InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Dominating the Indomitable ❯ Treachery ( Chapter 4 )

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Chapter 04

 

Treachery

 

 

 

A cold shower successfully undermined the normal, energetic start to the day, but waking up alone and with a hard on, knowing full well that there was a handsome hunk of a hanyou just down the hall was not conducive striding out of the room without a noticeable bulge in Kouga's fatigues. Memories of the night spent with Inuyasha couldn't be ignored. Half of the previous night had been spent attempting to replace visions of that fine white ass with images of soft curves and ample breasts. The attempt spectacularly failed. Kouga couldn't ascertain whether or not the problem was his prior connection to Inuyasha, the camaraderie, or having one too many knocks upside the head. Regardless, when he set his mind on something, very little could sway him from his course of action. Some claimed that he was stubborn. He preferred to think of it as determination.

 

Inuyasha didn't stand a chance.

 

Kouga smirked as he flung his door open and stepped into the hall to find Inuyasha strolling toward him. His smirk widened into a sensual grin and he ran his hand through the fringe of raven hair that decorated his forehead. Kouga was well aware of his ability to attract females. He had the slink down pat, the slight downward tilt of his head, as well as the seductive stare through thick eyelashes, and he would use them all to catch this unsuspecting prey. The current test would be attracting the scrumptious morsel that was leisurely striding toward him. He knew that his deep blue eyes were an asset that females couldn't resist. Right now, he allowed his desire to fully reflect through them.

 

“Horn dog,” Inuyasha muttered as he approached.

 

Kouga nearly chuckled at the slight pinking of Inuyasha's cheeks. As far as he was concerned, he'd just won a strategic battle.

 

“Ready to catch us some prey?” he asked, straightening his relaxed posture.

 

“It'll be dark for at least four more hours. Don't talk to me until I've had my coffee and cigarettes,” Inuyasha growled and cracked his knuckles in warning.

 

Kouga snorted and turned to walk beside Inuyasha. “Thought you didn't smoke while on a mission,” Kouga commented. That earned him a glare and he shook his head.

 

Once they reached the stairs, Kouga hopped onto the railing and began sliding the twenty floors, showing off his ability to stand and skate, hopping and easily changing directions at the corners.

 

“Keh, show off,” Inuyasha grumbled then jumped over rail and shot in a freefall straight down through the center. “Hey! Slow ass poke!” he shouted as he passed Kouga. “Get your ass down here!”

 

His voice echoed through the stairwell, joined by Kouga's laughter. “I can outrun you any day, mutt. This is a lot more invigorating than just falling through the sky! You're just lazy!” Kouga retorted.

 

Inuyasha landed with a bit more force than he had planned and pain shot up through his legs. He grunted under the strain of righting himself. `This had better fucking be over soon. Fuck Sesshoumaru and his calculations. I'm stronger than that,' Inuyasha mentally cursed. With the exception of forgetting his limitations and screwing up, he completely ignored anything that Sesshoumaru had told him. Sesshoumaru was a condescending asshole. `Good riddance.'

 

Kouga reached the bottom directly behind Inuyasha and frowned when he noticed the slight pained look to Inuyasha's features. In a fraction of a second, it had been wiped clean from Inuyasha's face and was replaced with a scowl.

 

“Coffee,” Inuyasha grumbled and stalked off, though his gait was a bit stiffer than Kouga would have liked.

 

Kouga stalked up behind Inuyasha and smacked him upside the back of the head. “After this mission is over, you're going to tell me exactly what's going on with you. And, I mean every fucking detail.”

 

Inuyasha glanced sideways at him, but didn't respond. `At least, he didn't refuse. I'd hate to hurt him, but he's mine now and there will be no secrets in this pack,' Kouga concluded, though his main interest had become significantly more personal. He shrugged it off and caught up with Inuyasha just as they reached the metal doors to the dining hall. The scent of burning wood and cooked meat had his stomach growling, even though he hated that the meat had to be thoroughly cleansed of microbes that could now cause harm to youkai. It was one of the things that drove some youkai to hate humans. `One day…One day, our food will be clean enough to eat raw.'

