Disclaimer: First off, I don't own Inuyasha and co. Next, I don't own Hana Yori Dango by Youko Kamio. For those who don't know what that is...it is ALSO known as Meteor Garden, Boys over Flowers, and whatever else it's called. I clearly stated in the first chapter that I don't own HYD, but some people just don't know what that is for some reason. AN: I know I promised you guys I wouldn't take a month, but I had a really busy schedule and it took some time for my computer to be updated, so sorry! The Red Card Chapter 18 - Please Leave *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~         She flinched involuntarily at the unfamiliar scent of this place and at the awkward position she was in. She hadn't been able to have a good night sleep, probably because her arms weren't able to move around and instead they felt unnaturally restrained.         'What time is it? Why isn't my alarm clock going off yet? I hope it never goes off...' Kagome squirmed where she was, and she could slightly smell her own awful morning breath. "Ugh..."         "Dreaming about Inuyasha?"         That voice. Now where had it come from? It was annoying, that was for sure. All she wanted to do right now was sleep forever and ever...now where were the blankets? "Go away..."         And just like the voice disappeared. Good. Now she would be able to get more shuteye. Now she would be able to fall asleep again. Now she would be...great. Just fantastic. Because of that darn voice she wasn't able to fall back asleep now.         She opened her eyes the teensiest bit, and shut them immediately as light shone through them. Where was that irritating light coming from? Did Souta or mama turn on the lights? She hated it when they did that to wake her up! It couldn't have been dad though...he worked early shifts. "Turn off the lights..."         "Sorry, babe. Can't do that."         Now when had Souta's voice gotten so manly? And when in the world did her younger brother call her a 'babe'? And now that she thought about it more carefully, this place didn't feel remotely like her bed. It didn't even feel like she was lying down!         "What the...?" Kagome scrambled to sit up properly, but found herself slouched in quite a painful position. She figured something else out too...her hands couldn't move an inch.         Opening her eyes tiredly, she finally took in the fact that she wasn't ever in her cozy room, but instead an enormous white room filled with fluorescent lights. It looked more like a factory actually. "Where...is this?"         "I'm afraid I can't tell you."         That voice again. But this time her eyes were wide open, so why couldn't she see the source of it? "Who are you?"         "I'm afraid I can't tell you that either."         She finally figured out his location. She couldn't see him because he was standing directly behind her. But wait...she was strapped down to a chair? No wonder it was so unbelievably uncomfortable to sleep! Looking down, Kagome winced at the sight of the thick rope binding her to the chair many times around. "Why...why am I here? Who are you? What's going on? Why me?"         The deep voice chuckled creepily. "I can't tell you any of that, either. All I can say is you'll find out when your lover arrives."         "My lover?" Shaking her head violently, Kagome finally snapped herself out of her half-asleep mode. "What? What the hell are you talking about? And why am I being tied up? I don't know who you are so you must have the wrong girl!"         "Oh, don't worry your pretty little head off. We've got the right girl." He was starting to sound pretty impatient now.         "We?" Kagome challenged, prying at her head at the same time to remember the previous night's events. When he did not answer her question, she asked timidly, "Are...are you going to kill me?"         "We'll see. You're not my main target at the moment. More of a bait, really..."         Kagome took notice that he stopped talking soon after. He must have let a little too much information slip. "Well, if I'm the bait...who is your main target? I don't think I know anyone that you'd be interested in..."         "Oh, but I think you do."         Just the thought that he was after someone she knew made her throat dry up completely. But...most of the people she knew were pretty innocent weren't they? "Who are you after that I know? My family? My friends?"         He didn't answer her, so she used this open opportunity to recall the events of last night. She had been drinking...no...no, that was Sango. Sango was drunk because of Miroku...he bought her way too many drinks...so she couldn't drive her home.         Someone was sick...it was Inuyasha...they had stayed in that bathroom together because the door was locked. Kagome could feel her cheeks burning up just thinking about it. And Sesshoumaru was angry with her...so she walked home...and everything went blank from there.         