InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Price of Freedom ❯ On Hind Sight ( Chapter 4 )

Disclaimer: don't own anything other than my human rights bill that I am firmly clinging to. But that also means I don't own Inuyasha...

The Price of Freedom

On Hind Sight











Kagome was given a firm shake when she remained silent instead of answering.

"Who are you?!" he hissed.

"Mmphmomif..." she tried to force out past his hand.

After a moment he loosened his grip and allowed her to breathe properly. "Tell me!"

"I-I'm Kagome... Kagome Higurashi... I saved you from the beach... do you remember?" her breathing was mostly choppy from the sudden fright she'd just received

"No." he said simply, still refusing the let go off her and face him.

"Well... I did..." she glanced around quickly, seeking an escape or something to get her out of this situation.

"What's wrong with your voice?" He asked suddenly.

"Nothing..." she said weakly but with indignance. "I had a cold recently... but that-"

"Just shut up and tell me where the others are." She could feel him shifting nervously. How could he even stand with wounds as hideous as his though?

"Others?" she gently tried to pry his hand away to no avail.

"You've only captured me to wait for the others." He said firmly.

"N-No... I told you... I found you on the beach, badly injured and I've been taking care of you."

"If that's the truth then why don't you turn on the lights and show me your face." He snapped.

Now that confused Kagome. It was the middle of the day and light was flooding in from every window in the house. Turning on the lights wouldn't have had much affect on the current level of light... so what was he on about.

"They are on." she pointed out.

"I'm not blind, of course they're off! Where are we?!" he clenched her throat tighter and she whimpered slightly.

"W-we're in a house beside the sea - can't you tell?"

There was a long silence before his grip slackened. "I can smell it."

"And you can see it too, out that window." She tried to point with her chin.

He released her instantly and she tottered a few steps away, reluctant to whirl on him or do any sudden movements. "What did you do to me?"

Kagome cautiously peeked over her shoulder at him, her eyes widening in disbelief. Not only was he able to stand, but his face was now completely unmarred by any wounds. There were still scabs on his shoulder and stomach, and his right leg still seemed a bit pained... but he looked fine. Apart from the fact that he didn't seem to be focusing on anything, even her.

"Are... you ok?" she hesitantly reached out to touched his shoulder gently. But it seemed that the contact was unexpected and unwanted, and he flinched massively and scooted back a bit, his eyes searching the space before him where she should have been.

"Why can't I see you?" he demanded, slightly nervously.

Kagome stared at him, slow horror seeping into her at his plight. "Oh my god... you're blind?"

"You did this to me!!" he snarled and lunged at her.

Kagome squeaked and dived out of the way so he collided with the fridge. "What are you attacking me for?!"

"You did this!" he repeated and swung one of those dangerously clawed fists at her. She ducked quickly and decided to remain put there since it was obvious he wouldn't find her.

He swung around, his ears straining to pick up the sound of her running feet or her hurried breathing... but unfortunately she'd been a smart one and had just shut up. "Where are you?! Stop playing with me!"

"I'm not!" she protested.

"That's a mistake!" he dived at her and she rolled away, scrambling under the table. "Stop hiding then!"

"Only if you stop attacking me!" she squeaked.

He spun, trying to locate the sound of her voice. "You're working for them! You're going to send me back there!"

"Who's 'them'?!" she cried.

"Don't pretend you don't-"

"I don't! I seriously don't! I swear I just found you injured and I wanted to help you!"

"As if!" he snarled, struggling to find her hiding place.

"It's true! Why don't you believe me?!" she winced suddenly at her wonderful vantage-point of his blood seeping calf - it seemed to have been reopened by his movements.

"What are you?" he snapped suddenly, though he sounded confused, if not a little panicked. "What's wrong with your voice and why are you so small?"

"There's nothing wrong with *me*!" she snapped angrily. A bit of a mistake because at last he located her and his hands fastened around her ankles. "No! Don't!" she screamed.

But he did. And he lifted her clean into the air by one ankle and let her dangle. Kagome gasped and her arms flailed for something more substantial to hold onto. His strength was unbelievable. Even her father hadn't been able to lift her when she was a kid.

"Let me go you bully!" she squealed. His ears flinched back at her high pitched cry but he refused to release her.

"Tell me who you are and I'll let you go!" he ordered angrily.

"I told you! I'm Kagome Higurashi!"

"Rank? Security number?"

"What are you talking about?" she gasped, the blood all pooling in her head and making it difficult to think. "I'm not in the military!"

"Are you a eunuch?"

"NO!" she shouted loudly. "Put me down this instant - you crazy wild man!"

So, since she didn't appear to be co-operative enough, he took it upon himself to determine what she was. His free hand trailed down the leg he was holding up by the ankle in an effort to find his way to her body. She spluttered with outrage as his hand passed very briefly over her pelvis to her stomach and down further. Then his hand came into contact with something much softer than he'd anticipated and he paused for a moment to try and determine what they were.

"You pervert!" she screeched and kneed him hard in the stomach. He let go of her instantly, though his injured leg could no longer hold him up and he crashed to the floor on his behind while Kagome landed flat on her back, winded.

