Disclaimer Nope, don't own it...

A/N: Ah the second chapter! I've added a date to make this more...(shrugs) well, a different feel...last chapter I don't think I told you who was killed, now I do. First up is the generally humorous piece of how Inuyasha woke up that morning in the company of his father...who's he dreaming of, eh?...and note the date ladies and gents, if he's here and not out killing the other demon family...who DID do it? Hmm? Or did Inuyasha simply sneak out and do it anyway, and snuck back just as quickly, without memory of the incident at all? Unlikely? You be the judge...after that Sesshomaru is introduced. Then more of Kagome, this time off duty, her emotion...she and Inuyasha both have a bit of it in this story. Kagome feels powerless and kind of adrift, she hates being bound by family "tradition" to the Agency and such as was said last chapter. She feels like she has no freedom. Inuyasha meanwhile, hates his opposite situation: too little control, if you will...hmm...what shall happen when they meet? (grins) answers and thanks at the end as always...don't forget to drop me a line! Later...

Aikenka Inuyasha
(April 28th:the day ofthe murders)

When she turned and looked at him, the shine of her hair like black silk, or the sick but intensely beautiful sheen of crude oil flicking over her shoulders, the blue eyes stole his breath away. Beautiful… was the thought and the word that flitted by in his mind to describe her…but those sparkling sapphires were saddened. Seeing that emotion, that heaviness—it made him want to scoop her up into his arms, to hold her against him forever. If he breathed in deep enough he could scent her sweet, delicious natural perfume…he wanted to see her smile, wanted to make her smile…

His heart picked up and he worked hard to settle it, despite the sudden sweat that broke over his body, making him hot and sticky as she started to walk toward him. He itched like a dog with fleas in the heat of July…great, now I'm comparing myself to my clan's true form! Feh!

She reached him—she was wearing form fitting black pants that didn't have the slightest shine on them at all. They were like black holes, obscuring and bending light, absorbing it into some alternate dimension. The looser white, long sleeved shirt that she wore over it was far less attractive, and it made him even more nervous…but when he lifted his gaze from her clothing to her eyes—those big, almond shaped, dark brown orbs of sad beauty—he was taking in all over again and his heart rate exploded. (Wait…brown? Hadn't it been blue before…?)

He crossed his arms, cringing slightly as he felt the moisture of his nervous sweat rub off onto his bare forearms. He felt his ears turn backward, and saw that her eyes—her enchanting, deep, mud (But they were blue damn it! Blue!) colored irises—followed the movement for a second. Only second but long enough for him to know without a doubt…she's a miko…an agent…

Inuyasha's eyes snapped open and he sat up, gasping. The covers around him were covered in sweat, though he had slept in nothing but his boxers. Had he not been staying in a hotel with his father he might've gone to bed without clothing at all…but it just wouldn't do with his father inhabiting the same room. But the scant boxers could hardly explain the perspiration. His entire body was soaked with it, as if his old man had come by and poured water all over him as he slept. Gods, what's wrong with me! He growled to himself and pushed off from the bed, stumbling a little as his toes found the ground. His dream reached to him from the depths of his memory again—weird…

At the very second he was standing upright Inuyasha realized with a grimace that his bladder was painfully full. Scowling to himself, he stormed toward the bathroom, trying to force his legs to stay straight underneath his exhausted form. What time is it, damn it?

The image of the woman remained with him, strongly, and he tottered a little as he made his way around the corner that separated the beds from the bathroom and it cherished toilet just beyond. Why had her eyes changed? Why did I make up something so real in my head?

He frowned when he rounded the corner and saw that the door to the bathroom was shut, the water was running. Damn you Dad! He growled again and shook his head, reaching up and scratching one of his white dog-ears for a second, trying to stifle the reflexive jerks the tiny sensory appendage made upon his probing touch.

"Will you be outta there soon?" he growled, lower and louder than the running water, so that his father's sensitive hearing would pick it up with ease.

"Soon enough, Inuyasha." Came the cool answer.

