Miroku checked the time on his cell phone, unwilling to accept the reality of the contrasted digital numbers. Finally he tucked the phone away, resting his elbow against the driver's side window where he slumped, his free hand drumming its fingers over the steering wheel impatiently. It had been a solid 15 minutes since Kagome had excused herself from her afternoon class, presumably to use the bathroom. He fought the urge to reach for the binoculars again, knowing that she wouldn't be there. Maybe he should go up and check on her, just to make sure everything was okay. It would be easier if Sango was with him, but she had spotted the half-demon earlier and took off to either apprehend him or properly finish him this time–insisting that she could do it alone. It was true that one of them had to stay and watch Kagome, but he suspected she still held a grudge from their last encounter.
"So he follows her even to school, huh?"
Why had Onigumo chosen a mere half-breed to watch over Kagome out of all its members? It was true that he seemed no threat to Kagome and thus had merely been observed up until this point, but he had attacked Sango the night before which changed everything. Attacking an agent was a class one offense and the easiest way to make enemies fast. Idly, he wondered if the half-demon had even realized that he'd already been marked. Miroku caught a glimpse of long, dark hair out of the cornerr of his eye and jerked forward, immediately losing his train of thought.
"Shit!"
Well, he had finally spotted Kagome. But she was several hundred feet away and hurrying determinedly in the direction of Sango and the half-demon. He fumbled his way out of the car, slamming the door and tripping over himself in his attempt to catch up with her. Of course she had ditched class to head straight for the danger zone, if only he had realized that sooner.
"Kagome! Kagome, wait!"
She never once turned to acknowledge his voice.
Inuyasha managed to kill one of the Thunder Brothers because he was slower and stupid beyond his arrogance. He felt the familiar tingle of his body fighting against his mind for control and forced himself to look away from the bloodied body that had been his opponent. The feel of the drying blood where it coated his arm all the way up to his elbow caused his skin to crawl, the scent of it making his nose itch, stroking his desire, but his own surging adrenaline was suffice to keep it at bay. If he lost himself here who knew how many innocent bystanders would feel the pain of his claws.
Yura didn't seem the least bit deterred in her amusement as she congratulated him for his small victory with mock applause where she leaned casually against the trunk of a nearby tree. "Well done, Inuyasha. I'm surprised."
Her laughter showered around him like the tinkling of glass, gentle and sensuous. His reaction was immediate, crimson coated claws outstretched as he lunged at her without thought. "You're next!"
She dodged deftly, more laughter raining upon him as he marred the tree where she had been. He cried out as he was struck hard from behind without warning, the remaining brother's grief induced rage a promise of pain and defeat.
Inuyasha's right arm had been shattered in the moment that the female agent arrived, but he had been losing long before that. Inuyasha gasped as his fall broke the surface of the lake, and then he was under, the cold water shocking before he felt the true anguish. Air bubbled violently on the surface as he choked from the sudden electrocution while Hiten's lightening rod held him firmly in place where it dug into his stomach. Weakly, he gripped the wooden shaft with his good hand in an attempt to dislodge the weapon but ended up channeling more electricity through his body in the process. His vision blurred as the cloud of white hair became tinged with red, and he let out his last gasp of air.
Yura tore her attention away from the ensnared agent long enough to shout over her shoulder, "Don't kill him yet."
Sango took the distraction to break free from Yura's demon hair, and it was then that Kagome burst into the clearing, eyes wild and searching.
Sango gasped in surprise, unable to comprehend Kagome's unexpected presence momentarily before panic overtook her body. "Kagome, no!"
A lightening attack was already headed her way. Sango watched in horror, knowing that she wouldn't be able to stop it. Time slowed as Kagome realized she was in danger, seemingly for the first time and froze, muscles tensed for the impact, her eyes brimming with fear and confusion. A scream tore from her throat, and the world was moving again, a blur of white covering her in an instant before she was gone. The ground erupted in her place from the power of the blast, and Sango blinked in mild shock.
