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Guilty Hero

Chapter 11:  Possibility

Inu-Yasha was rather rudely, in his opinion, woken the next morning by a wad of clothes thrown in his face.  On top of that, it was so early that it was still dark outside, which confused his muddled mind just as much the alarm call.

“Come on,” Kagome said briskly, giving his legs a whack to prevent him from going back to sleep.  “Get up.  You have half an hour to get ready.”

“Ready…?” he mumbled, slowly sitting up and resting his head in his hands as the room spun; he never got up so early.

“I’ve got to be at the quarry at five, and you insisted on coming along.  So come on, up and at ‘em!” 

As his bleary brain tried to catch up with the situation, for he found Kagome to be much too chipper at such an hour, she pushed him off the couch far faster than he should have been moving and gave him a light shove down the hallway.

“Here’s some fresh clothes; now go take a shower, you’ll feel much better.”  Tossing his clothes in his arms, she watched as he stumbled into the restroom, obviously too confused to argue.  Once the door shut, she sighed in relief.  She had hoped that by being so harsh, she wouldn’t have such a difficult time getting him up, and thus wouldn’t have to deal with his foul temper and whiny attitude, which she was certain would be far worse at 4:15 in the morning.  Thankfully, her plan had worked.

While Inu-Yasha got himself cleaned up, Kagome made a pot of coffee and some toast, and had both ready when he emerged from the bathroom, clean, awake, and very displeased.

“What the hell kind of a way is that to wake a man?” he growled, shaking the last few droplets of water from his hair.  “I’ve had better wake-up calls from my damn hangovers!”

Raising an eyebrow, for she thought he was overreacting just a bit, she replied, “I’m sorry, but I don’t want to be late for my first official assignment.  I knew that you’d had a bit to drink last night, so I tried to let you sleep as late as you could.  It was a rude awakening, I know, but you got to sleep more for it.”

With his stony glare informing her that she was not forgiven, she sighed and held out the thermos of coffee.  “Will this make up for it?”

“Huh.  Not hardly.”  Nevertheless, he snatched it from her hands, then stomped away with a fierce scowl.  Kagome rolled her eyes at his childish attitude, but held her tongue.  It was most important that she stayed on his good side as much as possible.

Wrapping the buttered toast in a paper towel, she went into the living room and saw him sitting on the couch and tugging his ratty sneakers on, grumbling under his breath the whole time.  “Hey,” she said, setting her own thermos and the toast on the coffee table as she reached for her coat.  “You about ready to go?”

“Almost…” he grunted, getting to his feet and plodding into the kitchen.  “Damn pushy woman…” she heard him mutter as he went past.  She once again had to hold her tongue from sending back a biting retort, and went about buttoning her coat and pulling on a yarn cap and mittens.  By the time she was bundled up with purse and thermos in hand, he returned to the living room, shoving something in his back pocket; that something, as she had little doubt, was his flask.  He did not seem to like leaving his apartment without it.

“Let’s go,” he snapped, snatching his thermos up and stalking to the door.

“Wait, where’s your coat?  It’s barely twenty degrees outside; you’ll freeze to death, unless you plan on sitting in the car the entire time.”

“I don’t need a damn coat.  I’m a hanyo.”

After biting back retorts several times that morning, Kagome found herself  unable to ignore the doctor side of her, and could not resist saying, “’Hanyo’ is not synonymous with ‘invincible’.  You can still catch a cold.  Will you please bring a sweatshirt or jacket along?  Please?”

Glaring at her, he growled, “No,” then walked out the door, not waiting for her to follow.

With a frown, she followed after him, then sighed when she realized that, rather than walking down the stairs, he instead chose to leap over the railing and fall down seven flights, landing lightly on the ground floor without spilling a drop of coffee.  As she quickly descended the normal way, she got the feeling that he had most likely done that on purpose, as a way to make her feel inferior.

He needs a friend. He needs a friend.  He needs a friend, she chanted mentally to herself.  It wouldn’t do to get angry with him; he seemed to be waiting for that, and the moment she showed him that weakness, he would strike and bring her down.  She did not hate him for it; it was to be expected, judging from his numerous bad experiences from previous nurses.  But, it was certainly testing her limits, so before she went outside to meet him she paused and counted slowly in her head.  Once relaxed, she opened the main doors and came upon him leaning against her car, scowling.

