InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Archangel ❯ Propositions in shades of blue ( Chapter 2 )

AN: Greetings and Salutations to you all! I hope you are enjoying my stories, I know I enjoy writing them. Let me just say that I got some of the best reviews on the last chapter! Thanks so much! I did get a question on whether this was based on a book and the answer is no. The plot was spurred partially from a movie I saw a long time ago, though I cant seem to remember the name to save my life! The rest is good old fashioned ingenuity! But I am flattered that you thought it was good enough to compare! Thanks!

Oh, and someone commented about the date's, locations, and times …I thought it was a cool idea too! I got the idea from two places. One …I love Law and order SVU, if I could make the computer do that little 'dun-dun' sound it would be perfect! Also one of my fav. Sess/Kag authors Striking Falcon used a similar effect in 'To Bear Witness' and it was very effective. (It is a must read by the way if you haven't!)

So anyway… on with the next chapter.

The Archangel

By; Undecidedly Certain

Chapter Two

Propositions in shades of blue

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Sesshoumaru dropped back into his chair at the head of the table and stared up unseeingly at the perforated tile ceiling of the debriefing room. This was far worse than he'd suspected, even for a code red this was a serious threat, especially from Naraku.

There are many types of terrorists in this world; fanatical zealots fighting and killing for a cause no matter how ridiculous, avaricious individuals with the ways and means to procure what ever monetary prize they sought, and even those in favor of certain aspects of genocide. Sesshoumaru had dealt with them all.

Naraku however was in another category all together. The man, who's face had never been seen and true name remained undisclosed, seemed to thrive on the pain and misery of others, carrying out random acts of terror for the sheer thrill of it. The man had been wreaking havoc on the free world for the last ten years and Sesshoumaru himself had been after him for six of those years.

His activities had been oddly quiet the last three years, and now it was obvious what he had been up to. If it was true and he really did have a virus that dangerous he wouldn't hesitate to release it in the population if his demands weren't met. Hell, Sesshoumaru wouldn't put it past the crazy bastard to drop it even if his demands were met.

Chaos would ensue, especially if there is no record of this virus in medical data bases. It could take months to come up with a cure, by then half of the country could be infected.

His request was odd, though not completely surprising. The Shikon no Tama, a mystical jewel foretold of in legends. As far as Sesshoumaru was concerned it was more of a historical artifact than anything else, but then again he didn't really know anything about it. If Naraku wanted it though then he must have some use for it, meaning that he most assuredly should not get his hands on it.

A biological attack on New York City could be devastating though. This was going to be a tough assignment, but he was ready to take Naraku down once and for all.

With a determined look on his face he snapped his attention back to Kaede, all of his colleagues letting out a sigh of relief. If Sesshoumaru looked confident about it then there was no need to worry.

"What do we know?" He demanded, still leaning back slightly in his chair.

"Not much unfortunately." Kaede said grimly, pulling her lap top out and hooking it up to the power point projector. A blank screen lowered from the ceiling before Kaede flashed the first screen, an image of Naraku in the only form he ever appeared in.

He always wore the same disgusting baboon pelt when ever he made any kind of public appearance. Most likely to disguise both his scent and his identity making it impossible to determine whether he was youkai or human.

"At exactly 1800 hours today, June 17 2004, Central Intelligence received a communiqué via redirected satellites from Naraku himself demanding the Shikon no Tama by the end of the week. If not received he will release the Archangel into the population.

"The only things we know about the Archangel is that it is a degenerative virus that attacks the central nervous system, systematically shutting down the bodies systems one by one until the host dies. From what we have gathered death usually occurs between 72 and 84 hours of contamination."

Several pictures flashed on the over head, all of people in different stages in the viruses attack to their bodies. In the earliest stage the people seemed really pale and sickly with sallow skin and dark circles under their eyes.

The next set of pictures were a bit more gruesome, the victims skin having large black spots upon it where capillaries were bursting just beneath the skin and they had taken on a yellowish jaundiced look from the obvious lack of liver function.

