Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Inu-tachi, but I -do- own KiKi, Tsubii, and the other strippers.. You hear that, Kiki?! I own you! Even though you came up with the name, I still own your soul! O.o;
A/N: Yeah, I know I said I'd update the 21st.. But, when have I ever? Bah, it was too close to X-mas, so family crap got in the way...
I know a girl,
Who tried to forget him.
She started as a stripper, worked her way up,
Trying to find someone to keep her life from being dim..
As the little boy neared, both Kagome and Agent Smith started out after him, but Agent Smith was a lot faster. With what seemed like inhuman speed in the dangerous situation, Smith scooped up the little boy, and blocked the older kids' weapons with the Tetsusaiga sheath. The two boys yelped, startled, as their attacks were repelled, and stared up at Agent Smith in fear.
"Just what do you think you're doing?!" He towered over them, his shadow given off by the street lights washing over the two. The little boy that looked like Shippou clutched Smith's shirt in his hands, staring up at him in bewilderment.
"Um.. Uh.. Nothing..." One of the boys stammered out. "Jus' playin'..."
"Oh, playing kill the kid with bats, huh? Popular game.." Agent Smith rolled his eyes, then hit the ground with the Tetsusaiga sheath. The two boys turned tail and ran screaming into the night. As he watched them leave, Agent Smith crouched to put 'Shippou' down. "You okay, kid?"
"I-I'm fine.." He replied, shaking slightly, as he looked up at him in somewhat fear. "Th-thank you for s-saving me.."
Kagome came up to Agent Smith's side, crouching down as well, and brushing 'Shippou's' bangs from his eyes out of natural habbit. 'That's Shippou-chan alright.. Thank Kami-sama we found him.. Now, all we need is Kirara.. Oh, and to find out what would change Shippou-chan back into Shippou-chan..' Kagome smiled warmly at the small boy, fighting the urge to just crush him to her.. She had missed her surrogate son deeply. "I'm Kagome, and this is um.. Smith. What's your name?"
"I'm Flavio," he announced proudly.
Kagome and Agent Smith both face-faulted into the ground, twitching. 'Who would name their son Flavio?!' Kagome wondered in shock, 'Is that even a real name?'
"Are you guys okay?" Little, sweet, innocent Flavio asked.
"Y-yeah." Kagome answered for Agent Smith as she righted herself up. "So, do you need us to take you home?"
"I.. I don't have a home.." Flavio replied, looking down and kicking a small pebble around some.
"Eh?" Kagome tilted her head.
"I was left here by the people that had taken me in a while back.. They live far from here, so I don't think I could find them again.. Not that I want to. That's why I was being chased- I was sleeping under some bench on their side of the playground." Flavio looked up slightly in a silent plea.
"Well, then, come with us. We'll take you in." Agent Smith stood up, and began walking back towards the shrine.
"Agent Smith.." Kagome smiled at his back, then reached over and took Flavio's hand, pulling him up.
"Are you serious?" Flavio asked in wonder, blinking.
"Yeah, unless you'd rather be beaten to death by some older kids, then come stay at the Higurashi shrine with us." Agent Smith shrugged. "C'mon, Kagome."
"Arigatou.." Flavio looked at them both with tears in his eyes. "Arigatou.."
Kagome smiled down at him and lead him by the hand back to the shrine, following behind Agent Smith.
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"He's asleep."
Agent Smith looked back at Kagome, whom stood in the doorway of his room, clad in her pajamas and a loose, pink robe. "I figured as much. He had a rough day, it seems."
"Yeah.. He said his parents had been recently murdered, so he was stuck with a foster family that was supposedly trustworthy.. But they didn't take very good care of him and ended up dumping him off at that playground.. It's horrible." Kagome crossed the distance between them, to sit beside him on the edge of the bed.
"I could go after them and arrest them for that.." Agent Smith started, then shook his head. "But I have a current case I'm working on.. Unless I see it before my very eyes, I can't pursue to arrest."
"Isn't it the police's job to arrest?" Kagome asked.
"Yeah, it is. But I still have the power if I should see a crime committed while checking out my case." He shrugged. "We're not even that close to solving it.. All I know is that the gang's hideout seems to be somewhere around that alleyway.. We can't seem to find any clues to support it enough, though.." Sighing, he stretched slightly.
"I see.. So, you'll be back at Erotic Pleasures tomorrow, huh?"
"Oh yeah, can't get enough of those hott strippers." He smirked as she twitched. "Don't you have to work again tomorrow?"
"Yeah.." She sighed. "Hopefully, just waitressing. That way, my shift won't be too long, and I can get back to little.. Flavio.."
"He's really.. Shippou.. isn't he?" Agent Smith asked, looking forward, instead of at Kagome.
"Yes.. He is.. What do you know of Shippou-chan?"