“Took you long enough,” he grunted, taking a sip of coffee.

“Sorry,” she replied brightly, setting her thermos on the hood so she could dig in her pocket for the keys.  “I had to take the long way down.  Oh, and here—this is for you.”    She shoved the paper towel with toast in his hands, then shooed him away from the door so she could get in.  “Breakfast.”

Sneering, he went around to the other side of the car, frustrated by her lack of response.  She seemed to rub it in, too, for when he slid into the passenger’s seat, she smiled kindly at him and started the car.  He bit back a growl and took a long swallow of coffee.

“Eat up,” she said, pulling out onto the road.  “I slaved over a hot toaster to make that for you.  It took me almost five whole minutes.”  Giving a light chuckle at her joke, she glanced over at him, and the smile quickly slid off her face.  His expression was clearly telling her, under no uncertain terms, should she continue to speak.

Deciding not to test the limits of his patience so early in the morning, she kept quiet, and the drive went by in almost total silence.  She was heartened to see him reluctantly eat the toast, but the progress made was dashed when he tried to light up a cigarette afterward.  Being a nurse, it was difficult to accept him smoking at all, although she did her best around him.  However, she most certainly was not going to allow him to smoke in her car, allowing the stench to permeate the fabric and force her to smell it for the next several days each time she drove.  Unfortunately, this ban heightened the tension between them, and she was more than relieved to arrive at the quarry and end the stressful drive.

The moment the car came to a halt, Inu-Yasha slipped out and set his thermos on the hood so he could finish lighting the cigarette he had attempted to light inside the car, glaring as Miroku, Sango, and Myoga approached.

“Well, well, well, I certainly wasn’t expecting to see your bright and cheery self at this hour,” Miroku said by way of greeting, partially mocking him, and partially pleased.  To see the demon so early in the morning meant that the night before had not been as whiskey-sodden as his nights normally were.

“Shut up, ass,” Inu-Yasha growled back, throwing the crumpled paper towel at him. 

“And good morning to you too,” Sango said, frowning at his behavior.  “What made you decide to tag along?”

He turned his amber gaze on her.  “’Tag along’?” he repeated incredulously, blowing a cloud of smoke in her direction.  “There’s a jewel shard involved.  It’s my job.”

“Actually, this one is Kagome’s job.  You didn’t have to come.”

“Hey, she’s my nurse, ain’t she?  So, yeah, I did have to come.”

With a frustrated sigh, Sango turned to Kagome, who had long since gotten out of the car but had decided to greet Myoga rather than join in their tense conversation.  “Kagome, good morning.  I’m glad to see you made it.”

“Good morning to both of you,” she replied politely, smiling at them.  However, as she studied them she saw that their faces were pinched and drawn, and it was clear something was not right.  “Are you guys all right?  You both look a little pale…”

“Huh.”  Miroku laughed mirthlessly.  “Well, our workload has suddenly picked up again, and we now…  Actually, I believe this is a story for Myoga to tell.  Myoga, would you care to—wait, where did he go?”

Suddenly, Inu-Yasha gave a short yelp and slapped his nose. “Damn flea,” he growled as a rather flat Myoga came away on his palm.  “You never warn me when you do that.”

“If I did warn you, you’d try to stop me,” the flea replied, slurping up one last droplet of blood.  “I see you little enough as it is; how can you deny me a sip when we do meet?”

“I’m not a blood bank, you little insect,” he snapped back.

“Hey, hey.  Enough of that inane conversation.  Myoga, would you please bring Kagome and Inu-Yasha up-to-date on the situation?”  Sango’s tone was clipped and abrupt.

Deciding he might be in a safer position if he sat on Kagome’s palm rather than Inu-Yasha’s to tell his story, he leaped over to Kagome and regaled them with all the details of his hair-raising descent into the quarry.  Even Inu-Yasha, in his foul, anti-social mood, listened intently.

A somber silence fell over the group when Myoga finished his tale.

“A… demon that can absorb others?” Kagome asked, her eyebrows pinched together in thought.  “But, with all those demons locked away down there, doesn’t that mean that he can gain incredible power from them?”

“It is a possibility,” Sango replied.  “While most of the demons in this city are not terribly powerful, all of them combined into one intelligent body is a serious threat.  In fact, Miroku and I calculated it, and…”  She cast a quick glance at Inu-Yasha, who was standing stiff and silent by the car, his expression unreadable.  “…He has the potential to become even more powerful than Naraku was.”

