Disclaimer: How many times must I hurt before you're happy? I do not own Inuyasha, my dog doesn't own Inuyasha, my cat, by brother, my sister, my dad- none of them own him... Now, with all of those people out of the way, we still only have 6 billion people to go before we find the person that keeps him from us all, huh?

A/N: IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!!! Just thought I should mention it- today is my birthday and I figured I could post this as my birthday present... Wait- that's kinda backwards, isn't it...? Oh, well. It's still my birthday!!!

Also, before I start this chapter, I have to warn you all. I just got finished reading Les Miserables, so my writing my seem a bit different, but I need to get this chapter written before my mind is engulfed by my ideas and becomes so heavy that I'm unable to stand up again. Please, excuse any foul language, and watch out- Inuyasha isn't the gentle person many author/authoress' make him out to be in this fic. And he gets mad... fast...

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Author: Sakura-chan88
Title: Mistaken Mark
Chapter 3: The Problem's Panic
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His heart skipped a beat as the bade fell from his numb, frozen hand to clatter upon the polished wooden floor, vibrating from the impact; the sound marking the flutter that replaced the skipped heartbeat. His body lost all feeling. Eyes of indigo settled on large, startled, blue-gray orbs which held more innocence than panic, more confusion and chaos than fright.

Those eyes... were blue-gray... Those guiltless, sinless, innocuous, blue-gray eyes told him two things and the later chilled him to the core: This was not Kikyo- the woman with deep, dark, distinct brown eyes that were set in a face of sternness and calm only mastered by years of living a life of crime and lies; and that she, this outsider, was an innocent, a bystander caught in a web of the underground world, because of a mistake he made, and, because of this fatal mistake, she couldn't be allowed to live.

"Who are you?" the girl whispered, eyes wide with shock.

A startled gasp rose from Miroku as Nobunaga's chair overturned from the man's surprised leap. The boy, Shippo, whose eyes had grown larger by the second, scurried away to hide behind the television set-up. The gunshots from the speakers went unheard.

"Wh-what's going on?" she asked, shrinking away from the hold Inuyasha had on her wrist. She pressed back into the chair, twisting to pull herself into a ball at his feet. "Why am I here?"

"... Who are you?" Inuyasha queried, finally finding his voice. His mouth had gone dry and the numbness that spread through his body ebbed away slowly.

The girl, nameless as of yet, attempted to completely fold her body inside of itself, her eyes lowering to the ground. She tugged weakly at the hands on her nearly lifeless limbs. The curtain of raven hair tumbled down her shoulders, hiding her face from the world around her.

She trembled.

"Answer the question."

She timidly shook her head, just barely to each side. The numb that had claimed his body was now rejected entirely- and by force. Inuyasha's slightly loosened grip retained its previous firmness. It shocked her into gazing up with inquisition gracing her features.

"Miss," Miroku began attentively, sinking to a crouched position in front of the nameless girl, as close as deemed reasonable. "Please, for your own sake, answer the boss's question."

"Who... who are you?" she repeated.

A spark ignited the man's eyes, his mouth opening before his mind thought, beginning, "Name's-"

"Unimportant," Inuyasha growled warningly, eyeing his employee with concrete eyes. With an austere gesture toward the door with his free hand, he silently order everyone out of the room. If everyone else was gone, it was easier to use harsher methods. The thought of acting roughly in front of his men when force wasn't necessarily the only path made Inuyasha cringe with disgust. It was like bragging about being the biggest bully in school for beating a girl five years younger than him.

He listened for the click of the door as it locked itself before releasing the girl's wrists.

"Now, answer the question. Who are you?" he implored, his voice dripping with authority as much as his heart dripped denial.

He'd picked up the wrong girl... he'd complete the task.

The nameless one would die- still nameless or not.

"Please," came a broken sob. She looked around at him, turning her body to sit before him. "Let me go- please... I don't- don't know what it is that you're planning to do, but... Just let me go."

"Answer my question," he thundered, rising from his seat. "If I have to rip it from your throat, that's what I'll do."

She looked at the floor, her body racking with suppressed cries. Midnight black hair, when pushed back to face him once more, glistened with stars made from tears; a river of night speckled with an amount of fear that could be found as nothing short of immeasurable.

