A/N: Hello everybody! Chapter 2 has arrived! Yay! Anyway, I want to apologize for any and all OOCness within this story. (It's not easy writing Sesshoumaru as a father, y'know). Oh, and please forgive any minor errors…I'm certainly not perfect, after all. Also, I'm going to say that the subjugation spell was removed from the rosary, though the rosary itself remains; ok? And, above all, enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever, own Inuyasha or the X-Men…but I do own: Hiryu, Amara, and any children of Sesshoumaru/Rin or Inuyasha/Kagome. Hope that clears things up.
Chance Encounters II: the Hand v the Fang
Chapter 2:
Logan shut the door behind him, locking it out of habit more than necessity. Then he looked around the room, taking in his surroundings. The room was as large as the rooms at Xavier's, easily. It held one king sized bed that was pushed up against the far left wall. There was a closet opposite the bed on the right wall, and next to it was the door to the private bathroom. The window was between the headboard and the closet, a small dresser/nightstand underneath it. There was a small sofa placed diagonally between the room's entry way and the bathroom door, and a TV was resting on another dresser/nightstand across from the couch, angled so that it could also be seen from the bed. There was a ceiling fan with three light bulbs on the base in the center of the room.
Jubilee was sitting on the bed, watching him examine the room. When he was done, his gaze returned to her, and she smiled at him. "So, does it meet your approval?"
He grinned as he collapsed onto the couch. "I s'pose. Sure beats that dive we're supposed to be stayin' in."
"Speaking of which, we're going back for our stuff tomorrow, right?"
"You have to ask?"
"Ha, ha, ha. Very funny." Jubilee returned, laughing. Then she said, "Y'know, Wolvie, I could fit on the couch as easily as you can. Why don't you take the bed?"
Logan shook his head. "I'll be fine. Get some sleep."
Jubilee sighed. "Ok, fine. Let me know tomorrow if you change your mind; we could change up every night, too, if you want."
"Good night, Jubes."
"'Night, Wolvie." Jubilee replied, kicking off her shoes and tossing her trench coat on the floor before she crawled underneath the covers of the large bed. Logan stretched out on the couch, for once grateful that he was shorter than most men.
Inuyasha silently shut the door behind him, locking it, and then stepped away from it. He paused, allowing his eyes to adjust to the darkness of the room, and then let his gaze rest on the woman sitting up in the bed. He moved to the side, and placed his sheathed sword in its holding place over the dresser. Then he quickly crossed the distance between the dresser and the kind sized bed, sitting down and wrapping his arms around his mate.
Kagome curled against him silently, resting her head on his chest and absent-mindedly tracing his muscles with her right hand. "What was it, Inuyasha?"
"A misunderstanding. You remember Wolverine and Jubilee?"
Kagome paused, drawing the memories from where they'd been filed away so many years ago. Then she replied, "Yeah, they were part of the X-Men. Why?"
"They're staying in the room next to ours for a while."
"Seriously? They're here?"
"Yeah. Someone told 'em that we were keeping a friend of theirs, intending to turn the friend over to the Hand, of all people. They broke in, tryin' to save her."
"The Hand? That's not exactly good. What are they going to do?"
"I don't think they know that yet. But I offered to help 'em, seeing as they helped us. Figured we owe 'em that much." He explained, trailing his claws through her long, dark hair and rubbing her back.
"I understand. But be careful, please."
"Keh, don't worry 'bout me, wench. Now go back to sleep, somethin' tells me we're gonna be busy tomorrow."
Kagome murmured an agreement, then leaned up and pressed her lips to his affectionately. He kissed her back, briefly allowing his tongue to delve into her mouth. Then they pulled apart and she resettled herself against him and drifted off to sleep. Inuyasha joined her shortly thereafter.
That morning, someone tapped gently on Logan and Jubilee's borrowed bedroom door just before nine. Logan rolled off of the couch and walked the two steps to the door, unlocking it and pulling it open. On the other side, a woman with long pink hair, which was pulled back in a braid, and bright blue eyes greeted him kindly.
"Good morning, friends. Lord Sesshoumaru and Master Inuyasha have instructed me to inform you that they will be having breakfast shortly, and you are invited to join them. I will be happy to lead you to the dinning room if you desire."
Logan paused, then cast a glance over his shoulder towards Jubilee, who had been flipping through the channels on the TV when this woman had knocked on the door. "You hungry, darlin'?"
"Starved." She replied, tugging on her jacket and boots.
Logan looked back to the woman before him. "Lead the way."
