Hey everyone! This chapter is filled with info that I know you're all dying to know. I'm sorry if is slightly confusing, but I had to get this stuff out there before I moved on with the story! So, please, enjoy!

Disclaimer - Yay! I stole Inuyasha from Hanyou Vixen, so I have him! Unfortunately, I don't own him, but I'm working on the paperwork!

9 - How the Past Works Against Us

"The Blue Moon Syndicate?" Inuyasha asked, not wanting to believe what he was hearing.

"Yeah, well... It's a long story..." she struggled as she talked, trying to follow her instincts and run away. Inuyasha wasn't going to let that happen anytime soon.

"I'm not going anywhere. So why not tell me what going on?"

She sighed. 'I knew this would happen eventually... I'd have to tell everything to my friends... But I thought I'd have the rest of my family there to back me up...' Remembering this, fresh tears slid down her face. She buried her face in his chest, trying to hold back the tears.

"I know, I know..." he whispered gently in her ear. After that, she lost it. The salty tears slid down her face as her breath caught in her chest. Her small body heaved, and her strangled cries of pain ripped through Inuyasha's heart like a knife. He tightened his hold on her, and kissed her head tenderly. His amber eyes looked out to her former home.

'Well, if the Blue Moon Syndicate is after her, then we need to hide... But I wonder how in the hell she got involved in that crowd?' She snuggled closer to him, using his body for support while crying. He burried his nose in her hair, inhailing her soothing scent. 'It doesn't matter. But staying here isn't helping. We need to get Miroku and Sango and run for it' He slipped his left arm under her limp body and picked her up. Silent tears streamed down her face as she gave him a look of confusion.

"If you're right and the Syndicate is after you, then we all need to go into hiding. You, me, Miroku and Sango," he told her as he ran to the side of the building away from the formerly beautiful shrine and hopped off the building, landing on the next. The last image Kagome saw before letting herself float into sleep was the burning shrine, and the enormous god tree falling to the ground, engulfed with flames.

Later, the teens found themselves in Miroku's house on the other side of town. They were all seated in his livingroom, silence blanketing the area. After Inuyasha mentioned the Blue Moon Syndicate, everyone went quiet.

Suddenly a thougth occured to Kagome. "Do you guys somehow know of the Syndicate?"

"No duh!" Inuyasha replied sarcastically. "All of us have had some sort of problems with the Syndicate, and they were all my fault!" he said angrily as he stood up and balled his fist and stared intently at the wall.

"We've been over this before, Inuyasha," Sango said soothingly. "It's not your fault."

"But in a way, it is." He sat back down next to Kagome and stared at the carpet.

"What is what?" Kagome asked, compleately lost.

"Okay," Inuyasha said as he took a calming breath. "When I was young, my parents were filthy rich. I'd always had anything I wanted and more. But, when I turned five, my parents were both murdered. I hardly remember them. I probably would've been killed, too, if it wasn't for my half brother, Sesshomaru. He knew something was going down, so he came to our estate and arrived just in time to save me. Unfortunately, he was a little too late to save my parents..." His words wandered off. He went deep into thought for a moment.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome whispered, gently bringing him back to reality.

"Right. Well, after that, I went to live with Sango's family. My brother would've taken me in, but he already had a wife and two kids. There just wasn't room for me there. Anyway, after I turned fifteen, I got curious about my family. So Sango, Miroku and I went to see my brother at his home in Kyoto. Well, he told me some very interesting things about my father's past."

Kagome could guess where this was going. She had experience in this field.

"He told me my father was an assassin for the Blue Moon Syndicate."

'That's what I thought...' Kagome's thought drifted as Inuyasha spoke again.

"Apparently, my father was one of the best assassins on the field. He and his partner were the best team ever in the history of the Syndicate. But when the association got suspicious of his partner's activities, the leader told him to kill his partner. My father wouldn't do that. He and his partner were best friends. So he left the Syndicate. He met my mother, and they got married and had me. All the money he earned over the years kept all of us safe, for a while, anyway. They finally caught up to us after seven years, killing my parents. Sesshomaru knew they would come after me, so he pulled some strings in the Syndicate, making them think I was dead. I mean, it was an easy feat for him, considering he was involved in it at the time."

"So your brother was in the Syndicate, too?" Kagome asked.

"Yeah. It's nothing I'm proud of. He met his wife while he was there. They had the twins and he separated himself from the illegal activities."

"But how come he quit the syndicate and they didn't come after him?" she said with rage in her voice.

