Inutori: I win! Now I own Inuyasha! Bwahahahaha!
Kagome: (sweat drops) Are you still suffering from denial?
Inutori: No! (grins) I own Sesshoumaru too!
Sesshoumaru: This Sesshoumaru is owned by none.
Inutori: I beg to differ. I bought Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru at Sam Goody, and now they're mine! All mine! (more evil laughter)
Miroku: Are you referring to those thumbnail-sized pins sitting on your bedroom floor?
Sango: (looking up from polishing Hiraikotsu) If she is, that's hardly owning THE Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru.
Inutori: … (sticks out tongue at Inu characters) Anyway, I guess I don't own Inuyasha, so go ahead and read the next chapter.

Chapter 13
Point of No Return

Inuyasha eyed the restraints on his wrists, cursing himself for being reckless enough to get caught twice within a week. The metal cuffs on his wrists were at least an inch thick and the chain attaching them to the wall didn't appear to have any obvious weaknesses.

Just to test it, Inuyasha tried moving his hand off of the wall using his demonic strength. A sharp wave of electricity shot through him and his hand didn't budge from its position on the cold cement.

He swallowed in hopes that the searing pain would stop, only to discover that a similar restraint was around his neck.

Judging by the chill running up his legs, he figured there were cuffs on his ankles as well. The thick restraints plus the high voltage that attacked his person if he moved made for a good way to keep him hanging spread-eagle on the wall.

He took a sniff of the air to perhaps rely on a different sense and furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. There was absolutely nothing there for his nose to pick up. The room's air seemed fresh enough, but he couldn't smell a thing.

Confused, he scanned the room and took in the blank walls. His ears twitched on the top of his head subconsciously trying to pick up any sort of noise and failing miserably.

The lack of any of his senses left Inuyasha feeling extremely vulnerable to the room. Movement at the edge of his peripheral vision caught his eye and Inuyasha immediately looked that way. He couldn't hear even the light tap of the figure's footsteps as they emerged from the shadows.

What was wrong with him?

In front of him stood a lean woman holding a white, Japanese style fan streaked with red. Her eyes matched the red of the fan, and her lack of pupils unnerved him. A smirk played across her painted lips as she eyed his vulnerable form.

He watched as her mouth moved, as if she were speaking, but he couldn't hear a thing. She locked gazes with him and snapped closed her fan. Inuyasha took in her appearance during the silence.

She was wearing black leather pants that hugged her hips and thighs before flaring out over four-inch heel black shoes. Inuyasha couldn't tell what kind of shoes they were, but he doubted it really mattered. Her top was blood red, much like her eyes and lips, but there were white flower petals scattered across the material. The shirt didn't come down far enough to meet her pants, leaving a bare expanse of skin at her midriff.

Another figure joined the first suddenly, and Inuyasha nearly jumped out of his skin, having been concentrating so much on the woman that he hadn't been aware of the arrival of the second stranger. The second person was a young girl with snowy white hair much like his own and empty eyes.

He stiffened as the girl, who couldn't have been more than twelve, looked up at him and moved her mouth. Was she actually saying something? A shiver ran down Inuyasha's spine and his gaze jumped between the two females.

Not being able to move, smell, or hear anything was throwing him over the edge.

Kagome cringed as she landed on the roof of Inuyasha's apartment complex. After all of that jumping around, she was almost guaranteed to have torn open some of the stitches in her thigh.

Only pausing for a moment, she quickly scrambled down the drain pipe on the side of the building and crawled into Inuyasha's bedroom window. The new information she had gotten from Shippou wouldn't be accurate by morning, so she had to work fast.

She sifted through Inuyasha's closet until she managed to find a pair of black cargo pants that she could wear. Throwing them on, Kagome fastened them up with a belt and rolled up the bottoms and used safety pins to keep them that way. With a little extra effort, the Japanese thief removed the sweatshirt she had been wearing and threw it aside.

