Dark as Day
Chapter Four

Inuyasha stared in mild shock as the same huntress from before slammed into Naraku, the spikes at her feet digging into his cheek until it drew blood. With a graceful back flip, she landed on her feet, crouched, much like she had when he'd fought her.

He stared in mild shock as Naraku snapped his head back around and fixed the huntress with a dark glare. "You…!"

She had a new metal grate over her mouth and nose and the glasses over her eyes completely hid her face. He could not see her facial expression but he knew that she was probably smirking at her valiant sneak attack.

Naraku fixed his attention on Inuyasha, his eyes narrowing. Inuyasha stared back, hoping that he would not say his name. He did not want the demon hunter to know his name.

But it seemed as if Naraku would never have his moment. The woman dove forward, her hands extended much like his were when using his claws. He saw them glint in the moonlight and realized they were fake claws attached to her fingertips with a leather band. The ancient ninja weapon neko-te.

He could smell the putrid stench of poison and knew she'd dipped the claws in some kind of venom. The huntress aimed for Naraku's eyes, the claws scraping against his pale skin as he dodged nimbly and somewhat effortlessly.

"Is that the best you can do, Kamen?" he snarled as he whipped his hand out and grasped the girl around her neck. She gasped for air.

Inuyasha's brow furrowed. Her name meant 'disguise'? He realized after a moment of air headed thinking that that was probably an alias to protect her identify. Inuyasha wished he'd been smart like that before he'd gone and told Naraku his real name. Or maybe Naraku would think it was his alias, too?

Ha, Inuyasha was so smart.

He watched in fascination as 'Kamen' dug her neko-te into Naraku's outreaching arm. He snarled and dug his real claws into her neck. She gasped in pain, throwing her head back toward the sky. Despite the fact that her face was hidden, Inuyasha could envision her face contorted in pain.

Inuyasha didn't allow himself to think before he acted. With a mighty leap, he was diving towards Naraku, his own claws outstretched. Naraku growled as Inuyasha's claws slashed across his back. Instantly he dropped the hunter, who fell to the ground and lay there.

He turned his eyes towards Inuyasha and smirked. "Whelp," he said coolly. "You dare go against me?"

Inuyasha reeled back, a growl reverberating from his throat and his dark golden eyes watching Naraku. The man chuckled and shook his head.

"Fools," he laughed, though it was not a gentle laugh. His chuckle sent chills down Inuyasha's spine and he felt like a bucket of ice water had just been thrown into his face. "You'll regret this, half-breed."

Inuyasha growled as Naraku jumped into the air, much like he'd approached Inuyasha. Only this time his body was surrounded in a dark mist. Inuyasha coughed as it hit him and he keeled over. Miasma covered his entire body and he felt the poison fill his lungs.

His eyes began to water and he dug his claws into the stone. He received solace, however, when he saw a movement out of the corner of his eye. He stared in shock as the demon hunter with the alias 'Kamen' dart towards him, unhooking something from the sash around her waist. Before he could say anything she'd pressed a metal gas mask, similar to her own, against his face.

He sucked in a lungful of clean, filtered air and felt the screaming in his lungs slowly diminish. He stared at the demon huntress warily, as if she were planning on plucking his savior away from his face and allowing him to suffocate in the poisonous cloud Naraku had left behind.

Once the smoke had dissipated, the woman pulled the mask away and re-hooked it to her belt. She pulled her own mask down and it hung around her neck, revealing her frowning lips and her small, button nose. Inuyasha's throat was dry and scratchy from the large breaths of air he'd taken in of the miasma but he was alive. And that's what mattered.

"Er…" Inuyasha was about to thank her, a rare occurrence indeed, but the girl was already on her feet and approaching the edge of the bridge's support, probably to make her leave. "Hey, wench! I'm talking to you."

She paused in her retreat and glanced at him over her shoulder. The moonlight reflected off her dark ebony hair again. Her body was tense and he knew that she was glaring at him.

"You will be wise to avoid Naraku," she finally said after a long moment of regarding the man. Inuyasha bristled. He did not like being told what to do, especially by this girl. She sounded cocky. He was the only one that was supposed to be cocky around here.

