Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha in any way, or any of its character...
Author's Note: Okay, this will hopefully read a little like a murder mystery/romance/action adventure thingy...(also known as, you name it I got it it's likely genre fic...) The basic premis is simple: Kagome and Sango are partners, working for a secretive group that controls and monitors and polices demons...it's a tough job and doggone it but someone's gotta do it, you know? At first I thought that it was a unique idea, but now I'm more inclined to say it's not...I just hope you guys like it...(whimpers pleadingly)...and on the off chance that this resembles anyone else's fic (it shouldn't as I swear to Heaven that I haven't read anything at all like this really...) it's just mere coincidence...I hope that you guys like it...good luck on figuring it out (probably won't be hard...) the clip at the end is a little...gory...blood and guts WILL be in this story, so I warn you now: gore, blood, violence...it probably won't be that bad or anything but I have to warn you now just so that I can say you were warned...(grins) also Sango is tough-girl in this chapter and the next two, maybe more. She's being the tough slayer, but don't worry, she will loosen...anyway, go ahead and read and tell me what you think...this may still be experimental...ack, but anyway, read and review! Thank you!
On Patrol
"Did you hear him, Kagome? Did you hear that!" Sango demanded, fuming. She slammed the car door behind her loudly, using all her accumulated muscle mass combined with newly awakened fury to generate the unusually strong noise. The little car rocked a bit in sheer testimony to the other woman's strength and will.
The other woman in the passenger side of the car struggled to maintain a neutral expression as she buckled her seat belt. Oh no, not more frustration from the famous Sango Hiraikotsu…she could chew my ear off with that tongue…
"Yes, I did…" Kagome Higurashi turned away to pretend that something about the window needed to be fixed—it was a lovely day outside, why not roll it down? But while she had her face turned Kagome rolled her eyes skyward and struggled to keep her voice even when she answered the other woman, wary of sparking her rage but knowing that the truth was going to get theslayer just the same. "And you know what—that's just what was coming to you for falling in love with someone on the job—let alone him of all—"
"Kagome! Wait—back up there, rewind." Sango's warm brown eyes were suddenly facing her and Kagome shifted uncomfortably. Oops…I said the word…she doesn't want to hear that, she can't handle that yet, even though it's the truth… "Did you just describe me as being "in love" with him? Did I hear that right?"
Think fast Higurashi…"If I say no will you drop it?" Kagome groaned, burying her face in her hands. That was as good as you could do? She demanded of herself. Why had Sango become obsessed with the most difficult and simultaneously most handsome man in the Agency? Even she could fall so easily into his flirtatious traps—Miroku Kazana was beyond attractive, he was bordering on shameful, and worst of all was that he knew it. That led to his outrageous behavior and Sango's current rage. When did she get this way? And how! I can't even remember…
"I most certainly will not drop it!" Sango raged as she pushed the rattling keys into the ignition and started the engine up. The entire time she was grumbling just below her breath—and the language was likely unrepeatable. Her fist clutched at the automatic transmission gearshift that separated the two women's seats from one another. "That disgusting man should be fired…"
Kagome struggled to hide her smirk. If her partner caught sight of it now chances were she'd be shot dead, no questions asked, no second chances. "You could always file charges of sexual harassment on him…nail him good for it, Sango." She risked a quick gaze out of the corner of her eye toward her stiff, scowling partner and chuckled nervously, "You know, it's probably why he's always being reassigned…"
Apparently that was the wrong thing to say.
Sango growled vehemently under her breath and, with a jerky look to her blind spot, she darted out into the street. A horn blared behind her when she cut someone else off and Sango cursed into the rear-view mirror at the other driver: "Asshole!"
Don't want to mess with her…Kagome thought silently toward the car behind them; peering into her side-view mirror with a scowl, Sango is armed and not afraid to shoot…
They sped up, flowing more evenly now with the traffic. Silence reigned for a short time before Kagome, nervous at the quiet, reached for the knob that turned on the radio…but Sango's larger, stronger hand slapped hers away instantly. The demon huntress was on the prowl now and heaven help anything—man, woman, child, human or demon—that felt like being a bother today with the way Sango held her shoulders rigid as stone.
