Read, Review, and as always, Enjoy! XPP
This chapter has been beta'd by the wonderful and awesomelicious ArmyWife22079 and neverforget-3-1-07. You two ROCK! Thanks so much! You both helped wonders with this chapter!
Disclaimer- As much as I wish I did, I DO NOT own Inuyasha or NCIS, just the plot of this story and any OC's that happen to pop up! XD
-Reality and Truth-
Previously;
Ziva's eye twitched and she let out a sniff. "Then what do you suggest we should do? Let her bleed to death?" she snapped at him.
Shippo let out a barking laugh. His green eyes appreciatively roamed over her up and down before he gave her a flirty wink. "'Course not honey, she'll heal just fine on her own-give her an hour to recuperate after I get her bandaged up and she'll be good as new."
"Do not call me 'honey'." She retorted sharply, her face twisting at the name. Her darkened brown eyes held a threatening glint.
Shippo only shrugged, a teasing smirk on his face made just for her. "Whatever you want, sweetheart…" and he snickered at the evil glare she sent.
Gibbs let out a low groan, rubbing his forehead. "God, I need coffee..."
-A Nightmare Come True-
-Kagome's hotel room-
Slowly she could feel herself returning to the real world.
Her head pounded and loud voices - although they were soft spoken - slammed against her mind heavily as they carried through the vents and in to her room. Only a few words were discernable.
"...you sure...she...ok?"
The voice was laced with concern and Kagome was confused; was someone hurt?
Though her eyes were closed, her mind felt as if it was swimming. The feeling of vertigo washed over her like a tidal wave, making her stomach flip in response.
"...of course...strong...pull through..."
"...how...longer?..."
Huh, if she wasn't so out of it, she'd say that voice sounded vaguely familiar. It was weird, because it sounded like Shippo's voice.
And the voice that came after, it sounded like...Tony's...?
Her eyes shot open as it all crashed into her, an icy feeling spreading throughout her body. she wrenched herself up suddenly, sitting up in the bed.
The demon! Shippo!
Her eyes flickered with mixed realization and regret, the emotions churning deep in her gut.
Tony...and the team...
They found out!...They knew...
Her hands clutched at the sheets and her eyes scanned over her quaint hotel bedroom as horror washed though her. What was she going to do!
They weren't supposed to find out! She failed! She failed Sesshomaru, and worst of all, she failed Tony and his team!
And now they knew all of her secrets! They knew that she lied about practically everyone!
She pretty much betrayed the lot of them.
And Ziva...how would her friend take the news of her lies, her betrayal?
Kagome shook her head harshly, forcing those thoughts out of her mind. She had to get head mind on task, not fret and panic about what could happen...
Taking a deep breath, she calmed and just stared out the door that basically would lead to her doom, or at least a whole bunch of drama and explanations.
How long was she out of it anyways...? Deciding to find out, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and pushed off. Stumbling, she reached out and grasped the headboard when her vision did a 360.
"Holy crap..." she cursed, her throat rasping.
She was forced to sit back down on the edge of the bed, taking deep breaths to calm her harshly beating heart. Out of the corner of her eyes, she spotted the bright glare of her phone, which indicated that it was only a little after six o' clock in the morning, a meager five hours from when she passed out.
Once calmed, she rose slowly this time, reaching out in the darkness with her hand so as to grasp anything to hold her up. Her hand first found a drawer, and then the back of a chair and so on as she slowly made her way towards the door.
She paused to listen carefully to the voices outside her room, before she grabbed the handle and turned. Automatically the voices shushed.
As she entered the main room of the hotel, six pairs of eyes were trained on her, watching her every movement.
It was all she could do as she laughed nervously. "Uh, hey guys...what's up?" she asked sheepishly under the force of tension, her voice a little weak and rough.
It seemed to break the ice as a certain goth forensic scientist rushed over, making a beeline for the miko. "Oh my God! You're alive!" she exclaimed happily and Kagome's eyes went wide.
The rest of the room's occupants followed suit as they realized what was happening, save for Gibbs who sighed testily.