Kagome stifled a gasp.  “Is…is there a way to stop this from happening?  I mean, the city has just barely recovered from the last war…”

“Well, that’s where  you come in, Miss Kagome,” Miroku informed her.  “The ability to absorb others demonic powers is a trait not found in many demons.   Thus, we believe this demon behind the barrier has a Shikon shard that is aiding his abilities; we need you to confirm that fact.  If it is true, there are steps we can take to prevent such a thing from occurring again.”

“Such as?” Inu-Yasha asked, his voice soft and strained.  Miroku gave him an odd look, but simply answered, “We’ll discuss that if it turns out to be true.  Now, Kagome, if you’ll follow us…”

As Myoga and Miroku led her away from the quarry entrance and closer to where Myoga had come upon the chasm, Inu-Yasha cleared his throat to get Sango’s attention.  She paused, for she had made to follow after them.

“Yes?” she asked, still a little miffed by his incredibly rude behavior that morning.

Keeping quiet, he motioned for her to come closer.  She grew concerned by his demeanor, and quickly went over to him.  “What, what is it?  Are you not feeling well?”  His bout at the hospital had not been that long ago, and she and Miroku were still worried about his health.

“No, no, no…” he growled irritably, waving the comment away.  “That’s not it, it’s just…”  He suddenly stopped speaking and rubbed his face, trying to keep in control of his emotions, which were threatening to break out at any moment.  Taking several deep breaths, he finally said softly, “Is… is it true?  Is it really possible for a demon stronger than Naraku to emerge?”

Sango sighed sadly, her shoulders slumping.  She had a feeling she knew where this conversation was heading.  “I hate to be pessimistic, Inu-Yasha…” she replied, crossing her arms.  “But, with all the evidence Myoga has been able to give us…  Yes, it is a distinct possibility.  There are a couple ways to prevent it, but they are incredibly dangerous feats, and it is a good chance we will lose people in the attempt.  And even then…”  She shook her head.  “Deep in my bones, I fear the worst.  We may have another war on our hands in less than a year’s time…”

A low moan came from Inu-Yasha’s throat.  When he lifted his head to look at her, she was shocked to see his expression; he looked defeated already, hopeless and weak.  He made her want to give up and surrender right there on the spot.

“I can’t do it again…” he whispered desperately to her, a wild look in his eye.  “Don’t make me do it again…  I lost so much the last time…  I can’t bear it again.  Please…”

“I-I…  What?”

“Naraku…” he ground out, grabbing her wrists.  She could feel how cold and clammy his hands were at his touch, and she realized impact Myoga’s tale had on him.  “I can’t fight him again…  I just can’t do it.  It…it can’t be done.  Please… please…”

Her heart ached to see him like he was, pleading for freedom from responsibility; he knew as well as she that once word reached the people of the city of a new threat to their existence, all eyes would turn to him for aid, since he had saved them once before.  His nickname was not ‘savior of the city’ for nothing.  But he also knew that he could not beat another demon like Naraku; his heart couldn’t take another blow, his mind couldn’t handle the thought of more pain and tragedy crashing down upon him.

Sango, however, was not going to stand for it.  She did not want to give up hope, and he was their only hope if things did come to war.  He was once their best fighter, and if he got control of himself he could once again come to the city’s defense.

Wrenching her arms from his grasp, she wrapped her fists in his shirt collar and slammed him against the car.  “That is quite enough of that,” she snapped, staring down at his surprised face furiously.  “You need to get a hold of yourself.  You are a member of the Order, and you took an oath to protect the city.  If you continue to talk that way, then you are breaking your oath, and you will be thrown out faster than you can blink.  If things come down to war and if you have to fight another like Naraku, take heart in the fact that this time you have nothing to lose.  Unless this demon targets the Tap, in which case I’d get worried if I were you.  Got it?” 

She hated to be so harsh with him, but blunt was often the best way to get through to him, and she wasn’t about to let him wallow in self-pity at the city’s expense.  Giving him one last push against the car, she released her grip on his collar and stood up straight, crossing her arms and glaring down at him.

“I suggest you stay here until you get back into your right mind.  It will hurt appearance and morale if you show your face to the others looking so pathetic; failure in hope is contagious, and that is the absolute last thing we need at this moment.”  Turning on her heel, she stalked off, her cheeks burning as she tried to hold back her urge to weep; to see Inu-Yasha in such a state chilled her to the bone, and she could only hope that Kagome was the miracle-worker Miroku seemed to think she was.

