Inutori: Wow. I was finally able to finish another chapter of Japanese Snake. Exciting.
Inuyasha: Not as exciting as you getting sued for abusing me.
Inutori: I am not being sued! But I don't own Inuyasha so please don't sue me! For those of you coming back to this chapter after months of waiting, below is a fairly brief summary of the story up to this chapter to refresh your memories.

So far…Inuyasha Jidai is a FBI agent trying to catch the infamous Naraku. His partner Kikyou Miko was killed, so he was sent to Japan by Kaede Sutruss (his superior) to employ the assistance of the Japanese Snake (an infamous thief herself). He met some Japanese agents, Sango Taijiya and Miroku Houshi while there, and discovered the Snake's identity. He threatened Kagome's life and forced her to come to America with him. She called Sango and told her what was going on so now the Japanese agents have come to America. Kagome went to a shady bar and enlisted a boy named Shippou to dig up everything possible on Inuyasha and Naraku…after going shopping for furnishings for Inuyasha's decrepit looking apartment. The next night after reading up on Naraku, Kagome sneaks out of the apartment and Inuyasha chases after her. They are captured in the middle of the desert and are locked in a room with Shippou…and we continue from there…

Chapter 10
Youkai Enterprises

Inuyasha slowly opened his eyes to see a gray ceiling sitting above him. The ground beneath him was hard, but at least he had a pillow and some sort of blanket. It wasn't very effective though: only his mid-section was staying warm.

He yawned and pulled his left hand up to rub his eyes, trying to abolish the worn feeling controlling his body.

His pillow twitched, and his blanket started moving, making him jump slightly and lift his head to look at his chest. Amber met sapphire and Inuyasha realized that his pillow and blanket were actually Kagome curled around him.

Kagome looked just as out of it as he did, if not more so, which boosted his ego slightly.

"Where are we?"

The raven-haired girl cocked an eyebrow at him. "We got caught by Naraku, remember?"

"Nuh-uh! This is Sesshoumaru's place!" An unfamiliar voice chimed into the conversation with excitement. Sounded like a kid, and smelt like a fox. Thrilling.

"Sesshoumaru? You mean from Youkai Enterprises?" Kagome looked away from Inuyasha to wherever the kit must have been.

"Yeah."

As Inuyasha's mind woke up even more, it clicked in his head. Sesshoumaru…oh no.

Kagome lightly traced a circle on Inuyasha's chest, confusing him.

"Kagome, what are you doing?" He looked down at her and watched her look back at him, only pausing momentarily in the movement of her finger.

"Just thinking. You used to work here, didn't you?" She spoke softly and smoothly, calming his own nerves but at the same time making him go rigid.

"Err..yeah…"

That was a part of his past that he would much rather forget about. But how did she know about it? And why was Sesshoumaru in LA, anyway? Hadn't he moved his operations to Japan?

The door to the cell slowly dragged open, revealing a tall, imposing figure. "Inuyasha, I see you survived. How disappointing."

Inuyasha looked wearily at the figure while pushing himself up into a semblance of a sitting position. There was no mistaking the piercing golden eyes of his elder brother. "Like something that wimpy could kill me, keh!"

Kagome seemed to tense slightly, curling up behind him and letting him use her for support as he attempted to sit up.

"I suppose not. But now I will kill you." Sesshoumaru pulled out a gun, pointing it at Inuyasha.

"Wait!" Kagome pulled Inuyasha to her and glared up at Sesshoumaru, challenging him silently.

"I see you've gotten yourself a wench, little brother. I'll just have to kill her too." The silver-haired youkai didn't seem fazed by Kagome's threatening gaze.

"No one's killing anybody." Kagome stood up from behind Inuyasha and puffed out her chest with pride. "You will let the three of us go and-"

"Why would I do that, woman?"

Kagome puffed out her cheeks with anger. "Because we're the ones that are going to bring Naraku down. I'm pretty sure even a snot like you doesn't care for pests like Naraku."

"You're going to dispose of Naraku." It wasn't a question, but a mocking statement, from what Inuyasha could tell. If it weren't for the fact that Sesshoumaru acted like a statue, Inuyasha was sure that his brother would be rolling around in laughter on the floor.

