InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Charade ❯ Realization ( Chapter 3 )

A/N: Remember that this is an AU fic. The time period is based during the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905) but I have added a few elements of my own…. The Russians didn't have Italian mercenaries (at least none that I knew of), and the army branding thing is my own invention. So remember… this war may progress differently than you've heard of, but just go with it, ok? ^_^ that's it for now. Now on with Charade!

Disclaimer:I do not own InuYasha

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CHARADE

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Chapter Three: REALIZATION

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"See this here? This is called a scalpel… and this here-I'm particularly fond of this one-it's called an incision knife… this is what will be sticking out of your head if you ever THINK about touching me again!"

"It was an accident! I swear! I tripped-"

"Over air?"

"-over my shoelaces!"

"You're wearing sandals, you blockheaded, perverted, lecherous monk!" Sango screamed. "If you value your life at all, DON'T TOUCH ME AGAIN!"

Miroku sighed despondently. Why is it that the most beautiful ones are always the most violent?

"You have all the other women in this hospital wrapped around your little finger-go bother them."

Go bother them? He resented that. "Sango, dearest, do you think I'm trying to bother you?"

"Whether you're trying or not, you're doing a very effective job of it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have WORK to do…" With a pointed look, she stalked off, fuming.

Miroku lamented the fact that the unflattering standard-issued the nurses had to wear hid the beautiful legs that he was sure Miss Sango had… "Modern science will be the death of all men," he sighed, as he wandered off towards the impromptu shrine near the back of the warehouse. He at least had to maintain the appearance of being a holy man…

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"Miss Higurashi."

"Hai?" Kagome looked up in surprise to find a doctor towering over her. At least-she assumed he was a doctor by his medic uniform; she'd never seen him before. Light brown hair, open face, pleasant features… "What is it, sir?"

"Are you almost finished with this man?"

"Nearly, sir." She'd already cleaned his wounds, and was now in the processes of bandaging them. She'd planned on doing something about his scraped and bloody feet, but now it looked as if that would have to wait…

"I'll just be a few minutes."

"It is somewhat urgent-but I can give you a few minutes."

"Of course," she said, curiosity taking over. Was she in trouble? She hadn't done anything to make Kitosumo mad lately-at least nothing too bad. Was she being transferred? Oh please, not when I'm just beginning to get comfortable here… "Um, what are you waiting for?"

"I'm waiting for you to finish binding his wounds," he said innocently.

"No, no…" She internally winced. That had come out wrong. "I mean, why are you waiting for me? Does someone need to see me?"

"Dr. Kitosumo has requested to see you as soon as possible."

Crap. "What for?"

"I believe you are going to be assisting him in an operation in about-" he checked his watch-"twenty minutes."

Kagome nearly sighed in relief… before the words actually registered. "But-but I'm not a surgical nurse!"

The doctor shrugged. "He probably just wants to prepare you in case you need to take someone's place. Who knows if we'll be working with the same people a week from now? Or even in a day's time?"

Now there's a comforting thought.

"Of course, just a minute, sir," she murmured, returning to the task of binding the soldier's wounds. Great. Just what I need-to assist an operation… God, I hate dissections.

She knew it made a rather ridiculous picture-a medic who couldn't cut people open-but she was a nurse, not a surgeon, for god's sake! Her first dissection in her high school Anatomy class had ended with her in the clinic, hunched over a wastebasket. Granted, a dissection wasn't the same as an operation-but they both involved cutting a body open and fixing something within! She shuddered.

"There… finished."

The doctor nodded politely. "I shall escort you to the operating table Kitosumo has set up."

"Is that really necessary?" Kagome laughed lightly, getting up to her feet. "Me having an escort, I mean? It's just across the way."

The doctor gave her a level look, although Kagome could have sworn she saw amusement in his eyes. "Kitosumo seemed to think it was necessary…"

Busted. "Oh…well then…" There went her plan of escape. I swear, that man must have a sixth sense or something… "What was your name again? I seem to have forgotten it…"

"I never offered it," the doctor said with a stoic face. He began to walk and motioned for Kagome to follow. "I was just transferred here yesterday-my name is Kobayashi Hojo."

"I'm Higurashi Kagome."

"Yes, Dr. Kitosumo mentioned your name when he sent me to get you…"

"Oh. Right." Stall for time! Anything, anything… "So where were you transferred from? What do you specialize in?"

"I'm originally from Tokyo, but I moved to Nagasaki a year ago. I'm an anesthesiologist."

"You're from Tokyo? So am I! Did you intern there?" Emergency bathroom break? Too obvious. Previous engagement momentarily forgotten? He'd never fall for that. Pass out-trip-suddenly "recognize" an old childhood friend…think, think, think!

"Tokyo GeneralHospital. I interned in a smaller hospital in the west part of the city. I was one of the many anesthesiologists there."

"You left Tokyo to go to Nagasaki? I've never even heard of the place."

"I'm not surprised." He smiled. "It's population is very small. It's the capital of the Nagasakiprefecture."

"Oh. City boy who prefers small towns, huh?"

He shrugged. "Not really."

Kagome waited for him to elaborate. When he made no move to add on to his previous statement, she prodded, "How come you left?"

"I wanted to make a difference."

"And you couldn't do that in Tokyo?"

"Not when I was only one of seven permanent anesthesiologists at TGH-plus there were about three interns, a few residents…"

"Welcome to Tokyo, as they say…"

"You get the picture," he agreed. "I can honestly say that I was replaceable-expendable. I wanted to make a difference in the world, not just be another doctor in the TGH."

An idealist out in the battlefield. This should be interesting…

Kagome noted a trace of faint bitterness in his tone. "So you didn't feel significant at the hospital?"

He gave her a deadpan look. "You could say that…"

"Incompetent nurses? Ungrateful patients?"

