Disclaimer: I don't get paid to do anything, hence why I have money, and hence the reason why no one should sue me... because they won't get much out of me.

(A/N: I should really be doing something else right now, but I just can't stay away...)













Rules of Acquisition

Eye Spy

















~Kagome~





Not matter how much I whined, moaned, pleaded and bribed, Sango would and could not come with me on this one. But it was fairly disorientating the jump from bumbling sidekick for a professional, to an independent but less dependable spy.

Dad said it was easy. All I had to do was creep across the lawn using my 'Miko' powers and find a way into the building and then listen in to the conversations being held by the Arashi's. Of course, my dad would say that since HE isn't the one who has to find a way into the building!

Besides, no real control over these powers everyone liked to pride me in. Thankfully they only ever showed when I really, really needed them, but it wasn't like I could just shout 'INVISIBILITY SHIELD!!' and boom I would be invisible like in the movies. It just happened whenever it felt the need.

And even weirder, sometimes when I was happily studying for school (take out the word happily and replace with morosely) and someone would call me downstairs, I would get out of my seat and run to the door. Not so strange maybe. But if I looked back over my shoulder, sometimes I would see myself still sitting there... and sometimes I would see what the other me was reading, even though I was on the other side of the room.

But that kind of thing only lasted for a fraction of a second and so far it's only happened about three times. It's at times like that when I realise I have no idea how far the extent of my powers are... and at times like those I sometimes wish a been a happy little daughter of a farmer in the mountains, and not some Miko's descendant.

And no, I wasn't going to fly over to the Arashi household either... I wasn't that good. I was going to walk... with my woolly hat and gloves on to keep me warm. At times like that I had to resist the temptation to laugh at the movies, since hardly anything to do with spying was anything like James Bond with flashy cars and tuxedos. But maybe that was because James Bond chased Nuclear Bombs and Russian people to save the world - me? I was just saving Japan... saving Japan from falling under the governing of a demon for a prime minister.

The streets were literally deserted since it was way past midnight and moving onto morning. I would be surprised if anyone was even awake in the Arashi household... probably not... But then I would have an excuse as to why I failed. Because I just KNEW I was going to fail somehow.

A sound of someone giving a short cough ahead of me made me look up, suddenly all nervous with fear and anxiety. I saw someone coming in the opposite direction as me and I squinted through the darkness to see if it was a drunk stumbling home from the pub... because that would be dangerous - for him - not for me!

But no, the man walked with a decisively balanced step so he couldn't have been drunk, unless he could hide it very well. And also I noticed his hair reflected strongly in the street lamp light. He had WHITE hair.

For a few moments I started to hyperventilate as I realised he must have been an Arashi and I was a Higurashi. He was bigger, I was smaller, I was going to get my ass kicked from here to... some place far, I didn't like to think how far. But then I spotted two little fuzzy triangles perched on top of his head and the panic eased somewhat. Arashi's were all the same, with their characteristic stripes, spots, and pointy ears with long white hair, no matter what gender. This guy did not fit that description. He was free from any dark markings that I could see of, and the only resemblance to an Arashi was his hair. Lots of demons these days had white hair, it wasn't so unusual.

Relief rushed through me and I smiled politely as he passed by me. He returned it somewhat briefly but was on his way to someplace or other and didn't seem to want distractions. I, on the other hand, wouldn't have minded a good distraction round about now... anything to stall for time.

A few minutes later and I found myself at the gates of the driveway leading to the Arashi estate. This place always gave me the creeps. As a kid I had usually come around with my cousins and thrown rocks at the windows... as retaliation their kids always gave round and threw boulders into the roof...

But it looked so gloomy and miserable that I couldn't comprehend anyone wanting to live here unless it was one of those horror movie pacts where a family has to stay in an inherited haunted house for one night in order to own it... The building was huge and old fashioned made out of sturdy materials and... were they gargoyles under the eves, or just bats?

I shivered and slowly began to take off my mittens and coat despite the cold chill. I dropped my duffel bag on the ground and opened it to retrieve some of my usual kit to go do spy stuff. Since I was already wearing dark clothes I didn't both changing into my Gi entirely and just opted for covering my hair with the cloth scarf and pinning it in place so it hid half my face. I wouldn't really need it, but on the off chance that my invisibility trick failed me, I'd still need to hide my face.

