InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Assassin's Hope ❯ Chapter 2 ( Chapter 2 )

Assassin's Hope

 

A/N: Wow! I've gotten some great responses from reviewers about the first chapter! I'm so encouraged to go on! So without further adieu Chapter 2!

 

Chapter 2

 

Inuyasha watched the first rays of sunlight creep over the horizon. Brilliant hues of reds and oranges rising, and the fleeting blues and violets of the night all served as a reminder of the young human girl he had met a short while ago. The warm sunbeams felt similar to the warmth of her kiss on his cheek and Inuyasha closed his eyes remembering the fleeting moments with the girl.

 

He snapped his eyes open, “Feh, people'll think I've gone soft for some human wench if I keep thinking like that!”

 

“Human?” a cold voice asked from behind him.

 

He turned to see Sesshoumaru staring at him with a stoic expression, “What the fuck are you doing in my quarters?”

 

“Patience little halfling. I came to give you another name. My minions search has proven useful and they have found an untrained miko,” the older inu-youkai answered.

 

“Untrained miko? Then what's the use of spilling her blood, if she has powers she doesn't even know how to use?” Inuyasha blurted out, unknowingly admitting he'd rather not slay another innocent.

 

“Because half-breed we took an oath as youkai, or in your instance hanyou, to put down any possibilities of the prophecy to come to pass,” Sesshoumaru explained, clearly losing his patience with his younger brother quickly.

 

“Keh, whatever. The name?” Inuyasha asked with a glare.

 

“Higurashi Kagome. Higurashi shrine. She's not even a woman yet,” Sesshoumaru said turning his back to walk away. “You will kill her by dawn tomorrow, Inuyasha. It would be wise not to cross this Sesshoumaru.”

 

Inuyasha growled at his brother's back as he disappeared back into the manor. As he turned back to look out the window his shoulders slumped. How many more will there be before I can have my freedom? Higurashi Kagome? You die tonight!

 

He leapt out the window and ran into the forest hoping to clear his mind of all regrets before setting out for his mission that night.

 

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Kagome had been lying awake in her bed before dawn. Something had startled her from her peaceful sleep. Someone had called out to her. Someone?

 

Yeah, okay Kagome. Like someone would visit you in the middle of the night. This is the real world not some fairy tale!

 

But she couldn't shake that feeling that someone had called out her name. It was almost foreboding, as if something awful were about to happen. She stood quickly and walked over to her window looking down into the courtyard of the shrine. It seemed as though she should have seen someone standing there, someone with silver hair and deep golden eyes.

 

Her focus shifted to the giant tree on the shrine grounds. The Goshinboku had been on the property for generations, how many Kagome knew not. For some reason the tree offered her a sense of peace and just looking at it's high boughs calmed her.

 

She sighed before turning away from the window.

 

“A nice hot bath should help get rid of this feeling,” she said smiling slightly and heading for the bathroom.

 

After her bath she dressed slowly into her school uniform, almost dreading another boring day at school. She found herself longing for another moment like she had last night with that demon. Shaking her head and laughing at her girlish ideas she headed downstairs to find some breakfast.

 

She walked into the kitchen to find two balloons floating above her chair at the table and her mother humming happily over the stove.

 

“Mama?” Kagome asked.

 

“Oh! Happy Birthday, Kagome! I made your favorite breakfast so please sit down and don't worry about getting anything this morning,” her mother beamed happily. “Souta! Grandpa! Breakfast is getting cold!”

 

A nine-year-old boy bounded down the steps and into the kitchen, “Morning Mama, morning Kagome. Happy Birthday!” he said with a bright smile.

 

“Thanks Souta,” Kagome answered smiling. How could she have forgotten it was her fifteenth birthday today? Her thoughts had been wandering everywhere this morning except to the subject she had been counting down to for the past month. Her mother set her breakfast down in front of her while her thoughts began wandering again.

 

Her grandpa came into the kitchen last, breathing heavily as if he just woke up. “Happy Birthday, Kagome. You know I had the strangest dream last night about you meeting a young demon.”

 

Kagome froze, chopsticks en route to her lips before forcing a tiny giggle, “Oh Grandpa! What an imagination you have. Your dream must have been quite vivid!”

 

“Indeed! I also dreamt you kissed him for some reason,” he said scratching the back of his head in thought.

