Dark Heaven
Cookie to the reviewers to point out my new OC! I no longer give dedications, I now give out cookies! Take your pick, oatmeal, raisin or chocolate chip?
Chapter 6
Conspiracy Theory
"I don't like this," Toga Taisho growled, glaring out the window. His son Sesshomaru Taisho nodded in agreement. The two were standing in Toga's private quarters in Castle Taisho, the large fortress that housed the House of Taisho, the governing body of Horai. As the Inu no Taisho, Toga was official head of the House. While his son Sesshomaru was not a member, he was still a highly respected member of Horai.
"Agreed. So many years of peace, and now this," Sesshomaru said. Toga sighed.
"If we are to trust Koga's report, the criminal band known as the Shinchinintai attacked Haven last night. And they attacked a museum, of all places."
"They couldn't possibly know of it, could they?" Sesshomaru asked.
"Impossible," Toga said, shaking his head. "The records of its existence were buried in history. Save for our cities' respective governments, there are none who know of it."
"But what purpose could they have had, if they did not seek the Sealed One?" Sesshomaru pointed out. Toga growled.
"I do not know…" He admitted. "They must have found out somehow, which would mean…"
"Traitor," Sesshomaru finished. Toga and his son bristled. A traitor within the House, or within the Council. It was audacity, but it had to be true. How else could the legend of the Sealed One have reached the ears of the human gangland?
"Has the House been examined?" Sesshomaru asked.
"I have questioned each member briefly," Toga confirmed. "Kurama has not made city break in two months, and if he had told the Shinchinintai of it that long ago, they would have moved sooner. Raijin was one of the first in the House with me decades ago, he would not betray us."
"That leaves Kurobi and Kagemusha," Sesshomaru said. "And I know for a fact that Kurobi would not have told them. She is not even sure what the Sealed One is. Which only leaves…"
"When he returns from Haven, Kagemusha will be questioned extensively," Toga promised. "If the leak of the Sealed One did indeed stem from our own ranks, then Kagemusha shall die most painfully."
"And if our leak is in the Council?" Sesshomaru asked.
"Then Midoriko better do a better job," Toga said. "If I must, I will go there and investigate myself." Sesshomaru frowned.
"You have not traveled to Haven in years, ever since…"
"I am sure that fiasco has been forgotten," Toga muttered, remembering how his son had acted when they had gone to Haven fifteen years ago. It was not a fond memory. "Nevertheless, we will do what we must. The Sealed One will not be unleashed." Toga sat his oak desk and held his face in his hand. "How did this happen? Why… damn…why now, of all times?" Toga groaned and shook his head. He had been the governor of Horai for the entirety of its fifty year existence, and even before that was a king among the youkai. Straining to hold the remnants of his race together was quite tiresome.
"Is it possible Naobi has been reborn?" Sesshomaru asked.
"Highly improbable, it could not have found a suitable vessel in such short time, and even then, what does it matter? The Sealed One needs Naobi, and she cannot have been reborn so quickly…god damn, this makes no sense."
"Indeed. But if Naobi is among us, where could she be?" Sesshomaru asked, walking past his father to look out over Horai. Toga turned his chair and looked out all he had created. And all that was being threatened. Father and son sat in silence as both contemplated the possibility that one of their most trusted citizens might be planning their deaths.
- - - - - - - - - -
Kagome burst through the doors of the Haven Cryer, and marched through the cubicles to the stairwell. She ran up and ran down the hall to Sango's office.
"Sango!" She cried, throwing open the door. Sango looked up.
"Today is a glorious day in the history of journalism!" She cheered. "Kags, we got full-page spread of Shippo's pic, page one, we've got a full review of the sightings page two, page three a police account of the robbery last night." Sango put hand to her ear and grinned. "Hear that? It's the sound of our sales record smashing into itty bitty pieces."
"Where's the picture?" Kagome asked. Sango blinked.
"Huh? Oh, Shippo hasn't finished developing it yet, he's down in the dark room. But he says that she should have been captured perfectly!" Kagome nodded and turned.
"Oh, Kags, thanks for the advice!" Sango said. Kagome looked over her shoulder, puzzled. "You told me to have Shippo stick to the banks, and the museum is just a block down from United Finances. You're a genius Kags! The biggest scoop of the month and it's all thanks to you!"
"You have no idea," Kagome muttered, heading down to the dark room.
