InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Sweetest Escape ❯ With No Other Choice ( Chapter 23 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Rumiko Takahashi does.

 

 

 

 

Author's Notes:

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day!

 

 

 

 

Okay, chap. 23. I'm sorry about the cliffhanger—I had to! It was a good place to end and…and I was tired of typing. LOL. Anyway. Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 23: With No Other Choice

 

 

 

 

 

“So you're back.”

 

 

 

 

 

Inuyasha's heart leapt into his throat, and the air rushed out of him. Sesshomaru cocked a thin eyebrow as he awaited a response.

 

 

 

 

 

“S-Sesshomaru?” Inuyasha gaped. “Wh-what are you doing he—”

 

 

 

 

 

“Just checking up on you,” he interrupted. “Apparently Father was a bit worried about you when he left the other night. He asked if I would be so kind as to drop by and check on you.” Sesshomaru eyed Inuyasha disdainfully, as though he had the upper hand. Inuyasha was horrified to admit that right then, he did. “Imagine my surprise when I arrive and find that you're not here.”

 

 

 

 

 

Inuyasha's head was spinning, his mind racing at a hundred miles per hour, trying to calculate the exact right move. Every word was monumental at this point. Every word was crucial to how this ended. `What do I say, what do I say, what do I say?' he panicked.

 

 

 

 

 

“Tell me. Where have you been?” Sesshomaru asked. Inuyasha couldn't speak. He couldn't move. He could scarcely breathe. `I am in so. Much. Trouble,' he thought with dread almost suffocating in its magnitude. How had he missed Sesshomaru's scent? Even if he'd caught it, it wouldn't have mattered. Sesshomaru would have caught him coming into the house, and he'd still be in the same situation.

 

 

 

 

 

“I'm waiting,” Sesshomaru prompted.

 

 

 

 

 

“I…I was…um—”

 

 

 

 

 

“I'd choose my words wisely if I were you,” the older demon warned casually. He leaned against the wall, his arms crossed. Inuyasha was beginning to panic. It didn't seem as though his father was around, but Sesshomaru surely couldn't be trusted either. He had to lie.

 

 

 

 

 

“I was at the library,” he said, trying to keep his voice from wavering. “D-doing a project. I went through the window because I don't have a key and I didn't want to leave the door unlocked,” he explained.

 

 

 

 

 

“So you left a window open,” Sesshomaru stated in a deadpan voice, as though Inuyasha were an idiot.

 

 

 

 

 

“I closed it most of the wa—”

 

 

 

 

 

“If you were truly at the library, which I highly doubt,” Sesshomaru posed, stepping closer to the unsettled youth, “then why do you have the scent of a human female all over you?” A horribly thick and nauseous feeling overtook Inuyasha in that moment, and he felt as though he might vomit. He was caught, and he knew it. Even still…he had to try.

 

 

 

 

 

“It's a…the project, you see, it's…it's a partner project. We…we have partners—the whole class does. And m-my partner is a girl, so—”

 

 

 

 

 

“Is that so?” Sesshomaru asked. Inuyasha's words screeched to a halt, and he jerkily nodded. Sesshomaru nodded contemplatively, his lips pressed into a thin line. `Please, Kami, please,' Inuyasha prayed fervently. `Please don't let him catch me. Please, please just let me off the hook. Just this once, please.'

 

 

 

 

 

“It's interesting,” the older demon began, walking closer to his younger brother. “It's interesting that you would say that this girl is your partner for a school project.” Sesshomaru's intensely piercing gaze shot through Inuyasha, laden with accusation. “Do you regularly get intimate with school-assigned partners?” he asked, his tone more innocent than the question made him out to be. Inuyasha's heart fell into his stomach as though through a trapdoor, and he gulped audibly.

