InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Unattainable ❯ Nightly Warfare ( Chapter 5 )

AN: First of all, I'm VERY VERY VERY SORRY ABOUT HOW LONG YOU'VE BEEN WAITING! It couldn't be helped… much. Well, in any case, I SWEAR it won't take me four or more months to update again, unless I have a REALLY good excuse.

 

But there's good news: I FINALLY got the ending the way I want it. It's very pretty and stuffoo. And set it stone, which is even BETTER.

 

And happy belated Thanksgiving, all!

 

Responses:

 

Lake of Fire: Haha! He probably would win, if anyone could get him to participate in the Kentucky Derby… he'd probably find it insulting if someone asked him, though. (I can just imagine… [cackle])

 

SilverontheRose: Well, I do try to keep it interesting… Thank you! I'm glad that you like my writing so much! (It's very ego-inflating!)

 

Moonlit Showers aka InuKag Fan: Thank you! I have high hopes for this story, with lots of plot twists (!) and perhaps even a MORAL! Whoo! (Sorry. I'm a bit hyped about it right now, what with finally finding my story thread.)

 

Inuyasha's hun: Well I for one know that in Mrs. Higurashi's place, I would already be dead from stress. No worries; Kagome'll get home… (or WILL she?)

 

inuyasha-lovers: Yay! (I was hoping that no one else had done a story in this thread, or anything pretty similar.) Thank you!

 

white angel of hell: Heh… the computer problem turned out to be somewhat my own stupidity; I had the wrong start-up selected in "Preferences". XD I shoulda noticed that… Yay, I remembered to use spell check last chapter! (Otherwise, it'd pro'ly be pretty bad…)

 

Superstitious: I survived, too! (By stealing by brother's and my Dad's computers at different times, except I have a Mac and they have PC's, and it's been confusing). But now that I've got it back, I'm very happy.

 

Tevrah: Thank you! Sorry about the long wait; it's been a bit of a drag lately. Sess/Rin fan? Well, I definitely think that there's a deep affection between them -adoration, on Rin's part, and a sort of fierce protectiveness on Sesshoumaru's- but in the romantic sense, I can't honestly say that I can see that happening (How old is Rin, anyway? Like 10 or so?). But who knows? (I'm speaking strictly from the manga/anime sense. I'm sure that there are good stories out there with this pairing, though. You can pair pretty much anyone with anyone if you go about it the right way… like the author Thunk. She did this GREAT Kagura/ Kouga story, which was totally believable.)

 

Braindead: whups! Thanks for pointing that out, and I'll keep it in mind next time.

 

Disclaimer: Consider Inuyasha, Kagome, Shippo, Miroku, Sango et al disclaimed!

 

x

 

Unattainable

 

x

 

Chapter Five: Nightly Warfare

 

x

 

"All that is needed for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing."

 

x

 

"So…" Kagome paused, searching for words. "That was your brother."

 

"I already said that," Inuyasha grumbled, gingerly touching his nose where Sesshoumaru had hit him. "And he's a bastard."

 

"Must run in the family," piped Shippo.

 

"Can't you give that crap a rest for a second, brat?" the hanyou demanded wearily as he shouldered his pack again and took off. He paused. "I wonder what the big hurry was for, though…"

 

"Huh?" Kagome looked at him curiously.

 

Inuyasha shook his head. "Nevermind."

 

The schoolgirl's eyebrows snapped together almost audibly as she stopped dead in the center of the path. "That's it!"

 

Inuyasha turned wearily. "What is it now?"

 

She marched up to him, hands on hips with a heavy scowl on her face. "I am so sick of your secrecy! Every time I ask you something, the answer's always 'Nevermind'." She made a face. "If you don't tell me right now what's going on, I'll… I'll…"

 

"What?" the hanyou sneered.

 

"I'll throw this stupid Jewel over the cliff!" She ripped the bag away from her neck and stomped to the edge of the trail. "I will do it, you know!"

 

"Don't do that, stupid!" he howled, roughly yanking her away from the edge of the cliff and towards him. "You don't have a damned idea of what that'd do, you idiot!"

 

"Well, why don'tcha tell me!" Kagome backed away, feeling too close for comfort. In a more reasonable tone, she said, "I have a right to know. I mean, what if hired killers were after you or something and I didn't know, and all of a sudden they caught up and-"

 

Inuyasha laughed bitterly.