The last set however were enough to make even Sesshoumaru's iron stomach churn. The victims could no longer be distinguishable as male or female, the skin gray with dark spots hanging off the bones, all the hair having fallen out, and the eye sockets shrunken and bulging. They looked like vacuum packed, diseased skeletons. Like corpses that had decomposed in water.

A muffled gasp sounded to his left and he saw out of the corner of his eye that Ayami had turned away. By some force of morbid fascination though he was unable to turn away. If this got into the populous it could…he didn't even want to think about that.

"Is it homo-sapien genus?" Sesshoumaru spoke up, no one else seemed capable of speech at the moment.

"No, it affects both Youkai and Humans alike. That's part of what makes it so dangerous." A picture of a vile, obviously a zoom in on a picture of Naraku, was shown. It had a sickly purplish-green tint and almost seemed to be bubbling of its own accord. "The virus itself is dormant in its natural element. It requires a host to become harmful, a homo-genus host. Human or demon matters not, but once the virus has incubated for 48 hours it becomes airborne and will spread like wild fire through the populous."

Everyone sat quietly as the last picture was shown, one of the Shikon no tama. "What do we know of this jewel that he wants?" Koga Wolfe asked.

Kaede's mouth set in a firm line, clearly revealing the graveness of the situation. "Not enough I am afraid to say. There are legends, but that's not really much to go on. What we know for certain is that it disappeared over 500 years ago and reappeared 23 years ago in the body of a miko-born baby girl. They could feel the power radiating off the child in spades and the jewel was removed and put in quarantine. It is not known exactly what the jewel can do but it is enormously powerful and in the hands of a mad man such as Naraku there's no telling how much damage it could do."

Sesshoumaru's mind was drifting to a beautiful porcelain face with ice blue eyes and hair as dark and soft as a ravens feather. `Kagome.' He thought darkly, he would not allow her to be hurt. He would stop Naraku if it was the last thing he did.

"Our best bet is going to be to destroy the Archangel before Naraku can inject a host. Do we have any clues on the whereabouts of his laboratories?" Sesshoumaru asked forebodingly.

Kaede sent a look to Shippo, who promptly stepped up to the computer. He punched a few keys, changing the gruesome slide show to a series of aerials, floor plans, and thermo scans of a building Sesshoumaru recognized immediately as the Onigumo Suites Grand Hotel, only a few blocks from his current location.

Onigumo Hashinuba had been a suspected consort of Naraku for years, but they had never been able to pin anything solid on the man. His legal façade was as clean as they come and his political status did nothing but uphold his favorable public opinion. It didn't fool Sesshoumaru though, the man was dirty.

"This is the Onigumo Suites here in New York." Shippo said pointing to the picture of the outside of the building. The picture flashed to a copy of the official blue prints of the building. It was a huge thirty story hotel complete with a grand ball room, five star restaurant, full treatment spa, and a small garden created in the central courtyard of the building. "These are the official blue prints on file with the city."

He made a few more strokes on the keypad and another scan came up, this one an aerial topographical shot. "This is a picture we got from satellites." With a few more swipes across the keyboard the image began to move as image digitally began to shift showing a 3D layout for the building. "Noticing anything a bit unusual?" Shippo encouraged.

Sesshoumaru scanned the image, his keen eyes quickly picking up on the difference between their shot and the official blue prints. "There are more levels unaccounted for beneath the basement on sublevel 2." He said mostly for his own pondering than for the rest.

"That's not all." Shippo said getting a predatory glint in his eyes. This is what the young red headed agent lived for. Extracting information such as this and pulling operations apart from the inside out. Another layout of the building flashed up, this one shaded with different colors. Obviously the thermo scan.