 

 

 

 

 

“You're caught, you see. Because even if the scent of her arousal and yours had faded from you, the bruise on your neck has not,” Sesshomaru pointed out, motioning at the boy's neck. Inuyasha reddened horribly, a hand flying up to cover the love mark he'd forgotten was there, just under his jaw. Apparently Kagome had gotten a bit carried away whilst he was carried away himself, lavishing her with attention in return. He knew he'd probably left a few of the same marks on her neck as well—but the one she'd left on him was likely to get him killed. “You care to explain that? Is that courtesy of your little project partner as well?”

 

 

 

 

 

“I…I didn't—”

 

 

 

 

 

“Don't lie to me, hanyou,” Sesshomaru sneered, his upper lip lifting slightly. “Don't you dare make a move to lie to me. You insult my intelligence and undermine my authority when you do.”

 

 

 

 

 

“P-please…please don't tell Dad,” Inuyasha begged, trying another course of action. He wasn't foolish enough to believe that pleading would sway his stone-like older brother. The man was practically moving granite, especially when it came to him, and Inuyasha had always been painfully aware of the fact that Sesshomaru found him to be nothing more than a nuisance and an embarrassment. There was absolutely no precedence for the older demon to give him any leeway, and even still, he was desperate to try.

 

 

 

 

 

“You mean to tell me that he does not already know?” Sesshomaru asked, his interest piqued, as though he were almost surprised.

 

 

 

 

 

“N-no. No, he doesn't, and he can't. H-he can't know, Sesshomaru—”

 

 

 

 

 

“And why not?” the older demon countered. “I think he deserves to know what goes on with you just as much as anyone. Especially since you apparently aren't where you're supposed to be when you're supposed to be there.”

 

 

 

 

 

Sesshomaru shook his head, as though he were disappointed in him. Inuyasha willed himself not to feel embarrassed, not to feel ashamed, not to feel desperate to please him. `He's never done anything for you!' he screamed at himself. He stung. Sesshomaru slipped a hand inside of the blazer of his sleek eggshell white suit and pulled out a thin cell phone.

 

 

 

 

 

“I'm sure we'll get this entire thing straightened out now,” he muttered lowly as his thumb flew over the keys. Inuyasha's eyes widened, and he didn't pause to think.

 

 

 

 

 

“No, please don't call him!” he shouted frantically. He recklessly launched himself at Sesshomaru, grabbing his wrist, and subsequently jostling the tiny mobile from his hand, sending it to the unforgiving and unyielding wooden floor with an ominous shatter.

 

 

 

 

 

Both brothers stilled in the aftermath, fury and severe annoyance roiling off of one in waves, absolutely debilitating dread crashing over the other.

 

 

 

 

 

“Take your filthy hands off of me,” Sesshomaru commanded darkly. Inuyasha rigidly released his taut grip on the man's wrist finger by finger, his arms retracting mechanically.

 

 

 

 

 

“I'm…I'm sorry—” he whispered.

 

 

 

 

 

“Just who do you think you are, hanyou?” Sesshomaru gritted, his words clipped and fast, like a hailstorm. “Does this human have you so enthralled that you're getting confused? Forgetting your place? Is that what this is? Is that your problem as of late?”

 

 

 

 

 

“N-no…no, I'm…no,” he mumbled, shaking his head. Thought his head was bowed, he could feel the forcible penetration of Sesshomaru's piercing glare drilling into the top of his skull like a jackhammer. He shivered, as he could imagine the mask of cold fury that covered the man's face without even glancing.

 

 

 

 

 

“You would do well,” he started “to remember that at the end of the day, that human girl is not who you answer to. Do you understand that?”

 

 

 

 

 

“Yes,” he responded automatically, almost falling into the mold of adding `Sir' on the end.

 

 

 

 

 

“Father is already disappointed in you enough. And you would dare to bring more misfortune upon yourself. I hope he deals you a swift and adequate punishment. Foolish boy,” Sesshomaru spat. He turned for the kitchen.

 

 

 

 

 

“Sesshomaru?” Inuyasha tried tentatively. The man was furious beyond all belief, and most likely impervious to anything he had to say, but he was desperate to try.