 

Inuyasha's sharp eyes scanned the long tables, cataloguing the occupants and with whom they clustered. He watched as a couple of the very few who had gathered around Kamylla wandered away and joined other groups, almost as though there had been a meeting and the subordinates had been sent to communicate with others. If there was one thing he had learned, it was to watch his back. This one—Kamylla—was dangerous. Just how much, he'd find out; hopefully, soon.

 

“There they are,” Kouga said and pointed to Hakkaku and Ginta then started toward the food line.

 

Inuyasha followed behind Kouga while continuing to study the occupants. When it came to Kouga's personal body guards, he had no reason whatsoever to distrust them. However, as soon as they managed to take their seats, he'd be grilling Kouga on the different members.

 

Breakfast had turned out to be a rather rushed affair, not unexpected by any means. Inuyasha hadn't had the opportunity to gather more than general information before the caravan headed out. Although, he knew he'd be rushing into this endeavor half blind, it didn't settle his mind to know that he didn't trust everyone in Kouga's pack, especially considering that he would be depending on some of them to have his back.

 

His lips thinned in dismay as the jeep turned off the road and into a barely there track in the dense forest. At this point, they had slowed so that the rumbles from their vehicles would be less noticeable at long range. One by one, the smaller vehicles peeled off, headed toward their designated locations. Some would travel further around the mountain and deeper in before setting up camp for the night.

 

“Why is Kamylla leading the point team?” Inuyasha grumbled. He didn't like the fact that he wouldn't be on the front lines.

 

“Her team specializes in finding mines and traps, then diffusing them without blowing shit up. They are also good at finding traps and taking down scouts. They should have a wide path cleared for us by morning,” Kouga informed him while keeping his eyes the almost non-existent road they were traveling.

 

“I know all that shit, but why `her'?” Inuyasha asked, determined to find out why Kouga trusted that bitch.

 

Inuyasha noticed Kouga's features harden and his jaws clench and unclench. “She's the only one left from the last team. No one really knows how the humans did it, but they took out an entire team…except for her. Sure, I could let someone else lead them, but they don't have near her experience.”

 

If nothing else, that raised Inuyasha's suspicions even more. He didn't want to piss off Kouga, but hell, the bitch was bad news. He could smell it for miles. Rather than make an accusation, he merely pointed out the obvious.

 

“So, she was the only one to make it back and she couldn't tell you what happened?” Inuyasha asked, trying to keep his voice smooth.

 

“She said that whatever had taken them out, she hadn't seen coming and had no clue what it was.”

 

Kouga didn't offer any more explanations. He'd had trouble believing it himself, but he hadn't been there with her, and there hadn't been anything left at the site of the battle that would give them any clues. Some of his comrades' bodies were still missing. Every time he thought about that, he wanted to go kill something. Too bad it was against the law to even kill a tree outside of a bona fide retrieval mission or battle, unless approved by the council of DaiYoukai.

 

At least, the Cataclysm, as they preferred to call it, all but destroyed human civilization. A few cities remained. They were mostly controlled by youkai. Even there, a few pockets of humans needed to be ferreted out of their hiding holes. It would take decades or more to finish flushing them all out. What little remained of technology left was being used to increase youkai numbers and to subdue humans. Eventually, though, much of that would be destroyed.

 

No one could claim that humans had been the only destroyers. Even youkai had taken their world for granted. Now, they didn't have a choice. The condition of the planet was too delicate. Sometimes, he was seriously tempted to hate humans, but youkai were just as responsible. If they hadn't buried their heads in the sand and hadn't ignored the warning signs, things wouldn't have gotten so out of hand. Also, there were the youkai who had actually been a part of the folly and had known exactly what they were doing. Kouga couldn't understand that, but many youkai knew all too well what he would do if he found that one of them had been involved, and pity the poor soul who had helped the humans.

