Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha...

A/N: As some of you may know, the reason for the delay in my updating- the reason this chapter wasn't posted when I said it would be- is because deleted one of my best stories, then temporarily banned me. If you'd like to know more, check my profile for details ([Snorts] Details my butt! They didn't tell me why they deleted it, so it's being reposted... soon. Very soon.)

Also, I had a bit of… uh… uncertainty about a certain part in my originally written chapter and it took a while and a lot of advice to fix it until I was satisfied with the outcome. Certain things in this chapter may still have the ability to offend some individuals, and, if it does, feel free to voice your opinions via review or e-mail. Either is fine.

Well, on with the story!

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Author: Sakura‑chan88

Title: Mistaken Mark

Chapter 6: The Forgotten Ones

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"How long has she been missing, ma'am?"

"Almost a day, now."

A man, dressed in a navy blue uniform, a badge proudly puffed out against the fabric proclaiming him as a local police officer, stood in front of Mrs. Higurashi. He held a notebook in his hand, scribbling little notes as the woman before him gave him information concerning her daughter in hopes that it would help locate her. His partner stared intently at a photo of the young teenage girl whom was missing.

"Any idea of where she could have gone?"

"No, I have no idea," she whispered. "She left a note, but it just said 'Don't worry, I know what I'm doing, Mama, I'll be back soon. I just need time alone.'" Tears formed in her eyes as her words began to tumble from her. "'Time alone,' she says!- How can I not worry!? She could be hurt. She could be lost or bleeding to death. She-"

"Has this," the officer interrupted, "happened before?"

Mrs. Higurashi paused, taking a deep calming breath as she worried the bottom of her lip in thought. "She did have a phase of... sneaking out at night years and years ago with a friend of hers."

"A friend?" the man prompted.

"Yes, Sango Taijiya."

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Kagome sat atop the newly cleaned counter, swinging her feet back and forth silently, watching the way her clothes shifted and slid with the rhythm of her movements. Her bare feet occasionally struck the side of the cabinet's beneath her; the only sound created was that of skin connecting gently with wood. She sighed dejectedly, her thoughts racing about her mind in barely comprehensible circles, a thought or two catching here and there until it settled on one subject- "maybe."

'Maybe he'll understand... Maybe he'll... Maybe I can call home and tell them everything's all right and I'll be home in a few weeks... Maybe I should face facts,' she thought dejectedly.

'He'll never let me call home... I'm being treated, going to be treated, worse than a prisoner here- One call, just one!'

Her thoughts fell into silence a moment, leaving her oddly peaceful in the temporary refuse. Then, soured by feriousity, they returned- 'And you volunteered to be treated worse, you moron! You said it plain as day, "take my privacy and my pride and my freedom from me so I can live and be treated worse than dirt... to... to see my family..."

'Why did I run in the first place? What was so horrible I risked well, even worse than this - rape, murder, imprisonment for breaking-in and entering that old fart's house? Where did the urge to run come from?

'Oh... right... that...' Kagome sighed. 'But... what gave me the extra push?

'Maybe it's fate...' She refused to believe in fate - 'why would I have such a cruel fate as to be stuck with... him? Them? Here?'

She sighed once more, listening as a light buzz-buzz-buzz announced the washer had finished its job.

'The White Hound's Gang, huh? ... Where have I heard of them before?'

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Sango yawned boredly as the police officer asked her another of his thousand questions. They had arrived an hour ago, pestering her about the last time she saw Kagome, the last thing she said, did she give any clue she was leaving?

"At work yesterday." "See you tomorrow." and "No, not that I noticed."

Of course, they wouldn't drop it just like that. They had to keep going, over and over and over...

"Listen, I had a really long day," Sango grumbled. "I have to get up early for work tomorrow morning and I need a few hours' rest, and I'm not worried about Kagome- she's a big girl. She'll be just fine. Plus, she gets home sick by staying a night with me. Now, if you'll excuse me officer..."


"Sure," he nodded. She didn't fail to notice the suspicious glint shine in his eyes. "Thank you for your time."

Sango bade him a good night and headed for her room, cautiously looking over her shoulder as she entered. She knew it was a guilty, slightly paranoid act, but couldn't help it as she stumbled sleepily into her bedroom, closing and locking the door for the first time in five years.

Last time...

[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]Flashback[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

"Sango?"

"Shut up."

"But-"

"I don't want to hear it!"

"Please, listen to me-"

"No! Just go leave! I don't need you!"

"Sango... I'm sorry. I have to."

"I don't care. Go chase that pointless dream of yours. I'm not gonna waste my time on you anymore."

"But you'll waste tears?"

"Shut up, Yuri!"

"Don't cry anymore Sango- that's all I meant..."

"... Go... Before I... Before I..."