 

 

 

 

 

“What.”

 

 

 

 

 

Inuyasha's mind scrambled for a moment. He could try the emotional appeal. He could tell his brother the truth about what went on at the residence when he was away. He could tell him hundreds of stories about the way their father beat and bloodied him daily, left him sore and aching and half mad with pain. He could…he could…the odds were not in his favor. Emotion did not work with Sesshomaru. Pleading and begging and earnestness would not work with Sesshomaru. Inuyasha supposed that if he even dared to tell the truth that Sesshomaru would simply not care, perhaps even deem the punishment well and proper for a monster such as himself. And that thought terrified him.

 

 

 

 

 

He could try logic. That was the only way that he could possibly conceive to win Sesshomaru over to his cause. But what to say? What irrefutable case could he state that Sesshomaru would find even remotely worth believing? He was coming up on empty. He'd try a stab in the dark.

 

 

 

 

 

“If…I'm just asking you…to please, please not tell. If…if you tell Dad…he…he'll take her away from me. He'll make sure I never leave the house…he won't ever let me see her again.”

 

 

 

 

 

Inuyasha internally shook his head. He'd just started talking, unsure of exactly what his appeal would be, unaware that that particular statement would come out. That was certainly not going to earn the promise of Sesshomaru's confidence. But in truth, it was the only thing he cared about. If Sesshomaru told his father, and he could be assured that the only punishment he'd incur was a beating, then he'd risk it. He would risk his father knowing about his secret rendezvous. It was only because of the fact that he knew that if his secret was discovered, he'd never have the opportunity to see Kagome again that he begged now…

 

 

 

 

 

“Perhaps that is for the best,” Sesshomaru said flatly. His chin jerked in the direction of the shattered cell phone. “Clean it up. Quickly.”

 

 

 

 

 

~

 

 

 

 

 

He'd formulated a plan. It was dangerous, terrifying, and quite possibly one of the dumbest things he'd ever resigned himself to do, but desperation had forced his innate sense of caution to the recesses of his mind. As he tremblingly picked up the broken fragments of Sesshomaru's cell phone, his mind ran in circles. Suddenly, quicker than he was prepared for, everything was on the line. Every wonderful thing that had he'd haphazardly stumbled upon throughout the course of the last year and a half was in jeopardy, and Inuyasha was struggling to keep his tenuous grip. Sesshomaru was going to tell. That was an unarguable fact that he had to come to terms with. Whether it was now or later, he couldn't say, but the fact of the matter was that it would without a doubt happen. And when the axe was ready to fall, Inuyasha decided that he would be more than prepared to make his getaway.

 

 

 

 

 

~

 

 

 

 

 

His eyes flicked anxiously over the crowd of students that piled through the door of his second hour class. `Where is she? Come on, where are you?” he thought, his leg bouncing agitatedly underneath his desk, perfectly in tune with his galloping heart. It had been an uneasy morning—an uneventful and clean morning. Inuyasha had managed to choke down his soggy cereal as his father and brother chatted casually over some of the take-out breakfast Sesshomaru had bought for them. Inuyasha's eyes darted between the two demons as they ate and talked, wary of letting his glance fall away. So uneasy was he that he was unable to even enjoy his cereal—it was so rare that his father allowed him to enjoy the luxury of breakfast. It was only another red flag for him.

 

 

 

 

 

He'd pushed away from the table after he'd finished, brushed his teeth, and grabbed his bookbag to leave for school.

 

 

 

 

 

“Have a nice day, Inuyasha.”

 

 

 

 

 

The boy stood stock still, jerking to an abrupt halt at the surprisingly gentle and easy words. He turned mechanically to gape at the man standing in the doorway of the kitchen, a hand causally tossed up in farewell. Inuyasha waited. That couldn't be it. That couldn't possibly be it. He waited for the customary clamp of a large paw on his shoulder, the strong yank on the collar of his shirt, a pull on his hair or a light smack to the jaw, just to remind him who he belonged to, just to keep him in line. It didn't come.

