Author's Note: So, this is it. This is the story that's pretty much demolished my brain and made me think about only it for - I don't know - the past month? It just stormed my brain and it was all I could think about it. It was supposed to be this cute, romantic tale that was just romance. And then, it kind of exploded like a monster. I really do hope you enjoy this story of mine. It's more or less completely written, although I still have some rather large edits to make for future chapters. Regular updates for this, at least.

PLEASE HEED THE WARNINGS. This a romance but with some very triggery scenes. Each chapter will be supplied with its own "CHAPTER WARNINGS" because of the delicacy of some of them. Please feel free to message me concerning anything and I will happily tell you locations so that you can either bypass the section, or read it - depending on your choice.

Warnings: (1) AU, (2) explicit language, (3) extreme violence, (4) romance with a plot that is in no way the focus, (5) minor character deaths, (6) temporary major character death - YES TEMPORARY, (7) non-graphic and extremely graphic torture, (8) non-con - in the form of kissing, (9) symptoms of PTSD, (10) vague mentions of off-screen rape for an off-screen character, (11) filthy, I-can't-believe-I-actually-wrote-this-and-thought-of-this-I'm-so-going-to-Hell-(WELL AT LEAST THEY HAVE CURSED!SMIRKING!INUYASHA) porn, (12) followed by fluffy, I'M-FULL-OF-ALL-THESE-FEELINGS porn.

YES I KNOW, IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE A ROMANCE. IDEFK WHAT HAPPENED.

Like I said, individual chapter warnings will be given so that if you have any questions concerning the specific chapter, you can ask and I can answer. I have it all listed so that if you choose to skip a part, I can tell you exactly where it is. No hard feelings.

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. I do not profit from this story.

Chapter One Warnings: AU, explicit language, extreme violence.

Title: Taken from "Falling On," by Finger Eleven.

What You're Falling On

Chapter One

July 19th, 2009

Day 0

It looked like the sky was on fire.

Kagome heard the screams, freezing herself in place with her gun clutched in her hands. Nothing was going according to the plan. This wasn't supposed to be some heavy-hitting mission where troops were filing out of government-funded vehicles with guns drawn, but it was. Not that they would do any good anyways, but desperation was desperation, and Kagome had been with this job long enough to know when things were pushing the limit.

She felt panic rise up her throat, but years of training had her shoving it ruthlessly back down. She didn't have the time or energy for it; Kagome had to find her way through the madness. There was the sickening sound of a dragon's roar, too loud before suddenly a burst of heat flared. She heard more screams – blood-curdling, horrifying – and Kagome wanted to close her eyes like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz and shout that there was no place like home, there was no place like home.

But she wouldn't.

"Higurashi!"

The sound of her last name made her snap up her head, seeing Agent Miroku Tsujitani's tense blue eyes but permanent sly grin. Formalities were important only on the clock, and this was definitely on the clock. Still, with the way his grin was etched into his face – like all of this was some sort of game – Kagome wanted to believe they were kicking back playing video games in the lounge on campus.

"We've got to move boss," Miroku stated, grabbing her by the crook of her elbow and all but dragging her towards a crumbling brick wall. They needed better shelter, though Kagome couldn't see anything within a mile radius that would help. The dragon's fire was destroying mostly everything close to them, even the car she had previous taken shelter behind was no more than a burning piece of scrap metal.

"I've lost my earpiece, so I've been incommunicado. Where's the backup?" Kagome asked, ducking behind the wall with her gun still tight against her. She watched as Miroku peered over the brick, eyes searching before he slid back down.

"ETA is two minutes. If we can hold off, they should have the dragon problem taken care of."

"Two minutes? I made the call twenty minutes ago! They should be here by now," Kagome snapped. The agent didn't understand how things had spiralled into levels of absolute hell. They were trained for situations like this, and yet the moment something actually happened no one knew what to do. The simple fact was that there was a demonic dragon burning things, it was monstrous and the agents on scene were only human. Demons were powerful creatures and while the Research and Development department was continuously trying to make conditions better for humans to adapt, it just wasn't there yet.

"Sesshomaru's coming," Miroku said simply, his hands automatically moving over to check his gun. She could hear in his tone that he felt the same way. He may have been her subordinate but he had been on the job for several years, just like her. He knew his work better than anyone, making him a valuable part of her team. "We're almost in the clear."

Suddenly, Miroku's face paled, right hand reaching up to touch his ear. "Agent Houko? Sango, is that you?" He sounded scared and Kagome looked to see his lips curled in tight over his teeth. The agent looked over the wall, clearly searching for something important when his whole body twitched and froze. "I need a visual. You stay where you are, Sango, you hear me?"

