Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha...
A/N: A new story for the beginning of a wonderful Christmas(hopefully) and the end of a spectacularly eventful year! To you all, with the holiday spirit in me (my bah-humbug disappeared about an hour ago), I give this first chapter in what I hope is my next big story.
Enjoy!
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Title: Don't Throw Away The Key!
By: Sakura-chan88
Chapter 1: Welcome to Hell...
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The squeal of rusty wheels and clanking metal ground together as each bar door slid over, rattling, to allow easy passage through its gate and into the stone hall; the air a brisk temperature to awake any warmblooded creature. Grumbling and groaning echoed from one person to another and the creek of weak bedsprings and the snap from each aching joint resounded about HDH Block. Her Block.
Although the corridor known as HDH block was lit by both the rising sun and the lamps above head, the place seemed to be out of a horror story. The walls bled from the worn iron jail doors; a stench resembling that of molded hay filled the morning air; granite ground met granite walls, which met iron bars and wooden bedposts; cloths were covered in holes from the many years of wear and the lack of cleanliness resulted in moth infestation; the granite ground had been well acquainted with many things over the ages- blood, vomit, garbage, foilage- and it accumulated to the point where even the rats retreated for better dwellings; the darkness of the air was almost inpenetratable, even with the many lit lightbulbs.
"Yo, Ms. Man," a prisoner called from the end of the line the convicts had begun to form on instinct. "When you going to let me sleep in?"
"Never, Niju," replied a feminine voice. The voice's owner shook her head and sighed, stifling a yawn. "And the name is Officer Higurashi, understand?"
"But, of course!"
Kagome clicked her tongue in annoyance as she found the regular late risers in their normal, false sleeping positions. Approaching the first, she let a spark fly from her finger tip, yelling, "up, up, up! Now, Lazybones!"
The called to man levered himself up onto an elbow, groggily rubbing his eyes. "Yes, ma'am."
"Miroku, you too," Kagome called, nearing the cell. Miroku didn't move. "'Yasha, be a good boy and get him up or I'll put both of you in for double shifts on plates. Today is your day off, isn't it?"
Inuyasha nodded, jostling his friend. The man still acted as if he slept. Inuyasha turned his golden eyes to the officer waiting in the corridor, her arms crossed and her lips pursed in displeasure, and winked. A single arm was used to lift the fraud from his cot and toss him into the hall.
Miroku yelp and started, acting as innocent as ever. "What did I do?"
Kagome failed to answer as she moved back to her appointed spot in the center of the line. Officer Hojo Hitomaru placed himself at the beginning and called everyone to attention. Kagome sighed when no one responded.
"Alright, girls, let's move it!"
"In the cell, now, Miroku," Kagome ordered.
As the last of the cells to be residence for a prisoner, Miroku and Inuyasha were the last to enter their cage. It wasn't surprising to find Miroku unwilling to reoccupy the filth filled furrow. He was quite persistant at it, actually, and this annoyed Kagome to no end. Now, bringing an arm up to push the man into his 'home', she found herself the object of his hormone driven hand's affection.
"Damn you!" she shouted, lunging for the man and pinning him to the cold ground, her truncheon pressing into his throat.
"Ah, Officer Higurashi!" Hojo yelped, running to her aid. Now, that ticked her off. So what- she was the only female security gaurd in an all-male prison. What was the big deal!? It wasn't as if her life was at stake!- Honestly!
"Officer Hitomaru- back off. I'm handling this," she growled, pressing harder with the stick as she leant down to bring her nose to his. "Do that again, Miroku, and you won't be able to have those children of yours when you're free."
It was at this point that Hojo decided to interfere and push Inuyasha into his cell with a puny order, then pull Miroku out from under her, succeeding only in getting his foot caught in the iron door when trying to gain some leverage. Kagome had enough from this idiot already!
"You dolt!" she shouted, bringing her nightstick up from Miroku's chest- where it had slipped to when Hojou put his strength into his pull- to plant it firmly in the bend of his knees. "I was dealing with it fine by myself!" And again, it struck the man's body, this time in the shin. "What do I have to do," Kagome yelled, bringing it up to hit his stomach, "for you to understand," she hissed as the weapon slapped his chest, "I do not need your help!" And this attack, a firm swat to his collarbone, sent him into the iron gate behind them.
