Chapter 1

"Get Down!" I heard Sango scream.

I ducked just in time. I felt the wind rush over my head. I turned around and came face to face with a dragon demon. He was huge with giant wings and talons the length of my body.

I sprang back up from the floor and grabbed my forgotten arrow and bow. I was a human…but I was a miko. I shot an arrow and it hit the dragon in the left wing. It would have bounced off but the spiritual energy surrounding the arrow forced it into the dragon's wing. It didn't do much damage though. In fact it only seemed to enrage it more.

The dragon stood on its hind legs and stretched its long neck and roared at the sky. His massive feet hit the ground and the earth shuddered under my feet. The dragon waved its head in the air and let out a puff of fire. Flames shot out of its mouth and as it swayed its head back and forth, cars and buildings were engulfed in the flames.

Screams could be heard from all around as people scrambled to their cars and sped away trying to get away from the danger.

"Kagome!" I heard.

I turned around and saw Sango flying on Kirara, her cat demon, as she threw her large boomerang at the dragon to distract it.

"Hirakotsu" she screamed. The boomerang turned in circles and looped around the dragons head and hit it in the middle of its neck.

The dragon stopped spitting fire and roared again.

Sango and Kirara were headed my way so I put my bow over my head and as Kirara swooped over me I reached up and grabbed her by her mid section so I hung below her. 'I wonder if the dragon's weak spot is under its belly like Kiraras.' I thought.

I looked over and noticed that the scales stopped at its side.

"Sango. Drop me." I yelled.

"Are you crazy Kagome? You're gonna get yourself killed." she replied.

"Sango, the weak spot is under the belly. I need to get under there so we can end this".

Sango didn't reply for a minute. "Let's take her down Kirara. You better be right about this" she said. "If you die, I will bring you back to murder you myself."

I smiled a little at Sango. She was like my sister and we were always protecting each other and looking out for one another. She always had my back and I always had hers.

I swung my legs from side to side until I got enough momentum and slung myself onto Kiraras back. I put both my legs on one side and waited for Kirara to start running on the ground before I jumped down and rolled.

The second I jumped off, Kirara sprang back into the sky and flew Sango back to her weapon. I was hidden behind a trash can on the street behind the dragon. I crept by the buildings staying close to the sides so the dragon didn't notice me. When I was parallel with the belly I sprinted until I was under him. He was stomping and swaying back and forth.

I layed myself down on the floor and spun so I was on my back. I took of my bow and notched an arrow and waited until the dragon was still.

Once he stopped swaying for a second I let the arrow fly.

A ragged cry left the dragon's throat and I knew he was done. He began to sway again but this time it was more staggered. It was almost like he was drunk. I stood up and ran as fast as my legs would carry me. As soon as I was out from under the dragon, Sango was there with Kirara and suddenly I was on her back and we were air born.

We watched from the sky as the dragon fell to the ground with a loud roar of agony. Finally the dragon was dead.

I surveyed the damage around us and it as enough to make me sick. Bodies were strewn everywhere of the people that couldn't make it out in time. Buildings, or what was left of them, were on fire. Cars were flipped and debris scattered the street. In the center of the street lay the dragon me and Sango slayed. It never got old and it never got easier to see the destruction caused by the creatures we were made to slay.

"Come on Kirara. Let's go home" Sango said.

As Kirara flew away from the scene I felt my heart ache for the people that couldn't make it. This was why I do what I do. To stop the demons that went rouge and make sure lives were never lost.

That still hadn't happened.

As we entered the building I finally let the wear and tear of the day show on my face. Here everybody knew the troubles that were faced daily. There were plenty of others like us and everyone understood it took a lot of us. Physically as well as mentally.

"Hello Kagome" I heard.

I turned around and watched as Hojo bounded his way toward me. I was not in the mood to deal with Hojo but he had already seen me and I didn't want to be rude.

"Hi Hojo. What's up?" I said.

"Oh nothing much. Just wanted to see what you were doing later tonight. Maybe you want to go out or something?"

I sighed. It was the same every time I saw him. He asked me out and I said no. It wasn't because Hojo wasn't nice or that he was unattractive or anything. He just wasn't my type.

Hojo was the receptionist for RDS. He answered distress calls, set up meetings for the members, and various other tasks that the place needed. Hojo became the receptionist because he was Myoga's nephew but couldn't cut it as a slayer and he needed a job.

