A/N: Gah! I'm sorry I haven't updated in forever. Evil mother/slave driver forced my sister and I to completely clean out storage and now we're working on our garage, aka hell. And I suppose that makes my mother the devil.... And then I went to Dallas, and that was a horrible experience because there was no cable, and I had no internet access. I'm surprised that I survived. Anyway, I'm really sorry that I took so long to update and I beg your forgiveness.... Or something along those lines. So, anyway, thank you all!!! You guys are the greatest and bestest!
Lexi: Yayy! I'm glad you're not confused anymore. Ummm, they start getting to know each other in these next few chapters. I hope you like!
Julie: Thank you so much for your review. I read it and I had this stupid smile on my face for the rest of the day. I keep on rereading it too. Lol. Tell me when you get your story out, and I'll be sure to read it.
Christy: Thank you! I'm glad you like it.
i-luv-inuyasha: What kind of ok was that? Was that an, ok, this chapter wasn't all that great, but whatever floats your boat ok? Or was that an, ok, now I'm incredibly confused and I hated this chapter and you suck ok? Or was that an, ok, you're supremely weird. Stay away from me? (shifts anxiously)
don't-shoot: Thankies very much. Ummm, are you sure you want me to sic Bob on you? He can get kinda carried away....
Neko-Yuff16: lol. Thank you. And all you'll probably ever see me write is inu/kag, and mir/san. Those are my favorite couplings.
Keeko (chapter 3): Yayy. (dances around in little circles) You reviewed! You reviewed! Hurrah! And don't worry, I won't sic Bob on you.
Bob: (bangs against prison door, roaring angrily.)
Haha. I don't think Bob will be coming out of his cell for a while. You know, self-preservation and all that junk.
Keeko (chapter 4): lol. I'm so glad you liked it! I was all worried about that chapter... wondering if it would turn out all right. And 's ok that you didn't' review right away. I'm just happy when I get reviews. - Ummm... I'm too afraid to get near enough to Bob to put a shock collar on him. Perhaps a subduing charm would work.... Hmmm. Maybe if I can convince somebody to put it on him.... Yes. That would work. I could 'sit' Bob.
Bob: (door shudders in frame dangerously).
Oh, dear. I don't think he much likes that suggestion. I think I'll join you in running for my life (again) right after I finish up this chapter. Oh, and yes. I do like Evanescence.
So that's all for now. Except for... damn. Do I really have to say it? (Glances at bug placed under desk by insurance people.) Oh fine. I don't own Inuyasha. I don't own Inuyasha. They made me say it twice because I forgot it last chapter. Evil bastards... Anyway... Onwards!!!
...
Damn, damn, damn, damn, damn. He drummed his claws impatiently against the armrest, staring at the clock. He could have gotten to Kaede's at least ten times faster if he had run, but no! Stupid, lazy humans had to build stupid contraptions to take them everywhere! Now nobody could run down the street because, a, it would be too suspicious, and b, he might get hit by a car. Well, b didn't really concern him, but a sure as hell did. Stupid humans.
He sighed deeply and loudly as Shippo pulled to a stop at one to the stoplights. If he'd been driving, they would've been through that light before it even had a chance to turn yellow. Shippo, on the other hand, felt that he should obey the law. Stupid, law-abiding runt.
"Why'd you send her to Kaede's house anyway?" he demanded, to break the silence. "When I told you to take care of the girl, I meant for you to keep her from running way or something else stupid like that. If you hadn't sent her off..."
"Look Inuyasha. Cut the crap. Kagome was attacked by a demon. I didn't want to wait around and see if anymore were going to have a go while you were off running around. Kagome's my friend and I'm gonna protect her anyway I can. If you don't like it, then next time you take care of the girl, and I'll go after the bad guy!"
"Whatever twerp. Like you could catch him." And that was his glorious come back. The kitsune just ignored him, keeping his eyes on the road though, so he went back to pouting. That is, to thinking.
He frowned yet again, thinking about the Miroku guy. Mikaro's reincarnation. If Sango saw him...well, he didn't know what Sango would do. After all, he'd never been in love. Unless you count Kikyo. He didn't. He felt though, that Sango should stay away from the guy, because he was a reincarnation. Not the original. Not Mikaro. Miroku was not the guy she'd fallen in love with. He prayed that Sango had enough sense to see that for herself, when they finally met. There were no ifs in this matter. As long as the wench was mixed up in his business, the guy would be there too.
He wondered vaguely if they were a couple. The guy sure was protective enough... Not that he cared or anything. He'd have to like the girl to care... which he didn't. He didn't even know her, so it was impossible to be attracted to her. All though, she did remind him of Kikyo... 'Perish the thought.'
He growled darkly, focusing back on his encounter with reincarnation-guy...
