Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha™ nor do I own any of its characters or its original plotline. They are the intellectual property of Takahashi Rumiko and will remain so forever. My small claim on this work of fiction is in its creation of the alternate universe plotline, which I assert to the best of my knowledge to be an original product of my imagination. Any similarity to persons (other than the aforementioned characters belonging to Takahashi Rumiko) or events either real or previously imagined is completely coincidental and please excused.
When they arrived back at Kagome's quarters, Inuyasha was fully prepared to say goodnight and go back to his barracks. He almost got away with it too.
"Goodnight, Miss Higurashi," he called, heading toward his jeep.
"Inuyasha…we still have to discuss your file. You're not going anywhere until I'm satisfied," she coldly and matter-of-factly reminded him.
He had genuinely forgotten, but now that he had been reminded, he wanted to leave even more quickly. He about-faced though, and headed back toward the 'house.' Once inside he could hear the tea water being boiled in the kitchen, presumably by Kaede, and took his seat, nearest the door so he could make a quick getaway if necessary.
Kagome took the seat across from him and simply looked at him for a few minutes. 'It looks like this might take a while,' she thought. 'It'll be worth it though. If his service record is anything to go by, he could turn out to be a very valuable asset to this mission.'
Not to mention that you think he's cute.
'Wha! Just a minute—this is strictly business, Kagome. Don't start wandering,' she told herself firmly. About then Kaede came in with the tea, setting it down rather sharply, startling both of the younger people. 'Wonder where he wandered off too?' Kagome thought, noting how even Inuyasha started a bit at the clinking of the tea dishes.
"So…" Kagome began uncertainly, "let's start with the story behind your demotions. I told you before, they're in the file along with the official charges filed…" she paused as she paged through his file. "Disorderly conduct and Insubordination for your first offense. Negligence resulting in the death of a fellow soldier and Insubordination for your second offense. And finally, Striking a superior officer, Failure to follow a direct order in combat, and, of course, Insubordination."
Inuyasha cringed while she read the list of his failures as a soldier. It reminded him too much of sitting in front of a review board. He had the fleeting notion that he might be about to be demoted yet again. After all, who knew what kind of authority this girl wielded?
The change in mood had caused him to completely abandon the thoughts he'd been enjoying before Kaede pointedly interrupted the silence with the tea. He had been thinking about the possibility her 'mission' being finished so he might be able to get to know her other than being her bodyguard. The fact that she was now acting more like his unit commander preparing to reprimand him had shifted his thoughts to less pleasant territory.
"Okay, let's hear it, Inuyasha. What's the story behind these? If it were as cut and dried as it looks in your file you would have been busted down to potato peeler or worse long ago. There's obviously something more to it."
Inuyasha took a breath and closed his eyes. A moment later he opened his golden-hazel eyes and looked straight at Kagome. She settled back further in her chair as he began his narrative.
First he related the story of his and Miroku's encounter with the disgruntled major in the pub and the ensuing mess resulting in his first demotion. Then he began the story of his most painful mistake.
"When we reached the rallying point for the flight, the flak and AA got really thick, so our pilot was jinking around quite a bit to avoid a direct hit. I took a quick look out the window and couldn't even see the ground the flak was so thick. I remember one of the crew-members saying '…so thick you could walk on it.' Anyway, we had just reached the drop-zone and were filing out of the plane when we got hit twice: once in the cockpit and once in the wing. I'm pretty sure the pilot was dead because we began to pitch down.
"Well, I had been made last out so that I could make sure all the rookies got it right and didn't kill themselves. Unfortunately, when the pilot started jinking I was too busy trying to stay standing that I didn't notice a couple of guys hadn't hooked up when we were told to. So, as the plane was entering a dive I started getting everyone out as fast as I could, and I only noticed then that the two men in front of me weren't hooked into the anchor line. I quickly grabbed both of their static lines just before the first one went out the door and hooked them onto my own harness."
He paused here, unsure of what to say next, worried that she wouldn't want to have anything to do with him after he told her what happened next.
"As I jumped from the plane, the first man's static line went taut and pulled his 'chute. It also broke the strap on my harness that I had hooked the two lines to. The first guy was fine—his 'chute was already open. The second guy though…he didn't make it…" he trailed off, his grip on the arm of the chair increasing to the point that the sound of creaking chestnut reached Kagome's ears.
'And that was somehow his fault?…' she thought, suddenly understanding some of his demeanor. 'Doesn't he realize that things like that happen all of the time in war?'
Inuyasha took inhaled sharply and refocused on her. "When I landed, I got my gear as quick as I could and went to go look for him." Another pause. "It didn't take very long, but there wasn't really much left to find…The kid was so green he didn't even remember to pull his reserve. He hit quite a few trees before actually hitting the ground. He was a mess—I couldn't stand it. I grabbed his weapon, ammo, and tags and went to the rally point to get an Aid and Litter crew.