McGee and Tony yelled out at once. "Abs don't!" "Abby, wait!"
It was too late as the goth had already wrapped the other women into a tight bear hug.
Immediately Kagome's face went pale. Her breath left sharply as the force knocked the wind right out of her.
Abby let out a gasp once she saw her face, letting go and jumping back immediately. Her hands grabbed Kagome's shoulders to steady her when she stumbled lightly. "Oh no! I'm so sorry!" she blurted out quickly. "Are you ok? Here, lay down, we need to check you bandages!" she said hurriedly, herding the woman towards the couch.
Unable to protest, Kagome was dragged towards the couch and forced to lay down as the rest of them hovered over her. Her breathing was harsh as she fought to catch her breath.
She shook her head in response to them trying to check the bandages around her waist. When they reached over, she was finally able to make a sound. "No wait, I don't need-" she was cut off by the harsh glare sent her way, courtesy of Gibbs.
At the sound of snickering, Kagome glared over at Shippo. "If you're just going to stand there, go do something useful and keep puppy out. He should be back soon..." she growled out under her breath, so softly that everyone but Shippo only heard mumbling.
Shippo pouted but left nonetheless with no explanation to the others.
Kagome let out a sigh, unable to do anything else while the rest of them worked on her bandages.
Not even a minute later three distinct gasps were heard.
"Holy shit!"
Kagome grimaced at Tony's cursing, knowing what they saw when they unwrapped waist -
- absolutely nothing, save for an angry red mark in the wound's place.
Abby and McGee merely stood there, mouths dropped open. Abby's expression contained a mix of excitement and awe compared to McGee's face of utter disbelief.
Tony stared at Kagome's bare stomach in amazement. "I'm not imagining things, am I? Wasn't there this huge gaping wound the size of a hand there? Please tell me I'm not going crazy?"
Kagome turned slowly to stare at blankly at Tony, her lips threatening to twitch up in dry amusement. "I don't know Tony. You might be; here I am, splayed out on the couch somewhat exposed and you have yet to make one lewd comment. That's unusual, even for you." her hoarse voice expressed sarcasm clear as crystal.
Gibbs' eyes narrowed instantly at her. "What the hell is this? The twilight zone?" Gibbs growled heavily, now glaring at Kagome.
Tony grinned suddenly, unable to resist. "Nice movie reference there boss!"
His grin vanished instantly when the glare turned to him
Kagome groaned softly. "I'm...different from most people..."
All that came afterwards was another bout of silence.
Most of the room's occupants were giving her looks that said. 'No shit'
Kagome's eyes traveled over the occupants of the room. In the end, her eyes locked with Ziva's.
Unlike the others, Ziva was on the other side of the room, staring at her impassively as she leaned against the wall. Her eyes bore almost no emotion to the situation.
Kagome knew better, she knew her better. Always the one to hide her real feelings under lock and key, no matter if it would only hurt her in the long run.
Biting her lip, she sighed. The guilt was eating at her. The others backed away to give her room as she slowly began to sit up. She stood, speaking. "Before I start I need to speak with Ziva. Alone." She stated quietly, leaving no room for arguing.
Ignoring the others, she turned her attention to the Israeli. "Is that ok with you?" Kagome inquired.
With an almost imperceptible nod, Kagome gestured for Ziva to follow as she made her way to the bedroom, Ziva following stiffly.
Those left in the team shared worried looks, while the leader gazed at the door with such intensity.
-o-o-o-o-
"You lied to me."
Though soft spoken, the cutting accusation filled with heavy hostility was enough to make Kagome flinch.
"For what it's worth, and I know it's not much, I am sorry." Kagome sat on the edge of her bed, hunched forward as she spoke to Ziva. Her lips twisted in regret.
To her disappointment, her friend only ignored her, giving no indication that her apologies were heard. "You let me vouch for you. Through every step in the way, I backed you up with without a second thought. How could you betray my trust like that?" The hurt showcased on her face was unnatural, and it wrenched Kagome's gut.
