Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or anything related to him.

Hidden Fires

Chapter Eight: The Enforcers

Kagome smiled, a tear trailing its way down her cheek. Seeing it, Inuyasha immediately began to panic. "No, no! I'm not pressuring you! I'm asking! I-" Kagome silenced his frantic excuses by placing a finger over his lips.

"Sssh. I know. I'm just happy, is all," she explained quietly. Hearing this, Inuyasha calmed down, relaxing. He tightened his arms around her, drawing her into a simple hug, but one that had more meaning than a kiss in that moment. Then Kagome sighed, reaching a decision.

Leaning back in his arms, she looked into his golden eyes, eyes that showed his trust of her, eyes that accepted her for who she was. But that's just it. He doesn't really know who I am. He only knows what I've let him see, and it's not all of me, Kagome thought sadly. "Inuyasha, yes, of course. It's just..." she trailed off, not sure what to say. Inuyasha waited patiently. Finally, Kagome spoke again. "It's just, I don't think I'm ready, right now. I've got too much going on in my life at the moment. Besides, I'll have to go to the doctor first, and get examined, and-" "Ok, ok, I get it!" Inuyasha said hastily, a flush spreading across his cheeks.

Kagome laughed at his expression. She loved teasing him; it was so funny to watch macho Inuyasha blush. Suddenly, his eyes turned to slits, and he growled, pulling her closer, if possible. "That doesn't mean I can't stop trying, does it?" Laughing, Kagome shook her head. Then his lips descended on hers, and she forgot everything.

Elsewhere in the park, Ayame and Kouga were walking hand in hand. Ayame was admiring the stars. Kouga was admiring Ayame. She looks so pretty in the moonlight... Wonder if I'll get laid tonight? Distracted, he didn't notice the bench in front of him until he ran into it. Painfully. "Oof!" Kouga slumped down on the bench, rubbing his right leg, trying to make to make it stop hurting. "Kouga, are you ok?" Ayame asked, concern in her eyes and her voice.

Kouga nodded sheepishly, still rubbing his leg. "Yeah, I'll be fine. Guess I wasn't watching where I was going, huh?" Ayame laughed, relief coursing through her that he was all right. "That's an understatement! Are you sure you're ok, though?" Kouga nodded firmly. "Yeah, I'm positive. The only thing bruised is my pride," he admitted. Lord knows, he's got enough to spare, Ayame thought, amused.

"Why don't we sit here for a while, just in case?" Ayame asked. Nodding, Kouga relaxed against the back, wrapping an arm around Ayame's shoulders. "The stars are so beautiful tonight, don't you think?" she asked dreamily. "Not as pretty as you," Kouga whispered in her ear.

Ayame giggled lightly and slapped him on the arm. He ignored it and leaned down to press his lips lightly against hers. Ayame sighed, enchanted by the sweetness of the gesture and wrapped her arms around his neck. Kouga, taking it as permission to continue, tugged her onto his lap.

Ayame broke the kiss and looked into Kouga's eyes. They had darkened into a deeper blue with his arousal, but they were still clear, not glazed over. "I'm not sure if we can do anything tonight, Kouga," Ayame murmured in his ear. Kouga groaned slightly in disappointment, but nodded in agreement. He wasn't the kind of guy who forced his attentions if they were unwanted.

"I'm so sorry. It's just that we have a busy night planned in the next few days-" Ayame cut herself off before she said too much. "Busy night? When?" Kouga asked curiously. Were the girls planning on going somewhere without the guys with them?

Ayame shook her head hastily. "It's no where important, just for our jobs," she reassured him. "You three have jobs?" Kouga asked, eyebrows raised. Ayame groaned silently; this was not going how she wanted. "Yeah, we've got a job. It takes us all over the place. We clean and...stuff," she said. Kouga nodded, accepting her excuse.

"So, you guys are busy tomorrow, then?" he asked, a disappointed note in his voice. Ayame nodded sadly. "Yeah, but I'll tell you something that'll cheer you up," she said quietly. "Yeah?" Kouga asked curiously. "Know that, where ever we are, we'd always rather be with you guys," she said fervently. "Always?" "Always."

And, still elsewhere, Miroku and Sango were sitting on a pair of swings, lazily swinging back and forth. Miroku was enjoying the way Sango's dress rode up every time she pushed herself forward. Sango was staring at the sand beneath her feet, her brows furrowed in concentration. Finally, Miroku asked, "Sango? Is anything wrong?" Startled out of her musings, Sango looked up, blinking at Miroku as if just realizing he was there.

"Oh, no, nothing at all!" she said quickly. "I was just thinking about our job in the next few nights." Miroku raised an eyebrow at this; he didn't know the girls had jobs. But then, how were they supposed to pay their rent?

"Is it a hard job?" he asked, digging subtly for information. Sango nodded her head, going back to looking at her feet. "Yeah, we get...assignments...from out boss, and we go 'borrow' what he asks for," she explained. "Oh, you mean like a loan officer?" Miroku asked innocently. Sango snorted lightly. "Yeah, I guess you could call us that," she said quietly.

