InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Siren ❯ Chapter 4

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

An awful screeching noise broke though the quiet evening, followed by the sickening crunch of fiberglass crumpling. Kagome ran towards the source of the noise, never having been one to idly sit by.
 
All too soon, she saw the accident. A light gold Toyota Camry had been in the wrong lane, collided head on with a dual-toned blue Chevy truck. Ominous black smoke issued forth from under the Camry's hood.
 
Fear gripping her, Kagome forced herself to run faster.
 
Terrified by what she might find in the surely totaled Toyota, Kagome moved to the Chevy. The driver was conscious, clutching his right arm. It was a double fracture; the bone protruding through the skin near the wrist. Trying to control the tremor in her voice, she informed him that she was there to help and asked if he thought he could walk.
 
“My legs are fine, I think,” came the reply through clenched teeth. “It's the fucking wrist that hurts.”
 
She helped him out of the truck and over to the side of the road. A small crowd was gathering, as though vultures drawn to a dying animal.
 
“Does anyone have a cell phone?” Kagome screamed over the din. One woman nodded, dumbstruck. “Call 911. Tell them there's an accident off Rosewood and Mulberry. That one driver has a compound fracture. Do not hang up until one of us says to. Do you understand me?”
 
The woman nodded. She dialed the emergency number and spoke in a shaking voice to the operator, relaying the information.
 
Kagome steeled herself and moved to the passenger side door of the Camry. She looked in the window, and then turned away quickly, retching.
 
Souta, her younger brother, was leaned forward, his head hanging down at an impossible angle, neck snapped.
 
Trying desperately not to collapse, she opened the door, reached around her brother to undo his seatbelt, and pulled the body out of the car, making a futile effort to support his head as she laid him on his back next to the ruined sedan.
 
She then crossed to the driver's side. Her mother was also pitched forward, head against the steering wheel. For a moment, Kagome thought her dead as well. Noticing the woman's chest rise and fall, Kagome fought back her hysteria.
 
“I need help over here!” she screamed, already trying to pull her mother out. Frantically trying to get her away from the cars, should they explode. “Anyone!”
 
No one moved to help her.
 
“Please!” she sobbed, hauling her unconscious mother to the side of the road.
 
Still no one.
 
Forcing herself to keep moving, Kagome eyed the curb determinedly. The explosion behind her sounded like a bomb.
 
Most of the debris flew upwards, remains of the wrecked hoods, however a small amount of metal and glass flew out to the sides. Kagome felt it cutting her back, embedding itself under the skin as she shielded her mother beneath her.
 
Kagome felt the blackness engulf her…
 
With a choked cry, Kagome sat bolt upright in her bed. Reacting as any frightened child would, she queried tremulously, “Mommy?” Receiving no answer, she tried again. “Daddy?”
 
Still unanswered and feeling very alone and small, Kagome pulled her knees up to her chest and sobbed. Great, heaving, painful sobs tore from her chest and wracked her body. She rocked herself back and forth in a vain effort to gain comfort.
 
Suddenly she felt the ghost of a hand on her back before she was pulled into strong, worried arms.
 
“It's alright, love, I'm here,” a soothing voice murmured. “I'm here.”
 
“It's all my fault,” she sobbed brokenly. “All of it.”
 
Tony Vuorinen's eyes filled with tears as he held his daughter to him, trying to calm her, to comfort her. Knowing exactly what she was talking about, he spoke softly, “It wasn't anyone's fault, least of all yours.”
 
“But- but,” she struggled to push her next statement past her lips. “If I'd- If I'd stayed home, they wouldn't have come to pick me up.”
 
“Love,” Tony soothed, trying to get his daughter to comprehend her own complete lack of guilt. “If I hadn't fought with your mother, they wouldn't have left. You are not to blame here.”
 
Somewhere in Kagome's mind she knew that her father was right, however the greater part of her insisted that it was her fault. “But, if I'd been there, I could have, could have-“
 
“Grampa?” a small voice queried from the door. “Why's Momma crying?”
 