Myoga is a flea demon and the head of RDS. He set up the Rouge Demon Slayers and tried to keep the peace between the consistently clashing races. He made this place as powerful as it is today. There are a total of 30 slayers and about 25 business members.

The slayers did the dirty work but it was also the hardest. We did the fighting and made sure things didn't get to out of hand. The business men were responsible for cleaning up the mess and calling meetings among other demons to try and keep them in check.

There are 10 levels of slayers. Level 10 being the worst and level 1 being the best. Sango and 1 are level 2.

When Sango and I met we were in kindergarten. We were normal little girls who did normal things and we became fast friends. Our parents worked for the same company but it took us a while to figure out what the company actually did.

One night while I was at Sango's house, we heard a loud crash downstairs and we heard her parents scream. When we went down, her parents and brother were dead and demons had surrounded the house. We raced back upstairs with the demons following close behind. When we got to her room we locked the door and hid in the closet. It wasn't long before my parents came and tried to save us. They held on for a little while, but in the end, the hoard of demons was too much for my human parents to handle. They died as well that night and we saw it through the crack between the wall and the door.

I watched as the demons tore my parents apart and I couldn't do a thing. It took a long time for me to get over that.

Then out of nowhere, the wall was ripped apart and there stood a huge white dog and he saved me and Sango. He told us once he transformed back into his regular form that his name was Sesshomaru and he would take us to where our parents worked and we would be safe.

As we went to the building, we were led into a room with a flea demon and he told us we would be safe here. He told us what our parents did and how they were hero's. He told us that one day we would be hero's too.

That didn't make sense until about a year later when Sango and I were in the first grade. He made us become home schooled and we began our training as slayers and it was then that I discovered that I was a miko and had spiritual powers. We trained everyday and everyday we grew stronger.

Sango has been my best friend and my only family since I was little. We trained together, mourned together, and became stronger together.

Somehow talking to Hojo always brought back the memories. The memories that I tried desperately to keep buried. Maybe it was because he was Myoga's nephew or something, but whatever it was it still got to me.

"Hojo, as fun as that sounds, I just got done with a job and I am exhausted. You would think that they would send more than two people to kill a full grown dragon, but I guess not" I said.

"Oh. Well maybe I could give you a massage or something? Would that make it better?"

This guy just wouldn't give up. Fraternization isn't against the rules at RDS. Myoga says that as long as we do our work well and the relationships don't get in the way why should he keep two people apart when our live were constantly teetering on the balance and tomorrow was never guaranteed, but sometimes I wished that it was against the rules so I could use that as excuse to not be with Hojo. I was running out of reasons.

"Honestly, I just want a bath and my bed. But thank you for the offer. I'm going to go now. It was nice talking to you Hojo" I replied.

"Maybe some other time then" He said and he walked back to his desk in the center of the room.

I walked down the corridor to the set of elevators. There were 8 floors to the building. Floor one was the lobby area. Floor two and three were training areas where they were fully equipped with every form of workout equipment known to man. There was a pool and a sparing area and there were weights and various other things. Floor four and five were mini apartments. Everyone had their own room and it contained a kitchen, living room, bathroom, laundry room, and bedroom. On floor six were the business cubicles and offices and such. Floor seven is where all the meetings were held and on floor eight is Myogas apartment and office. Barely anyone ever went up there.

My apartment was on floor five and as I waited for the elevator to make is way up my cell phone rang.

I recognized the caller and I debated hitting ignore but I knew Sesshomaru would just keep calling and eventually come find me. He always did.

"Hello?" I said

"Kagome, you are needed in meeting room 3 right away."

I knew I should have hit ignore. "What? Why? I haven't even gotten through the door yet. " I said. I just stepped out of the elevator and walked to my apartment. I was number 17 so my apartment was almost at the very end of the hallway.

"Myoga wants to talk about the dragon." He replied and I could tell this wasn't going to be good.

"Alright. Give me five minutes."I told him.

True to my word I was at meeting room 3 five minutes later. I dropped of my bag at my place and changed out of my blood soaked uniform and sprinted to the elevator and then sprinted to room 3.

As I walked in Myoga looked pissed. I didn't even get a word out before I was told to sit.

I did as I was told and waited to be told why I was here and why I was being treated like a little kid that stole a kid's toy on the playground. I didn't have to wait long.

"Do you know what kind of trouble you caused me? Were you even thinking about what you were doing? No you were not. The mess you left behind was massive and now Sesshomaru has to clean it up."Myoga said."You left a huge dragon lying in the middle of the street you didn't even bother to try and clean it up. Way to go Higurashi. This is terrible."