"That's right, Sesshoumaru. Inuyasha and I are going to bring Naraku's crime ring to a close."

"You're amusing woman. I guess I'll let you live for the moment." Sesshoumaru stuffed the gun back into his trench coat and then spun on his heel to walk out of the cold room, leaving the door wide open.

"Well, that was easy." Kagome smiled and gave Inuyasha a peace sign.

Inuyasha nodded silently, thinking to himself that it was too easy. Something was wrong with the picture, but he couldn't place just what it was. He stood up slowly, wary of his weak and tired state.

"Kagome-chan!" The little fox-kit leapt onto Kagome's shoulder and clutched her shirt tightly. "He's scary!"

Inuyasha watched as Kagome eyed him quietly, noting the fact that her blank expression didn't waver.

"Let's go, Shippou-chan." Kagome took a step forward then looked back at Inuyasha. "Can you walk?"

Apparently she had noticed his labored breathing and wanted to know how much it would hinder them. "Keh. Of course." Like he would admit to her that he was weak?

Kagome came up to his side and slung his arm over her shoulders, looking at him with a smile. "Come on, ya big oaf." Together they trudged toward the exit slowly.

Despite Sesshoumaru saying that they were free to go, Inuyasha got the feeling the men in the fort weren't so considerate.

His speculations were proved correct when a gun shot pierced the door next to Kagome's ear as they came upon the threshold of the dungeon. She dived to the side, taking Inuyasha and Shippou with her to the safety the wall provided.

Sango stretched lazily at the café table, looking at Miroku's unconscious form on the floor. Nothing had changed since they had come to America. At least Miroku's English stunk, giving him a disadvantage as he tried to pick up girls.

Despite that, he apparently knew "Will you bear my child?" in every language imaginable. With a sigh she stood up and bent over to grab Miroku's shirt collar to drag him off to some other place.

Kagome hadn't answered her cell phone, but then again, Kagome had never said that she even HAD her cell phone.

Grumbling, Sango sought out a phone booth where the was sure to be some sort of phone directory. Unfortunately, LA was so big not every person in the city was listed in this particular phone book. Maybe she could at least look up the FBI headquarters. She could probably track Inuyasha down from there.

Sango smiled at the information provided in the directory as to where the federal buildings were located. Now to just waltz in and ask where Inuyasha lived…or would that be a little too suspicious?

Should she tell them that she had reason to believe that the Snake was in LA? No, that too could be seen as suspicious since the FBI were the ones that wanted Kagome in the first place.

As she continued sifting excuses through her head, she found herself in front of the building she was searching for. Sango looked down to Miroku and saw that he was awake, with his arms folded and a pout on his face about being dragged through the streets of an unfamiliar city.

With a smile she pulled him to his feet so that he could walk into the building with her in some sort of dignified manner.

When they entered, Sango was met by people in suits and ties bustling to and fro, randomly stopping to exchange a few words and then moving on. One man caught her attention and made her stop in her tracks.

There was no way. It couldn't be HIM.

She ran across the large foyer and jerked the man to face her violently. His eyes widened in fear and she confirmed her suspicions.

It was Hojou. But what was he doing in the FBI HQ?

With her little display, security guards pounced on her and cuffed her hands behind her back. She had been thrown off guard by the appearance of Hojou and so could do nothing to retaliate, unfortunately.

To her satisfaction, Hojou was trembling, apparently having recognized her as she had identified him.

Miroku's cries of "Sango-sama" barely reached her conscious thoughts as she continued to stare down Hojou even as the guards started to drag her off. They were speaking to her as well, something about her rights, but she couldn't catch half of it since her English really wasn't that much better than Miroku's.

But why was Hojou HERE? Hadn't Kagome noticed him? If she had, is he part of the reason she hadn't contacted Sango yet?

Sango was no longer aware of her surroundings, just trying to decipher what Hojou being at the FBI building meant.