Shoving my bag under a wild bush by the side of the gates I stood back and took a full look at how I was going to do this. If I had been cat woman (which I assure you I am not) I would scale the fence in one leap then scale the building with my clever claws and then use a Santa Claus technique by jumping down the chimney.

Um... not today I think...

Instead I just settled for the usual way and slowly began to climb over the gate, one step at a time. The top edge was jagged with iron pokers... one wrong slip and I would be skewered and very embarrassed when they found me, or dead. Fortunately all those years of watching Sango and intermittent Gym lessons seemed to pay off, as not even the slippery wet bars managed to make me slip up.

I dropped down to the ground quietly and began to hurry my way up the driveway that was completely swamped with shrubs on either side of me. I wasn't visible from the house at this point, but as I turned the bend I squeaked and backed up quickly as I was not only faced with the house but several dogs and their handlers patrolling the grounds.

This was it. This was where I pressed the magic button and strolled on through.

But like I said, this was real life, and I was going to have to rely on my wits to guide me through this one. If I was in the morgue by the morning I would blame my father... after all, Sango was the one who was being paid for this kind of thing, not me.

"Please don't see me... please don't smell me... please don't see me... please don't smell me." I chanted under my breath as I closed my eyes and gathered my nerve up.

Ever so slowly I stepped out into the open again and waited for someone to shout that there was an intruder. But there were no shouts, so I slowly peeked open my eyes and gasped. A dog and his handler passed within a metre of me without any sign that they could actually see me. The dog, however, turned his head slightly in my direction, almost as if he could sense something there, but his handler quickly jerked his chain lead and the dog trotted off again without so much as a bark.

Big sigh of relief from me at this point.

I hurried quickly across the grassy plateau like area and straight through the archway into the middle courtyard that was surrounded by the tall rising household. A flicker of movement above me caught my attention and I glanced up to see a curtain move briefly at one of the windows above me. But it was enough to catch glimpse of the man who was soon to become Prime Minister if my father failed.

Seeing as I was still apparently invisible and scentless, I looked around for a quick way up. I was surprised to find that maybe I could actually do a cat woman stunt and scale the side of the building, since inside here there were plenty of railings, balconies and open walkways with lots of outcropping eaves to grab on to.

It only took me a few minutes to actually clamber my way up onto the balcony outside the window where I crouched low and listened intently to anything that was said within.

"No, no - you can't have green drapes with a RED carpet! Don't you know the rhyme? Red and green should never be seen?" someone was saying.

"Then what about Christmas? People always put red stuff on green trees - so wouldn't that be considered tasteless?"

"Duh - that's Christmas! That's allowed!"

Blood thirsty fiends...

"Aren't we kind of wandering away from topic?" someone asked, someone with a slightly smoother voice than the others. Curiosity won over and I raised my head slightly to peep through the window through the gap in the curtains. I saw him - he stood out like a black cat among a bunch of white cats. Definitely human, but his back was turned to me and I couldn't see much more than his shoulders and head.

"So maybe they do have the Shikon jewel, what could they really do with it? They can't use it like us demons can." One of the white haired women spoke out.

"Yes, but it brings fortune to the family who possesses it." Someone out of my range of sight said. "They will surely win the election if they possess it."

"Well, we'll know soon if they have it." That had been Arashi himself, the head of the family. I could recognise that voice anywhere... but it had me confused. If they didn't have the Shikon jewel... and we didn't have it either... some third party must have had it...

That sucked...

"Wait... do you smell something?" I heard someone murmur just loud enough for me to hear. "Smells like... lavender..."

This was my cue to leave. I'd just had a shower earlier and had used Lavender soap - which keen demon noses would pick up probably no matter how invisible I was.













~Inuyasha~





When you come right down to it, the almighty, all powerful Miko family, the Higurashi's, are just about as blind and bumbling as the average human. Oh sure, they can hide behind sacred scrolls of ancient family trees to say that maybe once they had been something more... but in actual fact you could just replace them with a family from one of the council estates and it won't make much of a difference.

