The characters of Inuyasha (manga and anime) belong to Takahashi Rumiko


My Darling Guardian Angel

Chapter Two


Kagome's gaze watched the boy as he dragged himself home from school. He was definitely the boy named Kouga Ookami, looking more bored than anything, quite different from the angry look he conveyed on his photograph. Not that she was actually looking; she was on duty after all, and her duties required her to observe the people and their surroundings.

Floating behind the young man, she followed him into an old apartment block, and then up ten flights of stairs. It was a laborious task, and it seemed the stairs went on forever with the slow pace Kouga was taking, each step at a time instead of taking it in leaps and bounds like any other, energy-infused teenager.

"Will you please hurry it up, Mr. Kouga?" Kagome breathed out.

Kouga's body quickly swivelled around, thinking he had felt something on his neck. He swore as he peered over the side of the railing, swearing again when he did not find the person who dared to walk so closely behind him. Finally, when he knew for sure that he was not being followed; he merely shrugged his shoulders, turning around to climb up the stairs to his home.

Or what didn't look like a home when the door was opened in front of Kagome's eyes. It was more of a one, large room sort of arrangement, with a futon in one corner, a table in the middle, and an old cupboard in the other corner. You poor boy... Luckily she was here to make his life better, and so without further hesitation, she took out a bag of biscuits, freshly made, and placed it on top the table, along with a contract of service.

"Hello," a male voice said from out of nowhere, causing her to jump in surprise. To her horror, it was the same demon she had tried to avoid earlier. What was he doing here?

"I could ask you the same thing," he replied, taking out a bottle of champagne from his jacket, along with a contract that was similar to hers – except for the bat wings and the gothic script in the letterhead. "I suppose you're here to introduce yourself to the new client."

"Well... yes," her eyes then narrowed in suspicion. "What are you doing here? I hope you're not one of those demons who steal clients just to fill some quota."

"Certainly not," he scoffed smoothly, "just like you, I have been assigned to the... boy. I am simply waiting for him to agree and sign the contract."

Kagome's mouth fell open, speechless. There had to be some kind of mistake. He couldn't possibly have gotten the same client as she had. It was made clear in the job description papers she had gotten from her employer: angels and demons, under no circumstances, were allowed to work together. She had no idea what that meant – probably it had something to do with a conflict in interest – but since this was her first assignment, Kagome wasn't about to break the rules just for one arrogant looking demon. And what an arrogant looking demon he was, with his strange, pale coloured hair, wicked yellow eyes, and... Were those ears... on top of his head?

"What are you staring at, girl?" The demon said, his brows furrowing in mild irritation.

"Why are you really here?" Kagome asked.

He smiled, flexing his clawed hand. "I told you already. You're not going to be any trouble, are you? Look, I'm having a rough day, so I don't need little girls with training wings interfering with my work ethic."

"Training wings?" Kagome exclaimed, her temper rising. "How dare you talk to me in that manner? And don't say things like that. You were new once."

It was then, before the demon could say anything of a witty comment, that they both heard a gasp from the boy as he stared disbelievingly at the gifts placed so innocently, and yet so menacingly on the table. Kouga eyed them with suspicion, wondering how the hell they managed to turn up without his knowledge. He then tried to poke at it, jumping back a bit to make sure the bag of biscuits wasn't going to transform into something hellish or at least something he would not be expecting. It was not a common occurrence for things to just appear for no apparent reason, but he had known and listened to many a tall tale from the old lady, a floor below him, to start believing that perhaps one of her stories would be true.

However, when the bag and bottle refused to change, Kouga visibly sighed in relief, slumping down next to the small table to examine the 'gifts'. Then, eyeing the two sheets of paper in front of him, he felt a sudden chill run down his neck and spine. They were both addressed to him, though as he read through both letters, nothing made any sense. In general, they were both worded the same, except for the font. It read:

'Dear Sir,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been chosen to participate in our very special mentoring programme, 'Heaven's Reach' (or Devil's Hand if one were to read the demon's contract). This programme is designed for people like you, yes you, who may feel that they are at one of the many crossroads of life, and would benefit greatly from one of our friendly advisors. Our aim is to guide you throughout your life, so that you may experience a more fulfilling and rewarding lifestyle.

To help you with your programme, we have assigned a specially trained guardian angel to be your companion. Please find attached an introduction letter from the angel we have specifically chosen for you. All of our guardian angels have been educated up to tertiary standards, and are accredited to practice under the Act of Angel Guardianship

If you choose to accept this service, please sign the enclosed contract and hand it in to your angel as soon as possible.

Kind regards,

Miroku Houshi

Heaven's Reach, Coordinator.'

