AN: Well, I never did write that second chapter...Ah, well when the muse calls, scramble for the keyboard like you have never scrambled before...BTW, if you want to be notified when I update just email me to let me know.

OMG! I'm SO sorry this is so late, my phone line died! NO INTERNET! They said that it was, and I quote, "In LIMBO." I was like, what the heck? What's THAT supposed to mean!

Disclaimer: I do not own the InuYasha cast (shakes head despairingly) but I most definitely own upcoming OCs like my personal fav...Keagan! (Whom you will meet in this chapter...) So no stealie!

"Sometimes the mind, for reasons that we don't necessarily understand, just decides to go to the store for a quart of milk." Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider

Walking With TITANS

By Rockrgrl9049

Kagura froze in her tracks as the haunting call pierced the air around her. 'Lovely...He is such a fool! None of this would have happened if He had left well enough alone!'

Shaking her head, the wind-demoness altered her course to the Transportation Sector and used her enhanced speed to reach her favorite car: a little red Corvette. And, without a moment's hesitation, she sped out of the Military Base and toward an undisclosed destination.

Endless red. That was all that Sesshoumaru could see, now that his Inu Demon was in control. Whatever had angered it was in mortal danger now that he had lost control...whoever was scaring the girl, that is. Pity, it would probably be one of his Agents as well.

'Should have known leave girl alone,' his Inu snarled back.

True, and then why did his Inu care? She wasn't even a potential mate, so what was the problem?

'We promised to protect her...'

Ah, now his Celestial Demon had joined the fun, that was new. Those of his Celestial heritage were often his least frequent abilities.

'I remember making no such promise.'

An airy voice at the edge of his consciousness sighed lightly before a memory began to play before his eyes.

Sesshoumaru scowled as he strolled down the familiar hall of his home. He was going to check on the girl...again. She had been asleep for nearly three weeks, under a healing inducement. The resident Miko, Keade, had insisted that the little female needed time to recoup. So...he had been administering sleeping herbs to her daily rations. He had also been slipping her extremely small doses of...unusual sedatives, so the twit didn't wake up and have a heart-attack. The downside was she would be a bit...giddy, when she awoke. That was the side effect from giving her so many, even over a period of time. This whole thing was an inconvenience to him, really.

'Not that you had anything better to attend to...,' a seraphic voice chimed faintly in retort.

That put Sesshoumaru in an even more sour mood. He was already annoyed at being hassled incessantly by his 'Co-Leader.' Kouga was being especially pushy now that this onna had come about (i.e.: Is she awake? What did you do to her? I want to see my woman as soon as her eyes open!)...This whole situation was wearing his nearly boundless patience thin. In fact, he was still brooding when he stepped into the room and realized the girl was finally awake. He sauntered over to tower above her along side the western-style bed, noting that she had no fear whatsoever of him.

'Stupid side effects. No matter, might as well get the whole speech over with...'

"You are now under the protection of the TITANS. You will not leave this premises without permission, my permission. You will be under my...guidance until further notice. While that is so, you will obey this Sesshoumaru without hesitation. My word is law, no questions asked. Am I clear?"

'That is a standard debriefing, what is your point?'

'It is a promise nonetheless...'

Sesshoumaru was about to reply when yet another nerve-wrenching howl tore through the once still air...

'GONE!'

The girls tormenter has escaped, eh? Odd, his Inu could track it in an instant; thus his Celestial heritage must have some hold over his more primal side...interesting. Then, slowly but surely, the red drained from the Taiyouki's vision and conscious.

Kagome was panicking. There was no other way to describe it. Full-blown panic. The whole shebang: hyperventilation, uncontrollable tremor, erratic eye movement...You name it, it was happening to her.

Shivering for what had to have been the billionth time, Kagome glanced around herself. She was cowering in the corner of a three foot by four foot broom closet of a room. The downside being that she was horribly claustrophobic, and it was dark...Kagome didn't like darkness either. The upside...well, she couldn't think of one just now, and her feverish mind wasn't being exceedingly optimism-supportive at the moment either.

'Get a hold of yourself! You are so much bigger then this fear,' she chanted in her mind. Not that it helped...at all. Actually, come to think of it, it was getting worse.

'The walls are closing in...what will you do now, Miko?'

Kagome would've been puzzled by that voice, so different than her own, had her mind not been a bit preoccupied. Her defense mechanisms had begun to fail her, and her phobia was raining down on her harder than ever.