- - - - - - - - - -
"I've been out on the roofs all night for the last month," Shippo said, pouring a bottle of developing fluid into the pan. He picked up the undeveloped Angel photo with a pair of tweezers and slipped it into the pan. "And I was out at the bank last night, and I hear a crash, right? So I get down to the street and find the museum just as she flies overhead. Got her with the night vision."
"So I heard," Kagome said, shifting from one foot to the other in the corner of the dark room. "So how's it coming?"
"A few more seconds," Shippo said, shaking the pan a bit. "And…voila!" Shippo took the tweezers and picked up the picture, gently shaking it out. "It shook take just a seconds. I'm gonna take it to Sango." Shippo moved to the doors, and Kagome moved swiftly to slam it shut, twisted the lock into place. "Hey!"
"You can't show her that picture, Shippo," Kagome whispered. "You can't."
"Are you nuts, this will be huge!" Shippo protested.
"Shippo…" Kagome sighed, turning on the lights. "Look at the picture." Shippo glared at Kagome for a moment before lifting the picture to his face. Kagome waited as Shippo's eyes darts up and down between her and the perfectly centered, close-up shot of Angel, after the bladed man last night had sliced her scarf off her face. Shippo's eyes widened, and he lowered the picture.
"No…way…" He muttered.
"Yeah," Kagome admitted, stepping away from the door. Shippo shook his head.
"You…"
"Oh yeah."
"And they're…"
"Real," Kagome nodded, jerking a thumb at her back.
"Oh my god!" Shippo hissed. "You're Angel!" Kagome raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, I think we've kinda established that," She agreed. "Shippo, we can't let Sango get that picture. She's my friend and all, but we've got to keep this quiet."
"Why?" Shippo asked.
"Why do you want to keep it a secret that you're a youkai?" Kagome asked. Shippo gulped. There were two basic kinds of youkai that lived in Haven: Refugees were youkai from Horai that had been given allowance to live in Haven. Typically, of the five-hundred-thousand plus people in Horai, Kagome had heard that no less than a thousand were secretly Refugees. Some Refugees lived publicly, embracing their heritage. Other hid their identity because they didn't want to be associated with the Renegades.
The Renegades were youkai that were official outlaws to Haven. Typically, they had some sort of legal debacle or another, and were to be arrested or executed in Horai. So they fled to Haven to avoid capture. Officially, Haven and Horai ran their own governments, but they had a mutual agreement to turn any Renegades in either city to the other. Humans were also known to flee to Horai, although they were captured more easily by the youkai there. So the Renegades usually concealed their youkai images and posed as humans. And a few just lived on the streets as youkai, but they were more quickly captured.
"Point taken…" Shippo admitted. "So, what do we do now, Sango already knows about the picture!"
"This," Kagome said, plucking the picture from Shippo. She tossed it on the table, grabbed a random bottle of fluid, and splashed some on the photo. Shippo gasped.
"Are you crazy, you'll ruin…oh, right," He said. Kagome looked at the picture. I had mostly been blurry, but anyone who knew her would have been able to see that it was her flying across the stars there. Now the face area was smudged beyond recognition.
"Hey, uh…one thing," Shippo said nervously.
"Yeah?" Kagome asked, taking a tissue and wiping off the photo.
"Could I…maybe…see them?" Shippo asked. Kagome looked over her shoulder at him.
"Really?" She asked, surprised. Shippo nodded. "Well…I guess. Just…ya know, turn around." Shippo obeyed, and Kagome unbuttoned her blouse and set in on the table before reaching behind her and clipping off her bra. Finally, she snapped out her torso restraints that held her wings in place during the day. She held her blouse over her breasts and looked back at Shippo. "Okay. You can look," She said, letting her wings spread slightly. Shippo turned and gasped.
"Whoa…" He murmured, staring at the white wings sprouting from Kagome's back. "Hold on a sec," He said, stepping forward. Kagome tensed when she felt Shippo's hand on the base of the wing. Shippo traced a finger along her back, up to the sprout of skin, along it to where the skin vanished under white feathers. Shippo lifted up a feather to see where it merged with the skin, and Kagome hissed slightly, unaccustomed to the feel of a hand near her wings' sprout. Shippo removed his hand and grinned.
"That's so totally cool…" He whispered. "Hey…do you molt?" Kagome gave Shippo a dry look, and he held up his hands in defense. "Just asking."
I dunno about you guys, but that line is just such a Shippo line there.
