Life Debt by Tsuuki

Race You!

"Kagome!"

The raven-haired girl turned to her mother, hair matted down close to her face due to the exhaustion of trying to chase down her little brother. "Yes?"

Kagome's mother, a quickly decaying woman that always wore a smile, watched the two from the doorway of their quaint little house. "Bring Souta in, and then would you please go buy some rice at the store?"

Kagome nodded and rushed off again after her brother, who was running around in little circles, purely for the amusement he got from annoying his elder sister. "Haha, you can't catch me!" Whenever Kagome got close enough to wrap her arms around him, he would slip away and hop up and down a few times. She knew that the most affective way to bring him in would be just to leave him out there alone for a few minutes, but she liked entertaining him.

It was going to be dark soon, and after a long struggle through the dirt and grass Kagome was able to wrestle her brother down and drag him kicking and screaming into the house. The sun would set in only half an hour now, and she by no means wanted to be wandering the village at night.

"Only get a pound or so!" Kagome's mother called out to her daughter as she rushed quickly down the steps of their temple, in a hurry to get there and back before the sun had completely set.

The small town the family lived in was nothing to brag about, but it served them well. No one was particularly rich, but everyone seemed to make ends meet. It was a tiny community, far detached from the constant wars of local feudal lords. No one paid it mind, and everyone preferred it that way. "Only a pound, only a pound, only a pound..." Kagome repeated this to herself as she stumbled up the dirt path, looking down at her hands as she tried to count the coins she had been given.

"One pound is-..." Her train of thought was cut off as she walked right into someone standing still on the path ahead of her.

"Oh!" She looked up, blinking with embarrassment, quickly giving a slight bow to the stranger she may have just inconvenienced. "I'm sorry! I didn't see you there and-..."

The man suddenly reached forward, grabbing on tightly to her chin and turning it this way and that, peering closely at her face. "Oi. Are you healthy?"

Kagome was on the verge of panicking. She felt frozen to the spot, clutching the money into her sweaty palms as she slowly moved her eyes up to meet the other man's. "N-no...I'm not healthy at all! I have...I have a horrid limp and my left eye doesn't work well and..."

The man who held her suddenly laughed, letting go of her face and giving her cheek a little pat. "You're a clever one, aren't you! But no, I can see you're quite healthy, aren't you? And what a pretty face..."

Now that Kagome had room to move, she could see that all things considered, this man wasn't all that unattractive. He had narrow eyes and black hair that was pulled back into a ponytail, and the most peculiar sharpened teeth that gave him the resemblance of a wolf. His clothes were regal, which struck Kagome as the most peculiar. He wore something very similar to a robe, a piece of cloth made of silk that well reached down to his thighs, and nearly his kneecaps. Under that he seemed to be wearing normal pants, although they were also made of a very light and comfortable looking material. This man was no common thief; not with the price tag on the garments he was wearing.

"Kou-----ga!" Two strange looking men, dressed similarly if not worse than Kouga, stumbled up behind him, panting for breath. They had the most strangely colored hair, and similar to their seeming leader, their teeth were pointed into those of a carnivore's.

"It took you long enough!" Kouga turned to them, crossing his arms across his chest, causing the silk of his sleeves to bunch up around his elbows. "I've found one. Pack 'er up and let's get out of here. The stench of this place is disgusting."

Kagome was no fool. Whatever premature fear she had before had turned into full-blown adrenaline. As if Kouga sensed her thoughts, he quickly reached a hand out to grab onto her, shocking her with his speed. However, Kagome's reflexes were quicker, and before the man even knew it Kagome had begun sprinting off, somehow managing to hold onto her mother's coins tightly in her fist.

"Shit!" Kouga cursed to himself before dashing off after her, his feet moving at a ferocious speed. His two goons looked miserable with the whole idea, hanging there heads for a few moments before moving on after him. "Kou-----ga!! Wait up!!"

