AN: Oh right. I'm really agitated right now. I've almost emailed every fanfiction e-mail address they had and none of them answered back. And while I'm waiting, there's someone out there that knows how to get into my account. I've changed passwords more than I could count with my fingers. God…and I thought school life was complicated…¬_¬
Disclaimer: Sometimes, I wonder why I even deal with this anymore. Don't you all know that this is just wasting everyone's valuable time?! (In other words, I don't feel like disclaiming right now.)
"So, tell me again – why are we going to his house?"
Kagome was sitting in the back seat of a plain Rolls Royce, or so how Kouga had called it, that Inuyasha had seduced a woman into 'borrowing' it for awhile. She was wearing mini-skirts – only because of the usual summer's heat in Japan. Her arms were crossed and she was looking out the window, a look of pure boredom completely covering her face.
Her bandaged wrist was hidden beneath her arm, the only ones knowing about her recent injury, herself and Inuyasha.
Sango was typing away on her Apple's laptop, wearing her sharp glasses she rarely wore. "I told you, it's Inuyasha's former house. We're only going there to visit his estranged brother, who's actually something like a boss to us."
"You mean the one that's married?"
Sango looked up from her laptop screen and gave her a wayward glance. Kagome felt the stare and turned her head with an innocent look (which was pretty rare). "What?"
She shook her head. "It was from the 'file' Naraku gave you, wasn't it?"
"I guess." Kagome looked back out the window, not interested anymore.
"Honestly Kagome, you have an attention span of a minnow."
"It's actually more like a squirrel's."
"Whatever." Sango looked back at the laptop screen, but Kagome still caught the glance she gave Inuyasha, who was sitting in the front seat, talking to Kouga who was driving. "I'll tell you the full details when we get there."
Kagome rolled her eyes and watched the green pastures outside the window quickly pass her, not giving her any chance to spot any daisies or butterflies. It was the basic rural areas, thought they were pretty rare around Tokyo.
She didn't know why they were going to Inuyasha's former house, but from how much she heard from Sango's babbling, they seemed to like to move around a bit, with something about enemies always after them.
Of course, the silence was getting to her (minus the loud music the boys were listening to in the front seat), so casually, she turned her head back to Sango and stared at the laptop screen. For a moment, she was just mindlessly staring at the colors on the screen that flashed every few minutes, but her eyes finally focused and she saw the familiar picture of a particular doctor.
"Dr. Kazaana?"
Sango promptly shut her laptop.
"Or should I say," Kagome continued. "Miroku?"
Sango pulled her glasses off and laid them on top of her laptop. "Pardon me?" was her oh-so-innocent reply.
She shook her head. "Fess up, Sango. You got it bad."
"What?" She looked horrified. "What are you talking about? Can't you leave a girl to research about her next mission?" Then she went back to her laptop on her lap and plopped the screen back on, obviously ending this discussion as she placed her glasses back on top of her nose.
Kagome just stared at her, then wisely shook her head and looked back outside the window. Of course, she could never avoid a chance to annoy someone.
"Sucks for you."
"Excuse me?!"
"So you'll be there, alright?"
Kagura had on her usual sleeveless turtleneck on with her long skirt that reached to her ankles. She sat leisurely on the side bench; her legs were delicately crossed, her attention was all on the tiny, black cell phone she had her head leaned onto. As tender as she looked, her long eyelashes hid her blood-colored eyes, twisted with annoyance and impatient.
"Yeah, I'll be there." A sharp reply hissed back. On impulse, Kagura withdrew from the phone, expecting as if the spit would come out of the receiver that would obviously be covering the other end by now with all her hissing. For a moment, she stayed in that position, but then, rather hesitantly, closed the distance back up.
"Stop all your hissing. You knew your boyfriend was going to get killed."
There was a sigh.
"Yeah, but Naraku could have told me a bit earlier." She sounded pissed alright, yet her habit on hissing kept on spraying (at the receiver).
"That's the thing with love life in this kind of job."
"Whatever." She hissed. "I'll be there."
"And one more thing."
"Yeah, yeah." She hissed. "I'll make sure she's fine."
Kagura looked at her cell phone as the line abruptly went dead. She looked at it dully.
"Freak."
"Nee-san?"
Kagura snapped her head back up as she quickly stuffed her cell phone back into her pocket.
"Nee-san?" the innocent voice repeated, muffled by the thick metal door.