Five minutes later, their hostess had delivered them to the dinning room. There were a total of eight people gathered around the dinning room already. Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha were standing back from the table, talking. Kagome was talking to a woman they didn't know, and the boy from the night before was talking animatedly with the other three strangers. Two of whom looked like older versions of him, and one, a female, with long black and silver hair and matching dog ears on her head. She had dark brown eyes, unlike all the other demons (and half demons) in the room.
Their pink-haired guide bowed graciously as she entered. "Here you are." Then she bowed again and exited the room. A hush fell over the group as the guide walked away. Kagome smiled and got up, walking over to them. "Hi. I hope you slept ok."
"Oh yeah, that bed was so comfortable." Jubilee stated with a grin. Logan just nodded.
"It's good to see you both again."
"You, too. So, are you 500 years older, too?" At the table, the young woman with silver and black hair chuckled, though she tried not to.
Kagome nodded. "Yep. I sure am. Come on, sit down."
Obediently, they both pulled out a chair and sat down. Sesshoumaru took his seat at the head of the table, and Inuyasha sat opposite the woman Kagome'd been talking to. Kagome sat between him and the other unknown woman. The two young men sat next to the woman sitting next to Sesshoumaru, and Karu sat beside them. Jubilee sat two seats away from Kagome and Logan sat at the foot of the table.
Almost immediately, a servant came in and placed food in front of everyone before vanishing again. Then Kagome spoke. "Alright, I suppose it's time for introductions. Everyone, these are some friends of mine, Logan and Jubilee."
There were murmured 'hello's and then Kagome took over again. "Logan, Jubilee, this is mine and Inuyasha's oldest daughter, Chikara." She indicated the young woman sitting beside her. Chikara smiled sweetly. Then Kagome continued. "That is my best friend, and Sesshoumaru's wife, Rin. The boys beside her are their twins, Tai and Matt. And that's Karu, their youngest."
After the introductions had all been made, there was murmured conversation as everyone dug in to their breakfast before it got cold.
When breakfast was done, Karu's babysitter came in and ushered him out of the dinning room with promises of Disney movies and a game of catch. Tai excused himself and left to go to work, Matt had plans with some friends and Chikara had a book she had to finish before the summer was up and school began.
Once the children were gone, Sesshoumaru stood. "Let us move to my office, where we can properly discuss your situation."
"Discussion would be good, but we've got some stuff back at the hole-in-wall motel we were at, and I figure we should prob'ly pick it up first, if it's all the same to you." Logan stated, rising to his feet as he spoke.
Sesshoumaru nodded. "Very well. When you return, I will have someone show you the way."
"You might wanna be careful; the Hand could be watchin' your hotel room to see if you survived or not. If they sent you after us, then they may not expect you to come back." Inuyasha added.
Logan inclined his head in acknowledgement. "Yeah, the thought occurred to me. But I been dealin' with the Hand for years; I know how to take care o' myself. We'll be back in about 20 minutes."
"Good luck." Kagome called as they walked out of the dinning room.
It took barely five minutes for them to find the hidden motorcycle and get back on the road. Ten minutes after that, they were back in their 'hotel' and going through their duffle bags to be certain that nothing was missing.
"Well, what d'ya know, no one pilfered anything from my bag while we were away." Jubilee commented jokingly as she zipped it up and threw it over her shoulder.
Logan grinned slightly in response. "I take it yer ready to go, darlin'?"
"Yep. Let's blow this joint." She replied. He rolled his eyes at her intentionally lame joke and held the door open for her. They headed down to the desk, and Logan returned the key to the clerk, as he explained that it turned out they only needed the room for one night instead of the two he'd prepaid for. The man handed him a receipt and explained that the left-over money would not be charged, and then they left.
"Why do I have a bad feeling about all this?" Kagome asked shortly after their friends had departed.
"'Cause the Hand's involved and we all know they're a pain in the ass to deal with?" Inuyasha offered from his spot against the wall. Kagome sighed in agreement.
"We must discover why they sent your friends here. I believe it's safe to assume that the Hand is unaware that you have an alliance with any of the X-Men, let alone Wolverine." Sesshoumaru stated.
"It's also safe to assume that Jubilee was just taggin' along. It's Wolverine they're after. Or us."
"Possibly both." Kagome pointed out.
As a maid came in to clean away the dishes, both Kagome and Rin rose to give her more space. Sesshoumaru spoke. "This is not the place to have such a discussion." And then he headed out the door, towards his office. The others followed silently.
Sesshoumaru took the seat behind his desk, Rin and Kagome claimed the two set up in front of it, and Inuyasha leaned on the wall nearest Kagome, arms crossed.
"Ok, so let's say the Hand wants to ruin the Fang and decided to try an' take out Wolverine while they're at it. They're bound to figure out that he didn't take us down, and that we're working together. So they're gonna try an' do something about that. The only question is, what's their next move gonna be?" Inuyasha began once they were all settled.
