InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Zero-G ❯ Carrying Over ( Chapter 18 )

Authors Notes: Sorry for the delay! Extra long chapter to make up for it.

 

Zero-G

Chapter 17

Carrying Over

 

 

Kagome's eyes felt dry and sore, and her lack of sleep had brought on a headache. When she went to the bathroom to refresh Inuyasha's bowl of cold water, she caught herself in the mirror and grimaced. A girl with rough edges and panda eyes stared back at her morosely from the reflection. Perhaps her hair needed a good combing, and a perhaps a good night's sleep would take care of those dark smudges beneath her eyes, but she couldn't allow herself any slack.

Everything had been turned on its head again, much to her dismay. She'd thought the situation was quite clearly black and white - that Inuyasha was bad, and the police would help her. But the moment Kagome had seen Inuyasha lying on the bed, a pang of concern race through her heart. The lines of black and white had blurred again.

Only when a dead man had walked out of the bathroom had she begun to understand the enormity of the situation. As soon as she'd heard his name - Miroku Hoshi - Kagome knew that she'd walked into something that was entirely beyond her depth. Everything she'd already concluded had to be thrown out the window as he'd explained the situation. It had been difficult to listen to… but she didn't have much choice in the matter.

“I didn't actually know Inuyasha until he came to kill me,” Miroku had told her in a pleasant, conversational tone as if he were discussing the weather. “To be honest, I wasn't entirely happy at the time. I was dissatisfied with my job, and having two wives is highly overrated - they both want your money, and they both want to spend New Years with you… but anyway…

“Admittedly, I was a little concerned when Inuyasha arrived and told me he wanted to give my father a message. I thought he was a Coalescence assassin who'd been sent to kill me. I mean, he was a Coalescence assassin who'd been sent to kill me, but fortunately, it wasn't quite that simple. Inuyasha's a mole for the police, gathering any and all information he can on the Coalescence and giving it to us. He's probably the only one we have, because, as you might imagine, it's much harder to get recruited into the Coalescence than it is to get recruited into the police. Our organisation is riddled with spies, which makes Inuyasha so vital to us.

“Part of Inuyasha's job within the Coalescence is to assassinate potential enemies such as the Ambassador of Spain and key figures within the police force, but naturally, we don't want him to do that. As long as he's not the only Coalescence agent aware of a potential target, he can leak the information to the police without being sussed by his bosses. Plans get miraculously changed at the last minute, and people get saved. But sometimes it gets tricky when he's sent on solo missions, or when he's contracted independently by people like Kikyo. It's critical that he maintains his cover with the Coalescence, so for all appearances, the people he's sent to kill must disappear. Including me and you.

“We're the lucky ones, Kagome dear. If the police think you're worth saving, they'll fling you into witness protection faster than you can sneeze. I was saved solely because my father's in the force. It was surprisingly easy. We just mocked up some pictures of me hanging myself, which was quite fun, and then wrote a heartbreaking little suicide note. The world and my wives would think I topped myself, while the Coalescence would assume that Inuyasha had done his job. I went into hiding with a new identity and have been helping my father ever since.

“Others… aren't so lucky. Inuyasha has killed civilians in the name of the Coalescence, people who the government doesn't feel are important enough to warrant saving. Don't hold it against him though. He hardly has a choice in the matter…

“I'm not entirely sure of the circumstances in which he saved your life, Kagome, as that was a little before I met him. All I know is that the police wouldn't offer you protection, so it was incredibly risky of him to save you when you had no where to go and no one to turn to. And as you can see, the repercussions of that act have finally caught up with us.

“As for the lovely Sango here, she's only alive and well thanks to Inuyasha too. She was captured by the Coalescence a short while ago. Inuyasha managed to spring her free - a very risky feat, but one we're eternally grateful for. Obviously Sango qualifies for protection too, seeing as how she's the Chief's daughter. She can't publicly rejoin the force because the Coalescence is probably quite scared of this little lady. She knows too much - such as where the Coalescence headquarters are located - information that they don't want falling into police hands. They have spies in the force. Too many. If Sango set foot in a station, she'd probably be shot on sight. The Coalescence will be so desperate to keep her quiet that they'd even risk revealing their spies to get rid of her. For now, it's best that she lies low with me and just pass information directly to her father on the sly. And why not? We both thoroughly enjoy each other's company!