"He was annoying."
Kagome let out a soft laugh, shaking her head slightly. "Only to Inu-Yasha.. Shippou-chan always tried to be tough, even when he was scared.. His parents were killed by thunder youkai, which Inu-Yasha killed shortly after.. Shippou-chan then joined up with us, as kinda a surrogate son. He was always happy to see me.."
Agent Smith remained silent for a while, before he quietly asked, "Why are you still a stripper..?"
"Huh?" Kagome looked over at him.
"You heard me.. Why do you still do it, if.. If I'm Inu-Yasha.."
"You're not him." Kagome stood up abruptly, her eyes hidden under her bangs.
"But if Flavio is Shippou, then I must be Inu Yasha, ne?"
"He may be inside you, and you may have his memories.. But the Inu-Yasha I loved.. He died five hundred years ago." Kagome walked out of the room, her head bowed.
Agent Smith only stared.
Kagome entered her room, clicking the door shut behind her. Her heart clenched tightly in her chest, causing a tear to drop from the corner of her eyes and splash on the carpet. 'Enough of thinking of this for one day.. I'll fix it.. I'll think of some way to fix it all.. All I have to do is find Kirara..'
Kagome glanced over to her bed, seeing the boy that looked identical to Shippou, save the tail and fangs, sleeping in it. Quietly, she climbed in beside him, choking back a sob as he automatically snuggled beside her for the added warmth.
"Shippou-chan.. I missed you.."
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"She's not here today.. Did you two have a fight?" Agent Bates smirked over a glass of Irish beer at the seething Agent Smith. They were once again in the strip club, Erotic Pleasures, trying to get a statement from Tsubii and Kiki.
"Shut up." Agent Smith growled, sulking. Kagome refused to show up for work, but instead spent the day with Flavio. She had even refused to go to school, claiming it to be a waste of time. Her grandfather had said something about her being sick often, causing her to miss most of her school days. That made him wonder if perhaps Kagome was really insane and she was rubbing off on him. Truth or lies, it mattered not.. He first needed to focus on his career choice in life and solve the damned case before any other poor, innocent women suffered death by continuous gang-rape.
"I would say she'd lose her job at this rate.. But the guys love her! The not-so-innocent schoolgirl bit may be cliche', but it sure is hawt!" Tsubii smirked, pouring herself and Kiki a glass of Irish beer. Kiki sat atop a barstool, looking down at Agent Holmes as she asked questions. Unlike her male partners, Agent Holmes did not care for talking of relationship problems, and instead wanted to finish the case quickly and get the hell out of the strip club. The way Agent Bates kept drooling over the strippers was pissing her off a little more each minute.
"Just give me a statement of what happened, so we can go.." She rubbed her temples.
"But you guys will come back, right? You're becoming friends of ours, not to mention regulars." Kiki smiled, sipping her beer.
"No, we will not come back. We're on a case!"
"I'll come back, don't worry, sweetheart." Agent Bates winked at Kiki.
"Not while you're on DUTY, you won't. Now just tell me a freaking statement!" Agent Holmes almost broke her pencil, twitching in anger.
"No need to be jealous, my love. I've only eyes for you." Agent Bates said, leaning towards Agent Holmes.
"Liar!" She yelled out, turning and smacking him off the barstool. An eruption of applause echoed in the strip club.
"Okay, before she kills him, give her the statement." Agent Smith sighed.
"Okay, then.. Kagome-chan was going to give a lapdance to Agent Smith over there, but on the way, some guy groped her.. She whacked him, and his friends circled her.. Agent Smith saved her. End of story."
"...That statement wasn't worth the trouble." Agent Holmes sighed. "It didn't give any new clues or anything."
"It's regulation.. That makes it worth the trouble." Agent Smith shrugged, then blinked. "Wait.. There was some kind of secret entrance somewhere in the back alleys.. They tried to get Kagome there, but I didn't see anything else. Maybe there are more like that throughout the alleys."
"Agent Bates and I will search the alleyways, then. You will be contacted immediately if we find any such thing." Agent Holmes jotted down a few notes.
"What should I do, then, if you guys are taking the fun job?"
"Try working things out with your stripper." Agent Bates said, pulling himself back onto the barstool. "Or take her for a walk through the alleys. You're sure to draw the gang out with her."
"I wouldn't put her in that kind of danger!" Agent Smith stood up, slamming his palm on the bartop.
"Geez, relax. She's been in danger, and you've always saved her, right? She'd be fine as long as you're there."
"I'll think about it.." Agent Smith downed the last of his Irish beer, then exited the strip club.
"...He's going to get some ass." Kiki stated, downing the rest of her beer as well, then cracking her dominatrix whip.
"Yup." Tsubii agreed, washing out Agent Smith's empty glass.