His leg twisted painfully as he fell with a gasp.
"You want me to take him down to the infirmary?" a voice called from behind the abused iron bars.
"No, 'Yash," Kagome answered, feeling her powers pulse through her very being. With the excess energy, she formed a light blanket and covered the pervert beneath her. He was asleep instantly. "Take him away from me."
Inuyasha swooped down to pick the man up obediently, brushing his knuckles against her hands in the process and muttered a quick 'sorry' before entering the area he was given upon entering the hell hole called Sannojikutsu.
Kagome stood, kicking Hojou in the side as the man slipped into unconciousness. "What a pansy... How did this idiot ever get a job here?"
With her priorities finally set back in place, she locked the last cell and spun to do a double check on the other cages. One after another, all of the gates were found locked and secured and, one after another, the prisoners fell into sleep of the deepest kind with a little help from the only fully conscious being.
Bending and hoisting Hojo over her shoulder, she grunted from the extra weight and left her block to find Suichi Juta, the prison healer- a priest, or monk, depending on how you looked at it. Half way to the infirmary, however, she was intercepted... by a very calm and, oddly, silent man.
This man had long, wavy, coal black hair and cold, dark, beedy eyes that not only boored into a persons soul, but seemed to take from a person's very being. He was both night and day, so to say. He was grim all the way through, but was also a link from one person with a sticky situation to another with an equally unattractive past. Personaly, this man was the one and only man Kagome thought should actually have to die slowly and painfully in a torturous type of way.
"Naraku," Kagome greeted coldly. "Can I help you?"
"Set him here and follow me, now," he said, spinning on his heel and gliding away. "We need to talk."
"Yippee," she droned in sarcastic glee. "Light some fireworks, I'm seeing stars."
Tossing Hojo carelessly off her shoulders and popping the muscles which had begun to tense, she stalked off after her boss with her eyes burning holes in his back.
-----ZZZ-----
'Blah, blah... blah... BLAH!'
Naraku continued to berate her on injuring her coworker, threatening to put her under suspension if it happened again. This really wasn't all that new; she'd heard this little tirade- that stretched to cover two hours worth of uselessness- more times than she could count. However, tonight was the only one that changed...
And in the most sickening of ways...
"Now," Naraku sighed, getting up from his chair behind his desk and walking around to stand directly in front of her. "I'll forget this, again, Kagome."
The officer glared at her superior. "Good, because you know it will happen again until that moron learns I don't need, nor do I want any help in any way. Why don't you let him switch places with Jinenji- he's more suited for the Humans' block, and Jinenji is much better off guarding people like him- hanyou, youkai, and human alike."
"I'll think about it," he purred, placing a hand on her knee and giving an almost unnoticeable squeeze. Kagome stiffened, her throat clenching painfully closed. The apendage moved to stroke her thigh. "Just try and tolerate Hitomaru."
Kagome swallowed passed the lump in her throat as the offending hand burned through her pant leg, imprinting in her skin the feel of dirtiness. She knew, without even trying, that to wash and scrub in scalding hot water would be no help in erasing her memory.
The hand was burned into her skin...
And into her memory...
Talk about a burning sensation, Kagome was snapped out of her reverie of last night by the feel of eyes booring into her back, scorching with the intensity of its glare.
The line was approaching the grimmy assembly chamber, known to many as the Pigs' Sty, where breakfast would be dished out and sloushed onto the floor for looking more like sewage than stew. Only a few more twists and turns away, Kagome trained her eyes on the pink silk before her- Jiromaru's hair...
'Wait- Jiromaru!'
Kageromaru was out of place!
It was at this moment that the sound, oddly like that of a raising arm ruffling clothing, caught her attention. She waited it out, silently counting as the seconds went by, pacing herself so that she was a smidgen slower than those in front of her. This both gave her an advantage and insured that any other prisoners would not be harmed in the scuffle.
Spinning to face the attack at the moment Kageromaru brought down the steel pick, undoubtedly swiped from his work station on plate duty yesterday, Kagome thrust out her hands to release a ball of energy at his chest. At the same time, Inuyasha's hand had shot up and wrapped around the attacker's wrist and twisted it behind his back.