Knowing that Shippo never called her Momma unless he was distressed, Kagome sobbed all the harder.
 
“She had a bad dream Shippo,” Tony explained to the kitsune as he climbed onto the bed, moving to hug his adopted family.
 
“Was it `that dream' again?” Shippo asked, afraid for his `Momma'.
 
“Yes, it was,” the older man answered, even though his daughter's shattered whimpering of `Okaa, Nii-chan' indicated the truth better than any response of his ever could.
 
The small family stayed, holding each other, each seeking comfort, until the two younger slowly drifted off to sleep.
 
~*~*~*~*~*~
 
With Kagome and Shippo sleeping soundly again, Tony left his daughter's room. Walking back to his room, he paused in the doorway that led to the living room and the kitchen.
 
Sighing deeply, he moved through the doorway. He walked to the bookshelf in the corner of the living room, pulled down two old photo albums and set them on the coffee table. Then he trudged to the kitchen. Opening the pantry, he searched for, found, and pulled out a single bottle of vodka. Debating whether to bother with a glass, he finally made his way to the sofa.
 
As he turned the pages of the first album, he swallowed the liquor sullenly.
 
`I'm sorry, Satakieli,' he apologized silently. `I know that I promised. Please forgive me.'
 
~*~*~*~*~*~
 
Kagome bit back tears as she caught sight of her father's drunken figure sprawled on the couch, an empty liquor bottle on the floor, picture albums on the coffee table. She didn't have to read the label on the bottle to know that it had once contained vodka.
 
Kagome walked towards him, furious with him for breaking his promise, intent on waking him. She stopped in her tracks when she saw the elegantly scripted note next to the photo albums. She picked the small slip of paper up, reading it carefully.
 
It was a poem:
`Kerran vain haaveeni nähdä sain,
En pienuutta alla tähtien tuntenut
Kerran sain ketooni kalterit
Vankina sieltä kirjettä kirjoitan
 
Luojani, luoksesi anna minun tulla siksi miksi lapseni minua luulee.'
 
She translated it in her mind. Her father had written:
 
`Only once I could see my dream
Didn't feel the smallness under the stars
Once I got bars in my cradle
As a prisoner I write a letter from there
 
My creator, to you, let me become what my child thinks I am.'
 
Allowing tears to push past her lashes, she turned to Shippo and sighed, “Call me when he wakes up, alright.”
 
Shippo nodded. As she walked out the door, Kagome heard him say, “Bye.”
 
Mentally kicking herself for forgetting, she walked back to him, picked him up, hugged him close, and said, “I'll see you soon, Sweetie.”
 
“Bye, Kagome,” the kit eagerly returned the hug.
 
~*~*~*~*~*~
 
 

Kagome's phone went off twenty minutes into Voice. Fortunately, it was simply a practice day.
 
Excusing herself, she left for home. Having a good idea of what she would find, she hurried, almost breaking the speed limit.
 
She pulled in the drive and scrambled from the car, leaving it running and the door open. She threw the door to the house open.
 
Just inside the door, her father was having quite a time demolishing the kitchen. She moved to the doorway, “Daddy?”
 
He whirled around, staggering, “And you!” he slurred. “I hope you're happy!”
 
“Daddy,” she moved towards him, hands out. “You're still drunk, Daddy. If you'll lie down and let me make you some coffee-“
 
“No!” he screamed. “I know all about you `Higurashi's!” he snarled the name as though it were a vile curse. “Your `voodoo' Japanese witchcraft! I want no part of it!”
 
Swallowing hard, Kagome continued to step forward. “Daddy, please. Please, calm down.”
 
“I will not calm down!” as if to solidify that statement he threw a glass to the floor, where it shattered. As though noticing her proximity for the first time, he threw an arm out at her, shouting, “Stay away from me, witch!”
 
