Author's Note: Are you guys as excited for this story as I am? Oh yeah, definitely. –ahem- There are a few things I need to clarify before I start my story.

1) I don't own InuYasha and co.

2) The demons in this story are only faster, stronger and harder to kill (basically super-humans) and they don't have "powers" like Sesshoumaru's Toxic Flower Claw or anything like that.

3) It's an AU fic. Deal with it.

4) Parings are: Sango/Miroku, Kagome/InuYasha, Kouga/Ayame, Sesshoumaru/Kagura

I don't want to give anything more away, so you'll just have to read (and leave reviews) if you want me to continue this. I've got the whole thing plotted out in my head. This chapter is actually more of an introduction than anything else, but deal with it.

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12:56.

Exactly four minutes, and the senior class of 2004 would be free forever. This was the very last day of highschool that they would ever have in their lives. In exactly four minutes, they would have absolutely nothing to do for an entire summer and they would never, ever, have to see this school again. In four minutes, they would be free.

InuYasha sat slumped in his desk, his chin in his hands as he stared at the clock, trying to will the hands to move faster. He could have sworn that time was slowing down just to spite him.

"InuYasha? InuYasha, are you listening to me?" Kagome flicked a scrap of paper at the hanyou who didn't even blink when it hit him square on the nose.

"He's not listening," Miroku pointed out as he leaned back in his chair. "He's more focused on the clock than he's ever been in class."

Sango laughed, shaking her head and watching her friends from the corner of her eye. The rest of her attention was focused on her sketchbook as she doodled something in its pages. Her arms were bent around it, hiding it from view from everyone, and her head was hanging over it in concentration.

Bringing his chair back down with a small thud, Miroku leaned forward curiously. "What are you doing, Sango?"

"Nothing."

"Looks pretty secretive to be nothing."

She shut her notebook quickly before he could grab it and set her forearms on it heavily. "It's nothing."

"Then let me see it."

"No!"

A small tug of war followed between the two of them as Miroku grabbed one end of the notebook and tried to pull it away from Sango who retaliated by kicking him in the shins and pulling it back.

"Ow!"

"Let go!"

"Why? What's so important?"

"Kazaana! Taijiya! What's going on?" Their teacher, who had given up trying to get his class to focus long ago, crossed the room towards them and looked accusingly down at the two who tried to look innocent even as he glared at them.

"Nothing, sir. It's just that Sango took my notebook and I-"

"You liar! It's my notebook! Let go!"

Raising an eyebrow, Mr. Sado looked at the black sketchbook with Sango's name scrawled on the cover in whiteout. "Kazaana, unless your first name is Sango, I believe that this is Taijiya's notebook."

Miroku looked at it and then gave his teacher a forced smile as he let go of the notebook. Mr. Sado shook his head and walked back to his desk, mumbling something about migraines under his breath.

"So, do you think Ayame's going to have any last pranks before school's out for good?" Sango asked, breaking the silence that settled over the group.

Kagome couldn't help but laugh as she smoothed down her skirt at the thought of what the energetic wolf youkai would have planned. "Sango, I don't think that she'd even dream of missing the opportunity."

"Think it'll be better than the time she let bats loose in the air vents?"

"That? Psh, that was nothing."

There was no doubt that the wolf would have something planned. After all, ever since she transferred to their school in the middle of sophomore year, hardly a day had gone by when the girl hadn't been planning something. Kouga had taken an instant liking to her - finally leaving Kagome alone - and with him and the rest of his posse wrapped around her finger, Ayame had had the run of the school.

The magenta eyed girl nodded in agreement and then knit her eyebrows together for a moment. "Ayame's having that party or whatever this evening. Are you going?"

"Sure, why not?" Kagome answered, shrugging a shoulder as she glanced over at InuYasha and decided that he was hopelessly lost in concentration.

"I dunno."

"Sango, it'll be fun. They're all friends so what's the problem?"

Miroku cleared his throat and leaned towards Kagome confidentially, whispering in a stage whisper, "Think it'll kill her to break away from the dojo for a night?"

"Shut up, Kazaana," Sango replied automatically and without missing a beat turned to the other girl. "So you think I should go?"

