InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Haunted Souls ❯ It begins ( Chapter 3 )

It begins

I would like to thank szmadad for being my first reviewer for this story. And because s/he asked for a better description of the characters I will have some more detail written in this chapter. I am going to write a bit about what everyone is wearing, although I will most likely not talk much about it in the future. I want to put in a little description so you can picture them better, but I don't want to spend too much time on their clothes. Also, I would like to thank Whit for being my first reviewer on Media Miner. Thanks to your review, I felt like updating . Enjoy.

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Kagome stood in her living room, deep in thought. She was worried about what would happen that day. Kagome had a very ominous feeling about this job, but for some reason she was drawn to it. This case had been all she was able to think of the entire week. It was now Saturday morning, 7:45am, and she was waiting for the rest of her team to arrive. Miroku was already there, of course, since he had stayed the night before. She turned to see him making coffee.

Kagome and Miroku had tried all week to get more answers from Sesshoumaru about what happened in the house, but he had refused. He said he would only tell them what they needed to know, nothing more. It aggravated them both no end, but there was nothing they could do about it. Miroku had asked Kagome many times if she wanted to change her mind about taking this case, but she always said no.

They were both all packed and ready to go; they just needed the others to arrive. Kagome was dressed in her favorite pair of blue jeans she had gotten while on a trip to New York City. They were low-rise jeans, extremely comfortable, which is why she loved them so much. The fact that she looked great in the dark blue jeans did factor into her love for them a bit, though. With the jeans she wore a black tank top so she would be even more comfortable. They were her favorite work clothes.

Miroku looked not much different with his dark blue jeans, though his were not as tight as Kagome's. He did, however, wear a tight deep purple shirt that showed off his muscles well. No matter where he was going, he needed to look good. It was something he was very good at doing. Kagome had always loved his low ponytail as well. It seemed to fit well on him.

When Miroku finished making the coffee, he brought Kagome a cup and smiled at her. "Light and sweet as always." Kagome had to smile at the look on his face. She knew he was trying to make her feel better and it helped to know he was there. She thanked him and took a sip just as she heard a knock at her door. Though Sesshoumaru had said he would meet them there at 9 AM, she wanted to talk with her group before he got there. She had asked them to be there no later then 8:10 AM. But most of them preferred to arrive early, which would account for the knock at her door at only 7:49 AM.

Without a second thought, Miroku got up to answer to door. He greeted a tired looking Sango with a short hug. Kouga was not far behind her; he, however, looked well rested. Kouga and Sango were very close to each other. They had known each other almost as long as Miroku and Kagome. They had been dating on and off, but for the most part were best friends. Where one went, the other was sure to follow. Kagome thought they made a cute couple and hoped they would one day be more than just friends who dated on and off.

Kouga was clad in his normal fur and armor as always, with his hair high in a ponytail and a headband. He hated all 'human' clothes and refused to conform. No one really minded, anyway. He did look good in it. Sango, on the other hand, had chosen to wear a tight fitting pair of black pants and tight black short-sleeved shirt to match. Both looked ready to work.

"I guess we're the first ones here, huh?" Kouga commented, only to have Sango answer quickly.

"That's because you had us come here a half hour early. I could still be sleeping if it wasn't for you!" Kouga laughed at her. They both knew Miroku would be there before them. They had thought he might stay over the night before since he usually did when Kagome was upset. They all felt a little weird about taking this case for some reason. However, none of them could turn down the money Mr. Tanaka had offered them.

Kagome smiled at her teammates and friends. Miroku laughed at the two in front of him and said, "Well, actually I was here first." He smiled.

They all turned to look at him and said at once, "You're always here." This only made him laugh harder. There was another knock at the door. They all turned to look at the door as Kagome went to answer it.

"See we aren't the only ones early!" Kouga joked as Sango turned to glare at him.

Kagome opened the door to see a happy face and it made her smile. "Good morning Rin. I am surprised to see you here so early. You are always late for a case," Kagome joked.

"Yeah, well, this is the case of a lifetime! I wouldn't miss it for the world!" the hyper 20 year-old answered. Rin loved an adventure, which is why she worked with Kagome. She was one of the few mikos that Kagome knew that actually enjoyed setting spirits free.

Most mikos that were able to do this job did it because they had to - or because they wanted to help out. Rin did it because she loved the hunt and the excitement of it all. Though she wasn't a very powerful miko, she could set a spirit free if she tried hard enough, but it was very difficult for her. To date, in the 2 years they worked together, Rin had set free only 3 spirits and they had been easy ones. Kagome was training her in hopes that Rin's power would increase enough for her to run her own team one day. It would make things easier for Kagome to have more help. There weren't enough mikos and monks that could do what Kagome did. Having Rin get her own team would mean fewer jobs for Kagome, which would be a good thing.

