Ashes

Prologue

"Balance. Fairness. Equality.

These are the three keys to leadership; all else surround them.

Our world has strayed from these undeniable truths. It has resulted in chaos and bloodshed over the course of the last couple of centuries. Nation fought against Nation, driving their respective governments into the painful consequences of war upon the people: Food shortages, a failing economy, disease for lack of medicine, and consequently uprisings and protests, day after day.

Now is not so different. The country known as Atholma has remained the last relatively wealthy organization since its victory in the war fifty years ago. Yet political corruption has reached it still. The unjust passing of laws, raising taxes to upkeep the country's military based persona, and other such things have all resulted from the many loop holes in terms of who is loyal and who is not.

Now the uprisings have grown into full on rebellions throughout the separate cultural divisions made by the government-called discidiums-fighting against the warped views of the President and his followers. They call themselves the keepers of peace, but the people have mockingly named them Deceivers.

Among the chaos there exists a group that seems to be both the most hated and loved for their actions. Hated for their persistence and loved for their resistance, they call themselves the Phasmatis rebellion. Little is known about them other than their undeniable efforts to stop the Deceivers and their mission of selfishness, aggression, and greed. You would be considered lucky to meet someone of this group; and even then it would only be in passing.

After all, we are faceless ghosts in the night."

-Chapter 1-

How fast could he possibly run? How long would it last? How could it change so quickly? Things he'd once believed, things he'd thought to be truth-all a lie. He'd been lied to. How was it possible? After all the betrayal he'd already experienced, how had he let this happen?

'Get to them!'

'Get to them now!'

The voice with no name scolded incessantly in his ears, the pounding of his heart almost painful. He could feel the hot sensation building up in his muscles as he pushed his fatigued body onward, bare feet beating against the wet pavement in a panicked rhythm.

Panicked-afraid-he never thought he'd see the day he felt it. Those two discolored eyes of his, the left a dark violet and the right golden amber, glowed even in the darkness of nightfall. His parched mouth remained closed, not even making any sudden noises.

High above, the clouds covered the dimly lit streets of the city, an almost ominous energy to feel. The full moon's great brightness still shone enough to outline the darkness in a coat of dull silver, a swift north wind passing the clouds along. It was cold to the skin for this early in August, smelling of nothing but exhaust fumes and a hint of fresh rain.

'Faster! You need to go faster!'

Thick locks of onyx colored hair trailed behind the fleeing figure, blown back by the speed rushing it past his shoulders. The exposed skin of his arms and face were chilled from the sweat, enough to dampen the fabric on the upper chest of his shirt.

Then there was the unmistakable sound of a gun reloading, barely enough warning to turn and see which direction the echoed sound had come from. He grit his teeth.

'Shit!'

"Hold it right there, Eiyuu!" A harsh male voice shouted over the thundering sound of a semi-automatic popping bullets. If this guy knew his name already, it meant he had less time than first assumed. Bright flashes of light sparked to life for every shot made and the gunman's eyes squinted from the force of them.

Dodging swiftly, Eiyuu knew this wasn't the time for a battle with some random agent. Whatever it took, he had to get tothe safe house! That was the only concern; the next step. Everything had now been put in jeopardy because of him, and he had to fix it.

Eiyuu quickly ran on past the shooter attacking him. To make sure they lost his trail turned a few sharp corners, down alley ways and over a chain link fence or two. Even without a weapon, he was unstoppable.

'Just a bit further! Just a bit further!' He repeated within his thoughts, the burning sensation in his legs no longer consciously bothering him. He was numb to the world, his senses dulled and detached, but enough adrenaline pumping within him to push him forward, to goad him on.

Finally as Eiyuu rushed up the tall and rather long flight of stairs, he met his destination. He scanned over the building he stood in front of, the man who had been attacking him somehow no longer an issue. This place, the safe house, was a shrine. He paused to heave for much needed oxygen, still somewhat amazed how chaotic things had become. Nothing seemed too out of place here, at least.

The clean cut front lawn of the shrine prickled at Eiyuu's shoe-less feet as he walked farther in, the cold breeze he'd felt in the city below no longer brushing past his sweat covered skin. The scent of various types of strong smelling herbs wafted into his nose from a garden just behind the building as he studied the area. It was a mostly wide open hill top, dotted with cherry blossom trees and stone benches. It almost looked like something from another era, traditional and aged.

Eiyuu made his way to the side of the two story shrine, to a tree he'd somehow remembered led up to one of the bedroom windows. There was no time to bang on the front door and wait. Climbing his way up, he reached the appropriate window in less than five minutes.

"This window better be open." He murmured aloud, rough and well worked hands grabbing onto the end of the window and attempting to slide it open, only to find it locked. "Dammit!" he grumbled under his breath. Oh yes, Boushin would hear it from him when this was all over.

Seeing no other option Eiyuu began tapping on the glass, knowing who usually stayed here. "Kagome! Kagome open up!" He hissed barely above a whisper between his clenched teeth. The seconds ticked by, and no answer came to his risky noise-making. Eiyuu grew even more uneasy and uncomfortable. Even in his particular circumstance, he couldn't help feeling odd. What other guy did this girl know that would jump up a tree to her bedroom window in the middle of the night with Deceivers on his tail? It didn't help that this wasn't the first time he'd run here for safety.

'This is different!' he reminded himself in a panic. This one time was so entirely different he had no choice but to come, even against previous warnings he'd gotten that he could be caught.

Past memories aside, Eiyuu finally realized the girl was either out of town or just a really heavy sleeper tonight. 'What the hell is wrong with this chick?!' he vented in frustration. Now was definitely not the time to ignore gentleman callers.

"Step away from the window you bastard!"

'Aw shit.'

A large blinding spotlight was flashed at the young man's back as he flinched from the loud noises that followed the first agent's demand. Guns were loaded and aimed while more men surrounded the shrine and what looked like police cars pulled up behind them. The sirens were flashing, the men were yelling, and as Eiyuu turned around with eyes squinting from the bright lights, there was one more surprise that stunned him even more.

Kagome was standing there.

In a suit.

With a Berretta 96.

Aimed at him.

He jolted awake, gasping for air.

His whole body was trembling, the sound of a rapid heartbeat pounding in his ears. His two toned eyes remained fixed on the foot of his bed. Muscles were tightly flexed and tense as he forced his lungs to expand. Strands of long dark hair clung to the sides of his face. An uncomfortable sensation washed over his skin. He was covered in sweat.

The irrational feelings of panic and stress coursed through him in aftershock. His breathing was heavy and echoed through the darkness of his room. Lingering images flashed through his mind, the sounds and smells still seeming all too real. The open air, the burning in his chest from running, the rainwater under his bare feet, the deafening sound of gun fire-it could have been a memory for all he knew.

It wasn't until he regained feeling in his hands did he realize he'd been holding onto something through the entire ordeal. It felt oddly heavy and cold.

Taking a deep breath, the man turned to examine the item and came back to himself at seeing it. How could he forget? The one tie to any sort of sane reality he had.

His Desert Eagle handgun. One of the two he owned. It was engraved on its side with his initials: Y.E, standing for Yasha Eiyuu. A signature imprint for all his weapons. He hesitantly set it back down on his nightstand. Still in a confused haze he scanned about his apartment, as if to make sure everything was as it should be.

He could hear the noise from the busy 'nightlife' outside; horns honking and cars racing by, the occasional person shouting angrily at someone else for whatever reason. The city lights shined through his only closed window like an ominous shroud, shadowed outlines from his few pieces of furniture visible. The small unpainted wooden work desk he'd bought a few months ago sat pushed against the right wall, a cheap office chair in front of it. Various types of metal tools, gun parts, and blueprints lay there as he had left them before he'd gone to sleep. He had a tall lamp in the right corner as well, the cover for it a faded tone of red.

Yasha took another breath, attempting to calm himself. Closing his eyes he raked a hand through his scalp out of nervous habit, feeling ridiculous for reacting so strongly to something like a nightmare. He plopped down on his mattress with an arm covering his sweaty forehead, long dark hair fanning out around him on the sheets. He'd been told by various people to cut it since it wasn't very 'normal' for a grown man to have the chosen hair style, but he had his reasons for keeping it the way he did.

Staring blankly at the ceiling and tuning out all the sounds around him, his mind wandered back to the dream that had woken him. The big parts were already faded and forgotten, but the glimpses of street lights and buildings he did remember had Yasha somewhat curious.

What came to him first was the way the buildings had been Italian based and structured. Atholma's Capitol City, Erune, was one of the only places he'd been to that had carried the country's predominant culture so pronouncedly. It was strange that he would dream of such a place. The last time he had been to Erune was when he was just a squirt, running from the law. Deceiver agents had been after him in the dream too. He hadn't even cared to know of them when he was that young. It didn't fit. The other thing, that weird voice when he had been running towards the safe house; it hadn't been his. More of a strange hollow voice. It had sounded panicked and-female? Why the hell was he hearing some woman's voice in his head?

Yasha chuckled aloud at that. 'Boushin would be proud. The perv.'

Ah, Boushin-Miroku Boushin-was put simply Yasha's 'boss' or leader in the line of work they were involved in. A pretty level headed guy. Worked exceptionally well under pressure and majored in strategic know how. His only real quirk was his over bearing sex drive. He paid for it daily; ending up slapped or socked in the face by whoever was unlucky enough to get groped.

Thinking of his 'boss' brought Yasha out of his personal reflections rather quickly. Boushin wasn't exactly a friend, and more often than not served as an annoying reminder of work and the stresses that came with it. Yasha didn't exactly have a normal job as it was. He didn't sit at a desk all day and answer phone calls for some hot shot business owner or company. In fact, what he did do could be considered illegal.

Of all things, Yasha worked for a rebellion. The Phasmatis rebellion to be exact.

It was the only active one out there that had yet to be crushed by the government forces, better known as the Deceivers. It went without saying the goal was to take them out and reestablish stability of the nation. Perhaps the reason why this organization had lasted so long was because of its unity, it being divided by each of the ten cultural discidiums that existed in Atholma. Each branch of Phasmatis had four main members that were required to have certain skills. Yasha was one of those four. He was the weapons specialist of the Japanese discidium, though he mostly dealt with making and designing guns. This meant sacrificing sleep on a regular basis, and getting called in for emergencies at odd hours.

As if on cue a loud beeping noise sounded from somewhere in the room, a small blue light flashing. With a sigh Yasha got out of bed and walked the distance to his desk where the sound was coming from. The disturbances were from his cell phone. He answered it.

"Yeah?" He hadn't realized he would sound so tired and raspy.

"I have news." It was his partner Sango's voice. She was also one of the major four. She was specially trained to identify all sorts of security and defense in the world of technology and hack into them; she was sort of a nerd that way. Of course, she'd punch your face in if you ever called her out on it. Despite any flaws, she was reliable and trustworthy in the field.

Yasha's eyes narrowed in seriousness. "What is it?"

"Boushin got a call from the capital base. Apparently they think they might have Intel regarding the location of the Deceivers' HQ."

Speaking of the capital-or as they called them, the higher ups-and the Deceiver organization in the same breath was never good. Both were important, the capital division being the head of the Phasmatis rebellion itself and the other basically being the nation's dark shadow. To have news like this was huge, especially now. Boushin was supposed to be in hiding last Yasha had heard, but things had obviously changed.

"What's that mean for us?" He asked, already grabbing a change of clothes from his dresser to get ready and go wherever he was needed. There was no way Sango was calling to fill him in on such news out of courtesy.

There was a shuffling sound of paper on the other line. "We've been ordered to scope out the place. They want to be one hundred percent certain this is legit before anything's done. We can't be spotted."

"These people are way too careful. For all we know this supposed Intel could be a diversion or trap or something. Sounds like a giant waste of time." Yasha argued, the phone pressed against his ear with his left shoulder while he slipped into a pair of formal work pants.

Sango chuckled bitterly on the other line. "My thoughts exactly. But we can't go against orders, you know that. Boushin would have our heads if we jeopardized such a crucial assignment."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I'll meet you at base in a few."

"Good. Oh, one more thing I should mention. We've got a new recruit coming in soon."

Yasha raised a brow at this while putting on a white dress shirt. "What? Since when do we take on new recruits?"

"Boushin said it was necessary and beyond his control. To tell you the truth, it's got me feeling uneasy." Yasha could hear it in her voice.

"I second that. Do we know anything about him?"

"Only that her name is Kagome," Sango stated. "Boushin wouldn't tell me her last name for whatever cryptic reason."

Yasha stopped his rushed movements, actually dropping his black shoes on the floor from shock. He could have sworn his heart stopped beating.

"Yasha? Hello?"

That name. There was just no way.

"You better not have hung up on me you ass." Sango's voice brought him back temporarily.

"I'll be down in a bit." He didn't wait for a reply and ended the call. He could take on Sango's wrath for it later.

More flashes from his previous dream came rushing back. Kagome-were they one and the same? He hadn't even remembered that part of it until now. Recalling the feeling of betrayal he had felt when she had been pointing a gun at him in that world of illusion, he had known this Kagome person.

The thing about it was, here in the real world, he didn't.

Yasha tried to picture what details about the woman he could remember. She had lighter colored eyes and skin, and what seemed to be darker colored hair? Even that description wasn't concrete. What did it matter? His main concern was why in the hell he had a dream about someone he'd never even met. Another curiosity was how and why she was getting involved with the rebellion in the first place. It was no easy task tracking down a member to ask permission, and the background check carried out if you were approved was rigorous and detailed. Sango had said it had been beyond Boushin's control to deny, so how important was this person for the higher ups to bypass the man's authority?

All the sudden questions had Yasha's head spinning, and it was starting to irritate him. 'Screw this. I shouldn't care about all this. All I should care about is my paycheck.' With a reaffirming nod, Yasha resumed getting himself ready to leave. There was no time for a shower.

Even after how long he had worked for this rebellion, there was still one thing Yasha had yet to learn about the world around him.

There was no such thing as coincidences.

-[]-[]-[]-

"-up for school!" came a distant voice from beyond the darkness of sleep for the girl in question. She was pulled into a state of semi-consciousness, and then quickly fell back into the blur of her dreams without much argument. But after what felt like just a few short seconds, the nagging voice returned. "Kagome, don't make me tell you again!"

A raspy groan finally responded to the call. The petite figure rolled over from her position in bed to stare blankly at the ceiling as her mind cleared out the fog. It took a moment for her grey-blue eyes to readjust their focus after being so deep asleep, but they eventually saw the light shining in from the bedroom window just next to her nightstand.

'Morning already?' Glancing at the small digital alarm clock at the end of her nightstand, Kagome immediately jolted awake in horror.

School was starting in five minutes!

Carelessly tossing her cozy blue covers aside, she jumped out of bed and grabbed the first school uniform she could reach for from her disorganized closet. She then began a panicked dance between brushing her wavy black hair and putting on a clean pair of socks, until there was an impatient knock at the door.

"You're going to be late!" The noticeably soft voice from before, her mother's, continued to nag in a firm tone.

"I'm coming!" Kagome snapped with building agitation. Honestly, it wasn't like she was graduating or anything, today at least. Just thinking of the intrusive stares she'd no doubt receive from teachers and schoolmates upon walking in late that day made her cringe.

'Hopefully someone will be willing to spare me some sort of energy drink at lunch before I pass out.' She thought with dread, decidedly giving up on hurrying since she would be late no matter what, and walked with defeated strides to put her notepad in her backpack.

As she did so her door opened. "The bus already left without you." Her mother half-heartedly scolded, only to huff exhaustedly. "I suppose I'll be dropping you off at twelve thirty again?"

Kagome slowly turned to see her mother's drained expression and the slight disappointment in her eyes. It was a look that could send even a hardcore criminal on a small guilt trip. "Yeah-if you um, wouldn't mind."

This wasn't a rare thing to happen in the Higurashi house unfortunately. Kagome wasn't usually the irresponsible type, but there were occasions she crammed so long into the night she'd plop into bed without setting her alarm. This usually resulted in missing the one school bus that came. Then she would have to rely on her mother for a ride, who most of the time didn't have the car due to her idiot cousins that would steal it for their retarded amusement, only to give it back a few hours later once the thrill was over (as if that would make up for it). The interior usually ended up smelling like drugs and alcohol, and sometimes the tires even reeked of burned rubber. The best part? They couldn't even call what was supposed to be the police, because they were a bunch of greedy bastards that got bribed to pass certain emergency calls, thanks to the crappy economy. Not all law enforcement people were crafty that way of course, but most were.

Problems aside, Mrs. Higurashi nodded curtly to Kagome's answer and strode out of the room to make breakfast for them both before things got too crazy when the car decided to come back.

After taking a bit more time to ready herself, makeup carefully applied and hair neatly tied into a high ponytail, the air became noticeably perfumed with the succulent smell of bacon, catching Kagome's attention instantly. Her stomach had the good graces to growl loud enough for Mrs. Higurashi to hear and she chuckled with amusement while she poked at the breakfast food with a spatula.

"At least I don't have to ask if you're hungry," She teased.

Kagome offered a silly smile as she approached the dining table and took a seat, noting the rest of the house was silent. "Souta made it on time?"

Kagome was watching her cook out of habit, Mrs. Higurashi nodded while her eyes remained focused on the stove. "Yes. He said he'd tried getting you up several times, but that you were out like a light." Another small chuckle, one that only made Kagome feel worse for being such a burden on the family. Being young was no excuse for being irresponsible.

"You know Kagome," The words stole Kagome away from her guilt fest. "I'm almost a little glad you missed the bus today."

This was a shock.

"What? Why?" She asked. Her mother was always preaching educational success, even when most moms now days gave up on encouraging it since financial means for a higher education was no longer very possible for the average citizen.

Turning off the stove flame as she scooped the bacon onto a small glass plate with a paper towel she'd had in her hand, Mrs. Higurashi walked to the table and sat across from her daughter with a motherly smile. "Because well, I wanted to wish you a happy birthday."

The anxiety that had been previously building in her chest vanished as Kagome let out a full on laugh in her relief. "Thanks, Mom." That still really didn't seem like a good enough reason to be glad about missing school though.

"I wasn't done, dear." Mrs. Higurashi said, a bit more serious. What was going on? Suddenly she stood from her seat and made her way into the now carless garage and after a short while of shuffling around and things falling to the cement floor, she came back with a small box in her hands. "I also wanted to find the right time to give you this." And then handed Kagome the black container, which turned out to be outlined with velvet on its surface. A jewelry case?

Taking the gift with one hand, Kagome studied it thoroughly, fingering the outside with her thumbs. After a few moments her eyes watered, realizing the significance of what she held. She'd seen this same box hidden away on a dusty shelf all her life, and when she'd asked about it, had merely been told it was something important from the past. Now it seemed Kagome was ready to find out why that was and what was inside, apparently deemed old enough to value it.

"Go on Kagome, open it." She didn't have to be told twice. Carefully, she pulled upward on the lid, fearful of breaking it. When it finally popped open, Kagome gasped at what she saw.

It was a necklace.

The silver chain caught on the kitchen's man made light, but that wasn't the striking part of the jewelry. The diamond charm that the chain supported was literally carved in a downward arrow shape, its top and ends edged with silver, the top much thicker so it held onto the chain without a chance of breaking off. It was clearly a hundred percent real, and a hundred percent priceless. If this was what had been kept safe for all these years, it must have been very important to her. She wasn't that type of woman to hide expensive jewelry away without having some form of sentimental value with it.

"It was something Kyoushi gave to me some time after you came to us. He was the one who told me to give it to you on your 18th birthday; something about starting a new line of family heirlooms." Mrs. Higurashi smiled dimly at the memory, Kagome now looking at her with a sort of humbling awe as she listened.

Kagome still didn't miss the small reference to the fact she was adopted into the family instead of born into it though. Both she and Souta were, only some years apart from each other. It was nothing to be ashamed of, just different when it came to conversation.

"Originally I was going to give it to you before your friends arrived for the party this evening, but this was as good a time as any I suppose." Ms. Higurashi went on.

Closing the box carefully, Kagome moved from her seat and into her adoptive mother's arms and hugged her, whispering words of gratitude as she shed tears of both fondness and joy, knowing who the gift was really from. Even in death, her only true father still found a way to express his love for her.

'Thanks, Papa.'

-[]-[]-[]-

"They say he'd barely gotten the job as it was." Eri uttered sadly.

Yuka nodded. "Yeah, I saw the wife getting interviewed on TV last night. I can only imagine how hard it would be to lose your soul mate like that, having to take care of their kids all by herself."

