InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The day I saved him ❯ Attacked? ( Chapter 4 )

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the InuYasha characters(except those I make up along the way like Kazu)

CHAPTER-IV

Kagome curled her hand tighter on the overhead bar as the bus rolled to a stop, a block away from her house. The bus was nearly empty, save for an old couple sitting on one of the seats in the front of the bus. They were too absorbed in each other to notice her and she was thankful for their inattention. She had had enough of all the attention she could get for one night and all she wanted right now was to go home and fall into bed.

When she had walked through the front doors of the hospital intent on going home, she had been blinded by the flurry of activity and chaotic flashes going off in front of her face. It had seemed like a million bees buzzing around her head, trying to prick her. Questions had bombarded around her, suppressing her small cries of protest, preventing her from taking more than a few steps in front of her. One guy had even been so bold as to clutch her coat to prevent her from moving forward. Irritated, she had been about deliver a scathing set down(and a well-placed kick in the shins) when Kazu had entered into the fray. He had taken hold of her wrist and with a firm tug pulled her through the swarm of quizzing paparazzi. He had pulled her into an alleyway and hidden her with his body, until the paparazzi had passed the entrance to the alley. Too focused on checking that they were gone, she hadn't noticed how close they were standing to each other or how his minted breath warmed her cheek. When she had looked up, he had been gazing down at her, an unreadable expression flitting through his shadowed eyes.

Kagome still felt embarrassed by the almost-embrace. Her cheeks warmed just thinking about it, but she just couldn't get it out of her mind. She was sure Kazu had no lovey-dovey feelings for her; they had just met for god's sakes. And he had said that theirs was a purely business-only relationship, just before he had packed her off in a limo and sent her on her way. So why couldn't she help feeling that he had protested too much? That maybe he did feel something back there in the alleyway?

She shook her head to clear her thoughts. She didn't want to assume anything. Whatever Kazu's feelings were, it didn't matter to her right now. She had other things to worry about right now, like getting to work in the morning without the darn paparazzi hounding her. Thank God, they hadn't followed her home, so she didn't have to worry about her brother finding out about this crazy scheme. That was why she had asked the limo to drop her off ten blocks away so she could take the bus home. Even if the paparazzi had trailed the limo, they would've only found a cold trail leading to a dead end alleyway behind the five star Ritzo Hotel.

She walked to the front of the bus and got down at her stop. The wind had picked up and she straightened the collar of her coat, rubbing her hands against each other to generate some warmth. She started walking towards her house, noting how empty and deserted the streets were. She wasn't usually out this late and she couldn't help feeling a slithery feeling of fear crawl up her spine. She rubbed her forearms trying to calm the gooseflesh that had popped up on her skin.

Ever since she had been a child she had been afraid of the dark. She had been the child that was afraid of going to the bathroom at night for fear of the monster under her bed. Whenever she had nightmares of odd ghoulish and terrible creatures trying to scratch her eyes out or staring at her through her bedroom window, the only thing that had calmed her overwrought nerves were her mother's safe and warm embraces. She would give Kagome a warm hug to make her stop crying and then give her a glass of milk and close her window shutters to prevent any more nightmares from haunting her the rest of the night. Kagome easily drowsed by the lulling effect of the warm milk in her belly would drift off to sleep, content with the thought that her mother would protect her from any further nightmares.

Kagome couldn't help feeling lonely and bereft at the thought of her mother. She would give anything to feel her mother's warm embraces right now. She knew that if she could just see her mother, feel her warm serenity just one more time, she would be alright, that everything in her life would just right itself. She wondered if this longing for her mother would ever subside. She knew in her mind that her mother was gone but her heart wouldn't let go. She didn't know if she could endure much more of this.

Her house, a small one storey run-down place squashed between two bigger houses on either side, was dark. Nary a light flickered in either of the two dirty windows facing the street and Kagome wondered if Sota had already gone to bed. She inserted the key in the lock and opened the door, welcoming the familiar musty smell of the place. She had been in such a hurry these past few days that she hadn't had any time to vacuum. Sota did help with her chores, but sometimes he was too busy with his homework and extracurricular activities that he too didn't have the time to keep the house clean. Kagome switched on the light in the front hall cum living room. Her house was too small to have a foyer. It had one large living room in the front where she and her brother spend most of their time(if they had any time, that is) talking, laughing or simply hanging out watching TV. A door on the far eastern wall of the living room led off to a kitchen that also served as their dining room. The door on the western wall led to a hallway which branched into two rooms at the end. One was hers, the other was Sota's. The rooms weren't that big and were kinda cramped up against one another, but it was what she could afford right now.

She stood with her hands on her hips, surveying the damage around her. Spilt milk and crushed cola cans were sprinkled on the carpet as if they were part of its decoration. The walls, which had been a pale sky blue, had faded to dusty steel-blue from having never seen a cleaning mop or soap-tinged brush before. She sighed, walking further into the room, noting new stains on the faded old couch as well as new cob webs hanging from the ceiling. She threw her purse on one of the sagging armchairs that dotted the living room, and walked to the kitchen to get out her cleaning supplies. She was going to get this house spick and span and only prayed for the strength to clean up this mess before daybreak filtered through the splotched shutters.

