Hello folks I'm finally back. I am so sorry that I hadn't updated on this story earlier but while I was on vacation I forgot to unplug my computer, and during an electrical storm my modem was fried. Thank God it was all under warranty or else I wouldn't have been able to afford to get it fixed. I'd like to dedicate this chapter to my new friend, Ariel (you know who you are. ) Also, because I hadn't updated in so long I will be posting a chapter every other day for the next few days…so keep check on this story frequently. Also before I forget, when I said I was going to write another story when I finished this one, I am adding another possibility to the list. Would anyone like a Rumors Ruin Reputations sequel?


CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

The rescue squad: Asami, Asuka, Daisuke, Duo, Hiei, Hiro, Inuyasha, Katsumi, Kenji, Miroku, Rei, Ryoko, Sango, Sano, Spike, and Taki. We're doomed.

"Do not sit there and actually tell me you believe this is going to work." Dante boomed. "How could you be so reckless, Demona?" He began nervously pacing circles inside Demona's office. "I mean you just snatched her out of her hotel room? What were you thinking? That no one's going to notice?"

"Who cares. I have her. That's all that matters."

"You're mad…no you're delirious. Surely to God someone is going to notice she's gone. And what are they going to do? They'll come looking for her. "

"I'm perfectly sane, thank you." She snapped as she continued about her paperwork behind her desk. "No one will link her back to me. They'll never find her. Besides these friends of hers…they're humans and petty demons-"

"You call the Osuwari boy petty? He's one of the sons of Inukai Osuwari…one of the very demons that waltzed right out of hell with you. Inukai was one of the most powerful of your kind. Inuyasha is his bloody son, Demona. The boy cannot be petty."

"He's also the son of a mere mortal whore."

Dante frowned.

"Trust me. Inukai Osuwari was alive for centuries…the man's had more kids than you can shake a stick at…some of them went onto become world leaders. The old bat's wore off all his power in past generations of offspring…not to mention settling down with a mortal. Please. This…Inuyasha is no match." She chuckled slightly. "I bet the boy has no idea who he is. Inukai always was one for 'protecting' people. What you don't know can't hurt you. Inuyasha probably thinks his father was just a plain ordinary demon who took a soft spot for a mortal and married. Married? Can you believe that? Never once have I ever seen a demon actually marry…I've seen them take a human as a mate…but never going along with the human tradition…such incompetence. It's almost like my kind are bending over backwards just to please these little rag toys of ours.

"But trust me." She continued. "Inuyasha Osuwari's nothing. I bet he actually thinks his parents died in a car crash." She doubled over with laughter, pounding her fist on her desk, and kicking her feet back-n-forth, tears waling up behind her eyes because she was laughing so hard. "Oh…oh…my God. A car crash?" She snickered. "Can you imagine living like that? Not even knowing his parents were assassinated. Granted I wasn't the one who put the bullets in their heads. But I was one of the ones who hired the men that did…it's almost cliché I know…ironic in a way. I probably just kidnapped that little brat's girlfriend."

"What if he comes here to avenge his parents or rescue her?"

"Trust me, doll. He would have attacked me already if he thought I'd had his parent's killed while they were on that little vacation of theirs, and as for the girl. I left no indication as to whom took her…they have no clue it was me."

"What of the sister? You said you interrogated a girl who had the same face as the last miko."

Demona suddenly cursed, "shit…I forgot about her. Oh well…they won't get past my guards anyway…they're very devoted to me you know?"

Only because you brain washed them into sex slaves. "Shall I double security?" Dante sighed.

"That won't be necessary…now go and leave me alone…go do whatever it is you do…I've got pressing engagements and business to attend to."

Dante bowed arrogantly before he exited. Cursing every curse he could think of on the woman.


The Coach sat down in the driver's seat, putting the key into ignition. The bus started off at bang, her engine purring…and then she had a heart attack and died.

"What's gone wrong this time?" Kenji groaned.

"The battery's dead." Hiei jerked up out of his seat. "Does any of you know how to hotwire a car?"

Spike and Sano sheepishly raised their hands.

The coach pointed to another bus parked beside theirs. "Get to work you two."

"Dad!" Rei practically screamed. "Isn't that stealing?"

"And your point is?" Spike laughed as he gave her a kiss on the cheek and took off after Sano.

"Duo, I want you to help them, keep a look out or something. Meanwhile, Inuyasha, I want you to go up to my room, in my suitcase I've got a few pairs of ski masks. Get them."

Inuyasha's eyebrow arched.

"Just get them." He turned to Sango." I want you to take Katsumi and most importantly Rei…get a taxi…and have my daughter follow Kagome." He handed Sango a cell-phone. "We'll keep in touch with this." he handed her a piece of paper with a phone number on it. "I want you to call me when you get there. We'll be right behind you guys as soon as we can…but you have to hurry before the trail gets cold…I want you to standby until we arrive, got it? No rash actions…I don't want anyone getting killed. And take Asuka with you…she's a psychic demon…she'll be able to read the place for brain activity…and be able to find out how many guards we have to deal with…if any. For all we know we could end up at the White House."

