InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Partners-In-Crime ❯ The Assignment ( Chapter 2 )

Disclaimer: (Shakes head sadly) Nope…I've tried to stalk Fluffy-chan more than once, but he somehow managed to slap a restraining order on me. (Sweatdrops)

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Partners-In-Crime

By: Guardian of Secrets

Chapter 2- The Assignment

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"…But the chief wants to see you- right away!"

Blinking in confusion, Kagome wasn't sure if she heard Sango correctly.

`Inutaisho wants to see me?!'

Facing her best friend with a slight frown on her face, she tried to swallow the lump that suddenly seemed to have formed in her throat. "You've got to be kidding me, right Sango? Cuz if you are…"

Sango sighed with exasperation before grabbing her friend by the arms and shaking her back and forth.

"I swear to god, I'm not joking Kag. He really did ask to see you, and I'm pretty sure you know what that means…" She said before releasing her from the death grip.

Kagome looked back uncertainly at Inuyasha who only gave her an encouraging smile.

"Go for it Kag. You never know…maybe Dad really does have a case for you."

Kagome bit her bottom lip, nervously running slender fingers through tangled raven tresses before Inuyasha stopped her.

"Kagome… go."

She sighed and took one last look at her two best friends who were wearing identical grins, before turning on her heel to walk out of Inuyasha's office.

As she passed the countless rows of cubicles, she frantically tried to calm herself down.

She suddenly felt like a captured criminal walking down the green mile.

"Okay, Kag-girl…don't get your hopes up…it might not be a assignment at all…yeah, that's it…probably just another huge pile of paperwork to do…"

She grimaced at the prospect as she strode towards the very back of the office floor. A few seconds later, she was standing in front of the large wooden door that led to a spacious personal office.

A gleaming bronze nameplate was nailed firmly against the smooth surface, engraved with the words- `I. Taisho.'

Raising her hand to knock, she hesitated. Kami, how she suddenly felt like a kid in trouble at the principle's office…

Swallowing the lump that seemed to have formed in her throat once again, she quickly rapped on the door before completely losing her resolve.

The few seconds that elapsed seemed like an eternity for her, but all too soon, a male voice from inside the office called her in.

Grasping the silver doorknob, she took one last deep breath before entering.

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It took a few moments for her eyes to adjust to the dim light inside the room. Blinking rapidly, her wandering gaze finally rested upon a silver-haired, middle-aged man seated behind a large mahogany desk in the center of the room.

He promptly pointed towards a chair in front of his desk, beckoning her to sit. She noticed a thick brown folder in his hands as she sat down.

`Great, should've known. More paperwork.'

Disappointed flooded through her as she settled into a more comfortable position on the hard wooden chair before turning to face her boss.

After a moment of awkward silence, Commander Inutaisho finally turned towards her, a serious expression set on his face.

But before he could even open his mouth, the young officer in front of him interrupted.

"I know why you called me here, sir. No need to explain. Just please hand over the paperwork, and I'll have it on your desk by tomorrow night."

Golden eyes widened in surprise. Is that what she had thought? That he had asked her to come just to pick up some paperwork?

Golden eyes sparkled with amusement as he opened his mouth once again after the rude interruption.

"No, no…you misunderstand me, Officer Higurashi. The reason why I sent you here is because I have a very important assignment for you."

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Kagome blinked.

She almost fell out of her chair in shock.

So much for the comfortable position she had finally settled in…

But had she heard him correctly?

Straightening, she nervously cleared her throat.

"A-are you sure, sir?" she stuttered, hardly believing it. For one terrible moment, she had thought that it was all just some horrible mistake, and that she wasn't even supposed to be here at all.

Inutaisho chuckled softly, silent mirth glittering in his molten depths as he saw how nervous yet hopeful the girl was.

"Yes, I assure you, Higurashi, that I am not lying. I swear on my medals."

He casually gestured behind him towards a large display case filled with countless medals and badges of honor for all of brave deeds that he had done over the years.

Kagome gulped. "But…but…you haven't given me an assignment or case for months, sir…why now?" she blurted out before she could stop herself.

She inwardly cringed even as the words left her mouth. `Shuttup, you idiot! Don't spoil it!' she silently scolded herself.

Inutaisho sighed somewhat regretfully before answering her. "Yes, I know. But all these months, I've been trying to convince the city council to let you in on this case… Here, I suggest you take a look."

The thick folder that Kagome had originally thought was paperwork was pushed towards her.

She looked down at the brown paper covering before slowly opening the folder to take out the thick wad of stapled files and documents inside with shaking hands.

Her eyes widened in shock as she flipped open the first page of the document. Her mouth fell open as she stared at a small picture held onto the page with by a paper clip.

He seemed strangely familiar…

An eerie feeling swept through her, causing the hairs on the back of her neck to tingle as recognition suddenly dawned upon her.

Yes…she knew him. The exact same face…the exact same inky black hair and crimson eyes, filled with such a sadistic coldness and malice…

It was him. The same person whose face was on the `Most Wanted' poster pinned to the police bulletin board in the front hall this very instant…

Yes. There was no mistaking it. Japan's Most Wanted criminal…

"N-Naraku Matsumoto…" she breathed.

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Inutaisho continued to look at her solemnly, taking in her expression.

After a tense moment of silence, she finally looked up.

Troubled sapphire eyes gazed up at him, as if begging him to tell her exactly what was going on.

Sighing, Inutaisho leaned back into his office chair, directly facing the younger officer.

"Kagome…we have reason to believe that Matsumoto is hiding out in Tokyo… Now I'm sure you know that he's wanted for countless charges of suspected homicides, robberies, smuggling drugs, dealings on the black market, therefore giving him the privilege of being the country's most wanted criminal. Heck, to tell you the truth, he's also wanted in 20 other countries or so…"

He paused, scratching his chin thoughtfully before continuing.