"Keh! It wasn't as if I was asking him to come here," Inuyasha snapped out, his golden eyes narrowing as he furrowed his brow at her. He crossed his arms and stood up to his full height. He towered over her as he marched towards her. With every step she tensed and poised herself—whether to attack or bolt, Inuyasha wasn't sure.

Despite her uncomfortable posture, her voice remained calm and collected. "You do every time you run around this city. You are proving to be quite a nuisance."

"Keh," Inuyasha snorted.

She sighed, her lips parting to let the air pass. "I have no time to fight with you, half-breed. I need to stop the demon."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Whatever, wench. It's not like I'm holding you here against your will."

He snickered at the way her lips curved downwards further at this information. Annoying this woman was proving to be one of his favorite things to do, now that he'd found her again.

"Don't make me use my darts again," she warned, though a small amount of amusement laced her voice. Inuyasha paused and frowned, crossing his arms.

"You caught me on a bad day, wench," Inuyasha snorted. "Had I wanted to beat you, I would have."

She chuckled. "Whatever, halfling."

He waved his hand and moved towards the edge of the bridge's support. "I haven't got the time to deal with you, woman."

She hummed in the back of her throat before unhooking what looked like a gun from beneath her belt. He hadn't seen it until now. What was a ninja doing with a gun, anyway? He got his answer when she aimed it at the building closest to the bridge and shot. A grappling gun. Duh. She was a human, after all.

Unfortunately for the woman, her gun didn't come even close to the building. She cursed under her breath as she drew the hook back, reloading her gun. Inuyasha rolled his eyes as he watched her. At this point, she'd have to climb down the support block either into oncoming traffic or the water. From their positions there was no way to get to the pedestrians portion of the bridge, underneath the cars that zoomed by.

"Worthless," Inuyasha mocked. She turned her face towards him and snorted.

"And I suppose you have a better way of getting down, hm?" she accused snidely, the tone in her voice daring him to mock her.

He smirked and grasped the back of her black uniform. She tensed up and her hand instantly went to the small ninja knife at her waist. He rolled his eyes and lifted her effortlessly off the ground before slinging her over his shoulder like he would a sack of potatoes.

He heard her make a small noise of discontentment at the new position she found herself in and began struggling to get off. He saw her hand go for her belt, undoubtedly going for her darts or her knife.

"Relax, wench, this is the quickest way of the bridge."

"What, you're going to throw me?" she asked tensely, and Inuyasha could hear the underlying nervousness in her voice.

Instead of answering, Inuyasha began running and as he reached the end of the support block, he pushed off with all his might. He soared through the air. To Kamen's credit, she didn't squirm or scream. She just stayed there against his back, her arms crossed and her legs moderately kicking him where she could reach, simply to show him that she would not be made a fool of.

As he began to descend from his graceful arch, Inuyasha did a small flip—perhaps to show off to the talented hunter-ninja—and landed on the side of the bridge's road. But he was quickly in the air again. About three leaps later he was on the dry land and set the woman down with an unceremonious drop. She hit the ground and groaned as she rubbed her back.

She stopped instantly, however, when she realized that his gaze was on her and he was chuckling about her discomfort. She turned her face towards him and he felt the anger rolling off her in waves. He waved her aside.

"There you go, wench, nice and safe." He dodged a nimble kick to his groin as the woman stood up. She placed her hands on her hips and leaned her head forward. He could feel her glare through the protective goggles she wore.

Finally, he heard her sigh, but he could still feel the dwindling burn of her glare. He rolled his shoulders and snorted.

"What the hell is your problem?"

"What did Naraku want with you?" she asked instead of answering his own question. Inuyasha frowned.

"What does it matter to you?" Inuyasha questioned. She didn't relent to his glare and just stood there, hands on hips with her chin tilted upwards slightly. He growled. "He wanted me to join him or some stupid cliché like that."

Kamen made a small noise in the back of her throat and tossed her head like a horse. "You'll have to come with me then."

"Where?" Inuyasha snarled, wondering what the stupid girl wanted with him anyway.

"To my headquarters," she said coolly.

"What are you, the head of the hunters or something?" Inuyasha snorted. The way she said it made it sound like the headquarters belonged to her. Whatever the headquarters was. Probably where the demon hunters grouped and plotted against his fun.