"I'll always be a friend."

"... I know... I just wanted more..."

"... Come with me, then."

"I won't leave my best friend. Even if Kagome would understand- I just won't do it."

"... I'll see you again. Sooner or later, we'll meet again. I promise."

"Your promises are so empty, Yuri... Didn't you promise never to leave my side? Do you even remember?"

"I won't ever leave you- if you keep me in your heart."

"And if my heart leaves with you?"

"Then, I suppose you'll never leave me..."

"Yuri..."

"I've promised Sango. Just trust me one last time."

[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]Flashback Ended[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

Yuri... Sweet Yuri... Gone to seek a life of crime and fortune, leaving friends and family.

How unfortunate for dear heart-giving Sango.

That night she had cried herself to sleep, door closed and locked, alarm unset and make-up smeared across her face and pillows. So young for heart-break. She had cried for three years over that boy, images of a smiling face plastered in the front of her mind... However, this night, she remembered and fought the tears, whimpering at the blurred image of his face beset with sapphire eyes and black tresses and smiles worth a thousand pains.

Kagome had thought so as well. She had cried for Sango when their friend took their childish, harmless night raids to the next level so many years ago after they had been caught for the first time.

Sango started with worry as a sudden thought ran through her head... Even with the constant questions thrown her way that she disregarded with no hesitation, the thought disturbed her.

Kagome hadn't called.

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Kagome fidgeted with her outfit, dirty from the hours of cleaning- both in the kitchen and the nearby storage rooms. It was dusk and the table was crowded with food - Extreme Ramen... - yet empty by the lack of living, breathing bodies except for those of Shippo, Miroku, Inuyasha and herself. She could feel their eyes on her as she stood beside Inuyasha while he lounged in his chair lazily, waiting with the utmost patience.

'Please, please let everyone approve,' Kagome plead to who ever would listen to her desperation. 'My family need to know I'm alive and well, please, please...'


"Miroku," Inuyasha drawled. Miroku nodded and left.

Kagome fidgeted a bit more.

"Kagome?"

"Yes, Master Shippo?" She asked, looking over to the wide-eyed innocent little boy in his raggedy clothing.

"If you die, can I have your coat?"

"Ehe..."

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Boss snorted, smirking lightly. "Kids..."

"I'm not a kid!" Shippo amended, bristling with indignation. Inuyasha grinned at the child, holding in a bark of laughter. If Shippo had a tail, it would be fluffed and shivering with fury. "I'm ten years old!"

"Like I said- 'Kids...'"

"Ohhhh, why you-"

"Boys," Kagome snorted mockingly.

"Hey!"

She smiled teasingly, missing the tug at the corner of Inuyasha's lips when he saw the unnoticed display of enjoyment. He didn't feel so bad about it all if she could manage to smile like that. He still felt bad, but not that bad...

The doors flung open and sound rolled in as waves of thunder. Men and women alike talked and chuckled, their voices ringing together in the perfect harmony of a well caring family. The last time he'd heard it as such was... before Kikyo.

'Keh! If they didn't like her, they should have spoke up,' his mind grumbled. 'Plus, what's up with the sickening cheery mood when everyone was missing earlier?'

As if his thoughts had been put into words for his 'men' to hear, their voices dwindled to nil. People had gathered about the table before the first person noted a stranger among them.

"What... the...?"


"You're all losing your touch if you just detected her- especially since she's in plain view," Inuyasha growled, glaring down those whispering among themselves. "What is it that has you so distracted?"

"I've heard Kouga landed himself in jail this morning," a woman exclaimed. "He was found messing with Miroku's handy work in the museum."

'Great. Now that has to be postponed... Kouga in jail, huh?' Inuyasha smirked. That was a nice thought. "Is that it?"

"No. Kitoushi is up for the Cloister," another pitched in. "He's been set up for the... the..." The speaker cast a wary glance to Kagome, unsure how far to go.

"The...?"

"Test of Perseverance Techniques. Starting with Starvation and going through to Escape. Leo is set guard watching."

"I'm takin' bets and keepin' book, Boss," a bulky man at the farthest end of the table exclaimed. "You wanna pitch in, too?"

"Not this time, Asano," Inuyasha sighed to the bear of a man. "I have too much faith in him to have any fun with gambling about it."

Asano shrugged. "Your call."

"What are the numbers?"

"So far- 25 in favor for. 13 have no faith in him. One thinks it will be called off before they get far enough to tell." Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. "Shippo cast this time."

Inuyasha blinked and looked down to the boy guiltily scuttling away. "Oi, Shippo... You'll never believe this..." He turned back to the table and caught the eye of the eldest woman. "Kaede, tell Leo it's to be postponed and he needs to be here with Kitoushi in the next five minutes."

A roar erupted from the gamblers' lot.