This confused Inuyasha slightly, but he ignored it and continued. "You can't 'quit' the syndicate. Both him and his wife are still in it. They just seprarated from the activities. You are gonna ask how they did that, right?" he asked Kagome after seeing her mouth shoot open to interrupt. She nodded meekly. "Well, neither of them were assassins. They both managed the business side of the deals. So it was a lot easier for them to get off unharmed." He stopped for a moment as he recalled the last time he'd seen his brother. Shaking his head slightly, he sent the memory back. "Anyway, while we were gone, Sango's home burned down, killing her entire family, and Miroku's parents were in a car accident, killing his mother and severly harming his father. They went after the family of the people closest to me!" His fist pounded the coffee table with a vengance. "Damn them!"

Everyone was silent. Kagome soaked up all this new information, putting together the many pieces of her life that hadn't made sense to make one large picture, but it was still blurry.

"So, Kagome. Tell us how you're involved with the Blue Moon Syndicate?" Miroku said quietly.

She let out a sigh. "Okay, here it goes. Well, up until a year ago, I led an average life. I lived in a nice home in Shiboku and went to a private school. We had quite a bit of money. Anyway, sometimes at night my father would take off work and disappear for a while, like two or three days, then come back. After that he would buy me and my brother nice things, spoiling us. Two years ago, though, he stopped going away and stayed home, only working his regular job. I dismissed the thought from my mind, accepting that my dad could spend more time with my brother and me. Everything was going great, until the night that I turned seventeen, that is."

Inuyasha involentarily shuddered as she said the last sentence. 'She said her dad died on that night...'

"I had gotten back from going out with my friends and was spending the evening with my family. Just as I was about to blow out my candles, someone knocked on the door. Souta answered and said that there were two strange men outside, wanting to talk to dad. He went to the door and closed it behind him and..." Tears started sliding out of her eyes as she was about to go into the most painful part of the whole ordeal. Inuyasha wrapped a comforting hand around her waist, and she took a deep breath and continued. "He went outside and he talked to the men for a while. Suddenly, we heard a loud noise. Then, shortly after, we heard a lot of smaller noises and grunts," she said as more tears streamed down her face. Although her face was covered in salt water and was flushed, her tone remained calm and collected. "I went to the window to see what was happening. What I saw would scar me forever. There lay my father, beaten to a bloody pulp. Then, one of the men took a gun out and shot him right in the chest, and left. I ran out to him while my mother called the ambulance. Souta had fainted after just glimpsing at him. I sat beside him and held his hand. With his last breaths, he told me to make good choices and stay close to my family. Man, I did a hell of a job doing that, huh?" With that she put her head in her lap, trying to calm down before telling the rest of the story.

Inuyasha rubbed her back in a circular motion, trying to help soothe her pain. She sat back up and took a deep breath. "After that my mother sat down and told me of my father's 'part-time' job." She started to explian as the memory from a year ago rushed back to her.

flash back -

"Mother! How could you not tell me!" Kagome yelled furiously as she shot out of her chair. It had only been a week since her father was killed, and she couldn't deal with this right now.

"Honey-"

"No! I don't want any excuses! Why didn't you tell me he was an assassin! A murderer!" Kagome was furious. She had no idea where her father would disappear to when he would leave, but she would never have imagined in her wildest dreams that he would get caught up in that kind of thing. It tore her heart to little peices to be this mad at her deceased father, but her mind couldn't get over it. Her father, her sweet, kind, compassionate father, was a murderer. Somewhere in the depths of her heart, a little voice was screaming 'Don't feel sorry! He got what was coming!' She cursed herself immediately for even entertaining those kinds of ideas, but they stayed, dancing around her head and taunting her with their evil thoughts.

Suddenly all of her energy left, and she collapsed on the sofa next to her mother. The stinging pain of truth consumed her heart as tears tried to break the dam within her eyes. She had to get some more information before she could properly mourn for her father's death, even though in the depths of her soul she knew that he probably deserved it. With a deep breath that sounded like a sigh, she turned to her mother. "How long have you known?"

Her mother's eyes were the coldest Kagome had ever come close to seeing them. Tears wouldn't help the heart-broken woman; she understood that. "Well, I'd say since I was pregnant with Souta. One day he came home from one of his 'jobs' with a large slash across his chest, dripping blood everywhere. That's when he told me. I was just as furious as you, but then he explained how he got pulled into the Syndicate. His story hit my heart, and I just couldn't leave him. Besides, I loved him, and I still do."

