InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Love Thy Enemy ❯ Chapter 4 ( Chapter 4 )

 

Love Thy Enemy

 

Chapter Four

 

“Sesshomaru wants to see you,” Kouga said. Inuyasha yawned loudly.

 

“You woke me at six in the morning for that?” the hanyou snorted, scratching his shoulder.

 

“He wants you dressed and in his office for a briefing in ten minutes,” Kouga replied. “It's about your next assignment.”

 

“Fine, whatever. Tell Fluffy to keep his pants on, I'll be down there.” Inuyasha closed the door to his room without waiting for an answer. Yawning again as he pulled open to the drawers on his dresser, he grabbed a pair of black jeans and a red T-shirt and pulled them on, not really caring about appearances around his brother. Rubbing his eyes and blinking, he moved to the door of the room and left. Being that it was so early, the sun had just begun to break twilight's grasp over the grounds as Inuyasha walked over them to his brother's office.

 

“Morning,” Kagura called, lifting her head from her computer.

 

“Six am, not in the mood,” Inuyasha replied, flipping her off and heading straight for the elevator. Two koumori got off on the ground floor, and Inuyasha got in alongside a kitsune and a neko. The neko gave him a once over and sniffed, but Inuyasha didn't care. Being a hanyou, more than a few youkai around the camp didn't care for him, but he had Sesshomaru in his corner, indirectly keeping others from making trouble for him.

 

Getting off on his brother's floor, he moved past a second, older-looking neko engrossed in a clipboard as he walked down the hall. The door to Sesshomaru's office opened, and the taiyoukai was signing various slips of paperwork.

 

“When did war become a business?” Inuyasha asked dryly, tapping the sheets of paper beside his brother's computer.

 

“War has always been a business, you just kill the rival companies you take over instead,” Sesshomaru muttered, finishing his slip and looking up.

 

“So, you got my next job?” Inuyasha asked, sitting down.

 

“Yes.” Sesshomaru took a breath. “It is important that everything we are about to speak of not leave this room. Do not say a word to anyone else, do you understand me?” he demanded. Inuyasha slowly nodded, concerned now. He knew Sesshomaru trusted him, so why the big deal over secrecy?

 

“So what's up?” he asked.

 

“We have reasons to believe there's a spy in our ranks,” Sesshomaru explained.

 

“Impossible, we'd sniff them out easily,” Inuyasha rolled his eyes.

 

“So you would think. All the same, over the last six months there have simply been too many security leaks to just be coincidence. Either the mikos have someone peering into the future, or they have an informant. Obviously if they have a spy that has been able to slip past our security we have to find and get rid of them and find out how to stop future infiltrations.”

 

“So what's the plan?”

 

“Tonight, there is a gala event in a human city to the east, it's the closest city to our camp. The mayor's daughter is turning twenty-one, and the social elite of the city is going to attend. The pattern of information slips shows that only our transactions with humans have been at risk, so it's most likely a human that is betraying us. You will be going to this event, and will attempt to find any evidence of someone siding with the miko there.”

 

“This sounds like a big waste of my time, go to a yuppie convention and sniff out a war monger?” Inuyasha grumbled.

 

“I will admit that the lead is shaky, but it is all we have and as we have no other assignments that we need you for, it is best that you go,” Sesshomaru said. “Kouga will drive you into town this afternoon, you will change into your disguise and use the concealment scroll afterwards. The event begins at six, you will be expected-”

 

“Whoa whoa whoa whoa!” Inuyasha interrupted. “Concealment scroll?”

 

“Yes. It will rob you of your youkai abilities for four hours. The event lasts until ten, which gives you an hour of leeway. This is an undercover operation, Inuyasha, if you went in as a youkai your assignment would fail miserably.”

 

“Yeah, but…I'll be human,” Inuyasha protested lamely. He hated being human. Feeling weak and helpless.