Kagome nodded while Miroku allowed a sly grin to twitch in the corners of his mouth.

"A party, eh? With lots of girls?"

"Get your mind out of the gutter."

Miroku continued to grin over at Sango just as the intercom buzzed and the students who weren't staring at the clock like InuYasha or immersed in conversation glanced over at it, expecting their principal to have several last words to say to them.

Ayame's voice, however, was what could be heard once the buzzing ceased.

"Hey, class of 2004, this is Ayame speaking. Make good choices, be smart, remember that someone loves you and gather 'round the front doors. We have a lovely surprise for you all."

It buzzed again and a few random swear words and other things could be heard, as well as their principal's name before the redhead's voice came on once more.

"Have a great summer!" she shouted, clicking it off just as the faint angry voice of their principal could be heard in the background.

"What was that all about?" Kagome asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Guess Ayame has something planned after all." The magenta eyed girl slapped Miroku's hand away as he reached for her notebook once more. "Lemme alone, pervert!"

"Sango, if I ask nicely, could I see your notebook?" Miroku asked sweetly, in a way that would make almost any other girl melt in a fit of giggles.

"No," Sango replied, not at all fazed by him.

"Whyyy?"

"Because my drawing isn't finished, that's why."

"So, when it's finished, could I -"

Brrrrriiing!

InuYasha positively leapt out of his seat the moment the bell rang and grabbed his backpack as he darted out the door. "YES! I'M A FREE MAN!"

"InuYasha!" Kagome shouted after him, grabbing her own bag and running after him. "Get back here!"

The other two exchanged a look in which Miroku shrugged and Sango slipped her notebook into her backpack before standing.

"Hey, Sango!" he called after her as she walked out of the room.

"Yeah?"

His lips twitched up in a genuine smile. "Happy graduation."

The girl's stomach flipped and she felt the beginnings of a blush on her cheeks. Embarrassed, she turned away and continued walking down the hall. "Th-thanks."

][

"Hey seniors!" Ayame's loud voice could probably be heard several blocks away as she shouted into the megaphone.

Several wolves stood by the main doors, handing can after can of silly string to the senior class as they exited the building. InuYasha looked at it curiously and then at Kagome who merely shrugged and continued walking down the stairs.

"Class of 2004, we did it!" the redhead shouted once more, getting a cheer from her fellow classmates. "Let's leave our mark on the underclassmen, shall we?"

Another cheer followed and the girl pumped a fist enthusiastically in the air before being hoisted onto Ginta and Hakkaku's shoulders. A mischievous grin split her face in two as she cleared her throat and looked over at the main doors expectantly.

A dark haired wolf gave her the thumb's up and tossed something that looked suspiciously like spray paint to one of his buddies. Seconds later, the front doors were pushed open by several underclassmen as the exited. With looks as confused as Ayame and her wolves' were devious, they piled out of the doors and stood on the steps, looking around at the seniors that surrounded them both on the steps and on the lawn.

"STRING THEM!!"

The megaphone was hardly needed as all of the seniors got the same idea at once. In one movement, the entire class had whipped off the covers of their silly string cans and began stringing the life out of the underclassmen as the exited the building and then tried to run for safety across the lawn.

Ayame's loud laughter could be heard, ringing amplified among the shrieks, screams, and shouts of triumph. This might have not been her most risky or creative prank, but it definitely was the most fun and involved one so far.

The wolves that stood on the steps nodded to each other and then shook their cans of spray paint before using them on the building's walls and front doors. This was a senior class that would be remembered.

"2004, you kick ass!" she shouted as the freshmen, sophomores and juniors finally began escaping from the seniors' grasp and ran for their buses, cars or other modes of transportation.

"Well, that was exciting," Kagome said as she picked some silly string out of her hair and looked around to take in the damage.

"Feh." Her hanyou companion wrinkled his nose and then shook his can, eyes glittering when he found that it wasn't quite empty yet. "Hmmm..."

Kagome's eyes widened as he looked over at her and she ran off. He, of course, gave chase and caught up with her pretty quickly.

"Hah! Now it's fun!"

"InuYasha, you jerk!!"

