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Guilty Hero

Chapter 26: Wanted

Kagura tapped her foot impatiently against the damp earth, her red eyes fixed on the swirling purple orb in the center of the room.  She, Muso, and Kanna had been waiting for over an hour as Naraku reviewed their notes and scoured their footage, and the delay was practically unbearable.  She was so downtrodden at being underground once more that she would have thrown a fit at the entrance had her dignity not kept her head up. 

The caverns were even more damp and claustrophobic than she remembered, most likely due to her taste of the outside world; now she was beginning to regret going aboveground at all since it made the caves worsen tenfold in her eyes.  Glancing up at the dripping ceiling with a sharp glare, she pulled her coat tighter about her and tried to keep from shivering in the cold; not even being drenched in rainwater was as bad as this.

“Well, well, well…” came Naraku’s deep voice, startling Kagura and Muso after so long in silence.  “It seems our dear pup has brought his own punishments down upon himself.”  Slowly, a hand holding Kanna’s camera emerged from the orb, making Muso and Kagura stare in surprise.  Over the course of the past several months, during which the only part of him they had seen was his hand, the hand had transformed from a scaly, reptilian claw to birdlike talons to a spike-covered appendage, and this time it was deceptively human.  Kagura shuddered to think of what his body must look like after seeing his hand alone undergo so much change.

“What would you have us do, Lord Naraku?” Muso asked respectfully, keeping his usual smug tone out of his voice as Kanna silently stepped up and accepted her camera.

A low chuckle drifted out to greet their ears.  “Well, I think that poor boy has suffered enough, don’t you?  We should not heap more troubles on an already troubled mind.  Muso, you will go out and concentrate on your campaign and leave Inu-Yasha to his own devices; we must win this election at all costs.”

Hardly believing what he just heard, Muso gave Kagura an odd stare to see if she perhaps knew what was going on, but she looked just as puzzled as himself.  Clearing his throat, he said hesitantly, “Of… of course, my lord.”

“Kanna,” Naraku continued.  “With your scent of Nothing and your aura of Nothing, Inu-Yasha should be unable to be alerted to your presence, so I want you to be on full surveillance of him and his beloved nurse.  Do not let them out of your sight.  I want to know the minute any changes in his lifestyle occur, particularly concerning this woman or his drinking, understand?”

Kanna, with her inability to show emotion, merely nodded at the request.

“Now go.  Return only when you have something to report.”

Although terribly confused as to Naraku’s actions, Kagura couldn’t help but stare wistfully as Muso led Kanna out of the cavern with a rather relieved expression on his face—he hated the underground almost as much as she did. 

With a sigh, she turned back to the orb, which had become eerily silent.  Trying to cover up her fear that she would be locked under the earth once more, she asked boldly, “What are you scheming at, Naraku?  I find it hard to believe that you actually want the pup to quit drinking.  He’s making himself less of a  threat by doing so; if you encourage him to keep his head clear, he could easily make a stand against you once more.”

The murky silhouette from behind the orbs swirling walls shifted a bit, and Kagura felt the hair on the back of her neck raise as she gained her master’s attention.

“You understand nothing of the concept of revenge, Kagura…” he said slowly, his tone so low that she was unable to tell if there was menace or mirth behind it.  “I do indeed want Inu-Yasha to climb as high as he can out of this hole he has dug for himself.  For the higher he climbs, the harder he falls…  And when he reaches the top, I shall be there to send him tumbling back down once again.”

Now Kagura could easily make out the sinister joy creeping into his voice, setting her nerves on edge.

“Remember, Kagura—revenge is sweetest with a dash of hope.”  And his ominous laughter made her take a step back.

“W…what do you want me to do…?” she asked slowly, trying hard to keep her voice from shaking.  She had always wondered whether Naraku had any sanity left after being holed up behind that shield for so many years, and this latest display was making her doubt even more.

His mirth rapidly dying down, he spoke once again in a more sober tone.  “Even if it is not time to make our presence known to our dear friend, it is time to let this city take notice of the fact that things are soon to change for the worse.  I want you to stir up the demons in this city—get the attention of the Order, and let them know that things will not be quite so peaceful as they have been in recent years.  Understand?”

She nodded mutely, then quickly turned to leave, quite eager to be out of the cavern and away from her questionable master.

“Kagura.”  His ominous voice stopped her dead in her tracks, and she slowly looked back over her shoulder.

“Yes, my lord?”