 

 

 

 

 

“Straight home, yes?” his father prompted. Sesshomaru had joined the man at the doorjamb, looking easily over his shoulder to affront Inuyasha with his deceptively calm gaze. Inuyasha shrunk back unconsciously, feeling as though he were in front of a firing squad.

 

 

 

 

 

He was too shocked and paralyzed with confused fear to say anything. Rushing out of the house, he almost slammed the door behind him, and paused for a few seconds, expecting a very ticked off dog demon to come barreling through the door to scream at him. That didn't come either.

 

 

 

 

 

Inuyasha was no fool. Something was coming. He could feel in with every square inch of his skin, smell it with every breath he took. He was shaken to the core.

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, he saw her, seeming to be swept along in the current of students rushing to beat the bell.

 

 

 

 

 

“Kagome!” he hissed, giving her a desperate look. Her eyes snapped to him instinctually before narrowing the tiniest bit and pointedly looking away as she slid into her desk.

 

 

 

 

 

“Kagome, I—”

 

 

 

 

 

“Jerk,” she whispered harshly. “What's wrong with you, huh? Did you completely forget we had plans? I mean, I get it if you can't show, but you could have at least called. I was worried sick, Inuyasha! I thought—Kami, I thought almost every horrible thought there was! And you tell me I can't call you, so I was freaking out! I thought your dad might have finally completely snapped and—”

 

 

 

 

 

“That's what I'm trying to tell you, Kagome! I am in deep shit!” he blurted, interrupting her. He shot an edgy glance to the front of the classroom, where the teacher had given them a sternly disapproving look as he shuffled aimlessly through his papers. Her severely annoyed expression gave way immediately to anxious concern, her brow wrinkling prettily, he couldn't help but notice.

 

 

 

 

 

“What's wrong? What happened?”

 

 

 

 

 

“I got caught,” he said briefly, the statement hardly needing any clarification. The most absolute and profound look of horror spread across her features, her eyes widening, mouth falling open.

 

 

 

 

 

“Oh…oh, Kami…” she moaned softly. “But…but how? You—you've never been…I mean, you're always careful—”

 

 

 

 

 

“It wasn't my dad. It was Sesshomaru,” he amended, raking an exasperated hand through his hair. “I had no idea he was even gonna be there—he's never there. I didn't smell him or hear him or anything. But…he…he smelled you on me, and he was pissed. I just…shit. I don't…even know…” he trailed off, shaking his head, the worry that had developed that day ever present, even now.

 

 

 

 

 

“Inuyasha…Inuyasha, I'm so sorry! Oh, Kami, I'm so sorry—”

 

 

 

 

 

“Kagome, it's not your fault—”

 

 

 

 

 

“But…you said he smelled me on y—”

 

 

 

 

 

“Kagome. Don't. I wouldn't…I wouldn't trade what we did that night for…for anything,” he told her earnestly. “Besides…even…even if he hadn't caught your scent…he would've found out anyway. He still would've been there when I got back…” he mumbled.

 

 

 

 

 

“Does your dad know? Has Sesshomaru told him?” she pressed.

 

 

 

 

 

“Quiet back there, you two!” Mr. Akimoto growled. The pair instantly quieted, only for a moment.

 

 

 

 

 

“No…I don't think so,” he whispered. “I mean, I'm pretty sure if he told, I'd be a fucking bloody pulp right now, so I don't think he has,” Inuyasha reasoned. “But he still could. Any time he wants to…and he will. Sesshomaru will…he doesn't give a fuck about me.”

 

 

 

 

 

“Maybe if you tried to reason with him—”

 

 

 

 

 

“That won't work with Sesshomaru. If you've ever met him—consider yourself fortunate you haven't—he's…he's like walking granite. He doesn't give a shit about anyone, especially not me.” Inuyasha sighed, staring unseeingly at his open notebook. “Anyway…I don't…I don't want to do this anymore,” he whispered almost silently.

