"It's funny how the colours of the real world only seem really real when you watch them on a screen." – Anthony Burgess
The concrete scraped against his cheek, stinging as he slid along it. Gravel and grime made its way into the fresh cuts that sprouted along his arms, bringing new tears to his eyes to wash away the old. He came to a halt, small ears flattening to his head with the booming shout that filled the alleyway.
His vision was encompassed in fiery red, shielding him from the world around him as he curled into himself. Tiny arms wrapped around his head, the frantic rocking of his frame willing the horrors away.
"Inuyasha!"
The pain in his neck niggled, but not enough to rouse him entirely from the comfortable slumber Inuyasha had found himself in. The light snoring was interrupted by a cough, a clawed hand reaching up to scratch the ear that wouldn't chill the fuck out. Reaching for a cover, he grasped at air when he came up empty-handed, consciousness finally getting her hands on him. Golden eyes cracked open, and his forehead creased when he found himself staring at the underside of a table.
…the table that he had been sitting at last night.
His head shot up, a grunt leaving him as it cracked against the leg of the chair he'd also been sitting in last night. He rubbed at the sore spot, a hiss leaving him as his head fell back down to the floor with a resounding thud.
It looked like he hadn't made it the few feet to his bed after getting through the enormous file that had been given to him.
It wasn't surprising really, the sheer amount of information that these people had on Naraku – or Onigumo, whichever - was astounding. Inuyasha had drowned in names, dates, and figures; cross-referencing as much as he could. As a now-former data analyst, he could appreciate the effort they'd put into the numbers.
And there were a lot of them.
Twenty years as the Commissioner of an entire city's law enforcement, used and abused at every possible turn. Government conspiracy seemed so out of whack, so fantastical that Inuyasha had found himself bursting into laughter on occasion, the absurdity of some of this pricks antics too blatant to go unseen.
Inuyasha would have never looked twice, every article he scanned with Onigumo's face plastered on it had him drawing a blank. The guy was everywhere, had his slimy fingers in every crack in AC, and Inuyasha had no fucking clue who he was before all this.
Putting those thoughts to a screeching halt when he realized he was still staring at the underside of a fucking table, Inuyasha tucked and rolled before picking himself up off the ground. He cracked his neck to the side to ease the tension that had built in the awkward position he slept in, thankful for the arguably calm nature of his waking.
Flickers of a dream stuck with him, a fierce shade of red flashing through his mind that sent a shiver up his spine. His throat tightened as he lingered on it, but the picture didn't expand further. As discomforting as it was, he hoped the imagery would stick with him. He needed to piece together as much as possible, whether it be events his head had concocted to torture him with or memories of something real.
No matter how blindly panicked it made him feel.
With a shake of his head, he took a deep breath to ground himself, glad that the sting of his nose working overtime had subsided. The dull ache in the ear he'd slept on was growing faint, drawing his attention to the fact that he didn't hear every little noise at max volume.
He wasn't painfully aware of everything around him through sound and smell like he had been the few days prior, all of it blending into one overwhelming force that had his head spinning. Instead, he was able to focus on the nuances, pick them apart like he could before.
He was just more…conscious of it than he had ever been.
Inuyasha closed his eyes, content to let the hum of the room around him lull him into a somewhat peaceful state of mind. The lack of scents other than his own and a trace amount of Kagome lingering was comforting, the quirk of his lip nearly forcing him to smile. If this were how he woke up from now on, he'd take it.
Hard, uncomfortable floor and all.
He glanced down at the watch still attached to his wrist, eyebrows shooting into his hairline as he noticed the time. He had only slept for three hours, and he felt…rested.
For the last few years, sleep had been a bitter topic for him. He needed it all the fucking time, but it never did anything for him. Walking around like a zombie after hours and hours of fitful rest was his forte; it had been for a long time.
And no matter who he spoke to, what he took or how hard he tried, nothing seemed to pull him out of the slump he'd been living in.
If a slump was what you could call it.
Realistically, Inuyasha knew the change of pace likely boiled down to two options. Either the Interface Inuyasha had lived with longer than even he knew had been well and truly fucked with, or the countless pills he'd been handed time and time again to 'try' did far more harm than good.
He grimaced, knowing it was likely a mixture of both.
Dates, doctors, appointments, and memories started coming together, forcing a timeline of events to connect before him that he wasn't sure he wanted to address yet.
He didn't want the feeling of being robbed to consume him anymore.
His hand reached to dig into the pocket that wasn't there, ready to smash the ever-living fuck out of the pill bottle that was no longer with him. His chin smacked his chest when he looked down at his attire, scowl deepening when fucking duh – he was wearing clothes that weren't company allocated...sort of.
The smooth material where a suit pocket would have been laid flat, no sign of any paraphernalia present.
You don't need them.
Kagome's voice broke through his spiralling, forcing him to recall how sure she had sounded. Try as he might, there was just too much going on in his head, and he couldn't get it to simmer. The automatic reaction to reach for what he'd always known bothered him, heart pumping a little faster as his anger grew all the more.
The last few days had felt like a dream, and the walls began to move around him as he felt a shift in his gut. He was working himself into an internal frenzy, the physical reaction to coming off his meds and the mental hoops he was jumping through to tie everything together a horrendous combination.
He was detoxing, he knew that much, but the impatience he felt for the end outweighed reason.
You don't need them.
Tutting at himself in aggravation, Inuyasha yanked at the shirt and pulled it over his head, hurling it across the room. He headed to the bathroom, looking to distract himself with a shower.
If he couldn't think about one thing at a time, taking a little time to not think at all might do him some good.
He entered the bathroom, trying to be quiet despite knowing there was no reason to. It was still early enough, but he was positive that these agents that he'd come to board with were already up and lurking around. From his brief stay here -not that two days was much to go by- it seemed that they were everywhere at once.
That was the beauty of having your very own warp tunnel, he supposed. Inuyasha determined he'd get to the bottom of this base, bunker, facility, whatever it was soon enough.
Whether anyone helped him get there or not was of no consequence.
He needed to get to the bottom of why the fuck he was here, and where 'here' was felt like a good starting point.
Realizing that he was thinking anyway, despite his attempt to just be for a moment, Inuyasha stripped the rest of his clothes. He ducked into the shower and waved a hand over the sensor on the control panel, a small yelp leaving his throat when the spray that suddenly descended on him was too hot for his liking. He backed away, fiddling with the dials that would bring the water down to a manageable temperature.
This place was old but not, and he couldn't get his head around the odd mix of technology that made up its basic amenities. Some things had clearly been updated to fit modern standards, others seemingly dating back to a time he couldn't put a finger on. The panel he was grappling with proved that, dealing with its physical buttons an absolute nightmare for his claw-tipped fingers.
While he rushed through the most unpleasant shower – the one meant to calm his nerves - Inuyasha berated himself for even caring.
Like he even knew how well he had it before.
Everything Inuyasha had then had been given to him, seemingly for some grander plan he had no knowledge of. He felt the resentment bubble, any pride he had for the place he called home washing itself down the drain along with the water he stood under.
If he didn't earn it, he didn't want it.
