::Author's Note::

If there's any readers still out there, please don't smoosh me.

Sorry, I've been having a bad bout of writer's block with this particular story. My sci-fi drive has, like, been paralyzed or someat. But I'm here now; so don't stone me. ^^;;

Disclaimer: I don't own Inu-Yasha or any of the related characters.

I think their may be some technology issues in the past chapters. I have a cheeky little problem of forgetting that *they're* working 300 years ahead of *me* and that they're *used* to being thirty-three years behind the technology they're *working* with. Sorry -- I'm confusing myself. Just a warning. ^^

Lately, ff.net has been doing someat screwy with my spacing. Hopefully it's not a problem for this chapter, but if it is, well, bear with me here -- hang on. I *think* I defeated that -- we'll know upon upload. But now there's annoying little asteriks . . . well . . . less annoying than the loss of my spaces.
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The Hanyou Project
Phase Five
"Meetings, Mistakes and Hoping for Miracles"
By Jann
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Sota rounded a corner, just behind Shippo and Miroku and stopped in the hall where they had. He put his hands on his knees and after a few seconds of staring at the floor and regaining control of his convulsing lungs, he looked up again. They had dashed through the cafeteria, a basketball game and by far the most irate group of adults Sota had ever come across. In fact, it had become less of a "chase," persay and more of a "terrified run by allies."

Sota was a sprinter, not a distance runner.

"Jeez, are all the doctors here that petulant?" Sota asked as he recovered, falling against the wall next to Miroku, who didn't seem to be any better with long bouts of running than he was. He rubbed his forehead fleetingly with the back of his hand.

Shippo, however, was skipping around like mad, as if he had just gotten up from having ice cream for breakfast. " 'Round here they are," was Shippo's casual answer. "Haven't you ever lived on a military base before? Isn't your *mom* a military doctor?"

"Well sure," Sota replied. "But I don't figure anyone's run away from her before."

"I suppose it doesn't help that we aren't even supposed to be in this wing," Miroku added thoughtfully from Sota's left.

"Where are we, anyway?" Sota asked blankly.

"In the research wing," Shippo riposted, still bouncing off the walls. "He's right, sure. We aren't s'posed to mess around in the research wing, but no one really cares if you stay out've their way. They're all to involved in whatever they're working on to notice kids in their wing."

~If anything, that run gave the damned thing more energy,~ Sota thought to himself. "I wonder where my mom and sister's lab is," he said aloud. It didn't really matter, but it would be nice to know. Sota liked to know.

"That's a great idea, booger," Miroku said, brightening up considerably. "Oh come off it. I won't hurt anyone," he added with a roll of his eyes at Sota's weary expression. "Why, Miss Sango and I . . . well, perhaps the two of you are a bit young for any de --"

"I don't think you should bring up --" Shippo began.

"Details about *what*, exactly?" demanded a voice behind them, cutting off Shippo as surely as he had cut off Miroku. "If I'm right, *Mister* Miroku, there is exactly nothing to tell."

Sota didn't have to turn. He knew from Miroku's deepening blush that he had exaggerated a bit more than he should have. Sota chuckled inwardly.

"That's Sango," Shippo said dismissivly as Sango made her way around Miroku, eyeing him carefully. "She works back here as an apprentice too. Isn't that what you said your sister does? She works for some old lady down a couple labs."

"You're cute," Sango said, her tone sounding more like it was carrying a threat than a compliment. She tousled Shippo's hair. "Real cute. Don't talk about my Journeyman like that."

The top of Sango's head just leveled with the top of Miroku's and her hair, a deep ebony, fell elegantly past her waist. She was evidently just as Japanese as Miroku and therefore undeservingly, as she was yet to do something admirable, had Sota's instant trust.

"Sure, okay," Shippo grumbled, squirming out from under Sango's hand.

"Hey, you," Sango said suddenly. "Name."

Sota knew better than to raise an eyebrow, even at her directness. "Higurashi Sota."

"Higurashi?" Sango asked, her eyes widening. "Then you must be related to the Higurashis in Kikyou's old lab. You have to be," she added. "Their lab is next to my Journeyman's and mine. They've got the . . . well, you wouldn't understand, but it's important. Important project. May make or break the human race, if . . ."

Sango looked embarrassed, as if she had said a lot more than she had meant to. Sota stored away her obvious fluster, not really knowing what it meant, but assuming it would be important later all the same. "Yeah," he finally said slowly. "My mom and sister just started here today. How would you know them already?"

"I . . . don't *know* them . . . I know *of* them . . ."

"Uh huh," Sota said. "Well I *know* them," he said unessicarily, searching Sango's face for any trace of jealously at that fact. Detecting just enough for merit, he added, "Why don't you eat with us tonight, you and your Journeyman? You could fill them in on . . . er . . . the base."

Sango looked as though she was swallowing a boulder. "Sure."

Sota nodded professionally.

~Mom's gonna kill me.~
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"B-bitch?" Kagome demanded. " *Kikyou?* "

Of course Kagome couldn't help it; she gaped. It was bad enough that he was calling her names, but the first and foremost problem was that he thought she was his former . . . friend . . . if there was any other way to put it.

"No-no-no," Kagome began. "Not Kikyou. Kagome. *My* name is Kagome. Kikyou is . . . gone."

