Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. Inuyasha and characters are property of Rumiko Takahashi. I'm just borrowing them for my own amusement.
Inuyasha looked down at the IV that was in his arm, cringing before pulling it out. He pulled back the blanket, noticing that he had been changed out of his suit and into a white tank and black sweatpants. He pulled his legs over the side of the bed, standing up slowly, aware of the cameras in the corner. While they didn't bother him, he needed to make out that the wounds he had received during the attack were causing him pain. He had no doubt that they would be watching him.
He could hear two men outside, presuming they were there to ensure he didn't go anywhere. Little did they know, he knew practically everything there was to know about the Organisation he was currently standing in. He walked over to the door, opening it and peeking out into the hallway, seeing the guards he had heard. They turned immediately and Inuyasha stood there, his hands up in a defensive stance at the guns that were now focused on him.
"Please step back inside the room, sir," the guard closest to him said firmly.
"Where am I?" He asked, forcing confusion into his voice and expression. "What happened?"
"Please step back inside the room and we'll have someone explain everything, sir." The second guard stepped forward, sounding slightly less threatening. He motioned to the room behind Inuyasha and he sighed, knowing he wouldn't be getting anywhere, projecting disappointment.
He stepped back inside, closing the door and hearing the second guard radio through to someone named Kaede that the young man in the hospital ward had woken up.
Inuyasha sat back on the bed, pulling his legs up, folding his left leg underneath him and positioning his right as though it was causing him pain. He made sure to move and position himself as though his chest and arm were also bothering him.
He wondered what had happened to his suit. While it was no huge loss, it had been one of the more comfortable ones he had worn. He thought back to the previous night when he had left the offices he shared with his brother. While they had mostly been working on their offensive with regards to the Shikon Organisation, Inuyasha had also been publicly taking over his duties at Nakamura Inc. It would also work to reinforce their knowledge of him as a human, should they wonder why he was showing up again.
He pulled the blanket over his legs, taking care to not move his left arm as much as he could have. Just as he was doing this, the door opened and Kaede, along with the girl he had met before, Kagome and another two people he hadn't met but knew anyway as Miroku and Sango walked in. He swallowed, hoping it came across as nervous rather than the intense anger he felt at seeing the woman in front of him.
"How're you feeling, Isamu?" Kagome asked, a small smile on her face as she walked over to him.
"You . . . you remember my name?" He asked and she nodded, smiling at him.
"I see you pulled out your IV," Miroku walked up to his side, giving him a disapproving look. He took hold of his arm, inspecting where the needle had been in his arm. "Well, no damage done, I suppose." Inuyasha pulled his arm away from the other man.
"That IV was in your arm for a reason, young man," Kaede said disapprovingly, her remaining eye narrowing slightly as she took in the young man in the hospital bed.
"Is someone gonna explain to me where I am? And what happened last night?" He looked between the four of them. He must have looked suitably freaked out because they all looked slightly nervous.
"What do you remember?" Sango asked, stepping up and pushing Miroku out of the way.
Inuyasha sighed gently, blinking. "I remember . . . leaving the office late. My brother and I are working on something and we decided to stay late to finish it off. I was walking home-"
"Wait, you were walking home?" Kagome asked and he nodded.
"I don't live far." He reasoned and she blinked at him. "It's easier to walk. And besides, with traffic, it would probably take me longer to drive in than it does to walk."
"Well, when you put it that way," she mumbled and he raised an eyebrow.
"Anyway, I was . . . I was walking home and the next thing I know, there's this huge . . . roar or something and these two, I don't even know what they were. They made me think of the monsters my brother used to tell me stories about to frighten me as a kid."
"You saw what they looked like?" Sango asked, glancing at Kaede, who nodded.
"I'll never forget what they looked like." Inuyasha looked at them. "They were huge. At least twelve feet tall," try fifteen, Kagome thought, "and their skin was like . . . blue. A really dark blue. Their teeth were huge. One of them attacked me, caused these, I suppose," he touched the bandage on his head and chest, "but just as I passed out, it seemed as though they started to fight each other. Next thing I know, I was in here, two guys with guns at the door and still no idea where I am." He glanced around again. "And people who probably now think I'm crazy." He sighed again, placing a hand gently to where the bandage on his head was.