“Well?” she asked brusquely when she arrived at the spot where Myoga had led them to.  “Have we found anything yet?”

“Hm?” Miroku glanced up from the black trench in the quarry, where he had been trying to catch a glimpse of the chasm Myoga had mentioned, though the task was nigh impossible in the inky darkness of early morning.  “Oh, I thought you had stayed behind with Inu-Yasha.  Well, we haven’t found anything as of yet, but Kagome has decided to try a new position.”

“I see.  Um, where is she?”  Sango peered around, but couldn’t see the shape of the girl anywhere.

“I’m sorry, but could you please stop talking?  I’m trying to concentrate.”  Sango jumped when the lump beside Miroku’s foot talked before she realized that it was actually Kagome, lying on her belly with her head stuck underneath the bars of the guard rail.

All quickly fell silent, and for a few minutes the only noise was the brisk October wind whistling over the gorge.  At last Kagome pulled her head in and stood up, dusting the dirt and gravel off the front of her coat.

“Well?” Myoga asked anxiously from his perch on Miroku’s shoulder.

“I did sense a shard.  It was faint, but incredibly far away.  I don’t know how deep you went, Myoga, but this network of caverns must be miles underground.”

“But you’re certain there is one?” Sango demanded. 

Kagome nodded soberly.  “Yes.  There may even be more than one, but the signal is so faint that I can’t tell.”

“More than one?” Miroku asked in surprise, looking worried.  “Why do you say that?”

She looked at him as though it were obvious.  “Well, if this superdemon has the majority of the city’s demon population down there, and if any of those demons carry shards, it’s most likely he’s obtained more than one.”

Miroku groaned.  “I didn’t think of that…  Damn, this trip is going from bad to worse.”

You don’t say… Sango thought dryly, thinking of the demon she had left back at the car.  “All right,” she sighed aloud, putting a hand on Miroku’s shoulder.  “Let’s get back to the Order; we have work to do.  Kagome, thanks so much for your work today.  We’ll be in touch soon.”

They all traipsed back to the quarry entrance, where Sango, Miroku, and Myoga quickly left, all wearing worried expressions.  Kagome’s information had confirmed their fears.

Kagome, not fully aware of the impact of a jewel shard involved, walked over to Inu-Yasha, who was sipping mindlessly at his coffee, his eyes blank.  A smile breaking her features, for he looked as though he simply wasn’t awake, she approached him and waved a hand in front of his face, her smile widening when he flicked his gold eyes at her.

“Good morning…” she said teasingly, then paused when she caught a whiff from his thermos; apparently he had needed a pick-me-up and had poured the contents of his flask into his coffee, for the smell of whiskey was quite strong.  Still, her smile never breaking, she continued.  “I was thinking about stopping by McDonald’s so I could get some breakfast.  Would you mind?”

He did not appear to be too happy at the thought, but simply shrugged and turned to get in the car.  Kagome quickly followed suit, and soon they had pulled out of the quarry and were on the road.  Peeking at her passenger out of the corner of her eye, she saw him visibly relax once the quarry was out of sight, but he still seemed to be far away, and was very quiet.  He spent the entire staring out the window, a frown marring his features and his expression tight.  She even had to tap him on the shoulder when they pulled into the parking lot, for he hadn’t moved.

“Hey, come on.  Unless you really want to sit in the car the whole time.”

He blinked, then shook his head to clear it and climbed out of the car, following her into the restaurant.  Normally, he hated restaurants, for they were almost always too full of people for his liking.  However, it being only six in the morning, no one but them and the workers were there, and he was able to relax slightly.

Sliding into the seat across from the chair where Kagome was dropping her purse and coat, he sighed and rested his chin in his hand; he hated to admit it, but after standing in twenty degree weather without a coat, it felt very nice to sit in a heated building.

“Do you want anything?  I know you had that toast, but perhaps you want something a little more substantial…”  Kagome looked hopefully at him, then shrugged when he silently shook his head and took a swallow from his thermos; clearly everything he needed was in that.  “All right, suit yourself.  I’ll be right back.”

