Mission Completed - Chapter 6

Disclaimer: How much does Inuyasha cost? It's ok, I don't want the series…just him. Would… ::counts her savings:: forty bucks work? ::puppy dog eyes::

Sakura's Note: I'm going into Freshman year and have to prepare. I.e. the summer reading that I've been putting off, clothes, and my dying social life. We've been scattered all over the place for summer vacation and my friends and I are just now seeing each other again. So, updates will be coming a bit less frequently until I get settled in high school. Sorry, I really hate letting you guys down like this. I'm going on a temporary hiatus. I'll be writing during that time so that when I do come back I can update at least once a week per story.

On a lighter note, thank you to everyone who reviewed! I love to write these stories for myself, and more importantly: you, and the reviews always make me start giggling and beaming with pride.

Shout outs:

Chandra16: You probably aren't the only one confused about the last part. Basically what happened is during our favorite couple's latest escapade Kagome tossed a piece of French fry into Inuyasha's McFlurry. Loving his McFlurries, (like I do) he decided to just play the classic switcher on Kagome. To distract her he yelled out Hello Kitty, and while she was trying to find the adorable Sanrio character he switched his ice cream with hers.

Ending scene: Explained. Thanks for your review!

Dragon Man 180: Thanks for your review! I always love hearing from you. I was a bit worried about making Naraku seem a bit OOC in the captured scene. I'm glad you didn't have any problems with it. Also, our favorite stoic dog demon will be making an appearance soon, as well as my favorite 'wind witch'.

Thanks to: firehottie, Dragon Man 180, sapphire pink, trixie-trix, TaintedInuShemeeko, KrAzYsKiTtLe92, mish-serenity, eX Driver Liz, and chandra16.

Chapter 6: A Voice Through the Rain

Inuyasha grumbled, giving the girl next to him a withering glare. He wasn't surprised to see her continue to ignore him. With a sigh, he put his attention back on the road.

Why was it that Kagome was starting to feel like more of a partner than Sango? This was the second time that they had been paired up since their friends' relationship started. Even when they weren't pushed together automatically they were still set up.

And now, Inuyasha was driving back to the base with Kagome while Sango and Miroku rode back in Sango's car.

Why couldn't they have all just shared a ride?

"Why couldn't we all just have shared a ride?" Kagome muttered, staring out the window at the wet streets. It was raining again, and the world beyond Fang was blurry and dreary, only darkening her mood. "If we had all shared a car there would be less air pollution."

"She speaks."

Kagome glared, crossing her arms over her chest. "Really? Or have I been talking away and you were just temporarily deaf?"

"Or maybe you're just pouting like a little girl because I stole your McFlurry." "Why did you have to say Hello Kitty?" Kagome asked, "That was just mean."

Silence filled the car and Kagome filled with victory. She was thinking whether or not she should spare a chance to turn on the radio when Inuyasha spoke.

"I agree."

Kagome cocked her head, looking up from the tuning dial, "You mean you're admitting you're a jackass?"

"No! Sharing a ride! What else?" Inuyasha scoffed, "Sometimes, woman, I worry about you."

"Wow…the Inuyasha, defender of the innocent, butt-kicker of evil, cares for little ol' me?" Kagome feigned a swoon and batted her eyelashes at him, "I'm humbled by your concern."

He didn't know exactly what to say to that, but couldn't stop the tiny smile from coming to his face. Instantly the hanyou berated himself for breaking under her sarcastic comment. This girl would do him in in the end.

Kagome reached for the radio, planning to check out the latest American hits.

That's when everything slowed down.

"Kagome no!" Inuyasha's hand came towards hers in an attempt to knock it away just as her hand reached the volume dial. The hanyou had realized they were going to hit a pothole seconds before and didn't have time to stop her. He hadn't even known she'd dare touch the radio in the first place anyway.

Just as she began to turn up the volume the car hit the pothole, causing her hand to jerk, which made the volume fly up to it's maximum.

And that was where Kagome's idea about Inuyasha being deaf really kicked in.

"I wonder where those two hard heads are?" Miroku looked up from Sango's computer, noticing his girlfriend was back from the garage--again.

"Stop worrying, they're probably in Fang somewhere-- on the side of the road coming to terms with their feelings. I'm sure if we were to go look for them a steamed up Fang will be bobbing up and--"

"I'm not listening! La la la la la la!" Sango covered her ears.