“Do not, under any circumstances, give Inu-Yasha wind of your presence.  Not until I give the order.  Do not forget what may happen if you do…”  The human hand extended once again from the orb, although this time it was holding something.  It was a slimy, red, pulsating lump with tubes that grew out of the flesh of Naraku’s forearm.

Kagura moaned slightly and glanced away, knowing exactly what that thing was.  Putting a hand to her chest where the lump in his hand should have been, she nodded dumbly.  “…I won’t forget.”

“Good.  Now go.”

With that order, she practically fled from the cavern, desperate to get away from him and all of his insanity.

oOoOoOoOoOo

Inu-Yasha blinked slowly as he rose from the depths of sleep; he hardly wanted to wake up at all, he was so comfortable, but, strange as it was, he felt no desire to continue his slumber.  Most mornings it was a chore to simply open his eyes, and even when he did, a pounding headache usually sufficed to clamp them shut once again.  But this morning he felt rather odd, and he slowly realized it was because he wasn’t hungover.  He had no headache, no queasy stomach, and no aching muscles.  Light didn’t attack his eyes and sounds didn’t assault his ears, and for once he actually felt fine.

Sitting up a bit, although being careful no disturb the sleeping woman on his lap, he glanced off to the right out the window and saw a deep lavender sky, littered with little grey clouds as remnants of the rainy days past.  In between the tall buildings, tiny shots of sunlight streamed through as the sun slowly peeked its face over the horizon.  For a few moments, he was mesmerized; he hadn’t seen a sunrise in eight years.  Or, if he had, he was too drunk from staying up all night drinking to remember it when he finally did awake.

After staring at it for a little while, he let out a soft sigh and looked down at Kagome, who was still sound asleep on his lap.  Carefully, so as not wake her, he laid his hand on her forehead, then allowed a small, victorious grin to cross his face—her fever must have broke during the night.  Unable to keep a strange, happy feeling from bubbling up in his chest, he picked up the remote from its place on the arm of the couch and turned the TV on, immediately lowering the volume.  However, the sudden flood of light in the room caused her to stir, and she slowly opened her eyes, staring at the screen for a moment before glancing up at Inu-Yasha.

“Sorry…” he said sheepishly, setting the remote down.  “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“Mm…  ‘Sokay…” she murmured sleepily, shifting a little on his lap and pulling the blankets up.  Within moments she was asleep again, and Inu-Yasha let out a small sigh of relief.  A sense of peace settled over the room as he gazed at the television, listening with half an ear to Kagome’s soft snores.  He felt so calm and relaxed, as he had never felt in many years, and found that he was actually… happy.

The realization caught him off-guard.  ‘Happy’ was an emotion that he had given up on long ago.  Nowadays, ‘happy’ to him meant getting so drunk that he didn’t know better.  So to experience the feeling without a bottle of liquor clouding his senses…  he hardly knew what to do.

Suddenly, his thought process was shattered with the harsh ring of the telephone, which, in the quiet of the early morning, was as loud as a freight train and was enough to make both him and Kagome practically leap out of their skin.  Uttering a foul curse, he quickly got up and set both pillows on the cushion, urging Kagome to lie back down with a, “I got it, I got it…”

With a furious scowl, he strode into the kitchen where they had moved the telephone when he had broken his side table and snatched up the thunderous appliance, effectively ending the assault on their ear drums.

“Ah, Kagome, good morning,” came Miroku’s slightly harried voice before Inu-Yasha even had the chance to snarl an inappropriate greeting.  “I apologize for calling so early, but something has come up.  We have an assignment for you and Inu-Yasha, if you want it.  For some reason, there have been fights breaking out all on the west end of town, and all of them are demon-related.  Some of the issues have been demons damaging homes and businesses, some of it is demons fighting each other, there are some demons attacking cars on the roads…  We haven’t a clue why it’s started, but we need assistance.  Do you think Inu-Yasha will be sober enough to lend a hand soon?  Things are getting a little out of hand, and we need as much help as possible.  We’re stretched a little thin as-is—even Sango has gone down to help, so—“

“This ain’t Kagome,” Inu-Yasha growled into the mouthpiece, already tired of listening to his friend talk.

“Wha—Inu-Yasha, is that you?  What are you doing up so early?  Have you been drinking all night?  Honestly, I thought you said you wanted to quit.”

“Yes, it’s me, and no, I haven’t been drinking all night,” he snapped in reply, tapping his claws in annoyance on the counter.  “Kagome’s sick.  I was takin’ care of her, so I didn’t have the chance to get drunk, all right?”