Kagome's relatively good mood since that morning's events vanished upon hearing the day's new gossip among her school friends. Having spent the entire afternoon and evening yesterday studying, she hadn't had time to check the news.

It turned out some accomplished geneticist had been murdered the day before in a presumed hit and run. He'd had one of his two daughters with him at the time and she had witnessed the whole thing. It seemed as if everyone nowadays knew what it was like to lose a family member to death, but to have such a traumatic event happen to a family with young children involved? It wasn't unheard of, but no less saddening.

It wasn't just esteemed men winding up dead either. It was anyone and everyone. No one even knew why. Most of the time they were just ordinary everyday people you saw walking down the street, only to find out they were gone the next day.

"I wonder if the police will even investigate seriously." Yuka thought somewhat to herself in a hushed tone, her face crossed between bitterness and uncertainty. "People die every day, and the cases are piling up. What can they really do? Put the guys who did this in jail for a few years only to release him because of overcrowding? Assuming they even make an arrest."

Ayumi disagreed. "How can you say that? Any life is worth trying to avenge! Especially since the family now has nothing else to hope for but the person who did this to get put behind bars."

Eri almost laughed at her friend's antics, "You're just saying that because your mom's a cop Ayumi. Think realistically for once."

"I am thinking realistically!"

Kagome saw the need to step between the two, though it seemed a bit odd since they hardly ever acted confrontational this way. "Hey guys, relax. Everyone's entitled to their opinions." She admitted at least to herself Yuka had a point, pessimistic as it was.

Yuka went to stand beside Kagome, "Let's just forget this, class is about to start." As if to support her point the school bell rang, signaling lunch was over.

As the group walked down the halls in somewhat of an awkward silence, Kagome half consciously looked about the dull faces of the other teens around her as they made their way past, and couldn't help the feeling of heaviness weigh down on her shoulders. A voice in the back of her head chastised that she should be used to the way things were by now, but for whatever reason she just wasn't.

Things were going so downhill, and no one really heard of lives getting saved through the media much anymore. There were rare cases here and there, but not very often. She couldn't help asking the pointless question of Why? Governmental order hardly even existed, the economy sucked beyond belief, and she didn't trust the new President that had been recently elected to make much difference either. She couldn't help wondering if there was any point in hoping for a better future.

"Miss Higurashi?" Someone called out with a sigh, sounding exasperated.

"Hm?" Kagome mumbled, slipping out of her daze.

"Care to share your answer for problem fifty seven?"

She just blinked dumbly for a moment, taking in her surroundings and realizing with slight surprise she had somehow walked into her Algebra 1 class and sat at her desk books in hand, without even realizing. The room had an odd dusty-chemical smell, and the afternoon sunlight came shining in from the large windows on the left wall, she subconsciously noted. The teacher continued to wait for a reply, actually tapping his foot impatiently.

"U-Um-" Glancing down frantically at her open textbook, Kagome quickly did the Mixed Review exercise in her head then snapped her head up, blushing. "The answer would be A, since x couldn't equal five as it's an odd number and doesn't fit into the equation evenly."

When the teacher offered her a satisfied gleam in his eyes Kagome leaned back in her seat and quietly exhaled the breath she'd been holding. She always hated it when Mr. Fukuhara put her on the spot like he had made a habit of doing.

'Just another thing in my life to complain about.' Kagome grumbled, plopping her head on her desk with a sigh, her least favorite teacher going on with his boring lecture in the background.

Upon coming home, Kagome was warmly welcomed by the sweet smell of brownies in the oven and the sight of her younger brother Souta keeping a close eye on it from his spot on the countertop. She snickered at the hungry look in his eyes as if he hadn't eaten anything sugary in days.

"Keeping watch over the goods I see." She teased, strolling over to take a seat at the dining table and setting her bag down at her feet.

Souta nearly jumped off his perch at seeing her walk past him with that amused expression. "Oh hey Kagome, didn't even realize you were home. Happy birthday by the way!" He greeted, offering his cheesiest smile to her, which she simply laughed at.

"Don't think playing nice now will get you anything extra later, smart one." Kagome chastised, seeing his 'kiss up' attitude for what it was. He tried to pull this same stunt every year, and every time it would fail. A part of her secretly enjoyed his half way civil behavior this time of year though. Other than on Christmas, he was the typical little bastard of a brother.

Souta slouched over slightly in his usual pout stance. "Aw come on, show some compassion to your poor kid brother. My birthday isn't for another seven months!"

She just shrugged disinterestedly. "Well that's you're problem, not mine."

There was a shuffling noise from around the corner as Souta opened his mouth to retort, and soon Mrs. Higurashi peeked into the room with her usual smile. "Welcome home, Kagome. How was your day?"

Looking down at her new necklace and fingering it thoughtfully, Kagome decided not to say anything of the school gossip. She was bound to hear about it on the news at some point, if she didn't know already. "It was okay I guess. How 'bout you?"

There was a knowing glint in Mrs. Higurashi's eyes before she nodded in understanding. "Quiet as always without you lively kids shouting across the house."

Souta scoffed loudly in distaste. "Mom, I'm not a kid anymore! I'm going into high school next year."

Kagome walked over and ruffled his hair playfully, "Weren't you the one saying I should have pity on my kid brother?"

"You know what I meant!" Was his weak come back as he frantically pushed her intrusive hands away from his head. Though the two weren't actually related by blood, they had been together so long they might as well have been.

Ms. Higurashi laughed at such a typical display of affection. "Alright, that's enough. Both of you get washed up and ready for the party. I have to finish getting the food and sweets ready, and I don't want any prying hands or fingers sampling the frosting!"

With that the two were shooed out of the kitchen with the flick of Ms. Higurashi's hands, amused smiles on their faces as they walked up the steps to their respective rooms.

Before going to his, Souta turned to his adoptive sister with a wondering stare. "Hey Kagome, how come we always make brownies for our birthdays instead of cake?"

Kagome blinked in slight surprise at his rather random question, but recovered with a knowing smile. "It was something Papa used to do for Mom on hers while they were dating, from what I've been told. Guess it's one of those traditions she didn't want to fade away after he died."

At hearing of Kyoushi, Souta's eyes softened but he said nothing else about it, suddenly taking note of the new jewelry around his sister's neck. "Birthday presents before the party? That's so unfair!" He grumbled.

Kagome laughed at his comical looking pout face, fingering her new diamond pendant fondly. "This was a special exception."

-Chapter 2-

There was just something about standing in front of the building you worked at; that feeling you get of both anticipation and dread. Yasha couldn't explain it, but it was among the many odd habits he'd developed over time.

The air was chilled and thin on this day in November, the stench of pollutants swirling about the area in distasteful heaviness. Being so deep in the city didn't exactly make it any less overbearing. There was a slight breeze blowing past, ruffling Yasha's long army green trench coat and the ends of his hair as he continued to stand.

The building itself was massive. It was a skyscraper, having a total of seventy five floors plus the basement and parking lot floor. Being on ground level made it look like it went on forever. It caught off the morning sunlight with it's almost entirely glass based covering, the insides of some of the offices visible if you looked hard enough. Of course, Yasha had never actually been to any of those higher floors. His work place was, believe it or not, on the basement floor. The logo of what the building was supposed to house, read: Sunrise Insurance. Pretty legit, right?

The weight of his set of desert eagles never felt so heavy as they rested in their holsters at his hips under his coat. Was it worth hoping one day he could actually leave this life behind and move on?

Yasha's phone rang in his pocket, the question fading away without answer. He pulled it out, glancing at the screen. It was Boushin. He flipped the top of his cell open and answered.

"I'm right outside, I'll be there in a sec." He said irritably.

"No Yasha, wait." Boushin's tone was calm and commanding like usual. "I have something else I'd like you to do before you come on. Your partner and I can handle the scoping plans."

"Excuse me? You're taking me off the assignment because you want me to run a little errand for you? Who the hell do you think I am, your nanny? And aren't you supposed to be 'otherwise engaged'?" Yasha hissed into the phone, reading the censored instructions for what they were. After being told about such crucial information and psyching himself up for the mission ahead of him, he was getting called off on some detour to be replaced by the 'boss' himself? That was considered insulting.

Boushin sighed. "If you would listen for a moment without jumping to conclusions, I'll explain."

Yasha practically stomped over to the nearest bench and leaned against the armrest, replying sarcastically, "Do tell."

"I'm sure you're aware of the new recruit. While I cannot reveal much personal information about her to you besides her name right now, it is of the utmost importance you locate her and bring her to base. Her life could be in danger. I'm covering your task until you return."

That still sounded like a load of bull to Yasha. "How is this chick more important? If she's not even aware of anything yet, what's the problem? And why do I have to be the one?"

"Look, there's no time for personal questions. Kagome's life is in danger and you need to find her, save her if necessary, and bring her to the protection of our base. They are not my orders; it's all directly from the Capital."

That just made things so much less complicated. Without seeming too put off by everything, Yasha took a breath before he answered. "Fine. Just send me whatever info you can and I'll go get her."

-[]-[]-[]-

Gun fire rang out through the streets like a loud clap of lightning, cries of fearful citizens following in their wake. The usual hustle and bustle noises of downtown 'wild life' seemed to have died over the sudden excitement, replaced instead with the sounds of ensuing chaos. Men, women, and children alike could be seen fleeing the area on foot together or alone, some with no destination in mind but 'away from here' while others headed towards their cars. A scattered few simply tried finding good places to hide while they called the police on cell phones.

There was shouting coming from somewhere around the corner down the next block, deeper male voices shouting what was likely swear words and otherwise vulgar speech at one another. More shot sounds echoed out, that time close enough so that the small tinkling of bullet casings could be heard hitting the pavement. It didn't take long to figure out this was some sort of gang battle. Downtown had become known for that sort of violence, and no one just started shooting people unless they had a serious bone to pick with someone and didn't fear the police once they got even. Gangs and the mafia where the only ones who outwardly behaved in such a way.

"This is why I don't ever go to the mall downtown, but did they listen to me? No!" Kagome huffed to herself irritably. Even if it was obvious, she still couldn't help wondering how she had gotten herself in this mess. Things had been going so smoothly before today. Her birthday party had been simple but nice, her friends having spent the night and stayed up late watching movies and eating popcorn and other junk food with her.

Then one of them had come up with the bright idea of going to the downtown mall to do 'girly things' as Kagome so bitterly put it. They'd complained she needed some new clothes, and such nonsense. So it was decided (without her consent, really) that they would go the following morning. They certainly hadn't expected a bunch of low lives to start trying to shoot people and be forced to split up once they got there.

So there she was hiding in an ally-way, dressed in skinny jeans, ankle cut boots, and a plain black sweater and hoodie, with her purse only god knew where after all that running she'd done. "This is just one of those days, I guess." She said with a sigh, leaning against the wall of one of the buildings she stood between and sliding down into a more comfortable position. With the way things were playing out, she wasn't going anywhere for a while.

She would have tried to run to the nearest bus stop and possibly head home if she could, but she had gotten separated from the other three of her friends in all the craziness after the first shots had been fired. She couldn't just leave without knowing if they had gotten away alright. It didn't exactly help that she'd left her cell phone at home in her friends' haste to get her out the door that morning. The last she had seen of any of them was Ayumi's back as she'd pushed her way through the crowds to get to safety. Kagome couldn't help a humorless scoff, 'I feel like I'm in some kind of war zone.' To some degree, that was true.

Such thoughts were supported further when the noise that had been so far away only minutes ago began to get gradually louder; closer to where she was hiding. Panic pricked at her chest, her pulse thudding loudly in her ears. Blind adrenaline made her wonder if she should just take off and get out of danger, but she shook her head at such an impulse. 'No, I won't abandon them like that. I couldn't forgive myself if something were to happen. I have to stay here and find a way to look for them, check the hospitals or safe zones maybe.' On some level she realized her 'plan' was as good as committing suicide since she didn't even know if her friends were still in the area, but it was too late to turn back now. Her first goal was to get away from these thugs.

As another gun shot rang out through the mostly empty streets, Kagome realized she could now make out what was being said between the gang members.

"Who you think you are messin' wit us? You backstabbing peace of shit!" One of the two men continued shouting at the other, probably the one with the gun if the loud bang that followed was any consolation. "You gave 'em classified information and now we're all screwed thanks ta you!"

There was a loud grunting sound and the sound of the other man spitting on the street, mumbled curse words following. "You dick heads did it to yourselves! I won't lie and cheat the people anymore!"

Pressing herself further against the brick wall she was leaning on out of tension, Kagome couldn't fight her curiosity. 'What people? Does he mean the citizens? What could he have possibly blabbed about to affect society?' That was a rather interesting subject for thugs to be fighting over, to say the least. For a split second, Kagome wondered if maybe these guys weren't what they appeared to be. Or there was always the off possibility they were just high beyond belief, of course.

"Who the hell are you?!"

Kagome froze.

Had she really been that easy to spot? But she'd been hiding in an alley way! Her half-conscious question was answered when she looked into the eyes of the man who had found her. She didn't know why the idea popped in her mind as quick as it did, but to her, it seemed far too easy to notice.

Yellow. His irises were yellow.

'They-don't look human.' This of course, failed to fully process in Kagome's very overwhelmed brain, and all she could do was continue to stare into the man's strangely feral gaze with heavy dread and foreboding, beginning to tremble in her emotional trauma.

"I asked you a question, bitch!" His voice echoed off the walls in a startling boom, his shoulders tight and his large callused fists balled and shaking with rage. Where was the other guy and the gun? Was he planning to kill her with his bare hands?

'There's nowhere to run. I can't get away!' Kagome frantically glanced around to find something to throw at him, and spotted a thin and rusted metal pipe directly across from her. It was unlikely she could land a hit on the guy to try and knock him out, but throwing it would be enough of a distraction to get a head start and get out of there. So she did.

Fast as she could manage, Kagome dove for the pipe, and tossed it. As the nameless man grabbed it from the air, she took off full speed around the corner and down the street, leaving her shoes behind.

As she pumped her legs against the aged pavement under her, long raven hair billowing behind, the high school girl wondered how many people this had actually happened to. Something made her feel awfully alone in the 'running for your life from a gang member' category. Worse yet, she couldn't even call for help. There wasn't anyone in sight to hear her.

Kagome dared to check over her right shoulder to see if she was being pursued, but saw no one. Hoping he didn't think chasing her was worth his time and had not even bothered, she kept running and began trying to find another more concealed place to hide.

She didn't have the chance to find one.

From above, Kagome's attacker yelled out and landed right on top of her, knocking them both down on the concrete. Where had he come from, the roof? Kagome cried out in surprise and minor pain, her arm and shoulder throbbing from both the impact and the resulting fall. She quickly tried fighting back, feeling herself being pinned down.

"Let me go you asshole!" She screeched, wriggling her wrists and legs in his firm grasp.

The man just laughed. "You're a feisty one! I like that in a woman." He smirked, his eyes clouding with unrestrained lust.

'How did he go from a blind rage to this in less than a minute?!' Kagome thought in horror, though she showed only her own anger towards the psychopath above her. 'What do I do?'

"Freeze!" A female voice ordered, fast approaching footsteps sending small vibrations through the sidewalk as the person neared.

Both Kagome and her attacker looked towards the sound to see an armed police officer, pointing her gun at them both but aiming at the man. "Don't you dare move, or I'll shoot!"

Kagome furrowed her brows in thought. 'Is that Ayumi's mom?!' She must have called her, which meant the others had to be okay right?

The man still pinning her down merely laughed. "I ain't afraid o' no cop. 'Specially a woman!" He spat in disgust, and quickly jumped off of Kagome to charge at the officer.

Ayumi's mother quickly pulled the trigger on her gun, shooting madly as the man jumped, flipped, and dodged each bullet fired in a remarkable display of agility and speed. But instead of going at her once he got close enough as expected, he leaped right over the officer's head and took off down the next street. She quickly pulled out her transmitter and gave orders, "Target is on the run! Pursue down Que road! Repeat, pursue target down Que road!"

"Officer Shima?" Kagome called out weakly, just barely sitting up on the sidewalk. The shock was clearly seen in her expression; stiff and wide eyed, her breathing uneven, and her trembling from before having worsened to full on shaking. She wrapped her already bruising arms around herself. She felt numb and detached, even as the woman approached her. The adrenaline was definitely fading.

"Are you alright, Kagome? He didn't do anything to-?"

Kagome shook her head slightly, incapable of giving a vocal response.

Exhaling in a sigh of relief, Ms. Shima took Kagome's hand and held it in a motherly manner, easing the girl to stand up. "Let's get you to the station; I've got the girls there already. I'm sure they'll want to see you."

By the time the two reached the station thirty minutes later, Kagome's immediate speechlessness to being assaulted had begun to dull.

Walking through the double doors of the police station with Ayumi's mother by her side, she couldn't help thinking it was smaller than she remembered.

Unlike how TV shows would portray such a place, the desks were rather close together and cluttered with various files and papers. File cabinets were pretty much everywhere and looked fully stocked. The constant sound of a phone ringing, and people shuffling here and there served as rather chaotic background noise as well. There were hallways and closed doors off in both corners, but they probably weren't much nicer to look at than the main area. Not much really changed at a police station it seemed.

Before she could turn to ask her 'escort' if she could go get some water, Kagome was practically assaulted with hugs from her three friends that seemed to come out of nowhere, barely giving the poor girl time to blink in surprise. Then came the abrupt bombardment of questions.

"Are you okay?"

"What happened?"

"Why didn't you call us?"

"Did you get shot at?"

"Did you see the guy who attacked you?"

It was enough to make her head spin. Kagome was still too stunned to really give much of a response to any of those inquiries, to make it worse. After all, she might have just been nearly raped!

Ayumi's mother silenced the girls and put a hand on Kagome's shoulder. "I'm going to give your mom a call, but we'd like you to stick around to try and answer some questions, alright?"

Kagome just nodded dumbly, forgetting about wanting water for the moment.

She was then guided by another officer into a small waiting room with her friends. Taking a second to study everything it looked kind of chinsy, like a dentist waiting room, minus the ginormous fish tank. There were just chairs and a few fake decorative plants dotted about the room, a ceiling fan that wasn't on, and a window facing the doorway. The walls were a plain gray-ish brown hue, and had no pictures on them.

After taking her seat, Kagome began the strained process of conversation with her personal group of paparazzi. At first no questions were asked, but seeing the demanding curiosity on their faces she just sighed and began to speak. "I'm okay guys, really. I just feel a little drained, and probably bruised my shoulder. I'm sure Ms. Shima can give you the full story."

"Mom's not allowed to discuss cases with people outside her work." Ayumi clarified quickly.

Eri agreed with a nod, her short-short black hair swaying as she moved. "We're just worried about you, Kags."

She gave a humorless chuckle. "Guess I must look pretty bad, huh?"

"You're not even wearing shoes." Yuka attempted to joke, pointing at Kagome's feet.

Her eyes locked onto them and noticed how rubbed raw her skin looked; all irritated and red. Until now she'd forgotten she was barefoot. She was thankful her feet were so calloused, or she might have felt more pain besides on her shoulder and arms. It was a shame about the missing shoes though. 'They were kind of expensive too...' After this, there was no way she was going shopping to replace them. She'd send her mom to the mall from now on.

After nearly an hour of sitting and talking about anything but the recent incident (much to Kagome's relief), an officer no one recognized opened the door and walked in with Mrs. Higurashi in tow.

Kagome was again embraced, tears building in her mother's eyes. "When I got the call I didn't know what to think! Are you okay baby? He didn't hurt you at all?"

Somehow amused by her mother's frantic questions, Kagome offered a small smile and hugged her mother back, ignoring the soreness in her forearms. "Don't worry mom. Nothing really happened, I promise." In all fairness Kagome would have been crying too if she had any energy to do so. Maybe that wasn't such a bad thing though.

The officer still standing there cleared his throat awkwardly. "Uh, I apologize for the interruption, but the chief would like young Ms. Higurashi to answer a few questions about the man who attacked her."

The women pulled apart, an exhausted sigh coming from them both. Kagome looked from her mother's worried eyes to those of her friends' with a false confidence. "I'll be back in a bit." She then left with her escort to the interrogation room, diamond necklace clutched firmly in hand.

-[]-[]-[]-

Heavy footsteps continued to echo across the darkness into a room. It was empty save for a person bound to a chair in its center, a blinding yellow light shining from above.