At this revelation, Kagome shuddered yet again and attempted to fold herself further into her chosen corner. She was just beginning to dissolve into tears when a nerve-grating roar tore the very atmosphere around her. It was then she truly began to weep, she was fearing for her sanity now...she was hearing things. It was safe to say that she had effectively worked herself into hysterics when the door before her was torn from its very casing.

When Sesshoumaru came back to himself, he was holding a mangled door in one hand, and peering into the fairly small space in which Kagome was housed. Effortlessly tossing the once-pristine door to his left, he stepped into the room and stooped close to Kagome. His stoic mask still in place, the Taiyouki tipped the sobbing female's chin to face him with his index finger and thumb.

'Her eyes are dull.'

That thought held true. Her marine eyes had darkened again to their haunted slate grey. Letting out a long-suffering (though inaudible) sigh, he scooped the shuddering and broken form of the Miko into his arms and stood. Silently, he adjusted her feather weight form to lean on his right shoulder, like one would a young child, and began to walk calmly back through the doorway. He could feel her salty tears soaking steadily through the fabric adorning his shoulder, and her bawling seemed to only worsen. At that realization, before he could suppress it, a deep growl rose, reverberating and rumbling more than sounding through his form. The bass-pitched roar had its desired effect; instead of frightening the girl, it soothed her frazzled nerves, much like the purring of a cat might.

'This Sesshoumaru is no feline,' he thought to himself, banishing the thought, and spitting out the word 'feline' like a sort of vile epithet. 'What a disgusting thought!'

At the same time in the next room, all but one of the Agents stood motionless with their mouths agape in shock. One among the crowd was grinning slyly. He was called Kegan, and he was of Royal Neko and Shadow Youki blood. He watched the whole situation with a boyish grin, as his obsidian tail swung to-and-fro gleefully.

'Perfect...'

InuYasha was, for once in his life, shocked beyond words. He had just seen and heard his half-brother lose control. And his brother had never lost control...EVER. It was easier for his brother to control his inner Inu because of: a) the way he was trained, and b) his Celestial heritage. For him to lose control, both of his demons would have to be angry, or his celestial being would at least have to agree with his more impulsive side's reasoning. In short, this just wasn't supposed to be happening!

Sesshoumaru carefully monitored Kagome's vitals as he walked steadily back to his rooms. As he walked by his gathered Agents, he let his aura flare, signaling that they were NOT to follow or disturb him or his ward anytime soon.

After five minutes of walking, the Taiyouki reached his destination, and made his way through the familiar halls of his home to Kagome's appointed room. Once he stepped inside, he looked down at the tiny thing that had caused his control to slip, finding her sound asleep and snoring daintily. The stoic Lord just sighed inwardly and shifted her again so he could pull back her sheets.

Only seconds after he had delivered the girl to her resting place, Sesshoumaru's watch began beeping and scrolling the message, REPORT TO KANE. NOW. The demon just frowned minutely and headed for his commanding officer's position. He truly wasn't in the mood to be reprimanded, but he really liked being the Moon Taiyouki.

LINE

The TITANS were assembled as a whole once again, in fact with this new Naraku foe, the full assembly of the Agents was getting more and more common. Moon and Sun Squadrons were assembled side by side once more, but the Leader was not present, only a very smug-looking Co-leader.

Commanding officer Kane was standing at the head of the room, looking a bit impatient for the Inu Taiyouki to arrive. But just as he was about to send another page to the 'pup,' the doors slid away to reveal the 'guest of honor.' The Eastern Lord simply nodded and sent the mental note 'We will speak later,' then turned to directly face the now complete Squads.

"Be seated," he began, then once they were situated, he continued, "You have been summoned for another high-class mission. Tonight, you will be infiltrating the Laboratory Facility of Necromancer Incorporated, upon arrival you will destroy the machinery that made project MIKO possible. The super computer was built and is run by an engineering genius by the name of Kanna, and is code-named: VOID. I want no trace of the computer or blueprints in existence when you return, am I understood?"

A chorus of 'Sir! Yes, sir!'s followed, and he finished by telling them, "You will depart at 0200 hours. You are dismissed."

Location: Quickly Approaching Necromancer Incorporated: Laboratory Facility 01

Time: 0230 hours

An assortment of Super-Soldiers lined the belly of the cargo hold, all of whom were sitting and waiting impatiently for their roles to be assigned. Among the agitated mass, sat one Kagura Kaze, whom was nervous for a completely different reason.