Kagome couldn't hear what Sango's response was but whatever the words were, they made Miroku relax a little. Kagome wished not for the first time that she hadn't lost her earpiece between the second and third explosions. It made communication with her team and the other teams impossible.

"I can break my own rules whenever I want," Miroku replied back flirtatiously – his default mode. "I'm coming to get you so don't move from your position."

Kagome had something to say about that, regardless of what the two field agents were talking about. "Give me the ear bud," she ordered, holding out her hand. "You're going nowhere Agent, not yet. What's Agent Houko's twenty?"

Miroku's jaw tensed, his body at the ready to run. "She's immobile and hurt. I can't leave her out there."

This was the problem, though Kagome would never say it out loud. Fraternization was against the rules for a reason but she had purposefully looked the other way. People deserved to be happy after all. Then again, situations like this put the other side of the coin in the light, just shining with reasons for why the rule was there in the first place.

"I know," Kagome said, keeping her voice low. "But we need a visual and a route before we make any decisions."

"I can't–"

"That's an order, Agent Tsujitani and I'm pissed that I even have to make it!" Kagome snapped. "I am not any happier about this messed up situation than you are so give me the ear bud and let me do my job!"

Miroku seemed to get it, his hands shaking as he took out the earpiece and dropped it into her hand. He got it; she could see it in his blue eyes that he understood. Kagome would die protecting him and Sango because they were her friends, her team mates. But as the only higher-up field agent possibly alive right now after the biggest mess up in the history of missions, Kagome had to do things by the book to keep them all breathing.

She turned around to peer over the wall when suddenly Miroku's heavy body landed on hers, a grunt falling from his lips. Kagome didn't even know what was happening, but then she was collapsing backwards, disoriented and confused with pain radiating from her spine. She had the final thought that everything was going so horribly wrong. Lives were being lost, team mates left behind to deal with something they couldn't handle. No one had been prepared for the dragon when they thought it had been a simple recon.

The last thing Kagome saw before her eyes rolled to the back of her head was the unmistakable sky of deathly fire.

Present Day

September 2nd, 2012

Kagome Higurashi didn't like sleeping. She knew her reasons – sleeping led to dreams and dreams led to the inevitable band that wrapped around her chest – and she knew that if she stayed up to a certain point, the exhaustion would make even the simplest of dreams vanish.

The mirror in front of her was practically mocking her. It was clean, perfect and just the way Kagome liked it. What image it reflected, however, was anything but. Twenty-six years old and she already looked older. Her brown eyes showed off the exhaustion and didn't wear away until the second cup of coffee. Her pale skin always seemed greyer when she first woke up, the blood still needing to get moving just like she had to. It was five-thirty in the morning. Kagome sighed and grabbed the hairbrush to get rid of whatever knots were sure to be in the black, tangled locks.

It took exactly fourteen minutes for her to get ready. She had learned long ago that showers were best taken at night because some sort of demonic blood, guts or waste was bound to end up on her before lunch. Her hair was bad enough as it was.

She made her way through the campus after locking her doors, heading towards HQ where she was scheduled for an appointment. Director Kaede Kyouda had asked at 11:52 p.m. last night for an emergency meeting to take place this morning. Kagome didn't know what it was about or how she was involved, but the director of a secret organization to save the world from evil wanted her there and Kagome would follow that order.

Agents passed her along the way, nodding their greetings. She knew every single one of their names. Six years of a job at FANG made you learn to take in every detail. Kagome turned down the right wing, passing the metal accented logo before rapping lightly on Kaede's door.

The older woman's voice was strong, telling her to come in. Kagome pushed the door open, taking in the sight of Director Kaede Kyouda, one of the big bosses for FANG. She more or less ran it, doing virtually everything but going out into the field herself. She'd done her time, it was obvious from the wrinkles on her face, the eye patch that hid a terrible day years ago when the torture they were putting her through simply wasn't enough.

"You wanted to see me, Director Kyouda?" Kagome asked, stepping inside and closing the door behind her. The office was large and spacious, paperwork surrounding virtually every surface but all neatly and tidily put in their place.

"Sit down please, Agent Higurashi," Kaede murmured, gesturing with her hand while she spun around in her chair to locate something from behind her. "I have two important things to tell you. The first is that you're being transferred."

The black-haired agent paused for a moment, brown eyes calculating the tone in her voice. There was nothing to suggest it was a punishment, although with Kaede it was hard to tell. "I don't understand, ma'am."

