Kagome watched the third man sitting around the table warily. She didn't know him, she didn't know if she could trust him. Despite the similarities between himself and Inuyasha, she would tell that Inuyasha wasn't thrilled to work with him. There was obviously some bad blood between the brothers, although why, she could never guess. In her few days with Inuyasha, despite how close they became, he never once mentioned he had a brother, there was no evidence around his house regarding any familial ties with anybody. Yet the man sitting before her could clearly be no other.
"Where is jewel, Miko?" he asked, confusing her. She hadn't been called a priestess in quite some time, not since before she left her grandfather's shrine.
"I don't know," she answered despondently. "I've never seen it before, or felt it before. I couldn't tell you anything about other than what I've learned through my research."
His amber eyes bore through her, as if he was trying to detect any deceit. If she had the energy, she would have been insulted. "Hn." He turned back and looked at Inuyasha. "It's simple enough. We use the girl as a bargaining chip."
"What?" Yash was indignant at the idea. "Fuck no. I don't use anybody as bait, especially not Kagome."
"This is not negotiable," Sesshoumaru countered. "You asked for my help, if you really want it, you'll do what I say. We need the girl because Naraku needs the girl."
"No, absolutely not. If that's what you're planning on doing, then go home now, Sesshoumaru. I'm not putting Kagome in anymore danger."
Kagome watched as Sesshoumaru rose from the kitchen table and made his way to the door. She sighed, knowing that he was right and knowing that she would do anything to make sure her family was safe. "Wait," she called out. He stopped at the door and looked back at her, silently telling her to continue. "I'll do it."
"No!" Yash yelled.
"Inuyasha, I'll do anything to make sure my grandfather is safe and sound. If it means I have to be used as bait, so be it." She glared at him. "It's my decision to make, not yours."
"I'm the investigating officer here," he countered. "This doesn't go down without my say so."
"Then I'll go behind your back and do it!" she argued. "Either way it's going to happen, I just have a better chance of remaining alive if both of you are a part of this."
Reluctantly, she could see Inuyasha agree and resign himself to her fate. She was going to do this with or without his blessing, but as she told them, she'd rather do it them. For some reason, she trusted Yash with her life, and know that he would not willingly allow harm to come to her. Sesshoumaru made his way back to the table and sat down.
"Okay Kagome, we're doing this your way. What did the bastard say to you when you spoke with him earlier?"
"He wants a meeting. He wants my notes on the Shikon no Tama, and he wants me, nothing else. I think he believes I know how to find the jewel. I don't," she whispered hopelessly.
"Simple enough. We'll make a digital copy of your thumb drive, as well has hard copies of everything on it. We'll keep your original and put it in Sesshoumaru's safety deposit box. It's probably more secure than yours."
Sesshoumaru nodded. "You can modify any of your files if you'd like beforehand, but make sure it's not noticeable. Any blatant errors on the disk could cost you your life, and quite possibly your grandfather's. If you want to hold a file or two back, that you know for sure Naraku doesn't know about, let us know and we'll make it happen." She nodded. "Just keep in mind that he probably kept a tab on everything that you've researched over the years, and the only files he won't have copies of is anything you've worked on since you started staying here."
"We don't have long," she said. "He wants to see me at the shrine in three hours. He also said no police. Everything will be off if he sees a police presence."
"There won't be a police presence," Sesshoumaru confirmed. "It'll just be Inuyasha and myself. We'll be more than sufficient to keep you safe."
"Two of you? Against all of Naraku's cronies?" she asked incredulously.
"Both Sesshoumaru and I have experience with the armed forces," Inuyasha lifted her hand into his to offer what little comfort he could. "I left when my term was complete. Sess continued on and was trained in the elite forces. Nobody is as deadly as Sesshoumaru when he is on a mission."
"Okay then," she gulped nervously. "What's the plan?"
"Plan is simple," Sesshoumaru looked Kagome directly in the eye. "You don't enter the building until your grandfather leaves and is safe and sound. Once he gets down to the entranceway of the shrine, Inuyasha will make sure he's safe. Then you enter. You can hand your notes over as a sign of good faith."
"Hey! Why do I have to be down at the bottom of the shrine?"
"Because," Sess turned to look at Yash. "I will be around the back trying to find a way into the house without being seen. I'm hoping to get into the same room as Naraku before Kagome does so she doesn't have to be with him alone. You will follow as soon as you can. I will take out any guards that get in my way. You are expected to do the same."
"So that's it. I walk in and hope that the two of you do your job."
"Expect the two of us to do our jobs, I've never failed," Sesshoumaru said. "I especially will not fail now. Naraku will be dead before the end of the day."
"Hey hey hey, cop here!" Inuyasha waved his hand in front of his brother. "You just can't go around telling a cop you're going to kill somebody."
"Inuyasha, I suggest you learn to deal with this. Naraku will die tonight, either by my hand or yours. He will pay for what he did to Rin."
"Rin?" Kagome asked.
"Sess's adoptive daughter," Inuyasha explained. "Thankfully she was found alive, but she's scarred for life. I found her on one of my cases. Naraku left her for dead, only somebody didn't check to make sure they finished the job. Sess was in town visiting when I found her and ended up adopting her. She didn't speak for a year except at night when she'd scream from night terrors. He wasn't looking to take her in, but he was the only she responded to in the hospital."
"And today?" Kagome asked.
"She's well," Sesshoumaru answered. "Not entirely healed, but she's in school and functioning at the level she should be. She still has night terrors though." His facial expression darkened.
"Okay," Kagome pulled open her laptop. "I need a blank dvd here. If we're to get this show on the road, we need to act fast. Most of the files I can alter, there are some I can't, but they're only secondary anyway. I have transcripts of all my interviews on here, so I doubt he'll want or need my video footage, he didn't ask for it."
"If he didn't ask for it, then we ain't giving it to him." He looked over at his brother. "I'm going to grab a DVD for Kagome, then you and I are going to talk strategy. I need to know where you're at at all times. We'll have to figure out what you're carrying, what I'm carrying, how you plan on getting in the house, so on and so forth. I want to leave as little of this up to chance as possible." He turned back around to Kagome. "That file you have with the genealogy that leads up to you, don't include it. Naraku probably doesn't know that we have gotten that far yet. If he brings it up, act surprised, it may work to our advantage."
Kagome paused for a moment before going back to the keyboard to type furiously. To say she was scared at the moment was major understatement. She was terrified. After the stories she heard about Naraku, how could she not be scared at the thought of what he could do with her? And what if Inuyasha and his brother didn't make it on time, what if he shoots her the moment he sees her, there's no way either of them could help her.
She watched the two of them plot and plan and decided against voicing her fears. They were doing this to help her and her family, and Inuyasha already had his reservations. She didn't want to foster those reservations and add her fears to the weight already on their shoulders.
Looking at the clock, she trembled. She didn't have much time to gather her belongings, and her thoughts together. She had to be strong, not just for herself, but for her grandfather as well. She knew, if it came down to it, she wouldn't hesitate in giving her life for her grandfather.
She just sincerely hoped it didn't come down to that.