 

Humans had thought they were so intelligent in building huge underground bunkers, but all youkai knew that there was no safe place when the planet had had enough. Human's stupid weapons and experiments had set off a chain reaction of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, each catastrophe feeding off the other, until even the tectonic plates had shifted. So much for all of their safety precautions, claims that research projects were innocuous, and that all weapons of mass destruction had been dismantled. Unfortunately, the poisonous waste that humans had left behind hadn't completely been erased, creating a secondary problem. The third problem had been the ash in the atmosphere. Sunlight had nearly been completely blocked, and it had taken years for that mess to settle. Youkai had done everything in their power, physically and magically, to protect what was left and to combat the after-effects. The help of reiki users was a welcome relief. They'd just hatched out of the woodwork. Some humans were honorable and that was one of the reasons genocide was unacceptable.

 

Through it all, Japan had stood strong and had gained more land. The island had moved closer to the continent. Kouga had never understood the logistics behind that, but he didn't need that information. As far as he was concerned, they'd gotten lucky. The very core of the planet could have been breached. That truly would have been the apocalypse and no one would have survived, not even the planet. That was exactly why humans had to be kept under control. It couldn't be allowed to happen again.

 

Kouga pulled off what could barely be called a road. They hadn't gone far before he stopped at an area that had room for a couple of large tents.

 

“Come on, let's get this setup before daybreak hits,” he said and jumped out of the jeep.

 

Inuyasha followed and helped set up the gear. He was anxious to begin his part of the mission. Despite the adrenaline rush, he missed his fire rat robes. The thing would kill their stealth and he just couldn't risk it. Still, he always felt naked without it.

 

“Could you give us a hand here, little brother?” Hakakku asked as he unloaded the truck that had pulled in behind them.

 

Inuyasha rolled his eyes at the moniker they'd given him. Those two hadn't let up on him, no matter how much he'd hit them upside the head. The only reaction he'd ever received had been a huge grin.

 

“Moron…fucking idiots,” Inuyasha grumbled under his breath as he headed to the rear.

 

Everything was fine until Inuyasha stepped into his and Kouga's tent. “What the fuck is that thing doing in here!” he shouted and pointed at communications device. “Fuck, Kouga, put it somewhere else!”

 

Kouga's eyes widened. “What the hell, mutt-face?”

 

“Haven't you guys learned to use birds and sound to contact each other? I don't want that shit near me!”

 

“Sorry, Inuyasha, but the teams are spread out too far, and what the fuck do you care?”

 

“Fucking damn it. That shit can be used as a weapon,” Inuyasha cursed and stomped out of the tent.

 

Kouga rolled his eyes. “It's too fucking small, idiot.”

 

“No, it's not!”

 

“I didn't know you were such a pussy,” Kouga said with a smirk, his blue eyes twinkling with mischief.

 

Inuyasha ruffled his bangs and sighed in frustration. “Don't you remember the Moura mines?”

 

`Oh, that's right. But, this little thing isn't dangerous. Does it really freak him out that much?' Kouga's gaze turned serious. “That has nothing to do with this and there are no enemies here.”

 

“Keh, lot you know,” Inuyasha snorted and stomped out of the tent. `Whether you know it or not, there are enemies in your camp, fucking dumbass. And, just about anything can be used to make a weapon.'

 

Inuyasha found himself a nice spot against a tree. He had barely gotten himself comfortable when Kouga came and plopped down beside him.

 

“You worry too much,” Kouga said and ruffled Inuyasha's hair.

 

“Would you stop that?! I'd swear you have a fetish for my hair!”

 

“What if I do?” Kouga asked with a smirk.

 

“I'll shove Tetsusaiga up your ass, that's what.”

 

“About Tetsusaiga…” Kouga said, his expression turning serious. “I don't want you using that wind scar of yours.”

 

“Keh, do you think I'm stupid or something?” Inuyasha asked then swatted Kouga on the back of the head.

 

“Of course, I do! You are such a moron!” Kouga exclaimed playfully while rubbing the back of his head.