Kaede sat back up, rolling her one eye at Kagome's comment. "A promotion, if you will. It's time you went back out onto the field, Agent Higurashi. Your skills are invaluable and you've been training – don't think I didn't know," the older woman interrupted, glaring at the sight of Kagome's mouth opening to protest. "No fault."

The agent snapped her mouth shut and didn't argue.

Kaede smiled then, slow and sure as she passed over a file. "Starting immediately, you will be the handler for one of our greatest in potential. It will be your job to have his back, be his partner, and stand behind the code that FANG represents. Arachnid has been gaining, Agent. You know as well as I do from your times in the Crisis Centre."

"Yes, ma'am," Kagome replied, ignoring the repeated eye roll in favour for the folder Kaede had placed in front of her. She watched the director nod before opening it, taking in the photo and the basic information on file. It wasn't hard difficult to process – she'd heard the name several times. "Taisho? Sesshomaru's brother?"

"Inuyasha," Kaede mused, a smile playing on her lips. "I want you to handle him."

Kagome knew what that meant. She looked up at the director, more confused than ever. "He's had seven handlers in the past three months. He's volatile, stubborn and doesn't listen. I've seen his reports, the live video feed from his missions. While I know some of the rumours are clearly exaggerated–"

"Agent Higurashi," Kaede interrupted, her voice sharp. She may no longer be in the field, but she could certainly command an army without moving a finger. "Inuyasha Taisho has the potential to be greater than his half-brother. I am old, not stupid. Are you telling me you are incapable of completing the task I have assigned to you, Agent?"

For the second time that morning, Kagome kept her mouth shut, thinking over her words. Inuyasha Taisho was supposed to be one of the most destructive demons to have ever worked for FANG. Demons were both good and bad, and FANG recruited those to stop the evil work of Arachnid, an all demon organization bent on eliminating humans. With their strength and individual talents, it wouldn't seem all that hard. The problem was that demons accounted for a very small, insignificant percentage of the living race. Humans overpopulated and demon bloodlines got thinner and thinner as their mates more often than not became tainted with human blood. Finding full demons –even half-demons – was nearly impossible. Sesshomaru was known as the greatest fighter FANG had. The concept of Inuyasha becoming something far better was inconceivable from what she had seen.

"Higurashi," Kaede snapped. "Are you incapable?"

"No, Director Kyouda, I am not. I will gladly accept this arrangement," Kagome replied. Freshly promoted and her hole in the ground was already dug past six feet. It was surprising what could happen in the morning.

"Good." The director's smile returned once more. "Inuyasha will be on-site in four hours. The necessary forms have been sent to your office already and I expect them by tomorrow. Have a good day, Agent Higurashi."

Nodding, Kagome stood up from the chair, taking the folder with her. If Inuyasha was her new assignment, she would need all of the information she could get. Back in the field after three years and this was what she was put up against. It was like FANG enjoyed making her leap before she looked.

Hopefully this time, no one ended up dead.

The Demon Initiative was the responsibility of FANG to have trained and prepared demons to save the human race. Humans were versatile and determined, but their adaptability wasn't good enough for demonic attacks. Since Arachnid started up in early 2000, over a million people had died. The extermination of the human race had yet to even begin and that was why FANG was created. Not all demons were inherently evil and it was the few good ones that were brought on board to defeat something only they could truly comprehend. Demons were stronger, faster, and could adapt faster, before humans even had time to process the scenery.

FANG consisted of humans as well, most of them with specialities that separated them from the rest. Every agent's file was under the strict viewing restriction of Director Kaede Kyouda's eyes but stories were told. CIA, FBI, Navy SEAL, Al Qaeda…the list was endless. Then there were people like Kagome, who simply had ancient history that wouldn't let go.

The black-haired woman sat in her office, glancing up at her clock. Late, Inuyasha was already late. It was their first meeting and in Kagome's strict view, first impressions were everything. Turning back towards the reports, she cringed at the sight of the piles of paper. While it wasn't director-level bad, it was getting there. She glared at the page right in front of her, demanding to know a list of qualifications she had filed out a hundred times but had to do so yet again because of the new promotion. Chances were that she'd have to move offices. Being located at the Crisis Centre wasn't exactly where the handlers were supposed to remain.

"You've got to be shitting me."