She threw Kagome a glance from one dark chocolate colored eye that seemed somewhere between exasperated and annoyed. "We're on patrol Higurashi." She growled.
Kagome let out a sigh, "That was a fast change…" one moment it's Miroku, the next we're on patrol and there's not even radio allowed! I don't need silence to be able to tell demons from humans! It wasn't really something she could control anyway. Born as a miko into a family whose spiritual abilities were unquestionable, Kagome's destiny—and particularly her career—had never really been something that she was in personal control of. She'd been privately educated among others like her—mikos or houshis—and then, on only her 17th birthday, she'd been taken on as an apprentice for the Agency…just as her mother, her father, her grandfather and her Aunt Kaede all had in their time. It was a family tradition—even her little brother Souta was currently in the middle of training, not far from being apprenticed himself!
As a result of her unusual abilities, strange education, and top-secret job, Kagome had been stalking unruly demons while her peers in public school had gone—full of giggles and gossip—to prom and standardized testing, and finally graduation. She had missed those things, but gained in ways that they couldn't ever have imagined—a job that never would lay her off, paid her bills for her, even provided her housing! That was the benefit to being a working miko underneath the Agency's care…everything was taken care of, planned out, thought ahead…but if it's a perfect job and my spiritual powers are such a blessing—why is it that I feel so unfulfilled?
Frowning, she pushed those thoughts away and focused on the sidewalks that Sango was cruising by. Everyone was human so far…she sensed no unusual auras nearby at all. Looks like it'll be another boring patrol…
When Sango slowed, riding the breaks hard, to stop at a red light, Kagome ducked down to clutch at the glove compartment. The little tan-colored trap door feel down, separating itself from the rest of the air bag and dashboard area, exposing its guts to her. Inside Kagome grabbed one of the handheld electronic devices and turned it on. The screen glowed blue for a moment and an annoyingly cheerful chime rang as the thing booted.
Out of the corner of her eye Kagome caught Sango frowning as she slammed on the gas again, gaining on an SUV's backsides.
The touch screen appeared, allowing Kagome to dab and poke the menu items. The icons were neighborhood and street names mostly, things like Wyandotte, Amsterdam, First, Third, Maple, Panther, Smith, and Hoyt.
"Sango, what's our assignment this time?" she queried, face still aimed at the small screen.
"It's your favorite." The demon huntress smirked knowingly.
Kagome felt her stomach drop out beneath her, roll under the tires, get smashed and ground up, pressed deep into the pavement. "Kouga." She gagged, "Park Street to Arlington Avenue."
The demon huntress's smirk never ceased. "Oh yes—" she looked to her partner with a grin, "So, how long do you figure before that dorky wolf demon will show his pretty blue eyes and beg you to have sex with him, hmm?" she snickered, taking far too much amusement in light of Kagome's discomfort concerning the matter.
"You know what Hiraikotsu," Kagome returned sharply—and Sango could tell that her partner had been riled by the way she identified her by last name—still focused solely on the handheld device, "Kouga was never asking me to have sex with him. He was actually asking me to be his wife in demon standards." Kagome's head jerked forward abruptly as Sango slammed on the breaks and made a right turn.
"Whatever he called it, whatever it meant, it was still sex…" she smirked, knowing full well how close Kagome was going to come to her exploding point.
"It was not, Sango, wolf demons like Kouga don't randomly have sex—well, at least none of the higher bred ones do anyway, and Kouga certainly is high bred. They ask other demons to become their mates, it's like asking if someone will marry you…"
The demon slayer scowled and slid into a parallel parking space—pulling in, not actually doing the fancy parking job. No one really used the parallel parking technique. Kagome wondered why they'd bother teaching it at all…she considered it absently as her partner shifted into park gear, and pulled on the emergency break with a short grunt.
"You know, Kagome," Sango began, frowning as she reached for the ashtray that was positioned in the control panel below the radio and tape deck. "You don't exactly turn him down all that forcefully…" the smirking glance she threw the younger woman clearly said, teach you to say I love that perverted houshi… Kagome ignored her and instead pushed Sango's foraging fingers away from the ashtray, the miko was determined to do the job herself.
