A/N: Finally, chapter 15 is out! Thanks to those who reviewed to tell me
not to rush, it made things easier for me. School's out, I did pretty well
on my finals, and I managed to get two jobs, so life's all good!
By the way, I fixed up the first chapter a bit, I thought it was a little
unpolished. The beginning attracts the reader, right? So it oughta be good!
Nothing's changed in the storyline, so rereading again isn't necessary, but
feel free to anyway! ^_^
Long chapter this time to make up for the long wait.
The Red Card
Chapter 15-
Avoiding the Spider (What in the world?)
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Inuyasha nervously lowered his gaze, as if his stare was piercing her skin
bit by bit. His breath shortened even more as he looked at the tattered
girl before him, bruised and breathless, and what made him even sicker was
the faint smell of him still on her...
A weak smile tugged at her lips as she opened up her watery eyes. What the
hell was she smiling for? He attacks her and she smiles? Didn't she hate
him? Didn't she want to tear him to shreds as much he wanted to do himself?
What was wrong with this girl?
"Inuyasha!" She shouted all of a sudden, leaping up and wrapping her arms
around his waist, digging her wet face into his chest. He just didn't
understand this...why wasn't she running away and screaming? He had hurt
her...and she was hugging him...and all he knew was that he felt extremely
guilty, so much that he could still hear Kagome's protests ringing his
ears.
Gently reaching over, he wrapped a comforting arm around her, gripping her
other shoulder. If he wasn't mistaken, she jumped a little when he did so.
"Kagome...I...I..." He grumbled out, unknowing of quite what to say.
Just why had he attacked Kagome in the first place? Sure, seeing that
bastard with her up on the balcony may have lit the first fire within him,
but after that, it was as if some mysterious force was slowly draining his
saneness away. Every thought he had turned into the darkest possible, and
everyone just looked so happy...too happy. That's why it was so much fun to
attack that loser, and it excited him when he could feel the tight grip of
the neck between his claws...
He had to bite his lip to hold back that thought. 'What the hell am I
thinking? I'm normal now...I don't want to hurt anybody anymore...I don't
want to repeat that...'
How he ended up at the school at night, he could barely remember. What he
did recall was seeing her beautiful figure strolling in the darkness, and
wanting to be closer to her...it got a little fuzzy after that. When he had
finally snapped out of it, he was in this position.
Well, not exactly in this position.
Kagome had embraced him tightly, both cold hands on his back. He had
returned the gesture by placing a hand on the back of her head, and one on
her back. Smiling, he didn't even have to strain his sensitive ears to pick
up her relaxed breaths and heartbeat. 'Maybe...she's forgiven me after this
mistake? Or has she just lost it completely?'
Finally, he decided not to fret about his act quite yet, seeing as the girl
he's been after for the past year was completely melted into him, still
crying he could tell, but she was no longer sobbing.
Which was good...because he despised it when women cried.
Kagome crying in his arms, on the other hand...
Then suddenly, with a jerk, Kagome shuffled out of his grasp and knocked
into the wall still behind her. When she looked back up at him, her eyes
filled with terror as she started stuttering and holding onto the wall at
the same time. Anyone who would have seen her face just then would've
thought she was looking at the most repulsive thing on Earth.
"Ge...rrr...ee..." Inuyasha heard her hiss behind her lips, her top and
bottom teeth loosely grinding against one another. Why was she so terrified
of him all of a sudden?
He had to find out.
"Kagome...what?" Reaching over and trying to comfort her, he placed a hand
on her shoulder as lightly as he could manage, only to have it swatted off
harshly.
"What was that for? I just wanted to apologize!" He snapped, returning to
his old grumpy self. He was sorry, wasn't he? And he should be angry that
she was still angry with him for...for...all right, so she had every right,
if not more, to be furious with him.
"Get the hell away from me." She breathed quietly, now looking angrier than
ever. Determined and not wanting to meet his eyes, she spun around to leave
only to feel a pair of rough hands suddenly grip her waist from behind.