Digging some more in Inuyasha's closet, Kagome came across some more-than-helpful items and quickly put them on her person. She strapped on her own boots, having broken them in for stealth operations long before.

With one last check of her attire, Kagome slipped on a black leather jacket and climbed quietly back out the window.

Silently, Kagome cursed Inuyasha for getting her into this big fat mess again. It had been bad enough four years ago when Naraku had been operating out of Japan.

If she were really thinking, she would have taken Naraku's advice and gone back to her territory in Tokyo, but she wasn't thinking. There was no way she would back down from that man after what he had already said and done to the Higurashi family.

It was payback time.

Kagome skidded to a stop a few blocks from Inuyasha's place, eyeing a slick black motorcycle parked outside a convenience store and motel. It would be a perfect replacement for the bike she had lost the other night; she would just have to see about getting the keys, seeing as how she and hotwiring vehicles didn't get along too well.

With a smile Kagome jogged across the street and entered the little shop, eyeing the few customers milling around. Her gaze settled on a burly man with thin, dirty blond hair that had been grown out far too long and tied back in a low ponytail. The guy was a bit pudgy, but Kagome could tell that he also could hold his own in a fight.

His clothes screamed biker and Kagome knew she had found the owner of her ride just outside.

A smirk pulled at her lips as she slid up next to the man, resisting the urge to retch at the scent of urine and body odor that wafted off of him.

"Hey there. You look like a guy that knows how to have some fun."

The man looked at her and immediately a perverted grin was plastered on his face as he swore under his breath at her body. "Course' I do, lil' lady. Do ya' want me ta show ya?" His eyes moved up and down her figure, his eyebrows wiggling suggestively.

Men. "Could you? I'm new to these parts and I'm still trying to find someone to show me the ropes." She moved up next to him, trailing her fingers across his lumpy chest. Compared to Inuyasha, this guy was as fat as Buddha.

"It'd be my pleasure, lil' lady." He wrapped his thick arms around her body and pulled her so that she was pressed against his chest.

This was too easy. Kagome smiled up at him, letting her hands wander "seductively." She found his belt and moved lower, watching the man's eyes light up and if possible, get bigger.

He tightened his hold on her small form and moved his hands lower to press his hips into Kagome's. It took every ounce of will power for her not to barf right then.

Finally, Kagome's hands found his back pockets and slid in, fingering the keys to the motorcycle and who-knows-what-else.

Suddenly, Kagome pouted and looked up at the man. "Oh, how stingy."

"Wha' is it,' lil' lady?"

She cocked her head to the side. "I was just getting into the mood and now I have to go pee."

The man smiled down at her, grinding his hips into her and leaning down to speak in her ear. "That's alright, I'll jus' go nex' door ta get a motel room and ya' can make a pit stop 'fore joinin' me. I'll wait in the lobby, lil' lady." He gave her one last grind before releasing her and trotting out the door and turning to the left to go to the Motel 8.

Kagome shivered in disgust before buying a Twinkie and leaving the convenience store in victory. That man was too stupid; like most men he was driven by his testosterone.

She glanced over at the motel quickly before jumping on the motorcycle and driving off. "I have been scarred for life. I hate America." Kagome closed her eyes for a second, trying to rid her mind of the disgusting feel of that man's hard nether region rubbing against her.

When she had pulled the same stunt back in Tokyo, the men were a lot less forward about 'that' and would at least ask her to dinner or something first.

A shudder overtook her body one last time before she changed her focus to what she was going to do once she reached Naraku's lair. If she didn't have a game plan, her efforts would be in vain and all she would manage to do is get herself killed.

As she ran through the lair's blueprints in her mind, Kagome drove out of the busier part of town and entered a more questionable district. Scenarios rushed through her head and Kagome finally determined her first course of action and what she would do if that plan fell through.

"I'd make a pretty good agent, wouldn't I?" Kagome mumbled under her breath, silently laughing at herself for changing what side of the law she was on so suddenly.