The blow caught Kagome near the left eyebrow and she fell. Raising a tentative hand to her brow, she winced.
 
Feeling his hand connect with flesh and bone caused Tony to snap out of his drunken rage. “Oh god,” he murmured. “What have I done?”
 
~*~*~*~*~*~
 
Tucking her hair behind her ear timidly, Kagome continued to the studio.
 
With her father safely on his way to sobriety and Shippo over at Sango's for the time being, Kagome had been desperate to get out of the house. She'd snatched the case that held her weather-beaten acoustic and had headed out. Knowing that she had an open invitation to Mr. Elizondo's guitar studio at the high school, that was the first place she thought of heading.
 
Reaching the end of the stairs, she adjusted the guitar case's strap over her shoulder. The studio took up almost the entire third floor, it had several out of the way booths for private practice, four amps set up for those working with electric guitars, and plenty of barstool-type seats for everyone. She reached the main door and knocked quietly, normally she would have simply opened the door and waltzed in but she didn't feel up to that at the moment.
 
The door opened and she raised her eyes to look at a person who, for all intents and purposes, should have been Mr. Elizondo. However, in the seven years she'd known him, she'd never seen him with golden eyes, or long silver hair for that matter.
 
“I'm sorry,” she muttered and began to turn away. “I'll just go.”
 
“Damn,” Inuyasha said, bemused. “What's gotten into you? If you wanna come in, c'mon. I sure as hell ain't gonna kick you out. They're just screwin' around anyways.”
 
Swallowing, flashing him a brief, grateful smile, she entered the studio.
 
“Hey, Kagome,” a brown-haired boy waved.
 
“Hi, Mike,” she returned, head bowed slightly.
 
“Kags,” she waved in response to Lou's greeting.
 
“Kagmeister!” a mock-stoner shouted.
 
“Hey,” was her only response.
 
“You alright?” Laura, a slim Hispanic girl, asked.
 
“Yeah,” Kagome forced a smile. “'Everywhere' again?
 
“Yep,” Laura snorted in frustration. “Chorus doesn't sound right still.”
 
“Hmm,” Kagome closed her eyes, thoughtful. “Try the harmonics instead of the same notes you're singing.”
 
Laura motioned for her to take the seat next to her, which Kagome did. Taking her own acoustic out, she began to tune it.
 
“Can't believe you still won't use the equipment,” Laura remarked, shaking her head.
 
“Too much of a fuss,” Kagome returned, ears intent on her guitar, watching Inuyasha work with another student who'd asked for help. “He hasn't been an ass to you guys, right?”
 
“Who? The sub?” Laura shook her head. “Nope. He works more with the electric bunch than with us acoustics, though.”
 
Kagome nodded, idly fingering a simple, almost Spanish style melody. “He mentioned that he preferred the electric.”
 
Laura recognized the tune Kagome had taught her a while back and began to play second guitar, more intent on keeping the rhythm than the small flourishes Kagome herself was performing. The girls continued fingering the melody, neither bothering to use a pick.
 
Temporarily unneeded, Inuyasha watched the two. They were paying absolutely no attention to anything other than the guitars. He was just about to ask if they were going to play the same damn bars over and over when Kagome began to sing.
 
An angelface smiles to me
Under a headline of tragedy
That smile used to give me warmth
Farewell, no words to say
Beside the cross on your grave
And those forever burning candles
 
The soft soprano was slightly familiar. Inuyasha leaned against a nearby wall, noticing idly that all other playing had stopped.
 
She vocalized quietly for a moment before continuing, a sad smile on her face. The guitar accompaniment did not change.
 
Needed elsewhere
To remind us of the shortness of our time
 
She held the vowel while Laura sang under her.
 
Tears laid for them
 
Kagome regained the lead.
 