Kouga's eyes blinked several times, reading the letter once again, and then repeating the same process with the other letter. Raising his eyes to look at the plain walls of his room, he frowned. What bullshit is this? He mused to himself. There was no way in the world that angels or demons existed. That sort of thing only happened in fictitious stories, and equally fictitious movies. Even the title, Heaven's Reach, Devil's Hand and Guardian angels, sounded a bit too much like one of those letters proposing that he had won a share of some large amount of money, and that the only way he could claim it was to surrender his bank details. So like any other normal person, who was faced with such nonsense, did what any other normal person would do, by tearing up both contracts until they were nothing more than a pile of bits of paper, and then throwing the pieces out of the window without another thought. He then focussed his attention on the gifts laid out on the table, and with a snort, he crumbled the biscuits, and chucked them and poured the champagne out the window as well.

Kagome could only stare in horror, as all of her papers and her home-made biscuits were being treated so brutally by this boy. Her first day on the job, and her future prospects were ruined.

"Oh, it's not that bad, miss." The demon said, his face not showing any signs of distress. He even smiled, which only served to make the young angel panic more.

"You are new at this, aren't you?" he spoke again, smirking as he saw the girl fly up and straight to the boy, demanding to know why he was being so disrespectful to the letter, and her home-made biscuits.

"Who said that?" Kouga exclaimed, spinning around the room when he heard the female voice. He wasn't sure if it was the same voice he had heard when he was in the stairwell not too long ago, but it was similar enough to make him clench his fists in readiness.

"I can't believe you!" he heard her say. "I went through all this work, baking those biscuits all morning, and you just throw them out?"

"Of course I threw them out!" Kouga shouted back in the air. "I don't like biscuits, and besides, they... smelt funny. Wher-where are you, anyway?"

"I'm over here, you nincompoop!" Kagome replied, now standing right in front of him. "Look at me while I'm speaking to you."

"I can't see you. You come over here so I can see you!"

Suddenly, there was a loud rap at the door, and then an equally loud voice, "Kouga-san, what's going on in there? Are you all right? I heard voices in there."

"No, I'm not. I'm hearing voices, but I don't know where they 're coming from!"

A click could be heard from the other side of the door, and in burst a plump elderly woman, dressed in a miko styled kimono and hakama, and brandishing a broom. She waved the broom about, narrowly missing Kouga's face by inches. Sharp, piercing eyes darted about, as her nose crinkled to smell the aura around them, and then with a flick of her wrist, flung an ofuda to one corner of the room.

"Kaede-ba-baa, what the hell do you think you're doing?" the young boy yelled out.

"There are evil spirits in this room. You haven't been cursed by anyone; have you, Kouga-san? Or done some bad deed at school?" She eyed him with a glare, which made the poor boy even more confused. "Something is in here." Slowly, she drew out another ofuda, taking small steps like a ninja, until she was in front of Kouga. They both stared at each other for the longest time– Kaede in determination and Kouga in disbelief – before the old woman made a shout, slamming the piece of magical paper onto his shoulder.

By now, the young man's temper was at the point of near boiling, and was about to berate his landlady for bursting in and proceeding to flaunt her so called miko powers to his room, when they both heard a shout of pain coming from behind him. They both looked to where the shout had come from, but all they saw was the corner of Kouga's room. Or at least, that was what he saw; Kaede on the other hand, seemed to know who the intruder was, with the way her nostrils flared in excited anticipation.

"Where are they?" Kouga asked.

"Over here." A male voice said from behind him.

"Why can't they see us?" said a female voice.

"It's because he hasn't sign the contract yet." The male voice said again. "Didn't you know that?"

"C-contract...? What contract?" Kouga asked.

"Kouga-san, don't you dare sign anything, especially from the devil."

However, it was too late, as an invisible force grabbed onto the boy's wrists, where a fountain pen magically appeared between his fingers. Kouga struggled with the force as best as he could, but with nothing to grab onto to, and not knowing what exactly he was supposed to be attacking, while trying to avoid the direct assaults from Kaede's broom, there was very little he could do. And what he could do was somehow being prevented by another force latching onto his legs and trying to pull him away from his arms.

This was certainly not one of his days.

Back and forth he went for what seemed like hours of aggressive tugging and pulling, and the occasional book thrown in his general direction, until finally, the tight grip slackened around his hands, causing him to crash into the wall. Groaning, he tried to stand, while ignoring the way the room seemed to spin around him. Now helpless as he was, the boy failed to notice how the pen in his hand began to sign in a squiggly scrawl by itself, Kouga's full name on the dotted line of the demon's contract.

"Oh, Kami-sama," the old woman breathed out, realising what had just happened, after seeing the name burn and sizzle into the paper, with the word 'congratulations' appearing at the bottom of the page.

"Congratulations, indeed, Mr. Kouga," and with puff of smoke quickly filling up in the small room, appeared the demon in question, dressed in an elegant dark suit, batlike wings and a wicked grin.

"How do you do, good sir," he said in a suave voice. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Inuyasha, at your service."

Kagome gasped in shock. She could not believe it, her client had just been stolen, and there was nothing she could do about it.