Rin was dressed in a tight black leather outfit. The top was sleeveless and fit her very well. She looked as if she was ready to fight and in truth she was. She was perfect for this job. Since they frequently went to America, the whole group seemed to have more clothes from there than from Japan, which was funny to Kagome. She loved the clothes in America and found that they suited her well. Rin had her hair in a high ponytail so that it would not get in her way while she worked.

"I need some coffee," Rin said as she ran to the pot Miroku had left in the kitchen. Everyone laughed at her as she left the room. She was the youngest on their team but not by much.

Kagome looked at the clock, saw it was 8:14 AM and sighed. 'I guess Mr. Tanaka will be here soon,' she thought with a little unease. Once again there was a knock at her door. She went to answer it as she heard Miroku yelling at Rin in the kitchen. "Don't drink it all!! That's for everyone," she heard Miroku yell.

"You can always make more, you know!" Rin yelled right back. Kagome just shook her head as she opened her door.

Kagome smiled at the demon in front of her. "Hey Shippo, you're late!" Kagome teased.

He looked past Kagome to the others in the room and laughed slightly at the sound of Rin fighting with Miroku in the kitchen. "Well I may be," he looked at his watch, "4 minutes late, but I am not the last one here." He winked at Kagome as she giggled.

Kagome treated Shippo like a son, even if he was a demon and older than her as well. Demon aging had always been a little hard for Kagome to decipher. Most demons hate to tell you their age, since it makes them feel old. So Kagome didn't ask demons their ages often. Shippo looked to be about 19, but she knew he was much older. He wore baggy jeans and a green t-shirt. He hated dressing up but it didn't matter, since he always looked good, no matter what he wore. He was a true ladies man, with his long red hair always in a ponytail. He was a real sweet talker, too.

Kagome went to close the door as Shippo walked in, but stopped as she heard a voice from the hallway. "Hey, don't lock me out, I'm not that late!" Kagome watched her old boyfriend and recently acquired teammate running down the hall. Behind him were two women, who didn't seem to be in any hurry as they walked toward Kagome.

"Hey Hojo, slow down before you hurt yourself. I wouldn't lock you out." When he reached her, he was panting slightly. He was the newest member of the group, so he wanted to do his best. He was always trying a little too hard to fit in. He was a great guy and a pretty decent monk, but Kagome had always thought him a little too boring for her. They had dated for only 4 months over 2 years ago. She was happy he'd joined her group after he finished school. His everyday job was a doctor, and he was good at it. It was always a good idea to have a doctor on your team when you worked a dangerous job.

"Sorry, Kagome. I had hoped to be here earlier but traffic was horrible." Hojo wore black dress pants and a black button up shirt. Kagome had to admit that he was attractive. Any women would be lucky to have him. She had always felt bad that things didn't work out between them. It just didn't seem right to be with him. He had cared a great deal for Kagome, but they broke up with no hard feelings. They were good friends now and he loved working with her.

Behind him Hojo could hear the two women laughing at him. Ayame put a hand on his shoulder and said, "You try too hard Hojo. Just relax. We aren't going to leave you behind if you are a little late. Besides you aren't that late, it's only 8:20 and we aren't leaving until 9." Hojo calmed down as soon as he looked into Ayame's deep green eyes. He had quite a crush on her.

Ayame smiled, noticing his much calmer face. She knew that Hojo liked her, but she had always had a thing for Kouga. The only problem was that Kouga was always all over Sango. She didn't mind too much, though, because she loved both Sango and Kouga. She just wanted them to be happy. Ayame had her red hair up in high pigtails with a flower on the top of her left pigtail. She wore fur and armor much like Kouga, though hers was white instead of brown. She and Kouga had grown up together and shared the same ideas on human clothes.

"Break it up you two lovebirds," the other woman joked as she walked past them into Kagome's apartment. Ayame and Hojo both blushed and followed her inside.

"You are so mean, Yura," Kagome said playfully to the hair demon.

"I know," she replied with a smirk, then sat down on the couch next to Rin now happily drinking a large cup of coffee. Yuma wore her short black hair down with a red hair band in the front. She wore a very short tight black dress. She looked ready for a date, rather than ready for work. Yura always dressed nicely, but she seemed to be trying harder that day to look sexy. Kagome figured it had something to do with the fact that Sesshoumaru was going to be working with them. Yuma was always looking for a rich man to take care of her and she had always wanted to meet Sesshoumaru. Since he had called her to make sure she would be ready on time for this trip, she had not stopped talking about his beautiful silver hair. Kagome shook her head at the woman.