 

"It's not funny!" she protested. "I know it sounds stupid, but if-"

 

He cut her off again. "You're wrong. It's funny. It's funny that you guessed right without having any idea what you're talking about."

 

Kagome stared. "I hope you're joking."

 

(\ /)

(•. •)

(><)

 

They were staring at her again.

 

It was the same four men who watched her leave work every single day. Just as they usually did, they leered at her, or muttered dark threats under their breath. But this day was different.

 

Today, some others stepped out of the shadows of a nearby alley. Today, they opened their jackets, squashed their cigarettes under their shoes, and pulled out clubs or small bats. Today, it was after dark.

 

Sango sighed.She'd had a bad day at the office. A woman had somehow managed to find the Embassy's number and she had more than a few complaints to make about demons, and more than a few insults for Sango. Not to mention Miroku's "new friend" the personnel manager, who'd managed to get him an office right next door to her own. "On any other day…" she muttered. A bad day just got worse.

 

"What's that?" one of them jeered. "Scared? Don' worry, we'll make it really quick. Can' promise that it won' hurt none, though."

 

"Most of 'em scream," another acknowledged.

 

Causally, she set down her purse and pulled out a large tube of lipstick as the mob circled her, some of them licking their lips in anticipation. Sango tugged on the ends of the steel -actually, titanium- tube, and she held short staff, equipped with a small sharp blade on one end, in her hand.

 

Embassy workers didn't last as long as Sango without a reason.

 

When Sango got home, she found three messages on her answering machine. They were all from Miroku.

 

"Sango? I need some help with this customs report… Hachi gave me all the wrong information. Call me back, soon…"

 

The machine beeped before relaying the next message.

 

"Sango? Please call me back. I really, really need help with this customs report. I've been looking through the statistics again, and if Hachi gave me the right information… well, it doesn't look good."

 

Another beep from the message machine.

 

"Okay, it's not funny anymore. If you're home, call me back. It's seven fifteen, and I know you get out of work at six-ish… I think…" There was a long pause. "So now I'm starting to wonder if you're okay. I'm starting to wor-" a hand reached out and pressed the stop button.

 

Purple eyes looked into brown. "Work late?" Miroku asked casually.

 

Sango nodded cracked her knuckles. "Long day." She sat down at her kitchen table. "I need some coffee."

 

Wordlessly, Miroku moved about the kitchen with bold familiarity, grabbing coffee grounds, two mugs, and setting on her coffee maker.

 

"Come here often?" Sango asked, one eyebrow arched skeptically.

 

"Often enough," he replied, pulled out a chair and sitting across from her.

 

"Speaking of which, how did you get in?" Sango ventured curiously. "I could've sworn that I kept everything locked…"

 

"I'm good at that sort of thing." Miroku stared at the table as silence stretched between them.

 

"You know, you shouldn't worry," she finally said. "I can take care of myself better than you can, even if I do hate beating people up."

 

Miroku grinned and tapped a stack of papers that she hadn't noticed before. "And now I'll be able to get these done."

 

Sango glowered at him, feeling unaccountably disappointed. "You said there was something odd about the stuff Hachi gave you?" she asked.

 

"Yeah." He handed over the stack of paper. "You might notice that there are some odd patterns… The mob deaths have taken a sudden spike. That, or people have suddenly been going out more at night."

 

Sango shuffled the papers and checked another statistic. "But this survey… No, the mobs have definitely been active." She glanced back at the first sheet. "An increase of… roughly 2% in the last two and a half months." She looked up, brown eyes sharp.

 

"After a steady rise of about 1.47% each year?" Miroku queried. "There's definitely something going on."

 

Sango reached for the phone. "I'm calling the Director."

 

Miroku's eyes widened. "Are you sure that's a good idea? They could be tracing the lines…"

 

"We've been told to call at anything suspicious." She tapped the paper. "False reports are suspicious. Are they trying to drive up paranoia?"

 

"What if they're not fake?" Miroku asked mildly. "Weren't you attacked again just tonight?"

 

"I don't count, you know that," she snorted in reply. "Everyone from the Embassy gets attacked. Maybe Hachi falsified it; he's tried to get out of work before. But what if he's doing it deliberately…?"