This much was obvious the moment I arrived at the driveway. They had all kinds of technical security devices in place to stop people doing just what I was about to do... and they even had monk's scrolls like the ones Miroku uses, here and there, to prevent demons entering the estate.

Well... it slowed me down a little... but it was quite pathetic altogether.

One leap and I was over the gates and through the bushes. Two more leaps and I was onto the lower roof - two more and I was at the very top. Then it was just a matter and strolling across, no hurry, and listen for the room where the Higurashi's would be residing in, if they were even awake that was.

The faint murmur of conversation rose up from beneath and I quietly slid down the mossy slates of the roof to the edge. There, I lay on my stomach and half hung over the edge to get a better listen in on the conversation.

A couple of minutes later and I was eating my words about the reliability of the Higurashi spells... because I was starting to get a headache. And it definitely hadn't been caused by stress, because I could see the ofuda scrolls and charms plastered to the outer walls of the house. If it had been my brother in my place, then he would probably be stricken down even harder than just a headache... but if it had been Miroku, he would still be oblivious to the spells.

As it was, it was getting harder and harder to concentrate at the task at hand, and since I didn't particularly want to fall off the roof and alert everyone with a big thud, I decided it was time to go. I'd heard enough anyway.

The Higurashi's had been incompetent as always, and had failed to retrieve the Shikon no Tama... just like me. This meant someone other than the Higurashi's had the jewel... and no doubt I was going to have my head bitten off for this.

I'd also seen that bitch... what was her name... Sango... the one who had attacked me the other night. But there had been no sign of any little accomplice.

With a defeated sigh I carefully stood up and began to make my way back up the roof. Unfortunately... my head was literally swimming with bright colours and strangely enough my hands were beginning to burn from where I gripped the roof tiles. And just when I'd reached the top of the higher roof tier, my feet slipped on the moss underneath me and I started to roll down the tiles, before slipping off the roof entirely.

I landed with a loud thud on the roof beneath that one and started to slide all the way down that one too. Once again I slipped off that roof as well and landed with a thud against the garage roof

It was NOT funny, because by the time I actually hit the ground my head hurt, my hands were skinned and I could barely see anything. It took a few moments for my senses to come back as my proximity to the spells and charms was lessened. When I looked up I realised I was in the bushes.

"Shit..." I swore quietly and took my time getting to my feet.

I felt I had learned a very important lesson on this trip.

The fact that everyone said the Higurashi's were powerless... was a load of bull shit.

I was lucky to even stagger out of there in one piece, let alone undetected. One thing had to be said, I wouldn't be underestimating those loonies in the near future. And those perimeter fences seemed a lot taller when you actually had to climb up them instead of leaping over them.

The further I got from the house, the better I started to feel, until eventually I had enough strength to stop and take off the cloth mask and what not. It wouldn't exactly be ideal if I came across someone in the darkness wearing black masks and everything.

But I'd learned many new things that would help my dad. First of all, the Higurashi's did NOT have the Shikon no Tama as I had expected, and I knew what Sango looked like now. Not bad looking... but not the brilliant raven haired damsel Miroku liked to say she was. For a start she seemed a little shrewish for my taste and she had nearly kicked my ass... something I disliked even more. And if I ever came across her little disappearing companion I would string her up by her heart strings too.

I rounded a corner sharply and bumped into something smaller and softer than me. I barely caught the girl in time to stop her flying backwards.

"Whoa!" the girl windmilled her arms as I grabbed the front of her shirt to stop her falling. "Hey! Watch those hands!"

I released her quickly, before realising she was the same girl I had passed from before, the one who resembled Kikyo a little.

"You know, it's not good to go running in the middle of the night, scaring people like that." she held a hand over her beating heart and glared at me.

"I could say the same for you!" I snapped, feeling that this had been, in no way, my fault. However, the moment I spoke she gave me a strange look.

"It's different, I'm a girl - who could I scare?" she shrugged her jacket on tighter and started to move around me. "Must go - I have... um... people to see."