He focused his gaze on the table, grateful to be alone again.  After his quite embarrassing breakdown in front of Sango, he was feeling awfully uncomfortable, and being around people only heightened his embarrassment.  However, he knew that his actions then had stemmed from fear, and that fear still had a firm grip on him.  He was scared—terrified, in fact.  Everything he had told Sango was the truth, but her word in response had cut into him.

Did he really have nothing to lose?  That thought echoed between his ears, over and over.  Had he pushed so many people away that this time around, if he did have to fight this demon, he would not fear for anyone’s life?  Well…  There were Sango and Miroku.  As much hell he had put them through, they deserved to be under his protection, pathetic as it was…

Groaning in despair at the thought, he took another gulp from his thermos, grimacing at the taste of coffee and whiskey.  He didn’t like them together, but he had needed something to steady his nerves after Sango had hauled him over the coals, and got the feeling he would have been rebuked doubly had they seen him drinking from his flask so early in the morning. 

The smell of hash browns came wafting over to his nose, breaking him from his thoughts, and was followed closely by sausage, egg, and cheese.  He quickly lifted his head from his hand as Kagome sat down with her tray, staring at the food.

“Such quick service, so early in the morning,” she said conversationally, opening up a carton of orange juice and sticking a straw in.  “I don’t think I’ve ever been served so fast.”

“Mm,” he grunted in disinterest, turning to stare out at the window at the buildings shrouded in shadow.

“By the way, do you need some aspirin or something?  You had your head in your hands, so I was wondering if you had a headache.  Sometimes if people get up too early, it can cause that.”

“No, I don’t have a headache…” he mumbled.  “Besides, human medicine does nothing for me.”  He did not offer any reason as to why he had his head in his hands, so Kagome just nodded and started to nibble on her hash browns.

After a just a few moments, he could hardly stand it any longer.  The mouthwatering  aroma of the greasy fast food was making his stomach rumble, and finally tore his eyes away from the window to stare at her tray, swallowing hard.  It looked so good…

“…Inu-Yasha?” 

He jerked his head up to look at her, flushing under her gaze.  “What?” he snapped, turning away and crossing his arms.  “I wish you’d stop talking.  It’s too early for all your chatter.”

“Inu-Yasha, would you like me to get you some breakfast?”

Squirming in his seat, he finally sighed.  “No, I’ll get it myself.”  And then, before she could blink, he snatched the biscuit off her tray and tore off the paper, taking an enormous bite.

Her mouth hanging open at his boldness, she soon recovered and tried to snatch it back, but he brushed her hands aside, growling slightly.  It sent her the message that he did not want to play, but she saw that his tension had eased, and he appeared to be more relaxed.  Deciding that that was progress enough, she simply shook her head and stood up.

“I guess since you’re able to fend for yourself,” she began, laughter hinted in her tone, “then I’ll go fend for myself.  Of course, that’s what I thought I had done in the first place…”  He watched her as she walked away, and when she looked back at him he tore off another chunk of sausage, egg, and cheese, confirming it as his property.  She chuckled lightly, and went back to the counter.

As she waited for her order, she sighed quietly, rubbing at her eyes.  Waking up at three thirty was finally taking its toll, especially with the stress of the situation at the quarry weighing down on her as well.  With the added work of getting Inu-Yasha going, she was understandably tired. 

Now she had another task ahead of her.  She wasn’t stupid; she had certainly noticed the change in his demeanor from before they went to search for a shard and after they returned.  The simple fact that he hadn’t gone with them was a sign something had happened, for wouldn’t one who had demanded to go along with her intend to see the whole job through?  So it was up to her to find out what had occurred, and she had a fairly good idea what it was. 

However, now was not the time for a therapy session.  Accepting her tray from the cashier, she returned to the table, watching Inu-Yasha finish inhaling the biscuit.  He was finally lightening up, and to start a serious discussion would only drag him back down; with one as volatile in his emotions as he, to speak of the quarry was a dangerous idea.  So, she settled back into her seat and handed him another biscuit.

In response to his questioning look, she replied, “I would rather share my food than have it stolen.  At least this way I get to have a little.”

He chose not to argue, and silently accepted the food.

Kagome smiled down at her tray; another breakthrough.  Perhaps the day was not going to be as bad as it appeared to be.

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Thanks so much for reading!  I hope you enjoyed this latest installment of Guilty Hero.  Please, leave a review and send some feedback, it always helps to hear the readers’ opinions!