Agent of Silence

'Kagome…I'm so sorry Kagome…I didn't …I wasn't going to take long…Where are you Kagome…I promise, I'll be a better boy, I'll be a good boy—just, just tell me where you are. Where are you Kagome? I can't find you…come…please come…I promise…I'll be better.'

Souta could hear before he could see. He heard humming, faint, but it was there. And he heard…breathing. Soft breathing, close breathing. He could feel it now too. Someone was breathing next to him.

His mind flashed to the man behind him, 'The man behind him was breathing heavily in his ear. The sound was getting fainter and fainter, being taken over by his erratic heartbeat and a soft humming. He could feel his eyes start to flutter close and willed the darkness to take him away. But just before it did he heard the man whisper a soft, "She lied…"'

Souta moaned in fear and distress. 'Make it go away…leave me alone…go away…'

Suddenly a hand was grasping his, and then a sob was released and the breathing that had been so soft was now labored.

Souta blinked once, trying to open his eyes, and then turned to his side where the sob had come from.

She was sitting there with her head down, her long raven hair covering her face from him, hiding her away from him when she was all he wanted to see. Her hand was grasping his tightly and between the sobs that were coming from beneath that hair he could hear soft whispered words of fear.

"Ka-" Souta had to stop himself from ripping out his own throat at the words. His throat was raw from his silent screams and panic. It was bruised from the hold that the man had had on him. He was finding it hard to form words at all at the moment.

Kagome looked up swiftly at his voice, her hair sweeping behind her shoulders and allowing Souta to see his sister perfectly.

She was crying. He knew she had been crying, he had heard her sobs, but the look she gave him—her eyes were like pools of shame and regret. They were swirling around in her beautiful eyes and Souta reached up to brush the tears away.

He shook his head at her silently, telling her not to cry. She leaned down and wrapped him up in a hug; Souta just put his arms around her tightly and buried his head in the crook of her neck.

"I couldn't find you," she whispered in his ear. Souta bit his lip and let a tear fall down his cheek.

He had been wanting to run away. He would have gone on the roller coaster ride instead of going back to her. It was his fault that this had happened. He should have just gone straight back.

"Sorry," Souta tried to say, but it came out as more of a gasp and he tried to swallow it back down. It made his throat burn.

"The police told me what happened; they took care of the people that hurt you," Kagome whispered softly to him. She had one hand around him, moving circles on his back, and the other was in his hair, petting his head in comforting motions. Souta knew it was to comfort her more than it was to comfort him.

"I'm so sorry, Souta," Kagome whispered, and he could hear the sob in her voice.

'Why is she sorry?' Souta shook his head against her, trying to tell her that he didn't understand.

"I can't let these things happen to you, I won't let these things happen to you. Never," Kagome was whispering against his ear, but Souta had the feeling that she was talking to herself.

'Why would she blame herself for this? It wasn't her fault. I didn't know those people…did she?'

Souta wanted desperately to ask Kagome, but his voice wasn't working so he decided that he could wait until later.

Kagome pulled back from him and grabbed his face between her hands. "Let's get you something to drink, shall we. The doctor gave me some pain killers to give you," She let out a watery smile. Souta could only stare at her, trying to figure out the answer to his question.

Could she be hiding something from him? Was it possible? That man, he had said something, " She lied." Had he been talking about Kagome? If Kagome did indeed know those men, it was possible that they had been talking about her. Had they known who he was to her, did they know that he was her brother?

Souta clutched his head slightly. There were so many questions that he wanted to ask her, but if he did, would she answer? He honestly didn't know.

What kind of people did Kagome hang around with if she knew people like that? That man had seriously hurt him, he could have killed him!

'No, she couldn't know people like that. Kagome wouldn't want to know people like that. Look how concerned she is for you! She wouldn't even talk to a person like that.' Souta told himself firmly. Kagome was his sister, and a good person. He had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Souta nodded his head slightly, letting Kagome turn away to get the painkillers for him. He watched her as she got a glass of water from a stand by the far wall and grabbed the pills for him, coming back and smiling at him.

He took them slowly, letting the water cool his throat as it went down. It stung. But that was the least of his worries. Souta settled back against the pillows, moving over so Kagome could sit beside him. He patted the bed softly and she sat down. He moved to her, resting his head on her shoulder lightly.

She moved her arm around him protectively and started talking to him, but her voice was getting farther and farther away as the lights dimmed in front of his eyes. He just watched her lazily until her picture disappeared from his vision, replaced by black once more.


Kagome watched as Souta's eyes drifted shut and she sighed. She knew that he would fall asleep, but she didn't move from holding him.

They were in a real hospital and their mother had just left an hour ago to get some sleep. They had been up all night. That man had done Souta a good one, putting him out for eight hours.

