Forgotten
Chapter 10: The Experiment

It was a quiet evening in the Taijiya household. The dim lights of the kitchen kept away the darkness, setting the mood for the dreary thoughts that seemed to encompass those sitting around the table. It wasn't often that the siblings had company, and having a psychiatrist who was linked to an ongoing investigation seemed to put everyone on edge.

Kohaku pushed the food around on his plate, every once in a while turning to gaze up at the man across the table. The doctor only grinned in return and continued wolfing down his food.

"So," Miroku began, glancing between the two siblings and trying to make conversation. "How long have you both been in law enforcement?"

The boy eyed him wearily. "Dr. Houshi, I don't believe the cause of you staying with us was to exchange pleasantries."

He appeared taken aback by his words, but Miroku didn't object. "Yes, of course, but there's no harm in making polite conversation while we endure."

Sango rolled her eyes. "Let me remind you, Doctor, that it was you who insisted on being attached to my hip."

"Indeed," he agreed, adjusting his glasses and gazing at her with amusement. "And the company has been quite welcomed, I assure. My office is in my apartment, you see, so I usually only welcome clients in for a chat. And the conversation isn't always the most pleasant."

The brunette stood to clear her plate. "Dr. Houshi—"

"Please," he interrupted while holding up his hand. "Call me Miroku."

She raised a brow. "Dr. Houshi," she reiterated. "This current arraignment is supposed to be professional. I don't see how talking about our personal lives needs to be included."

"All right, all right," he said reluctantly, holding up his hands with mock surrender and smiling sheepishly. "I see that I am outmatched two to one. From now on, you won't even know I'm here."

"Good," Kohaku confirmed, standing and proceeding into the kitchen with his dishes.

Sango bit her lip and her eyes followed her brother's retreating form. "I sorry about his behavior," she mumbled, turning back to look at her guest. "We are all each other has in the world, and we don't have many friends."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Miroku replied honestly, his brows furrowing with concern. "I'll try not to intrude anymore than I already have. I suppose I should have inquired about the situation before I imposed on you like this."

She smiled softly and shook her head. "No, that's all right. It really isn't that big of a deal. I give you free meals and a couch to sleep on, and you help me with this case. I see this arraignment as a fair deal, don't you?"

He grinned. "Yes, eating a wonderful meal cooked by a beautiful woman and sleeping under her roof, I suppose it is a fair deal indeed."

The brunette blushed hotly at his words and she gaped. "Dr. Houshi!" she hissed, flabbergasted by his forward approach. "I appreciate the compliment, but I'll have you know that I don't mix business with pleasure. Besides, if you dare try anything or turn out to be some perverted creep, I am not afraid to use my gun, do you hear?"

Again, Miroku raised his hands in mock surrender with a coy smile. "Yes, Sango, I understand completely."

"That is Lieutenant to you!" she commanded before turning on her heels and storming toward the kitchen.

He couldn't help but watch her walk away with a twinkle in his eyes. She was an interesting creature, indeed.

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Kouga tossed and turned on the couch that night, trying to get comfortable. The cushions hardly had anything to them. Although, he doubted he would be able to sleep even in the most pleasant bed. His mind was running a mile a minute and it was the first night in a long time that he didn't have booze to drown out his thoughts.

He sighed heavily, listening to Kagome's steady breathing as she slept. He envied her. She was strong enough to survive through whatever this was, and could still sleep peacefully at night.

"Must be fucking nice," he grumbled, crossing his arms under his head and staring up at the ceiling.

As he lay still, his ears picked up the sound of a barking dog in the distance. It may have even been a wolf, seeing as how the hotel was backed up to a forest. He wondered what would stir such an animal, seeing as how it was the middle of the night and everyone in the area was sleeping.

Curious, he sat up and peered through the curtains that framed the window just above the couch. A single light hung from the roof of the motel. There was no movement or sound besides the dog. Still, it left Kouga feeling uneasy.

He growled low in his throat. Since he couldn't sleep, he might as well go for a walk to quell his fears. He grabbed a metal poker from the fireplace and silently slipped outside, careful not to wake Kagome.

With quiet footsteps, Kouga quickly sprinted toward the right side of the forest. He climbed a few hills and made his way through the edge of the trees, keeping his eyes peeled for anything that may be out of the ordinary.

It only took about twenty minutes for him to find someone standing in the shadows of the pines. The man was watching the motel through a pair of binoculars, and from what Kouga could tell, he was in perfect viewing of his and Kagome's room.

