AN: New story. Very well planned out I believe.
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any other characters from the show. They belong to Rumiko Takahashi. The plot and all the words to this story are mine however.
Chapter One
Long creamy legs stuck out from a shower, slowly pulling a lean feminine body behind them. Two tiny feet resting on a beige towel catching the lone droplets of water determined enough to run the length of the body. Long raven black hair stuck in wet chunks to the toned back, rivulets of water beginning their long trek spurred by gravity. Small hands reaching back grabbing hold of the soaked locks, twirling them up into a bun, and squeezing out the excess water. The woman grabbed a large fluffy brown towel, wrapping it tightly around her.
Kagome stared at herself in the mirror in her bathroom, wiping the fog that had gathered from her steamy shower. She bent in observing dark circles under her eyes. Sighing she grabbed another towel rubbing her hair as dry as she could. Tossing her towel aside she opened a drawer and pulled out her blow dryer. Soon the hot blasts of air dried her hair completely, and she placed it back into the drawer. She then grabbed a hair straightener, and slowly dragged it through her hair, marveling at how it tamed the resilient bends and curls that characterized her hair. Finished with that she reached in another drawer and pulled out a simple make up bag. Fishing through she pulled out light concealer. Smooth sweeps of her hand, effortlessly covered up her slightly tanner skin. To complete she made a few swipes down her neck to blend thoroughly to appear natural. A few strokes from her eye liner, and a pale lipstick finished her off.
Kagome walked into her room and opened the door to her walk-in closet. She quickly grabbed a simple black skirt and matching jacket from within. She also pulled out a maroon silky tank top. Grabbing her under garments from her bureau she dressed. A look in the mirror showed a very serious woman dressed professionally, a person no one would look at and think she was anything other than a business woman. Whipping a brush through the silky straight hair she finished with pulling it into a clip to keep it out of her face. She grabbed a watch and a simple gold chain with a heart hanging on it. Simple black flats were slipped on, and she walked out of her room into the living room then towards the kitchen. A quick cup of coffee and a bagel were breakfast and soon her black attaché was in her hand as she maneuvered herself out her door, locking it behind her.
A tahiti green Chevy Aveo sat in her driveway, which she climbed into and backed out into the street. Driving slowly down the street she pulled out her phone to check for messages. Kagome glanced in her rearview mirror, eyeing a black sedan that was driving very close to the back of her car. With a small growl deep in her throat she sped up slightly, and directed her car into a parking garage. The security guard glanced at the sticker placed in her front window, then waved her through pressing a button to raise the blockade arm. She smoothly drove up two stories and pulled into her spot, the one with her name plate in front on the wall.
"Kikyo Yamada". It was her codename. Kagome was living a lie, so to speak, all for a good cause. She was an undercover agent posing as an agent for up and coming actors and actresses. Although truthfully that wasn't even close to what she was really doing. No it got even more complicated. Kagome has started out with a normal life, growing up with a single mom and a younger brother. She quickly made her way through police academy and landed a desk job with the local precinct. She was very clever and quickly made it to detective status, although she had never landed a high press case. Looking back on that, if she had gotten that much exposure then she couldn't be in the position she was in now. Life was going good for her, until one fateful evening she returned to her mother's house for her brother's 7th birthday. She found the house empty, her mother and brother missing, no note. No one knew anything, and the case went cold, no leads. She grew desperate and finally contacted a higher up officer, one that was connected to the FBI. They kept in constant contact for a few months until one day communication just stopped. The next day she was approached by a man, and she was brought into headquarters and promoted to an FBI officer. Top authorities informed her that her contact had gone missing, believed to be kidnapped and currently was being tortured by a suspected crime lord.
The authorities explained that because she kept in constant contact with him she knew more about the situation than other agents, plus the crime lord knew most of the other agent's faces. So they recruited her for an undercover mission to find evidence so they could arrest him, and hopefully rescue the agent in time. They set her up with a fake name, a new house, a new identity entirely, cities away from home. She was soon hired by another planted agent, although to protect both of them she never knew who, for the position she currently holds.