"I'm coming, I'm coming." Kagura whispered as she checked the deathly, quiet hallway, listening if there was any tapping of shoes against the marble floors. Nothing.
Taking an air in her lungs, she turned to the metal door and pulled out her cell phone again. But this time, she picked open the battery compartment, which flipped back to reveal another compartment that was suspiciously shaped like a safety pin.
With her sharp nails, she opened the small led and pulled out a slender needle-like key.
Wasting no time at all, she closed the two compartments and shoved her cell phone back into her pocket, than stepped in front of the doorknob that required a card key. Carefully using precise movements with her wrist, she made sure she didn't switch on any hidden alarms as she 'picked' her way through the small slot. There was a slight beep, but quickly stopped, indicating that the entrance was accessible now.
"Yo." She casually said as she entered the lighted room, quietly closing the heavy metal door behind her.
The only other resident in the room was a boy, no older than 8 yet with an aura of wise intensity around him. His hair was long, which was tied back thanks to her pickiness about messy hair. His dull brown eyes looked up at her. "You're not nee-san."
She snorted. "And when did you find that out?"
He looked down, sighing. "Hi Kagura."
She looked around the ordinary room. The curtains were lined with small flowers to make the whole place more comfortable, with a bookcase that covered one wall and the other lined with small antiques. There was another door that led to a small bathroom, but that was it.
If it was supposed to look more like an asylum than a boy's room, they sure did a good job.
"I guess they didn't change anything since the last time I came in." She said casually, as if being locked up in such a small white room wasn't odd.
He looked up at her funnily. "They wouldn't change anything overnight, ya know."
"Right." She leaned against the door, thinking things over in her head. It was a wonder how such a boy of his age would get into a mess like this, no matter how mature or polite he was.
"Kagura?"
She 'hmm'-ed, still half in her thoughts.
"My name…"
She looked up at him. "What is it?"
"My name…" he repeated.
Kagura, for just a second, looked at him with pity. She walked over towards him to his side and promptly sad down beside him on the bed, making the boy bounce as the mattress quivered. "Kohaku."
"Huh?"
"Your name." She sighed. "It's Kohaku."
"Kohaku." He said, trying out his name as his tongue rolled the words out. For a moment, he became thoughtful, but then shook his head. "I can't remember anything."
"I didn't expect you to." She said as she put her hand on his forehead. It wasn't out of affection, as she moved his bangs out of the way and revealed a thin yet long scar. "You hit your head pretty hard there."
"Nee-san."
Kagura pulled her hand back.
"I have an older sister, right?"
She nodded.
He sighed. "You told me, but I can't remember. I can't remember anything."
There was a momentary peace in the white room each reminiscing on their problems, either not knowing that the cause of their problems were the same. But the peace was quickly shattered when Kagura's phone rang. Reaching for her phone, she hastily answered, getting up from the bed and making sure the young boy didn't hear anything.
"Yeah?" She growled.
"It's about time." The familiar voice hissed. "Ten minutes till twelve. Like you told me to remind you."
Kagura hang up, stuffing the phone and turning back to the boy.
"What is it, Kagura?"
She shook her head. "I got to go. Duty calls." She said as she walked to the exit and quickly unlatched the door with her same pin-like key.
"Kagura?"
She had told him to stop addressing her by adding 'nee-san' at the end, like any proper child should do, but now she was having second thoughts…
"What?" She snapped, giving him a glance.
"Why are you always going on this 'job'? What is it?" He used his fingers when he said 'job'.
Kagura sighed. "So many questions, so little time." No one saw it, but an obvious smirk showed on her delicate lips. "I think you'll like what you'll see when I come the next time I visit you."
That was the last thing she said before she shut the door closed, leaving the innocent boy oh-so-very confused.
"So, what do you think?"
Sango asked as she stepped out of the car, closing her laptop shut.
They were practically in middle of nowhere, what with all the grass and absolutely no inhabitant in sight.
Except for the huge castle-like mansion that towered right in front of their faces.
"Okay…I guess." Kagome responded, also getting out of the car and blocking her eyes from the harsh sun. Maybe it was a bad idea to have let her hair down just this once.
"C'mon, babe." Inuyasha called as he followed suit out of the car, like Kouga who turned the engine off. He smirked as she whipped her head back and gave him a menacing glare, obviously annoyed. Just like he wanted her to be.
"Don't call me that, you hormone-driven puppy." She hissed, sneering at him. Man with their egos…
Sango looked over at Kouga, and Kouga looked over at Sango. They both shook their heads and went ahead towards the front steps.
