kagome/erwin 1

kagome/levi 1

anyone else?

"Higurashi!"

Kagome picked up her pace and wrapped her cloak around tighter.

"Higurashi, I, no, we just want to talk with you!"

"Higurashi!"

She didn't recognize any of the voices calling her last name.

"Please, we just want some advice!"

Kagome stilled in the middle of an alley. The setting was suspicious, but she knew she was more than equipped to take care of herself. She listened quietly to the breathing of the people behind her.

Two males and one female. All three were adolescents, perhaps around her age, and one of the boys were hitting puberty soon judging by the slight crack in the low breathing of his. The other boy had a strange breathing pattern, and the female seemed to be trying to silence her heavy breathing.

"What do you three want?" She snarled.

"We saw you the other day-" Kagome stiffened, "and we were wondering-"

She turned around and drilled her shockingly blue eyes into the blond boy, " Just spit it out already."

"We were wondering if you could mentor us!" The other boy bowed stiffly at his hips, "Even though you're our age, we were really impressed by you."

"You're fourteen and your kill count is already at over fifty," The girl's voice came out softly, "And we just started in the Training Corps. Please, Soldier Higurashi, we want to help our nation like you do."

Kagome's eyes scanned them swiftly. The blond boy had innocent blue eyes, but he showed all signs of nervousness; the twitching of his fingers, the biting of his inner cheek, and the suspicious tapping of his foot. The girl had oriental features, who carried herself proudly with a slight arch in her back and a tilt of her head.

Kagome narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the boy in the center. He had a shifty gaze and kept biting his lips as if he were planning something.

However, none of them seemed to be teachable. The three of them seemed too fragile to undergo the harsh training Captain Sesshomaru had put her through. They would've all broken after a week.

"There's nothing I can teach you," Kagome said softly, "Now if you would excuse me, I have a meeting to attend.."

In a blink of the eye, she seemed to vanish. It was like she was never there.

"Rude," Eren muttered underneath his breath.

"Maybe she was hiding something," Armin said.

"Or maybe it was because we didn't meet her requirements," Mikasa said, "Did you see how she scanned us with her eyes?"

"Requirements?" Eren laughed, "She didn't even test us! She just looked at us for like ten seconds and left. She's probably like one of those soldiers we met a few years ago. Lazy. All bark but no bite."

"But then again, she's in the Elite Training Corps," Armin chimed in.

At this, Eren rolled his eyes and muttered, "Yeah right."

Mikasa and Armin both frowned, Eren's personality was definitely more agitated than usual.

A brown haired girl shifted in a white bed, groaning softly. Her brown eyes fluttered and her bandages, crusted with dark brown blood, crinkled with her movements. Around her, four concerned figures of varying sizes smiled in their own way.

Immediately, she was enveloped with a crushing hug. A mop of black hair and teary violet eyes met her own surprised brown eyes.

"Sango, my love!" He blubbered, "You shouldn't scare us like that-"

"You're awake," The shortest one was a flurry of black hair and a gleam of blue eyes, "Sango, we were so worried..."

The two Tashio brothers nodded their silver-haired heads at her, but she saw the relief in their amber and gold eyes.

"Guys, I appreciate you-" She started.

"Yes, yes, wench. We do too," Inuyasha said.

"Thank god you woke," Kagome said.

"Welcome back, Soldier Sango," Sesshomaru said.

"You had no idea-"

"But can I please have water?" She rasped.

Sango rubbed her head sheepishly, her throat was too parched to be talking as of now.

"Nurse! Sango requires water!" Miroku hollered.

A cup of liquid was immediately handed to her needy hands. She tilted the cup to her mouth and gratefully drank it. Dribbles of water leaked onto the corners of her mouth, and onto the bedsheets. The roaring pain was soothed with the cool liquid and she found herself drinking the fourth cup before realizing how stupid she must have looked.

"Thanks," Sango said, setting down the cup by the bedside table, "I was really thirsty."

"We can see that," Inuyasha stated the obvious.

"Judging by your reactions, I must have been in a coma... Exactly how long was I out for?" Sango asked.

Her heartbeat picked up when she saw the glance Kagome shot to Sesshomaru. They all turned to Sesshomaru, who in turn opened and closed his mouth. Judging by the cold gold eyes of his, it was not a pretty answer. Whenever it was bad news, his eyes turned dark.

"A month."

"H-How?! A month? S-Shouldn't I be dead then?"

They all exchanged looks again and Sango felt annoyed.

"Hello? I'm right here. If you have to say anything, then say it!"

Kagome leaned in and whispered in her ear: "It would be better if... We were somewhere else private. There seems to be a lot of inner city troubles lately. The Stohess District Mayor has died and people have been clamoring for his position. Sesshomaru is running as a candidate-not for the power-but as his subordinates, we have to remain careful about what we say."

Kagome's eyes were dark and jumpy as she told Sango about the situation of the walls. Sango's eyes visibly widened in horror when she heard that Wall Rose had been severely damaged just the night before. Suddenly, Kagome laughed and slapped her back softly.

"Hahaha, Sango, that's so funny! Hey Sesshomaru, Sango just told a funny joke!"

Sango's eyes glanced shiftily at their surroundings, acutely aware of every movement that was made. In a bed nearby, there seemed to be a sleeping soldier. However, as she looked at the rise and fall of his chest, it was uneven and that was the moment she knew that they were being spied on. His bicep bore a curiously strange patch that she had never seen before.

"Nightblood Guild," Miroku whispered darkly.

He straightened up his back and suddenly bore a brilliant smile full of white teeth. How he did his hygiene routine was mysterious to all of them, as his teeth seemed to always be white. Most people had rotting teeth or a smile full of yellow.

Sesshomaru gave a dark look towards the presumably asleep soldier and furrowed his eyebrows. He leaned in closely.

"Naraku has been planning something lately. The other night, we found him in your room, trying to take your body-"

Sango gave him a look of horror.

"But then we caught him in the act. Unfortunately, he has political influence now and was able to get away with it. A month ago, Kagome was whipped because Naraku had suggested it as a punishment. He had interrogated Miroku and Inuyasha about that night and almost killed Miroku in doing so. That man isn't the same as before, and we seriously advise you to stay away from him. If you see him, run."