Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha
Ch. 1
"Has she been detained?"
"Yea. She's being held in the room as we speak. Is there anything else you want me to ask her?"
"No, you have done as you have been told. You may make your way back to Sapporo." A click on the other line signaled the end of the two men's conversation.
"Bastard still hasn't learned how to say good bye" Inuyasha spoke to himself. Sliding the phone back into his pants, he turned and made his way towards a small interrogation room. The room was kept unclean on purpose, in hopes that whoever was being questioned would tire of the environment and confess. And currently it was holding a shaky and frazzled looking woman.
"There is nothing else that I have to ask you. You will be transported to Okinawa to the Confines following this interrogation" he spoke professionally. Inuyasha Taisho normally did not take pity on criminals. No one was above the law, not even himself. When he had first started working the interrogation hall, he wasn't sure how to handle the deranged and psychotic demons that he came across. He had learned that there were always some that thought themselves too good for rules, and would break them. Back then, Inuyasha never minded trouble makers, but when the entire demon race is being held accountable for one demon's crime, said trouble makers cannot go unpunished.
"Please, I am begging you!" the woman sobbed out. "Please, don't send me down there! I don't want to be left alone, all in the dark."
Inuyasha studied the woman before him. When he had first come across her, he was surprised by how much power this human woman held. Detaining her was extremely tiresome, but he had managed all by himself, just as Sesshomaru told him he would. Two days ago, he was emailed a file briefing him on what to expect. Tsubaki was her name, and apparently she had a knack for kidnapping young girls and using her dark magic to steal their souls, thus securing her youth and beauty. The human authorities found three girl's bodies hollow and cold, thus ruling the bizarre sight as a demonic crime. He had found her in a dark forest on the outskirts of Seoul, and was fast enough to save an eleven year old girl from death. Tsubaki had killed three girls beforehand, and here she was, begging him for mercy.
"Keh, I wouldn't think a woman like you would have a problem with darkness. How can you even call yourself a priestess when you have done the things that you have done?" Upon his words, the woman's sobbing stopped, and she stared at him with dark, menacing eyes.
"I do not have a problem with darkness. That is indeed what I am molded in, but to be shut up in a foul prison for indefinite time does not sound appealing. Do not pass judgment upon me for my actions, especially when you don't understand the reasoning behind it, Inuyasha." It was clear that she was trying to remain strong even when she was seconds away from being put away for kamis know how long.
"Then I'll humor you, Tsubaki. What is the justification behind your crimes?" Tsubaki's lips did a slight turn upward at the corner at his question. She leaned forward in her chair, thus putting her face in more of the harsh light above the silver table. When she did this, Inuyasha could tell how fast she was withering. Just yesterday, her face had been smooth, almost flawless. But now, there were dark circles under her eyes, her cheeks were caving in, almost as if she had lost weight in a few hours. And there were lines around her mouth that hadn't been there before. Just how old was she anyway?
"My justification may not sound just to you. But who cares if a few people die. The world will not stop turning or cease to exist over the deaths of three pathetic girls. I've been around for quite a long time, Inuyasha; longer than you would think. I've seen wars, transformations, and I've survived all the way to this point. Thus, letting you know that I've dabbled in the art of soul stealing for just as long. No one misses the girls I've killed before; no one even knows their names now. I've been surviving for just…that…long. I do not see how my matters concern you whatsoever. I am after all, just a human. You demons should worry about your own kind."
Inuyasha absorbed her dark words. However old this foul priestess was, she had apparently been using girl's souls to survive all her days.
"T-corporation was requested to have you taken care of. Not that we care about the petty actions of humans, but when they begin to affect our kind, that's when we get pissed off. Your explanations behind your actions are just as foul as you are, and I'm glad that you're being put away. Human prisons won't do anything for you, but believe me, the Confines definitely will. I'm not sure how long you'll last, but from the looks of it, somebody will be cleaning up a pile of bones in no time. Your long days are over now."
"No!" she shrieked. Tears began to fall down her face, and Inuyasha immediately grew more uncomfortable than he already was. Tears, especially from women, confused him, and he was never quite sure how to deal with them. Not that he needed to deal with her anymore anyway. He stood up from the hard chair and exited the dirty room. He turned to the tall guard standing outside the door in the dark hallway.
"Jinenji, prepare her for her transportation. I'm done here."