Opening the door Kagome tried to push back the tough memories of losing everything and everyone, if she didn't then she would quickly loose her stoic façade. She walked briskly through the garage to wait at the elevator to take her to the ground floor. On days she had trouble pushing memories to the back of her mind she would take the stairs to give her more time before facing people. While she was waiting a young woman in a black pant suit with a pink shirt walked up beside her. She glanced over and gave a slight nod towards her; it was a woman she worked with.
"Good morning Ms. Honda" Kagome said flatly. She wished she could be more amicable, but that would be out of character for her, and she had worked so hard to become someone that no one would recognize. The woman uttered a little "Oh!" as if she was startled. She looked as if she had been caught up in her thoughts.
"Good morning Ms. Yamada. How are you this morning? I'm still half asleep as you can tell." Kagura Honda giggled. Kagome suppressed a smile and a giggle herself, the woman did slightly look like she just rolled out of bed. Her hair was rumpled and her eyes were glazed over slightly.
"I'm doing well. I suggest you stop for coffee in the café on the first floor, no time to be sleepy." Kagome replied, hoping she didn't sound too harsh. She must have because Kagura just nodded and followed Kagome onto the elevator that had just arrived. No more words were exchanged between the two as the elevator descended down. She couldn't help but wish she had met Kagura before she had become caught up in undercover work, and forced to hide her true self. She wished desperately for friends like she used to have, one to invite over and watch silly romantic movies, eating popcorn, and discussing their love lives. No those days were gone. Now Kagome had to concentrate on finding her brother and her mother.
The elevator arrived and the two women walked the short distance to the tall skyscraper they worked in. Once inside the two split, Kagura following Kagome's advice, headed to the café to buy a cup of coffee. Kagome navigated through the ornate receptionist area, the tall ceiling looming over her, the marble walls giving off a cold aura. The first thirty floors were normal offices any company could rent out, but above that was property of the suspected crime lord, and her boss, Onigumo. The ride up the elevators was quick enough. The crowd thinned out the higher the level was, once she reached level thirty, the last person filed off, she allowed the doors to close. She pulled out a key that very few people had, impossible to make a copy of, Onigumo made sure no locksmith would. She turned the key and opened a small door; with lithe fingers she typed into the keyboard her pass code. Only approved personnel with a key and pass code were allowed above level thirty. Closing and locking the door the elevator moved up the last two levels quickly.
Kagome exited the elevator into a simple reception area. A couple couches rested against the left wall, straight ahead was the receptionist. Everyone had to check in with her, showing the correct credentials, if everything checked out she would buzz you through the door to the offices. It was a security precaution in case someone somehow got a hold of a key and pass code that shouldn't. She walked through the door after being buzzed in, and opened the third office door on the right.
She placed her attaché on her desk and slid into her seat. Hitting the power button to the computer she picked up the phone and pressed 1 for voicemail. As the computer loaded she went through the calls about this commercial was interested in that client, she jotted both names down and contact numbers. Finished with that she turned to her computer checking her mail, replying, and forwarding. An hour later she was finished with the easy stuff, the cover job that Onigumo had for her was simple and the workload was light. It allowed time for her to get to the job he truly hired her for.
Kagome opened up her documents, typing in a security password. Access opened with pages and pages of names, phone numbers, and small paragraphs on each person. It was a list of clients for one of Onigumo's most disturbing branch of his organization. Each and every one of the people listed are disgusting perverts. She could feel her heart pumping faster, blood rushing to her head, causing her to feel temporarily dizzy. She had to dig her nails into her legs, and slow her breathing or else she was going to pass out, or pop a blood vessel.
Kagome was put in charge of handling the selling and distribution of kiddy porn. The agent she used to speak to informed her about the suspicious disappearances of young boys and girls. He believed that they were taken away and forced into sexual situations with older men and women, which were taped and then sold. A huge underground industry of kiddy porn had suddenly sprung up in the past few years, and the agency suspected that Onigumo was the man behind most of the productions. It was believed he shot several of his films in this very building, but without the right codes there was no way to find out.
Kagome opened her second email account, the one reserved for the shady business of distributing the dirty videos. She worked until lunch organizing the orders, and designing a route to certain video stores that Onigumo had under his thumb. She would compare customer's locations to approved stores, and calculate how many videos needed to be dropped off. She then would email the customers back with which store to pick it up at, the code name of the movie, and what time it would be available. A small knock on her door caused her to glance up, while minimizing everything on her screen.