I was stunned for a second but then my mouth got the best of me and I lashed out. "My mess?" I cried. "The only thing I did was do what you told me to. The only thing I did was follow orders. It isn't my job to clean up the mess. It's my job to get rid of the problem. And that is what I have been doing for 12 years. And maybe it wouldn't have gotten so out of hand if you had sent more than 2 people to deal with a full grown fucking dragon." I screeched. I knew I would get in trouble but he wasn't going to pin this on me. It wasn't my fault.

"Sango told me about the little stunt you pulled. What were you thinking jumping under a 'full grown fucking dragon' huh? You could have gotten yourself killed."

"Well I didn't. I saved numerous lives tonight and all you are doing is ridiculing me. So what if what I did was a little dangerous? My whole job is dangerous. There are no safe aspects of it. And if I didn't do what I did, there would have been more destruction and more lives lost and me and Sango would still be out there fighting that thing. You can't tell me what I did was wrong because it wasn't. I did what I had to do."I said. Tears pricked the back of my eyes but I refused to let them fall. I was stronger than that. I refused to show weakness to him.

"Kagome, were worried about you. Ever since Ginta's accident you've been different." He said and the dam that was holding my tears almost broke.

"Of course I have been different. He was my partner and he died. And it was only 6 months ago. Why wouldn't I be a little bit different?" I said. "But I'm fine. I'm over it and I'm fine."

"Kagome.."

"No!" I screamed. "I'm fine. Death happens and I know that. I. Am. Fine." I hit the desk with my hand as if that would prove my point. I realized that it probably only made me look childish but at that moment I didn't care. I was pissed, sad, tired, and sore. I just wanted to go to bed.

"You and Sango are being assigned new partners. You two will still be working together, don't worry. I wouldn't split you two up, but it's time that you both got new partners." He said.

I nodded my head. I knew this was going to happen so I just sat back and bit my lip and dealt with it. I was too tired to do anything else.

"Sango will be paired with Miroku."I scrunched my nose at that. 'The perverted monk? That was going to work real well.' I thought.

"And you will be paired with Inuyasha." He continued.

"Okay." I said. I was too tired to argue and I didn't want to deal with this meeting anymore. I just wanted sleep.

"Be on level 2 for training tomorrow morning at ten. Tell Sango the same. You meet your new partners tomorrow. You're dismissed. " He said.

As I walked back to the elevators I got my phone out of my back pocket and dialed Sangos number. She answered on the first ring.

"Hello?" She said.

"We have new partners. You have Miroku and I have Inuyasha." I said. I didn't even bother with hellos.

Sango was silent for a while but then she cursed and I couldn't help but giggle. She got stuck with the pervert and I got stuck with the asshole. Our lives were never easy.

"We have to be on level two tomorrow at ten for training and meet our partners. We still get t work together we just get different partners again. This should be fun" I said.

She chuckled and said "Easy for you to say. Inuyasha won't try too fell your ass every chance he gets."

"Haha. You are very right." I said. I stepped into my little apartment and went straight to the bathroom and turned on the water and watched as the tub filled. "But at least we will still be working together." I said trying to find the elusive silver lining that is apparently in every situation.

"Yeah that's the best thing I have heard during this conversation. But I am going to catch some sleep. I hear your bath water. Goodnight. Love ya." She said

"Love you too. Goodnight."

Then I heard the click signaling the phone conversation had ended and I put my phone on the counter and stripped down to nothing and sat in the tub and let my mind wander throughout the events of the day. From the dragon, to Hojo, to the meeting.

I couldn't bring myself to be mad at Sango for talking to Myoga. She was just worried about me and that is understandable. It has been a rough year for me. I thought about how I was being paired with Inuyasha and the thought made me grimace. He was a rude, crude Hanyou that didn't believe in holding his tongue. I never met him, but I heard stories.

He blamed the world for his heritage and joined this business to prove he was strong. His last partner had been a spy trying to find out information for a powerful demon that no one knows the name of. Apparently they were romantically involved and ever since she betrayed him he has been even worse than before.

As I got out of the bath tub, I wrapped a towel around me and let the water out. I dried my hair with another towel and brushed it out. I out on undies and a large t-shirt and threw my other clothes in the hamper and threw the towels over the towel rack.

I walked back into my bedroom and I curled up under the covers. My alarm was set for 9:30 and I was beat. As I drifted to sleep my last thoughts were of tomorrow and meeting Inuyasha.