Miroku looked up, in a rare mood of thoughtfulness. "We have jobs that are demanding as well," he said quietly. "You do?" Sango asked, looking up at him with a surprised expression. Miroku laughed at the look on her face. "Yeah, we gotta eat and pay rent too, you know." Sango nodded, a little blush on her face.

Miroku sighed and looked back up at the stars, his face a study of emotions: pride, exhaustion, pity, and, for some reason, ruthlessness. "Ever since we were children, Inuyasha, Kouga, and I wanted to be super heroes," he said wistfully.

Sango sputtered lightly; super heroes? He glanced at her in admonishment, and she quickly covered her mouth. "Yeah, I know, super heroes. So, when we turned sixteen, we went to the local police department and signed up for a sort of 'internship' that allowed us to work with real police officers. It showed us what being a cop would be like, and we were shocked. Saving the world wasn't all that it was cracked up to be, we discovered. In fact, it was rather bloody. And sad.

So, after that summer, we had abandoned all hopes and dreams. I remember the actual day quite clearly. We had gone to the park, and we were sitting on a bench, knees on our elbows, chins on our hands, and staring at the ground. Our dream had been crushed, and there wasn't anything else we had ever thought of being. Well, it was at that moment when a shadow fell at our feet. When we looked up, well... Let's just say Inuyasha wasn't too happy with who happened to be connected to the shadow.

See, Inuyasha has an older brother. Sesshoumaru. Half-brother, really. Their dad was married to Sess's mom before he was Inuyasha's dad. Turns out that Sesshoumaru happens to work for the government. And they just happened to be working on a case that required some people going undercover. Young people.

So, he 'recruited' us, I guess you could say. Forced, would be the actual word. Made us come work for the government. We've seen things we can't describe. Horrible things. We've been at his beck and call ever since, doing things whenever he needed us. And it hasn't been pretty."

When Miroku finished his story, Sango sat there, stunned. She knew who they were. Hell, anyone with half a brain in the Underworld knew who they were! They were the Enforcers. Three teenage guys who could hunt down anyone, anywhere, anytime. Even if the trail was ten years old, they could find them. And kill them. Or, turn them in. Depended on the crime.

It all fit. Miroku said they were recruited at sixteen, which would have been about three years ago. About three years ago, the Enforcers had appeared for the first time. And now, they were involved.

If the boys ever found out who they were... The mere possibilities made Sango shudder. They had done some pretty bad stuff in their days... Stuff that could get them killed. She had to tell the others! Quickly, before anything slipped out that couldn't be taken back! Making her decision, Sango stood up quickly, startling Miroku. He had been waiting for her to say something, anything, and her silence was unnerving to him. "Uh, Sango?" he asked hesitantly.

"I-I'm sorry Miroku, but I've got a huge headache all of a sudden. Would you mind terribly helping me find the others and taking us home?" she pleaded, her eyes wide and helpless. Miroku never could resist a 'damsel in distress', and played the hero part to a tee. "Of course, Sango. Can you page them or something?" Nodding her head, Sango immediately sent our her 'distress' signal.

Fifteen minutes later, the girls were on their way home, wondering about Sango's hurry. When they made it to their floor, the girls made their good-byes in the elevator and stepped off, leaving the boys the glance at each other strangely. Hurrying to Kagome's room, their unspoken headquarters, Ayame and Kagome immediately turned to Sango. "Ok, Sango, this better be good, because Inuyasha and I were-" Sango cut her off with a look.

"It's them, Kag. They're the Enforcers."

In the elevator, the boys were swapping stories. "Yeah, Kagome agreed, but she said she needed a little more time. Something about how she had too much going on in her life at the time," Inuyasha explained.

Kouga high-fived him, then explained, "Ayame said not right now 'cause the girl's cleaning job took up a lot of her time and energy." Miroku and Inuyasha looked at him oddly at that. "Sango told me they were loan officers," Miroku said. Now Inuyasha looked at them both weirdly. "No, Kagome said she worked at the museum with her mom," he insisted. "Ok, wait a minute," Kouga said. "Either one of us got it wrong, or the girls told us different things."

The boys looked at one another, each thinking something different. Miroku picked that time to confess. "Uh, guys?" Inuyasha and Kouga turned to him. "I, uh, kinda told Sango, uh... everything," he muttered. Inuyasha and Kouga, both having excellent hearing, heard him, unfortunately.

"Everything? As in, everything?" they shouted. Miroku nodded. "But, you weren't supposed to!" Kouga said stupidly. Inuyasha gave him an impatient look, then turned back to Miroku. "And? What did she say?" Miroku looked confused now. "Well, that's just it. She didn't say anything. She stood up and said she had a headache, asked me to help find the girls, and to take her home. But why would she want to go home with the other two? Couldn't she have gone by herself?" He asked.

Kouga and Inuyasha looked at each other, thinking the same thing aloud just as the elevator dinged open. "Unless she knew who we were...?"

A/N: Chapter eight, revamped. Next up, new chapter! Should be soon, since I'm finished with revamping this.

-S.S.S.