"Come in!" She called out softly. Slowly the door opened to reveal none other than Kagura's smiling face.
"I was heading to lunch and was wondering if you'd like to join me. I know this little Italian diner around the corner, delicious! I know how you like to work through your lunch, but I was hoping for company today." Kagura walked into her office smiling. "Come on work-a-holic, some fresh air will do you some good."
"That does sound good. I think I may take you up on that offer." Kagome said, trying her hardest not to smile, to sounds airy and disinterested. Kagura's smile got even wider.
"Well if we hurry we can beat the rush." Kagome nodded and grabbed her wallet from her attaché. She followed Kagura to the elevator, closing and locking her door behind her. She knew any moment her screensaver would pop up and you had to type a password in to get back to the computer, so everything was for the most part safe.
They stood at the elevator and quickly got on when it arrived. Normally when taking the elevator down it would be empty, today there stood a man in the corner. He was standing up tall, his face hard with no emotion showing, his outfit was impeccable. He had long silver hair pulled back from his seeming slender face; it almost looked as though he was wearing makeup. Kagome stood in the elevator looking straight ahead, but continued to take in the man out of the corner of her eye. She had thought she was good at keeping her face blank, but this man made her look like a drama queen. As much as she tried she could never get the coldness of her fake personality to reach her eyes. She figured that Kagura could see the light dance in her eyes and believed there was a fun person hidden deep, so she continued to befriend her. This man, looking into his eye sent shivers down her spine.
Kagome didn't have time to finish looking at him because people started shoving their way onto the elevator from the other floors, forcing her to the other side into plump man who was perspiring a little too much. They reached the ground floor and she nearly got trampled by the other business women and men stampeding from the elevator. She heard a gruff voice right before she was whisked away in the crowd.
"Insolent fools."
Kagura led the way to the restaurant, which wasn't too far from the building at all. Kagome breathed in the fresh air, the breeze flipping her hair around cooling her off. She could smell the freshness of spring, even though it was in the city. Thankfully the Mayor believed that foliage brightened the town, and had the city workers plant trees lining the streets down town. She could feel the warmth of the sun on her skin, looking up there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Beautiful days like this gave her hope for the future. A small smile graced her lips as she thought about her old life, this kind of day she would take her little brother Souta to the park. He looked up to her, and basically worshipped everything she did. He would go to school and brag to his friends about his sister capturing bad guys. For his birthday she had bought him a fake police kit, complete with plastic badge and handcuffs, the birthday he disappeared.
"Hey." Kagura said softly startling Kagome out of her thoughts. She looked up trying to blink back the tears in her eyes; she didn't feel like trying to explain to Kagura why she was crying. "You ok?"
"I'm allergic to pollen, so spring time is hell for me." Kagome quickly explained. Kagura just nodded, believing what Kagome said, shrugging she walked into a restaurant with Kagome following. It was a quaint little place, a hostess smiled as they walked in.
"Two?" She asked, acknowledging their nods she grabbed menus and led them to a table in the back corner. She let them know that their waitress would be right with them, and walked back to the front. Kagome took a seat and looked around, the walls were covered with pictures of the original owners when they first opened, employees smiling, celebrities, and other pictures pertaining to an Italian restaurant. It was all very cozy, making Kagome smile again.
"Well if I knew all it took was a little fresh air and a good Italian atmosphere to get you to smile, then I would have suggested this awhile ago." Kagura said teasingly, and causing Kagome to raise her hand to her mouth quickly. Had she blown her cover? It was always just so hard to maintain a façade when all she wanted to do was open up and make a good friend. Why couldn't she let her hair down a little and enjoy a little lunch for once? She could just go right back to Kikyo once she got back to work.
"Just thinking about not having to go back to that dreary office would make anyone smile." Kagome joked, causing Kagura to get a shocked expression.
"Was that a joke?! I think I'm making progress, she's alive I tell ya!" Kagome giggled, she was glad to have chosen to have a little fun.
"I can joke and laugh, I promise you, but something about that office always puts me in such a nasty mood. I'm sorry if I ever come off as rude." Kagome said grabbing a breadstick from the basket the waitress had just set in the middle of the table.
"Can I get you something to drink?" The waitress asked looking at Kagome.