He growled, disgruntled, and ran one clawed hand through his long, tangled, and flowing silver-colored hair. C'mon Dad—my bladder's going to burst! Maybe youkai can handle it but I'm only a little hanyou as you and that bastard Sesshomaru like to remind me…

"Dad—I gotta take a piss!" he grumbled, his lips were thick from sleep still, his eyes blurred in the darkened room. He hated hotels, never could tell what time it was in there because the shades and curtains were always so effective. It always felt like it was very late at night outside to him when it could actually be dawn—he'd never know the difference. It was as if the hotel rooms and hallways were able to warp time somehow…either that or it's my fantasy of staying here some late night with a very sexy chick rolling in those covers with me…then I'd have a reason to be sweaty…unbidden he remembered his dream again and scowled, suddenly needing to pee even more. "Dad—"he whined again, only to be cut off.

"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 this sort of 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."

The continuous humming and hissing of the running water in the shower snapped off and Inuyasha fidgeted anxiously with anticipation, trying to keep his peace just long enough to last until the door opened. From inside the steamy depths of the bathroom—Inuyasha could feel the heat and misty moisture brushing his toes from underneath the sturdy door—his father made a deep sound, a mixture of fatigue and irritation. Though it was quiet and reserved at best, and completely inaudible at worst, Inuyasha's keen ears perked at it, and his annoyance soared.

"Would you hurry damn it?" he hissed, biting his lips in desperation.

The door swung wide and through the thick moist air, Inuyasha stared up at his father. The "old man's" identical silver hair and golden eyes fixed his son right to the spot without any effort at all. No matter how much Inuyasha struggled to defy his father the inuyoukai leader had always managed to subdue him as a pup…but lately...? Now his father's gaze demanded that his hanyou son correct himself again…and although he knew that Inutaisho would continue to scowl at him in silent reprimand, Inuyasha forced himself to remain silent and stubborn.

"Are you gonna get outta the way, or should I just piss myself right here?" he muttered, amber eyes narrowed and sharply irritated.

Inutaisho's features remained cold and just as stubborn as his second-born son's, but even so he stepped forward. The great leader of the powerful inuyoukai clan was shrouded by a long white bathrobe, which was only loosely secured over his wide, muscular chest. The skin that peeked from the robe was an easy natural tanned gold. His long silver hair was soaked and plastered to his scalp and shoulders. The pointed ears and the marks of his demon heritage—the jagged purplish streaks on his cheeks—showed with unusual clarity now when the leader's hair wasn't bouncy and free to shade his face at all. Instead it was swept clean back for convenience.

Showing his youngest son nothing but annoyance, Inutaisho stepped out of the bathroom doorway and Inuyasha growled to himself as he slipped by. His toes met with wet floor tiles and he grimaced as he nearly slipped trying to slam the heavy door shut behind him. "God—you think you could've left it any wetter Dad?" he growled. There was no answer, of course, and Inuyasha didn't wait to maintain the silence in hopes of one—he relieved his wretched bladder rather than add to the mess that his father's "wet dog" trick had done to the floor tiles…

When he reentered the room Inuyasha's eyes were immediately assaulted by bright sunlight. With a startled yelp he covered his amber eyes with one palm, thrusting the other outward as a guide to ensure he didn't run into any walls. He cursed violently under his breath—though Inutaisho certainly heard the language nonetheless. "Shit Dad! Close those damn—" but he didn't finish because, despite his one free, searching hand, Inuyasha stubbed his toe against the corner as he rounded it and tripped with a gasp.

Across the room Inutaisho regarded his son with an expression that was quietly amused. It was a look he didn't allow the hanyou to see, but it spoke of their shared likeness—one that even Inutaisho was at times loathe to admit the full depth of. Many long years ago—several generations' worth by human standards, the inuyoukai lord mused—Inutaisho had been an angry, snappy, irritated and foul-mouthed pup much as Inuyasha was now. Parts of it still lingered within him, of course, but, over time, Inutaisho had nursed a far colder, ultimately gentler disposition. Yet Inuyasha mimicked his wilder past uncannily well, and because of that the stubborn, difficult, hardheaded and sometimes utterly lazy and irresponsible hanyou was his favorite son…

Not the heir, but his favorite…

And right now Inutaisho recognized something strange about his son's scent that made him scowl abruptly as the hanyou staggered to his feet, still cursing the sunlight.