 

“Oh Grandpa! You're probably just worried that Kagome will have so many suitors now that she's a young woman!” her mother chimed in serving the rest of them breakfast. Kagome sighed, silently thanking whatever gods gave her such a wonderful mother.

 

“Speaking of you becoming a young woman, Kagome,” her grandfather started. “Because it's your fifteenth birthday I can begin training you to be the next shrine priestess.”

 

Kagome nearly choked on her egg, “Priestess? Me? Oh, I don't think so, Grandpa. I mean I can barely keep my room clean, let alone a whole shrine.”

 

“Nonsense! You will begin your training today after school,” he said shaking his head.

 

“School!” Kagome exclaimed jumping up from her seat. “I've been enjoying breakfast so much, I'll probably be late! Thank you Mama for a wonderful breakfast! Have a great day at school Souta! And Grandpa we'll talk about this priestess thing when I get home!”

 

With that she dashed her way out of the house and practically ran the entire way to school. She got onto the school grounds and waved to her friends when she heard someone approaching her from behind. Her heart skipped a beat and as she placed a hand over her fluttering heart she prayed to Kami that it was the young demon she had met last night.

 

“Happy Birthday, Higurashi!” a young male voice called from behind her. She turned around disappointment showing on her face when she realized it was a schoolmate of hers.

 

“Thank you, Houjou,” she said kindly, smiling up at the tall boy with brown fluffy hair and brown eyes. He held out a small package for her. She took it graciously and opened it to reveal a set of combs for her hair, delicately carved from ivory and decorated with mother-of-pearl. She took one carefully into her hand and held it up, letting the sun hit the opalescent decorations and turning a soft golden color, reminding Kagome of her demon's eyes. “Oh, Houjou, they're beautiful! But I can't accept them, you must have spent a fortune on them!”

 

“Please, Kagome. I bought them just for you. They'll look amazing in your hair,” the young boy smiled, blushing slightly.

 

“Okay, thank you, Houjou. So very much!” she said, leaning up on tiptoes to kiss him lightly on the cheek in a thank-you.

 

The young man blushed an even deeper shade of red and reached up to rub the back of his neck, “Well, Higurashi, I guess I'll see you inside! Happy Birthday, again!” He sprinted off into the school building just as a swarm of girls descended on Kagome.

 

“Kagome! We saw you kiss, Houjou! Are you two going out?” one girl asked.

 

“Yeah, it's not like you go around kissing every guy you see!” another said. How wrong you are! Kagome thought.

 

“What did Houjou get you for your birthday?” a third girl giggled. Kagome held up his gift to show them, which they all ooh-ed and ah-ed. The warning bell rang to signal students to get to their morning classes and Kagome headed towards the school, leaving the three girls dumbfounded and questions completely unanswered.

 

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By midday, Inuyasha had accomplished absolutely nothing by sitting in a tree in the forest all morning. He was, after all, an assassin, whose only job was to kill off mikos threatening to bring the youkai races to an end, and had no real reason to accomplish anything else; this left Inuyasha to occupy his time with other things. Usually, in his spare time, one would find him in the dojo in the manor honing his assassination skills to their finest. But today Inuyasha wanted for himself: to be left alone with his thoughts.

 

Thoughts that annoyingly kept returning to the mysterious young girl he met the night before. I don't even know her name! He growled at the thought of needing to know her name at all. She was starting to become a pain in the ass. A warm, pleasant smelling, beautiful pain in the ass.

 

“Kuso! If I don't get my head in the right place by nightfall I'll never be able to take care of this Higurashi Kagome,” he growled. He took off in the direction of the manor thinking that perhaps the dojo would be a good idea after all, if only to keep his mind off the young maiden from the shrine.

 

Once inside the dojo he unsheathed his katana and began practicing his movements. He moved in a graceful dance, moving about the mat silently. Regardless of what Sesshoumaru thought about his abilities matched with a miko's, Inuyasha was a formidable force, a silent enemy that killed before his victims knew he was in the room.

 

He finished his routine and sheathed his katana just as a voice rang out in the dojo, “Lord Inuyasha! Your skills have improved greatly since last I saw you!” To the naked eye it appeared no one was in the dojo with the hanyou, however on closer inspection, you could see a tiny flea jumping on the shoulder of his red haori.