“Sango dear, please don't sigh so loudly. Kagome can't hear me.

“Anyway, that's all I know. If you have any other questions, I'm afraid you'll have to address them to Inuyasha himself… when he comes round a bit more.

“But as you can see, Inuyasha is not who you think he is. He's one of the good guys.”

Then why couldn't he just tell me?

Kagome continued watching over the restless hanyou. There wasn't much she could do to alleviate his discomfort, other than keep the cloth on his forehead cool by dipping it every now and then into the basin of water on her lap. He wasn't healing as quickly as he'd done in the past. She didn't know why. Perhaps he had an infection? There had still been a lot of dirt and grime in his wounds before she'd taken over from Miroku. In this kind of situation, she would have been on the phone to the hospital, demanding an ambulance, but that kind of assistance was out of the question. Hospitals didn't take in demons. It was as simple as that.

Miroku and Sango had shuffled off to the café across the road to get a bite to eat and discuss options. They'd offered to bring something back for Kagome, but she'd refused. Food was the last thing on her mind.

………………………&# 8230;…………………..

The room was quiet when Inuyasha awoke. Quiet and incredibly hot, even though he could feel goose bumps tingling across his flesh. He didn't want to keep still, but he had no energy to move. The colours of the ceiling above him seemed to swirl together. Nothing stayed in place. The only thing that made sense was the steady, unmoving presence that sat beside him.

He tried focusing his eyes on her, but she was only a figure of indistinct shapes and colours, facing towards the window as if lost in thought.

Inuyasha reached for the shape that most resembled her hand and clasped his fingers round hers. She jerked in surprise, and he had to tighten his grip to keep her from pulling away. The effort almost drained his strength completely. “I'm sorry,” he said weakly.

She stared at him.

“I know how much you probably hate me.” He closed his eyes and loosened his hold on her wrist. “You didn't give me a chance to explain…”

“Shh.” Her finger touched his lips briefly before brushing against his cheek in a tender manner. “Don't worry about it now. Just rest.”

“But you need to know - I need to explain-”

“There's no need,” she responded simply. “I know. Just concentrate on getting better.”

He paused, confused. “Kikyo, I tried to kill her - I swear I did! But I couldn't finish it.” The girl pulled her hand away, withdrawing from him both physically and emotionally, but he ploughed on. “She was just a kid… I thought I could convince her to go abroad and never bother us again, but I couldn't. I didn't do this intentionally to cause trouble.”

She'd gone back to staring at the window. Inuyasha had the distinct impression that he was being ignored.

“She's not like us…” he whispered, grimacing at the ceiling as a surge of pain arched up his spine. “The world needs her more than it needs us.”

Her hand found his again, and a cold cloth was pressed against his forehead. “You have a fever,” he heard her say, but she sounded like she was in another room. “Try not to exert yourself. Just go back to sleep and everything will be clearer when you wake up.”

“I'm sorry,” he gasped again.

The hand slipped away from him. “It's not me you need to apologise to.”

………………………&# 8230;…….

“Well?”

Naraku was almost certain he knew the answer to his prompt when the best part of three Coalescence cells stood before his desk, looking as bedraggled as a litter of kittens who had nearly been drowned in a cloth sack. Some of them were swaying, strangely distant and half-asleep, while most of their clothes were in tatters - Kouga's in particular.

“Well…” Kouga began slowly, pressing his index fingers together and looking at the ceiling. “We had him cornered, right?”

Naraku groaned internally and slipped down his chair an inch. “Right…”

“And this was in the subway, you see.” Kouga scratched his nose thoughtfully. “He took off running down the tunnels and we followed him. But then this train came, and he got into a maintenance tunnel above us and I got mowed down. The two chicken shits behind me just ran for it.”

Bankotsu and Jakotsu had the decency to look vaguely ashamed. Or perhaps they were just pretending Kouga wasn't pointing at them?

“We caught up to him in the corridor and tried to finish him off.” Kouga snapped his fingers. “And we were so close! But the police found us and we had to leave, Boss.”

Naraku slipped another inch. “The police, huh?”

“I stuck a knife in his gut, but I'm not sure if that did the job.” Kouga said, shrugging uncertainly. “We cheesed it before the police got to him.”

“I see,” Naraku commented evenly. “Any reason to believe he's alive now?”