"Yes, Mr. Taisho" the guard responded immediately, and headed into the room. Inuyasha's lips turned farther downward upon hearing 'Mr. Taisho.' That was his father's title, and that is his half brother's title, not his. He preferred plain, old Inuyasha. He proceeded to walk down the cold, dimly lit hallway to the exit. After this last mission here in Seoul, Sesshomaru had informed him that he was to return to Sapporo, Japan. Not that he minded, that meant that he was another step closer to home, and another step closer to her. Yet, he was still going to be so far away.
That realization caused him to sigh deeply. When he reached the exit, he gave a curt nod to the two guards standing by the door, and made his way out of the gate. The warehouse he was leaving wasn't really a warehouse at all; it was another secret T-corp base. There were several of these 'warehouses' across the world, with several demons and humans working at each. The human employees were more in charge of locating criminals, handling files; that kind of stuff, but the demons were in charge of detaining those criminals. As Inuyasha got into the simple black car Sesshomaru provided for him, he ignited the engine and pulled off onto the lonely dirt road.
Taisho Corporation, T-corp, was the facility in charge of handling criminal demons, making sure that they were 'facilitated' before their uncouth actions harmed the human society. The bridge between demons and humans had taken centuries to close, but slowly and surely, segregation turned to integration. Human workplaces became human and demon work places, and vice versa. There were many demons before him who had fought for the equalization, and the pathway to peace was very difficult, but it all worked out in the end. Inu no Taisho, his father, was a spearhead in demon equalization as well, and the founder of T-corp. He pressed the issue of peace all the way up until his untimely murder from an ancient and evil demon, Ryūkotsusei. Inuyasha's half brother, Sesshomaru had to take over the corporation at the age of seventeen, and he was doing a mighty fine job of running it too.
Not long after his father's death, Inuyasha's mother Izayoi was struck with cancer, and she didn't make it. Absence of parents meant that he had to move in with Sesshomaru, which was unbearable. The elder Taisho brother would look at him as if he were diseased, and would ridicule his half demon blood. But as he had grown older, Sesshomaru began to realize that he could use Inuyasha in dangerous missions. He may be a half demon, but he was his father's son, so he had strong blood flowing in his veins. At first, Inuyasha was wary of his brother suddenly requesting his help, plus he was only thirteen when he started. But after his first couple of missions, he realized that he was truly a fighter; it was in his blood.
Inuyasha desperately tried to pay attention to the road instead of his thoughts. Why was he reflecting on the past all of a sudden? Reflection never helped him in his endeavors anyway. He found himself at his small, junky apartment sooner than he thought he would. Not that he cared so much for luxury and the high life, but Sesshomaru could at least locate him in a better area. When he had complained that he was tired of living in broken down apartments in a rundown community, Sesshomaru had quickly reminded him of his current predicament. Of course he could afford to be in a much better place, but Inuyasha was an agent under possible watch of a formidable enemy; so he needed to lay low.
And if low meant a roach infested apartment, then so be it.
Inuyasha made his way up to his floor, not missing the sounds of arguing couples and crying babies resonate throughout the building. Reaching his place, he walked in and surveyed the dusty, dank place he had to call a home for the past two months.
"I definitely won't be missing this" he stated. He made his way back to the small bathroom, and began to strip for a shower. When he pulled his shirt over his head, he looked at his reflection in the blurry mirror in front of him.
Ever since his 'accident' he had to undergo much change. And the change started with him having to leave Tokyo, then his appearance, and then his lifestyle. His long curtain of silvery white hair had been cut to a short hair cut. He wasn't going to lie, he was nervous when he was told that for identity purposes, his mane would have to be cut short, and any time he went outside his residence, he needed to wear some kind of hat to cover his ears. Not to forget shades to conceal his golden eyes, but the haircut actually looked good on him. It brought out the strong curve of his jaw, and he actually felt lighter. He often wondered what she would think of it when she saw him again.
Her.
He missed her so much it hurt. There was a pain in his chest caused by longing to be with her again that had been present since his 'accident' three years ago. He missed her radiant aura, her long black hair, her smile, her deep blue eyes, her scent; everything about her. He yearned to be in her presence once again, no matter how long it would take. He missed his friends, his high school, Tokyo as a whole. But she was the number one thing that kept him awake at night; the memories of her never let him sleep all too well.