 

“Well, well. If it isn't Myouga the flea, back from the dead!” Inuyasha welcomed the tiny demon with a glare.

 

“Lord Inuyasha, I have only been away to see if rumors of a powerful miko to the north were true,” the tiny demon said bowing to his master.

 

“And? Are these rumors true?” he asked picking the flea up between his fingers.

 

“I… I… well you see Lord Inuyasha,” he stammered.

 

“You weren't checking out rumors at all were you? You were out sucking the blood of young maidens, weren't you? No need to lie, I can smell them on you!” Inuyasha said while squishing Myouga in between his thumb and index finger. “Now get out so I can finish my work out.”

 

“Will you be using advanced strikes with Tetsusaiga?” Myouga asked from his place on the floor.

 

“What are you talking about, Myouga?” Inuyasha muttered kneeling down in front of him. “Tetsusaiga is a simple katana left to me by my father. It has no advanced strikes.”

 

“Perhaps, Lord Inuyasha you have not found a reason for using your sword to it's full potential,” Myouga said. Upon seeing Inuyasha very close to squishing him, he began to stutter, “That is my Lord, that you have excellent skills even without the sword!”

 

Inuyasha backed off, “Speaking of which I should practice those as well.”

 

“Not in the dojo, surely my Lord! You would damage it beyond repair!” Myouga exclaimed.

 

“You're right flea. I'll go into the forest to sharpen my claws,” Inuyasha smirked before heading back into the woods.

 

Advanced strikes? Not found a reason? That flea better be telling me the truth, Inuyasha thought.

 

“Sankon Tetsusou!” he yelled in a battle cry cutting down a few trees with his claws. Inuyasha continued to train in the forest, mentally planning his attack on the young miko that night.

 

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Kagome sat in the middle of her geometry class willing the clock to go faster. There were only a few minutes left of school that day and she wished nothing more than to be outside to enjoy the beautiful weather. She found herself staring out the window for the remainder of class.

 

“Psst! Kagome! WacDnld's after school?” her friend Yuka whispered to her.

 

She turned around and nodded to her friend, giving her a small smile. They're probably going to hound me about Houjou, she mentally groaned.

 

Cheers rung out throughout the classroom as the dismissal bell rang. Yuka grabbed Kagome's arm and nearly dragged her out of the classroom.

 

“Come on, Kagome. We're going to celebrate your birthday!” her friend cheered with a great big grin.

 

“Uh, okay. Who exactly is going to WacDnld's?” Kagome asked, thinking her friends had done the absolute worst and invited Houjou.

 

“Just Eri, Ayume, you, and me of course!” her friend grinned.

 

Why do I have the sneaking suspicion that this isn't going to be the usual visit to a fast food place?

 

But Kagome was wrong. She and Yuka met up with Eri and Ayume outside the school and they chatted while walking to their favorite fast food hang out. They all ordered their food and had a normal conversation ranging from boys, including Houjou of course, the latest movies, and the newest clothes stores that opened up in the fashion district.

 

Other than that there were no surprises, which Kagome found a relief.

 

“So, Kagome, it is your birthday and all, so here!” Yuka said with a great big smile handing her a package.

 

“Oh, Yuka you didn't have to!” Kagome said, her cheeks reddening in embarrassment.

 

“We all chipped in, Kagome,” Eri chimed in, Ayume nodding enthusiastically.

 

Kagome unwrapped the package to find a beautiful blue sundress, the fabric a shimmery material that reflected different colors when caught in the sunlight, a small makeup kit that complimented the color of the dress, and a bottle of perfume.

 

“Oh! You girls are wonderful! Thank you so much! I can't even imagine how much you spent on all of this!” she gasped fingering each gift slowly.

 

“Hey, it's your birthday, Kagome! Come on! Let's go to my house and we'll get you all dolled up. You may just be having a small family dinner tonight but you'll feel good if you look your best!” Yuka suggested.

 

“Well… okay,” Kagome answered with a smile. She liked the idea of being able to dress up on her birthday, and the girls seemed willing to help, so she went along.

 

At Yuka's house they changed Kagome, applied her makeup without overdoing it, and spritzed some of the new perfume on.

