A/N: Sorry it took me a little longer to get this chapter up, I got stuck doing massive piles of reading for school. Apparently, we're supposed to actually be doing work or something. Who knew?

Disclaimer: Still don't own Inuyasha or his delightful gang.

4. End of an Evening

Inuyasha relaxed a little bit as he heard the unmistakable sound of a mop and bucket being put away. He was totally unprepared when his door opened and a familiar "innocent" face peeked around the corner. Kagome, equally unprepared, would've tipped her chair over if it hadn't been bolted to the ground. She quickly scrambled to her feet.

"Hey Inuyasha, what's up?" Kagome observed the dark head and coverall-clad body of the young night janitor that she had met earlier that evening.

"Ah-ha! A girl in your room?" Miroku leered at Kagome in a friendly manner before motioning to her to sit back in her seat. "I didn't know you had it in you."

"Shut up Miroku," Inuyasha growled, "She just found her way in here by accident. It's not like we're friends or anything." Kagome narrowed her eyes at the ingrate. And after all she'd been offering to do for him, too. She clucked her tongue and shook her head at him, but before she had time to say anything--

"In that case..." no one who knew him could ever say that Miroku wasn't quick, or agile, as he could when he wished demonstrate both qualities. He chose to do so now. Before Kagome could blink, she looked down to find both her hands trapped within the warm grasp of the janitor.

"Since this fool obviously doesn't realize your worth," he started, "How about you and I..." Before he could finish his sentence, the beseeching janitor was picked up and tossed against the nearest wall. Inuyasha sat back down.

"Told you I was strong," he said to Kagome. She sat back down in her chair, feeling slightly bewildered by the whole chain of events.

Back in the monitoring room, Sango slapped her head. Things could have gone worse, she supposed. At least Miroku hadn't groped the poor girl.

"Ouch," Miroku rubbed his head, "I thought you said she was available?"

"I don't know if she is, and I don't care," Inuyasha retorted, "I just wasn't in the mood for midnight porn."

"Hello?" Kagome said, "Still here. And really, Inuyasha, so callous and cruel? My heart is breaking. And after everything we'd talked about, too." Inuyasha stared at her, unsure if she was serious or not, although he rather thought not. "Anyhow," she continued, "Now that Miroku is here to keep you company, I suppose I had better be going."

Kagome got up out of her chair, as Inuyasha tried to think of something that would make her stay just a little bit longer. She was, after all, the only visitor he had received in about a year and a half.

"Oh shit, the rat," Kagome swore, really, really thankful that her mother wasn't around. She was not doing well on that not-swearing pact that she had agreed to.

The two young men stared at her. "Rat?" they echoed.

"Yeah, rat," Kagome sighed, then explained her earlier situation to them.

"Oh," Inuyasha said, "Right before you came in here, a rat slipped under the door."

"Great! Where is it now?"

"What do I look like, a cat? I have no idea," Inuyasha said.

"Well," Kagome spoke very slowly, as if to a small child, "Why don't you use your super powers to figure it out?"

"I told you, they're enhanced, not super," Inuyasha snapped, "And with you screeching so much I wouldn't be able to hear a fifty piece orchestra playing Wagner."

Miroku looked at the combatants with amusement, then down to the floor where, a few minutes before, a small brown rat had crept underneath the bed. He supposed it had been startled when he hit the wall. Miroku wondered if he should tell Kagome, but she seemed to be having too much fun arguing with Inuyasha to listen to him.

"Just shut up a second, wench," Inuyasha ordered. Kagome stilled and watched with curiosity as his ears began twitching all over the place.

"I think it's under my bed now."

"Ok, I'll check." Kagome got to her knees, hoping that someone occasionally dusted in Inuyasha's room. With no more delay, she got on her hands and knees and stuck her head beneath the bed.

"Oh, here it is," she said, her voice floating out very softly from beneath the metal frame. "Quick, can you hand me the cage? It's by my chair." Without a word, Inuyasha passed it down to her, sliding open the top as he did so.

Miroku would've helped, but he was too busy admiring the contours of the young woman's attributes—probably why Inuyasha chose that moment to elbow him.

"So, why're you here anyhow?"