"Well only one more and then we are all here," Kagome said with a smile but she felt nervous. She was not looking forward to this case for some reason. The group nodded and looked at the clock impatiently. Finally a short while later there was another knock at the door. Kagome noticed that it was now 8:30, with a frown.

As she opened the door she said, "Well it's about time!" The man standing in front of her laughed and bowed toward her.

"I know I am late. Sorry Kagome it won't happen again." He walked past her into the apartment and noticed that everyone was a little annoyed at him for being so late.

"I hope it doesn't, David. This is an important case and I need some time to talk to you all before we leave," Kagome said sounding more like a boss than a friend for the moment. David was an American that they had met on a case in New York only 2 years ago. He was a nice guy, but he was always late for some reason. He was the only one on the team that had no powers of any kind. He was just a human, but he was a very smart one. He took care of all of the equipment and seemed to always come up with new devices to help him find sprits. He very rarely used something that he hadn't created himself when hunting ghosts. He was a valuable addition to the group.

Most of the time David only worked the jobs they had in the US, since he lived in New York, but for this case Mr. Tanaka had flown him to Japan. He was staying at a hotel and had only arrived in Japan the day before. Mr. Tanaka had paid for the plane tickets and the hotel room. He was a tall man with short dirty blonde hair and light blue eyes. He was 30 years old and one of the oldest, other than the demons, in the group. He was well built and not bad to look at, but he was not the most handsome man you could meet. He wore baggy black pants and a loose white shirt. David was the only one in the group that was married. He didn't have kids, which was a good thing, since he was rarely home.

"Ok guys, now that we are all here I would like to talk with you about this case," Kagome stated as Miroku came to stand next to her. They were the leaders of this group and had been together the longest.

"This will be a hard case. We have never had to set so many spirits free on one job before. This is going to take a lot out of me and it will take a long time. First of all, I want to make sure that you all understand that it will be a long case and will take a great deal of time. We may not return for months, for all I know." Kagome stopped to see if every one understood what she had said.

"Yeah, we know, Kag, don't worry about us," Sango said and the others nodded in agreement.

"Ok then. The second thing is I will need more help on this mission than normal. I will most likely need Miroku and Rin to set a spirit or two free. Are you both up to that?" Kagome looked at the two who were both capable of freeing spirits, though it would be harder for them.

"Hell yeah!" the always hyper Rin yelled and Miroku shook his head at her.

"We will, of course, do whatever you need of us, Kagome," Miroku said sounding professional.

Kagome nodded to them both. "Thank you. I know I don't ask either of you to do this often, but it seems that it will be necessary this time. Ok thirdly, does everyone have their equipment? I want you all to do a check before Mr. Tanaka arrives." They all groaned as they went to check their supplies. Kagome did the same.

When everyone had finished his checklist it was 8:55 AM and Kagome turned toward her teammates. "Ok everyone. Mr. Tanaka should be here soon. I want to make it clear that we will be staying within the home we are trying to cleanse. However do not get too comfortable. This is a job, not a vacation. I know it may be temping to wander around the house, since it will undoubtedly be big and beautiful, but you must not leave the group for any reason. Also, since this is such a big case, I would like to team you up. I know we almost never break into groups, but it will be faster this way. I cannot stress enough that you must stay with your group at all times."

"Yes mom," Rin replied sarcastically. "We get it. Don't go wandering around the really cool house." She stuck her tongue out at Kagome. Kagome rolled her eyes at Rin.

"Sometimes you act like such a child, Rin." Kagome sighed, as the girl seemed slightly hurt by that comment. Rin looked at Kagome like a hero. Rin wanted nothing more than to be just like Kagome. "Alright now, as I was saying, your teams will.." Kagome was cut short by yet another knock at her door. She suddenly became very nervous as she walked to the door. Miroku noticed this and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry Kag, we can do this," he reassured her. Kagome felt a little better knowing Miroku thought she could do this.

Kagome opened the door to see two very handsome men and a short green demon. For some reason she found it funny to see the well dressed and handsome men in front of her with this small demon. It was such a contrast to her. "Hello, Mr. Tanaka." She greeted him with a slight bow as she moved to let the newcomers in. "You must be Mr. Tanaka's brother," she said looking at Inuyasha. He nodded to her. "But who is this?" she asked, motioning toward the small green demon.

Inuyasha smiled at her and spoke in a sweet voice. "This is Jaken, he works with us. He knows the house we are going to pretty well, so he should be helpful in leading you guys around. My name is Inuyasha. Please call me as such; I hate being called Mr. Tanaka - it makes me feel old." Kagome giggled slightly at this. She was surprised greatly by Inuyasha. After meeting Sesshoumaru, she had expected his brother to be just as cold. She was grateful he was not.