"More like a supervisor from hell."

"Oh really?" Doesn't that sound familiar. "Head doctor?"

"As a matter of fact, yes." He sounded surprised. "You said you worked in Tokyo-I'm assuming you were a nurse there?"

No, I was a garbage man… "Yes, I was a nurse at a small children's hospital-usually there wasn't any more than twenty or thirty children in the house at once."

"House?"

"Mmhm… it was an old house that a group of nuns paid to refurbish; they turned it into a small children's hospital and it's been that way ever since."

"Ah."

The pair was nearing the operating area of the building, and Kagome began to panic, seeing as she hadn't devised a plan of escape during the conversation. Think, think, think!

At the exact moment, the shrill air-raid siren blasted throughout the building.

There is a God!

"Fiddlesticks," Hojo grumbled. "I'll never get used to these obnoxious alarms."

"They are annoying," Kagome said, trying to suppress the smile spreading across her face, "especially when the blackouts last longer than they're supposed to. But I suppose a bunch of false alarms or flukes are better than actually having ships loaded with cannons a few miles away, ne?"

"Indeed. There's Kitosumo-better hurry over to him before the lights go out."

"Oh-well… I have to… um, go check on the stock…"

"The stock?" Hojo gave her an odd look.

"You know," she laughed lightly, "when the lights go out an all we have to…protect the…medicine and… stock-like extra bandages and stuff…in case some less scrupulous people decide to make off with some of our precious…resources."

"Oh. I never thought of that before…" Hojo suddenly gave her a huge smile. "You're quite fascinating, Higurashi. I hope I will be seeing you frequently."

"Why…thank you…" Kagome didn't know how to respond to that. He was a nice guy… even if he was somewhat of a dim idealist. A person could have worse faults. "See ya around."

"Always, Higurashi."

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This could be difficult to pull off. InuYasha had never been one for planning-in fact, he was rather well-known for his impulsiveness (or what Kouga called stupidity)-but he had to admit he had a haphazard plan at best.

What am I supposed to do, just waltz up to her and say, "Hey, I need to settle a few scores, would you mind helping me out? Oh, and by the way, this could endanger your life…"

He could just not say anything. Kidnapping was illegal for a reason-if it didn't work, there would be no reason to ban it, would there?

His ears twitched and he instinctively slowed his pace. He was almost to the field hospital…without any idea what he was going to do. He only knew one thing: everything depended on the Higurashi girl. She was nothing short of a "go ahead, I'm on your side" message from heaven.

All he needed was one of his enemies to spot the two of them sitting in a cozy café, having what would look like to be an intense conversation. They would immediately mistake her for Kikyo, and then things would go downhill from there for them. That small seed of suspicion would be planted, and every member or contact for the Black Mask would be re-inspected and interrogated. Assignments and terrorist activities would be postponed for a couple of hours, or however long it took to drag information out of Kikyo. But it would be just enough time for Rocky or someone else to go smuggle the Prime Minister to safety.

And it all depended on the Higurashi girl.

Of course, there was that little bonus of Kikyo being tortured, Naraku being foiled, and InuYasha's worth being proven a thousands times over to Rocky… but those were all pluses.

Not many knew that the Prime Minister of Japan had enough youkai blood to give off a scent to those who could smell it. Although the man publicly denounced radical taiyoukai demonstrations and had once called a well-known radical youkai political party "a herd of ignorant asses," he wasn't above accepting help from them when his life was concerned.

And this wouldn't be the first time the Youkai Espionage Channel had saved his butt. Not many knew about the incident back in 1902, when the reported "kitchen fire" had ruined more than half of the PM's primary residence; the news that the PM was supposed to have been within one of the burning rooms at the exact time the fire had started hadn't reached the press.

InuYasha had gotten there first. And saved the man from being publicly humiliated.

Rocky had a whacked sense of humor when he handed out first-time assignments to newbies he inducted into the group on "intuition."

InuYasha smiled grimly. Good thing Mother's not alive to see me today. She'd have a fit if she knew I was trying to change the world through violence and espionage.

I have justification, though. If the human race was in jeopardy, I would join their cause too. The curse of being a hybrid-not one, nor the other. His loyalties were torn-who was he to favor? Human or demon?

He always had a tendency to root for the underdog…

And he wasn't about to sit back and let those pompous Russians obliterate the Japanese youkai race. They'd nearly succeeded in killing off the entire Russian youkai population-and it was the Inernational Youkai Council's fault for not doing anything about it. But when Russiadecided to expand their borders and annex China into the glorious Russian empire, what had the InterYoCon done?

Absolutely nothing. Stammered a bunch of crap about "diplomacy" and "appeasement." "Why would Russiawant our tiny island after dominating all of China? If we interfere, we could be facing a potential war-which is the last thing we needed after the minor economic crisis from five years ago that we're still trying to recover from."

Heck, Japan's government was starting to sound like those isolationist morons over in the U.S.

And what did Japan have to show for their "careful political maneuvering"?

A full-scale defensive war, with no apparent allies, as of now. France had replied with an indecisive response. We'll get involved if things start looking real bad. Of course, that cheap Russian oil was always a factor. Germanyflat-out turned them down. Too close to Russia-an unlit match near a pile of gunpowder. An alliance with Japancould light that match. The U.S.promised to help out as soon as their economic improved by ten percent. They'd had economic problems over the years too.

And this was just the humans' problems. The youaki issue was an entirely different story. The humans were fighting to keep control of the island, and Japanese land in Manchuria and parts of Indonesia-all of which were threatened by the mighty Russian empire. Demons were fighting to save the Asian Youkai race from extermination.

Cowardly Interyocon bastards. They'd given him no choice. If the IYC stuck its head in the sand and didn't do a thing to protect the youkai population, who was he to sit back and watch his bloodline be overrun by over-ambitious, misguided humans?