Tears of love
Tears of fear
Bury my dreams
Dig up my sorrows
Oh, Lord, why
 
Kagome's eyes were shut when she sang, seeming to pull the words from thin air. Inuyasha was reminded of a musical. On the next line, Kagome went up, almost an octave, from where she had been singing, while Laura retained an alto harmony.
 
The angels fall first
 
Back in her normal register, Kagome continued, the guitar also changing key to a lower tone.
 
Not relieved by thoughts of Shangri-la
Nor enlightened by the lessons of Christ
I'll never understand the meaning of the right
Ignorance lead me into the light
 
The girls maintained the same guitar melody while Kagome again vocalized. Then she began the chorus again.
 
Needed elsewhere
To remind us of the shortness of our time
 
Laura sang the next line under her and continued to provide an alto harmony for the next few lines.
 
Tears laid for them
Tears of love
Tears of fear
Bury my dreams
Dig up my sorrows
Oh, Lord, why
 
For the final line of the chorus both girls went up, Laura still providing harmony, slightly lower than Kagome, creating a pleading effect.
 
The angels fall first
 
Kagome again vocalized where she would have placed a flute, the guitars dropping out while she did so. When the guitar did come back, she was again adding slightly Spanish flourishes while Laura kept the melody.
 
Switching the guitar melody to a low arpeggio and her own voice to a low, almost alto tone, Kagome began the tag.
 
Sing me a song
Of your beauty
Of your kingdom
Let the melodies
Of your harps
Caress those who we still need
 
Inuyasha couldn't help but notice that she seemed almost bitter at the beginning of the stanza. When she continued, it was in the same melody.
 
Yesterday we shook hands
My friend
 
A lone tear ran down her cheek as she continued, in a slightly higher key, with Laura again providing the alto harmony, the guitars continuing the slight arpeggio.
 
Today a moonbeam lightens my path
My Guardian
 
The slight vibrato on the held vowel only added to the mournful note. Returning the attention to the guitars, they returned to the original melody for about four measures before closing out.
 
The almost ferocious applause and catcalls made Inuyasha wince and pin his ears to his head. “Alright, show's over!” he barked. Noticing that Kagome looked a bit afraid, he flashed her a brief, reassuring grin, before telling the `class', “Get back to work!”
 
“Hey,” Laura's concerned voice brought Kagome's attention back to her. “You sure you're alright? You zoned out for a bit there.”
 
“I-I'm fine,” Kagome stuttered, feeling the beginnings of a headache. “I've got somewhere I need to be.” She hurriedly put the acoustic back in its case before muttering a quick `bye' and almost running to the door.
 
Laura sighed and turned to look at the sub, who was halfway to the door already. Figuring he could take care of whatever was bothering Kag, albeit in a rather gruff way, Laura returned her attention to her practice.
 
“Oi! Would you wait up a minute?!” the annoyed voice made Kagome stop in her tracks.
 
Turning around on the landing, she faced the hanyou. “Look, I have to be somewhere, so if you could make this quick-“
 
“Yeah, yeah,” he muttered. “Caught that.”
 
“If you've nothing to say,” she narrowed her eyes coldly. “I'm leaving.”
 
“You're her, aren't you?” the question had the desired effect; she turned to look at him again.
 
“What do you want?” her voice trembled slightly.
 
“Nothing currently,” he shrugged. “Just wanted to check.”
 
“Well you have,” she began to flee down the stairs again.
 
Sighing, Inuyasha jumped the banister, landing at the foot of the stairs. In response, Kagome's eyes widened and she nearly tripped. “Why so jumpy?” he asked mildly.
 
“I'm not jumpy.”
 
He leaned against the small wall that held the banister. “Sure coulda fooled me.”
 
She eyed him oddly, asking again, “What do you want?”
 
“For starters, I'm kinda curious as to where that bruise came from, never mind the cut,” he feigned disinterest, acting as if he were cleaning his nails, his amber eyes daring her to deny the truth.
 
“What bruise?” she asked even as her hand flew up to cover it.
 