"Watch it, Little Brother," Inuyasha hissed, using the inmate's nickname as an insult.
Kagome watched in interest, placing fists on her hips, to see the reaction of the other prisoners. Everyone had stopped moving in order to turn and face the scene.
Kageromaru chose the wrong response by slashing viciously at the man who had foiled his plans. Inuyasha twisted away from the attack, manuvering to throw the man into a wall, then onto the floor, his knee planted firmly in between the shoulder blades as a sickening splintering snap sounded and was followed by Kageromaru's shrill shreak of pain.
Kagome flinched inwardly as she raised her hands, channeling her Miko power through them to hit Inuyasha full force in the chest. She called Hojo from the front of the line and ordered for a medic just as the energy was released. Inuyasha was thrown back rather roughfully into Miroku.
"You went too far," Kagome hissed, walking toward the man who's arm hung limply on the ground.
Inuyasha snarled in rage and sprung toward the jailor, cursing her for all she was worth. Miroku held him back with the help of Niju and Ujin. They were struggling, even with the hanyou being injured. They were only human, after all.
"Calm down!" Kagome barked harshly. "You don't want to anger me any further, mutt- you've destroyed my block with your antics- which were in no way needed- and your continued cursing fuels the fire; you've injured one of the men I am responsible for; you've pushed me to use energy I should not have been forced to use; you keep shouting with language I wish not to hear!"
Her eyes burned in anger as she held herself back from storming up to the withheld man and letting her fists fly. "Now- calm down or its two months at the pole and a week in solitary confinement!"
"Bitch, I saved your life!"
"You saved nothing but Kageromaru's disbanment to the chair for attempted assault on an officer!"
"You-"
"Do you understand me?" Kagome hissed. Inuyasha growled. "I asked you a question..."
"... I understand," he spat, dropping to his knees as the damage took its toll.
"Men," Kagome called, spinning to look at the other inmates who stood patiently by for her order, "for his actions-" at this, everyones face fell and voices mumbled incoherently "-you'll have an extra hour after dinner before 'lights out' to do with what you want."
Hawk, who was the closest to the scene since Jiromaru had hidden himself by Hiten and Manten, broke the thick silence that had fell. "You- are you feeling okay, officer Higurashi?"
"Quite fine, thank you," Kagome said, turning to Miroku. "Assist Hojo and the medics. Inuyasha will need to be taken and rejuvinated. See Suichi Juta for it." He nodded. "Jiromaru, Lazybones, Hiten, Manten, Ujin, Niju, Chi, The Bull, The Cat, Hawk, Shadow: Listen up! Your breakfast break is almost over. Report there immediately. Naraku is watching these halls, so don't stray.
"Now, any orders for today?" Kagome asked. Lazybones, Chi, Hiten, and the Bull murmured 'I need a pack,' as Miroku grumbled, picking a tattered box from Inuyasha's chest pocket as the hanyou groaned.
"You crushed his."
"Alright," Kagome chimed, doing the calculations, "then 5 packs. Anymore before you go?"
"Do you have any on you right now?" Hiten asked, stepping forward from the gathered group.
"It'll cost you more."
"Yeah, yeah," he mumbled, waving it away and handing over the due amount. Kagome handed over the spare cigarette pack. "Thanks."
"Now, get a move on it."
The prisoners obeyed hastely, in a hurry to get to the Pig's Sty before it was closed down for the morning. Kagome stayed behind to wait for the medic's arrival, walking over to Kageromaru. At feeling his arm, he hissed in pain and cursed her with hatred dripping from his voice.
"How about you sleep on this and think over your mistake," Kagome advised. "You should be thankful to Inuyasha for interviening."
"You couldn't have down anything," he sneered.
"Sh," she whispered, draining the energy from the man until his eyes fell closed. The medic arrived seconds later, muttering about violent vagabonds and such. "Don't rejuvinate his demonic powers, just fix his arm. I want him out of commision for a few days..." Kagome told Suichi. She looked back at Kageromaru as Juta nodded. "...Well, that was an interesting little break in the normal day."