"Ah," Miroku smiled, "I brought contraband." Reaching into his pockets, he brought forth a small package.

"Pocky!" Inuyasha's eyes lit up as he snatched the packet out of Miroku's hand. "Awesome!" he pulled out a stick and started to munch.

At that moment, they were both distracted by Kagome's loud yell, "Get back here you little fuzz ball!" Both men looked up to see the back end of the girl give a wriggle, then disappear completely underneath the bed. A scurrying noise was heard, and then a small shape shot out from its hiding place, going hell-for-leather towards the door. "Grab it!" Kagome shrieked. Thrusting his pocky at Miroku, Inuyasha swooped forward and grabbed the little rodent by its tail.

"What do you want me to do with it?" he asked, eyeing the rat with distaste as it squeaked in his hand.

"Here, pop it in here with the others," Kagome grinned at him in victory, her face flushed and a large dust bunny nesting in her hair. Inuyasha smiled back and stuck the rat in the cage she was holding out to him.

"Well, I guess that's it," Kagome said. "Now I have to go home. But listen, Inuyasha, I only work weekends and I don't know when I'll get to see you again, but don't worry, I'll be thinking about what we were talking about earlier..." Her voice trailed off and she turned to Miroku, "Nice to meet you," she smiled.

"The pleasure was all mine," he returned, giving her a grin and holding her gaze for just a second too long.

"Erhm," Kagome cleared her throat, "Anyhow. Now how do I get out of this place?" She walked over to the door she'd entered by and fiddled with the locks. "Bye guys!" she called as the door swung open and she stepped out into the hallway.

What a weird evening, Kagome mused as she headed off to return Kikyo's keys to her desk and the newly secured rats to the lab.

Back in Inuyasha's room, two young men regarded each other silently for a minute, before Inuyasha took his pocky back from Miroku and started eating it happily.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

Kagome didn't get to see Inuyasha the next day. Her mother would tan her alive if she weren't home by a reasonable hour on a school night.

Kikyo was in a slightly better mood that day, owing to the reinstatement of the five furry miscreants without anyone realizing they'd ever made one last stab at freedom. She contented herself with assigning Kagome to the safe yet dull job of filing, and let it go at that.

Kagome was not a fan of filing. It was a job that required a lot more patience, and a much better fluency with the alphabet than she had. Actually, her alphabet was usually okay, but after an hour of going "Sutherland is under 'S' so that's 'Q R S' after 'R' and then uther is 'u' so 't u' after 't' and before 'v'," she felt about ready to scream. Plus she had the feeling that she had just filed a "Knightley" under 'n', but there was absolutely no way that she was going back to check. She just put things into the drawers; once they were there, they were someone else's problem. Luckily for her sanity, it was at that moment that she was interrupted by a friendly female voice.

"Hi. You must be new around here. My name's Sango." A woman slightly older than Kagome stood behind her, hand outstretched in a friendly gesture. Kagome shook it, glad of any excuse to get up from her position crouched in front of the gaping cabinet.

"Kagome," she said, "Kagome Higurashi. I'm a part-time employee."

"Oh, that would explain why we haven't met before," Sango smiled and tapped her nametag, "I'm part of the security here."

The two young women fell into easy conversation, chatting as if they had known each other for years. At least, that is until Kikyo blew through the room, like the eddying winter wind over the frozen tundra, lowering the temperature by about ten degrees and reminding both girls to get back to work. Kagome winced, not quite over the guilt of all her misdemeanors of yesterday. She turned back towards the filing cabinet after telling Sango that they should get in touch sometime.

As Sango walked away, she thought about the girl. She seemed to be a perfectly nice, innocent high school girl. Highly unlikely to be a super-spy, she chided herself. Still, it was best to be secure. She would see Kagome again. And try not to let her see Miroku. Sango rolled her eyes at the memory of the monk's typical overly friendly behavior.

If anyone had been walking directly behind the "security" officer, they would have heard a soft voice mumbling, "I swear, he is going to be the death of me. Why I don't just ask to be re-partnered, I'll never know. Honestly 'you said it needed the personal touch'" she mimicked a well- known innocent face, "What kind of excuse is that?" Sango's voice faded as she turned a corner, shaking her head.