 

"Hachi's not someone who'd do that," Miroku interjected quickly, purple eyes thoughtful. "His loyalties definitely lie with the Embassy."

 

"You seem to have gotten pretty attached to your partner," Sango observed casually.

 

"I'm simply making an observation," he retorted.

 

"Well then. What if it's the Embassy…?"

 

Miroku sighed. "Sango, I'll figure it out, okay? You do your job, I'll do mine."

 

(\ /)

(0.0)

(> <)

 

Kagome took a deep breath, almost wishing that she'd never asked. "So, why are these… hired killers chasing you?"

 

For a moment, that familiar expression of refusal crossed Inuyasha's face. Then, it melted away to be replaced by a somber look. "I got on the bad side of the human government. The Embassy doesn't like me too much, either. Apparently, I destroyed forty years of hard work." He looked away. "I might even be the reason why everything's so bad right now."

 

Kagome's jaw dropped. "You're not kidding. How?"

 

The hanyou laughed bitterly. "I wish I was." He paused again, wondering how to go on. "I'll tell you this; I used to be a member of the Embassy. But some negotiations took place, both sides made some concessions, and I didn't think that those concessions were right. So I tried to do something about it, only… Well, it didn't work and Tanaka had to drag me out of there."

 

Kagome opened her mouth to ask him what he'd tried to do, but then realized that she wasn't going to get anything else out of him and shut it again. "But… hired killers?" she finally ventured.

 

"Yup." He grinned slightly. "They thought I was trying to kill the human ambassador. But I wasn't," he quickly added. " and I probably should've."

 

Shippo suddenly stiffened and jumped dramatically to his feet green eyes wide. "I know who you are! I was looking through Papa's papers… You were mentioned! You're the reason why the Treaty didn't go over!"

 

"And a damned good thing it didn't, either!" the hanyou snapped back. "Do you have any idea what was in that treaty?"

 

"I know that if that Treaty was signed, people wouldn't get killed so much on the human side!" Shippo hollered, small hands balled into fists.

 

Inuyasha fell silent for a moment. "Are you blaming me for your parents' death?" he asked quietly.

 

Kagome shot Shippo a warning glance, but the kitsune was beyond reason. "Maybe I do! I don't know! But they're both dead now, and it's someone's fault!" His chin jutted stubbornly as he wiped his eyes. "And if there was a treaty, they wouldn't have died

 

Inuyasha let the silence stretch between them. Finally, he turned away and said gruffly, "Fine. Leave if you want. It's your choice."

 

Kagome sighed. I have no idea what to say…

 

She tried to smile at Shippo. "I'm sure that Inuyasha didn't want anyone to be killed." She glanced at the hanyou. "Right?"

 

"You wouldn't last five minutes out here without me," Inuyasha stated, completely ignoring her question. "So Shippo, if you don't wanna die, you better stick with me."

 

"C'mon, Shippo." Kagome held out her hand. "We've got a long way to go."

 

Slowly, the kitsune nodded and took her hand in his small one.

 

(\ /)

(•. •)

(><)

 

Mrs. Higurashi was surprised.

 

Before Kagome's death, she'd kept her head down like everyone, never venturing out after dark and keeping to herself. She didn't talk to her neighbors about anything even mildly suspicious- she said hello every now and then, and would remark on the weather, and she kept her doors locked at night, curtains drawn against the danger that lurked just beyond.

 

It was a pity that it'd taken the death of her daughter to realize that she couldn't just sit there and let people get murdered on her doorstep every night. Saving people's lives was her own way of repenting the deaths that had come before.

 

No one really knew how many people had been killed by the mobs, but the numbers were certainly in the thousands. Before, she'd done her best not to think about it and just tried to live her life. But Kagome's death had struck her; she found herself wondering just how many people perished every night.

 

Five?

 

Ten?

 

Fifty?

 

And when she really thought about it, it was impossible to just sit there and do nothing. It was so simple; open the door, let in the victim, and close it. Just that small act.

 

That's all it had really meant to her; she had no intention of starting a revolution.

 

They called themselves "The Defense Committee Against Random Acts of Violence and Terrorism Committed Against Innocent Citizens", but everyone who dared to talk about it called it "The Defense".