"How do you know we're going to end up at a big place…why not where she lives like an apartment building or something?" Kitty questioned.

"Because I know Demona…my grandfather fought against her, trying to send her back to hell…she was too much of a rebel and refused to go along with the other original demons. I know her…she'll go with something big - flashy - and filled with traps. Now get going." He ordered. "We're wasting time."

Sango nodded and grabbed Katsumi, Asuka, and Rei, taking off to get a taxi.

The coach turned to Kenji, Taki, Daisuke, Asami, and Miroku. "And you five get the most important jobs of all…."

Taki swallowed hard. He didn't like the look on the coach's face.

"When we get there…I want you four to create a diversion." He told the boys. "If I'm not mistaken…Taki you're an electric demon am I correct?"

Taki nodded.

"Which means if I wanted you to turn a buildings power off you could?"

Taki nodded.

The coach smirked. "Good. And Daisuke…you're a shape-shifter right?"

Daisuke's face stayed emotionless as usual, but his eyes gave away his fear. "Y-yes."

"So if I asked you to turn into an…old woman you could?"

Daisuke nodded.

"Good…and Hayashi?"

Miroku straightened. "Monk…sort of…sir." He sounded like a military wannabe.

"I see…and you, Asami? You're a cameliarion demon correct?"

Asami uneasily nodded. "I'm not sure what that means…but I can turn invisible if that's what you want."

Hiei's grin widened into a disturbing smile. "Alright boys…and girl, gather round…here's the plan."


Ryoko looked up at the sky worriedly. She was slightly grateful that the coach hadn't given her and Hiro a task other than thrash the hell out of Demona when they got their hands on her. Ryoko turned to look Hiro, who was standing beside her, in the eye. "Do you think we'll get there in time?"

Hiro frowned slightly before he wrapped a comforting arm around his girlfriend. "I'm sure we will, your little sister and the other girls are following her right now. Kagome hasn't been gone long, Ryoko…I'm sure they haven't had time to do anything to her."

Ryoko shook her head as a tear trickled down her cheek. "What if they shot her, stuffed her in the trunk, and are throwing her body off the side of the bridge now?"

Hiro suddenly thought about that. "I'm absolutely sure she's fine. They said she was alive in the note they wrote on the mirror."

"They've kidnapped her, Hiro. What's stopping them from lying? Promise me…please. It'll make me feel better. Promise me Kagome's alive."

"Ryoko, you know I can't promise something like that-"

"Please. Just make me feel better."

He gave her a sad smile before he kissed the top of her forehead. "I promise."


Inuyasha grumpily walked up the steps. He hated all this planning. He wanted to go after Kagome now. He didn't want to play it safe. He wanted to rush in, fight the bad guys, and save Kagome…before something bad happened to her. He had half a mind to steal a car and go after her alone…but that's when he realized he had no idea where she was or where to start looking.

He blamed himself for her kidnapping. If only he hadn't made her mad. If only he had persisted to make things right and apologize…or gone with her into her room or made her stay in his. If only he had protected her.

Inuyasha punched the wall, he could hear the wood crunch and splinter beneath his knuckles. That. He thought. Is exactly what's going to happen to Demona's face when I get my hands on her.


Kagome walked as far away from the wall as her shackle would allow. Not even to the door. But at least she could sit down and eat the meal Sion had left her. Kagome picked up the spoon, and began stirring it around in her chicken noodle soup, watching the noodles swirl. Kagome suddenly hit something hard with her spoon. She fished her fingers in it and pulled out a key. So Sion's not a bad guy.

But Kagome just pocketed it and went to her soup. She had no intentions of breaking out…yet. Not until she was able to get as much information from Demona as possible.

It was kind of awkward though, the deeper Kagome got into her meal the more she found. A nail file in the sandwich, a flashlight in the milkshake, and a pocketknife in the spaghetti. What a weird meal.


Dante sighed as he reclined deeper into his chair, he stared up at the high ceiling of the third floor ballroom. He sweared, the more time he spent in the peace center the more it felt like a maze. It felt like everything was endless; you could get lost in a place like this. You could die forgotten in a place like this. He glanced over at Sion, who was sitting on the ballroom stage twirling the microphone around in circles, and frowned. He hadn't seen or heard Sion come in.

Dante let out a deep and prolonged sigh, having had his meditation broken. He leaned over to the CD player beside him that was pouring out his favorite Mozart and turned it off, finally deciding to speak to the boy. "Did you give her the key and whatnot like I told you to?"

Sion nodded. "Yeah…but I doubt it will do much help…do you really think a pocketknife will defend her against Demona?"

Dante frowned again. "I don't want her to fight Demona…just escape."

Sion gazed at his hands in disgust. "This is my fault, you know? I never should have gone and danced with Kagome in the first place."

Dante shook his head. "It's not your fault…you didn't know who or what she was…."