The person sat with his head hung past his shoulders, nearly limp with obvious fatigue. Blood oozed from deep wounds barely hidden beneath the thin fabric of his shirt that had once been white, but was now stained crimson. It flowed from his stomach and gradually made its way down his legs to the cement floor below with thick, quiet drops. His eyes were shut tight as his jaw clenched from the pain. His dirty blonde hair was plastered to his forehead from the sweat as he seemed to force his lungs to expand just enough to take even a small breath.

Slow and heavy footsteps echoed loudly into the room, and soon a door was slid open. The footsteps continued while another person entered, stopping short of the light hanging from the ceiling. The tips of a pair of black boots still captured enough light to be seen, and a voice finally spoke.

"Have you taken enough time to think it over?"

The person in the chair didn't respond at first, but after a particularly painful spasm reached his nerves he forced himself to answer. "Y-Yes."

"Will you do what I've asked?"

There was a longer pause at this question, but again after the pain intensified the broken man whispered, "I w-will."

A chuckle of satisfaction came from the shadowed figure. "Good choice, human." There was a clattering noise as something metal was dropped to the floor and then slid over to the person in the chair, a knife. "If you can get yourself free, you'll be sent the location for the meet where you'll receive further orders." Another small laugh. "Don't get lost."

With that the shadow's boots pulled away from sight and the footsteps started again, only for the sound to fade away into nothing, leaving his victim to his new agenda.

-Chapter 3-

"Signore Boushin? Signore Boushin, qualcuno è qui per vederla." A timid voice spoke into the dimly lit room in Italian, the silhouette of a short petite figure shown from the hall way light behind it.

Within the room Miroku Boushin sat at his desk with a flashlight in his left hand. Various maps and atlases, some aged and some new by the looks of the paper, were spread out before him. He seemed to be thoroughly engrossed in studying them through his pair of reading glasses, only to jolt out of his concentration as sound invaded his world of silent thought.

He sighed quietly then turned his chair toward the person at the door, an annoyed expression reflected in his navy blue eyes. "Lucia, you know I'm only an apprentice in speaking the native tongue here. What is it you want?" He knew that by cultural standards it was a bit bold of him to speak the woman's first name, but as he was staying in her and her mother's home for the time being, he figured it was fine. He was the upfront and blunt type of person when it came to such beautiful women anyhow.

Lucia stepped further into the room shyly, her expression revealing a wordless apology before speaking it. "Sorry Signore Boushin. It isz how you szay forced habiit." Smiling nervously at using a language in which she was not fluent, the Italian woman paused to remember what she had come for. "Agents call and ask forr yuu. It about ah, mission?"

Her heavy accent was a little hard to understand, but when Boushin deciphered what was said, his face became troubled and very serious. Briefly glancing over to the collection of papers he had been reading over, he realized with a disgruntled slouch of his shoulders they would have to be researched to completion at a later time. Pulling off his glasses, he turned his attention back to Lucia, who still stood in front of him awaiting his reply. He nodded in understanding. "Very well. Tell them I'll be down shortly."

"Yes, Signore Boushin." Lucia spoke curtly.

"Lucia, drop the formalities. Just call me by my first name. Miroku." He said, offering her a suave grin.

"Okay, M-Miroku." She responded with a slight blush to her cheeks, then turned and left.

Miroku just chuckled to himself with a satisfactory smirk as he watched her scuttle away. "Still got it."

His lightheartedness faded when he remembered the set task he'd just agreed to, and quickly ran to get his shoes, gloves, and rain coat. With the weather getting so cold and wet outside, Miroku wanted to keep himself as warm as possible. Just a shame he hadn't packed earmuffs before he'd set out to such a weathered discidium as this. 'Now where's my other sock?' He wondered, searching about his things for the item. Not such an easy task, as the room was a complete mess, clothes and papers everywhere.

The meeting place he and the others had agreed on was some ways out from his personal safe house, and the nearest bus stop was at least six blocks away, so it was going to be a nice long walk. One Miroku couldn't help being concerned about given his lack of a 'proper' right arm, in its place nothing but nuts, bolts, and gears put simply.

Pulling his good arm through the coat sleeve, he took a moment to glance at the prosthetic replacement in greater detail, feeling that same raw sensation he always did when he took the time to really examine it. Compared to the newer steel made models mechanics made and sold nowadays it'd managed to upkeep its futuristic style and performance rate quite well over the years. It had only needed a few minor upgrades in the long while he'd had the thing. As it should, considering who designed it. Or, helped design it to be technical. It was extremely durable, flexible, and well-built for combat, but in Miroku's opinion it still had nothing on a real limb made of flesh and bone. Even after all this time it just didn't feel natural.

'Not so ignorant now, am I Ketry?' He thought bitterly with a hard frown, the man's face flashing through his mind with that calculating look in the man's eyes. Miroku abruptly shook his head at the vision, putting a stop to where his mind was heading. Now wasn't the time to go down memory lane.

Slipping on the other half of his rather worn and musty smelling outerwear, he spared a hesitant glance at the clock that hung against the wall by the open doorway. 'At this rate I'll miss the bus!' He realized in a panic, and after shoving his feet into his sturdy combat boots, sprinted out of the room and then out of the house with a small call of farewell to Lucia.

Breathing in the cold and smoggy night air as he began his long trek to meet up with the others, Miroku was suddenly struck with a thought he hadn't taken the time to think about until now. If he was being contacted like this, weeks before the next scheduled rendezvous between he and his subordinates, it could only mean one thing.

After so many months of searching, they'd finally found her.

"Boushin? Hey, Boushin!"

"Huh?" Miroku pulled slowly out of his daze with a blink of his eyes to see Sango standing over his desk waving her hand in front of his face, looking rather amused.

"Some boss man you are, daydreaming on the job when we've got the biggest mission of our lives ahead of us." She chided with a smirk, leaning back on her feet to sit in the small plastic chair behind her.

In that split second he transitioned from past to present, Miroku took in Sango's appearance as if he'd forgotten he knew her. She wore an awfully tight black work suit, complete with pants, a lavender blouse, and pointed toe high heels. Her long but straight brown hair was pulled to the side in an elaborate braid that touched the arm of the chair she was sitting in, and her honey colored eyes sparkled with a dangerous fire in them not many would expect from a technology specialist. The perfect woman. It was just a shame he couldn't see much of her more-attractive assets, as he liked to think of them.

"Ah forgive me my dear Sango, I was simply so entranced by your beauty I lost myself to it." Miroku countered smoothly in a suggestive tone, only to earn an eye roll from the woman he had complimented.

"Spare me. Let's just focus on the task at hand, if you can contain yourself."

Miroku huffed in over exaggerated disappointment. "Very well."

"Did you call Yasha already?"

Sango's work related question had Boushin quickly shifting his disposition, his face becoming much more firm and serious. It was strange to watch. "Yes I did. He should be locating her as we speak, but it's up to the circumstances how quickly he can actually bring the girl in."

Sango seemed a little surprised at this. "You think the Deceivers are already after her?"

Her boss leaned forward with both flesh and metal elbows on his desk, looking thoughtful. "It's better to assume so than act rashly and make things even more difficult than they already are for us. We can't afford to grab their attention right now, with so many other missions going on in their territory."

Sango nodded in agreement, though her face revealed many more questions.

With Boushin once again getting lost in his thoughts, the light's reflection on his glasses blocking her from reading the emotion in his eyes, Sango herself wandered to the rest of their humble headquarters.

To the untrained eye, it looked like any another office floor in the building, with various cubicles and desks. However, if you were allowed clearance into the secret lower floors that went underground, you would see the true rebellion at its core here in the Japanese discidium. Most operations were made there, but the minor things like looking over maps and maintaining cover were done where she and Boushin usually worked. She was sure whoever this Kagome person was, she would be amazed at the complexity once she got the grand tour. Assuming she didn't go insane for what they already had planned for her.

"Boushin?"

"Yes?"

"Why is this Kagome girl getting dragged into everything? I know over throwing the screwed up government is a big honor, but she may not be the type to handle an environment like this, and do what we do as agents. She's just a high schooler, right?"

He didn't answer for a moment, thinking of what he himself had been told by the higher ups after he'd left his safe house just that morning.

'She is the key, Mister Boushin. The key to everything, in every way imaginable. With her on our side, the truth will soon be realized.'

It had been strangely optimistic for such knowledgeable men to say, that was for certain. He sighed. "In all honesty Sango, it makes little sense to me as well. All I can tell you is she is special, unique to our common goal somehow. I'm sure once Kagome is brought here, we'll get some answers."

-[]-[]-[]-

Stepping into that interrogation room had most of the confidence Kagome had spent the last fifteen seconds mustering fly out through the nearest open window, wherever there was one. Here, it just felt like prison.

The room felt small and cramped, smelling of uncirculated air if that was possible. Her footsteps echoed off of all four walls until she took a seat on one end of the metal table in the center of the room. A bright light hung from the ceiling as she expected one would, and looking nervously to her left, she saw the large wall sized mirror window. Kagome could picture a couple other officers staring at her from the other side of it, and just the thought had her stomach doing odd flips.

Sitting there waiting didn't make it any more of a pleasant experience. It didn't matter that she hadn't done anything wrong. Being here, after such a traumatic experience as she had lived through only a short while ago, had her emotions going in all different directions. She was still tired, but it seemed her nervousness had served as some sort of energy boost. Kagome was still debating on whether that was a good thing or not.

Suddenly the door at the right corner of the room opened with a loud creak, and Ayumi's mother walked in along with another officer she hadn't seen before. His eyes were a clear blue color, and he had a mustache. He carried a non-too-friendly air about him as well, almost hostile. Kagome supposed it was to make her feel more obligated to talk, as if she needed any more inspiration to.

"I apologize for the delay." The male officer spoke, his voice slightly raspy with age. "As my partner here has already told you, we need some information if you can offer any about the person who assaulted you."

Taking a small breath, Kagome nodded her understanding. "Well, I can't really tell you much more than Miss Shima, since she saw the guy too. He was big, had darker skin, and yellow eyes."

Both officers perked up with interest. "Yellow eyes? Are you certain Kagome?" Shima spoke.

Maybe she knew more then she'd thought. "Uh, yeah. I can't really describe them as any other color. They were a bright-ish yellow. To be honest, they were pretty animalistic looking. I'm guessing he was wearing weird contacts or something. Maybe a dress code for a gang he's in." It was a fair guess. Not all gangs went by just specific colors and tattoos anymore.

The male officer cleared his throat, and jotted something in his notepad then asked, "What led up to this yellow-eyed gang member attacking you?"

"He was fighting with another guy first, and I was hiding in a nearby alley way so I wouldn't be noticed."

"And he somehow saw you?"

Kagome shrugged. "I guess so. I didn't really see when I got his attention; he just came to where I was hiding and asked who I was. I threw a metal pipe at him after that and ran. Eventually he pinned me down and that's when Miss Shima found me."

"Isn't that a little strange he would just notice you in a well hidden place while he had been preoccupied fighting with someone else?" The male officer asked with a suspicious tone in his voice.

Kagome fought the urge to glare at him. "I know it sounds weird, but it's the truth."

The male officer wrote a few more things on his paper, then closed the notebook altogether. "Thank you for coming in Ms. Higurashi. You can go now, we're done."

Wait, what?

"That's it? That's all you want to know? I didn't even give you a detailed description or anything." Kagome protested, sounding a little baffled.

Officer Shima actually chuckled at her reaction. "Oh we have a good idea who it was that attacked you, don't worry."

"Really? Who?"

Officer Shima and her partner shared a look before a file was placed on the table and a picture taken out to be shown to Kagome on the other side of the table. She stared at the mug shot in both surprise and disbelief as the male officer described the man in the photo.

"His name is Cesar Eglacious. He belongs to a gang called 'The Beasts'. He comes from the Mexican discidium to the East. A known drug dealer and very dangerous."

Officer Shima nodded. "It's almost like a cult, really. He and his gang believe that what we here in the Japanese discidium refer to as youkai, still exist. They wear contacts and fangs to appear like youkai in attempts to draw out these fabled creatures and do all sorts of strange things in name of their beliefs."

Pushing the picture of Eglacious back to Shima to put away, Kagome just scoffed. "Sounds like one messed up group of druggies."

"Indeed, but that doesn't make these people any less dangerous. If Eglacious has come after you like this, there's a possibility he may try to find you again." Shima's partner spoke sternly.

Kagome mulled over the large sum of information, and an idea struck her rather suddenly. "So, why are you telling me all this? You're not thinking of putting me in some kind of witness protection are you? That's a little over kill. I mean I get that this guy and his 'friends' are dangerous, but-"

"Nothing of the sort." Shima interrupted. "We just want you to be aware of the dangers and act accordingly while you recover at home."

That was basically the police's nice way of saying, 'We'd love to protect you, but we don't have the money to pay for it. Good luck though!' Kagome had seen it done many times before. Though in this instance, it wasn't so bad. She didn't think it was very likely this Cesar guy would come after her. If he was such a known criminal, he had his run ins with the law, and knew better than to be too reckless over one victim, if she could call herself one. She'd just make sure to have her cell phone at all times from now on and she would be fine. Right?

Everything sort of blurred out after Kagome left the station. She said a hasty goodbye to her friends and had gotten in her mother's worn down old car in remote silence, an old pair of running shoes put on her feet to replace the ones she'd lost (courtesy of the police). Conversation had been attempted several times over the course of the ride home, but nothing that stuck longer than a question and simple answer. The interrogation had come up once, but Kagome made it clear all she really wanted to do was sleep everything off and get on with life. She hadn't missed her mother's concerned expression when they got home, but chose to ignore it out of exhaustion. Just as they began to walk up the driveway however, something completely unexpected happened.

The house had caught on fire.

With a deafening explosion and shift of the ground beneath them, both Higurashi women gasped in shock as they stared wide eyed at the disaster, smoke rising into the air as the flames began to rapidly spread.

"Souta's inside!" Kagome's mother cried in sheer panic, not even waiting to hear her daughter's reply, darting thoughtlessly toward the house to save the boy.

"No Mom, wait!" Kagome called out, but it was already too late. Her mother had disappeared through the front door and into the death trap beyond. Of all the times not to have her damned cell phone! Then she remembered her mother had hers in the car still, and rushed to the driver's seat to call the emergency line as she jogged towards the front door. In the four times the line rang, Kagome could feel the frantic beating of her heart increase in tempo. Her breathing had picked up and her eyes remained wide as saucers as she saw her whole livelihood slowly turn to ash. She wanted to rush in with her mother so badly, but something was stopping her. She couldn't tell if it was cowardice or logic, but she stayed outside the house against normal instinct.

"This is the police station hotline, what is your emergency?"

It took a moment for Kagome to calm herself enough to speak, her thoughts already racing and making little sense. "House is on fire! Call fire department!" Was all she ended up getting out.

"Ma'am please calm down. I'm sending assistance now. I need you to stay on the line and tell me what's happening. Is there anyone inside the house?"

"Mom just went in to get my brother and hasn't come out yet. I don't know what to do!" Kagome rambled thoughtlessly, now pacing on the front lawn. She could feel her mind slowly unhinging and losing logical sense. The only thing going through her head was 'they could die, oh my god they could die!'

She didn't even remember the rest of that conversation, only recalling what happened after she hung up and the fire department arrived in all its glory several minutes later. By then the fire had spread to the entire house and the thick clouds of blackened smoke had engulfed the entire building. Worst yet, there was still no sign of her mother or younger brother coming back out. Kagome thought the worst, watching the fireman one by one march into the fray to try and find them dead or alive. She began biting her nails from the anxiety welling up in her chest. She was sure she'd start shaking soon enough. After everything else that had happened today, this was just the last straw for her.

"I'm going in!" She declared thoughtlessly, tossing her mother's phone on the grass and starting to charge towards the front door.

"Miss!" An unfamiliar male voice called out. "It's dangerous in there, you'll burn to death without protective gear!" Kagome ignored him and ran out of reach before she could be forcibly stopped.

The first thing she did was burst into a violent coughing fit. The smoke was completely unbearable, not to mention poisonous. Putting a sleeve over her nose and mouth in attempts to breathe easier, Kagome hadn't realized how intense the heat would be (though it should have been obvious).The imminent shock nearly stopped her movement completely. She just felt like everything was burning, her throat, her eyes-she forced herself to ignore it, taking slow and careful steps towards the living room on the first floor. She could hardly see anything through the bright light of the flames that were beginning to pin her in, and at this point her lungs felt as if she were breathing in acid. That small voice in her head kept screaming to turn back, but at the same time another voice said to stay and find her family. This was something she had to do.

"Mom!" Cough. "S-Souta!" Another cough. "You here?" Each yell grew more and more painful to call out, and as Kagome made her way towards the stairs she began to feel faint. She could hear pieces of wood on the railing falling apart and burning away as her vision began to blur, pieces of the ceiling starting to come down around her.

Nearing the direct bottom of what remained of the stairs; Kagome forced her now stinging eyes to peer through the smoke into the area she could no longer reach. What she saw had her stifling a gasp of mortification.

There lying motionless on the steps, were the firemen she had seen earlier making their way inside the house. Not only that, but their oxygen tanks were all split open in strange claw like slashes, and there was no sign they had found anyone. Only their own blood dripped down the burning wood around them, and frozen expressions of fear were plastered on their dirtied faces. It took a full five seconds to realize, but these men were no doubt dead.

Another thought flashed through Kagome's mind at that as she struggled to fit in the pieces. If the firemen had only made it to the stairs, and Souta's room was on the second floor and yet to be reached-oh no.

Forcing her way past, Kagome ignored the intense burning in her lungs as she took the largest breath she could and screamed, darting up the stairs. "MOM!"

Before she could get anywhere near the top, she felt a heavy blow to her head, and fell to her knees with a throbbing headache. There was the sound of glass breaking somewhere behind, then her sight completely blurred and faded to black.

-Chapter 4-

The hall was cold, dark, and ominous.

Lights that hung from the ceiling flickered on and off in spurts of yellowed light, revealing for brief moments at a time the various doors on either side of the vacant area. It was quiet, almost deathly so, as if life had not walked along the dirtied tile floors in many centuries, though it could only have been a decade at most. The air would have smelt rather distasteful to those sensitive to it, a pungent odor of mold and some form of strong oil or ointment. Was this a hospital?

As the lights continued to flicker in and out of a shadowed mystery, heavy footsteps could be heard tip-tapping against the floor. Purple hued eyeshine, like a cat's, became visible with a particularly direct flash of light at the approaching figure.

A bulb finally blew out in a small display of tiny sparks, and all went dark once again. Those eyes, they still shone with a small light, watching something only they could see in this strange hallway. A scene no one else could remember played out like an old hologram.

His breath is quick, fast, and hollow.

His eyes glow with unhidden desperation, the long tail of his white coat following him behind.

Each step echoes down the long grey concrete halls that lay out in front of him.

The ceiling lights above blare down, a pair of glasses growing ever fainter as they fall from his eyes and shatter to the floor. The shards create multiple small reflections of their owner running for his life.

His life-what meaning will it have now?

His research, his family-all of it may as well be lost.

The man's right shoe suddenly catches at its tip against the tile, his momentum thrown off until he loses his balance and falls on the bare skin of his palms. Staring down at the ground, his eyes water with tears of building regret, and it becomes apparent.

He's going to die.

He whips his head around to face the pursuer. A heavy tenseness of stress and dread fill his being as distant footsteps grow nearer, until a figure comes around the corner and into view.

The mysterious new comer's jet black hair sways ever so slightly as he stops his strides, not having run at all it seems. He too has a long coat belonging to the scientists of this facility, a disguise clearly. A false ID card is clipped on it, and a name.

Adcock, Ketry

"You failed to heed my warning. You shall receive your reprimand." His accented voice is cold and detached as he stares his victim down, both men knowing where this moment will lead. There will be a murder and a murderer tonight. Yet the man known as Higurashi still shows something else in his eyes, something that neither man probably expected.

Lingering defiance.

Oddly angered at this, the man disguised as Adcock puts a steady hand into his coat pocket, revealing a small hand gun. "Prepare yourself."

Higurashi, having somehow accepted his own fate simply scoffs with a wavering tone and turns his body around so he's sitting on the floor, the gun now pointed at his forehead. "I've been prepared for a long time, I suppose."

The last thought he has before this unnamed man pulls the trigger is, 'What will become of him now?'

The light returned briefly as the memory faded, those purple eyes were now just above the very spot the murder had taken place. They looked down just as another glimmer of light fought to function, and a figure could be seen. That of a man, his straight jet black hair falling to cover the left side of his face as he stared downward. His form appeared tall, and muscles showed through his long sleeve shirt. He wore black leather gloves that cut off at the knuckles and are slashed open on the top. He carried himself with perfect posture; over confidence.

