Mission Completed
Sakura's Note: I deserve whatever is coming to me. I haven't updated…in a very long time. Period.
Onto story-related stuff. This chapter picks up a little earlier than when Kagome blocks the window with her jacket. So, they won't be saying 'Stop the car' for a little while. (Just so no one gets confused)
Also, to clear another thing up; Although they are very near New York City, the agency isn't. The hidden entrance (which hasn't been used since MIM) is located in NYC, but the actual agency is located on the outskirts (perhaps even in New Jersey, the world…might never know). Therefore, the roads Inuyasha speeds along all the time barely ever see any cars.
.-..-.
Chapter 11: Primary Target
.-..-.
Sango and Miroku had stayed behind to try and find the missing Agency personnel, leaving him and his hanyou capabilities to handle it.
That was fine with him.
He could get to her faster without the others slowing him down. His legs were much more reliable, and he couldn't take any chances. Kagome…I'm coming for you!
Wind whistled in his ears as he sped down the neglected road. He could smell car exhaust up ahead. The trail was heating up.
Narrowing his eyes and pushing himself forward, Inuyasha was able to see his target up ahead. A very smudged version of Kagome penetrated the glass.
.-..-.
Musou checked his sunglasses in the rear view mirror, ignoring the protesting girl in the backseat. "She is an awful lot of trouble, Hakudoushi... Why are you so dead set on capturing her?"
The pale demon looked over coldly. "That woman possesses an inner purity that holds power over the jewel." He glared out the window, his fingers lightly touching the roof of the car. "Without her it would be much, much harder to control it. Kikyo might be able to, but she is far too tainted to do any real good."
Musou's attention focused intently on his brother. "Say, Hakudoushi... Where is the jewel, anyway?"
Hakudoushi eyed his brother for a moment, "Your memory is a flighty thing."
"I wasn't born with one." He stated gloomily. "It isn't my fault."
"I count it as an advantage. If you're caught they won't get anything out of you." Hakudoushi said impassively. Looking behind him, Hakudoushi frowned. Something was speeding towards them. "What is that?"
Musou looked out the rear view mirror, slightly perturbed. He couldn't make out anything from the distance. "It's hard to tell..."
The window to the back was covered in denim in less than a second. Hakudoushi cursed loudly. "What is she doing?"
His older brother shook his head. "I don't know. She must have noticed it too."
Hakudoushi looked behind him, banging on the Plexiglas. His eyes darkened. With a lightening fast turn of his head, he looked out the side window. "Stop the car."
.-..-.
"Come on…Come on!" Kicking at the door again, Kagome bit her lip. The car stopped whilst she began gathering up her lower body strength.
The driver's side door opened and slammed shut. They saw him! Looking out the tinted glass at Musou, eyes wide, Kagome held her breath.
He stopped for a moment, looking his hostage straight in the eye, before continuing towards the back of the car.
Pounding her hands against the glass, Kagome tried to warn her savior. "INUYASHA! He's coming! Musou's coming!" She knew he'd heard her when Inuyasha darted to side to avoid a collision with the other demon.
Not allowing her denim jacket to fall from its place, Kagome used her right leg to kick at the glass. A sharp pain ran up and down her leg but she continued. "Perseverance, Kagome, perseverance."
.-..-.
"They've reached us."
Yura nodded, strands of hair coming from seemingly nowhere wrapping themselves around her wrists in support. Diving out of the tree expertly, the hair demon soared towards the stopped vehicle ahead of them.
After allowing Yura the right of way, Sesshoumaru disappeared in a blur of white, gold, and blue, followed closely by Kagura.
Upon her feather, Kagura threw the smoke bomb down towards the car. A moment later, sharp razors formed of air flew towards the passenger side. "It's him… Sesshoumaru, it's the one from Naraku's hideout!"
She saw the blur give a slight nod before, as though from thin air, her mate materialized by the car.
Yura had disappeared, but Kagura knew she wasn't far away. Most likely, a deadly trap incase of an attempted escape was being formed…one that could behead anyone who tried to run.
.-..-.