Sango crouched on the crumbling roof, watching the occupants of the building across the alley as they patrolled. The American FBI was pathetic if they hadn't managed to find this place yet. It was right under their noses, after all.

She had looked for the hideout for all of a day. Then she caught sight of a man that looked eerily like Agent Jidai being dragged into this particular building by some bulky gangsters.

Her eyes narrowed as she spotted a woman that she would recognize anywhere: Kagura. If she was here, then this was Naraku's place. She looked over at her feline companion, silently nodding to her to signify that it was time.

Pulling her oversized boomerang onto her back and securing it, Sango took a couple of steps back before running forward and leaping over the gap that separated the two buildings. Kirara followed closely behind and they both landed with barely a sound on the rooftop of what was apparently Naraku's lair.

Not one for covert actions like the Snake, Sango kicked the door to the stairwell in and charged into the beehive.

The first people she came across were the Samaiyoushi (sp?), Naraku's cronies. They were easy picking and Sango was quickly jumping over lifeless bodies as she continued to dive down the stairs. Her real challengers were going to be Kagura and Kanna, two powerful youkai that Naraku controlled.

For a five story building, there didn't seem to be many occupants, though Sango was aware that looks could be deceiving. Knowing Naraku, most of the lair was probably underground where no police were going to look.

The hairs on the back of her neck suddenly rose and Sango pulled her boomerang in front of her just in time to have a bullet collide with the large bone. She flinched slightly and crouched down, using her boomerang as a shield. Being inside a building, the boomerang was, for all practical purposes, useless as a weapon; but on more than one occasion Sango had found that the family heirloom worked as an excellent shield.

Another bullet implanted itself in the demon bone, just inches from the edge next to her shoulder. Whoever was shooting at her obviously had a silencer on their weapon, for the only warning she was getting was a soft click before a bullet came at her.

Sango whipped her head around to look at Kirara, silently giving her orders to take out the sniper. Kirara only inclined her head slightly before leaping away into the dark hallway, leaving Sango alone with the shooter.

"Fuujin no Mai!" Eyes widening, Sango pressed herself against the wall and held her boomerang in front of her as best she could as a blast of sharp blades of wind came cascading down the hall.

From that attack Sango knew that the sniper must have been Kagura, the wind youkai. The Taijiya snapped her gas mask in place and pulled two gas pellets from under her shoulder pad. She threw them down the hall and dove behind Hiraikotsu just as Kagura sent another volley of blades her way.

Out of nowhere, Sango heard Kirara's roar and could barely make out the fires burning around the neko youkai's feet and tails. Under the blanket of gases, Sango charged down the hall and drew her katana, preparing to take down Kagura.

The woman parried her blow with her fan at the same time dodging Kirara's attack. Her mouth was covered by a handkerchief to block out the poison gas.

Kagura did a back handspring away from Sango and clicked open her fan. "Fuujin no Mai!" She swung the fan, releasing a volley of blades at Sango and her neko youkai companion.

Sango ducked quickly and pulled her boomerang in front of her, flinching as blades cut into her skin left exposed on the sides of the large demon bone. "Kirara, onegai!"

Said demon leapt over Sango and charged Kagura again, this time the strike was true and Kagura clutched her now clawed arm.

"Taijiya, it's been awhile, has it not?" Kagura's words startled Sango into looking at the woman's face. The red and white fan was pulled in front of her face to hide her mouth, allowing only the viewing of her cold red eyes.

"Not long enough, Kagura." Sango stood up, wincing slightly as she felt her injuries protest the movement. Despite the pain, she moved into a defensive stance. "Today I will kill you."

Kagura's eyes narrowed. "I do not wish to die, girl." Her fan snapped closed and her arm dropped to hold the weapon by her thigh. "But I don't feel like killing you either. It'd be a waste of my skill."

Caught a bit off guard by Kagura's actions, Sango loosened her grip on her sword slightly. "What are you saying?"

