Disclaimer: I may not have ownage, but I DO have pwnage. XD
(Sango/Hojo/Miroku speaking through the earpiece)
Chapter Two: There is No 'Game Over'
"Ohayo, Kagome-chuaan!"
Kagome could only roll her eyes as she stomped past her co-worker, rushing towards her office.
"Oy! Kagome-chan! Matte!"
Kagome continued to rush ahead as Miroku pursued her.
"Kagome-chan! What's wrong?" spoke her fellow agent with a surprising amount of concern, "You don't seem well today."
Kagome slowed down a little, for she was only a few paces from her office door, casting him sideways glance. 'What's gotten into him? He's almost… tolerable… and sweet.'
"Do you need somebody to care for you tonight?" he spoke seductively into her ear as his arm snaked around her shoulders and the other grabbed her ass.
'I should have known better…'
"You pervert! Will you ever stop?" Kagome cried as she grabbed the arm about her shoulders and catapulted him over her back and onto the ground. Panting a little, she stood straight again, fixed her hair and prepared to enter her office.
"Well, now I know that you like it rough." Miroku laughed as he tried to sit up.
A glare came over her features as she gave him one last kick before she stepped through her office door.
Turning the light switch on with a flick, she slammed her door close and leaned against it with a sigh.
All too soon, voices were heard and then a resounding slap, then loud pounding knocks came from the other side of the door.
Pushing herself off the door, Kagome turned and opened the door for her guests. Luckily, the site she beheld was a little comforting.
Sango, in her agent's suit, was standing in an extremely pissed off manner, her face red and steam almost visible about her head. Behind her stood their superior, rubbing his head sheepishly with a red handprint across his cheek.
Kagome breathed a small sigh of relief as she let the two in.
"Sango-chan, Miroku-san…" she trailed off as she gave a strange look towards Miroku, "Wait, you're not the one in charge of this co-op, are you?"
Miroku flashed a smile, "But, of course I am!"
Kagome wanted to leave her office right then and there, but she knew better. Taking her place on the other side of Sango so she wouldn't have to stand next to the Tokyo's Number One Pervert, she tried cleared her mind of all else in order to get her head into her job.
"This is going to be a small operation…" Miroku began, but as he looked about the room, he paused. "Oh. Where is Hojo-kun?"
Kagome's eyes grew wide as she quickly turned to Sango.
"Are you serious? Hojo-san is going to be a part of this co-op?"
Sango nodded, somewhat confused. "Yes, why do you seem so flustered? What's wrong with Hojo-san?"
Kagome wanted to cry. Not only was she already having to work with a pervert, now she had to work with a…
"KAGOME-SAMA!"
All three heads turned towards the doorway. A young man in his early twenties with light brown hair stood in the doorway, beaming.
"Fanboy."
"Kagome-sama! It's such an honor to finally be working with you in a co-op! I'll be sure to give it my best and try my hardest! And I'll be doing it all for you!"
Miroku coughed a little off to the side, bringing Hojo's attention to him.
"Oh! I mean, I'll do my best, sir!" Hojo exclaimed, bowing politely, "Thank you for choosing me for this operation!"
Miroku let out a short laugh.
"Of course you will," he said, turning to the rest of the group as he held out a manila folder to each of them, "Now, as I was saying before Hojo-kun, here, arrived. This is going to be a very small operation. Although we may need back up later on, right now we'll just stick with us four.
"Recently, we received a distress call from a local weapons maker. This weapons maker guy is pretty old, and he makes old fashioned weapons, like swords, staffs, bows and arrows… all that good stuff."
Kagome and Sango gave each other strange looks, and then raised a brow at Miroku as he casually brushed off their questioning looks and continued.
"The problem here is that there are a few gangster-type bullies who are trying to wheedle out some of this old man's goods."
"You mean, they won't pay?" Kagome questioned, flipping through the files of information.
Miroku shook his head, "No, these people have the money… Oh. They definitely have the money. The old man is just worried about their purposes with the weapons they want. Which… leads me to my next point. As you have probably heard, we've been receiving reports of strange activity about our local gangs here in Tokyo. The gangs' movements aren't correlating to their normal patterns. In fact, it is actually an irregular pattern now. This is leading to our suspicion that these mobsters are probably planning something big."
Miroku paused for a moment as the other three occupants of the room sat in unmoving silence.
"And so… we are going to send Kagome in."
Kagome's eyes widened a bit, "Wait. What? Just me?"
Miroku solemnly nodded.
"You are our best bet on getting information on just what is going on now. Because I, myself, am heading this operation, I'll have to stay behind and monitor everything. Sango-chan will be in charge of the surveillance and Hojo-kun here will be digging up background information."
Kagome turned towards her other two fellow agents. For some reason, it seemed as if both Hojo and Sango were beaming at her with pride now.
"Well, that is…" Miroku spoke leaning towards her, "I wouldn't want to get in the way of Kagome-chan while she's working her 'Vixen' magic, now would I?"
Kagome rolled her eyes and pushed Miroku away.
"Yeah… whatever you say, Miroku-SAN."