"Are you in pain?" Miroku asked, standing up.
"More of an ache than anything else." He said softly, looking back up at Kaede, feeling his fury rising once again. "I'm fine."
"If that is the case, then you must know, we do not think you are crazy." Inuyasha raised an eyebrow, snorting at the words. He must have been a better actor than he thought he was because they all looked slightly surprised at the noise.
"I just told you about twelve-foot-tall, blue monsters that tried to kill me and you're saying I'm not crazy? Okay, then." Kagome placed a hand on his bandaged arm, gently.
"If you're crazy, then so are we." She said softly and the others nodded.
"The creatures you saw last night, young man, are called ogres or oni." Kaede explained and Inuyasha schooled his expression into one of confusion. "They are youkai."
"Youkai?" He looked between the three younger ones in the room and they all nodded. "Wait . . . you're trying to tell me . . . that youkai actually exist?"
"That they do," his attention was brought back to Kaede, "the one's that attacked you were merely lower level youkai, not very powerful."
"You consider them not very powerful?" Inuyasha schooled his expression to show one of shock. "Why were they there?"
"We don't really know." Kagome said softly and Inuyasha raised an eyebrow, clearly querying what she meant.
"I think that's enough," Kaede was clearly uncomfortable with him knowing any more than he already did.
"Hang on a minute," he levelled a stare at the woman, "I've just been attacked by these things. I think I deserve to know why."
There was no movement from the wrinkled woman as she stared at him. Miroku moved away from the side of his bed to stand next to Kaede, facing away from Inuyasha.
"He has a point, Kaede," Miroku whispered, thinking that the "human" on the bed couldn't hear him. Inuyasha made no move that he could. He had two powerful miko's and a houshi in the room with him and none of them had detected that he wasn't human. He had to smirk internally at the power of his deception. "If it hadn't been spotted, he could have lost his life last night. He's seen oni. He knows there's something going on and we've just explained that youkai are real. He should know that they're not able to run around killing without being kept in check." Miroku glanced at Inuyasha as he spoke. "If he knows that there are people out there working to keep everyone safe, there's also less of a chance he's going to say anything to anyone about what happened."
Kaede couldn't argue with his logic. She kept her eyes on the young man in the bed. While he looked confused and frustrated, his eyes held an anger that didn't seem to fit the current situation. There was something about him that she couldn't put her finger on. She sensed nothing dangerous from him but she knew that that could be misleading.
"Very well," she nodded, turning away from where Kagome, Sango and Inuyasha were, "we will show him."
Kagome and Sango looked at each other in surprise at Kaede's words before nodding. Sango turned, grabbing a hoodie from behind her and some sandals which she placed on the floor by the bed.
"Can you walk?" Kagome asked Inuyasha as he studied the people around him. She didn't blame him for being suspicious of them. He had been thrown into a world he didn't know or understand and they were about to throw him in even deeper.
"Huh?"
"Your leg?" She nodded towards the injured leg that was once again hidden underneath the blanket on the bed. "Are you able to work on it?"
"I should be able to." He moved the blanket and once again, stood slowly, as though testing his weight on the leg. He would need to ensure that he didn't neglect the "pain" he was in due to the injury. He slipped his feet into the sandals Sango had retrieved, taking the hoodie she now held out, thanking her quietly.
He was keenly aware of Kaede's gaze as he moved, letting out a small hiss as he moved his arm as though, like his leg, it was causing him pain. He would have to keep an eye on her just as she was keeping her eye on him. It was taking most of his control to hold himself back, wanting nothing more than to strike down the old woman in front of him. But as he had told Kouga previously, just killing her would cause a small rift in the working of the Organisation but would not achieve their goal.
He would bide his time.
