InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Hijacked Honeymoon ❯ Chapter 7

Hijacked Honeymoon

 

Chapter 7

 

Kagome's brain had barely registered Hojo's betrayal as several shots kicked up the mud between her and Sesshomaru, indicating striking bullets, and Sesshomaru lunged at her. Knocking her over, he covered her with his body. At the same time he tossed handfuls of dirt into the fire, dousing them in darkness.

 

With her face pushed into dirt, the wet grass resoaking her dress, which had only begun to dry, she was all too cognizant of her surroundings. If she was supposed to die, her life should have flashed before her, but instead, she became aware of too many details. Her heart pounded so hard that the blood rushed to her head. Moist dirt on her lips tested like blood, but her lips didn't sting, although her ribs ached. She shook with the damp icy cold of panic—except where Sesshomaru pressed against her. His warm breath fanned her ear and neck. His chest warmed her back.

 

Sesshomaru's first rush to topple her had almost knocked the wind out of her, but he'd quickly taken the bulk of his weight off her, ever as he kept his body between her and harm.

 

The shooting stopped as suddenly as it had began, leaving her stunned at the unnatural stillness, yet wary. Frogs no longer croaked. Birds didn't caw. Nocturnal animals held their collective breaths as if an evil aura engulfed them. Even the wind had ceased to blow.

 

Sesshomaru smoothly rolled from her. “Kagome, we need to get out of here.”

 

“Duh.” Shaking, her stomach rolling, she began to shove to her feet.

 

He tugged her back down. “Crawl. The shooter might have a night scope. And despite being caked in mud, your dress is still white enough to draw attention. Let's make shooting us difficult for him as possible.”

 

Night scope? Shooter? She swallowed back the crazy urge to break into hysterical laughter. Until the last twelve hours, Kagome's life had been relatively uneventful. Her idea of a big night was dinner and a movie. Her only run-in with the law was a speeding ticket a month after she'd gotten her driver's license. She didn't even know any criminals, and now someone was shooting at her.

 

Probably the only reason she was still alive was because of Sesshomaru's fast thinking. And her own commonsense decision to stay with him. If earlier she'd taken off alone, she might now be dead.

 

Fighting back the panicky giggle spiralling up her throat, she crawled in the direction Sesshomaru pointed, ignoring the mud, the slime, the sucking, slithering muck and the mosquitoes feasting on her tender flesh. She crawled, putting one hand in front of the other, one knee down, then the other. Knowing that Sesshomaru was right behind, his nose inches from her bottom, was the least of her concerns.

 

“Who was shooting at us?” She whispered, swatting uselessly at the bugs

 

“Scoop up some mud and slather it over you like suntan lotion, it'll protect you”

 

“Ugh,” She complained

 

“Pretend it's that expensive mud from the Dead Sea that goes for fifty bucks an ounce” He teased

 

Tentatively, she followed his suggestion. Immediate relief from, the itching bug bites had her glopping more mud over her neck, forehead and face as well as her arms. “If Hojo could see me now, he'd freak!”

 

“The question is not if he'd freak, but if he'd shoot you” Sesshomaru's tone was soft, grim, reminding her that although she'd seen the evidence that Hojo was not who he seemed, his treachery had yet to really sink into her brain.

 

“I suppose you're going to say `I told you so', but really Sesshomaru, I'm having trouble buying the idea that Hojo is now trying to kill me. If I'm dead he can't turn me over to terrorists”

 

“True but someone shot at us back there. And if its Hojo, he's desperate to cover up his plans” He added, “We can stand up now”

 

“How do you know it's safe?”

 

“I don't but we can't crawl all night, and if the shooter had a night scope, he probably would have shot us by now”

 

Standing was more effort then she'd have liked, her knees and shoulders ached, but stretching up right took a few kinks out of her neck. Exasperation used away some of her fear. Although the video had gone along way toward. Convincing her of Hojo's guilt, she wondered if the sound could have been dubbed. Sure, she'd heard Hojo's voice, but with just a few word changes, he could have really said something innocent and been made to appear guilty. Still that was an awful lot of trouble for someone to go to just to convince her that Hojo was guilty.