His ears easily honed in on the sound of Kagome in the backseat. Suddenly, the black blur collided with him, something sharp threatening to stab him in the stomach at any moment. Inuyasha jumped back in surprise, glaring at the materializing figure. By his smell he could tell already he was made from Naraku.
Seeing Kagome frozen in shock as the back of the car was sliced in half, Inuyasha cursed at his half brother's abrupt handling of the situation.
I can't blame him for being here, but how dare he scare Kagome!
Kagome screamed, rolling to the left before the bright yellow energy could slice through her. Her ears ached from the screech of metal slicing up around her.
After the metal cooled, all that remained was smoke from the recently deployed bomb. Kagome coughed, rubbing her arm, and made a dash for it. The car was wasted, but the other passenger was still alive.
Without my bow...it'll have to be hand-to-hand combat... Kagome swallowed, but her mouth had gone dry. Something was coming fast, setting off alarms from all of her senses. She turned in time to see a blur of someone swinging through the air towards the debris. An invisible force shot out, barely missing Kagome's cheek. The demon rushed down it at Inuyasha-like speed.
Yura.
If Inuyasha noticed the new arrivals, he didn't show it. His whole incentive was on Musou, who was fighting with as much energy as he'd had in the beginning. Unlike Inuyasha, he hadn't had to run the entire way.
Kagome wanted to call out his name so badly, wanted to help, but her conscience stopped her. It'll distract him, he'll look my way and then it could be all over. I have to protect myself for him so all he has to worry about protecting is himself.
.-..-.
Kikyo's eyes were narrow slits; hands outstretched towards the door. With glowing hands, a burst of energy shot out sending the bolted door flying onto the floor. She smirked, "The jewel. Scattered...how clever."
She did not spare Naraku a glance before climbing the stairs and entering the new atmosphere. Despite the unpleasant aura surrounding the place, the home she'd been stored in was quite cozy. The floor was carpeted white, the same color as almost everything else in the room. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a familiar glow.
Ignoring Naraku's insistent protests from below, Kikyo confidently approached the table. Lying there in a state of carelessness, was a piece of the Sacred Shikon no Tama. The sleek white table sparked at Kikyo's touch, but died down in an instant.
Pure energy shot through the table, encountering the dark black shard. Almost instantly, it became pure, shooting up into her awaiting hand. Controlling the fickle shards had always been an easy task.
Metal clanged against metal down below, but Kikyo only walked farther from the basement towards what looked to be the kitchen.
Either her senses were completely off, or there were no other shards in the vicinity. It made no sense that Musou and Hakudoushi had only one shard. Where were the rest?
Where was Hakudoushi's confidence coming from if he didn't have them in his protection? It was foolish to carry them around with Inuyasha searching for them.
"So, your idea is to divide and re-conquer later." It took her a moment, but the tattered business card lying atop the kitchen countertop had given her an answer instantly. "Shikon Jewelers. Clever."
.-..-.
By splitting the car in half, Sesshoumaru had caused it to explode. Chunks of metal were scattered across the road haphazardly, causing Inuyasha and Musou to weave around them to attack one another.
Kagome stopped beside a tree long enough to notice someone dart behind her. Jumping forward and skidding on the ground, she missed the paralyzing dart by only centimeters. Gasping for breath, she rolled across the flame-covered ground towards the battle.
A rather large chuck of scrap metal blocked her from fully seeing the individual, but she could already see the glowing eyes through the flames.
"You're still my captive, girl…"
Sliding across the ground far enough that she reached her target, Kagome kicked random rubble towards her attacker as a distraction. As soon as she was close enough to wrap her fingers around the burning, sharp, thin piece of metal, Kagome gave a silent prayer.
Pure energy filled the metal rod, making the flames roar with life, glowing white. With an accuracy she had learned with Myouga and perfected with Miroku, the pseudo arrow made it's way towards the white demon in front of her.
Jumping up into a run, Kagome didn't bother to look back.
"Kagome!" Kagura looked a bit faint, but much better than the way they'd left her. Heaving herself up onto the immensely large feather, Kagome missed something flying towards her.