"But Demona read my mind…I should have put a barrier up or something."

"You didn't know…don't blame yourself, boy. Besides, you and I should have never let Demona live this long in the first place. It's partly my fault as well…I was told to kill her a long time ago before she did get her hands on the miko but I fell-"

Sion stared at him, slightly disgusted. "How can you fall in love with her? She's a creep."

Dante snorted. "Me? I don't understand how you've lived with her for the last year. I can understand the problem you possessed with your father and I can understand…slightly…that you could find comfort in Demona…but why would you sell your soul to her?"

"Because she offered to help. No one else ever did that before."

Dante nodded. "Yes…despite her murderous…sinister ways…Demona does have a soft spot somewhere buried deep inside her. But she's a killer…you must understand this…its because of people she killed that I met her in the first place. I was assigned to assassinate her, you know? She killed my entire vampire clan…but you see she's put a spell on me. I just don't have the heart to kill her…but if she dares harm the miko…I will make myself do it."

Sion nodded. "Same here." He stood up and walked across the dance floor to stand before the vampire.

"The miko's our last chance for survival…she's destined to save the world."

Sion's smile widened. "It's funny though…don't you think? She doesn't seem like the superhero type."

Dante nodded. "I feel bad for her…she may not be very heroic, but you must remember she is the last miko. I harbor much remorse for her…having been born just to die a martyr…the last miko is supposed to finish the job Midoriko started and then…vanish."

Sion felt his heart being stabbed. The room stayed quiet for the longest time until Sion finally decided to speak. "Do you think everything happens for a reason, Mr. Doi?"

Dante arched his eyebrow. "I do."

"So you think…me meeting Kagome, and Demona just happening to read my mind was supposed to happen? Do you think…this is the end for Kagome…she's going to die…after she kills Demonatikyo? This is all supposed to happen?"

Dante stared up at the ceiling. "I'm not sure. It's not a question that has a specific answer. I guess…it depends on what other unfinished business Midoriko had."

"What do you mean?"

Dante smiled sadly. "Well for instance…Midoriko might have wanted to live a long and happy life…and she'll want Kagome to finish that for her…in which case hopefully Ms. Hirugashi will use the key that we sent her and escape tonight. Or, the only thing left for Midoriko was to kill off Demona…and if that's it then…"

"Kagome's going to kill Demona and die to save…everyone else, like me and you." Sion let out a long and heavy sigh.

Dante nodded. "You and I both know Demona's been thinking about taking over the world so the original demons can rein once again. And you and I both know she's capable of doing it. Maybe this is the 'end-time' described in the prophecy Kagome's supposed to save us from…or maybe perhaps it's another event to come in the far off future…either way. Kagome will die to save us all…there is not enough gratitude in the world we can offer her except giving our own lives to save her."

"Huh?"

Dante stood to his feet. "Sion…people like the two of us are not meant for this world…we're not meant for people as pure as Kagome. A vampire and a boy who sold his soul to become demon." He looked Sion in the eyes. "So why is it that, if we're impure and she is innocent…why is it that the innocent must sacrifice herself for us?" Dante took a long dramatic pause before continuing. "You and I are not cowards, Sion. Neither of us are afraid of death…I know this by the spirit you possess when you fight…if I have to…I'll die to protect Kagome. Will you do the same?" Mr. Doi would make a great soup opera actor.

Sion thought for a moment and then nodded. "What do I have to loose? Everything that ever meant anything to me died a long time ago."

Dante's smile widened. "Tell me, boy? You say these words…are you willing to back them up tonight?"

Sion shrugged his shoulders. "I said so didn't I?"

"Fine then. If I distract Demona for as long as I can, you go and sneak Kagome out of her cell."

"What about Gore…he's been standing guard right outside Kagome's door for an hour now."

Dante sighed. "Kill him. It's the only thing you can do." He smiled. "This is why we do not deserve this world…taking the lives of others."

Sion nodded. "I understand, Mr. Doi…but what do I do when I release her?"

"Take Kagome as far away from here as possible. Take her back to her friends, explain to them that they need to get out of here, take her home…change her name…and never bring her back here. They must keep their distance from Demonatikyo."

Sion nodded. "What about you?"

"I'm going to do what I should have done a long time ago. We're all destined to hurt the ones we love aren't we?"

Sion had to physically force himself not to snort. "How are you going to kill her…she's way more powerful than you and me combined."

Dante swept the hem of his jacket away to reveal a sword that hung by his side.

"A sword?" Sion he finally caved in and snorted. "That won't do much good."

"Trust me, boy. This sword was given to me by an elder in a neighboring vampire clan. It was made precisely to slay original demons…like Demona. It may not appear like it does much damage…but it will when she least suspects it. It was welded with the steal from a crucifix that hung in the church, bathed in holy water for seven years, blessed by the saints themselves, and was formed into the shape of the cross." He showed Sion the gloves he was wearing. "Not even I can touch it without being purified and turned to ash."

Sion's eyebrow's arched upwards. "I'm confused."