When she grabbed the tray it clattered open obnoxiously, rattling loudly with spare change. Neither woman smoked, thus the tray became a coin storing compartment and…Kagome's fingers probed briefly before coming back with two silver rings. They were identical, except for a tiny variation in size—for these rings were custom made to the agents' middle fingers—and the single word written on the insides of the bands. The first that Kagome's search had produced read slayer. The second read miko.
Kagome handed the silver ring that read slayer on it to Sango with a frown. "I don't want Kouga to hold a grudge." She argued, pointedly. She watched blandly as her partner wordlessly slipped on the ring and then flipped down the vanity-mirror-combination-sun-block to peer at her reflection. To Kagome's eyes the slayer's appearance was unaltered—dark straight brown hair, Asian heritage, chocolate brown eyes—but the mirror showed frizzy, curly red hair and bright green eyes. She looked distinctly Irish.
The slayer looked at Kagome and smirked, "Well—put on your ring, Higurashi, unless you want your dear Kouga not to recognize his favorite miko agent." She batted her eyes, a sardonic, almost sadistic attempt at teasing her partner.
Grumbling to herself Kagome did so, slipping on the wretched silver ring. She immediately felt the tickling, tingling sensation that mikos and houshis called the "buzz" pass over her, the sense of a spell being cast. The rings were standard issue to all agents, miko, houshi orslayer alike. It was to protect the safety of the agents—to assure that they weren't recognized by demons outside of the Agency. The agents were also given false scents that irritated youkai noses, making them unable to get an accurate scent off any on-duty agent. That ensured that no demon was able to stalk an agent when they were off duty and unprotected.
Unlike Sango—who had to look in the mirror to see if her spell had worked, Kagome could simply feel the spell—though she was unable to see the change the spell wrought on Sango in anything but in a mirror. As a miko Kagome was spiritually gifted—she saw past such simple spells easily. Only in mirrors might she see what the spell wanted her to see. She didn't need to flip down her own vanity mirror to see that her reflection was not her own—rather it was now a black haired, blue eyed, freckled European's that pouted back at her.
When she looked to Sango her partner nodded in approval, the teasing smirk still in her warm chocolate eyes though. "Better Higurashi." She reached for the keys, twisting them into the off position—the car shuddered into silence—and then she yanked them, rattling, free of the steering wheel column. Sango wordlessly reached for the door latch, but paused, turning back to throw Kagome a stern glance. "Alias names now Higurashi." She instructed, biting her lip.
Kagome nodded. Every agent invented a very plain, utterly American or European false identity—the rings provided the appearance, special clothing and fake scents made them unrecognizable in a deeper way while the names polished off the guises. Although Kagome had worked to control and police hundreds—maybe even thousands—of youkai in her short lifetime employed by the Agency, not one of them had ever seen, smelled, or heard her real identity. The rings worked so thoroughly that they even covered and warped their host's voices, not only changing how they sounded but also what they spoke. The spells allowed them to flawlessly, without any accent,speak English now as well, although both were native speakers of Japanese.
Sango pulled on some headphones—which were in all actuality a two-way radio that allowed her to listen to the Agency's secret frequency in case they were called away from their current position—and opened the car door. Kagome followed a moment later with a sigh. The air outside smelled heavy with rain. The clouds in the sky overhead were thick and ripe with it. Bloated beings of the skies, hovering, waiting, teasing those below them…if it did rain Kagome thought, it'd be cold.
She took her spot walking beside Sango comfortably. The grass glistened beneath their sneaker-clad feet. It was 60 degrees Fahrenheit and falling. The sound of cars crunching gravel and debris on the cement of the road just some 200 or so feet away through the birch and maple trees distracted Kagome's ears and eyes for a moment. She narrowed her eyes as a little white neon sped by…the license plate looked normal at first glance, but Kagome easily saw the red and white symbol that designated the employees of the Agency gleaming in the right corner. Anyone who saw that would assume it was a custom-made design…unless they were a youkai or an agent.