Scrutinizing her with narrowed eyes, he hissed, “You know damn well what bruise. What happened?”
 
“Nothing,” she said hurriedly, “I fell.”
 
“Into what?” he snorted. “Someone's fist?”
 
“Look, you wouldn't understand,” she started.
 
“Try me.”
 
Changing tactics, she pleaded, “Please don't badger me about it. He didn't mean it. It was an accident.”
 
“If you only knew how many times I've heard that same bullshit,” he said quietly, looking more hurt than angry.
 
A door creaked open and a slightly amused, slightly annoyed voice called out, “If you two are done, some of us have a class now.”
 
“Sorry, Mr. Mamoru,” Kagome apologized.
 
At the same time, Inuyasha grinned, “Sure Pop, whatever. Go drink your prune juice.”
 
“I'll make you write lines,” the elder inu-youkai warned.
 
“Oh, please, not the lines,” Inuyasha mock begged. “Anything but the lines.”
 
Snorting in a way all too reminiscent of his son, the history professor disappeared back into his rooms.
 
Inuyasha sighed, turning back to a bewildered Kagome, “I'm gonna head back up. When you're ready to tell me, you know where to find me.” With that, walked back up the stairs, leaving a very confused Kagome near the landing.
 
~*~*~*~*~*~
 
THWACK!
 
“Stupid!”
 
TWANG! THWACK!
 
“Annoying!”
 
TWANGTWANG! THWACKTHWACK!
 
“Hanyou!” Kagome screamed to no one, firing three arrows in quick succession.
 
TWANGTWANGTWANG! THWACKTHWACKTHWACK!
 
Glaring at the target, upwards of ten arrows stuck in the bullseye, Kagome breathed deeply then walked over to retrieve her ammunition.
 
“Here's an idea,” Joey said slowly. “How's about, before a competition, we get her majorly pissed off?”
 
“Sure, sounds like a plan, who gets the honors?” were the scattered responses.
 
“What in the bloody hell are you doing standing around!” the furious miko shouted at her teammates. “This is PRACTICE! Get your asses to work!”
 
“And that,” Cait quipped, “is why she's the team captain.”
 
~*~*~*~*~*~
 
“And you came to this conclusion, how?” Miroku tried not to snicker at the fiercely protective light in his friend's eyes.
 
“Think about it,” Inuyasha leaned forward in his seat. “She's always wearing long sleeves and jeans. It's ninety fuckin' degrees out. She's built up walls a mile thick Doesn't seem to trust anyone other than this `Sango' character. She hides out, in the studio, the bar, the library, the college, where ever. Point is, she avoids being at home.”
 
Miroku, who'd stopped listening around the time Sango was mentioned, nodded dumbly. Catching himself, he shook off his stupor, then pointed out, “And you've seen her, what, twice?”
 
“Four times.”
 
“You're counting,” Miroku noted. “Planning on asking her out?”
 
“Would you get your damn mind out of the fucking gutter?” the hanyou's irritated voice nearly coaxed a snicker from his friend.
 
“All kidding aside,” Miroku tilted his head, gauging his friend's reaction. “What would you do? You sure as hell can't sic Child Protective Services on the guy.”
 
“I know,” running a hand through his hair, Inuyasha said quietly, “I'd just feel better once she was out of there.”
 
~*~*~*~*~*~
 
Returning home from her shift at the bar, Kagome found the kitchen clean and her father at the kitchen table, staring blankly into what must have been his umpteenth cup of coffee.
 
“I'm home,” she announced weakly. She moved to sit by her father. He said nothing, merely looked up at her for a second before returning his attention to his coffee.
 
Growing tired of the tense silence, Kagome asked, “Where's Shippo?”
 
“In bed, “ came the soft answer. “Asleep. Sango dropped him off before she went to work.”
 
“Dad,” Tony looked at his daughter, surprised. “You know I'm not angry at you?”
 