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"Kagome... I.. I missed you.."
Kagome sat with a sobbing Shippou in her lap, hugging him tightly to her, as his small hands held onto her neck for dear life. He crushed his face into the side of her neck, his warm tears burning her flesh with guilt. She had caused him this pain. She had been selfish and left all her Sengoku Jidai friends without even a goodbye. And she beat herself up about it constantly.
"I missed you, too, Shippou-chan.." Kagome whispered into his hair, ignoring the pain of his tiny hands choking her as he held on. Beside her, lay the hair tie 'Flavio' used to pull his hair back with, glowing slightly with the shikon kakera.
"Don't leave again.."
"I won't.." Kagome promised, stroking his hair, then pulling him back, and wiping the tears from his cheeks. "Listen to me, Shippou-chan.. It's all going to be okay.. I'm going to make it all okay.."
"Is.. Is everyone else here? In this time?" Shippou asked, sniffling.
"Hai, I've already found Sango-chan, Miroku-sama, and Inu-Yasha.. We just need to find Kirara to complete the Shikon no Tama, then make a pure wish."
"What will you wish for?" Kagome turned around to see Agent Smith leaning in the doorway, and narrowed her eyes.
"None of your business."
Shippou looked from Agent Smith, to Kagome, and back to Agent Smith. "Inu-Yasha..? Why are you in your human form?"
"I don't know what you're talking about, kid.. err.. Shippou. According to Kagome, I'm not him."
"Kagome? I thought you said you found Inu-Yasha.." Shippou looked at her, confused.
'How am I supposed to explain my inner thoughts to Shippou?' Kagome wondered, sighing, 'Not even I understand.. And they're my thoughts..'
"He is Agent Smith." Kagome stood, placing Shippou on the ground, and approaching the agent. She placed her hands on his chest, leaning in as if to kiss him, but then, taking off his badge while he was distracted. As if the New Moon had just ended, Agent Smith became the hanyou Inu-Yasha. "While, he is Inu-Yasha."
"Stupid wish, hm?" Inu-Yasha asked, quirking a brow, while Kagome turned slightly red, remembering her earlier outburst at Agent Smith.
"I-it was... It doesn't matter! Let's just find Kirara already." Kagome sighed again. Shippou scurried over to Inu-Yasha and climbed onto his shoulder.
"Inu-Yasha! It worked! Can you believe it? We're in Kagome's time with Kagome!" Shippou was smiling ear-to-ear.
"Yeah, Shippou.. It worked."
Kagome turned away from her surrogate son and her hanyou protector, thinking of how it wasn't right.. They could never have the lives they wanted now.. Was it all for nothing?
No, maybe she could come up with a wish to make it all right again..
Suddenly, the three all jumped at Souta's startled scream coming from the bathroom. "He was giving Buyou a bath.. Buyou hates water, though, so maybe he just lashed out at him." Kagome guessed, shrugging, as she began to walk up the stairs. Halfway up, she remembered that Souta hadn't seen Inu-Yasha yet.. She just shrugged it off, though, deciding that she could explain it all to him later.
As they made their way to the bathroom, Kagome stuck her head into the doorway. "Everything okay? Oh..!" She stood in shock at the shaking Souta, looking from her precious cat, to the slightly glowing collar Souta held.
"Kirara.." The trio said in unison.
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"C'mon, Holmes-chan, don't be mad.." Agent Bates pleaded to his partner, pulling her against him. Despite the reprocausions of their partnership lest their love affair turn wrong, the two partners had recently gotten involved, though Agent Bates was a born pervert. Agent Holmes sighed, relaxing slightly against him.
"Do you always have to flirt like that? Am I not enough for you?"
"You're all I need. It's just a hard habit to break. You have to understand.." He mumbled, stroking her hair. She sighed again, stiffening.
"Then, how will this work.." She trailed off as he pressed his lips to hers, all rational thought melting away. Her eyes slowly slid closed, as he pushed her back onto the couch, his hands moving along her body, while her hands wound around his neck. Seeing as her badge was in the way of his groping, he flicked it off with his thumb..
Her eyes suddenly snapped open, and she bit down on his tongue. He yelped, his eyes shooting open as well, when she kneed him in the stomach and threw him off of her. "What the hell, woman?!" He snapped, groaning in pain. "If you didn't want it, you could just say no!"
"Hooooushi-saaaamaaaa! What do you think you're doing?!" Sango was glowing red, as she stood, twitching, and slowly picked up a nearby flower vase...
"Wait, Holmes-chan.. We can work it out.. Don't! Please! AHHHHH!!"
( Insert crashing sound effects here. )
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A/N: I thought a sweet moment between Miroku's and Sango's forms was in order.. Just a little something for all those fans out there. I'm sad to say that the next chapter will be the last. I've finally got it all planned out in my head!