So much for easy money.

But, then again, 'easy come, easy go.'

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Kagome frowned, watching as men and women alike argued with Inuyasha and attempted to jump Asano only to laugh it off as if all was in good nature and money was never a problem.


It wouldn't be a problem for a crook, would it?

As Inuyasha instructed, Kaede left in a hurry, her legs waddling her large, aged frame away.

"So, what's she doing here?" Namaru, as his buddy called him moments earlier, inquired. "I thought she was killed this morning."

"Yeah, Nobunaga said she was alive and you were doing away with her," a woman muttered under her breath. "Didn't believe him though." She eyed her up and down. "Can't possibly be thinking about makin' her a whore- she's much too innocent lookin' and her build is a bit fragile."

"Nah, you work enough for all the girls!" a man in his near thirties jested. "Don't need no more."

"Fuck you," she spat viciously, a snarl on her face.

"You already have, Nikki."

Kagome stared wide-eyed as they continued to throw curses back and forth, Shippo standing beside her in complete nonchalance. However, Kagome knew that if a child looked inattentive when adults were speaking...

Her hands flew over his ears as she knelt beside him. "That's not for a child to hear."

"I'm NOT a child!"

"Shippo-chan-"

He glared at her, a warning in his eyes that he cast up to his boss in the fast, discreet motion meant for a hint to be taken seriously and without hesitation.

"Master Shippo, please go to the kitchen... and... um... get me a rag just in case anything is spilled... Please," Kagome stressed, hoping he would understand she just wanted the best for him.

To her relief, he understood and, instead, went to Asano, collected his cash, and went off to count the faded bills with a content smile on his lips. She watched him leave, still crouched down. Her eyes traveled up to Boss, causing her to instantly leap to her feet at the look in his eyes.

Steel.

Steel to soften a blow made to a conscience.

Steel to cut short any cry that would render a heart helpless.

Steel of a mask one wears around the people they care for most.


Steel used just to keep one's image or stop from getting found out and hurting close-to-the-heart people by the truth of one's self.

It scared her to no end. Those were the eyes of an assassin trying to forget, trying to not see the grim reality for what it was...

"Nikki, you are the alpha female here and you know it," the eldest man laughed.

"And you're ancient as father time, Toutousai, but you don't see me rubbing it in your face," Nikki, the red-headed, green-eyed, busty woman exclaimed. Then she paused and giggled twistedly. "Wait a second- I just did, old man."

"A giggling slut- how attractive," a young, dark haired man yawned boredly. "Honestly, what kind of guy likes a giddy girl with no self-respect?"

"Any man who isn't a faggot, Inoue," a slender blonde drawled back, then took on what Kagome assumed was supposed to be a seductive look as she leaned over the table, breasts half exposed. "You know, one night with me and I'm sure you'll never look at a woman without thoughts of a bed running through that pretty head of yours."

"Yeah, I'd be just that much more bored with your kind."

"Yet you love to shop with us," Nikki laughed.

"Correction. I love gagging at your sense of 'style' and 'fashion' and help when I think it's too pathetic to put words to," Inoue replied with a smirk. "Anyway- you know if you'd stop your giggling, I'd be more inclined to switch teams, Nikki."

She snorted in a very unladylike fashion and flipped her hair. Her nose shot up in the air as she purred her next words. "Only Akira cares to change you. I don't exactly find a guy willing to sleep with another man for pleasure as appealing."

Kagome gasped, "That was uncalled for! He's entitled to his own opinions and you shouldn't treat him any differently for them! And I personally, since we're on the subject of opinions already, don't think you have any room to talk! You're just as wrong as any other person here with your personal life- including me!"

The room went dead silent with surprise and disbelief. Only the brief squeak of a chair moving beneath a shifting body was heard. Boss reacted first when Nikki looked ready to kill.

"Bitch, shut you mouth," Inuyasha bellowed. "You have no place to talk here; I suggest you don't!"

Kagome blinked, inhaled sharply, and sent an apologetic look to the literally red-headed woman. "I-I didn't mean-"


"Girl!"

Her mouth clamped shut and her gaze fell to the floor. "It slipped," she whispered, hoping no one would hear her. Apparently, only Boss did, but he did nothing more than clear his throat.

"A rather disrespectful little wench, ain't she?" a man quirked. "I like that..."

"Hush up, Drake- damn American prick," Nikki hissed. "You'll be last to touch her if she's to live. Newcomers are always last."

"Then wouldn't last be Kitoushi?" She ignored him with a slight turn of her head.

"I don't think she understood it was all friendly banter," Inoue claimed. "Really, it's rather nice to have someone around that doesn't feel inclined to single me out, even if it's only a jest because of my preferences. She's considerate."

