Inutori: I'm back! But I don't own Inuyasha yet, sorry!

Chapter 11
Bullet Infested

Kagome hissed at the pain in her arm. She poked at her appendage with the knife again before putting the sharp object back into the boiling pot of water and pulling out the pliers. Preparing for the pain by clamping her teeth shut, Kagome dug the tool into her arm and secured it onto the bullet embedded in her skin.

Fortunately only one of the two bullets that had shot her arm had stuck. The other one had just grazed her arm, ripping open the flesh. That had been easy enough to fix with a needle and thread. However, the other bullet had embedded itself in her upper arm and it needed to come out.

Inuyasha was unconscious on the couch and she had sent Shippou off to dispose of the bike and told him not to return to Inuyasha's under ANY circumstance. She was sure Shippou would be fine…as for Inuyasha? Well, that all depended on how strong his will to live was and how fast his youkai blood could combat the poison.

With a yank Kagome ripped the bullet out, putting it in the boiling pot of water for lack of a better place to put it. She returned the pliers to the water and picked up the needle and thread again, lacing up her skin and pausing after every prick to let the pain die down a bit.

Despite the globs of alcohol she had poured on her arm, it still hurt like crazy. She finally finished stitching up her arm and picked up the knife to cut the end of the thread after it was knotted.

After the tools were all safely boiling in the water again, Kagome slowly began to wrap her upper arm with the white bandages she had found in the bathroom.

She finished soon enough and then looked down at her leg and cringed. Hesitating momentarily, Kagome reached down to untie the remains of her shirt and toss them into the waste basket. Her leg was oozing a sick yellow puss along with a little blood.

Lovely.

Being careful not to aggravate her wound too much more was challenging and she had to cut off the majority of the left pant leg in order to free her appendage. She then took off her pants entirely before proceeding to pour alcohol over the wound.

The pain overwhelmed her briefly and she flung her head back to face the ceiling as the liquid penetrated the hole in her thigh. Kagome chanted, "It's necessary," over and over again as she tried to resist crying.

She then grabbed the ice packs that she had set on the counter and placed them between her chair and her thigh, allowing the cold to begin to numb her leg. Her stomach turned over once before she picked up the knife and put it to her skin to open the hole more in order to retrieve the bullet.

Sango sat in the white room and listened with deaf ears to the men interrogating her.

Hojou.

The last time she had seen him was when she was a senior in high school. What was he doing here? What the worst part of it was, was that Sango thought that Hojou was dead. He couldn't have escaped the explosion Kikyou had set off.

What was going on?

"Takajima! Answer the question!"

Sango jumped and looked up at the two men standing before her and then beyond them to the dark mirror that was really a one-way window. Now she knew what all of the people she had interrogated felt like. That brought a humorless grin to her face.

"Why is an agent of the Japanese government attacking American FBI?!"

Should she tell the truth? It's not like she could make her situation any worse. Why not?

"Because man, Hojou, Takajima watch die four years past." Sango eyed each of the men as they cocked their eyebrows at her. She sighed inwardly as she regretted not paying more attention in her English class back in high school. Her words probably didn't make any sense to them.

A voice of an elderly woman filled the room, "That's enough, Harris, Morgan. Leave."

The two agents nodded and shuffled out of the room, only to be replaced by an elderly woman with a patch over one eye. She was short and plump, reminding Sango of paintings depicting ugliness. That was mean of her to think, but she brushed that off as she watched the woman quietly.

"Good afternoon, Agent Takajima. I hope your visit hasn't been too uncomfortable."

Sango merely gave the lady an incredulous look. "Uncomfortable?"

"What you said to the agents. What did you mean by it?" The old lady leaned forward and Sango was bombarded by the cologne only an old lady would use.

"Exact sound like. Man die in explosion four year past…ano…Takajima thought Hojou die…until Takajima saw Hojou in morning…" Sango tried to lean away from the woman, but her stiff wooden chair prevented that.

"And under what circumstances was this explosion?" The lady leaned even closer, forcing Sango to smell the old woman's raunchy breath.

"Naraku." Under the pressure, Sango couldn't seem to put together a full sentence in what broken English she knew. The old hag's stench was making her light-headed.

To her relief and joy, the woman stepped back a foot. "Naraku, huh?" There was a long pause as the woman seemed to consider something. "I'm glad we could have this chat. Sorry to inconvenience you." The stinky woman waved at her before leaving, allowing for two men to come in and remover her handcuffs.

She rubbed her wrists lightly and followed the two officers out of the small room and into another room where they handed her the belongings that they had earlier confiscated. Sango pulled out her cell phone and discovered that she had a few new voice mail.