 

“This is a social event, there will be no need for fighting, we hope,” Sesshomaru explained. “Inuyasha, you're the only hanyou we have to perform this operation on such short notice and you know full-blooded youkai can't use concealment scrolls. If you don't go, the assignment does not get carried out. It's that simple.”

 

“No pressure huh?” the hanyou groaned. “Fuck…”

 

“It is your choice to go or not, you will be highly vulnerable if you are suspected. If there is indeed a turncoat present there, they will likely have bodyguards on alert for suspicious people.”

 

“Mikos?” Inuyasha asked, his ear twitching. He didn't speak another word, but Sesshomaru read the unasked question in his molten eyes.

 

“She may be there, she may not be,” he admitted. “But if she is, she will not cause you harm in your human guise.”

 

“What makes you so sure?”

 

“Consider who we are speaking of.”

 

“Got me there…” Inuyasha thought for a moment. “Alright, fine. But I go in armed. We got guns in the armory, right?”

 

“Yes, if you think you can sneak one into an event where the mayor and his daughter will be attending,” Sesshomaru snorted. “Try and use your head for once, Inuyasha. You will be given appropriate attire and Kouga will be present in the city, also in human form, but armed and with an escape vehicle. If there is trouble, you will be well equipped to escape, as well equipped as you can be under the circumstances.”

 

“Which still doesn't seem to be a lot,” Inuyasha pointed out.

 

“This is true,” Sesshomaru nodded. “You will still go?”

 

“Yeah, I'm tired of sitting on my ass while I was healing,” Inuyasha grumbled.

 

“Good. Now, listen carefully. You will be given an alias, you will be going on the behalf of one of our human allies within the city. He was on the guest list and agreed not to go to allow us passage in his place. His name is Miroku Houshi, and that is all I can tell you for security purposes. The event organizers have been informed of the switch, so you should have no trouble getting inside.

 

“What's the alias?”

 

“Yash Shingetsu, memorize it. Just give them your name at the doors and tell them you are attending on the behalf of Miroku Houshi. We have prepared an appropriate gift, which you will be have to give to them upon your arrival. Once inside, and listen closely, it is vital you not stand out. From our information from Miroku, we know there will be dancing, a bar and several tables of finger foods. Later in the evening there may or may not be speeches. Eat, drink, dance, socialize, or at least make convincing attempts to. Anyone who stands out will risk being watched by anyone on the lookout for infiltrators.”

 

“Yeah yeah, no being a wallflower, got it,” Inuyasha replied. “Anything else besides being a social butterfly?”

 

“Yes. Listen to the conversations around you. If the information is indeed there, listen for someone particularly anti-youkai, or someone who seems too well-versed in the events of the war. Or, just anyone who seems out of place.”

 

“Besides me.”

 

“Yes. If you see anyone of that sort, watch them, if they make any sort of move follow them, otherwise keep your distance and remember to be discreet. If you can, get their name. Both from those protecting the spy and those protecting the mayor and his family, you will be watched closely, it is vital you not give yourself away. If you got their name, then you merely need to rendezvous with Kouga and return and the assignment will be considered a success. If you cannot, then you two will have to follow them to their home.”

 

“That it?”

 

“Yes. Just remember to keep your cover, mingle, and be observant. I know those three attributes are not your key character traits, but it is vital you not fail,” Sesshomaru repeated. “Now, come we me.” He stood up and walked to the door. “We will retrieve your suit, the gift you will be bringing and your other equipment.”

 

“Suit?” Inuyasha cried, standing as Sesshomaru opened the door to his office. “No one said anything about a monkey suit!”

 

- - - - - - - - - -

 

That evening, the sun was just beginning to dip as Kouga drove down the highway, whistling softly. He reached up and pulled his baseball hat down further, making sure it hid his pointed ears. Look in the rearview mirror of the pick-up to be sure, he grinned at the lump jammed between the passenger's seat and the back of the cap.