Dante just smiled and went to walk out of the room but was stopped when Sion called out for him. "Mr. Doi…you say that you're not meant for this world but…you're going to risk your life to save it?"

Dante turned to look him in the eye.

"Good luck, Mr. Doi." He's dead.

Dante smiled and walked out of the room, probably taking his last look at Sion.


"Turn left - turn left - turn left." Rei screamed at the taxi driver before he swerved to the right. "Your other left."

He swerved again.

Asuka, Sango, and Katsumi bumped their heads against the roof from the back seat as Rei shouted out directions from the front.

The poor taxi driver was a little weirded out. One: from the fact that Rei had a large eye protruding from her forehead. And since he was human, he didn't understand the demon concept so they had told him it was the newest body jewelry fashion. And two: because Rei had her head hanging out the window sniffing the air with her eye. Like I said…poor guy.

Asuka stared out the window as the peace center came into view.

"There." Rei pointed. "That's where she is…I can sense her…it's faint…but it's there."

Katsumi nodded, as she completely ignored the fact that there was a human present and reverted to her demon form. "Rei's right. I can smell her."

Asuka grabbed the cell-phone and hastily dialed the coach's number. "The peace center." She screamed into the mouthpiece. "They took her to the peace center."

She heard the coach's approval crackle through the receiver. "Good. Give us a rendezvous point."

Asuka panicked. "What's a rendezvous point?"

Sango rolled her eyes and grabbed the cell phone. "There's a mini-mart right up the road. We'll meet there." She quickly hung up and told the taxi driver to pull into the mini-mart parking lot.


Sano and Spike worked hastily at the wires, connecting the red one to the blue one. Suddenly the car alarm sounded.

"Oh shit. Turn it off - turn it off." Duo screamed from his lookout post behind them.

Sano separated the wires. "Maybe we should have put the red one with the yellow one?"

"It's the red and green ones you idiots." Inuyasha growled as he arrived behind them.

"Oh yeah…hehe." Spike laughed nervously as he did what the half demon had directed. Suddenly the bus came to life. "Ladies and gentleman…we have a ride."

The rest of the Deep Forest High School team pilled into the stolen bus. (With the exception of Yusuke and Kikyo. Kikyo was staying in her room. And the coach didn't trust Yusuke; he was still looking for a vending machine.)

"Where're we going?" Ryoko growled from beside Asami and Hiro.

"To the peace center." Spike announced as he sat down at the driver's seat and drove off out of the parking lot. Hiei was in too much of a panicked mood, as was everyone else, to protest Spike driving…even if he was a madman at the wheel.

"We're all going to fucking die."


Yusuke turned another hall, the bag of peanuts he had had to go to a gas station for at hand. Yusuke had looked for over an hour…this hotel had no vending machines whatsoever.

The youth walked up to his floor and walked into his room. No one was there. He frowned.

He checked the coach's room. No one.

He checked the pool. Nope.

He checked the weight room. Nada.

The Lounge. Zilch.

The breakfast bar. Zip.

He checked the parking lot. No one. The only people in the parking lot was a bunch of people frantically looking for their stolen bus.

He glanced over to where his team bus was parked, almost worried that they might have left him. No it was still there. "Where is everybody?" To bad the idiot forgot to check everyone else's room, or else he would have found Kikyo.


Kagome aimed her hand at the shackle where it joined the wall. She really didn't plan on blowing it up or anything, but it was fun to pretend…besides, she had the key so what would be the point in that? She was bored…and since she had a short attention span, playing darts with the knife at the door just didn't have that much amusement in it as it had had an hour ago.

She pretended that an energy blast blew out of her hand, and before she actually realized it, she had actually blown herself free. Kagome panicked. "Oh shit." She ran over and tried to put it back in, but she didn't make it far when the door opened. She glanced back to see the one person she didn't want to see. Gore Leblanch.

He smirked down at her. "Don't even try, sweetheart…there's no way you can break that chain…not even a demon could break it."

Kagome snorted as she stood up and held the broken link in her hand. No words were needed.

Gore's face fell. "How'd the hell did you do that?"

"I'm the last miko you dip-shit."

Gore nodded, he'd forgotten that for a second. "Yeah well…you can't escape…there's no way you can get past me-"

He didn't get a chance to finish when Kagome sent an energy blast that knocked him to the floor out cold.

Sion stood in the doorway with a smirk. "No fair…I always wanted to do that." He didn't even bother dealing with Gore, since Kagome had blasted that problem into unconsciousness.

Sion held out his hand. "Come on, Kagome. I'm going to take you home now."

Kagome stood strong, she felt the sensation that something was taking over her once again, she tried her hardest to suppress it, but it seemed to be growing stronger. Only one question…was it demon or miko? Kagome's eyes went a dark and dead blue. "I've come to kill her…where is my traitorous aunt?" It was the spirit of Midoriko herself.

Sion stared at Kagome in confusion. "Come on, Kagome. We've got to get you out of here before Demona kills you."