"Notice that the first two of these sub levels are warmer than what would be considered normal for a storage basement, not to mention the amount of body heat readings we got from those two levels." He pulled a pointer from his pocket jabbing it at the white shaded area at the last unaccounted for sublevel. "This is the one that interests me though. The scan showed a large area of sub-freezing temperatures in this last level that could only be accounted for by the presence of a large sub-zero cold storage unit…"

"Just like the ones used in highly volatile bio labs." Sesshoumaru finished for him, a spark lighting his eyes.

"Precisely." Shippo said with a grin.

"Tomorrow night Onigumo is holding a charity ball. It is our best chance at getting in and destroying the virus before he can inject a host. Sesshoumaru will pull point, Sango will be backup. Miroku, Koga, and Ayami will be on guard while Shippo pulls Intel at the check point." Kaede announced firmly. "We can not risk this getting out in the populous, nor can we allow Naraku to get his hands on the Shikon."

There were general nods and murmurs of agreement across the room. Sesshoumaru remained silent, his game face was already set. He was ready to take Naraku out for good.

"Good, now get some rest. We reconvene tomorrow at ten am sharp."

With the meeting adjourned Sesshoumaru rose out of his chair to head home. He was tired, he was frustrated (in more ways than one), and he had once again had to leave Kagome alone.

`Kagome.' God, what if something went wrong and he couldn't destroy the virus in time? He made up his mind to talk to her when he got home about going to her mothers in Michigan for a couple of weeks. He was certain Mrs. Higurashi would be delighted to have her daughter home for a while, getting Kagome to agree was going to be the tough part.

He was tired of this. All of it, the missions, the danger, the challenge. He had scoffed when his brother retired three years ago, but he was starting to think that maybe Inuyasha had the right idea all along.

"Hey Sesshoumaru, you ok?" Sango asked coming out behind him, Miroku right behind her as usual. Sesshoumaru had to forcibly stop himself from rolling his eyes at Agent Houshi, he looked like a lost puppy.

Sesshoumaru turned his attention to Sango, figuring if he didn't give her some semblance of an answer she would hound him until he did. " I think this is going to be my last mission." He stated blandly turning to walk away, completely ignoring the shocked looks on the faces of his colleagues.

He didn't dare call them friends. No, friends were people you depended on and he, Sesshoumaru Takishima, depended on no one. Dependence led to weakness and he would never allow himself to go down that path. He'd seen too many people die that way. He watched his own back and was still alive today because of it.

Sure he had Kagome, but that was a different case entirely. She depended on him, not the other way around and that made all the difference in the world.

Tiredly he climbed back on his sleek BMW R1200 GS street bike, forgoing his helmet opting for the wind blowing through his hair instead. He had a lot on his mind tonight and a good ride help to clear his head. He drove through the city, the lights and signs dampening the beauty of the night as the wind whipped through his short pale hair.

Times like these he missed his long hair, but he had to do it, it just made him stand out even more and that was frowned upon in his line of work. The cool night air whipped around him in a frenzy dulling the sights, sounds, and thankfully smells to mere approximations of what they truly were. Even though he had lived in the city for many years now the smell was still enough to nauseate him at times.

Truth be told he was tired of this life. He longed for something simpler, something more meaningful. Not to say that his work didn't bring a sense of pride, but he just felt as if he was missing out on something. He could just vaguely remember the old days, when he and Inuyasha were children and they would take day trips to their summer cottage on the coast of Connecticut.

They spent long days out in the sun wrestling with their father on the sand while their mother watched happily from her beach chair. Well, Inuyasha's mother, his step-mother, but she had always treated them the same. Then they would build a campfire right there on the sand when it got dark and roast marshmallows and tell stories.

Those days were long gone. After their mother died when he was ten and Inuyasha eight his father seemed to lose the will to live, throwing himself into his work. He remained aloof and estranged from his sons until the day he died a little over a year ago leaving them with a outlandish amount of money and a handful of bitter memories.

That was most definitely not what he wanted, to become like him. Estranged and so engulfed in my work that by the time he died no one even knows who he really was any more. And all over a woman, that's what happens when you allow yourself to depend on someone other than yourself.