Hakudoushi looked angry. It wasn't a surprise, considering his lack of a hand and the burning of his left arm. Roaring in anger, Hakudoushi shot another burst of energy towards the feather.
With a swipe of her fan, Kagura shouted out a counterattack. "Ryuujin no mai!"
A glint of something shot forward, causing Hakudoushi to skid to a stop before he was sliced in two.
Watching from high enough in the air that Kagome was unable to be hurt, the two looked down on the scene.
Looking over at Kagura, Kagome noticed the extreme concentration in her eyes. She was waiting for something. Kagome followed her gaze down to the fight on the ground where Musou has just fallen by one of Inuyasha's blows.
An opportunity presented to her, Kagura swiped down her fan, whispering something Kagome couldn't understand. Two of the razor sharp daggers of wind sliced through Musou's right leg. He was down for the moment.
"Kagura, I have to help Inuyasha-"
"Hakudoushi can fly." Without another word, the feather zoomed down towards the ground just as a surging purple ball of energy, carrying said demon, crashed down beside them. The force field's energy had destroyed the asphalt, creating a crater in the earth.
Letting out a scream, Kagome somersaulted onto the road. Landing on her feet, she dashed towards Inuyasha. You're the only one who can truly protect me…please forgive me for distracting you.
"INUYASHA!"
At the last moment, Musou lunged.
"Inuyasha, left!"
Ducking to the left, Inuyasha cursed the blind spot and grabbed onto Kagome. "Kagome, are you ok?"
"I'm fine! Just fight! Know that I'm going to have your back, and you have mine!"
.-..-.
"Nothing." Running a hand through his hair, Miroku leaned against the wall. "Where is everyone?" Looking up into Sango's face, Miroku beckoned her towards him. "Don't worry, we'll find him. You won't lose him again."
"I already have."
Breathing in the scent of her hair, Miroku closed his eyes. "No, you haven't. He's out there somewhere, and he's himself. There's no reason why we won't find him. Inuyasha will be back and Musou will be defeated, Kagome will be back, and, we're going to find Kohaku."
Nodding into his chest, Sango sighed unevenly. "Let's go search the electronics branch now." She straightened out her clothing, trying to best to pull it back together.
The two walked side by side down the hallway until they reached the bolted shut doorway.
"I doubt they are in here…Musou had no way of finding out the pass code. It changes every twenty four hours for most of the employees."
"We might as well try and see." Miroku motioned Sango forward to let her scan in her fingerprint.
Typing in her own personal pass code after the print analysis, Sango waited with baited breath for the multiple locks to unlock and allow them inside.
The doors slid open, revealing another entryway.
"This certainly is a high tech area…" Miroku tapped at one of the glass protected areas with amazement. "There is a chance that he found his way inside here. Maybe he used one of the agents to get inside."
Sango nodded distractedly before running ahead towards another corridor full of electronic security.
Staying back to check behind some of the larger equipment, he noticed something.
Out of the corner of his eye, something moved.
Sango reappeared with a whisper. "Miroku." Motioning him to follow, Sango disappeared around the corner once again.
Jogging towards her, Miroku stopped at the larger, mauled door.
"Something tells me this is where they're being held…"
"The door is jammed though," Sango tried to type in her security number again, huffing in frustration. "It's too mangled to open properly. If we want in, we're going to have to find another way."
"And, of course, there are no air vents in here…It'd be way too easy for a break in." Sighing, Miroku looked around the room for another option. "Aha!"
"Miroku, that's a broom."
"Yes, it is." Miroku smiled proudly. "I've trained with a staff all my life, I think I can use this to break down the door." Taking a considerable amount of steps back, he threw the broom stick forward javelin style. It flew straight, with enough force to have probably cut through Sango's stomach. Although it began to splinter on contact, the force was enough to knock the steel-enforced hinges to snap.
"All we need to do know is lift it off." With a trained flick of her hip, Sango's foot slammed into the doorway, causing dust and debris to fall around her. "I could use some help, Miroku."
She felt his eyes on her, but didn't want to know where. "MIROKU!"
It took a moment, but he was by her side, poised to kick. "On three?"