As the noise on the front lawn began dying down, the roar of a motorcycle could be heard approaching. Several girls squealed and shrieked at the same time, "Kouga!"

The dark haired wolf brought his motorcycle to an abrupt halt at the curb in front of them and tossed his ponytail over his shoulder. "Hello, girls."

"Kouga!" Ayame shouted happily into the megaphone. At his wince, she made an apologetic face and pulled it away from her mouth.

He closed his eyes and then gently touched an ear with his hand before dismounting his motorcycle. "Don't do that again, Ayame."

Ayame jumped down from Ginta and Hakkaku's shoulders and handed one of them the megaphone with a broad grin.

"That, I think, was a complete success," she commented, green eyes traveling across the silly string covered lawn and the graffitied walls of the school along with the words "'O4 forever" written across the front doors.

"Well, well, well, Ayame. What did you do this time?"

The red-head looked over her shoulder at Kouga and gave him a broad grin. "Do you like it? I think that I have a future being a delinquent."

He shook his head, walking over to her and ignoring the girls he brushed past who ran over to his motorcycle and began fawning over it.

"Isn't it so cool?"

"Guys on motorcycles are so sexy."

"Think I could get a ride with him sometime?"

"Not until I do!!"

He smirked at Ayame who put her hands on her hips and said in mock accusation, "You abandoned me in seventh hour."

"Sorry, but the last day was made for ditching."

"And the rest of the year?"

Kouga just gave her another cocky smirk. "They're practice."

She rolled her eyes and gave him a solid punch in the shoulder.

"Ayame!" called a voice somewhere behind the redheaded wolf.

Looking over her shoulder, Ayame threw Sango a smile and waved in her direction. "What up, Sango?"

"Are you still throwing an end of the year party at Kouga's?" she asked, giving Kouga an acknowledging nod before looking back at the other girl. Sango really wasn't one for parties, but except for Kagome, Ayame probably was her closest girl friend in school and even Sango could celebrate the end of a very stressful year. And Kagome had talked her into it.

"Are you kidding? Of course."

"That InuYasha isn't coming, is he?" Kouga growled, narrowing his eyes.

Ayame hit him lightly once more. "Kouga, be nice. InuYasha's coming too."

He growled once more and was about to say something before the light glare Ayame gave him turned into something more like a broken hearted pout.

"... Fine," he caved in at last. "Stop looking at me like that."

The red-head gave him a smile and took him by the arm, leading him towards his motorcycle. "Let's go."

The girls instantly looked up from the motorcycle and backed away, each of them giving Kouga a flutter of their lashes. He swung a leg over his motorcycle and smirked at them, revving his bike as Ayame climbed on behind him.

"Sango! Eight o'clock!" She cupped her hands around her mouth and waved to the other girl before locking her arms around Kouga's waist.

"We'll be there," Sango called after them as they sped off, weaving through the traffic. "That wolf had a need for speed."

][

7:12

Sango pulled a shirt out of her dresser, eyeing the glowing numbers on her clock. A light knocking sounded against her door.

"Come in, Kohaku," she said, looking back down at her drawers and digging through them for another pair of jeans.

"Hey, Sis, Shippou's coming over later."

"I know."

"We wanted to watch the Ring so... you know, no pranks?"

Sango laughed, stepping away from her wood dresser and raised an eyebrow at him. "So I shouldn't hide behind the couch and start kicking like you did in the middle of the Exorcist last time Kagome was over?"

Her younger brother grinned cheekily. "That was pretty good, wasn't it?"

She just rolled her eyes and turned her back to him before yanking her tank top over her head and untwisting one of her bra straps.

"Kohaku, I'm not even going to be home. Ayame and Kouga are having some sort of end of the year party and I'm getting a ride there from Miroku."

"You trust him enough to ride in the car with him?" her younger brother asked, well aware his groping tendencies.

"Kagome and InuYasha are going to be there too." Sango slipped into the t-shirt she had pulled out earlier before turning to face her brother once more.

"I know Dad's going to want to know when he gets back, so, when are you coming home?"

She shrugged one shoulder, and then made a face. "Maybe midnight?"

"I didn't know you were such a party animal, sis," Kohaku said.