"Watch where you're aiming, you idiot," Yura shouted angrily, drawing back slightly in the process. "You want to get us killed?"
Kagome's clothes were soaked and sticking to her body in places where she was pressed against him. She shivered against the cold sensation, subconsciously gripping him tighter as she buried her face against his neck in an effort to avoid looking so far down.
"What the hell were you thinking coming here?"
The demon was talking to her in a low voice but it was obvious that he was angry. But more than that, he sounded worried. And his body was trembling slightly against her. She was breathing heavily, more so than he, her mind racing to process everything that had happened. And then the realization struck her. He was scared. But what would a demon have to fear?
"Don't drop me." Her own voice was shaky, and she felt breathless.
His left arm tightened around her waist, his right hanging limply at his side.
"Planning to hide behind a human, Inuyasha?" Hiten jeered suddenly, interrupting their moment.
Inuyasha caught the image of Hiten below, eyes still crimson wild, hair billowing around him where the air crackled with his energy and knew that even though it meant his death, he would sacrifice the girl in order to kill Inuyasha.
"If you hurt her–" Sango interjected, menacingly.
"Keh." It was soft, so only Kagome could hear it, feel the vibration of it in his chest and the way his jaw clenched in defiance. "We're going down."
It was the only warning she got before her feet had left the tree branch and they were plummeting toward the ground. She inhaled but forgot to scream as his familiar scent suddenly hit her, and then they had landed. Her feet touched down softly and she was alone, watching him a few yards ahead where he had placed himself between her and the other demons. She shivered from his noticeable absence, hugging herself to hide the reaction. What was this feeling? Sango came rushing to her side, followed by a breathless Miroku but she barely noticed, her head cocked slightly to the side as she watched the white-haired boy. Her hand found her lips as she realized what her mind had been trying to grasp since he had grabbed her. That familiar scent. She knew his scent. But how? It would mean . . .
Sango was shaking her, and she lost her near realization when she focused her attention on the present once more.
"Are you okay?"
Her friend must have been repeating it for some while if the way that she gripped Kagome's arm almost painfully now was any indication. "I'm fine, Sango. It's okay."
Kagome fought the urge to look back to Inuyasha, keeping her attention trained on Sango's worried face even as her thoughts wandered.
After catching his breath, Miroku had joined Inuyasha in resistance against Hiten. He let out a sharp cry when Yura caught him off-guard, her wire-like hairs slicing at his left thigh. At the sound, the girls turned their attention to the fight, and Kagome watched the blood soak through his pants to pool on the ground. Suddenly, she felt a burning behind her left eye and doubled over, palm pressed over the area, an unsuppressed cry escaping her lips.
"Kagome!" Inuyasha glanced to her and was thrown back by a sharp blast from Hiten's lightening rod. He skidded toward the lake before he was flying once more through the air in a counterattack, claws ripping through the fabric of Hiten's shirt. But he was left with only cloth, cursing at his inability to strike with only one hand.
Yura was skillfully evading an onslaught of bullets when several lodged in Hiten's chest. She hissed, suddenly angry. Both agents had now joined the fight. "Come on, we can't win here."
Hiten ignored her, attention still focused solely on Inuyasha as he continued to attack, seemingly unfazed by the wounds in his frenzy for revenge. "I'll kill you for what you've done."
A bullet caught Yura's shoulder, and she glared at the male agent before jumping backwards into the trees. If Hiten wanted to die here it was his choice, but she wouldn't stay to watch.
"She's gone!" Miroku shouted back to Sango, angry at his inability to follow her due to his injured leg.
"I can't leave Kagome," she answered, frustrated at the turn of events.
He nodded, falling back to keep a closer watch on the girls as the two remaining demons continued to battle it out. "What should we do?"
"Help him."
Both agents looked to Kagome in surprise, and Sango immediately bent to support her weight as she stood, an unnecessary action but one meant with good intentions.
"He saved me," she explained dryly as if the reasoning was perfectly clear and paused, waiting for their following action.