"Take me to Demonatikyo."

"Kagome?"

"Her time has come."

"Kagome stop it. You're freaking me out. Please just come on."

Kagome stood firmly. "I will never move from this spot until I avenge mine and my family's death…I will kill Demonatikyo…bring her to me."


Demona sat at her desk in her office on the peace center's forth floor. She sighed as she went over her paperwork. "I swear to God…what am I supposed to do with this girl? I can't just kill her because where's the fun in that…but I can't just torture her until she wished she was dead…because there's no fun in that either. Blood gets everywhere…on your shoes…and I always end up chipping my manicure."

"You could just let her live."

Demona looked up to see Dante Doi in her doorway, she smirked at the sight of him. "Now you see, there's the difference between you and I…you've always had such a weak heart…."

"Me? A weak heart?" He took the seat across from her, propping his feet on top of her desk. "I'm not the one whose baby-sitting that little brat…Sion…he's a traitor you know?"

Demona waved her hand dismissively. "Yeah, yeah, yeah - and so are you - you're plotting to run me through with that sword you've got behind your back - what else is new?"

Dante's smirk widened. "You never did hesitate for a second to read my mind."

Demona looked at him over the rim of her reading glasses, "You know you can't blame me. I mean you have been here this whole time to assassinate me…I can't exactly trust you, you know?"

The vampire shrugged his shoulders. "I was beginning to wonder whether you knew the truth or not - it's good to know I can't be trusted."

"So tell me, after all you and I have been through do you really have the heart to kill me - you do love me after all."

He quoted himself. "We're all destined to hurt the ones we love."

Demona nodded in agreement, and like a flash of light she was out of her chair, and had grabbed Dante by the collar of his shirt, holding him with one hand high above her head. "Then you won't blame me for killing you?"

"Not at all, Demona. As a matter of fact - do it - I give you my blessings."

Demona threw him clear across the room, landing with a thud on the floor. But he had vampire strength, so he stood up with ease. He took the sword that he had sheathed by his side and drew the blade, pointing it at Demona. "I'll die before I let you kill the world's savior."

Demona stared at his puny weapon, "You can't kill me with that…toy. You know that…you knew I'm going to kill you before you even came here - and yet you still came to me to defend the girl?"

Dante nodded. "I'll die with a clear conscience."

"What good is a clear conscience anyway? You'll die a forgotten fool - no one will remember the sacrifice you've made - no one will ever even know. I doubt the last miko even knows you're on her side. I bet she thinks you're still plotting to kill her. The same goes for Sion…you're going to die…and no one will ever care."

"I'm a vampire, Demona. No one needs to know I ever even existed."

"Oh how sweet. You think you can die a noble death to repent for your sins." She walked up to him, and gently pushed the sword aside. "You truly are a fool." She leaned in and kissed him. For a moment, Dante felt sheer obis, but then he remembered how horrible she was. She had killed her own brother because he couldn't kill his daughter…Midoriko.

Dante felt a silent tear trickle down his cheek. "I'm sorry." He rammed the sword through her chest. For a brief second Demona looked truly shocked, she hadn't seen it coming, but then she just laughed.

"How stupid." She pulled the weapon out of her and tossed it aside, her wounds healing quickly until there was no sign that she'd even been hurt apart from her blood stained cloths. She grabbed him by the neck again and held him high above her head. "I could have loved a hopeless fool like you." And with that, she threw him to the floor, snapping his neck against the edge of her desk on his way down.

Demona walked over to his lifeless body and sighed, tucking a strand of his raven black hair behind his ear. She smiled sadly at him. "I think I did love a fool like you. Hmm. I always did hate vampires though. They die way too easily." She reached out and took off his red velvet jacket, putting it on herself. "Just for your sacrifice…I'll allow the miko to live for one more day…and as for our son - I mean - Sion. I know how much you favored the boy…I'll let him live…if he promises to never show his face around me again. If he does, I won't hesitate for a second to devour him like I did your clan. Is that understood?"

He couldn't protest.

"Good." She stepped over Dante's lifeless body and went back to her desk to finish filing paperwork.


"Watch it, Spike." Inuyasha screamed as he nearly went flying through the windshield. "Stay on the right side of the road."

Spike ignored him. He ran another red light and went flying down the freeway. He wasn't wasting any time.

Ryoko and Asami practically hurled on each other. Motion sickness.

"Who in their right mind gave you your driver's license?" Duo screamed as he clung for dear life onto the back of the seat in front of him.

The car swerved another turn, bumping over a railroad track just before the railroad crossing sign was dropped. "Some lady at the DMV did. She was really nice. Though I think she was a little crazy…she was like eighty years old but she kept asking me for my phone number."

"Oh for the love of God." Kenji growled as he pushed Spike out of the seat and took over. The rest of the bus cheered.

"You're just jealous of my superior driving skills, right, Miroku?" Spike asked as he plopped down beside the monk.

Miroku snorted before he was flung into the aisle between the rows of seats. It seemed when under pressure, Kenji couldn't drive much better either.