Sango just rolled her eyes and scrunched up her tank top before throwing it at her brother. He dodged it and stuck out his tongue before disappearing to another part of the house.

A car horn suddenly sounded outside her window and she thought that she heard someone calling her name. Draping her extra pair of jeans over her arm, she opened her window and leaned out of it.

"Sango, hurry up!"

"You're early... and alone," Sango called back, the pitch of her voice going higher when she pointed out the last fact.

Miroku grinned up at her; an arm casually bent around one of the seats of his convertible as he slouched behind the wheel. "InuYasha called. I have to pick him up at his brother's house. You're on the way."

"You mean out of the way," she muttered to herself before letting out a sigh and calling down, "What about Kagome?"

"She's there already."

"Alright, fine. I just need a minute."

Miroku nodded as Sango closed her window and the drapes. Convinced that no Peeping Toms would be able to watch her, she changed her jeans, cursing Ayame's graffiti-ing friends under her breath. Did she look like a wall? No! So how did her jeans and tank top get that junk on them?

Sango grabbed a small purse, nothing fancy, just something to put her wallet and phone in incase she needed to call someone or her father wanted to call her when he got home to make sure that she was alright. Swinging it over her shoulder, she ran down the steps before Miroku would start honking at her again and make the neighbors run out and kill him.

"Bye Kohaku!" She hesitated at the front door, self-consciously running a hand through the hair that she hadn't gotten a chance to brush out. "Love you!"

"Bye, Sis!" shouted Kohaku's voice over the Tv in the living room. His sister smiled before leaving the house and locking the door behind her.

Miroku glanced in her direction, turning his car back on while she jogged over to it and hopped in over the door.

"Next time you come early, at least let me know. I could have been half-dressed when you started honking," Sango said, buckling herself in.

"Then I'll be sure not to call."

"Pervert!"

He beamed over at her, purple eyes glittering as he switched on the radio and pulled away from the curb. "Would I be one to disappoint you?"

Sango couldn't help but blush slightly as she turned away from him, resting an elbow on the door and her chin lightly on her fist. If her hair had been messy before, it would really be something else by the time they got anywhere. If she were lucky, Kagome or Ayame would have a brush she could use.

The two spoke little on the way to what InuYasha called in mock sincerity "the Western Lands" because of its distance from the city and because, well, it was to the west. The radio continued blaring songs from various bands and artists and Sango found herself lost in a mush between Evanescence, Avril Lavinge and Korn among other musicians that she couldn't catch the name of.

"Finally," Miroku muttered about half an hour later as he pulled into the circular driveway that lead to and from the main door of Sesshoumaru's mansion. Never having been to the Western Lands before, Sango's eyebrows shot up and she let out a low whistle.

"InuYasha's brother lives here?"

"Half-brother," Miroku corrected automatically.

"Who died and made him king?"

Shrugging a careless shoulder, Miroku's eyes flickered to the clock on his dashboard. 7:43. Hopefully Ayame would find it in her to forgive them for being late. Before he could honk to attract the attention of InuYasha, and probably trigger some expensive, high-tech alarm system, the hanyou himself stormed out of the mansion, Kagome following with two steps to his one.

"InuYasha, relax!"

"Stupid bastard. Can't be in the same room as him before he insults me."

"You weren't exactly being nice either!"

"All I did was mention his bitch of a girlfriend."

"Then don't mention her anymore."

"Are we interrupting something?" Sango asked, raising an eyebrow at InuYasha who looked ready to breathe fire and Kagome who was hopelessly trying to calm him down.

"No, it's a good thing you came when you did," she replied, sliding into the car after InuYasha and belting herself in.

"Feh."

Kagome made a face and then leaned forwards, grinning over at Sango. "So, how was the ride here?"

The girl's cheeks flushed slightly at her friend's suggestive tone and she flipped the radio back on while Miroku chuckled and pulled away from the mansion.

"Oh, Kagome, wouldn't you like to know," he chuckled, winking at her.

"Pervert!" came Sango's distressed voice as she smacked him.

"Ow! Not when I'm driving!"

][

"8:11."

"That leaves you how much time?"