Standing in his new but old shower, Inuyasha's darkened mood lightened a notch, knowing that a space had been made for him here – wherever here was – and it was somehow thanks to Kagome. He had lost his sense of family, sense of home, and she'd pulled him out of there without a second thought. Had been actively trying to, apparently. The bitter feeling of knowing the ones he loved having a hand in his turmoil soothed by her caring nature.
She'd always been like that – he thought – and he was glad to see that trait had carried on into adulthood. He'd have to corner her at some point, actually have a fucking conversation with the girl.
She'd suddenly become the centre of his world in a matter of a few days, and he didn't even know why she was still in Angel City, let alone flying through the air on hoverbikes and using dumb as fuck codenames.
And she'd stocked that cabinet with clothes for him, knowing he would have nothing to fall back on.
He wasn't exactly pleased with the options, but he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth either. He arrived with nothing other than the suit on his back- an article he hoped had been fucking destroyed, the lack of interface taking with it his ability to access the money in his bank account.
The account that…no longer existed.
Guilt slammed into him full force, the realization that it wasn't just his shit that had gone up in flames, but everyone else's shit too. He knew, that headline he'd been shown giving that much away, but it was just too much information to take in at once for him to really pick up what had been put down.
That information was starting to pile on top of him at an alarming rate.
He sped through finishing his shower, hands shaking as the magnitude of what he'd done at Taisho Corp. got the best of him. He needed to find Kagome and figure out exactly what he had done, glancing at a headline on a hologram wasn't enough to go by.
Blips of what he'd read on the file last night made their way to the forefront of his mind, but he tried to dial it back. He knew he would be hashing out the details soon enough if Slayer's 'one day' time frame was anything to go by. And if what he had read was true - not that he had reason to doubt it at this point – then…yeah.
One day could cost a lot.
Rushing from the bathroom without bothering to grab a towel, Inuyasha threw the cabinet doors open that held an array of clothes that didn't fit quite right. They'd do all the drying for him, time was something he didn't want to waste anymore. He'd had a day of 'rest', and now it was time to get his ass into gear.
For what, he wasn't sure.
Inuyasha yanked the black cargos over his legs, engaging the auto-belt so they stayed up despite their looseness. The black shirt he grabbed was a little baggy, but it would do until he gave a fuck. Tugging it over his head, he paid no mind to the dampness that seeped into it, pulling his soaking wet hair out to lay flat against his back. He whirled, looking around for anything to tie his hair back and came up short.
He'd have to figure that out later.
The boots he had worn yesterday sat by the door, and he shoved his feet into them, pausing for a moment when he noticed the shiny new panel that had been fitted to the door's frame. He hadn't noticed its appearance last night, the meeting with Miroku sucking up what little energy he had left. Taking his time to hit the right buttons, he waited the milliseconds it took for the gap to slide open enough for him to exit. He was geared up and ready to make a run for it-
Only to be met with Kagome waiting for him on the other side.
"Hi," she greeted, eyes sparkling in that way that he found annoyingly dazzling.
"H-hey," he had a million questions, all of them wanting to spill out of his mouth at once, but when he opened it to continue nothing followed. He'd been banking on the time it would take to find her to gather his thoughts.
"Sleep well?" she nudged, eyes dancing around his face in a way that had him wishing he could read her mind.
"Uh…" he fiddled awkwardly with the waistline of the trousers he wore, "as well as I could…with my bedtime story."
She didn't need the details of where he woke up.
"So, you read the file?"
"Yeah."
"Anything you want to talk about?"
"Um… everything."
"OK," she agreed, turning a little towards the direction she came from, "how about we start by actually showing you around the place? We'll talk as we go?"
"That would be…good." Good wasn't the word, but his earlier resolve to get a better idea of where the fuck he was had just been handed to him on a silver platter. He gestured for her to take the lead, hoping it would be one of the last times he would need to be totted around like a lost puppy.
"Wait, the data breach, the one I did. How bad is it?" Inuyasha blurted out, desperate to know what kind of pandemonium he had caused to the world above him.
She turned, ready with her answer as if she'd been expecting it, "Failsafes were in place within the hour, basic profiles are up and running as we speak. Everything is fine Inuyasha, but everyone is going through ID verification. Authenticating is underway, we couldn't have asked for a better result, honestly."
"…excuse me?"
"You read the file, yes?"
"Yes."
"So, you know the ACPD has been pushing Taisho Corp. for access to Interface user data for some time now."
"…yes."
"Your…interference," her face twisted at the word, "has bought some time. Political unrest is high, people are scared… Naraku's using that to sway lawmakers into baking him for access. You can't have that if there isn't much to gain access to."
"OK…alright. So, I didn't end the word in one fell swoop?" Inuyasha sagged with relief. He didn't feel absolved, but the possibility of people rioting in the streets because of something he did was unthinkable.
Kagome snorted, hand coming to cover her mouth as she giggled, "No, you didn't end the world," she spun on her heels, fast pace set immediately, "I'll take you down to the Arena first… that's where we spend most of our time."
"We? Wait, Arena?" he jogged to catch up with her, taken back by the term.
"Me and the others," she marched on, "and it's just a name, you'll see."
"The ones I've met?"
"Yes. There aren't many others here."
"…others?" he pressed.
She turned and smiled then, and the coyness had his interest peaking, "Maybe you'll get to meet him at some point."
Him.
Inuyasha fought the urge to suddenly lash out. He had no right to feel…jealous about a potential someone that made her smile like that. Even if it made him want to smash his face into the wall next to him.
They walked through the corridor he was now somewhat familiar with, the scent trails that he and Kagome had been leaving behind easy enough to pick up on. There were others in the mix, but none of them were fresh. He glanced back towards his room, gauging that he was the only one staying in that section. Now that his nose had dialled in, he might be able to find his way around this place.
Of course, that sentiment didn't last when Kagome chucked a sudden left, heading down a hallway he was sure hadn't been there before.
He hadn't been that out of it when he arrived…had he?
Inuyasha followed her regardless, noticing the lack of anything implying where they were or where they were headed. His eyes darted here, there, and everywhere, taking in everything he could to try and get a read on this place.
The barebones were bland, nothing about the walls and floors giving away any hints about its origins. The layout made no fucking sense, and Inuyasha was now positive the corridor they were walking down had been non-existent before now. He looked back over his shoulder, staring in the direction they'd come from.
Or maybe, it was the entrance that hadn't been there.
The scents that filled the space were familiar, tipping him off that they belonged to the people he wasn't particularly fond of. He'd memorize them soon enough, even if he didn't want to. He tamped down the distaste, knowing he was the one encroaching on their space despite his right to be pissed at everything right now.
He wasn't bothered about offending them, not in the slightest. He just needed to keep his cool for now.
His eyes narrowed in on the swish of Kagome's hair against her lower back, the way the stark fluorescent lighting made it glisten even in its harshness, drawing him in like a moth to a flame.
He knew exactly why he was trying to keep his cool around them, and it had everything to do with the human riddle in front of him.
Kagome stopped abruptly at a set of metal doors, the only doors to have made an appearance so far. Inuyasha reeled back, catching himself before nearly barreling into her.
He'd maybe gotten a little too close.
She opened the facing that stuck out from the wall beside it, punching a few of the buttons on the number pad. Inuyasha had to wonder why some things hadn't been updated to an automated system. Buttons were rarely used nowadays, and when they were it tended to be touch-sensitive or just for show.