"When I got there I rejoined my platoon and reported to the Company Commander about the kid. He wasn't happy, and promised me that I would be held responsible. It didn't take long. About a week later after we'd set up the Command Post and all, he held a short field Court Martial and demoted me to Corporal. I got to keep my squad, though. I guess the demotion itself wasn't so bad, but…aw jeez! Why couldn't the damn kid have just pulled his reserve? It doesn't matter anyway…it's my fault for not taking care of my stick-mate…"
He huffed and slumped in his chair, seemingly exhausted.
Kagome meanwhile couldn't think of anything to say. He was obviously very angry, or disappointed, or depressed, but the best she could come up with was a very soft "I'm sorry…"
Inuyasha simply grunted. "What do you know about it…" he was cut off by his own yawn, "anyway?" he finished.
Hoping the last topic would somehow lighten the mood, Kagome asked her last question. "So what about this last one? What happened there?"
Inuyasha chuckled slightly. Then he began to laugh harder until he was shaking in the chair. It was not a happy laugh, and this worried Kagome.
"I don't see anything funny about it," she said crossly. Inuyasha just kept laughing though, and seemed to slip away to his own thoughts.
"It wasn't funny," he said after a while, "It was probably the most serious situation of all. Sometimes the hypocrisy of it all just gets to me."
"You were wrongfully accused?" she asked.
"No, I did everything it says. I hit the bastard, and I hit him hard. But apparently I didn't hit him hard enough. He returned to his command a few days ago I heard."
"What are you talking about? Are you just going to make me guess?"
"I might. I don't really feel like reliving the experience right now myself, and I'm not sure you could handle it at all, little girl." He had closed his eyes, but he could still hear her sharp intake of breath in preparation to blast him with all the force she could muster. "Besides that, I'm bushed, and I think I'm going to sack in."
This stopped Kagome just before she was about to start bellowing into his face. She had never felt so insulted—to be called a 'little girl' after all that she'd been through. She wouldn't stand for it—but then, it was possible he was trying to spare her gory details. She appreciated the sentiment, but decided to have a little talk to him later about names and using them.
She opted for "I think I can handle it," as her response, rather than the bellow she had previously favored.
"Too bad. I already told you, I'm headed for the sack." he stated. He really didn't want to tell the story. Her disappointment was evident, but somewhere along the way, someone must have told her not to interfere with a soldier and his sleep.
He got up out of his chair and started to make his way to the door when suddenly the Sodium Pentothal in his tea took effect. Kagome had been waiting, wondering why it took so long to get into his system in the first place. She had anticipated him being difficult about sharing his record, so Kaede had been told to make him some 'special' tea. She started to get up to help him back to his seat, but he was faster.
"Alright, w-wench…" he stuttered, "what'd you do to me?"
"Sodium Pentothal—I want that story," she very patiently explained.
"HA! The jo-oke is on you," he shakily pointed his finger at her, "All I am now is really, really…really tired…" he trailed off as he slumped against the wall.
'Damn!' Kagome thought. 'Too strong a dose—note to self: reduce dosage when dealing with Inuyasha.'
"What am I going to do with you now?" she asked aloud. She was answered only by a snore from the object of her interrogation. As she moved to pull him up and move him to a chair, he stirred, moaning in his sleep. "What's on your mind, soldier?" she continued to interrogate as she slipped his arm over her shoulder and began to lift. Once again the only reply she received was a soft snore that tickled her ear.
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Inuyasha's feet were sore. He continued to scramble over the rocky terrain ahead of his squad though, and was rewarded with a relieving sight when he crested the ridge he had been ascending. He dropped low and called his squad to a halt before they too could come into view of the village he had spotted. His binoculars now seated firmly and steadily against his eyes, he surveyed the seen in front of him, no more than a kilometer away.
What he saw seemed innocent enough. A small hamlet along their direction of travel with no more than 12 or 13 houses with a couple of structures that could only be storehouses and grain mills. He watched for a few more minutes the daily activity of the village and noted nothing suspicious about the secluded mountain community. As he made a final sweep of the landscape with his binoculars however he spotted a dark shape moving quickly to the south of their position. Almost immediately came the 'whiz' sound of the incoming artillery.
"INCOMING!" Inuyasha shouted and ordered his men to disperse, but the shells were flying well behind them, landing in the midst of the main element. After about 10 shells had flown overhead, Inuyasha called for the RATELO (Radio Telephone Operator) and told him to radio the Captain.
"Charlie 6 this is Charlie 2-4, over."
"Go ahead Charlie 2-4, over," came the answer of the Captain.
"Have sighted small village. Break. Population no more than 60 to 70; farming activity present; location approximately 2.5 cliks West-Southwest from your current position; no apparent uniforms, all civilian personnel; no military equipment visible, but I'd be willing to bet a few old men have a rifle stashed somewhere. Break. Have also sighted an unknown contact moving at fast pace toward the South from the direction of the village. Contact sighted immediately prior to indirect fire. Over."
"Charlie 2-4, proceed to village and secure all civilian personnel. Break. Set up security around village perimeter and await further instructions. Out."
Inuyasha stashed the radio back in the RATELO's pack and signaled for his squad to bound up to the village by fire team. His squad was slightly oversized with 14 due to the fact that they were a part of the Recon Platoon—Platoon Charlie 2-6, 6 being the platoon leader, 5 the platoon sergeant, and 4 Inuyasha—and they were broken into three squads rather than the normal four. They lacked a heavy weapons squad as they needed to move quickly.
