The Guardian

One Week Later…

Kagome stared out the window of the transit bus that carried her across the Bay Bridge. Every since that incident with those strange guys, which now she was sure a dream, weird things started happening to her.

She was beginning to see things…

She wondered if her hermit life was finally getting to her. Humans were not meant to be alone all the time. She had been alone for two years. She only talked to the people she worked with and then went home to her quiet one bedroom apartment. Her phone rarely rung unless it was a debt collector or someone had the wrong number. Her weekends were the worse, she didn't look forward to spending two days completely by herself and often went back to San Francisco to blend in with the crowd. She often lived in a world where her imagination kept her company, but now she was beginning to wonder if she was confusing reality with her fantasy world.

She sighed and leaned further back in the plush cushioned seats. The fog was thick today. Coming from her town, the sun had been shining and the skies were clear. There was something about entering into San Francisco that seemed to change the entire world. As soon as the bus started across the bridge, the fog began to grow so thick; she couldn't see the city across the water. It was eerie at times.

A red glow began to appear in the fog as she stared out the window. She frowned wondering what it was. The glow got bigger and bigger then another red glow which was the same size and shape appeared beside it. They almost looked like two huge eyes…. "What the?" She sat up in alarm when they appeared to blink.

The two glowing red eyes were almost the size of the bus and they seemed to be staring right at her. She looked around to see if others on the bus saw them. No one seemed to notice except her. The eyes began disappeared gradually. A few seconds later, something that resembled a huge scaly tail swung across her view and disappeared in the fog. She swallowed there was no doubt she was going crazy.

Kagome couldn't wait to get to work so she didn't have to be alone with herself. She always felt better around people. Perhaps she should talk to someone about the things she'd been seeing. Then again, they already considered her strange, to tell them would push them further away.

The city finally appeared through the fog as the bus drove unto the exit. Kagome got off the bus quickly and made her way to Starbucks. Their coffee always made her feel better and more alert, perhaps she was just in a daze and not quite awoke.

A shadow crossed her path as she made her way down the street. She stopped and looked around. Those shadows had been following her for a while. They definitely were not hers from the size and shape of them. They seemed to be everywhere. She constantly felt she was being watched when she was alone. Was she suffering from paranoid schizophrenia?

"I'm truly going crazy," she mumbled to herself.

"You're not crazy." A dark, masculine voice seemed to invade her brain. She turned around thinking it was someone behind her. Her dark hair cascaded in an array of black silk before settling back on her shoulders. "You're beautiful." The voice said again.

There were hundreds of people walking the streets, but only one man stood out from the rest of them. This man was unlike anyone she had ever seen. He was unnaturally good-looking in a dark, evil sort of way. He had pale skin and long violet hair that hung down to his waist. Unlike the strange men she'd met a week ago, this one had a dark aura about him that she could actually see snaking off his body like smoke. He wore a long black leather coat that was open displaying his black turtle- neck sweater and leather jeans. The belt around his waist seemed to be made of small skulls. He was staring straight at her as if she was his destination. She should have turned back around, but she couldn't. Something about him held her in place. It as if she was experiencing de ja vu all over again. As he got closer, she could see his that his eyes weren't brown, but black. A cold shiver went down her spine. Something told her this thing was not human, but a monster in a man's body.

"Don't be afraid," he said when he got close enough to speak. "I just wanted to see you in person. You are so very lovely, my dear."

His voice was hypnotic, sexy and so were the black voids that were his eyes as he stared down at her. "We can do great things together, you and I. Join me and you will never be alone again, I promise you."

Kagome closed her eyes as a feeling of belonging swept over her. Nothing mattered anymore except this foreign wonderful emotion and the sound of his voice. She felt extremely wanted, needed, desired. It felt so good to her. Was this what it was like to belong to someone?

"Kagome," the strange man whispered her name seductively. "When you open your eyes, you will see my world as well as your own." She could feel cold lips brushing against her cheek. "I want you to be mine. I've always wanted you. Why do you think I never allowed anyone to get close to you."

"Get away from her Naraku!"