"All right then! I'll need you all to report to my office in five hours," Miroku looked at his watch, "So at 11 o'clock. By then we should have the basic background information on these people, and then we'll start tonight! Don't work too hard today, and catch a nap or two!"
Miroku began to laugh as he ushered Hojo and Sango out of Kagome's office. "Ja ne, Kagome-chan!"
Exhausted from the news, Kagome fell into her chair.
---
"Omagosh!" Hojo cried as he flew through the doorway, "I'm so sorry I'm late!"
Kagome was sitting in front of a large television screen that Sango was standing next to, and Miroku was standing before Kagome. The three looked up from their spots.
"Calm down, Hojo-kun," Miroku spoke, calling him over, "You're not even a minute late yet."
"Okay! So as I was saying," Miroku said, holding up a round, pale object, "This is you ear piece."
Kagome took the device from his hand and placed it in her ear.
"And this…" Miroku held up a hazel pendent on silver chain, "…This necklace is the camera and microphone. There is a switch on the back of it. Please take good care of it… it costs more than your beloved car."
Kagome gave him a half-hearted glare as she took it from him and put it on. Looking at television, Kagome saw a perfect shot of everything she could see herself.
"It looks great on you, Kagome-sama!" Hojo cried as Kagome plastered a smile on her face for him.
Miroku looked up at their fourth party member. "So Hojo-kun, did you find anything at all?"
Hojo gasped as he remembered the stack of papers in his hand.
"Oh! Yes, sir! Here's my a summary of my research," he said, handing the top sheet to Miroku, then he turned to speak to Sango and Kagome, "They're known as the 'Three Blades.' They can be found at The Den. It's a club… their usual hang-out. We don't know their real identities, though. Oh, and like their gang name states, there are three of them. You get it? 'Three Blades?' Three–"
"Yes, we get it, Hojo-kun," Miroku said, cutting him off. He cast a worried glance at Kagome, which Kagome haughtily noted.
"Are you rethinking my going in alone now?"
Miroku slowly nodded.
"Don't worry about it," she scoffed, "I'm only going in there tonight to get information on them, not beat the living crap out of them."
Sango nodded as she joined in, "Yes, Kagome needs to get information on their real identities so that we can find out really what is going on. However, I believe she should go by the weapon maker first to see if they have gone back lately."
Miroku nodded with his eyes closed, "True… true. Sango-chan, my dear, you truly speak words of wisdom."
Color rose to Sango's cheeks, but she quickly recovered before he noticed.
"Well… Kagome-chan, you'd better head home first. You should probably wear something sexy and scanty. You know, men like that will love you in something like that. Especially if they're old perverted men."
Kagome frowned. "Whatever, Miroku-san, YOU like women in that."
Miroku laughed at the statement.
"We'll be in a fish truck across the street if you need anything, Kagome-chan."
Kagome couldn't help but smiled as they rose to exit his office.
'Sexy and scanty, huh? Who is he to tell me to wear something like that into public…'
---
Quietly slipping out of her car in a somewhat run-down portion of town, Kagome, bundled up in a large, bulky overcoat, walked up to an old building with dim lighting inside. Looking across the street, she noted a big white van with fish market advertisements printed all over it. Holding her breath, she opened the door and walked in.
The sight inside surprised her. It was clean, and very well organized. The floors were wooden and it looked more like a dojo than a weapons shop. Taking off her shoes, she treaded quietly across the floor to a counter where she rung a bell. After a moment or two, Kagome heard the sound of a door creaking as she spotted a door that seemed to lead to the back room.
"Is it you three boys, again?"
Kagome jumped a little at the feeble voice that floated across the room.
"How many times do I have to tell you 'NO' so you'll finally understand me?"
"Ah…" Kagome tried speaking up, "Excuse me, ojii-san?"
"Eh…?" Suddenly, a head popped up from behind the counter, and Kagome screamed.
"Ahhh!" the old man cried as he toppled over backwards.
Kagome, patting her chest, trying to calm her racing heart, ran around the counter to help the old man up.
"Oh! I'm sorry, ojii-san," Kagome frantically apologized, "Are you all right?"
"Agh," the old man groaned as he scrambled onto his feet again, "Don't call me ojii-san… it makes me feel older than I already am. My name is Myouga."
Kagome bowed in apology, "I'm sorry for my intrusion, Myouga-san."
Myouga chuckled, his baldhead shining in the dim light and his strangely shaved beard bouncing with his laugh.
"My, my, what a pretty, young lady you are. And with such kind manners," he stood behind his counter as Kagome went around to the customer's side again, "Now, what would a young lady like you be doing here?"
Kagome leaned against the counter.
(Ask him about the guys, Kagome-chan) Miroku spoke through the earpiece.
"You were saying, when I first came in, something about 'three boys' coming here," Kagome noted the nervousness displayed on the contours of his round face, "I've come here with an objective for those three boys."
Myouga nervously wrung his hands.
"Of course, of course…" his eyes darted back and forth, "Please, come this way."