 

Someone brave had made thousands of leaflets and had strewn about the streets of four cities during the night. The next morning, people found them littering the streets and picked them up curiously. Mrs. Higurashi watched their reactions carefully. Some looked horrified, as if they'd found something dangerous or embarrassing and they didn't know what to do with it. It reminded her of the time that she'd seen a young man find a condom on the ground, and not knowing what it was, picking it up curiously. As soon as he realized what he was holding, he hastily dropped it in embarrassment and hurried away.

 

But these people didn't want to drop it; this small slip of paper could change their lives for the better. Most of them casually pocketed it and hoped that no one noticed.

 

But not only had they put out papers; Mrs. Higurashi had heard some quiet rumors that a mob had been sprayed down with ammonia from the rooftops of a few houses.

 

It seemed that "The Defense" had declared war.

 

(\ /)

(0.0)

(><)

 

Inuyasha hadn't spoken much since he'd briefly explained his situation to Kagome and Shippo five days before. Kagome thought that five days was a bit too long to sulk, and when she told him so, he replied sourly, "What makes you think I'm sulking? Maybe I just don't wanna talk to you."

 

Somehow that comment stung more than she cared to admit. "Fine," Kagome retorted, stomping off ahead. "I won't intrude upon your presence any longer, your highness."

 

"Kagome-" Inuyasha interjected.

 

"I thought you didn't wanna talk to me. Changed your mind?" Kagome remarked, nose in the air.

 

"Kagome-"

 

"Oh, don't let my feelings stop you from being a complete and utter jerk. You never cared before!"

 

"Look out!"

 

The hanyou dropped his pack and took of running, reaching the oblivious schoolgirl seconds before the demon that lumbered out of the deeper part of the forest. "Idiot girl!" he muttered under his breath as he dropped her off and turned to face the beast, placing himself between himself and her.

 

"Get outta here, you big lumbering idiot!" Inuyasha yelled at the clumsy creature. "Something as big and stupid as you isn't going to get the Shikon!"

 

But the demon kept moving forward slowly, like a moth drawn to a light, and wordless moan issuing from its large maw.

 

"I'm not gonna tell you again!" the hanyou yelled one last time. "Go away!"

 

"If it wants the Jewel, why isn't it attacking?" Kagome whispered. Something wasn't right, or was it just her? As the demon took another slow step forward, she decided that there was definitely something wrong. "Inuyasha, I don't think it wants to hurt us. Maybe… maybe it's trying to communicate!"

 

"It's trying to get the Jewel!" Inuyasha retorted.

 

"But it's not attacking us or anything!" Shippo observed from behind Kagome, eyes wide as he observed the leviathan.

 

"I know that! I have eyes, too!" He paused, watching the demon as it extended its head forward, poking its great blunt nose in their direction and grunting. "We're leaving," he finally said.

 

"Running away?" Shippo taunted.

 

"No; we're continuing our journey." He grabbed his pack and shouldered it. "We still have miles to go."

 

(\ /)

(•. •)

(><)

 

It was a different Miroku that met Sango in her office the next day. His purple eyes held no hint of humor and his mouth was set in a grim line.

 

As soon as she sat down at her desk and started organizing papers on her desk, he said, "Hachi wasn't making up the figures." He allowed himself a small smile. "Like I said."

 

"You double checked?"

 

"What do you take me for, Sango?" Miroku asked, an injured expression on his face. He held out a small stack of paper.

 

Standing up to reach it, she felt his hand casually brush her waist…

 

Passing by Sango's door, Hachi barely managed to dodge Miroku as he was flung out of the room, the door slamming behind him.

 

The relatively demon chuckled and patted his bruised and rueful partner on the head. "Nice try, Miroku! Better luck next time!" He grinned and continued down the hallway.

 

Miroku slowly stood up rubbing his neck and wincing as he limped down the hallway and turned into his office.

 

Meanwhile, Sango was looking over the report that he'd gathered as she took deep breaths and calmed down. The reports were stunning. Mob killings had spiked.

 

"What the hell is going on…?" she murmured, flipping through the various charts and graphs. Kirara stepped into the office and leapt onto an empty space on the cluttered desk, blood red eyes peering at the report.