Kagome couldn't muster up an answer, her head dropping in shame which only furthered Ziva's anger. "You deceived me. Made me look like a fool in front of my team after I defended you. What else did you lie about? Is our friendship a lie as well?" she retorted scathingly.
Kagome's head snapped up automatically, eyes flashing with mixed hurt and incredulity. "Of course not!" she exclaimed. "I hated lying to you - it was horrible!"
"Then why did you?" Ziva shot back promptly.
Kagome jumped up, pacing furiously around the room. "You see, this, what happened tonight,is exactly why I didn't want to work with you guys! I wanted to protect you from getting hurt, I didn't want to lie!" she exclaimed, throwing an accusing glare Ziva's way. "But the lot of you is so damn stubborn, I knew you wouldn't let it go either way." Her exasperated voice was teetering on frustration as she continued, flopping back down onto her bed.
Kagome's sudden outburst stunned Ziva; the agent didn't know what to say as the woman continued.
"And then when I agreed, I tried to help you as much as I was allowed without revealing this. I didn't want you guys involved. You all could get killed - Tony almost got killed, don't you see?" Her hands clutched at the sheets on the bed, her knuckles turning a stark white.
"I'm trying to protect you!" she gritted out in a harsh whisper.
Ziva could only shake her head, unable to absorb all of this. "You could have said something to me. I would have believed you." She muttered softly, peering at Kagome.
Kagome's hands went lax, releasing the now wrinkled sheets, shooting a sad, wry look at Ziva. "No, I couldn't. And would you'd really believe me?" The following silence was enough of an answer and Kagome scowled suddenly. "You get orders. You follow them. You may not like them, but you follow them anyways. You know how it is Ziva."
Ziva looked to the ground, shaking her head, eyes dimming. "Only too well..." she murmured quietly.
A moment of silence passed before Kagome relented. "I'm not asking you to trust me now. Or forgive me for that matter. It's impossible...but I have to ask, just don't...don't hate me for it? Please? Is there anyway that someday, we might be friends again?" she asked hesitantly.
At first, there was no response. Guarded brown eyes merely locked with her sapphire ones, watching, studying, analyzing. Then it came.
It was slow, it crept on her face with uncertainty, strained. But it was there, it's presence undeniable on Ziva's normally flawless face.
It was all she would get, she knew, and Kagome would take it gratefully, offering a small one of her own, similar in appearance.
Because it was a smile; albeit a slight twitch of the lips, but a smile nonetheless through which a silent message passed.
'I could never hate you, Kagome...'
And it was a sign that everything would be alright; maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but someday in the hopefully near future.
-o-o-o-o-
When the time came for Kagome to let it all out, she wearily sat onto the couch as they crowded near her.
Gibbs pinned Kagome with a death glare. "The truth…now"
Kagome stared at him, eyes locking in silent battle. Neither wavered, both of them too stubborn to give in.
Until Tony could be seen from the corner of her eye, staring at her with such intensity that it made Kagome mentally shiver. She looked away. "What do you want to know?" she muttered dejectedly.
Gibbs mentally smirked, and pulled out his chair so he could sit. Pulling out a pen and pad, he spoke. "Start at the beginning, what did you first lie about?" he told her dryly.
Kagome let out a groan, and sighed. "Ok, I lied when I said it was a Japanese gang."
Gibbs eyes narrowed but listened carefully.
"Have you ever heard of demons and priestesses?" Kagome asked suddenly.
Ziva blinked at the sudden question, eyebrow raising.
From behind, Abby gasped wildly and her hands flew to her mouth, eyes wide in amazement. "No…way…" she breathed out in awe. An excited glint sparked in her as a smile spread behind her hands in anticipation.
Blue eyes scanned over the room's occupants, picking up on a few confused looks. "By priestesses, I don't exactly mean devout holists who dedicate their lives to their religion. More like...the supernatural defenses against demons." she explained shortly.
Five seconds of silence added to tense atmosphere in the room.
Naturally, Tony was the first to speak. "Well shit…isn't this a dramatic twist?" he muttered sarcastically.
McGee shook his head in disbelief. "Not the time for movie inclinations Tony."