The second voice startled her out of her daze. She opened her eyes. Nothing. It was as if nothing had ever happened. Her ears were once again filled with the noise and bustling traffic of the city. People walked passed her and gave her curious looks as she stood in the middle of the sidewalk confused and extremely freaked out.

She needed help. She really was losing her mind.

Kagome forgot her coffee as she ran to work.

"Damn it!" Inuyasha yelled angrily as Naraku disappeared before he could stop him. He looked around for Shippou who was supposed to be watching Kagome while he was away. Shippou came out of Starbucks sipping from a cup in his hand.

"Oh my god, you got to try this! I've never had anything like it. They call it…let me see…the name is so long…oh yeah… it's a Mint Mocha Chip Frappuccino blended coffee with Chocolate Whipped is so good!"

Inuyasha stared at the young man enjoying his drink so enthusiastically. He walked over to him and slapped it out of his hand.

"What the hell? Why did you do that? You bastard!" Shippou stared down at his wonderful coffee as it spilled over the pavement and ran into a drain.

Inuyasha grabbed him by his collar and glared into his face. "Where is Kagome?" He asked in a deceptively calm voice.

"She's right…here." Shippou blinked as he looked around. "Well she was heading to Starbucks. I thought I might as well get something too."

Inuyasha let him go. "I should have known not to leave her alone in your care. I was only gone for ten minutes. Ten minutes, Shippou!" Inuyasha had walked away to grab them something to eat. Naraku was here. He did something to her while you were being careless."

"Naraku? That vile fuck? Did he hurt her? Where is she?"

"If I hadn't come back when I did, who knows what he would have done to her. If Kagome ever got under his control, everyone in this world would be doomed. Do you understand me?"

Shippou nodded seriously. "I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

"Let's go, before she gets into anymore trouble," Inuyasha said as they headed to Kagome's job.

"You know I think Kagome is the sweetest woman in the world. Just yesterday, she walked outside her apartment and saw this dead cat on the sidewalk. I don't know what it died from since it's body was still in one piece. You usually see them all flat and busted from getting ran over, this one probably died of natural causes. It was still cute and fluffy, but dead you know? Anyway, Kagome felt so bad for it that she actually kneeled beside it and laid her hands on it. She caressed it and then she got up and walked away. And guess what? That cat came back to life right in front of my eyes. It suddenly jerked and then it opened it eyes and stood up and ran away."

"She's a guardian. What do you expect?"

"But she didn't even know she had healed it."

Inuyasha glanced at Shippou. "Do me a favor and lay off the starbuck drinks." Shippou's constant chatter was getting on his last nerves. His heart had nearly stopped out of fear when he saw how close Naraku was to Kagome. How could such evil stand to be so close to something so pure? Then again, Kagome's pureness was drawing everything to her, good and evil. She was like a homing device.

Kagome was relieved to finally be at work. At least here, she knew nothing ever happened here. She use to complain about how boring her job was, but now boring was a very good thing. She didn't want to see anything, she didn't want anything strange happening to her. This was filing good old dusty files in an empty room, nothing about it would ever change.

She worked steadily for four hours by herself. No one disturbed her. Her nerves were finally settling down from her latest incident with insanity when someone walked into the room. It was Jamie. Jamie was the only one who was very blatant about her dislike of Kagome. Kagome had always been nice to her and never did anything to cause Jamie to hate her so much, but she did. Now Kagome knew the reason why.

On top of Jamie's shoulder sat a little demon the size of a puppy. It had grey leather-like skin, red eyes and black webbed wings. The claws on its feet dug into Jamie's skin. Jamie had always complained about having problems with her left shoulder. The muscles were always sore and her skin was always red and irritated. Now Kagome knew why. She could hear the demon whispering dirty little things into Jamie ear about her. And Jamie, who was completely obvious to what was happening to her, thought that tiny evil voice were her own thoughts.

"Look at her, always trying to look so innocent and sweet. Miss Holier than everybody always has to be isolated in this room away from us sinners. Doesn't want to be associated with us because we drink, smoke and actually go to clubs. She needs to get a life, nobody cares what she thinks."

