AN: Umm…I have mixed feelings…see, the Ayame-vote thing I had last chapter…well, let's say it sort of tied… ::shrug:: Ah well, I'll just make her a minor character and not a main one. I think that'll work…somehow… (But careful, this chapter tells a lot about her. After that, though, she'll appear only a few times…give or take a few.)
Disclaimer: Look at the last chapter. Then look at the last one…and then the last one…I'm thinking no one's reading this by now.
*Two weeks before Miroku's rescue – Tokyo Machinery Factory – 3:49:05AM*
"Honestly Ayame. You keep doing the same thing every single day."
The old man sighed. He was what you call the perfect picture of a hermit. Long white beard, long white hair, long white mustache, long white eyebrows…even a white business suit.
He sat in his leather business chair, looking out the window of his second story office and watching sparks the men created fly into the air while they bended metals and drilled holes into them from below where he sat.
With a sigh, he rotated his seat to face his mahogany office desk that was spotless with only a few papers stacked neatly to the right corner. He took his scissors from his desk and laid the folder onto the surface of the wood, which he was once reading from. Opening it carefully, he took a paper out and started cutting it at random spots. Then, when he was finished with that, he threw the pieces of the papers into the trash bin next to his desk.
But as he took the second paper out, a picture slid off from the folder and landed right on the floor in front of his desk.
Shirookami Ayame bended down and picked up the picture in her smudged fingers. Standing up straight, she revealed her shining emerald eyes that were currently looking at the picture interestingly. Her white sleeveless shirt had obviously seen better days like her army green shorts. She also had a dirt smudge on the bridge of her nose she hadn't bothered to clean and her messy pair of ponytails looked slightly singed from all the sparks outside.
She, unlike her grandfather, looked fit to work outside the office with all the tired men than standing inside the luxurious office that was carpeted in silver and emerald. It looked as if favoring the two particular colors ran in the family.
"So, ya thinking of buying a bazooka, huh?" She scrunched her nose. "Next time though, remember to pick up the right catalog. I swear they're jacking up the prices in the black market these days." She dropped the photo on the desk. "Don't ya think so too, gramps?"
There were obvious differences between the two.
"Dear, you're steering off the subject." He cleared his throat as he took the picture and began to cut that into pieces too. "Although I must highly agree with you, dear."
This earned a toothy smile from her. At least her teeth were as white as it should be, unlike her greasy shirt.
"But honestly, you should really control your temper dear. Obviously, my own granddaughter pummeling a few men is going to make someone sue us."
"Sorry gramps." She scratched her ear. "I know you don't like getting attention from the police and I understand that. I just don't like mans that grabs your chest out of the blues."
"…oh, is that what they did?" He dropped his scissor and raised his eyebrow. "Well, they I should be talking to the boys instead, hmm?"
"Well yeah." She shrugged. "I best be going back to work then. See ya later gramps." She saluted and started to walk off towards the door.
"All right. But remember to wipe the smudge from the bridge of your nose."
She smiled secretively. He knew she wasn't going to respond – it was a daily routine.
Closing the door quietly, she looked around the deserted hallway and yawned a great big yawn, her arms raised and not bothering to cover her mouth. Oh yeah, her grandfather would have greatly disapproved of that one.
Stomping down the once quiet hallway, making dirty black footprints on the red carpet, she looked from the windows on either side of her. From outside the building, it might have looked like your ordinary everyday factory that started early in the mornings, but inside it was more different than that.
Slamming a white door open and not bothering to close it, she walked down the steel footsteps that lead right to the opening of the first floor. A few men working looked up from the hot metal and waved at her. She smiled and winked back. She didn't like perverts, that was true, but she didn't say she hated attention.
At a young age, she had been drawn to weapons and the black markets. It wasn't unusual for a girl to be in such a ruthless place when her own grandfather was such a great drug lord, though he specialized mostly in weapons (the reason he had so many of his factories for that purpose). Her parents and her grandmother hadn't understood that – so they left.
So here she was now, 10 years later in a fake machinery factory that actually made weapons to sell in the black market.
"So, how'd the business going now?" One of the men she was passing asked, holding his drill from the hot metal and adjusting his heavy helmet. "It better be booming; my check counts on it."
"I know that, Chad." She snapped and walked over towards his table. "And yeah; we're having a good season this year. They're buying the twice the amount we were hoping for."
