Wow. I haven't updated this story in a long time. I guess getting lots of reviews on Involuntary Connections prompted me to pay more attention to that fic...

Oh well. Here's the next chapter. –FlamingDrake


Demon Reincarnate

Disclaimer: I seem to be forgetting these a lot. At any rate, if I owned Inuyasha, I wouldn't be writing fanfics.

Chapter Four - Assassin

"Kagome? Someone's calling for you." Souta waved a phone.

"Who?" She was not in the mood to talk to anyone today.

The boy shrugged. "Um...dunno..."

"Give me that!" She yanked the phone from his grasp. "Kagome Higurashi here..."

'Miss Higurashi? This is Dr. Kurihara from Fujiwarano Sai Memorial Hospital.'

Kagome pressed the phone closer to her ear. "Hospital? What's going on?"

'There's a friend of yours here. Kiyoshi Taisho...? He asked specifically for us to contact you and ask you to come over.'

"He...what? What's wrong with him?"

'Can you come or not? We're in the middle of an operation right now, but he said he would sue for no reason in particular if we didn't contact you.'

"I'll be there." Kagome pressed 'end' on the cell and tossed it back into Souta's hands. She darted towards the garage.

It didn't matter that she didn't have her license, did it? After all, she knew enough about cars, such as the facts that they were usually made of metal and had horns that honked loudly.

That was enough...right?

Five minutes later, as she inched the already battered car down the highway at twenty miles an hour, with the aforementioned horns blaring on all sides, she wondered if she was doing the right thing.

"Excuse me, miss. Please pull over."

"Hnn?" Kagome blinked at the police vehicle parked next to her. "Oh. Um, ok." She did so and promptly knocked over a mailbox.

The police officer jumped out of the car, glaring at her. "Are you driving drunk?"

"Drunk? No, of course not, I've never had a drink in my life!" She contemplated that. "Well, there was that one time that I thought the wine was white grape juice, because I love white grape juice. So I drank it all – it didn't really taste different, but then again I had a cold, so I couldn't taste much – and it was delicious. So there was a whole decanter just sitting on the table, and I drank that too. Then I started feeling dizzy, and later my mother told me it was champagne, not grape juice."

"...oh..." The officer frowned. "May I see your driver's license?"

Ah, crap.

"No, you may not, because actually I'm in a driving class right now – or was, anyways – and...and my permit is in the mail."

"Really." The officer peered at her. "Underage driving is a serious offense."

"You don't understand! A friend of mine's in the hospital, and for all I know he could be dying – he's having an operation, and he asked specifically to see me!"

"Right. That's the kind of story no one believes."

Kagome growled. "Fine, arrest me. But first, drive me to Fujiwarano Sai Memorial Hospital."

"And I should do this why?"

Mutely, she pulled out a twenty dollar bill from her wallet and handed it over. It was sad to think that she was bribing a policeman, but then again, the legal system was corrupt already.

"All right, kid. Get in." The officer accepted the money eagerly.

This was really pathetic. But she didn't have a choice, did she?

However, she'd make sure that Kiyoshi paid her fifty dollars in reparations.


"You must be Miss Higurashi."

"Brilliant observation," Kagome muttered dryly, due to the fact that she had a disgustingly cheerful visitor's tag pinned to her blouse that read 'Hi, My Name is Kagome Higurashi!' "Where's Taisho?"

"In there." The doctor – at any rate, that was what the white coat suggested, even if she looked like she'd be more comfortable at some fashion show – gestured to a door.

She pushed open the door and carefully slipped in. "Kiyoshi?"

"Ow...shit, it hurts..."

Kagome blinked at him. "What hurts?"

His golden eyes were fixed completely on her face as he slid back the sheets to reveal the long, crimson scar slashing across his side. He didn't miss the sharp exclamation.

"But that's –"

"Oh, I know. It's what you did to Sesshoumaru, isn't it?"

"I..." Kagome was suddenly doubting the wisdom of coming here. "You mean...I...did that?"

"I should think so." Kiyoshi tried to smile, but his mouth curved up into something resembling a grimace instead.

"So...so...you mean...you're still connected...?"

"It has something to do with your being from the future," he replied listlessly. "Because it's only you, of course. The hanyou or taijiya or monk could slice open Sesshoumaru and I wouldn't care. But you kill him, and I'm taking a trip to meet Kami-sama."

Trying to grasp the concept, Kagome moved slightly closer. "And...and how long is it?"

Kiyoshi didn't need to ask what she was talking about. "One week."

"Oh..." Kagome turned away and tried not to scream. Her life was complicated enough. "So you're going to die if I shoot you."

He smiled gently. "There's no 'if', Kagome."

"What if I make Inuyasha do it? Or Sango? Or Miroku? Then you'd be safe, and I'd be safe, and..."

"Kagome, come here, please."

She moved over reluctantly, standing above him.

"Look," he whispered. "You're beautiful, young, intelligent – at times – and you have a future. Don't worry about me."

"Kiyoshi..."

"Kagome...?"

His arms suddenly reached up, winding around her neck, pulling her down, and then he was kissing her, fiercely, passionately, and she was lost in a myriad of emotions that no one, not even Inuyasha, had ever inspired in her.

He was the one who finally pulled away, his fists clenched tightly. She stared at him. "Kiyoshi...?"

He grinned. "It seems as if I've fallen in love with my assassin..." A few minutes later, however, the grin dissipated. "I'm sorry, Kagome."

"No, I...I don't mind..." Did he really care about her that much?

"Not for the kiss." He was smiling again, but it was a wistful, sad smile. "For something else."

"For what?"

He merely shook his head. "You can leave now," he said softly. "I've accomplished what I meant to." His gold eyes darted to the door, and he sighed. "Remember, Kagome, I care about you."

"Oh, well, I mean..." Kagome stuttered, rather surprised and confused. "I...I care about you to, Kiyoshi, and..."

"Please, just go."

"...ok..." She pushed open the door and let it swing shut behind her.

Turning, she made her way past the hospital and noted, rather amusedly, that the police officer had apparently appreciated her 'gift' to him, since he was nowhere in sight. She hopped into the car and took off at a slightly more respectable pace of 40 miles per hour.

Of course, on a 65 mph road, that probably wasn't intelligent. Oh well.

She pulled into the garage and darted up the stairs, her fingers still tracing her lips as if it would help her remember every detail of that moment. Her hand tightened on the doorknob, then stopped, as she heard someone moving around inside.

Inuyasha was waiting for her.


Please R&R! And do the same for my other fic too, please? Thanks! -FlamingDrake