Just what HAD happened on her way home? It was pitch black out, and she just remembered being terribly angry at something. Oh yea...she had smelt-no, heard something...was it an animal cry? No...it was a kid's cry of help. She stayed to help the kid. Kid...he had come out of the trees and he had said something to her. It must have been important, because the kid looked pretty scared when she was talking to him.         'I'm sorry...' Now where did that apology come from? Did the kid apologize to her? Kagome started racking at her brain to remember...but she seriously couldn't remember anything after the party...except the blackout.         "There...there was a kid last night who was lost...I wonder who he was..." Kagome mumbled absentmindedly to the voice behind her, "I just wished I could have remembered what he said to me..."         "Oh? You remember?" The voice sounded fairly surprised. "The point applied to your neck should have blocked out everything in your brain from fifteen minutes back. The fact that you remember most of it is very shocking to me."         "Blocked out my brain for fifteen minutes? It that even possible?" She asked astoundingly, turning her head as much as she could to try and sneak a peek at the stranger. "Are you just making this up?"         "It's rather possible, babe. It's an ancient Chinese method of memory clearing, and it is entirely true. Just be thankful my men missed your point of complete memory erasing."         Kagome scoffed. "I don't believe it."         "Whatever, babe. But as a prize for remembering so much, I'm going to tell you - no - show you the kid from last night. Go, brat. Stop hiding behind my shoulder."         A little figure with bright orange hair entered Kagome's vision, and it was hard for her to manage holding back a gulp. "Shi...Shippou? What are you doing here?"         He watched her with extreme sadness in his eyes, his small feet fumbling as he made his way in front of her. "Ka-Kagome...I...I'm sorry..."         "Don't be silly, Shippou. Sorry for wha-?" And suddenly, there it was. The flashback from the walk home last night raced through her mind like a bolt of lightning. Seeing Shippou there crying, him apologizing to her...and...the men who appeared from around her...and there was blackness. "Shi-Shippou...you...you betrayed me..."         A frown washed over his face and he lowered his head down to the floor. "Kagome...I'm sorry...I..."         "I don't want to hear it!" She screamed and sealed her eyes tightly. "I thought you were my friend, Shippou..."         "But I - " Shippou added but was cut off when he made eye contact with the man behind her. Obviously he was making a signal of some sort for him to shut up.         "Isn't that a shame, Kagome," The voice began again in a mocking tone, "Isn't it sad how almost all the people you trust betray you in the end?"         "Shut up!" She screeched loudly, wishing she had her hands loose to cover her ears with, "Stop talking!"         "...your parents betrayed you for their love of money, isn't that why you go to that school in the first place, Kagome? Why does your brother get to go to a public school, Kagome?"         "I'm not listening!" She yelled deafeningly, "Lalalalalalala!!!"         "...Sesshoumaru betrayed you for Kagura. You really liked him for a while, didn't you? You still do like him, right? You hate how he likes Kagura better, don't you, babe?"         "Stop calling me a babe! And shut up! I don't want to hear this!" It hurt so unbearably so. Everything coming out of his mouth was true in a way and it angered her. Why did everyone she trusted have to hurt her in some way? Everyone around her...         "And those two girls, Kikyou and Yura, were they? You wanted to be friends with them so badly, didn't you, Kagome? You would have given anything to be accepted by them. So when they embarrassed you, you hated them, right Kagome? Didn't you want to kill them? Didn't you want to slit their throats until they bled to their deaths? DIDN'T YOU?"         "You're disgusting." She whispered under her breath, "I didn't want to do that to them, no matter how badly I hated them."         "See, you're lying to yourself again. If you had a knife in your hands at the time you showed up at the party in the wrong clothes, you would have stabbed them, wouldn't you, Kagome?"         "No! I DON'T WANT TO HEAR THIS! LEAVE ME ALONE!" She was hollering now, she wasn't insane like what he was saying she was! He was the insane one! "Please wake me up from this terrible dream..."         "Don't even get me started on Inuyasha..." He spat out his name like it was a pin on his tongue. "How did it feel, Kagome, to be betrayed by him over and over and over again? That time he tried to rape you at school, and that time he sent people after you, and that time he kidnapped you...the list goes on."         "HOW IS IT SUPPOSED TO FEEL, ASSHOLE?" She barked at him with all her anger, "It feels horrible, alright? You fucking happy now? And how did you know all of this? You spy on me or something, you sick bastard?"         "Such a dirty mouth on a girl...should be washed out with soap." Even without looking back Kagome could tell he was smirking. "And how did I know all of that? Oh, I have my ways and you don't need to know about them."         Kagome tugged at the rope banded behind her. "You're disgusting. Does the thought of killing people run through your mind all day?"         He snickered as he placed a heavy hand on her shoulder. She had to roughly pull away for him to release his filthy hand. "Not really. That's only half a day of thinking. The other half is concentrating on revenge."         "Revenge? Why?"         "See, babe, this is where you come in." *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~         "Higurashi, Kagome." The teacher read from his board in class, scanning the class once again. "Kagome is absent again today? Does anyone know where she is?"         The class remained perfectly silent. The teacher cleared his throat as he crossed out her name, "This is the second day Higurashi's been away. She's going to fall behind on her test scores. Kouga!"         He was sitting in the upper right corner of the class, his legs lounged up on his desk as the girls all went goo-goo eyed around him. "Yes, teach?"         "Do you have any idea where Higurashi is?"         He turned to peer out the window with a bored expression on his face. "I have no clue where that girl is."         "Oh. Alright." The teacher decided not to further ask any more questions, but it sure looked like that troublemaker was up to something. Yet, Kouga was part of the Y4, and he wanted to keep his job, no matter how bad the pay was.         "Hey! Inuyasha! Miroku!" Kouga called out to his friends down the hallway as he got out of class. "You guys know where that Kagome girl is?"         Miroku immediately turned to him with a fierce glare, and brought his finger across his neck, signalling for him to shut up. Inuyasha was staring intently at the wall, having paid little or no attention to him. "Where...where is she, damnit?!"         "Hey, what's up, man?" Kouga asked light-heartedly, praying Inuyasha wouldn't flip around suddenly and slash his throat.         Miroku gave him a quick jab in the ribs with his elbow. He hissed warningly, "Shut up, Kouga."         "Hey!" He raised his hands innocently in the air. "I just want to know what's going on! I'm part of the group, aren't I?"         "Kagome's missing..." Inuyasha hissed exhaustedly, still facing away from him. "She's been missing since after the party..."         "What? You sure she isn't at home...or at Sango's or something?"         Inuyasha sighed and rubbed his forehead. "When she didn't come to school the next day, I went to her house to check up on her. Her mom said she was never home and that she thought she was staying with me for some weird reason. I told her I'd go find Kagome for her..."         "Kagome's mom thought she was staying at YOUR house?" Kouga had to contain himself and hold back a fit of laughter. Miroku snapped him out of it by kicking him extremely hard in the ankle.         Inuyasha nodded grimly, "I checked at Sango and stupid Hojo's too...but they haven't seen her since the party, either. They're both pretty pissed off..."         "Hey, man, it's gonna be okay. She's probably just...um...hiding in her room or something, huh?" he grinned and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, only to have it swatted off angrily.         "DAMNIT!" Inuyasha cursed noisily, half-breaking the wall with one stiff punch. "If...if I hadn't let her go home by herself that night...this wouldn't be fucking happening!"         "Oh for...Inuyasha, even if she did get home safely, don't you think what happened to her would have happened some other way, or some other night?" Miroku asked from a distance, trying to ignore the shards of the wall crumbling onto the floor.         "What happened to her?! You know, don't you? Tell me!" Inuyasha turned around to glare at him, his fists already cracking at his sides.         "Woah. Calm down, Inuyasha. If I knew what happened to her don't you think I would have told you already? It may not look it, but I care for Kagome too..."         Inuyasha growled quietly, but kept his actions to himself. "Where the hell is she, damnit?"         "Well, think back to the party. Why did you let her walk home by herself?"         