"It is impossible to accurately predict their next move. All we can do is prepare for the most likely scenarios until we learn more. For that, we must talk this over with Wolverine." Sesshoumaru added, looking over at his brother.
"Yeah." Inuyasha agreed.
"What if they don't make another move? They could just wait for us to do something." Kagome said quietly.
Inuyasha shook his head. "I doubt it. That ain't their style. They don't like to sit back and wait for something; they like to go out and make it happen. We just don't know what it is that they intend to do."
"Agreed. And if their previous behavior holds true, we will not be waiting long." Sesshoumaru commented.
The room was quiet for a few moments, until a soft tapping on the door drew both Sesshoumaru's and Inuyasha's attention. "Enter." Sesshoumaru called, recognizing the scent.
Hiryu appeared inside the room, bowing briefly before moving beside the desk. "My lord, there are reports from the guards that a strange scent has been coming in from the East side of the property. Iori went to inspect it, but he has not returned."
"How long ago was Iori dispatched?"
"Nearly half an hour, my lord."
"Then go investigate this yourself, Hiryu. I do not desire to be spied upon."
"Understood, my lord."
"And Hiryu, should you find this spy, bring him to me."
"Yes, Lord Sesshoumaru." Hiryu agreed, bowing again before teleporting away.
"Great, now we have a spy, too?" Kagome commented after Hiryu had left.
"Probably an agent of the Hand, trying to figure out if Wolverine was successful or not." Inuyasha stated, a low growl in his voice.
"I think I'm going to find Anna, and inform her to not let Karu play in the Eastern courtyard today." Rin declared, standing.
Sesshoumaru nodded. "A good idea. If they are already outside, send someone to retrieve them, but do not venture out on your own."
"Of course." She replied, walking around the desk to kiss him briefly before exiting the office. After she left, the office again descended into silence.
Rin was crossing the living room, on her way back to Sesshoumaru's office, when the front door opened and their newest guests walked in. She stopped and turned to face them. "Hello, I assume everything went well?" She said in greeting.
Jubilee smiled at her. "Yeah, no problems."
"Good. Please, follow me. I was just on my way to the office." Glancing at the bags slung over their shoulders, she smiled a bit and added, "If you don't mind, I can have someone drop those off in your room for you."
"That'd be fine with me. Wolvie?"
"Sure."
Rin nodded and turned, scanning the room. Finally, her eyes landed on the pink-haired woman from earlier that morning. She called her over. "Ami, would you please take their bags to their room?"
"Certainly, my lady." Ami declared, taking the two duffle bags from them.
"Thank you." Rin said. Ami smiled gracefully and headed up the stairs. "Now then," Rin continued, returning her gaze to Logan and Jubilee. "this way."
A couple of minutes later, Rin ushered them in to Sesshoumaru's office. Sesshoumaru stood and offered his mate his chair, as Jubilee took the available one beside Kagome. It didn't take long for them to inform Wolverine and Jubilee of what they'd deduced.
Before Logan could nod in agreement with Sesshoumaru's statement, someone knocked on the door again. "Enter." Sesshoumaru called. Jaken immediately stumbled into the room and walked closer to his lord.
"Milord, Hiryu has captured the spy. He wants to know if he should bring him here, or if you would rather meet him elsewhere. He wanted to warn you that he believes the man to be dangerous."
Sesshoumaru's golden eyes narrowed marginally as he took a moment to reply. Finally, he said, "Very well. Instruct Hiryu to teleport the man to the sub-level. I shall meet him there."
"Aye, milord!" Jaken squawked, spinning around and shuffling quickly out of the room, shutting the door behind him.
All eyes turned back to Sesshoumaru in silent question. Sesshoumaru looked down and locked eyes with his wife. "We shall return shortly." She nodded in understanding. Then he looked over at his brother. "Are you coming, Inuyasha?"
"Keh, like you have to ask." Then he, too, shifted his gaze. "Wait here, Kagome."
Kagome sighed. "Ok, I will."
Logan looked over to Sesshoumaru. "Mind if we come with you?"
"No, I was going to suggest as much myself."
"Good." And then they walked out of the room, Sesshoumaru shutting the door behind him. Kagome and Rin exchanged glances and gave each other knowing smiles.
It took barely three minutes for the small group to descend the back staircase and enter the basement. At the bottom of the stairs was another, thicker door. Sesshoumaru produced a key and unlocked it before stepping inside. He shut the door again after Jubilee had passed through. The room before them was very old; it looked as though it hadn't been used in years. There were two cells, both of which reminded Jubilee of slightly out-of-date jail cells. Which is probably what they are. She thought wryly.