Inuyasha quickly showered and threw on a pair of black sweat pants, and pulled out the laptop he kept with him throughout all his missions. He pulled up the file of Tsubaki and edited it as complete. Tomorrow morning, he would pack what little belongings he had, and make his way to the airport to return to Sapporo. Although it was in Japan, it was still too many miles away from home, and miles away from her. He quickly reviewed the upcoming missions he had to complete upon his arrival in Sapporo and mentally sighed. His work was never done, and at this rate, he never thought it would ever be done. Taisho Corporation was facing its most dangerous and vile demon yet. The lowly hanyou spider that was responsible for his 'accident', his friend's sadness, and most importantly, her heartbreak.
Naraku Onigumo.
It was he who had thought up the plan to kill Inuyasha, and he almost succeeded too.
-Flashback-
"Kouga, watch out!"
Kouga whipped around to see what he was supposed to be watching for, and immediately ducked. Another one of the brothers were on his tail now, and he was armed with a heavy looking blade. He ran faster, jumping across the close buildings in the dead of night, hoping he would survive this. This had been the most difficult mission he had been on yet, but luckily he was not alone.
"Let's tag team!" Kouga yelled confidently.
Inuyasha was at his side in seconds, and both agents immediately stopped and stood back to back, preparing themselves for this showdown. They had four down, and three more to go. There were other agents around the area, but they were looking for the leader of this group.
"Inuyasha" one of the more questionable of two men purred "That is your name isn't it? It just rolls right off the tongue. I would have liked to spend more time with you, but it seems like our time" he pulled out a jagged blade "has to be cut short."
"Shut up!" This 'man' was making Inuyasha uncomfortable. Out of all the others, this one was clearly the openly confused one.
"Enough, Jakotsu" the other enemy commanded. "Brother would not want us wasting any more time. Let's finish these two off."
"Yes, Renkotsu." Upon that answer, Inuyasha began to duck and dodge the surprisingly fast Jakotsu, while Kouga squared off with the one called Renkotsu. They had been defeating this group called the Band of Seven for weeks now. The first mission had been easy, but each one had become more and more difficult the farther they advanced. Inuyasha and Kouga had been deployed to Osaka to detain this rogue group of humans. T-corp had been requested to take care of this problem, and Sesshomaru much obliged when it was discovered that the Band of Seven were working for Naraku.
Inuyasha turned around when he heard Renkotsu cry out in pain. Kouga had a clawed hand to his throat, ready to cut, but was hesitating.
"Kouga!" Inuyasha shouted while still fighting off Jakotsu. "Just knock him out! You know the orders!"
"He is responsible for the death of innocent people. I don't see why the hell Sesshomaru wants us to spare these assholes!" Kouga yelled back.
"I don't know either!" Inuyasha felt a hot pain in his arm and noticed that Jakotsu's blade had sliced a thin cut down his bicep. He wasn't deterred by the minor injury; it would heal in no time. He decided to give Jakotsu his full attention once again, and end this fight. There was one more mercenary that needed to be taken care of, and Inuyasha knew he was bound to be the toughest one yet.
With his demon speed, he whirred around Jakotsu and wrapped his bloody arm around the man's throat. The losing human knew he was beat, but decided to fight with words until the very end. Between short breaths, he spoke.
"Normally, I would be e-excited by this. Just k-know, Inuyasha. This w-will not end well for you."
Inuyasha was disgusted and confused by the captive's words, and used his other arm to deliver a blow to the temple, knocking him out cold. He laid the man on his stomach and reached in his pocket to pull out a pair of sturdy hand cuffs. Looking up and seeing that Kouga had done the same with his captive, he nodded and spoke.
"Call these in, Kouga. I'm going to find their leader and end this for good." He turned around and jumped down from the building before Kouga could protest. Kouga reached in his pocket and pulled out the small phone to alert the other agents to come pick the two unconscious bodies up and place them in the bared vehicle. He decided it would be best to remain with the criminals just in case one of them woke back up, but he was also worried about Inuyasha. As soon as somebody got up here to get these bodies, he would head off into the direction Inuyasha went.