Kagome screamed so loudly that if Inuyasha wore glasses, they would've
cracked. She jerkily blocked her hands in front of her face, her chest
rising up and down frantically, her face now a pale white.
Abruptly shutting her eyes, Kagome screeched while shuddering, "I said, GET
THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!"
Before Inuyasha could react to that, she hastily dropped her hands and dug
her nails into the skin on his hands with all her might. She could hear him
yelp slightly, but his hold on her became even tighter.
He sighed and stared into her terrified brown eyes. "I won't let you go,
Kagome. Not until you explain to me why you suddenly got so mad at me."
Inuyasha would be regretting those words extremely shortly...
She froze in a wink, and coldly glared back over her shoulder. Slapping the
hands resting on her waist brutally, he reluctantly let go, but he did so
eventually.
"...What...did you just say?" She mumbled silently with her head down.
Inuyasha gulped and took a few steps backwards, terrified of this girl at
the moment. "Kagome...I-I...that's not what I...meant...you..."
"WHAT did you just say, Inuyasha?" Kagome repeated loudly this time, her
hands forcing into fists at her sides.
Inuyasha noticed this, but was concentrating more on her facial expression.
Well...she just looked pretty damn pissed off.
Then slowly, Kagome shuffled towards him, a small grin on her lips. What in
the world was she planning? Was she going to kill him? It seemed possible
enough...
Kagome stopped walking when she was within feet of him, still smiling as
she slowly leaned her head towards his face. When Inuyasha felt her hot
breath on his chin, he felt the goosebumps rising on the back of his neck.
Was she going to close the gap between them? Was she going to slap him?
What was the girl about to do, damnit?
"Inuyasha..." She hummed melodically before bringing both of her small
hands to his cheeks. They were so close now that he was about to fall back
over from the awkwardness of it all.
"What do you want?" He whispered harshly, trying to hide his emotions in
his words. Kagome was making a move on him? Something was definitely
wrong...
In a jerk, Inuyasha's head was flung at a nearby wall, colliding with a
loud crash. She released her hands when his head smashed against the
surface. Groaning in pain, Inuyasha's limp body slid down the wall until he
crumpled into a mess on the floor.
When had Kagome gotten so strong? It was so unexpected that he hadn't had
the time to block himself from the force, and the throbbing in his head was
brutal. His vision was a little blurred, but his hearing was just fine.
"What do I want, Inuyasha?" He heard her say above him. "You know what I
fucking want? For people to stop harassing me at this school I'm forced to
attend! For god's sake, Inuyasha, I've been almost raped TWICE at this
school, and nothing's been done about it! You know why? It's because of
people like you and their goddamn rich parents! Everyone at this school
tries to hurt me in some way, but you wouldn't understand that, would you?
Look at you! You're Mr. Rich and Powerful, and everyone practically kisses
your feet! I hate this..."
Her voice was clear enough in his ears, and when she stopped talking he
heard her sniffle a little bit. It didn't help matters when he felt a
droplet of water on his arm.
"Kagome...I'm sorry...I..."
"Sorry for what? Jumping me in the school? Kidnapping me? What the hell
happened to you anyways?"
Inuyasha had to shake his head to clear his brain. "I can't explain..."
She wasn't listening, and was continuing to scream at him. "...Pretending
to like me when you just wanted to make a fool out of me? Frankly, I don't
want to hear it!" She felt a bit freer of her anguish now, tears dripping
out of her swollen eyes like crazy. She didn't care what he thought
anymore...he could put her in jail for all she cared...
"Who said I was pretending?"
Kagome's heart stilled as she felt her tears stop flowing. Did he just say
what she thought he said? He couldn't have...he didn't like her, and she
didn't like him. He just wanted to make an idiot out of her at school, and
that was all. He could rot in hell for all she cared!
Covering her ears, Kagome started backing up, "I can't hear you!" Why was
her heart pounding? She hated this guy! She hated him!