"What the hell was the big idea with that damn light, Dad?" Inuyasha snapped, still trying to shade one eye from the blazing beams that issued forth from the sun outside.

"You sleep in too late, Inuyasha." Inutaisho told him blandly. Without words the inuyoukai leader left the window shades and began pulling at his son's bedding, straightening the sheets.

"Let the damn maid do that Dad!" Inuyasha growled, glaring from between his shield of protective fingers. "That's what she's bloody paid to do!"

The amber eyes that were a clear family trait met up with him, though no expression rose to his father's facial features, "I refuse to have my son leave such a mess."

Inuyasha groaned and stumbled toward his father's already neatly made-up bed instead. In a moment he flopped himself onto it, pressing his face into the huge, fluffy pillows, covering his eyes thoroughly.

"Inuyasha." His father spoke a few moments later, still pulling ob the covers, this way and that, trying to adjust them just perfect, as if he were the aforementioned maid.

"What, damn it?" he snarled back, too tired and irritated to deal with his father. If our flight doesn't leave until noon this today why did he wake me so soon? Damn him!

The lingering silence between his response and his father's answer told Inuyasha that the old man still wasn't appreciating his language too much…yet stubbornly he waited out his father's awkward pause and soon enough the inuyoukai sighed and queried, in a surprisingly amiable tone, "What did you dream last night, Inuyasha?"

That startled the hanyou into pulling his face from the pillows. New creases ran over his features as he looked incredulously at his father, ears perked sharply to attention. "How the hell did you know…?" he felt a crimson blush spill over his cheeks and decided to put his foot into his mouth. With a frown to wipe away his confused astonishment, Inuyasha cleared his throat, a not-so-subtle stalling tactic. "Nothing—why?"

Inutaisho didn't answer, merely turned his back on his youngest son and walked toward the desk at the far end of the room where a computer was humming tirelessly.

The hanyou growled in irritation, his ears fell backward. "You asked, damn it!" Inuyasha understood that his father's senses were keener than his own—though such a thing was nearly impossible for him to imagine—it seemed likely to him that his strange and very vivid dream had some deeper meaning. It also seemed likely that it might be related to some inner sense that Inuyasha had yet to learn about. Inutaisho and his older brother, Sesshomaru, weren't the most open and amiable people around of course, and on top of that they were youkai—and youkai kept secrets carefully. For Inuyasha that meant that they neglected to tell him of some things that the wilder side of his heritage had the potential to spring on him. He'd long since grown accustomed to the idea that frequently he just didn't know anything.

Now he suspected was one of those times. There'd been numerous others: as a tiny toddler on the new moon losing his powers and becoming human had so startled his mother that she'd driven him all the way into the city to demand answers from his father. Inuyasha didn't remember that example at all, but there was another that scared the hell out of him…

He shuddered, could this dream be anything like that? Could it be so bad as turning into a wild monster when my demon-blood takes over? He forced the memories away, but couldn't wipe the worried frown from his face.

Inutaisho's voice caught him off guard, coming from the computer desk now where the inuyoukai leader was clicking with his tiny portable mouse. "If you would explain your dream to me, pup, I might just be able to answer your question." The tone his father had used was unusually soft, and the term he'd used in talking with Inuyasha was just enough to bring a pink flush of embarrassment to his cheeks.

"I'm not a pup!" he protested, growling.

Inutaisho gave one of his very rare but very pleasant rumbling chuckles. His golden eyes never left the computer screen. The mouse continued clicking, "Yes, Inuyasha, I understand that…"

Growling still with a die-hard indignation, Inuyasha pushed himself up away from the bed, making sure to drag a few of the covers with him, wrinkling them. "Feh!" he scowled and crossed his arms over his chest as he moved toward the bathroom again, this time planning to take a shower of his own. But just as his clawed hand wrapped around the doorknob, he heard Inutaisho's voice come again, apparently relenting to his son's stubbornness.

"Did you dream with a particular…realness, Inuyasha?"

The hand on the doorknob hesitated. The hanyou swallowed convulsively. "Yea, I did." He admitted.