Of course, before they could actually get in, they were blocked by a white husky that came raging up at them and barked as if there was no tomorrow. Sango and Kouga stayed still, even if the husky came at them with drools flying from his mouths, his canines showing with menace.
Just right before the dog could even touch them; however, the chain leash around his neck twanged and pulled him down right in front of their feet.
Inuyasha, who heard all this commotion, turned away from his mocking match with Kagome and came over towards the dog. He 'tsk'-ed as he shook his head at the dog, who was still barking like crazy.
"You think after visiting this place more than five times, the dog would recognize us."
Sango eyed Inuyasha quizzically. "Inu, we only came here six times, and the last time we visited was three years ago."
He shrugged.
"Shiro!"
Kagome, who was behind everyone else, looked up at the innocent cry that echoed from the entrance of the so-called 'mansion'. She visibly grimaced. She hated man (with ego), she hated pets…what else could there be for the third thing she hated to appear right there?
Kagome watched, as she hid behind the three other people, as a small little girl hopped down the steps and dashed to where the dog, Shiro, was. The girl's hair was long, a little part of it held in a small ponytail at the side. Her chocolate-colored eyes were bright with energy as she reached for the dog's collar, who immediately stopped barking and began licking at the girl's face, obviously more calm around her.
"Hey Rin." Kouga greeted as he bended down to greet the girl. She looked up at the man and gave a toothy smile (showing some missing teeth).
"Hi Kouga-nii-san!"
Inuyasha leaned towards Sango's ears. "See, even the girl remembers who we are."
The little girl didn't pay attention to Inuyasha's remark, and continued greeting everyone, her utmost priority.
"Hi Inuyasha-nii-san, hi Sango-nee-san!" Without warning, she abruptly stood up and ran behind Sango, waving her arms at Kagome. "Hi Kikyou-nee-san!"
There was a momentary silence throughout everyone as they watched what Kagome and Inuyasha's reaction would be. Kagome didn't know what she felt. Pissed, because she was mistaken as Inuyasha's 'love', or worried as she saw Inuyasha's sullen face.
"Err…I'm not Kikyou, kid." She said as she looked away. "I'm just Kagome."
The girl looked at the woman quizzically, obviously confused, but quickly smiled again that toothy smile. "Oh…then hi Kagome-nee-san!"
Kagome really felt awkward now. So innocent children were these days…
"C'mon, Sesshoumaru-sama wants to see you!" Rin shouted with energy, running towards Shiro again and dragging him by the leash.
Kagome got beside Sango, getting as far away from Inuyasha and Kouga as possible. She tried to lighten up the mood. "So, sounds like he already knows we're here."
"Yeah," Sango replied as they followed Rin. "He always does, anyway."
"So, who is that girl, Rin?"
Sango winced, as if she knew Kagome was going to ask her that exact question. "It's a long story, really."
"Make it short then."
She bit her lip. "We'll talk later, but first…" She stopped as they neared the door, looking at the familiar form. Kagome followed her gaze and met eye-to-eye with a foreign form. There he stood; a man with extremely long, silver hair that was longer than Inuyasha's and straight with an uncanny luster. His sharp golden eyes were on Inuyasha.
He was as bare feet as Rin.
"Rin." He called. "Go inside and take Shiro with you."
"But I want to play outside, Sesshoumaru-sama!" She whined as she hugged her dog. "Please!"
He sighed. "Alright, but please stop calling me that."
"Okay Sesshoumaru-sama!" She cried as she pulled Shiro with her and ran back out to the entrance gate.
Kagome couldn't hold in a snort.
The sharp man eyed her suspiciously, now that the pet and the child were gone. "That was very unladylike of you, Kikyou."
Kagome glared. "Look, I'm not Kikyou, you. I'm-" before she could finish her sentence, Sango pulled her arm, leading her past the tall man.
"Sorry Sesshoumaru. We'll be at the waiting room." She cried with a sheepish grin and left the males alone at the door, dragging Kagome with her.
"Hey!" Kagome cried as Sango pushed her onto the couch. "What do you think you're doing?!"
"Oh shut your traps." Sango hissed as she sat beside her on the couch. "I just saved you hide there."
"What?!"
She sighed. "I guess I'll have to explain all this right about now."
Kagome made her self comfortable. "Go on."