A sense of dread fell over him. All his life he'd followed the rules. He'd never disobeyed save for that time when he'd stolen some yen from his mother's wallet in order to buy a soda at the gas station, but that was it. The urge in his blood to have reckless fun had driven him to do things he would have never thought of a month before. Was his troublesome nature over the past few weeks finally coming back to haunt him? Was this hunter going to kill him?"

She sighed. "No, I'm not the head of the demon exterminators." She sounded dejected, like a teacher after a day of babysitting troubled teenagers. Her head lowered, just a fraction of an inch. Had Inuyasha been able to detect a scent from her, he would have realized her distress was evident. He saw her muscles tense. "My father was. My uncle is now."

Why was she telling him this? He didn't dare ask.

Kamen sighed again and a light breeze ruffled their hair. "But you'll need to come with me all the same. You've come in contact with Naraku. It is vital that I take you to the hunters' headquarters at once."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Forget it. I'm going home."

He turned on his heel and made to leave. He didn't hear Kamen come up behind him and grasp his arm, twisting it behind his back. He tensed. If he moved his arm Kamen would surely break it, and even though he was capable of healing by tomorrow morning, he didn't like the idea of having this woman breaking a bone of his body.

"You will come with me," she said, colder than before. Her voice was demanding and Inuyasha felt his brow furrow. He didn't like the way she condescended him so subtlety. Just because he was a half-breed didn't mean she was better than him. Was that what she thought? He wasn't sure, but he wasn't too keen on finding out.

There was no way he was going to let this wench get the best of him. He struggled and her hand jerked his arm further behind his back. He felt the strain on his bone and he cringed inwardly.

"Fine," he muttered. His arm was automatically released. He smirked. "See you later, wench."

With a nimble leap he was on top of the roof and dashing away. He heard her curse loudly and set out on pursuit of him, but by the time she was on the roof, he was long gone.

"You should write this down," Kagome advised in their history class. Inuyasha jumped to attention and stared at her with wild eyes. She giggled and returned her attention to the lecture being given, scribbling down notes in her flowing writing. He'd been staring out the window daydreaming.

He sighed and scribbled down some notes after checking over Kagome's notes. She was a good note taker, and he certainly understood what the professor was yapping about when reading Kagome's notes. He smiled in thanks and she nodded her head silently before scribbling down some more. He tried his hardest to keep his attention on his professor, but it was becoming increasingly hard with his mind wandering.

So much had happened since his birthday, which really hadn't been that long ago. He sighed and blew air out of his mouth in a small stream. He heard Kagome shift to look at him before returning her attention to the front of the room. Inuyasha tapped his pen against his notebook before bowing his head and resting his head in his hand. He wanted to be anywhere but here. He hated history.

Thankfully class was nearing an end. He only had his history class today and he would happily retreat back to his home once class was dismissed. He watched Kagome write and copied down her notes. He'd go over the notes later on so he could understand what he was writing. He heard Kagome giggle under her breath, and he realized that she knew what he was doing.

He snapped his body upright and away from the leaning position he'd taken to look at her notes and stared attentively at the professor as he droned on in his monotone voice of his. His interest quickly dwindled and he slumped over in his chair again. Lavender eyes stared out the window dimly and he watched birds fly gently through the air. He longed to be soaring with them, too…

He felt a small jab in his side and sat upright again in time to see the professor's eyes sweep over the class. He'd asked a question. He glanced nervously at Kagome, but she didn't look at him. Luck was on his side today, a rare occurrence indeed since he claimed to have the worst luck in the world, and the professor called on someone else on the other side of the room.

He sighed in relief and slid down his chair, making himself smaller. His feet extended out from in front of him and kicked against the leg of the chair in front of him. The student sitting there didn't seem to notice or care.

Half an hour later the class was dismissed and Inuyasha happily packed his things away. He smiled lightly as he turned his head towards the warm sunshine streaming through the large windows of the classroom.

"You know," he heard Kagome say behind him and he turned to look at her. She was smiling, her pink lips tilted upwards and her beautiful blue eyes sparkling in the glowing sunlight. "You shouldn't be spacing out like that during class. Especially since midterms are coming up."

His brow furrowed. "I know… I've just been distracted lately."