She had thought the ambulance would take them to one of the CIA's hospitals, but Kagome's family couldn't know about her alternate identity, so they had just posted various people to keep watch—outside and inside.

They had a private room, and the doctors that came in were CIA officials. She knew that Sango, Miroku, and Inuyasha were around here somewhere. Inuyasha because he had to be, and Sango and Miroku because they wanted to be.

She knew that Inuyasha and Miroku had saved Souta. She wanted to thank them, but she hadn't seen them since she had climbed into the ambulance. It had been a long eight hours now and Kagome had calmed down considerably, especially since she had now talked with Souta.

Her mother would be wanting to know that he had been up, but she couldn't bring herself to call her and wake her up. She had been so worried about Souta, as had Kagome, but Kagome had eventually succeeded in getting her to call a cab to take her home and rest.

Kagome wanted nothing more than to sleep beside her brother, but she knew that her eyes wouldn't be closing for hours. She was still scared out of her mind. She couldn't stand to let him out of her sight, and exhausted though she was, she didn't deem herself worthy of the peacefulness of sleep. This had been all her fault.

"It wasn't your fault, you know."

Kagome snapped her head up to see Inuyasha leaning against the door frame, watching her and Souta.

Kagome didn't say anything to him. It had been her fault. She didn't feel like arguing with him though.

Inuyasha sighed at her blank expression and came to take a seat in the chair that Kagome had previously occupied. "May I?" He asked first; Kagome nodded to him.

"You couldn't have known that he would wander off—"

"He didn't. He was coming back to me. I let him go off on his own just so I could eat," Kagome gave a dry laugh that sounded choked as she turned her eyes to her brother. He looked so small there, curled up against her side.

"Kagome," she looked up at the use of her name, " You couldn't have known that those men would be there."

"But that's the point, I should have at least suspected. I shouldn't have taken a chance on him. So many worse things could have happened to him—"

"But they didn't!" Inuyasha pressed roughly, looking away.

"Are you fishing for complements?" Kagome questioned witheringly. 'Because I saved him! That's what he's thinking.' Kagome turned her face away slightly, trying to control her anger.

"NO! Just…Just.." Inuyasha sighed and put his head in his hands.

Kagome glared at his head silently. 'How dare he. I was going to say thank you and then he just comes out right with his hero act—"

"You're lucky Kagome."

"What!" Kagome hissed quietly. "Lucky? Lucky! It's not lucky to have your brother ambushed and taken hostage, injured and scared out of his mind—alone with men that he didn—"

"But he's okay now. He's right beside you, breathing regularly. And you can stay right there with your arm around his shoulders, knowing that he's safe. And tomorrow when he wakes up, he can talk with you. He can continue his life, move on, and learn to love. He'll have the chance to start a life of his own, and make something of himself. He's alive. And he'll be alive tomorrow." Inuyasha covered his face with his hands, letting a single tear fall down his cheek, not letting Kagome see. He closed his eyes tightly against the onslaught of tears that bombarded his eyes, not letting them escape.

He moved his hands up to his hair, rubbing the tears away in one fluid movement so she would never know, and let them run through it. Kagome just stared at him silently, taking in his speech.

They had never really talked before. Never. She hadn't ever had a conversation with this man, yet he was poring out these words of comfort to her. But was he really comforting her? Were these words really to make her feel better? No, he was saying something else. This wasn't about what happened to Souta. These words that came out of his mouth weren't said with him looking at her. He had averted his eyes, and she could hear his throat choke up, slurring his words together a little. He was trying to cover something up.

She didn't know what it was. But she knew that it hurt him. Deep inside he was hurting, and it looked like he hadn't talked about it with anyone. What had hurt him this badly? What had happened to him to tell her that she was lucky? And even though they had never talked before, she felt the need to ask.

"Who did you lose?"

Inuyasha put his head down and slid his hands back down to cover his face, hunching over his shoulders, tightening his muscles.

Then he began to cry.

Right there in front of Kagome he broke down, sobbing into his hands, not caring that she was watching. He couldn't help it.

Kagome removed her arm from around Souta's shoulder, letting him slump off her shoulder and lay back across the pillows. She moved forward to tentatively touch Inuyasha's shoulder, but she pulled back before she could reach him.

She had never had a conversation with this man before. Not once. They weren't friends, they weren't enemies, they were partners. But she didn't even know him.

She had argued with him, screamed at him, hit him, zapped him, and for the first time she had been talking to him. For the first time she had really talked to him. Now she had hurt him.

Kagome touched his shoulder gently, feeling him flinch, but he didn't back away. So Kagome reached forward to gently bring his head into her lap, running her hand through his hair softly as he cried.