"Well…first off, when I meant estranged about Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha's bond, I meant estranged. They're half related with a same father, but with different mothers. Sesshoumaru's a lot older than Inuyasha, so they always had their fair share of fights and bruises. But then Inuyasha moved to Los Angeles and Sesshoumaru moved here and got married. He never had any children, except for Rin, who was actually his niece-in-law."
"You mean Sesshoumaru's wife was taking care of her niece?" This was getting interesting…
"Yeah, see, I never met her but I heard she was as much of a loner as he was. Her parents died in a car accident so she lived with her brother, who was already married. But then they died too in a fire, so she was taking care of Rin. It's a shame I don't know her name."
"So," Kagome looked around the waiting room, not spotting any family pictures. "Where is this woman, anyway?"
"Umm…she's actually dead."
"…oh."
Sango sighed as she leaned her head back. "Sesshoumaru's wife died just a few years ago with a fatal disease, leaving him with her niece and the dog. He's been more quiet and peaceful around Inuyasha since then."
"So…that's it, huh?" Kagome felt some pity towards the man, remembering how submissive his eyes were.
"Actually, no." This caught Kagome's attention. "The real case is what caused his wife to die. Remember, she fell ill to a fatal disease."
Kagome looked at Sango quizzically. "Wait…you don't mean-"
Sango nodded. "She died with V-157 in her blood."
"C'mon nee-san!"
Kagome sighed. She would never know how she would get into these situations alone.
"C'mon!" Rin repeated, playing with Shiro.
She kept still, looking dully into space, wishing that she was anywhere but here. Inuyasha stood behind her, obviously amused.
Babysitting a dog, a girl, and a guy watching your every move…this was the perfect punishment anyone could give her.
She stood in the shadows of the mansion, seeing how the small girl played with her pet and trying to ignore Inuyasha's stare. Not that she had any patients for her to live on.
"Would you quit staring?!" She demanded as she rounded on Inuyasha.
He raised an eyebrow as if he didn't know what she was talking about, his arms crossed over his chest. "What ever do you mean?"
"Don't even try it, bastard!"
"…cute."
Kagura rolled her eyes. "Are you even listening to me?!"
The form hiding behind the black jeep 'hmm'-ed in response, not really caring as her bracelet jingled on her wrist. It was decorated with snake-shaped jewelry. "I'm not listening, but I'm sure looking."
At his butt, Kagura thought.
"Whatever happened to Hiten, Hebi?" A quiet voice asked from the shadows, not showing any signs of her self from the darkness.
"Forget about him." Hebi hissed. "Look at his ass."
Kagura snorted. "You're despicable, you know that?"
"Whatever."
"People, are we going to do our job or not?" The woman waved her pale hand. "I've seen enough of him and that girl. Now are we going to disappoint Naraku or are we going to enjoy this bloodshed?"
Hebi looked at the woman sarcastically. "You only want to do this because you hate him and love Naraku."
Kagura joined in the fun. "Yeah, since you've been with him in that bedroom of yours a lot longer than me just seeing him in his office."
The woman chuckled. "And to think you are related to him."
"Shut up, Kizu."
'Kizu' chuckled again, knowing Kagura's sensitivity towards that little piece of information. "I love hearing that name."
"Yeah, since you're just obsessed with wounds and all." Hebi hissed as she handled her necklace, which had snake-shaped diamonds on it. "Now c'mon Kizu, do what you do best."
There was a slight hint of a smirk on her pale face as she drew up her small pistol, aiming it directly towards the small figure in the distance. "Say goodnight, baby."
Kagome whipped her head back when she heard a distinct whimper. "What the hell?"
Inuyasha was quick on his feet as he made his way towards Rin, who was hovering over the unconscious Shiro. "Shiro!" She cried as teardrops formed on the side of her eyes. "Shiro!"
"Don't touch him." He warned her as he pushed her aside, examining the dog. His chest was still moving up and down. "Don't worry, he's still alive."
Kagome was standing above him, frowning as something caught her eyes. "What is that?"
Inuyasha looked up at her, following her gaze that was directing at a dart that was sticking out of one of the dog's front legs. Frowning, he pulled the dart out of the dog's skin, who twitched in his sleep, and examined the liquid that was dropping out of the needle. "A sleep drug?"
Then, without warning, Rin who was standing beside Kagome squeaked and promptly fell on the ground. Kagome stepped back in surprise. "Whoa!"
"What the hell is going on here?!" Inuyasha growled as he spotted an identical dart sticking out of Rin's small arm.
Then there was a bang; a blast from a pistol.
