Chapter Two
Tokyo, Japan - Present Day
Glancing for the fourth time at his subtly expensive watch, the silver haired half-demon let out a loud sigh in response to its display. Normally he was incredibly punctual, but today fate seemed set on thwarting his usually well-timed schedule with unplanned mishaps. Growling lightly so his human driver wouldn't hear, he closed his eyes and tried to relax his increasingly tense muscles.
What began this disastrous series of events was the strange wake-up call he received from his exceedingly snobbish, bastard of an older brother. Inuyasha suspected the demon lord's true reason for calling had been to set into motion the events that followed. At his groaned 'hello,' his brother innocuously asked if he was planning to work in his office today; as if there were some reason that he wouldn't. After sleepily confirming he would, he heard a click on the other end of the line. Being denied the chance to tell his brother off in as many expletives as possible, the irate half-demon proceeded to smash his phone into the bedside table. Such a delicate piece of modern technology wasn't built to withstand the unconscious strength of a hanyou, so it promptly smashed into bits. It wasn't really a problem; he had a whole drawer full of them in his office just waiting to be the next "chosen one."
If only he had the forethought to connect that his shattered device also served as his morning alarm... A short time later, he was jarred awake for the second time by the sound of his driver knocking insistently on his apartment door. It was the second time in as many hours that he was being rudely awakened on what was quickly becoming a horrid day. Hurrying through his morning routine, he pondered the merits of playing hookey just to spite his older brother. Shoving his leg into a clean pair of dress pants, he silently wondered if the entire stunt had just been to piss him off. Growling to himself, he vowed he would do everything in his power to beat the old antagonizer at his own game.
As if being forced to skip breakfast due to his haste wasn't enough, traffic was oddly at a near standstill. It was only when they passed the slightly dented side of a highly expensive car—and what he assumed to be the very angry owner of said car—did the slow motion traffic make sense. What else was life going to throw at him today? He had officially lost the race to be punctual, and subsequently the unspoken contest that his older brother had set into motion with the 'early morning phone call of challenge.' He may as well just go home now rather than face the stoic "I beat you at this cryptic game" that would surely be waiting for him.
Finally pulling up to the curb in front of the giant skyscraper that was the Taisho Foundation offices, the hanyou leapt from the car and walked quickly past anyone who might have deigned to spout a "Good morning." Strangely there didn't appear to be anyone around who might dare to do so, but he was too focused to pay much attention to his surroundings. The elevator just wouldn't go fast enough. Before the doors had even fully opened on his floor, he was already trotting down the hallway to his office. Maybe his brother was not yet aware of his tardiness.
Opening and slamming the door behind him so quickly one would have been hard pressed to see it move at all, he turned to find that his usually empty office was filled to the brim with a small platoon of strategically placed humans in khaki uniforms. They looked similar to the navy blue ones worn by those among the council's self-defense military, but he had no knowledge of a purely human battalion. ...Or why they would be holed up in his office. So shocked was Inuyasha at finding so many strangers in his undisputed territory, he did not think to open with the gut-reaction growl. Instead what slipped out was a quiet but effective, "What the hell?"
Rudely, he was interrupted from his blind confusion by a tauntingly feminine voice coming from the other side of his large executive chair, "So... you've decided to join us." Almost as if the female had planned the dramatic sequence, she slowly swiveled the chair around to face him, affording him his first look at the soon-to-be-dead-creature. If he wasn't already so heated by the strange turn of events that had thus far made up his morning, he might have been rendered breathless by the strange beauty calmly situated upon his leather throne. Her skin was flawless and shapely, and her pastel pink hair was as wild and untamed as he was willing to bet she was. But what truly captured his attention were the glittering jewel-like eyes that were trained unblinkingly on him in what seemed to be partially hidden amusement. Even with his building ire, he still spared a moment to catch his breath.
Her blue eyes left him in favor of glancing at the wall mounted clock, and he immediately felt their absence. But he was soon rewarded with a coy smirk as she said, "I was briefed that you were an incredibly punctual person. I must say that I'm somewhat disappointed." Slowly she returned her turquoise eyes to his own, all hints of amusement had vanished. "Thankfully, I don't think we will have to implement a contingency plan."
With that comment his mild attraction for the alluringly colored female was stifled by the anger that returned in full force. Determined not to make any movements until he had regained the upper hand, he growled a warning from his place by the door, "Who the hell are you? And how the shit did you get into my office?" Rolling his eyes, he said, "I'm not into whatever weird fetish thing that they paid you for, so you can all get the fuck out!" Glaring daggers at her forearm which was leisurely draped on the arm of his chair, he added, "And for fucks sake, who gave you permission to sit in my chair?!"