On her way out of the building she listened to the messages.

"Sango, hey, it's Kagome." There was a pause, and Sango could hear her strained breathing. "I know you were coming here to help me out, but I think that…you should get out now…this isn't going to be as simple as I had first…anticipated…" The fear in Kagome's voice made Sango grip the phone tighter than before. "I'm sorry…please tell Kouga-kun that I've appreciated everything he's done for me…and to not try to contact me…really, I'm sorry…thanks for being such a great friend."

Tears built up in Sango's eyes, but she forced them to stop before they rolled down her cheeks. What was Kagome talking about? The last time she had talked to Kagome, the seventeen-year-old was just annoyed at being kidnapped and wanted moral support. What had Kagome gotten herself into this time?

Before she continue on that train of thought, Miroku's voice cut through her phone. "Sango-sama, it's me, if you can't tell who 'me' would be, then perhaps you should remember who your abandoned partner is. Anyway, Hiroshi called. He's ticked that we're in America. Apparently there's been a lot of criminal movement back home. We have to be back in Japan within the week. Whatever it was that really brought you here, you better hurry up with it or we'll both be fired."

Sango pulled the phone away from her ear and stared at it. So Miroku had known that she hadn't come to America based on "rumors about the Snake." He was smarter than she gave him credit for. She put the phone back to her ear and listened again, since it had said she had three messages.

"-know where you are at any given moment." A slick, deep, and menacing voice cut through her reverie. "Don't think that leaving the country is an option. Kill Agent Jidai or they will die. End of message. To erase this message, press 7, to save this message, press 9." Sango quickly pressed 9, wanting to hear the rest of the message. "Message will be saved for: 99 days."

She listened to the message from the beginning, almost dreading what she was going to hear.

"Takajima Sango. That's right, I know who you are. And I know a lot more than that about you. There's this sweet little boy here along with a man by the name of Houshi Miroku that are just begging to see you. Ring a bell? If you want to see them alive, you must do something to earn the right. Kill FBI Agent Jidai Inuyasha. I'm watching you, don't make the wrong choice. I know where you are at any given moment. Don't think that leaving the country is an option. Kill Agent Jidai or they will die."

Sango hung up the phone and stared at it for a few moments before looking up and gazing at her surroundings. They had…Kohaku? But he had died in that explosion four years ago…

What was she thinking? If Hojou was alive, then surely her brother could be as well, right?

This time the tears did fall down her cheeks. Whoever that man was…he had Miroku and Kohaku…if she was going to believe him, that is…

Inuyasha wearily opened his eyes only to be met by the blinding light of his living room. He felt exhausted, but at the same time, much better than he had before when Kagome had dragged him away from Sesshoumaru's.

"Kagome!" He shot to a sitting position, feeling his head spin painfully. Ignoring it, Inuyasha glanced around, not seeing Kagome. He stood up and explored the apartment. On the counter in the kitchen lay some scrap bandages and a small needle and thread. On the stove sat a pot with tool handles sticking out of it. On the floor and one of the chairs there were pools of blood and some clear liquid.

Worry overwhelmed him as he dashed to the bedroom where he found Kagome lying peacefully on the bed, wearing a white tank top caked in blood and black underwear. Her left thigh was wrapped with bandages along with her right arm.

'So that explains the kitchen.' Apparently Kagome had treated her wounds while he was sleeping on the couch. She was one tough gal.

He walked over to the bed and crawled over Kagome, taking his place closer to the wall. Inuyasha was still tired, after all, and needed rest to recuperate from their ordeal.

With a sigh he stared at Kagome's face for a few moments, taking in the soft curves of her profile. Her face looked to be on the paler side, perhaps from loss of blood, but her black hair made a great contrast as it pooled around her face.

Inuyasha unconsciously wrapped an arm around Kagome and pulled her closer to him self, quickly getting closer to the point where sleep takes over. Just before he slipped into the dream world, Kagome opened her eyes and turned to look at him. She smiled lightly and he returned the gesture lazily as sleep conquered his body.

When he awoke again, it was to the scent of Kagome's hair. Looking down, he knew why: Kagome was tucked under his chin and pulled snug against his chest. He smiled to himself at how right it felt to be this way, and then scolded himself for thinking that way about a minor.

The thought occurred to him that what he was doing presently may have been illegal, and that he should stop. Yet at the same time another part of him didn't care so long as he could continue to hold Kagome like this.

"I can't believe it's only been five days." Inuyasha whispered to the deaf room, allowing the words to echo in his head for him to think about.

"Six, Inuyasha."

He jumped slightly having not realized that Kagome was awake. "What?"

