Eyes Wide Shut

Chapter Sixteen: Home is where the Heart is.

Nataseria never really thought about death before. Never lay awake pondering what mysteries could be found beyond the tunnel of white light. It wasn’t something sane, well-adjusted demons did.

But staring at the writhing, steaming, hissing, gurgling, black mass on his kitchen floor, he had the sudden idea that maybe death might not be such a far away subject. Black, vile, oily smoke drifted in his direction as black and purple slime oozed over his once perfect Spanish tile. The thing, was on the move.

Nataseria was usually the man screaming at the movie screen for whomever dumb shit wasn’t running away from the big monster, to get up and do so. But now, he was too busy vomiting up his intestines to care about snarky comments. After the last heave, his eyes darting back to the ever closer blob, he staggered into a run towards the door. He was fast, but the black mass was apparently faster.

As he reached the door, a wet sucking noise and a whistling was his only warning. Ducking to the side, he turned to stare in horror as two long dripping strands of the creature attached themselves to the wood on either side of his body. Trapping him.

There was a cackling in his ears, the scent of carrion and wet rotting things filled his nose. He turned and started at the door, claws extended, ripping through the soft wood in seconds. He was through the shattered frame even as another sickening wet whistle signaled the creature preparing another attack. Running in a zig zag pattern down his drive way, Nataseria prayed. He prayed for himself, for Kagome, and for a god damned miracle. He was half way down the street, desperately sticking to the bare patches of light the street lamps provided, when he realized he hadn’t made a clean get-away.

Staring in unabashed terror at the small drop of black crawling down his arm, Nataseria felt death drop by to say it respects.

#

Inuyasha didn’t bother saying goodbye to Kouga, instead opting to simply drop his cell phone and run. Kagome was back. Kagome was back! Kagome was back and pissed off, apparently. He didn’t care if she was back and happy, as long as she was back.

The drive to Kouga’s building was… was highly illegal. Darting in between a delivery truck and an expensive looking bimmer, Inuyasha felt the leather tearing off the steering wheel under his claws. Not that he cared.

With a squeal of tires his car thundered into the underground parking garage. He might have locked the car, he might not have. In fact, there was a good chance he locked the keys inside and left the car running. But Inuyasha had other things to worry about.

The elevator ride was beyond torturous. Leaving claw marks on all four walls, and a palm indented hand rail behind him, Inuyasha stormed into Kouga’s penthouse. A quick sniff, and another led Inuyasha to a guest bedroom he himself had slept in on many a tough case. He ignored the elegant furnishings oandthe millions of dollars of down town skyline. Without thinking, threw the closed door separating him from Kagome off its hinges and stepped into a hot, hazy fog.

Only to be greeted with an angry squeal. Ears flicking nervously back and forth, he peered blearily past the fog. Only to realize this was a bathroom, and Kagome was in the shower.

“Inuyasha, what in gods name do you think you are doing—ahhhh!”

The ending shriek was because Inuyasha had stepped foreword blindly was currently opening the shower door and stepping in, clothes and all. Inuyasha ignored whatever she was screaming at hi, it was going to be repeated anyway, and ignored the water drenching him. Instead, he reached out and dragged her to him. He almost ignored the way her soft, wet body molded easily against the hard planes of his chest, but really, who could ignore that.

Wrapping her tightly against himself, he leaned down, only to whisper softly in her ear.

“Don’t ever do that to me again. I don’t think I would survive” He felt her go stiff against him, but he simply nuzzled her hair where it clung to the side of her face. Sliding his hand up her side blatantly he then let the naughty appendage rest softly on her face as she stared up at up him in startled wonder. Slowly, so she could avoid him if she wanted to, he lowered his head to hers. It was only a soft brush of lips against lips, a gentle first kiss, but it was enough. He slowly, oh so slowly, ran his tongue along the seem of their lips, asking for entrance. She granted and Inuyasha found the route to heaven. Or hell, depending on which way he wanted to look at it.

They were allowed a few short moments together before reality rained on the parade. Inuyasha vaguely heard a toilet flush next door, but ignored it in favor of rubbing his tongue softly against Kagome’s. But the resulting cold water dumped upon the pair was enough to let reality set in.

Kagome gasped, and not in a good way, as the icy water hit her back. Jumping away from his, behind the spray, she furiously rubbed at her arms. Inuyasha idly noted he actually did need the cold water. He was busy staring. She glared at him, he barely noticed. She turned the water off, back to him, a little disappointing, and when the last droplet landed, she finally spoke.

“Inuysha, please get out. I need to get dressed”

”Kagome… I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking-“

“I know, neither was I.”

The resulting silence was long, tense, and awkward. He shook hi head, water flying everywhere, before slowly stepping out into the now cold bathroom air. Turning to leave, he was topped by the sound of her voice.

