File 3: Explanation

 

          Everything she could see was bathed in the golden glow of the setting sun.  The raindrops were liquid gold all around her and she could feel the water beat its unsteady tempo upon her as the drops slid off her waterproof scales.  Shiraha closed her eyes, basking in the warmth that soaked every scale despite the whistling wind and rain around her.  With great reluctance she opened her eyes and descended toward her mountain home - a series of caves carved into granite.

 

            She landed in the cool shadows provided by the mountain, wishing she could will herself invisible - her mother had expected her home fifteen minutes ago.  Her claws, still small and fragile in her young age, clicked against the stone.  She stopped to stare at a pair of nearby gouge marks wistfully - her claws weren't yet powerful enough to cut stone.

 

            Entering the cavern she stopped abruptly, her nostrils flaring.  Blood.  She smelled blood.  She bounded across the cavern and through one of the tunnels.  Her pounding heart rang in her ears, nearly drowning out the steady 'click click' of her claws and the thumps produced by her feet.

 

            Rounding the corner, she threw her weight back and braced her legs, trying desperately to stop.  But the floor was slick with blood...

 

            “No!”  Shiraha lunged forward, snapping out of her nightmare.  A jolt of pain ran up her spine and she yelped, clutching her abdomen with her right arm.  Squinting her eyes in pain she gasped, drawing in great gulps of air as she attempted to calm herself.

 

          “You okay?”  She jerked involuntarily as the voice sounded out of nowhere then hissed in pain – the movement had further aggravated her injuries.  The ryu looked over to the side of the bed, staring at the silhouette.  The room held too little light for even her eyes to identify the figure before her.  Shiraha’s heart skipped a beat – had she been captured?

 

            She squinted as the lights above flashed to life, her pupils retracting to mere slits as she raised a hand to shade them.  She blinked rapidly, trying to clear the spots dancing before her eyes.  Ginharou had been the silhouette sitting by the bed, but the one to turn on the lights was…

 

            Uh oh.

 

            “What the hell were you doing?!” Shinonome Washi screeched, her wings ruffled in agitation.  Her amber eyes were fierce when she was calm – compliments of her eagle heritage – but when she was mad…

 

            “Shinonome-san,” Ginharou murmured, disapproval clear in his tone.  She may be the leader of the IYC, but he was supposed to be in charge of lecturing Shiraha – the method the eagle youkai was using would only set the ryu off.

 

            Or worse, send her away…

 

            “I’m almost ashamed of calling you one of our top agents!”  Washi continued, her voice rising shrilly.  “You disobeyed orders, fell into a trap a child could have avoided, and you nearly got yourself killed!!”  She started pacing now, gesturing wildly in the air as she ranted.  “And not only that, you would have died if Ginharou hadn’t given you some of his blood, and – ”

 

            “Gin-kun did?”  The ryu’s soft inquiry stopped the eagle youkai’s pacing short as Washi flushed guiltily – she had really blurted that out?

 

            The wolf dog growled softly in annoyance – the two of them had agreed that Shiraha was not to know that.  He hid his injured wrist by folding his arms, but not before she glimpsed the ugly, red – yet healing – scab marring his skin.  Grabbing a nearby hand mirror, the ryu stared into her eyes for confirmation – and there it was.

 

            There were a few strands of gold in her silver eyes, evidence of the small concentration of youkai blood mingling with her own.  How much amber gold, she wondered, was present in her own eyes before her own blood began to replenish itself?  She looked over at her youkai partner and he stared back, slightly apprehensive.

 

            Shiraha only gave him a small, fleeting smile that quickly changed to a wince as Shinonome recovered her wind.  Relief flooded the wolf dog; he had been embarrassed enough as it was…

 

            Embarrassed?  Where had that come from? 

 

            A cool, confident voice cut off Shinonome’s angry rant.  “You’re lucky that your blood had decided to clot at all, or you still would have died despite all the blood we had given you upon your arrival.”

 

            “Wha –?”  Both Washi and Shiraha blinked in surprise as they looked up.  Standing there, looking very professional despite her frown, was Dr. Mikage.

 

            “I just got the tests back,” she stated coolly, handing the eagle youkai a clipboard.

 

            “ ‘Tests’?”

 

            “On the blade fragments we extracted from your injuries.  Apparently, the blades were coated liberally with the youkai form of hirudin.”

 

            “ ‘Hirudin’?”  Came the echo.

 

            “Hirudin is a liquid used by leeches to keep the blood of their victims from clotting,” Ginharou explained.