"A sprite would be lovely." The waitress turned to Kagura and gasped. She dropped her pen and paper, and flew at her. She wrapped her arms around her and gave her a huge hug. Kagura looked shocked and very confused trying to pry her arms off her. The waitress murmured something and Kagura froze wide eyed.
"Sango, Sango! I've missed you so much. I thought….I thought you were killed too! I was devastated. But here you are!!" The waitress had pulled back and was rambling.
"I'm sorry mam, you must be mistaken, my name is Kagura. I don't know anyone named Sango. I'm truly sorry." Kagura quickly spewed, looking around in panic. The waitress looked really confused and flustered.
"Oh my! I am so, so sorry! You just look so much like my niece. She went missing, and I just thought. Well apparently I wasn't thinking. I am so sorry!" The waitress blundered, tears sliding down her cheeks. Kagura placed her hand on the woman's.
"I understand. I would have probably reacted the same way." Kagome studied the two women; she noticed they did look very similar. They had the same nose; both had high cheek bones, and full lips. The waitress apologized once again and walked off quickly, pulling out a napkin to wipe away her tears. Kagura looked very thoughtful and slightly disturbed. Kagome inspected Kagura's face, watching her stare at the pictures on the wall, not truly seeing them. Her forehead was wrinkled in contemplation, and her fingers were tapping on the table while she chewed on her lip.
"Are you ok?" Kagome asked; Kagura whipped her head up, clearing her face and smiling brightly.
"I'm fine, I just feel bad for the woman, and I was trying to imagine what it would be like to be in her position. To have that elated feeling of finding someone she thought she had lost, and then have the squashed when she learned that she was mistaken. It must be awful; I wish I could help her." She picked up a menu and scanned; Kagome followed her lead and picked up a menu of her own.
A different waitress came back, explaining the other one had gone home because she didn't feel well. Kagura and Kagome ordered, and sat back relaxing into their chairs to begin discussing the new TV show, Chuck. As they waited for their food Kagome found they had very similar tastes, in shows, music, and clothes. The waitress walked up carrying a huge tray with steaming hot food, the smell wafting down caused her stomach to growl, earning a giggle from Kagura. Having their food placed in front of them, they began to chow down.
Kagome blow softly on her lasagna, she learned the hard way it was hot enough to burn her tongue if she didn't. It was cooked perfectly, the taste was heavenly. She now knew why Kagura had insisted on coming here, the food was delicious. They finished their food in companionable silence, settling back in their chairs satisfied.
"Didn't I tell you it was good?" Kagura asked dragging a breadstick through leftover sauce from her spaghetti. Kagome just groaned a little and nodded.
"A little too good, I think I just gained 20 pounds just now." Kagura laughed and shoved the sauce soaked breadstick in her mouth before sighing. The check was delivered and they split it, making sure to pull some cash out for a tip. Kagome followed Kagura up to the counter wondering if the waitress was really mistaken. Kagura had looked so frightened and panicked, no just confused. Wouldn't she have acted the same way if someone had come up and asked her if she was Kagome? It would totally blow her cover if she was with the wrong person, she knew that there were at least one other undercover agent. Maybe Kagura was? She debated on finding out if it was true, if it wasn't she could risk exposing herself.
Kagome handed the cashier her ticket and credit card, signing the paper provided. She slipped the card carefully back into her wallet, at least she never had to worry about money. Onigumo paid well, very well. As did the FBI, the money transferred into her account was disguised as a settlement from a store where she had sued for food poisoning. After all this was over she was set to buy a house and wouldn't have to worry about money for a long time. She would trade all the money in the world, without any hesitation, if she could only get her little brother and mother back.
Kagome and Kagura hurriedly walked back to the office, lunch had taken longer than usual, and if they didn't hurry they'd be late. The ride up the elevator seemed to take forever; Kagome had her game face back on, no smiles, just a serious face set in determination. Kagura seemed a little less perky than usual, but both knew how mad their boss could get if they were late and didn't finish their work. The doors opened and she quickly walked to the receptionist, followed by Kagura, both approved and buzzed in.