Kagome crouched low, clutching tightly the gun she had somehow confiscated from that first goon. Just around the corner waited another bozo much like the other five they had already come across. The only difference was that this guy had a semi-automatic weapon.

She glanced back at Inuyasha, who was sweating heavily from overexertion and Shippou sitting in his lap, trembling with fear. A wave of courage ran through her and she pushed her head and right arm around the corner quickly, firing a quick shot at the strange crook's forehead.

The bullet hit its mark and Kagome ran ahead to trade weapons and check the ammunition, grabbing a few rounds off of the dead man's belt. Kagome turned back and fetched Inuyasha, dragging him to where the man lay.

With a small prayer, Kagome checked around the next few corners to make sure the coast was clear. Unfortunately two guys had barricaded the hall up ahead with a couple of tables and were now taking aim at her.

She ducked into an perpendicular hallway, gaining her courage before leaping out into the open and pulling the trigger on the new gun she held. The two men were only able to get a single shot off each before her bullets hit their mark.

One of the bullets whizzed by her ear and the other one embedded itself in her left thigh, making her drop to her knees in pain. Kagome hissed to keep from screaming and looked down at the bloody mess that was once her leg. She ripped off her black shirt, leaving only her white tank top to cover her bra, and then proceeded to rip the black material into shreds and knot it around her thigh.

Figuring that she'd more than likely need the rest of the material later, she stuffed it into the pocket of her black leather pants quickly. Looking down at her injured leg, Kagome stood up slowly and ran back to Inuyasha and Shippou, resisting the urge to scream in agony.

She took up the job of half-carrying, half-dragging Inuyasha further out of the hideout. At least she hoped she was headed out. Never having been here before, she really didn't have a clue.

Shippou looked at her with concern. "What happened to your shirt?" He hadn't noticed the extra fabric on her leg, obviously. And with the scents of death and blood surrounding them, he would probably not be able to smell it either.

That was good for now. They didn't need to worry about her.

Her main goal was to get Inuyasha and Shippou out of this god-forsaken place alive. So far so good, but who knows what other kinds of goons and obstacles they could encounter.

It wasn't like she took whole gangs on every day. She smiled with that thought. In fact, she had only taken on a whole syndicate once before, but she had had Mini Shark, Tiger, and Shark with her at the time. That was when she had still thought there was a chance to save Kikyou…oh how wrong she had been. Kikyou had even gone so far as to shoot their father through the head…

The memory brought the taste of bile to her throat, making her want to get on a different train of thought. She had to stay focused on the task at hand, not reminisce about the past.

She sensed someone approaching from an intersecting hall, and quickly shoved her trio into a random room, hoping that it would give them the cover they needed. To her pleasant surprise, the room she had happened to enter was the garage. A slick black motorcycle with a side car sat towards the end of the garage near the doors.

"Perfect."

"What's perfect, Kags?" Inuyasha spoke tiredly, barely having the energy to lift his head. Kagome was beginning to believe that the piece of material they had covered Inuyasha's mouth with had been covered in some sort of poisonous substance for youkai that the hanyou had been forced to inhale.

Hopefully he would recover soon. "Don't worry about it, 'Yasha." Kagome breathed deeply to gather some more energy from her rapidly decreasing reserves. 'Just a little further.'

She stuffed Inuyasha into the side car and looked over the bike. "Shippou, do you think you could hotwire this baby?" Kagome looked at the bright green eyes of the little kitsune youkai.

"You betchya!" Once again she was reminded of Souta and the eagerness of the younger ones to please the more experienced criminals.

Kagome nodded her head at him, realizing how heavy it was becoming with her own fatigue. She turned away from the bike and rushed to the large garage doors, assessing a way to open them.

Subtly she pressed a hand to her thigh and she flinched with pain. As soon as they were safely away from here she was going to have to dig out the bullet. That wasn't going to be very fun.

With her good leg, Kagome kicked the latch off of one of the doors and yanked the door up a few inches. She laid down on her stomach and looked out of the crack. There were a few guards outside that apparently hadn't noticed the noise she had made or the movement. With glee she realized that, other than the men, it was a straight shot out of there.