Or misguided youaki. He remembered what Rocky had told him a few days ago through a messenger: that his half-brother suspected him of being involved in Black Mask youkai terrorist activity. He'd enjoyed a good laugh over that. So, Fluffy thinks I'm in with Naraku, huh? How ironic-the proverbial "bad boy" of the family is actually in with the "good guys" this time.

He'd be sure to keep his secret for as long as he could-oh, being wrong would absolutely kill Sesshomaru. InuYasha was positive his half-brother had obsessive-compulsive disorder: how many other men, besides those girly models, cleaned their fingernails daily and went to facials once a week? Plus, Fluffy's office was like a museum: filing cabinets with papers categorized in alphabetical order; books meticulously arranged on the bookshelf by genre and author's name; not even dust mites dared to thrive in Sesshomaru's work space.

Back at military school, InuYasha was regularly sent to Sesshomaru's office after mouthing off to a teacher, getting into another fight, or anything that didn't sit well with the officers. Needless to say, InuYasha hadn't been the most well-behaved student. Once, when he was fifteen (the age when one of his greatest pleasures in life was tormenting his twenty-five-year-old perfectionist brother) he had been sent to Sesshomaru's office… and Sesshomaru had stepped out for a moment. Being the devious little hanyou that he was, he fished a scrap piece of paper out of one of his numerous pockets and carelessly let it drop on the ground near the mahogany desk. When Sesshomaru had finally entered the office, ready to give The Lecture, he spotted the piece of paper, stopped short…and absolutely exploded.

"You audacious, ungrateful, self-centered brat! How many times must I give you The Lecture before it penetrates your thick skull? Has it not occurred to you that I loathe these 'counseling sessions' just as much as you? After all the money Father has spent for your top-rate education, you continue to throw it away by slacking off in class, causing trouble, and terrorizing the school! The only reason you're still here is because you happen to have better fighting skills than any of those skinny acne-faced adolescents-"

"To which I owe you my undying thanks, Fluffy. If you hadn't tried to kill me so many times as a child, I wouldn't be the same man I am today." InuYasha gave a deep bow.

"Enough!" Sesshmaru shouted, actually startling InuYasha. Sesshomaru was notorious for his violence, but the passive demon never raised his voice. "When are you going to grow up, InuYasha? You're not a man; you're still a child. Life isn't all fun and games. Those duals you have once a day are gentlemen's battles-nothing like you'll encounter on a real battlefield. If you continue to prank your way through school, you'll be demoted to corporal before you even make it through Officer's School-"

"Like I'd actually want to be a prick like you, sitting behind a desk all day doing nothing."

"Oh that's right," said Sesshomaru sarcastically. "I forgot. You want to be out on the battlefield, in the middle of the action. Or maybe go into espionage?"

"Maybe." InuYasha smirked lightly. "How would that feel, Fluffy? Cute little second child of InuTaisho actually making a difference in the world when the blessed first-born is stuck doing paperwork. Ironic, no?"

"Don't-call-me-Fluffy," Sesshomaru ground out, wincing. "If I've warned you once, I've warned you a thousand times. If you don't straighten up your act-"

" 'You'll find yourself on the wrong side of the law.' Thank you for those wise words of wisdom, Fluffy, but, if I may say so, I believe you have erred in that statement. You state it with a negative connotation."

"As opposed to a positive connotation? So now you WANT to be an outlaw?"

"Did I say that? Don't go putting words into my mouth. You're so old-school, Sess. The world isn't black-and-white like some make it out to be. Just because you choose to ignore the gray doesn't mean it's nonexistent."

"Behind all those fancy words, you're basically saying that if someday you end up in jail, you'll have justification."

"Of course I will. You think I'd willingly put myself into a cage like that?"

"I suppose that would be too much to hope for." Sesshomaru wearily lowered himself into his chair. "Go. I have no further use of you. Don't mouth off to the teachers again, make sure and straighten up your act, and all those other clichés I'm supposed to spout at you in hopes that they will reach your brain by some miraculous act of God."

"Until next time, Fluffy."

"I shall anxiously count the minutes," Sesshomaru muttered sarcastically.

InuYasha smiled slightly. He would have to break into Sesshomaru's office again someday, just for old time's sake. Maybe he'd tie that little toad of a bodyguard to the ceiling fan and watch him go 'round…

The trees were becoming more sparse now-and there was the field hospital, just in sight. Now he just had to find that Kagome wench…

His nose twitched as the wind suddenly changed directions. He hesitated for a moment, and then turning sharply to the right. Dammit, I'm being tailed. Of all the times… guess that wench is gonna have to wait. He sniffed again. Demon. Definitely a demon. A stupid one though, seeing as it's traveling downwind…. One of Naraku's puppets, probably. Brainwashed kid, most likely. He took a few sharp turns and even doubled back for a time, but the scent still trailed him. He heaved a sigh and figured he may as well get the fight over with while they were still under the cover of the forest and the night.

He stopped short and yelled into the wind, towards the direction the scent was coming from, "All right, show yourself! I know you're one of Naraku's goons-most likely out to kill me-so get your backside over here and we'll settle this now."

"Hasty as usual, I see, InuYasha," came a cool voice.

InuYasha's breath hitched in his throat. No… it couldn't be…

As the figure drew closer, he could see the milky white skin and satiny black hair that he knew so well. "Kikyo?" he hissed, squinting his eyes. Definitely Kikyo-not that Higurashi wench.

"You still remember me, I see," she said in that melodious voice of hers.