He lowered his head again. "I...I saw her talking to Sesshoumaru, and I kind of snapped at her..."         Miroku scratched his chin. "Wait. Inuyasha, why don't you go talk to Sess? After all, he was the reason why Kagome left by herself, right? Just go ask him what they were talking about."         "I did...right after Kagome left, and he wouldn't tell me what they were talking about. But I don't think he did it though, he was at the party long after she left..."         "I guess you're right." Kouga nodded convincingly, "Sess would never do anything to Kagome..."         "...I'm going home." Inuyasha grumbled and swung his backpack over his back. "I don't need to be here when Kagome's in danger."         "And going home is going to help her how?"         Inuyasha turned to face Kouga angrily. "Well, it's better than staying here! I'm going to find her."         And with that, he disappeared out the school doors.         Kicking a nearby pebble as hard as he could on the walk home, Inuyasha still couldn't figure out one possible person who would have any reason to kidnap Kagome. Unless it was someone they didn't know...and if he dared to lay a finger on her he'd kill him before they touched the floor.         But then...what if she wasn't kidnapped like he assumed she was? What if she just sprained an ankle on the way home and is now lying somewhere in the cold? But then again, that wouldn't make any sense because the route to her house was packed with people during the day. Kagome could always scream for help...unless she couldn't scream for any reason.         Just picturing it made his blood run cold, and he had to punch himself in the face again. Why did he have to be such an asshole to her that evening? If he hadn't gotten so jealous she wouldn't be missing right now...she'd still be next to him probably, laughing...making fun of his hair...         "DAMNIT!" He screamed massively loud, whamming his fist in a nearby tree to accent his anger. A little girl somehow walked by in time to see this, and ran away crying. Oh well...         He continued forward, deciding to follow Kagome's route home from after the party, and try and see if he could pick up anything...         Nothing. He'd found absolutely nothing on her way home. He'd probably looked like an idiot yelling her name hundreds of times...and scrounging through the bushes...and a small part of him knew that what he was doing was hopeless.         Kagome was gone. And it was so hard to accept because people just didn't disappear into thin air...not normal people at least.         Sighing, he stepped onto his property as he neared his house, and he paused again to take his anger out on the lawn ornaments. That was until the maid made her way over to him. He ignored her as he continued beating the swan on their lawn. "Listen, I don't want to talk to anyone right now, alright?"         The maid nodded obediently, but still held up something in her hands. "But sir, this letter was delivered to you today with no return address...I just thought you'd like to take a look at it, that's all." *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~         "Kagome was kidnapped? I don't believe it..." Miroku took once again another glance at the picture Inuyasha gave to him. "Man, I can't believe they actually sent you a picture of this...this is really sick."         In the picture Kagome was sitting on a chair, her legs and arms bound to it tightly with rope, and her head was lying down as if she were asleep.         Inuyasha snatched the picture back from his friend's hands immediately and squished it between his hands. "Whoever did this...I'll fucking kill them!"         "But I don't understand," Kouga grabbed the picture back for another look. "Who would want to kidnap Kagome? Do you think it might be the girls at school who want revenge?"         "But why would they send this to Inuyasha? Maybe they're after him and is using her to get him to them." Miroku had to stop to think about what he just said. "What do you think?"         "There was a note too..." Inuyasha stared down at the floor in horror, "I have to go to this place at midnight sharp, or else they're going to...kill her."         Miroku's face suddenly brightened up, surprising everyone. "I know what you can do! Just bring a bunch of your bodyguards with you so they can take care of this asshole!"         Inuyasha's gaze softened as he raised his head again to glare at him. "I have to go alone...they said they've got someone watching my every move..."         At this moment both Miroku and Kouga started looking around carefully, as if someone was watching all this from behind a bush or something, but there was no one in sight. "You sure this isn't a scam or anything? I mean, there's probably no one watching you, so let's all go get Kagome now."         "Thanks guys," Inuyasha paused and took the picture back to stare at it again, "but for Kagome's safety, I'm not going to break the rules this time...and I don't want to get you guys involved, I can deal with this myself."         "But Inuyasha...but if you get there and they shoot you, we're never going to forgive ourselves..." Miroku added right after, and Kouga nodded.         "Don't go." Came a blood-chilling voice that was all too familiar.         "Sesshoumaru?" All three turned to face the intruder, "How the hell did you get here without us seeing you?"         He ignored them and turned to Inuyasha, "Listen, Inuyasha. When you get there they're probably going to kill you both on sight, if they haven't killed her already. You're just going to your death for this girl and it's stupid. Not to mention you're the heir to your family's fortune. Are you going to give that all away?"         "Sess, what are you implying?" Miroku gave him a weird look, "You just come here and tell him not to go? Right Inuyasha?"         To his surprise, Inuyasha's face was covered with a mindless blank expression, and he didn't utter one sound.         "Inuyasha, think about this..." Sesshoumaru plopped down next to Kouga. "In less than a month we'll be graduating, and when are you possibly going to see her after that? Never? You'll be too busy with your work, and she'll probably be working a part-time job somewhere. You're just throwing your life away, Inuyasha. Wake up, don't go."         Kouga and Miroku sat off to the side peacefully, patiently awaiting an answer from him. If he were to leave Kagome, she'd most likely be killed and eventually they'd all move on. But if he were to go...who knew what could happen.         "I..." Inuyasha grabbed his head in frustration. "Of course I'm going to go! It's not about what's going to happen afterwards, it's about her being killed for something I did! The bastard's obviously after me, isn't he? It's practically my responsibility to go save her!"         Sesshoumaru sighed and got up to leave. "You're making a big mistake, Inuyasha. Don't say I didn't warn you. Well, I'll see you again if you're still alive."         "Oh shut the fuck up, Sesshoumaru. Why would I take a lesson from you? What do you know, anyway? You're letting the girl you've liked your whole life get away, and now you're going to be miserable the rest of your pathetic life without her! You should be feeling sorry for yourself!" Inuyasha yelled furiously, whipping around and speeding away instantaneously. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~         "Well, it's been two gruelling days, babe. And in less than an hour your little lover is going to be here." The man behind her mumbled happily, and Kagome could hear him rubbing his hands together in anticipation.         He still hadn't shown his face to her after all this time, but she'd seen his hands more than enough. He'd tried to feed her from behind, reaching his hand around her neck to spoon-feed her, but she'd rather him try to pry her mouth open than eat something he was feeding her.         But nothing in this world could possibly be worse than when she had to go to the washroom real badly. That experience was too horrible for words.         "I still don't know who you're talking about." Kagome said crudely, "I don't have a lover." She was so bewildered by now that she didn't know what to think...what if her so-called lover didn't come save her? Would she have to die? 'I guess telling mama that attending Wakashu was going to kill me...wasn't a lie after all...'         Anyways, she didn't know exactly what to feel anymore...she just hoped that person would come take her out from this hellhole.         "Alrighty then...time to get prepared." The voice chuckled madly before Kagome heard the sound of something ripping.         Her heart fluttered like mad and she opened her eyes as far as they would go. "Wha-what exactly are you planning to do?"         "Me? Oh, I'm just making sure you keep that loud mouth of yours shut when the time comes." Before Kagome had a chance to ask what that meant precisely, a piece of duct tape was slapped onto her mouth and patted down. "There you go."         "Mmmmmppphhhh!" Duct tape sealed over your mouth always tasted horribly bad, but taking it off was what she was dreading.         He glared at his fine work from over her shoulder. "Good as new. Now...to put you to sleep."         "Mmmmmmppphhhh???"         A man appeared from the shadows swiftly, and Kagome instantly recognized him as one of the four men who were responsible for her kidnapping. "Mmph!"         The man behind her patted her head calmly, "Relax, babe. It'll hurt less if you relax..." *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~         Inuyasha glimpsed at his watch hurriedly, it was approximately five to twelve. He'd gone alone as specified, and had followed the vague instructions quite well, seeing as he was standing right before a factory in the middle of nowhere.         