Inuyasha knew exactly where to find the leader of the Band of Seven. A few days ago, he had fought with another member of the group named Suikotsu. According to the file, the man was a schizophrenic or something of the sort, and had an insatiable taste for killing. Inuyasha had fought a long battle with him while Kouga was off taking care of another group member. He wasn't proud of his actions, but he had beaten the man so badly that he was coughing up blood. He tied the man's hands behind his back and continued to punch him in the face until he gave up their leader's location.
'He should be in this last building here' Inuyasha thought, and sped up running to make it there. He was curious to know what this leader looked like, and why he was working for Naraku. He stopped once he reached the small, abandoned building that was easily concealed by the much taller ones around it, and said a quick prayer before heading inside. He would go in, detain the man, and this mission would be over. He and Kouga would be on a plane headed back to Tokyo by the morning.
But things are rarely that easy.
He walked in the building slowly, and let the heavy metal door close behind him. He was immediately greeted with darkness, and he began to sniff the air, looking for the scent of a human male. He walked forward, still searching. He was glad that seeing in the dark had never been a problem for him, or he would be at a loss now. There were holes in the roof of the building, letting moonlight create small patches of light in the room.
"Sniffing for me?"
Inuyasha quickly turned around to see a young man standing in one of those patches, and was surprised. This was not what he expected the leader of the Band of Seven to look like.
"Shocked, I see. What did you expect to find?" the man asked.
He was tall, and had very long black hair that was braided and a strange purple marking in the middle of his forehead. Inuyasha had expected to find something completely different than the handsome man before him.
"Why are you working for Naraku?" Inuyasha asked loudly. This guy didn't look so tough, and if he was an easy enemy, he wanted to handle this as quickly as possible.
"Didn't even ask my name. Tasteless for a demon."
"Working for a demon! Tasteless for a human!" Inuyasha bit back. He had no patience for this. The leader only sighed and laughed.
"Naraku is a man with a plan. He's innovative, and he offered me and my brother's salvation from regular street crimes."
"Keh, salvation? Naraku hasn't saved you from a damn thing. You and your brothers would have been safer on the streets." Inuyasha cracked his knuckles preparing himself for what he thought would be an easy fight. He wasn't interested in this man's speech about wanting to be a part of a 'greater cause'; the poor guy obviously didn't know that Naraku was probably going to betray him in the end.
"Quite the aggressor, aren't you? Naraku said you would be. The name is Bankotsu" he stated casually. He had an air of assurance around him, almost as if he were certain he would be the one walking out of this building alive; it only served to annoy Inuyasha further. Plus, he sure as hell hadn't asked for his name.
"Only with assholes like you, and I didn't ask!"
At that, Bankotsu set his stance preparing for an attack, and spoke once more.
"I know you didn't. I just thought you might have liked to know the name of the man that would take your life" and then he ran forward. Inuyasha easily dodged whatever attack Bankotsu had planned, but was surprised when he received a sharp blow to the back, causing him to stumble forward. When he lost his balance, Bankotsu whipped back in front of him and brought up his leg to knee Inuyasha hard in the gut. Inuyasha, not accustomed to being attacked so easily, quickly moved and began throwing punches. Both soon realized that it was an even match, but Bankotsu came prepared for that. The moonlight accentuated the determined looks on both man's faces as they continued to kick and punch; the sound of grunts and fists colliding with skin disturbing the silence in the building.
Inuyasha knew that this man was a formidable enemy when he threw the first few punches; now would be a good time to use his claws. He wasn't supposed to kill Bankotsu, but he was also told to detain him and his 'brothers' by any means necessary, whatever that may be. Inuyasha curled a hand back and quickly brought it down, cutting the front of the other's chest. Bankotsu stumbled back and quickly observed his injury before charging again.
'He's a persistent son of a bitch, huh? No matter.' Inuyasha reeled his hand back again only to bring in down and create five more slices across Bankotsu's chest. He was honestly holding back; he could have carved in his chest by now, but he was still trying to let death be the last resort in this encounter.
"When I'm done with you, I'm going to join the rest of my brothers and get rid of the rest of those lousy T-corp agents; don't expect to be a hero tonight, Inuyasha!" Bankotsu yelled, running forward to kick Inuyasha in the leg. The kick was hard, and made Inuyasha stumble only a little.
"Oh, haven't you heard? The rest of your group has already been detained. You're the last man standing" Inuyasha mocked. How long had Bankotsu been in this building to not know that the rest of his group had been taken down? Said man suddenly stepped back, letting an angry scowl replace the smug look he had been wearing for so long.