"But, Kagome," Sango offered, not sure how to explain the situation concerning the previous night. Finally she settled on, "He's a demon."
Kagome frowned and pulled away from Sango to get a better view of the fight. Sadly, she answered, "Can't you see he's losing?"
Her own words slightly surprised her. Why did she care if two demons killed each other? From here he looked amazing, whirling around and flashing his claws—long, white hair thrown back behind him as he charged without hesitation. She had never seen anything like it before, and watching him like that, she couldn't argue that he truly was a demon. But somehow she felt that maybe he was just a boy who wasn't all that different from her.
"Do something."
She looked back to them expectantly, fighting to keep control of her emotions. Finally Miroku nodded and moved to join the fight.
"But your leg!" Sango called after him in protest.
"It's nothing," he answered and swerved to avoid being slashed at the end of Hiten's blade, dropping to a side roll as he fired another round at the demon.
Inuyasha breathed a sigh of relief when Hiten finally died. In the end, it was a combination of his claws ripping through his throat and the blood loss from the bullets. Only then had the vengeful demon fallen. So he had survived the first round, ironically thanks to the Patrol. No, they wouldn't have helped him. It was thanks to Kagome. He fell back against a nearby tree, supporting his weight against the rough bark when his legs threatened to give out.
"What are you doing here," he called to Kagome angrily. She should have been in class. He never thought that he would endanger her, and the realization made his heart race.
She was surprised when he address her, but answered truthfully. "I was looking for something. It felt—" she paused, struggling for the right word. Urgent was what she wanted to say, but that just didn't sound right. Finally she settled with, "different."
Not surprisingly, he scowled at her explanation, but she didn't bother to wonder why he even cared. "What does that mean?"
"It was you that I was looking for." The words slipped out before she even realized she had thought them, and she gasped, embarrassed slightly by her outburst. Even so, she realized that the words were true.
"How—?" His eyes were wide, unbelieving, and she marveled at their coloration.
He looked away sharply, face flushed, unwilling to fall for her words. She couldn't possibly know it was him, and even if she did she certainly wouldn't seek him out. She might have been able to develop feelings for him when he met her as a human, but not now. Not when he looked like this.
He opened his mouth to reply but was cut off.
"He's only a half-demon, Kagome. His aura would feel different from what you're used to," Sango interrupted crossly. "You put yourself in danger by coming here. I could have explained what you were feeling later."
"That's not—"
"Shut up!" He pushed away from the tree without thought, his sudden anger fueling him. "Don't talk as if you know me."
At the sign of danger, Miroku hurriedly slid between him and Sango, gun ready. His face was set, and Inuyasha realized too late that he had been their target from the beginning. So that's how it was. A low growl escaped his throat, even as he realized that he couldn't win this time.
"I'm sorry, but I'll have to apprehend you now."
The girl was busy looking after Kagome. His eyes flicked in her direction at the mere thought of her name, and he was met with the image of her worried face. He hated to cause her pain. The one in front of him had an injured leg. Inuyasha fought the urge to glance behind him, but his ears betrayed him, a visual indiction of his plans.
"You won't be allowed to escape."
He was off in an instant, tearing across the ground toward the closest patch of trees, arms thrown back behind him. His feet echoed the pounding of his heart as he forced himself to run faster. Almost there.
The first bullet tore through his left shoulder; he faltered as a second embedded in his back near his spine. His breathing was heavy, painful. He was mere feet from the edge of the clearing. Not good enough.
Miroku took aim again, and panicked, Kagome clenched her eyes shut. Please. She dropped to the ground hard without hesitation and felt her breath be forced from her lungs by the impact, felt the dry leaves scratch against her cheek and the hot tears on her face.
"Kagome!"
Miroku glanced behind him in reflex at Sango's sudden cry. "What happened?"
Kagome opened her eyes slowly, raising her hand shakily to her forehead, fighting the urge to search for him. Did he make it?
Miroku was suddenly at her side. "Don't move her; she could be in shock." Or some other side effect of her undiscovered powers. He left the thought unsaid, instead focusing his attention on attending to the girl.