Kagome turned around in a hurry and stormed out of the school, leaving a
headachy Inuyasha standing in the dark.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Kagome, what's wrong?" Asked Sango the day after at work. She noticed
Kagome was acting kind of...strange. Well, more like terribly strange. She
would just stand there, muttering the occasional, "you're welcome" or
"that'll be...please." When she tried to start a conversation with her
friend, Kagome would just nod and smile, but her thoughts were always
elsewhere.
"Huh? Sango? What do you mean?"
Sighing, Sango crossed her arms over her chest. "Listen, Kagome. I can tell
when you're angry, so fess up! What happened to you? You won't even talk to
me today!"
"Nothing." Was the quick answer. Kagome didn't want to share her feelings
then, not even with her best friend.
She had spent the whole day of school sitting on the floor in the bathroom
until each class begun. Luckily, Inuyasha was in neither of her classes.
"Kagome, if you really don't want to tell me, then okay. But please tell me
if something serious happens to you. I care about you, alright?" Sango
asked, grabbing her friend arms and shaking her slightly. Even without
super-sensitive features, she could clearly tell Kagome flinched when she
touched her.
Letting go immediately, Kagome stepped back and turned away to face the
wall. That shouldn't create any suspicions, would it?
"Kagome. What was that? Don't lie to me this time, I can see the goosebumps
on your arms from here." Sango's stern voice said from behind.
Kagome whizzed around and pretended to be captivated with the store's
advertisement. "I already told you, Sango. I'm fine. I just thought I saw a
spider on your neck, that's all."
"A...a spider?" Sango squeaked, dusting madly all over herself to get rid
of the insect. She may have been a very brave girl, but there were limits
with everybody. "Why didn't you tell me? KAGOME!!!"
She was screaming and jumping around like a person on fire, her hands
sweeping all over herself to dust off the imaginary bug. Lucky for them, no
customers were in the store to watch this little display, or else Sango
would have scared them away.
"Kagome, is...is it off me yet?" Sango asked desperately after a while,
wheezing and puffing.
Kagome smiled sweetly and proceeded to pack up a birthday cake for an order
she'd taken earlier that day. "Yep, don't worry, I saw it scurry off
somewhere."
"Goodness. We've got to get the exterminator in here soon, that's really
unsanitary in here! What if it got in the food? We could get sued! You call
them while I go wash up in the washroom, alright?" Sango walked off into
the back room and Kagome could hear the water running in the sink.
Hopefully Sango would forget all about the earlier problem after that
incident, or at least it would be stalled for a while. Now...how was the
exterminator going to feel when there wasn't one bug in the store?
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Life hadn't been going well for Kagome at all. When she had come home the
night of the incident, she had spilt her guts out to her mom, telling her
that she wanted to get out of that school desperately.
First, her mom had comforted her, saying everything was all right and not
to worry. When she heard that, she finally felt as if everything was going
to be on the right track from then on. Going to a public school with Sango
with students that didn't judge you by the size of your bank account. That
would be a refreshing change.
What surprised her next was what came out of her own mother's mouth.
"Inuyasha? Kagome, he is a very well respected person around here. And he
would not do such a thing. If he really did, then he obviously has an
interest in you! Isn't that great, honey?"
"But mom!" She had yelled, close to tears. "Didn't you hear me? He attacked
me! Most mothers would call the police if that happened to their
daughters!"
"Kagome, stop overreacting. You told me he didn't actually DO anything,
right? He must have meant no harm then if he didn't." She had replied
casually.
"Mom, you don't know anything!" She had sobbed, "your only daughter is
going through a lot of pain and that's all you can think of! I hate my life
right now! And now I hate you!"
Then she had run into her room, locked it, and refused to come out.
Sometimes she wondered if she was more of a money magnet for the family
then a daughter. They never pestered Souta into marrying a rich woman. He
got to attend a public school. But still, no matter how much she
complained, she never won.
Now she didn't want to go home to face her family, go to work to face
Sango, or go to school to face Inuyasha. But, after serious consideration,
Kagome decided to go to school and make sure her grades didn't drop. As
long as she stayed away from Inuyasha it would be all right.
Walking towards her locker the next morning, she was unlucky enough to meet
up with Miroku and Kouga. They waved when the saw her and walked up to talk
to her, ignoring the fact that she was trying to hide behind a pole.
