InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Spider's Web ❯ Chapter 2

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Nimetsuki Kaijuu sat in wait for her, watching from beyond the bushes, just waiting for a time when she would emerge from the safety of Goshinboku. Kagome sat huddled at the very far end of her tree home, eyes squeezed shut as tears cascaded down her pudgy, dirt streaked cheeks. She clamped her hands to her ears in order to block out the sounds of her own screams.

"Why are you screaming?"

The sound of someone else's voice surprised her enough that she stopped and looked around, gasping for breath from exertion. Her hands slowly fell and she curled herself into an even tighter ball as she continued to whimper, eyes slipping shut once more.

"I asked you a question."

She opened her eyes and looked around again, but saw no one that could have possibly spoken to her. She wasn't even sure she understood the question. How long had it been now since she'd heard another voice? Since she'd spoken herself? Since that person had intruded in her woods...since he'd said she brought him there. But how long ago was that? There was no sense of time in the tree, no concept of night and day.

"I heard you. Nimetsuki is outside."

"Are you okay?"

"As long as I'm with Goshinboku. I can never leave Goshinboku." She laid her cheek on her knees and rocked back and forth, crying softy. "The Goshinboku will protect me from Nimetsuki. Where are you?"

There was no answer and she was about to repeat the question, wondering if he had left her, when there was a soft grunt. "In a cave. My cavern's deep inside. There's no light anymore, but I know there's water nearby because I can still hear it..."

This time it was her turn to be concerned about him. It sounded frightening and lonely where he was. "Are you okay?"

"No."

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Tani No Niji Treatment Center, Tokyo, Japan

"Kagome?" Someone was shaking her and she cracked her eyes open to see who it was. "Kagome-chan? It's time for your appointment. Dr. Tanreino is waiting for you." She focused on a girl a few years older than herself with short cropped black hair. "D'you have a long night last night?"

Kagome stretched as the girl backed up to let her stand and smiled. "Yeah. I was on instant messenger pretty late last night." She'd been at the University a full week now and had quickly become close friends with Sango and Miroku. She was glowing with the after glow of friendship, something she hadn't ever really had in high school.

The other girl laughed and went back to her desk. "Well, I hope it was a good conversation with a cute boy." She sighed as the phone started to ring again. "You can go on back."

"Thanks, Yura." Kagome waved to her and headed down the hall. She'd been coming to Dr. Tanreino's office once a week for so long now that she knew all the staff personally. She'd even volunteered at Kaede's facility, Tani no Niji Iori, the summer before. Like the Western styled home that housed the patients who needed in-patient treatment, this office was decorated in a homey style that made one feel instantly comfortable and she smiled, realizing the decor matched the personality of the doctor.

At Kaede's door, she paused, hearing voices, and hesitated slightly before knocking to announce her arrival. The door opened with a jolt and a boy with long, white hair looked over his shoulder as the aging woman spoke. "Don't forget next week, same time. And try to be a bit more enthusiastic about school...talk to someone, make friends."

He muttered a short 'keh' under his breath and turned, practically shoving Kagome into the wall as he pushed passed her and hurried away. Kagome stared after him, face first flushed with anger and then settled into a more curious expression. The boy would have been handsome, had his features not been twisted into such a sour expression. The white hair was a definite turn on, but the strangest thing about him was that poking from that hair, right atop his head, were two small triangles...dog ears. Now, Kagome was no stranger to the society around her. Nearly 43 percent of the population on campus was youkai, but never had she seen a youkai with ears like that...

All too soon, however, the curiosity was replaced with anger once more and she huffed into Kaede's office, barely managing to shut the door without slamming it. "Ugh, rude much?" She rolled her eyes and looked at Kaede before practically falling into the overstuffed, black, leather chair next to her desk. "He didn't even say 'excuse me' or apologize for nearly knocking me over. I swear, no one exhibits manners anymore, Kaede-san."

Kaede only chuckled. "You have to excuse, Inuyasha. He's been like that for as long as I've known him," she shifted some papers on her desk and was about to say something more when there was a knock on the door. Whoever was behind it didn't wait for a response, but opened the door slightly to reveal the visitor as a lovely woman dressed in a blue business suit. had it not been for the few lines of grey that streaked her long mane, one would have sworn she was still young. Yet, time had certainly caught up with her, as it did with most people.

Kagome jumped from her chair and practically tackled the women before anyone could speak. "Kikyou-san!" This was her hero, her savior. This was the woman who had chased the murderer away and who had been there to greet her when she finally left the safety of Goshinboku. "I tried calling you last week, but the receptionist said you were swamped. Where have you been?"

"Buried under a mountain of paperwork," the older woman answered, making a face. "Kaede said that you were coming this afternoon so I figured you wouldn't mind if I popped over for a moment."

In the thirteen years since Kagome had rejoined their world, she and Kikyou had become acquainted, and what had started out as a childish infatuation on Kagome's part had soon developed into a relationship much like Kagome had with her own mother. To Kagome, Kikyou was the embodiment of all she wanted to be. The retired police officer, who had later become a social worker, was smart, pretty, kind and strong. She was her own personal hero, her friend, and her role model.