"What have you done to them!?" he yelled. Inuyasha noticed the sudden change in the man's mood, and deduced that his group members may have meant more to him than he thought.
"Keh, if they meant so much to you, you wouldn't have let them go out on their own. But don't worry, I didn't kill them. But they have been taken to a place where they won't be seeing the light of day again. I'm trying to make it so that you can join then, but you just won't give up!"
"Damn you! You sent them to the Confines!" Inuyasha prepared himself from another attack from the angry man, but was confused when he pulled a lighter and a long match out of his pocket.
"There's no way in any hell that I'll be going to that hole you demons call a facility!" Bankotsu proceeded to light the match and scurried over to a dark corner and lit something that Inuyasha couldn't see the contents of. A bright fire set ablaze in the corner, and Inuyasha's nose was immediately hit with a foul fume.
"You like that?" Bankotsu called out from the fire lit corner. "My brother Mukotsu made this himself. He's always been some kind of chemical genius. This incense was made to knock out demons, and I was assured that I would not be affected." Inuyasha tried with all his might to not sink to the floor in reaction to the assault his senses were undergoing. Whatever this fume was, it was going to cause him to pass out. He needed to get out of there, fast.
Sirens were heard outside of the building, and a voice over a megaphone was heard as well. Inuyasha recognized it as one of his fellow agents and began to get fearful. He didn't want anyone else coming in here and falling weak to this gas in the air.
On the outside, Kouga had alerted everyone that he smelled a strong fume coming from the building, and commanded everyone to stay where they were. One of the agents, Jūrōmaru, grabbed the megaphone and began to make demands in a smooth voice.
"Leader of the Band of Seven, you are surround by Taisho Corporations finest agents. To take action at this point would be futile. Whatever you have conjured in that building, dispose of it now and step out with your hands behind your head. Trust me; you do not want us to take action."
On the inside, Bankotsu was pleased that Inuyasha had collapsed to the floor and was coughing; his lungs begging him for clean air. But now he was surrounded by T-corp agents with no way out. None of his brothers were left, and nothing that he had planned to happen was happening.
"Do what they say Bankotsu!" Inuyasha yelled to the best of his ability, choking on the poisonous air. Bankotsu lowered his head in defeat; he could at least do what Naraku instructed him to do. A dark chuckle began to escape his lips, causing Inuyasha to stare at him through half lidded eyes. 'What the hell is he laughing at?' he thought.
"I'm not planning on falling into the hands of the enemy today." Upon those words, Bankotsu grabbed a large bag of incense out of the dark corner and opened it. He began to run around, spilling the contents everywhere; and Inuyasha was praying that he wasn't about to do what he thought he was about to do.
Bankotsu pulled out the lighter, and lit a small trail of the incense, causing it to light the other trails, and before he knew it, the floor of the building was covered in fire. Broken pieces of wood became part of the blaze, and Bankotsu began to talk.
"I won't be making it out of this one, Inuyasha. But neither will you." The area where the first trail he lit exploded, causing huge walls of flames to rise. Walls of fire began to erupt around the entire room, trapping Inuyasha.
'Mukotsu, you are a chemical genius indeed.' With that last thought, Bankotsu reached in his other pocket for the small gun he always carried with him. He had shot many people with this gun back in his street mobbing days. If the air wasn't so thick with fumes, he would have laughed at the irony of this situation. He placed the cold barrel to his head and fired.
"What the fuck!" Kouga yelled. The scent he smelled must have been some type of gas, and now the building was on fire.
"Inuyasha!" he yelled. He started to run towards the building, but someone caught his arm and held him back.
"Jūrōmaru, let go of me! I have to save him!" Kouga heard a small gunshot follow his words, and he began to panic even more. He pushed his fellow agent away and ran to the door.
It was shut tight.
"Damn! Inuyasha, can you hear me? Inuyasha!" What the hell happened in there?
"Kouga!"
His name was not being called in the direction he wanted to hear it from, and he turned around to find another fellow agent looking frantic.
"We need to get out of here! The gas in the air" he coughed "we're going to end up passing out!"
"We can't leave Inuyasha behind!"
"There's no way to get in the building!"
Kouga stepped away from the building and placed his hands to his head. 'Think, Kouga, think!'