"Me too." I shook my head unbelievingly before rushing along the same way I had been heading. I glanced over my shoulder briefly and saw she'd broken out into a run too, heading exactly the same way I had come.

Now there was a freaky coincidence.

Anyway, where was I... Oh yeah! If I ever found that little bitch who'd managed to throw me for a loop earlier with that disappearing trick - she would pay big time!













~Kagome~





Miroku... he must have been the guy Sango had been fighting the other night. He looked roughly the same height and build... but maybe the voice was a little different... I didn't get that.

And then I'd bumped into that white headed goon that I'd seen before and had nearly had me flying, fortunately (or unfortunately) he'd been quick to grab me. And the moment he'd spoke I'd realised his voice had sounded strangely familiar, like I'd heard it before. A very unique voice, slightly rougher than average but still with a young man's tone and richness...

And now I'd realised - it belonged to that assailant in the museum. But that didn't make any sense at all, because that assailant had definitely been Miroku, according to Sango, plus he'd had violet eyes. The white haired guy had rather strong amber eyes flecked with gold. They looked like cat eyes... and those ears looked peculiarly like Buyo's ears... was he a cat demon?

Well, maybe I had been wrong. That voice probably wasn't as unique as I'd thought. Either that or my memory was playing tricks on me.

I arrived home and trudged my way to the living room, trailing mud in my wake and ignoring the indignant splutters of the maids and butlers. I tried to be a little helpful and decided to pick up the neglected post on the way to see my father. I entered and handed him the bills, much to his joy, and told him about the situation with the Shikon jewel - to his further joy.

"You did good, Kagome." He told me and wrinkled his nose. "You go have a shower now."

No 'thank god you're alive' remarks. But what did I expect?

I was just about to turn and go when my father ripped open a letter and raised his eyebrows in surprise at what he read.

"What?" I asked out of curiosity.

"The Supei's have invited us to a formal get together... or more like a ball... this Friday." He smirked. "For the press I suppose, to show there are no ill feelings between us."

That was ok, because there weren't actually any ill feelings between us and the Supei's. There was nothing to hold against them. They were so ordinary that I kind of envied them. But that probably wasn't the end of the story... "Let me guess - are they inviting the Arashi's as well?"

He turned the letter over and looked at the back to a list of the guests invited. "Nope, just us and a few more impressive families in our circle."

"That's good..." I yawned and headed away, determined that I'd had enough excitement tonight to last for quite some time yet.













~Inuyasha~





"You did WHAT?!"

"Slipped! Get over it!" I ducked another effort he made to clip my ear. "Will you stop that! It's not my fault - you should have sent Miroku! Those spells they have on the house are fucking dangerous!"

"Dammit... if you want something done you have to do it yourself!" my dad stomped off to pace the length of the kitchen. Unfortunately I'd broke the news moments before he'd had that drink of coffee to calm his nerves, and now I was paying for that mistake.

"Hey - if you wanted to go - that would be fine by me!" I growled and folded my arms. "A full demon like you would probably have passed out the moment he got over the gate!"

"That's not the point!" he snarled back. "The point is now we haven't got a clue where the Shikon no Tama is being held!"

Good point.

"Not my fault." I grumbled.

"Go away Inuyasha, don't you have to go to work now?" he smirked. "Wouldn't want you to be late for work."

"Shut up!"

Oh yes, the big family joke - Inuyasha's job! They all liked to poke fun at me for this... but no way was I quitting until I earned enough money to get that holiday to China. It would be a nice getaway from this lot...

There was a knock at the door.

"Come!" my father shouted and the door opened with a snap. A slight young woman with black hair, black whiskers and black hands came in, holding a letter in her hand.

"Mail, sir." She gave a short curtsey after handing him the letter and scurried out.

My dad sat down to read it and I took it as my cue to leave. Just as I got to the door he stopped me.

"Tell the others to prepare for a ball on Friday night."

"Who's hosting?" I asked.

"The Supei's - they're not inviting the Higurashi's I don't think."

We both sighed with relief and I went to take some headache pills and crash out on the bed. Hopefully I would get at least ten minutes sleep before I would need to get up and go to work.











(A/N: They're all so clueless... anyway next chapter is the ball chapter.)