His constant battling with the ones in his new living arrangements was a testament to that.
A creak and a whir sounded from behind the doors that had Inuyasha's ears tipping forward. The sounds grew louder, coming to a halt with a groan as the doors slowly opened to reveal an elevator. It was more of a… hatch than any type of elevator he was used to. The cool breeze that came from the opening had him backing away slightly, the barely-there enclosure not sitting well.
"Come on," Kagome was already stood in the body of the lift, looking straight at him.
He pushed himself to move, slowly entering the…cage to stand next to her. He was displeased by the way its chassis creaked with his added weight, the slight bob of the floor that should have been solid pulling his lips into a frown.
He wasn't that heavy.
"Is this… this place is old," his eyes drifted shut in defeat.
What at the perfectly normal sentence.
"Yes." Kagome chirped but didn't continue, instead fiddling with an identical panel to the one on the outside.
"You're not going to give me anything else, are you?" he asked, tipping his head to the side to watch her.
"There isn't really much to tell. This place isn't used for it's intended purpose, we just…moved in."
Inuyasha's hand shot out to grasp the railing to his right, the cage around them rattling loudly as it began to rapidly descend without warning. His ears swivelled in every direction to catch the sounds bouncing around them, picking up on the rush of wind underneath them. His nose tickled with the scent of freshwater, the usual hint of iodine that came from the reserves he and so many others were used to completely absent.
The shake of the cord they were being suspended by made for a bumpy ride, the swiftness they were falling at forcing his stomach into his throat. The scent of water grew stronger with each passing moment, and he couldn't help but marvel at the new sensation. Even if it felt like an elevator ride straight to hell.
This shaft was deep if those hints were anything to go by.
"Hang on, moved in?" he realized he'd been entirely distracted from what she said by his epiphany, steering the conversation back.
His eyes bugged at the sudden jolt that had the whole cage coming to a complete stop. He heard a crunch to his right, turning to glance briefly before doing a double-take at the now crushed railing under his hand.
Inuyasha pulled his hand back as if it had burned him, "Uh…"
Kagome's voice was faint, but he'd pick it up anywhere, "It's fine."
He swallowed back the stab of shame that crept up on him, forcing himself to keep his eyes forward as the door slid open so he wouldn't have to decipher the look she was likely giving him. He felt her eyes burning into the side of his head, and he fought the urge to turn to her.
He heard the small sigh leave her, but he kept his eyes straight ahead, making sure to plant his feet evenly and firmly as he exited before her. He felt a little of the tension leave him solid concrete met the soles of his feet, before glaring back at the shaft that was now closing back up.
This place sucked.
"INUYASHA TAISHO!" The bellowing shout that filled the room they'd entered had them both freezing.
Fox stood in the only doorway in front of them, arms raised above his head with the broadest grin on his stupid face.
Inuyasha's heart stopped at the name, everything around him becoming deathly quiet as a fresh wave of panic shot through him. The last time he'd heard the combination of words, his world had gone dark.
So, he waited…and waited.
And nothing happened.
"Just wanted to make sure you weren't gonna go all psycho on us," Fox sniggered, but he was the only one laughing.
"Why you little…" Inuyasha launched himself after the other man, almost delighting in the way he turned and high tailed it immediately. He blazed after him, ignoring the foyer to the Arena in pursuit of his prey. They were out the door within seconds, and Inuyasha had to give the kid credit, he was fast.
But he was going to catch him.
"I can't help it! It's in my nature!" Fox pleaded, eyes widening when turned and he noticed Inuyasha gaining on him.
Inuyasha caught up to him quickly, latching onto the back of his jacket and pulling him to an abrupt stop. He whirled Fox round to face him, lifting him until his feet were off the ground to get in his face.
"And what if I did, huh? What if I fucking did go all psycho on you? What then?" Inuyasha pressed, shaking the fucker with each word for good measure.
"Pfft, you're fine. It was obviously an alt for some sleeper mode set into your chip, you dolt. Your chip is dead. Think about it," he tapped Inuyasha's forehead as he squirmed, struggling to get out of the death grip that held him, "Dude, how fucking fast are you anyways?"
"A fucking alt? Are you even-" the sudden rush of adrenaline caused his claws to pierce into the collar he held, "what the fuck is your problem?"
"You shouldn't talk to yourself. People will wonder," the smirk that accompanied the statement was maddening.
Inuyasha caught wind of a shift in the air, one that had the hair on the back of his neck standing at attention. A resounding pop had his ears feeling like they were going to burst, and suddenly, he was grasping onto nothing, the man that had once been in his clutches having vanished into thin air.
"What the fuck was that?" Inuyasha turned to Kagome, who'd appeared next to him after catching up, "Kagome, what the fuck was that?"
She laughed, grabbing onto his arm while dragging him further down the hall as if people vanishing at the drop of a hat was an everyday occurrence.
"I already told you, he has a flair for the dramatics."
The 'Arena' Kagome was referring to was monstrous, the main room that made up the centre of it stretching further than enclosed space he had ever been in. It was more of a cavern, stone facades and strange equipment taking up every corner. The centre was bare, targets and weapons he couldn't name scattered everywhere. Large archways broke off from the centre every now and then, carved into the stone around them. Inuyasha couldn't help but wonder what less than a dozen people needed all this space for.
The crash that came from the two people throwing blow after blow at each other caused Inuyasha to jump, the echo of each of their grunts and shouts carrying through the room clear as day.
"This is where we mostly train. Weapon refinement, combat skills, that sort of thing. Some of us have particular abilities that help our cause. This is where we nurture that," Kagome smiled as she waved a hand over the scene before them.
Inuyasha's eyes cut to hers then, hoping the unspoken question was obvious.
So, why are you here?
Kagome didn't take the bait, instead clearing her throat and turning back to point at an exceptionally high set of stone walls that took up one side of the room, "that might be of some interest to you. Maybe test out how high you can jump? How far you can go?"
But Inuyasha didn't take the bait either, "what happened Kagome?"
He almost regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth when he saw the discomfort physically wash over her. He didn't want to be the cause of that, even if he was dying to know the reasoning.
"Can…can we hold that conversation for later? Just for now?" Kagome tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, head turning to peer over at the other people that occupied the space.
Fuck.
"Yeah…yeah," he shuffled awkwardly, wishing he'd waited until the 'tour' was over to bring up what should have been an obviously heavy topic. He didn't exactly owe her the right to privacy - not at this point - but he wanted to extend the courtesy regardless.
As crazy as that sounded.
"Who's your money on?" Inuyasha pointed to the two women laying into each other in the centre of the room, brown and red hair flying around them.
Kagome head shot back towards him, and she smiled, grateful for the momentary reprieve.
He was all too happy to oblige.
"So, we operate under that rule. No names, no identification. If anyone finds out who we are, where we are, or what we do, we're done." Kagome led him through yet another room, targets lined up on the far end, "Being someone in AC has its drawbacks."
She left no stone unturned, pointing out rooms and equipment that meant nothing to him but everything to them. They worked through training themselves like clockwork, and he was exhausted just hearing about it.