"Keh, like I could ever forget what you did to me." He hated the way his voice cracked. He still had feelings for her, dammit! Why couldn't he just push them away? 'She betrayed you!' the voice in his head taunted. 'You have no reason to still love her!' But he did. And you couldn't exactly push away feelings that strong in an instant. Her betrayal had hurt-pierced his heart. Why, Kikyo? Why? You said you loved me…Then to turn around and work for my enemy…

He drew in a ragged breath. Snap out of it! "All right, what do you want?" His nose twitched again.

"Now, InuYasha," she pouted, "is that any way to greet your lover?"

"FORMER lover," he growled. "I owe you no respect of any kind, you traitor."

"InuYasha…" she said softly. "Do not judge me without reason."

"I'm not-" His nose twitched again. What the hell? He sniffed again, his eyes narrowing. This…this isn't Kikyo's scent! It's… the scent of a demon!

"InuYasha?"

Act now, think later. He suddenly sprung from his spot and in a moment had Kikyo pressed against a tree, his hands around "her" neck. "All right, demon," he snarled. "Show yourself."

"InuYasha, what's gotten into you?" Kikyo squeaked, her voice higher than usual.

"That's right. I'm going to drain you of your oxygen until you show your true form, Shape-shifter."

"I…am…in my-" Kikyo's face was turning blue. InuYasha willed himself not to let go. God, it killed him to see her like this-even though he knew it wasn't her.

Kikyo started spluttering and gasping for air. Then, all of a sudden, she disappeared-and in her place was a tiny fox demon, his red hair tied up in a blue bow, his hands clutching and clawing at his neck. "C'mon, leggo! I can't breathe."

InuYasha growled and only squeezed tighter. "You low-down, dirty impersonator! Did you really a trick like that would work on me? I'm hanyou, remember? I can smell your stinking scent!"

"It was working, wasn't it?" the kitsune gasped. "Just like Naraku said-you were be too blinded by the vision of your lover to realize that-" it broke off, gagging as InuYasha's hands involuntarily tightened around the kit's neck.

"I should kill you right now-"

"No!" it squealed. "Onegai, don't kill me! Please!"

"You're working for Naraku. That's enough reason for me to kill anybody. That bastard doesn't give a fig about the youkai race-he just wants to put himself into power. And impersonating Kikyo… well, that just sealed your fate."

"I'm only a kid!" The kit attempted puppy-dog-eyes, but it's rather hard to look cute with a limited supply of oxygen. "I'm too young to die!"

"Keh, you're probably as old as I am, demon."

"But younger than you by demon standards! Please, let me go! I can give you information about Kikyo!"

"Like I'd want to know anything about that bitch."

"Naraku, then!"

"I know more about him than I'd ever want to."

"Kagura-Juromaru-the Lightning brothers-"

"The who?"

"The Lightning brothers!" the kit nearly shouted, squirming. "Hiten and Manten! They work for Naraku as undercover agents sometimes… he has to pay each of them over a thousand yen every time they feed him information or do one of his dirty deeds-but they're secretly on his side."

The Lightning brothers… those thugs from the MilitaryAcademy? The older one was always a suck-up-especially to Fluffy. The younger one was a brainless mass of blubber. Interesting. Does this kit really know what he's talking about, or is he just feeding my a load of crap? He's nearly unconscious and desperate. Still… I'll have to look into that.

InuYasha released the kit and let it fall to the ground, hacking and gasping for air. While it was still trying to pull in galleons of air, he grabbed it by its fuzzy tail and stuffed it into a hole in the tree. "Thanks for the info, kid. You can go tell Naraku that he can burn Kikyo at the stake for all I care-and that he better watch his back." With that, he raced into the darkness, once again heading for the field hospital.

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InuYasha no baka… Shippo winced as he touched his bruised neck. The stupid hanyou had nearly killed him! Looks as if Naraku had lied to him-again.

"But Naraku, I'm scared! He's dangerous! He could kill me in a split second with those claws of his-"

"Don't be ridiculous, Shippo. He's only hanyou; you are a full demon. What is there to be scared of? Just do what I tell you and nothing will go wrong."

That bastard. Shippo's father had been part of the Black Mask, back in the early days of the war, when Naraku was just fighting for the youkai race. Now… Naraku was talking of building a "youkai society" and placing "those miserable humans" at the bottom of the social strata, making them underlings to the racially superior youkai. Shippo's father didn't like the talk of making humans underlings. He was a simple fox demon who just wanted humans and demons to live in peace (A/N: wow… can anyone just hear John Lennon's Imagine playing in the background? Somebody break out the lighters, LoL). He tried to leave the Black Mask-but one is either for or against the Black Mask. The fox demon was thrown into one of Naraku's personal prisons, and his wife and child forced to serve Naraku, under threat of the fox demon's death.

Shippo pushed himself to his feet, still having trouble breathing. InuYasha was strong. Maybe InuYasha would defeat Naraku, and Shippo could have his father back.

Shippo glanced around. In fact… what was stopping him from just running after InuYasha right now and begging him to kill Naraku now? Naraku had gone underground again, and everyone else was on assignment. The planned day for the PM's murder was drawing near… no one would miss him.

He started to skip in the direction InuYasha had gone-but stopped short at the sound of beating wings.

Aw, crap. Naraku's informers-poison insects. Blast them.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming… yeah, I know HQ is in the other direction. I was going to…take a potty break. Can't a guy take a pee without suffering third degree?"

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Kagome froze in mid-step. What was that sound? It sounded like a herd of elephants stomping their way through the jungle…

"All alert! All alert! The Russian navy has docked at Otaru and troops are headed this way! Otaru is under attack and soldiers are heading this way! All alert, all alert-!"

Gods, no!

She turned on her heel and sprinted to where she'd last left Hojo. They had to start evacuating-where, she didn't know-but they had to save the soldiers!