"That this Kagura does not like being a puppet. Wind cannot be caged." Kagura stepped to the side, as if inviting Sango to pass her; Kirara growled, her back arching and her fur standing on end.

"Kagura?" Sango was confused; this was not what she expected from battling the wind user. She expected much more hate and malice. The Taijiya took a hesitant step forward.

Kagura walked towards her, not raising her weapon. As she passed Sango in the narrow hallway, she whispered, "Kill that monster."

When Sango jerked around to look at Kagura's back, the wind youkai was gone; as if she was never there to begin with. She looked back at Kirara after a moment. "Let's go, my friend."

Miroku groaned and his stomach responded quite heartily. He was hungry! What would it take to get a bite to eat around here, really? But that's the downside of being a prisoner.

That, and getting your brains beaten out. He pulled his knees into his chest, flinching from the pain of the lashes on his bare back. On top of getting beaten, he got beaten by a fifteen-year-old! What was the world coming to? Adolescent boys were torture machines in larger-than-natural syndicates of criminals?

He jumped as a small noise interrupted his brooding. His gaze shot to the ceiling, where the sound had originated, and found himself looking into deep blue eyes.

Startled, Miroku took in the sight before him. There was a woman with jet black hair poking her head through the air duct on the ceiling and looking at him. He nearly formed words on his tongue when the girl began to slither further through the vent and emerge upside-down in his cell.

In a split second, the girl was crouched on the floor rather than hanging precariously from the ceiling. Her landing had been deathly silent; a huge feat in the cement-floored room. From her Asian appearance and stealthy movements, Miroku almost immediately recognized the intruder as the Japanese Snake.

So Sango wasn't lying when she said the Snake had gone to LA; but how in the world had she known that? The Snake stood up straight and looked down at him, fiddling with the mask adorning her nose and mouth.

"Houshi-san?" Confusion filled the criminal's eyes and Miroku had to resist jumping when she spoke his name as if in recognition. "What are you doing here?"

She began to slowly approach him, her movements like liquid as she cautiously walked sideways. Her eyes darted around the room, as if assessing it, and then fell back on him.

"Is Sa-Takajima-san here too?"

Miroku felt his suspicions double when he noticed that the Snake had nearly referred to Sango by her first name, as if familiar with the agent. Something didn't smell right here.

"Houshi-san, answer me." The thief sounded genuinely worried, and her eyes seemed to be pleading with him.

The Japanese agent shifted uncomfortably, feeling the lashes on his back screaming in protest. "I don't know." He looked the blue-eyed woman in the eyes, showing that he wouldn't back down from her. Even if he was captive of a crime-ring, it was still his duty to his country to arrest the Snake.

Relief showed through her eyes before all emotion was wiped off her face. "Are you well enough to stand?"

Miroku cringed but shakily pulled himself to his feet in answer to her question.

"Good. You're going to help me then."

He stared as the woman pulled out a revolver and checked its ammo before handing it to him. Did she really trust him, a government agent? Despite his hesitation, Miroku took the gun and checked the ammunition as well: it was fully loaded and he had six shots. Best to save them for when it mattered.

"I want you to find any other prisoners. FBI Agent Jidai Inuyasha should be in here somewhere, and see if Takajima-san is here too. I'm going to find Naraku."

Miroku's heart stopped at the mention of that name. He remembered his father mentioning that it was he who had killed his grandfather; and Sango had once said that Naraku was the reason she had no family. So Naraku was here? "Naraku?"

"Shh…" The Snake slithered into the shadows on the other side of the room and Miroku listened to the uneven footfalls of people running outside the door. He could also hear yelling, but it was to obscured as to make out any words.

After a few moments, silence once again enveloped the room and the Snake emerged from her hiding place. Her whisper barely reached his ears, "Come, be quiet, and try not to alert anyone to your presence." She handed him something, and looking down Miroku identified it as a small dagger.

Obviously, she was dead serious.