"You're kidding!" He smiled, showing a silver front tooth. "Looks like I can pay for the rent then."
"Honestly." She crossed her arms over her chest and rolled her eyes. "It's only because that Naraku of an idiot's going against some secret agent or whatever…"
"Ah well, at least he's doing some good this time." He shrugged and started to go back to drilling. "Oh, and good luck with that deal. You better look real nice then."
"I know, I know." She grumbled and walked off as he started drilling again, sparks flying from the cooled down metal.
The only reason her grandfather even let her in here was because she knew how to seduce man into buying their weapons for the black market. Really though, he probably wanted her to be as girly as possible and not turnout like him in the process. Of course, he did a lousy job of that.
Well…at least I didn't turn out like that Naraku-bastard…
She snorted at her own thoughts. Naraku was their main rival in the business, though he was thought better of at being the evil one and acted more ruthless than they could ever be or ever wanted to be.
During the last month or so, they had gotten words that Naraku had been attracting some agents and all the governments on him, which was real bad for the others in the black market, since nearly everyone was somehow connected to his trading and his crimes in the market. He was particularly disliked at the moment.
Heading towards the bathroom to clean up, she remembered that her hardly used makeup kit was inside her grandfather's white limo.
Cursing, she headed towards the front entrance. As she stepped out into the fresh air, she frowned when about a dozen man walked passed her – all dressed in heavy black coats. Ayame definitely didn't like the looks of them – especially the fact about the heavy coats in the summer.
Shrugging it off, she walked towards the parked limo hidden behind the factory. Opening the trunk in search of her disliked kit, neither she nor anyone else driving by the factory heard any gunshots or yells.
She only found her deceased coworkers and her grandfather until she walked back inside the bloodied factory.
*A few hours after Miroku's rescue – Sesshoumaru's Mansion – 1:07:49AM*
"Was the chick suicidal or what?!"
Kouga yelled again as he tried to stand up, but failing and sitting back down on the chair in a huff of pain.
"I swear, when we find her I'm going to strangle the life out of her! I can hardly breathe."
"Then maybe it'll be better if you don't talk." Inuyasha snorted. "But really, is she always that…"
"Abnormal?" Kagome suggested.
"…"
"Weird?" Kouga suggested.
"…"
"…crazy?" They both suggested.
"Yeah, that's it."
Kagome sighed. This whole thing was nagging her; especially the part about Yura's taunting.
Looking around the slightly dark, large living room, she wondered why every room in the mansion had to be so dim. And not to mention always covered in black or brown leather. Then she noticed Sango walking back from the kitchen and holding a tray of…apples?
"Hey, Sango?" Inuyasha raised his eyebrow. "Since when did you start serving fruits around here?"
"Since someone important slept in here." She muttered as she set the trey down on the glass coffee table, or more specifically, right in front of the still unconscious doctor who was lying down on a couch. It looked as if he had been knocked out by the strong toxic odor of the color dyes in the huge tank.
Inuyasha, Kagome, and Kouga all exchanged glances. Now this was an odd behavior.
But before any of them could say anything to that (and yes they would have just loved to have taunted at her odd behavior) the familiar silver-haired brother came in to the completely leather room.
"Well, I take it you successfully completed the mission?" He asked in his monotone voice. He paused when he saw Miroku with a wet towel on his forehead. "…with some minor difficulties."
"That wasn't preventable." Sango quickly cut in.
"Well, as long as he's not going to die…"
"Yeah, we're sure."
Sesshoumaru looked oddly at Sango (like everyone else in the room) but then looked back to the doctor when a groan escaped his mouth.
"I see that he looks as if he's waking up."
Kagome looked up from the floor and watched from her seat as the man on the couch started to move around a bit. Sango took the wet towel on his forehead and looked down at him. His eyes opened, revealing a pair of slightly dull looking indigo eyes.
"Scalpel…number two…skin damage…"
Kouga cleared his throat. "What the heck is he talking about?"
"…I guess he's just really into his doctor job."
"So he's still dreaming?" Kagome raised her eyebrow.
Just then Miroku's hand shop up from beside him on the couch and to everyone's utter shock (and complete amusement), his hand landed right on Sango's breasts.
"Damage…breast cancer."