"So…you couldn't have picked better names to go by?" Inuyasha couldn't help it, he had to get that dig in. Kagome stopped and turned; a small frown set on her face.
"They suit us," she began, a wave of her hand cutting her short, "you'll see."
She approached an entryway, the door sliding open smoothly with her presence, "Slayer, for instance, comes from a long line of Taijiya, also known as demon slayers."
Inuyasha heard her, but he stopped in the doorway to look around the frame. This one was automatic, unlike so many he had seen here. Most of the Arena – which screamed of some massive conversion project – was made up of high-end technology that didn't seem to reach the higher levels. If his room was anything to go by.
"Wait, demon slayer?" He shook his head, following her into the room.
The room that housed dozens of screens projecting every angle of the training facility they were in.
"Are you- is everyone a fucking voyeur these days?" Inuyasha threw his hands up, sick and tired of seeing everything recorded.
Kagome ignored him, pointing to a screen that showed Slayer sprinting across the main room he'd seen her in before, dodging projectiles that flew at her from every angle, "Slayer, short for demon slayer. She's been here for 7 years. Lost her family not long before that. All Taijiya, not that they were in commission. Prime target. Naraku took them all out one night, she's the only survivor. She's been hunting him down ever since."
She gestured to another screen, showcasing the guy with the piercing blue eyes he hated with a passion, "Wolf, he's been here the longest. He and Ayame ran a gang in the city, they got caught up with the wrong people and…if you can guess who they might have had ties to, you'll know where I'm going with this. Boss brought them in undercover, but that only lasted a few months. They lost…a lot of family at the time."
Inuyasha watched the tiny depiction of Wolf hollering something they couldn't hear, cheering at something they couldn't see.
"They brought the Twins in a few years back when things were getting rough again, and they've been here full time ever since," Kagome pointed to the people he could see on the screens furthest away, the two figures she was referring to leaping from the rafters of the giant chasm that made up the main room.
That was…peculiar.
Inuyasha watched as the people on the screens went about their 'exercises', each of them more daring than the last. He was quietly impressed as the two other women he'd come to know darted back and forth, moving targets heading straight for them. He thought targets were meant for practising aim, but this proved otherwise.
He wasn't sure what these people actually did – apart from being nosy as fuck – but whatever they were training for had to be something big and bad. Going up against organized crime was one thing.
Hurtling yourself across a room with energized targets hot on your tail was another.
Inuyasha noticed the lack of a particular orange-haired fuck, "And… Fox?" he asked reluctantly.
"Oh, he's... always been here? I'm not actually sure. He isn't an agent."
"Come again?"
"Yeah, he was technically the first. But he's our resident hacker and…cheerleader? He doesn't do fieldwork."
"…how old is he?" There had been hints here and there, but the puny douche looked no more than twenty, tops.
"He claims to be about 200, give or take a few decades."
"The fu- claims to be?"
"You can't believe a word he says, really."
"He's a demon, isn't he?" the chances, "Like a full fucking demon?"
"Yes."
"And the others?" Inuyasha looked back towards the screens.
"Sango and I are the only humans here," she paused, noticing her own slip-up, "and the Boss."
"Right, so about the names. If you keep slipping up, how am I supposed to know what to call people?" Inuyasha had too many questions piling into his head at once. "Forget that, that's why they're all here, isn't it? Because Naraku's gone after them before? For being…"
Demon.
"In these cases, yes. We just don't know what he's doing with them. There aren't many of them…you left. At least not with such high quantities."
"And…them?" Inuyasha watched the display as the men of the base gathered together, cackling to each other as Ayame approached them.
"Wolf Demons," she looked to the fondly, an amused smile growing on her face, "Full, that is. Now you know where he gets his name."
Kagome poked the screen where Wolf's face was, her tiny finger covering his annoying as fuck face completely. Inuyasha barked a laugh, hand slapping over his mouth at the absurdity.
The Half status had yet to fully take root. He knew, he fucking knew he was…a lot of demon before this but to have it confirmed when he had convinced himself that he didn't care wasn't sitting well.
Or, at all for that matter. Yikes.
"OK, so full demons are more common than I thought but not actually common," he pondered aloud, "and Naraku is trying to take them all out for some reason."
"That's the cut and dry," Kagome nodded along with him.
"And you guys really aren't sure what he's doing with them?" The lack of any information about the people who had gone disappeared on the file he'd read was unsettling, always ending at a missing person report; if it even got that far.
"We have some guesses like Slayer said, but it's hard to get that close to him. We have enough on him to know enough. No one's truly impossible to find in this city. But everyone knows Onigumo the Commissioner. Naraku may as well be a figment of our imagination."
"And… he's just there for everyone to see," he concluded, more than peeved at the audacity. The fact that he couldn't remember ever noticing the guy before now didn't help.
Because she was right, for someone that was front and centre for everyone to see, his true nature was exceptionally well hidden.
Not unlike himself.
"Yes…he covers his tracks well, hardly ever leaves a trace where he goes. He rarely does his own bidding. This city may as well be its own country, people vanish all the time. It's not hard to lose track, and he uses that to his benefit. But where do you go when someone goes missing?" Kagome asked, turning towards him with an arch of her brow.
"The Police, I get it," Inuyasha ran a hand through his bangs, ruffling them as he tried to figure out which path to take, "twins. The Twins! Fucking why were they acting as officers when they stopped me? I should actually-"
"Technically, they were undercover. But they were only wearing the suits, you didn't ask for their credentials," she smiled, as if knowing Inuyasha had contemplated it at the time.
"I should really go back there and-"
Kagome pulled on his sleeve as he started towards the exit, "We needed to get a good look at you. You're either at work, holed up in that apartment or Miroku is on you. I'm sorry, we just…needed to know why Naraku was watching you so closely."
He allowed her to stop him, "So, if this Naraku has such a hard-on for me, how did you guys get to me first?"
He should have known by the laugh that bubbled out of her that he wouldn't like where this was headed.
"Fox can show you."
Having to deal with the man who'd given him nothing but a headache at every meeting and a sore ear wasn't something Inuyasha wanted to do, but he needed the specifics taken care of. And that was who he had to talk to.
The grin he walked in to had him second-guessing if he even wanted to know.
"Welcome back."
"I don't want to be here," as if that wasn't obvious enough, he just had to blurt it out like that.
"Too bad. I've got all the juicy details you seek!" Fox waved a hand over the monitor in front of him.
The sigh that left Inuyasha was wrapped in reluctance. It was time to buck up and listen to the kid.
Or geezer. Whichever.
"Fine." He marched over to the desk piled high with garbage, grabbing the seat that sat under it. Inuyasha scoffed when a pile of…books fell from its cushion and onto the ground.
He looked over to Fox, noting that he was paying his guest no mind as he tapped away at his contraptions. Because that's what they fucking were, he'd concluded, taking note of the details of the room he hadn't before.
There were books everywhere, hidden amongst machines that were surely of no use to anyone. Some were stacked so ludicrously that it was hard to believe they were balanced enough to stand as tall as they did. It was something Inuyasha hadn't glimpsed often in his young life. He grabbed the closest one that sat on the desk, surprised by how heavy it felt.