She had returned promptly, albeit reluctantly, when she had been summoned via her TITANS issue transmitter. At first, she had feared for her well-being, but upon her arrival, she was met by a mission debriefing, and not a red-eyed Leader. Which she was extremely grateful for, but she did realize in the back of her mind that Sesshoumaru did NOT forgive and forget. Ever. She would have to pay the piper eventually, that she knew, it was just a matter of time. The cinnamon-eyed demoness let out a sigh at this revelation, and had just leaned back to rest her weary eyes when the Leader and Co-Leader stepped into the hold.

"Agents: Miroku, Sango and Kirara are assigned as scouts; eliminate roof security, and guarantee a safe route of return,

Kagura, Houjo, and Ayame are snipers; neutralize incoming opposition,

Ah and Un are com specialists; tap and track through their security grid, update the scouts and snipers on enemy locations,

Shippo, you are to come with InuYasha, Kouga, and this Sesshoumaru to destroy the VOID and get out, no questions asked. Am I understood?" At this, the Leader glanced around the assembly and let his gaze become a glare when he found Kagura. He watched with morbid satisfaction as she paled when the blood rage seeped slowly into his molten irises. But, he didn't plan on dealing with her just yet, so he mentally sent a feral growl along with the message: 'I will not forget. So do not run: I am faster. And do not try to hide: I will hunt you to the ends of the earth.(Snarl) Never come near her again.'

After receiving his mental message, Kagura sunk lower into her seat on the metal bench and tried to take deep breathes to recover her composure. This, however; was shortly interrupted by a resounding BOOM and the lurching of the plane. Soon a metallic roar and the hiss of depressurization filled the air with its chaotic rumble.

They heard the pilot shout from the cabin, "We've been hit with a homing missile of some sort...Engine Three is unresponsive!"

At this news, Sesshoumaru let a growl rise from his chest. He turned to the Squads with his eyes narrowed and told them, "Here are your new rules of engagement: shoot any foe you see without hesitation. This is no longer a stealth mission. We are obviously expected. Excluding that, all prior plans will continue as formerly stated, am I clear?" A chorus of affirmatives rose from the Squadrons as they began their decent.

Once they hit the rooftop, the situation was hectic. Gunfire streamed from many sentries, but they were eliminated quickly by the snipers. Then came the annoying minions, but they also were being taken care of fairly quickly by not only the scouts but also by Sesshoumaru's own, smaller team.

Kagura and Houjo were lying side by side with their long distance rifles propped and their sights ready. They were to pick off any lackeys that got to close to their Leader's position, while Ayame just randomly zapped anything that moved (one of her favorite pastimes). At that moment, two especially ugly demons ambushed the group from behind. 'No prob,' Houjo thought, picking off his target, 'Kagura and I could hit these in our sleep...' That was true, but Kagura's heart wasn't in it tonight, and that was about to become a fatal error.

'I am finished,' Kagura ranted in her mind as she blasted a Youki that had been approaching Kouga. 'More then likely, he'll have me kicked off the team!' Her thoughts were clouding her judgment, and she didn't see the oni descending upon the Moon Taiyouki until it was too late. Her cinnamon eyes widened as she quickly delivered the kill shot...a moment too slow.

Sesshoumaru had just dissolved a pesky Neko youki with his poison claw when he felt a presence behind him. 'The snipers are sleeping on the job tonight...' He thought offhandedly, as he spun to kill the offender. But, just as he raised his pistol toward the oni's many eyes, a scream ripped through his mind, sending his inner demons into a frenzy and braking his concentration. A moment's hesitation was all it took, as the spider demon injected its poison-filled fangs just below his neck plate, shredding the black material beneath it. It had found one of the only chinks in the near-perfect armor. The Leader distantly felt the impact of the bullet that finished the beast, as well as the additional white hot poison that filled his bloodstream as the fangs broke off within his shoulder, just behind his clavicle. Then...a curious numbness filled the Inu Taiyouki as he lost his ability to stand and fell to his knees. 'Something is wrong with the girl...' Was his last coherent thought as darkness consumed him and he folded to the floor. As soon as his massive shoulders met the ground, a halcyon form sprung from the fallen form, moving at the speed of light to an unknown location.

"LEADER," the Agents cried in near unison. Never had they seen their Taiyouki defeated in battle. And, what was that light?

"Agent 116 get your Leader to the Byrd on the double," Kouga roared. He watched as InuYasha quickly hauled the lax frame of his half-brother onto his shoulder and leapt back to the damaged aircraft. Thinking quickly and reluctantly deciding on the most logical course of action, the Co-Leader issued his next command, "RETREAT!"

A hazy violet and silver vortex swirled just below Kagome's dangling feet. Pulsating hues spun perpetually, entrancing the young Miko. Just then, the center most point shimmered oddly, and Kagome had but a moment before it pulled her forward with an intangible force, enveloping her in the blink of an eye.