"Jūrōmaru is ordering that we fall back, Kouga."
"FALL BACK THEN!" Kouga yelled. "I'll do this on my own!" He ran back to the metal door and began to punch and kick as hard as he could, not caring that his own fists were bruising; they'd heal. The other T-corp agents were secured back in the vehicles, all except for Jūrōmaru and Kouga.
"We can't get in there, Kouga. Come on before the entire building explodes and you're killed as well."
"Don't say that!" Kouga yelled again. He continued to helplessly punch and claw at the door; his claws against the metal forming the most unpleasant sound.
"I have to save him!" he yelled once more, his voice cracking in the process. He would never show, nor admit it, but a tiny tear slipped his eyes. Inuyasha couldn't be dead, could he? Not his long time partner and friend; this couldn't be happening. Jūrōmaru came up behind Kouga and grabbed him, pinning his hands behind his back. From one of the vehicles Kagerōmaru, Jūrōmaru's older brother took that action as a cue for handcuffs and bindings.
"Let go of me!" Kouga demanded "Don't put those on me! We have to help him!" Both T-corp agents ignored his pleading and dragged him back to their vehicle, shoving him in the back seat. All the cars quickly drove away from the hazardous building, and Jūrōmaru drove, calling in a man down.
Kouga sat up from behind violently shoved in the backseat and turned around to look at the back of the car. They were a safe distance from the building before it completely exploded, sending bricks and fire everywhere. There was a huge portrait of red bricks, orange fire, smoke, and stars in the pitch black night sky. It was almost beautiful.
"Inuyasha" Kouga breathed "I'm sorry."
-End of Flashback-
Inuyasha laid in the darkness of his room on the small mattress on the floor. He obviously wasn't going to get much sleep at the moment, so he stood up and made his way to the open window in the room. There were no stars out tonight, but the moon was shining as brightly as ever. The pale light bathed his bare, muscular chest; his golden eyes joining the glow.
The last thing Inuyasha remembered was passing out in the midst of walls of fire, positive that he would die. The next thing he remembered was waking up in the woods, covered in blood. He didn't know whether it was his own, Bankotsu's, or someone else's. The clothes he was wearing had been damaged from the fire, and were hanging loosely off his body. He ran through the woods, until he made it to an outskirt of Osaka. He made sure to lay low, listening for anyone that might be around. There was no telling what time it was, but the sky was still painted black.
Inuyasha had always made a habit of keeping quarters in his pants pocket. Whether it be work pants, jeans, sweat pants; he made sure he always kept change with him. He reached his hand down to check and was relieved when he saw that the change was still there. He found the nearest phone booth and began to make a call to the one person he knew could help him for sure.
Sesshomaru.
He had been instructed to stay put and to stay quiet. Sesshomaru informed him that he and Kikyo, his assistant, would be there by tomorrow. Osaka is a ways from Tokyo, but when you fly, it would only take some hours. Under no circumstances was he to call anyone else, or reveal his identity to anyone. Before Inuyasha could even ask why, Sesshomaru had ended the call. They found him somehow the next day, in a crappy diner in Osaka. Kikyo had grabbed Inuyasha and dragged him to the black SUV waiting out front. Sesshomaru then took them to the finest hotel in the city of Osaka and bought his half brother a room and supplied him with fresh clothes. It was quickly explained that everyone at T-corp thought had Sesshomaru had flown to Osaka to try and find any remains of Inuyasha's body, and he was going to do just that until he had received that phone call. Sesshomaru informed him over a nice room serviced dinner that everyone believed he was dead. When Inuyasha angrily protested, Sesshomaru stopped him and explained how this could come to their advantage.
-Flashback-
"No! I have to call Kagome, Kouga, Miroku, Sango, everybody!"
"You will not" Sesshomaru ordered. He quickly glanced at his 'unsure what to do' assistant Kikyo letting her know that she too was included in this plan.
"It is obvious that your demon blood saved your life, and you were able to escape from that building. The next time you visit father's grave, be sure to thank him for his strong blood" Sesshomaru spoke nonchalantly. Inuyasha had learned to accept Sesshomaru for what he was; and icy, heartless demon. He had grown accustomed to his half brother's stoic demeanor, but today would not be the day it would go unnoticed.