Holos were always light as a feather, and the weight difference was interesting, to say the least. The only books he'd ever seen, he'd never had the right to touch. As he opened it, Inuyasha was slammed with the overwhelming smell of the pages it held together. He was utterly bowled over by how lifelike it seemed, the musty smell wafting around him.
"Ah, 1984," Fox piped up suddenly, drawing Inuyasha's attention back to him, "How apt."
"What?"
"Yeah, it's about Big Brother, y'know. They're always watching?"
"Big…brother?" Nothing this guy said made any sense, ever.
"God, nevermind," Fox sneered, swivelling in his chair once his fun was over, "do you want to look at some shit or not?"
"Um…yes?"
"Come on then! I don't have all day."
"Sorry, am I keeping you?"
"You? Yes, always."
Inuyasha watched with rapture as Fox rattled through a timeline of events, shocked yet again by just how much they knew about his life and how little he didn't. He turned, eyes narrowing on the other man. Forcing himself into every surveillance camera in AC seemed to be a walk in the park for the prick that Inuyasha was sure he truly hated. Now knowing that he'd been the one watching him, analyzing him for months was doing him no favours.
"You'd be surprised how hard it is to get in Taisho Corp. I know you waltzed around like you owned the place but-"
"Excuse me?"
"Pfft. Look here," Fox brought scrolled through some images, maximizing the one he wanted, "you really were being babysat."
There, on the screen, was Inuyasha. But he was fucking out of it. Seriously out of it, sitting at his desk staring off into space, eyes glazed over as he stared straight ahead. The worst part was his co-workers' eyes that lingered on him, milling around him as if it were an everyday occurrence. He paused on Miroku, sat in the background with his eyes trained on Inuyasha from his usual perch. It told him everything he needed to know.
They all knew.
"You're their King," the guffaw that came from Fox had his fist clenching. He needed to get through this before he pounded him into the ground.
"What happened before that?"
"Elaborate."
"I don't remember the four days before that image," the tip of his claw tapped on the monitor.
"Hm. If I remember correctly, you and your handler didn't leave your apartment," he tapped away at the keyboard that was too fucking loud, "yeah, here. The last time you entered Taisho Corp. was that Monday."
Fox pointed to a log on the monitor above their heads, every single time his Interface had been scanned upon entry laid out in order by date. Inuyasha gawked. Perfect.
"There are checks at almost every stop, the ones that you didn't have to do, you didn't notice. You and the douche with the earring have almost full clearance." Fox clicked through a set of security cameras, highlighting every entrance Taisho Corp possessed on the way up to his floor, "although, I would love to know how he got you from Taisho to your place."
"Huh?"
"Yep, you turned up for work on Friday from your place. Didn't see you go back there though, did I?" Fox reached for him, but Inuyasha slapped his hand away before he could do whatever he planned.
"This is a fucking nightmare," Inuyasha ran his hands over his face, grimacing at the sweat of his palms, "why is everything so…wrapped up in everything?"
"Amazing, isn't it?"
"What?"
"How you didn't even know."
"Know what, precisely?" he snapped, officially out of patience for all the guessing games.
"How important you are."
"Fuck. Off." Inuyasha rose from his seat, pacing behind him immediately.
"So, you managed to hack into…my workplace' network," he tripped over the name, "and I suppose that means Naraku did too?"
"Nope," the pop of his lips as Fox looked too fucking pleased with himself was maddening.
"Try again," Inuyasha stopped his pacing to stare him down.
"You see, I thought I was the trickster here, but no no no," Fox tutted as he spun in his chair, "someone - hint, it was Naraku – managed to set off an alert in that building. We thought it was under siege, just like the police would have but he held off on reinforcements. That's why the girls showed up the way they did."
Inuyasha looked at him, incredulous to the explanation.
"He got us to do the dirty work for him."
"And the dirty work was…"
"Not too sure really. Did he know you'd dismantle an entire city's data centre? Unlikely. But he obviously wanted you out of there for some reason. Probably so he could get in there."
A loud boom echoed around the room, the video feed that suddenly appeared on one of the screens causing Inuyasha to wince as it shot through his ears.
"That first bombing?" Fox pointed to the footage of smoke billowing from the shop front that no longer existed, "That was Renkotsu. We'd been tipped off that someone had been watching you within your block. When Slayer went to check it out, it was bogus. Nearly got her too."
Inuyasha recalled the way she'd hurled herself from the store, cutting his drunken reunion with Kagome off before it had begun.
Intel was a bust.
"The fact that you were there at the time was purely coincidental. That friend of yours is a terrible handler." Fox tsked and for some reason, Inuyasha felt the need to defend Miroku.
Despite everything.
But he held his tongue, wanting to get the facts rather than work through his feelings.
"The second bombing. Why was Miroku's apartment the target?" Inuyasha asked, remembering the smoke that seeped from the vent of his friend's floor rather than his own.
"Ah well, your buddy was a placeholder too. No one could identify the exact apartment you were in- I even couldn't - so Ren just…got it wrong. Whenever you look up a certain Inuyasha Takahashi, you get pinged to a Mr Miroku Okada." A photo of the man in question popped up on the screen.
He had to look away.
"Personally, I don't think they were trying to kill you, just get you out in the open, so they could find you better," Fox carried on, impartial to the discomfort of the other man, "good thing our girls found you first huh? Or rather, you found them?"
"That Renkotsu freak didn't want to kill me, huh?" Inuyasha laughed bitterly, "but he was fine, killing countless others for the sake of smoking me out?" His pacing begun once more, leg kicking out at the chair he'd abandoned.
"Pretty much. From what we've gathered, you were the key to stopping Naraku from acquiring certain data. For whatever reason, you were the firewall that prevented anything from getting in. It just…happened to be us that set you off," Fox had the grace to look sorry for once, "but it all worked out in the end, right?"
"Shut up. What does Naraku want from Taisho Corp, hm? Surely bank details and social security numbers are of no use to the Commissioner of the ACPD?" Inuyasha was becoming frantic, ready to take his anger out on anyone or anything at that moment as he paced the small space.
"Look, I know you like to keep it lowkey or whatever, but most people in AC have their entire lives loaded onto their Interface. Names, dates, locations, blood types…fucking think about it," Fox was suddenly in front of him, tapping on Inuyasha's forehead once more.
Enhancements? Says here you don't have any.
The line of questioning the Twins had given him on their first fateful meeting broke through his frustration, forgetting that he was about to use the guy in front of him as a punching bag.
"He wants to track demons through their data."
"Bingo."
"…what the fuck does Bingo mean?" Inuyasha chose the wrong thing to get pissed about, but his constant use of outdated lingo made it hard to follow him completely.
"Nevermind," Fox dared to look disappointed, as if he hadn't just tried to use some foreign language.
"Whatever," Inuyasha carried on with his pacing, "so, the first bombing. Why was I…like that?"
Fox turned to him, green eyes questioning, "Like what?"
"Like…that." Inuyasha insisted, not wanting to spell it out.
"You mean like this?" An image of said state appeared, Fox purposefully zooming in too close.
"Uh…"
"I think you have a hard time controlling your demon blood, boy. Slayer said your aura blew up just like your place did," the snigger at the end had Inuyasha's eyes twitching. Prick.
