Quick notes: – This story is rated M because there may eventually be citrus if it goes the way I see it in my head, and also it's Gotham – which by itself pushes the boundaries of pg13 just by being Gotham. Safer to put it on Mature status up front.

Chapter One: The Road to Hell

"Then it comes to be that the soothing light at the end of your tunnel is just a freight train comin' your way."

-Metallica lyrics, No Leaf Clover

Desire. It is the fundamental separation between men and beast, and yet it is also what inspires men to transform into monsters. No other creature is as cruel if denied what it wants. I don't mean primal needs. Food, water, shelter, those are all things every creature seeks. All animals and insects do what they can just to make it through the day, make certain the pact or hive survives. It is individual lust that separates man, that sets him above – or at the very least – apart, from the rest of the world's creatures. Not only for flesh, though many individuals do find that to be their vice, but for money, power, land, any number of physical manifestations whose ownership of aid in filling the hollow of the day to day. Every man has some carnal sin that will set him to something else, that will pull from him a monster as frightening as any ghost story. Men are beasts well beyond the wolves whispered in fairy tales, they all eventually transform, and the ones that don't simply never found an obsession worthy of them.

The Maiden:

I'd just wanted to help.

That's all I'd ever hoped to do after I fell in that well. I wanted to put the pieces back together after I'd shattered them and stop what was a clear evil in the world. I never could have known what that final wish meant, that the jewel was quite displeased with its destruction and more than willing to harm me in return. I knew it could be dangerous, but the right thing to do usually is, I hesitated but in the end, I still made the right choice. The choice that needed to be made, but at what cost?

There was an intermittent buzzing that accompanied flashing lights, the noise and flickering drawing me from the black that had wrapped around my mind. The ground was hard, and wet, and cold. I pushed myself up, wincing at the soreness in my cheek and the needles that curled down my neck when I moved it. I nearly slipped and fell back into the cobblestone…but managed to scramble to a sitting position on the wet rocks. Where on earth was I? The fluorescent light still going in and out nearby told me I certainly wasn't still in the feudal era…but the writing wasn't Japanese. Good thing I had pretty good marks in English.

My mind was still fuzzy and my vision wasn't that far behind, I had to squint to try and read the sign. The Iceburg Lounge? What an odd name? I guess it fit the strange almost mountain like symbol around it and the bright blue of the sign – when it was working. Anytime water ran down on it from the nearby roof it flickered in and out. I didn't recognize the name, and there weren't many parts of Tokyo that were cobblestone…where had the jewel left me?

I'd made the wish and then darkness had curled over my body and mind…and then I couldn't remember anything else, not until now. I wasn't sure how long it held me hostage, in my mind, in some void…there wasn't really a difference since the world had shut off and this was the first I'd seen of it in what felt like ages. It didn't feel the same…and I certainly wasn't in the well or the feudal era…why had it left me here?

"Not an issue with the wiring?" A voice broke through my dizziness. It was male, and held a superior but irritated tone. "What does that look like? Every time the drips hit it, is when it flickers out, I didn't pay for excuses. Fix it."

I rubbed my face, trying to focus more. There was a petite man in a suit, he was the one speaking. He had an umbrella over his shoulder and was speaking to another person much taller than he was. He wore a very expensive suit, probably the finest I'd ever seen in person. His hair was styled in a way that it stood up on his head, it was so much darker than his skin that it didn't look natural but at the same time it complimented him. Nearby a large man waited, looking rather bored at being there but not getting involved. Neither of the other two men had an umbrella with them…so they were getting wet in the drizzle still coming down. I was soaked, but I wasn't sure how long I'd been laying in the ally before I'd returned to consciousness. I furrowed my brow…trying to figure out what had happened to me.

"I'll do what I can, but the wiring out here isn't as well taken care of as the building. It's gonna be expensive to redo it all." The taller man remarked, rubbing at some stubble on his chin as he looked at the building.

"I don't care if it's expensive." The shorter man hissed impatiently, pinching the bridge of his nose with gloved hands. "I did tell you that you would be compensated did I not? Do you think I can't afford it?"