Sango nodded. "One…two…!"
Both flew forward, both their right feet hitting the doorway with all their strength. It slammed to the ground, leaving them in complete darkness.
Something was breathing.
"Miroku, behind you." Sango knocked him to the ground and punched blindly in the direction of the breaths. She made contact with something old and slimy, but ignored her repulsion. "It's a trap!"
She heard the thing fall to the ground, assuming Miroku had tripped it. "Where are you?" Two slimy hands grabbed her, tossing her across the room.
"There're two of them at least!" She heard Miroku fighting to her left, but couldn't see but little glimmers of him. "Follow my voice!"
"Ngh…" Holding her head, Sango stood. "I can't, there's one over here."
Miroku didn't respond for a moment. "…Then there must be three."
Slamming her fist into the gut of her attacker, Sango slid under it, throwing it over her shoulder. At the sound of its back slapping against the ground, she made a dash for it. "Miroku-!"
Miroku slid towards her on the slime on of the monsters had left behind. "It's no good, we can't see them in the dark. There's no electricity!"
Electricity…Jumping over a dark heap, Sango ran for a wall. Wires, wires, come on…! Yes! Ripping at a small cord, she felt it snap. "Ok! We've got light!"
Sparks flew from the wire, falling to the floor. Something slimy shined intensely, then, in the blink of an eye, caught fire.
A fire broke out by the empty wall, burning on the essence of what Sango could only think could be a demon.
"Sango!" Miroku came running into view, followed by a huge, black demon. It roared for the first time, sending waves of energy towards them. "We need to get out of here."
"But- Kohaku!"
"They wouldn't leave them all here with these beasts." Miroku pushed her towards the exit, but another of the black demons blocked his path. Slime dripped from its body, fueling the flames on the ground.
Before he could attack again, gas appeared. I'm getting tired…and I can't move my arms or legs at all…Sango, get out of here.
.-..-.
Musou fell, left eye bloodied and right arm gone.
"Tell me, where is everyone!"
Musou laughed in Inuyasha's face. "I don't know."
Kagome frowned, grabbing the car's half destroyed windshield wiper up off the ground. It glowed, heated, cooled, and pulsed with pure energy.
Inuyasha's frown, reinforced from Kagome's suggestive threat, tightened. "WHERE ARE THEY!"
Pointing Tetsusaiga at the demon, Inuyasha growled warningly. "Fine." Throwing back his sword, Inuyasha brought it down. "Kaze no Kizu!"
The ground ripped away with Musou, leaving nothing behind but deep tracks in the road.
Sesshoumaru reappeared from the forest, his calm eyes showing only a small degree of his anger. He hadn't been able to find Rin, nor Hakudoushi.
Kagura and Yura looked just as irate, not able to trace Hakudoushi's scent either.
Looking over to where Inuyasha stood, Yura covered her mouth. "I guess there's only one left now…"
"Keh." Inuyasha sheathed his sword and crossed his arms. "Musou wasn't helping anything, and he was putting Kagome in danger. With him gone, there's one less threat for everybody Hakudoushi can erase his scent, so we're gonna have to find him without relying on smell."
Kagome blushed at Inuyasha's bold declaration of concern but kept her serious façade in place. Deep down, she was trembling.
Yes, she'd faced men and demons alike with insane powers and weapons at their disposal; all directed at her, but never like this. There had never been such a powerful demon after her and only her, dead set on capturing her alive. The Shikon Jewel was with Hakudoushi, which meant there was only one reason that he needed her.
The thought of being captured by him…it chilled her to the bone.
Inuyasha seemed to sense it and gave her a worried glance. She didn't seem to be paying attention to anything being said. Wrapping a protective arm around her, Inuyasha looked back at his brother. "They have the Jewel, find it, we find them. It's simple." Looking down at Kagome, his voice changed. "Are you up to looking for it yet or do you need time?"
Kagome blinked. She'd never seen him so patient, especially with her. Hakudoushi wanting to capture me must be bothering him as much as it's bothering me…
No matter what, though, she would not stop fighting. It was the only way of ending what Naraku had started. "I'm ready."