It was an awkward position as he was still trying to cover his face. Kagome didn't worry about that though.

If they were going to work together, they would have to learn to get along, and as far as Kagome could see, this was the best they had done yet.

Inuyasha eventually stopped crying, letting his sobs dwindle down, and he just lay there silently, letting Kagome run her hands through his hair. They stayed like that for a couple minutes, the silence calm and companionable.

Kagome listened to his breathing as it quieted down. She felt him open his eyes against her thigh and she let her fingers stop their journey through his hair. She watched as he took a deep breath and lifted his head.

"You are supposed to learn everything about me. I'm supposed to learn everything about you. So I propose a game of truth," Inuyasha picked his head up slowly, wiping his eyes swiftly and looking at her.

"You mean, like truth or dare?" Kagome asked softly.

"Yeah, but no dare," Inuyasha said.

Kagome nodded her head mutely, staring at him as he tried to compose himself. She could still see the streaks that the tears had left on his face.

"Her name was Kikyou. She died 3 days ago."

Kagome gasped softly. '3 days? He must have come straight to the agency! That's why Sango and Miroku were acting so weird.'

"Do Sang—"

"No, no. It's my turn now," Inuyasha said softly, smiling at her.

That smile was so soft, but it seemed to light up his whole face. It made his eyes shine, and Kagome could see the tears in them. It wasn't a joyous smile, it seemed to be a remnant of what a smile used to be on his face.

Kagome stared at him oddly for a second, struck by the thought that she wished she could see that old smile.

"How long have you been in the CIA?" Inuyasha asked softly, watching her cock her head to the side as she stared at him.

"Since I was fifteen, two years," Kagome said back just as softly. She didn't know why they were whispering, but it seemed to fit the mood.

"Do Sango and Miroku know you from somewhere? You guys act like old friends," Kagome said just as soon as she was done answering his question.

Inuyasha stared at her for a second then nodded, "Yeah. Yeah they do."

"That's not fair! You didn't answer the question," Kagome said, her curiosity to know more getting the better of her.

"Sure I did," Inuyasha said, his lips twitching his amusement.

"Elaborate! I told you my answer exactly," Kagome said huffily, but he could tell she was holding back a smile.

"You heard Miroku. I'm the Legend… we used to be partners," Inuyasha said, with a trace of regret in his voice.

"Now, you've really never had a partner?" Inuyasha asked with curiosity.

"No, I like to work on my own." Kagome said softly. She didn't really want to offend him at the moment. They were really getting along.

"It's not good for you. It's lonely. It's better having a friend watch your back," Inuyasha stated softly, picking up her tone.

"I don't know if I could be responsible for some one else's death, or let some one else become responsible for my mistakes," Kagome smiled lightly. She didn't really want to talk about this. They were definitely on shaky ground.

"By Kikyou, you mean the teacher, right?" Kagome asked softly, not letting him put in his two cents on her remark.

"…Yeah. That Kikyou," Inuyasha whispered, looking into Kagome's eyes. She could only nod her head at him.

"Have you ever met Naraku?" Inuyasha asked, composing himself quickly.

"No, I haven't. In fact, I had never even heard of him until this mission," Kagome said back, licking her lips nervously. Inuyasha was straying away from the topic that she wanted to confront. She didn't want to push him, but she was supposed to know.

"How did she die?" Kagome asked shakily, averting her eyes quickly as he looked up at the ceiling to hold back his tears.

"I don't wan—" Inuyasha whispered.

"I have to know! I can't work around this, it's a part of you! It's so deep inside you. Stop letting it hide. Talk about it Inuyasha," Kagome said softly to him, but her voice was intense.

Inuyasha looked back down at the use of his name. She had never used his name without venom lacing her voice. This was so sincere, so soft, and he had to look back into her eyes as he said it.

"She was murdered," Inuyasha nodded his head slightly, "She was murdered in bed. I…ha…I tried to save her. There were only two guys. It should have been so easy. But they knocked me out, and when I came to, she was dying. She died right in my arms. And that BASTARD LEFT A NOTE! He just….god….it said, 'Naraku sends his greetings.' Bastard. Hello to you to." Inuyasha looked away, letting the tears course down his cheeks as Kagome just sat there.

She didn't know what to do, or say. What do you say to some one who just had the love of his life murdered? Sorry? Not likely. Inuyasha was crying his heart out in front of her, and she couldn't think of anything to say.

Kagome watched him silently for a couple seconds before saying, "This is what he wants. Every time you cry, he knows he did a good job. Every single tear that falls down your face, is a tribute to him. He's gotten to you."

