"What is the old geezer going on about?" Urasue asked Tsubaki with fingertips together in front of her lips; her elbows perched up on her desk.
"I'm right here—rude!" Totosai jerked around abruptly from writing his chicken-scratch on the whiteboard. It was positioned in the center of Urasue's office. "I was saying, the young, nice- unlike you two- lady Kagome said she had kissed the Shikon right before it shut down completely. I speculate it was initiating unforsaken territory for the Shikon, that being love of course, so I programmed them to shut down before they evoke human feelings. Ya'll ever seen that Will Smith movie? We have to prepare for that."
"Aw I love that American actor." Tsubaki chimed in, losing interest in what the old man had to say.
"Not my point, woman!" Totosai scolded, throwing the dry-eraser at her with excellent precision. "Somehow our beta-tester got one of our Shikons to mimic human feelings beyond what we promised as a company. This is great data and unfortunately one we need to fix for legality issues of course."
"How do you suppose the Shikon managed that on its own, Totosai?" Urasue challenged.
"You forget the human portion we incorporate. Those emotions didn't just stem from nothing." Totosai glared back. "We're playing a more dangerous game with this hybrid DNA than we initially thought."
"None of the other Shikons are expressing any similarities in my beta-testers' evaluations. It doesn't make sense. Cancel the factory reset. I want it shut down completely. Take inu-youaki off our list of experimental testing." Urasue grabbed her sunglasses and purse and excused herself out of her office. It was unfortunate, but she was going to have to find a different model for her client Kikyo, and fast.
()()()()
"Kagome as you fucking crazy?" Miroku tried to whisper as Kagome shuffled through some cabinets in an office she found unlocked next to the bathrooms.
"Probably. How much do you know about youkai law?"
"Uh, definitely not an expert in it." Miroku said with sass in his voice as he looked around the room, hoping not to be spotted by someone. "Can't you just go to the bathroom like a normal person?"
Kagome pulled out a VHS tape and nonchalantly took it over to the bulky tv in the room. Similar to the ones she remembered they would roll into the classrooms when it was a movie day.
"You're a cop, aren't you? Protect me. I'm just trying to figure out if they're sketchy or not." She slipped in the tape and turned on the TV.
"They so kindly gave you a tour, I think we're in the clear." He argued with a roll of his eyes. "What'd you find?"
"Looks like a court ruling." Kagome watched more without sound. "Holy shit. It's Sesshomaru's brother."
Miroku took a closer look. "That's who you think your doll-thing was modeled after?"
"No, now I know for a fact it was." She watched the youkai on the fuzzy tv screen. His eyes glaring with hatred in pools of red and blue. His fluorescent white hair appeared to have a life of its own beside him, graciously. "Even so, he had a family. How could his body just be completely claimed by the youkai district itself? Aisha was a donor so I guess, but…Shouldn't the families know?"
"I'll have to run an investigation down at the station and do some research on youkai law. There aren't too many roaming the streets in the human district, and if there is, they're in hiding."
"I wonder what he did. Sesshomaru seems to dislike him."
"I'm sure it takes a lot to be put on death row in the youkai district. Who knows. Can we get out of here now?"
"Yeah, yeah you baby. I should have brought Sango." Kagome gathered her things, making sure she had her last check on her.
As they were in the hallway looking for the exit, Tsubaski ran into them, a clipboard close to her chest.
"Oh, Kagome. I'm glad you're here. Urasue wanted me to have you fill these out before you left." She presented the clipboard and Kagome forced a smile. She was running out of time to find an elaborate plan to save InuYasha. It was difficult to do when he was lifeless on an exam table, inside a vaulted room.
"What's going to happen to him?" Kagome asked. She was hoping the beta-testers got a free Shikon as compensation, but that was wishful thinking.
"They're actually quite puzzled with what happened, so I can't say I know the answer to that. Something about you elicited its human feelings which they otherwise thought were locked up tightly. But that's what these beta-tests are for, I suppose." Tsubaki simply shrugged it off. Tsubaki excused herself, telling Kagome she could slide the papers under Urasue's office door when she was finished.
Kagome retreated to the meeting room that was unlocked to fill out the form. It was a questionnaire about her experience with the Shikon. She grew more defensive as she read on with the questions.
"Kagome, what's wrong?" Miroku asked, placing a hand on her shoulder. Her face was evident she had made a discovery.
"They knew about my family the whole time?" Kagome's chest rose and fell at an increasing rate. "That's why I was nominated to fucking beta-test?"
Miroku picked up the papers to read. They were personal questions that asked if the shikon helped the grieving process and such. The only other person that knew Kagome was grieving was her friend Ayumi who had suggested Kagome for the project.
"I'm sure Ayumi just wanted to help you." Miroku offered. "I'm sure there was no ill intent—"
Despite all reasoning, Kagome still felt hurt and like she was used. She despised feeling vulnerable. Just who exactly was the beta-tester here? Kagome had lost her family in a car accident. They were on their way to her graduation ceremony but never made it. The questionnaire managed to reopen some wounds Kagome promised herself would never revisit. She no longer had any desire to fill any of it out.
"If I would have known this is why Ayumi recommended me I would have never—"
Miroku wanted to argue with his friend but he knew sometimes it was better to just sit tight and listen. He learned that best from his wife. Kagome didn't like the whole 'consoling' factor when it came to losing her family. She purposely shut everyone out.
A heart-wrenching roar echoed through the hallway as if someone was in immense pain; it almost sounded inhumane.
"What the hell was that?" Miroku began to get up to look around. He had wished he came in uniform.
()()()()
"Totosai, what's happening in there!?" Tsubaki grabbed at her hair from outside of the vaulted room.
Totosai looked at Tsubaki with his usual expression of absence. "Relax, it's in restraints. Awake apparently, but in restraints nonetheless."
They both watched in horror as a fist outline was punched through the vault door. Tsubaki's eyes were nearly bulging out as much as Totosai's; she searched him for an answer.
"Well then. Every man for himself." Totosai concluded and began to frantically run off, leaving a fuming Tsubaki. There was always something that happened whenever their boss was out of the office. She pressed on her earpiece as another jut towards the vault was attempted to open it.
"I need security to the second-floor vault immediately!"
A woman skidded into the room, with a short bob of black hair complimented with a red ribbon.
"What's the problem ma'am?"
Before Tsubaki could whine that the only female security guard came to her aid, the vault burst open vehemently by their Inu-shikon, scaring her out of her wits. She didn't sign up for this.
It was InuYasha, but emulating a more demonic demeanor than Kagome had grown to know and love. His hair was disheveled, expressing areas of both white and black unevenly. His fangs were poking through his lips ferociously and his eyes were cold.
The young security guard, Yura, wasted no time in utilizing her abilities of hair that shot out from her wrists in an attempt to restrain the shikon. Tsubaki was impressed by the secret abilities of the security guard. The silk like material wrapped around InuYasha and Yura dug her heels into the ground for support. InuYasha struggled slightly and growled deeply in his throat.
"These things don't have a fail-safe shut down?" Yura grunted through her teeth.
"Only Urasue and Totosai would know and that sonofabitch ran!"
"Where's Kagome?" InuYasha asked impatiently, his voice sounding like it was traveling through a voice-alternator. Tsubaki and Yura hadn't heard the shikons speak personally, but they certainly didn't picture them sounding anything like now. His arms flexed enough to snap the silk restraints. He caught hold of the frayed ends and tugged them to the side, taking Yura flying with them.
Tsubaki took off running, kicking off her heels so she could make more distance. InuYasha took a deep whiff of the air in search of Kagome's scent and treaded forward robotically.