Kagome made a small noise in the back of her throat and shrugged one shoulder. Her smile never wavered and she seemed incredibly amused with his discomfort. She slung the small backpack she used to hold her books over her shoulder.

"You don't do too well in this class, do you?" she questioned tentatively, as if afraid he'd be angry for the very true observation.

Inuyasha felt his spirits dampen like a bucket of water had been thrown over him.

"Yeah," he agreed as he stuffed his hands into his pockets. They began leaving the classroom, following the stream of students exiting the building. Inuyasha relished the warmth of the sun and the caress of the breeze. "I'm not very good with dates and all that."

"Well, we're in a pretty boring part of history right now," Kagome agreed with a gentle nod. He watched as the wind brushed her long black hair from her face and the way the sunlight bounced off the ebony tresses. Why was he staring at her hair? He shook his head and rubbed his temple. "But it will get better. You just have to pay attention and do the reading."

"Yeah, yeah," Inuyasha sighed and waved his hand. He slung his backpack farther up his shoulder. "Where are you off to next?"

"Home," Kagome said brightly and she seemed just as delighted as he was to get home. "That's my last class of the day."

"Me too."

They stopped at the crosswalk, waiting for the light to turn and allow them to cross. He stood uncomfortably but she seemed unfazed by his uneasy stance. He wasn't very good with girls and it was hard for Inuyasha not to dart away.

He realized that he was the pinnacle of a pathetic virgin boy, but he always felt uncomfortable around girls like Kagome. She was confident yet kind. But at the same time he couldn't help but feel that those blue eyes staring at him were silently judging him. She wasn't necessarily aloof, but she had that look in her eyes that suggested that she was hiding something. He stuffed his hands into his pockets again and started crossing the street when the light turned green for them.

She made to continue walking, but he had to turn. Ah well. He sighed and cleared his throat. "I'll see you next week, Kagome."

She nodded her head and waved her hand, her lips still curved into a smile. "Bye bye."

He stood at the second crosswalk, watching Kagome walk down the sidewalk, her hair swinging around her shoulders and her hips swaying as she walked. Violet eyes watched as she grew farther and farther from him before she finally turned the corner and disappeared from his view for another week.

He hummed in appreciation. "I guess she is kind of cute…"

He blushed and crossed the street.

"Shit, how do I always get myself into these messes?" Inuyasha yelped out loud as a large fist came colliding into a building, nearly missing his head by an inch. He growled and leapt away as the large ogre-like creature came tumbling after him, his large, troll feet slamming against the ground. His lips fluttering out countless profanities that would make a sailor blush, Inuyasha quickly dashed away, feeling the soles of his sneakers scraping against the pavement and burning away. And they were new shoes, too. Terrific.

His luck may have spared him in class that day, but it certainly hadn't decided to go easy on his demon side. Lady Luck had it in for him.

"Shit!" he swore again as the ogre man grabbed his leg in his iron vice of a grip and swung him against a streetlamp. The pole bent under the force of his body colliding with it and Inuyasha gasped in pain as the air rushed from his lungs. He wheezed as the oni swung him from side to side like a pendulum.

"Halfling," the man snarled, his mouth opening to reveal yellow-green teeth rotting in its gums. Inuyasha's nostrils were greeted with the putrid scent of rotten flesh and bad breath. He coughed and felt his throat dry from the disgusting scents the ogre produced. "How dare you enter my territory?"

Like this disgusting creature owned a part of Tokyo. Inuyasha didn't voice this opinion. He snarled at the ogre and struggled in the demon's grip on his leg, trying to rip the appendage free from the man's stone-grip.

Probably the ogre claimed a dank, disgusting alleyway as his territory. But that wasn't really Inuyasha's main concern. The man's real problem here was the fact that he was getting beaten up by a pathetic lower demon. Inuyasha struggled some more, attempting to free himself from the ogre's grip.

"Stupid," the thing wheezed, his mouth curving upwards into a sinister grin, his green lips cracked and chapped. His breath wafted from his mouth, causing his nostrils to flare and his lungs to scream in agony. "Stupid whelp, you can't escape me."

Inuyasha's claws flexed and he growled darkly in warning. The demon either didn't hear him or decided to ignore the man in favor of taunting and jabbing at the dog demon. Inuyasha felt the fuse of his anger slowly drawing towards the end. He was near an explosion.

