Wrong Place, Never the Right Time by Oroyukae

Always On The Run

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Just something I had laying around gathering dust. I hope you enjoy it. Ciao!

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Nervously, she gazed around her with no real idea as to where she even was. Every little noise only heightened her sense of panic and played utter havoc on her skittish nerves to the point that she could literally cry. It wasn't right, this predicament that she found herself in. She had done nothing wrong...not like they claim that she did anyway. Yeah she had been there, but she had absolutely nothing to do with what happened. The only thing that she was truly guilty of was believing that truth and justice would prevail, thus proving her innocence and exonerating her from blame. That, of course, did not happen and now she found herself fleeing in order to avoid capture.

For what seemed like the millionth time since it happened the young woman cursed her own ignorance and naivete for placing faith in someone so blindly. Never had she dared to question him for he appeared as such a decent and upstanding individual that she was easily duped into accepting any and all words that came from his apparently treacherous mouth. Naraku Takemora....oh how the mere thought of that name sent icy cold shudders coursing through her entire body.

So deceptively gifted he was, having a way with words that could have anyone instantly taking said words as gospel with no reason to question whatsoever. Curse him; curse him to hell for all of eternity. If ever she was fortunate enough to clear her name, she would see to it that Naraku paid for what he had done; that was her solemn vow.

Her eyes returned to her small campfire, wishing that she could have spared some money to rent herself a room rather than having to camp out. Damn how nice it would be to take a hot shower and stretch out on a comfy bed. But, she needed to conserve her cash because it was guaranteed to not last long even if she scrimped so renting a motel room was not exactly within her pitiful budget. She had been lucky to pilfer the tiny tent and sleeping bag from her best friends' garage before having to high tail it out of town. The authorities were sure to have a list of names as to people she might try to contact and so she did not even make an attempt. Her friends did not need the drama and she had refused to include any of them in the mess that she had managed to get herself into. No, she was all alone in this and despite just how much it terrified her, she would not have it any other way.

Sure that her canned stew was now suitable for eating, Kagome poured it out into a small bowl with a tiny sigh. Just how far she had traveled she had no clue, but something told her that it honestly did not matter one iota because they would still find her eventually. She could only hope that she would have enough time before then to try to gather some sort of proof that they were looking for the wrong person.

A frown crossed her face then, extremely disappointed in her evening meal. God how she longed for something more palatable; it felt like it had been forever since she had actually enjoyed what she put in her mouth to sustain her. Maybe she would be able to procure a job somewhere like when she had tried to settle down in Newlin a few months ago? Six months she had managed to stay there before the heat began to rise and forced her to relocate. She missed that place.

Once her food was gone and her bowl washed, Kagome doused her small campfire to prevent being discovered and settled in for the night. She zipped the closure on her tent to keep out creepy, crawly unwanted 'visitors'  then snuggled into her sleeping bag, praying that come dawn, she could make it  to a town at least. That would be nice.

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“Daddy! He hit me!”the small girl exclaimed, her pudgy face scrunched up as if she were about to cry.

A coffee cup lowered mid-lift, “Come on guys... can't we have one morning of peace?” He had only had one and a half cups of coffee; they knew not to start until there were at least two in his system. Kids. They couldn't get along if you paid them to. Well...his kids couldn't anyway. “Devin, keep your hands to yourself and eat.”

“I didn't even touch her, Dad.” the fair headed youth called back, his eyes wide with genuine innocence. “She's just mad because I called the front seat and wants to get me into trouble.”

“Kira, is that true?” the man asked his daughter, giving her his most effective fatherly stare. When she blushed and hung her head, he knew that the little heathen had in fact been instigating trouble. “Didn't we have a talk about lying?”

“Yes, Daddy. I'm sorry.”

He continued to stare the little girl down all the while knowing what effect the assigned 'punishment' would have on his child.“Don't tell me, tell your brother.” Kira absolutely hated apologizing to her big brother. She hated it more than anything, even asparagus. “He's the one you tried to get in trouble.”

Kira leveled her eyes on her sibling, staring at him for about five seconds. If her brother had not had that smug expression on his face, the girl might have been inclined to obey her father. As it was, Devin obviously found it funny that she had to apologize to him and so, the twelve year old girl decided to ruin her brother's minor victory for him. “Sorry, gaybo.”

Devin played right into her hands when he kicked Kira in the shin underneath the table. Sure he would be punished for it, but it was worth it.

Yasha herded his offspring out the door and into the waiting mini-van, fondly remembering the 'good old days' when he drove something much cooler. Becoming a family man made his precious sport car a bit impractical and he had to sell it. How he had loved that car.

Bright eyed and coffee rejuvenated, the man buckled his safety belt while speaking to his small but still a handful on any given day brood. He had a really busy day and only so much time to get everything done. “Okay, everybody strapped in? Got everything?”

“Yeah,” both children chimed at the same time.