“That's a grey area right now,” Kouga explained. “Our sources within the police haven't had reports of anyone matching Inuyasha's description being brought in. It's possible that the police who found him just left him to die, or maybe even finished him off themselves.”

“That's a possibility.” Naraku agreed.

“So…” Kouga shifted uncertainly in front of the other agents. “What do we do now?”

Naraku was silent for a long time as he contemplated their options. He would, of course, have to inform his boss and await his orders, but he could take a fair guess at what they would be. “For now we'll assume Inuyasha is alive,” he began slowly, after great length, “and quietly keep searching for him. I want every man in this institution aware that he has gone rogue and that if he is ever sighted, he is to be brought in. Backup may be necessary, however. I want the girl as well. She probably knows too much. It's best if we dispose of her as quickly as possible.”

“And Kikyo?” Kouga cocked his head.

Naraku gave an inward hiss. “Kikyo?” He mirrored Kouga's tilt of the head.

“She's really pissy about this Inuyasha business,” the wolf responded. “What do we tell her if she starts asking questions?”

Naraku tented his fingers. “Nothing. As of this moment, the Coalescence is cutting ties with Kikyo Higurashi. She's a dangerous woman and a threat to our security. If she starts asking questions, you do not tell her anything. Understand?”

A wave of nods washed over the crowd of agents.

“Good.” Naraku sat back, satisfied. “Now go. I have business to attend to.”

As the band of agents collectively filed and wobbled out of his office, Naraku turned away to observe his sea monkeys with an imperceptible sigh.

The situation was getting out of hand again, he realised. He'd have to talk to his boss.

………………………&# 8230;…………….

Kagome didn't think she'd ever been so tired in all her life. And chloroforming aside (which was surprisingly exhausting), being shoved, pushed and threatened all day had made her weary and weak. Her eyes were beginning to burn. She was had resorted to dipping her fingers in the basin of cold water to rub the coolness against her eyes in an attempt to stay awake and refreshed.

Inuyasha's fever refused to relinquish its hold over him. He still tossed and turned in his sleep, though sometimes his eyes were open and staring unseeingly around him. Occasionally he spoke someone's name, usually hers, mostly Kikyo's, and a few others she didn't know personally. Kouga popped up a few times, as well as a few tasteless comments regarding his mother. All Kagome knew about him was that Kikyo had supposedly called on him to kill her when they'd been in her office. The thought sent a shiver up her spine.

“What am I doing here…?” she whispered to herself, looking over Inuyasha's restless form with heavy-lidded eyes.

Inuyasha would have killed her today if Kikyo hadn't been so stingy about the number of bullets she kept in her gun. She could have been laying on the plush white carpet of Kikyo's office with blood leaking out of a hole in her head at that very moment if things had taken a slightly different path, and Inuyasha would have been the one responsible.

Did the fact that he was working for the police make his actions any more justified? Possibly, if it was `for the greater good' as so many people put it. Kill one to save many. In the grand scale of things, it was better for everyone.

However, when Kagome was that `one', she really resented it. Why me? she asked herself, bewildered. These things always happen to other people… not me. Why couldn't she have been one of the many?

How many other innocent people had he killed because they weren't deemed important enough to live? How close had she come to being just another unimportant body?

Which brought to mind a very important question. “Why did you let me live?”

But Inuyasha was in no fit state to answer. His only response was to roll his head across the pillow and mutter incomprehensibly. He couldn't tell her why he'd done it, or why he'd been so ready to amend that mistake in Kikyo's office. He probably couldn't even hear her.

Kagome tried anyway. “I remember,” she said, her voice cracking with exhaustion. “That night you came after me with that horrible rock. I was so scared. How do you forgive something like that?”

She ran a hand over her face, settling it over her mouth to keep anything else from spilling out.

I can't forgive you, she thought. Whatever justifications were given, whatever reasons, Kagome couldn't accept it. You've taken everything from me.

The motel door opened on the other side of the bed. Kagome looked up to see a very grim-faced Sango enter, followed by a more amiable Miroku. She regarded them both uneasily. She had yet to figure out if they were `good guys', no matter who they allied themselves with.

“We've been talking with my father,” Sango said, moving to stand by the window with her arms folded. “He's… a bit upset-”

“Screaming so loud down the phone that half the cafeteria now know he's a bit upset.” Miroku added cheerfully. “Although `pissed raving mad' would be a better description.”