"Keh!" Inuyasha snorted, arrogance coming back full force as he attempted to walk away, stumbling until Miroku supported him. His help was rewarded with a lump on his head from the hanyou. Passing Kagome, he chuckled in embarrassment at his actions. "Sorry 'bout that, babe."
Her eyes narrowed. "Don't call me that!"
"Yeah, yeah."
And the two disappeared to locate the infermary, the medic following with Kageromaru in his arms.
A nagging voice filled her head. 'Something's wrong, here... That tool was never reported missing...'
Brushing herself off before leaving to get to her regular post in the Yard, Kagome sighed in defeat as no answer could be found to the peculiar feeling she had.
Maybe she was just a tad hungry?
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He cursed the girl who had the nerve to attack him and drain his energy after he had helped her. He had spent half his newly appointed work time having some man check him head to toe for any wounds (from muscle damage to broken bones) and now was on plate detail for 5 days- order of Naraku. Nevermind that Kageromaru, no matter the consequences endured, was helping much more than he wasn't. He had just made everything a heck of a lot easier.
Inuyasha's ears perked up as Hojo ordered the end of his work day and announced lunch was ready. He happily, or at least as happily as he could be when trapped in a prison, left his work station and retreated into the Pigs' Sty.
The room was packed with people and their barks of laughter or growls of anger. He spotted his table and stalked over to the seat beside Miroku. Shadow and Hawk greeted him across the table and turned back to their conversation about a fight that had taken place in the Yard earlier. Inuyasha turned his attention to the guards as they made their routine rounds and counted with the timing, calculating. As the person he waited for approached, he stood and leaned his back against the pillar beside him, closing his eyes.
"Need something?" Kagome asked, stepping in front of him.
"Yeah. A smoke would be nice, seeing as how you flattened mine."
Nothing happened. He opened his eyes to find a cigarette already waiting in the outstretched hand of a grinning woman. "I thought as much."
"Yo, Ms. Man-"
"Bull, shut up."
Inuyasha took the offered cigarette with an odd look, slipping a letter into her hand at the same moment. Her expression didn't change, but her eyes sparkled in question.
"Yo, Higurashi!"
"Officer," Inuyasha hissed a correction to The Bull, winking.
Kagome darkened, crumpling the unseen note. Inuyasha shook his head in warning so subtly no one else saw it. She stopped her actions, sliding the balled up note into her pocket, still staring the hanyou in the eyes as she spoke. "What is it, Bull?"
"Why's his free of charge?"
Kagome's eyebrows furrowed as she turned to look at the questioning man. Inuyasha slipped from his spot to resume eating his lunch that seemed to cluck each time he looked at it, watching the woman from the corner of his eyes.
"Do you want one free of charge? It's painful," Kagome said, cocking her head to the side.
The Bull cracked his knuckles menacingly. "I think I'll just take 'em."
"How about this," Kagome began, placing a hand out, palm up, then pointing to him and then herself. "We fight- anything goes. Winner walks away with this pack," she mumbled, taking the aforementioned object from a back pocket.
"You don't smoke," Bull exclaimed, a confused spark igniting his orange eyes.
"I can always start," she hissed, crackling her knuckles in return to his own gesture. Bull smirked.
"Have it your way, ma'am."
Inuyasha turned to watch the battle with mild interest. The man was larger than every man in the prison, including the guard Jinenji whom could easily be called a giant. He was a true body building buff who probably spent his entire life lifting weights (more like a bus or two filled with cast iron), running, swimming... Well, not swimming. He'd drowned from so much muscle mass.
Compared to the girl in front of him, The Bull was a skyscraper and as hard looking as the Great Wall of China.
"No way!" Shadow mumbled unbelievingly.
"She's going to get herself crushed!" Hawk exclaimed.
"Wishful thinking," Miroku muttered. Everyone close enough to hear this faced the man in bafflement. He explained patiently, "she said 'anything goes.' Think about it."
When Inuyasha looked back, The Bull was kneeling before the petite officer, clutching his stomach as stripes of the pink energy rays were reflected and sent flying toward other prisoners. They crumpled to the floor.
"You still want to fight, Bull?"
He launched himself at an incredible speed, bringing his shoulder down to meet her stomach. She merely stepped aside, bringing her arm down to hit him directly between his shoulder blades with her truncheon. Grabbing his arms while he was still down, she twisted them both behind his back and lowered herself to whisper in his ear.