"Come on--"

"LA LA LA LA LA!" Sango continued, hitting him on the head with her elbow. "No perverted remarks about Inuyasha-kun and Kagome-chan." With the finality in her voice, Miroku would have been an idiot not to listen.

"You spoiled all my fun!" Miroku huffed, his eyes moving back to the screen as words buzzed by faster than even a demon could read. Pictures were moving just as fast, showing Miroku more men's pictures than he would ever want to see in his lifetime. Not to mention barely any female faces appeared in the fingerprint analysis screen.

"How far complete is the search?" The agent's amusement was evident in her voice but she kept the laughter contained.

"Ninety-eight per--"

"GOMEN NASAI!" Kagome rushed past Sango's room, probably not even aware that it was occupied, and continued down the hall. "Gomen! Gomen! I'm so sorry!"

"Stop yelling already…"

Sango and Miroku looked from one to the other, more terrified by the fact that Inuyasha was whining than the fact that Kagome was screaming. Between the two actions, it was only the first one that didn't happen often.

"What do you think…?" Sango wheeled her chair over to the door to see Inuyasha's door slam.

"Lover's spat. They'll get over it soon. If we interfere it'll only worsen things." Miroku waved a hand. "Oh look! A match! Or…a few…" Sango sighed. Well, if they worked it out, it'd be better for everyone. Might as well leave them alone.

"Inuyasha…I'm so, so, extremely sorry…" Kagome continued, lowering her voice to a whine. This didn't help his case, though.

The hanyou jerked open the door to his room and entered, ignoring the girl following quickly after him.

Kagome was worried. His eardrums were probably bust open now. Could a hanyou heal from that? Oh gods…what if Inuyasha is deaf for the rest of his life?

"Lie down." Inuyasha was oblivious to what she was saying. Although he hated her yelling, it was the only time he could hear her. When he did as he was told the girl got even more worried. Inuyasha…listening to her? She had hurt him more than she thought. "Inuyasha…are you ok?" The ringing in his ears was still far louder than the girl's voice, but he could read her lips better than he thought he could. "No, wench, I'm not. These damn bells aren't going anywhere."

"You can hear me?" At Inuyasha's questioning look she restated her question, saying it slower. "Are you reading my lips?"

"Well I can't hear you, that's for sure."

"I didn't know that would happen. But this isn't permanent, right? I mean… you can heal…" She realized he wasn't looking at her, Kagome's words falling on deaf ears. She rolled her eyes, cursing the immense guilt weighing down her stomach. "Inuyasha." She poked him, getting an annoyed look.

"You're still here?" "Yes, why wouldn't I be? You're sitting here with imaginary bells in your head."

Kagome blew a stray strand of midnight hair out of her face. It was replaced by a larger piece seconds later, so she just drummed her fingernails on his arm – much to his annoyance.

"Will you stop that?" Inuyasha growled.

She didn't even have to look up at him for the hanyou to know her answer.

If he wanted her to stop all he had to do was move his arm. Kagome wasn't going to stop until that time came. The agent looked up and met his angry honey eyes. "You know, you're being really mean to me…"

"Well, you deafened me." he replied haughtily.

"And I'm still not totally convinced." Kagome muttered under her breath.

"What was that?"

"I said that we should get some medical attention in here for your ears to see if the damage permanent or not."

There was a moment of silence while he pieced together her sentence. "That took a lot longer to say the second time…"

"Well it's what I said."

Inuyasha gave her a skeptical glance but then just sighed in defeat and looked back at the ceiling. And Kagome refused to leave. She just sat there… tapping his arm. He began to feel something, and then he realized his ears were twitching.

Kagome would have thought the ear twitching cute had it not been for the circumstances. What if he's stuck like this forever? The tears began to pour without her permission.

"Kagome?"

"I'm sorry…" She whispered, looking up to meet his eyes.

They're so… blue…Gods…now's not the time! "Keh. Come on… stop crying." She knew he hated when she cried… so why was she always doing it?

The fiery spark was back in her eyes, "You're being a jerk, Inuyasha! I said I was sorry and the guilt's killing me. I didn't mean to do what I did, but I'm not going to sit and grovel for forgiveness!" "Then stop being so whiny and just get that I'm not mad! I'm annoyed!" Inuyasha glared down at her, but the feeling that he was about to get it was gnawing in his gut.

"It's not my fault you're so incompetent that I worry about you all the time! I was scared sick about you those three months… wondering what mess you got yourself into! So don't tell me to whine, because I'm – not – whining!"