"Look, they're already discussing it without even knowing," a whisper in her ear mentioned. "And a few seem to like you already, Lady Kagome."

"But I slipped up," she 'hush-hush'ed back. "Nikki hates me."

"Nikki hates life itself. She likes you..."

Kagome peered up at Miroku with a quizzical brow raised. "Eh?"

"She keeps telling me she wants someone to actually argue with and have them mean it. Since she's what she is here, all the men either ignore her or agree with her just to get on her 'good' side... Which, in truth, is her worst side to be on."

Kagome sighed, not comprehending in the least what the man meant by that. 'So much for a simple bunch of people.'


The doors opened and Inuyasha's last employees entered: the elder Kaede, the man she assumed was Leo, and the only man she could say scared her the most.

Her friend. Yuri Kitoushi.

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"The White Hounds?"

"Yeah. If I can convince them, I can get back at them..."

"Them? The White Hounds? You aren't making much sense- plus, what about Sango-chan?"

"... Never mind, Kagome... I'm telling Sango tonight before I leave. Take care of her, will you?"

"I wish I knew what you were thinking, Yuri..."

"Please."

"I'll take care of her. Don't worry."

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'That's where I heard of them before... From Yuri...'

"A little over five minutes, I'd say," Inuyasha said sourly.

It was really him- Yuri... Sango's ex-boyfriend, Kagome's ex-best friend... It was really him after all that time spent wondering what had happened...

She couldn't help it...

Like everything else...

It slipped.

"Yuri..."

Again, the dinning room went silent as if muted by the whispered name.

The man blinked, taking her in with his eyes as a hawk to its prey. Kagome noted only his eyes had changed, beside the aging. He still looked every bit the Yuri she knew... Except the steel in his eyes.


'Inuyasha must have trained him himself...' It sent shivers up her spine.

"Kagome?"

Said girl nodded and the masked eyes were gone instantly to be replaced with both utter joy and immeasurable despair. He turned to his boss with a fearful look.

"Why's she here?" He turned back to Kagome without hesitation. "You didn't try to break in here, did you? Please, tell me you didn't even think about it- I know you used to be that way, but I hope you've matured a bit past your 'adult mature' childhood self. You and your 'don't do that- do this' bull that always managed to get us in trouble..."

Kagome couldn't believe it. Here he was, babbling on and on like old times in front of a bunch of filthy gang members who had just abducted her and that she was (kinda, sorta) getting along with semi-well.

"And fancy that- just after Kikyou-" he choked on his words, eyes flashing to his boss once more. "... She's... the innocent...? The one you...?" His gaze drifted back slowly. "Kagome? What were you doing out in The Woods?"

'The Woods' was the name Yuri and Sango had dubbed the part of town Kagome had visited last night years ago. It was always a neat way to sneak by the parental figures- 'going for a night in the woods with so-and-so's family next Saturday. They said you could call anytime!'

Of course, if any of their parents had called the other family, the stunt wouldn't have worked, but saying something like that always boosted a sense of honesty in their statements in a parent's eyes. Ah, the bliss of faux trustworthiness...

Kagome looked to Inuyasha after just catching herself from speaking. Boss nodded permissively.

"I ran away last night... Sango was with me, but she went running after some two-tailed cat and didn't make it back before... or maybe she did and just went home for some reason..." She shook her head. "I don't know... But I went back to Mr. Old-Man's house and swiped some swan that's worth... um... I don't remember..."

"Jio Jinto's last piece before his death- Seven hundred, thirteen thousand, nine hundred and some odd dollars work of art," Miroku rattled off.

An appreciative murmur sounded through the room.

"Damn good numbers there, Kagome," Yuri chuckled. "I'm not surprised you'd take the jackpot without even knowing it."

"The only thing that's ever surprised you was Sango."

His laughter died as a bitter smile graced his lips. "How did she hold up?"

"Like Sango would... Three years of mourning whatever away, then never thought about it again."

The boy sighed and cast his eyes to the ground. Kagome winced inside, realizing exactly what she had said- that Sango had forgotten him...

"Can we get started, Boss? Stomach's growlin' here," Asano rumbled. "The girlie can wait. I'm sure she's here for a reason and hearing those numbers, I don't mind her living a bit longer."

"Plus," Nikki chipped in snappishly, "she looks too stubborn to allow a five minute discussion be the end of conversation when it comes to her. Snobbish, if you will."

"Hey you-!"

"Then you two will get along perfectly," Inuyasha purred, a friendly smirk lifting the corner of his lips. He turned to fuming girl beside him and stretched a hand out over the table towards the heaps of Ramen. "How about a little service?"

For once, with Yuri now watching her, being his usual helpful self by mere presence, Kagome abided Inuyasha with no back-talk...

"I'd love some."

Almost...

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A/N: Doesn't know when to quit, does she?