"Ergh!" Kagome cried as she felt a sudden pain from her right leg, stumbling on the ground as she finally fell on her back.
"Kagome!" Inuyasha cried as he instinctively ducked when another shot rung in the air. He felt something graze at his ankle, but ignored that. Before he could reach her, though, a mysterious form appeared standing above her.
"May I join the party?" she hissed with a malicious grin, pointing a pistol at Kagome who had sat up.
Kagome immediately recognized the snake bracelet and the familiar snake-styled clothes. "You!"
She chuckled. "I'm so glad you remembered me, since you're the one who killed my boyfriend."
"What?!" Kagome cried, obviously in pain. "What the hell are you talking about?!"
Hebi ignored her outcry. "I'm sure you liked that dress you bought from me, since I attached a tracking bug to it with a discount."
Kagome didn't want to show it, but she was panicking. A bug was attached to the dress, which had been left in the mansion back in Los Angeles.
Inuyasha stood as he watched what was unfolding. The obvious sneer on her face told everything.
"That's right." Hebi hissed. "We've blown up your little mansion and we're going to do the same to this one too." She nodded towards the structure behind her. "But first, Kagura will have to intrude."
Kagome's eyes widened. Kagura…?
"Kagura doesn't want…Sister doesn't want…"
Kanna's words repeated in her ears.
There was a shuffle behind Inuyasha, and both Kagome and he looked behind him.
A slender woman with her hair held up with two feathers held Rin in her arms, treating the little girl like a porcelain doll. Kagome immediately recognized the feather as an insignia as Naraku's close worker.
She looked at the scene with disinterest. "Yo."
"Ya better go, Kagura." She sneered. "I'll be handling this."
She gave no indication of listening to Hebi, but promptly turned around and slowly walked back to the black jeep, hidden by a tall tree. Inuyasha tried to follow her, but Hebi 'tsk'-ed.
"Don't even think about moving if you want her to live." She hissed, pointing the pistol at Kagome's head.
Inuyasha stopped and turned back to her, obviously pissed. "You're a real idiot, bitch."
"Oh," she purred, "why do you say that?"
"'Cause you're on our territory."
Right on time, a bang echoed throughout the greenery, but as if expecting it, Hebi jumped out of the way and back flipped to the side. At the doorstep was Sesshoumaru, looking very pissed. He shot again, but this time he was aiming at the jeep, though it was too far away for him to aim properly. Kagura had already put the sleeping child inside the jeep, so she was free to pull out her own gun and shoot back at Sesshoumaru.
Inuyasha took the chance to pull his pistol out, but a bullet just barely glazed his neck, making him momentary paralyzed. Hebi took her gun and shot at Kagome, who rolled away from the bullet, trying to apply pressure to her bleeding leg.
"Where's Kouga?" Inuyasha called as he ducked as a bullet whizzed by.
"Kouga and Sango are inside the house." Sesshoumaru cried, jumping down the steps and ducking behind the porch. "They're searching for a bomb they spotted on the security system."
Inuyasha took the chance to shoot at Hebi, but to his horror she had already gotten close enough to shoot at Kagome in a point blank range. So he did the only thing he could do.
He jumped at her.
Kagome watched in shock as Inuyasha threw himself at Hebi, though she was still shot in the same leg even if he pushed the gun out of her hand.
There was another particularly loud bang as Inuyasha drew his weapon on Hebi and shot her on the forehead, dead center.
Sesshoumaru kept shooting at the black jeep, but Kagura had already gotten into the driver's seat and driven off in the dust cloud when she saw Hebi get shot.
Inuyasha got off of the dead corpse and looked at Kagome, who was still trying to apply pressure on her wounds, her gun lying forgotten beside her on the grass.
"You alright?"
She snorted, though still panting in pain. "I've been shot twice on the same leg. Ya think I'm alright?!"
He sighed. "Guess you are, eh?" He bended his knees and held her leg, trying to calm her pain. "Kagome?"
She was falling unconscious as he held her head. "What?"
"You'll be alright." He said, almost soothingly.
She was having mixed emotions. One minute, he was a hormone-driven puppy, the next; he was a caring soul with a peaceful tone. She would never understand him.
"Yeah…right." That was the last thing she said before everything went dark.
AN: So dizzy…nose stuffed…high temperature…throat dry…and yet I'm still up from bed and typing away, even when I should be doing my homework. Yup, that's me. Stay tuned to see what'll happen next! Bwahahahaha *cough* hahahaha…*sneezes*