The silence that answered his response felt especially heavy. With a start Inuyasha frowned as he realized that he'd been holding his breath. Completely throwing away his initial instincts about the dream he scoffed and rushed to fill that weighty silence, "Feh! It was nothing Dad! Just some human wench with bl-br—blue eyes." He cursed himself inwardly for stuttering. Why in the seven hells does it matter so much to me what color those eyes were anyway? Damn it!

Still that previous silence lingered onward for several seconds before Inutaisho sighed heavily. "It was about a human woman then?"

"Yea…" he tried to keep his voice unaffected and without true interest in what Inutaisho might or might not have to say about it.

"You're right Inuyasha," his father assured him in a reasonable, uncaring tone, "It means nothing—go and shower, your scent is unpleasant."

"Feh! Not any better than you in the morning, I'd bet my ass on that!" he snorted and closed himself off in the bathroom before his father could scold him forhis language.

The moment he was alone in the tight space the hanyou looked at his reflection in the mirror—at the ears that swiveled, at the bright gold eyes, at the silvered strands of hair that were still messy from sleep—and his face fell. Why am I sure he was lying to me? Why would he lie to me? Damn it!

As Inuyasha ripped his boxers off and stepped into the massive, white and square-shaped shower, he couldn't stop the mixture of terror, horror, and self-loathing that filled him when he thought of another time that he had learned another secret of his demon heritage the hard way…red eyes, jagged bluish streaks on his face, identical to his father's. But unlike the proud markings that graced his father and brother's cheeks Inuyasha's had been a symbol of savagery, wild and thoughtless bloodlust.

He fought a sudden lump in his throat as he recalled the way his mother had stared at him, the way his father had been holding him down with the fierce but utterly cold gleam in his golden eyes…the water squeaked and whistled and splashed around his toes, but Inuyasha wasn't thinking about his shower anymore. The woman's strange eyes came to him again, as vivid as memory, and he wondered uselessly what it meant.

Whoever you are, you should stay the hell away from me. Hanyous are nothing but abominations…we can't even control ourselves, can't stop ourselves from hurting those we love…

The secretary looked up from her desk, smiling faintly, courteously. "Mr. Aikenka will see you now."

A very petite, very young woman rose from her chair and strode toward the large, rather intimidating door, a heavy manila file waiting in her arms, demanding the attention of the great leader that presided just on the other side of that door. Just as the door to his office was large and intimidating, so too was the man that called the space beyond it something akin to home. The secretary watched the young woman—who was only about 15 she thought at most—walk to the door and, without any apparent fear, rap her knuckles on its cold, brown surface.

Seconds later the door opened and the secretary busied herself swiftly with typing at her computer, though she kept one ear continuously cocked in their direction.

"Mr. Aikenka." The girl murmured gently and bowed lightly.

The man, Mr. Aikenka, was a fair-haired individual with such light brownish-green eyes that they at times almost appeared gold. The long, strangely light hair was held firmly, neatly back in a rope-like bundle behind his tall and rather elegantly shouldered frame. As he always did he wore a long-sleeved white business shirt with a surprisingly colorful tie—the thing was streaked with bright yellow and dark cerulean blue. If Mr. Aikenka hadn't been so simply handsome otherwise it would've been the tie, and not the man's face, that drew the gazes of those he conversed and did business with.

When he turned that eerie, almost unbelievable gaze on the girl that bowed before him, the usually stern and solemn businessman softened considerably. His gaze warmed, the corners of his lips didn't turn downwards in his usual tight-lipped semi-frown. "Hissori Rin." Mr. Aikenka greeted her without emotion, lowering his chin in something akin to a nod. "Come in." he shoved the intimidating, and quite heavy door wider, allowing the small woman to enter.

The door shut behind her with an audible click. The secretary turned genuine attention to the computer now—she would get nothing further, not while they were in the confines of her boss's office…

Inside, away from the hungry ears of his secretary—a certain Lindsey Hickson, or so he thought her name was—Mr. Sesshomaru Aikenka moved to take a seat in his plush chair behind his massive desk. Once settled he laid his eyes on the girl without true interest and motioned her to sit. "What have you brought today, Hissori?"