Kagome scowled and turned her eyes back to the park, trying to focus her attention on her job, on the wet grass beneath her feet, on the misted chill in the air—on Sango's stiffened gait beside her, at the continuous hum of the headphones. She observed their surroundings with her miko's eyes, seeking for anything unusual…there was nothing. In the distance kids were playing on the creaking swings, mothers pushed their children in strollers around a pretty centerpiece fountain, smiling and chatting with one another about their offspring amiably. Though Kagome tried to push the thought—the instinct really, the simple emotion—away as far and as fast as she could, it still crossed her consciousness anyway…I envy every one of them, going about their normal average lives…
None of those mortals out there had to worry about pleasing their families the way she did, not a one of them had to live with the crushing, suffocating secret of demon existence. None of them had to face or fight the real things that went bump in the night…and none of them had had their very lives planned out for them even before they were born as she had.
"Jog with me—Kelly." Sango tapped her shoulder, forcing Kagome out of her reverie. For a moment she blinked stupidly before realizing that they were on duty, alias names were used now continuously, whether there was a perceived danger or not.
Kagome nodded absently, "Sure—Samantha." She smirked. The alias names were always Americanones with the same first sounds as the agent's real names, just to keep things simpler. Kagome had always found the practice funny—why not change the whole name? Why make it similar in the least?
They started at a slow, easy jog around the park's pathways, passing by the central fountain and the chatting mothers. Sango moved without word, without expression. She didn't so much as look left or right. Kagome, meanwhile, was all eyes—as her job as miko demanded. She took in the sweep of the moist-laden droplet-covered tree branches, the maples and the pines and the birches, the men that jogged by them, eyes blank and minds whirling about their miniscule average daily problems. A chipmunk skittered across the path, dashing toward a pine tree that was further away from the giggling, shrieking children. Still within auditory limits, Kagome even heard the loud motorcycles that passed through the town, ripping and roaring tailpipes grumbling in an obnoxious defiance of the quiet civility of modern-day Westernized North American life…a life that she knew was in actuality anything but quiet.
When they'd made one complete circuit around the edges of the park Sango suddenly stopped and looked at her watch, the chocolate brown eyes narrowing, turning inward as she listened to the louder, shriller hum of the headphones. Kagome stopped beside her, and, to keep up appearances as a couple of joggers passed by, began stretching and talking quietly in Sango's direction. The slayer wasn't listening of course, but it wouldn't attract any unwanted interest by the public—if there were youkai that Kagome had failed to see for one reason or another, the agents wanted to make sure they passed as invisible.
"Having trouble with those headphones Sam? I know that I have all the time. Miserable things aren't they…" she looked further down the jogging path as something seemed to swell in her mind, like an itch she couldn't scratch, or like a sudden, nagging little headache that had the potential to turn into a migraine…yes, that's right, a migraine…down that path she saw a strong, stocky, blue-eyed, black-haired man running toward her and Sango.
Kouga…she restrained a gag. Even from so far away she could see his brown tail swishing every so often with the beat of his powerful legs as they propelled him. Sango—as all of the non-spiritually gifted humans around Kagome—would live their entire lives without seeing the wolf demon's true features. Like Kagome and Sango, Kouga wore a charm somewhere that kept his features hidden to all normal humans…
"Yes, very miserable Sam, if you know what I mean…" she continued, looking Sango directly in the eye now and gesturing once with her head.
The slayer was still half-listening to her headphones but she followed where her partner was gesturing and immediately the all-business hard face dropped into a thick smirk as her gaze drifted back to Kagome. "Well, well, well…if it isn't your favorite suitor Kelly…"
She was about to protest when she saw that the aforementioned man—or more accurately, wolf youkai—had caught up to them with astonishing swiftness. That wasn't uncommon. Kagome knew that this wolf-demon in particular was especially quick on his feet—too bad that was the only part of him that was fast.
"Hello ladies…" he growled as he stopped beside them, smiling smugly at Kagome in particularly, "How are you today?" his blue eyes twinkled mischievously.