"Why don't you stop this before you find yourself in the ring?" she purred, pulling hard on his arms that were the size of her body. "That red flag you're seeing is not your friend, trust me."
Inuyasha sneered in disgust as the room laughed. She flaunted her power way to much. Soon... soon she'd see power is useless...
When you trust the wrong person.
Bull laughed as Higurashi helped him to his feet. "I give, I give. Nice moves, Officer."
Inuyasha mumbled to himself, bringing the fag to his lips and swiping Hiten's matches as he walked by to join his brother. To his unpleasant surprise, when he light up the tip sparkled and crackled, smoke swirling around in the air to form four simple, wispy words:
Caution: May Cause Cancer.
Even through his anger, Inuyasha found the ability to laugh heartily, his thoughts darkening to the many ways of strangling the bane of his current existence- Officer Higurashi of Sannojikutsu's HDH Block.
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Kagome watched her charges mill about the Yard, playing cards, lighting weights, running. Although, Miroku, like everyday, physically dragged a complaining hanyou to the small church-like building where almost no prisoner ever bothered to go. This was one of the many things she wished she could check out, but her post was by the only gate and removing herself from such a spot would mean immediate suspension.
The Bull decided to pick another fight with a human from H block and was sent to solitary confinement for a week. The human walked away with a broken jaw. He was lucky Kagome had zapped Bull earlier so only his physical strength was used, not his demon (spiritual, if you will) enhanced power.
It was hot outside, the sun beaming down, hitting her straight in the face as it began to fall towards the Earth with fiery fingers stretching to grasp the horizon. An hour before her shift was over, she summoned Hojo.
"Alright, girls," she bellowed. "HDH block, shower break, phone-calls, then straight to the cells. 30 extra minutes for dinner tonight since you've all been the good little, civilized men you are deep inside."
A 'WOOP!' went through the air as men bombarded her and Hojo with pleased grins. She sighed and shook her head as Hojo opened the gate and lead the way.
"Oh, and sorry boys," she started, causing the line to halt. "I skip the showers today. You've got Naraku's eyes monitoring you tonight, not mine. Be sure to behave."
Every man shuddered that heard this. Needless to say, Naraku was not popular- though it could just be the thought of another man seeing them...
"Where you goin', Ms. Man?" Niju asked.
"Officer Higurashi," Inuyasha corrected.
"I got a call from Jutachijikutsu-"
"-Hey-" Miroku interrupted, only to have a taste of his own medicine.
"No, you're not going," Kagome stated firmly.
Jutachijikustu was the local female prison. She'd recieved a call from her friend Caladriel- the one that had also taught her how to harness her miko powers- about a newcomer. This new prisoner was causing some problems and not even her cousins, her closest relatives, could help...
This would be interesting.
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Lock up came and there was still no sign of Officer Higurashi.
Miroku half listened to the grumbling hanyou as he went on and on in a hushed voice about 'the witch'. He continued to shuffle the deck of cards he had won in an arm wrestling match against a man from H Block before dealing out a hand of five for Inuyasha and himself.
"I can't believe her- so high and mighty. It's sickening!" he whispered vehemently. He picked up his card, his left ear flicking slightly. "I mean, she's constantly showing off..."
"NIJU! YOU IDIOT!" Ujin cursed as the sound of a bed spring ricochetting off the wall echoed down the corridor.
Inuyasha put three bucks on the table. Miroku folded. Inuyasha frowned. "Why fold for three dollars?"
"'Cause you have a full house," Miroku said calmly.
"Did you stack the deck?"
"No, your ear told me."
Inuyasha sighed in defeat and picked the cards up to shuffle and deal. "I'm going to start wearing a hat when I play or something. If someone in the casino figure's them out, I'll be losing thousands in no time."
"I can't believe you haven't already," Miroku admitted. "You don't exactly have a poker face like Sesshoumaru does. Now, that's an opponent I would enjoy losing against."
"Again."
"... I never lost to him," Miroku said, sticking his nose in the air.