"No, no." The man looked nervous at the shorter man's irritation. "I'll get it fixed Mister Penguin."

"Penguin? What an odd name." I thought, still confused. I thought about asking them where I was, or what was happening, but they hadn't even glanced at me and it seemed a strange time to interrupt.

"Penguin!" Another voice drew my attention to the opposite end of the ally. A few men were approaching with guns…oh boy, definitely not the feudal era…I pressed closer to the wall where I'd woken up between several boxes, wishing for a bow and arrow as I glanced between them.

The dark haired man looked down the ally and ducked behind the worker just before shots rang out. I pressed my hands over my ears and stooped lower, terrified as I tried to see what was happening. The larger man had taken a few shots of his own at the approaching group but given the way he fell and the blood pouring out of his wounds I could guess he wasn't still with us. Same for the man with the stubble.

The large man had shot two of the approaching four, and the other two fell by bullets from the petite man with dark hair. One took a hit to the head but the other had gotten it in the shoulder and the dark haired man stalked up to him.

"Well, that was clearly a mistake." The man stated in a hateful voice before backhanding the still conscious attacker with the butt of his gun. He turned back toward the building and let out a sigh, not seeming that bothered by the death and blood all around him. "I guess the wires won't be fixed tonight."

I had gotten up since his back was too me, I was hoping to get out of here as fast as possible. Perhaps I'd been left in the modern age and just not Tokyo? Or I just didn't recognize where I was. Either way he turned and I heard the gun being switched to the next bullet over the light rain. "Please, stay here, so rude to come by and not introduce yourself…come back here."

I winced and put my hands up. He hadn't asked me too but isn't that what people did? I walked slowly back as he glanced me over, seeming to see me for the first time even though I'd been sitting there this whole time.

"Do you know the importance of discretion?" He asked, still pointing the gun at me. I swallowed nervously. For all the times I'd been threatened, it had never been at gunpoint. I had hoped I could just wander off unscathed.

"I didn't hear or see anything." I replied, nervous at the smirk he offered me.

"Yes, that is a satisfactory answer." He remarked, shaking his head after looking over me another moment. He lowered the gun and seemed about to continue speaking when another shot rang out. Whatever was happening, it clearly wasn't over. I rushed into the building after him when he ducked inside. What had I just woken up to?

The Monster:

When you hired a person for a job, you expected them to accomplish that job. All these excuses and inability was grating on the soul. I was about to give him two more days to finish his contract when the shots rang out and instead my contractor was turned into a makeshift shield. At least, at that, he seemed to be capable. Sadly, Henry joined him on the ground. Where was Zsasz anyway? Had this group taken out my entire perimeter?

I shot the ones that remained after Henry's initial handiwork. One was still alive. I smirked as I stalked up to him. "Well, that was clearly a mistake."

I accented my point by slamming the gun into his jaw. I would have Zsasz talk to him later…upstarts. I glanced back at my sign. The place was due to open in a few days and this was the condition it was in? I glanced to my contractor and guard, neither was moving. "I guess the wires won't be fixed tonight."

That's when I spotted her, a girl trying to sneak away from us. She had to have been in with the trash cans or I'd have seen her. She didn't seem by her look that she was with the group that had just attacked, she was soaked from head to toe and her clothing was the same, some sort of uniform by the look of it. A streetwalker perhaps.

"Please, stay here, so rude to come by and not introduce yourself…come back here." I stated, but she'd paused before I spoke aloud. She'd heard me preparing the gun for a shot. If she had any sense she'd not push me right now. She turned around and came hesitantly closer.

She was young, at most twenty. She looked half drown but I recognized the fear in her dark eyes, I'd seen it more than enough to know it. She didn't want to be here, she certainly wasn't in on this attack. Just a soul in the wrong place at the wrong time. "Do you know the importance of discretion?"

"I didn't hear or see anything." She immediately assured, it was a lie…but the sort of lie you expected in this situation. It's what she thought I wanted to hear.