“Good.” He started the engine, slapped Devin's hand away from the radio controls, and put that gearshift into reverse. In no time the three of them were off to start their day.“I have a lot to do today and don't want to have to  make any special trips to the school today.”

“Dad,” Devin began, sounding very hesitant when he spoke. Once his father's eyes were on him, the boy continued on, “My teacher said that you were supposed to come in and talk to her today...”

“Damn it...I forgot. Um, okay; tell her I'll be there. I know how important the accelerated program is to you.” He did too; he knew full well how the boy felt about this exciting opportunity that had been offered to but a select  number of students. His own heart had nearly burst with pride when Devin told him about it.

“Nerd,” muttered Kira while looking out her window as if she had not said anything at all.

“Shut up, you evil little troll!” She was always doing that to him, making fun of him for getting good grades and loving school like he did. Kira was just jealous that he did well in his studies while she got mostly C's. If his little sister would stop drooling over the boy band of the week and actually spent some time studying, she would get good grades too. The loser.

Yasha patted his son on the shoulder to try to calm his boy down. Devin was extremely sensitive about his dedication to his education, which was rare for a young man his age. To be honest about it he had anticipated having to pry gaming equipment from his son's hand while forcing a textbook into the other. It was both a shock and a pleasant surprise that the boy picked up a book on his own without any prompting whatsoever.

Stopping at the light, he furthered his attempt at smoothing the matter over with his boy. He wanted Devin to know that being smart was not something to be ashamed of. Growing up, he had both witnessed and shamefully participated in harassing the school 'geeks' for one reason or another. It was something that he was not proud of now that he was older and a father as well. “You know, son, there is absolutely nothing wrong with being a 'nerd'.”

There was a small part of him that feared Devin would allow himself to backslide if being made fun of started to get to be too much for he had seen it before.  Bright young minds stunted and allowed to go to waste simply because the kid wanted to 'nerd persecution' to stop. He refused to allow that to happen to his son and would do everything he could to prevent it. “You'll probably go into a good profession and make something of yourself. And, you're good looking to boot...”

“So?”

He stepped on the gas, turning onto Orchard street where his childrens' school was located. “So? So women go insane over the 'hot nerd' type...”

Of course, Kira had to interject her views on the subject, being the willful child that she was. She couldn't help herself though. Hearing her father referring to her disgusting brother as a 'hot nerd' called for such an interjection. “Eww!”

“Dad...” Devin blushed deep red and turned his eyes forward out of embarrassment. Ever since he had shown an interest in girls, and girls showing an interest in him as well, his father was always making comments like that. It was more than embarrassing really; it was downright mortifying.

“I'm just sayin'. I've seen it.” Sure he knew that he had embarrassed his son, but Devin needed to know that girls didn't always go for the jocks – especially if the guy looked like Devin. His son was an extremely handsome young man, and he would say that even if the boy wasn't his own. Yasha noticed the way the girls looked at Devin and it made him so proud and there was absolutely nothing wrong with that. “Anyway, don't let anyone give you a hassle about being smart – especially your kid sister who is very close to getting no desert if she doesn't ease up about it.”

“That's not fair!” Kira exclaimed, her foot making hard contact with the floorboard beneath it. It was sundae night and she had been looking forward to it all week. Dad always took Devin's side on things.

“Life's not fair. Well, here you are,” the man pulled the car in front of the school then watched as his children climbed out. “Have a good day. Devin, tell your teacher that I will be here as close to three as I can.”

As he pulled away, Yasha heaved a great sigh as he wondered just how he would fit this forgotten but oh so important meeting into his already tight schedule. How could he have forgotten his son being accepted into such a prestigious program for god's sake? Something would have to be rescheduled, but the question was what would that something be?

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Her feet hurt badly, having been walking for nearly three whole hours without being able to sit down for a break. Luckily though, she had located the highway and no longer had to travel through the wood to get somewhere. Once more the thought of hitching a ride entered her mind and Kagome gave the matter sincere consideration this time. Her feet really, really hurt.

About a half a mile back she passed a sign that said there was a town a few more miles from her current location and she really hoped that she could make it there. There was bound to be a filling station where she could spruce up; she had learned some time ago that 'bird baths' were better than no baths and she was tired of feeling so grungy. Feet making heavy contact with the asphalt, Kagome continued on - picturing what the town might look like to pass the time.

Out of nowhere, the blare of a horn sounded and caused her to startle. It felt as though her heart would leap from her body and she moved off the roadway.

“Hey...you need a lift?”

She looked at him for a minute or so, assessing the situation. He had a kind face and was nicely dressed which made her seriously consider accepting the offer for a ride. The deciding factor though was the little band of gold on the guy's third finger of his left hand. Thinking that it would be safe to take him up on his generous offer, the girl smiled as she adjusted her backpack, “If it's no trouble. I was going into Brookboro...”

The passenger door opened and Kagome's previously distressed heart leapt with joy.

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