"Hey, Kagome. What's up? Haven't seen you for a while, is everything okay?"
Miroku asked, hands in pockets like always.
"No. Life sucks."
Kouga snickered. "Quite the pessimistic, aren't you?"
"More than you think." She relied half-heartedly, stalking over to her
locker. "Everyone's pissing me off these days."
Miroku followed her and whispered quietly in her ear. "Kagome, did you
happen to see Inuyasha, oh, two days ago?"
"No." She lied and peered into her locker to reach for some books. "Why?"
"He attacked someone."
Kagome pretended to look astonished. "No way! Why would Inuyasha do that?"
"That's why I came to talk to you. He saw you and Sesshoumaru up at the
balcony talking before he kind of went berserk." Miroku explained, glancing
around to make sure nobody else was listening, besides Kouga, who was busy
fixing his hair in a mirror nearby.
"He saw us? What! -But how...why?" Kagome gasped, almost dropping her
books. The reason Inuyasha was so peeved was because he saw her talking to
Sesshoumaru?
"What do you think? He's jealous!" Added Kouga as if Kagome was an idiot.
"Jealous?" Kagome gasped again, "of me?"
Miroku sighed and brushed one hand through his hair. "Kagome, if you really
didn't think Inuyasha was interested in you then you really are denser than
I thought you were."
"That's impossible!" Kagome said, laughing oddly. "Inu - Inuyasha doesn't
like me! He hates me!"
"Then he has an weird way of showing it." Kouga yelled sounding bored.
Sure, Kagome had picked up several clues of that: Inuyasha only paying
attention to her out of all the girls at school, besides Kagura, him saving
her those times, him trying to buy her love, him attacking her at
school...okay, so she had picked up a lot of signs showing that, but it was
still unbelievable.
She wasn't too sure herself if she liked Inuyasha more then a friend, well,
it was probably lower than that now after what he did, and she still hadn't
forgiven him for that. But maybe...that's just how he expresses his
feelings for someone?
Oddly enough, she didn't hate him either, but it was weird. He was cute
sometimes, if not very good looking, but the way he acted...well, it wasn't
easy to describe. One second buying her nice things, the next harassing
her, then admitting he had feelings for her, then protecting her, then
visiting her when she was sick, then...she was getting way off track!
"Kagome, you still in there?" Kouga knocked Kagome's head lightly only to
have her snap out of it.
"Huh? Oh! Sorry, just thinking about stuff at home..."
"Sure you were..."
"What'd you say, Kouga?" Kagome warned dangerously.
"I said, um...it was her." He quickly made up, secretly asking Miroku for
help with his eye contact.
"Who?"
Miroku cleared his throat while trying to buy some time. "Her! You know!"
Kagome was confused. "I don't know, who is it?"
Miroku sighed and punched Kouga in the arm. "Idiot."
His friend stared at him with the 'what'd I do?' look and continued to look
away.
"So who is this, 'her'?" Kagome asked, now curious.
"Nobody important. Forget that. Why don't the three of us go to a club
tonight, huh? Forget about the stress!" Kouga chirped in happily.
"Don't change the subject, Kouga. Miroku, who's the her?" Kagome snapped.
They were definitely hiding something.
Miroku took in a deep breath and looked straight into her eyes. "Well, we
were going to tell you sooner or later, but we just never got around to it.
You know how Inuyasha went mad and attacked that boy the other day?"
Kagome nodded, eyes widening.
Miroku stalled, but decided to give in. "Well, the same thing happened four
years ago, but it's really irrelevant."
"Tell me! Tell me!" Kagome screeched, she had to find out about this.
"Four years ago, when we were all our young, adorable selves, Inuyasha
developed a crush on this girl, who like you, wasn't very rich. He seems to
have a thing for poor people, god knows why. He's the richest of the four
of us..."
Kagome stared at him evilly for going off track.
"Anyways, he didn't mind how poor she was at first. Why, it was practically
love at first sight for the little young Romeo!"