 

 

 

 

 

Kagome couldn't mask the shock that dropped heavily over her face at his abrupt words, nor could she ignore the sour taste they left in her mouth. She stared unashamedly at the side of his face, Mr. Akimoto's economics lesson falling on deaf ears as a mindless drone in the background.

 

 

 

 

 

“What?” she asked in a small voice. Surely she'd misheard…

 

 

 

 

 

“I don't want to do this anymore, Kagome,” he repeated a bit louder, looking back at her this time. Her heart ached, as he seemed to silently plead with her to understand. She would try, but…where had this come from? Hadn't they just been so incredibly close not even a week ago? Hadn't they admitted they loved each other? Hadn't he given her his mother's ring? She embarrassedly twisted the tiny circle around her finger and tucked her hand into a fist, so that the jewels were hidden against her palm. Had she known he had this in mind so soon after, she wouldn't have…“I'm so…I'm so sick of it—”

 

 

 

 

 

“Will you shut up?” a girl hissed, whipping around to glare at them. Inuyasha bit his tongue to restrain the `fuck off' he'd been ready to deliver. His body was stiff and rigid with tense energy, his hands tightly gripping the edges of the desk. “Some of us are trying to learn.”

 

 

 

 

He pointedly looked away, taking a deep breath, and starting over. “I'm so sick of…of being terrified every fucking day—of holding my breath every time I step out of my room—”

 

 

 

 

 

“Chikamatsu!” Mr. Akimoto reprimanded sharply, jerking both of the teens' attention forward. “Since you so stubbornly refuse to direct your attention to my lecture now, perhaps you can find a way to channel it while you sit for an hour after school. Detention,” he said briskly, his feathers ruffled.

 

 

 

 

 

Inuyasha slumped, going boneless against the seat as the man waddled down the narrow aisle of desks to hand him the yellow slip.

 

 

 

 

 

“See?” he murmured weakly, shoving the slip of paper to the corner of the desk with vehemence. “Now…now it's gonna be even worse…I'm supposed to come straight home…now it'll just be worse…”

 

 

 

 

 

“I don't think…” Kagome began slowly. “I don't think you have to do what you're planning to do—”

 

 

 

 

 

“I do!” he insisted, leaning towards her. “I just…I don't think I can take it anymore. I mean, I thought I could. And I know I told you I could. I thought I could wait until graduation, but….but I don't think I can anymore. Not with all this lately…I…I want to get out. I don't want to have to…to…dread everything all the time anymore.”

 

 

 

 

 

“So what are you saying?” she pressed, bracing herself. Inuyasha would be the type to do something like this; to let what they had go when he didn't have to just yet. She only wished…

 

 

 

 

 

“So I'm saying…” he began. He hesitated and shot her a sheepish, half skittish look. “So I'm saying that if the offer's still there…I wanna…I wanna take it.”

 

 

 

 

 

“Huh? What offer?” Kagome asked, too confused to be relieved at the absence of the break up she'd been expecting.

 

 

 

 

 

“I know it was a really long time ago. But…but I was hoping that…maybe I could still…you know. Stay. With you,” he mumbled embarrassedly.

 

 

 

 

 

He felt absolutely awful asking that of her. Kagome loved him. He believed her with everything in him. And she was kind-hearted. She'd been the one to offer in the first place, and he was almost sure she wouldn't turn him down. But if he was perfectly honest with himself, he knew that she didn't know what she was getting into. All she would think about was the fact that she was helping her boyfriend. Heck, even saving his life once more. Inuyasha, however was all too familiar with the consequences that came with harboring a hanyou.

 

 

 

 

 

He'd thought about that as he'd made his final decision to seek asylum with Kagome and her family. He'd thought about his mother and the sacrifice she'd made, simply to keep him safe. `History repeats itself,' the old proverb went. He planned to make it his business to prove that statement wrong.