She momentarily forgot that the hospital was in complete blackness. Once again, she slammed into someone and tumbled to the ground. "Oww…"

"Who's there?" came the sharp voice of Kitosumo.

"Oh-Dr. Kitosumo! I-gomen ne!" Ah, crap. Of all the people to bash into...

"Higurashi?" She could almost hear him scowling. "Weren't you supposed to assist me in the operation?"

"Uh, hai, sir, I was coming when the lights went out."

"You were due over fifteen minutes ago. Did that Kobayashi idiot not give you the message?"

"No, he did!"

"Then why were you not at the operating table when we were ready to start?"

"I-I had to finish tending to the patient I was working on, sir. You said yourself it is bad form to begin something and never finish-"

"Do not preach my own words at me! When I tell you to aid me in an operation at a specific time, I expect you to be there!"

"Y-yes sir… but, sir! Did you hear? The enemy army is nearing the hospital-shouldn't we begin to evacuate the wounded? Take them somewhere safe so we don't lose the men we've tried to hard to save?"

"That is an eloquent and passionate plea, Miss Higurashi, but it only lacks one thing." He paused for suspense. "Logic."

Kagome glowered. Degraded again. "But sir-"

"Where exactly do you want to evacuate them to, Miss Higurashi? The woods? The hills? Perhaps the nearest cave?"

"Maybe the nearest city-" she began.

"The nearest city is the sea port of Otaru, which happens to be under attack. If it isn't too much to ask, Higurashi, try and use your head once in a while." He turned and began to walk away. "Make yourself useful and help a few patients while the men try and defend this hospital."

"Of course, sir," Kagome said through clenched teeth. She muttered a few curses at Kitosumo's turned back and began to slowly feel her way through the darkness. "Does anyone have a dang candle around here? I can't see what the heck I'm doing."

The Shrine. The shrine should have candles. That monk is always lighting them. Take that, Kitosumo! Look who's using her head now!.

Now…um, which way would the shrine be…?

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What is THAT? InuYasha stared at the blob of black against the dark cover of the night. He sniffed the air. Body odor. Gunpowder. Looked like-smelled like-a mass of…soldiers?

Oh, hell no. An invasion. The Russians had broken through Otaru's defenses. Couldn't those lousy humans defend one pathetic city?

And, naturally, they were heading towards the main part of Sapporo, one of the largest cities on island, overrunning everything in their path.

And guess what was directly in their path?

I think the gods are laughing at me, InuYasha thought, frowning darkly. That Kikyo-but-not-quite wench ain't any use to me if she's dead! He sped up his pace. The field hospital was only a few hundred meters away now. He had to reach the field hospital before the Russian army did.

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"He's getting back at me for something. That has to be it. If he lets Dog Turd go gallivanting off to find that Kikyo-look-alike dame and then turns around and sends me to train the new recruit…this doesn't add up. He has to be punishing me for something."

"Look, Kouga, every guy deserves a break once in a while. Hanyou hasn't taken a vacation for over two years," panted Ginta "Tagger." "Besides, you're on assignment. He's not. You should feel honored."

"Maybe Rocky has an ulterior motive," Hakkaku "Pocahontas" said at the same time.

"Of course he has an ulterior motive!" snapped Kouga, suddenly stopping. The three wolf demons had reached the outskirts of the village. "Rocky doesn't choose a specific flavor of ice cream without contemplating how it could possibly effect his political standpoint or throw his enemy off his tracks."

Tagger was looking at the village beyond. "Not much to look at, is it?"

Pocahontas scratched his head. "How do you think Rocky found a recruit from this little Podunk town?"

Tagger shrugged. "Some swear he has supernatural powers. All the newbies think he's God."

"Think this one will worship him too?"

"Dunno. She'll be the first woman in the gang." Tagger looked up at the sky thoughtfully. "Wonder how she'll react to bunking and eating and bathing with a bunch of men."

"She's probably one of those manly types-has to be able to handle herself, anyhow. If she's human and female, she's gotta have something special about her."

"Yeah… what do you think Kouga?... Kouga? Oi, Kouga!"

"Wait for us!"

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The tavern… Rocky said the girl was a tavern wench. Figures. Get a man drunk enough, and he'll spill his guts-literally and figuratively. Smart. No wonder Rocky didn't think twice about choosing this one. Girl doesn't even needs brains for this job-just a pretty, innocent face.

"Hey! You two clowns!"

"Eh?" Tagger and Pocahontas were goggling at some of the village girls sauntering down the street, giggling and whispering behind their hands. Tagger's eyes were practically popping out.

"What do they feed these girls here?" Pocahontas asked hoarsely.

"Dunno… maybe we can get some and feed it to the females back in our home?"

"Like you two are ever home," Kouga snapped. "Look, you scout around and see what you can find out about this town. I'm gonna go find the wench."

"'Kay…"

Morons, Kouga thought affectionately. He set out, casually strolling down the road. It was early enough in the morning that only the servants and peasants were out and about-the nobles were still indulged in beauty sleep-but not early enough to draw suspicion to themselves. Tricks of the trade; they came with experience.

He read the signs protruding from the eaves of the roofs: Café, General Store, Weaponry, Ironsmith.

He felt uneasiness settle within his stomach. Why did this town feel so familiar? He had this weird feeling of déjà vu…

Black Dove Tavern! That's it. How many taverns can a little town like this have? As his gaze continued down the street, he groaned in dismay. The Sixth Sense Tavern, Tavern of the Heavenly Maiden, The Frog's Eye, Wisdom and Truth Tavern…

He was going to murder Rocky when he saw him again.

That is, of course, assuming Naraku didn't get to him first.