Jamie slammed the stack of files she was carrying on Kagome's desk and spoke to her in her usual sweet sickening voice laced with sarcasm. "These need to be labeled, boxed up and sent off by tomorrow. Maybe you can finish early so they'll let you out of your cage. You know, I had a funny thought when I saw you earlier. You remind me of a monkey when you scratch your head while you're staring down at the files. It's so funny to me. Oh and you really should spray in here every once in a while; your body odor is filling up the room. I can understand if there's a group of people in here, but it's only you. Just trying to be helpful, sweetie. Bye!" She walked out with a smirk on her face happy to know she had hurt Kagome's feeling once again.

Kagome watched her walk away. She knew she shouldn't let Jamie get to her, especially after seeing that demon on her shoulder. "When you open your eyes you will see my world as well as your own." She remembered what that strange man had told her. She had been seeing strange things for a week, but never anything evil until now. "I want you to be mine. I've always wanted you. Why do you think I never allowed anyone to get close to you." What did he mean by that? What he said…could he be the cause of her loneliness? Had he taken away her right to be loved by another human being? What if that thing had caused everyone she ever cared about to turn away from her? If what he said was true, then it would explain a lot.

Her watch beeped letting her know it was time to take her lunch break. She needed some fresh air. Deep in thought, she ignored everyone as she walked out of the building. That man or thing had given her a feeling she had always wanted, a feeling of being needed. It had felt so good to her that she had wanted to stay with him. At that moment she hadn't cared that he seemed to be evil. It was almost as if he was luring her into his arms by exploiting her vulnerability. When he disappeared, that feeling had gone with him. Once again, she felt completely alone. She walked outside and went on the side of the building so no one could see the tears running down her face. She had learned to deal with being alone. She had conquered the fear of something bad happening to her and having no one to be there for her. She had learn to deal with all of that by cutting herself off from the world. Now that strange man had broken down that wall by giving her what she needed so much and taking it away.

"I can't live like this," she said softly. "I can't take it anymore."

Her shoulders suddenly felt heavy, as if something had landed on them, but she was too wrapped up in her thoughts to be alarmed.

You have suffered all your life, well beyond what a normal person can take. You deserve to rest. Besides, you're beginning to go crazy and nobody is going to be around to take care of you. You should just end it right now. Put yourself out of your misery once and for all.

No one will ever be here for you. You will always be alone and you will die alone.

It's better to die now around a lot of people than to go home and die in your bed where no one will ever know. At least this way, people will be around to take care of your body, they will give you a proper funeral.

You will die in dignity.

It will be better to end it right here than to rot away at home for months before people discover your dead body from the sickening stench." Tiny voices whispered in her ears.

She got up and began to walk towards the streets. Market street was full of cable cars and oncoming traffic, she would die immediately and then it would be over. She couldn't take the pain anymore.

"What is she doing?" Shippou asked. "And what the hell are those things on her shoulders?"

"They're called Manip Demons, Naraku's nasty little pets. They trick humans into doing bad things. They make them think it's their own thoughts telling them what to do and then strike when the humans are at their most vulnerable peak. Naraku must have done something really bad to Kagome to make them appear."

"Inuyasha…you don't think she's going to…I mean, she's heading towards the street, the light is green and she isn't stopping."

"She wouldn't…" Inuyasha said in disbelief.

Kagome was tired, she was so very tired of living, if she even dared to call what she was going through a life. She had attempted to be happy, but failed miserably. Now it was time to move on.

She stepped off the curb into the street and watched a bus head right for her. She could see the look of fear in the driver's face as he tried to stop the at the last minute, Kagome almost laughed. What a comical way to end her life, then again, hadn't her life been one big joke to begin with? She closed her eyes and braced herself for the impact.

Nothing happened. ..

Instead ,she felt strong arms wrapped tightly around her holding her close against a hard chest. The pavement had disappeared beneath her feet. Her legs dangled loosely in the air. Had she died? She had to admit that being hit by a bus had been painless. She hadn't felt a thing. Now, an angel had grabbed her spirit and was taking her to heaven.

"I'm far from an angel and you're not going to heaven. If you had succeeded in killing yourself, you would be going to hell. Your friend, Naraku would have happily welcomed you there. Fucking weak ass humans..ugh!" The masculine voice yelled in disgust.

Kagome began to shake. This was too much for her.