 

 

 

 

 

He couldn't bear to live with himself if he brought that kind of misfortune down upon the Higurashi family. Yet at the same time…they were his sanctuary. Kagome was his refuge. She would keep him safe, and he knew that. She would keep him safe from the stuff of his nightmares, and in turn, he made a vow to that he would keep her safe from the realities that were always too close.

 

 

 

 

 

“You…you want to stay with me?” she whispered, disbelieving.

 

 

 

 

 

“If you say no…I totally underst—”

 

 

 

 

 

Kagome's shoulders drooped with relief, the edgy tension rushing out of them, and she slapped a hand to her face, almost embarrassed that her mind had traveled down that path. She shook her head at her own foolishness and dropped her hand, smiling shakily at him. She decided that he didn't need to know the silly thoughts that had been running rampant through her head. Right now, he needed her to be as strong as she'd been before.

 

 

 

 

 

“Inuyasha…of course you can. You…you've always been welcome,” she reminded him. His own features sagged with relief, though the dark worry never left.

 

 

 

 

 

“I'm so glad you said yes,” he whispered. “It's building, Kagome. I can feel it. It's just…getting worse. He's gonna make this time so bad…And I just wanna get out.”

 

 

 

 

 

“We'll call my mom at lunch, okay? We'll…we'll work it out, okay? I promise you.”

 

 

 

 

 

“Can we do it soon?” he asked. “Can we make it happen soon? `Cause I'm scared,” he admitted, looking at her, worry, anxiety, and exhaustion penetrating her.

 

 

 

 

 

Discreetly as she could, she kissed her thumb and held out the hand across the aisle. He slipped his palm into hers as she pressed the kiss onto the back of his hand, just under his index knuckle.

 

 

 

 

 

“Don't be scared,” she whispered. “You don't have to be scared when you're going to finally be safe. Finally.”

 

 

 

 

 

~

 

 

 

 

 

Inuyasha leaned his head against the window of the bus with a heavy sigh, running through what he was supposed to do for the umpteenth time. It had all happened so fast…he needed to wrap his head around it all.

 

 

 

 

 

Kagome had called her mother immediately after second hour was over, relaying the matter at hand to the woman, editing what exactly had caused Sesshomaru to smell her scent on Inuyasha. Inuyasha anxiously listened to both ends of the conversation, biting his lip as Kagome tightly held his fingers, her thumb rubbing over his knuckles repeatedly. He hadn't been expecting Mrs. Higurashi to make plans to meet with them on their lunch hour.

 

 

 

 

 

The pair headed off campus during their fifth hour to eat out, as so many of Daisuke's other students did, quickly ducking into one of the less popular choices of restaurants to meet Kagome's mother.

 

 

 

 

 

She'd waved from a corner table, more secluded than the rest, standing quickly to receive them. She kissed Kagome's temple and embraced her tightly. He hadn't been expecting her to embrace him as well, and he shook as she patted his back reassuringly.

 

 

 

 

 

“Don't you worry about a thing, Sweetheart,” she murmured. “It'll be alright, understand? It'll all work out.”

 

 

 

 

 

He sighed again. His hands were clamming up. The bus was nearing his stop, an hour and a half late. Surely his father would be furious. Inuyasha had the sinking feeling that the demon would brush it off nonchalantly, as though he hadn't a care in the world. He'd been doing that lately, and while it made for a calm and collected façade, there was no mistaking the menace behind his tone, the warning in his words, and the imminent danger that lurked far too close.

 

 

 

 

 

“You're sure you don't want to bring this to the police?” Mrs. Higurashi had asked him, reaching across the table and around his untouched plate to put a hand on his. “They could lock him up for what he's been doing to you.”