Silent as a mouse, he crept through the trees, tightening his grip on his weapon. Just as the man heard him approaching and turned to look, Kouga beat him over the head with the fire poker and knocked him unconscious.

"Keh," he grumbled, peering over the crumpled man at his feet. "Serves you right."

With a huff, he picked the man up by his torso and slung him over his shoulder. He intended to interrogate the man. Perhaps they could retrieve some scrap of the answers they had been searching for.

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Kagome was sleeping peacefully. Or at least, she had been. She awoke with a start as the door to their room slammed open and she sprung from her bed in alarm, her heart racing. "Kouga?!" she called as her companion shuffled through the door with a body slung over his shoulder. "What the hell are you doing?"

He struggled under the weight and eventually heaved his package onto the bed. "Found him snooping around outside."

She quickly pulled on her jeans and met him at the foot of the bed. "So what? You hit him over the head?"

Kouga shrugged. "I figured he could give us some answers."

"You know kidnapping is against the law, right?" she said, narrowing her eyes and crossing her arms.

He scowled. "I don't think breaking the law is our biggest concern right now, Kagome."

The young editor bit her lip. She didn't approve of Kouga's brash behavior, but knew that under the circumstances, it was probably the best decision he had made during their time spent together. She ran a hand through her hair, trying to collect her thoughts and calm her frantically beating heart.

Her eyes flickered over the face of the man unconscious on the bed and her brows furrowed. He had shaggy brown hair and a medium build. "I think I know him," she mumbled, taking in the man's features.

Kouga raised a brow. "You do?"

"Yeah," she affirmed. "I'm sure he was one of the guys who chased us into the field."

He looked back at the man, vaguely recalling the group of agents who almost found them after the long winded chase. He couldn't remember seeing any of their faces except for some guy named 'Bank'. "How can you tell?"

She slowly shook her head. "I don't know. He just looks familiar."

Kouga rolled his eyes and rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. "Well, he's not the leader of the group, so I'm not sure what we'll be able to get out of him."

"Great," she lamented with a sigh. "We need to get him tied up or something. I don't think he'll appreciate what you did to him once he wakes up."

"Grab that chair," Kouga directed as he began searching the room for some kind of rope. "We'll sit him up and tie his hands behind his back."

Kagome did as she was told and soon the two had their captive sitting upright and bound. "Now what?" she questioned, glancing over at her companion.

He leaned against the counter and slid his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "Now we wait for him to wake up, I guess."

"Then what?" She gave him a worried glance. "Do you think he'll actually tell us anything?"

Kouga popped his knuckles with a smirk. "If he knows what's good for him."

It didn't take long for the man to wake. His head rolled from side to side as his hazel eyes drifted open. Blood caked the left side of his face, trailing down to his chin. Kouga had done a number on him, but Kagome kept her chastising words to herself.

Their prisoner fiddled with his hands that were bound around the backside of the chair. It took a moment for him to blearily take in his surroundings. When his eyes focused on his captors, he immediately apprehended the situation he was in.

"Oh, shit," he breathed, letting his head drop again.

"S. Kotsu,' Kouga read off the man's NSA badge he had taken from him. He looked down at him. "What does the 'S' stand for?"

Their captive took his time in responding. He simply blinked a few times and let his eyes roam over the floor of the motel before letting them fall back on Kouga. He licked his lips and swallowed. "Why should I tell you?"

Kouga glared at him and gritted his teeth. "Do you think this is a game?" he asked darkly, taking a step toward him. He backhanded him across the cheek.

"You don't have to do that!" Kagome gasped.

"What?" Kouga growled. "This?" He proceeded to slap the man across his other cheek.

"Stop it!" she pleaded, this time holding up her hands in front of him to stray another attack. "Just stop it!"

Kouga glowered at her. This man could very well be the key to connecting the dots, and she wanted him to go easy on him? Rage boiled in his blood, but he reluctantly stopped the assault. "Keh, you're too soft, woman."

She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm sorry I'd rather not pulverize him to death, because that'll get us somewhere," she snipped sarcastically.

"Sui," their prisoner stated, interrupting the exchange. He appeared to be fully awake after being stricken. "Sui Kotsu." He huffed and observed the two before him. "Look, you don't want this kind of trouble, so just drop it right now."

The blue-eyed man grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and pulled him close. "What the hell do you mean?"

"Right now!" Sui Kotsu shouted. He turned fearful eyes to Kagome. "Tell him to stop, Mrs. Taisho, before this goes any further. Tell him!"

She looked at him grimly, but did as he said by placing a gentle hand on Kouga's arm. He let go, but did not move away from the man. "We just want our children," she articulated strongly.