 

Sango lay the papers in front of the demon cat and stood up, pacing her office worriedly as her mind raced. The reports could be wrong; as the government refused to believe that the Mobs existed, no one could really get an accurate report. All the Embassy really did was count the number of people missing with bodies undiscovered, murders unsolved. No one really knew what happened to the bodies; Sango didn't want to know.

 

Perhaps there was a serial murder prowling about, killing large numbers of people and hiding the bodies somewhere. Or maybe a bus went of a cliff, or someone simply miscalculated.

 

She hoped someone miscalculated.

 

(\ /)

(0.0)

(> <)

 

Kagome managed to keep the whimper from her voice as she tapped Inuyasha on the shoulder. "It's still following us…!"

 

The hanyou shot an irritable glance in her direction and said squarely, "I know."

 

"I wish it'd go away," Shippo muttered, casting nervous sidelong glances in the demon's direction. "It's making me nervous."

 

"Neurotic, more like," Inuyasha remarked. "You haven't stopped twitching since it arrived four days ago."

 

The subject of their conversation, meanwhile, continued to lumber after them docilely, like some sort of pet. The ground shook regularly as it followed them, tree branches trembling and birds taking off into startled flight, twittering.

 

As far as the three could tell, it didn't have any hostile intentions; it hadn't even expressed interest in the Shikon no Tama hung around Kagome's neck. It just kept following them.

 

"Hey!" Shippo whispered in Kagome's ear. "That thing doesn't look very fast… why don't we try outrunning it?"

 

Kagome nodded enthusiastically, then tugged on Inuyasha's sleeve. "Can we?" she asked, knowing he heard every work.

 

For a moment, the schoolgirl thought that his pride would get in the way; Inuyasha wasn't someone who'd enjoy running away. But then he sighed in defeat and replied grudgingly, "Fine. Keep walking."

 

Wonderingly, Kagome kept going.

 

Inuyasha took a deep breath. "Start running on three. One, two, three."

 

Obediently, she took off, the heavy backpack bouncing on her back. Inuyasha easily caught up from behind and grabbed the pack and took off through the underbrush, completely ignoring the path.

 

Half an hour later, the hanyou had found the path again, where he dropped Kagome and Shippo, huffing. Wearily, he sat down hard on the ground, ears twitching. "We lost him."

 

"Yay! Now I can actually sleep again! Good job, dog-boy!" Shippo cheered, speaking well of the hanyou for the first time since the incident with Inuyasha and his parents.

 

"Don't mention it." Completely exhausted, the hanyou flopped back on the ground and promptly went to sleep.

 

(\ /)

(•. •)

(><)

 

Mr. Higurashi could only pity his grandson; Souta had first his father taken away, then his sister, and he no longer lived with his mother. For someone so young, he was handling it well.

 

He smiled slightly as he watched the young boy play catch with his friend Satoru, who'd also lost his sister and father. The senior assumed that Satoru was helping Souta through it. He sighed and returned to the letter that his daughter sent him:

 

Dear Father,

 

I hope that you and Souta are doing well. I'm fine; as far as I know, "they" don't know what I'm doing. It's lonely here without the two of you, but I realize that this is something that someone should've started doing a long time ago.

 

Everyone wants a change here; have you seen the newsletters that have been floating around? Just yesterday, I heard footsteps on the roof. It seems that "The Defense" has taken to the rooftops like the mobs have taken the streets. They have been getting quite harassed lately. Continuing, the people on the roof were throwing garbage and tin cans at the people below. I'm afraid that things will get even more violent; the people in the mob were quite upset.

 

I'll be happy when all of this ends and you can come home. Speaking of home, I hope that this letter finds you all well. If you need anything, feel free to ask. I'm making cookies and I'll send some to you with my next letter.

 

Tell Souta that I love him and I miss you both.

 

"Revolutions are always bloody," murmured the senior under his breath as he recalled tidbits of history. "Good luck, Umeko. Don't get killed." His weathered hands gripped the paper tightly.

 

With a sigh, he carefully folded the letter and stored it with the others that he'd received.

 

They were living in an old temple now that Mr. Higurashi inherited. It was an old property that he'd simply never bothered to sell. It was also the perfect hiding place for old relics, and discoveries of such priceless artifacts was becoming an everyday occurrence, one that he looked forward to.

