Inutori I'm thinking of changing my penname to Torineko, how does that suit with the readers? Since, as some of you know, I have an original character named Inutori and it gets so confusing trying to keep us separate.
Inuyasha: Goes fine with me, but I'll still call you wench.
Kagome: Inuyasha! What have I told you about name-calling?
Inutori Oh, and do people want to have Inuyasha's rosary in this one? Because I know just the way to get it in…
Inuyasha: Iie! Iie! And iie!
Inutori You don't have any say in the matter, Inuyasha. ::looks back at readers:: Well, review and vote: Inutori vs Torineko & No Rosary vs Rosary
Kagome: And Inutori doesn't own Inuyasha or any of the other crew members…so go read the story…

Chapter 3
Slippery Snake

Turning on the light, he saw a dark figure out on the deck connected to the room. It seemed to be looking back at him with mild surprise and as Inuyasha ran forward, the figure jumped up onto the railing, preparing to get away.

Before they were able to make their escape, Inuyasha grabbed the masked figure's waist and pulled him back into the room. Holding the person with one arm, Inuyasha ripped off their mask to reveal…

"K-Kikyou?"

They sat there for a moment, Inuyasha trying to register exactly what was going on. Inuyasha held the black-clad girl tightly to his chest and watched as her eye twitched in anger.

"I am not Kikyou, I am the Snake." And with that she somehow managed to wiggle out of his strong grasp and head back outside. She perched on the railing before turning to look back at the stunned American agent. "And if you think I'm Kikyou Higurashi, boy are you wrong."

Inuyasha snapped back to reality when he realized that she had spoken that last sentence to him in English. Well, there goes the language barrier crashing like a broken dam around him. Strange, he really didn't know that the girl could speak English. Though it did make his job a whole lot easier since he wasn't that fluent in the Japanese language.

The next thing Inuyasha's brain registered was the Kikyou Higurashi part. Who was that? The Kikyou he had referred to was Kikyou Miko. Shrugging, his little male brain not wanting to think anymore, Inuyasha crawled into his soft bed and disappeared beneath the blankets.

She pressed a hand to her chest when she was a safe distance away. That man was strong; too strong. Not only that, but he had seen her face.

Perhaps it was about time she moved on to a new city. But no, this was her home, and she wasn't prepared to leave without a fight.

And that man had mistaken her for Kikyou. Did he mean 'Perfect Kikyou': the one who couldn't do anything wrong and backed out of the family business? She never wanted to be mistaken for that traitor again. Even if she hadn't seen the girl in several years, she was always stuck in that witch's trail.

"Kikyou this, Kikyou that. Kikyou would never mess that up." Boy had it been a shock to her parents when Kikyou disowned them and left the city, perhaps even the country.

The Snake leapt from rooftop to rooftop in her escape from the hotel, heading back home where no one would find her. Her thoughts drifted back to the man in the hotel room. He was twenty-five tops, and he seemed to have the strength of ten men. That could prove to be a problem for her line of work. And she wasn't about to break her code of honor: once you pick a target, you must follow through with it until you succeed or you're caught.

Finding new courage, the Snake ran up the steps of an old shrine and leapt into the Goshinboku tree near her second story window. She found the branch that would take her right up to the house and ran along it until she was close enough to jump. Once in her room, she immediately began removing the slick black, full-body leotard and other covering and putting on her pajamas for the night.

Listening for any sounds, Kagome Higurashi crept out of her room and found the loose tile in the bathroom and placed her outfit in it. She checked the other loose tiles and found that her little brother Mini Shark was still out training with their mom, the Tiger.

Shrugging because this was nothing out of the ordinary, Kagome went back to her room and slipped into her cozy bed, quickly drifting off to dreamland.

Inuyasha met up with the two Japanese Agents the next morning, since they had discovered that they were all on the same side, searching for the same criminal.

"You know, what I don't understand is why the Americans decide to stick their noses into Japan's business, anyway." Sango Takajima ate a cup of ramen calmly with her chopsticks at the restaurant table sitting with Miroku and Inuyasha.

Inuyasha merely shrugged at her comment, knowing he wasn't to reveal exactly why he was after the Snake to these agents.

Miroku didn't even seem to be paying attention to the conversation at hand as he stared at a group of high school girls eating their lunch.

"Is he always like this?" Inuyasha slouched down slightly in his seat and glanced at the other male occupant of the table.

"From what I've seen, yeah. But he's been my partner for four days. Unfortunately it's customary to keep a partner for at least a week before trying to ditch them." Sango sighed and continued eating her noodles.

Inuyasha smirked lightly at that comment, and tried to continue a decent conversation. "In America they try to see if two people are compatible to work together before assigning them, it makes for a lot less hassle."