Sui Kotsu shook his head. "There are no children. Forget the children."

Anger unlike any other raged within her with his words. She suddenly smacked him against the side of his face. "What did you say?" she demanded. "Did you say forget the children? Are you insane? Who the hell do you think you are?"

Even Kouga appeared taken aback by her sudden flare of resolution. He had always known she was determined beyond any doubt that she would get to the bottom of this mystery and that her little girl had always been real. However, Kagome had always been the passive type, deciding to try and resolve conflict with kind words and gestures. It was the first time that he had really seen her so aggressive.

"Where are the children?" Kouga demanded from behind her once he recovered from her outburst.

"Who do you work for? What's going on? Why were the children taken?" Kagome's questions went unanswered as she continued the onslaught as Sui Kotsu sat there silently, looking distraught.

As always, Kouga was not one for diplomatic approaches, and he be damned if he started now. "Why were the children taken?!" he bellowed, raising the fire poker high above his head, before bringing it down and crushing the chair between Sui Kotsu's legs.

The man startled and yelled out. Kouga knew he had effectively frightened him and he was going to use it to his advantage. "If I swing this thing again, I'm going to break your kneecap," he promised with a low growl. "I swear it. Now, where are the children?"

Sui Kotsu glared up at him with lips pressed into a thin line, but didn't make a move to answer. The two squared off for only a moment before Kouga raised his weapon above his head threateningly.

"No! No, I—It's not me, it's … It's not us. We … We …" he stuttered, trying to voice the answer they wanted. Kouga prodded him by putting the fire poker to his chest, pushing him to continue. "We—We cooperate," Sui Kotsu said through clenched teeth.

"Cooperate with who?" Kouga demanded.

The man didn't answer. Kagome sighed and knelt down to his level. He was frightened and suddenly seemed so vulnerable compared to the men who had been chasing them the past few days. "Why do you cooperate with them?" she asked gently.

He looked up at her, his eyes burning with an intensity she had never seen. "Survival."

"Whose survival?" Kouga commanded, walking to stand behind him. "Yours?"

Sui Kotsu peered over his shoulder at him. "Yours too."

The gravity of the situation finally dawned on the pair of fugitives. Kouga met Kagome's eyes as a silent message of understanding passed through them. "You were right," he acknowledged, needing to hear the words out loud to make it more real. Kagome's theory about fairytales and demons was true. They were up against something far more powerful than they originally thought.

She swallowed against the fearful lump in her throat and turned her attention back to the withering man before them. He appeared utterly defeated. "Where are they from?" she asked hesitantly, unsure if she wanted to know the answer. "Who are they? Why do they want the children?"

"Tell us the truth," Kouga demanded, jabbing Sui Kotsu in the back with his fire poker for emphasis.

He grinded his teeth and grimaced against the pain. "The truth." He gazed up at Kagome. "The damn truth won't fit in your brain. It won't fit in anybody's brain."

She clenched her hands into fists. "Just tell us how to get the children back."

"I don't know," he replied, shaking his head. "I don't know anything about that. All I know is that you were supposed to forget like everybody else did. This was not part of it."

"Part of what?" Kouga demaded.

Sui Kotsu shook his head. "This wasn't part of … this particular experiment."

"Go on," Kouga prompted, running the fire poker across the agent's knees menacingly.

"I can't," he lamented, wincing as Kouga shoved the poker into his chest again. "I won't."

"Yes, you can!" he growled.

He raised his hands above his head, intent on bringing the fire poker down on his captive. "No!" Kagome cried out, throwing up her hands to block Kouga's blow. "Stop this!"

Piercing blue eyes met hers, seeming to glare right through her. If only looks could kill. It took all of her strength to withstand his anger that was rolling off of him in waves. "What the hell, Kagome?" he said, retreating from his attack and lowering his arms. "I'm tired of pussy-footing around this. I want some fucking answers."

"I know," she deplored, exhaling softly. She turned to face the agent again, kneeling down in front of him, and placing her hands on his knees. "Do you have children?" Her voice was quiet, pleading. He took a deep breath before nodding. "Please. Please tell me. No one will know that you told us. Just –Just tell us." Kagome brought her face close to his, resting her forehead against his shoulder. Her eyes welled with tears as memories of a smiling little girl came to mind. "Just tell us how to get the children back. No one will blame you. I swear to you. I swear to you."

The motel was eerily quiet after her plea for help. Sui Kotsu swallowed and placed his lips against her ear. His breaths came slow and deep, and then he sighed. "They're listening."