Sango was smirking so much that she had to cover her mouth and turn away, pretending to fiddle with the headphones that continued to whistle to themselves quietly. Kagome threw the slayer an angry glare quickly as she turned away, leaving her partner effectively on her own with the wolf youkai. When she looked to Kouga she noticed, with a quick flick of her eyes, that his hairy, furry brown tail was wagging…she forced her gaze to his eyes and swallowed nervously, trying to speak, but he spoke before she could.
"You know, Miss Kelly," he leaned closer to her, and when he spoke she could see his gleaming, sharp white canines and she almost shivered, "I don't see why you agents keep yourselves so distant." His blue eyes handsomely tried to look right through her, to reach her soul with his entreaty, "A lot of youkai are very good at heart…" he reached out and snatched her hand, pressing it to the thick muscles she could easily feel beneath his thin gray shirt. She winced and tried to pull away when she saw Sango's astonished gaze lingering on their exchange, but she couldn't pull free as he finished his thought, leaning still closer so she could smell his distinctly masculine scent, "…I've already figured out that you're the miko and you can see me for what I really am…surely you can see that I'd make a great ally and close friend…"
Sango's eyes were laughing at her frustration as Kagome groaned—which made the wolf youkai grin and squeeze her hand. He'd interpreted her sound as something closer to pleasure at his close proximity and Kagome squirmed when his free hand fell to her waist, growing far too comfortable. "Kouga…" she pleaded weakly, trying to push him away with the hand that he was squeezing, but the wolf simply smirked and pulled her closer still, using both hands.
"Oh Kelly…" his breath blew over her face and she cringed, whimpering as she searched her mind for sanity, looking for escape…why the hell won't Sango help me!
Takekenso Kouga was a high born wolf youkai that Kagome had met several years ago when she'd been a mere apprentice in the Agency. She'd been apart of an investigation that had, in the end, prosecuted and convicted Kouga's only competition for a leading position within his own clan—thus handing him the craved spot on a silver platter. The wolf was the leader of his own massive pack—and for years now he'd taken to stalking her. Kagome had requested reassignment numerous times—or a different false scent, or a different alias image—and had gotten her requests granted from time to time, but somehow Kouga always managed to find her again…it was…eerie…and she hated it.
With Kouga moving steadily closer and closer, looking as if he was going to kiss her—which wasn't something that would completely disgust her, considering that he was a good-looking youkai at the very least—but agent-youkai relations were strictly forbidden and she had no feelings for the dim wolf demon leader. It seemed that she would have to defend herself…
Kagome quickly—with strength she hadn't known she had—yanked her hand free of his and pulled off one of many beaded bracelets that lined her wrists. Before Kouga could so much as look surprised by these sudden movements, Kagome had muttered a few special words under her breath and the beads in her pallid fingers vanished…only to reappear about Kouga's wrist instead. The wolf didn't even notice as he stared down at Kagome in something that might have been worry—how dense could he be!
"Kelly, are you—"
"Kouga…" she looked him carefully in the deep blue eyes and nearly screamed when she saw that he was leaning forward again, looking like he was going to give her a peck on the lips… "Stay Kouga!" she ordered.
The beads around his wrist glowed, responding to their master's call, and immediately the wolf youkai tensed against his own will, his hands withdrawing from Kagome. Freed of his grasp, Kagome sighed heavily and stepped back to stand beside Sango, who had ceased watching them. Her eyes were dark now and she was genuinely listening to her headphones now.
"Any news?" she asked, quietly, briefly looking around at the park to make sure no one had noticed them…the mothers were still chatting in the distance, joggers passed by with their vacant eyes, oblivious. A child screamed in pain as he scraped his knee and raced to attack the other child that had pushed him.
"We need to go…" Sango told her with a curt nod, though the slayer's attention was still on whatever was being whispered in the headphones.
"Kelly…?" came Kouga's pathetic voice from nearby. Kagome shot him an embarrassed look, half pitying him. The spell from the bracelet had worn off and he was now back in control of his body, but his tail was bristling she saw. "What did you do?" he asked, despairingly.
She took a hesitant step closer and gestured to the bracelet. "Takekenso-sama…"
"Kouga. Kelly, you know you can call me Kouga now. We've known each other for a long time." He muttered, frowning with her formality.