As if by magic, Kagome's vision instantly came back to focus a second later. She found herself floating once again in the air, but this time over the familiar scene of her family's kitchen. Her childhood home...it seemed so peaceful from her omniscient perspective. The blue-eyed girl smiled with bliss when she witnessed her mother enter the room, humming some tune she guessed, but she could not know for sure, for the scene had no sound. The forty-something year-old woman first donned her apron, then began bustling about with a practiced ease, retrieving all of the necessary ingredients for that night's dinner. Suddenly, an energetic blur burst through the doorway, soccer ball in hand, waving his arms about wildly, and probably retelling his soccer practice with plenty of exaggerations. Kagome watched as her mother listened patiently with a soft, loving smile on her face. Moments later, the aged form of her Grandpa entered the scene, sitting himself heavily in a nearby chair. The young Miko was in tears at this point, she missed them all so much it physically hurt!

The scene played peacefully like this for a few more moments, until all at once the figures looked up. Souta jumped to his feet and shouted something, then made for where Kagome knew the front door to be. The doorbell, Kagome assumed...then it hit her...'NO! NO! DON'T SOUTA! NO!' This was the night of their deaths, she realized...She tried her hardest to scream at them...Why couldn't they hear her? Why didn't they understand? They had to run, run far away! 'Get away! RUN,' she sobbed in her mind. She couldn't tear her eyes away from the scene as the adults rose from their seats at the table. Nor could she miss the terrified expression on her mother's face when eight burly men burst into the kitchen, one of them holding Souta. 'A spider,' Kagome wondered through her tears, 'They all have a spider insignia on their backs...' They shouted something and the man holding Souta tossed him to her mother as the rest pulled their guns from their holsters...'NO! NO! NO,' Kagome's screams and pleas echoed in her mind, as she watched her mother shield Souta with her body and her beloved Grandfather step before both of them. Then came the first sound in the whole dream...the roar of gunfire, piercing the silence like the pain that shot through her heart.

Kagome shot straight up in her bed, wailing. It was the sound of her heart shattering into a million pieces. It was a mourning howl straight from her rending soul. It was a banshee's cry...an angel's lament.She couldn't stop herself, and tears rushed down her face in a never ending torrent.She lay there for what seemed like an eternity, but could only have been a few moments, visibly shaking with her sobs.

Then, suddenly, a golden light filled her vision, calming her slightly with its peaceful and comforting aura. It was humanoid in shape, and it extended its brilliant arm to her face, whisking away her tears.Its warm palm then moved to hover above her forehead, where it pointed its middle and index fingers and began to chant an ancient and long forgotten language in a soft, seraphic alto. It soothed her frazzled nerves like the embrace of a mother would, as well as erasing the memory of her vision. Drying her last tears, Kagome looked up to the Angel-like being and gave it a shaky smile in thanks. The celestial figure nodded its elegant head in understanding, and a warmth filled the Miko as its enormous aura reflected its happiness, 'Like an abstract smile...' Kagome thought dazedly. Once more, the Angel nodded its head, this time in parting, before brilliant silver wings emerged from its back to wrap around its misty form as it dissipated into the very air, leaving behind only the faint smell of a thunderstorm. 'What an odd dream, what made me think of Angels?' Kagome thought, shifting among the pillows lethargically

BANG! BANG! BANG! Kagome started at the sound of someone pounding at the door. Hesitantly, Kagome stood away from the bed and tiptoed through the halls. BANG! BANG! BANG! 'Someone's impatient. Maybe Sesshoumaru forgot his keys or something.' BANG! BANG! BANG!Rolling her eyes, Kagome broke into a jog, and skidded to a stop at the door . Quickly, she pressed the correct key, and watched the door slide back. She had been expecting an annoyed Sesshoumaru, but found instead someone she had never met. He stood well over six feet, probably rivaled in height only by the Moon Taiyouki himself.His spiked, jet black hair was accented with deep purple highlights, tanned skin, and slanted, cat-like eyes that were almost black-violet in hue. She could see worry reflected in both his chiseled features and his obsidian tail as it swayed nervously behind him, and rapidly became concerned. He hurriedly informed her, "I'm Keagan and I'm here to escort you to the infirmary. Kaede-baba has sent for you. She is in need of another Miko. The Leader has been hurt...and it looks bad."

END CHAPTER

Another cliffhanger...I'm SOOOO evil...Oh well, I'm working on the next chapter as we speak...Kat, out!