 

“We can't know the shooter is Hojo, or if it is him, perhaps he was shooting at you because he believes that I'm in danger” She countered, wondering how her brain could function and her voice could sound so impotent when she was shaking inside and out.

 

“We aren't going back to find out.” Sesshomaru headed away from the lake, taking a new direction as if he had an internal compass and knew exactly where he was going.

 

“I would have thought a military type like you would set a trap to catch the hunter.”

 

“If I was alone, I might do that” Annoyance and amusement in his tone. “But my mission isn't to nab the shooter but to keep you safe.”

 

She recalled Sesshomaru risking his life to protect her with his body, like some kind of heroic secret service agent, and her normal sarcasm dwindled into the night. Sesshomaru believed in his mission and was willing to pay the price with is life. Kagome knew plenty of people with strong convictions but Sesshomaru backed up the talk with forth right, undeniable action that convinced her more then anything he might say that he was one of the good guys.

 

Despite the video, she still had trouble believing that Hojo was working with terrorists. She watched television and read the newspaper. She understood how interdepartmental agencies squabbled and stepped on one another's turf. Since 9/11 the feuding had supposedly stopped and the various law enforcement agencies had pulled together, but human nature meant that people trusted those they worked with day in and day out kept strangers out of the loop. For all she knew, Hojo's file could have been mixed up with another agent's, the video could be faked. He could be total innocent. And yet… was she refusing to believe the evidence that Sesshomaru had put right before her eyes because she couldn't face the truth of Hojo's duplicity? After seeing Sesshomaru operate, if the other men in his unit were the same caliber as he'd claimed, she'd bet they didn't make many mistakes.

 

With the walk long and arduous, she had too much to think about. The night wasn't particularly cold, but between the breeze and her wet clothing, she welcomed the brisk pace Sesshomaru set that upped her circulation and stopped her shivering. Deep in thought, she failed to watch her step and tripped.

 

Sesshomaru reached out to steady her. His hand on her arm felt good. Too good. She jerked back, wondering what was wrong with her. After all she'd been through, the last thing she should be doing was appreciating another man's touch.

 

“I'm sorry to push you so hard.” Sesshomaru's comforting voice only served to make her feel guiltier.

 

“It's not your fault someone decided to shoot at us.” She sighed. “You don't suppose some hunter mistook us for a deer?”

 

“Not with us silhouetted by the fire.”

 

She glanced back over her shoulder, wondering if the shooter was about to open fire on them again. She saw nothing but the darkness of the forest, lurking shadows and the occasional firefly's tiny flare. The sudden baying of dogs caused an icicle of fear to stab down her spine. “You think the shooter has dogs?”

 

“I doubt it. More likely the Forest Service called local law enforcement. Luckily for us, most dogs are trained to track scent over the ground.”

 

“Most?” she asked, sure he would have an informative answer.

 

He didn't disappoint her. “Some rescue dogs track scent though the air. Either way the rain should keep them off our trail. If we don't find a road by daylight, we'll find a spot to hole up to avoid being seen and to conserve fluids. Right now it's cool, but with the sun rising, dehydration can become a factor.”

 

The man was a fountain of knowledge, but she had to bite a groan at the idea of walking all night. It was probably only midnight and already exhaustion was starting to make her head droop.

 

“I'm not sure I can walk all night.”

 

“Okay.”

 

She'd expected him to nag her, shame her or encourage her. Instead he tucked the information away as if he accepted her word that she'd almost reached the limits of her physical strength. “I can go another hour, maybe two,” she guessed.

 

“While it was still light, I noted a break in the trees on that ridge. It might be fire break, nut I'm hoping for a road.”

 

“Don't get your hopes too high,” she warned him. “Some of these back roads can wind for miles through the forest without a gas station or even a car passing by.” Even as she warned him, she wondered what she'd do if they reached civilization. After the shooting, after seeing the video, she no longer knew if attempting to run from Sesshomaru was a good idea. More and more, she believed Hojo's guilt. Too tired to decide for certain, she put off making a decision.

 

A/N I know this chapter was short but I'm busy right now. I would like to thank the people who reviewed. I won't update after new years so you'll have too wait sorry.

See ya next time.