"I'm going with you," he had said, heading for Shippo's car. His way was blocked by the growling hanyou, who said in a short clipped voice,
"No, you are not."
"Yes I am. She knows nothing about demons. Even after being attacked by one, she still doesn't. I will not stand by and let you terrorize her.
"Look, this is my business. Stay out of it. I will take care of it my way."
"Your business my ass. Kagome is my responsibility. Her life actually means something to me. I am not going to trust her protection to someone like you." At that point in the conversation he had started to get pissed off.
"Someone like me? I suppose you're calling me a worthless hanyou? Implying that I am too lowly to be trusted?"
"No. I mean a pumped up bastard who could care less about anyone else's life other than his own." Ouch. That stung a bit. Not that he cared about what some worthless human had to say. He could feel himself nearing the brink of rage.
Without thinking, he reached forward and grabbed the man's collar in one hand, hauling him off the ground, and was infuriated even more when he didn't even blink or cringe.
"Listen here you little shit. You know nothing about me. Nothing? Do you-" Shippo finally intervened, interrupting him before he could continue.
"Inuyasha, put him down." He dropped Miroku in disgust, stalking off as Shippo talked to him calmly. He wasn't going to stick around and listen to the conversation. He might be tempted to rip the guys throat out. He had never been overly fond of humans. Now he remembered why.
Shippo finally convinced the man to stay behind, and they climbed into the car and left.
At least the car ride gave Inuyasha time to think over what the demon assassin had said. He hadn't been hard to catch, and he had spoken too easily. He'd only had to rough him up a bit. That meant either he was a coward, or whoever was employing him had wanted the hanyou to find out that he was trying to kill the girl. Which was what confused him the most. He was used to people attempting to kill him, but the girl? She didn't even know about demons. Why would they want her dead? It made no sense! Damn it all! He was confused and he didn't hate anything more then being confused. The whole situation sucked ass. He thought over the conversation again, trying to see if he had missed something important.
"Who do you work for?" he slammed the wolf demon into the wall one last time, hand tightening around his throat.
"I-I don't know. He contacted me through the mail. There was no scent on the letter, and no return address."
"Then how are you getting paid?"
"He sent half the money, and told me I'd get the other half when the job was complete."
"And what was that job?"
"I was to kill you and... and the girl. At the same time. He didn't give me any explanation, just said that he wanted you dead." That's all the wolf knew, so he dropped him in disgust and hurried back to the café. Maybe the girl would have some answers.
Except the girl wasn't there. Damn Shippo.
They pulled up to the old woman's house, parking behind Sango's car, and he jumped out, storming inside. He had a few questions for her, and he was going to get some answers.
...
Sango pulled into the driveway of a humble little house that was completely dark. 'No wonder.' Kagome thought, glaring up at the sky. 'It's only 11:30 at night.' She hadn't said much during the short drive, even though Sango had tried to strike up a conversation multiple times, while sending her worried looks. It all felt like a dream and she was just waiting to wake up.
"Come on," Sango said, getting out of the car. "Let's go inside. You can meet Kaede while we wait for the guys.
"Okay." She climbed out of the car after groping around in the dark for her purse. Remembering her phone, she wondered vaguely if anybody had called the police yet. Or if they were going to. For the first time that night, she asked herself what she had gotten in to.
Sango walked in without knocking and Kagome followed hesitantly, shutting the door quietly behind her. She should leave. Go to the police and explain everything to them. Now that her brain was working a bit faster she began to make connections. The phone call... Inuyasha... and the attempt on her life. This was all tied together. But how....
"Is that ye Sango?" an old woman called, coming to stand in the doorway. Kagome stared in shock for a moment, mainly because the woman had said 'ye'. Who spoke like that anymore?"
"Yes Kaede. It's me. And this is Kagome. Somebody tried to kill her and Inuyasha, so the guys told us to wait here for a bit."
"Is that so?" Why wasn't the woman fazed by this information? She accepted it like it was an everyday occurrence. Maybe it is. A small part of her brain whispered. No. More likely the woman was senile.
"Hello ma'am." She said politely, holding out her hand. The old woman ignored her though, and chuckled instead.
"Call me Kaede, child. Everyone else does. Now come in and sit. I'm sure the boys will be here shortly." The woman led them into her living room, the only illumination being a fire and a candle. Perhaps the woman couldn't afford electric lighting.
"Kagome..." Sango said, but she was interrupted by the door being thrown open. They all turned to see Inuyasha, followed closely by Shippo.
"You!" he stalked forward till he stood in front of Kagome, flexing his hands and growling, before continuing. "Who are you?"
"I'm Kagome."
"No." His jaw clenched as he tried to restrain his anger. "Who. Are. You."
"Ka-go-me. Higurashi." Jeeze, was he slow or something? Did she have to spell it out for him?