Plastering a look of discomfort on his face, he quickly wrapped his hair into a braid, ensuring it stayed out of his face. He had nothing to tie it with but the length would work to his advantage.
"Come," she turned and walked out of the room with a considerable speed for her age. They followed, Inuyasha limping lightly, keeping up with the pretence that the wound was giving him pain.
"I know that it's hurting you now but once we've explained everything, I can give you something for it." Miroku said softly as he passed. Inuyasha wasn't keen on having the man at his back, his Inu instincts kicking in at the male presence behind him.
"Thank you," he said instead, giving him a grateful look. "So where are we going?" He asked and Miroku looked towards Kaede as she walked, noting where they were going.
"Kaede is allowing you to see what happens here," he said softly. "You've seen youkai, you know they exist now. It wouldn't be fair for you to have that knowledge and know nothing of what is being done to counter the youkai that are out there."
Hell yeah, I know they're out there, Inuyasha thought to himself, but you have no idea.
Kaede stopped and turned towards those following her. He had realised very quickly that they had formed around him, encasing him inside a sort of human barrier. Whether that was to keep him from disappearing or whether it was to keep him safe from the other members of the Organisation that were around.
They walked into a large room that resembled the board rooms at his and his brother's offices. Kaede sat at the head of the table, indicating for Inuyasha to sit down in the seat next to her. She would be within reach. He would be able to rip her throat out before any of the others would be able to react. He limped towards where she was sat, easing himself down and rubbing his chest gently, as though it was bothering him. He noted the cameras in the corner, smirking internally to himself.
The plan cooked up by Sesshomaru and himself was playing out perfectly.
"Kagome and Miroku think that it is best that you know what happens here," Kaede watched him with her remaining eye. "With what you have seen and been through over the last day or so, they believe it would be best."
"But you don't." He said softly and she sighed, her eye closing as she linked her fingers in front of her.
"I am not a fan of someone outside of our Organisation knowing what happens here but," she levelled her gaze on him again. "I can see their point. However, you must know that you cannot speak of this to anyone in your life. To do so would mean that we have misplaced our trust in you and you would become a problem that would need to be . . . dealt with."
"You mean killed." He leaned back in his chair, knowing she would have no qualms in taking his life should she feel it necessary.
"That is one way to put it." She shrugged and he nodded, knowing she wouldn't ever get close.
"Well, now that that's out of the way," he rubbed his arm, pulling attention back to his arm, "anyone going to exactly where the hell I am?" He raised an eyebrow, looking at the four of them.
"You are in the headquarters of the Shikon Organisation." Kaede stated as though that explained everything. Of course, he knew everything there was to know about the Organisation that he was sat in but he wasn't about to let anything slip. They would find out on their own. "We are charged with keeping the human race safe from the youkai that would cause them harm."
"Like the ones last night?" He asked and she nodded. "Does that happen often? People getting attacked?"
"More often than we would like, especially lately," Kagome said softly. "We're the ones that stop these attacks from happening as much as we can. Unfortunately, we're not always in time but without us there would be far more deaths at the hands of youkai than if we weren't here."
Inuyasha bristled at the implication that youkai would always attack humans given the chance. He knew that this was not the truth. Whether the younger humans in the room were aware of the true nature of the majority of youkai in the world, he didn't know but he knew that Kaede sure as hell knew that was not entirely true. The woman sat on his left had sins to answer for.
"We have access to Government reports worldwide to be able to ascertain where the reports are coming from. We have headquarters on every continent and in many countries. We here in Tokyo are the main Headquarters." Miroku explained. Inuyasha marvelled at how upfront they were being with him. He had expected the bare minimum. Not to be told straight up that they had access to worldwide Governments - which to him was no biggie as he could drop in and out of them as he please without too much fuss but hey, good for them, he guessed.
It just added to the fact that they thought he was nothing more than a human, helpless against youkai.
He was still astonished that none of them had felt anything from him. Yes, he had his youki under strict restraint right then but he would have thought they might pick up on something at least.
Apparently not.
"So everything feeds back here?" He asked and they nodded. "That must keep you busy."