'Kagome's nearby...I can just feel it...' He swallowed loudly and took a few steps towards the door. What if this was all a trap? What if someone was standing right on the other side with a gun? Was he as prepared as he convinced Sesshoumaru he was?         But he knew within that if he hadn't chosen to come tonight, this memory would impact him for the rest of his life. Wondering each passing hour why he cowered when he could have done something about it. He wasn't about to make that mistake.         He wasn't too well prepared, sadly, having not brought a single weapon. Hopefully the person would want to talk it out first, and he would use that opportunity to beat him up. But if there were more people involved, on the other hand, it would be a completely different situation.         He pounded on the large set of doors a few times with his feet, "Open up! I'm here as promised!"         There was not a sound. Except for the crickets and the wind blowing weakly in the background. 'Did I come to the wrong place? I couldn't have, I should have followed all the directions correctly...oh whatever.'         He sighed heavily and pushed the doors himself, half expecting them to be locked when it was the complete opposite. The door creaked open without much pressure, and right away he discovered it lead to a dark room lighted with a few candles in the middle. This was bound to be a trap...         What caught his attention first was the lone figure in there, resting on a chair with their head lowered, the flickering candles circling them dimming onto their dark hair.         Inuyasha slowly dragged a few steps forward, "Kagome...is that you? Answer me." Who had done that to his Kagome? She was strapped to a chair, and she looked no better than a dummy...so lifeless...so un-Kagome.         "Kagome? Are you awake? It's me, Inuyasha. Remember me?" Listening intently, he breathed a huge sigh of relief he heard her soft breaths. 'Thank God...she's still alive...'         No longer caring what the consequences were, Inuyasha stormed up to her at once. He lifted her lowered head gently and gazed at her closed eyes. "Kagome?"         Her face looked unharmed, as well as her body. That was good to know. But there was some damned duct tape stuck onto her beautiful mouth, so Inuyasha grabbed a corner and ripped it off without further ado.         The sound of it alone could have woken anyone in this large room. "Owww..." Kagome opened her eyes briefly, and when she saw his face, a bright smile quickly shone on her square-red mouth.         "Inu-Inuyasha...?" She blinked as if she were looking at a painting of him, but when she confirmed it was him she tried to lunge forward to hug him, but was jerked back by the rope. "You-?"         He couldn't help himself anymore as he sprung up and wrapped his arms around her body, savouring the smell on her. He guessed she would have hugged back if given the arms. Hesitantly, he pulled back and smiled ecstatically. "I'm here to get you out of here, Kagome, let's get you out of those ropes..."         He watched her face as it paled by a thousand colours, "I- Inuyasha...forget about me! Get out of here before he comes to get you! Run!"         "What makes you think I'm going to leave you here with that lunatic?" He demanded as he started working on cutting the rope behind her. "I'm not that much of a jerk, you know."         "Please, Inuyasha..." She begged urgently now, tugging away from him when he tried to untie the rope. "Do this for me. RUN. Run before he gets you too."         He cleared his throat annoyingly. Why was she being so stubborn? Didn't he say he wanted to save her, and not just visit her? "Kagome, I'm not going to- "         Suddenly, the room lightened up and the whiteness of it all pierced Inuyasha's eyes. "What the hell - ?"         "How nice of you to join us, Inuyasha. Let's begin, shall we?" *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* AN: *squeaks as piles of death threats come pouring in* I didn't do it on purpose! I promise! ^_^ I was going to end the story in this chapter, but I realised it was a lot longer than I'd planned it, so look at it on the bright side, there's going to be another chapter, if not, two! *Everyone watches the author, unamused* Yea... Also, it's turning a lot weirder than I'd originally planned for it to be. But I'm just glad I finally led it away from the manga. Once again, I'm so thankful for the feedback you people give me; it's always encouraging to hear what you guys think of this story. ^_^ Until next time, *~Sorena~*

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