Kagome blanched while the other guys had to stuff their balled fists into their mouth, chocking on a laugh. Sango was too shocked to move or do anything except let her jaw drop. Sesshoumaru even twitched as if he was going to laugh. So close too.
And to top it all, the wide television screen just had to buzz as static appeared and the familiar wrinkled face popped out of the still turned off screen. Bad timing was everything in this house…
"Well, I take it you all sitting here means that the doctor is…? Err…Sango?" She looked over towards the shocked Sango, Miroku's hand still on her breast, and the doctor himself who still seemed to be half in la-la land.
"…" She couldn't even respond to that and walked off from the screen, but the screen didn't go back to normal and switched off like it should have.
"…hmm…" Inuyasha kept his fist in his mouth. "He he he he…"
Kagome watched the screen until Kaede came back on, but now holding a red remote control. She was deciding which button to press.
"Ahh…this will do." She pressed on a green one.
Everyone in the room had to cover their ears as a loud screeching noise echoed loudly in the mansion, nearly bursting their eardrums. The alarm didn't stop until Miroku fully opened his eyes that were now confused and wide awake.
"Argh! No Yura, don't point that thing at me!" He yelled in alarm and that was when and only when Kaede had pressed on the green button again and shut the incredibly loud alarm off.
"Well, it looks like he's fully awake now." Kaede cleared her throat and put the remote control somewhere away from the screen.
"Man, were you trying to make us deaf or what?!" Kouga growled but then coughed and held his chest. "Oh crud…it's bleeding again…"
Kagome watched Miroku take in his surrounding in utter confusion.
He looked from Inuyasha to Kouga who both had guns on their belt (not a comforting sight), to Sesshoumaru who was watching him with a cold and stern look (also not a comforting sight), to Kagome with her eyes narrowed (…slightly uncomfortable sight), then to Sango who was right in front of him and staring at him oddly (that was when he realized what he had grabbed in his state of half consciousness), and then finally to Kaede on the wide screen TV (…slightly odd sight).
That something started to sink in.
"Wait…Yura's not here, is she?"
Sango stood and walked to sit on another couch with an odd expression on her face as Kaede shook her head, who seemed to be the only one who didn't have mixed feelings about this guy. "No, she is not."
"Thank lord." He breathed out the air no one noticed he was holding.
"Well I'm sure you know me then?" Kaede said.
Miroku frowned. "I'm not –"
"One_eyedpirate@ameritech.net?"
Even Sesshoumaru had to stare at her oddly.
"Oh! The warning e-mail!" His smiled quickly dropped. "That was you?"
"I did warn you about your enemy coming after you."
He rubbed the back of his head. "I was surrounded."
"You're a black belt."
"I got a bit rusty." He definitely didn't meet her eyes this time.
"It says here you've been teaching children in Karate."
"…I was surprised from behind." He scratched his shoulder. "A dart of some kind. Sleep drug I presume."
"Sleep drug?" Kagome wasn't the only one who noticed the similarities. "From a dart?"
Sesshoumaru was definitely interested this time.
"Yes, a female threw a dart at me." He scratched his chin. "I really don't remember all the details though…"
"It was definitely Naraku then." Kagome sighed. "He loves repeating the same things over and over again."
Inuyasha twitched. Obviously, Kikyou was still in his mind.
"Isn't
there anymore you can remember or tell us about?" Kouga rubbed his wounded
chest and winced again. "Like any of his weaknesses?"
Miroku sighed. "For the past few years, I've been trying to forget about
Naraku, no matter how much I wanted to kill him. The only thing I know is that
he has a virus he's planning to spread through the entire west side of this
Earth."
Kaede raised her eyebrow. "West side of this Earth? The Americas?"
He nodded. "I take it he's not very fond of English."
"How's he going to do that?"
Miroku shrugged at Inuyasha's question. "Maybe a plane? I was only concerned about Naraku finishing the virus."
"He already did."
"Actually," He pointed out to Kagome. "He hasn't. The finished version of the virus is incurable, while the unfinished version is curable. The only way you'd know is to be infected with it."
Kagome glared at him. "Well, then I guess I would know."
Kaede cut in before Miroku could respond to that. "Is there anyway you can cure such an anonymous virus?"
"Err…" He was looking hesitantly at Kagome's sharp glare. "I'm going to have to have a sample of blood that's been infected…"
"Kagome." Kaede nodded.