"Thanks, we should do lunch again soon." Kagome said without smiling, but with a lighter tone than usual. Kagura smiled and nodded her head slipping into her office next door. She quickly unlocked her own door and closed it behind her. She checked her messages and pulled up the work she had been sorting through before lunch. A couple hours slipped by as Kagome quickly typed and plotted the course. A window popped up in the bottom right of her screen informing her that she had received a high priority email. Confused she opened it in her secret email account, it was from Onigumo. Reading through it quickly she summarized that she was going to have a very busy day tomorrow, he wanted her to drop off the tapes herself. He had only had her do that once before, it required a lot of run around work, and it showed he slowly trusted her more and more.
Kagome opened the attached documents, and printed them out as instructed. They were letter Onigumo had written to the store owners, a sort of guarantee that they would not go to the police. Many contained reminders of the information Onigumo held and was blackmailing them with, ending with a subtle threat of forwarded the information to the police, which would result in immediate arrest and automatic death penalty. She didn't bother to read through them, they were similar situations, accidental killing of a childhood friend, and manufactured evidence against innocent owners, plus pictures of hostages he had taken. When finished she folded each carefully placing them into white envelopes and labeling them with the store's name.
Kagome nearly fell out of her chair when he phone buzzed, the receptionist wanted to speak with her. She pressed the talk button and spoke clearly,
"Yes Emi?" There was a crackle, and the receptionist's voice came through clear as a bell.
"You're 3:30 appointment is here."
Kagome sighed and slipped the envelopes she was working on into her desk drawer and locked it. She responded with a "Send her in." Shortly a soft knock sounded on her door, causing her to jump.
"Come in!" She called. The door opened to reveal a tall woman with flawless skin, plump red lips, shiny styled brown hair slightly curled, clad in a skin tight black cocktail dress. Her client Ayumi Takashi walked in, expertly balanced on needle thin high heels, strings laced up her calf. She sauntered over and quietly sat in one of Kagome's comfortable chairs, she smiled and leaned her head to the right slightly. "Good afternoon Ms. Takashi, I understand you are interested in making certain movies."
Ayumi nodded her head, a silky smooth voice spoke, "Yes I am Ms. Yamada, and I very much appreciate you interviewing me. I understand it is a great honor to be considered."
"It's fine. Now as you know these films are very secretive and very few people are involved. Your background check came back satisfactory, which is why you got called here today. Before we go any further I am going to need you to sign a confidentiality clause." Kagome reached into her desk as she spoke and pulled out a couple papers, with a pen she underlined the main points, and marked an "x" next to the area Ayumi must sign. "It basically states that everything that you are involved in and are exposed to must be kept in confidence. If you should break this clause and tell anyone what you have seen and heard you can be taken to court and sued for everything you have. If you do not sign this then you cannot continue. It's a basic contract; even I have to sign it to work here."
Ayumi nodded and skimmed through, Kagome knew she wasn't stupid but some of the terminology she was sure was beyond her. She knew that Ayumi trusted her agent Kikyo, but was a bit wary of the fact she had to sign something so serious. She rationalized to her that it was to keep unique plots from being copied by other agencies. Ayumi signed with a flourish and Kagome placed it in her printer that was also a copier. After it was done copying she stapled the copies and placed them in one folder and the original in another. She wrote Ayumi Takashi on both. She pulled a packet from her desk, and went over other terms and conditions with Ayumi, having her sign each page and date. It was redundant but Onigumo liked to cover his tracks, never wanting any little hole to sneak up and bite him on his ass. He had a team of lawyers at his disposal constantly researching and covering any little hole in contracts.
Kagome copied each paper signed as Ayumi finished, and placed the original with the rest of them, and the copied with the other copies. Soon they had covered everything, and Kagome stapled a piece of paper on the inside of the folder before closing it.
"This is your folder so if you have any questions whatsoever you can look back into your contract. The paper I stapled is directions to the place where you can pick up your key, and those numbers are your pass code so you can ride the elevator up without an escort. The date and time at the bottom is the first day you need to report to floor 33. Show them the credentials I'm going to give you and they'll direct you to where you will need to be. I suggest you place this contract in a very safe place at your house. " Kagome took a breath and continued her long rant.