Kenji maneuvered in-between the rows of cars, moving father and farther down the stretch of pavement, all the while getting flicked off by the drivers he was passing or pushing out of the road and into the ditch.

"Do we really have to drive so reckless?" Asami cried as she hugged her boyfriend Sano as tightly as possible. "Is this really necessary?"

Sano chuckled. "Are you kidding me? This is awesome. I wanna be a race car driver. Right, Taki?"

Taki, who had his head out the window like a dog, barked as his response. "Woohoo."

"Well do we have to do it so dangerously?" Asami snapped. "I'm amazed we haven't been pulled over by the police. Is being in this much of a hurry really necessary?"

Inuyasha's eyes grew red and angry. "Of course. Kagome's life is at stake. What do you think? They're just feeding her pastries and rolling out the welcome mat? They could be abducting her right now for all we know." He shuttered at the thought of Gore taking advantage of his Kagome like that. "I'll kill him."

"Hey look." Ryoko screamed. "There's the peace center."

Coach Hiei, who was already saying his final words in the back of the bus, glanced up to see the top of the large glass dome just come into view.


Sango, Asuka, Rei, and Katsumi, who had sneaked across the street to the peace center, sat quietly on the bench outside in the parking lot, pretending that they were from the Disturbed concert that had just finished.

"How many bodies do you read, Asuka?"

"Give me a minute." The psychic demon groaned as she continued to read out the peace center's perimeter. Her eyes were closed as her brain waves searched through everything for brain activity. "I can't be certain." She sighed as she glanced at her friends. "There's too many people from the concert…I can't tell whose a guard and who's a drunk college student."

Rei nodded. "Yeah but can you at least give us a body count…any number would help. We need to at least get a guess at what we're up against."

Asuka shook her head. "There's too many. There's at least four thousand at the most. But most of those are undoubtedly from the concert. I'd say around three to four hundred is our actual guard count."

"Are you serious?" The other girls chorused. "That's way too many. Most of those guards are going to be demons…we can't fight that many."

Asuka frowned. "I could be wrong…we could end up with three guards for all I know…but that's the best average I can give you."

Katsumi sighed. "Thanks, Asuka. You did your best-"

"Hey look…here they come." Asuka pointed out at the bus that was flying towards the mini-mart at top speeds. Even though it wasn't their bus she knew it was them. She could recognize her stepbrother's driving anywhere.

The girls ran across the street to the mini-mart to greet them. They, as with a bunch of pedestrians, had to jump out of the way as the bus skidded to a halt just in front of them.

Sango watched as Inuyasha and the others literally came spewing out. "Dear God!" She screamed at them. "Try and look a little less conspicuous why don't you?"

Inuyasha went to shoot her a one-finger salute, but he was too dizzy to even stand up straight. "Fuck you." He collapsed to the cement.

Asuka rolled her eyes, until she saw poor Kenji tumble from the driver's seat. "You were driving?"

He nodded sheepishly. "I got a little carried away."

"Nah ya think? You drive way too much like Spike. How could I have ever considered marrying you?"

Kenji's eyes popped out of his head. "I never purposed!"

"I didn't say you did…I just said I thought about it."

"Alright." Hiei growled as he stepped out of the vehicle. His head was a little dizzy, but he suppressed it. "Are you kids ready?"

Everyone turned to give him their full attention.

The Coach turned to Kenji, Asami, Taki, Daisuke, and Miroku. "You boys…and girl know what to do?"

Taki saluted him. "We're ready, Coach. The plans all set."

"Good boys...er kids…get to work."

The five took off towards the peace center, ready to create their diversion in the front lobby.

The coach turned to everyone else. "Alright…Asuka…scout the area…find out where they have Kagome hidden exactly."

Asuka did as she was told; skimming the brain waves for Kagome's certain frequency. She opened her eyes and frowned. "I'm not picking up a signal…no-no-no, wait…it's sort of faint." She hopped up on the hood of an anonymous car to get a better signal. "She's…she's in the basement…wait…no…that's not her…wait…yes it is." She glanced down at the coach. "Kagome must be turning into the miko in her again like she did on Halloween…it seems like she dies out…and then comes back again. But I definitely know it's coming from the basement."

Hiei nodded. "Lets get going."


Daisuke whined as he was pulled along behind Miroku, Kenji, and Asami. No one could see them yet, Asami having put a force field around them making them invisible.

"Why do I have to dress up like the old broad?" Daisuke stared down at the form he had shape-shifted into. An old woman.

"Because." Miroku growled as he pulled a ski mask over his head. "You're the only one who can change your body image around."

"So…?"

Miroku and Kenji rolled their eyes. Miroku went to enter into the building but Kenji stopped him. "Not yet…we have to wait for Taki's signal."

Miroku nodded, before he had pulled out the fake gun Asami had conjured up for him out of pencil. Not only could she make things disappear but she could also change their appearance as well.