 

No one bothered them here, not even the mobs. It was temple ground, sacred ground, for one, and it had fallen into such disrepair that no one would want to trespass. Mr. Higurashi liked to think of it as a sign of good luck.

 

If only he could take that luck, bundle it in a box and send it to his daughter.

 

_|__|_

(•.•)

--( • )--

(____)

 

Kagome felt as if she'd been wandering around in the woods for decades.

 

"I don't think I can go another day without a shower," she complained, glancing mournfully at her grubby hands as they trudged up a steep hill.

 

"That's what you said yesterday," Shippo noticed. "And the day before, and probably the day before that."

 

"But it's so… gross!" the schoolgirl lamented. "Just ten minutes in warm water- that's all I ask!"

 

Inuyasha rolled his eyes skyward. "Well, I don't think I can go another day with your whining. Do you ever shut up?"

 

"I'll shut up when I get my bath."

 

"I take that as a 'no'."

 

Kagome was in the process of thinking of a clever reply when she saw it. "Inuyasha…"

 

It came out as a strangled croak.

 

The hanyou turned, scowling. "What?"

 

Kagome lifted a trembling hand and pointed ahead, her bottom lip trembling as if she was about to cry.

 

Shippo let out a small wail.

 

Slowly, expecting the worst, Inuyasha turned. He stared. For a moment, he thought that he was going to go crazy.

 

"WILL YOU JUST FUCK OFF!"

 

That big demon was back, this time with a big stupid smile on it's face.

 

(\ /)

(•. •)

(><)

 

Somewhere in the darkness of the abandoned building, a child was whimpering.

 

"I suggest that you let her go," an icy voice as harsh as steel commanded.

 

"Sesshoumaru-sama?" the girl's voice called out. "Sesshoumaru-sama! Let me go! I said, let me go, meanie! Sesshoumaru-sama! I'm coming!"

 

"Rin, quiet," Sesshoumaru said, cold amber eyes staring into the darkness. "You've become quite arrogant lately, Naraku. It's time that someone got rid of you." And without warning, he rushed forward.

 

Naraku hissed in pain and retreated deeper into the shadows. "Damn dog!"

 

Sesshoumaru disdainfully wiped the blood off his hands and regarded the dark corner scornfully as a dirty human child ran out of the darkness, relief and happiness shining in her eyes.

 

"Sesshoumaru-sama! I knew you'd come!" She flung out her arms to hug him around the knees- she was still quite small. Then dog demon glanced at her, and she stopped and lowered her arms, content just to grin at him.

 

"Naraku. The Council is… displeased with your actions of late." Amber eyes narrowed dangerously. "As am I."

 

"Are you saying that they've given you the task of executing me? How demeaning for such a high-ranked noble such as yourself." He chuckled. "Then again, I imagine that they've taken the 'mysterious disappearance' of their other assassins as a hint. You're probably the strongest one they could send."

 

"What did you do to the others?" Rin demanded, bold with Sesshoumaru by her side.

 

The other demon chuckled. "I used them. One of them- a fire elemental- turned out to be quite useful. His horns will make me millions."

 

"I have no authorization from the Council," Sesshoumaru stated, moving forward again in a blur. Naraku barely dodged. "I have no need of such things."

 

There was a hiss as acid hit flesh.

 

"It's been fun," Naraku choked out from the darkness, grimacing in pain. "But I really must get going." With a small pop and a puff of smoke, the demon was gone.

 

"Sesshoumaru-sama?" Rin asked. "Where did he go?"

 

"He ran away," replied the other with disgust. "Come, Rin." He walked to the exit.

 

"Coming!" The human child scrambled behind him. "Wait for me, Sesshoumaru-sama!"

 

(\ /)

(•. •)

(><)

 

Kagura sneered in open disgust at her "master". She loved to see him fail like this; he'd taken on more than he could handle when he stole Sesshoumaru's human partner, Rin. It was a pity that the dog demon hadn't finished the miserable wretch off. It was a pity that he hadn't freed her.

 

"Kagura. Go find something useful to do."

 

The wind demon bowed mockingly and left the room, her crimson lips pursed with dislike. She slammed the shoji screen behind her and sighed, idly watching as the busy, oblivious human workers bustled about below. She had no intention of making herself useful, not for him. She hated being stuck in the upper apartments of this big, white sterile complex almost as much as she hated taking orders. It was almost suffocating.