"You have no idea," Sango gave him a small grin which he returned. Wanna bet? He thought to himself, keeping his face blank.
"So you guys fight and kill youkai." He said softly before looking up at Kagome. "Don't you feel bad? Killing them?"
"We only go after those that are causing harm to humans," she responded, her gaze not wavering. "If killing a youkai is going to keep humans safe, then that's what I'll do."
He fought to keep his expression blank and his posture relaxed. He knew for a fact that they didn't just go after those causing harm to humans. He only had to think of Shippo to know that, to think of Kouga and of himself to know the harm they had caused.
"However, it is not the only avenue we are pursuing," Kaede stood up, drawing attention back to herself. "I can see that the thought of taking life, even if it is not human, disturbing. Am I correct?" He clenched his fist, looking down at the table. "I can see that I am right. Follow me."
"Kaede, are you sure?" Sango stood up, challenging the older woman. Miroku and Kagome looked concerned and Inuyasha couldn't help but wonder why. Whatever the old woman wanted him to see, it was clear the others didn't agree.
"Yes, Sango." Kaede stopped, turning back to all of them, standing and seated. "I can see that the young man is not comfortable with the thought that all we do is kill the youkai we are called out to remove. It may be worth it to show him that extermination is not all we do."
They looked between each other before glancing at Inuyasha. They looked back at Kaede, clearly unable to argue with what she was saying and in that moment, Inuyasha knew exactly what they were talking about.
He stood slowly, ensuring the moved slowly, with the limp he had before. No one said anything as they walked down the corridor directly outside the room they had just been in. He noticed that they – or rather he – was attracting attention from the other members of the organisation. No one said anything and he had the inclination that it was due to being with Kaede that no one approached them.
As soon as they reached the elevator at the other end of the corridor, he knew where they were going.
When he had entered the system that first time and gone through the information he had managed to obtain, he had found reports of experimentation that they had been doing in the basement of the Organisation. Kaede had been right when she had said that extermination was not the only thing they were focusing on. From the reports he had found, they were trying to work out a way to purify youkai, turning them human, instead of killing them. He had been disgusted by what he had read but pushed on nonetheless. Thus far they had been unsuccessful, causing kami knew how many deaths of youkai.
The elevator opened on a different floor and there were many more people milling down here. Kaede walked straight ahead, ignoring what was going on around her. Inuyasha looked around as they walked, seeing various labs around him, some of them looking like regular scientific labs but others looking most definitely dealing with the spiritual.
They walked past these windows, no one paying them any mind. They went through another set of doors which sealed shut behind them.
He felt his jaw drop as he took in the sight around him. It was more windows of glass either side of him but behind each one was a different form of youkai. He knew that this was happening in here but in the reports he had read there had been nothing to determine what the youkai were. Now he could see them in front of him.
They were still walking when he spotted something that caused his blood to begin to boil. He stopped, walking over to a window, seeing a small girl behind the glass. She looked human apart from her silver hair. She looked up as though she could sense him but couldn't see him.
"It's one-way glass," Kagome stepped up beside him, looking at the girl. "She can't see you."
"Why is she in there?" He asked, his fist clenching again. "She's just a little girl."
"She is over one hundred years old," Kaede stepped up on the other side to Kagome. "She is hanyou. A half youkai." She turned away from him again. Inuyasha couldn't stop looking at the girl. She reminded him of Shippo, small and alone, just the way he had been when Inuyasha had found him.
"What if you're wrong." He whispered softly and Kagome turned towards him.
"What?"
"What if you're wrong about the youkai you're killing," he expanded on what he had said. "What if it turned out that the youkai you had killed, wasn't the one that was attacking people. What if they exist among us but we don't know because they're not doing anything to draw attention. What if you get it wrong? Kill the wrong youkai?"
Kagome looked back towards the girl, not answering him. He sighed, looking back at the girl in front of him. He closed his eyes, letting out a breath and rubbing his forehead with his right hand.
And the next moment, all hell broke loose.