"I just want to go," she whispered. "Please-"

"Listen, girl, either you tell me your name and your family sees you again, or you die nameless and get fed to my dogs."

"But you'll kill me either way," she muttered, hiccupping lightly.

"Answer the question!"

"... It's Kagome."

'Progress.'

"Family name." This was put as a stern command to allow no defying act from the person in question.

Kagome looked away, her voice shaky as her hands balled into fists set upon her knees. "How do I- what will..." She faltered.

"Answer me, wench!"

"How do I know that they will be safe if I tell you?" she yelled, eyes flying up to, again, meet his. Her eyes fell as she continued. "How do I know you won't kill them?" She began to shake from head to toe, refusing, almost as if trying to deny reality and call it a dream, to look up anymore. "I won't... please, just let me go."

"I have no reason to harm them- and no plan involves them. See, I don't do anything unless I gain from it," he said tipping her chin up with his steel-toed shoe. "If I don't benefit from it, why should I waste my time? Now," he drawled, pulling back his foot as she looked into his eyes, "what is your family name?"

"... I won't put them in danger."

"Did you not hear me, you bitch?" Inuyasha snarled before planting the withdrawn foot roughly into her side.

Kagome cried out in pain, falling flat to the floor. His self-hatred shot up a notch as, again, the steel connected with her side.

"What is it? Surely you can see that I have no qualm as to killing you!"

"I will die anyway," she hissed, hands clasped together over her abused side, "won't, I?"

The hopelessness, the desolation that coloured her voice, sent an angry, guilt intoxicated wave through him, hitting at him at the core. 'Damn conscience. Damn rules... Just because of my mistake...'

He glanced at the televisions that displayed everything his snipers had done to the rather numerous group of lackeys Naraku had bothered to send. The gunshots had subsided a moment ago as the last man fell.

"Job's done, Boss," a voice boomed through the communications piece.

Inuyasha smirked in pride at the perfectly performed massacre. "Alright. Good work men."

******

Kagome raised her head from the ground to catch a better glimpse of her captor. What she was presented with made her stomach churn and convulse, calling to empty itself in hopes of purging the feeling of sickness.

The video screens projected pictures of a warehouse from multiple sides and a shot from above. Shown upon the ground camera clips was a revolting bloody sea, bodies laying with gun shot wounds- most a direct path to the temple or dead-center in the forehead. When blood oozed from one side, as seen by a single Tv, the most often used organ appeared as mush to seep from the exit hole from another view.

The effect of multiple angles was repugnant to the eyes.

Kagome whimpered lightly at the voice from the radio com which rested on the oak desk. The voice was cold, calm, and almost content with the work he had completed. The man speaking appeared on the screen, stepping casually over the bodies, his golden eyes emotionless. A woman moved to step beside him.

"That it, brother? I was hoping for more," the man stated.

She held back the bile burning her throat as a single thought sprinted in circles around her mind: 'There has to be some way- I can't die here!'

Raising onto her unsteady feet, she surveyed the area, taking everything in. The door was behind her, the bookshelves to the left, the offensive video footage- obviously live feed- was to the right, and a window presented itself before her. She rechecked each nook and cranny, finding nothing new.

The man who had previously threatened her had his back turned, speaking into the radio as the man and woman on the screen were joined by others who began clearing away the bodies. Boss, as everyone called him, flexed his hand menacingly.

A sword had once been in that hand...

Looking to the floor, Kagome immediately spotted the object of her search. A rickety, slightly rusted blade caught a flare of light from the television she was content to forget about and sent out a ray of scattered beams.

With quick, shaking fingers and deft movements, she seized the weapon. She wouldn't die here- she wouldn't allow this stranger to find her family. This obviously heartless man would not harm her anymore.

Her side throbbed at the thought; she bit back a cry.

Boss clicked his tongue in an agitated sense, pressing the power button to blacken out the disgusting view of lifeless bodies. Kagome paused when he turned slightly to look out of the window, her breath catching as adrenaline finally gave her heart a boost.

She stepped silently forward and sideways as to keep concealed from his vision. Holding the sword in a way that the blade itself was pointed over her shoulder, she made her move with a blank mind.

At top speed for her adrenaline pumped body, she slashed out sideways and brought the hilt in to connect dully with the man's temple. The attack felled him with no hesitance.