"The night we got here is one, the day I spent shopping is two, the day we played video games is three, the day Sesshoumaru captured us makes four, the day we escaped was day five, and today is day six. And that's not counting the two weeks we spent in Japan before we left."

"Keh."

Kagome giggled into his shirt, making a tingling sensation run down his spine. What was that for?

"You always answer like that when you're wrong, Inuyasha. It's funny." She looked up at him, her face beaming with a happy glow. Her bright eyes sucked him in and within a moment he was trapped.

He let out a weak "keh" before he was totally silent, just staring into her beautiful eyes. They were truly the windows to the soul.

Sango punched the brick wall, her anger flowing from every pore. When she had gone back to the hotel, there was evidence of some sort of struggle, but there was no sign of Miroku. Even if this stranger didn't have Kohaku, he DID have Miroku, and that just didn't sit well with her.

She looked at her bleeding hand and decided what she had to do. A determination to hunt down and kill swept through her, replacing the hate she had previously been harboring.

There was no other option for her to take. The only name the stranger had given was Inuyasha Jidai, and so that was who she would find…and perhaps kill if she had to.

Her heart pounded in her chest as she ran back inside the hotel and ran up the five flights of stairs to her room. She had opted not to take the elevator just because she didn't want to just have to stand around.

In a flurry of movement Sango ripped through her suitcase and dug out some items that she had been sure to hide from Miroku. She slipped on a full-body leotard that fit like a second skin, followed by pieces of pink armor to protect her shoulders, knees, elbows, and the likes. Next she slipped a long knife into her boot so that it pressed against her calf.

Afterwards, Sango strapped a sword to her waist and hid a few knives in her sleeves. She wasn't finished with just that, though. Her ensemble continued to get more deadly as she hid small trinkets in different places on her body. The last thing she did was strap Hiraikotsu to her back.

She stood up straight, full of an angry pride, and pulled out a small wooden flute. The instrument tucked into her hands and she pressed against her lips and began to play.

Before her she watched with lowered eyes a swirl of smoke fill the room quickly. Just as quickly as it appeared, the smoke disappeared as well and Sango stopped playing her flute.

Standing before Sango was a proud, cream-colored fire cat with two tails tipped with black and long, razor sharp teeth.

Sango smiled. "Kirara, it's been a long time."

A nod from the ferocious looking cat was the only response and with that Sango leapt onto her back and they soared off the small balcony to a place where they could train and sharpen skills nearly forgotten with time.

But all the same, the Youkai Taijiya was back.

Kagome gladly accepted the sweat pants from Inuyasha, grateful for the opportunity for soma extra modesty while at the same time keeping the pressure off of her thigh. She tried not to limp as she walked to the bathroom and locked the door behind her, clothes in hand.

Inuyasha's eyes were following her, she knew, and so she wanted to give off the appearance that she was faring better than she was in reality.

Taking a few minutes, Kagome reemerged from the bathroom garbed in large gray sweats and that same bloodied tank top that she had been wearing since the previous day. The look in Inuyasha's eyes was unreadable, but she knew that she was thoroughly embarrassed. She was wearing Inuyasha's pants…but before that she had been cuddling with him in next to nothing.

It suddenly hit her that she was living alone with Inuyasha and sharing a bed with Inuyasha, and she turned bright red. She turned around so that her back was to the silver-haired man, allowing her innards to settle down.

What was she doing to herself? When she had gone out shopping, she didn't have to buy a larger bed, she could have opted for a bunk bed or a couch bed. But no…she just had to have a queen bed for them to share.

"What's wrong?"

Inuyasha's voice came from beside her ear, making her jump and turn around to face him, her face still slightly red. "N-nothing." How had he snuck up on her like that? Normally she was alert to anyone trying to stalk up on her.

The face Inuyasha put on was one of skepticism. "You're acting strange."

Kagome gulped, looking back down the hall toward the bedroom and bathroom and then back at Inuyasha. "I…I just was thinking about how badly I need a shower is all."

"Do you want some help?" His face just spoke of innocence.

She turned beat red. "E-excuse me!?" Kagome took a step backward, running into the wall behind her.

Inuyasha seemed to realize what he had said, for he turned bright red as well and began waving his arms between the two of them wildly. "N-not like THAT!!! I just meant, well…since you have those injuries…I thought it might be a bit difficult to wash, is all…"

Kagome felt her heart calming down and the heat receding from her face. "Oh. Okay. I guess I could use a little help. Just wait a few moments." She limped back to the bathroom and closed the door behind her once again, letting out a sigh as soon as Inuyasha was out of sight.