As the demon swung him towards a building to smash him against a fire escape, Inuyasha seized his chance. He threw his hand out, his long, thick claws poised for attack and he dove his hand down. He felt the flesh against his hand as the talons on his fingertips ripped through the flesh like tissue paper.

The blood curdling scream that sounded from the demon's lips was enough to shatter Inuyasha's eardrums. He cringed as the demon dropped the half-demon, who flopped to the ground, disoriented. He lifted his head in time to see the ogre tumble backwards, his back smacking against a dumpster. Inuyasha watched him as he claimed the fresh air (or as fresh as a city could be) into his lungs.

He watched in silent awe as the ogre gasped for air, five slash marks running down the length of his chest. Blood spilled out in some rivulets and collected on the ground in tiny pools. Golden eyes watched as the last thread of life escaped the ogre and his head sank against his shoulder, lolling to the side.

It seemed that he sat there for the longest time, his golden eyes focused on the dead body. The body that he'd killed with his very own hands. His heart still pounded wildly in his chest and it felt as if he'd never breathe normally again.

He struggled to rise up from the ground. He rested against the wall for support, feeling the brick and steal against his back through the fabric of his shirt. He stared, his mouth flopped open.

Had he just… killed someone?

His mouth went dry and his eyes widened as he stared at the dead body before him. It was an odd sensation, like it was all part of some strange dream, seeing the cadaver lying there motionlessly.

He stumbled away from the scene, knowing that the hunters would undoubtedly come and investigate the dead body. They did specialize in demons, after all. His legs found their strength, finally, and the half-breed leapt away. When he was far enough away to avoid suspicion, Inuyasha flopped down on a rooftop, staring at his bloodied claws.

"I just… killed him," he whispered to himself, his words dying almost immediately after leaving his throat. His chest constricted.

It had been self defense, yes, but he'd never come close to doing anything like this. He'd been well mannered his entire life, despite the blood sleeping within him. This whole thing with jumping around at night had been for fun.

It had simply been his way to unleash the blood within him, making up for twenty-two years of brown nosing. He'd wanted to feel rebellious for just a moment, and he had a chance to be whoever he wanted as the demon and return to his mild-mannered life the next morning as Inuyasha. The man shook his head in disbelief.

When had his fun become a reckless danger? When had the line been crossed between a halfling enjoying the night to a half-breed being a killer?

Inuyasha's brow furrowed and he slammed his fists against the roof of the building he sat on top of. Why had he crossed that line? What did that mean?

Sure, the demon was going to kill him and he'd acted in self defense, but he hadn't wanted to kill him. No, he never wanted to kill someone. That would prove that all demons were evil.

But now…

Inuyasha's sad golden eyes captured the moon, a small clipped fingernail in the sky. The moon had been witness to the transformation to reckless boy to heartless killer. What had happened back there?

Did that make him evil now?

He desperately began rubbing his hands against his pants, wishing to hide the crimson blood amid his dark denim. He wanted to hide the evidence of his destructive nature that had taken surface.

Had he crossed the line, too?

Was he bad now? Was he evil? Before now he could have argued that he had no evil intentions with his slightly destructive fun… but now, he was a murderer.

That simple word sent a ripple through him, flooring him. He was a murderer. In the eyes of the law, he'd just committed manslaughter. Human or not, he'd just killed somebody. Every time that thought ran through his mind, Inuyasha shivered.

"I'm evil now, aren't I?"

"That remains to be seen," a voice said behind him. Instantly Inuyasha was on his feet, his back arched and his hair standing on end. He poised his already bloodied claws before realizing it was the huntress. Her head tilted towards the claws and he quickly hid them, his golden eyes narrowing.

"What are you doing here?" he snapped. Curse him for not sensing her, even if she lacked a scent.

"I can say the same to you," she said crossly instead of answering his question. "What happened?"

"Nothing. What are you talking about?" Inuyasha feigned innocence. The last thing he wanted was judgment from the irritable huntress.

He crossed his arms, hiding his hands from Kamen's view. He wouldn't relent to her will, no matter what she did. She took a step towards him and he instantly took a step back before cursing himself for such stupidity. He was not afraid of Kamen.