Silence reigned supreme in the unusually cramped office space. The hanyou waited patiently for an answer to his outburst before it became apparent he would receive none. Poorly hidden amusement was once again dancing in her eyes, and it served to do nothing but make him angrier. Taking a deep breath to calm his fraying patience, he decided that he might be better served having building security handle these intruders. Releasing his breath in an audibly frustrated sigh, he turned to leave. He found his way immediately barred by a familiar pastel-haired young woman.
Startled, he leapt backwards landing expertly in the center of the room. Whipping his head around, he found his recently occupied leather chair still spinning as if someone had only just vacated it. Jerking his now amazed golden gaze to the picture of feminine beauty standing before him, he only just stopped his jaw from falling open in awe. How did she move so fast? His eyes hadn't caught any movement as she passed him.
Her countenance was noticeably dulled by her "no-nonsense" expression, and he found he missed the sparkling. The half-demon warily eyed her arms as they moved to cross her ample chest. She flatly stated, "I'm afraid that since you have now arrived, you are forbidden to leave."
As if taking her cue, he saw several of the surrounding humans assume a prayer stance and he felt the air grow thicker as a barrier solidified around the office. He could feel the glamour that hid his more demonic features from view rippling before it dissipated entirely. He would have assumed the sudden appearance of fangs, claws, and dog ears to garner some gasps, but these people didn't even bat an eye. It was odd, as only his pack members had seen him in his natural state in nearly two centuries. Fighting against rarely felt feelings of helplessness, confusion, and frustration, he furrowed his brow and stared. Inuyasha decided this was by far the worst start to his day he had experienced in at least a decade, maybe longer.
The half-demon male had reached the end of his decidedly longer-but still short-fuse. He might have been able to forgive her for sitting in his chair, or even for breaking into his building for what had to be someone's idea of a joke. But trapping him in his own office was just more than he could handle. Snarling as viciously as he could muster under the circumstances, he stalked toward her with deadly intent-or at least he hoped it appeared that way. The erecting of the barrier seemed to have dissolved more than just his human disguise, as he was suddenly bombarded by her intoxicatingly unique scent. She smelled of flowers, and rain, and somehow strangely like the electricity that hung heavy in the air after a thunderstorm. Her scent caused a slight stumble in his approach, which he prayed she didn't notice. Strangely, she smelled almost familiar to him in a primal sort of way, although he was positive they had never met. The real kicker that came with this newfound awareness was the frustrating knowledge that this wench was a hanyou.
Standing only a pace away from the pink haired half-demon, he gave her what he hoped was his fiercest glare. She did not appear to be at all cowed by his aggressive behavior. The snarl increased in both anger and frustration as he asked, "Are you seriously trying to hold me hostage? Do you know the uproar you are going to cause having your holy lackeys cast a spell in the building like that? Sesshoumaru is not going to-"
"Sesshoumaru-sama is the one who gave me free reign to do whatever it takes to keep you in this room," she smugly interrupted.
All thought stopped. He could feel his brain working overtime to make sense of it all, but he was having a particularly hard time. Inuyasha couldn't believe what he was hearing. Sesshoumaru was behind this? He was trapped in his office with this exotic half-demon beauty by the orders of his own bastard of an older brother? He wasn't sure whether he wanted to thank the man or strangle him.
Sensing that he was growing exponentially more unhinged, she took the pressure off by moving away to stand beside his large wooden desk. Sparing a glance at the unmoving humans stationed strategically around the perimeter of the room, the half-demon male decided they must not have any intentions to further restrain him. He chose to join the female near his desk, and glared at her out of the corner of his eye as he rigidly plopped into his enormous chair. He wasn't sure what their intentions were, and he wasn't going to let down his guard until he knew. Not that she paid him any attention, as it seemed she was mentally focused on releasing a tiny wisp of her youki. It didn't appear to have any purpose that he could see. Snorting and drumming his fingers on the edge of his desk, he swiveled until he was fully facing her with seated wrath. Fiery golden eyes met icy blue in a battle of wills that only one of them was really participating in.
The phone rang on the desk interrupting their staring contest. Hand extended to answer, Inuyasha barely caught the flash of movement before hearing her say in a straight tone, "Captain." His glare went unnoticed, and he took another deep breath to restrain himself.
He stared at his office phone pressed to her ear. Most days he would be willing to stab his hand with a fork than deal with the mediation and politics of his station, but in his current predicament he was having a hard time reigning in his long-dormant instincts.