Kagome's eyes widened with realization. Before she even understood what was happening, a rush of wind encompassed the room, tearing apart the motel. The roof tore apart as if being swept away by a hurricane.

"Watch out!" Kouga tackled her to the ground as she nearly missed being stabbed by a loose flying board.

The wind whipped around them without mercy, thrashing against the wooden structure and lifting surrounding trees into the air. Kagome covered her head with her arms as Kouga knelt over her, shielding her from the debris around them.

It seemed to go on forever, but in reality it only lasted a mere moment. The wind stopped howling and the land turned quiet. Kagome's breaths came in shuddered gasps as adrenaline coursed through her veins.

Kouga rolled off to the side and made to stand. "He's gone!" he called out.

Kagome tried to wrap her mind around his words, still trying to process what had just happened. She lifted her body off the ground and knelt on what was left of the motel room floor. Finally, she took in her surroundings.

Only one wall partially remained of their room. Everything else had been destroyed by the gusts of wind. All the furniture was missing or strewn about on the grass. Shards of glass littered the floor and fell gently from the sky along with splinters of wood.

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as her eyes found the place where Sui Kotsu had been sitting moments earlier. It was empty. There was no trace of him or the chair left. He had simply vanished with the wind.

"What happened?" she mumbled, knowing her companion didn't understand it anymore than she did.

Kagome turned her eyes skyward, looking up into the full-moon light, and watching as wisps of clouds lazily drifted across the stars. It seemed like a normal, peaceful night. But something caught her eyes. It vanished just as quickly as it had appeared.

There had been a woman with dark hair and eyes a deep red. In her hand was a pretty fan, and she rode upon a white feather.

"You okay?" Kouga asked, coming to kneel beside her. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and took her hand in his.

She nodded. "Why didn't they take us?" she croaked against the lump in her throat.

He helped her stand and wrapped a protective arm around her back. "I don't know."

Kagome's thoughts kept returning to what she had seen in the sky and she knew she would never forget it. The woman. It was almost as if she had been smiling.

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Sango's phone rang three, long, annoying rings before she finally managed to roll over in bed and answer it. She vaguely glanced at the clock to note that it was approximately four o'clock in the morning.

"Hello?" she answered groggily, making a mental note to kill whoever cut her sleep short by an hour. They would have a very crabby Lieutenant on their hands today.

"I apologize for waking you, Lieutenant," a voice spoke over the receiver that she vaguely recognized belonging to one of her subordinates. "But you really need to come take a look at this as soon as possible."

"What is it?" she asked, beginning to fully awake and comprehend the situation. She sat up on bed, flipping the lamp on beside her, and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. "This better be good."

"It's related to the Taisho and Ookami case. You need to get to this motel right outside the city. I've already sent the directions to your phone."

After hearing the names Taisho and Ookami, Sango's eyes widened and she jumped into action without another moment of hesitation. "Meet me there," she barked into the receiver before flipping her phone shut.

Sango quickly tossed off the covers, threw on some sweat pants, and proceeded to bang her fist on her brother's door to rouse him. "Wake up, Kohaku. We've gotta move." She didn't even stop to wait for a response.

Her next stop was the living room, where the doctor was still sound asleep even after all the commotion she caused upstairs.

"Dr. Houshi," she called, making her way into the kitchen to start the coffee maker. "Hey! Wake up!"

The air didn't stir. With a frustrated sigh and a roll of her eyes, she stormed back to where Miroku slept. He was lying on his back with one arm thrown over his eyes. She tried to ignore the fact that he was shirtless, and wasn't too bad to look at.

A heated blush made its way to her cheeks as she tried to ignore the steady increase of her heartbeat. "Dr. Houshi," she snarled, placing her hands on her hips. "It's time to wake up."

Mumbled words were her only reply. She reached over to shove his shoulder gently in an effort to wake him. However, rather than rousing him, she got a wake-up call instead. Something gently brushed over her bottom, causing a shiver to shoot up her spine.

"Oh, my dear, just come back to bed with me. Five more minutes," Miroku mumbled, still half-asleep.

Sango furrowed her brows with anger as she clenched a hand into fist. "You lecher," she growled, hitting him over the head and receiving a yelp in return. "Get your hands off of me!"

Miroku yelled out, wincing with pain, and rubbed a hand over the growing bump on his head. "What happened?" he grumbled, sleepily peering up at his assailant.

The lieutenant glared down at him. "I suggest you get yourself dressed. We have a job to do."

With a final glower, she turned and stormed off to the kitchen, leaving a very perplexed doctor in her wake.

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A/N: Here's another installment. Please review and let me know what you think. Much appreciated!