Inuyasha had long silver hair like his brother. But Sesshoumaru always had his in a long ponytail and Inuyasha's was down. They both had beautiful golden eyes. It was easy to tell they were brothers. Though she knew they were only half brothers and that Inuyasha was a hanyou, Kagome still thought they looked very much alike. Inuyasha wore loose black pants and a deep red long-sleeved dress shirt. Sesshoumaru on the other hand, was still in a suit. He looked as if he was ready to do business. It was black with a white shirt under his dress jacket. They both looked amazing.

"It is very nice to meet you, Inuyasha. And you as well Jaken," Kagome said with a smile, but Jaken just snorted at the comment. 'Well I guess Jaken is more like Sesshoumaru than Inuyasha is,' Kagome thought, slightly annoyed. Kagome quickly introduced her teammates to the brothers and vice visa. They all said their hellos, but Yura seemed to be getting a little too close to Sesshoumaru and he didn't appear to like it.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Tanaka," Yura said, leaning forward enough for Sesshoumaru to get a good view of her cleavage. To her disappointment, he didn't seem to notice or care. She sighed and sat back on the couch.

"Ok, as I was saying before your arrival Mr. Tanaka, we are going to break up into two groups for this case. Though we will be spending a lot of time working together also, I want to cover as much ground as possible so we can get this done faster. Is that ok with you Mr. Tanaka?" Kagome asked.

"Yes that will be fine. However I do suggest that you all work together when we first arrive until you all know the grounds better," Sesshoumaru stated.

"Yes, I agree as well, Kagome," Miroku said, watching the newcomers carefully. He didn't really trust them.

Kagome nodded. "Of course. Now as I said before, for the most part we will all remain together, but I want to make these groups so that we don't lose anyone along the way. Always make sure that all members of her group are with you at all times." Kagome looked around at every one and then picked up a piece of paper that she had written on the night before.

"Well the groups were even, but with Jaken it will be a little off. It's not a big deal though." Kagome looked at Jaken and saw he did not look happy at being around them. She shrugged and continued.

"I had a hard time picking the groups. I know you will not all be happy with this but I think this is the best way to do it. Well, since Mr. Tanaka and his brother don't know us well, I would like it if all the people I call for group one would come stand behind me as I say their names." She looked around to see nods from her teammates.

Miroku had assumed he would be with Kagome and as such moved to stand behind her. She shook her head, "Sorry Miroku but I thought it best you be in group two." He did not look happy with that answer. He seemed as if he was about to argue with her, so she quickly said, "Look, I need you and Rin to lead the other group since you two are both able to do what I do. I think it might be too much for you to do this separately. I also want you to help out Rin since she is still new at this." Miroku only nodded and moved to stand near Rin. Rin seemed ecstatic at the idea of leading her own team.

"As I was saying as I call your names come stand behind me. Group one will be led by myself and Inuyasha if that is ok with you Inuyasha?" He nodded and stood behind her. "Ok next is Kouga, Sango, David, and Yura." Kagome stopped as she watched the group walk to stand behind her. They all shook Inuyasha's hand.

"Wait, I thought I would be working with Sesshoumaru on this case!" a very unhappy Yura yelled.

"My name is Mr. Tanaka to you," Sesshoumaru said in a cold voice.

Yura jumped when she realized what she had said and blushed slightly. "I am very sorry, Mr. Tanaka. I don't know what came over me. I was just looking forward to working with you."

Kagome sighed. "I am sorry, Yura, but as I said, you will not all be happy with the groups, but they were necessary to be made up as they were. Also you will still be working with Mr. Tanaka, just not as much." Yura nodded and stood near Inuyasha as she realized there was another rich man in the room. Inuyasha didn't like the way she was looking at him, but didn't let it show.

"Group two will, of course, be Miroku, Rin, Mr. Tanaka, Jaken, Ayame, Shippo, and Hojo," Kagome continued. "Ok, if everyone is ready, we should get going."

Mr. Tanaka walked out the door without saying a word and headed for the cars. Inuyasha did much the same only with a less urgent feel to it. The others followed. Soon they would be in the house that was known as more of a castle than anything else. And soon they would be working on the hardest case of their lives. Some were scared, others excited, but all of them were nervous.

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Here is a little more detail just for szmadad.

Both Kouga and Ayame look exactly as they do in the show. They have on the same clothes and they have the same powers. Jaken looks exactly like he does in the show. Also in this story, Sango has miko powers, but they are slight, like most mikos. Everyone other than Kagome, Inuyasha, Shippo and Rin look the same age as in the story as well. Rin looks to be 20 and Shippo around 19. Both Inuyasha and Kagome look to be in their mid 20's. If you need to know more about anyone just ask and I will be glad to help.