“You’re taking care of Kagome?” Miroku said in return, a touch of disbelief in his tone.  “Isn’t that supposed to be the other way around?”

His lip curling up in a snarl, he said, “She got caught in the rain yesterday and now has a cold, why is that so hard to believe?!”

“That is not what’s so hard to believe, it’s the fact that you’re the one taking care of her.”

“I’m the only one around to do it, who else would---arrgh, never mind!!  It’s not important!  The point is, Kagome is sick, so we can’t do the assignment.  Find someone else.”

“But why can’t you come?  Kagome is a nurse, Inu-Yasha.  I’m sure she can take care of herself for a couple of hours while you help us out.  Please?  Sango is pulling her hair out over this.”

With a frustrated growl, Inu-Yasha finally snapped, “Fine.  I’ll be there in a minute,” before abruptly hanging up, clearly displeased with the situation.    He didn’t want to leave Kagome, for he was concerned for her health, but Miroku did have a point—she was a nurse, and did know how to take care of herself.  He could easily leave for a little while and she would be just fine on her own.

Sighing, he slowly moved around the kitchen, heating a mug of water for her tea and setting out her morning dose of medicine.  He certainly wanted to make sure she was as comfortable as possible before he left.  Once the tea had steeped, he carefully balanced the medicine and a glass of water in one hand and her mug in the other and carried them out to the coffee table, crouching down beside the couch so he could talk to her.

She had not yet fallen back asleep after being rudely jolted awake by the telephone, and was in fact watching the news on TV, fairly alert.  She quickly sat up a bit and turned her attention to him when he walked in, and he was relieved to see that her eyes were not quite the dull grey they had been the day before.

“You have an assignment?” she asked, her voice rough only with sleep, not with illness anymore.

He nodded, handing her the pills and the glass of water.  “Yeah.  Apparently a bunch of demons are causing a ruckus downtown, and Sango’s freaking out about it.  Will you be all right by yourself?  I won’t leave if you need me to stay.”

Kagome smiled a bit at the open sincerity in his expression, but she shook her head.  “I’ll be fine, don’t worry.  I’m feeling much better already.  Besides, I think I’ll just be asleep for most of the day again.  That seemed to do me the most good, right?”

Inu-Yasha seemed to droop a little at the statement, but he nodded in agreement.  “Yeah.  All right, I guess I’ll go…”  As he made to stand, he was suddenly stopped when Kagome grabbed his shirt sleeve.  He looked at her in surprise.

“Inu-Yasha…  Thank you for all you’ve done for me—you really have helped.”  She smiled encouragingly at him, especially when he seemed to brighten, almost imperceptively at the comment.  “But you do have a job, and that job does come before me, all right?  So go and help the city, and I’ll be here when you get back.”

With a determined nod, he stood and strode out of the apartment, trying to keep a proud smile from breaking his features; he had been hoping that he helped her in some way, and to hear her acknowledge it made all the difference in the world.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

It was well after dark when Inu-Yasha finally creaked open the door to his apartment, panting heavily and leaning against the doorframe.  The day had been dreadful.  He had no idea what had sparked such a massive outbreak of misbehavior from the city’s demon population, but it had been exhausting trying to fight back every imp, ogre, and goblin that was terrorizing the downtown area.  Almost the entire Order had been there to fight, every cleaning crew on hand was there to repair damaged roads, light fixtures, traffic signals, and even the city’s police force was involved, due to the amazing number of incidences.  Nothing had been fatal or deadly, for most of the demons were only minor ones and knew only how to play pranks and the like, but the total chaos that ensued was enough to make Inu-Yasha was to pull his hair out in frustration.  But at last the final demon had been slayed, the police had restored order, and only the cleaning crew was needed to repair the damage.  Inu-Yasha had been asked to stay and discuss the meaning behind the influx of demons by Sango, but he only had to glare at her with his tired, bloodshot eyes, for his temper was at its breaking point, and she stepped aside to let him go home.

“Inu-Yasha?”  Kagome shuffled out of the kitchen to greet him, wrapped up in three blankets to ward off the frigid air in the apartment.  She still was very pale and clearly did not have much energy, but he couldn’t help but let out a soft sigh to see that she was on her feet.  “Oh my goodness, is everything all right?  You look horrible!”

“I’m fine…” he grumbled, too tired and cranky to listen to any coddling Kagome might have to offer.  His disposition, which had been so pleasant that morning, had rapidly deteriorated through the course of the day, and he could now hardly keep a civil tongue around even Kagome.  “There was just a lot of stuff to do…”  He rubbed his eyes tiredly with a trembling hand.

