A/N: Here's chapter 3! I do hope you all find it a good one! Oh, and the standard apologies for OOCness still apply, as do standard apologies for probable inaccuracies in X-Men things. This is how it works for the story, so if/when it disagrees with a comic, please forgive me. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or the X-Men. I do still own any/all children that make random appearances, as well as the servants/guards. Hopefully, you'll be able to tell the difference.

Chance Encounters II: the Hand v the Fang

Chapter 3:

The phone rang three times before someone, not Viper, answered it "Hello?" The voice was mechanical; the speech undoubtedly rehearsed.

"Put me through to Viper." Logan snapped, in no mood to be gentle.

There was a pregnant pause, and then the man replied, "I'm sorry, sir, but you must have the wrong number."

Logan had to suppress the growl. "Cut the crap, bub. Tell Viper that Wolverine's on the phone. Otherwise, I'll be breathin' down yer throat before you have time to sound any alarm."

The man recovered quickly. "The Wolverine? Very well, I'll pass along your message. Hold." There was a shuffling sound as the phone was put down and Logan could hear voices, thanks in part to his mutant hearing, and then the phone was picked up again. "I'm patching you through now, sir." A brief ringing followed, and then the subtle click of the line being answered.

"Wolverine, so good of you to call. I take it Lady Rin delivered my message?" Viper's voice was smooth, confident. And irritating.

"Yeah, I got the message. What do you want?"

"Simply to let you know what the price is for your failure."

"What, exactly, did I fail?"

"I wanted you to destroy those irksome demons. You did not. But that is no matter; either way, I win in the end." She was silent a moment, letting him chew on what she'd said. Eventually, she continued. "As you may or may not have deduced, I have your friend, Yukio. And yes, I instructed her to call you and lie about her location."

"Tell me somethin' I don't know." He snapped, his patience thinning. "Like where she is. Or what the hell you want from me this time."

Viper chuckled cruelly before responding. "So demanding. She is with me, Logan. And no, I will not tell you where I am. If you can figure that out, then you may stand a chance of saving her. I shall give you until the end of the week. If you have not found me by then, she dies. Good luck." And then she hung up, giving him no chance to threaten her.

Logan growled as he slammed down the phone angrily. He knew that, with their hearing, both Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha had heard every word Viper had said to him. He also knew that it would be hell to try and track down the elusive assassin before the end of the week. It was already Tuesday.

"Wolvie?" Jubilee whispered, recognizing his anger. She walked over to him and again placed a hand on his arm, squeezing gently. After a moment, one of his calloused hands landed lightly on her smaller one and he met her gaze.

"I'm ok, Jubes."

"So, what did she say?" Jubilee asked as she withdrew her hand. Whatever it is, judging from the look on his face, it isn't good. I hope Yukio's ok.

Logan paused, regaining control of his temper. Then he replied, "She said she's got Yukio. And she's giving me to the end of the week to find her. Or else she'll kill her."

Kagome gasped and Jubilee's eyes widened. "Does she mean Friday or Saturday?"

"She didn't say. Usually she goes by the full week; so Saturday. I'd rather not risk it, though. But you know as well as I do that it ain't easy to track Viper down unless she wants to be found. And based on how bad she wants Yukio dead, I'd say she doesn't wanna be found."

"That doesn't mean we won't find her. We've found her before, after all. And we can do it again." Jubilee encouraged, a look of determination in her eyes.

"Not by standin' around here, we can't."

"You have our assistance in your search. Our resources are at your disposal. We have many demons employed who are expert trackers and can work quickly." Sesshoumaru stated from his spot behind the desk.

Logan looked over at him. "That'd be nice. But I ain't got anything with her scent on it, so they'd have to look somewhere else for that."

"Keh. All our trackers already know Viper's scent. She's head of the Hand. It's protocol. Hell, I know Viper's scent." Inuyasha replied bluntly.

