverberate of the door closing caused dust to fall from a beam and settle onto his nose. Laying back onto his bed, he could hear her fasten the bolt, and then nothing but his own breath.


The handsome young man straightened his leg out before him and sighed. He was nervous and agitated, and knew he would not wind down until she joined him. Only her presence could calm him- despite his ill temper towards her at the moment. He picked up a book, but sullenly tossed it aside and pouted instead.



Stupid girl. If she had a man, bitch could have told me. Not led me on with her smiles and her laugh and her hands on my body in the bath- Fuck!


You need to stop sounding so bitter, he told himself.



But why didn't I even get a whiff of another man? Does she go- HER BUSINESS HER BUSINESS HER BUSINESS! He interrupted his angry rant and forced himself to repeat, what he logically knew to be the case, over and over again.



His hand fell to his side, brushing the soft material of the men's undershorts in the process. He thought of the starched men's shirt she had brought for him to wear earlier.


Ahhh. I see. Proof, he thought miserably. She gave him the bastard's underwear! If he kept underwear here, then...


His mind was full of jumbled bits of thoughts. She never promised me anything, hell, we haven't even said...I should be grateful she's doing anything for me.



Weakly, he leaned his head back against the pillow that smelled of Kagome and awaited her return. He knew she would come in to check on him, and then he would ask.



He would ask her what in the hell was going on and what had happened to her in the time since they had first met, and why she felt the need to be so reserved.



But first he would demand to know why she was fucking some guy and hiding it.



He felt he deserved to know. It was his life too, he rationalized.





Something had changed right before that bullet slammed thru, interrupting them. It didn't just interrupt a kiss, but the unfolding of something that had been simmering for years.

He was in the middle of a yawn when he heard the pounding of the hammer and his anger gradually gave way to guilt.



It wasn't just a place to hide that she offered him, but life. She had to feed and bath him. Clothe him, and cook for him. She cleaned up after him. Lied for him. He was little better than an infant. And an infant wouldn't give her shit, as he was wont to do.



As he was about to do.




He picked up the book again, but felt guilty about relieving his boredom while she toiled away, so in an act of solidarity, sat there, while thoughts of her ran amok through his mind.



He had almost kissed her, just before the shot, and he was certain she was going to kiss him right back. Inuyasha blushed, though he was alone, and grinned a little at the memory. Maybe it was best that there was no kiss-tonight anyways.





He wanted badly to be with her. He knew that. But he was also aware that he couldn't make a mistake in telling her. He had fucked with her heart before. Yeah, he had been a kid then, allowing another to chart the course of his life, but now he was twenty-four and knew exactly what he wanted. Now it was time to act.





For the past couple of weeks, his mind had been a jumbled mess, but it was presently free from the influence of the medicinal herbs and stimulated with the healing power of his hanyou blood.


His thinking was marked with increasing clarity and because of his lucidness, he could admit that he was not only attracted to the person that Kagome once was, but to the enigma that defined her adult form.



He knew little but what she told him directly, but he could see that she was kind- she took him in.


He could see that she was brave- she lied to those who had the power to kill her to keep him safe.


He could see that she was as intelligent and as suborn as ever- their recent conversations had shown him that.



The conviction entered his mind and once there, it was firmly rooted and was spurred on by the fact that he knew the two of them together was right.



He had never even come close to feeling anything like this before. Kagome was his match. Though they had only known each other for a short period before, and the circumstances under which they were thrown together were not ideal in the least, he was sure of this.



Why else had he not forgotten her?



Why else had he compared every other female to her?



Why else did he drift off into fantasy? Not just sexual, although that encompassed most of his thoughts concerning the beautiful woman, but fantasies of him taking her swimming in the warm currents of the Atlantic, or on a roller coaster in Coney island. Taking her to the huge library in his home town. Taking her home to meet the portion of his family. Kissing her on the New Year’s Eve, ringing in 1947, with the only person he felt he could be himself with. It was so domestic, so exciting...so perfect.



He couldn't explain it, but he knew that if he had her, everything would be alright. He didn't know if it was some demon or hanyou instinct. But the intensity of his feelings could not be denied.


Fuck I'm in love.



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After pouring the last pan of glass shards into the garbage pail, Kagome turned off the bathroom light. It must be late, she thought as she rubbed her eyes. The streets were even free from the noise of the soldiers, so she figured that it must have taken much longer than anticipated to nail the boards and to clean the mess.



She wondered if he had fallen asleep and chided herself for not preparing him a snack before bed.




Her room was bitterly cold when she entered, and so before peeling off her clothes, she forced herself to light a small fire using the last bit of wood. It almost hurt to use it, but for as long as she had been running around in wet clothes, she didn't want to take the chance of getting sick.



She grabbed an old cotton undershirt and some woolen pants and slipped into socks. Posing before the mirror the pretty young woman shrugged her shoulders to dismiss the notion of wishing she had something prettier, or perhaps, sexier than what she had available. Inuyasha would just have to get used to seeing her in her hand me downs and patched attire.


She reminded herself of their situation, of the danger, of the risks and scolded herself for being so shallow.


She did care what he thought of her though. That's why she had been so scared to tell him of Naraku. Their sort of brush with death allowed this to dawn on her. Something had been holding her back, this feeling , this sense of magic. Whatever was happening, whether actual or all in her mind, she felt the pull of his hanyou gravity and recognized that she was firmly within his orbit. She wondered if he knew.


She wondered if he cared.


Kagome, despite trying not to preen too much, spent another few minutes brushing her hair over one shoulder, until it fell in a thick undulating cascade. She thought of his lips so near to hers again, before shaking her head. If anything were to happen, she was going to let him make the first move.



Accustomed to the routine, Kagome got to her knees. She opened the door and entered, feeling the weight of the door rest upon her back.



While still on her hands and knees, she looked up and met Inuyasha's eyes, which despite the hour, were alert and oriented straight upon her. She offered him a brief smile before he asked her,



“Who's Naraku?”










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A/N: A few of you who have my email address were a bit confused as to the chapters posted within the last two days. This will be my 4th chapter posted since April 14th. All of these chapters so far had been previously posted, but with some tweaks and changes here and there for the sake of consistency and revision. I’m doing this without a beta, so bear with me! Yes, I know I should wait to post so that it’s easier to distinguish new chapters from older ones, but I obviously have no patience! Thanks to everyone who has emailed me their thoughts and reviews, and if anyone else would like to comment (whether good or bad) or review, please don’t hesitate to send me an email at itsthesamewithatart@yahoo.com. Thanks for reading!