 

“Would you two be quiet!?” Ginta admonished. “I know that this area has been canvassed, but still, you never know.”

 

Kouga gave a lazy, two finger salute to show that he'd been duly reprimanded while Inuyasha gave Ginta his usual treatment.

 

“Keh, whatever,” he said quietly.

 

Kouga grew quiet for a few moments, the concern over Inuyasha's condition, once again coming to the forefront of his mind. It worried him too much, but considering Inuyasha's complaints about Sesshoumaru's treatment of him, Kouga didn't want to behave similarly. Nevertheless, he just couldn't let it go. Then there was Kamylla, an unknown. Combining those two factors set him on edge. So, he made a decision.

 

“Once we get up into the second canopy, I don't want you wandering too far off,” Kouga said offhandedly, as though it was a common order.

 

Inuyasha scowled and wrinkled his nose. “What the fuck for?”

 

Kouga had to think quickly, but he was good at that…sometimes. “We don't know what the humans have up there.”

 

“Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't taking out their first line of defense Kamylla's job?” Inuyasha shot back.

 

“I would just rather keep on the safe side,” Kouga grumbled, knowing he was showing his distrust of Kamylla.

 

“You don't trust her anymore than I do,” Inuyasha sneered.

 

It was a simple statement that required no reply.

 

~*~

 

Beneath the dense layers of the canopies, the group of men stained their faces with mud. Just for good measure, Inuyasha rubbed loam over as much of himself as possible. He had decided to err on the side of caution and conceal himself as much as possible. The fact that they were on a mission to retrieve humans didn't mean that there weren't youkai on the wrong side of the lines.

 

“Let's get this show on the road,” Kouga instructed his men and nudged Inuyasha.

 

Though the ground level offered the best cover in that it was almost as dark as night, the second canopy would offer an element of surprise. Their fatigues blended quite well. Also, there were likely to be fewer hindrances, particularly those of a mechanically explosive kind. With stealth only youkai could achieve, Inuyasha and Kouga bound their way upward through the branches until they were well ensconced in middle canopy. Inuyasha was grateful that, even there, the occasional shafts of sunlight weren't very bright.

 

Much to Kouga's frowning consternation, Inuyasha peeled away and distanced himself. `I hope he knows what the hell he's doing. If Sesshoumaru fucked up his skills, I'm going to kill the bastard.'

 

As they approached the perimeter of their target area, Kouga sent out a bird call. One by one, others answered in return. Kouga counted every call. Everyone appeared to be in position and in the correct formation. Kouga sent out another call and three of the team crept forward toward the edge of tree line. What they found was worrying. The area was completely empty.

 

When the warbled reports reached Kouga's ears, his eyebrows creased together. `Something is wrong. This doesn't feel right.' Kouga had never been disappointed with his instincts and called for everyone to fall back and wait.

 

Inuyasha was getting uncomfortable. Every alarm bell in his head was going off. `They knew! They fucking knew we were coming and were ready for us! Fucking hell!' He carefully scanned his surroundings then began leaping to higher branches. `It's a trap. They've gotta be up here somewhere.'

 

Kouga's senses were trained forward and he hadn't noticed the slight whisper of Inuyasha's departure. Everyone hunkered down and waited for some sign of movement. What they hadn't expected was a sudden barrage of arrows and guns from above.

 

“Fuck!” Kouga swore, this was not going to be easy, and once it was all over, they might actually have casualties.

 

While Kouga's men were ducking and running, searching for ways to get higher without getting themselves killed, Inuyasha had managed to sneak up on the humans from the rear. He didn't really like the idea that some of the humans might die in a fall, but they were the ones who chose to start a battle. Excellent marksman that he was, the first syringe hit a human who, consequently, fell silently into Inuyasha's arms. With speed Kouga that would have made Kouga proud, Inuyasha gagged and cuffed the human to a branch. Unnoticed by the others, he began picking them off one by one, rapidly taking out as many as possible. His stealth would allow him to stun quite a few, but his luck wouldn't last forever. That was a fact he couldn't deny.