 

            “Exactly.”  Dr. Mikage nodded approvingly.  “Because of this, what had simply been mildly serious wounds transformed into a fatal condition.”  A superior smirk broke through her façade.  “You owe Ginharou your life, his youkai blood was a major factor in keeping you alive.”

 

            “Owe life!  Owe life!”  The high-pitched voice came out of nowhere as a chibi version of Washi popped out of nowhere.  “Owe life!  Owe life!”

 

            “*Ahem* I – uh – really have to get going.  I have more patients to see.  Somewhere else.”  The faint desperation in the doctor’s voice caused Shiraha’s lips to curl up in a small smile as Dr. Mikage nearly sprinted through the door.  The chibi, however, decided to follow, giggling mischievously as it continued to chant.

 

            “Agh!  No, Chibi-Shin, don’t!”  Washi ran after the pair, attempting to keep her smaller version out of trouble.

 

            The two partners were finally alone again and the silence – for the first time uncomfortable – seemed to last forever.  Ginharou abruptly stood up, stretching, his chair creaking at the sudden loss of weight.

 

            “Where are you going?”  Shiraha asked, her voice uncharacteristically soft.

 

            “To give the Higurashi girl a tour of the building.”

 

            “What?!?!”  She sprang up from the bed, in her anger forgetting the fiery pain of her wounds.  “What did you say?”  The icy calm in her voice contrasted sharply with the heated look in her eyes.

 

            “I didn’t do it!”  He hastily defended, backing up as he raised his hands.  A part of his mind wondered why he was babbling like this.  Unfortunately for the wolf dog, that part of his mind was not in control of his mouth.

 

            “ ‘Didn’t do it’?” She echoed, raising one slim eyebrow.  “So you didn’t bring her?”

 

            “No!  Yes!  It’s not like I planned on it!”  During his babble Shiraha’s face had become shadowed by her bangs.  His senses screaming ‘danger!’ he backed up even more.

 

            Her shoulders began to shake and were joined by a chuckle.  That chuckle soon bloomed into full-fledged laughter as she sank to the floor, tears pooling in her eyes.

 

            Ginharou blinked, stunned.  First he had acted like an idiot, and now this!  What was going on?

 

            “I’ve just…just never seen…you…act like this!” she gasped out, her attempts to control her laughter futile.  But it soon died down enough to allow the two agents to leave the medic bay – Shiraha still prone to chuckle now and then.

 

            “Why are you following me?”  Ginharou murmured, finally back in full control of himself.

 

            “Easy!” Shiraha exclaimed, chuckling again as her eyes sparkled with unsuppressed mirth.  “Someone needs to keep you out of trouble.”

 

            “Shouldn’t it be the other way around?”

 

            “…” She paused, blinking.  “…Hey!”  Ginharou allowed himself a small smile as she caught up again – completely forgetting to ask her why she had woken up drenched in cold sweat.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

            To say the Higurashi, Kagome was confused and stunned would be as understatement.  To say that she was calm would simply be another.  There was something that – to her – simply felt wrong.  But who could blame her?

 

            The sound of footsteps alerted her even before the door opened, admitting the two people she had seen following her a while ago.  The woman – Shiraha? – was an absolute mess.  There were bloody rags wrapped around her torso, barely visible due to the white shirt she was wearing.  The bandage on her arm looked like it needed to be changed as well.

 

            Not that Kagome could really judge on appearance – she herself had a sickly white tint to her skin that sharply contrasted with her raven black hair.  She gave them a weak smile.  “Hello.”

 

            Shiraha smiled back but the male – Ginharou – turned, grabbing the red, padded chair by the door.  Pulling it forward he placed it behind his partner and pushed on her shoulders, forcing her into the chair.  She, in turn, could offer little resistance and was, in fact, glad for the chance to sit.  Not that she would tell him that, of course.  Kagome giggled despite herself, the image before her pushing out the gloomy thoughts occupying her mind.

 

            “So, you are Himitsu-kun’s daughter.”  Shiraha’s smile became gentle.  “You have his eyes, you know.”

 

            Kagome blinked.  “You knew my father?”

 

            “Haiiiiii!”  The ryu smiled broadly.  “Sometimes – when I was younger – I’d go with him and Shinonome-san on some of the harder missions.”  She calmed down, a wistful smile on her face.  “He taught me so much.”

 

“Ano…‘missions’?”  A part of the schoolgirl’s mind screamed at her to back away from these crazy people and leave.  Yet another – larger – portion of her mind was compelling her to stay.  She had seen these two fighting at her home last night, and deserved some answers.