"In addition to that fact, they are also outfitted with other methods of tracking besides that of just scent. Each is skilled in their area of expertise, and they can be ready to go within the hour." Sesshoumaru added.

Logan nodded. "Then let's do it."

Wolverine and Jubilee were both back in their room, waiting with nothing else to do while Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha briefed the trackers. Jubilee sat silently on the bed, elbows on knees and chin in hands as she watched Logan pace the room. She knew he was fuming inside, probably barely containing his anger. She also knew that there really wasn't anything she could do to help him this time. She sighed.

Oh, Wolvie. I wish I could do more. I'll be able to help once we find Viper, but until then all I'm good for is moral support. This totally sucks. I really wish Viper was just pulling our legs this time, but oooohhhh no, not her. She just had to go and kidnap Yukio. And Scott is so not going to like hearing that we won't be back for a while. Speaking of which, why hasn't he already called? I mean, granted Wolvie tends to run off randomly all the time, but I hardly ever get to go along anymore. And he's always saying Wolvie shouldn't run off like that, but then he doesn't call? That man makes no sense half the time. Refocusing her attention, she noticed, unsurprised, that Logan was still pacing liked a caged animal. She glanced at the clock. He'd been pacing for nearly ten minutes now.

"Wolvie, you're doin' the pacing thing again. It's been ten minutes already, and you're not gonna get anywhere like that."

Logan looked over at her, stopping three feet from the couch he'd slept on the night before. "Yer a hypocrite, darlin'. Whenever you've got something buggin' ya, pacin's alright, but if it's someone else, like me, it drives ya nuts."

Jubilee grinned teasingly. "Picked up on that, didja?"

"Years ago." Logan replied easily, turning to continue his pacing when a shrill ringing caught their attention. Jubilee let out a startled yelp before realizing what it was. Logan grumbled something about poor timing and stalked over to his duffle bag, yanking the zipper back.

Thirty seconds later, he finally silenced the annoying, though effective, sound. "What?" He snapped into the small communication device.

"Wolverine, where are you?" Cyclops' commanding tone was definitely not a welcome intrusion at the moment.

"Japan. An' I'm gonna be here for a few more days, prob'ly over a week. So you'll have to deal with it."

"Is Jubilee with you?"

"Yeah, she's right here."

"Why'd you take her with you on this one? And why didn't you tell anyone?"

"When do I ever tell anyone? And it's Jubilee we're talkin' about, Cyke. She didn't give me a choice."

"Hey! I'm right here, y'know! I can hear what you're saying!" Jubilee shouted, inwardly hoping she hadn't jinxed them when she'd realized that Scott hadn't called yet.

"What's going on this time, Logan?" Scott's voice was surprising calmer this time.

"The Hand, what else? Look, I can deal with it, One-Eye, don't get your knickers in a twist."

The X-Men's team leader let out a loud sigh that Jubilee could see perfectly in her mind's eye. "Fine. But call if you need anything, Logan. I'm serious. We're a team, and we will come help if you need it."

"Nah, I got demons this time. Thanks anyway, Summers."

"Demons?" Scott asked, a second before Wolverine hung up on him. Jubilee burst out laughing.

"Let him chew on that fer a while." Logan said, allowing a small grin to cross his face briefly.

Same old Wolvie. Jubilee thought. Still, it's good that he can still make fun of Cyke like that. Then again, if he'd been unable to think of an insult for our fearless leader, I'd have been a bit worried. Well, more than I already am.

Any further contemplation was forever stalled with a knock on their door. Logan was at the door before Jubilee could get to her feet. He yanked it open as she crossed the distance from the bed to the door.

Kagome stood on the other side, a small smile on her face. "Hi. I came to see how you're holding up."

Logan grunted an indifferent answer and stepped aside, allowing the priestess into the room. Jubilee returned to her perch on the bed. Kagome Taisho stepped into the room and crossed over to sit beside Jubilee. Logan shut the door again and finally claimed a seat on the couch.

"How much longer?" He rumbled, a hint of impatience in his voice.