 

As soon as the firestorm started, Kouga had fruitlessly searched for Inuyasha's location while keeping up communication with his men. Two were down and the others were making some progress. Several humans had been caught, but they'd lost one to the ground. Kouga could only hope that the human lived.

 

Eventually, Kouga noticed that there was one area where the firing had significantly decreased. `So, that's where he is. Go get `em!' he mentally cheered. Then another thought occurred to him. `Fuck, he's alone, no backup. Crap, dog face! Stupid, fucking mutt!'

 

Kouga recklessly sped toward Inuyasha's location, the buzzing twinge of anxiety distracting him from his immediate surroundings. His senses were completely honed in on one goal; saving Inuyasha's moronic ass. There was only one problem with that…a white hot burn shot through his thigh, knocking him forward and causing him to lose his footing. The next shot grazed his forehead. The world flipped over and he was tumbling fast. Abruptly, his fall was broken by a strong arm.

 

“Gotcha, flea bag,” came a familiar, gruff voice. “Keh! And you were worried about me!”

 

Kouga huffed then groaned when Inuyasha hit ground a bit harder than expected. He supposed the harsh landing had been Inuyasha's revenge for his lack of faith in Inuyasha's abilities. It was only fair.

 

“You stay here. I'm going back,” Inuyasha said, his nose telling him that Kouga's wound wasn't life threatening.

 

Inuyasha didn't even give Kouga the opportunity to retort before he took off. “Stupid mutt,” Kouga grumbled and began checking over the wound in his thigh. “I suppose, if he could manage to pull off that little stunt without getting killed, he can wrap up this mission.”

 

The sounds of battle gradually lessened and Kouga knew that his men had met with success. His only worry now was how many casualties they'd suffered. His respect and confidence in Inuyasha had grown and he had every confidence that Inuyasha had come through the battle completely intact. He only hoped his men had.

 

Kouga couldn't say the same thing for himself. He grimaced. `I'm going to hear about this forever. Mutt face will never let me live it down. Another one I owe him.' Kouga sighed in frustration.

 

~*~

 

Inuyasha wasn't sure how Sesshoumaru had always managed it, but the guy had always been two steps ahead of the game, unlike Kouga, who had always been two steps behind. They had been ambushed, and still, Kouga had yet to do anything. Sure, nothing could be proven without a shadow of a doubt, but they had two men missing; no bodies, no blood, nothing. It didn't help that both of those were from Kamylla's unit, one of which had been Lieutenant Yui. As far as Inuyasha was concerned, the only good things that had come out of the mission was that, not one human had died, and they had found evidence of a larger scale movement involving longer range weaponry. That was another thing that bothered him. It had been Kamylla's team who had supposedly retrieved the plans. Kamylla hadn't taken personal responsibility for finding them. In fact, she had vociferously given credit to another team member. Considering her propensity for discrediting others, he found that quite suspicious. She wanted something, but whatever it was, she was attempting to cover it up.

 

`Kamylla certainly isn't a human sympathizer,' Inuyasha concluded as he remembered the way she had sneered the word `hanyou'. `No, it isn't that. What could she possibly want?'

 

When dealing with humans, Sesshoumaru had always told him that should he seek answers, to always follow the money trail. Humans may have been absorbed in money, but what about youkai? `What do youkai usually want when they are at war? Power. Okay, so she wants power. But…what does she gain from helping the humans?'

 

Lying in his newly appointed room, Inuyasha wracked his brain until his head hurt, but no answer was forthcoming; perhaps, the reason being that he wasn't asking the correct question. It was there, hidden somewhere in the folds of his brain. He simply hadn't found it yet. Inuyasha's eyes narrowed. `Whatever you're up to, it ain't good and I'll find out,' he swore to himself.