Kagome made sure to take her time as she sat up. Fake or not, the fall had hurt. "No, I'm okay. I just felt dizzy is all."
Miroku nodded and glanced to Sango who was off without a word in the direction that Inuyasha had been heading, gun pointed skyward in a two handed grip as she quickly disappeared into the surrounding woods. It wasn't long before she returned, shaking her head.
Kagome sighed, unsure if she had done the right thing. So he had gotten away.
"He won't get far with two hollow-points. I'll call a team to set up a parameter."
Miroku nodded at her words, and tried not to grimace. Now that the immediate danger had passed, the pain in his leg was beginning to set.
"Do you think he'll already be dead?" Kagome spoke up softly, trying not to sound too interested.
"Not if we can get to him first," Miroku answered. "It seems he's fallen out of Naraku's favor."
"Don't worry, Kagome," Sango offered with a reassuring smile as she produced a small cell phone from the lining of her suit jacket. "They're just spelled bullets meant to put him to sleep. We'll be able to pick him up quickly and give him the medical attention he needs."
But they weren't able to pick him up quickly. For all reasonable purposes it seemed the half-demon had dropped off the face of the earth. Kagome sat in the all too familiar underground medical facility that as it turned out was actually an entire underground network. Which made her question who was really part of the underworld here. But there wasn't time for irony. By the time they had arrived, it was Miroku who had fallen into shock. Several hours had passed and he had been declared stable, but Sango had yet to leave his side, and Kagome mostly just felt as if she were in the way. She had left the room, muttering something about finding a drink machine, but had ended up wandering aimlessly. A little too late, she realized that she had stumbled into the lockup.
"You smell like wolf, priestess."
She jumped at the sound of the voice to her left, and turned slowly as if trapped in a horror movie. "But that was a day ago."
She hadn't meant to speak out loud, and the demon laughed at her naivety. "Wolf and dog. The prince won't be too happy if he catches you with another's scent. I suggest you wash it off before you next see him."
She stepped closer to the containment facility, which appeared to be nothing more than a giant chainlink cage, but stopped short when she sensed the familiar hum of the metal. "You know Kouga."
It wasn't a question.
The demon leaned against the wall looking both bored and angry. "I know of him. If I had money like him, I wouldn't be in here either. I know of you, too."
The way he grinned at her with his pointy teeth and carnal eyes sent shivers down her spine. She could feel that itchy, burning sensation behind her skin again and felt herself becoming hysterical. "How? How do you know me!"
She had slammed her fists against the cage, and he was suddenly there. She hadn't even seen him move. And somehow she knew that he wasn't one of the powerful ones. He wasn't like Kouga or him. The thought was breathtaking that even weak demons would have this kind power, but a female agent had noticed their interaction and was already pulling Kagome away gently but firmly.
"Ms. Higurashi, you shouldn't be in here. Is there something you were looking for?"
She could hear the urgency in the woman's voice, feel the tightness of her grip even as she smiled. So even she knew her name. She fought the urge to glance over her shoulder to the demon who held a clue to her circumstances, teased her with his smile and dark eyes. The double doors swished closed behind her, again reminding her of her first impression of a hospital, and then they were alone in the hallway.
"I was–I was looking for a snack room," she answered lamely.
The agent stared at her intently, and just when Kagome decided that she wasn't buying it, the woman offered a congenial smile. "Of course, it's this way. You must be fatigued."
Only when they arrived at the closet sized room did her grip loosen. Sango was waiting for her at the small table near the coffee machine. She looked up with dull eyes but smiled as the woman excused herself, leaving them alone.
"Miroku's going to be fine. They got him all stitched up."
Kagome already knew this, but decided not to mention it. "That's good to hear," she offered as she slid into a chair at the table, opposite of Sango.