"What…are you talking about?" Demon blood and auras were not on his fucking radar, far from it.
"It really isn't my job to give you the talk, bud. Your Guardian should have done that for you."
Ouch.
"Do you remember what happened beforehand?" Fox motioned to the comically large image of Inuyasha with blood-red eyes.
"The shop went up, I remember getting up but…everything is blank after that," the photo os Miroku dragging his scary ass through the smoke and debris flashed before his eyes. The night he was shown the cold hard truth already felt like a lifetime ago, and it had been no more than two days.
"Perhaps a defence mechanism? Maybe…threat to life triggered some kind of last resort? Or, maybe that nasty chip of yours had something to do with it," the other man shoved his nose into the screen in front of him, clearly losing interest quickly, "you'll find out soon enough."
"Meaning?"
"We're putting you to work, obviously."
Whatever that work was, Inuyasha wasn't ready to hear it. "And that will tell me…"
"Well, we've never met a half-demon before. Who knows what triggers that," Fox zoomed in and out of the image they were mulling over, "I'll be watching either way."
Fox turned to him, the glint of the fangs he bore now clear as day. The pointy tips of his ears peeked out from the pile of orange hair on top of his head, the twinkle in his green eyes inhuman. His finger pointed towards Inuyasha, drawing his gaze to the blunt claws that sat on the ends of each finger.
He was kicking himself for not noticing the signs before now.
"What kind of demon are you?"
"You can't tell?" Fox spun languidly in his chair, gesturing towards himself. "I thought it was fairly obvious."
"Humor me."
A bright blue flame burst from one of the books that lay idle near his feet, and Inuyasha sprang back, shielding his face as he expected heat that never came. As his arm lowered, he was baffled to find the book in question still intact, instead of charred like he thought paper would be.
As he looked up, he spun when Fox was gone, leaving him and the room behind. Inuyasha's nose told him that he was long gone, any trail that should have led to where he went absent. He crept from his spot slowly, turning in the middle of the room as his eyes darted everywhere looking for a sign of where the other man had disappeared to.
He paused when he noticed the images they were looking at previously were gone, replaced by giant, glaring letters scattered across the monitors hanging from the wall. He worked through the possible combinations, solving the puzzle left for him in no time.
K-I-T-S-U-N-E
With no one in sight when he exited the room he was begrudgingly spending too much time in, Inuyasha headed back in the direction that would lead to his room. He thought briefly to look for Kagome, but knowing she was likely with the others while he worked through some shit had him in front of his door before he knew it.
Inuyasha stopped in front of the doorway, knowing something was off before he entered. He took a whiff of the air around him, lip furling when he picked up on a scent that wasn't his. He punched the panel a little too hard again and stomped into the room as the door slid open. His ears told him whoever had been in there was long gone by now, nothing but the quiet hum that was usually present filling the space.
He breathed in deeply, taking in the subtly sweet scent that was familiar, but he couldn't quite put his finger on. He followed it, the trail leading to the cabinet holding his borrowed clothing.
He threw the doors open, eyes scanning the contents as if the answer would jump out at him. His eyes stopped on the duffel that had shifted slightly from its place, a low growl beginning to rise in his throat.
Inuyasha grasped the handle, pulling the bag from it's hiding place for a closer inspection. He held it up, the unwelcomed scent that was lingering in his room covering it in its entirety. The weight told him nothing had been removed, but that didn't quell his anger. He dropped the bag to the floor as the growl increased in volume, the familiarity of that scent finally dawning on him.
Slayer.
Inuyasha sped from the room without a second thought, nose leading him to where he needed to be. He didn't worry for the bag he'd left behind, the contents were still there. Whether they actually remained in his possession at this point, he wasn't so sure he cared.
He was fucking over the prying eyes.
He tracked her scent through the corridors, pleasantly surprised by how easy the trip was when he couldn't trust his eyes to take him anywhere. He stopped dead in his tracks when the trail ended at the shaft that would take him down to the Arena, wondering if telling her off for the intrusion would be worth the trip.
He squared his shoulders when he convinced himself it would be, ready to launch himself into the worst mode of transportation he could fathom when he remembered he would need a code to enter into the keypad.
Rather than let it deter him, it made Inuyasha all the more determined to get those fucking doors open and give that woman a piece of his mind.
He tried to recall a pattern or something that Kagome had used earlier, punching a few of the buttons with his knuckles instead of his claws in what he hoped was a similar pattern. A short, sharp buzz sounded, announcing his failure.
He tried a few more times, ears perking when the mechanisms of the elevator sprang to life.
He'd fucking done it.
Resisting the urge to grin like a lunatic, Inuyasha wasted no time clambering onto the rickety lift that would take him straight to the bitch that couldn't mind her business. He bobbed up and down on his heels, the descent seeming slower than it had earlier when he was with Kagome.
The ride wasn't as unpleasant now that he knew what to expect, and as soon as the doors opened into the foyer of the Arena, Inuyasha was off, letting his nose work for him. He was so fucking pissed that he was sure at this point, he would be able to follow this scent to the ends of the earth if it meant he could give her a piece of his mind.
Entering the massive main room, Inuyasha was disappointed to find no sign of anyone in the near vicinity.
And the vicinity was huge.
But he wasn't about to let that cause him to lose his steam. He sucked in another deep breath heading in the direction of one of the archways that were situated to the right-hand side. The scent grew stronger and stronger with each step, his heart racing as he came closer to the confrontation.
He reached a door he knew she was behind, scent stopping at the threshold. A frustrated growl left him when it wouldn't just fucking open like the other auto doors in this place. His head darted around, but there was no control panel for him to fuck with. Definitely an auto-door, but it wouldn't let him in.
He took a deep breath, hoping to calm the pounding of his heart that was becoming more erratic by the second. It only served to fill his nostrils to the brim with her stink.
This dumb place, with its stupid doors and it's foolish techno-
The door slid open suddenly, revealing a smiling Slayer who's face dropped the second she saw him standing there, "Oh. What?"
"What the fuck were you doing in my room?" Inuyasha kept his gaze steady on hers, wanting her to know just how serious he was.
"What are you talking abou-"
"Cut the shit. What were you doing there?"
"Changing your sheets, Dog-Boy, now move," she attempted to shove past him, but he didn't budge.
He wasn't going to let her set this precedent so early on.
"Answer the question," Inuyasha's eyes to burned into hers, noting the shift in her posture. She was uncomfortable.
Good.
"Why should I tell you anything?" she rebuked, crossing her arms in that pissy fashion that he hated.
"Why are you so interested in an old robe and a shitty sword?" Inuyasha countered. If she wanted to act like a child, he'd cut to the chase.
He was done with the games.
She reeled back as if he'd slapped her, "who said I was interested?"
"So, what were you doing in there then?"
"Listen-"
"Fucking hell, give the guy a break," a baritone voice called behind her, and Inuyasha tensed.
"No days off, you know that Wolf," Slayer barged her shoulder into Inuyasha, angling herself into the space between him and the doorframe before getting free, "you can keep your toys. We just needed to make sure you didn't bring anything harmful in."
"Harmful? What the- "
The hard slap that came down onto his shoulder cut Inuyasha off and his head jerked to the side, hating how suddenly close he was to the other man.