All three teams were now set and moving steadily by fours up to the village with Inuyasha and his RATELO bounding as a buddy team. When they reached the village all the activity Inuyasha had seen before through his binoculars seemed to have ceased. The people had gathered at one large building in the center of the town—apparently the church—and remained there while Inuyasha set up his fire teams in a three point security perimeter using buildings and lofts. Then he radioed Charlie 6 again.
"Charlie 6 this is Charlie 2-4, over."
"Go ahead Charlie 2-4, over."
"Charlie 2-4 set in the village with security perimeter. Approximately 60 non-coms gathered in the church. Ammo is up, no casualties, no lost equipment."
"Roger that. Charlie 6 moving to your current position. Get those non-coms out of that building and herd them into the center of town. We have 6 wounded from that shelling and I want to know who called it in."
'He must be pissed,' Inuyasha thought to himself. As such he restrained himself from reminding the Captain that the shells came from the direction of the fleeing figure he had seen to the south.
"Roger. Out," Inuyasha called back and set to work. He had his RATELO, who spoke Italian, order everyone out of the building and into the main square of the town near the well that Inuyasha had not been able to see from the ridge. The villagers looked very frightened, and Inuyasha didn't blame them—he half hoped that Charlie 6 got shelled again and went off after the direction of the shells instead of coming to the village. He was disappointed when the main element came into view no more than 10 minutes later, looking as if they were in a hurry.
As soon as the Captain set foot in the village he assigned a platoon to relieve Inuyasha's squad of security and set up an Aid Station for the wounded inside the church. With that taken care of he commanded the rest of the Company to set up a Command Post in the largest house and begin weapons maintenance and food rotations. Then he came for Inuyasha.
"Corporal, which one of these freak wops called artillery down on us?" he fumed.
"Sir, I don't think it was any of them. I think there was a spotter on that ridge to the south," he pointed in the direction of the southern ridge, "and he was bustin' ass to get out of the way after he called artillery down on us. The village was too low in the valley to have seen us coming."
"Bullshit, one of these damned wops is responsible and I'm going to find out which one." He eyed the mob for a moment and settled on a young girl no older than 14 or 15. "Her," he pointed her out to Inuyasha, "Bring her and take up guard station on the outside of the CP. She looks like she's ready to tell us something."
"First Sergeant!" he yelled, "Keep security around that group at the well. I don't want any of them slinking off!" The First Sergeant acknowledged and took the remaining platoons and set up a perimeter around the outside of the group.
The CP was empty when they arrived and the Captain disappeared inside with the girl. Inuyasha was already getting nervous when the Captain had instructed him to grab the young-woman and bring her for interrogation, but now that the Captain was alone inside with the girl, a large group of people and soldiers were just standing around like targets in the middle of the town, and his squad was spread all over the place to who-knows-where, he was extremely nervous and on the verge of getting angry.
He was about to interrupt the Captain in his interrogation efforts when the young girl began screaming in Italian. Inuyasha moved to burst into the house.
Then the shells came.
Artillery shells don't sound like a whistle by the time they're within earshot. They more buzz and whiz and then change sharply in their pitch just before impact. Inuyasha heard that low pulsing buzz and knew right where they were headed—he looked toward the mass of people standing not 100 meters from him. They were looking around in confusion, and several of the soldiers doing the same. Inuyasha had just opened his mouth to yell "MOVE!" to them when the first shell hit. At least 15 followed, and by the time the debris cleared and Inuyasha had cleared the ringing from his ears he already knew what to expect.
Broken, mangled bodies littered the ground in the center of the small town. Some weren't even whole anymore, and anybody left alive was screaming in pain. The cry "MEDIC!" had already gone up and the Company medics were on the way, so Inuyasha turned his attention to the temporary Command Post.
Throwing the door open he looked on in disgust at the scene before him. The Captain had been hastily pulling his pants back on after the attack—it had lasted no longer than 20 or 30 seconds, and the Captain had apparently thought to hide himself during the shelling. The young woman was crying on the floor but apparently unharmed physically. Trying to cover his despicable acts, the Captain snapped at Inuyasha, "Report, dammit!"
Inuyasha answered only with a snarl as he grabbed the sub-human by the collar and dragged him outside, throwing him in the mud. Picking the miserable excuse for an officer up (with his pants still around his ankles), Inuyasha began to yell at the captain.
"You bastard! Do you realize what you've done! You just set up an entire village for slaughter at the hands of the artillery scout we SHOULD have been looking for! And while you're in there doing God-knows-what to that poor girl, these people were murdered! You dirty Son-of-a-Bitch!" With that, Inuyasha pulled back all the way across the Atlantic Ocean and let fly the meanest haymaker he had ever thrown.
The captain was lifted off the ground and thrown bodily through the air backwards. Inuyasha repeated this process until the miserable man was unconscious, and then began kicking him in the ribs, listening to the satisfying crunch of bone with every kick until he was finally dragged away by his own squad mates amidst the shrill screams of the wounded…