 

“Oh! Kagome! What about those hair combs Houjou got you! They would go with the dress perfectly and we'd be able to do your hair up beautifully!” Yuka practically squealed.

 

“Guys, I'm going to a family dinner, not the prom!” she protested.

 

“Might as well look your best! You only turn fifteen once!” Ayume said behind her, as she was pulling her hair back.

 

“Hey! Why don't we all get dressed up, for the fun of it! Then we'll walk you home, Kagome, alright?” Yuka suggested.

 

“Sure, Yuka. I do feel a little silly being all dressed up and you all being in your uniforms still,” Kagome replied.

 

Yuka ran over to her closet and began pulling out dresses for the other girls. Before long they all were dressed beautifully. They finished Kagome's hair and finally let her look in the mirror. Her reflection took her breath away. She thought she looked absolutely beautiful. The dress brought out the stormy blue color of her eyes, sleeveless empire cut sweeping just below the rise of her bosom, flowing out to land just above her knees. Yuka had lent her sandals to go with the dress. Her face was done up modestly but enhanced her natural beauty, and her hair looked absolutely gorgeous in a wild upsweep, Houjou's combs nestled in her ebony waves.

 

“I look…” she began.

 

“Absolutely breathtaking,” Ayume said quietly behind her.

 

“I can't thank you all enough for doing this. My family won't recognize me,” she continued to stare at her reflection, missing the knowing glances the other three shared.

 

“Well, c'mon Kagome. Let's get you home,” Yuka piped up. The four young women set off for the shrine in the fading daylight hours.

 

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Inuyasha had begun to get restless just as the sun was setting behind the mountains. He stood in his quarters, having bored himself with training. Why can't I just kill this bitch and be done with it. Why always under the cover of night?

 

“Because there are more witnesses in the day,” he answered himself aloud.

 

His idle thoughts immediately turned to the young woman he had held in his arms briefly the night before. I could go and see her, he thought.

 

“What the fuck?” he asked himself aloud. Go and see her? Like you're some love-struck puppy. Get a grip!

 

But even as he mentally berated himself for his thoughts he was leaping out of his window and heading in the direction he had gone last night.

 

---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----

 

“I still can't thank you all enough. For the dress, everything!” Kagome said excitedly. “Wait til Mama sees me!”

 

“Wait till Houjou sees her,” Eri whispered to Ayume as Yuka was chatting up Kagome.

 

They had reached the Higurashi household on the shrine grounds when Kagome paused, “That's funny. None of the lights are on in the house.”

 

“Maybe your family went out to get some last minute things for your dinner?” Ayume suggested, trying to contain a giggle.

 

“Ayume's right,” Yuka said after shooting said girl a glare, “but we'll wait with you until they get back if you want.”

 

“Alright,” Kagome said happily.

 

“Why don't we wait around back in the garden? It's such a nice day out and we can watch the sun set,” Yuka offered.

 

Kagome nodded and they headed around to the garden in the backyard. She hadn't taken two steps around the house when a great shout of “Surprise!!” shocked her into complete silence.

 

“Happy Birthday, Kagome!” her mother shouted, coming towards her daughter who looked like a deer in headlights. “Your friends planned a surprise party for you and when they suggested we have it in the garden I couldn't say no. It's not everyday my only daughter turns fifteen!”

 

Kagome could only stifle out small noises from the back of her throat while her mother steered her towards the group of schoolmates gathered in the garden.

 

“By the way, Kagome, you look absolutely beautiful,” her mother said, before sending her towards her friends.

 

“Thanks Mama,” she said when she finally found her voice.

 

“Higurashi! Uh, I mean, Kagome, you look… I mean… I don't… wow,” Houjou stuttered out when he caught sight of her.

 

“Thank you, Houjou. Oh! And look!” she said doing a little twirl so he could catch sight of the combs. “They went perfectly with the dress the girls got me.”

 

“They would look beautiful on you no matter what,” he replied blushing slightly.

 

She giggled before moving towards another group of friends to say hello to, leaving Houjou completely love-struck in her wake.

 

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Inuyasha found the shrine from his earlier encounter quite easily. Despite the mixture of horrendous smells the city gave off, car exhaust, oil, and the odor of too many people crowded into one place, he was able to sniff out the pure scent of the human girl.