Brief relief filled her as she saw the unconscious man on the hard wood floor. However, that was only one obstacle passed out of the many she knew she'd have to endure to leave the building and return to the home she had left thinking she'd be free.

'Free- Psht! I'm caged again.'

She swiveled on her heel and fled, reaching the door in seconds. The door was locked... from the outside.

Kagome froze.

That was a problem. There were no other doors.

'The window!' her mind hissed.

She was at the window in less time than it had taken for her to cross over to the door, fear moving her at an exaggeratedly accelerated rate. She pulled up on the window before looking at the sill to find it absolutely fruitless to even try.

The window was nailed in place.

She panicked.

******

Miroku's mind grew darker as the minutes rolled by. Inuyasha had still not appeared. A vague image came to mind of how panic had flashed in his boss's golden eyes. Panic and immense contemplation.

His insides became jelly and bile rose in his throat at a single thought: Inuyasha, crime lord notorious for boosts, break-ins, and never being seen, was now caught like a deer in headlights, panicked, confused, and regretful, knowing only one thing- an innocent, for the first time by his own hands, would take their last breath tonight.

Miroku cursed himself a fool as he stood and walked the length of the corridor to enter the office Inuyasha occupied. As his hand reached out to unlock it, the handle shook. Inuyasha knew better than that! The button under the desk unlocked the door from inside!

A few minutes passed in silence.

He never broke it as he unlocked the door, entered the room, took in the scene, and immediately understood. The girl had, in an amazing feat, succeeded in knocking Inuyasha unconscious. She was no ordinary girl to have done so. Miroku had never been able to even startle his boss before!

Currently the girl was clutching the window sill for support as she cried, her body hardly moving. "Mama, I'm so sorry."

Miroku shook himself out of his stupor and advanced toward the unknowing person.

"I was a fool, honestly," she continued. "I never should have left home, I never should have run away."

"Your parents don't know you're missing?"

The words were out of his mouth before his mind had comprehended her words. She spun at his outburst with wide eyes. She shivered.

"... I... left a not..." she said defensively at his disapproving, almost disbelieving, tone. She pressed her back against the wall, trying to hide herself. "Please, let me go..."

"I cannot. Now, Inuyasha won't take even pity on you- not after you knocked him out... How did you do it?" he asked. Any attempted restrain on sounding astonished failed.

Her gaze fell. "I panicked."

"Understandable. Self preservation is quite intoxicating," Miroku stated, nodding in acceptance. "Though it still doesn't explain how you managed to knock him unconscious. He's never been so much as startled by anything that I've known of."

"... Please," she repeated, "just let me go. I'll go home, I'll stay quiet- I promise!" She moved over to place shaking hands on the desk and lean forward, pressing her point with more emphasis. "I don't know where I am or who you are! I couldn't tell a soul, even if I wanted! Please..."

"That's against the rules," he admitted, his gut twisting at her display. She really was an innocent. As innocent as they come.

"Rules?"

Miroku thought he could a glimpse of interest in her eyes, but shook it off as he explained, "once a mark is made, a fate is sealed. You got caught in the middle."

"Obviously, I'm not the mark, though."

******

Gradually, curiosity replaced fear in Kagome's mind. As long as the man on the floor called boss- wait, this man called him... Inu... Inuyasha... As long as Inuyasha remained unconscious on the floor, she didn't have to fear being killed. If she was the mark and he had marked her, he'd be the one that killed her... right? It made sense that way- they that display of carnage could easily prove otherwise.

She shuttered.

"It poses a problem- you being an innocent bystander caught in the middle and all."

At this, Inuyasha groaned, bringing a hand to his head. Kagome jumped and turned, tears filling her eyes, to the nameless man with short black hair. One more shot before the end appeared and she'd take any chance she had.

"Is there anything that..." she stopped, not entirely sure about what she wanted to say. Sure, she wanted to live and there was no way they'd let her go, she knew that, but... even if they let her live, did she really want to spend the rest of her life here under bondage as a prisoner, a captive with no importance to ruthless beings? "There has to be some way that I could..."

'Boss' moved again and began to sit up. In a flash, the man with short black hair was standing behind her.

"Forgive me."

That whisper was all she registered as her mind swirled into a vast pool of darkness.