Kagome sighed with understanding. "I'm not sure. I don't imagine it'll be too much longer; Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru don't usually drag these things out any more than they have to."

Logan said nothing in response, his eyes unfocused as his mind wandered. Sensing he wouldn't mind a change of topic, Jubilee turned to Kagome curiously.

"I've got a question that is so none of my business." She stated bluntly.

Kagome smiled, her eyes laughing. "Ok, then let's here it."

"Sesshoumaru is Inuyasha's older brother, right?" She paused long enough for Kagome to nod before plunging ahead. "And this is Sesshoumaru's house, correct?" Again, Kagome nodded. "So, why do you and Inuyasha live here? I mean, doesn't it seem sort of odd to live with your husband's --I assume he's your husband-- older brother?"

Kagome gave it a valiant effort, but she just couldn't contain her laughter at her friend's question. She took about thirty seconds to contain herself enough to answer. "I'm sorry, but…well, you have a good point. But Inuyasha and I don't live here. We have a room here for when we need it, like now. You see, our house is being renovated. So we opted to stay here until its ready. And yes, Inuyasha is my husband. Though he uses the word 'mate', because we're mates, as well. We did officially get married, though. Any other questions?"

"If you don't live here, which makes perfect sense, then why does your daughter live here? Or doesn't she?"

"Chikara? Oh no. She's taking classes at Tokyo U. to become a history professor, and because it's summer, she's out of school for a short while. Usually she stays with us, but because we're here, she opted to stay here, too. For part of the summer. She only just got back from visiting Ken over in London."

"Ken?"

"He's our oldest son."

Jubilee paused, thinking, then asked, "So I assume that Sesshoumaru and Rin have more than three children, as well?"

Kagome nodded. "Way more. They've been mated for just about 500 years, most of which were before birth control was invented. Their oldest daughter, Rika, lives in Italy with her mate and their pups."

"'Pups'?" Jubilee repeated.

"Children. You'll have to forgive me; I've been mated to a half-dog demon for 500 years, so I've picked up some of the terms."

"That's cool, I just wanted to be sure I understood it. Soooo, how many kids do you have, anyway?"

"Currently ten." Inuyasha's voice stated as he let himself into the room. All eyes turned to him automatically, and Kagome stood, walking over to him. She wrapped her arms around him and leaned against him while he spoke. His arm descended around her waist reflexively. "The trackers just left. If Viper's anywhere in the country, we'll know by this time tomorrow."

"You sure they're that good?" Logan asked, on his feet again.

"They've had centuries of practice; they're up to the task. But until we know more, there's nothing we can do. Though if you want to try tracking her down on your own, we'll understand."

"I was thinkin' about headin' over to Yukio's apartment and seein' what I could put together from there. You got my number in case one o' yer guys finds somethin'?"

Inuyasha nodded. "Yeah, we've got it. Do you have ours?"

"I do." Jubilee stated, coming to stand up beside Logan.

Inuyasha met Wolverine's gaze steadily, remaining silent for a moment. Finally, he said, "Call if anything comes up. We'll do the same. If you don't turn anything up, will you be coming back, or waiting there?"

"We'll be back either way, I imagine."

"Alright. Good luck, then."

Logan nodded sharply and Inuyasha stepped aside for Logan to pass by. Jubilee smiled at Kagome quickly before hurrying to run after her partner in crime. Inuyasha and Kagome watched them go silently.

Five minutes later, Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha, and Kagome were back in Sesshoumaru's office. Rin was out checking on Karu and his babysitter, Anna.

Kagome sat in one of the guest chairs with her hands folded in her lap, her eyes downcast. "I hope we find something. I'd feel horrible if we weren't able to help them; especially after all they did for us."

Inuyasha pushed off of the wall and walked over, pulling her out of the chair as he sat down before tugging her down onto his lap. His arms wrapped securely around her waist, he said firmly, "We will find Viper, and we'll do everything we can to help 'em take her down. Quit worryin' so much."