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After visiting the fourth tavern, he wearily made his way into the Wisdom and Truth Tavern. The first two taverns didn't have any women employed (what kind of tavern was that? He wondered how the owners made any money), the third had three little girls working as waitresses-but they only looked about nine or ten; sisters, was his guess. The fourth employed to young women who looked to be in their twenties, but they were definitely were not the women Rocky was talking about. T

"So, what's your opinion of this war, miss?" he asked the shorter of the two, giving her his most charming smile.

"Hm?" she smiled coquettishly. "What war are you talking about, mister?"

"Uhh… the one our country's currently involved in? You know, how we're trying to drive the Russians out of our country?"

"Russians?"

"As in, from Russia?"

"Isn't that in Africasomewhere?"

"No, stupid, it's next to England." The taller one now smiled at Kouga. "Can we get you anything to drink, mister?"

"No… no thanks." 'I'll take you up on that offer after I bang my head against the wall a couple of times…'

"This HAS to be the one," he muttered. He pushed open the swinging door and let his eyes adjust to the dim lighting.

"Be with you in a minute!" a female voice called out. "Go sit down and make yourself comfortable."

"Thanks," Kouga called back in the general direction of the voice.

The place was fairly clean for a drunk house-the floors were a shiny wood, and candles on the walls sent flickers of light across the walls. Little round tables were placed cozily in the open space of the room, although the presence of benches against the wall suggested that the open space was sometimes used as a dance floor. Only a few men were present; there was a group playing a rather rowdy game of cards, two old men talking in quiet tones, and a couple in the corner. The place was a little too deserted for his taste, but he didn't have time to wait for things to get busy. He had to find this wench, get her the assignment, then find Rocky again. He'd warned Kouga that he had a "gut feeling" that the Black Mask was going to try something soon.

He sat down at one of the tables, far enough away from the other customers that his conversation wouldn't be overheard. He drummed his fingers on the table and absently wondered what the tavern wench he was supposed to train would be like, when out of the back room emerged none other than…

Ayame.

Ayame! What the hell is she doing here? Oh crap-this is HER village? He winced. He'd never actually seen the place in the daylight. He'd met her on the road, traveling from one city to the next. After that, all their rendezvous had been under the cover of night. Her father was a rather prosperous merchant, and only wanted the best for his daughter-which included a rich husband. No less than three generations of wealth.

Then what the name of Buddha was she doing working in a tavern?

…

Ohhhh, no. Oh no. No way in hell, Rocky. There is absolutely NO WAY that Ayame can be the contact-

She was walking in his direction. "May I help you, sir?" she said, smiling.

"Um, yes, please…" Did she not recognize him? Sure, he'd lost the headband, his clothes were different, and he'd used some of his youkai powers to un-point his ears… but he didn't look that different. "I'd like some sake-mild."

"Mild?" she repeated playfully. "A strong, powerful man like you? I would have thought you'd order an extra jolt. Especially," she added in a softer tone of voice, "since you'll have to deal with a certain young lady who feels quite neglected."

He relaxed. So she did recognize him. Not that he'd ever doubted… "Are you free later?" he asked in a low voice.

She stiffened almost imperceptibly.

"Unless," he quickly added, that sinking feeling coming back into his stomach. "You have a previous engagement."

"Sort of," she mumbled, fiddling with a strand of her auburn hair. "I'm sorry, Kou-"

"Watch it!"

"I'm sorry…um…Wolfe. I have to meet someone soon. Could we make it tonight?"

"I won't be here tonight…"

"Oh." Her shoulders slumped a bit. "Oh well," she said, trying to smile, "at least I got to see you, ne? It seemed extra long this time."

"I know," he muttered, drumming his fingers on the table again. "I was…busy. With work. Couldn't find time to get away-you understand, right?"

"Of course," she said swiftly. "But then, that doesn't make the longing go away."

"No…" He looked up into her green eyes. He hated to ask the question, but he had to know. "This person you're expecting to meet-is it a man?"

"I…well…actually, I don't know," she admitted. "But I-" She glanced around the tavern, and seeing as no one was paying a lick of attention to them, said, "Ah, screw it," and sat down in the chair beside Kouga. "You see-I've never met the person. It's an arranged meeting. Business," she added.

"I see." That pit in his stomach was getting bigger… "So, Ayame, what is your opinion of this war?"

"My opinion? Of the war?" her eyebrows arched upwards. "Whatever makes you ask that?"

"I just wanted to know. Do I need an excuse for asking such a question?"

"Well, I am only a woman. Aren't women supposed to stay out of men's affairs?" She smiled ruefully.

Stop dodging the question and answer it. "Look, Ayame…there's no delicate way for me to say this. I'm going to be blunt, okay?"

"Okay…"

"I, too, am here to meet someone."

"Oh." At his silence, she asked, "A woman?"

"Yes."

"Oh." Her tone got a little cooler. "Well, don't let me keep you, then." She stood. "Is this the reason you haven't visited in over a month?"

"I…hey, what?" Dammit, she was taking this the wrong way! "Wait, Ayame, sit down!"

"It's okay, Kouga. I understand. We never see each other anyway… long-distance relationships are always hard…"

"Dammit, woman, stop talking like I'm breaking up with you and freaking listen to what I'm trying to say!"

Ayame waited expectantly.

He took a deep breath and said under his breath, "Rocky sent me."

Ayame stared at him and then sat down hard into one of the chairs as realization dawned on her. "Rocky, you say?"

"Yes."

"He wouldn't happen to be…leopard demon…would he?" she whispered.

He didn't know the pit in his stomach could have gotten any deeper. "Yes, he would."

She let out a gust of air and slumped into the back of the chair. "Ah, crap…"

My thoughts exactly.

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Dammit, dammit, dammit! The soldiers had reached the field hospital before he had. They'd better not do anything to that Higurashi wench-his future depended on her!