She didn't notice what she'd said, he was sure of that, but it didn't make the feeling in his stomach go away. It vaguely reminded him of butterflies… Kagome had worried about him?

He would have said something uncharacteristically sweet had it not been for something else that caught his attention. "Hey! I'm not incompetent!"

The younger agent tried her hardest to return his glare, but a small smile still showed on her face. He was always so indignant about everything… "You're slow on the uptake then."

Kagome had to give the guy credit… that glare wasn't budging off his face.

"I'm not slow."

She gave a subtle smile, "I know."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. I'll never understand this girl… His ear twitched. He closed his eyes to try and ignore it.

Why had he made it so the radio could be that loud again?

"No, Miroku!"

"Please?"

"Miroku…"

"Sango, please? Pretty please? I'll be quiet!"

"No!" Sango hissed, pushing him against the wall. "Me first."

"But– "

The agent gave him a glare that dared for him to protest. When he relented she smiled and kissed him on the cheek before easing back to the door. "Alrighty then." She put the glass to the door and put her ear to the glass. "I can't hear anything…"

"You're probably not doing it right. Come on, let me try." He held out his hand expectantly, waiting for her to hand over their listening device. "Please?"

"Miroku, if you want to eavesdrop on Inuyasha and Kagome so bad get your own glass!"

"But yours is better!" He insisted, putting his ear to the door.

Sango sighed, "Oh, fine… the things I do for you…"

"You know you love it." "Just see what they're saying."

"Technically, sweetheart, I can't see what they're saying…" Sango gave her boyfriend a dead pan look.

"Miroku… baby…"

"Yes, snookums?"

"Give me the glass."

Kagome sniffed, then snuggled her head deeper into the mattress. It was so warm… so soft… Maybe she could take this mattress back home with her? She cracked her eyes open, noticing the change in scenery. This wasn't Sango's room – not unless she was into action movies and race cars.

Well it could be Sango's room…

Nope, this was definitely not Sango's bedroom. Kagome blinked, the clouds of sleep still blurring her vision. She could make out two white things moving a little above her, but everything else seemed silent. There was a murmur from outside, also, but she didn't even give that a second thought.

That's when she noticed there was a gust of warm wind blowing on her face every few seconds.

She muttered something incoherently and raised her head off the bed to come face to face with the most peaceful face she'd ever seen before in her life. Save for his twitching ears, Inuyasha looked like he was in heaven.

The young agent moved her leg, which had fallen asleep from being on the hard floor so long, and curled and uncurled her fingers. With a light yawn she looked back at the half demon. He was breathing steadily, eyelids covering his stunning golden eyes, and his mouth slightly open. He looks like a child… peaceful and content.

She reached up tentatively and rubbed one of the twitching, fuzzy triangles. He gave a sigh in his sleep, then turned a bit, so his face was halfway hidden by his pillow. Kagome let out a breath she'd been holding and resumed massaging his ears.

Inuyasha… you'd bite my hand off if you knew what I was doing right now. Kagome gave a sad smile, "I think that hurts the most."

No Matches Found.

The same three words flashed across the screen for the umpteenth time. This SJH has covered their tracks well… not even a single mention. Sesshoumaru let out a low growl in the back of his throat. He hadn't heard from his brother since the other day… either Inuyasha truly was incompetent or he was a fool and thought he didn't need to keep the ex-assassins informed.

Sesshoumaru could believe both perfectly.

The door to his office creaked open. "Have you received any more calls from your brother?"

Sesshoumaru looked up from his desk. "No."

Yura worried her bottom lip, "You don't think they're in trouble, do you?"

"No."

"Is that all you're going to say?" The hair demoness huffed, stomping over to his desk.

With slight amusement in his golden eyes he resumed typing away at his laptop, "Yes."

"You, Sesshoumaru, are more like your brother than you'll ever know." That got the desired effect when the tapping of the keys abruptly stopped. Yura left the room in a huff, planning to call Inuyasha the moment she found the nearest phone.

Sesshoumaru was stunned.

And that's how his wife saw him when she came in half an hour later. "Sessho, Jaken caught the kitchen on fire again… Sessho?" The dog demon didn't look up from the desk. "Kagura…"

"What's wrong?" "Who do I remind you of… if anyone?"

Kagura frowned, walking over and seating herself on the corner of his desk. "What do you mean?"

"Do I remind you of my brother?"

Kagura cocked her head to the side, a worried look on her face. "Did you eat Jaken's pasta salad again?"