Unable to contain himself, a low growl escaped him without his permission. He couldn't remember a time when he had been essentially imprisoned and unable to do something about it. Barriers and blades had stopped being a part of everyday life centuries ago, and as such, the Tetsusaiga was currently on display in the remnants of the Western Castle. If he were more aware of himself he might have been embarrassed. Much to his aggravation, she ignored his growl and listened intently to whoever was on the other end of that line. She spoke into the phone, "Yes, he has arrived, albeit late." He huffed childishly as she unnecessarily imparted his tardiness to the unseen questioner. She paused, listening intently to the phone's speaker, "I think it may be necessary to ensure his cooperation."
Suddenly he found the black plastic receiver thrust into his face, accompanied by a dry look from the female hanyou. Scowling, he snatched the phone from her elegantly formed fingers, and held the receiver to his head without breaking eye contact. "What." he stated more than asked.
Sounds of an icily smooth voice emanated from the black plastic, "I knew that if you were allowed prior knowledge, you would likely refuse to participate, so I ensured your ignorance in these happenings."
The inu hanyou's low growl morphed into a vicious snarl at these words, completely pulling his attention from the feminine beauty in front of him to the monotone voice of his elder brother. Before he could get a word in, the robotic response cut him off, "Do yourself a favor and listen to what the Captain and Major have to say. I have been informed she has already successfully trapped you in, so you have little option left as it is. I leave it to her to explain things to you. Try not to cause her any unnecessary irritation, little brother." A hard click followed by the dial tone signified the end of his arrogant brother's cryptic, one-sided conversation.
He was sorely tempted to crush the plastic communication device into dust, but decided against it. In his younger days he may have followed through with it, but the years had done much to calm his volatile demeanor—well, at least in most situations... Returning his heated amber eyes onto that of the current thorn in his side, he shifted, making a show of his claws before reaching up to scratch his cheek. The male stared down the female, oblivious to the several onlookers stationed around the office. Said onlookers had been growing exceedingly interested in the outcome of this battle of wills, but did not dare move from their posts for fear of the retribution the Captain would seek.
"So," he began while stretching in a display designed to make himself as big and imposing as possible, "You trapped me in here, filling the room with your foul stench at my brother's request?" Slicing his gaze over her alluring silhouette, he continued, "You and your goons can just leave the premises immediately. I don't want any part of the game my brother has planned for me." With as much arrogance as he could successfully portray, he haughtily flicked his fingers toward the door to dismiss them.
The only response he received from the female was an unimpressed raising of one of her perfectly arched brows. Inuyasha could feel the silent snarl marring his otherwise handsomely sculpted face. His insides were boiling. It was obvious his instincts were nearer to the surface than usual, but he refused to let down his guard enough to mentally analyze the reasons for his behavior. Without receiving any response to his aggressions, he worked to sooth his rage into a simmering annoyance.
The vixen quietly moved around and took a seat in the chair opposite his desk. As she settled herself languidly into the cushions, he tried to wrangle in his scattered emotions. Her position appeared to be somewhat provocative, but he could see the tightness of her corded muscles never relaxed. She was secretly poised for an attack at any moment. The little bitch at least had enough common sense to stay on edge in his presence.
"You must pardon our interruption. Please proceed with your work as normal, provided it be within the confines of this room," she stated with unconcerned authority, while grinning like the Cheshire cat. She spoke like the undeclared winner. Why wouldn't she think that she had won? She essentially had him trapped.
He couldn't help the slight narrowing of his eyes. She had a lot of spunk to speak to him in such an offhand manner while holding him captive. "And now you think you're gonna order me around. Are you thick in the head or somethin'? You should count your blessings that I haven't struck you down where you sit. Who the hell are you?!" he finished loudly.
She only smiled a coy smile, but he picked up on what seemed to be slight nervousness leaking into her scent. Elegantly draping one of her willowy limbs over the armrest of the leather chair, she licked her lips before saying, "You can call me 'Captain' for now. I assume from your behavior thus far, and the brief length of your phone call that you are still uninformed as to the reason we were deployed here." She took a few moments of silence to lazily readjust in her seat. She grinned quietly, displaying her perfectly white teeth, very humanlike in their bluntness. Just what kind of hanyou what she? Her eyes jumped to his, "We were sent here to protect you, of course."
His response was instantaneous, "Protect me?! What in all the seven hells do you think you can protect ME from?"
If it was possible, her grin widened, "I see your Lord has kept his Beta in the dark about the recent threats made against your pack." When she observed that her words only served to further confuse the simmering silver-haired male, she rolled her eyes. Sighing loudly in disdain, she continued, "Are you even aware of the threat that is Jigoku no Hi?"