“Well here, why don’t you go lie do—ah…ahh…ah-CHOO!!”  Sniffing, she smiled sheepishly at him and said, “Um, lie down.”

Fixing her with the sternest glare he could muster, he took hold of her arm and led her back over to the couch, gently pushing her onto the cushions.  “You lie down,” he growled.  “Were you making tea in there?”  She nodded in reply.  “Good, I’ll go get it for you.”

Going into the kitchen, he glanced dazedly at the mug on the table and saw that it wasn’t finished steeping, so he took the opportunity to scrub all of the dirt and grime off his face and hands; the cleaning crew had allowed him the use of some cleaning supplies to get the blood off his claws, but he was still filthy from the fighting, and didn’t want to contaminate her tea.

As he stood with his hands under the hot water at the kitchen sink, he slowly shut his eyes and let out a soft moan; he was utterly exhausted, but he couldn’t quite figure out why.  Yes, there had been  a strange number of demons about and yes, it had been a very long day, but he still shouldn’t be quite this tired—perhaps he had caught Kagome’s cold?  Roughly, he shook his head; his demon blood prevented him from ever catching a cold.  But what else could it be? 

As he stood there, pondering the issue, he slowly started to notice how badly his hands were shaking underneath the flow of water, and how thirsty and dry his throat was, and it was then he finally realized that he hadn’t had a swallow of whiskey in two days.  He had been so busy with Kagome and all of the demons that day that he had never noticed that niggling feeling in his limbs that reminded him of what was to happen if he didn’t get a drink soon.  But now that he finally had the chance to breathe, his body jumped at the opportunity to remind him of its needs.

Leaning heavily against the sink, he leaned over the basin and took deep, slow breaths, trying to calm his trembling limbs as the damning whiskey craving coursed through his veins with a vengeance, furious at being ignored for so long.  His head started to pound, and for a moment the world swirled in his vision, until he finally let out a sharp growl and shook his head, bringing his senses back into order.

No, no, no! he thought, clenching his jaw to stop a groan from escaping.  Not until Kagome’s better!  Just a little longer…  I’ll be fine…  Slowly straightening, though he couldn’t ignore the terrible weakness in his limbs, he strode over and snagged Kagome’s mug of tea and, after dropping the tea bag in the trash, carried it out to the living for her.

As he handed her the mug, she noticed how violently the liquid inside was sloshing around due to his unsteady hand and quickly looked up at him, concern in her eyes.  He pointedly ignored it, asking gruffly, “Have you taken your last dose of medicine for the night?”  She nodded slowly, not taking her eyes off him.  “Good.”

“Here,” she said, carefully sitting up and pulling her pillows out of the way.  “You need to sit down for a while, you look dead on your feet.”

“Hmph.”  He scowled at the comment, but his legs were beginning to shake underneath him, so he collapsed onto the couch, doing his best to hold back a sigh of relief.  Kagome, after giving him a questioning glance to which he nodded slightly, placed a pillow on his lap and carefully lay back down, settling comfortably into the same position in which she had slept so peacefully the night before.  For a few moments they sat quietly, mindlessly watching television, but Kagome found herself unable to relax.

Inu-Yasha was incredibly tense beneath her; she could easily feel his discomfort and stress.  Looking up at his face, she saw that his jaw was clenched and a muscle in his cheek was throbbing.  His right hand, which was hanging off the arm of the couch, was trembling like mad, and his foot was tapping irritably against the leg of the coffee table.  A sad smile broke her features when she realized what was wrong with him.  However, she decided not to say anything; if he wasn’t going to do anything about it, then she knew it wouldn’t help if she pestered him.  So, to take his mind off it, she decided to start a conversation.

“What was the assignment all about?” she asked quietly, her voice still a little thick from congestion.  “I saw things all over the news, but they weren’t very clear about what was going on.”

“Buncha minor demons wreaking havoc,” Inu-Yasha grunted between clenched teeth, never taking his eyes off the TV screen.  “No deaths, except theirs.  Just a lot of accidents.”

“Do you know why they all suddenly attacked?”

“Nope.  Nobody knows.”  Glaring down at her, he said harshly, “Now stop talkin’, you need to go to sleep.  You can worry about that stuff when you feel better.”

Shrinking back a bit, she said in return, “But I do feel better…”

“Shut up,” he growled back, clearly in no mood to argue.  “Go to sleep.”