"Loon," Inu-Yasha spat. "Of course you're Kikyou. Don't play games with me. I'm not really in the mood."

"Drain at ten percent."

~He *is* testy, isn't he?~ Kagome asked herself. On the other hand, she should have expected no less; Kikyou had disks and disks that all said the same thing: this one's a bit hot-tempered. "I'm not playing games with anyone," she replied.

"So Kikyou," he said, completely disregarding what she had just said, "what was this for, huh?" he asked, leaning drunkenly palms first onto the glass and Kagome got a closer view of the claws that ended his fingers. His amber eyes held a deep-seeded hatred and he was no longer the pretty young man Kagome had noted when she had first entered the room. The serenity had left his face the moment he had awoken and it had been replaced with insatiable rage. He swayed a bit as he regained control of his systems.

"Drain complete. Instigate rinse?"

"Stand by for my command," she ordered the computer. "Standing by."

~Of course,~ Kagome reflected bitterly as she watched the hanyou, ~the damn thing cooperates with me *now* ~

Inu-Yasha's ears twitched a bit, his eyes narrowed and Kagome had to hold back a giggle, despite his obviously growing ire. "Rinse?" he demanded.

"Duh," Kagome returned, a bit childishly. "Rinse. You're covered in gel. You know, what? Strip."

" *What?!* "

"Please remove your kimono," Kagome repeated, more dignified. "I'm not initiating rinse until you do and you're not getting out until you're rinsed, so get over it and take off your clothes. It'll only take a couple minutes. Most intelligent people don't wear clothes into that damned thing anyway," she added in a mutter.

Inu-Yasha looked as though he wanted to kill her. "Most intelligent people don't throw people into -- Gods!" he ranted, cutting himself off. He stood a little straighter and pressed his palms more firmly against the glass. He looked as though he was sizing it up. From the look in his eyes, Kagome knew even without a muscle flinching that he knew he could bust through it and he may well had been right.

Kagome deftly reached over the stasis tube and opened a small compartment just below the keypad, which was below the palm-scanner that had gotten Kagome into the mess in the first place. Inu-Yasha's eyes followed her fingers wearily as they hovered over the five hypodermic needles that made home in the niche.

Each needle was labeled, in hand that Kagome presumed to be the late Kikyou Shimiko's, with unreal amounts of a drug that would etherize an elephant. Kagome snatched one and was ready to trust Skimiko's judgment that it wouldn't kill him though and held it in front of him.

"This'll put you out for a day, Inu-Yasha," Kagome warned, nothing the flare in his eyes at her use of his name. "Just take off the damn kimono. I'll find some other clothes for you to wear until it's been cleaned."

Inu-Yasha's need to destroy seemed to diminish to a mere hunger for requital at the sight of the needle and he fell away from the glass. He shot Kagome one last look before beginning to take off his clothing.
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"Get me an X-Project researcher on every line," demanded General Enders the second he reached his office. "Miss Schult, that means *now.* Dimiss all my calls and get to work!"

"Excuse me, General, but if you'll have her, there's an X-Project researcher on line four already. She says it's important?" Miss Schult responded uncertainly. She wrung her left hand slightly and fumbled with her papers with the right. "It's Dr. Higurashi, she --"

"Forget the details, get her on the phone in my office. *Now,* " he added for emphasis.

Miss Schult wrung her left hand a bit more, typing a few keys with her right. "Line four," she said again.

"Yes, yes," the general replied, waving her off as he entered his office, a connecting to his secretary's. He went immediately to his desk and palmed into his desktop. "Computer," he said sternly as the machine whirred to life. "Connect me to line four."

General Enders had personally visited the most promising two of the six X-Projects as soon as the Admiral had left his office. The other four he planned to merely fill in over the phone. Enders personally thought all six were budget eaters, the one he was receiving the call about, the Hanyou Project, the most so for obvious reasons. They cost and cost and never profited. However, he was under the Admiral's orders and he would follow them into space without a suit.

When it finally connected, General Enders didn't have a chance to ask Nyoko what she wanted before she blurted it out to him.

"General, I think we may have overstepped protocol."

Enders' eyes narrowed, but he was cut off yet again before he could speak.

"It was an accident, General," Nyoko rambled. "Something odd is going odd is going on with the computer. Someone must have rewritten it's systems, because it just --"

"Nonsense," Enders said, his sharp voice cutting off Nyoko for once. "Dr. Higurashi, we tried to overwrite those systems more times than I can count myself. Dr. Shimiko has a virus on them protecting them from anyone's interference."

"Well, someone breached it."

" *Impossible,* " Enders replied, his *patience* breaching.

"The Inu-Yasha is awake."

" *What?!* "

That sent Enders straight out of his chair and then back down again. "You've got to be kidding me, Dr. Higurashi. There must be some kind of mistake."

"You think so? Come down for yourself."

"I'll be to your lab in less than ten minutes, Dr. Higurashi. You better have a miracle to show me."

Suddenly, The Hanyou Project had moved up on Enders' list about five notches.
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::Author's Note::

Well, the original idea was to put the dinner issue in here too, but I realized that everyone would probably be jumping out of their skin when this hit the street. Had to send the general down there. Decided this would be a good place to end. I really hope the next chapter doesn't take as long to get up. ^^;;