The inu was instantaneously leaning across the desk and in her face growling fiercely. She was unconcerned with his nearness and obvious outrage. His words were garbled with rage, but he roughly growled, "What do you know about him?"
The female did not answer at first. She tilted her head to the side, hair sliding against her shoulder like spun silk. She appeared to be observing his fierce reaction. So many thoughts and emotions flickered through her eyes and scent that he found it impossible to discern them all. He watched as her demeanor suddenly hardened in determination. Apparently having decided to drop her pretense at relaxed nonchalance, she straightened in her seat. She became more serious and professional, almost as if his response had given her a new-found respect for the inu male.
When she answered, her tone of voice had even changed. Gone were those sultry tones, it was all business now. "It is believed that you are Jigoku no Hi's next target, and an attempt on your life will be made in the very near future. He has a personal vendetta against you for the part you played in ending his predecessor's life. He believes that history intends to repeat itself."
Inuyasha was shocked to say the least. He leaned back and let his leather chair catch him as he resumed his seat. He had believed only Sesshoumaru was aware of his connection to the fire demon. Clearly his face betrayed him, for she smiled knowingly and continued, "Did you think to hide such an enlightening discovery from the rest of the council? He has been on their radar for quite some time now."
"How?" was all he managed to get out.
He wasn't exactly sure what he meant when asking the question, but she interpreted it into the most basic answer, "He is difficult to track, but it can be done with the right tools." She paused to let that cryptic remark sink in. Looking again at the wall clock, she deflected his brimming questions by continuing, "However, if you are referring to his being the reincarnation of Naraku-obsessed with vengeance upon you for killing him in a previous life-rest assured that Toyotama-hime-sama is the only council member outside of your pack privy to such information. The knowledge of how to track him came to her in much the same way as the knowledge of his past incarnation's identity."
Inuyasha should have suspected the ancient water-dragon would have found out about it soon enough. She had ruled the southern seas for millenia, and was old enough to remember his father as a pup. She was also the unofficial head of the council, and her network of spies made her one of the most well-informed demons on the planet. She is not one to divulge how she comes about her information, but it is nearly always reliably correct. He stayed silent, wondering just how long the ancient youkai had been aware of this information. Inuyasha had only been aware of Jigoku and his own twisted history with the demon for less than two decades. If she knew about him before that day...
Content to wait as he silently puzzled over this new information, the young woman relaxed back into her deceptively alert position. She looked around the office, choosing to wait for him to either question her further or end the conversation. Inuyasha stared at her for a moment, trying to piece it all together in his head. But how much should he give away…? "Toyotama-hime believes that Jigoku plans to attack me here," he couldn't help the small growl of anticipation, "in one of the most magically fortified buildings in all of Japan. I know he's an arrogant asshole, but I didn't think even he was that stupid."
Her blue eyes that had thus far been flicking around the room sliced back to meet his. Locking eyes with him, she leaned forward with an uncharacteristic intensity and said, "He is not one to be underestimated." He could see that she was deadly serious, her eyes betraying deep emotions that only confused him with what seemed to be an intimate understanding of the warning.
She let that comment linger in the air before she reclined again, "Take a moment and use your brain." She seemed unaffected by the small growl that comment elicited. "Why do you think we are here? Specifically because this is one of the most fortified buildings in all of Japan. We chose the battlefield, hoping to minimize the threat. He will have a much more difficult time attacking you in this building than if you were lazing about your apartment. Not to mention the potential risk to your neighbors."
Her gaze unconsciously returned to the wall clock before continuing, "And besides, isn't it customary that all threats to the council members will be taken seriously? I can't help but notice you seem to be the only member without a protection detail." She paused meaningfully before continuing, "Some might wonder if you aren't inviting trouble to seek you out."
He growled for what felt like the fiftieth time in the last half hour. "And what if I said I've been itching to dig my claws into his flame-retardant ass for a long fucking time?" he sneered while flexing said claws.
Her face betrayed no emotions, she merely continued to stare at him in a way that unnerved him. Her scent once again became a myriad of emotions. She seemed to be the one searching him for answers, when it was clear she had thus far been the one who had them all. Quick enough to give him whiplash, she changed again, back to that strange, sultry, languid creature that hid her serious nature behind her mask of smiles. He frowned, unsure why she couldn't just pick a persona and stick with it. He was beginning to wonder if she really was a bit thick in the head.
Tauntingly, her eyes glittered as she said, "Don't you have work to do?"
A/N: For the time being, this story will be told from Inuyasha's point of view. But as more is discovered, we will eventually be switching to Kagome. Also, please bear with me for the 'world building' beginning of the story. I promise, there will be less inner-monologue and more action as we get everything fleshed out.