She began to strip down again, cringing when she moved her right arm too much. Once her clothes were off, she wrapped herself in a towel and folded her discarded clothes.

A knock on the door signified that Inuyasha was waiting and Kagome took in a deep breath to prepare herself for this. She really did want that bath, and the only way she was really going to get it was if Inuyasha helped her, as much as she didn't want to admit it.

The door opened and Kagome was met by Inuyasha's bare chest. Her face turned a deep scarlet and she looked up at Inuyasha's face, noticing that he was looking further down than her eyes. Before she could slap him, Inuyasha spoke.

"Kagome…w-what are y-you doing in j-just a t-towel?!?" His face turned red to match hers and he turned his back to her.

Kagome looked at what Inuyasha was wearing and saw that he was in his swimming trunks. If it were possible, Kagome turned a deeper red and scooted past him to the bedroom, clutching her towel for dear life. She shut the bedroom door behind her and felt the knots in her stomach tighten.

How stupid could she be?

She suddenly was grateful that she had bought a bathing suit on a whim and she limped over to her dresser to dig it out. A few seconds later she located the stupid thing and, as quickly as her injured body could, she put it on.

It was a dark blue bikini with light blue flowers placed sparsely throughout. Kagome looked down at herself, satisfied, and returned to the bathroom.

Inuyasha was still frozen in the same spot in the hall, his face still bright red. Glad to know that he at least had some morals, Kagome pulled him out of his reverie by tapping on his upper arm. She was surprised at how hard it was to her touch.

He jumped and looked at her, seeing the fluffy towel draped over her forearm and the bikini covering some of the more private areas of her body.

"Sorry about that. All that blood I lost must have got me not thinking straight." She smiled and walked past him into the bathroom, quickly followed by the surprised hanyou.

They didn't say anything more for a few minutes as Inuyasha took the bandage off of her arm. Her gut did a back flip every time his fingers brushed the bare skin of her side. She wondered if time was somehow slowing down since Inuyasha didn't seem to be moving very quickly as he had when they had first begun.

The room was quiet, the only movement being Inuyasha as he undressed her bandages. Finally, the binding was completely off and her crude stitch work was revealed to his inquisitive eyes.

His finger ran along the rough stitches lightly and before she knew what was happening, Inuyasha bent down and brushed his lips against her stitches. It sent a wave of turmoil through her innards that made her heartbeat quicken. She didn't know why he had such an effect on her: Kouga never had…then again, Kouga had never done anything like this with her; they hadn't even kissed yet.

Kagome turned to face Inuyasha, locking gazes with his amber eyes. She pointed to her thigh. "Want to get this one too? I probably shouldn't be using my right arm too much right now."

Inuyasha nodded and untied the knot on the dressing, unwrapping it from around her leg.

He paused for a moment to straighten his legs out to either side of Kagome and lifted her leg up, unfolding it so that her calf rested on his thigh and her foot was behind him. Previously, they had both been sitting on the floor cross-legged, but now neither of them were.

He resumed unwrapping the white material, not looking at Kagome's face but instead concentrating on her injured thigh. His fingers gently brushed against her skin and she once again found her gut clenching for unknown reasons. The silence didn't seem suffocating, but instead gave her time to stare at Inuyasha's down-turned face and take in his features.

She hadn't really thought about it much before, but Inuyasha really was quite handsome. With a light blush covering her cheeks, Kagome jumped when Inuyasha looked up at her.

Naraku smirked, looking through the shaded window at the training Kohaku. Soon it would be time for his plans to take flight, and it would all start with this boy. The boy threw his sickle blade and it embedded itself into a flour sack.

Yes, this boy would be his means of ruling the world.

"Naraku-sama," a woman sauntered up to his side, "Bankotsu's gang is downstairs. They want to know what they should do with the agent."

Naraku turned slightly to look at the tall raven-haired woman. She wasn't looking at him, but at the fourteen-year-old boy throwing a sickle blade at anything he could reach.

"Kagura, keep watching. I'll be back in a moment." Naraku swept out of the room, taking only one last glance back at the stoic wind demon in his office.

Everything was going exactly as he planned. Soon all who opposed him would be dead, and he would reign over a world of chaos and destruction.

I
Do
Not
Sleep

Inutori: Here's another chapter finished! Exciting, ne?
Inuyasha: It's not that exciting, baka.
Inutori: Yes it is! A few weeks ago I only had through chapter 8 posted! I'm trying to finish at least this story!
Kagome: Inutori? Finish a story? I don't think those two things mix.
Inutori: Shush up, Kagome. I will finish this story…eventually…until then…::looks at readers::…please review, everyone!!!