He obviously was not pleased with her answer because he suddenly spun and clawed the cushion that was next to Sango, ripping the cover in one stroke. That was scary. Perhaps she shouldn't piss the guy off.
"Why would someone want to-" he was cut off when her phone began ringing. Hoping that it was Miroku, she whipped it out of her bag and answered it immediately.
"Hello?"
"I'm so glad that you are so happy to hear from me Kagome. It's not often that I'm greeted with such... enthusiasm." She froze recognizing the voice immediately. "What, is there something the matter? You mean you're not happy to hear from me? What a pity. Not that it really matters. So, I see that you are getting acquainted with our target. Very good Kagome. Everything is going as planned. Thank you for being so cooperative."
She finally found her voice, and ignoring the sudden rapt stares of everyone around her, she asked him the question that had been bugging her since his first call. "Who are you?"
"Very persistent, aren't we? Very well then. I shall tell you. But don't repeat it or I shall be forced to do something that you won't like at all."
"Okay."
"You can call me Naraku. Everyone else does." She began to repeat his name, but was cut off. "Now, now Kagome. I told you not to repeat it. You would do well not to disobey orders. Something very bad will happen if you do."
"What do you want with me?" she demanded, looking at Shippo, the only familiar face in the room for comfort. He only frowned, seeing and recognizing her fear.
"I will tell you later Kagome. For now, I merely want obedience. I suppose I should thank you for going along with dear Sango without a fuss. That concrete would have been in vain if you hadn't."
"You were the one-"
"Yes. I am the one who tried to kill you. But don't worry. I knew that Inuyasha would save you. He is very predictable. As are you, it turns out."
"Why?"
"Why? I will explain the why at a later time. Now I must go. I suggest you don't say anything to them about me. Otherwise, your friend Miroku will come to a very sticky end. And we wouldn't want that to happen, now would we?" Her heart skipped a beat.
"You wouldn't."
"Oh yes, I would my dear girl. And I can, very easily. I can see him now, crouching outside the window. Tsk, tsk. Eaves dropping. Not such an admirable trait. I must go now, dear Kagome. Never fear, I won't be far away. And remember, I can hear everything you say. I can see you at all times. I have the power to take the life of your friends whenever I wish. Don't do anything you'll regret." The line went dead. She slowly closed her phone, stood, and went over to the open window, looking down slowly.
...
Damn it! He swerved to miss a pothole while keeping his eyes on the silver car in front of him. They were incredibly stupid, thinking that he was just going to sit back and let them terrorize Kagome. That was stupid.
Shippo turned into the driveway of a dark house that was by itself, so he drove on past so as not to seem suspicious before doubling back, turning off his headlights, and parking in the street. Then, he opened his door and snuck over to one of the open windows. He heard a faint murmur of conversation, but not much else, so he crawled to another one that was to his left. And success! Peering in, he saw Kagome sitting with her back to him, with Inuyasha standing in front of her. To the left sat nice ass and Shippo, and to the right sat Kaede. He frowned, realizing that his friend was on the phone. He strained to hear what she was saying.
"Who are you?" That was all he needed to hear before knowing who it was. He almost jumped up to tell her to put her phone away, but stopped himself in time. She would probably hang up on her own, any second now.
He waited for her to hang up for several seconds but realized that she wasn't going to as the conversation progressed. What the hell was the guy saying to her?
Finally she hung up the phone, sat there for a moment, before standing and turning to the window. 'Crap.' He thought she was going to lean out and get some air, but instead she looked down directly at him, not appearing to be surprised at all.
"So he was right." She muttered, before grabbing him by the hair and yanking him to his feet.
"Owowowowowow! Kagome, come one!"
"What are you doing here?" she demanded, along with Inuyasha and Shippo. The hanyou did not look happy, and neither did Kagome. On closer inspection though, he realized that she wasn't angry but deeply upset.
"I was following you." He said quietly, and climbed through the window when she released her hold. "What happened?"
Before she had a chance to answer, nice ass... that is, Sango, gasped and stepped closer to him, eyes searching his face.
"No..." she whispered when he met her eyes in confusion. "It can't be. Mikaro? Oh, gods. Mikaro... is it really you?"
...
A/N: And I will leave it there! Am I evil? Well, I made this chapter a little longer to make up for the lack of updates. I hope you all enjoyed. It took me forever to write this because I kept on getting interrupted and losing my train of thought. I hope it came out okay. I'll get my sister to come and read it. Lessee, Sis.... Wait! No! Don't open that door! Don't- Nooooo!!!! You've set him free! I have to go. ::Runs away, chased by a seriously pissed off Bob.::
Yuriko18 (aka: Sister): Hah! That's right. Run you sadistic little...Aw crap! Bob! Wait! She has to write the next chapter! Come back here! ::Chases after Bob:: Put down that knife! Put it down!...