Kagome winced. If there was one thing she hated, it was needles.
"I feel like such a lab rat…"
*Somewhere in Tokyo – 5:40:56AM*
"Yura."
That was the only word that echoed through the deserted hallway, still dimly lighted as always.
The girl stopped as she looked back and took her headphone off, which she was just moment ago dancing along the hallway with. "Naraku?"
"You have failed me Yura." He said in his unusually monotone voice as he stepped out of the dark shadowed part of the hallway.
She turned off the MD3Walkman and fully turned around. "You said I didn't have to kill anyone, unlike my other half who always did."
"I didn't say you could let them take Miroku." He sneered at her. "And your other half – your twin – was killed by Inuyasha, if I have to remind you."
She shrugged. "Next time you might want to be more specific." She started to turn around. "And I don't really care about what happened to my twin. She was an idiot anyway."
"There is no next time, Yura."
She stopped, raised her eyebrow then giggled. "Yeah…sure Naraku. I'm the most useful assassin you got right now. Not to mention lively, if I do say so myself."
Naraku secretly smirked. "Oh no Yura. I've found a perfect replacement for you."
"What – ow!" She screamed when a sharp needle suddenly dug itself into her shoulder. "What the –?!"
"Thank you Hari."
Yura turned around to look at the retreating form, catching only a glimpse of her long raven hair that reached all the way below her waist before she disappeared into the shadows. She reached for the dart on her shoulder and pulled it out with a wince. "What?!"
"I think you'll find this quite different than Kagome's infection." He chuckled as he started to walk back towards the shadows.
"What?! Wait a second!" She yelled as she threw the dart down on the ground and tried to follow him. But as she tried to walk, she stumbled clumsily and fell to the floor, her vision beginning to blur just slightly at the edges.
What…?
Yura looked down at her hand. It was getting slightly sweaty…and the building was air conditioned…
Hari…isn't that Kik-
She stood up and looked down at the dart beside her feet, her head feeling extremely woozy. Maybe she should take that with her.
Picking it up and stuffing it into her pocket, she stumbled towards the opposite way Naraku went. Tears were beginning to stream out of her burning eyes, and she wasn't even controlling the tears.
Kagome…? What does this…the virus…?
She gasped…she was infected…?
She shook her head, earning a cry of pain from her.
She had to find Kagome.
"Yura?"
Stumbling to the floor and landing on her knees, she looked up to see Kagura's confused face, who had just came back from the children's room to get their breakfast. "Kagura…help…"
When someone like Yura was pleading for help on her knees, something was definitely wrong…
"Virus…Naraku…" She gasped out. "My throat. I can't…"
"Oh shit." Kagura bent down and grabbed both sides of her head. "Stay still." But she knew that was physically impossible for Yura now. Looking into her shaking eyes, she noticed the odd blotchiness. It was the virus all right.
"I can't…hot." She panted.
"Hold on." Kagura helped Yura up. "I'm going to have to get you out of here."
Naraku…damn you…what have you done?
She led Yura towards the elevator.
Have you really finished the virus…? Damn it…
*Sesshoumaru's Mansion – 6:38:52AM*
"Well?"
Miroku kept on shaking the test tube, seeing how the blue liquid mixed inside with her blood.
"…hello?" Kagome grumbled, seeing Miroku do whatever he was doing as she looked around the hospital like basement. Whoever though Sesshoumaru had an emergency medical room right below the living room? "Aren't you going to answer me?"
Miroku watched the red liquid turn slightly darker. He added a drop of her blood with his eyedropper again.
"Hey!"
He sighed and lowered the chemicals down to the table. "This isn't working…"
She frowned. "What do you mean not working?"
"I mean the sample of your blood. The amount you gave me…I need more then a few drops of blood."
She blanched. "What?! I'm not giving you anymore of my blood!" She massaged the bandaged area that covered where he stuck his evil needle into her arm.
"I didn't say I wanted anymore of your blood." He sighed. "Even if I did, I think the loss of your blood could cause you to go into a sudden seizure. Your circulatory system is very delicate right now."
Looking away, she snorted. "Yeah…delicate."
He sighed as he went back to shaking the tube. "I think the only way I could make a cure is to get the original sample of the virus Naraku made –"
She raised her eyebrow.
"– which probably might be somewhere inside Naraku's domain."