“Inuysha, I need a towel.”

“Sure Kagome.”

#

It took Kagome an hour to get ready. Inuyasha lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling. When she was finally ready, the two pointedly kept the silence long, tense and awkward as they headed to Kouga’s office.

Inuyasha, very uncomfortable in a set of Kouga’s clothes, had to stop from his newly acquired habit of fidgeting as the elevator dinged them onto the floor. Kouga was lounging on one of his famous leather chairs, waiting for them. He smiled tiredly at the pair as they walked up to him.

“So, Kagome, how much did Inuyasha flip out when he saw you?” She blushed and stuttered into an explanation.

“Well… he did kinda… freak out.” Inuyasha rolled his eyes and flipped Kouga’s smiling face the bird.

“Yeah, I’m sure he did”

Inuyasha growled low under his breath and followed grumpily into the office. Kouga turned and offered another set of leather chairs near his desk, before plopping down, legs propped up on the expensive oak.

“So, Kagome my dear, why don’t you bring us up to speed.”

She sighed and ran a hand through her hair, settling in. “Alright, it started when you dumped Ayame all those long years ago, and she went batshit crazy. And the thing you’re chasing is a piece of Naraku, which has been fostered in poor kidnapped demons. Your ex CREATED A NEW NARAKU! Way to go Kouga.”

Inuysha sighed and closed his eyes, this was going to take a while.

#

Many long stretches of talking, complaining, and much screaming, they three were interrupted by Kouga’s door almost being thrown off its hinges. In ran a rather disheveled wolf demon whom Kagome vaguely remembered from various crime scenes.

He gasped for a moment before speaking.

“They’ve found a new victim!”

The three, after a garbled explanation from the nameless wolf demon, trudged out into the night. Kouga’s building was swarming with demons and human policemen. As a caravan, they moved out into the night. Kagome sat in the back seat of Kouga’s car and felt something inside her twist.

She knew this neighborhood. She knew that street sign, and that house, and that car. This was Nataseria’s neighborhood. A they turned onto his street, she felt the cold blanket of panic set in.

They pulled into his driveway, and Kagome was lost. She didn’t bother with tears, or screams. Instead she simply put her hand on Kouga’s shoulder as they approached the house. ”This is… this is Nataseria’s house.”

Kouga paused in mid stride. “Damn”.

Inuyasha came up beside her, let out a shuddering breath, and softly said in her ear “I’m sorry, Kagome.”

Walking into the house was a step through time. There had been a battle. All she could see was blood. Blood on white, blood and gore everywhere. The stench of it was killing her. Walking in a daze past blood spatter and policemen, Inuyasha close at her heels, she felt like death chewing on a cracker.

Walking up to the bedroom, she felt her heart give a little stutter. Kouga stood, blocking the door, his face set and stony. She opened her mouth to protest but Kouga shook his head violently from side to side. “No Kagome, you don’t need to see this.” Inuyasha rumbled agreement behind her.

“Kouga… move the fuck out of the way”

He did.

The bedroom was spotless. She could see the picture of them taken at beach, right on his bedside table. Tears chocked her throat in a strangle hold. Eyes blurry she almost didn’t see what had case the read stain on the wall, just above the headboard. Walking foreword, the choking stench of miasma slowly getting weaker by her presence, she stepped until her knees bumped the bed.

It was a heart. Nailed to the wall. Red trails dawn in slow dripping rivulets down the bleached white on the wall even as pale moonlight bathed the entire scene in a pure wash of white. She felt bile rise in her throat. A sick wave moving upwards in her body. His heart. Nataseria’s heart. Vaguely she heard someone walk up behind her, several some ones.

“T.O.D. about three and a half hours ago. Poor bastard, this is sick shit.” She ignored the policeman, in favor of slowly turning on her heel. She could do this. Slowly pacing to the door, past Inuyasha’s strained face, she suddenly realized what exactly three and a half hours entailed.

Letting out a strangled sob, she staggered into the living room, Inuyasha close behind. Almost sitting down on the blood spattered couch, she somehow made it to the door. The cold night air hit her like a cool blanket settling over her skin. Taking several deep breaths, she turned to face Inuyasha.

“Do you realize what we were doing three and a half hours ago?” Inuyasha stared for a long string of heartbeats.

“We… we were…” He trailed off unable to finish.

“I was being dishonest to him, as he died Inuyasha.” He opened his mouth instantly to protest. But closed it, knowing everything he could say would only made it worse. Silent tears were running over porcelain cheeks.

Inuyasha sighed.

“What do you want me to say Kagome?”

Tears were his only answer.

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Woot! Its short, but sweet. (did any one notice the amount of sighing, everyone was doing?)

Hopefully I can update fairly soon. Well, soon for me. Again, Please and thank you to all reviews/pimages and shout outs.
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