"I know; you're right." She whispered, leaning her head against his strong shoulders and letting her eyes drift shut. It was then that the door to the office crashed open without warning, slamming loudly against the wall and effectively grabbing the attention of all three occupants of the room.

Rin ran into her mate's office without paying attention to those who stopped and stared in confusion. She hadn't made it two feet into the office when Sesshoumaru was up and by her side, pulling her tight against him. "Rin, what is it? What is wrong?"

Behind him, both Inuyasha and Kagome had also stood, varying expressions of worry on their faces. Rin hardly ever behaved like this.

"It-it's Karu….He's-he's been kidnapped!" She sobbed, tears streaming down her face as she burrowed into Sesshoumaru. His arms tightened around her and he lowered his head to gently nuzzle the side of her face. Kagome let out a startled gasp and clung tighter to Inuyasha. The room was silent for a long moment, save for the sounds of Rin's sobbing.

Eventually, she pulled herself together enough to finish saying what she knew. Taking a deep, unsteady breath, she pulled back slightly and met Sesshoumaru's steady gaze. "I found Anna outside, unconscious. I called for a guard, and by the time he arrived, she had managed to regain consciousness. She said…she said it was an agent of Hand that attacked her and took…took Karu." Her tears returned again and she didn't fight them, allowing Sesshoumaru to hold her close.

Kagome's own tears began to blur her vision, and she followed Rin's lead, burying her face in her husband's chest. Inuyasha held her close, a low growl escaping his throat that almost matched that of Sesshoumaru's. After a pause, the two half-brothers met each others gaze, and gave a curt nod. The Hand would pay for threatening their family.

While all this was going on, Logan and Jubilee arrived at Yukio's apartment. Parking the bike in the building's parking lot for all to see, they swung off and calmly walked up to the building. A couple of minutes later, Logan successfully picked the lock and entered the apartment. Jubilee followed quickly and shut the door behind her. Logan immediately scented his friend's home and was reassured that no one else was there. Nodding back to Jubilee, he moved towards the left side of the apartment, and she headed right.

Together they scoured the apartment with silent efficiency. After a good half an hour of digging and snooping and sniffing (on Wolverine's part), they had found no good leads. Since Jubilee's half of the apartment was smaller than Logan's, she was done first. She flopped, defeated, onto Yukio's couch with a sigh. Nothing. I found nada, zip, zilch. For cryin' out loud, this is ridiculous! Shouldn't there be something? From her spot on the couch, she could see Logan finishing up in the guest bedroom. She sighed again as her thoughts wandered some more. Even if we find Viper before the week is up, there's no guarantee that Yukio will be alive. Viper's not exactly known for honesty. And if that's true, what will you do, Wolvie? I know you and Yukio have been close for years…and I know it'll tear you apart if she's killed. So we have to do what we can to keep that from happening…if there's anything we can do.

Her thoughts were interrupted when the 5'3" Canadian mutant sank onto the sofa beside her. She shifted her attention back to him, saying nothing. After a moment, he turned his head slightly and looked over at her.

"You find anything, Jubes?"

She shook her head. "Nothing. You?"

"Nope. Not even an out-of-place scent. Damned assassins." He growled that last part, his fists clenching subconsciously. After another silent moment, he stood. "C'mon, let's go, Jubilee. There's nothin' else to see here."

"Right." She complied, following him out of the apartment and back down to the bike. Before too long, they were back on their way to the Taisho Mansion. With a little luck, they've heard something. She thought fleetingly.

Logan and Jubilee hoped off the bike just as a small convertible pulled into the spot beside them. There was a flash of light and then they recognized Chikara climbing out of the car. She glanced over and flashed a grin at them, the resemblance to her father almost painfully apparent. "Hey." She said as she joined them on the short walk to the main building. She reached the door first, punched in a code, and held it open for them before following inside.