 

Bored, she started to pick the white paint off of a section of the wall. There were similar patches where paint was missing all down the long hallway. The demon in charge of maintenance,

 

"Kagura…"

 

She flinched at turned. "Oh, it's only you, Kanna. What do you want?"

 

Black eyes like bottomless pits stared at her. With her white hair, pale skin and white clothes, she looked like a ghost. Kanna held up her mirror- a "gift" from their master. There was an image suspended in the middle.

 

Kagura's eyes widened in disbelief. "…What the hell…? Kanna, where…?" Someone was trying to break into one of the labs. The experimental labs. "Shit."

 

Forgetting for the moment that she wasn't doing anything for Naraku unless he forced her to, Kagura took off running.

 

(\ /)

(0.0)

(> <)

 

They tried everything. Kagome asked it to "please leave" and then explained very politely that she was scared of it, Shippo tried to scare it away with foxfire illusions, and Inuyasha made very violent threats. Then he insulted it. Finally, as a last resort, he uprooted a sapling and tried to prod it away, cursing as he did so. It ended up eating the sapling, and Inuyasha barely let go fast enough.

 

Nothing worked.

 

"Well," Kagome ventured hopefully, as the big demon munched happily on the sapling, "now we know that it's a vegetarian."

 

"Like that's gonna help," Inuyasha snorted, arms folded stubbornly as he watched the goliath move onto the nearby trees. "We wasted a whole day trying to move this stupid thing!"

 

Dusk was falling now, painting what sky that they could see a deep rich blue like velvet. Stars gleamed through the dark in abundance, as if someone had dropped a handful of white sand across it.

 

They fumbled in the dark; Shippo setting up the fire while Kagome searched the big yellow bag for some of the few-remaining ramen. Inuyasha was sitting in a tree, keeping guard on the demon as it munched trees.

 

With a sigh, Kagome flopped back on her sleeping bag and stared up at the sky. "This is one thing I'll miss when we get back," she said, brown eyes stinging slightly. Grandpa, Souta, Mom...

 

Did they think she was dead?

 

"What'll you miss?" Shippo asked, joining her.

 

Kagome blinked hastily and pointed. "Look. There's so many stars. You can't see half as many in the city." She sighed.

 

"I'll miss camping out like this," the kitsune admitted. "Inuyasha's a jerk, but it's fun living like this. It's… cheerful." He frowned, trying to find the appropriate word. "Kinda carefree?"

 

"You know Shippo, I think you're right," she replied thoughtfully. "I may be dirty and gross and tired, but I'm happy." She grinned. "How weird is that?"

 

"No one's trying to kill me or anyone else, and I don't hafta worry about… all that." Even my parents' death seems far away... Shippo thought guiltily.

 

Kagome turned her eyes from the stars to the kitsune by her. "That's right. Because you were in the Embassy… I don't think I'd have the guts to work there," she admitted.

 

"Well, you better get used to the idea." Inuyasha was back, scowling. "If you wanna get back to your family."

 

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kagome demanded. But she had a feeling she knew- she would miss the open atmosphere and this peaceful feeling that she had.

 

It must've shown on her face, because the hanyou turned away and leaped easily into the tree overhead. "It's your decision. I don't care if you stay or go."

 

It doesn't sound like it, Kagome thought. She frowned. But why?

 

(\ /)

(•. •)

(><)

 

Vanity made Kagura slow from a desperate dash to a leisurely walk as she turned the corner and regarded the would-be thieves with distain. "I'm disappointed. I was expecting some worthy opponents, not a bunch of wolf demons."

 

They turned to glare at her. "You can't stop us, bitch! We know what Naraku's got in there!" Their leader licked his lips hungrily. "We'll be the most powerful clan in the Council!"

 

Kagura rolled her eyes. "You want limitless power to control the Council? How small-minded of you."

 

"You're one to talk," another growled. "You're just Naraku's lapdog! You can't lift a finger without his permission."

 

The disdainful expression on the wind user's face twisted into an ugly violent look. "Ryuja no mai!" she hissed.

 

None of them were spared.

 

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AN: Hope you liked it!

 

Questions, comments, complaints, ect, the button's right there!

 

And thank you for reading, as usual.