“Yes, thank you,” Sango gave him a sour look. “He's not happy that we've just lost our only spy.”

Kagome gave a light shrug and looked back at Inuyasha. Perspiration shone on his face and ran down his neck and shoulders. “Maybe it's better this way?” she pointed out. “He won't have to kill people like me anymore.”

Sango and Miroku gave each other awkward looks. “Well,” Sango began slowly, “my father thinks the situation is still repairable. It's possible that we can send Inuyasha back in. As far as we know, the Coalescence isn't aware of his connection to the police. They simply believe he-”

“Wait,” Kagome frowned at her. “You can't send Inuyasha back there. They just tried to kill him. They won't take him back.”

Sango nodded, as if she were agreeing with her on some level. “We have to try,” she said simply. “He's our only chance.”

“Surely Inuyasha has a say in the matter?” Kagome demanded to know.

“Actually, he doesn't.” Miroku gave her a wan smile.

Before Kagome could ask what he meant by that, Sango rushed on. “More importantly, I've been discussing your situation with my father. He recognises that your life is in serious danger, not just from your own cousin, but from the Coalescence.”

“My cousin is dead,” Kagome said bitterly, throwing a heartfelt glare at Inuyasha.

“Actually, she isn't.” Miroku gave an even weaker smile.

Kagome blinked at him. “Pardon?”

“Police responded to a report from her office earlier today. When they arrived, she was perfectly alive.” Sango explained. “I don't know much more than that.”

“But he shot her dead,” Kagome said, jabbing a finger at Inuyasha.

“In the chest, right?” Miroku asked. When she nodded, he gave her a knowledgeable wink. “Bullet vest. I'd be surprised if a woman of Kikyo Higurashi's stature wasn't wearing one to bed, honestly. Besides, they make very nice Kevlar ones these days, don't they, Sango?”

“Mm,” the woman hummed. “I'm wearing one right now.” Kagome couldn't tell. Sango's grey cotton jacket was quite tight-fitting, and there were no telltale bumps or lumps.

“Quite the fashion accessory in some circles,” Miroku noted.

“So she's ok?” Kagome asked uncertainly.

“Yeah, sorry.” Sango wrinkled a bruised nose.

Kagome was actually relieved. “I'm glad,” she said softly. At their confused looks, she just shrugged. “She's still my cousin.”

“Ah,” Miroku nodded. “That must be a girl thing. If my cousin ever tried to kill me, I'd beat the living snot out of him and happily watch a pack of beavers tear him limb from limb.” Sango promptly stepped on his foot.

Kagome didn't care. “I would like to know,” she said, looking pointedly at Sango, “why Kikyo hasn't been brought up on charges if the police are aware of what she's done?”

Sango's expression softened slightly, and she moved to sit down on the bed. “You have to understand,” she told Kagome earnestly. “Kikyo is a very wealthy, very powerful woman. If we were to arrest her, it would only be a matter of time before she used her money and connections to get herself free. She requires time and money that we simply do not have. It's more important that resources are spent on eliminating the Coalescence rather than the few people who employ their services.”

Kagome's face hardened. “You mean I'm not important enough to have justice.”

Sango looked back at her steadily. “That's exactly what I mean.”

The girl gave a harsh laugh of disbelief. “How can you allow things like this to go on?! How could you even let someone like Kikyo bribe her way out of punishment? How corrupt are you people?”

“Very corrupt,” Miroku said bluntly. It was one of the only times he said anything without earning a reproving glare from Sango. “And we know that if you try to approach anyone - the police or your family - you will probably be killed.”

Kagome swallowed hard.

Sango placed a hand on her knee. “You are a threat to Kikyo's career and freedom. It's clear she won't hesitate to get rid of you as soon as you surface, for fear of her reputation-”

“But I have to!” Kagome burst out. “She can't get away with this-”

“It's not worth dying over, Kagome.” Sango sighed. “You're no good to anyone dead. And acting reckless now will not only endanger your life, but many others as well. Please just hear us out. My father outlined a plan for you.”

Kagome ran a hand through her hair. “What plan?”

“You may not like it, but it's the only thing we can do for you,” Sango explained.

“What?” Kagome said again.