Said male's head snapped over to send a glare. "Shut your trap McGeek"
Gibbs shot a glare to both of his agents. "Why don't you both shut your traps!" he ordered them, annoyance the main emotion in his gaze.
Abby almost snickered - she would have too if she wasn't so fascinated with the turn of events. Ziva could only conjure up a face of mixed shame and embarrassment; she worked with these people...?
Kagome's hand reached up to pinch the bridge of her nose wearily, watching the three with obvious exasperation. As she continued, her voice turned somber, "What we fought last night, what attacked the other victims - there's no doubt it's some kind of demon. Thing is, I don't know why it's killing people or why now. That's why I'm here for; to find out its motive and take it out."
She let out a tired sigh, one filled with regret. "And now you know why I tried hiding this, why I tried discouraging you all from working the case. It's nothing you've ever seen before, nothing you could have imagined and it could seriously kill you."
Her tone was bleak, and the Kagome they were so used too when she worked with them the past couple of weeks was replaced with the same cold, stoic woman that reared her head in the interrogation room so long ago.
The room went silent, the team stayed there, absorbing the information.
Demons? Existing? Was it really possible?
Was it really a demon responsible for all of these killings?
And to what end? For what reason would a demon have for killing off marines?
Words- 2,461
Soo, it shouldn't be a surprise by now that I really, sincerely suck at updating in a timely fashion, and as always, I really am sorry. That stupid writer's block keeps coming back for revenge. .
Anyway, so finally the team gets to know the whole truth about who Kagome really is, and what she really is doing here. The next chapter goes more in depth, or it should. I don't yet lol.
What do you think?
Till next time,
RainLilyXDD
-Reviews—
I really mean when it I say thank you guys, it's because of all of your encouragement and help that I keep on writing.
Last chapter brought in a huge load of review! Over fifty! That's the most out of all these chapters!
Again, thank you SO much! You all ROCK! XD
A big huge honking thanks to these awesome reviewers!
Spastic Freak, Azumigurl, Bmangaka, Raine44354, FallIntoAHellCalledLove, Eriklover101, C.A.Q., Mwhahahaha18, MoonlitCries, Pissed Off Irish Chick, Ayjah, Reads-way-2-much, Kagekitsonegal, RaiKage13, jesswolf22, Black Dragon Miko, AzalynAngel, CrystalVixen93, AnimeFallingStar, ryuuhime88, pure happiness, goth lolita, Kira Kyuuketsuki, ShadowLover18, SesshomaruLover4eva, YueLilianPotter, cloverski9114, inupuppy1596, MoonPrincess1989, peaceanimegirl
kakashixangela- Lmaoo, that's how I feel. While I was writing I was, I was just like, what would Gibbs do, after finding out that their perp isn't so human like they thought, and Ziva and Shippo were bickering/taunting/teasing each other like little kids? He would so want some coffee. And aha! A perfect ending to the chapter! Heheh.
Bishonen'sFoxyMiko-Yay! I'm glad you enjoyed it! XDD The next chapter is partially written, but it still needs some work on it ^^;;; And you reminded me, I sooo need to update on 'Twisted Workouts' and 'Questionable Ties'. I've done a little writing on the latter, but nothing on the former lol. My goal is to at least update each of my stories once before school kicks in again. Hah, wish me luck!
Ichigo Mirai- Lol, nope, not Sesshomaru, he's the boss remember! Haha ^^ Kouga...nuh uh, though he might make an appearance one of these days. We'll see. Thankss! ^^
yumi2482- Lmaoo, lock them in a closet eh? Don't tempt me ;3
Shadow Hidden By The Moon- Lol, well, we'll see what Sesshy-kun does the next chapter ^^
don redmond- Lol, thank you! And...well, Happy belated birthday too, sorry it's kinda (really) late hahah.