"Why can't I go home? Why can't I call my friends and tell them that I'm okay?" Inuyasha asked in irritation. Sesshomaru sighed and placed his fork back on his plate lightly, and met Inuyasha's golden orbs with his own.
"The Band of Seven was a group of street dwelling mongrels hired by Naraku to challenge T-corps finest agents. You, being the most formidable agent we have, were the number one target. And Naraku promised the group that if they were to succeed in killing you, then they'd no longer have to live on the filthy streets of Osaka, and they would be included in the riches gained from when he would overthrow our corporation. You and Kouga successfully detained six of the members, except for Bankotsu." Sesshomaru picked up his fork, and resumed taking small bites of his meal, and Kikyo took this as her cue to begin speaking.
"The police reports in Osaka said that the building had exploded from contents of unknown origin, and that the body of a male was found charred and nearly unrecognizable. We knew that this had to be Bankotsu, since Sesshomaru-sama had received your call last night." Kikyo stopped when she saw that Sesshomaru had once again placed his fork on his plate, readying himself to speak.
"Now, here's my chance to ask you some questions" he began. "What happened in that building?"
Inuyasha took a deep breath before explaining to his brother and boss what Bankotsu did and said last night, and how badly the fumes had affected him.
"Mukotsu confessed to creating the concoction in the interrogation hall late last night, but he also said that Naraku had given him a special poison to mix in with that concoction. It's called Miasma, and it is apparently harmful to only demons" Kikyo explained.
"Well then that would explain why I could hardly move then" Inuyasha began. He looked back to his brother waiting for him to deliver the final punch line.
"Naraku will know that the Band of Seven have been taken care of, and he will also think that you are dead. He believes that without Taisho Corporation's most formidable agent in the way, he can continue his plan to overthrow us. But I will not allow that to happen. Your new assignment is to accept missions that I give you that may potentially lead to Naraku. There are several demons and humans that have been conned into working for him, whether it is due to greed or blackmail. With you hiding in the shadows, we can take Naraku out faster. He won't even see you coming."
-End of Flashback-
Of course that meant pretending he was dead.
There were so many things back home that he needed to take care of, and it's been three years since he's even seen Tokyo, much less taken care of anything. All his friends, schoolmates, teachers, neighbors, and girlfriend believed he had been killed. And as much as he itched to let them know that he was still alive and well, he simply couldn't.
Until Naraku Onigumo was found and killed, he couldn't go home.
He knew that this assignment was going to take a while, but not this long. However, Inuyasha knew that if his brother had given him the 'go ahead' to fly back to Sapporo, that he must be close to the end. Just the thought of being back in the country of Japan was exciting him, but he didn't get his hopes up. If he was reaching the end that meant that soon he would have to face Naraku. He just hoped that it wouldn't take another three years.
He closed his window and went back to lie on the mattress. Every day, he wondered what his friends were doing. Were Miroku and Sango married by now? Had Kouga finally admitted he had a thing for Ayame and dated her? Most importantly, how was Kagome?
Where was she working? How was she fairing? Where did she live, at home or her own place? Was she with someone?
The last question made that pain from longing rise in his chest again. She had better not be with someone else, but what if she was? What could he do? It had been three years since he last saw her, touched her, and kissed her. It hurt him deeply to think of her happily married or with another man at all, but if that was the case, he could never blame her. For all she knew, he was dead.
He thought about how he hadn't made it to graduation; he died before then. He wondered how his memorial service went. Did people cry? Did Kagome? Of course she did. Kagome had always been strong, but when her friends or family was hurt, she was hurt. It wouldn't take long for a few tears to slip her eyes over the predicament that a fellow friend was in. Although he didn't know how to handle tears, he loved the compassion she held for others. He reached under his itchy pillow and found his wallet. Opening it up, he pulled out a picture.
It was a photo of him and Kagome at the fair. It was early senior year and the fair was in town. He stared at the beautiful smile she wore and the giant teddy bear she held. Even he himself had a pretty wide smile on his face. That had been a good night. He placed the picture back in his wallet and under the pillow. He needed to get some kind of rest before the morning came.
Inuyasha was determined to put an end to this pain in his chest. He was determined to find his way back to Kagome somehow; he would not, he could not wait another year. Even if it meant going against his brother's word.
"I'll find a way, Kagome. I promise." he said to himself, and closed his eyes.
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