The old man led Kagome through the back door to a storage room. Inside were walls full of shelves, all lined with weapons of all different shapes and sizes. However, Myouga ignored all of those as he hobbled towards three stands in the middle of the room, holding three swords.
Kagome lingered back in the doorframe until the old man motioned her to come closer to take a look.
"These are my brothers' proudest and finest works of the sword," Myouga beamed, "These two katana are the Tetsusaiga and the Tenseiga, they are wanted by the two brothers of the group." Myouga paused. "And this is the Toukijin, coveted by the brothers' best friend."
Kagome hesitated.
(What about his brothers?) Miroku added.
"Where are your brothers now?" she questioned the old man as he beamed over the swords.
"Oh… they passed a while back, Toutousai and Kaijinbou. They left this shop to me… as well as these three swords, all three of which I am supposed to give to those three boys…" Myouga trailed off as he stared into a far off distance.
Kagome narrowed her eyes.
"You are supposed to give those swords to them?"
The old man seemed regained his senses as he bent over a box on the ground off to the side of the room.
"Well, yes. They technically do belong to them by birthright. However, they are asking for their swords far too soon."
Kagome felt confused.
"What… exactly are these swords good for? Do they just want them to show off? Or is there something else?"
Kagome felt like shuddering in her overcoat as she felt like a cold chill come over her. Myouga slowly turned to her.
"Tell me, Kagome-san, do you believe in demons?"
Kagome blinked.
"How did you know my name?"
Myouga held out what seemed to be a bundle of sticks. Kagome looked at it questioningly.
"I may be old but I can clearly hear the young man speaking to you through that earpiece."
Kagome stared at him with disbelief.
"What… how…"
Myouga just smiled grimly.
"Like I asked you before… Do you believe in demons?"
Within a flash, what had been just a bundle of sticks became a staff. Kagome looked from the staff to the old man holding it.
"You see, this is a whip and staff in one!" he exclaimed excitedly as he loosened a notch and the staff fell into pieces connected by what seemed like string running through their core. Myouga turned to Kagome, holding out the weapon.
"This is for you."
Kagome hesitantly took the weapon from the old man.
"I know that there is much troubling you now. However, young lady, be wary when you enter their den tonight. It would be best not to wear that earpiece. Also, this weapon is a gift from me, it will help protect you in a time of dire need, and it will definitely help you better than those guns of yours."
Myouga began to usher an extremely confused Kagome back outside and back to the front door.
With her hand on the door handle, Kagome turned back questioning.
"Don't be afraid. Nothing I have told you tonight is anything different from what you can already sense and what you already believe."
Kagome stepped outside.
"Oh and here is the holster to put the whip in," Myouga spoke, handing her a black cloth, "It'll look sexy on you, especially if you fix it along the slit in your dress."
Kagome's eyes grew wide as she threw a punch at the old man, only to have her fist collide with the closed door.
"Shit," she cried as held her stinging hand, "Dammit, you old pervert!"
Kagome could hear a chuckle come from behind the door.
"Oh, but Kagome-san," he called through the wood, "Remember this: there are no demons… until you believe in them."
---
"Miroku!" Kagome angrily spoke as she drove, "What the hell is going on? How did that old fart know everything?"
(Calm down, Kagome-chan!) Sango tried to soothe her in a shaky voice. (We aren't even sure what's happening.)
(That's right, Kagome-sama) Hojo added, (We're trying to piece together what's going on.)
(Kagome) she heard Miroku take up the microphone, (Kagome, be careful. I think that Myouga-dono has a point. If he could sense this earpiece on you, I think it would be best to take it out. And since we won't be able to guide you, make your moves only after a lot of consideration, okay? I'm calling for back-up right now.)
"Wait!" Kagome said, thoroughly agitated now. "Don't call for the back-up."
(But Kagome-chan!) she heard Sango cry on the other side, but Miroku must have made a motion to her because he spoke next (What is your reasoning, Kagome?)
"There is something going on here…" Kagome spoke with her teeth clenched, "Definitely something is going on here. However, we haven't even seen the targeted area." Kagome paused. "Sir, I'm requesting permission to enter the target area and examine it before you call for back-up."
She could hear Miroku breathing heavily into the microphone with small whines of protest coming from Sango and Hojo.
Miroku sighed, "Permission granted."
Kagome nodded and breathed a sigh of relief as she pulled into the parking lot.
Getting out of the car, Kagome hesitated for a moment, holding onto the earpiece.
"Wish me good luck, guys," she whispered into the mic.
(Good luck, Kagome-sama!)
(Good luck, Kagome-chan… and please be safe.)
(Kagome... be careful.)
Kagome nodded, "I know."
(And remember: there is no 'game over')
Kagome drew in a sharp breath. "Yeah… I know."
With that, she pulled the earpiece out. Taking out her badge and a silver-plated handgun, she carefully placed them in her door's side compartment along with the earpiece, then got out of the car.
Walking briskly towards the door to the Den, Kagome lightly climbed the steps up to the entrance and placed her hands on the door, ready to pull it open.
'No game over…'
Drawing a deep breath, she pulled the door open and stepped in.