"We do that here too. Apparently they think I'm perfect for keeping Houshi-sama in line." Sango's eye twitched slightly and her gaze followed Miroku as he stood up and approached the table he had been eyeing earlier. She sighed and stood up, knowing exactly what was about to happen.

The American agent watched curiously from his seat as Miroku got down on one knee and asked the prettiest girl at the table a question.

"Will you do me the honor of bearing my son?"

The girl he was holding the hands of turned as red as a tomato and giggled lightly, until Sango's hand came crashing down on her partner's head. "Sorry about that, miss, he just was released from an asylum for good behavior, but apparently he'll have to go back. I'm his probation officer. Please accept my apology."

With that Sango grabbed the collar of Miroku's shirt and dragged him back to where Inuyasha was still seated.

Inuyasha leaned over to look down at the agent's face, only to see he had those little anime squiggly eyes, signifying that he was out cold. "That's quite the powerful punch you pack." The American agent was strong himself, but he was still extremely impressed with what this girl could do.

"It comes in handy." Sango smiled lightly at him as she picked up her chopsticks and continued eating her ramen.

Just then, Inuyasha spotted a girl walking towards them that looked awfully familiar. It was…

"K-Kikyou?" He blinked a few times, trying to see if he was imagining things. But there she stood, in a Japanese schoolgirl uniform with some other people he didn't know.

When she spotted him, Inuyasha thought he saw her tense up slightly, but she was relaxed within a split second and continued walking with her friends. She was laughing and smiling, not something Inuyasha was used to seeing on Kikyou's face. He stood up and intercepted her, causing her friends to stop as well and stare at him.

"Ooh, Kagome, is he your boyfriend?" One of the girls shrieked. She had short hair held back with a hair band.

"If he's not, I want him!" Another one squealed. This one had wavy hair that went past her shoulders.

By this time Inuyasha realized that this most certainly wasn't Kikyou and he had to think fast to come up with an excuse. Then he remembered that he had seen a Kikyou-look-alike last night. Putting two and two together…

"Will you please come with me, miss?" He grabbed her upper arm and tried to drag her back to the restaurant.

"Iie! I'm going to be late for school! Ite! Let go!" She screamed and struggled, but it wasn't the same as the girl who had struggled last night. This girl wasn't as hard to keep a hold of. "Ite, ite, ite!" She pounded his forearm with her free hand, trying to get him to release her.

Inuyasha let go of her with a growl and she immediately took off in the direction of a school Inuyasha had already seen nearby.

"What was that all about?" Sango was glaring at Inuyasha with an evil menace. "That better not have been what I think it was."

"Keh. She looked like the Snake." Inuyasha slumped down and crossed his arms.

"What are you talking about? That was Kagome Higurashi, a senior at Judo High School. She's 17. It's impossible for her to be the Snake!" Sango glared at him even more menacingly.

"You seem to know a lot about her, how is that?"

"I was a senior when she was a freshman, she and I got really close after I showed her the ways of high school living." Sango's eyes seemed to glaze over as she reminisced on old times.

But Inuyasha still was suspicious of this Kagome wench, so he'd keep an eye on her.

"Well, I need to go find some leads, so I'll catch you later." Sango stood up and grabbed Miroku by his shirt collar and began to drag him down the street.

A random thought popped into Inuyasha's head: 'I sure hope his clothes are durable, because if they're not he's going to have a hole in an area I'm pretty sure he doesn't want exposed to the world.'

Inuyasha perched silently in a sakura tree just outside the school building, watching students come out of the prison-like structure. That's when he spotted the one he was looking for.

Her cheery composure sickened him, since he was used to that face always carrying a more mellow tone. But for some reason the change was nice at the same time. And so he leapt quickly from tree to tree with inhuman speed.

That is, until she stopped and looked directly at him.

I
Do
Not
Sleep

Inuyasha: Kagome, put that down!
Kagome: ::holding bow and arrow:: No, Inuyasha! I will spare no mercy!
Miroku: ::sweat drops:: Isn't Kikyou the one that wants Inuyasha dead?
Inuyasha: Thank you, Miroku! See Kagome? You don't want me dead!
Kagome: Watch me, I'll pin you to the Goshinboku with so many arrows that you won't ever be able to wake up again!
Sango: ::whispering to Miroku:: What did Inuyasha do this time to get Kagome so upset?
Miroku: I think he intruded on her bath.
Sango: ::whacking him on the head:: Hentai!
Inutori: ::looks at readers:: Can YOU guess what Inuyasha did to tick Kagome off so much? Review and find out what happens in next chapter's ending author's note.