 

 

 

 

 

“I'm sure,” he nodded. “I just think…that if I go to the police, they won't do anything. Nothing that'll help, anyway. They'll do some superficial investigation, but not really care, you know? And then…then it'll just be even worse, `cause he'll know I told…I just think if I can just…just slip away, it'll be better. I just wanna get out now.”

 

 

 

 

 

“Under the radar it is,” she agreed with finality. “It's a very brave thing you're doing,” she told him earnestly.

 

 

 

 

 

Inuyasha didn't feel brave. He felt like a quivering pile of jelly. He felt like he was going to fall apart at the seams.

 

 

 

 

 

The bus lurched to a stop, and the air brakes hissed as the folding door clapped open. Inuyasha shrugged into his bookbag, which seemed heavier than it had a few hours ago, and got off of the bus. Three blocks. Three blocks, and he'd be in front of his house. Four steps and he'd be on the porch, at the door. Twenty-seven feet and he'd be at the stairs. Twelve stairs and he'd be near his room.

 

 

 

 

 

There, he was to fold his clothes in the corner of his closet, as discreetly as physically possible. He was to sneak his toothbrush out of the bathroom and slip it into a pocket in his bookbag. He was to stuff as many clothes into the bag as could fit.

 

 

 

 

He was to cook dinner and serve his father as though everything were normal. He was to clean the dishes afterwards and pour him a drink in the living room as though nothing was unusual. He was to be silent.

 

 

 

 

 

He was to wait until the house was still, and all he could hear was the sound of his own breathing, and his father's drunken, raucous snores. Then, when his heartbeat had quieted to just under thundering and his limbs were loosed from their paralytic hold, he was to steal into the kitchen, and make his escape through the window above the sink, or whichever window presented itself before the inevitable terror overtook his ability to move. He was then to run as fast as he could, as quietly as he could to the grocery store right off of the service drive near his house. It would be closed and dark and empty. Kagome would be waiting for him in her car, the only vehicle in the parking lot. She would be there, waiting until he came, however long that took. He was to try, if at all possible, to be prompt.

 

 

 

 

And then? And then he'd be home free. Ideally. Then he could let loose the breath that he'd have been holding for an impossible amount of time. Then he allow the tremors that would have been rocking his hands to die down, and allow his heartbeat to slow to a pace just slightly under galloping. Then he could let relief and joy and hope and the choked sobs of emancipation wash over him with their undoubtedly torrential force.

 

 

 

 

 

Mrs. Higurashi hadn't said all of that. Kagome hadn't said all of that. They hadn't told him any one way to make it out of the house. All they'd told him was where to meet Kagome, to be careful and to stay quiet. They'd given him no substantial advice at all. No tips on a route to take. How could they? They weren't fully aware of the capabilities his father possessed, of the breakneck speed, the rooting sense of smell, the finely attuned hearing. They could give him no guidance on how to escape, and it would have been foolish if they had. And so, Inuyasha mapped his escape route in his mind over and over and over again, each time changing minute facets of the plan, while his doom-filled imagination supplied unwanted details; a creak in a floorboard, a squeaky hinge on a door. A trickle of nervous sweat coursing down his temple and tickling his father's nose, alerting him.

 

 

 

 

 

It occurred to him that the strength of his father's drink of choice tonight would be directly proportional to the likelihood of his escape.

 

 

 

 

 

He'd reached the house. It loomed before him, seeming to be larger and more ominous than ever, a testament to the Sisyphean task it would be to flee from it.

 

 

 

 

 

`Everything is normal. Everything is fine. Nothing is out of the ordinary. You are going to make it,' he chanted to himself like a mantra.

 

 

 

 

 

It was one of the few times, Inuyasha felt, he was terrible at lying.

 

 

 

 

 

~

 

 

 

 

 

Author's Notes:

 

 

 

 

 

I know, it's short, I'm sorry. But I can guarantee that the next few won't be.

 

 

 

 

 

I really don't have much to say for once…hm. Hopefully you do!

 

 

 

 

Review!

 

 

Wowzer313