InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Island of Dr. Onigumo ❯ Chapter 5

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Kagome chewed thoughtfully on her pen. She was back at Miroku and Sango’s apartment for dinner and they had been discussing their work before conversation turned to more mundane things such as the newest movie releases and a book signing in Kyoto Miroku was sorry he had missed. Of course, that was just their conversation out loud, throwing off any suspecting persons who might have been listening in. The remainder of their professional conversation was carried out on a tablet being passed between them. The same night as their first run in with the mysterious spy, Miroku and Sango had scanned their apartment thoroughly from top to bottom, leaving no crevice unseen. They had found the four microchips which allowed their conversations to be recorded; ne in the kitchen, two in the main room, and one in the bedroom. However, they had not found any evidence of micro cameras so their movements were hidden from prying ears.


“My brother called the other day. He was upset because there was a cherry blossom festival last week and I didn’t take him,” she commented making a face.

On the paper she scribbled,

“How’s your family?” Sango asked casually. “Has your dad gotten us anything else?”

Miroku had taken the tablet from her and then handed it back.

“No, but he wishes me luck.” The stove timer went off and Sango went to get their meal, serving them. Things quieted down then, but their silent conversation continued.







Sango shrugged, chewing her chow mein slowly while thinking. Miroku stirred his ice water around in his glass, also looking thoughtful before taking the pad from his fiancé.

<<i>Inuyasha got in; perhaps Naraku’s security isn’t as good as he thinks. A rival company might have sent a spy to steal research.>

It wasn’t all that illogical an idea. Inuyasha had managed to physically breach the security, so obviously there were gaps. Someone with enough knowledge and the right backing could easily forge personal information and send an employee to infiltrate Naraku’s compound. If they were working at a lower level, say as a nurse or a guard, they wouldn’t be considered high risk and their apartments would be bug free.

The fact of the matter was, under normal circumstances Sango and Miroku themselves weren’t considered high risk enough for observation either, but their work with Kagome brought them to an all new danger level and she was certainly a risk. Obviously Dr. Onigumo wanted whatever information Kagome might have prior to the Committee hearing and that bothered her.

Everything about Onigumo Naraku bothered her.

<<i>Either way, I don't like it,> she informed them to which they nodded. <<i>And, I’m sending Inuyasha’s blood samples to a friend of mine back on the main island. I want my work to be fool proof. No one is going to be able to say that I was biased.>

To this Sango frowned. She didn’t agree with bringing in outside sources because this was a very important case they were working on. <<i>Can you trust him?>

Kagome reassured her.

The young couple exchanged a glance before nodding. <<i>We’ll see what we can do.>

Once the meal was complete, Kagome said her goodbyes and walked down the hall to her own apartment, going over in her head all the things she would need to do to finish up her work. She’d been there a month already and knew that she didn’t have much longer to stay before heading home to actually write her report.

Alone, she removed a vial from her briefcase that had contained the sample of blood she had taken from Inuyasha earlier that day. He had complained horribly about being stuck over and over again when he didn’t know what the point was. She’d ignored him, unwilling to tell him her plans when someone else might here. She needed this to work.

She donned rubber gloves and took from her equipment a roll of gauze, cutting off a small square. Using a dropper, she dripped a small amount of blood onto the gauze and then folded it neatly, laying it aside. Another vile containing several white hairs was taken from the briefcase and its contents deposited onto another square of gauze that was also folded. Both squares were dropped into an envelope and sealed.

That chore done, she grabbed her keys and took the elevator down to the building office where a bored looking guard sat behind a plexiglass window with his feet propped on a desk.. Along the desk were several television screens. Most showed different angle shots of the halls of the building. One, the one he was currently paying attention to, played a old comedy. She tapped on the glass to get his attention and he nearly jumped out of his skin, turning to her with a rude sneer.

“What?”

“I would like to mail this, please,” she told him, passing the envelope through a small slit in the window.

“Kinda thick and heavy for a letter, don’t you think?” He eyed her curiously and she smiled brightly.

“I accidentally packed my mother’s favorite earrings and she wants them back immediately. She can’t live without them, she says.”

“Women,” he muttered under his breath and tossed the envelope in a post bin and turned back to his show. Kagome smiled triumphantly and headed back up to her apartment.

Along the way, she noticed the tingly feeling of someone watching her as the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. She turned quickly only to see the shadow of a figure disappear around a corner. Unwilling to leave it alone, she turned and headed in that direction. Again she missed them as her pursuer took another turn. She followed, finding a standing open and hearing footsteps echoing in the cavernous space where the stairs led down.