She scowled but didn't ignore his interruption, starting anew, "Kouga…you know that it's forbidden…" he started to take a step closer to her and Kagome hissed the command word she'd chosen for him again and the wolf stopped in his tracks, his blue eyes stared at her, shocked. Kagome looked away, gritting her teeth. Poor wolf…I didn't want to do that to you but… she didn't bother to finish the useless thought as Sango snatched her by the arm and started to lead her across the moist grass toward the other side of the park where they'd left the car.
When they were safely inside the silence of the interior of the Agency-sponsored car, Kagome let loose a heavy sigh. "Thanks for nothing back there Sango…" she muttered, "Why didn't you beat him off me?"
The slayer inserted the keys, twisted them. The engine sputtered to life, protesting the slight chill of the spring morning outside, and Sango threw Kagome what was an attempt at an expressionless face, "And make a scene, Kagome?" she shook her head, "I'm not stupid." But despite her best attempt at a solemn appearance, Kagome could see the glower, the smirk in her partner's eyes. She scowled, remembering well the conversation that had begun their shift this day.
"That wasn't about Kouga, Sango, and you know it. That was about you getting even with me for me talking about Miroku…"
Sango frowned briefly and then turned her eyes to the gearshift and the road. As she pulled out into the road the slayer didn't answer her partner at all—which made Kagome bristle silently. Usually she and Sango got along well enough—they'd been partners for nearly three whole years now—but lately Sango had been tenser than usual. Kagome suspected it was Miroku that was doing it…that and perhaps, on some level, Sango felt the same way that Kagome did about their job.
Miserable. Alone. Suffocating. Secret. Thankless.
She forced those thoughts away, as well as her hostility at Sango's tiny bit of vengeance and sighed, asking, "Where are we needed now Sango?"
The slayer's headphones were still on and still whistling. A scowl clouded her features. "Be prepared to lose any appetite that you had before this, Kagome." She warned, lips pursed, eyes pointed steadfastly to the road.
"Just tell me, Sango…" she moaned, using one hand to cover her eyes, as if the terrible atrocity her partner had hinted at was already before her, staring up at her from her lap.
"Youkai-on-youkai homicide." Sango muttered, her fists closing more tightly on the steering wheel, "Backup was requested by…" she paused, apparently listening. The headphones gargled and whistled, and though Kagome strained, trying to listen, she couldn't understand anything from it before Sango spoke again, her tone one of mild surprise, "Backup requested by Kari Klaebu and Rini Gouzoku." She shot Kagome a curious glance, "That's your aunt's name, right?"
Kagome nodded slowly, a little relieved. The only benefit of being a Higurashi was that at some point or another—simply because there were so many of them by marriage or blood and all of them worked for the Agency—she'd work with a relative. But working with Aunt Rini will be a special treat…yet that thought died and her face paled as she realized just where her mother's younger sister specialized within the Agency…Youkai Genocide and Conspiracy.
A shiver traveled through her. Maybe working with Aunt Rini will be closer to a nightmare…
Red eyes peered out from the black hole of darkness that was the space between where the iron stairs zigzagged their way up the side of the sleazy apartment building. Lurking behind the alley's dumpster, the red-eyed thing smirked and languished in the remaining scent of fox demon blood…delicious…
Sniffling, snuffling sounds reached the beast's ears; the red eyes swiveled with a sickening gleam of enthusiasm. A mangy dog wandered into the alley; nose alternately lowered to sift through the scents on the dirty pavement and then raised to take in the air around it. As the thin, weary dog entered the narrow space between the buildings, moving toward the dumpster with obvious intent—it smelled the blood and sensed only that there might be food to eat—the beast grinned maliciously.