Kagome and Kouga both snorted at this.
Miroku continued, "She seemed to like him too, and after a while they
started talking more until they became really good friends, and it probably
would've been more than that, too, if that hadn't happened."
"What hadn't happened?" Kagome interrupted.
"Turns out that girl's father's once successful company was shut down by
Inuyasha's parents, so they refused to let their daughter near Inuyasha.
The same went for Inuyasha's parents who told him to stay away from the
poor family."
Kagome yelled suddenly, "where is the girl now?"
"Don't interrupt." Scolded Miroku. "Let me finish. The girl's parents found
out and they moved out of the country. They obviously really despised
Inuyasha and his family. Inuyasha, got a little more than angry with this.
One boy, who happened to also have a crush on the girl but never did
anything about it, insulted her after she left to show off to his friends.
Oh, kids can be so cruel!"
"So true." Kagome agreed, nodding her head. Sango and Hojo had experienced
the same thing.
"So Inuyasha happened to overhear this, and attacked the kid. Now, he is
stronger than most boys his age, remember, so when he overheard this he
beat the boy so bad he fell into a coma. A month later, the boy awoke, but
died shortly after." Miroku paused for a while, but continued. "The parents
of the boy sued, of course, and Inuyasha's parents paid the amount they
requested. That's pretty much it. Might explain why he disliked you so much
when he first met you."
"I didn't think..." Kagome was speechless. So Inuyasha had killed someone
when he was younger? And his parents bought the boy's life? That was
disgusting! Is that what money could do? The thought of it made her cringe.
"Of course," said Kouga, "don't remind him of that. He hates the fact he
did it, and he told us he didn't even remember doing it. He said it felt as
if something took over his body."
"It might not look like it, but Inuyasha probably regrets it every day of
his life." Miroku added sadly.
"So...if Inuyasha gets that angry he actually goes insane and attacks
people?" She asked, slamming her locker door.
Kouga snickered to himself. "Well, he's been pissed off before and it
hadn't happened. It must be pretty rare then, so that means seeing you with
Sesshoumaru talking on the balcony was pretty angering for him."
'Why was he so angry with that? Was he jealous that I was with Sesshoumaru?
He has no reason to be!' Kagome thought, trying to decipher the puzzle.
"Anyways, Kagome. Don't remind him of it. He'll go ballistic. We weren't
really supposed to tell you that, but just in case, right?" Miroku said,
smiling.
"I guess." She sighed and stared out the window. There was really a lot
about Inuyasha she didn't know...
Suddenly, the three of them turned around to face the source of quick
footsteps approaching. 'Oh please don't be Inuyasha, oh please...'
A short while later a tall woman came into view. "Hey guys! How are you?"
"KAGURA?" They all exclaimed at once.
"Yea. I just came by to give you guys these." She handed them each an
envelope.
Kagome ripped hers open and pulled out a pink piece of paper. She read it
aloud, "You, Kagome Higurashi, are invited to Kagura's birthday to be held
in two evenings at her house. The address is enclosed and please RSVP ahead
of time."
"Oh, how could I have forgotten? Happy birthday Kagura!" Said Miroku,
giving her a hug.
"Sounds like fun! Your house is great!" Kouga said happily.
Kagome had to rethink this question a few times in her head. "Who's coming
to this, if you don't mind me asking?"
The beautiful woman gave Kagome a confused look, but smiled regardless.
"Well, for one, lots of my close friends like you guys. Oh! And bring
friends if you want to."
"Is Sesshoumaru coming?" Kagome asked for some unknown reason.
Kagura laughed and patted Kagome's head. "Of course he is, Kagome. Why
wouldn't he? And I just dropped Inuyasha's invitation at his house a while
ago."
"Oh." Was all Kagome could say with her throat all tensed up. That only
meant one thing. She was probably not going to be able to avoid Inuyasha
all night.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
AN: Oooh! Party time! What's going to happen to between Inu and Kag? You'll
have to see to find out! ^_^
Thanks again to all my fantastic reviewers! You guys make my day!
*~Sorena~*