The young woman—one of the newest employed by the Agency that he'd seen—shyly stepped forward, her slender shoulders squared and even. In one small but strong hand she slid the heavy manila file folder onto his huge wooden desk. "Mr. Aikenka…" she murmured again, bowing. "The Agency offers its sincerest gratitude to you for cooperating with its desire to list and catalog the inuyoukai of this area…"

He narrowed his eyes at her once with some slightly unpleasant emotion before he reached one clawed hand to grab the manila file and pull it close to him. For a moment he looked back to the girl, smirking inwardly—and only inwardly, never would he reveal that emotion or any other to the mortals around him, especially those from the Agency—as he considered the young agent's courage. So young—and likely spiritually gifted—he knew that she had to feel his extreme power, far more than any normal youkai's. Add to that his normal demon attributes: the long and lethal claws, the pointed ears, the streaks of power, prestige and pride on his cheeks, the fiery golden eyes, and the gleam of his sharp white fangs just beyond his lips. It had to terrify the girl that he knew her real name. Only agents that were assigned to the highborn youkai in Youkai Relations ever risked such exposure.

The girl's preprogrammed speech of thanks from her bosses at the Agency droned onward and he lost interest in it. Mr. Aikenka let his eyes fall to the manila file folder instead, opening the folder as he absently nodded at the girl's rambling thank you speech. His eyes scanned through the contents.

The result of the Agency's youkai sweep was clear. He easily saw the various population densities in several different maps. The kitsunes, the dogs, the wolves, the cats, the weasels and bears and lizards…and he saw one thing clearly: the dog and fox demons were generally the most successful, though disturbingly the wolf youkai were close behind. The neko-youkai were overpopulated and struggling, the others were minorities that had trouble fitting in—but the dogs and the foxes clearly held their own. Slowly he found himself nodding, pleased at their findings.

His father, Aikenka Inutaisho, the great leader of the dog demon clans, insisted on their clan's submitting to these yearly censuses. In his mind there was no danger and the results, when returned, inevitably revealed what the other youkai groups were up to. Inutaisho considered it an important survival tool for their group…he snapped up from the data as something in young Agent Hissori's tone changed.

"Hissori." He half-barked, narrowing his eyes at her. The girl immediately silenced herself and waited for him. Part of her training had been to recognize high-youkai moods and to obey them without question. She was a timid, clever, and effective communicator—and he was more and more impressed with her each time she made her daily visit to his offices. But now her tone had whispered something to him that he didn't like…she had other reasons for her speech today other than just the traditional thank you.

She began to restate her words, quietly drawing in a shaky but careful breath, "An investigation has begun into a youkai-on-youkai homicide in which the main suspect is an inuhanyou…" Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes in suspicion at the girl, nailing her to the spot, though she hardly flinched even under the full weight of his glare. She was well trained indeed.

"Is the name of this inuhanyou available that I may inform Aikenka Inutaisho of the proceedings?" he asked, turning his eyes away from the girl coolly, glancing at the phone instead, already preparing to place the call, though he felt that this was a tad unusual. Why would the Agency choose to send him this news through their charming, fragile Youkai Relations officer? Rin Hissori wasn't the agent that would normally bring the crimes of his more distant clan-members to his attention—normally a different agent did it, a handsome human under an alias of "Mark," usually did such an unpleasant task…

"The name—Mr. Aikenka-sama," the young woman murmured timidly, cringing for the first time and staring almost wistfully out the large windows out beyond him, over his shoulder, much to his annoyance, "…the name of the inuhanyou accused is why I was sent to speak to you." She admitted, and Sesshomaru forced himself to meet her gaze, glowering with his eyes only.

"Go on." He had a sinking; anticipatory disgust and anger begin to boil over in his guts.

"The perpetrator described in a slaughtering of a kitsune family in this city justthis morning was described in near perfect accuracy to…" she faltered, seeming to eat her own lips, to chew her own words, and Sesshomaru fought the instinct to scowl at her. Under whatever pressure she was in the girl—for however well he'd been impressed by her before—was cracking now and he hated watching it. Humans are such frail, weak creatures…pathetic.

"Speak." He ordered, and although his tone was dark, it remained calm and gentle. He revealed no emotion, as usual.