Suddenly a curt beeping noise sounded from his jean pocket, and a muffled voice echoed off the walls as it spoke without permission. "We have the girl. We are ready for you sir." The voice was gruff in tone, but young.

A small chuckle. "Higurashi-san," The dark haired man murmured to himself "it will be complete soon." His mature voice held darkness to it. He continued his drawn out stroll through the halls, combat boots tip tapping with every step taken.

-[]-[]-[]-

"What do you mean she was kidnapped?!" Boushin's nearly deafening screech on the other line had Yasha flinching, actually pulling the phone away from his ear to avoid permanent damage to his hearing.

"What d'you mean what do I mean? I got to the location, saw everything was on fire, and when I ran through a window to get Kagome, she was being taken through the back door by Deceivers!"

"Well why didn't you fight them off?"

Yasha growled in irritation. "I tried to! In case you didn't hear me before, the place was on freaking FIRE! I could barely see clearly two feet in front of my face, let alone fight two Deceiver bastards without accidentally getting the girl shot at!"

"Wait, how did you know Kagome was being taken if you couldn't see anything?" Boushin questioned, confused.

"I said I couldn't see clearly, not that I was blind. I saw their outlines as they barged out."

The whole escapade hadn't been a fun experience. The moment he'd arrived at the scene it was a flurry of fire trucks, police cars, and smoke. He was sure it had been at least fifteen minutes since the fire had started, which had made things worse. Walking his way up to the bottom of the driveway he'd demanded to know what was going on and had just been told to shut up and back off. Realizing there wasn't much else to be done in front, Yasha had snuck his way around to the back of the burning building, hopped the fence, and barged through the nearest window he could reach. He'd been too late however, catching sight of the unconscious Kagome over one Deceiver's shoulder through the heavy curtain of smoke as they left, daylight shining through the open doorway to show their outlines. He'd nearly drawn his gun out of instinct, but paused, figuring a gun fight in the middle of a fire was too dangerous. Even he wasn't that rash. He'd tried to pursue, but the Deceivers had been disguised as firemen, and so others of the kind had pushed him back and away from the scene. He was sure the ambulance they put her in was intercepted later on. Yasha had almost gotten arrested twice in that one incident just from fighting back, which he really shouldn't have risked for obvious reasons. He was forced to let them go in the end.

He had to admit seeing even a glimpse of that girl had been a little unnerving. Her face had been covered by the thick waves of her dirtied raven tresses, but even knowing her hair shade was big enough news. Yasha hadn't forgotten about his dream that morning, after all. He's initial guess of the Kagome from his dream having dark hair, and now this Kagome he'd just seen also having dark black hair, was enough to keep his lingering curiosity almost constant. He didn't even want to think about what it'd be like to see her face to face.

Yasha was brought back to reality by Boushin's extremely loud sigh on the other line. From an outside perspective, it was only understandable for the guy to be rather stressed out. The Phasmatis had just lost an incredibly valuable asset to the enemy. Put in simple terms, it sucked. Badly. Of course, Yasha knew none of this, and simply rolled his eyes at his boss's antics.

At the moment he was standing in the middle of the local park, in a secluded spot away from pedestrians for fear of someone overhearing the heated discussion that was currently going on. Though Yasha didn't doubt his appearance would cause some people to stare if he were anywhere else. Due to the fire, his clothes smelled of smoke and his face was rather dirtied, the ends of his trench coat actually having been marred off on the ends. It was a shame his apartment was all the way across town from there.

"Yasha, are you listening?" Boushin's nagging tone brought him back.

"Unfortunately." He quipped without thinking.

Another sigh of frustration. "Right. Just come back to base so we can formulate a plan. I could seriously get my ass handed to me if something is not done about this soon."

Typical Boushin. "Like I care about your issues. Be there in a bit." Though he was probably just as bothered as Boushin in terms of mood, the bright side of the situation was Yasha finally heading to base for the day.

He heard the satisfactory 'ding' of the elevator landing on the basement floor of the Sunrise Insurance building nearly an hour later. As the doors opened, that familiar clean yet roomy smell wafted into Yasha's nose with an almost pleasant feeling as he resumed walking.

He was greeted by three types of scanners positioned in front of a single door. A retina scan, a finger print scan, and an audio scan for the pass code. Yasha went through the motions; staring into the red laser for a few seconds before being approved and blinking from the dots in his sight afterward, pressing his thumb against the blue screen underneath the laser, and speaking the Italian words 'Guistiza e Pace' into an unseen speaker hidden in the wall beside the screen. While all this didn't completely guarantee secrecy of the rebellion's inner sanctum, it provided more protection than having nothing at all to keep the door locked.

The plain gray door before him slid open slowly, the offices and cubicles beyond now in sight as Yasha proceeded past the threshold. Boushin and Sango were there waiting for him. He glanced over at his boss' right arm to see it was mostly covered by the longer white shirt sleeve save for the metal hand; odd as it sounded he always forgot his boss was technically missing one of his two arms.

"Took you long enough! I still haven't gotten to eat breakfast. You owe me an omelet." His partner grumbled, obviously pouting.

Yasha just smirked at her in mild amusement, not even bothering with a response as Boushin silently led them all to his office in a secluded part of the area. He was just surprised she hadn't made some snarky comment about how crappy he looked after jumping around in the middle of a house fire.

The walls that made up Boushin's office were framed glass mostly, but covered over with cream colored blinds that were promptly closed upon entering the small room. Yasha and Sango both took a seat on the couch pushed against the wall, watching as their boss also sat down behind his desk. There was a small pause of silence as everyone thought of what to say, or if they should say anything at all, before Boushin finally spoke.

"This is bad."

Sango scoffed with a cross of her legs, looking just as put out. "No kidding! What're we supposed to do now? We can't tell the higher ups about this, and you know it."

Boushin folded his hands together over his desk, leaning on his elbows as he closed his eyes to think.

Mildly confused as to why this was such a big deal, Yasha couldn't help the frustration at being kept out of the loop. "Why don't we just forget about the scoping Deceiver HQ shit and raid the place?" Both Sango and Boushin looked at him like he'd just grown a second head. He raised a brow at that. "What? This is the perfect way to figure out if that Intel is right or not. If Kagome's this important to us, she's gotta be just as valuable to those bastards. To be safe, the only place they could take her is their HQ. Right?"

While it was a pretty straight forward theory, there was another problem with that set of ideas. "Yasha, that still means going against direct orders. We can't just say we're raiding the place without giving the Capital a reason for it." Sango pointed out.

"So we don't tell 'em. What they don't know won't bite anyone's asses."

That was one way to say it. Sango seemed on board with it after some thought, but Boushin was the bigger game changer. "Are you suggesting we intentionally withhold crucial Phasmatis information for our own selfish gain in protecting an irreplaceable asset?" Their leader asked, his tone sounding almost insulted.

Yasha looked his boss directly in the eyes with a fold of his arms, hardly intimidated. "Got any better ideas? There's not a lot of breathing space for us right now, 'specially if we go by your rules, Boushin." Everyone in that room knew of Boushin's hatred for going against orders and his 'by the book' leadership style. Out of all the discidium heads in the organization, he was the biggest kiss up to the capital, and most everyone knew it.

Said leader breathed heavily through his nose, glancing off to the side in begrudging speechlessness. It was clear he was fighting with his inner beliefs and the present situation in his head. He was usually pretty adaptable, but it wasn't an easy call to make whatever way he went. "Say we go with your plan Yasha, and raid the supposed Deceiver headquarters. We're risking fatalities, a false lead, and grabbing the enemy's attention. You know we can't afford that. If this plan should fail, it blows our chances at the element of surprise come time for raiding any other bases in our sector. It could even determine if Kagome lives or dies. By going after her, we could tip off how valuable the girl is to us. The Capital will have to be told about it at some point, success or no."

"All I hear are a ton of assumptions and ifs. What other choices do we really have, Boushin? Sometimes it pays off to take the risk." Sango defended, glancing down at the man's right arm for emphasis.

"Instead of thinking how everything will go wrong, think of everything that'll go right if this works. We'll get the Kagome girl back, save you from getting demoted, and kick some Deceiver ass." Yasha added, seeing the wavering glint in Boushin's navy blue irises.

There was another short pause, and for the billionth time that day Boushin sighed. "We will not raid the Deceiver headquarters." Both Yasha and Sango's eyes widened and their mouths opened to argue, but a gesture for silence stopped them. "We will still go ahead with the scoping mission the Capital assigned to us. If we can slip into the building and bypass some of the security with Sango's help, perhaps we can discover Kagome's whereabouts that way."

"You can't be serious!" Yasha remarked, his expression angered.

"If we don't head in there with a more offensive alternative it could be too late to save her by the time we get approved for attack!" Sango argued, standing from her seat in her building agitation.

Boushin met the woman's honey brown eyes almost coldly. "My decision is final. No offensive action will be planned. You may use force as a last resort, but under no other circumstances once in the field."

"But-!"

"Do I make myself clear Agent Takaoki?"

Sango almost growled at the cold use of her last name.

There was a brief glaring contest between them as the orders sunk in, but eventually it was realized there would be no changing Boushin's mind on the matter. "Fine. But if she dies, her blood will be on YOUR head!" Sango scolded heatedly, and marched out of the office with an ungracious slam of the door. A crack was left on its surface from the force. Only Yasha was left to agree.

"I suggest you follow Sango's lead to the lower levels to prepare." Boushin spoke firmly, his subtle way of excusing the man still glaring at him.

"Keh." Was Yasha's spiteful reply as he too left the room less than quietly.

Boushin watched him go, staring at the cracked glass door with mild displeasure. "At least they didn't shatter it like last time." Sometimes he wondered whose bright idea it was putting those two hot heads together.

-[]-[]-[]-

"Can you believe the nerve of that guy? What an idiot! He's always so paranoid about sticking to the rules and making HIMSELF look good to the higher ups, he won't even CONSIDER the fact that Kagome's life will be put in greater danger the longer we wait! Sometimes I just don't get how he can be so thick skulled!" Sango ranted, pacing back and forth in the underground weapons chamber.

Yasha just let her go off, only half listening as he sat on a small wooden bench tinkering with one of his newer gun models. He had become well acquainted with Sango's massive temper, and experience told him it was safer for everyone just to quietly let it pass. The last time he'd tried contributing to the one-sided discussion it had escalated to a rather violent sparring session. The bruises had been in rather uncomfortable places. Yasha cringed at the memory.

"Don't you think so?" The unexpected pause at the unexpected question brought him out of his thoughts, and he just blinked up at his partner dumbly.

"Wha-?"

Sango sighed in frustration with a massage to her temples. "Maybe Boushin isn't the only one with listening issues."

Yasha just offered an awkward smile, running a hand through his scalp nervously. "Look Sango, there's really no point getting so worked up over everything. I ain't too happy about it either, but you were the one who said we can't go against orders, remember?"

There as another pause as Sango sat next to him, planting an elbow on her leg and resting her head on her palm. Yasha knew it as her 'in deep thought don't bug me' position. With a sudden widening of her eyes, she sat straight up with excitement. "Why not?"

Yasha turned to his partner, a little lost. "Huh?"

Sango looked him in the eyes with building glee. "What you just said! Why not go against orders? Just this once?"

Yasha stared at her with furrowed brows, all the reasons not to on the tip of his tongue as he opened his mouth to speak, before she quickly covered his mouth with her hand.

"Just think about it for a second. We go on the mission, 'scope' out the place to make sure it's the real deal like we're supposed to. But instead of just taking a peek around, we go find Kagome and rescue her. We can pack some extra guns in our storage packs, and just tailor the plan to include some detours. If we can map it out right, we'll have her outta there before the Deceivers even realize it."

Yasha moved her intrusive hand away from his face with a glare then looked down at his shoes, thinking this whole proposal over for himself. "Sango, that could take more time than we have either way. I'm sure Boushin'll wanna be involved in this mission and be watchin' us from a satellite somewhere or something. Phasmatis tech makes sure mission alterations can't happen without them knowing first. We'd be found out the second something changes." He could see the unwavering confidence in Sango's eyes. She'd already thought of that.

"They can't stop us once we're already inside the building, it would risk blowing our cover to override radio silence. If we can keep our timing evenly paced, and coms on a different frequency so Boushin can't hear us long enough to make it inside, we'll get our shot and be scolded about it later."

Yasha sighed. He'd wanted to do the raid just as much as Sango, but only because they would have gotten clearance for it from Boushin. Doing a sort of counter mission like this was extremely risky for them both. It not only put their jobs in jeopardy, but their lives and personal objectives in being in the rebellion. At the same time, he would feel hypocritical to refuse after all the points they had argued to Boushin only a little while ago. He stood by his belief that risks sometimes had to be taken. It was part of the reason he'd lived so long. He huffed a defeated sigh.

"Alright, I'm in."

-Chapter 5-

"Somebody please, just please shoot me."

"Isn't that suicide? You're the one with the gun."

Sango's sarcasm was not appreciated, not after everything that had happened since their oh so eloquent talk of freaking mutiny a few days prior. It hadn't been fun living through the past three days doing all the extra planning, back channeling, and fail safing for every single move they could possibly make in the field good or bad. Not just them either, but any moves they could expect from their bosses. It wasn't that eventful, but it was enough pressure to deal with to the point he was almost frantic. His mind hadn't stopped racing through the entire process. Every progress report given to Boushin just added to it. Point being, the stress and apprehension were killing him. He felt stupid for it, scolding himself that he was acting like a newbie, but he couldn't help it. To make things worse, he was the only one capable of designing and tinkering with custom made weapons for the mission now only a few hours away, all with a constant and very aggravating headache.

'Screw you, the universe. Screw you.'

Currently both agents were in the sparring exercise area, on the very bottom floor of the many elaborate underground rooms in the rebellion base, Yasha sitting on the unfurnished floor while Sango stood by the door silently mocking him.

The room smelled of sweat and the air was stuffy and hot, given how small it was and the lack of windows or ceiling fans. The only way to adapt was to tune out the scents and stay distracted. It mostly consisted of open space with bright red padding on the floor and on some parts of all four walls. In each corner were coolers full of water, the ice getting replaced every few hours depending on who came first and last. Other than the weapons storage area, this was where Yasha lived out his days working, messing with his guns and just thinking. Which he had been doing before Sango so rudely interrupted his alone time.

"I'm already going along with your crazy plan and we've mapped out all the necessary escape routes, what the hell do you want?" He snapped.

With a roll of her eyes Sango snatched Yasha's signature gun from his hand, just to be a jerk. "Oh quit your pouting. You know you wanted this just as badly as I did from the start. I swear, you're just as paranoid as Boushin sometimes." She chided, casually examining the carved initials of her partner's name on the side of his weapon.

She felt his eyes glaring daggers in her back with the unexpectedly heavy pause that followed. "You know why better than anyone, Sango." Yasha bit curtly. Wow was he majorly bitching.

She groaned. "Don't try to guilt trip me. We all have our issues. What I'm-what we're doing, is taking a risk, a leap of faith. A big one yeah, but it's necessary to get what we want. You know that just as well as I do."

Yasha just scoffed at her mini-speech. "Whatever. I'm not arguing, just sayin' I don't like it." He stood from his spot on the padded floor, took back his gun, and walked towards the exit but stopped short of the door, turning to look over his shoulder. "I'm your partner. I got your back no matter what."

It was a simple statement, but after knowing Yasha as long as she had, Sango could hear the depth in those few short words. Watching him leave in such a casual manner almost made her laugh for some reason, because she knew what he said went far deeper than just a professional partnership. Her eyes softened.

It always had.

-[]-[]-[]-

It was torture. Pure, perpetual, torture.

Yasha's two toned eyes gleamed in the moonlight. He could hear Sango getting ready behind him in the darkness with timid rustling sounds. His insides were crawling with unease. "Anything yet?" He asked in an impatient whisper.

A curt sigh from his partner. "No, Yasha."

He growled at that.

It was nightfall, around ten from the position of the moon. Only a matter of minutes before the two would be given clearance to move in. It wouldn't be through coms though, as they had officially switched to radio silence a bit earlier than planned thanks to the Deceivers' unexpectedly high level detection systems. They were long range and coming from inside the supposed HQ itself, so Sango couldn't do anything about it from this distance. If anything was a confirmation that this was their hide out, that was. No regular building would need such strict protection. It made the secret counter mission that much easier, according to Sango.

Yasha continued staring, if not glaring, at the place that would be the battleground for his biggest assignment yet. From the outside it looked similar to a large factory, enormous pipes and tethered clouds of steam and exhaust rising out of them. Lights shone from the ground floor in the parking lot area. It was hard to see much else of the building, even from how high up they were positioned on a nearby hill. He had to admit the uneven terrain here was very unusual, but this was a completely different discidium, so it was expected. The next one over from home, the Chinese discidium.

Yasha was never one for waiting, and his feet started unconsciously tapping against the cold earth beneath his boots. It didn't go unnoticed.

"Will you quit that?" She snapped, fastening gun holsters around her waist.

"Quit what?"

"That!" She said, pointing at Yasha's feet. "It's distracting, and stressing me out."

He just stared at her dumbly for a second before glancing at his knees, which were bouncing up and down while his shoes fidgeted. He glared at them and forced his legs to stop by hand with a frustrated grunt. "Sorry."

Sango just scoffed and went to retrieve more ammo from their jeep up a ways where they had parked it in the forest thicket. A good hiding place, but still a serious pain to hike through.

Yasha watched her go, catching a glimpse of her outfit in the moonlight. It was similar to his own; small but durable metal shoulder and knee pads wrapped under arms and behind legs, a warm but tight black turtleneck and pants that went into sturdy combat boots. Under all of it were many hidden compartments for all the gadgets they had brought. It was the most basic 'uniform' the rebellion provided. All the funding mostly went to weapons, not high tech clothing.

Realizing he'd been staring for a bit longer than necessary as Sango disappeared in the foliage, Yasha turned his head away somewhat awkwardly. It wasn't like he was checking her out or anything. He'd seen Sango in tons of different states of dress and undress innumerable times on their missions together. 'Get ahold of yourself, Eiyuu. You're losing it.' He briefly wondered how Boushin could act so pervy without shame like he did.

"Okay, we got the all clear from base. Let's move out." Sango's commanding voice brought Yasha out of his strange mind games and his face instantly firmed.

"Right."

The duo thus began their trek downhill towards the factory, guards positioned by all four walls from the looks of it. Sango halted her and Yasha's movement with a gesture, then scanned about the parking lot with sharp eyes. She spotted security cameras at nearly every corner, and mentally scoffed at such poor measures of stopping them.

Looking through the translucent screen over her left eye, she quickly typed coded commands with the digital pad on her wrist to the security system via wireless hack. In a matter of seconds, the red lights flashing on the cameras switched off. Sango looked behind her and nodded to Yasha. He responded with the unholstering of his weapon.

Quick as a flash, they both leapt from the shadows and made their way towards the walls of the building. No guards had come yet. Sango pressed her back against the wall tensely, timing her next movements by heartbeat.

One, thump-thump. Two, thump-thump. Three!

At the exact moment she'd gotten to three, a guard had come strolling around the corner and was promptly shot with Yasha's stun gun. They weren't going heavy duty while being watched from satellite feed. Sango smiled in thanks then preceded to the corner with him following close behind, peeking around to spot two more guards chatting by the front door. They wouldn't normally plan such an upfront entrance, but from what had been found out the front alarm was somehow connected to the security cameras, so it was killing two birds with one stone in switching them off. It seemed a little odd, but it hadn't phased Sango's ambition in the least.

Shooting her own stun gun at the two guards, Sango and Yasha fast-walked to the door. Glancing around to see they had some time before any more distractions showed up, Sango glanced at the keycard scanner and keypad beside it next to the door. Yasha saw them too and snatched a card from one of the unconscious men and handed it to his partner.

How would it help without the right code? Sango looked through her eye sized screen and thrummed across her own keypad, hacking with ease once again. She didn't like doing it more than once, as even a quick and subtle breech in the system would eventually draw attention if done too often. To her dismay, the code still eluded her.

"What's wrong?" Yasha whispered behind her.

"The pass code." She answered, her heart beginning to pound with building unease.

"Just go deeper into the system. We don't have time to be careful." He hissed, realizing her dilemma.

Sango turned around and studied the keypad on the wall, peering over the keys, and realized something. Quickly, she fumbled through her many hidden compartments and soon revealed a black light flashlight, shining it on the buttons. Instantly, finger prints glowed white to reveal the combination. With a clever gleam in her eyes she ran the card through the scanner, handed it back to Yasha, then punched in the numbers '4832' to have the door unlock for them. They stepped inside, Yasha eyeing his partner with an amused smirk.