A little hurt by how abruptly he spoke to her, she quickly fell silent and rested her head back on the pillow, this time not snuggling into him as she had in times prior.  Noticing this lack of familiarity, Inu-Yasha finally groaned and rested his head in his hand, raking his claws through his bangs.

“Dammit, Kagome, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it…” he muttered, keeping his eyes shut tight.  “It’s just…  Ah, never mind.”

Kagome glanced up at him, then let out a quiet sigh and settled back down, acting a bit more warm to him.  She knew his withdrawal was sending his temper off, but she also knew that arguing with him to go and drink would only serve to confuse him more, and most likely make him dig his feet in and abstain even longer, something she did not want to continue.  So, she simply opted to lay her hand on his knee and say softly, “…It’s okay.”  He let out a soft growl, directed at himself, and gently gave her arm a squeeze.

With that minor altercation over, Kagome finally decided that it really was time to sleep.  She had dozed all day long, but had been concerned over the assignment he had been sent on and tried to stay awake to keep an eye on the news.  But now that he was back, she could at last settle into a deep sleep, and hopefully kick her cold once and for all.  Pulling the covers up over her shoulders, she nuzzled her head into the pillow and shut her eyes, ready to rest.

However, once again Inu-Yasha’s tension prevented her from relaxing.  He was not comfortable to rest on at all, his whole body was so stiff and stressed.  She tried to sleep, but had little luck.  It came as a relief to her when, twenty minutes later, he finally slid out from under her, unable to restrain himself any longer.

“I’m sorry, dammit!” he shouted in frustration as leapt over the coffee table and ran out the door.

Kagome blinked, a little surprised by how suddenly he had cracked, but she simply shook her head and added the second pillow back to her stack now that he had gone.  She hated to see him torture himself like that, but she knew that his feelings to protect her and care for her were very recent, and in the face of an eight-year addiction, they were no match.  With a light sigh, she lay down on the pillows once again and settled in for some rest.

oOoOoOo

Kagome awoke in the early hours of the morning with a terrible thirst, her throat so dry that it was difficult to swallow.  Blearily, she sat up and stared around, a little confused as to why it was pitch black in the room, but soon realized that the TV was off, leaving only a blank black box to stare at.  Peering at the digital clock sitting on top of the television, she saw that it was just past two in the morning.

With a raspy cough, she decided that a glass of water was definitely in order should she want to return to sleep that night, so she gathered a blanket about her shoulders and stumbled into the kitchen, blinking suddenly when the dazzling light hit her sleep-blurred eyes.  For a few moments, she stood still in the doorway, blinking the spots from her vision and trying to recall if it was she who had left the lights on.  However, when her vision cleared, she realized that Inu-Yasha had opted to take sanctuary in the kitchen we he returned home, rather than disturb her on the couch.  He was seated at the kitchen table with his head resting next to a half-empty bottle of whiskey and his hand wrapped around an empty tumbler.  He was frowning deeply in his sleep, clearly resting uneasily, but the smothering blanket of alcohol made certain that he stayed trapped in his whiskey dreams.

Staring sleepily at him for a few seconds, Kagome finally turned around and plodded back into the living room, pulling one of her pillows off the couch before returning back to the kitchen.  She carefully tugged the tumbler from his grasp to make room for the pillow on the table, then gently lifted his head enough to slide the pillow underneath it.  Then, though the chilly air in the room nipped at her weak body, she slipped the blanket off her shoulders and tucked it around Inu-Yasha’s, making certain it would stay should he shift at all during the rest of his slumber.  He let out a soft moan at her touch, but she merely smiled and playfully flicked his ear.  His ear twitched in response, and his sleep remained unaffected.

A wide yawn breaking her features, she knew it was time to go back to bed.  Quickly draining a glass of water, she shuffled out of the kitchen, then paused in the doorway and turned back to look at the demon slumped over the table; she knew the day had been rather difficult for him, but deep down, she hoped that perhaps he had learned something from it, and that would bring him one step closer to figuring out the real reason he needed to quit drinking.

With a tired smile, she whispered quietly, “Good night, Inu-Yasha,” and then she turned out the lights.

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There you have it, I hope you enjoyed reading it.  Please leave a review and let me know your thoughts on this chapter!

A/N: Just to let y’all know, I will be going on a mission trip to West Virginia for a week.  I will be out in the boonies and surrounded by mountains with no computers, let alone internet access, for my use.  So please be patient until I get back.  Thanks! ^__^