"Your younger half brother—Aikenka Inuyasha—is the prime suspect." She finished, staring him straight in the eye with her sparkling, dark orbs.

He blinked once, blandly. The news hadn't surprised him, not really—he fully believed his miserable half brother capable of something so stupid and hideously violent, especially given the volatile and dual nature of hanyous…but it didn't make sense… "Aikenka Inuyasha could not be the criminal you seek." He stated, his tone one close to boredom now.

"The survivor's testimony is an exact match." Rin Hissori objected, her dark eyes still lingering on his, unblinkingly.

Sesshomaru looked away, one lip curled slightly, revealing a bright, gleaming white fang, a tiny sign of his exasperation and disgust. "My pitiful half-brother could not have been at the crime scene. He has been with Aikenka Inutaisho for the last two days."

That seemed to startle the young agent. She hesitated a moment and then bowed, lower than even her usual. Apparently, he thought with minor satisfaction, he'd shattered her confidence—all of it. "I am sorry to have troubled you sir." The girl intoned, though when she flicked her eyes in his direction he saw easily that she meant it…perhaps this girl is better than just being well trained. I'll have to request that she become my permanent contact with the Agency…

"It is nothing." He answered; nodding his head once, blandly, "You may go…" she whirled on one heel and strode out of the room letting the door click firmly shut behind her. The scent that lingered with him after her absence was a simple and sweet thing, and he wondered if the Agency had tried to disguise her real scent or not…how much trust did they place in the inuyoukai clan? It probably wasn't much he supposed—their trust was more carefully centered on the highborn Aikenka family. It was something that he was certain his father valued greatly…if they suspected Inuyasha of wrongdoing at all it would need to be addressed—and swiftly so. But at the same time that could expose too many hanyou and youkai secrets…a difficult decision indeed.

After a moment, during which Sesshomaru stared fixedly at the open manila folder, a slow scowl bloomed over his face. Coming to a decision, his features loosened and cleared as he reached forward to press a button on his desk for the intercom to his secretary. "Lindsey?" he asked, his voice deep and dry, devoid of emotion.

"Yea-ess?" she drawled back in return, making the inuyoukai leader wince in distaste.

"Contact Aikenka Inutaisho. Tell him that I must speak with him as soon as he is able."

"But sir…" she must've been typing at the same time because he could hear an incessant tapping as she spoke, "Your father is away with your brother in San Francisco…the orders were not to—"

"Contact him later then." Sesshomaru growled, and turned off the intercom, but not before giving it a brief, cursory glare, wishing it were Lindsey instead…if only you could see my fangs, human…he sneered.

The apartment was dark as a moonless, starless night when Kagome stepped out of the bathroom, shrouded in a long green and white striped towel. Black hair plastered to her shoulders and back, she regarded the place with the gaze of an empty, lost woman. Anyone that saw her without knowing a thing about her would've immediately been stricken by the young woman's forlorn and lonely expression. They might've queried as to whether she had just experienced a terrible break up or possibly a young divorce or the death of a family member…but it wasn't any of those things that so bothered Kagome Higurashi as she stared at her apartment.

The crime scene…she shuddered again, though the heat of her shower was still with her. Biting her lips against the horror that was rising up within her, Kagome turned away from her empty, silent living room, and to the small bedroom at the other end of the short hall, but on her way she paused as she crossed by the bathroom. The orange glow from the light in that room was the only warm and inviting thing she'd seen since her shower.

Shivering, though not from the cold, Kagome stepped into the orange light of the room and instinctually looked toward the vanity mirror. It was still fogged by condensation left behind by her shower. Little droplets met up together, melded, and rolled streaking, down the mirror's length as she watched.

As a girl she'd used to write messages into the condensation, giggling little messages like, "Souta picks his nose," or "Hojo-kun is cute." Now the urge to do that same thing struck her again—but at this time the message that felt ready to flow through her fingers onto the pane of reflective glass was nothing like those of years ago…

I'm 24 years old for heaven's sake…if I write onto that mirror it'll just leave streaky fingerprints and smudges behind when it dries. Then I'll have to clean that stupid thing…but she couldn't rationalize it—she wanted to touch the glass, wanted to write something on it…hesitantly her index finger reached out to touch the mirror. Her finger flew, writing the sentence out in Japanese characters, rather than in the English she was supposed to be a native of. Kagome was hardly aware of anything, only the squeak of the wet glass beneath her fingertips…and when she was finished she withdrew her hand, shivering anew as she read over what she'd written, whispering it aloud.