The air was hot, almost humid, and smelled odd. There wasn't really a way to explain it just-odd. The lighting was dim and a subtle red color beyond their sight down the wide entry way. They had been to many factories, but this one was the first to give off such a dark aura if it could be called so. This was definitely the right place.

It would only be a matter of time before the Deceivers noticed the cameras were turned off and guards knocked out, but now that she and Yasha were inside, it was shoot to kill. This was a rescue-raid whether Boushin and his stupid bosses liked it or not. Switching out the stun gun for her regularmodel, Sango could feel the anticipation build with the shift in weight. It was what she had initially bonded with Yasha over, love of guns. She turned to her partner to see he was holding his, and they continued.

Almost as soon as they had taken another step they heard shouting up ahead from more guards. Instantly bullets were fired and both agents took cover next to the nearby pipe covered wall. It wasn't much, but it would have to do.

"I'll get 'em!" Yasha declared boldly, attempting to rise from his hiding spot in front of Sango, but she stopped him with a firm grip on his sleeve.

"Baka, don't be rash." But he tore his sleeve away and charged, yelling out loudly and firing like mad. With a groan, Sango stood up and followed his lead.

It was amazing to watch Yasha at his finest talent. He fought with such a type of morbid grace it was almost hypnotizing. His reflexes were so well timed and spot in, and he knew just when to fire and when to dodge. Almost as if he had some form of higher sense or foresight.

With the way clearing, Sango ran up and worked her way towards one assumed Deceiver and punched him in the gut before he could pull the trigger. He doubled over, dropping his weapon, and was hit directly in the middle of his spine, making him fall to the floor. Another guard came up behind her and was quickly shot at by Yasha, but only in the shoulder, which didn't stop him. Sango swiftly hooked her foot behind the man's leg, throwing off his balance, and used her armed elbow to smack him hard on the side of his face on his jaw.

Not bothering to watch the opponent go down Sango turned to see another one coming from behind Yasha while he was distracted. Sango aimed her gun with an inward cringe. Yasha's shoulder was in the way of the Deceiver's chest, so the only thing in view was his face. 'Sorry pal, this is gonna hurt a little.' The man fell to the floor with an ungraceful thud after the nearly deafening bang of the bullet, and blood began to pool around his head under Yasha's boots. He was too busy fighting to notice. Sango didn't want to look. It was bound to be ugly.

Yasha finished the last one off with a loud grunt and the two were left to look over the bodies that were either knocked out or dead. The echoed sounds of heavy breathing came from the two of them as they studied themselves for damage. Nothing major. "Should we finish off the live ones?" Yasha asked, his tone emotionless as he breathed out loudly.

Sango looked about the bodies, and sighed. He was asking her since this whole raid thing had been her idea. She sort of regretted it now. "No, we need to keep moving. They'll be out long enough to get out of here."

"'Kay." Was all he said in turn, and they kept on fast walking.

They were welcomed by two separate hallways as expected, thanks to inside Intel. This was where things could get tricky. In an unspoken signal the two parted ways, Yasha going left while Sango herself went right. It was usually against protocol to split up, but they were fighting for time as it was and they didn't have the luxury of going through every room together without wasting it.

"Sango!" Yasha called out just before his form disappeared down the other hall.

She turned around to see his brows furrow with a rather intense expression. "Be careful." He then darted off without giving her the chance to answer him. She just chuckled at his paranoia. She could run with the best of them. There was no way she'd let herself die in some hell hole like this. Her only concern was finding Kagome.

Meanwhile,Yasha crept his way down the hall, walking carefully with his knees slightly bent as if treading on eggshells. His breath was stressed and quick; he was sure small beads of sweat were gathering around his forehead. His nerves were on overload. It was a struggle to stay focused. With the mission they had been assigned from base already accomplished, finding out if this place was really a Deceiver HQ, it was now a matter of getting their own objective done.

He stopped his movements, listening for any signs of approaching hostiles. None. He exhaled to loosen the pressure building in his chest and lowered his gun so it pointed at the floor. He stood up straight and resumed walking. He was more listening then looking now, his head tilted downward ever so slightly while his two toned eyes flicked from one side of the hall to the other. There were many doors, but there was only one he needed access to. The surveillance room. His job as of now was keeping Sango out of sight so she could finish on her end. She had the more important task ahead of her.

He'd held onto the keycard after Sango had used it, and could only assume it would open any other high level security doors. If not, he'd just break down the damn thing and kick whoever's ass got in his way. It was how he did things, and no one back home had the authority to complain.

Yasha picked up voices coming from up ahead; more guards. He readied his weapon, reloading bullets in the process. They noticed him instantly.

It was like a dance for Yasha, a jerked and uneven rhythm he heard somewhere in the back of his head. 'Shoot three rounds, dodge. Dodge again. Reload if needed, fire.'

Most of the men were down by the fifteen second mark in Yasha's pattern, but the last one standing seemed oddly confident. It took only a second to realize the Deceiver bastard was holding an alarm trigger. There was no way Sango would be able to bypass any lock codes or get anywhere near Kagome if that button was pressed. He knew they'd over looked something!

'Shit.'

The Deceiver actually laughed at the panic flashing across Yasha's face. "If you want your partner to live, you'll do as I say." The man's voice was sadistic, calm, and strangely smooth. His eyes were a chilled blue, and his curly black hair was on the longer side. He felt-familiar.

But by that one statement, it was clear they had known. This had all been a trap. No wonder it had been so easy, too easy, to get in. 'Shit, shit, shit!' To blow his head off or not to blow his head off?

The man chuckled, no doubt reading the conflict in Yasha's eyes. "I'm sure you've realized by now that this has all been an elaborate scheme to bait you here, so be a good little agent and come with me."

Yasha continued standing there, his gun pointed at the Deceiver's head, but wavered noticeably. Sango could handle herself he knew, but what would they do when they got back to base if this whole thing broke down? And what about Kagome? Was she even here in this building in the first place? If the Deceivers had known he and Sango were coming ahead of time, would they risk keeping their hostage here? If so, did they realize her true value? Was she just bait? 'Damn Sango for talking me into this!'

If anything, he could buy her time, and that would mean letting this asshole live. He finally lowered his weapon with much disdain on his face and holstered it. "I keep the gun."

Another chuckle. "As you wish." It was strange how easily he agreed on it, considering the man could easily be killed in one fluid motion if so desired, but Yasha wasn't complaining. This whole damn situation made no sense to him anymore as it was.

The two men walked in seething silence down the halls, passing the security room door where Yasha was supposed to be heading. They soon reached the end of the hall, and the last door.

The Deceiver then stopped with a look over his shoulder, smirking. "He's been waiting to see you for a long time, Eiyuu."

-[]-[]-[]-

Everything was so oddly quiet; you could hear a pin drop. Sango could only hope Yasha had gotten to the security room to keep things stable for her more blunt exploration of the place. From what she could tell, all the cameras and pressure sensors were off or just not active, but she couldn't be sure that was any of his doing. The easiness of this whole operation was starting to make her suspicious, but even with such feelings she couldn't turn back now.

In the past couple of minutes she'd been forced to take down several more Deceiver groups, and her clothes were thoroughly stained and battered. She'd been shot twice, once on her calf and the other her forearm, but only grazed. She would live. There was still no sign of the girl.

Sango could hear more men up ahead, and readied herself. They were all bunched around one specific door that had the same lock system as the front entrance. She'd have to take down all five guys first. Unless she thought of an alternative to save energy (sure this was a rescue-raid, but that just meant do as much damage as you could while rescuing someone).

"Hey you, woman! Why aren't you standing guard outside? Don't you know we've been infiltrated by the enemy?"

Sango fought the urge to ask 'WTF?!' before glancing down at her clothing and remembered she'd already tried to disguise herself by taking one of their uniforms. Talk about short term memory loss. The miscommunication of these people astounded her.

"S-Sorry, I was looking for the bathroom." She answered evenly while trying to calm her racing heart.

The Deceiver agent stared at her long and hard, before one of his men stepped up to him and whispered something in his ear, and Sango saw his eyes noticeably widen. She mentally sighed as she saw him reach for his gun. 'So much for that.'

The resulting fight opened with her taking out the man that had blown her cover with the swift hook around take down maneuver she'd used earlier. But as she did so she felt something sharp cut her side; a knife? She whipped around to see the Deceiver she'd tried to fool holding some strange darts in one hand, and a gun in the other. Well he was versatile. She charged at him only to be cut off by another Deceiver and found herself getting shot in the thigh.

"Damn it!" She hissed but grit her teeth to bear it as she socked, tripped, kicked and shot her way through the pain, taking down a couple more men. One more. Another knife cut at her, this time on the side of her cheek. Sango was almost sure her throat had been the target. She quickly shot at the Deceiver, eventually hitting him in the ankle. He cried out and fell on his side to the floor. Sango pushed him away from the door with her foot, ignoring the intense pain now all over her body, blood oozing through the torn fabric of the tight black Deceiver uniform she wore.

Through the moans and groans of pain, the Deceiver hissed curses under his breath. "Phasmatis scum!"

She offered no response other than an eye roll as she once again thrummed her fingertips across the keypad on her wrist and took a card from one of the dead guards and unlocked the door, casual as could be. Sango glanced at the wounded man with building hatred for what he represented, and what that organization had done to ruin her life. "See ya."

The room inside was barely lit well enough to see, but after peering through the room for a few seconds, Sango spotted a figure tied to a chair. A young woman, with hair noticeably dark in color if not black, head hung limply to the side, exposing pronounced cheek bones and jaw line. It was so quiet Sango could hear the girl's weak voice mumbling incoherent whispers in her unconsciousness. This had to be Kagome.

Rushing over to the girl, Sango ran behind her and cut the wire on her ankles, wrists, and shoulders that held her in place with a laser knife then held her body up when it started to fall forward in the chair. The jolt roused Kagome from her sleep like state.

"W-Wha-?"

"No time to explain, Kagome. Can you stand?"

The uttering of her name caught the girl's attention, and she didn't seem ready to go anywhere with her rescuer. "W-Who are you? What's going on?"

Sango grabbed Kagome by the shoulders and looked her directly in the eyes. "I know it's a lot to ask, but you're just going to have to trust me. Come on."

Before Kagome could argue more once Sango helped her to her unsteady feet, the alarm sounded. 'What the hell, Yasha?' She growled in her thoughts, and panic started to surge through her between the flashing red lights and the deafening noise overhead. They were going to have to run from here.

Firmly taking hold of Kagome's wrist, Sango pulled them both through the door of her imprisonment and headed for the nearest escape route she and Yasha had mapped out. For every pounding footstep a sharp pain erupted through Sango's legs and it was becoming harder and harder to bear. Her breathing was becoming heavier as she ran and she was sure Kagome was having trouble keeping up too.

Sango pulled her fingers up to her ear piece. There was no point avoiding radio silence now that the alarm was tripped off, and the risk of detection from the higher ups was a long term risk they would deal with later.

"Come in, Eiyuu!" Over coms, it was a last name basis.

A pause of heavy static. "Yeah?"

"I've got Kagome. Meet us at the second hallway. I'll send you a locator signal." Sango responded curtly, breathing becoming noticeably shallow as she pushed a small black button on her watch. A digital locator beacon, standard issue and used only for high risk ops. A fail safe for escape situations.

"Okay. We have to go through the front though, all escape routes are blocked."

Now Sango knew this had been a trap. It explained so much, yet so little. Though it was a wonder how Yasha knew all the other exits were closed. He couldn't have had time to check them all. "Alright. See you soon."

"Don't be stupid, Takaoki." He was one to talk, setting the alarm off like an idiot.

"W-who was that?" Kagome called out in between breaths, her voice tired but still uneasy if not suspicious.

"My partner."

It wasn't long after they'd made it to the main hall intersection Deceivers came gun at the ready to block their path. Sango heard a gasp of near terror from the girl cowering behind her. She felt a drop of sweat slide down her brow as the hostiles spotted them and began to pursue. She felt almost dizzy from the wound in her thigh, and after putting so much pressure on it from speeding around the HQ-how was she going to protect a helpless teenager?

Gun in hand, Sango put an outstretched arm in front of a fear stricken Kagome while staring down the enemy. This would have to be quick. "Stay close."

Kagome's scream nearly matched the loud bang of the bullets as Sango opened fire. Bits of the wall crumbled and chipped off with every miss, casings falling to the floor. The subtle jolt from her weapon had the pain spiking anew in Sango's leg. She started missing too many targets and they were getting closer. Her vision was blurring. What the hell was that bullet made of?

As if things couldn't get any worse, after a few more rounds, Sango realized she was out of ammo. Splitting it with Yasha hadn't been a good idea after all. With a growl of building stress, Sango pushed Kagome to the floor and charged the remaining few.

In a remarkable display of reflexes and pain tolerance Sango used her good leg to trip the two front men down with a half spin, the second row of them stepping up to attack. She went up to meet them before they took aim, knocked a gun from one agent's hand, and took it for herself. She shot those nearest wherever there was a chance; one in the side, one in the head, one in the chest. The two agents Sango had knocked down had gotten back up and one managed to graze her forearm. She couldn't take much more.

With a furious yell Sango used her fist to hit one in the neck, while simultaneously shooting the other dead. Four left. 'How many of these bastards are there?!' She wondered, heaving for breath.

"Watch out!"

Sango turned to her side to see what Kagome had seen but was too late as a Deceiver got her with a stun gun. No shoot to kill? Interesting.

Sango felt everything slow to a crawl as she struggled to find the dart and pull it out in hopes of staying conscious, but she wasn't fast enough. She could feel herself going numb already. Strong stuff.

'Crap...'

There was no way Kagome could rescue herself. Where the hell was Yasha? With an inward groan Sango realized there was only one option left. "Kagome, RUN!"

Kagome went to help her up from her not so subtle hiding place around the corner, protest in her eyes. There was no way they could fight through this together.

Sango could hear the Deceivers reloading their own guns, until bullets started to surround them. "Don't worry about me, GO!" She yelled, pushing the girl a few steps forward in the other direction. Terror flashed in her gray-blue eyes as she nearly tumbled over, but caught her balance and with a last panicked glance behind herself, Kagome fled.

Sango watched the girl go until she was out of sight, and smiled briefly before she herself was surrounded by the remaining Deceivers she hadn't the energy to fight off. She chuckled at the irony. Boushin would be so pissed off she'd gotten herself captured. Oh well.

'Up to you now, hero.'

-[]-[]-[]-

It felt like a blur, everything racing around her in unfocused haziness. She could feel her legs pumping, heels hitting the floor, the burning in her chest, the distant screaming from the alarm and its flashing red lights-but it just didn't feel real somehow. She was detached.

If Kagome were more aware, she would have known it was a way to deal with the trauma she had endured, but all she had the sense to do was run. After she passed the second hallway, everything rushed back to her for one reason, and one reason only.

She saw him. She didn't know how she knew it was him, but she did.

The man the woman who had rescued her said she would find. She couldn't remember what the woman had called him over coms. He certainly looked like he had the potential to get her out of here though. He was just across the way in the opening of the other hallway, looking nervous. The gun he held was pointed straight ahead of him, ready to shoot. His long black hair went to his shoulders, covering some of face, and his eyes-two strikingly different colors it couldn't be natural. He looked young, but still older than she was.

Then he noticed her.

His eyes widened for that split second, as if he was looking at a ghost. He lowered his weapon before jogging towards her and seemed to come back to himself in the process. "You Kagome?" He asked hastily, his voice gruff but strangely youthful and energized.

She nodded. "You the guy who's supposed to get me outta here?"

The man before her didn't answer directly, as he'd just realized something else completely. "Where's Sango?" His tone became noticeably urgent.

Kagome blinked dumbly. "Who?"

"Sango! The woman who saved you!" He scolded.

"S-she's back-"

"Come on!" He didn't even give her time to finish before attempting to drag her back into the fray she had just come running from.

Kagome dug her feet into the ground. "No wait! She said not to worry about her!" From how that Sango woman had sounded and reacted to her help before, she knew there was no other way for all three of them to escape alive. Kagome had sensed it when she'd been told to take off.

Her protest halted the man's movements, and he looked over his shoulder at her with such raw emotion it nearly made her gasp. Kagome could see so many things clashing around inside him in that one tortured gaze. Yet in her own state of mind, she just couldn't comprehend the depth of it all.

Then just like that it was over. The guards who Sango had attempted to stop before had made it through. The black haired man still seemed too caught within himself to notice, but Kagome didn't plan on dying here.

"We need to go!" She tugged him along through his tight grip on her wrist until he was forced to take a step forward. The simple gesture snapped him out of it and he tensed noticeably.

"I'll cover you."

At first she wondered if he planned on secretly heading back once she started running, but something about how he said it made her push the idea away. For whatever reason she trusted him not to leave her behind, so she nodded and did as told.

Sure enough, as Kagome took off the sound of gun fire from her rescuer's weapon never got any farther away. He was walking backwards right behind her, blocking her from getting shot as they fled. It sounded like he was using two guns now.

Finally they reached the main entry way, a dozen or so bodies lying limply on the floor from some previous battle Kagome assumed. She didn't have the time nor the mind to think about it. She did small leaps over the fleshy road blocks, trying to tune out the nearly constant booming sounds around her. Added on from the blaring of the alarm, she wondered if she'd go deaf.

They reached the door in the next twenty seconds, Kagome wasting no time in swinging the door open. The burning in her lungs was increasing and she could feel her pulse pounding in her ears. Her rescuer practically shoved her out the door, still firing, until he realized he was out of bullets. He cursed under his breath.

"Go!"

Kagome tried, but her legs felt like lead and she was sure after how long she'd been unconscious it was starting to catch up with her. She couldn't do it, and felt herself grow light headed to the point she swooned. She would have fallen, had it not been for her rescuer scooping her up in his arms. She felt him shake her.

"Don't you faint on me!" she could hear his heavy breathing as her consciousness began to dwindle. She could only assume they were still running, feeling her body jolting with every step taken away from her prison.

Her left hand subconsciously crumpled and seemed to reach for something that wasn't there, a pendant that no doubt held the sanity she had somehow lost.

-Chapter 6-

Walking through those whitewashed halls of the Phasmatis medical ward had almost every nerve in Yasha's body twitching with uneasiness. His pulse still felt noticeably fast, bruises and scabs forming on his face, telling a wordless story of where he had been. Both physical and emotional exhaustion were seen clearly in how he carried himself and his unconscious cargo.

In his battered arms was the girl Kagome he'd rescued only a few short hours before, who looked no better herself after being held hostage for so long by Deceiver agents. For at the risk that had been taken to get her out of that Deceivers' Headquarters, Yasha had lost his partner and friend, Sango Takaoki. He couldn't be sure she'd survived, but he could only pray she had. Even then experience told him she wouldn't last long.

The fact remained that he could do nothing for her now, as badly as the desire burned within him. In that moment, he'd never felt more lost and defeated, though his intimidating scowl was all anyone saw. The only thing keeping Yasha sane was his job, his set task of getting Kagome back to base as soon as possible. He still had a purpose to keep moving.

Staff eyed him curiously as he made his way to the information desk, but Yasha ignored them. For every step that echoed around him, he could feel the agitation grow; the need to either shout or shoot something till the sense of feeling went away. The irrational anger building there was almost overwhelming.

"Name and registration number." A bland looking Japanese woman spoke in flawless English, not even bothering to glance up from her computer screen.

Yasha glared at the woman. "Do I LOOK like I have time for that shit?

The unexpectedly loud boom of his voice got her attention and she snapped her head up to see the woman in his arms. "O-Oh Agent Eiyuu, I didn't know it was you!"

Yasha ignored her frantic expression, his frown deepening. "A room. NOW?"

The nurse nodded nervously, making the necessary arrangements through phone calls.

Several more minutes passed before medical staff escorted both Kagome and Yasha to a secluded room on the second floor in the very back section reserved for high ranking agents only. Yasha stubbornly refused treatment, stating that after a good night's rest he would be fine. He redirected almost every doctor and nurse that came to Kagome, who was out cold the entire time. He was told she was merely suffering from major dehydration and fatigue and would make a full recovery in time, though her mental state would be determined once she awakened. It wasn't very comforting.

Lying on that hard uncomfortable mattress made Yasha realize he wouldn't be getting any sleep, despite his tiredness. He was restless and antsy, tossing and turning under the thin cotton sheets with a growl every few minutes. His brows furrowed and a permanent scowl was etched on his features. He was frustrated, borderline furious. Whether it was with himself or the day's events Yasha was too caught up in the moment to know, but it was easy to see the real cause for his lashing out.