"I will meet with you if and when you have any questions or concerns. I'm going to staple one of my business cards to the folder also, so you will have my extension to call. For your first day you can wear casual, jeans t-shirt, whatever you find comfortable, they'll provide you with anything else you will need. You will be searched each day for cameras, camcorders, and other such devices, I suggest not bringing them. Also if you cell phone has picture and video capabilities I suggest leaving it in your car, either that or the receptionist has a special drawer she can keep it in for you. Thank you very much for your patience." Kagome explained, stapling said papers to her folder, and handing it to her. She unlocked another drawer and pulled out a plastic ID card with a picture of Ayumi that they had taken the last time she was here.
"Thank you very much." Ayumi said, standing up and shaking Kagome's hand. She let herself out of the door, and once the door closed behind her Kagome slumped down and sighed. She hated dealing with the women that would star in Onigumo's sick films. She opened the locked drawer that contained the envelopes; she pulled them out and placed them inside a manila envelope. She placed the envelope back into the drawer and locked it back up, she then spun around in her chair to a tall filing cabinet behind her, unlocking the middle drawer she filed away the original copies of Ayumi's contract, locking it when it was closed.
Kagome turned back to her computer and opened a new message and typed a quick message to the video department stating she'll come up tomorrow around 9am to pick the boxes up. She attached a document listing the amounts of which tapes she needed, and how to divide them up for each store. She sent it, and checked her new messages, nothing. Remembering she sent a message to their locksmith about needing a key for Ayumi, and that she should be picking it up tomorrow at the earliest. She also sent an email to Jaken that a new girl was hired and would report to him Thursday for her first shoot, she copied it to Onigumo. Closing her second email she spotted the time and decided to finish up the menial work so it won't stack up while she was gone tomorrow. She sent a couple emails on her agency account, letting a makeup company know that her client Erin was interested and she would be making a follow up call on Wednesday. She arranged for another client to meet with her later that week, and wrote a sticky note on her computer to remember to call her Wednesday when she got back.
Soon she was finished with covering her back for the next day, she knew however no matter how much she prepared for having a day off, she would always come back to a full inbox. She shut down her computer, and placed her datebook into her attaché. She made sure all the drawers were locked up tight. She walked out her door pulling it closed tightly and locking it. She stopped at the desk to let the receptionist know she would not be in for a full day tomorrow. While she walked towards the elevator she could hear the distant hum of computers, and a ringing telephone. Otherwise it was very quiet; she was leaving after almost everyone else again. She drifted in her thoughts of how nice it would be if she was on her way home to a family, a caring husband and rowdy kids. She smiled wistfully stepping onto the empty elevator and leaning against the side. Pressing floor 1 she imagined her husband cooking dinner for her to come home to, greeting her with a big old bear hug. She could see herself getting tackled by her little son and daughter.
The elevator arriving at the ground floor broke her out of her thoughts, she shook her head knowing it could never happen, at least not while she was stuck undercover. Besides she had to find Souta, her mom, and the missing agent, everyone was depending on her to get close enough to find the right evidence to take Onigumo down. Kagome walked through the garage and to her car, sliding inside and driving off towards home. Pulling into the driveway her cell phone went off, looking at the caller ID she recognized Kaede's phone number. Kaede was the undercover agent she checked in with, she was posing as Kikyo's grandmother. It was the easiest way to report to her without causing suspicion.
"Hello." Kagome said as she flipped open her phone. A soft loving voice filled the silence that previously was there.
"Good evening my dear grand daughter, I was just wondering if you could come over for dinner tonight. Silly me, I bought too much chicken for just me to eat. Plus I miss you dear; it's been a month since I last saw you." Kagome nodded as she stepped out of the car, closing the door and clicking lock on her keys.
"I know grandmother; I've been so busy with work. Dinner sounds lovely, I just got home from work so give me a short bit to change and I'll be right over." Kagome said, bidding her goodbye after Kaede agreed. She unlocked her front door and was greeted with silence ringing in her ears causing her to sigh. She dropped her attaché on the couch right inside the door, and marched into her bedroom, changing from her work clothes to a pair of comfortable jeans and a t-shirt, slipping socks and sneakers on.
She checked her appearance in the bathroom mirror, and touched up her makeup, and straightened the hair that started to disobey by curling up slightly. She brushed it out and left it down, transferring her keys and wallet into a small purse she locked up and left to go give her report, and maybe relax a little.