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The roads were crowded with morning traffic and cars honked and screeched their displeasure at the rising level of congestion on the streets. Kagome thanked God that she didn't have a car. Although the subway was crowded and even more busy than the traffic on the roads, it was still better than going to work in a car and getting stuck in traffic.

Kagome adjusted her bag on her shoulder as she entered the bright red building called “Red Towers”. It was located in one of the busiest intersections of the city, its tall pinnacle spearing through the clouds like a torrid lightning bolt. Kagome was lucky enough to work in such a well-known landmark and was again filled with a deep sense of gratitude for Ms. Jughi for having hired her even though she had had no references or any work experience whatsoever.

She walked right into utter chaos. As soon as she had walked out of the swiveling door, a thousand flash lights went off in front of her. Microphones pressed against her, causing her to take a step backward in surprise and just a little fear. She stared blankly up at the millions of faces crowding around her, some of which she recognized from last night. She didn't know what to say, or even what to think; their questions buzzing around her head, clouding out every thought.

“Are you and Mr. Takahashi back together again?”

“What happened to the baby?”

“Is it true you're marrying him to save his reputation?”

“Aren't you afraid he would take advantage of you again?”

“Aren't you suing him for wrongful allegations against you?”

“Please,” a steady, steely voice overrode the tide of questions and everyone turned as one to see who had interrupted them. Kazu stood at the edge of the crowd of paparazzi, holding a cup of cold coffee and a smirk riding on his upper lip at the sight of Kagome's relief-ridden face.

See, I've come to save you, my poor damsel in distress, his eyes seemed to say as they met her own cocoa ones.

Don't give yourself too much credit, you haven't gotten rid of them yet, she countered back. She couldn't help smiling at Kazu's puffed up ego. He thought he could get rid of anything. Well, she'd like to see how he was going to get rid of this crowd.

“Please gentlemen and ladies, if you would move into the conference room on the third floor, I'm sure Ms.Hino will be more open to answering your queries.”

Kazu pointed to the elevators. When he saw that the paparazzi were reluctant to leave their target, he rushed through the crowd and pulled Kagome away from them. He laid a hand on her shoulder as he announced to the reporters,” If you want her, you have to come to the third floor.”

When all the reporters had left them, Kagome turned to Kazu, a question hovering over her lips. He silenced her with a finger against her lips and shook his head. Not here, not now, his look seemed to say. He looked around at the crowded lobby of the building, where several people still stood gaping at them.

Kagome turned away and walked to the elevators. She couldn't help feeling kind of furious at Kazu. She didn't know how the reporters had got wind of where she worked, but she was pretty sure someone had tipped them off and that that someone was standing right beside her . The golden doors of the elevator opened and she saw that the car was empty. She and Kazu entered it and she hastily pressed the close button, to close the elevator doors before someone else could get in. She needed to talk right now, and what they were going to talk couldn't be overheard.

“What the hell is going on?” she growled at him, slapping his upper arm.

“Ow! What the-? Look here, I did not arrange for a press meeting just to be physically abused by a teenager.”

“Press meeting?”

“Yes, press meeting. You know, those meetings that famous people have to let stuff out of the bag, or to clear up whatever mishap they did the previous night.”

“But why didn't you tell me?” She stared at her reflection on the doors and was horrified by the exhausted being staring back at her. She had slept at around 4 in the morning and there were dark bags under her eyes as evidence to the work she had done last night cleaning up the house. No amount of concealer could cover that up and she had stopped trying after about the fifth attempt. Her lips were dry and parched from the early morning wind and her hair was in complete disarray. She knew she looked horrible, but she thought she would be working today, not attending some on-the-spur press meeting.

That earned Kazu another slap on his upper arm.

“Owww! You really have to stop doing that!” He glared at her.

“Look, I know, it's not your thing and that you don't look that great today but-“

“Would it kill you not to point out the obvious?” Kagome replied sourly, somewhat put off by his comment. She was not a vain person; but all women tried to look their best and did not like it when some man pointed out that they weren't.

“Look, all I'm saying is, we need to do damage control, and quickly. We have to let the cat out of the bag as soon as possible.”

“Why?”

“Because there was an attack on Sesshoumaru's life last night.”

“Oh my god, is he alright?” Kagome clutched Kazu's lapels with her hands, her cocoa eyes filling with concern.

“He's alright… It's just…”

“Just what?” Kagome prompted, getting frantic. A feeling of dread slithered up her spine.

“He's gone into a coma.”

“What? How can that be? He was alright yesterday. What did the attacker do? “

“Apparently the attacker gave him some kind of drug that induced the coma.”

“I have to see him. I have to…” she trailed off, overcome with a deep sense of sympathy and fear for her stranger. She barely knew the guy, but yet she had felt a connection to him on some level. She couldn't understand why but she felt this overwhelming urge to save him from the death that had claimed her mother. She knew she couldn't do much when a person was in a coma, but as long as she stayed near and helped him, she knew he would not cross over the thin line between life and death. He just had to stay alive!

“Who was the attacker? Do the police know yet?”

“There is something else, Neesan.”

“What?”

“You know that girl I told you about. The one Sesshoumaru went out with and then dumped.”

“Yeah?”

“She's escaped the institution. It's been said that she was seen near the hospital last night.”

The elevator doors opened just then.