 

Sighing heavily, Inuyasha turned his face to the large window. The evening sky was turning orange as the sun began to slip behind the horizon, and it didn't look like he'd be getting much sleep. Realizing that it had been some time since he'd appreciated a sky with no ash to cloud the moon and stars, he rose, grabbed a robe, and strolled out onto the balcony. `Keh, how long did those idiots say that the ash would stay in the atmosphere?' he thought sarcastically. With the ash and planet-wide turbulence, came the rains and floods. Not only had that help to cleanse the lower atmosphere, but the pressure drew the ash from the upper atmosphere. Inuyasha imagined that it wasn't that much different from water going down the drain, taking everything with it. For Japan, it had been an upheaval, but a blessing in disguise. The volcano eruptions had helped strengthen the island and extended its shores, which in turn, had helped to build a barrier against the rising tides. Added to that was the new fertilization and the new species of life that had come from the soil that the volcanoes had spit out. `Ash and red snot, one big sneeze,' he chuckled to himself as he remembered the lava flows. Inuyasha sighed as he watched the sun disappear behind the mountains.

 

`Aw, fucking hell!' he mentally exclaimed as his abdomen cramped, his ears slid down his head, and his claws and fangs retracted. `Damn, but that hurts since Moura. Fuck!'

 

He practically stumbled to his door and locked it before crashing onto the bed, black hair flaring around his shoulders. “Urgh,” he groaned into the blanket and managed to pull himself into a fetal position. The pain was indescribable, but he'd had worse, much worse. That was the rationalization behind his belief that he would recover. He'd always recovered. As long as the pain was bearable, he was good.

 

And, that was that.

 

~*~

 

Kouga frowned as he stared at the balcony to his left. `He didn't even notice me. Was it because he was turning human?' Whatever had happened, Kouga hadn't liked the grunt of pain that had come out of Inuyasha when the transformation had begun. `Should I go see if he's alright? Nah, that'd piss him off.'

 

Temporarily abandoning the notion of checking on Inuyasha's condition, Kouga's mind drifted back to the dilemma presented by their latest mission. He had already given up on the attempt to solve the riddle. The fact that Kamylla and her unit handed over the plans they had found, indicated that she was innocent of undermining the mission. Additionally, they had found nothing to implicate anyone, even her. There was only one thing left to do; plant someone he was certain beyond a shadow of a doubt was loyal to him in each unit and obtain regular reports on their activities.

 

The last couple of days had been hectic. The humans had been prepared for transport and shipped out for interrogation. However, Inuyasha had kept disappearing from sight. Kouga had no clue what he'd been up to, but he hadn't liked being separated from Inuyasha. Not only had he missed the blustering hanyou, but he had felt tense when he couldn't find the puppy-eared male. That led to another thing. The thought that rankled most was the thought that Inuyasha could have been the one who had sabotaged the mission. He was the newest member, but Kouga trusted him more than anyone else and couldn't bring himself to believe it. It was a thought that he never would have entertained on his own. No, he could thank Kamylla for her subtle hints. By the gods, he hated that bitch.

 

Pacing the room and worrying about Inuyasha was accomplishing nothing except driving Kouga up the wall. There hadn't been time for flirtations and seductions. Now would have been the perfect night—at least, until that episode on the balcony. Kouga had a feeling that he wasn't going to get any skin to skin contact from Inuyasha tonight.

 

`Fuck it. That doesn't mean I can't go check on him,' Kouga thought with a scowl. Snatching his robe, he threw it on then yanked open his door, his irritation obvious in the marching steps he took to the neighboring room.

 

“Oy!” he called and knocked on the door. When there was no answer, he knocked harder, practically banging on the thing. “I know you're in there mutt-face. Open the fuck up!” When no response was forthcoming, he tried the knob, only to find it locked. After fuming for a few moments, his eyebrows rose. `Maybe he really is in trouble. Fuck!' Racing back to his room, he grabbed the master key and practically ran back to Inuyasha's door. “I'm coming in, whether you like it or not!” he nearly shouted as he unlocked the door.

