Title: Teenage Mutant Inuyasha!

Chapter 4: The Way Things Are

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He had connections, he had power. He had everything he needed –sans one key ingredient, the one necessary object that would set everything into motion. It infuriated him to no end that he could not find it.

No matter how much power he possessed, without it he was helpless. Every defense possible had been set up against him, and while he most certainly could cause substantial damage, they would be able to stop him eventually. He didn't have enough power on his own to take down The Government. Not yet anyway.

The Great Purge had been the biggest blow to him. The relocation and removal of all those holy virtually erased his chances of finding what he needed.

But there was still hope; children were born everyday in the New Asia. Regardless of what the Government claimed, it was possible for Mikos and Monks to be reborn. Unfortunately there was no sure-fire way to decipher who had the gift and who did not. It was all done by word of mouth, and even when they did have a lead they had to be very careful so as not to murder an innocent. That brought out the press. He did not need the Government to know just how close to ready he was. Not that they could do anything to stop him once he had what he needed.

"Sir," he was interrupted from his thoughts. "I have some information for you; we now have undisputable proof that he is still alive. Our scouts are searching for his hide-out as we speak."

"Inform me when you find him," he ordered. "We will strike immediately."

He would take the country by force. Once he had it under his control, once he had the world's strongest armies nothing could stand in his way; he would take down anyone who tried.

In a sterile lab in a far off secluded location, a small group of the country's brightest minds were working diligently. Their mission was top secret, only the highest members of the Government Circle knew of its existence, and outside of that, only the scientists themselves. There work was dangerous, if only because of what would happen if word got out about what they were doing.

Proof of this danger occurred just eight years prior when their leading scientist had been assassinated.

To ease the problem, the Government let leak that the operation had been aborted. They also claimed that all of the scientists that had been on the project had been killed as well, accept assassination was never mentioned. No, it was a lab explosion that did them in.

The people believed it. They were pleased to hear that the Government put a stop to the dangerous activities.

It wasn't lying. The Government never lied, it protected. It protected by withholding information and releasing only what was necessary for public safety. The GCPI, or Government Committee of Public Information, was incapable of lying. Anyone who spoke otherwise was arrested and 'taken care of'.

All the researchers and scientists on the case had been given a funeral at the same time. Each had a signed death certificate. In reality, the nameless operation had not been aborted and only one scientist had been killed. They worked in a new location, even more private than the one before it.

They had been stripped of their names, identities, and families. They were given new faces and new lives. They were forced to stay entirely private. They were forced to be entirely separate.

The Government liked how this system worked. They didn't mind so much that Retribution had to be paid to each and every family; it was a small price to pay for the work being done. It protected the scientists and ensured the safety of their work. So, whenever a new body was ushered into the system they were "killed" before hand.

Unfortunately new recruits were not allowed to choose their fate; in fact most were unaware of what was happening until after their funeral. But this went on for more than just the science field. There were many small, nameless, inexpressibly important operations like this all focused on one common goal; destroying the Great Discomfort.

Kagome was oblivious to what was going on around her. She giddily walked home with a bounce in her step. She did it! She actually did it! She got Inuyasha to agree to dinner! She wasn't going to get grounded!

She hummed a familiar tune as she pounded up the stone steps to her home's hill top summit.

"Mama!" she called as she walked into the main room. Her mother poked her head out of the kitchen. Kagome smiled brightly, "Inuyasha will be here for dinner promptly at seven o'clock!"

"Good girl," her mother replied. "Now get your homework done."

Kagome rolled her eyes. It had been such a big deal to her mother the night before. No matter, she had homework to get done and it was important that she get it done fast. Grandpa was giving her a private lesson tonight, she couldn't miss her lessons.

The thing about being a miko was you couldn't just ignore it. If you didn't learn to control your gifts, they'd start to control you, or activate when you least wanted them to. It would be like a great beacon alerting everyone of her secret and, if her hunch was correct, it would lead to her death as well.

Her grandpa wasn't of holy aura, but his brother had been. Years ago when it was considered a great honor, his brother had been given the very lessons he was passing on to Kagome. He as a young boy had been allowed to sit in on the lessons. While he refused to talk about his brother (whom had been taken during the Great Purge), he claimed to remembered everything his brother had endured. He was all the help she had; she couldn't afford to be picky in her position.

She started her lessons when she was three years old. Her father had still been alive then and the small family lived way across town. Kagome practically lived with her grandpa in those early, vital years. Then as she started school it became weekend visits and almost everyday of her summer vacation.

And then, when she was eight, her father died in an accident at work. From then on, her mother and then one year old brother went to live full time with her grandpa. It was a tragic event for the family, but it allowed Kagome a more normal life style. Instead of constantly being away from her main family and constantly having to devise some sort of excuse, she now lived with her instructor, she didn't have to travel.

And her mother, she was so incredible. It was like she was programmed for adaptation and survival. Not to say that she wasn't devastated by the loss of her husband, but she managed to hold everything together. She agreed without a second thought to move in with her father in-law now that they had no commitment to keep to their old home where they had lived for Mr. Higurashi's important Government job.