 

He leapt into the trees when he neared the shrine bypassing the steps he was near the night before, thus bypassing the nameplate near the shrine's entrance. He followed the girl's scent to a small garden behind what he assumed to be her house.

 

Inuyasha saw that they were having a party of sorts. He remained hidden in the tall branches of the trees around the property as to not scare the stupid humans with his appearance.

 

He quickly surveyed the group of people, trying desperately to catch a glimpse of the young woman. He sensed her before he saw her. Glowing like a bright candle in a foggy night, she radiated warmth and kindness. He finally saw her then and his breath hitched in his throat. She was a portrait of absolute loveliness, by far the most beautiful creature he had ever seen.

 

Her wild hair had been pulled away from her face and neck, giving Inuyasha a perfect view of the juncture between her throat and her shoulder where her pulse beat strong and true. The dress she wore almost surpassed the beauty of her stormy blue eyes and Inuyasha wished desperately for a gust of wind to give him an even better view of her long, cream-colored legs.

 

He noticed it must have been her birthday for the other humans were giving her gifts and hugs. Music began to filter out of the house and many of the humans began to dance, but Inuyasha noticed the girl stepped to the side of the makeshift dance floor, not dancing.

 

I would ask her to dance, he thought. What? You baka! You don't even know how to dance! Let alone dance with a pretty girl!

 

He saw a young human male walking towards her, talk briefly and extend his hand. She took it smiling, a smile Inuyasha wanted to be on the receiving end of, and they moved to the dance floor. He growled as the young male placed his hands on the girl's waist, but stopped when he saw her reciprocate the action by placing her hands on his shoulders.

 

You idiot! The bitch looks pretty damn comfortable in the arms of another man, his mind reprimanded.

 

Man? He's nothing but a ningen boy! I could kill him easily and then the bitch could be mine! He yelled to his conscience.

 

Oh that would be just perfect. Kill the boy she obviously likes. And what's this about her being yours?

 

“Shut up!” he muttered aloud. Fuck this! I'm leaving to hunt down this Higurashi bitch! He jumped down from his tree top view of the party, landing close enough to the party to hear the human girl giggle but far enough that no one would really notice him, and started walking away from the party around to the front of the house.

 

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Kagome had been giggling politely at something Houjou had told her when she noticed something red and silver from the corner of her eye. For a brief moment she thought she caught sight of her demon and she pulled away from Houjou with a start.

 

“Kagome? You ok?” the boy asked, but saw that she was not listening.

 

She stared at the place she had just seen the figure, a place where two of her schoolmates now stood. Move! She mentally ordered them.

 

As if they heard her they broke apart, moving in opposite directions, and Kagome could now see no sign of her savior from last night. She frantically looked around the party and could have sworn she saw someone walk around her house.

 

“Wait!” she called taking off in a sprint towards the front of her house. “Wait! I wanted to see you…” she trailed off as she rounded the front of the house to find absolutely no one there, “again,” she finished.

 

Inuyasha had leapt up onto the roof of the house as he saw her trying to follow him. He heard her call out to him from down below. She wanted to see me, again?

 

“Will I ever see you again, my angel?” she asked tilting her head up to the sky in hopes that he would be there.

 

I ain't no angel, bitch, he thought with a snicker.

 

“Oh, there you are,” Houjou's voice came from behind her. “When you ran off I thought something was wrong. Are you ok?”

 

“Huh? Oh yeah, Houjou. I'm fine. I thought I saw someone special,” she said with a tinge of sadness in her voice.

 

Someone special? Inuyasha thought.

 

“Okay, well. Let's get you back to the party then, huh?” the boy asked.

 

“Yeah, okay,” she answered.

 

Inuyasha sat back on the roof and listened to the rest of the party as the night sky darkened over the city. He could slay the bitch miko later, for now he wanted to enjoy the sound of this human girl laughing, singing, and being happily alive.

 

------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------- ------ ------

 

The party lasted well into the night. Kagome danced and sang with her friends, opened her presents and thanked each of her guests. Her mother had made delicious food and baked an absolutely gorgeous cake. Kagome hugged and kissed each of her friends goodbye and walked them all out to the front of the shrine. Yuka, Eri, and Ayume left with the bigger crowd after helping clean up leaving Kagome alone with Houjou.

 

“Well, Kagome,” Houjou said scratching the back of his neck, “I was wondering if you wanted to go out with me sometime.”