Kagome just sat there, dumb-founded. Her own mother had known that her father was a killer for almost thirteen years of her life, and she forgave him! "Okay, what kind of excuse could you have for going into the most notorious crime group in all of Japan?"

Mrs. Hirugashi was silent for a moment, recollecting the whole story. Finally she looked her daughter square in the eyes, and started talking. "When your father was very young, his parents died. Having no other living relatives to speak of, he was sent to an orphanage. Well, this particular establishment was run by the Blue Moon Syndicate. So, when a young child came in, they trained him or her to be an assassin, making up fake adoption papers for them. Your father was one of the unlucky ones who were young enough to be drafted in. You see, he'd been in the Syndicate all his life. He knew no better. Until, that is, he got a new partner. His partner became his best friend. The two of them went everywhere together. Well, they were out stalking a future victim, when he saw me. He told me all other thoughts left his mind, and he came over to talk to me," she said as a flush covered her face.

'It's amazing she can still remember everything this well' she thought as her mother continued.

"Well, he asked me out, and of coarse I agreed. I mean, he was an absolute hunk! Anyway, he would go out with me quite a bit, buying me all sorts of presents. I guess eventually, the leaders of the Syndicate got suspitious about him sneaking out all the time. Understandable, I guess, considering he knew a lot of information that he could take to the police. They ordered his partner to kill him, which was pretty stupid. He refused, of coarse, dropping the Syndicate there and then. Well, they didn't really like that. One night they went to his home and killed him and his wife. The couple's son got away unscathed, at least. Anyway, your father was heart broken. He just told me a close friend died. Then he asked me to marry him. After that, we lived peacefully, considering that he was an assassin. We had you and were so happy. I never thought of where he got all the money to buy our house and nice things. I guess I just figured that it was inheritance, or something. Then, I got pregnant with souta when you were about six. That's when I found out. I was mad for awhile, but I got over it. The thought that my husband was out killing people went to the back of my mind, hoping he would straighten it all out eventually. Well, he did. About a year ago he was fed up with the new leader. He came home and said 'Oh that man! I'd just like to strangle him! Damn that Naraku!' He said this Naraku character would just order him to kill people for amusement, not for betrayal or monetary gain. Your father quit, cutting himself compleately off from them. They wern't very happy. Then, you know what just happened, which brings us to now..."

Kagome sat there, wide eyed. Shock took over her body after hearing the story. She wanted with every fiber in her body to hate her father, but she couldn't. Her mother wrapped her arms around her stunned daughter and cried. "Mom?"

"I'm sorry. Please, don't hate your father. He loved you and Souta and me so much. Please don't think of him as an assassin, but instead as your father. In his true heart, your dad wasn't a killer. If anything, he was a lover."

- end flash back

Inuyasha's mouth was hanging open. What Kagome just said was... so deep. He couldn't believe it. His father had known Kagome's father. They were best friends. It was because of Kagome's father that his parents were killed.

To my friends and reveiwers -

ranmayuusuke930 - Thanks! Yeah, they're all dead. :( It was neccesary, though. So sad. (sniffs) Anyway, thanks for the shout out in you story! You inspire me, too!

Kiche - Hey, I want Inuyasha, too! Thank you so much! I've been trying to improve my writing, and I'm glad you like it!

Suaru - Yep, good guess! ;P Thanks, but I'm not THAT brilliant... okay so I am, but you don't have to say it! My ego will swell! It's okay, though. It motivates me!

Kanon-Chan - I love winter break and all, so I had to just go and ruin it! ;P My cliff hangers rock! Thanks!

Kold - Haha! You and me should start the evil author's club! Thanks!

Mori'quessir - No elvish, no elvish, please!!!! Thank you for always reveiwing, you're so awesome!

Anime-Devil-101 - They're evil, I'll tell ya that! Haha...

xox.:Mandie:.xox - Thanks! Well, I'll see about publisking it after I get it done! (j/k) Anyway, that's a huge compliment! Snaps for me!

alejandra - Some could be demon, some could be humans. Hope this was quick enough!

Tesse - No, I don't think Kagome will die. It depends on which way my story goes. Inu and Kagome are too cute for one of them to die, but that would be an interesting plot twist! Hehe... I'm so evil...

Shouts to my buddies, Hanyou Vixen and ranmayuusuke930! You guys are so cool and motivate me so much! (looks at Hanyou Vixen and backs away from butcher knife slowly)

Okay guys, I know this chappie was kinda short, but I thought it was a good and evil place to stop! So, if ya wanna know how Inuyasha will react to this new information, then please reveiw! Until next time, adios, my amigos!

Ash