Taki scrambled along around the building searching for the buildings meter box. He suddenly spotted it, with his luck, on the other side of the barbwire fence. He rolled up his sleeves, before he held up his index finger before him, he had to concentrate, he'd never really used his powers like this before. He hadn't yet reached his demon prime…he was what you call a 'late bloomer'. Slowly but surly small sparks began to emit from his fingertips. He smirked.

Taki began tracing along the fence out a large enough circle for him to step through. And almost like it was being melted by a welder, the inner part of the circle fell through, letting him pass.

Taki walked up to the meter box, rubbed his hands together creating an amazing amount of friction, and then placed his palms against the cool metal rectangular box. The friction seeped through, and into the metal, forcing the lock that held the box shut to burst open.

Taki's grin widened from ear to ear. "I am the man." He jerked the lid open, and quickly read down the labels.

"Aha." He suddenly spotted a label that read 'Front Lobby'. He flipped the front lobby switch, simultaneously cutting off the power. He began about this task for the rest of the place, before he sauntered off to find all the phone wires.


The second they saw the lights go out, Asami broke off the force field, now leaving only herself invisible. She smiled to the others, two masked burglars, and an old woman. "Good luck you guys." She whispered. "I'm going to be right behind you. Don't worry. You guys know what to do."

The three others nodded dumbly, looking off into thin air, before they entered the lobby.

Miroku smirked slightly as he held the 'pencil' against Daisuke's temple. "Everybody freeze." He boomed.

Almost on cue the entire place turned deadly quite, everyone's eyes were as big as saucers, everyone's skin was as white as the ceiling, and everyone's jaw was grazing the floor.

Kenji wasn't as confident as his counterparts. He was shaking in a slight fear. But he had to remember. No one had seen his face…and no one was going to. He was going to be safe. If anything bad happened, or if the police showed up, Asami would put the force field right back up and they would escape…he had to be brave, he had to be strong, he had to do it for Kagome. The first girl to ever bother and make friends with him. He thought for the longest time, as Miroku shouted out his orders in the background. Kagome was like the best person he had ever met. He thought of how she had effected everyone's life…and how not one person in this rescue mission of theirs was not sincere.

"I said for everyone to lie down on the ground and put your hands behind your head."

The congregation obeyed.

Miroku turned the gun on the receptionist behind the counter. He felt awfully guilty for being so hostile, but it was necessary, for Kagome's sake…but surly to God they could have found another way around this.

"Come here."

The receptionist gulped as she came out from behind her desk, tears trickling down her cheeks. For the love of God, why did we have to do it this way?

"I'm not going to hurt you as long as you do as I say…I promise." His voice was a little too soft for the character he was playing, but he didn't care. He didn't want anyone to cry on his behalf. "Please Lady…just get onto the floor like everyone else and I promise nothing will happen to you. I promise."

She did.

"Now…I want everyone to close their eyes."

No one did.

He sighed as he pointed the gun up at the ceiling, praying to God that this worked, and fired a warning shot. A boom echoed throughout the room, forcing every eye to wench closed.

Miroku half happy, half horrified, turned to Kenji. "These things are actually loaded?" They both glanced up at the hole he had made in the ceiling.

Asami rolled her eyes. "You asked for a gun so I gave you a gun." She hissed into his ear.

"Yeah but I didn't ask for real bullets." He whispered to the area behind him where he guessed she stood. "What the hell did you think I was going to do? Shoot someone?"

Asami grumbled. "Well yeah. I figured a good hole in Demona's head would make you happy."

Miroku sighed. "Well that's where you'd be wrong." He held out the gun, waiting for her to take it. "Fix it."

Asami rolled her eyes. "It's too late now. Thank God it's Kagome's life on the line and not mine."

Kenji's black eyes turned on her, or where he guessed she was. "Don't say that." He accidentally screamed, forcing the entire room to squirm. "She's a good person. Better than you are, that's for sure."

Asami rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Save the antics for later. Are you two going to give Hiei and the others the signal to come in or not? I mean everyone's eyes are closed so no one's going to see any of our faces…especially with everyone wearing the extra ski masks I conjured up from the socks. I think the coast is clear." She whispered so only her friends could hear.

Daisuke snorted in his boy voice. "We have to wait for Taki to cut the phone lines. We don't want anyone calling the police. This place is huge. People could be hiding anywhere."

Asami sighed. "You do realize there is a tiny little invention called the cell phone." She pulled hers out of her pocket to show him when she remembered she was invisible. "Why can't Taki just put up an electricity field around the peace center…blocking out all outgoing and incoming electric currents. Then no phones at all could work."

Daisuke snorted again, this time like an old lady. "You know as well as I do he's still in his baby stages…he hasn't had his demon…or human puberty yet…"

Asami rubbed her temples. "So we're just going to risk cell phones because the brat's too weak…you know any electric demon could pull it off-"

"Stop being so hard on him. You know as well as I do that too much strain on your powers can almost kill you. Give Taki some credit, Asami, he's doing his best. He's a good kid…sure he can be like any other freshman can…stupid…but he's like my little brother…we have to look after him. And that's exactly what Sano and I have been doing ever since we were little kids. Sure he's two years younger than us…and he's a little immature at times. But he's trying his best, Asami. You were just like him too when you were his age."