"Four hours and 49 minutes."

"So you have ample time to review all the information you have collected?"

"Yes."

A pause, then the second voice spoke once more. "Kagura, do I sense hesitation on your part?"

The woman looked away, at the stack of papers on the desk behind her and when she spoke, her attention was anywhere else but on the man speaking to her. "I feel like something will go wrong."

"If you are feeling reluctant to do this mission for me, I am sure there are others who would… feel the pain of your weakness."

She tensed, shooting all her attention back on him in a moment. "This will go as planned, Naraku."

He smiled, chuckling darkly to himself before raising a hand to dismiss her. Without needing a second beckoning, Kagura turned, picked up the heavy stack of papers, and walked out of the room.

"Kagura," he said, voice stopping her just as she was about to reach the door. "Do not fail me."

Taking a slow breath, the youkai nodded stiffly and left the room. She headed down an intricate, almost maze-like hallway, ignoring the snippets of conversation from other demons in Naraku's ring of crime she heard from the various rooms she passed. They were not her problem.

She opened a small door, letting herself into a crowded room that served for both her bedroom and work area. Shoving some clothes onto the floor, she dropped the papers onto the bed and sat beside them, legs crossed.

"April 16th, 2004," she read in a murmur from the newspaper article on top of the pile. "Destruction of FBI headquarters baffles all."

Her red eyes scanned the rest of the article quickly for she had read it before and didn't need to thoroughly examine it once again.

It is impossible to determine the motive for this action. Firefighters blame a short circuit for the fire, but a small circuit-destroying box found at the scene rules out the possibility for this to have been an accident. However, when paramedics arrived, they were unable to find any casualties.

"This was a very well planned attack," said the fire chief, an elderly man by the name of Toutousai. "The fire originated in the south wing where it was contained by the arsonist to allow for maximum damage in that area before being allowed to spread."

The head of the Department of Control of Demonic Artifacts, known more casually as the Demon Slayers Uni, - called Mr. X to preserve his identity - had several thoughts to share.

"We have seen this sort of arson before," he admitted. "We have begun calling the culprits the "Thunder Brothers" because of their use of electrical wires in starting the fires."

Mr. X also cast rumors of a connection between the "Thunder Brothers" and the youkai, Naraku, aside.

"The public would like to believe that Naraku and the Thunder Brothers are working together for some reason, but there is no proof for that. In fact, there is no proof that anyone - even the Thunder Brothers - was behind this feat."

When presented with the fact that it would be nearly impossible for someone without a tremendous amount of help to break into the FBI headquarters and burn it to the ground, Mr. X made no comment.

Kagura tossed the article to the side, not caring to read about the extent of the damage or rumors of what had happened. She knew exactly what had happened. Naraku had sent the Thunder Brothers to burn down the headquarters, targeting the Department of Control of Demonic Artifacts. He wanted to make sure that, when the expensive and rumored to be powerful Shikon no Tama was brought to the FBI along with a handful of other artifacts, the headquarters would be obliterated.

It was so much easier to steal from private homes rather than an agency.

"Kikyou Higurashi," muttered Kagura as she flipped through one of the files that Hiten had taken from the agency before it went up in flames. "29, new partner of Taijiya, fond of a weapon she calls "Sacred Arrow", working with the feds for three and a half years."

The youkai twirled a small fan around her fingers, a habit she had for distracting herself when in a stressful situation. It only worked so well. Suddenly unable to control herself, the black haired demon threw all the papers from her bed, causing them to flutter across the room before landing. Burying her face in her pillow, she shrieked at the top of her lungs in an attempt to somehow get her frustration out. All she had to do was take the Shikon no Tama from the Taijiya residence and kill all who opposed her. She had read the files, newspaper articles, everything she could get her hands on for months before now. She knew what she had to do. What she was supposed to do.

Slowly she sat up, a hand fisted over where she used to be able to feel the steady beating of her heart. She couldn't risk failure. It wouldn't only cost her her life but...

It didn't matter. Her life she could give up, but she just couldn't risk the life of someone who shouldn't have even been involved. Taking a slow breath to regain her composure, she picked the scattered papers off the floor and began reading through them yet again.