"He's been hurt worse, really. I don't know what came over me," Sango continued, clutching a manilla envelope tighter to her chest as she spoke. She let out a deep sigh and seemed to regain herself somewhat. "He thinks it would be best to show this to you." Her words trailed off, and she slid the envelope across the table slowly before finishing, "after what happened today."
Kagome expected her heart to be racing or that she should at least feel nervous. But looking at the plain envelope on the faded plastic surface, she mostly felt empty. For a moment she thought about refusing, finally feeling a surge of emotion—anger for all the danger and disruption that had come into her life, but it wasn't Sango or Miroku's fault. So she opened it, spilling the contents out onto the table top and tossing the envelope to the side.
"They're pictures of me."
Inuyasha blinked weary eyes open and tried to focus on the image before him. It appeared to be a wall. "I'm alive?"
His voice cracked, and he swallowed painfully against his dry throat. A face suddenly came into view, youthful and grinning but no more than a blurred image from the rapid movement. "Yeah, thanks to us."
He recognized the high-pitched voice immediately and cringed. "I thought I told you to get lost."
"Good thing for you, I didn't listen."
Inuyasha closed his eyes to block out the brat and let out a deep breath, feeling as if the very life was leaking out of him in the process. "And what do you mean 'us'?"
"I found you in the Dumpster."
That's right; he had been frantic then. Unable to run any further, he had been desperate for a place to hide. Inuyasha raised his head in response to the unfamiliar voice and realized that he was lying on his stomach across a wooden table, face tilted to the side. The kit was staring at him, silently with glee, and he frowned, trying to rise up completely but found the action too painful.
"Lie down, fool."
He recognized it as a woman's voice, and he complied unwillingly as his strength gave out. "Who are you, and what are your intentions."
His attempt to sound threatening fell flat, and even the kit began to ignore him. Finally the woman came into view, as she moved about the room, gathering items along the way. Her elderly body was stooped, and she absently brushed back a stray wisp of long, gray hair. It was only when she turned to face him that he noticed the eyepatch.
"You may call me Kaede. I am the one who removed the sleepers from your flesh. The spells had already taken effect when I found you."
He felt the warm touch of her wrinkled fingers as they brushed the bare skin of his back.
"I retired from the Patrol some years ago. You're lucky to be alive."
"I'm not here for a lecture," Inuyasha snapped, trying once more to rise. So she was one of them.
She pressed on his back firmly and he collapsed in a wave of agony. "Hag, how dare you," he seethed, digging his claws into the table.
"I stitched up your wounds, but they're still fresh. You shouldn't try to move for a few days."
None of this made sense. "What do you want from me?"
He heard her sigh patiently, and felt the cool wetness of the ointment where she applied it to his wounds. "I've been taking care of Shippou since the Ookami tribe is not yet capable of protecting him."
Inuyasha felt his ears flick at the idea but remained motionless otherwise. At least the kid had found someplace safe to stay. "But he's a demon."
"He's a child." Kaede sent Shippou out of the room to play, not wanting him to hear where the conversation was going. "He also told me how you spared him. That's a risk you didn't have to take."
Inuyasha didn't answer, hoping she would drop the conversation. It seemed to work, and after a while her hands stilled. Maybe she would leave him alone now.
"What did you do to get the Patrol interested in a half-breed like you?"
His fist slammed through the table, and suddenly it didn't hurt to move in his anger. "You want to feel the pain of my claws, old hag?"
This time his threat sounded sincere.
Kaede gave another one of her patient sighs, and he nearly vomited when she dug her fingers into the wound near his spine. Blood oozed out from the re-opened wound and he collapsed to the table once more, grinding his teeth to keep from crying out. When he didn't answer, she forced her fingers deeper, and he cried out loudly.
Finally, she relented and waited silently until his was able to answer, "I was set up."
He was too hurt to feel angry and lay unmoving as she tended once more to his back.
"Why?"
"Because I became too close to a human—a girl." He spoke without thought, too exhausted to regret it at the moment.
"The young priestess?"
Inuyasha felt himself slipping back into unconsciousness as he replied, "I don't know what you're talking about."