It took her a moment to drag in the oxygen again, and even then her lungs felt badly abused. Who did this guy think he was?

"You're a bitch." He said blankly.

"Well you *were* touching me...!" she wheezed.

"No... I mean you're a... girl or something..." he was staring off into space roughly in her direction.

"Like you've never met a woman before."

"No... I haven't..."

An answer that she hadn't quite been expecting. She stilled her movements and stared at him. "Who are you?"

"None of your business." He said shortly, folding his arms despite himself.

"Hey, I told you who I was - you do the same." She said heatedly.

He stared a few moments more before lowering his eyelids a little. "Just call me Inu."

"I can't do that. There's a dog up the road called that imaginative name... make up another." She didn't appreciate that she was being snubbed for all her trouble.

"That's my given name..." he sighed and turned his head away slightly, looking peeved. "My real name is Inuyasha."

"Interesting choice..." she nodded slowly. "Cruel parents?"

"At least half a dozen of them."

It took Kagome a little while to mull over what that meant, but before she could conclude, he'd risen to his feet and was feeling his way along the wall. "Where are you going?"

"I'm hungry. My stomach's starting to hurt." He complained.

"Not surprising. You've been asleep for quite some time." She told him, rising quickly to assist him. "Here, let me help-"

"I don't need help!" he snapped, shrugging her off rather quickly and cringing away from her touch. "Just let me be!"

"You're hurt!" she protested.

"So?"

"You'll get hurt even more if you don't let me help you." She pointed out.

"I don't want help and I don't want..." he trailed off... his attention diverted by something else.

"Don't want what?" Kagome pressed gently.

"Someone's coming." He said tightly. He inhaled deeply before a slight snarl curled on his lips. "Ookami..."

"What...?" Kagome frowned at him a moment before she heard the doorbell go.

"Don't answer that!" he hissed.

Kagome was torn between what to do before she heard a voice call out through the letterbox. "Kagome? It's Kouga, you left your wallet in the supermarket - I've brought it back for you!"

"Oh that's just Kouga." She said simply.

"I *know* who it is!" he hissed quietly. "Get him out of here - he's one of 'them'!"

Kagome shook her head slightly before taking his wrist despite his attempts to pull away and guided him towards the bedroom. "Stay in here and don't get blood on the nice white carpet."

How on earth he would be able to tell if he got blood on the carpet was beyond her, but she had other concerns right then. The locked the door on him automatically and quickly went to answer the door. "Oh, hi Kouga!"

"Your wallet." He handed it to her and briefly glanced past her into the house. "Company?"

A faint blush crept up on her at the thought of the whole shopping basket incident. "Um... actually no..."

"Really?"

"Just stocking up... for my friend... no one here." She wrung her hands nervously, missing that fact that his gaze flicked ever so shortly to the bedroom door down the hall.

"See you around Kagome." He nodded with a smile and she waved happily at his departing form.

When she went back into the bedroom Inuyasha was sitting on the floor with his back against the end of the bed, glaring at the wall. "I heard that."

"How?" she couldn't hear the vacuum cleaner on a Sunday morning with the bedroom door closed... but that could just be because she was usually near a coma at that point in the morning.

"Doesn't matter." He turned his head towards her but his eyes didn't focus on her. "What happened to that food?"

"So do you trust me now?"

"No."

"Like me?"

"No."

"Um... tolerate me?" she shrugged.

"Say it however you like." He griped.

Kagome rolled her eyes and padded off into the kitchen. "You want a sandwich?"

"And that is...?" she heard his voice drawl from the other room.

"Something vaguely edible by my hands." She offered.

"You wouldn't happen to have any biscuits, would you?"

"Biscuits?" Kagome strolled over to the cupboard and yanked the doors open. "I've got so many it's a wonder I'm not fat."

"Why would you be fat?"

His voice was growing nearer, like he was approaching and she glanced over her shoulder to see him edging along the wall. A pang of sympathy nagged her chest. "Because I'd be eating too many biscuits." She picked a full packet that had been bought for the party a few days ago but had never actually been opened. "Knock yourself out." She plonked it down before him.

"No thanks, already done that." he grumbled. "Where are they? I can't smell them."

Why would he be able to smell them? "They're there." She pointed absently to the packet and waited for him to pick them up. It took a few moments of blank silence before she gasped and slapped her forehead, before hurrying to hand the packet to him. "Sorry."

"All this to myself?" she didn't miss the note of hope in his voice.

"Sure." She smiled, even though she knew he wouldn't see it.

"My god... it has chocolate too..."

He definitely had really, REALLY cruel parents growing up. Kagome sat down opposite him and openly stared at him, safe in the knowledge that he wouldn't know she was-

"Stop staring at me." He said shortly as he munched away.

"I wasn't staring!" she quickly busied herself with flipping pages of a nearby magazine. "I was just reading... quietly... to myself..."