"Trapped here, alone." She stared at it a moment, letting the shivers jump and twist through her…and then she reached forward again and added one final character in honor of the horror she'd witnessed just that afternoon: blood.

The phone started to ring.

Kagome trotted—still holding her towel on—into her bedroom and snatched up the thing from where it was gyrating on her nightstand beside her bed. It was too dim in the room to notice the caller ID—and she doubted that she'd need it, most of the time it was someone from the Higurashi "clan" calling to check up on her. They were a tight-knit family, and though the Agency might move the various members about wildly, they kept in touch with one another nonetheless.

"Kagome here." She announced into the receiver, using her chin and shoulder to keep the thing in place while she struggled with her towel and searched for some underwear…bright red bikinis…hmm…

There was a soft feminine chuckle from the other end that Kagome knew immediately as her mother's. "I see you must've anticipated that it was me, Kagome."

"Oh, uh…" she felt herself wincing at her mother's comment. Yes, if I hadn't been sure it would be family I wouldn't have announced my first name like that…come to think of it, she thought, she might've even given her alias name. It was always wise to do that…how many people in the United States and Canada were named 'Kagome' anyway? "Yea Mom, you know, miko's gifts…"

Higurashi Akira chuckled lightly again, a carefree sound that Kagome was beginning to envy. Her mother was stationed back in Tokyo, close to the extended Higurashi family as well as her own family, the Gouzukus, but that didn't stop her from checking in once a week—something Kagome was very appreciative of. Akira Higurashi's encouragement, love and support were what fueled Kagome in her times of need. With the phone pressed against her ear Kagome could already feel her mind slowly cementing back together into sanity.

"You know with you, Kagome, I wouldn't actually be surprised."

"Oh come off it Mom!" she hated the heat that stole into her cheeks. She'd always worked hard to hide any above-and-beyond-the-ordinary miko abilities she might've possessed, it embarrassed her, made her subject to ridicule. Normality was what mattered. "You know I'm nothing special!"

"Never say that, you'll always be my daughter. That's special…now…you'll never guess what good news I have for you."

By her mother's tone Kagome could sense that this was "Matchmaker Mom" in action and she rolled her eyes. Desperate to avoid this sort of talk she sighed and tried to change subject, "Really? That's cool Mom, but I can't think about much tonight, you know what I mean?" she let her deeper, darker feelings and memories taint her voice, hoping that her mother would realize there were far more important things weighing on her soul.

"Uh oh, what's happened, Kagome?"

"It's my assignment. Today my partner—"

"Still Sango Hiraikotsu?" her mother interjected.

"Yes, still Sango, which is a definite good thing…but anyway, we were called away from our normal patrol schedule because there was a youkai-on-youkai slaughter early this morning…a kitsune family was slashed to death." She closed her eyes and forced her face away from the wadded up bright red of the bikini panties she had clenched in one fist like a ball…like the blood in that little house…her limbs started to shake and nausea bloomed inside her stomach.

She blinked a second later as she realized that her mother was still on the phone with her—she was in her apartment, wrapped in a towel, not at a horrendous crime scene, sloshing with blood… "What Mom, I'm sorry, brain fart…"

Her mother snorted at the crude language but ignored it, likely because she knew that Kagome picked it up from her little brother Souta and from numerous other, generally male, influences in her life… "I asked if you're allowed to mention this to me, honey. You know that there's confidentiality agreements that need to be honored."

Kagome sighed heavily and pinched the top of her nose with her fingers, letting the towel drop. "Mom, I'm sorry, it's just that it was…brutal." She scowled at nothing and shivered and shook as the cold air of her apartment caressed her skin, "There was one survivor, a little kit…green-eyes, red hair…just traumatized, Mom…" she choked back her sob, "I gotta go, Mom, gotta get dressed, I only just got out of the shower…how about I call you back tomorrow?"