The woman exposed no emotion with her face hidden behind her eyewear and her filtering mask. She kept walking towards him and he kept taking step backs. He cursed himself for not having her scent—it left him practically blind to her being. A scent exposed so much and all he could feel was a powerful aura rolling off Kamen. If only he was better at reading auras.

He barely had time to register what she was grabbing something from her sash, quick as lightening. With a nimble toss, a device flew at him. He attempted to dodge but it hit him square in the stomach. He gasped in pain as steel vines erupted from the metal sphere and wrapped around him like a python. Inuyasha choked, attempting to breathe and scent a dark glare towards him.

"Don't make me electrocute you," she said lightly as she walked towards him. Her aura dimmed as she picked up the empty container of the demon binding. She tucked it away in a pocket attached to the sash that was really a utility belt. He felt once again like he was in a messed up Batman cartoon. "Because it has that power."

Inuyasha snorted and tried to free his hands, which the vines had forced against his side. "What are you going to do to me, wench?"

"Take you to the HQ," she said casually, as if she took demons to her headquarters every day. Inuyasha's lips pursed as the woman slung her bow over her shoulder and grasping the half-breed.

"Oh hell no!" Inuyasha struggled against his bindings but to no avail. Kamen fixed him with a dark glare before returning her attention to ahead of her.

"You can do this the easy way and follow me or you can make me carry you."

Inuyasha mused over this. Like he wanted some brat of a woman carrying him around like a child or a sack of potatoes; and there was no way that she'd let him escape if he walked on his own.

He sighed. "I'll walk."

When Inuyasha had said walk, he'd been expected to actually walk. But what actually occurred was nothing short of humiliating, especially in front of Kamen. He spent the time going to the HQ hopping around on both feet. He tried to convince the demon exterminator to unbind his legs so he could walk normally, but she refused.

Needless to say, it took them quite a while to get to the hunter's fabled headquarters. He wasn't a happy camper by the time the trip was complete.

From the outside, the HQ looked like any normal building. Inside was a different story.

Kamen exposed a small card and slashed it through the machine outside a normal looking door on the side of the building. They both entered and Inuyasha was bombarded by a variety of scents—the majority humans he'd never smelled before.

He stood awkwardly before Kamen pushed him in, her hand shoving against his back. He hissed lightly and took a step forward. He didn't like the huntress dragging him into the headquarters. He was a half-demon, after all. As far as he was concerned, he was doing a march of death. Of course, it was more like a hop of death, but that sounded far less dramatic.

Once they were in the center of the large opening area and the door had slammed shut, bleeping with the security codes used to lock it from the inside, Kamen released the hold of the restrictive metal wraps around him. He was free and he stretched out his arms, feeling his tense muscles stretch and constrict within him. He stared at the huntress for a long moment before crossing his arms.

"This way," she motioned, jerking her head. She turned on her heel and they began an extravagant weaving. It seemed they were stuck in a labyrinth with the amount of turns they took. Occasionally they ran into stairs and they descended below the city.

"Where are you taking me?" Inuyasha growled out, his eyes narrowing.

"To the Head," Kamen said calmly, unfazed by the roughness of the half-breed's voice. Inuyasha sighed.

It seemed they traveled for an unfavorable amount of time and Inuyasha had long since lost track of how many right turns they took and how many left turns they took. Finally, they approached a long hallway. At the end, large wooden double doors stood, isolated from the rest of the many smaller doors that lined the hallways.

Kamen walked towards it, her boots tapping against the tile that lined the floors. "Come," she beckoned when the half-breed didn't move. "He'll probably know we're coming by now."

If that was meant to calm him, it didn't. He hesitantly followed him, wondering what was lying in store for him. The events that had been happening throughout this week were weighing heavily on his mind. Naraku… Kamen… that dead ogre. He shivered at the thought. Not to mention his damned history class.

Kamen stopped once she reached the door and knocked twice, her fists knocking on the door echoed down the empty hallway. There was a loud buzz and Inuyasha watched as Kamen pushed the doors open and strolled in like she would for tea.

Inuyasha swallowed before following after her, straightening his back, lifting his chin and steadying his gaze with an indifferent expression; he was ready.