Asami glared at him, but he didn't see it.

"And I'm sure Sano…your boyfriend, would be saying the same thing-"

"Listen ladies." Miroku interrupted, still chuckling at Daisuke's appearance. "Could we please put this lovers' quarrel aside-."

"Lovers' quarrel? " They both hissed. "I hate him/I hate her."

Miroku rolled his eyes as he pointed out the window. "We've got our sign from Taki."

Everyone turned to look outside; small streaks of lightening were blurring against the glass doors.

Kenji pointed his hand at the door and sent a large stream of ice flowing through the air, crashing and shattering the door, sending his own signal of approval with it. Everything was ready.

All the people on the floor screamed in unison.

"Maybe I should have been the one to give the signal. Oh well." Miroku took charge, an idea popping into his head. "Everyone stand up."

They reluctantly obeyed; staring at the ice covered floor in horrified fixation.

Kenji and the 'elderly woman' gave him confused looks until he told them his plan. He pointed across the hall at a small ballroom that's doors were held wide open.

"We can lock them in there…and just to make sure none of them try and escape Kenji can coat the doors and windows with ice."

The others nodded. Kenji, the now old lady who decided to go evil in front of everyone's eyes, and Miroku started to herd everyone into the room, forcing them to lie on the floor once again.

Kenji went in and sealed every entrance he could find with ice, as he subconsciously searched the crowd for demons…a demon could break through his ice-locks easily but a human couldn't. He spotted only one…it being one of the security guards. He frowned. If the guard was demon than he would have sensed Asami, their fake guns, known the bullets wouldn't hurt him that severely, and that Daisuke wasn't old at all. He frowned even more when he saw the man smirk at him before he lied down on the floor.

But then his questions were answered when the security guard spoke to him through telepathy.

Do you really think you can get to your little miko friend? Kenji saw him laugh. You do realize, kid; that Demonatikyo is no idiot. She knows you're here. She's known ever since you walked through those doors. She's no idiot…and no weakling either. My Master is going to tear you limb from limb.

Kenji turned to the others; they'd all heard his thoughts as well.

"She knows we're here?" Asami breathed deeply. After what she had heard about Demona, the mere mention of her name frightened Asami.

"Master?" Miroku repeated as they stepped out of the room, and let Kenji freeze the door closed. "Figures she'd make all her bodyguards a bunch of mindless followers of hers. I think the woman has trust issues."

Daisuke, now his normal self, nodded as he pulled on a ski mask Asami had handed him, she also wearing one now that she was no longer invisible.

"Luckily all the security cameras went out in the power so on one will ever see our true faces." She laughed slightly.

The others nodded as they watched the rest of their team come through the front doors. Asuka herself looking plainly exhausted, even behind her ski mask.

I swear. She sent her thoughts out to the rest of the team. I've never knocked so many people unconscious. It was bad enough on Halloween with Naraku and all his junkies…but I've never had to put an entire parking lot out before. Asuka stared out of the shattered door where the sleeping forms of all the concert-goers lied.

Hiei turned to Asami. "You did put up an illusion force field around the peace center didn't you?"

Asami nodded. "I did the second we came here. To everyone else just driving by the place looks completely normal."

"And I put up an electrical current around the building too." Taki panted.

Sano, Asami, and Daisuke turned to him in shock. It was these three that knew Taki best, they knew that doing what Asami had mentioned earlier was incredibly hard for their purple-haired freshman.

"Are you serious, little man?" Sano cheered as he ruffled Taki's hair. "That's great, dude."

Taki's smile widened. "Yep. If anyone calls to here or out of here all they're going to get is 'this line is busy.'"

"That's great, Taki." Asami gasped.

Kenji smiled. "'This line is busy' is way less suspicious as the line being dead if you'd cut them."

Taki's smile widened in his praise before Sango suddenly stated the obvious. "If Asami could do an invisibility cloak around all of us…why didn't we just have her smuggle us down to the basement that way? Why with all the robber schemes and putting so many people unconscious?"

Inuyasha growled as he pushed past her and headed towards the hallway. "Who cares…no one got hurt…and besides, confusing the hell out of Demona is way more fun. Now lets go."

'Confusing the hell out of Demona?' Kenji, Miroku, Daisuke, and Asami all looked at each other, remembering what the security guard that they had sealed inside the ballroom had said: You do realize, kid, that Demonatikyo is no idiot. She knows you're here. She's known ever since you walked through those doors. She's no idiot…and no weakling either. My Master is going to tear you limb from limb.


Demona sat in her office angrily staring at the lamp she had on her desk. She picked it up for the umpteenth time and banged it down on the surface of her desk.

"Damn thing." She hissed. "I just put a new bulb in it yesterday."