The dog came close enough to the big, ugly green dumpster to push its big brown wet nose against the structure…and suddenly the dog's deep, warm brown eyes flicked toward the shadows. The hair on its back stood on end, bristling everywhere; the lips were drawn back in a vicious snarl. A growl rose—but it was nothing like any other sound that this animal had ever made before in its lifetime. It wasn't a sound of a petty fight, the noise uttered when a few scraps of meat or perhaps dominance, or a bitch were involved. Instead it was a sound of terror, of horror. In its own way the dog understood that it was staring down a beast, a creature that would easily and mercilessly tear it apart and suck the marrow from its bones…
The thing from within the shadows sprung, red eyes blazing with a furious, sick inner light. Everything about the dog changed in a second—no bites were thrown, no growls were heard—just the clicking of the animal's paws and nails against the pavement as it sped as fast as it could away…but not quite fast enough.
Blood splattered against the opposite wall of the alley, the dog yelped piercingly, but ran onward, despite the obvious wound—a huge slash over the hamstring of one hind leg—and the crimson that dribbled steadily down its haunches. The dog dashed out into the street, car horns honked at the disturbance. Pedestrians on the sidewalk only a few scant feet away from the alley gasped in horror at the animal's blood, dripping…
The red-eyed beast lingered outside the protective concealment of the dumpster's shadow for several moments, exposed to the light. None saw him—though he wouldn't have cared if they had—in fact he would've enjoyed their shock…
A tiny breeze picked up, catching the shadow monster's hair—long, flowing, silver hair. His skin seemed to glow brilliantly, a luxurious, healthy tan. The eyes, flashing red for several moments as the sunlight of the afternoon settled on him, and then slowly changing, lightening—into bright golden yellow orbs like rich honey—narrowed as he sniffed the air once and knew that someone was approaching the alley. Turning toward the shadows again the sunlight caught one last detail—two adorable, seemingly innocent bright as snow—white dog-ears perched atop his head.
He knelt down into the depths of the shadow again, waiting. Unconsciously the beast lifted his clawed fingers—covered in both youkai and dog's blood—and began to lick them clean. The golden eyes flickered like flames and darkened once more, becoming as morbid and red as the blood that stained his claws as his pink tongue came flicking out to savor his evil strength and power…
A woman rounded the corner; her lips were set in a hard line. Her hair was a dark black and pinned loosely and high on her head, it shone like a beacon as she passed through the sunlight and approached the stairway. Keys rattled in her hands, glinted in the sunlight, as silver as the beast's hair…he let loose one very deep, very liquid chuckle. The woman stopped, her high-heeled foot lifted to land on the first step of the steel stairway, and paused.
He could scent her surprise, tinged with stark fear…
"Is that you?" she whispered, her voice choked.
He narrowed his eyes at her, taking in both her hidden features—those that she'd been born with—and the ones that the charm spell—which was kept, he knew with a smirk, inside her earrings—made mortals see. But if he was anything it certainly wasn't a normal mortal, was it? She knew that just as clearly as he knew everything about her in return. And he could easily see past the façade she had placed over her natural features. He saw the shield of bottled blonde hair and the dark red highlights, the hazel-green eyes like mud peeking through the summer's greenest grass…and he admired her taste silently. Yes, you would never chose a false appearance that was bland and ordinary, would you? You like being noticed, don't you? It makes you feel free, doesn't it? And you thought for a while, that you were…
He smirked through the darkness at her, sure that whether she saw it or not, she sensed it, knowing him the way she did.
"It's been too long…" he answered her, his voice a deep rumble. He revealed a smile full of knives. "Too long indeed…I've been waiting for you…"
Endnote: So this is at least a preview of my latest...Can you guess what's going on here? Hmm? Why's Inuyasha crazy, and who is the woman? Or...could there be an entirely diferent situation to explain this? You'll find out a lot more next chapter...I have another two chapters already mostly written up, so here's your preview...(for those of you waiting on WOAWO that one's coming along well too):
"Inuyasha—clean up that language. You're not a teenager anymore…"
He rolled his amber eyes, not the properness and decency lesson again…I've heard him use that sortof language around his secretary every damn day! Even so he obeyed—maybe it'd help him get to that toilet sooner, otherwise he'd be forced to find a corner soon…
"Okay Dad…" he sighed and rephrased his words, "I need very badly," he growled the words out, "To urinate."
I like being able to write Inuyasha in modern scenarios, it's great...that and his dad...(grins) but I gotta get going, remember to drop me a line if you liked it and would like to see more...