`Kagome.' He softened at the thought of the blue eyed beauty who was at this moment most likely snuggled in their bed awaiting his return. With a heady sigh he turned the bike toward home. First things first, take care of Naraku, then he would worry about the minor details of his inner turmoil.

New York City; Upper East Manhattan

Saturday, June 18, 5:20 am Eastern Pacific Time

Quietly as he could he stepped into the darkened apartment. All was quiet and he noticed that all of the dinner mess had been cleaned up. With a sigh he headed to the kitchen only to find a note taped to the refrigerator.

Sesshou,

I made you a plate, its in the fridge if you are hungry. Just nuke it for two minutes or so, it's not as good as it was a couple of hours ago, but it should still be acceptable for your highness. Meet me in bed when your done.

I love you,

Kagome.

He smirked at her little nick name for him. She had dubbed him 'your highness' after just two weeks of dating. She found his particularities amusing. What can a man say when he knows what he likes and refuses to settle for less?

Shooting a tentative glance at the digital clock on the microwave trying to decide whether or not to bother with eating and groaned when the green digital numbers read 5:35 am.

There was no point in eating right now, it was almost time for breakfast. He kicked off his shoes as he passed the front door and pulled his shirt from his pants and began to unbutton it as he made his way into the dark bedroom.

A soft, flickering glow washed over the bedside spilling warm yellow light over the sleeping woman clad only in her bra and panties, complete with garter belt and thigh highs. A smile spread across his face at the sight, she was so beautiful and so innocent lying there, her dark hair spilling across the pillow and one delicate hand curled under her chin. Her soft lips were slightly parted and her eyelids fluttered slightly with the passing of her dreams.

He frowned disapprovingly at the candle she had left burning on the bedside, hoping sincerely that she didn't do things like that when he was away. Not wanting to disturb her by pulling the blankets out from under her he simply draped her robe over her and blew out the candle that had melted to a nub.

With a small smile he brushed her bangs out of her face. Before she came into his life he had been miserable and didn't even know it. She changed his life in so many ways, and all for the better. Before her he had been content in burying himself in his work, not caring about anything else or anyone else.

His work was his life, but slowly over the past year something had changed. The realization hit him with enough force to give him pause. His work with the agency didn't matter so much any more. She was his life. Even though he didn't say it much, he loved this woman more than life its self.

He loved her. Yes.

Needed her. No.

No matter how many times he said it he knew he was lying to himself and doing a damn pitiful job of it too. He needed this woman as much as he needed to breathe, a realization that would bring the foundations of stone he'd built so strongly around him crumbling to the ground.

He silently padded into the living room with determination etched onto his every feature. He was going to make it up to her, all the missed dinners, all the out of town `meetings', everything.

On the wall behind the modern style couch beige couch in the living room was a large print of Van Gogh's `Pavement Café'. He smiled at the painting. Kagome had bought that for him their first Christmas together to replace, in her words `the horrendous Dog picture'.

He had to laugh at the thought. They argued over that picture more than anything else in the house. It was actually a print of Cassius Coolidge's painting `A Bachelor's Dog' depicting a large collie lounging in a chair with a cigar and a news paper.

Sesshoumaru had always been fond of the absurd thing for some reason or other and Kagome insisted that it was the kind of thing you hang in a men's parlor or study, not in the living room. Of course she won out, when they hung the new print, Sesshoumaru's painting got moved to his study.

With a flick of his wrist Sesshoumaru swung the painting open revealing a small combination safe built into the wall. Quickly spinning the dial, he pulled the heavy 12 inch by 12 inch door open and pulled out a small gray velour box.

After closing the safe and returning the picture to its original place he headed out on the balcony. It was always peaceful this time in the morning and he could watch the sunrise over central park.

Leaning over the rail, he flipped the lid of the little velvet covered box peering down at an object he hadn't had the heart to look at in nearly 15 years. Set in a delicate platinum band was a small but beautiful princess cut diamond. Flanking the