 

            Besides, they weren’t human.  Even now she could feel a chill creeping into her bones.

 

            “Yeah, that’s what we do here,” Shiraha replied, blinking.  She glanced up at Ginharou.  “How much did you tell her, anyway?”

 

            “Nothing.”

 

            “Oh.”  The ryu drew in a breath, organizing her thoughts.  “Lets start from the beginning, shall we?  I am agent Ryu, Shiraha and this,” she gestured toward the wolf dog, “is agent Ginharou.  We work for the ‘International Youkai Conglomerate’ or ‘IYC’.”

 

            “ ‘IYC’?”

 

            “Hai.  It’s an agency composed of people –”

 

            “And youkai.” Ginharou interjected.

 

            “Yeah, and youkai, from all walks of life – hence the ‘conglomerate’.  This you see here is the HQ of IYC, Tokyo Division.  Shinonome Washi – your late father’s partner – is the leader here.”

 

            “The main job of the IYC,” Ginharou continued, “is to preserve Human-Youkai relations.  Which is why we have agents in government offices, businesses, emergency departments, etc.  Whenever a youkai is involved you can be sure we have an agent there.”

 

            “A lower level agent, anyway,” Shiraha interrupted, a twinkle in her eye as she grinned mischievously.  “The more powerful agents, like us, work with damage control.”  The smile slipped from her face.  “Your father was on assignment when he died.”

 

            Kagome blinked, dazed.  This was a bit too much to take in at once.  “But why are you telling me this?”

 

            The two agents locked eyes and sparks flew between them as they silently argued with each other.  The tension grew thick in the air as the battle between wills dragged on and the chill in Kagome’s bones increased as a prickly feeling started between her shoulder blades.

 

            Finally, Ginharou broke eye contact.  Turning his head he took a couple of steps backward, signaling defeat.  But no triumphant smile graced the ryu’s lips.  Instead, she sighed and shook her head before turning her attention back to the schoolgirl.

 

            “For some reason, none of our potions, charms, or spells concerning memory will work on you.  Kagome-san, this has never happened before, and quite frankly we’re worried.  We’re trusting you by telling you all this so you can understand how important we are and the importance of our secrecy to us.”

 

            “Why is it so important?” Kagome asked, tilting her head slightly.

 

            Shiraha frowned.  “Perhaps another time.  The…ah…‘story’ is quite long.”  Her countenance suddenly brightened as she bounced to her feet despite her injuries.  “Lets get you home, shall we?”

 

            The schoolgirl stood up, following the pair out of the room and down the hallway.  Her head was bowed and her eyes unfocused, the metal floor below her simply an unseen, gray blur.  Kagome’s thoughts raced at a furious pace as her mind struggled to digest all that she had been told.  As ludicrous as their story sounded, she knew it for truth, something within her compelling her to accept what she had been told.  But only two questions haunted her, brought up by Shiraha and Ginharou’s silent argument.  What where they arguing about?

 

            What was the other option?

 

 

 

 

Author’s Notes~ Finally, another chapter done!  Though a full month behind schedule.  Oops. ^^;;

 

            Anyway, while it may seem as an excuse, the real reason that this chapter came out so late is because I’m not happy with portions of it.  Well, that and my muses have dumped about seven other fic plots in my head that I’m desperately trying to ignore.  Damn muses…they rarely work, and only when you don’t want them to. *Grumble grumble*

 

            But why am I posting this chapter if I’m not happy with it?  Well, school starts tomorrow for me so I decided you would rather have another chapter – although more imperfect than normal – rather than waiting at least another month.

 

            So, this chapter featured at least a bit more of Kagome.  She’ll take a much bigger role and by chapter five my own two characters will start fading into the background when it comes to things in their perspective.  Because – quite frankly – the way the plot goes it’ll be impossible to take them out entirely.  Another thing you’ll find out why in ch5.  And besides, do you really hate them all that much? ^_^

 

Japanese Terms –

. Shinonome – “sunset”

. Washi – “eagle” (“Secret Sunset” and “Eagle Sunrise”.  Fits, ne?)

. Hai – yes, yeah, basically an affirmative

 

And the others are things that, by now, you should know.  Hopefully.  If not, write me and I’ll put them in the next chapter’s list. 

 

Disclaimer – IY, and all its characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi.  The IYC and (heaven forbid) the IYE belong to me.  Any flames will be used in my fireplace.