******

Inuyasha groaned again as his head pounded, throbbing from her right temple. An upraised hand found a small lump at the source of the pain and it pulsed at the touch, agony spreading through his body from the headache it produced. "What the hell...?"

"Boss? You okay?" a voice spoke, booming in his skull.

"Quiet down!" he shouted, hissing and falling back to the ground. "It's too loud..."

His world faded again... 'A concussion? From... what...?'

******

Miroku flinched as his boss hit the ground a little harder than necessary. That would be when he heard the small sniffle that told him he wasn't alone... and neither had Inuyasha been with the nameless girl he held in his arms.

"Shippo?"

When no one answered, Miroku hoisted the teen up and laid her on the desk to rid himself of the burden. Now, free from the extra weight- though she surprisingly weighed less than he suspected- he went to investigate the noise.

Shippo cowered behind the television display, sniffling and cringing.

"Shippo! You didn't leave!?" Miroku shouted, grabbing the scared boy's hands. "What do you think would have happened if Inuyasha found out about this!?"

"Y-you won't tell him, will you?" the boy stammered, looking up with watering eyes.

"... What did you see?" he asked, finding it more fruitful to pump information from the boy than his stubborn boss who was, at the moment, incapable of telling him so much as 'fuck off'.

"... He- he kicked her, twice while she was down. Then he talked to Sesshomaru and Kagome got up and got the sword-"

"Kagome?"

The boy glared. "I'm telling the story!"

"Sorry, sorry."

"Well, she got the sword and was really quiet. Inuyasha was clicking his tongue again and looking out the window... She was really, really, really quiet. Then she was behind him and brought the sword up," Shippo continued, stand up and mimicking her movements. "Then over- like this!" His hand shot sideways then in toward himself. "Inuyasha didn't even see it coming, he just fell."

Miroku took in the information, digesting each bit of it. So, Shippo hadn't warned Inuyasha because he wouldn't have been in trouble and the girl, who Inuyasha kicked twice-

"Wait, Inuyasha kicked her!?" Miroku cried, appalled. "Are you sure?"

"Uh huh."

"... Kagome, huh?" Shippo nodded. "I still can't believe Inuyasha was caught off guard by some inexperienced teenage school girl."

"... Maybe she's like Kikyo..."

"A decoy, you mean?"

"Yeah!"

Miroku shook his head. It wasn't possible. He'd seen the way her eyes sparkled with emotion and the way her body moved as she walked down that alley way... She truly was as innocent as they came. Not even a stunt artist, a master at the art of impersonation, could act so thoroughly pure.

"Inuyasha can't kill her. We cannot let him," Miroku stated. "It will eat him up from the inside."

"But the rules-!"

"I'm not suggesting we let her go, Shippo..." Miroku paused and looked over to Kagome's still form. "Go fix Inuyasha's bed- she'll sleep there. Tell Nazuna to get up here pronto."

"Why do you need her?" Shippo asked suspiciously.

"For Inuyasha. He has a concussion." Shippo gave a small yelp of surprise. "I still can't understand how some teenage school girl could do something like that to him..."

"... Why do you keep saying that?"

"Man! I'm just so jealous!"

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A/N: I'm going to stop it here, okay? The next update should be up by the beginning of April. If you want to get an email when I update this story, since my Author Alert seems to be malfunctioning, check my bio and click the highlighted URL that corresponds to this story and enter your email address. When this story has an update, you will receive an email, though this page will more likely than not take a while to display the chapter- damn slow server!

Sorry, I'm just kind of upset at how many of you actually complained about having to wait a whole month and a half for an update on one of the stories that I am trying to actually be sufficient in both description and plot. This story is not a priority- I have school and I just started my first job a week ago, which, I'm proud to say, is going quite well, on top of continuing my babysitting. Try juggling all of this and the numerous stories I'll write, then maybe you can complain of, not my lack of updating, but the headache you realize I'm getting from sleep depravation.

However, I will continue to write this story- I have no plans on quitting just because of a few impatient and uncaring people. For those of you that wrote and said it was okay or that you understand or that you will wait patiently by just to read my story, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I truly wish I could hug you for it! ^_^ It makes me happy to know that someone cares for my story enough to wait!

Please leave some feed back, even if it's just to complain about Inuyasha being such an asshole to Kagome in this chapter.

^_^;;

Sakura-chan88