Dedication

I'd like to dedicate this fiction to my cat Tabitha. She has always been a delight to me, even when she would sit on my keyboard to get attention. During the writing of this fic, Tabitha contracted liver failure. One week later, on Wednesday April 16, 2003 at 8:35am, I made the toughest decision of my life and had her put to sleep.

May you rest in peace.

A/N: I'd like to thank Onimusha for all her help and for being a wonderful Beta reader.

The Agency

Prologue

My name is Inuyasha: just Inuyasha, no last name. I work for a special branch of the government; but as far as you're concerned I do not exist. I have no birth certificate, no social security number, no bank account, and I'm sure my driver's license and badge are just for show. Not that it matters, by the time you've noticed, I've disappeared or you're dead.

The branch of the government I work for has no name. I don't know how many of us there are, no one does. Personally, I only know six: My half-brother Sesshoumaru and his partner Rin, my best friend Miroku and his partner Sango, my ex-partner Kikyo, and the girl who I am meeting today as my new partner Kagome. The whole operation is run by some guy in a dark corner of the Whitehouse, but even he doesn't know us all.

Our branch investigates unnatural deaths. No, you will never hear about us on the news or in the papers. And no, it has nothing to do with aliens. We investigate the things you only hear whispered in shadows. The things you call urban legends. The stories you are told really happened to a friend of a friend of a friend's mother's father's sister's niece's uncle's friend's brother's aunt's nephew. Stories so far fetched you roll your eyes.

We are well paid for our services. By 'well' I mean that anyone of us could retire after only a few years of service and live comfortably for the rest of our lives. The Agency, as it is affectionately called, pays us weekly in unmarked, non-consecutively numbered bills, none larger then a 50. They also provide us cars, a lot of cars, and medical supplies. They have to. We don't exists, so therefore cannot get insurance and cannot go to a hospital when we get hurt, and trust me we do get hurt. A lot. Every set of partners lives and works out of a fully furnished apartment, level of life style depends on your record. The better your record, the better you live. Kagome and I will be sharing a penthouse on Front Street, the best neighborhood in town. Kagome is a rookie and will be living off my record, just like Kikyo did. I hope she works out better.

Don't get me wrong, Kikyo was good at her job, she was just psycho. She always got the job done; she just didn't care who, what, or how many died in the process. The last job we worked together she had me laid up for a week because she just had to use her powers. Damn nearly killed me.

Yeah, I said powers. Kikyo, Miroku, Kagome, and Rin all have holy powers. Sesshoumaru is a demon and I myself am a half-demon. The Agency is full of people like us. Very few are regular humans. Sango is the only exception I know. Now don't think you can spot us by appearance. I don't have bat wings growing from my back or anything. Yes, I have claws and fangs but I look human…enough. It's the demons that don't look human you have to watch out for. So why would a demon work with someone with holy power? Simple, they tell me to. It really is a good arrangement. One partner is the physical strength, while the other can dispel dark magic.

Don't think we do all this bare handed, we can but normally don't. Sesshoumaru and I favor the sword, Miroku the staff, Kikyo the bow, and Sango uses a giant boomerang. No one uses guns. Guns don't work on demons, and they can be traced.

Kagome will be here soon; I can hear her coming up the stairs. It has to be her, no one else comes this high up the building and I can hear her luggage dragging. I had better go.