"You should have had a witness, then, because no one believes your words over my brother's when he's beaten every man he's ever gone up against," Inuyasha stated, chuckling as he threw down five folded bills to raise Miroku's bet of two. Miroku called and threw down a single card. Inuyasha dealt him his due amount and stood as he was, smirking. "Plus, Sesshoumaru can tell if you're bluffing by your scent..."
Miroku gasped, eyes slightly more open as he exclaimed, "that's cheating!"
"No, it isn't. It's just an advantage all demons have over humans."
"That's still cheating!"
Inuyasha sighed and put his cards face-down, clicking a claw against the table as he waited for his cell mate to place his bet. Miroku didn't catch the hint.
"Can you sense if I'm bluffing?"
"... I'm not going to answer that."
"But-!"
"Roku, play the game or shut up and let me go to sleep like I wanted to an hour ago," the exasperated hanyou drawled. Miroku pouted and placed down a ten. Inuyasha raised it by five. Miroku hesitated, then raised it another two. Inuyasha called. "Now, the moment of truth- I can't tell if you're bluffing."
Miroku released his breath in relief. "But can you tell if I have a winning hand?"
"... Not even Sesshoumaru can tell what you're holding by your scent," Inuyasha said, slanting a flat look to Miroku. "Honestly- that would be scarier than seeing Houjou standing over you naked when you wake up."
The human sweatdropped at the hanyou's choice for comparison. Yet, he had to disagree. "I'm not so sure about that..."
Inuyasha thought his words over and nodded, "yeah, I think I'd rather have Sesshoumaru have x-ray senses than wake up to that..."
Miroku took a deep breath and laid his cards down, spread out for Inuyasha to see. Three queens.
Inuyasha sighed, his ears drooping as he flipped over his cards for Miroku to see. Two Kings... and three fours.
"What!?" Miroku cried out in disbelief. "But- but- but... Your ear didn't twitch!"
"No- it did. You just weren't paying attention," Inuyasha amended. "You were too busy raising your nose to me about Sesshoumaru not stomping your ass when we both know he did."
"He did not!"
"Whatever, Roku. I'm going to bed, now."
"Yash..." The hanyou looked over his shoulder before he climbed into his cot, wrapping the thin sheet around him. "What was that note about?"
"You noticed?"
"I noticed it in her hand when she was trying to not strangle you for winking," Miroku affirmed.
"... I'm calling in tomorrow and asking Kikyou to set the DVD to record the next Football game and no stupid half-time concert or whatever..."
DVD- 3 hours after lights out.
Football- eight days.
No half-time- two people extra people.
"... Um... Why no half-time?" Miroku asked cautiously. "Surely it would be more convenient for Kikyou to get it."
"She's a secretary, she won't care about inconvenience if it means a bigger Christmas bonus. Plus, I have an... idea for the extra room left on the DVD..."
The hanyou's words tapered off as he yawned and soon fell into a deep sleep.
Miroku had a bad feeling about the access room on that DVD...
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Kagome arrived back at Sannojikustu as Houjou called lights out. She quickly scurried down the corridor, making the rounds to check each lock. All secure.
Doing the last routine check, she stopped at Lazybone's cell, calling to the fake sleeper. He didn't respond. "To the count of 2, Lazy. 1-"
"What?" the man asked, rolling over in his bed to face his jailor.
"Your pack," she said, stretching out said object with a smile. "Couldn't get back to you earlier."
He grumbled, taking the pack and depositing the money into her upturned palm.
Hiten kindly thanked her when she give his over, then bought The Bull's pack also, since Bull would be gone. "No tricks?"
"No tricks, T.B.," she assured, using the demon's nickname to smooth over her sincerity.
Miroku collected Inuyasha's pack since the hanyou slept, grumbling about someone owing someone something. Kagome shook her head and passed out the rest of the packs before standing in the middle of the corridor and calling to her prisoners, "night, boys."
"Night," most replied before a blanket of purity embraced them warmly, sending them over the edge of reality and into darkness. With a peaceful parting after such a violent day, Kagome made her way to her room- the very last, and smallest, jail cell.
Only two of the people working in Sannojikutsu kew this- and one had insisted upon it- and one prisoner who vowed to keep his mouth sealed shut. The probability for prisoner escapes during the night was slim. Yet, Naraku was possitive she should be on hand at all times. Of course, she didn't argue. Her pay was worth the backache and cold of sleeping as every convict did.