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Now there was a worrisome thought…

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Kagome jumped as a loud bang, followed by several screams, echoed throughout the warehouse. Oh no-

Loud gunfire erupted, the sparks and fire illuminating the stream of soldiers flooded into the warehouse, fully armed. Kagome let out a shriek as she watched the soldiers beat down the nurses closest to them, then fire their guns at the wounded soldiers. "Oh God!"

Complete mayhem erupted. Nurses and doctors tried to scramble away from the soldiers, save the patients, and shout pleas of mercy at the same time. The din ricocheted of the metal walls of the building, adding to the chaos.

"Stop! Stop this instant!" A doctor brushed past Kagome, running straight towards the mass of Russians.

Kagome's head snapped around. "No, Hojo!"

"This is a hospital! We're medics-neutrals! Cease your fire!"

"Idiot! They don't speak Japanese!" she yelled after him, but he didn't seem to hear her. "Hojo, stop! They'll think you're trying to threaten them-"

"Save the patients!" Kagome miraculously heard Kitosumo's voice through the mad jumble of screams, shouts, and gunshots. "Don't just stand there, you blockheads, do something! Start evacuating! See if you can hold off the Russies-"

Start evacuating, huh? Kagome resisted the urge to stick her tongue out. You hypocritical baka. She looked down and stared at the two-hundred-something pound man with the two amputate legs. "I'm supposed to carry you outside?"

Unconscious men have a tendency not to answer…

"Fine," she huffed, bending down and hooking her arms under the man's torso. "I'll just…heft you over my shoulders…like…umph!…this…" She took three steps before stopping and panting. "Great…this could take a while…"

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"Damn you!" Sango shouted, socking the soldier in the stomach before slamming him into the wall. The man slid lifelessly towards the floor. She huffed and retied the apron strings the man had undone. Wouldn't it figure that she would be near the front entrance when those soldiers had burst in?

Another two soldiers were running towards her. Her muscles tightened, and she arranged herself in a fighting stance, blocking the wounded patient lying on the floor behind her from view. "Come and get me," she snarled.

The two men looked at each other and laughed. They didn't look to be too much older than her. The taller one made the shape of a woman's figure with his hands; the other soldier laughed appreciatively and jabbered something in Russian.

"You think that's funny, you perverts? I'll give you funny!" Sango scooped up the unconscious soldier, got a firm hold on his on his torso, then threw him straight at the two leering soldiers. The one saw his dead comrade coming, and gave a cry and ducked. The second had a slower reaction; he only made a garbled noise as the soldier flew into his face and knocked him to the ground. Sango nodded in satisfaction as his head thunked against the ground, knocking him out.

"See that? That's what'll happen to you, too!" she told the standing soldier.

He scowled, not laughing anymore. He shouted something at her and cocked his gun.

Sango took a sharp intake of air. "Hey, no fair using guns! Would you really shoot an unarmed woman?"

He smirked and said something in a snide tone of voice as he rested the butt of the gun on his soldier, taking aim.

Run! Sango leaped to the side as the gun exploded. She gasped as she saw two bullets strike the wall; just where she had been standing a few seconds before. "How dare you!"

He frowned and swung his gun to where she was now, aiming again.

"You-you low-down coward! How does it feel, trying to murder innocent women?" She gave a little shriek as a bullet whizzed past her ear. Damn, she was trapped! She couldn't rush towards him and try to wrestle the gun away, because he'd shoot her before she got in a five-foot radius. She cried out again as she saw him pull the trigger. She threw herself to the ground, feeling the heat of the bullet a few feet above her.

"Leave her alone!" Sango looked up to see a brunette doctor rushing towards the Russian soldier. The Russian rolled his eyes and fired. Sango screamed as the doctor jerked and fell backwards, blood staining his white doctor's coat. The Russian laughed and pointed the gun towards her again.

Thwack! The soldier winced in pain and fell to his knees, his hand going up to where his head had been struck with a staff.

"Houshi-sama!"

He yelled something at her that she couldn't hear. "What?"

"I said-" he gave a cry of pain and fell to his knees. The Russian soldier had jammed the butt of his gun into the monk's stomach.

The Russian groaned and looked up at Sango, hatred distorting his face. He shakily raised the gun to his shoulder again.

Sango fumbled around behind her, searching for something to throw at him-anything, anything! Her hand grasped something hard and she brought it around to see-

"Akk!" she cried, dropping the amputated leg bone in front of her. Where had that come from?!

The Russian laughed.

"You-" She grabbed the bone and threw it at his head. "Hiraikotsu!" The bone struck the man in the face, stunning him for a moment. She seized the chance and rushed forward and grabbed the gun, trying to wrestle it out of his grasp. The soldier held on tight and kicked her in the shin.

"So you want to play dirty, huh?" she taunted, kicking him in the groin, and then snorting as he doubled over. "You men-all the same." She ripped the gun out of his hands and brought it down hard on his head. The man didn't move again.

"Lord, woman," Miroku said, his purple eye wide with awe. "Are you really a nurse?"

She grinned and lifted the gun again, taking aim at a soldier a few yards away with his back turned. "Just you remember, monk-" Ready-"this is what will happen to you-" Aim-"if you ever get it into your head to bother me again!" Fire! She pulled her arm back and threw the gun towards the man. The gun turned over itself, spinning in the air like a giant boomerang until it hit its mark.

"Bulls-eye!" she crowed.

"God preserve us," Miroku mumbled.

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"Move it!"

InuYasha swiped at yet another soldier with his claws, not bothering to see if he'd hit his mark. There were soldiers swarming all over the hospital! Low-down bastards knew how to play it dirty-wipe out all the doctors and nurses and loose twice as many men; it was an effective way of hitting the enemy hard.

Where was that wench? No one would notice her absence in this chaos-he could just grab her and run, if he wanted.