Various maids and other servants were running around the house, and no one seemed to notice their entrance. Logan raised a curious eyebrow. "What's goin' on 'round here?"

Chikara's voice was grim when she spoke. "Family emergency. I got a call from Mom earlier, and all she said was that she wanted me to come back ASAP." She paused, lifting her nose to the air and inhaling deeply. Then she said, "They're this way."

Jubilee and Logan fell in behind the young woman as she expertly navigated the various hallways and corridors, climbing two staircases and walking at a steady pace toward the open near the end of the hall. As they neared the room, Logan could suddenly detect the distinct scents of worry, anger and distress. Something was wrong.

Chikara reached the room first and went straight to her parents. "What's going on?" She asked upon seeing her mother's red eyes. Glancing around, she saw her aunt sitting on her youngest cousin's bed, clutching his favorite pillow. She returned her attention to her parents, this time focusing on her father. "Did something happen to Karu?"

Logan looked over to Sesshoumaru, who stood next to his wife, though he was talking to someone who was obviously a guard. After a moment, the guard nodded and bowed before turning and ushering himself out of the room. Sesshoumaru met Logan's gaze. "The Hand has kidnapped my son."

A hand flew to Jubilee's mouth as she quickly moved to sit beside Rin on the bed, and Logan asked, "How long ago was he taken?"

"Rin discovered his babysitter unconscious an hour and a half ago. Our best estimates put the kidnapping at just before Rin discovered Anna."

As Sesshoumaru's words left his mouth, the twins Tai and Matt raced into the room. Matt held out a torn piece of cloth and Tai took Jubilee's spot beside Rin as Jubilee herself returned to Logan's side.

"We found this near where Mom said she found Anna. Neither of us recognize the scent, and there's blood. Same scent." Matt explained as his father took the black fabric in one clawed hand.

Without looking at his son, Sesshoumaru asked, "How much blood?"

"Not too much. Enough for us to notice, but if we hadn't smelled it, I doubt we'd have seen it."

"And this is the only clue you were able to obtain?"

"Yeah. Tai and I tracked the scent all the way off the property, but then it just…vanishes."

"And you're certain the kidnapper did not use a vehicle?"

"Of course I'm certain. We can track cars, remember? Besides, we talked to the three homeowners nearest the spot, and no one saw anything. Of course, they might not have been paying attention."

Sesshoumaru growled something low and dangerous under his breath, clenching the torn fabric tightly in his fist. Finally, he met Matt's gaze. "Thank you, Son."

"Hey, he's our brother. And he's only a pup; of course we're going to do what we can."

Two hours later, no further progress had been made. The property had been searched thoroughly, inside and out, and there was no sign of anything. No trail to follow.

As the last of the scouts made a hasty exit, after having to give Sesshoumaru the bad news, Jubilee looked out the living room window and noticed, with a sick feeling in her stomach, that the sun was setting. Tuesday's almost gone. And then it'll be Wednesday, and then…oh, please, God, let us find Karu. As important as it is to find Yukio, she's at least able to take care of herself. I mean, she likes to jump off of roof-tops for fun. But Karu's just a kid. And I'd like to think that even Viper wouldn't stoop so low, but I think she just might.

At that moment, Ami the pink-haired maid swept in and took orders for various drinks (Jubilee wasn't surprised when Logan asked for a beer), and then she turned to head back to the spacious kitchen. Hating the restlessness that was beginning to sink into her bones, Jubilee jumped up and followed her.

"May I help you, ma'am?" Ami asked curiously.

Jubilee grinned and shook her head. "Nope, I've decided to help you. That's a lot of drinks, and it's kinda hard to carry 'em all. So I'm lending the use of my hands."

"Oh, no, you don't need to do that!"

"I know; I want to."

Ami hesitated, then nodded. "Well, I suppose I shouldn't refuse your generous offer. Follow me, then." And she led the way into the kitchen.

To Be Continued…

A/N: So, did you like it? If so, please let me know! Otherwise, well, keep your eyes open for the next one!