Yasha had known the mission would get he and Sango into trouble, but not like this. Not to the point he would lose his closest friend and put her life on the line for some stupid cause. He could only assume she had known all along such an outcome was possible. She was too smart not to, and such a thought was infuriating. She hadn't told him because she knew he wouldn't have said yes if she explained all the outcomes. Every mission came with risk of capture, but up till then Yasha never believed it could happen to someone like Sango. The highest ranking female agent in their division, one of the most brilliant minds there was. Not her. Not now, not ever. Yet it had, and such a thought seemed so unreal it was still a challenge to grasp. He couldn't call her up and ask how she was doing, because she was a prisoner at some Deceiver hide out. In a way, it was like she had died.

A groggy moan about four hours later brought Yasha out of his thoughts, and he realized with unexpected nervousness he still had yet to speak with Kagome and debrief her about everything. It would have been his task had he met her at base instead of through a rescue mission. This was the person from his dream that now felt so long ago. This girl who could be no older than eighteen, this gray-blue eyed raven haired girl in a hospital bed right across the room from him, now watching him. It was a while before he got up the motivation to call her out on it.

"It's rude to stare." He remarked, shoving away any detectable depression he had been feeling.

A surprised gasp sounded, and he was sure Kagome was blushing from embarrassment. She cleared her throat quietly. "Sorry. I was trying to figure out how to thank you for saving me." So she remembered.

Yasha scoffed bitterly. "It wasn't for you."

There was a pause as Kagome processed what was implied. His partner had to be left behind. 'She must have meant a lot to him..' She wanted to apologize for not being able to do anything about it, but realized after the initial thought it was a rather naïve idea. She didn't really know this man after all; which reminded her of something else.

She cleared her throat nervously first, to show she was changing the subject. "Can I still ask you your name?"

A few seconds past before Kagome got her answer. "Yasha."

She was actually surprised he'd answered her. "Yasha-that's unusual. It means forest spirit or something right? You're Japanese?"

"Yeah." Kagome's enthusiasm faded at his laziness in speaking to her. Perhaps he was just worn out after everything they had both been through.

Been through...

Kagome sucked in a panicked breath, realization coming out of nowhere. How could she have forgotten? Her right hand flew to that space just above her chest, searching frantically for something that clearly wasn't there.

'The fire! Mom and Souta! My necklace!' Tears rapidly filled her eyes and raced down her cheeks in seconds, and sobs soon escaped her. Memories flashed through her mind and the trauma, the raw emotion from everything she had experienced up until that point was very suddenly coming back to her. She remembered everything, all at once. She didn't have the mind to think it over, to deny it or accept it, but all she felt was the fear. The immeasurable fear of death when she had realized the firemen in her burning home were themselves dead, when she couldn't find her family, when she was kidnapped and forced into drugged states of consciousness for three days, when she'd seen the corpses of her captors all about the ground upon her escape-Kagome simply lost herself.

Yasha heard the unexpected noises and sat straight up in bed. His eyes widened when he realized what was happening, and he froze. Sango had never done this around him, and he wasn't close to any other women for experience in dealing with a nervous breakdown. "Hey! W-What's wrong with you? Stop crying!" But she refused to stop, she couldn't stop, and the noise grew louder. Yasha panicked.

He quickly got out of bed and fast walked over to her and shook her shoulders to force her attention on him. "Look at me!" He scolded. What he saw in her watery gray-blue depths stunned him.

Pain, terrible pain, and loss. Her eyes looked full of something, and empty of another. They shined with pouring tears, and her face was flushed. "M-My family-the f-fire!" She whimpered. There was a pleading in her voice, begging for answers, if everything was alright.

Yasha tensed, his brows furrowing in confliction. Was this girl in any state of mind to be told her home had no doubt burned to the ground? Her family dead? Even if he were to tell her, it was possible none of that was true. Yasha himself didn't know for certain what had become of those things, and he wouldn't have his words held against him later. How could he say any of this without some sort of consequence? 'I'll wait,' he reasoned. 'I have to.'

Mistaking Yasha's silence for tragic news, Kagome was consumed with another wave of sorrow and forced her way out of his grasp and buried her face in his chest, crying harder. She cried with every ounce of strength she had left, to the point her insides were shaking, her heart pounding, and her sense of sanity was gone and all that existed was the emptiness of grief and suffering.

At first Yasha went completely stiff at the contact, his eyes locked onto the top of her head and watching stunned as she slowly dampened his shirt with her tears. He didn't know what the girl had assumed from his lack of explanation, but one thing was sure; she was now alone in the world. Though normally the unsympathetic type, something in him loosened at this realization, warmth he hadn't expected to feel in such a strange chain of events. A complete stranger, and the mystery girl from his dream no less. Yet in a sort of out of body experience, Yasha watched his arms encircle the weeping girl before him gently, cautiously. A voice in the back of his head screamed how inappropriate such an action was, how invasive it must've seemed. The same voice that had gotten him into this mess.

Perhaps that was why it went on ignored. The result was an unexpected gesture of kindness to a wounded soul, whose life had no doubt been changed forever.

No words were spoken the rest of the night, Kagome eventually falling into a troubled sleep some time later. Yasha had somewhat awkwardly placed her into bed before forcing himself to shut his eyes for a while back in his own; lord knew he needed it desperately. In the end though, just when he'd started to drift off, the sun started to come up, and a nurse intruded afterward to inform him of an urgent phone call. No mystery who it was from.

So there he stood, dark circles under his eyes with a kinked back from laying on such crappy bedding, while forcing himself not to tell the boss man off while being informed of the punishment awaiting his return to base.

"What are the 'charges'?" Yasha grumbled, without the energy to even sound snarky about it.

"Disobeying direct orders from a superior ranking agent, disobeying orders from the CAPITAL BASE, the capture and possible death of your partner-"

Ignoring the feelings associated with the last charge, Yasha found the effort to act surprised. "You already know she'd been-?"

"Of course I do." Boushin bit back. "I saw the satellite footage twenty minutes ago. Takaoki never came back out, and your reaction only confirms it." Last name basis? Never a good sign. Especially considering Sango was Boushin's favorite (taking that in multiple categories).

Yasha sighed deeply, raking a hand through his hair. He just, couldn't handle this right now. It still felt so fresh. "We'll talk more when I get back, I'll call you if anything changes."

"Listen here, you-!" Yasha didn't bother to hear the no doubt colorful insult Boushin had thought to call him, and placed the old fashioned phone back in its holder. There was another matter he needed to take care of before he took Kagome anywhere else today.

Walking back into that room after such an intense night was more than a little strange for him. Especially seeing the new source of his problems now wide awake, sitting up in bed and staring out the window. With the sunlight pouring in, the white on the walls reflected everywhere, making the place seem even more open and plain. There was a curtain divider pushed against the far right wall, and a TV to the left one. It reeked of medicine and sterilization in there, drafting in from the hall no doubt. Medical machines and equipment were pushed aside, not to be needed anytime soon.

Yasha cleared his throat loudly to get attention, but oddly earned none. He raised a confused brow at that, and tried again. Nothing. Her back was to him, so maybe she was zoning? "Uh, hello?" He finally spoke, feeling stupid for some reason. Still nothing. 'What the hell?'

Seeing no other option, he strode over to her bed side and firmly tapped her shoulder while saying, "Hey, you in there?"

Kagome jumped and whipped her head around wide-eyed and tense, almost fearful. Had he startled her that bad? She planted a hand on her chest to ease her rapid heartbeat, murmuring something like 'Oh it's you' before looking directly at him, showing he had her attention.

He held back the urge to ask if she was okay, as that was a rather stupid question. A breakdown like the one she'd had was answer enough. He scratched his head in nervousness. "Sorry to uh, bother you-" He started, "but there's some things we gotta talk about."

There was a pause as Kagome struggled to comprehend what exactly he meant, but she eventually nodded. "That would be nice. I've got some questions." She sounded tired.

Yasha sat across from her on his own bed. "I'm sure you do, but just wait a second."

That seemed to get a reaction out of her. "After everything I've been through? I think I deserve some answers first."

Yasha stared at her, taking note of the anger she seemed to have suddenly taken on. He could hardly blame her. "Half of what I need to debrief you about will get you some, trust me."

"Why should I?" She snapped, folding her arms.

"What?"

"Why should I trust you? All I know is your name. Not much to go on in terms of trust."

Yasha blinked. Was she for real? He couldn't help the sarcastic edge to his tone in response. "Well let's see," He lifted his hand to count on his fingers. "One, I rescued you and probably saved your life. Two, I let you get my shirt soaking wet with tears-"

Kagome instantly pinked at that and glared dangerously at him. "You're really using that against me?! I just had my freaking life turned upside down!" She screamed in his face, shocking him briefly before he struck back.

"I wasn't 'using it against you' baka, I was giving you reasons to trust me!"

"You didn't have to sound like such a smart ass!"

"I wouldn't have to if you didn't ask stupid questions, wench!"

Kagome stared at him in shock, before she slapped the man right across the face. "Don't you ever call me that again!" She hollered. The sound of skin slapping skin reached past the door into the nearby hall, and some passing medical staff stopped their strides at hearing it, looking toward the room it had come from.

Head whipped uncomfortably to the side, cheek inflamed, Yasha sat there dumbly while hearing the person who had just assaulted him gasp in surprise. 'Oh, so she just got carried away?!' Yasha seethed, turning his head to look Kagome in the eyes, deciding between yelling her ear off or just stomping back out.

"I-I didn't mean to-"

"Yeah I can see that!" Yasha scolded, rubbing a hand on his reddened cheek. "What the fuck is your problem?!"

"You called me a-a WENCH!"

The accused huffed loudly. "I wasn't trying to insult you dumbass, that's what I call all women." Crossing his arms as the stinging began to dull, Yasha narrowed his eyes as he forced himself to get back on topic. God was he in for hell with this chick. "Can you just get over yourself while I explain things please?"

"Like I'm the one who needs to."

"ANYWAY," Yasha said with an eye roll "to re-answer your question, yes, you can trust me. The people I work with are tasking themselves with keeping you safe."

Kagome's building anger deflated somewhat at this information. "The people you work with?"

"The Phasmatis Rebellion. The only organization left standing against the government."

Kagome didn't say anything at first, the gears in her clouded mind processing such heavy information. She'd heard briefly of such a group on the news and in political debates at school. They were set in overthrowing the existing set of laws and the Presidency of the modern era, or something along those lines. It was rumored none of the members had a true identity, though for what reasons nobody knew for sure. To keep up with the government's high tech as long as they had, Phasmatis had to have some serious resources.

"So you're-like a secret agent fighting crime?" Kagome inquired dumbly.

Yasha gave the question a pointed glare. "Summarize it how you want, but yeah. I'm a high ranking weapons specialist, third in command of my division."

Question marks were clearly popping all around Kagome's head. She didn't really get any of that. "So, what does all of this have to do with me?"

"I don't really know, to tell you the truth. Though from what I've been told, you're important to the cause."

It was pointless to ask important how, so Kagome went with the next best thing. "Am I going to end up an agent too?" The way such a heavy question fell past her lips astounded her.

Yasha sighed, an expression of regret on his face. "Probably."

The answer hung in the quiet that followed. Kagome studied the man before her thoroughly, reading his facial expression, body language. He was telling the truth. Her gaze drifted down to her hands, she was speechless.

'How did everything go so wrong?' When she had lamented about how terrible the world was, she never imagined this was where it would get her; losing her family, her home, and now this. Was she just supposed to go with the crazy turn of events like she didn't care?

Yasha must have seen the look of despair on her face by the way he next spoke. "You'll be fine. You're not the only one who's gone through this."

Kagome looked up into those two toned eyes of his with strong disbelief and a little bitterness, but let the statement go. "What happens now?"

Yasha looked past her to the square framed clock hanging up on the wall by the window, then back to her, seeming none too pleased about the answer. "Now, we go meet the boss."

-Chapter 7-

What met Kagome's eyes several hours later, inside the enormous insurance building on the basement floor, was the same metal door Yasha had left behind him what felt like ages ago.

She openly stared at the futuristic looking scanners, the sound of she and her rescuer's footsteps echoing about the small entrance area as they approached. It was simple but professional, like the main lobby had been when they'd entered. The floor was polished white tile while the walls were a typical cream-ish color. The faint beeping sound of the scanners caught her attention most and she watched as Yasha passed through each one of them with ease. A part of her was still denying the reality of where her existence now stood. She didn't know what to do or how to act.

When the entrance slid open Kagome blinked in surprise. Her jumpiness hadn't gone away. She stared into the open entryway, seeing what looked to her at first glance like just another office floor, but even she knew better. Tightness clenched within her chest, and she struggled to catch her breath.

"Ready?" Yasha asked calmly, turning to watch the response he got.

Kagome hadn't the courage to look him in the eye and focused attention forward. "Uhm hmm." She mumbled with a small nod, her doubts breaking through from the hesitancy in her voice.

Eyeing the girl carefully, Yasha wanted to say something to loosen both their nerves, but knew there really was nothing he could say that would make a difference. He was a man of action. Even speaking normally for him was like reciting the perfect poem. It never came out the way he wanted it to. She just seemed so lost, unstable in his eyes. He'd seen such a look before, in himself. 'Am I sympathizing?' He exhaled a short breath through his nose, pushing away the frustration already building, and led the way forward in silence.

The moment the two stepped inside all audible noise within the 'office' stopped, attention magnetically pulled on them. Whether it was because the news of Sango's capture had already spread, or because of the battered appearances of her partner and his tag along was a mystery. Yasha scowled at the onlookers, hardening his demeanor to cover the feelings of awkwardness and shame that were again rising from their suppressed state. He balled his hands into fists and clenched his jaw to tame his temper, slowly continuing the death march.

Even with his thoughts so haunted and cluttered, he didn't miss the faint whispers of his collogues. The crude gossip they were already starting. Pressure in his fists increased. They didn't need to make a scene like this, to shine a spotlight on him and wordlessly mock him for his failure and weakness. His chest burned with the overwhelming emotions, and he forced himself to look straight ahead, to openly ignore the sensation of being judged.

Kagome watched Yasha's disposition shift. She didn't understand it, until she dared to look into the eyes of the people around her. Their expressions varied between cold to something beyond disappointment. 'That woman Sango must've meant a lot to these people for them to be acting like this...' It should have been touching, but witnessing everything from such an ignorant stand point, it just felt wrong. Her own feelings of loss worsened for some reason, and she bit the inside of her cheek to keep the tears from blurring her sight.

Yasha counted the steps that remained up to Boushin's closed (and yet to be repaired) glass door. The blinds were shut, but the light was on. The shame intermingled with dread, and Yasha had to take another shaky breath to keep calm. Before approaching the door, he turned to Kagome who instantly looked up at him nervously. "I'll come find you later. Ask to see Myoga, he'll get you settled." Kagome's eyes widened in panic, opening her mouth to protest before she was cut off. "Remember what I told you, wench."

Struggling to ignore Yasha's casual 'insult', the conversation from just before they had walked up to the building echoed through her mind.

They'd pulled up in Yasha's worn down old pickup truck, their destination casting a shadow over their parking spot in a strangely intimidating way. Kagome had stared at it in awe before the vehicle's engine was turned off and her rescuer turned slightly to give her instructions.

"Now listen. You don't know anything about this place, you're the rookie. There are things you can and can't do right now. Keep your cool, don't ask too many questions, and you'll be fine."

Kagome found herself irritated at his tone. She narrowed her eyes, planting a hand on the busted leather of her seat, defiance in on her face. "Do you expect me to just take that like an idiot? I want my answers and I want them right now!"

Yasha rolled his eyes with a loud groan. "Don't start that again! We've been through this already. You'll get your damn answers eventually, but only if you cooperate. Act stupid and you get shoved out with nothing. Believe me, I would know. Now shut up and get out of my car."

Insensitive as it had been worded, Kagome realized she was pretty much at this organization's mercy, and had no real room for opinions. Maybe later, but as she had been told, it would only be after she proved herself worth the time. With a slouch of her shoulders, Kagome curtly nodded her consent. Turning to face the audience that was still shamelessly staring at her and Yasha, she stepped away from his side to approach the nearest agent about this Myoga person.

That taken care of and out of his hair for the time being, Yasha refocused his attention on the door before him. Raking a hand through his hair, he forced himself to knock on the door. It swung open instantly, taking him by surprise. He hadn't expected a response so quickly. His slightly widened eyes met the narrowed ones of Miroku Boushin, whose expression told him what he already knew. He was in some deep shit.

"Come inside." The boss spoke coldly, stepping aside while his charge wordlessly marched in and took a seat in front of his desk like a scolded child. Boushin followed, sitting back in his own chair behind the desk. He folded his hands as he had a habit of doing when he was trying to find words, staring almost blankly at the agent before him.

The silence seemed to drag on longer than Yasha was willing to handle and he finally spoke up. "If you're going to bite my head off just get it over with." His tone was low, tired.

Boushin eyed him irritably, what composure he had been fighting to keep already slipping. "The phone call was less than promising." He remarked offhandedly.

Yasha scoffed with a glance to the side, avoiding eye contact. "Look, I already know I screwed up, alright? Your little posse outside made it loud and clear." He sulked. It was obvious how he truly felt, but he tried to hide it behind an immature mask.

Boushin leaned forward with his metal arm planted on the desk in all seriousness, hand half fisted. "I'm trying to be as reasonable as I can with this-situation. But I can only be so fair, Yasha. Sango was a valuable asset to this division, this cause. To lose her under your watch doesn't make the situation look good."

Yasha fought the impulse to shoot back a heated retort about Sango's true value, clenching his already sore jaw.

There was no way to be fair based on lies. Even though Sango had been head of the mission in the field, when it came time to fill out mission prep reports to Boushin beforehand, Yasha had instead put down that he was in charge, to save her reputation if they were caught. Just another thing that had completely backfired on him.

There was no way out of this. He would get demoted, and lose his clearance into the Phasmatis databases. He would lose his main link to find out about the past, his past. His objective would never be reached. He had risked everything only to lose it completely with no gain in turn. He should have been angry with Sango for talking him into such a crazy and reckless thing, blame her for it all, but he couldn't. He'd had the chance to say no and inevitably save her from the disaster that waited, but he didn't. He'd gone along with it. This was his personal burden to bear, and as stubborn as he was, he didn't have the gall to deny that truth.

"However," The word stopped Yasha's mental sulk fest dead in its tracks. "Given the fact you did retrieve Kagome, and assumedly trashed a confirmed Deceiver HQ, I think I can work you through this."

Yasha stared at his boss in genuine shock. 'He's-letting it slide?'

"Don't give me that look Eiyuu; I didn't say you were off the hook." He actually earned a glare for that.

"Then what are you saying? What's my punishment?"

Boushin studied him thoroughly, as if to second guess himself before giving a simple reply. "The girl."

Yasha raised a brow. "Kagome? How is she my punishment?"

"I'm assigning you to look after her."

A contemplative pause, then it clicked. "You mean as-as a mentor? That's only for unassigned agents."

"And you are an unassigned agent as of today." Boushin patiently reminded him.

Yasha fought the urge to smack himself. 'Right. No partner.'

"For the time being you'll be suspended from active field duty in place of your new task. Think of it as a temporary substitution."

Yasha thought it over, gaze drifting down to his shoes. 'He didn't say anything about a demotion, and if I know Boushin, the higher ups told him what punishment to give.' It was a lesser of two evils, and he had already told himself he would accept whatever consequences that came. 'Nothing to do but go with it for now.'

Then he realized something else.

Locking eyes with his boss in an intense stare, he spoke. "What are you going to do about Sango?"

Boushin's shoulders slouched at the question, head lowering slightly to stare at his folded hands. This was the part of their conversation he had been dreading all morning since his phone call to the Capital base. He forced himself to say the words without losing control of himself, his tone hollow. "Nothing."

That one word felt like a cold slap in the face. Yasha had been keeping himself together by a thread, only because he'd had a purpose, had a hope. Now even that was being taken from him. Nothing. Sango's rescue party wouldn't be coming. That's what he was saying?

Yasha slapped his hands on the arms of his chair and gripped them angrily. "What do you mean nothing? You can't just leave her back there to DIE!"

This reaction had been expected. "I inquired to the Capital as to what should be done, and that was their answer. There's nothing we can do. She chose to disobey orders and whatever happens to her," Boushin swallowed hard, "would be a fitting punishment for her disloyalty."