"Yes, that is a satisfactory answer." I remarked, lowering my gun after considering her. Still, if she was on the street, she might still have seen something around here. I was about to ask her about it when another shot rang out, the bullet ricocheting uncomfortably close at my feet. I leapt into the club, and raised a brow as the girl ran in after me. She wasn't looking at me, but shoving the nearby trash can in front of the door. It seemed to have eluded her that the portal was made of glass.

I rolled my eyes and grabbed her arm, dragging her with me as swiftly as I could toward the steps. If nothing else she could function as another shield if they happened to catch up. She didn't pull away or protest, following me closely and only looking back when she heard the shattering of the glass downstairs.

"What's happening?" She asked, clearly frightened. "Who are those people? Why are they after you?"

"While a rousing conversation does seem preferable to running for my life…" I hissed back to her as I hobbled up the stairs as best I could. "I don't think now is the time. Zsasz, finally."

The bald man was coming down the stairs two at a time. He smirked at me as he approached, glancing to the girl and back to me. I didn't remark on it, it wasn't important. Below us the door opened and men came in, I was about to bark orders but was pulled down to the stairs by the girl when more shots rang out. I sent her a glare and she let go of my arm, still looking as though she didn't even believe that she was here or what was happening.

"Will you kill them all now please!?" I called out to Zsasz who was already on his way down the steps. Still, even for the assassin there were more of these goons than I was expecting, how hadn't I gotten wind of this many? This large of an attack was something I should have heard about. Was I slipping? I pushed myself back up and continued upstairs, I had more firepower in my office. She'd followed me into the club, dripping onto the marble floor as she glanced at the door to the stairs landing we'd entered through.

I hadn't even paid attention to her following me up the steps. What did she expect me to do exactly?

"Stay here." I hissed, annoyed at this latest complication. She sat on the leather…while still wet. I grit my teeth and ignored it, I had bigger issues now. I went into my office to grab my automatic and was just getting it from its drawer when I heard the scream. Apparently at least some of them had gotten by Zsasz then.

I was about to shoot the man outside, he'd tackled the half-drowned street kid and she was fighting against him. He was trying to hold her hands but she snatched one free and slammed it into his chest while crying out and a light covered her palm, throwing the man back violently. I raised a brow at the unexpected development, had she been one of Hugo's monsters then? I would have asked but the man wasn't killed by her blow, and he'd leaned up and his shot had grazed me along the arm. It wasn't even open yet and I was going to have bullet holes in the club…

I shot him just before the door opened again. What did I even pay Zsasz for? The man at the door had a clear shot though, I grimaced as he got me in the lower torso, knocked back from the shot. Shit, I was not going to go out this way.

"Stop it!" The girl had gotten in front of me…what was she doing? She had her hands out in front of her, at least I was right about her being a shield. "Stop, this isn't right, just attacking a man."

She didn't know who I was? If it hadn't been just as confusing to the attacker I might have been more insulted. As it was it made him hesitate enough that his head popped open a moment later, my assassin finally having caught up.

"More outside, I'll be back." Zsasz said cheerfully after kicking the guy over. Then he vanished and I was left holding my side where I was bleeding. Great, just great…

"You, you…your shot." The girl had leaned down in front of me.

"YOU THINK!?" I snapped at her, taking a sharp breath at the stinging when I raised my voice.

"Okay, okay. You can do this Kagome…" She was talking more to herself than me. My yelling at her had barely seemed to break through the panic that was written on her face. She pressed her hands over mine on the wound, glancing at me as though unsure of herself.

I frowned at her, not liking where this was going.

"Look, I'm just trying to help." She said, as if that were any reassurance.

"By doing what? What are you…?" My question died in my throat when her hands were covered in a brilliant white light. What had I come across in my ally today?

End Chapter

Aha, I do love passing Kagome around for my crack pairings, don't I? This one was off a challenge that I found interesting. Inuyasha and Gotham? Sure, why not. It will be difficult but I think I can make it, if not semi-believable, then at least entertaining…

-Aura

P.S. Kagome remains my fanfiction crossover ho. No idea how I'm gonna do this but should be fun to explore trying all the same!