"All right—and I am sorry honey…I really am…I know that being an agent is really tough most of the time. Just be glad for one thing Kagome…"

"What?" What could possibly be good about the scene today? That poor kit, he saw his entire family slaughtered before his very eyes…and then the beast that did it left him alive, on purpose. A crazy demon that wants the Agency to know about him, wants to horrify us. A killer, a monster, a beast…a confident inuyoukai.

"Be glad that it wasn't youkai-on-human homicide."

At the thought Kagome's heart caught in her throat. Her mother, as usual was more right that Kagome could've ever imagined, and that thought led to her next chilling consideration…how long before this beast does turn his attention to humans? To agents…? She couldn't bring herself to face the obvious answer: anytime the beast felt like it…

Endnote: THANK YOU everyone who reviewed! We got 10 reviews already...wowies...I'm glad you guys like this AU, I like describing the modern day world this way...kay, onward we go!

ThankYou:Yami Chikara I'm glad it is original after all, I was worried after I started it that it wasn't...thank you... slummyreddragon to be honest I've seen worse, more rabid and avid fans...I like it b/c the characters are delightful to write, so I do a lot of fiction for it to keep my skills sharp, though I SHOULD be writing my own novels rather than this stuff (gulps)... BeccaPatty a lotta questions there...once again you remind me of my friend from gym class that you share a name with...she'll fire off questions really fast there and then usually add something at the very end to show her exasperation of the subject and it makes us all laugh...I hope that this chapter has actually answered most of your questions for you...(winks) Kereyi sorry this took a while...but I have a preview and everything this time around...hope that helps to make up for it, love you name by the way. NefCanuck LOL, bye-bye convention! (puts thumb to her nose and wiggles fingers) I said I thought it might be a common one b/c I've seen many that say, "Kagome and Sango are agents..." blah blah...and I thought mine might be similar to those...or not...(shrugs) glad to hear you like it though! chickenseatpoodles if you're name says anything about you I know you're creative! (laughs) but to be honest my writing has come a long way...years of intense reading and writing are like practicing or studying something, and soon enough it becomes like second nature. I get a feel, a flow, of words going...I see it in my mind and try to put it on paper/computer/whatever. But it took a lot of practice...writing isn't so much a thing one is born with as something one creates...though a natural desire/drive/love of words does help. (nods) keep trying and I'd bet you can get somewhere! sarahwas he the onereally acting crazy though? I hope this chapter has already answered your question... inuyasha'sbabe07 the story is supposed to be taking place in the U.S...although all the characters with Japanese names are natives (formerly at least) of Japan. I had a paragraph that explained it but I deleted it in edits. Basically I would imagine that spiritually gifted humans appear in cultures that value them--like Japan, China, India, and Africa. European and Western cultures generally discourage that, at least that's been my cultural impression. So when people are needed to control the demons (which could care less whether or not the culture encourages spiritualistic people or not!) they have to recruit agents from wherever they are available, thus foreign agents are likely to be a lot more common than normal. As for my stories and writing...I've had a lot of practice over my life, but I thank you very much for the compliment (bows) Good question! toxiclollipop I'm glad you like it (grins) and the idea with the beads on Kouga last chapter hit me outta the blue...(winks) and once it hit me I couldn't abandon the idea...(snickers) fanfiction1 care to take a guess on why Inuyasha was acting the way he was? Or, if it wasn't him, who it was that looked so much like him? (sniggles evily)...

The next chapter is a discussion of themurders, the victims, what happenedto them, the investigators, Miroku's officialintroduction as well as a most hated character's addition too...(sniggles)and a little of Kagome and Inuyasha still separate, unaware that they are shortly going to have entangled destinies...Onto the preview:

Finally Miroku looked up, his face ghostly white, "Evisceration?" he repeated, looking to Jessica for clarification.

She nodded, stoically. "The victim was torn open from the right shoulder to the left lower abdomen. The attacker, it's assumable, did this without the aide of a weapon—just his or her own claws. Also, several of the internal organs of that victim were disturbed. The attacker tore loose a few coils of the large and small intestine for example and—"

"Jessica…" Miroku hissed at her, silencing the onslaught of medical information, "I think we understand."

There you are...until next time...don't forget to drop me a line! Later!