Her thoughts came to a halt as she realized she hadn't a clue which way she should drive. The city wasn't visible from the hideout, and there was miles of desert in every direction. If she knew what time of day it was, she might have been able to use the sun as her guide back to safety. After all, it was nearly a straight shot west back to the city.

Kagome glanced around, trying to see if there was a clock or something else she could use like a compass around. She found a little compass on one of the other bikes sitting in the garage. Exerting a little effort, she broke it off of the handle bar and pocketed it.

She looked over at Shippou just as the engine roared to life. They were going to have to make this quick.

Her raven haired swished behind her as she rushed back over to the garage doors and flung them open just as Shippou drove the bike up to it.

In the matter of a split second, Kagome was on the bike, steering with one hand and shooting at the guards with the other. Behind her, men emerged from the door that led into the hideout. She cursed herself for not slashing the tires of the other vehicles.

Not like she still had her knife, and the gun would have made too much noise. She screamed to Shippou, telling him to drive, and flipped around so she was facing their pursuers.

The round in the gun was empty, and she let it drop into her hand before chucking it at one of the cyclists behind them. She clicked another round into place and took aim at each of the men. One by one she took them out, surprised that none of their bullets were hitting their mark.

With that thought crossing her mind, Kagome felt two bullets hit her arm and she clenched her teeth together. They were going to get out of this ALIVE.

Kagome pushed Inuyasha's limp body further down into the side car to keep him from getting shot and then continued to shoot at anybody who chased them. For a split second Kagome could have sworn she had seen Sesshoumaru's silver hair blowing from on top of the hideout, watching them. But soon they were too far away for her to confirm that observation.

After a few minutes, and two rounds of bullets, Kagome had successfully stopped all of their would-be killers. She flipped back around and took control from Shippou, who had transformed into a larger person to manage the bike.

He popped back into his true form and climbed down to sit in the side car with Inuyasha.

Kagome pulled out the small compass she had confiscated and veered right, traveling west northwest. Hopefully she'd hit one of the many highways that led to LA before too long.

"Kagome-chan!"

She glanced down at Shippou quickly, yelling back, "What?"

"Your arm! You're bleeding!" Shippou pointed to the two bullet holes in her right arm with worry, to which she responded by shrugging and squeezing on the gas.

Sesshoumaru lazily tapped his claws against the counter and listened to the deep, malicious voice on the other end of the line. He had already had to endure a good half of an hour listening to the man repeat the same thing over and over again, just rewording it.

"You had him in your custody, why isn't he dead?!" The hiss in the speaker's voice irritated Sesshoumaru almost as much as having to listen to this pathetic fool in the first place.

"Because YOUR men couldn't kill him." Sesshoumaru leaned back in his chair, allowing the fan to blow cool air across his face. It was actually nice to see the creep's minions all fall to their deaths.

"I thought you would have no problem killing Agent Jidai. I suppose I overestimated you. Perhaps I'll have to add a few more scars to your pretty girl's face."

Sesshoumaru felt a growl form from the back of his throat. "Do not touch her." He leaned forward and glared at the wood of his desk, as if that was what had threatened him. The tall man then stood up, tense as a board as anger coursed through his veins.

"Oh, but I expected better of you, Sesshoumaru-sama. If you mess up again, it won't be just physical scars that I'll give the girl."

With that he heard the resounding click of the phone being hung up on the other end. He clenched his fists after he slammed the phone down onto the receiver. The sharp claws bit into his palms and drew blood, but he didn't care.

"Rin."

I
Do
Not
Sleep

Inutori: And the plot thickens…who is Hojou? And what's up with Sesshoumaru? To be honest, I only know the answer to one of those questions, but my fingers seem to know despite me. The story flows onto the computer without me really thinking about it too much.
Kagome: Why did I have to get us out of the hideout? Why couldn't Inuyasha have done it and I be incapacitated?
Inuyasha: Good question. I don't want to be thought weak by this wench ::pointing to Kagome::
Inutori: Quit your whining ::to readers:: Hope you enjoyed the chapter and I also hope it was long enough for now! Review for me, onegai?!