whit- well...I do try... *^^* Lol, jk, and thank you! XD
DarkFallMoonBeloved- Awhh, you're too sweet, thanks! XDD
Chibes- Lol, thank you very much! ^^ Haha, well, the next chapter will have ever-anticipated Tony/Inuyasha interaction XDD
Natsumi Tsuchi-Ookami- Lol, you know, to be honest I was just about to have Kagome drop the whole 'I'm a time-traveling priestess' bomb on them before I saw your review again lol. It woulda been a pretty funny scene too, with a movie reference from Tony and everything but you made a point (it's all pretty cliche when it happens, somebody finds out about Kagome and demons, and right off the bat she just blurts everything out.) You made me realize she didn't need to be outed just yet lol. Haha, you know me so well, I was planning on Shippo teasing Ziva with all those gaudy nicknames! XDD I'd like them as a pairing too, but for now I'm not too sure where their relationship would go - we'll see And the way I'm planning it, the hotel suite is big enough for like eight people to gather round in the main room. Sessho's the big dog boss around, we'll just say he's super rich and it's on his tab XD
Jill- Aww, thanks! XDD I really feel like I disappoint a lot of my readers when I fail to update in a constant, timely manner and it's a relief to hear that you understand. And I know what you mean about Kagome's personality, and I'm we see eye to eye on that. What surprised me the most about what you said was that Kagome wasn't completely ooc lmaoo. That's defintiely a relief. Haha, at first I didn't know what to do with the demon at the end, but I knew I couldn't leave any loose ties. Thank you!
Cheri- Lol, thanks! XD Haha, you know, to hear that writing this is causing other to actually watch NCIS is pretty cool, I didn't know it was that influential or anything XDD And I don't think I could ever forget this story, I hate it when people just abandon their stories at random without any notice, or at least let others continue it. It's especially annoying when the story is just getting good, and then you're at the last chapter and you realize it hasn't been update for like a good few years . lol.
lil_A- Awhh, you're too sweet! Thank you so much! ^^
ArmyWife22079- ^^;;;... you know, you make a good point lol. Talk to you soon!
Mavan- Hahaha, no I understand, when I first thought of it, I even thought it was crazy (and strangely awesome and appealing at the same time but still...) lol. You have no idea what a shocker it was when I realized how many people actually like this. Past 300 reviews by Ch 7? Ha, I thought I'd be lucky to get maybe 50 by Ch 20 or something. Thank you!
Hatake Emi-chan- Lol, this came to me while I was writing my Naru/Inu crossover while watching NCIS on tv lmaoo. It happened like this -Hmmm... crossover... NCIS... Inuyasha... holy shit! Hahahah...thank you! XDD
ryuuhime88- Lol, typical Gibbs moment was what I thought. I totally could see Shippo acting like that when he grows up. He always did love to play around and prank others, and foxes are perverted by nature (or at least that's how it goes in FanFiction lol), not to mention Miroku had offered some influence...besides! He was always hanging around Sango and Kagome when they went to the springs too... o.O lol
Vertigo Venom- Haha, you got that right. We'll get to see both Inuyasha and Sesshomaru's reaction to Kagome's mistake in the next chapter. You're right about the lackey part, I'll give you that. It's not Naraku though. Hahah, it's about time there's a little Kagome/Tony right? Their relationship is taking the slow course, or at least that's what I'm trying to go for - we'll see if I can keep my patience. You're right, Sango and Miroku won't be making any appearances, I decided on that, as for the others, I'm not sure yet. Rin is unlikely buuut I haven't planned that far in detail yet ^^;;; Thank youu! XDD
Kitteninthemoonlight- Hahah, I thought that was the perfect place for that. It was soo Gibbs-like heheh. Lmaoo, heyyyy thank you sooo much for being my 300th reviewer! Much loveeee! Hahahahh XDDD
yui- Thanks! ^^ Uhhh, can't exactly promise anything on the Ziva/Shippo thing. I mean I haven't decided, but I'm leaning towards it, sorry! ^^;
Lauramichca- Lmaooo, the chemistry between Gibbs and Kagome is purely unintentional...but would totally make for some good, funny times concerning Tony and him being worried/jealous about Kagome maybe having feelings for Gibbs or Gibbs stealing his 'girl' respectively hahahahh