Kagome was never quite the same after her father's death. At the tender age of eight-going-on-nine she had lost her childlike innocence. She grew weary of the 'wonderful' Government, she was tired of hiding, and she wanted her father back. But she held her tongue; it had been embedded in her mind since those first lessons not to speak out. She knew what happened to those who spoke against the Government. Well, no one could say exactly, but it didn't take that much imagination to come up with a possible outcome.

She was good at keeping herself quiet, having a life time of practice, but it didn't change how she really felt. Every time someone was arrested for protest, every time someone was accused of conspiracy, her heart went out to them. She knew that the Government wasn't as wonderful as they tried to make the people think.

It was the grand, all-protecting Government, but from what? What could possibly be more terrible than their harsh control? She didn't know. She found the Great Discomfort had to believe. But if it wasn't real… she shuddered to think of the alternative.

She cleared her mind, or tried to at least, and set to work on her assignments. Half way through her biology homework, her Grandpa appeared in her doorway.

"Come along Kagome, you can finish that later," he said.

She sighed, but set her books aside and followed him to the basement. That was where the lessons took place, away from Souta. The less he knew about his sister's 'gifts', the better. Ignorance was protection… unless of course the Government didn't believe you. But it didn't matter so much, Souta was a very distracted nine-year-old boy and Kagome was almost meticulously careful. And even then, the Government owed them some leniency what with the death of Mr. Higurashi.

Her grandpa lit the basement candles and settled himself among his scrolls. It was all so fitting, Kagome having her lessons there. The basement, the scrolls, her gifts; they were all unknown to the Government and therefore illegal. Had the Government known of the basement the scrolls would have been removed. Religion in general was frowned upon, theirs was an atheist nation, putting all their higher faith in the Government it's self.

"Kagome," he said. "I'm getting on in my years… I'm afraid I won't be around much longer, and even if I am there will come a time when I will be no good to anyone and will be shipped off to some Government facility. And," he continued, "I'm going to stop training you soon. You really don't need it anymore; we've only carried it on so long for extra precautions."

"So I guess I don't get to learn any trades of the art?" she asked eagerly. "I mean, the ones mentioned in the scrolls."

"You know how impractical that would be," he scolded. "You know very well that you are not allowed to do any sort of 'techniques'. If times were different, yes, but not now. Not ever. It would be safe, and besides, when would you ever need such things?"

"But healing," she argued. "That's useful; I don't see how that couldn't be useful!"

"That is what hospitals are for Kagome," he sighed. "Miko magic is obsolete these days; it's not worth your time to learn it. For whatever good it might do, it will cause twice as much trouble."

"But-"

"Do not argue with me," he warned. "The answer is no, and that is final."

"Then we might as well end our sessions now," she glared at her grandpa. "I am perfectly capable of handling everything on my own now. I only stuck with you because I thought we would start real training soon."

"Don't do this Kagome," the old man sighed. "Don't do this to yourself, it's not worth it. All you're going to do is make yourself angry at the Government, and that won't do anyone any good."

Kagome was fed up, she was steaming. How could anyone be as infuriating as her grandpa? What could it possibly hurt if she learned a couple of things? She wouldn't use the talent, it would just like math; she'd never use it! She stood, "Fine then, I think we're done here."

She didn't turn back when he called for her.

Ms. Higurashi heard her daughter pounding up the stairs. "Your lessons are done already?"

"Yes, they have been permanently suspended," she replied. "Grandpa won't be giving me anymore; I can handle it for myself from now on."

"Did something happen down there?" she asked, picking up on her daughter's sour mood.

"No, nothing happened," Kagome said.

"Then what's the problem?"

"That is the problem!" she declared as she continued up the stairs. "If you'll excuse me, I've got homework to finish before our guest arrives."

"Oh Kagome," she sighed. She looked over at Souta, who sat glued to the television; it was a cartoon show, Government Propaganda if anything. He would never have to deal with such things. He was too preoccupied with his friends, school, and soccer. Oh soccer.

The Government loved sports, they loved succeeding in sports. It boosted the country's moral. Souta's love of soccer only did well for the family. It would take attention away from Kagome. Poor Kagome, she would always have to stay out of the limelight, she'd never be able to truly shine. But that was how the world worked.

"That's just the way things are," she said quietly staring at the empty stairwell.

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:AN: I apologize for the shorter chapter, but I wanted to get it on time. Next week… hell, next month will be extremely hectic for me. Please bear with me! I promise to update as soon as I can!

Review Responses

Cutie Pie Hentai: Thanks so much for the review! I'm glad you think I'm worthy of them, LoL. Oh, and thank you for alerting me to the typos. If I haven't gotten to them already (I've been a bit scatter-brained lately), I will correct them as soon as I have a spare moment!

Chibified Youkai 101: I'm glad you're happy about the update! I am sorry I didn't get this out as soon as you would have wanted, but I hope that the wait wasn't as bad as it has been. And just an FYI, I'm going to be insanely busy in the next month with AP tests, SATs, SAT II's, a dance show, and finals. Thanks so much for your patience!

Please R&R!

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-DRC-