With only a brief thought that if she caught whoever who had been spying on her, or if they caught her, she might be in trouble or even that it might be a trap, she went in, closing the door behind her and then started moving downwards. The footsteps were running and she ran too, trying to catch up to them.

But this couldn’t possibly be right. She had only been two flights up and she had already descended three and was headed to a fourth. The elevators didn’t go down that far, so where did the secret stairs lead?

At the bottom of the fourth flight was another door and she pushed it open to find a long stone hallway, mostly dark. At the other end, a small silloutte stood, supposedly waiting on her. She couldn’t make out the features of the person, but they were obviously short and female. When she got closer, she realized it was just a child.

“Are you the one that’s been spying on me?” She asked in a whisper and the girl nodded. “Why?”

“Can you help my friends?” She asked, tilting her head to the side and looking up at her. By a dim light she could just make out the girl’s freckled face and missing front tooth.

“I can certainly try,” Kagome answered and knelt down to the girl’s level. “Who are they? What kind of help do they need?”

Happily the girl smiled and took her hand, leading her down further into the corridor. “They’re stuck down here ‘cause Papa and Dr. Onigumo don’t like ‘em none.”

At this Kagome frowned, unsure what the little girl was going on about or how she would even know such things. “How did you get down here? What is this place? Who is your papa? Who are you?”

The girl stopped and scrunched up her face to decide what to answer first. She was probably no older than nine or ten, but she seemed determined to act like an adult. “My papa is a doctor and friends with Dr. Onigumo. My name is Hyouga Rin. Papa works down here sometimes, in the lab. I was bored one day and I was playing spy girl and I saw him come in, so I snuck behind him and used a pencil to stop the door from closing, then put tape on the door jam so when he came back out, it wouldn’t lock. When he left, I came down to explore.”

“Playing spy girl? Is that what you were doing with me?”

Rin nodded and shrugged a backpack off her shoulders, something Kagome hadn’t noticed she carried until then. Opening it, she pulled out a flashlight and showed the contents to the doctor. Among other things there was a note pad, pencils, pens, string, masking tape, and a juice box. The child was a regular Harriet.

"Can you help my friend?" She asked suddenly, tilting her head up at the doctor with a curious look.

Kagome smiled gently. "I will certainly try," she assured her. "What is wrong with your friend?"

"He's been locked up and I don't like it. I want him out so that I can play with him. Can you get him out?"

At this Kagome frowned, not sure what to make of what the child had said. At her hesitation, the little girl sighed heavily and then grabbed her hand, pulling her deeper into the corridor and to another steel door which she swung open easily. On either side of this new room were glass windows that showed the inside of containment cells not unlike the one that Inuyasha was in. What she could only guess were more youkai could be seen doing various activities; sitting, reading, sleeping. Rin lead her to one particular window and Kagome gasped at what she saw.

Inside this cell was a boy, only half the height of the girl at her side, with rust red hair tied back with a blue ribbon. He wore a blue and white set of scrub like pajamas and played with a spinning top, looking bored. What had elicited her gasp, however, was the fact that the child's legs seemed to be the paws of an animal and he had a bushy, tan colored tail that stuck out from the back of his bottoms.

"Wha-"

"That's my friend, Shippou. I named him when I met him," Rin told her, as if talking about a pet. "He's one of papa's experiments and he's a fox. Can you help him?"

Kagome searched her mind for something to say to the girl, but came up short. "Not tonight, Rin, but I'm certainly doing my best to help your friend and every other youkai on this island."

A screech from her left caused Kagome to jump and she could see someone running towards them. "You! How did you get in here!"

It took everything she had to not show her outward disgust at her assailant's appearance. He was about the same height as the child, but a greyish green color with the face of a toad that had been knocked in the head and had it's nose smashed in. He wore a navy blue uniform like a security guard and was waving a night stick at her.

Rin made a noise under her breath and stepped in front of Kagome. "I brought, Jaken-san," the girl informed him, seeming to be annoyed at his appearance.

He skidded to a stop and lowered the club, sneering at the girl. "I thought I told you to keep out, Rin. Now scat!"

Rin crossed her arms over her chest and stuck her nose in the air, obviously ready to do a battle of wills. "No. I want to play with Shippou-chan and Higarashi-san says that she's going to help him - she's going to help all of you."

He eyed them for a long moment before narrowing his eyes in the child's direction. "You get back to your apartment before your father catches you. I'll help Higarashi-san from here."

Nodding her agreement, Rin smiled at Kagome and then turned, running back the direction they had come from and disappearing through the swinging door. The creature in front of her came closer and Kagome wondered if she should turn and follow the girl. "Dr. Higarashi," he muttered, "I've been wondering if I would have a chance to speak with you. Come with me."