Yasha shot up from his chair, hovering over Boushin's threateningly, ire aflame with malice. "You know that's a load of BULLSHIT! You cannot expect me to sit here and take this crap from you and be fucking FINE with it! There is ALWAYS a way to save someone from those bastards! Your damn arm is proof of that!" The loud boom of his voice bounced off the walls, and Boushin's stone faced composure was slipping.

His expression was hard and forced. "Sit. Down. Eiyuu. Before I have you thrown out. You are in no position to question my actions and I could easily worsen your punishment if you do not calm yourself."

His threat had no effect. Yasha banged his fist on the wood of the desk. "Calm myself? CALM MYSELF? We are talking about Sango's LIFE here you son of a bitch! There is no way any damn consequence is worth sacrificing something like that! I will not stand here and let my partner get MURDERED because you don't have the balls to speak your mind!"

It was enough. With such seething intensity rarely seen in Boushin, he slammed his hands on his desk, shoved himself to his feet, jammed his finger toward the door and hollered, "Get the HELL out of my office! NOW!"

The outburst silenced them both, Yasha glaring daggers in wordless profanities at the man before him before bitterly scoffing, marching to the door and walking out with the loudest slam one could make. The door shattered behind him.

Glass wasn't the only thing that was broken that day.

-[]-[]-[]-

"Excuse me, are you Mr. Myoga?" Kagome asked, peeking her head into the doorway of what she assumed was the man's office. It was on the smaller side, having only a bookshelf, desk, two chairs, and a lamp. It would have been rude to say, but it also smelled of old man.

Said man himself had his back facing the etrance at being called, but perked up when he heard the girl's voice, and turned around to face her. His eyes were slightly enlarged by his big round glasses, and were a dark solid tone of brown. His nose was rather pointy, underlined by a traditional Japanese mustache. He was also balding. "Ah, you must be the infamous Kagome. I was told you might come and see me when you arrived. Please, have a seat." His accented voice was unexpectedly raspy and low. Was he sick?

Kagome nodded and took the open seat in front of Myoga's desk, while he took the one behind it. She raised a brow at his statement. "Infamous? Everyone knew I was coming?"

Myoga chuckled lightly at her suspicious tone. "Not to worry my dear, only the ones to which it concerned."

It was obvious he knew more than he was letting on, but Kagome supposed it was to be expected he would hide things from her. She decided to take on a different route. "And you're one of them. Why?"

"Well, as you probably assumed from the sign outside my door, I'm this division's counselor." He must have seen the distasteful face Kagome made afterward, his own expression becoming serious. "Most don't enjoy seeing me much either, but it's required when victims of the Deceivers are brought here."

"To become agents." Kagome added knowingly.

A pause. "Well-sometimes. It's for, shall we say, important or special people that come to know of our organization."

A cryptic answer at best. She voiced this. "Fair enough. So what are you supposed to be talking to me about then? What it was like after being kidnapped?"

Myoga gave her a small smile, readjusting his glasses. "We can talk about whatever you're comfortable discussing."

Kagome fought the urge to roll her eyes. A typical response. This was why she didn't believe in therapy. With a fold of her arms and without even realizing it, a defensive wall was constructed in that moment. "Look, I won't deny I've been through some-things, but I don't need to talk about them to anyone, let alone a stranger. I know you're just trying to do your job and see whether I'm crazy or not, but you can save your breath. I'm doing fine."

Myoga just laughed. "I'm not surprised. But in truth, I'm just here to see if you know anything."

Now they were getting somewhere. "Know anything?"

"About why you were captured. If you overheard anything important. Saw anything."

Even if he wasn't asking for her life story, it suddenly felt like he was. There was this feeling of being overwhelmed, haunted. Her throat nervously tightened and her heart rate felt fast. 'Whatever I say would be facts, so why am I-?' It only took a moment for her to realize. It was still too fresh. What she did remember was plaguing her, and understandably so. Then there was the problem of trust. Who would Myoga tell once she 'spilled the beans'? Who needed to know? She still had so many questions herself, but it was becoming clear these people were only planning on sucking her dry for information. She wouldn't get anything by playing nice.

She must have been thinking longer than planned, as the counselor had to get her attention. "Kagome? Is there anything you can tell me about your capture?"

She didn't hesitate. "Not that I can recall, sorry." She wasn't sure if she'd intended on sounding so stone cold against talking, but she did.

They sat in mutual silence for a few moments more as Myoga studied his new patient. It was clear she wasn't going to tell him anything, whether it be for her sake or the cause's. Perhaps it was just too early to ask anything from her. But from what he could sense Kagome's reserved attitude went far deeper than a posttraumatic stress disorder, something from as early as childhood perhaps. Myoga simply sighed at his findings, unsure if this one could ever be cracked. He'd had his experiences with stubborn agents, but it was going to take some serious determination to clear this task. Only time at the very least would get him progress. "Very well. Maybe you will feel more inclined another day."

Kagome didn't miss his implication. "You mean I have to see you again?" She didn't care if it sounded rude, she'd decided she didn't like this guy.

The elderly man stood from his seat with a regretful look in his eye. "Until you tell us something of value, it will be every other day."

This earned him a very put off glare. "Exactly how long does your boss expect me to stay here?" She demanded. "I came for answers as to why the hell you people seem to care so much about me and my life and so far, I've gotten squat. So you know what? I'm not saying anything to you until I get what I came for!"

"Kagome-"

"No! Those are my terms and nothing you say will change my mind."

Myoga's eyes became genuinely sympathetic. "Kagome, in all fairness, you know nothing of how our organization works. This is not a place where you simply wave something of value in someone's face and you're given what you want on a silver platter in exchange. We are a rebellion, the only one left. There are rules. Agent Eiyuu had to have explained some of this to you already?"

Kagome had forced herself to listen to the old man's speech and been brooding so intently the ending question took her by surprise. He was right. Yasha had explained all that. Just before they'd come in fact. She'd been so caught up in everything she'd forgotten again. 'Darn it.'

Her counselor watched as the girl's nearly hostile disposition began to ebb, displeased about it as she was. Admittedly, he hadn't expected her to give in at all, but the aged man wasn't vain enough to believe it was really any of his doing.

Kagome leaned against the back of her chair, arms unfolding and falling to her sides in a subconscious form of submission. Her eyes softened ever so slightly, and she took in a deep thoughtful breath. "I don't really remember much..." She mumbled.

Myoga nodded in understanding, taking out a notepad and paper. "Just start with what you do remember. Take your time." He coaxed smoothly.

Kagome looked at the man sitting in front of her behind that metal desk of his, attention fully on her, expecting her to open her mouth and recall the horrible memories that had sent her over the edge only a short time ago. Her insides were trembling again. Could she do it? So soon? Despite herself, Kagome knew she wouldn't be able to handle the pressure if she revealed everything all at once. Putting on an act was her best chance at preserving any sanity she had left. She closed her eyes slowly to appear as if she were trying to recall something. She shook her head, expression hardening as if the memories were impossible to reach. 'Sound lost. Desperate.' She told herself. "I can't-"

"Don't force it, Kagome. Take your time. What's the first thing that comes to mind? A sound? A smell? Glimpse of a face or color? Anything is a good place to start."

Kagome took another short breath as if trying to apply his words. Now it was a matter of deciding what information to give that would cause a minimal amount of discomfort. She let her mind sit in the blankness of her thoughts for a few seconds. There were flashes and blurred images, loud sirens and heavy breathing echoing around her, the things she'd seen and experienced all rushing around her at high speed while she struggled to find just a few to briefly retell. Kagome gripped the chair subtly to keep a weakening hold on reality. She took a small breath. Though the room she was in had lighting, behind her eyelids was pitch black. She felt a dull ache on the back of her neck similar to how she'd felt upon awakening in the medical ward after being rescued. There was a bruise there, she knew the old man could see it. 'I'll start with the obvious.' She reasoned finally.

"I was-knocked out."

She heard Myoga jot something down. "Go on."

The next thing she felt was something sharp, a prick in her arm. There was a small purple-ish dot on her forearm, she knew. That was next. "They-injected me with something. I think it woke me up or-maybe it was after I'd already been awake?" Her head was starting to throb. 'Only one more and I have to stop.' She felt a tug at something around her neck as she continued to sort through her memories. She sucked in a surprised gasp. She hadn't known what had become of her adoptive father's gift until now. She knew she'd been wearing it when she was taken. If she was remembering the feeling of it being pulled off-

Without meaning to Kagome voiced her unexpected discovery, thrilled excitement causing her voice to louden even to her own ears. "My necklace! They have it!"

For some reason, this also perked the counselor's attention. "Necklace? What did it look like Kagome? Draw it for me."

Kagome stared at the paper and pen that was offered her, a distrustful sharpening of her eyes. 'I've already given them enough. The necklace was mine and it shouldn't be any of their business!' she reasoned, before another thought struck her. 'But I can't find it on my own. I wouldn't stand a chance in a gun fight, or know where to start looking besides. If it's valuable to them, they'll find it.' Shoving the sense that this could be a terrible mistake to the back of her mind, Kagome took the pen in her left hand and laid the paper on the desk with her right and drew out the pendant as she could remember it. A diamond carved into an upside-down arrow, edged with silver at its tip and holding the chain by a thick base at its top. Her last remaining treasure. Once she was done she examined the image with a tidal wave of nostalgia. Even seeing a poorly drawn sketch made her want to cry. For not the first time since she'd come here, she felt vulnerable.

The paper was quickly snatched away from her and carefully studied by the counselor, and the strange look in his eye made it seem like he was witnessing some kind of miracle. He hastily stood from his seat, and Kagome followed suit out of surprise. "Forgive me for cutting this short my dear, but I must deliver this to Boushin at once!" His voice was excited, alive.

Kagome's expression was bewildered, her eyes wide, tone urgent. "Who's Boushin? What did I do?"

Myoga stepped close to her, taking her hands in his in such a way it was almost creepy and looked her dead in the eyes. "You just may have won us the war, Kagome." And without another word, ignoring any further words from the girl herself, he was out the door and down the hall out of sight, leaving Kagome more confused than she'd already been that morning. Standing alone in that office that smelled of old man, Kagome scowled deeply at this infuriating turn of events.

"Will somebody please just tell me what the bloody heck is going ON?"

-Chapter 8-

His steps were quick, well timed, and nearly soundless. His black clad figure blended expertly into the clouded blackness around him. His chestnut brown eyes flicked rapidly from one side of the room to the other, his mouth opened slightly to keep his oxygen flow even but silent. He slid his way down the nearest hallway, sticking close to the left side near the wall, listening acutely for any incoming voices.

"Yes. It should be delivered by Tuesday-I've accounted for every possible interruption."

He narrowed his eyes, rapt attention locking onto the room the male voice was coming from. The door was closed, but light was escaping from underneath. Stealing his courage, the shadowed figure all but tip toed past, chest clenching with anxiety at the idea of being discovered or noticed.

There were many prime target places to explore here, but he was assigned only one. Finding himself at a small intersection, the figure surveyed which direction looked the most familiar based on the schematics he'd memorized. An elevator faced him, but he went left. 'Thank god for carpeted flooring.' He thought, feeling the sound absorbent material under his light weight boots.

In no time, he found himself standing at the midway point of his mission; the main office. Taking another quick look to make sure he'd remained undetected, he then took out his lock picking tools with leather gloved hands. A few seconds later the knob turned and opened, the figure careful to keep the resulting noise minimal.

He slipped inside the dark room, hugging the wall before quickly pressing a button under his glove that then switched from red to green. He had two minutes before the alarm was sounded. The figure swiftly moved toward his main target, a hidden room behind the slightly out of place book shelf. He patted down the shelf, moving books and jiggling things around them for an activation switch. He couldn't find one. Thinking fast, he suddenly remembered the button disguised as a secondary security caller under the desk behind him. He gently felt around and under said desk before finding it. When the entire bookshelf jerked and slowly slid open, a small feeling of pride swelled in the figure's chest. Photographic memory had its moments of usefulness. He glanced at the timer on his wrist. 'A minute forty left.'

Stepping inside the secret room before it even opened all the way he saw it was relatively tiny, a little larger than an average closet, the only thing capable of putting here (besides clothes) being his prime objective. 'Finally, the safe.' Pulling out a digital lock hacker, he attached it to the keypad on the safe and watched anxiously as the gadget did its job. Numbers raced across its screen before finding a match to the pass code, the safe finally opening. Swinging the metal door open, the figure glanced inside with a small flashlight to see a set of manila envelopes. He furrowed his brows in confusion for a moment, not finding what he had expected. Mulling the problem over quickly, he thought it best to just take them. He'd spent too much time here as it was, he couldn't return empty handed.

He glanced at his watch again. ' A minute thirty-two.' Stuffing the envelopes in his boots of all places the figure fast walked his way out, pushing the bookshelf back in place and opening the office door and closing it upon exiting.

The cranking of a handgun caught him by surprise. "Don't. Move." It was the man from the office, his voice. "Thought I wouldn't notice you? This isn't your typical downtown office, son." The figure tensed, the sickening feeling in his stomach nearly eating him alive. But like always, he never let things go too far.

In the blink of an eye he was moving, ducking under the gun as the office worker pulled the trigger angrily, going four rounds before the figure retaliated, kicking the hostile's knees in from behind. He buckled, buying the figure some time to escape.

As he ran down the halls he had tried so carefully to sneak through, the alarm began to blare overhead. 'Wonderful.' He grumbled irritably. It was a matter of seconds before security guards came running up to stop him. He balled his hands into fists and braced for impact.

He ran at the first one he saw, squatting low before coming up with a strong uppercut, dodging as guns went off from the others. He side stepped, tripping a second guard, snatching the man's weapon as he went down. He pulled the trigger four times, missing only once. One bullet hit a shoulder, the second a leg, third a chest. The cries of pain confirmed it. The figure bolted, the stolen gun held tightly in his right hand.

The chilly halls and stair cases now flashing between blood red and pitch black as he ran, it became slightly more difficult to maneuver through. He was on the top floor of a small fifteen floor building. It was going to be murder to get to the lobby without the elevator, but he didn't want to risk the guards catching up with him.

To his surprise, the ear piece he had on cracked to life. "Code Amber, what is your location?" A female voice spoke.

The figure glared ahead of him in slight annoyance. "We didn't-agree on that name!" He yelled defiantly over the screaming of the alarm, in-between breathes. Running down stairs wasn't one of his hobbies.

"It was better than your real one." The woman mocked sarcastically. "Location?"

He inhaled again before speaking, glancing at the large painted number to his right as he passed it. "13th floor. Why?" There as suddenly a loud explosion sound coming from a floor below, the entire structure shaking at the force of it. He shot a hand to his ear piece. "What the hell was that?" He scolded.

"Your way out. Exit the stair case and prepare yourself."

Quickly making his way down the last set of stairs he needed to jog through, 'Code Amber' soon realized why the explosion had been so noticeable. "You blew a freakin HOLE in the wall?" he gaped at his temporary ally.

There hanging from some kind of wire was the woman he'd been assigned with, her dark nearly black colored eyes glaring at him impatiently, stands of hair of the same hue slipping out of the lazy bun she'd pulled it into with a strange feather hairclip. She wore a similar outfit as him, but obviously more feminine looking. The sounds of the alarm seemed to quiet and drift away at the even louder sound of a helicopter hovering over the building. Was all of this really necessary?

"Quit gawking and grab on!" The woman scolded, holding out her arm for him to latch onto.

'Code Amber' hesitated briefly, fearful of the death drop should he not jump far enough to reach her, but pushed the idea away and took a small leap of faith. The woman grunted as she caught a firm grip on him, pulling him to her side as the wire she was attached pulled them up towards the helicopter. In the process of jumping and sort of landing though, he lost his black hat, dirty blonde hair spilling out and getting in his face. He followed the clothing with his eyes as it fell below, panic building.

"Let it go. Your info's been wiped, they can't find you." That still didn't settle his nerves much. How could he trust the people who'd nearly killed him a few days prior for trying to refuse this mission?

The woman quickly released him upon reaching the helicopter and plopped herself in the nearest seat, a surprisingly casual look on her face as she struck conversation, changing his train of thought altogether. "You got it right?"

It took a moment for her male partner to fully process the situation and resulting question before forcing himself to answer. "I think so."

The woman looked to him instantly, her tone firm and intimidating. "Either you got it or you didn't. You took what was in the safe right?"

He stiffened at her slight mood change but nodded. "That's what I mean. I-" he stopped talking to pull the stolen item from his boot leg. "-opened the safe, but I didn't find stones or whatever you people want. I got these files instead." He held them up to show her.

The woman stood and took the papers from him, opening only one of the two folders, silently reading the first few sentences on the first page, before closing it again and relaxing her demeanor. "You did well. We know exactly what we're looking for now."

'Code Amber' folded his arms with a troubled furrow of his brows, but knew better than to question the statement. However, there was something else to discuss. "Okay then. You got what you needed me for right? Can you let me go so I can forget this crap ever happened?"

The woman chuckled with hollow amusement. "Surprising after everything you've been through, you still retain your childish ignorance." The implied answer, not the mention the awareness of his true age and past had his eyes widening.

"You-!"

"That's right, we know who you really are Code Amber, and we're not finished with you yet. So sit back and enjoy the ride." Seemingly bored with winning the conversation over the woman leaned back in her seat once more, closing her eyes to doze off, leaving her young charge almost trembling in fear of the unknown.

-[]-[]-[]-

"Courage. Noun. The quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, and pain without fear; bravery." A small girl with short wavy black hair read off effortlessly in her childish voice.

Her big expressive grey-blue eyes blinked in wonder at what she had just read in the pages of what appeared to be a dictionary. She wore a traditional Japanese kimono, some of her hair gathered behind her with a bow while some was let loose to sway just above her tiny shoulders as her sandal clad feet dangled from a wooden dining room chair.

Light footsteps echoed into the room and the young girl turned her gaze to an older man with glasses. "Papa, why am I reading this?" She asked uncertainly, her left hand resting atop the large book while her right was pressed on her chair.

He smiled wisely down at her with a chuckle, walking to glance at the word definition over her shoulder and kneeling down to her level to explain. "You're my smart little girl, Kagome. Smarter than most your age. This is a very important word for you to learn for when you're a grown up like me." The aged man placed a loving hand at the crown of the girl's head and gently ruffled her hair, eyes full of love.

Kagome looked up at her adoptive father's calm expression with awe, always entranced at how much he cared for her though she was not his own. Her eyes instantly lit up before she closed them in an adorable toothy smile, dimples revealed on her rosy red cheeks, a small giggle sounding around them.

When her father's hand left her head she calmed enough to express her still lingering curiosity. "But why Papa? Why do I need courage to be a grown up?" Even saying the word out loud sounded strange to her young ears.

"Because sometimes grown-ups have to see things they don't want to. If you have courage, you won't be too scared to keep going."

The memory seemed like a horribly ironic and haunting thing for Kagome to recall now. Standing here in Miroku Boushin's personal quarters was not where she would have guessed a memory from her childhood would pop up. But given her self-induced problem at hand, it only made sense. The scene was enough for a normal sane person to shrivel up and die.

Kagome stood in the center of the room with her newly assigned counselor Myoga, who himself appeared horrified at her sudden presence beside him, while the boss himself studied the both of them with a firm if not angry stare. His seemed vaguely troubled and distracted, exhaustion clear in his tone as he spoke.

"Myoga, explain."

The old man quickly went into frantic and perfuse apologies for the interruption but Kagome didn't have the patience for long winded expressions of respect. Stepping a few inches ahead of the blubbering fool she unknowingly straightened her posture and locked eyes with Miroku, taking a deep mental breath. 'Courage Kagome. Courage.'

"My name is Higurashi Kagome," She started calmly. "I was rescued by one of your people a while ago and brought here without any clear explanation to my questions and I think I've waited long enough. I want answers, and if you need my help as badly as I think you do, you'll do whatever it takes to keep me here. Correct?"

The question hung in the painfully silent air of anticipation for some time before Miroku offered any sort of reaction. The heavy sigh that was heard was pity worthy. The man sat on the plain white bed behind him, leaning back on his hands long enough for Kagome to realize one was not made of flesh. She couldn't help but stare.

"I know who you are, Kagome," He started plainly. "And I can only imagine how hard this entire ordeal has been for you. However, I must ask you wait a while longer to be fully debriefed on certain matters."