“I don't know why though,” he chuckled bitterly.
 
“You weren't thinking clearly for one,” she scooted her chair closer to him, then rested her head on his shoulder. “You were depressed and angry and,” she paused, “drunk.”
 
Tony winced, “I shouldn't have been, though, I promised you.”
 
“You're human, Dad,” Kagome pointed out. “You aren't Superman.”
 
Kissing the top of his daughter's head, he mumbled, “Thank you.”
 
“Any time,” she replied softly.
 
They remained like that for a moment before Tony broke the silence, “Now. What's bothering you, Satakieli?”
 
“It's nothing,” Kagome huffed.
 
“Now I know there's something,” he pulled back from his daughter to look her in the eyes. “What's wrong?”
 
“Just someone too nosy for their own good,” she returned his gaze before crossing her arms. “It's nothing I can't handle.”
 
“Kagome,” his tone demanded an answer. “I hate to play the guilt card, but you remember what happened the last time you told me that you could `handle it',” he looked at her covered wrists pointedly.
 
Kagome looked away guiltily, “I know,” she sighed. “It's nothing but some guy making stupid assumptions. I know he means well, it's just so-“ her mouth moved but no sound came out, “-ing annoying.”
 
Tony looked at her oddly.
 
“What?” she asked, annoyed.
 
“You just,” he broke out into laughter, his blue eyes dancing. “Bleeped yourself.”
 
Kagome blinked rapidly several times before joining him.
 
~*~*~*~*~*~
 
Sesshomaru watched, amused, as his brother stalked back and forth in the living room. He was muttering to himself, cursing violently at irregular intervals, and glancing at the clock no less than once every five seconds.
 
“I'm almost afraid to ask,” Sesshomaru began. “But what has you so irritated?”
 
Obviously not having heard him, Inuyasha spat violently, “And I can't do a fucking thing!”
 
“About what, son?” Inutaisho frowned as his elder son hid a smirk at his brother's expense.
 
“Her!” his younger son cried, helplessly.
 
“Who?” the elder inu-youkai furrowed his brow. “Kagome?”
 
Inuyasha whirled around, “Of course, Kago-“ he gave his father a bewildered look. “You know her?”
 
“Kagome Higurashi,” Inutaisho nodded. “'Bout 5'3”, fiery temper, sharp tongue, good at poetry, deadly aim. Yep, taught her about four years ago.”
 
“Oh, this is perfect,” the hanyou slumped into a chair. Then something his father said caught his attention. “'Deadly aim'? With what, exactly?”
 
“Bow and arrow,” Sesshomaru tried not to snicker when his father answered as though this were the obvious response. “She captains the Uni team now, I think.”
 
“Anything else I should know?” Inuyasha quirked an eyebrow.
 
“Hmmm,” his father feigned thought. Then, ticking off on his fingers he continued, “Best friend's a demon slayer, overprotective wolf demon buddy, hangs out with a wind demoness who'd sooner literally blow you away than argue. Nope, think that's about it.”
 
“Heard about her,” Inuyasha started. “Met him, met her.”
 
“When?”
 
“Which one?”
 
Inutaisho gave his son a deadpan look. “All of them.”
 
“She threatened to let her demon slayer friend pound Miroku, Wolf Breath, also known as Kouga, tried to beat the shit out of me, thought we were dating, Wind Demon chick, think her name's Kagura, interrupted, called Kagome a hooker a few times and whined at her for not calling.”
 
“Yep, that'd be them,” he snickered. “Do I even want to know why she threatened Miroku?”
 
“Probably not.”
 
“Alright then,” Inutaisho returned to his reading for all of two minutes before his curiosity got the better of him.
 
“Why, exactly, are you so worried over her?”
 
“No reason,” his son was studiously avoiding eye contact.
 
Sesshomaru snorted softly, “And that's why you `can't do a fucking thing'?”
 
There was a long pause, “Shut up, Sess.”