Hiryu was standing in the first one, clawed hand wrapped securely around another man's throat, while his other hand held the man's two wrists behind his back. He had the man, who was dressed in classic, black, ninja attire, pinned against the side wall. The man's head was facing the opening of the cell, where Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha, Wolverine, and Jubilee were standing.
"State your name." Sesshoumaru declared, automatically taking charge of the interrogation.
"Go to hell, you damned dog!" The man choked out angrily. Hiryu's hand tightened in warning.
"He asked you a question. Answer it." Hiryu growled in the man's ear. The man made a pathetic attempt to kick at his captor, but Hiryu just shoved him harder against the wall. "Answer it, or I start cutting."
"Then cut." Hiryu glanced at Sesshoumaru, who nodded once in return. Then he shoved his knee into the man's back and released one wrist, while digging the claws of his hand into the man's still-bound wrist. Blood began dripping down the man's clenched fist, first slowly, then at a steady pace. The man wiggled, trying to loosen Hiryu's hold, but succeeded only in pushing the demon's claws in further. He screamed. "Ok, ok! My name is Takashi Shiro!" Hiryu relaxed his hold and recaptured the other wrist.
"Takashi, who do you work for?" Sesshoumaru asked calmly.
"The Hand." Takashi spat.
"Why were you hiding in my Eastern Courtyard?"
"I was ordered to watch you."
"By whom?"
"Viper."
"And what did Viper hope to achieve by having you watch me?"
"Not you, the Fang. And she told me to report back on the status of the Wolverine by sunset."
"Did she? Did she tell you why?"
"Something about a trap; which I imagine you've already figured out, since you're not trying to kill each other."
"Did Viper expect us to destroy him? Or him to destroy us?"
"She was hoping for both; but said she'd be surprised if your people succeeded in killing him."
"And what is she planning to do now?"
"You should've asked that question first, demon." Takashi Shiro snarled a moment before Hiryu cursed and leapt backwards from him. Then Takashi exploded into a cloud of green smoke.
Logan growled as the smoke dissipated. "I'm a little surprised ya got that much outta him. Hand agents usually self-destruct long before interrogation can begin."
"We have been fighting the Hand for a long time. We have learned how to keep them from sacrificing themselves for a short while. Unfortunately, as they are well trained, it is impossible to prevent entirely." Sesshoumaru replied calmly, turning back towards the door. "Still, we know now that we will not have the element of surprise."
"With any luck, she'll send in another one, and we'll get him to spill something a bit more valuable than what that guy said." Inuyasha added, crossing his arms and following his brother out of the room. Wolverine and Jubilee followed silently, and Hiryu teleported himself out as well.
Hiryu was waiting by the outer door when the others finished climbing the stairs. He waited until the door had once again been shut and locked before speaking. "My lord, what are your orders?"
"Increase the guards around the perimeter. I do not want to be caught unawares by any Hand affiliates. Notify me or Inuyasha immediately if anything unusual is detected." Sesshoumaru declared.
Hiryu nodded. "Consider it done, my lord." And then he disappeared, presumably to increase the guard.
"Do you expect to find any more spies?" Logan asked as they began the short walk to Sesshoumaru's office once again.
"It is possible. It is equally possible that Viper will order an attack. She has done so in the past. We must be prepared to deal with either scenario."
"Makes sense."
Within two minutes, they had returned to their destination. Sesshoumaru opened the door and they all stepped inside before he shut it again. Behind the desk, Rin stood, an expression of worry on her face. "Sesshoumaru…" she began.
He raised a delicate eyebrow in question. "What is it?"
"Viper called." Silence descended upon the group, and Rin shifted her gaze to meet Logan's. "She says she wants you to call her. She has a message for you."
"What kind o' message?" He asked, knowing what she would say.
"Her exact words were 'Tell Wolverine to call me immediately.' She didn't say more than that." When Rin was done, the room was silent. Sesshoumaru moved quickly to stand beside her, wrapping an arm around her waist and allowing her to lean her head on his shoulder.
After a moment, all eyes turned to Logan, who had yet to say anything more. Jubilee moved to stand beside him, placing a hand lightly on his shoulder. "Wolvie? Are you gonna call her?"
"Don't really have a choice, do I, darlin'?" He asked rhetorically. Then he moved swiftly forward, glancing at Sesshoumaru, who nodded, and then dialed the number he knew would lead to Viper.
To Be Continued…
A/N: Well, it seems to me that this story is moving along nicely. I hope it's not going too slow for you; I'm writing it this way on purpose, believe it or not! Anyway, I hoped you liked this latest installment! Don't forget to review!