Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha but I wish that I did so I could be best friends with Kagura.

Shoutout to my Feyonce, Natalie for helping me dilute this story from being super-holy-shit complicated to the right amount of complicated and listening to me talk about it for hours on end. And a super mega shoutout to the one true Queen of all, Narqueen for beta-ing this for me! On with the show!

Welcome to the Danger Zone

"Hold out your arms, Miss."

Sango grimaced, pausing for a moment before she did as she was told, sticking her arms straight out on either side of her so that they were parallel to the ground. When she'd taken the job 'interview', the last thing that she had expected was that she would get a full pat down. It was a shady business, and even when she wasn't on the job, she took to carrying some sort of weapon with her.

After the man gestured at her, Sango rolled her eyes and started removing weapons from her belt, purposely ignored the knife under her skirt as she placed the rest of her arsenal on the table, meeting the guards gaze straight on without blinking. No signs of weakness, even though she felt like breaking out into a sweat. She hadn't been hit with a pang of nervousness on the job for years, but then, these weren't the conditions she normally worked under.

"I better get those back."

The guard grunted, and motioned for Sango to hold out her arms again. She rolled her eyes, but acquiesced, clearing her throat loudly when the pat down he gave her stretched on for long enough to make her uncomfortable. It was taking everything in her power to not deck him.

"Clear." The guard pulled away, scanning a key card so the door would open for her and Sango shot him a look of contempt as she brushed past him, just to make sure he knew how unimpressed she was, while also pretending she was more in control of the situation than she was.

Deals were usually done in back alleyways, or otherwise non-discrete places. Things were usually casual, leaving as little room for investigation as possible, should one arise. Sango wasn't used to taking the flashy, high profile jobs that were tossed at her every once in a blue moon. They never interested her, but after weeks of not taking no for an answer, Sango decided it would be best just to go meet with whomever wanted to hire her so badly. Her father had advised her to go into the meeting with an open mind, but she had pretty much already made up her mind that she wouldn't be taking the job. Hopefully, whoever was trying to hire her would take "No" more seriously face to face.

As soon as she stepped through the threshold, she was met by an attractive man with long, dark hair, and a strong jaw and face. The room was relatively small and empty save for a table with three chairs around it in the middle of the room. A quick scan and she took note that there was a door on the opposite side of the room, though after a scan of the ceiling she saw no other possible exits save for the door she had entered through. Her guard had already been up, but she became even more wary – in her experience, it was the attractive men you really had to look out for. The ones who thought they could charm anyone into doing their bidding - because half the time, they could. Maybe this hadn't been the best idea, after all.

"I'm so pleased that you could finally make it, Miss Himura." The man told her silkily, extending his hand for her to take.

Sango gripped his hand firmly, and gave it a sharp shake. She wouldn't allow herself to exude anything but confidence, even in her apprehension. Although it would have been a little better if her palms hadn't been sweating.

"Allow me to introduce myself. You can call me Naraku." Naraku gestured for her to take a seat, and she did, demurely crossing her legs at the ankle and folding her hands on the table in front of her while Naraku settled in across from her.

After she stared at him for a moment, he perked a brow as if amused, and leaned forward. "I suppose we should get right to it then, ah?"

Sango cleared her throat. "I don't particularly see any point beating around the bush. We both know why I'm here, I'd like for the offer to be laid out on the table."

To her surprise, her tone didn't faze him one bit, and he almost grinned at her before nodding. For a moment, he paused and she had no idea what he might have been thinking, but then he launched into his monologue. "Surely you are aware of the increasing tension between the humans and the demons currently in charge of this country."

Sango nodded, there were people out there, much like herself, who were all trying to keep the peace, trying to avoid any upheavals of the peace, because once it became more than just one or two lone stragglers, there wouldn't be much that anyone could do.

"We're an agency funded privately with the goal of keeping everyone's best interests in mind. I'm sure you've noticed how much tension has been increasing between the demon and human populations; the peace is becoming increasingly compromised. The demons are starting to feel restless, smothered. And humans are starting to feel threatened. We're trying to prevent a conflict, because I'm sure you know how disastrous that would be, should one arise. However, as much as we try to do, there will always be opposite forces pushing against us." Naraku leaned forwards onto his elbows on the table. "Have you heard of the Coalition, sweetheart?"

Sango grit her teeth at the nickname, but was determined for him not to get a rise out of her, and shook her head.

"They're a group that started out much like our humble organization here, but in these past few months, something somewhere has gotten lost. We think they're looking to get demons firmly into power."

"So they're a group of radical extremists?"

"That might be a reach, we're still unsure. We're not entirely sure what the Coalition plans on doing with the human population once they're in power, but I don't believe I need to tell you how delicate and precarious the balance is, and if anything is done to disrupt said balance, the outcome will not be favorable, for either species." Naraku locked his eyes on hers, and it was all she could do not to blink.

Unsure whether he was waiting for her to speak or not, she waited for another moment, then asked, "Where exactly do I fit in to all of this?"

For a moment, she thought Naraku was going to smile at her, as if he were amused, even though the information he was divulging was hardly entertaining. "There is a man who was witness to an event that could give the Coalition a huge leg up in their scheme. I assume you'd like to know the details?"