A small lamp, which was run by the use of five extention cords, sat near her cot and a cell phone was set beside it. Other than that, nothing out of the ordinary prison cells adorned the room.
It was a chilly night, raising goosebumps on her arms. With the light snores in the background echoing down the halls, mixing with the wind that entered through the opened windows- bars blocking it from an exit- her mind wandered back to her earlier visit.
D.g., the new prisoner at Jutachijikustu's HDH block, was hysterical, screaming about a conspiracy. She kept repeating herself, saying 'all of us', 'the seven of us', and 'we were framed.'
'The boys and I...'
She repeated them, but made no connections, her eyes wide and frightful. However, when she made reference to Kagome being in danger, Caladriel had enough and closed the door for communications taking it as having a threatening meaning (which, in essence, it did).
Brat and Erica, D.g.'s cousins, spoke to Kagome later- Brat explained the circumstances of the trial and evidence and Erica confirmed the story.
"We were walking home from a friend's birthday party and D.g. stopped when she realized she forgot her handbag she'd brought her present over in. We waited at the corner while D.g. ran back to get her bag. When she got back, though, she told us to wait- said something was wrong. She smelled a man- the scent was coming from her bag, she said. Someone had messed with it, so she opened it to see what they took or what they put in and this police officer came out of no where and told us to freeze and put our hands in the air. When we did, he approached D.g. and took her bag and pulled out a gun. The gun had been used in a hostage situation that night, and the victim was killed- the killer got away. D.g. was convicted only because she had missed the beginning of the party because she had forgotten to buy our friend a gift and she went to the store to get something. We had an alibi from the people at the party and the taxi driver that dropped us off there. We needed a taxi because we were at our grandparents house. The driver told police he dropped D.g. at the store- but she could have gotten a ride from another taxi afterwards, someone pointed out...
"It was all just a big mess..."
Kagome shook her head. Niether Brat nor Erica could tell her who the other 6 people D.g. mentioned were. They couldn't answer- they didn't know... The story sounded familiar, too, somehow...
Now, where had she heard those insane ramblings before?
Oh, right...
'Something is most definately wrong about all of this and I smell Naraku all over it.'
As she lay down to catch some sleep, a crinkling noise chased slumber away and alerted her to the crumpled paper she had forgotten once it was out of sight. Searching her pockets, she drew forth the note and switched on the lamp.
'This is the second time, Yasha. It better be important.'
The first words greeting her caused a sigh to escape her throat in exasperation.
It's been six months, hasn't it? You know, you've changed a lot since the first time you walked in here. I get the feeling you care more about us/our feelings than you used to care.
But, that's not why I'm writting. I'm writting to warn you. Jiromaru isn't going to be happy about Little Brother- and he'll attack you, not me. I'm NOT going to help and get blasted this time, so you're on your own.
Why would he attack you, you might ask. Because you were the target and he knows he'll lose against me.
Kagome smiled wryly. "Arrogant as always," she snorted.
Be careful, Officer Higurashi. (By the way, what is your name?) Oh, and I've recently heard that The Bull and The Cat are planning an escape in eight days- tomorrow being day one. Can we talk? I want to say details, but if someone gets this- well, you understand, right, babe? And stop your glaring- it's just a joke. After all, you need a nickname here.
See what you can do.
She sighed, folding the paper in half, creasing it repeatedly as she thought.
A way to speak with him perosonally? Naraku wouldn't like that.
Well, it was worth a try.
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A/N: Alright, I've finally decided on posting this now instead of later. I don't know why I do this to myself, but, alas, I have succeeded in putting even more pressure and stress into my life... Yet, because it's Christmas time, I feel the wonderous need to update and update everything I have completed.... Which, sadly isn't much because of the bout of depression I hit a while back.
Well, I've been cheered up by the season of giving and... uh... recieving... so please review!!!!
Love you all so much- those I've spoken to, those I've heard from, those who read and enjoy the story(or even don't yet still take the time to read), and those of you who are new (I welcome you all!)- and hope to speak to many of you as this year switches to a new.
Have a lovely end of the year!
Ja ne!