 

“How ya holding up mutt?” he chuckled.

 

“Fuck you,” Inuyasha muttered back, thoroughly uncomfortable in the cramped space under a black sheet. “What time is it?” Kouga looked down at the radio display on the dashboard.

 

“About six-thirty. We're coming up on the city so keep your mouth shut,” he said. Inuyasha stilled and hunkered down as much as he could as Kouga turned off the highway. There were quite a few smaller cities here and there, but for the war effort they were irrelevant or of minor importance. The metropolises of the country were the vital pieces, and all of them had security at their borders regardless of their allegiance. This city was no different.

 

Approaching the gates of the city roads, Inuyasha grew still, and Kouga took a breath, then reached into the glove compartment and stuck a cigarette in his lips. The approaching darkness, the shade of the trees and the lack of light in the cab would make his hiding place less noticeable, but nothing was certain. The SUV ahead of him was waved through, and Kouga pulled up to the gate.

 

“State your name please,” the guard said, lifting a flashlight and shining it into the cab.

 

“Uh…” Kouga faked an accent and made a show of pulling out his fake license from the overhead and looking at it. Inuyasha rolled his eyes at the back hick impression his friend was attempting. “Uh, Clark…To….tom….Thompson!” Kouga grinned stupidly as the guard reached out and took his license.

 

“What's your purpose in the city Mr. Thompson?” Kouga shrugged.

 

“Shopping, just takin' in the sights I's suppose. Don't get to the city much anay more,” he replied. The guard nodded.

 

“Mind if I take a look in the back Mr. Thompson?”

 

“Sure,” Kouga nodded. The guard moved behind the truck, and Kouga watched in the side mirror as they looked through the back of the pickup, then came back to the cab.

 

“Alright, here,” the guard said, handing Kouga back his license.

 

“Thanks,” Kouga grinned taking it. “Ya'll have a good day, sir.” He put his hands on the wheel and edged forward.

 

“Hold it. What's behind the seat?”

 

Inuyasha's eyes went wide as Kouga jerked to a stop. Kouga looked over at the tarp covering his friend, thought for a moment, and shrugged and turned back.

 

“Puppy.”

 

The guard raised an eyebrow. “Puppy?”

 

“Yeah, muh old puppy Gipper. Well, he old, so I guess he ain't a puppy no more,” Kouga laughed as Inuyasha gritted his teeth below the tarp and flexed his claws. “I wanted to show him the big lights too. Hey, that's allowed right, cuz I got a leash for him ya know.”

 

“Yes, pets are allowed in public with leashes,” the guard nodded. “Why's he behind the seat?”

 

“Well Gipper's getting' a little feisty these days, I got no female dogs, ya know?” Kouga replied. “So I put him in a pet carrier, to keep him from running around, tryin' to hump muh leg while I'm driving. Gipper likes the humpin', see?” Kouga grinned, and a foot away, Inuyasha was silently mouthing every curse he knew, and making up a few as he went along. “An then, I put the carrier behind the seat, so it don't bounce `round, Gipper don't get hurt.”

 

“He seems awfully quiet for a dog in heat,” the guard pointed out.

 

“He's sleepin, I let him get a good hump in before we left, tired him out,” Kouga explained. The guard nodded.

 

“Alright, sir…you and `Gipper', have a nice evening and enjoy the city.”

 

“Thanks!” Kouga called, driving forward through the gates. He looked in the mirror at the guard and turned a corner. “We're clear,” he said in a normal voice again, tossing his unlit cigarette out the window.

 

“You fucking asshole!” Inuyasha snarled, leaping out from his hiding spot. “What the fuck was that?”

 

“Keeping our cover,” Kouga replied.

 

“By lying and saying I was a puppy?”

 

“Who's lying?” Kouga smirked as Inuyasha growled at him. “Shut up, we're here.” Inuyasha turned forward as Kouga pulled down an alley and parked. “Alright puppy, time to go to the dog show.”