Kagome stomped her foot angrily on the ground. "Why does everyone keep telling me that?" She scolded. "What the heck is there to hide? Some kind of warped conspiracy to kill the President or something? I don't freaking care about that!" She vented, before walking up to the man in charge with watery eyes and a wavering voice. "I just want to know if I have anything left to live for."

It was amazing how quickly her firm heated resolve had melted into a pathetic display of her true feelings, but the only reason there could be was exhaustion. She couldn't hold onto anger as long as most people probably could, when really deep down all that fueled it was anguish. Whatever the case, it seemed to work.

Miroku looked at the girl all but pleading with him, and a sense of nostalgia struck him. He knew the rules for revealing certain information to an unofficial member, but he also knew what it was like being in that much pain. He turned his gaze away from Kagome, standing up to walk over to the other side of the room with a sigh. A part of him knew if he were in a better state of mind he wouldn't be giving in so easily, but after the tide of emotion he'd struggled with in his office with Yasha, he hadn't the iron resolve left to resist.

He felt Kagome's eyes follow him in confusion and perhaps some hope before he turned around to look from Myoga (who had been standing quietly with a lost look on his face) back to her, and finally nodded consent. "Both of you, take a seat."

They did as told, and Miroku positioned himself against the wall, not feeling much like sitting. "I can't guarantee a full explanation, but I'll do my best, and you'll just have to live with it." He explained, before giving Kagome the okay to begin her 'interrogation'.

She eyed him for a moment before relaxing, taking a deep shaky breath, and speaking. "Fair enough. My first question is, do you know if my family is really dead? I know there was a fire, but I just-wanted to know for sure."

Miroku studied her expression, wondering if any information he gave in the state she was in would leave her too vulnerable, but answered anyway. "It is unlikely. From what I know, after you were taken, the house collapsed and everything inside was burned to nothing." He remembered watching the news report while waiting for Yasha and Sango's return.

Kagome lowered her head, her thick raven hued bangs casting a shadow over her eyes. She wiped a few tears away frantically, sniffling. "O-okay." She forced herself to say, pushing herself on. "Then, I guess the only other questions are why I was rescued, and what my necklace has to do with all this."

Miroku furrowed his brows confusedly. "Necklace?"

Finally Myoga saw the opportunity to speak up. "T-That's why I am here sir." He interceded somewhat awkwardly. "During my brief session with Miss Higurashi, while she was attempting to recall her time under her captors, she mentioned that they had possibly taken a necklace from her. One that I think you'll find of great importance." At that he pulled the sketch Kagome had drawn him from his pocket and handed it to his boss.

Kagome at this point secretly appreciated the small interlude in her own conversation, watching the exchange between the men quietly while she recovered herself.

Miroku took one look at it, and immediately got the same look in his eye Myoga had gotten when he'd first seen it. "This is-! Are you certain this could be-?"

"Almost positive sir."

Kagome chose then to cut back in. "Um, so, what is so important about my necklace?" All eyes locked on her, excitement shining in them, making her just a bit uncomfortable. "What?"

Miroku walked over to her with a smile. "You were probably unaware of this Kagome, but what you thought was just a necklace, is in fact much more than that."

"More how?"

"In laymen's terms, it's a type of data storage."

Kagome stared, leaning back in her seat in shock before confusion started to frustrate her. "Data-you mean like some kind of flash drive? But why would..." She trailed off, completely lost as to how to phrase the obvious question. 'Why would something like that be given to me? Did mom even know about this? Did Papa?' Then there was another obvious problem. "Just what kind of data is supposed to be on it? How do you use it?" She asked, still sounding lost.

Miroku shook his dead. "That I'm afraid I can't tell you."

Kagome rolled her eyes with a slight huff, before realizing something. "That's what you wanted me for isn't it? The necklace."

The silence that followed was answer enough.

"Alright then." She sighed. "I guess all that's left to do is sort out where I go from here. I'm directly involved now. What are you going to do with me?"

Miroku suppressed the urge to half smile at this girl's to the point attitude. "Most of that is for me and the other leaders to figure out. But as for you right now, I plan to have you trained."

"To be an agent I'm guessing?" Kagome spoke, her tone low with dread.

Miroku did smile at that, almost amused. "Yes. Not to worry though. You're trainer is to be Agent Eiyuu." He decided to leave out the fact it was more of an improvised punishment for the trainer rather than the trainee. He still had the tension to sort out with said agent as well, which would no doubt take some time to get around to. The way things were, it would be a miracle if Yasha didn't shoot him in his sleep.

In the meanwhile, Kagome nodded her somewhat reluctant agreement. "Fine I guess. When do I start?"

"Tomorrow." Myoga piped in, making his way to where Kagome was sitting to help her to her feet. "For now let's get you settled into your new quarters, and leave Mister Boushin to his job, ne?"

Seeing no real reason to argue in staying, Kagome allowed herself to be shooed out of the man's room, but not without looking over her shoulder at her now boss before remembering something. "Oh hey, what am I supposed to call you, 'sir'?" She said speaking to Miroku.

The man looked at her in slight surprise, not expecting the question so soon after such a heavy conversation between them. He'd expected a small amount of resentment in all honesty. Something about this girl really was different, he realized. She was certainly strong willed and driven like another certain agent he knew and missed, but she was also uniquely passionate and vulnerable. Perhaps because of this, instead of his usual preference, he told her with a misleading smirk:

"Miroku. Just, Miroku."

He was given a nod of acknowledgement from the girl and a look of suspicion from Myoga before they finally left, leaving the boss man to mull over what had just happened, and just what he was going to tell the higher ups. He glanced back down at the sketch Myoga had given him and scoffed, before pulling out his cell phone and making the call.

-Chapter 9-

Claps of thunder broke out with blinding flashes of light clawing across the gray clouded sky. A single drop of rain fell, landing on the tip of a black leather shoe. Amber eyes gazed longingly up to the heavens, more drops of rain hitting tan skin below. Long silver hair swayed with the winds of foreboding, a sign that promised death.

Gunfire was such a familiar sound. It was like background noise, though there was no battle to see. More lightning came, the white button down shirt of a figure seeming to glow with each flash.

"Yasha."

'That voice...'

It was sadistic and smooth, almost coaxing, yet unnerving at the same time. A voice something told him he had heard many times before, somewhere.

Yasha felt himself turn to look over his shoulder, the storm he had been watching still active. His eyes slightly widened at the person who had spoken. With a particularly well timed combination of thunder and lightning, the newcomer stood to be clearly seen.

His longer jet black hair swayed with the stormy winds, wearing an old bleach white coat and dress pants. His glasses caught the light of the storm, high cheek bones saying he was also Japanese.

'Why is he so familiar?' Yasha wondered, his mental tone almost afraid. He didn't understand it. The figure seemed so intimidating, and again something told him this man had rights to be feared. Yet the intensity of that fear he was feeling, almost childlike, confused him greatly.

"What are you doing here?" Yasha then asked, his tone uncertain.

The figure chuckled knowingly. "You can never escape me, boy. Even without your true memories."

Yasha scowled, anger coming to the surface. "The hell do you know about my memories? I don't even know you!" This made no sense.

The figure smirked; a taunting gleam in his eyes, before the lighting around them went red and the earth beneath began to tremble. Yasha lost his footing, hitting hard on the ground, but oddly feeling no pain. The man just stood there as if nothing had happened, a haughty smirk on his face. Being looked down upon made the anger in Yasha's chest boil to full on rage.

Practically jumping to his feet, Yasha pulled out a gun he didn't know he had, and fired four rounds. "You ruined my LIFE!" He heard himself scream, another particularly loud boom of thunder accenting his strange statement.

However when the bullets ran out, and the chaos cleared just a little, Yasha looked at the man he had no doubt killed, only to see another in his place. There was a large pool of blood around the body, more than there should have been for one shot to the chest.

For some reason panic struck Yasha at his core, and he found himself running, the scene around him changing. The solid ground became tiled flooring, walls faded in around him to make up a hallway and blinding lights shined down overhead.

Skidding to his knees, Yasha suddenly felt very small and afraid, putting a hand to the face of the man. It wasn't clear enough to really see, but again something in the back of Yasha's mind told him what he needed to know. In a chocked sob as tears rushed down his cheeks out of seemingly nowhere, he voiced a word he hadn't known he truly knew.

"Otou-san!"

Another unexpected bang, from a gun, and everything suddenly felt very cold. Knowing he had been shot, Yasha felt his body go limp and fall to the side as blood splashed out. Unable to move, he saw the shoes of someone, female by the looks of it. She walked up to him, and Yasha dared to glance up at her face. He would have widened his eyes if he could have.

"Kagome?!"

Yasha shoved the sheets off, eyes wide as he heaved for air.

Shirt damp with sweat, he frantically looked around and even felt himself for any bullet holes. Nothing. He breathed a heavy sigh of relief, his heart still racing. Looking around, Yasha realized he was 'back' safely in his own apartment. He felt an odd sense of déjà vu. How long ago had this same thing happened? Frustration welled in his chest. Less than a week ago.

With a huff Yasha pushed himself out of bed and flicked the lights on. The room was a mess as usual; various articles of clothing scattered everywhere from the white carpeted floor to the few pieces of furniture he had. His workspace wasn't any better. Blueprints, incomplete gun models, and bullets lay in disarray on the desk.

Yasha walked over to the chair in front of his desk, plopping down with exhaustion despite his pent up emotions. Feeling his mind smooth over the immediate shock of being jolted awake for the second time, he sorted through what he could remember from his dream.

This time the first thing he remembered was Kagome's face. An intense amount of agitation came with this. 'She shot me, again.' He ran a hand through his dampened hair with a groan. 'The fuck does all this shit even mean?!'

Besides that, he remembered feeling afraid. Bragging rights aside, he never felt that fearful of one specific person ever, even in his dreams. That was a very odd first for him.

Then an idea struck him. Yasha's eyes widened. 'The mission. Before I talked to Sango. That guy-' and then he knew the figure's name.

"Ketry." Yasha muttered under his breath, remembering how ominously the man had introduced himself.

'Good' He thought. 'At least some stuff makes sense.' Ketry had been the man who'd wanted to see him in the middle of that mission. The one who told him all the escape routes he and Sango had planned were blocked. But it had been so much more. 'That bastard knows about me, my past. Maybe all of it.'

Perhaps that was why he had been angry as well. Even now the thought of it made him want to punch something. Someone else possibly knew more about him then he did, an enemy no less. After all the time he had spent trying to get answers, it had been that close to him all along. He grit his teeth, trying to rein in his emotions. He'd been dealing with the news for only a few days and it was driving him crazy. He was supposed to have told Boushin about the incident, but after everything that had happened-

Yasha sighed for what had to be the hundredth time, the sound turning into more of a growl. His eyes wandered to the nightstand, where his trusty Desert Eagles rested by the alarm clock. He felt that desperate impulsive side of him rising to the surface, something that came out only when his head was too overloaded.

'A few rounds at base couldn't hurt.' If he got lucky, maybe he'd run into Boushin and shoot him by 'accident'. Yasha scoffed bitterly while getting a change of clothes, that same anger burning anew.

His heart still ached with the loss of his partner, and at this point he just didn't know what to do. He was still dealing with emotions he had little to no skill controlling, and it was seeping into other areas of his life. Constantly on edge, even more irritable than usual-how the hell was he going to handle a mentor assignment that way?

Walking to the small bathroom and turning the shower on, he wanted nothing more than to just wish the last week had never happened.

"Fuck my life."

-[]-[]-[]-

Waking up to the blaring of an alarm clock, Kagome pressed the snooze button groggily. Chilly morning air had goose bumps spreading across her skin, a yawn escaping her. She opened her eyes slowly, blinking to clear the blurriness away.

Staring at the plain cream color of the wall across the room, the girl was bluntly reminded of just how bare her life now was. This wasn't her room, it wasn't painted that stupid shade of pink her mother had insisted on keeping it, and her furniture wasn't there. Her closet, her clothes, her pictures, her hopes and dreams-none of it even existed anymore. It would never be the same.

Almost immediately images of her deceased family's faces flashed through her thoughts, and Kagome whimpered, shutting her eyes tight as that familiar sting hit her eyes. She forced herself to breathe, shaky and pathetic as it sounded. She wanted nothing more than to breakdown again. She'd been fighting it since she'd gotten here; this rebellion base that was now her only life supporter for the sake of some higher scheme she still knew little about despite her talk with Miroku the day before.

Her alarm resumed its noise making, and Kagome picked the thing up and switched it off manually. Staring at the time, it read barely past seven. She sighed a heavy emotion filled sigh, before forcing herself out of the plain old bed she'd slept in. She walked almost brain dead to the simple metal dresser at the corner of her living space, seeing only a few sets of basic plain T-shirts, jeans, and underclothes of various sizes.

'Good enough...' She thought, grabbing what she needed.

Just as she had finished drying her hair with a towel among the few that had been provided, there was a light knock at the door.

"Kagome? It's Myoga."

Kagome peeked out from the bathroom doorway with a frown and sighed. 'Just who I want to see me depressed. The counselor.' Of course, after checking to see her eyes weren't too red, she opened the door anyway.

The pointed nosed man put on an unnecessarily big smile at seeing her. "Good morning my dear. I hope you slept well!"

The peppiness of this guy made Kagome do a mental eye twitch. 'What's his problem?' "Uhm, yeah I did." She looked past him to look both ways of the hallway. "Is there-anything you need? I kind of have to finish getting ready."

This seemed somehow amusing to the counselor and he gave a merry laugh. It was kind of creepy. "Ahaha, yes of course! I was simply stopping by to give you your temporary ID pass for the building, so you don't get held up and make a fuss about getting lost."

Kagome blinked confusedly at him for a moment as the information slowly processed before said ID card was hastily placed in her right hand. Without a real reply she looked down at it as Myoga went on. "Also in regards to your training, the sparring room is actually just down the hall from here. You'll see the label on the door. From what I hear, you're to be there in about an hour."

Looking back up, Kagome simply nodded. She'd forgotten to ask about directions anyway so it'd worked out.

Myoga nodded back. "Right then! Best of luck today! You'll need it with Eiyuu as your mentor." He said with a grim tone at the end that surprised the girl.

"Uh, okay then. Thanks Myoga." And with that she closed her door with another loaded sigh. Today was going to be long. Very long.

Looking back down at her temporary ID card, Kagome narrowed her eyes to look at the strange bar code on the back with the label 'guest' in bold black font underneath. 'So I'm a guest for now, huh?' She thought bitterly. Somehow she found herself wondering what it would be like if or when she got a more official card pass.

Sometime later, Kagome found herself staring at the sparring room's main door. It was sealed shut with a pass lock and scanner-thing, and she figured this was why Myoga had given her that card so soon. She stepped up slowly with it in hand, hesitating only a moment before taking a deep breath and letting herself in.

"You're late." That unpleasant tone from a familiar voice had Kagome scowling almost instantly.

Stepping past the threshold, she ignored the immediate surroundings (and the stench of sweat) in favor of a pointed glare at her new mentor, Yasha. Clenching her jaw to stifle a heated come back, she looked to see a clock hanging on the wall across the room. It read 7:58 am.

She couldn't help herself. "It's not even 8 o' clock yet! I'm early."

Yasha looked at her void of any real expression, stating in an equally bland tone, "That clock's five minutes slow."

It took her a moment to process that, and realizing she was in the wrong, she deflated herself with a tired "...oh."

Kagome didn't notice it but there was a brief pause in Yasha's reaction time upon her answer. He seemed to take note of something, the slightest twitch of his brow, before speaking again as if nothing had happened. "Now to make up for your tardiness, there will be no break in between lessons today."

"WHAT?"

"You heard me."

This got her attention and energy starting up again real fast. "What the heck is your problem? Is this really how you expect to teach me? Because running my face into the ground from exhaustion won't get you anywhere."

"Two days without break." Yasha snapped without further explanation.

Kagome narrowed her eyes at him, hands balling into fists. Her whole demeanor spoke anger. "I'm not playing this game with you. I've been through a lot of crap already because of you people, and I-"

"So has everyone else here!" Yasha interrupted loudly, his voice echoing off the walls. "People here have lost just as much if not more than you. So if you want to move on and get on with your life, you need to stop feeling so damn sorry for yourself, like you deserve special treatment. It's fucking pathetic." His voice carried frustration, but he somehow maintained his cold exterior.

Reacting almost as if she'd been slapped, Kagome took a step back for a second, before coming back with dangerous fire in her eyes. "Who the hell do you think you are?!" She found herself yelling. "So WHAT if I'm feeling sorry for myself? I just lost my whole LIFE all OVER again, and you, jackass, have NO place lecturing me on-"

A laugh stopped her speech. A full on laugh. "Listen to yourself. Your telling me about my place, when you don't even know yours." Yasha walked up almost right in Kagome's face, clearly provoking her, as she seethed under his infuriating stare. "I'm your mentor. It is my place to lecture you, to teach you a lesson. And the first one you're still too stupid to realize for some reason, is here, moral luxuries don't exist. You screw up, you die." The way he finished the last bit was so cold hearted and cruel, Kagome was completely stunned speechless. Her anger froze to nothing, and she almost felt like crying again. "If you feel sorry for yourself, you'll feel sorry for others just as quick. Don't ever get to that point, ever." He pocked a finger at her shoulder to accent his point.

The force of it actually pushed Kagome back, and her eyes were wide in almost horror. She started shaking, staring but not really looking at Yasha's cold discolored eyes. Her vision blurred, and she could feel herself start to crumble again.

Until she caught herself, and looked down at the floor.

"...Is, is that the crap they told you? Or did you just figure that on your own?" She said slowly, hesitantly.

Yasha looked at her, surprised.

Her fists trembling but her voice strangely calm, Kagome fought the emotions nearly overriding her head, forcing herself to speak. "That's pretty sad, that you would give up your humanity like that." And before she could stop it, a couple tears ran down her cheeks, to the red padded floor she stood on. Taking a deep breath, Kagome looked back up at her now stunned mentor, a unwavering expression of confidence on her face that she herself couldn't feel. "But... maybe we both just have a lot to learn."

To her surprise, Yasha sighed. For him especially though, it was uncalled for. After everything that had been said, all the anger and frustration he had been feeling just under the surface and taking out on everyone, he let it go, for that one second. "Let's just-start training."

The statement startled her. "W-What?" Kagome all but mumbled out. "Maybe we shouldn't-"

"I said, let's start training." Yasha cut in, the look in his eyes saying more than he ever would with words.

Kagome stared at him for a moment, pondering. 'He's tactless, temperamental, and really guarded but-for some reason, somehow, I can't hate him.'

So straightening her posture, she gave a nod of consent with a small gleam in her eye. "Yes sir." She earned an eye roll for that, but she could feel the mood lighten. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

-[]-[]-[]-

The room was quiet, damp, and dark. The air smelled stagnant and stuffy, and there was the distant sound of water dripping somewhere.

In the shadows a woman lay on the cold concrete floor, barely regaining consciousness from the way her movements gradually increased. She softly moaned, her wrists and ankles tied together with something. Not rope or plastic, but something. Moving her head around, she flinched slightly at the soreness in her neck from the awkward position she had been knocked out in.

Feeling crept back into the rest of her body, and with a start, she remembered the bullet wound in her thigh, and the cuts and bruises on almost every inch of her legs and arms. What were they from though?

'Where-where am I?' Sango groggily wondered, attempting to peer through the darkness around her, but finding nothing to give her answer. It almost felt as if her eyes were still closed, as if she were dreaming.

She knew better.

With the pain from her (old?) wounds coming back with a vengeance after going untreated for who knew how long, Sango felt her breathing speed up and she clenched her teeth to bear it. Something had to be infected. She felt warm. Way too warm to be normal.

"I see you've regained consciousness, woman of Phasmatis." A man spoke through the lightless unknown, his voice echoing out like a ghost's.

Sango felt herself jolt in surprise, but quickly put herself on guard. Her expression hardened, and she tensed up, despite her pain. "W-Who are you? Show y-yourself!" She called out fearlessly though her speech wavered from fatigue.

A chuckle was the response she got. "It would be just like you to stare down an enemy before the slaughter, wouldn't it, Sango Takaoki?"

Sango furrowed her brows, secretly becoming panicked. "Ho-how do you know m-my name? I d-demand to know who you are!" she finished angrily.

Without another word, lights flashed on from above, blinding Sango at first, and she shielded her eyes out of reflex. However, after blinking a few times and allowing her sight to adjust, she searched around. There was a single light shining down on her, a spotlight almost, and just barely in view, was the face that belonged to that mysterious shadow.

When she caught sight of him, shock and disbelief nearly consumed her.

"You-!"