"Great. We don't even know where he is." She sighed.
There was complete silence before Miroku broke it with the oddest question Kagome had heard yet.
"So…Sango. Is she single?
Kagome looked at him oddly. "Why, you interested in her?"
He shrugged. "I was just wondering if she was going out with Kouga."
Kagome thought about the percentage of seeing if that could ever happen. She came up with negative zero point five…give or take a few. "Err…no." She looked at the interesting spot on the ceiling. "Why didn't you think she was going out with Inuyasha?"
"Oh, him?" Miroku chuckled. "I thought he was going out with you."
"Excuse me?"
"Well, it's a bit obvious."
"You've only been here for a couple of hours."
He smiled secretly to himself. "I'm a very observant person."
She glared at the back of his head. What did he know? Inuyasha was a pervert – he'd go for anyone wearing skirt. Besides, he was still crestfallen over Kikyou, and they weren't even sure if she was dead.
She shook her head. He only had a soft spot for her because she resembled Kikyou…though she had no idea how…
Miroku and Kagome both looked up when a hard thud was heard above them.
"What was that?"
"No idea." Kagome ran to the stairs. "Stay here."
As Miroku watched her ran towards the basement door, he looked at the blood inside the tube. He sighed. Back to work for him then.
Kagome opened the heavy oak door and poked her head into the hallway. "Hey! What the heck's going on around here?!"
"Let's just say the zoo's here to visit us." Sango rushed passed her as she went to the front door to figure out what the commotion was all about.
She watched her go and shook her head. Sango was wrong. This was the zoo. Shutting the door behind her, she followed Sango towards the front entrance.
What she saw made her freeze right on the spot.
Kouga was trying to hold back a brown haired girl that was pushing her way through the hallway, while Inuyasha was on the ground with a huge vase resting on his chest. Even he didn't want to see Sesshoumaru angry if he saw his priceless vase smashed to pieces.
"For the love of Kami, what's going on?!" Sango yelled, standing in front of Kagome.
"This nuthouse is trying to get in!" He said as he pushed her back, but having a hard time since he wasn't completely healed yet.
"I'm not a nuthouse!" She yelled back, revealing her emerald eyes and glaring at him with it.
Kagome's jaw dropped. It couldn't be…!
"…A–Ayame?!"
Everything seemed to have stopped right after Kagome said this one name.
The emerald eyed girl, Ayame, stopped trying to kick Kouga's shin and looked at Kagome. She gasped and smiled, nearly making Kouga stumble when she suddenly pushed him away. "Kagome, I knew you'd be here! Right after I found out you betrayed that Naraku-bastard!"
Inuyasha was getting up as he pushed the vase off of him. "Hey, you know who she is?"
"No idea." Kouga hissed back.
"Umm…Ayame, what are you doing here?"
Her smile immediately dropped. "I was trying to get away from Naraku."
Sango cut in. "Naraku? He's after you?"
"Yeah." She snorted. "Since I'm the only Shirookami left."
This must have striked a cord in the three secret agents. "Shirookami?!"
Kagome knew why they were so shocked, and she avoided complete eye contact. Ayame's grandfather was a master at trading weapons in the black markets. He wasn't exactly as evil as Naraku…nah, he was a nice old man, but he was almost as notorious as Naraku in getting away from the cops so easily. Speaking of which…
"Say, where's gramps?" She asked, wanting to break the silence.
Ayame didn't answer at first then she rolled her eyes as if she was acting like it was nothing. "He and his business got killed by Naraku."
"Naraku did what?!" She whitened. My greatest weakness…
"Excuse me?" Sango cut in again. "I don't understand…how do you guys know each other?"
Kagome didn't answer.
My greatest weakness…right after my family died…
"Oh, how she knows me?" Ayame pointed at herself and then at Kagome. Sango nodded. This girl was odd as Yura…
My greatest weakness is having…
"I'm her third cousin once removed!"
Complete silence…
My greatest weakness is having the last of my family members die…
AN: Now, that was unexpected. The next chapter will be up soon. Oh yes, and by the way...he he he he...
there's going to be major fluff in the next chapter. No lime...it'll be like...Devil's Kiss. And yes,
it'll be between Inuyasha and Kagome ^.^
Next chapter - Medieval Midnight Mooch (...Mu wha ha ha ha ha...)