 

“Shut the fuck up,” Inuyasha snapped, climbing into the passenger seat with the bag holding his suit. He climbed out into the alley and put the disguise on the passenger seat, then opened the glove compartment and took out the rolled-up concealment scroll. Kouga climbed out, reach in to turn on the interior light, and looked up and down the alley.

 

“You're good,” he nodded. Inuyasha unfurled the scroll and murmured the words printed there. He finished the last line and flinched as the familiar sensation overtook him. His silver hair darkened to black, his golden eyes turned deep violet, and his claws and fangs vanished. His ears retreated into his hair as new human ones emerged on his head, and he groaned at the sense of being weaker and having dampened senses. He hated being human.

 

“Alright, the thing lasts for four hours,” Kouga reminded as Inuyasha took off his civilian jeans and shirt. “It's about a quarter to seven now, so that gives you until ten thirty to get back here with enough time to avoid being caught.”

 

“Right,” Inuyasha agreed, pulling on the dark grey suit pants.

 

“Remember, blend in, talk, dance, eat, socialize,” Kouga continued. Inuyasha zipped up the zipper of the pants and pulled on the red dress shirt, buttoning up the front. “And oh yeah, keep a lookout for anyone who might be a spy, k?”

 

“Right, because I'm sure they'll be wearing a sign,” Inuyasha snapped, shrugging the jacket for the suit up his shoulders. Kouga watched as the hanyou-turned-human put on the dress shoes and smirked.

 

“You clean up good,” he snickered. Inuyasha just gave him a dirty look as he reached under the seat of the pickup and retrieved the white and blue box with the gift for the event inside. He then grabbed a small cellphone from the glove compartment. If anything went wrong, he could call Kouga for whatever reason. Picking up a brush, he knelt by the side mirror and brushed his now midnight hair, until it was what he considered presentable, and tossed the brush back into the car. Finally, he got a hair band and pulled his hair into a ponytail, tying it up and snapping the band into place near his scalp. He hated the style, but it helped his disguise a little, so Sesshomaru had insisted.

 

“Well, I look ready?” he asked, looking down at himself.

 

“As ready as you can be,” Kouga nodded. Inuyasha took a breath. “Good luck, and don't get caught. How am I gonna explain what happened to Gipper when I leave?” Kouga snickered as Inuyasha rolled his eyes and headed down the alley. Kouga climbed back into the truck behind him and pulled out a pocket novel from beside his seat.

 

Inuyasha emerged from the street. Sure enough, Kouga hard parked behind the large hotel where the event was being held. He walked to the corner of the block, somewhat happy to be back. It was this same human city he had lived in before the truce. He stopped at the corner and looked down the streets, wondering if he could spot his old apartment from his current location. He couldn't. Hell, if he remembered correctly it was all the way on the other side of the city.

 

Turning to face the hotel entrance, where cabs and cars and doormen were filling the drop-off area, along with more than a few men in black suits that looked like something from a sci-fi comic. Taking another breath, Inuyasha lifted his head, put on a prideful and authoritarian look, and walked towards the entrance of the hotel. The security officers looked up, and Inuyasha ignored them and headed for the one with the clipboard.

 

“Name?” the guard asked.

 

“Yash Shingetsu, attending on behalf of Miroku Houshi,” Inuyasha supplied, gesturing to his gift. The guard scanned the clipboard and nodded.

 

“Yup, right here,” he said, taking out a pen and crossing off Inuyasha's name. “You're clear, head in. The gift area is near the stage, just place it by the pile. Have a good evening sir.” Inuyasha nodded as two other security guards moved out of the way of the door, and Inuyasha walked past them and entered the hotel.

 

I had planned to incorporate more of the actual event into the chapter, including a cliff-hanger ending, but the chapter got too long, so you'll have to wait until next chapter. Sorry, as it ended up this chapter was largely a set-up chapter.