 

The room was dark, not that he couldn't see just fine. Inuyasha was lying in the middle of his bed, curled up into a ball, and half hidden under the wavy falls of dark hair. `I thought he didn't sleep on his human night.' Kouga could hear abnormal, short, shallow breaths, but Inuyasha's eyes were closed. `Don't wanna wake him up if he's okay.' He crept to the side of the bed and leaned over. The faint scent of blood hit his nose like a freight train, and he was barely able to refrain from yanking the hanyou up and dragging him off to the bathroom. Fortunately, his control had strengthened over the years and he sniffed out the source. It was right at Inuyasha's lips. He carefully plucked back the straggling strands of hair and looked closer. A tiny, thin trail of blood was leaking from Inuyasha's right nostril and had caused a spot to form on the blanket.

 

`Doesn't look too bad. Heh, maybe the idiot ran into a wall. Still…' Kouga gently collected a sample of the liquid and took it to the bathroom to get a better look. He hated turning on lights and using the rare electricity when it wasn't necessary, but this was important. Flipping on the light, he took a closer look at what rested in the cradle of his claw. `Blood…blood and water. That does it!' he fumed. Blood wouldn't have been any big deal, but adding water was a bad sign. He wanted to pound Inuyasha for being so secretive. `Well, if that's the way he wants it, that's the way he's going to get it,' Kouga thought with a scowl and flipped off the lights then exited the bathroom.

 

If the furrow of Inuyasha's brows was an indication, he was in pain, and some of Kouga's ire's deflated. He gazed at the young man and finally decided to wrap a cover around him. That done, he locked the door behind him and hurried to Ginta's room and let himself in.

 

“Wake up, Ginta!”

 

“Who, wa…huh?” the sleeping man slurred as he lifted his disheveled gray and white head from beneath his pillow.

 

“I need you to go to the basement and find all the files we have on the Moura mines incident in Australia, including that weapon and what kind of damage it can do. I mean everything, especially the effects of the weapon on youkai. Got it?” Kouga said in a rush. “Now, man!” he shouted when Ginta blinked at him with owl eyes.

 

“Uh, what for, Kouga?” Ginta stupidly asked.

 

“None of you damned business! Just do it!”

 

Kouga was not a happy camper. That much, Ginta could ascertain. Not one to further agitate his leader, he jumped up and raced from the room. When Kouga wanted something `now', he wanted it `yesterday'. By the time Ginta was through with his hunt, the clerk could look forward to cleaning up after a tornado.

 

`Stupid, fucking hanyou. And, just when I was starting to really like you, too,' Kouga snarled inside of his head while he paced up and down the hall outside of his room. Ginta's appearance quelled some of his irritation, though the stack of files held in his arms weren't particularly thick, which meant that the information he needed might not even be contained within them. Kouga took the files from the panting wolf and stepped back into his room, slamming the door behind him and leaving a very confused Ginta on the other side of the door.

 

Kouga flicked on the small lamp that rested on the bedside table and made himself comfortable. Lying on his stomach and propped up on his elbows, he picked up the first file. `Geographical details; don't need that. Demographics, history…' Page upon page, file upon file, Kouga tossed into the `useless' pile. `Finally…damage depends on power level of weapon, angle, exposure time, species…' The further Kouga read, the more frustrated he became. `There's no fucking mention of hanyou and no symptoms listed!' He just wanted to kick something. Tossing the useless files to the floor, he flopped onto his back and glared at the ceiling. `Where can I get the information?'

 

“Aw hell, Sesshoumaru would definitely know what's up with Inuyasha, but the mutt sure would be pissed.” Kouga narrowed his eyes at the ceiling. Gradually, his expression changed and a wicked grin plastered his face. “Serves you right for keeping secrets. Sesshoumaru, here I come!”

 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

 

Thank you for reading, rating, and reviewing. It is a great encouragement.

 

 

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Disclaimer

 

Inuyasha and all associated characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise, and Viz. I do not own Inuyasha and make no profit from this story, nor do I intend to. My only goal is to occupy my demented mind with delusions of actually owning a life-sized, anatomically correct Sesshoumaru android to use and abuse at will.

 

 

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