He rolled those amazing gold eyes of his... eyes that could and probably would deliver piercing glares if he could focus on her. But now they just seemed a little glazed and dull. Kagome bit her lip. She was staring again, but at least she was still pretending to flick through the mag to cover her attention.

At least now she knew that those ears were definitely not fake... since they were moving - and she'd checked before, while he was unconscious to make sure he didn't have false nails. It was all natural... but why?

"Where are you from?"

"Dunno."

"Who were your parents?"

"Dunno."

"Are you an orphan?"

"Dunno."

"What's that supposed to mean."

"'Dunno' is shorthand for 'I don't know'-"

"You know that's not what I meant." She said wearily. "I'm giving you food, stranger, so you could at least grace me with a little light."

"Wish you could do the same for me." He said quietly.

Kagome bit her lip, she hadn't meant to say something like that. But he struck her as the type of person that would just scrutinise what she said for something to throw in her face like that. "Who are the people you're hiding from then?"

"Bad people." He had tensed a little and was chewing slower.

"Like gangsters?"

He remained silent.

"The Mafia?" she frowned slightly. "It isn't the authorities is it?"

"Mm."

"Mm? What's 'Mm' mean?" she rapped her fingers against the table. "Did you kill someone?"

"Like I'd ever tell you!" he snapped.

"How come you don't know anything? Why haven't you met other people before - how come you don't know what a sandwich is?"

"I've met people! Just not females!" he glowered in her direction.

"Well why not?"

"Because!"

Kagome sighed and tried to lower her tone to try again. "Who are these people you're running from?"

"You could be one of them." He pointed out.

"Then why would I be asking you who they are?"

"Um..." he thought for a moment, obviously grappling for an excuse. "It could just be a trick to get me to trust you."

"Look, if you don't tell me then how will I know to keep you safe against who? Do you want to be found?" she glared at him.

"No."

"Then tell me!"

"No - because even if you weren't one of them, just knowing they existed would put you on their 'to kill' list, ok?!" he growled.

That silenced her at once. "Kill? Why would they want to kill me?"

"To keep their secrets safe?"

"Are you their secret?" she said suddenly, saying it before she realised it.

He inhaled deeply and turned his attention to his biscuits. "Where's the bathroom?"

"Why?"

"I think I'm going to throw up."

"Big faker." She sighed and pointed through the doorway down the hall. "It's just over there."

The phone rang before he could point out he couldn't hear her pointed finger and she was out of her seat like a shot to answer it. "Hello?!" ok, maybe she was a little desperate for some decent human conversation.

"Hey, it's Miroku."

"Oh, hi!"

"How's the patient."

"Oh... he's awake... and he's healing fast..." A big understatement.

"Who're you talking to?" Inuyasha suddenly demanded.

Kagome quickly covered the end of the phone with her hand. "Will you just relax - it's a friend - I told him not to tell anyone you're here ok? He helped fix you up."

"Fix me up to what?"

Kagome shook her head and put the receiver back to her ear. "Yeah, like I said, he's walking and talking again..."

"You don't sound happy. Is he giving you a hard time?"

"No, it's not that... it's just that now he's awake, we've discovered that he's blind..." she trailed off.

There was a long pause at the other end before he spoke. "But I checked his eyes... they didn't seem damaged in any way from whatever caused his other injuries. Are you sure he wasn't blind before? Does he have amnesia?"

Kagome turned back to Inuyasha. "Do you have amnesia."

"I can't remember." He shrugged.

"He doesn't have amnesia." She relayed to Miroku. "It's recent."

"Does he know what could have caused it then?"

Kagome turned back again. "How did you get injured?"

"I fell over."

"Onto a gun?"

"...yes..."

"Pull the other leg." The shifted her stance. "Was there anything to make you go blind?"

"Why does your friend want to know?" he scowled suspiciously.

"He's an intern doctor and he... why are you growling at me?" she frowned at his sudden change in attitude.

"All fucking doctors are the same..." he grumbled, short of bristling his fur.

"But he's a good doctor." Kagome told him faithfully.

"There was a flash of light... I guess... it was pretty bright... it happened before the grenade went off."

Kagome stared at him, the word 'grenade' running through her head like a broken record. She held up the phone again. "He says it was a bright flash of light... in the face I suppose." She was still staring at Inuyasha... wondering how on earth he'd gotten caught up in a grenade.

"Well... that can be good news and bad news." Miroku sounded thoughtful.

"Yeah?"

"Best case scenario - his sight will return in a matter of hours... days... less than a month at least."

"That's good!" Kagome stated.

"Yeah, but the worst that can happen is that it's going to be permanent. If his retinas have been damaged irreparably then his sight might half return... fuzzy... never normal again. And if the retinas have been completely burnt out..."

"What would happen?" Kagome gripped the phone tightly.

"He'll be blind permanently."







(A/N: and at this point you don't have a clue whether or not I'm going to make it permanent or semi-permanent... oooooooh... but don't worry, his life won't be too miserable I assure you - I'M NOT INTO WRITING DARK FICS! They're too depressing and I always make light of them... so I just read the ones written by the professionals. Anyway - next chapter should be along soon!^_^)