The Messenger
Chapter 5
By: Rachynn
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Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.

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Her new apartment was nice. It was located downtown, with a view of the harbor from her living room window. The streets were busy below her, but the sound was lost on its way up to the top levels where she resided. Inside her apartment, the walls were painted a bright yellow, with sea glass blue trim along the juncture between the wall and the ceiling and the floor. The wood floor was a light beige, and creaked when she walked on it, in a cozy sort of way. It had come fully furnished, couches, tables, rugs, a bed, appliances and her old computer. (Sadly she had no idea where her favorite armchair was) She had little use for the kitchen, seeing as she had not yet a need for sustenance.

She had been here for two and a half weeks. She had gone out a couple outside a couple of times, if only to wander and get a feel for the city. To tell the truth, she was becoming rather bored. Bored of waiting for The Agency to contact her, bored of the sickening bright walls. Bored of the not-so-amusing television shows that played constantly, with the exception of reality TV, a concept that intrigued her.

So today, she decided to 'eat out'. When she left The Agency, she took on a permanent human form that functioned the same way that a normal human body would. This wasn't necessary of course, she still could go days without food or sleep and not be affected in the least, but it allowed her to blend in with the normal population that much more. Her new body was solid, and all humans could see her as well. No more walking through walls or passing through crowds without so much as a single push or shove.

She pretty much had the city mapped out, and new exactly where she wanted to go. There was this cute little bakery just 10 minutes away. Wide windows covered the front wall, allowing for prime viewing of the boardwalk and waterfront where it was situated. There was something about the ocean that Kikyo was realizing she liked. She liked the way the waves lapped against the wooden pier, or the way that the boats rocked with some internal rhythm. It was very picturesque at the bakery, and she wanted to imprint it on her mind before she had to go back to The Agency.

If she ever went back.

The Head had said that this move was only temporary, but with each passing day she began to doubt him. She hadn't heard anything from the agency since she left.

Within a few days of her exile to the mortal world, Kikyo had discovered the need to obtain new clothes. What she usually wore when visiting the subjects was obviously too out-dated and too unfashionable to wear on a regular basis. As a result, Kikyo had had to dip into the stipend that the Agency allowed her and bought a few new outfits.

Now she stood in front of the full length mirror in her bedroom, twisting and turning to see how one of these new outfits looked on her. She had donned a knee length summer dress with a cheerful floral pattern on it. The short sleeves and bottom hem were ruffled. The dress itself clung to her form, a white satin belt at her waist contrasted the violet of the flowers in the print. Over the top she wore a thin, button up sweater with elbow length sleeves to maintain some decent warmth should it be a bit chilly out. The sky was devoid of any clouds though, and she heard on the news that it was expected to be rather on the warm side. Yet, in all her years of experience, she had learned that you could never trust the weather man.

Finally she was on the street, hands clutched tightly to the strap of a small black purse that hung from her shoulder. She was in a reputable neighborhood, but more subjects than she could count had been the innocent victims of muggings on the street and she didn't want to take any chances.

She wandered idly in the direction of the boardwalk and the bakery, taking her time, soaking in the environment that she had visited so many times but had never really experienced. A soft breeze drifted by lazily. She reached the bakery around 2 in the afternoon and bought a apple danish with a small peppermint tea. She found a vacant table next to the metal railing that kept people from falling off the pier into the murky waters of the ocean. She sat alone, of course, and began the experience of eating for the first time in who knows how long.

It was fairly easy, and the danish tasted delicious. It was a shame that she never got to finish it.

When she had sat down, she didn't notice the familiar face sitting at the table nearest her. She didn't think that anyone would recognize her in the mortal world, there were so many subjects nowadays that she never thought that she might run into one that she had personally visited. She was wrong.

She was halfway through the danish when a shadow darkened her view. Kikyo looked up at the intrusion, mouth half full of sweet pastry and eyes widened with surprise. A tall man with long black locks stood there, staring down at her.

"Never thought I would see you again." he said. "Are you here because of your dark job?"

Kikyo swallowed the danish and shook her head. "No." She said simply, brain scrambling to bring up any recollection of this man. "I'm surprised that you recognized me at all though, what was it, almost 15 years ago that I visited you?" her voice was sugar sweet, if not mocking. "Besides, it would seem that that job is behind me now." She gestured for him to take a seat in the empty chair across from her, which he did.

"Do you remember that day?" he asked her somberly.

She nodded. "Of course. One of the more tragic of my visits. I'm sorry for your loss."

"So you said back then."

"Are you angry with me?"

"Not as much as I was. I've learned that it's not the messengers fault. I am curious as to why someone like you would be here though. You seem as though your trying to fit in. Does the mortal world suit you?" His eyes twinkled.

"It's changed a lot over the years. Besides, I don't have much of a choice when it comes to trying to fit in anymore." she replied, taking a sip of her tea. She remember now. His daughter had died in a boating accident, and he had a rather disastrous delayed reaction. He seemed much more understanding today, as opposed to 15 years ago, when he tried to literally shoot the messenger.

He raised an eyebrow. "Care to explain?"

She regarded him warily. There were very little rules when it came to revealing the secrets of The Agency to mortals, simply because of the time and care that The Agency took to cover their tracks. The only big no-no was to bring a living subject to the Agency Complex itself or to alter the time or death of a mortal for personal reasons. There was no reason why a mortal could not know of the existence of the Agency, so long they did nothing to alter that existence.

Kikyo made a quick decision, and began a rather hushed, very condensed version of the major recent events in her 'life'.

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Author's Note: Most of my feelings towards this chapter will remain muted, and I will only say that I'm going to refrain from writing fan fiction (or original fiction for that matter) when I'm sick, in the future. Also, I have no idea where this chapter came from, seeing as this is not what I original intended to happen. You get three guesses as to who the random person is, and the first two don't count, and it's not Inuyasha. It was supposed to be, but then it all got switched around. -wails dramatically-

Anywho... This is my fun fic, it will go where it takes me... I've stopped making sense haven't I?

Oh yes. A HUGE THANK YOU to EVERYONE who has review. There was like... a whole jump in reviews since I last update. It's craziness... I'm so happy that people like this ficcy, seeing as I didn't expect anything at all to come from it. Now I'm a little afraid that I might start disappointing people with the crap-tasticness of what might be coming next...

Oh dear, I must return to sleep. Thanks for reading... review if you want to. (I want you to.) -hugs-
Wait a second... no one died in this chapter... or the last. Oh dear, I'm loosing my touch.