If not anything else, Kagome prided herself in her running. In only a matter of seconds she had made it to the forests that lined the village, and it only took a few more moments before she plunged in head first, skillfully maneuvering herself around the sticks and trees that scattered the ground.

Damn! She's fast! Kouga was on her tail, but could never manage to make an advance on her. He had never met anyone who could outrun him, and if not anything else, he was quite impressed. Maybe I'll just keep this one to myself...he smirked, his new confidence giving him a burst of speed that almost brought Kagome into reach.

What am I supposed to do?! Kagome was breathing so heavily she thought her heart might explode. Everything in front of her was turning white and fuzzy, as if sparks were flying in her vision. She barely felt her hand slipping into her shirt pocket, dropping the coins in there, as if she would get in trouble if she returned home without the rice or the money. As if a second sense, Kagome knew when her stalker was getting closer and when he was fading back. It was enough to keep her going, but for how much longer she didn't know. Her fear was fueling her legs now, but it wouldn't take long for even that to die out. Mom...Souta... The thought of her only family strengthened her will. She had always heard stories about girls getting kidnapped at night, being stolen away and sent to harems of famous kings, or being sold off as cheap prostitutes. But was it real? No...it couldn't be...

Suddenly, there was nothing under or around her. Her legs kept on moving in space, but there was nothing to pick up on. Her eyes twitched, the hazy light fading from them, and it was only then that she realized she was falling. Her black hair whipped against her face, and as gravity pulled her farther down into her destination, she felt herself grow hazy. The shock of the whole experience, and the wind blasting her fast made her eyes tear and drip with water. I wonder if I'm going to die...? Everything seemed to slow down as she stared at the earth approaching her. She remembered this canyon. Souta would often play on the outskirts of the forest, and she would always point out the little colored rocks that marked that the cliff was only a little farther off the road. No...I don't want to die...What would her mother do if she didn't come home? If this was the end of her life? She hadn't saved herself...She had always dreamed of a spectacular, memorable end. But this isn't real...It can't be me!

Kagome was plummeting to the earth, head first, when she first caught glimpse of Kouga sprinting horizontally down the canyon wall. It was then that Kagome realized she only had a few seconds left to live or to die. The ground was only a few yards away now, and she would not accept this as the end. At that instant, a hundred things seemed to happen simultaneously. Kouga crouched back against the rocky wall and pushed himself forward with as much strength as he had left in him. Without even thinking Kagome reached out to him, and if it hadn't been for her stretch than Kouga would have well missed her by only a few inches. He grabbed on tightly to her arm as they soared through the air, using that one handle to pull her body close to his own. She unconsciously clinged on to him and to life itself as they skidded down against the gravel-filled ground, her body being scraped up and crushed by the weight of her savior and the force of gravity all moving her down towards the same place at the same time. She could feel her body crumbling beneath it all as Kouga and herself began to tumble, alternatively taking on the brunt of the sandpaper ground underneath them. The canyon wasn't very wide, as it had been caused by numerous small earthquakes over a period of hundreds to thousands of years. Still going at a decent momentum, with his back to the opposite cliff wall, it was Kouga who was unlucky enough to bear the impact that would bring them to a much too sudden stop. As both of the bodies sank down to the ground, Kagome swore she could hear the cracking of Kouga's already battered bones.

There was a dragged out period of silence as Kagome lay collapsed next to Kouga, whose still bloody back rested against the rock wall. Everything in her hurt, and she had no doubt in her mind that Kouga felt the same, considering he was still conscious. Her arm and legs felt too heavy to move, and her eyes drifted in and out of a state of hazy mush and pure darkness. "Kou------ga!!!! KOUGA!!!"

Kagome breathed out heavily when she heard Kouga's followers rushing towards them. Now that someone was there, she decided that it was all right to let it all go. She was so tired that she could barely even feel the pain caused by two arms wrapping around her and pulling her off the now bloody ground.