"If at all possible, don't shoot the gun. Use it only as a last resort, the sound will give away your position." She turned from him and moved to the door, crouching down so she was eye-level with the handle. A strange contraption seemed to appear in her hand out of thin air and she began fiddling with the lock.

The quiet click of the locking mechanism signaled that the door was open and the Snake stood back up and took a hold of the handle with her gloved hand.

"Good luck, Houshi-san. Don't get killed." With those words, the Snake was out the door faster than he could respond with an instinctive "you too."

Her speed and agility really surprised Miroku, and he was beginning to understand why she was so slippery when it came to getting caught. With a resigned sigh, Miroku pressed his ear to the door and listened to any noises coming from the other side, quickly pocketing the revolver and readying the dagger in his right hand.

Well, no more delaying it: it was time to reek some havoc.

Sango grunted as she brought down another of Naraku's lackeys. They may be weak, but every one she took out was replaced by two more; or so it seemed. She wasn't making any headway towards the lower levels at this rate.

Annoyed, Sango kicked another goon in the groin and glared as he crumbled to the ground. Kirara jumped in front of her and knocked down several more men, her fiery claws digging into their vulnerable flesh.

The Taijiya listened to their cries for only a moment before continuing on her quest of killing/incapacitating all of Naraku's cronies. So far she had downed at least a hundred with the help of Kirara.

The air suddenly began turning a yellow as a thick gas filled the hall starting from the ground up. Kirara's defensive growl alerted her that this was no ordinary gas, and Sango quickly retreated and jumped up to hang from the pipes on the ceiling.

She watched as the men she had been fighting, whether awake, unconscious, or dead, began to scream and claw at the walls as their skin started sizzling (…well, the dead ones weren't making any protests, but like she really cared about them…). Whatever that gas was, it was meant to take out all in its path without mercy. If Naraku had ordered that to be released, it just added more proof to how evil and self-absorbed he was.

As the screaming died out and gave way to silence, Sango nearly dropped to the floor with the sight that greeted her next through the dissipating poison. Japan's most wanted King Pin, of sorts, walked deliberately down the hall past the melted men, his claws glowing an eerie green.

A sense of recognition hit her, and the Taijiya couldn't stop her gasp as she realized that she had sat next to the criminal on her flight from Tokyo.

The head of Youkai Enterprises turned and narrowed his eyes at the woman hanging upside-down from the ceiling, his eyes cold and uncaring.

Sango dropped and landed on the ground, quickly standing up straight and eyeing the powerful demon before her. This was not something she had expected. What business did THE number one bad guy of Japan have with Naraku?

After a brief moment, the youkai turned his back to Sango and continued walking regally down the hallway to the stairwell. It was either the guy was disregarding her as a threat, or wasn't going to waste his time because he had better things to do.

The Taijiya preferred to believe the latter, just to save her ego, but she wouldn't be surprised either way with that guy.

I
Do
Not
Sleep

Inutori: I'm fairly satisfied with this chapter, but I'm suffering from somewhat of a writer's block, you could say.
Inuyasha: And how do you figure this?
Inutori: Well, I know what I want to happen (just like I've FINALLY figured out just who did kill Kikyou), but I just don't know exactly how to write it out.
Kagome: So who killed my sister, anyway? …Not that I'm actually related to her…(tries to be one with floor)
Inutori: I'm not telling, it's going to come up in the story. But can (looks at readers) YOU (points now) guess who killed Kikyou? I'll give a lollipop to the person who guesses who it is, and a Sesshoumaru plushie to the one who can guess why.

Inuyasha: Liar. You won't give them anything.

Inutori: You're right. (cries) But if you guess right, you have gloating privileges of being smart/psychic. That good enough?

Shippou: It is for me! Let me guess! Let me guess! Naraku, right?

Inutori: …ano…hasn't it already been made clear in the story that Naraku did NOT kill Kikyou? Anyways, review for me, onegai minna-san?