"Am I anything like my bastard of a brother?" He reiterated.

"…no…" Kagura answered diffidently. At her husband's glare she flicked her wrist to open her fan.

"Kagura…"

"I think I hear Kanna calling me." His wife jumped up and exited just as swiftly as she had entered.

Sesshoumaru glared in her direction as she hurried down the hall. "Damn woman…" He looked back at his computer screen, trying to dig up anything and everything he could about the new threat. He really was going soft…

Wait a minute…

"Jaken did what?!"

Kagome had dozed back off a while ago, but luckily she'd fallen asleep rubbing his ears. He'd been wondering if he should 'pretend' to wake up, but then she would have stopped what she was doing… so he just kept his eyes closed.

"I think that hurts the most."

"What were you talking about, Kagome?"

Yeah, he'd heard her. He'd have been in real trouble if he hadn't started to feel better with those healing hands.

" 'nu… sha…" Kagome sighed in her sleep. The eighteen year old stirred, mumbling an inaudible word and then opened her eyes. "Oh gods…"

Sango chose that moment to barge into the room. "We've gotten a break… through." Well they hadn't been expecting this… When they'd stopped hearing them they just thought the glass was broke.

Kagome jumped away from the bed, still thinking Inuyasha was asleep, and clamped a hand over each of her friends' mouths. "Shh, Inuyasha's sleeping. Don't let him know, don't let him know…"

The couple looked at one another, then at Kagome, before she could feel their smiles underneath her hands. Then a muffled 'aww' from Sango.

Miroku gave her a questioning look, " e unt o ez aeep?"

"What?" Kagome released both of them, knowing sooner or later she'd regret it.

"He doesn't know he's asleep?" Miroku repeated drolly.

"Don't you dare give me that Miroku Ayushima!"

"Well here we are, killing ourselves to find out who this SJH is… and you two are in here living out your soap opera drama behind closed doors."

Inuyasha inwardly groaned – they were never going to let this go now…

"Sango!" Kagome gasped, "You make it sound like we were in here having a make out session or something!"

"Which we certainly were NOT." Inuyasha grumbled, sitting up from the bed alert. Too hell with his asleep act.

Kagome's cheeks heated to dangerous levels, "Inuyasha, you're-"

"What's with the glass?" The hanyou interrupted, pointing to the cup in Miroku's hand.

Miroku and Sango wore guilty expressions. "Nothing."

Kagome looked at them oddly, the shrugged it off. To each their own. "What breakthrough?"

Miroku responded with an intelligent 'huh?'.

"This breakthrough you woke us for!" Kagome repeated. Oh gods, I just realized how that sounds…

Luckily no one else seemed to notice.

"You need to see it to believe it." Sango grabbed Kagome by the wrist. "You too, Inuyasha." The half demon scoffed.

"No… really? I can come too?" Inuyasha asked with fake enthusiasm. To tell the truth, Inuyasha and huge ecstatic grins were a bit freaky. "Guys? Don't you dare just walk away!" He stomped off to follow them, temporarily forgetting everything that had occurred back in his room.

Sango collapsed back into her computer chair and brought up a screen. "There was the fingerprint we found on the fake Shikon Jewel… we scanned it into the agency's database and there are five possible matches."

Miroku nodded, his mouth a thin line. "You won't believe it."

"You're right… I don't." Kagome's mouth was parted in shock, her eyes rereading the names on the screen.

"What are you talking about?" Inuyasha scoffed, "What's so…" He trailed off, trying to regain his composure. "Naraku… Kagura… Kanna… these are all Naraku's kin!"

"We know."

"You mean… one of them did it?"

Sango bowed her head and shook her head. "They couldn't have."

"Like hell they couldn't!" Inuyasha roared, storming from the room. "They've fooled me once, they can do it again just as easily!"

"Inuyasha!" Kagome yelled. Don't do anything stupid… I know you…

Miroku and Sango traded worried looks before looking back at the screen. "It's possible that none of them did it."

Kagome looked back at them, "What do you mean?"

"Take a closer look, Kag."

The agent complied, realization dawning on her.

His brother was going to die. Sesshoumaru had to be involved! Kagura was his wife, and the others were her family. If one of them did it, then they were all in on it.

They wanted to know all the information because they had to keep tabs on him. They would always carry the mentality of an assassin, even though he thought they could change.

"You should have known you couldn't hide your tracks for long…"

"Inuyasha!" Kagome scanned the parking lot. Fang was nowhere to be seen.