Sango contemplated the offer for a moment, and then shook her head. In these types of jobs, the less she knew the better. "Not particularly."

This time, Naraku's lips did curl up into a wry smile. "After close consideration, we believe that he wants the demon population to take control of the country."

"And this man – he's human?"

Naraku nodded.

That didn't surprise Sango as much as it probably should have. As much as there were the radicals in both species, there were always those certain straggler humans who wanted to get in with the demons and help bring them to power. Though she wasn't sure what those morons thought would happen once they did get into power. Some demons hatred for humans ran centuries deep, she didn't believe for a second that, no matter how much help a human was, the demons in power wouldn't immediately turn around and stab them in the back. If they were willing to throw everything off balance for a little bit of power, she wouldn't put anything past them.

"So you want me to take him out?" She wasn't entirely sure why they had to go through this formal a meeting, and was expecting a catch any second.

"Yes, but it isn't going to be as simple as your normal jobs. You see, while he isn't directly associated with the Coalition, as of yet, it has come to light that he will be given protection, in the case we decide to do something about him."

Ah. There it was.

"So you want me to be a double agent." It wasn't a question; Sango had made the jump on her own. "If he's so important to the Coalition, won't they make sure his guard isn't some freelancer?"

"We believe that the only way for success is if his killer is assigned as his bodyguard, yes." Naraku almost looked amused again, and it was all Sango could do not to scowl. "We've taken care of it, to the Coalition, you aren't some freelancer. You're a well-trained member from inside their ranks."

Sango found it a little difficult to believe that they were really always one step ahead. Her gut was telling her this was a bad idea; but still, there were a few questions nagging at her and she couldn't help but voice them.

"Okay – I see way too many flaws with this 'well thought out plan'. If I'm being hired to protect him with my life and he dies, isn't that going to look really suspicious?"

"Well, I don't suppose you'll be offered another bodyguard job in the future, but that's no skin off your nose, is it doll? We will make it look like an accident; you don't have to worry about that."

It was all she could do not to grit her teeth for the second time, but she let the pet name slide. Still, she had one final question. "And why me? Of all the assassins out there, why am I the one for the job?"

"You're the best at what you do."

The answer was so simple, it almost threw her off guard. After a moment, Sango nodded, pretending to contemplate it for a moment before she pushed her chair back and rose, placing her hands down on the table in front of her as she did so. Sometimes, she wasn't the best at being eloquent, and she tried to channel her father for a moment. "I appreciate the offer, and I hope that this doesn't burn any bridges, but I'm going to have to decline. I'm sure you can find someone else just as qualified as me."

The brunette turned, and was just about to open the door when Naraku chuckled. Despite herself, Sango turned around and scowled.

"What's so funny?"

"Of all the questions you asked, you forgot to inquire as to salary."

Oh, yeah. Right. She could humor him. "Okay, how much are you offering?"

"On top of the salary you'll be paid out by the Coalition, we're offering you fifty grand."

The room swayed and Sango was extremely grateful that she didn't fall over where she stood. "Fifty – thousand dollars? American dollars?" That could go a long way, she could make a dent in her father's hospital bills, and pay off her student loans. Or vice versa. If she was really lucky, she'd even have some left over for food and maybe a new skirt or two.

"Should you decide to accept our offer, you'll be given twenty five percent now and the rest when the job is complete." Naraku stood, and in seconds he was standing directly in front of her. With the proximity, Sango realized how tall he actually was. He towered over her, but she met his gaze, not nearly feeling as threatened as she had when she first walked through the door.

There was this feeling, right low in her gut, that taking this job was not a wise decision. There were too many 'what ifs', and she was finding it hard to trust a man to whom she was utterly expendable. Her life didn't matter to him. Her career didn't matter to him, so long as he got what he wanted. To Naraku, she was nothing but a puppet, a pawn for him to get what he wanted. And in her profession, if she didn't trust her intuition, then what did she have? If she took the job, she was a sell-out; it was as simple as that. But if she didn't take it, for that kind of money, she was a moron. The most she could make doing a job was ten grand, at the absolute top. She had her father to think about. And her brother…

Kohaku's face flashed into her mind, and Sango knew it was made up. She couldn't let her family down. She was going to do everything she could in her power to make sure that they would be okay, and right now, this was their best shot. If they couldn't pay her father's bills, who knew what would happen to him. Deep in her heart, Sango knew he probably didn't have much longer, but he definitely had no chance of survival without trained professionals. At least in the hospital, he had a fighting chance to survive.

"Naraku." Sango paused, letting out a breath that was shakier than she would have liked. "You have yourself a deal."

A/N: Okay, so, I hope no one is too confused, but if you are a little, have no fear because all will become clear soon enough. We'll be meeting Miroku, aka the man of the hour very soon, also.

I apologize for the delay on this chapter, the Mirosanta Christmas exchange took up most of my free writing time. BUT if you do like MirSan, I suggest going and checking everything out because everyone made some really amazing things! (You can find all the gifts at mirosanta . tumblr . com)

Thanks so much for reading, and thanks to everyone who reviewed! You make my heart happy.