Miroku pushed away from the wall. “I'm leaving the country tomorrow,” he said, shrugging lightly. “It's what happens to the people under witness protection if they're a liability, useless to the government, or just don't have anywhere to go. I'm classed in the second group what with my… ahem, former career and everything. Sango would be coming with me, but she's too useful. But you, Miss Higurashi, are classed in all three.”

It took a moment for his meaning to dawn, and when realisation hit, Kagome sucked in a sharp breath. “You want me to leave the country?” she asked.

“You're a liability,” Sango said softly, “to a lot of people. And it's not like you have the kind of contacts that most people in your situation would have. You don't have anywhere to go or anyone to help you. So we're sending you with Miroku.”

Kagome twitched an uncertain look towards the man who was smiling mildly at her. “Isn't there another option?”

“Well, you could go back to your family right now, tell them what's happened, and watch them go to the police. Then Kikyo can kill you all and bribe the cops into silence and then get back on with her upward spiralling career,” Miroku suggested, as if it were a reasonable option. “Or you could come with me to Paris and wait for it to blow over in relative safety. It's not a permanent deal, but I think it's preferable to hiding in the shadows for the rest of your life.”

Kagome looked hopefully between the pair, waiting for them to pose a different plan that involved her being reunited with her family and everything going back to `normal'. Something that would probably have to involve a time machine of some sort. “What about my family?” she asked. “I can't leave them.”

“You'll have to,” Sango pressed.

A moment's silence settled over them, filled only by the wheezing gasp of Inuyasha's breath. Kagome's throat had closed up. She knew that if she didn't school herself properly, she would dissolve into tears again; it was something she didn't want to do in front of a police officer and her friend of rather dubious background.

“The one thing that is killing me about all this is that my family thinks I'm dead,” Kagome said in a low, trembling tone. “I can't just leave it like that. Even if you won't let me see them… can't I at least contact them? My little brother already knows. I don't know if he's told Mama or Grandpa, but I just need to know if they're ok. If they understand.”

Sango gave Miroku a reluctant look. “It's too dangerous.”

“Her family have a right to know,” he argued.

“But if they let it out that she's still alive-”

“They won't,” Kagome interrupted. “I'm not just saying that because they're family. They're the most trustworthy people on this planet. With the exception of Souta. And Grandpa, because he's always lying. And maybe Mama too, because she sometimes goes through my room without asking just because-”

“Kagome-”

“But they're ok, really!” Kagome clasped her hands together. “They're good people. They deserve to know what kind of danger they're in, and they're not stupid enough to start talking if it means risking their lives. They have to know that Kikyo isn't trustworthy.”

Sango made a pained noise, as if she wanted to refuse and accept at the same time. “You can't see them, Kagome,” she said, wincing. “Kikyo will be waiting for you to do something like that.”

“A letter then.” Kagome wriggled her fingers. “A phone call?”

“I'll have to ask my father, but I won't make any promises,” Sango responded evasively.

Kagome sat back, not caring whether she had to get permission or not. The moment she found herself alone with a phone, she'd be on it in a flash and dialling her house number. Rather than push her luck, she changed subjects. “Why France?” she asked.

“We have an embassy there that can take care of you and Miroku. Give you money, housing, French lessons.” Sango reeled off on her fingers. “And it's a beautiful city. I've seen pictures. Compared to this place, Paris is a gaudy little heaven.”

It sounded like a place Kagome would have liked to have visited on holiday. But staying there was another matter entirely. “How long would I be there?”

“Till things calm down here,” piped Miroku.

“Till the Coalescence loses its grip on the city,” added Sango.

“Till Hell freezes over,” nodded Kagome. “Got it.”

Sango cast her another apologetic look. “I'm sorry.”

“It's not your fault.” Kagome looked at Inuyasha. “It's his. He was right. He should have killed me when he had the chance.” It would have made a lot less hassle for everyone concerned.

………………………&# 8230;………………..

A trip to France was not something to be planned overnight, yet that was exactly what Sango and Miroku were keen to do. Times had changed. It wasn't like the old days when anyone could go abroad on a whim and stay away for however long they wanted. Flights were far more controlled than that - the people boarding them even more so. It wasn't that holidays had been abolished in any sense. Anyone could get on a plane and go on holiday, as long as their destination happened to be another airport elsewhere in Japan.

Flights abroad were costly (though money was hardly a problem when the government was funding you), and every passenger had to be checked over extensively to make sure they planned to return at some point.