"Kaede says that you started at Uni this week? How do you like it so far?" She brushed Kagome's bangs off her forehead and smiled. "Made any new friends?"

Kagome grinned. "It's great, actually. I me two other medical students who have the strangest relationship. Sango's studying to be a pediatrician and Miroku, if he lives long enough, is going to go into radiology."

"If he lives long enough?" Kikyou wrinkled her brow in curiosity.

"He's a bit of a pervert and can't seem to keep his hands off Sango. She's gonna kill him eventually, I just know it."

"Sounds interesting." Kikyou shook her head, laughing quietly. "Well, I only had a minute. I'll call you next week and we can meet for lunch. Call me if you need anything." She hugged Kagome once more and then waved to her sister. "Bye, Kaede."

"Good-bye, sister."

Kaede waited until the door was closed and then turned her attention back to the young woman in her office. Kagome had resumed her seat and looked at her expectantly. Happy as she seemed, she'd known the girl long enough to read what was going on behind those steel-blue eyes and something was definitely worrying her. "Are you having problems?"

Kagome sighed, suddenly looking tired. "It's just...I haven't been sleeping well." She leaned back, resting her head on the thick cushion of her chair. "I've been having these dreams lately. Dreams about Goshinboku...about being back there..it's like...it's like I'm waiting for something to happen. There's this feeling in the pit of my stomache that somehow, something is going to go very, very wrong."

"And what is that? What is going to happen?"

She fidgeted in her seat. "I wish I knew...but...I think people are going to get hurt. People are going to suffer - and it's going to be my fault."

**************************************************** *************Slamming the car door, he leaned his forehead against the steering wheel, breathing deeply. How was visiting that old hag supposed to help him? This whole thing was pointless. It's not like it made any difference in the end.

"Life is meant to be lived and experienced, Inuyasha, not spent hiding. It's been almost ten years, but you refuse to heal. Why is that?"

He scowled and shoved himself back from the wheel and jabbing the key in the ignition. He turned it hard, slamming on the gas as he did so, nearly flooding his motor. Refused to heal? He was awake, wasn't he? He'd graduated high school, gotten into college, lived a normal life. Why wasn't that enough for her? For all of them? What more did they want him to do? Enjoy it?

Yeah, right.

"I'm here, ain't I?"

"You are no longer mentally shut off from the world, no, but you continue to physically shut the world out. That is not healthy. Tell me, have you made friends at the university?"

Friends? What the hell did he need friends for? He was a freak of nature and he knew it. Not only was he among the small minority of the hanyou population - as if that wasn't bad enough - he'd spent three years of his life in a mental hell, a vegetable trapped within his own mind.

"I've got no use for friends."

"Everyone needs a friend, Inuyasha. You have to come back to the living world some time and you'd might as well do it now, while you still have the chance at something good. Don't let the world leave you behind."

What did it matter in the end? He'd already been left behind. Why didn't she get that? It wasn't like he'd never told her, never tried to explain it to her, but she refused to listen. His parents had left him behind the night of the accident. He'd been left behind to suffocate in that car. His half-brother, his last living relative, had abandoned him to boarding schools.

"Try and attend classes regularly. Make some friends. Regain some semblance of a normal life. You might find you actually like it."

He growled and threw the car into reverse, speeding back towards the co-ed dormitory where he lived on campus. At least there he could be alone, if his cocky ass roommate decided to take a hike. If he were lucky, the ookami youkai would be off somewhere, hounding a female or doing whatever it was he did in his spare time. Unfortunately, the youkai was sitting at the computer, headphones draped around his neck. Apparently their history class had been given an assignment on Sengoku Jidai.

Damn. Why'd he skip that class today? He might have hated school, but he had managed to keep his grades up. Being ridiculed for being a half-breed was one thing, but he would not be called stupid. Besides, it had been what his parents wanted. He owned them that much, even if he was a disappointment in every other way.

"Yo, mutt-face." Sadaka Ashi's usual greeting met his ears and caused his scowl to deepen. The damn ookami was always so cheerful when he insulted Inuyasha that it made the white-haired hanyou despise him even more. "Try and keep it down, will ya mutt? I've got a history report to do. There's this cute chick in class and if I can score a high grade on this, it'll really impress her. Chicks dig that kinda thing."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes and climbed up on the top bunk, sprawling out on his back. "Whatever. When's this report due?"

"If you'd been there, you'd know." With that, Ashi replaced his headphones and went back to reading the computer.

************************************************** ***************

The hotel room was dark as a shadowed figure huddled over the computer screen, skimming through digital pictures and then settled on one in particular. It was a close up of a young girl with dark hair and a black sweater with a blue jacket over it. She was smiling at someone across from her, but the main focus of the picture was the large pearl pendant hanging from a gold chain. The figure stared at the picture for a minute before moving on to the next picture, a long shot view of the same dark haired girl with a young man and another girl at a cafe. The man leaned over and wrote something on a pad of paper before finally moving on to the next picture. It went on like that for a while, the same girl in different places, doing various activities. Every once in a while he would lean over and write something on a pad. Finally he switched the machine off and lay back on the bed, the only thing visible in the room now was his red, glowing eyes.