Thunder rumbled, lightening flashed, and rain began to pour. The world became a whole lot less promising, and Kagome became a whole lot more worried.

"Kagome, what are you doing?" Sango grabbed her forearm.

"I'm going after him, what does it look like?" She didn't allow her eyes to stray from the empty parking space that she knew had held his car. "You don't even know where he's going!" Sango argued. "He has his cell with him, call him! Explain it that way. Don't go running out in a storm to try and stop him!"

"He'll just hang up or not even answer at all, Sango. He's too angry, you'd be too if you thought your brother had betrayed you." Kagome shut her mouth immediately, open mouth – insert foot. "Sango, I'm sorry – I didn't mean-"

Sango shook her head to show there were no hard feelings and sighed, "Kagome, at least take my car…"

"I'm too nervous to drive in the rain… if I do you'll find me lying in a ditch somewhere."

"Then let me drive you! Miroku and I will come with you – Kagome!" Sango chased her to the end of the garage, where she lost sight of her in the downpour. "What the hell is wrong with that girl?"

"Let her go." Miroku put a hand on her shoulder, making her jump.

"But Miroku it's pouring outside and she's on foot! What kind of crazy notion is she going through to think she can catch up with him?" Sango huffed, sinking into her boyfriend's chest in defeat. "She's in love just like we thought… I've heard about love making us do crazy things but…"

"It's crazy, and unwise… but have we ever known Kagome to think about things before she does them when she's worried?"

"I think you're confusing Kagome with Inuyasha…"

"No. Inuyasha does things without thinking no matter how he feels."

"Damn it!" Inuyasha pounded his fist on the steering wheel, ignoring the way the horn blared out in protest.

He was cursed.

Fang, for the first time in his life, had broken down. The rain was pounding on the windshield, making the curses streaming from his mouth impossible to hear from outside. Fang could do many things: become invisible, had fireproof interiors, store tanks of oxygen incase of water submersion… but it couldn't drive out of a mud pit.

Instead it's battery died, leaving Inuyasha stranded on a road about a mile and a half away from the base and an hour by foot from Sesshoumaru.

Inuyasha threw open the door and slid out, immediately becoming ankle deep in putrid smelling mud. He muttered another colorful phrase before heading for the hood. "It needs a jump start… please say that'll be it…" No one was out this late, not on a road like this. Just his luck.

But there was one word keeping him from going totally insane.

Kagome…

Inuyasha…

Kagome jumped over a puddle. He's going to go and do something stupid… and if I know him at all it will be to his brother's house… Kagome sped up.

She'd been running for almost twenty minutes when she saw it up ahead. She didn't believe it, but who else had long white hair and a silver sports car this late?

"Inuyasha!"

He didn't look up.

He's not still deaf… don't tell me he has the nerve to ignore me…

"INUYASHA!"

The half demon paused in his efforts to push the car up out of the ditch for the second time. He could have sworn he'd heard Kagome. Then again he'd also been hearing her name in his head for fifteen minutes… maybe he was finally going insane like Sango had been saying since they were kids?

Things just weren't looking up for him today…

Lightening lit up the sky with a crack of thunder at its heel and the raindrops hit like bullets. That's when Inuyasha felt someone coming. He couldn't hear very well over the constant thunder, but he could make out a vague silhouette growing steadily larger.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome wiped fiercely at the water running down her face. It was annoying and it was blurring her vision. She picked up speed, unable to see that the hanyou was looking right at her.

"Kagome?" Inuyasha slammed down the hood of his car and put a hand above his eyes to try and stop the rain. Suddenly he was slammed into the mud, a just-as-disheveled girl landing on top of him.

"I was so worried!" she gripped onto his waist tighter, making Inuyasha grunt. "I thought you'd be long gone by now… You could have died!" Her stormy orbs trailed their way down his face, staring at his lips, before seizing them.

Before he could respond, the feel of her lips on his was gone, and he was left wide eyed underneath the girl.

"Kagura and the others didn't do anything. They all share Naraku's fingerprint, except a little piece that's unique. It didn't match…" She sniffled, shocked she'd kissed him, scared for what he'd do, and terrified of how close she could have come to losing him. "None of them-"

Her lips stopped moving when she noticed the emotions in his eyes and his thumb silencing the words. Kagome was tense, even when he stole a kiss from her that kept going for what seemed like hours.

The rain poured but neither took notice.