InuYasha spotted a dark-haired man in robes fighting off five soldiers with nothing but a staff. He was back-to-back with a nurse, who was alternating between throwing kicks and lobbing corpses at soldiers.

Well…to each his own…

InuYasha sighed as a handful more of soldiers joined the fight, outnumbering the man three-to-one now. He leapt from behind and smashed the heads of a few together, and knocked out the rest with his fists. "No fair ganging up."

The man blinked at him, his staff frozen in position to hit. "Merciful Buddha…"

InuYasha took notice of the phrase; he glanced down at the man's robes. "Houshi-sama?"

"Hai?"

InuYasha cocked a brow as he watched the monk's hand inch toward the nurse's rear… He smirked as the woman spun around, slapped the monk, and promptly returned to throwing bodies at the Russians. "I hope Buddha has pity on your soul."

"Arigato," the monk said, wincing as he rubbed his smarting cheek.

One down, one to go. He'd talk to the new contact later. He had a woman to find…

He raced through the hospital, weaving through fights and occasionally knocking out a few soldiers. Where the hell did that wench hide herself? You wouldn't think it would be so hard to find one blasted woman. His head spun around and he did a double-take. Her scent was near…

He found her with her back up against the wall, valiantly trying to fight off a Russian soldier. From the amused smile on the Russie's face, he was playing with her. Lord knew that if he really wanted to kill her, he could pull out that gun strapped to his back.

Not that he blamed the poor man. InuYasha wagered the soldier hadn't seen a female in over a year. Poor military chumps.

InuYasha headed towards the fight. A man could be entertained by a woman trying to kill him for only so long.

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Kagome was growing desperate. The soldier didn't seem to be tiring, and it didn't look as if he was planning on leaving her alone. She'd managed to get the legless man and a soldier with a head wound hidden in a nearby grove of trees; on her way back into the hospital, she'd met up with this monster.

Where was Sango? Was she safe? What about the head nurse, Kaede? And where in heaven's name was Hojo? She'd known him for all of one hour, but that was enough to realize he was hopelessly idealistic and terribly naïve. Weren't those the kind of men who were killed first?

She flinched at her thoughts. She felt bad for thinking in such a way. Hojo was nice, after all, pretty cute, too…

Kagome gasped and stars flickered before her eyes. Her mind had wandered, and the Russian had gotten a blow to her head. The man snickered and tried to plant a kiss on her cheek.

"Why, you-! Get the hell away from me!" She drew back her fist and was about to smash it into his face, but he caught her hand in his grasp. She struggled to get away, but he only laughed.

Okay, he's asking for it. She closed her eyes and centered her focus, taking deep breaths at steady intervals. Concentrate…concentrate… She felt the energy well up inside of her, the heat growing, expanding…

Then suddenly the pressure on her wrist was released. Kagome opened her eyes, and found that the soldier had disappeared. She felt a twinge of disappointment. She would have taken a sort of sadistic pleasure in seeing the baka sizzle.

"You!" she cried. In front of her was the white-haired soldier, the man who had asked her to take care of the Russian boy. In front of him was the soldier who had been harassing her, now unconscious. She looked for some kind of weapon on the white-haired man, but she didn't see any. Was the man a martial artist of some kind? "What are you doing here?"

The white-haired man scowled. "And this is the thanks I get for saving your hide?"

"I had things well under control, thanks," snapped Kagome. "I could have handled him."

"Sure, sure," he replied sarcastically. "And that's why you had your eyes closed while a sword was hovering over your head."

"While a sword-?" She glanced down and noticed the Russian's rapier in his hand. "Oh…" She suddenly felt lightheaded. Suppose she hadn't released the energy quick enough? Still…she wasn't too thrilled about being shown up by this macho man. "Arigato," she said grudgingly.

"Don't mention it," came the cynical answer. He glared at her with those golden eyes. "Why are you still in this warehouse? I would have thought that you'd have run to safety by now."

She stiffened. "And just what exactly are you implying? That I'm a coward?"

He rolled his eyes. "No, that you had a few shreds of common sense left, but excuse me for making assumptions. My mistake." There came that smirk again.

Kagome's temper flared. "Look, Mr. Smart-Ass, you have my gratitude for saving my life, but that doesn't give you the prerogative to insult me! I don't even know who the heck you are! Are you a soldier? What happened to your uniform? You're AWOL, aren't you?" She crossed her arms, thoroughly ticked off. "And what are you staring at?!"

"Don't move."

The terse reply caught her off guard. "Huh?"

"Behind you." He grinned a bit, showing off a pair of pointed canines. "Let's see what you got, Miss I've-got-this-under-control."

"Nani?" She spun around to find what looked like an Italian mercenary directly behind her, a knife in hand. "And what the heck do you think you're doing?" she shouted, dodging his strike. He lunged again, this time nicking the fabric of her dress around her waste.

Kagome took a sharp breath and felt her temper snapped. She was sick of this crap already! This time she didn't even try to concentrate the energy. Her anger flared up and she released the energy. A ball of pink energy blasted the man off his feet-at the same time his was torn apart by a pair of claws. The cry of "SANKON TESSOU!" reached her ears a moment later.

She stared at the mutilated body of the man in shock. In the chaos, no one had even noticed the duo of strange occurrences. Her head whipped around to glare accusingly at the white-haired man, who seemed to be studying her just as intently. Her eyes wandered upward and widened at a sight that she couldn't believe she'd overlooked before…

"Wh-what are those?"

Two little triangular-shaped ears were sitting on top of the white-haired man's head. They flicked towards her, as if to confirm the oddness of their presence. Kagome's mind suddenly clicked. White hair on a man not much older than she…dog-ears…the way he jumped out of the window…

"What the hell!? You're a demon?!"

'Aw damn-she's a miko!'

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