"Let it go. She'll come round," he soothed, "…maybe."
Inuyasha stared at the hand that had taken residence on his shoulder, ready to rip the thing off the man it was attached to. Golden eyes glanced up to meet icy blue, considering the options; but the Wolf wasn't the issue right now.
"Absolutely fucking not," Inuyasha blazed after his target, quick to catch up, "Oi."
She ignored him, picking up the pace towards the main entrance. He was hot on her heels, hovering closer when she leaned away.
"What's your fucking problem, huh? You always like this with the new guy? Or is it a problem with what I am, Demon Slayer?" he goaded.
"No. I don't like you," she stated matter-of-factly as if it weren't fucking obvious, "and I don't need to sugarcoat it."
"Great, got it," as they were approaching the doors that would take them back to the upper levels, Inuyasha slid a hand around her wrist, pulling her to a stop, "don't go through my shit. I'm serious."
The downward turn of her lips nearly had him smiling, "I don't think you have the right to- "
"I don't give a fuck what you think I have a right to do, Sango," her eyes widened a fraction at his use of her given name, "stay the fuck out of my space and out of my stuff."
"What's so special about your stuff, huh? Thought you didn't have anything left? What's so important about that stuff that you'd hide than in a fucking closet-"
"Guys," another voice broke through their bickering, the pair of them turning to see Kagome standing in the doorway to the entrance, "seriously. Are you going to argue every time you're near each other?"
"Tell him-"
"Me? Are you fucking kidding?" Inuyasha threw his hands up. Disbelief seemed to be the feeling of the day.
"Slayer, please-"
"No, Priestess, you aren't going to tell me-"
"Ladi-"Wolf tried to cut in.
"Enough."
The room went deathly quiet, the three agents huddled around Inuyasha coming to complete standstill, "Slayer, my office. Priestess, occupy Inuyasha," and with that, the Boss had everyone scattering, disappearing through the door as quickly as she appeared.
Inuyasha stood, feet cemented to the floor beneath him. Kagome came into his line of vision, but he was too busy working through the anger, the disbelief, the turmoil of being in a place he didn't know and dealing with people that didn't like him for reasons he couldn't control.
"Inuyasha?" Kagome's voice was soft, soothing in a way he loved as much as he hated, "Inuyasha?"
He blinked a few times, hands coming to rest idly at his sides. He needed to get ahold of himself and why he felt such a fucking way about that bitch rifling through his things.
The only two things in the world he had left.
"Inuyasha," Kagome pressed, coming closer to him and bringing with her the overwhelming scent she carried, "can you hear me?"
"I can hear you," he assured her quickly, he'd be fucked if she thought for one second he was zooming out like that again, "I just…" his voice trailed off, because honestly?
He didn't know how he felt.
The tickle of Kagome's hair under his nose shocked him, a sharp intake of breath following when he felt her arms wrap tightly around him. She placed her head on his chest, and he was sure she would be able to hear the thump of his heart at the proximity.
The scent of her so there drew him in, but he fought the urge to shove his face nose-first into her hair. He brought his arms up to loosely wrap around her, wary of the wonderful feeling of having her so close.
"It's OK," she mumbled into his shirt, so quiet even he almost didn't hear it. Inuyasha's grip on her tightened, drawing her a little closer. He placed his cheek against the top of her head, relishing the silky tresses against his skin. He'd give himself that.
He didn't need the sympathy, but he wanted it.
From her.
She squeezed his middle tightly before drawing back, the sweetest smile on her lovely face as she gazed up at him, "Want something to eat?"
He nodded once, swallowing the whine that tried to force it's way out of his throat when she pulled back from him altogether. Seeking comfort had never been his thing, but he could hardly control the physical reaction to the loss of her touch.
She was the only thing he knew anymore, and he didn't really know her at all.
His newfound lucidity was almost as suffocating as his previous quality of life, and it seemed navigating what had become of it weighed a little heavy for him to dwell on in large quantities. He felt neither here nor there, and the in-between was a complete headfuck.
Was he glad to be here? Or was it the only option?
And if he tried to leave right fucking now…would they even let him?
His mind wandered to the duffel that was now drenched in someone else's scent, the violation still sitting uncomfortably.
"Inuyasha. It's only been a few days. Give yourself some time," Inuyasha's eyes made contact with Kagome's, misplaced assuredness so blatant in their depths. She stood by the exit, but he hadn't moved to follow her, feet still planted in the place.
As he made a move to follow Kagome out the door, he felt the turn of his gut when she bestowed him with one of her killer smiles. On the surface, she seemed to have absolute faith in him. He didn't know why; he didn't feel like he'd earned the privilege.
But he'd try his best to live up to that. For her, and for himself.
Even if it didn't last.
Inuyasha licked the fork clean, a belch following that he couldn't have stopped if he tried. Not that he wanted to, beyond satisfied with himself as he surveyed his handiwork. The booth they occupied was now littered with containers he'd emptied, no hint of anything left behind.
"Good?" a giggle drifted to his ears, drawing his attention back to Kagome. She watched him from her side of the table, a pleased smile on her face.
He looked away from her, the weight of her gaze too much sometimes, "Yeah. Thanks."
"Want anything else?" she asked, picking at the food in front of her.
He snorted, the mass of empty vestibules around him discounting that, "Really, I'm good. I don't think I've ever eaten so much in my life." He patted his now full stomach for emphasis.
"Oh?" the tone of her questioning was odd - hardly conversational like it had been - and it forced him to bring his eyes back to hers.
She looked down at her food quickly, and he noticed the slight shift of her frame as she rearranged herself, an obviously uncomfortable gesture.
"Kagome," she wouldn't look at him, "Kagome."
She looked up slowly, and he scowled at the apprehension he saw, "What do you mean…Oh?"
It sounded dumb as fuck - as usual - but at this point, Inuyasha would question everything that had him second-guessing anything.
"It's just…I had a feeling that maybe…your medication might have been…messing with your senses…and such," she looked everywhere at him, suddenly becoming animated as she messed with the food she wasn't eating.
"And such?"
What the fuck was that supposed to mean?
The deep sigh that left Kagome had his ears flicking forward as she slumped against the table, lip jutting out when she pouted slightly, "You didn't need much sleep last night right? And you said yourself you don't remember eating this much?" she nudged a cup near her for good measure, "I just thought it might have made a difference. And…I think it did."
Inuyasha recalled how she encouraged him to use his nose when she'd first taken him to his room.
"Kagome…how much do you know?" his voice was quiet, timid as he braced himself for the answer.
He couldn't decipher the look she gave him, and he wasn't sure he wanted to.
"I've seen your records," she shifted in her seat, uncrossing her legs as she looked straight into his fucking soul.
"Which ones?" he croaked. Please, fuck, no.
"All of them."
Inuyasha felt the breath he'd been holding rush out of him, back coming to rest fully against the plush cushion of the booth. He felt his fingers twitch, the silence deafening as the seconds went by.
He allowed his head to fall back, resting it there as he gazed up at the ceiling.
He knew, he fucking knew they – she – had seen everything at this point, but the verbal confirmation had sucked the life out of him.
His psychiatric records were a fucking mess, to say the least, and the last person on earth he wanted to know anything about them seemed to know a little too much.