"He's smart, I'll give him that. After all, he has evaded the police from all those places. And then there's that gang of his… let's just say that all of the members are under plenty of serious charges too."

Kagome tried to absorb all of this new information. "But…how did you know that he's been hiding out in Tokyo?"

Inutaisho looked at her sternly. "We have our sources." was his only reply.

Kagome silently pondered this for a moment before Inutaisho's voice interrupted her silent musings.

"Anyways, all we know is that he's dangerous, Higurashi… He needs to be taken into custody immediately… With him roaming the streets, none of us are safe… so I'm going to ask you a very important question, Kagome. Are you willing to take this assignment?"

She faltered at the blunt question. Wasn't this what she wanted? Wasn't this a god-given chance to further develop her knowledge in this chosen career?

And above all…wasn't this the perfect opportunity to show her family that she was just as good as her sister?

But first things first…

"Sorry sir, but I still don't understand my part in this arrest. And for that matter, I'll be honest. I don't understand where you're going with this conversation, or what this assignment actually is."

Inutaisho stiffened for a moment. Briskly running a clawed hand through silver locks, he gazed at her intently for a moment before he spoke once more, slowly at first.

"Kagome…arresting such a dangerous criminal requires someone whom we can trust."

Kagome couldn't help but feel pride swell up inside of her before focusing intently on what her boss was going to say next.

"…But to assure his arrest, the prosecution needs more information regarding all of his illegal activities, so we need a trustworthy officer to… well, dig deeper to actually get all those facts …"

Blue-gray eyes widened in astonishment. Kami, he wasn't serious, was he? Surely he wasn't thinking about it…

Swallowing, she self-consciously tucked a few raven strands behind her ear before speaking. "Sir, are you asking me to go…undercover?"

Inutaisho hesitated before nodding slowly.

Kagome's breath caught in her throat.

"B-but sir! I've only been on the force for less than a year, and I've absolutely no training in undercover work! I'm barely even considered on the force!"

Inutaisho stole a quick glance at her.

"Kagome, I know. That's why it took so long for me to convince the city council to let you in on this case. After all, not many rookie officers have ever even heard of cases like this one. You know as well as I do that this case can easily be handed over to a much more experienced officer than you. But what I'm offering you right now is a privilege. Do you understand that? But I need you to answer this right now… will you take the case, Higurashi?"

Kagome frowned.

Of course her boss was right. This really was an incredible job offer for a rookie police officer such as herself. But undercover work? For her? She just wasn't sure.

`But what if you do get all that information and capture Naraku? Think about it! Your family might respect you again! Maybe, just maybe…even more than Kikyo.' the little voice inside her piped up.

That did it. She would do anything to prove her family that she was better than her older sister.

All her life she had always been second to Kikyo -her perfect older sister. Kikyo was always prettier than Kagome. Kikyo was always smarter than Kagome. It was always Kikyo this, and Kikyo that.

Kikyo seemed to be constantly in the spotlight while Kagome was always cast in shadows. It seemed that that was the way it was to every one, not even excluding her own parents…

So finally, just to spite her family, she joined the force right after college, hoping to vent off all her anger and frustration.

But ever since the night she saved Shippo, putting her own life on the line for that of another's, her coworkers and colleagues suddenly seemed to respect her…almost seemed to like her for whom she really was…

She never had had that feeling before. None of her family members had ever given her the feeling of acceptance.

She loved working here, even if it meant that she had to do crummy paperwork all day. But she had friends, didn't she? For the first time in her life, she had people who actually cared about her, like Inuyasha and Sango…

She mentally shook her head, trying to rid of all the emotions that suddenly took control of her.

She wanted to do this. No…needed to do this.

Decision made, she slowly lifted her face so that she was now gazing directly into Inutaisho's eyes.

Miraculously finding her voice, she heard herself stumble only once as the words left her.

"H-Hai, Inutaisho-sama. I will take the case."

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Inutaisho was astonished by the sudden amount of determination swirling in her ocean depths.

Letting out a breath that he hadn't known he was holding, he smiled gently at the young officer in an almost fatherly fashion.

"Good, Kagome…I knew you would take it. This case was made for you. I know that you're still new on the force, but there's something about you that I can't seem put my finger on… something special…and I think you've proven that the night you saved that child. You've got major guts, kid. One of the few that I've seen on the force…I'm just sorry that I haven't given you an assignment earlier…"

Kagome's face lit up as she smiled brightly at the comment. Her parents had never praised her. She finally decided that it was a nice feeling.

But her happy moment was quickly dashed when Inutaisho's voice took on a serious edge again.

"But for your own safety Higurashi, the city council decided that the only way you could be part of the case was to have an appointed partner with you while undercover."

Kagome's eyes widened in panic. "But sir! Inuyasha and I-"

"Yes, yes…I know. My son told me that you had promised him that you wouldn't work with anyone else. That's rather foolish of you. Even Inuyasha has said so." He interrupted, effectively silencing the young officer.

Meanwhile, Kagome's face was burning as a deep blush spread across the bridge of her nose.

`He probably thinks that I'm really weird now. Even that promise to Inuyasha sounds really childish coming from him…'

Lifting her head, her brows knotted into a deep frown as another thought suddenly came to her.

"Then who exactly is my partner for this assignment? Sir?"

Inutaisho stiffened. This was probably the hardest part…both for him and Kagome.

"The city council chose him. He's a government agent specializing in undercover work, if you must know. He's been on many other major cases such as this one before…"

He carefully watched Kagome's expression before continuing.

"…H-he also happens to be my son…"

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Bye for now! And please- REVIEW!!

~Guardian of Secrets