 

“Oh! Houjou, uh, well you see,” your not a handsome demon, “I don't think I should really get involved with anyone right now,” she said slowly watching his face show more and more disappointment as her words continued.

 

“You see! My Grandpa wants to train me as the next shrine priestess and that's going to take up a good majority of my time after school and on weekends,” she explained. “I really like you, Houjou, I really do! But I don't think I could spend as much time with you as you'd like.” She mentally patted herself on the back. She thought she had let him down quite nicely. Apparently, he didn't get the clue.

 

“No worries, Kagome! I'd be privileged just to spend a few moments with you at school!” Houjou countered with a face-splitting grin.

 

“Uh, yeah. But you understand that I shouldn't really have a boyfriend right now?” Kagome asked him.

 

“Oh sure! I'll wait for you Kagome. When you're done with training I'll take you out on a fantastic date!” Houjou said excitedly. “Well, I'll be getting home now. Goodnight, Kagome and Happy Birthday.” He leaned down and kissed her softly on the cheek.

 

Kagome sighed. It seemed there was no getting through to that boy.

 

Oh well, she thought, I'll just have to let him down gently next time.

 

She walked back to her darkened house, her family having gone to bed a short time before, and made her way to her bedroom.

 

She let her hair down from the constraints of Houjou's combs, washed her face free of the makeup the girls had done so lovely, and changed into a comfortable nightshirt before hopping into bed.

 

Exhausted from her late night yesterday and her long birthday she fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit her pillow.

 

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Inuyasha continued his watch from the roof. He heard the party wind down and saw the majority of the guests leave. He also saw the girl alone with that human male again, exchanging some stupid conversation, and then, growl, he saw the male kiss her!

 

It took every fiber of his being not to rip the boy limb from limb. He watched the girl come back to the house and heard her movements coming closer to what, no doubt, was her room, the room that he was now directly over.

 

He heard her undressing and getting into bed and waited for her breathing to slow, signaling her descent into sleep. He didn't have to wait for long as her breathing slowed considerably within just a few minutes. He crept down and jumped onto her window ledge, surprised to see the window open, and leapt into her bedroom silently.

 

He stepped deftly over to the side of her bed and gazed down upon her sleeping form. She slept on her side facing him, one hand hooked beneath her head and the other laying across her stomach. Her lips were parted in her sleep tempting him to feel their warmth. She was in essence…

 

…Beautiful. Inuyasha felt a sudden urge to sweep her up into his arms possessively. Instead, in a moment of complete and utter rashness, he knelt down on one knee beside her bed and pressed his lips gently to hers in a chaste kiss. Breaking the kiss, he leaned over and whispered in her ear, “Happy Birthday, my Hope.”

 

She sighed happily in her sleep at his words, but did not wake. He stood pulling a small bunch of flowers from his haori he had picked from her garden earlier when she had followed him, and moved to place them on her desk. He was about to place them down on papers he knew were from school when he froze, a cold shiver running up his spine.

 

Lying on her desk was some sort of homework assignment. Scrawled across the top of the paper in neat handwriting was her name.

 

Higurashi Kagome!

 

Inuyasha felt his throat constrict as the world came closing in on him. He dropped the flowers on her desk unceremoniously and turned back to the sleeping figure in the bed.

 

How had he not felt her miko powers before? Ones that were now radiating from her, even in her sleep.

 

He took several deep breaths to calm his raging youki and placed his hand on the hilt of his katana, knocking it free from its sheath with his thumb. His eyes glazed over, becoming those of an emotionless assassin.

 

He closed his eyes and whispered, “I'm sorry,” before turning his golden gaze back to her sleeping form and meeting her stormy blue one.

 

“My angel,” she breathed.

 

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This story makes me want to do a happy dance! I love it so much! But no worries! I know there's been a lot of questions regarding my continuation of `Agent Under Fire' as well. And, YES! I'm still writing AUF… Chapter 16 is under construction as I'm writing to you! So stop spreading rumors people! You're starting to get my panties in a bunch! Assassin's Hope has been plaguing me endlessly for a few weeks now. Bebopping around in my head and going `We wanna come out! We wanna come out!' So of course I relented and here you have it. So, there's Chapter 2… hope you liked it! BakaInuGirl