It was a reminder, a well-timed one, that she was not unlike the others here. That she was indeed no different from any other person that had been spying on him for fuck knows how long.
She had been watching him and analyzing him and stalking him too, and he needed to remember that.
No matter how he felt about her
"You've seen absolutely everything?" he didn't need to ask, but he might as well.
"…yes."
"Mm."
"Inuya-"
"Stop."
"Look, I-"
"Nope," he pushed himself up and out of his seat, stopped only by the soft warmth of her palm coming to rest against his hand.
"It's not as bad as you think."
Inuyasha felt his claws dig into the smooth surface of the table they rested on, heard the disjointed rumble around them that grew in volume.
He felt the loss of her hand just as he realized that sound had been him.
He was reluctant to look up and gauge her reaction, but curiosity got the best of him. When his eyes met hers, he was glad to see he hadn't frightened her.
But he was peeved to see that twinge of pity back.
Inuyasha pulled his hand back, biting the inside of his cheek when he felt the tug of his claws coming loose from its surface, "Why are you here, Kagome?" he levelled his gaze with hers.
He felt she owed him that much.
He heard the puff of air the left her lips as she deflated, watched as her eyes darted around his features, possibly looking for an out.
Inuyasha wasn't going to give it to her.
"You know why I'm here, you've told me why they are here," he threw his hand over his shoulder, gesturing to no one, "so, I'm gonna ask again. Why are you here, Kagome?"
Before he realized it, he was leaning over the table, saw her backing up into the cushion of the booth she still sat in.
"I remember you wanted to become a doctor. According to everyone and every platform you're on, you fucked off out of AC a long time ago," he felt the blood rushing to his ears, "but you're still here, and I want to know why."
Her lip quirked up ever so slightly before it dropped back into a frown, but he'd seen it, "You looked me up?"
Shit.
"No."
Lies.
"Ugh," Kagome rolled her eyes before clambering to get out of her seat, hair flipping over her shoulder as she went. She came to stand in front of him, deep blue eyes sizing him up as she went. Their size difference forced him to tip his head forward, gazing down at the cute little thing he was supposed to be mad at.
"What?" he asked when she made no move to speak.
"Why did you look me up Inuyasha?"
"I wanted to know what happened to you. Kind of like right now." His gaze narrowed on her, daring her to carry on. It wasn't necessarily a lie…it just wasn't the whole truth.
She contemplated him, eyes roving over his frame in a way that stirred something deep within him. She wasn't pleased with the answer, but he wasn't about to hand her the specifics, she already had enough of those. She tutted, crossing her arms under her chest in the most delightful way.
Don't look down, don't look down.
"I guess…I guess I owe you that much," she relented, the wrinkle of her brow smoothing out. She turned back to arrange herself in the booth, hands coming to rest on the table as they clasped together before her.
Inuyasha could tell she was uncomfortable, it was written all over her face as she became lost in thought. He slowly moved to sit back down across from her, worried any sudden movement might break the quiet that had settled over them. He watched as she bit into her lip, fighting the twitch in his fingers as the urge to reach across the table and make her stop that warred within him.
"It's hard talking about this because…I know you. Kind of," she began, a faint smile ghosting across her lips, "the others…they didn't know me before. They don't know me as Kagome."
He could see where she was coming from, eyes dropping to the small hands that were wringing together as she continued.
"Five years ago, I was attacked on my way home from school," her voice was steady, sure, "Boss located me not long after and I've been here ever since."
His eyes shot up, ears tipping forwards because he couldn't have heard her right, "What?"
"I…have a particular gift that some may find useful. Others…others want me gone because of it," she ran her hands through her hair, ruffling the locks as she went. He held his breath as a fresh burst of her scent washed over him with the gesture.
"Wait, when you said abilities, I thought you meant like…enhancements."
"No, these come naturally."
"…naturally? You're human."
"My codename? Priestess? It's so cheesy I know but…it's because I'm a Miko."
"Like…a reiki wielder?" Modern dilution had made it so that Reiki was just background noise, the few that had it in them blending into the sea of people that inhabited the city. Reiki was just a word, no more individualistic than anything else in modern times.
Mikos, however, were the stuff of urban legends.
"Yes, just…a little bit more than your average person walking around AC," she explained, although it wasn't much of an explanation.
Goosebumps blossomed along his flesh as the air around them crackled, a wave of energy he'd never felt before surging through him that had his teeth grinding together. His eyes widened as he saw the faint glow emanating from Kagome's hands that remained clasped firmly together on the table.
The initial burst of energy calmed somewhat, but he remained rigid, the shock to the system holding him hostage. He felt the sudden urge to run from the unfamiliar feeling that had manifested around him, but he was as enamoured by the display as he was spooked.
"It won't hurt you. I've learned how to control it. Thanks to the others," she breathed a deep sigh of relief, letting go of whatever she was holding onto as the glow dissipated between them. Her hair came to rest gently over her shoulders, picked up without his noticing by the unknown force.
He swallowed thickly, the instinct to flee still prevalent, "What was that?"
"Reiki. Purification energy. It's hard to put an exact science on it…even today."
"And what does it…"
"Combats…nullifies youki," her lips pursed together, the implication heavy around them.
"Oh," his gaze dropped to the table once more, "so you can…what, kill demons with it?"
"Renkotsu?" she quipped, "he's gone now."
The bow he'd seen her use on that video feed…the burst of light that followed it.
"That was you? Not just some fancy weapon?"
"No, not just some fancy weapon. Only I can use it. It helps me manifest…channel that energy into something solid. I don't always have to use it like that but…"
Inuyasha swallowed thickly, the need to protect barreling into something bigger before he could stop it, "so you just…run around killing bad guys? Putting yourself in danger like…like that?"
"It's not up to me Inuyasha," she urged, "that night…five years ago, I had to disappear. For good. It's not about what I want, it's about what I need. And that's to keep my family safe. If that means I have to fight along the way, so be it."
He could hear the determination in her voice, both pride and sorrow filling him with how sure she sounded.
"You haven't seen them since?"
"My family? No. They know I'm fine…" she trailed off, "that's enough."
They watched each other from across the table, the tone their conversation had taken adding a touch of realness Inuyasha had wanted but quickly regretted.
This girl, the one he could admit he as truly, madly, deeply in love with for no fucking reason, had suffered hardships he couldn't even begin to imagine. While he – the asshole that he was- was sitting pretty, blissfully unaware of just how lousy everyone had it outside the bubble he lived in.
He wasn't the only one who had been robbed.
"I'm sorry," the apology left his lips later than he would have liked, the awkward silence that had stretched between them broken by half-assed condolences.
"It's not your fault," Kagome insisted, "it always boils down to one person. And that isn't you."
"Naraku?"
"Naraku."
"Was he the one that…" he couldn't finish the sentence.
"No. He rarely does his own dirty work."
"He hurt you, though?"
She peeked up at him, trepidation marring her features. At that moment, she looked just like the girl he remembered. Small, unassuming, gorgeous.
She nodded slowly, hands wringing together once more as she let her eyes fall away from his.
His blood boiled at the thought of anyone laying a hand on her.
"What do you need me to do?"
Fin