"What am I supposed to do? Say, 'Oh well, I don't CARE!' I DO! How could I NOT! I can't NOT CRY! I can't just carry on my life WITHOUT her!" Inuyasha was screaming through his sobs now, but he did not daunt Kagome.

"You have to Inuyasha, you have to. She's not here anymore. You have to move on. Let others make it better," Kagome said softly to him, calmly.

"The only thing that can make this better is for me to kill that man. I will murder him! I will get my revenge for what he has done to my life!" Inuyasha was looking into her eyes again, and what Kagome saw scared her. Steadfast resolve. He had already decided, and she couldn't change his mind. But Inuyasha wasn't done yet.

"He has made my life hell from the very beginning. He killed my parents! He killed my friends! He killed the only person I ever grew to love! I worked against him for five years in the CIA. And by the end of those five years, we thought he was done! So I quit the CIA, Kikyou and I! No one came after us, no one cared! Two years later, what do you know—SHE'S DEAD! Some one cared! Great, just what I needed! So here I am, back again, and this time, make no mistake, Naraku will die," By now Inuyasha was letting his tears fall silently and was talking with a voice like steel.

"I can't help you if you hold onto her. Emotional attachments are going to get us killed, that means me and you; I won't make that mistake," Kagome said steadily.

"Well I'm not letting her go!" Inuyasha said with the same tone.

"It only takes two of us to do this mission, not three. I can't help you if she's in the way!" said Kagome, her resolve steeled.

"I don't need your help then, " Inuyasha answered venomously, and he was out of his chair, walking to the door.

"You are the one who told me that I can't do this alone!" Kagome said, keeping her voice calm, wanting to yell at him.

"But I can," Inuyasha didn't even turn to look at her.

"Don't be stupid! Let it go!" Kagome shouted at his back. How dare he walk away without this resolved.

"When that kid by your side is murdered, and you can hold him in your arms as he says goodbye to you for the last time—you can tell me how to let go. Not now. You can't even begin to understand," Inuyasha hissed at her maliciously.

"Then help me understand!"

"NO!" Inuyasha shouted, whipping back around to see Kagome standing by the bed, having risen from her seat.

"You did not love her. You did not know her. You can not tell me how I will deal with this," Inuyasha shouted at her, letting out every single pent up emotion—all his anger of the past three days, at her.

"But I can help you deal with it," Kagome said softly. His eyes were shining with the mist of tears and his hands were balled up tightly. He was so expressive when he was angry. How could she not want to help him? He had 'hurt' written all over him. Pain.

"Do not begin to believe that you know me!" Inuyasha hissed at her. "You do not know a single thing about me."

"You're not letting me in!" Kagome shouted at him.

"I don't need your help! I need to kill the pain, and the only way to accomplish that is to kill Naraku. You don't have to be involved," Inuyasha turned back around to start for the door.

"So that's it? A perfect start at a partnership bond and you want to walk away because you're afraid to let go!" Kagome screeched at him. Her throat was choking up and her words were slurring together, but she couldn't figure out why.

"AFRAID! You think I'm afraid! Do not tell me what I feel! You do not let go of the ones you love!" Inuyasha screamed back, stopping in his tracks.

"But you can move on!" Kagome bellowed at him, noticing a slight burning in the corner of her eyes as she watched his shoulder muscles tighten.

"Move on? Move on to where? Where is there to go?" Inuyasha said softly, but tightly.

"Anywhere but where you are," Kagome answered back, swallowing thickly.

"I am where I am because of who I am. Naraku put me here, only he can get me out," Inuyasha shook his head slightly and walked out the door, letting it close behind him softly, covering up Kagome's last words.

"No Inuyasha, you can get yourself out; you just have to let us help."

And with that, her tears fell.

A/N YAY! Another chapter. Ok, currently, my internet is completely turned off, and has been for a couple days. It could be a couple more before this is posted. But it is finished. And I'm neglecting my math homework for it, not really, I'm doing it later. ANYWHO though, I hope you guys liked the confrontation.

I don't want anyone thinking, hey: Why were they acting all buddy buddy? Well, because they had a loose bond that was under a lot of stress. They had made that little 'starting over' deal in the hallway the day before, so they were trying it out for the first time, yeah? K then. Now, yes, it hasn't been that long since Kikyou died, so Inuyasha is not over it. Kagome just now learned about the situation, so this is what she's feeling. She has internal instincts that make her want to help people in need. That's why she shows such compassion for Inuyasha, though previously thinking of him as a jerk.

Don't get me wrong, she still thinks he's a jerk. But for the importance of the mission, they have to put their differences aside. So they're trying to be mature while dealing with drama of every day life.

So there you are, a whole new chapter. I hope some of my old reviewers come back and check it out too. REVIEW PLEASE, they're what keep me going!