“What happened to the passport you had?” Miroku asked distractedly as he tapped away at the laptop on his knees. He said he was writing an email to `a friend', and although Kagome had attempted to read it over his shoulder, most of it seemed to be in code. “The one Inuyasha gave you?”

“Uh…” Kagome looked at the ceiling. “Back at the flat? How do you know about it?”

“Because my friend was the one who made it for you.”

“Huh,” Kagome huffed. “So you knew Inuyasha back then, did you?”

“Yep.”

“Do you… do you think we should go back to the flat and get it?”

“Oh nooooo,” Miroku whistled, not looking at her. “Might as well paint a target on your chest and go wander round a firing range!”

“The Coalescence will no doubt have ransacked the place by now,” Sango explained. “They'll be waiting for Inuyasha to do something stupid like go there. And they'd probably lynch anyone else who drops by too.”

They said nothing more. Miroku went on tapping, Sango continued slicing a tomato with a very sharp knife, and Inuyasha kept muttering nonsensically about a dead motorbike. Kagome dearly wanted to put her head down and go to sleep, but common sense told her not to trust her unconscious body with these people. Although said body was beginning to betray her. Already she could feel herself nodding off; her head slid to the side before she jolted back awake.

“Need a picture,” said Miroku suddenly.

“Of what?” Kagome yawned.

“You! For your new passport!” He turned to her with a grin, bringing out a phone from his pocket. He levelled the integrated camera lens at her face. “Smile!”

Kagome just blinked.

“Hang on.” Sango took her feet off the bed. “You'll have to do something about her appearance. The computers at customs might have her face on profile.”

“Ah… true.” Miroku lowered his phone thoughtfully. “But those things are ridiculously easy to fool.”

“Eh?” Kagome rubbed her eyes.

“Sango, please demonstrate.” Miroku waved a hand to the policewoman like he would to an assistant. Sango descended upon Kagome, knife bared in her hand. Before the girl could even open her mouth to scream, the woman had seized her by the hair and had dashed the knife across her nape. The tug on her scalp was gone in a second, and a cascade of glossy black hair fell around her.

“What have you done?!” she shrieked, leaping to her feet. She ran to the mirror to check the damage. What she saw almost made her burst into fresh tears. Gone were the curls and waves she'd tended to so proudly for the last fifteen years. All that was left was a short, shapeless bob that ended at the chin.

“Say hello to Kyoko Sano.” Miroku chirped. She turned to him thunderously, and the sudden flash informed her that her wrath would be captured forever in whatever new passport he was having forged for her at that very moment. Kagome was just reaching for the nearest vase of silk flowers with which to bludgeon him to death, when Sango caught her shoulders.

“It's not that bad,” the officer assured her. “We'll just fluff it up a little so it doesn't look so harsh.”

Kagome didn't think it would ever look good again, but she sat back down on the edge of the bed, boneless, and let Sango use her knife to chip away at her suddenly very severe hairstyle.

“This would be easier with scissors,” Sango commented as another inch of black fell to Kagome's lap. “And possibly if I were actually a hairdresser.”

“You're getting tomato juice in my hair,” Kagome informed her.

“It needs washing anyway.” Sango sawed another section away. “At least this will be more believable. I'm telling you now, officers are very suspicious of folk who have exactly the same hair in their passport photos.”

“Because it either means the photo was taken yesterday, implying forgery,” Miroku chipped in, “or you're just one of those god-awful people who never changes their hair.”

“We'll find you a pair of specs as well,” Sango added. “Just to make sure we fool the system.”

“Like Superman.” Kagome yawned.

Sango set the knife down. “Look, it's late. Maybe you should be getting to bed. We'll sort everything out for you.”

Kagome shifted reluctantly, her soul screaming for a soft mattress to lie on while some part of her conscience made her glance at Inuyasha. “What about him?”

“We'll take care of him, don't worry,” Sango said, tugging Kagome onto her feet.

The girl didn't have the energy to argue. She ignored Miroku's farewell bid and tottered precariously out the door after Sango, touching her hair self-consciously as she went. Someone had obviously been in and cleaned the first motel room since Kagome had last woken up there, and as Sango closed the door behind them, Kagome instantly found herself gravitating towards the freshly made bed. She was asleep and snoring the moment her head touched the pillow.

When she woke up, she was in a car.

 

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