Kagome looked up instantly, wondering how in the world someone had gotten into her office without her even noticing. The door was open, just a little bit more than the slightly angled position she had left it at. Still, the door creaked and the fact that he– "Inuyasha," Kagome stated, covering up whatever concern she had. This was already a tragically bad start. The half-demon was going to have a field day all because he had caught her off-guard. She couldn't slip like that again. Kagome had been a field agent for three years for god's sake. "You're late."

"I'm aware." The half-demon in front of her smirked, looking far too sure of himself in the small office. His golden eyes scanned her desk, his hip cocking to the side as he took everything in. "So you're my babysitter."

"Handler," Kagome corrected. She was expecting this, at least. The rumours weren't wrong that he had quite the unfiltered mouth.

"Babysitter," the silver-haired man repeated, flopping down in the leather seat opposite to her. "You have a name?"

Kagome suppressed the urge to yell. This was an opportunity – something that the director was giving her to prove herself. There weren't many humans like her – extra powers that could go a long way when fighting to save lives against demons – so she had to do this right. She had to get this stubborn, mouthy half-demon to listen to her, to respect her and most of all, to give a crap about what they were doing at FANG. "Agent Higurashi," she replied coolly. Grabbing a folder from her right, she handed it over to her new charge. "This is all of the information you'll need – about our missions, our contacts and myself. Any questions?"

Inuyasha stared at the manila folder, making no move to take it. "Why would I read that shit? Can't you read it to me, like a bedtime story? It'll be like babysitting, only for real."

"Insinuating that I'm going anywhere near your bed is a wild, terribly unsuited idea for you," Kagome responded, keeping her voice firm. "Read it. Director Kyouda will want to be testing us soon during the probationary period. If you mess up because you didn't read the file, it'll look bad on the both of us."

The smirk was back out in full force, but this time it wasn't blandly amused. There was a look in Inuyasha's golden eyes, something deep and guarded. "Let's get this straight, shall we? You're my babysitter. You're responsible for me. Now I can take care of my own goddamn self, so as long as you can do the same then I don't need to do any kind of this formal bullshit. You don't know the first thing about me and I don't care to know the first thing about you. We'll leave it at that."

"You're Inuyasha Taisho, born on January 25th, 1980. Both of your parents are dead – your father a few months before your birth and your mother when you were six. You have a half-brother who is considered one of FANG's greatest fighters. The longest you've ever been with a handler is three weeks and that was apparently because you were in a coma for most of it due to a fight. Reckless action is generally what's written in all of your field reports and you're seriously injured three out of every five missions. Averagely, 2.5 of the three missions you're injured in were because you did something stupid and/or against direct orders."

"So you know what every other handler knew," Inuyasha spat, clearly not moved. "You think you can make a difference?"

Kagome forced the taunting smile to her face, allowing herself to slip into the role so easily. Three years of sitting behind a desk and she could still pull punches with the best of them. She knew how to play the part, knew how to get whatever was necessary done. If this was going to be the way their working relationship was, then so be it. "Not a chance. But I know enough about you to keep you alive and that's all you need. As long as you return to base at the end of the day having saved more lives than you've ended, I've done my job. Now as far as I'm aware, you should be in training right now. You're dismissed."

The silver-haired man looked incredulous for a moment, the smirk completely wiped off his face. It was only a brief moment, since his face went back to the usual cocky smirk within seconds. "You're going to be a fun one to crack, Agent…?"

"You heard it the first time."

"Right." Inuyasha stood up, turning around to leave the office door.

"The folder, Inuyasha," Kagome reminded him blandly. "You can't read it if you leave it on my desk."

Inuyasha was at the desk so fast Kagome hadn't even had time to blink. Super speed wasn't common for all demons but it was certainly written in Inuyasha's file. The handler wanted to know exactly how fast he could run. "Forgot."

"Conveniently, I remembered for you."

Rolling his eyes, Inuyasha finally left the office with the folder in hand.

Kagome sighed, rubbed her temples and wondered what the hell she was going to do to get through this in one piece.

September 9th, 2012

Seeing someone in action on the training field was completely different than watching them in real life. Kagome had seen enough of the silver-haired half-demon from video feed, watching him annihilate targets with the Tetsusaiga. The sword was something else entirely – magical in a way that didn't let demons touch it (besides Inuyasha's half-blood) and only transformed to his will. She had seen a lot of what Inuyasha was capable of and while this mission was a simple recon and wouldn't require such intense skills, it was still fascinating to watch.

Kagome was on the rooftop of another building. The sniper rifle was in position, Inuyasha in the crosshairs as she watched him move. The area of town was mostly abandoned, save for the odd drug dealer or group of sketchy looking people. It used to be an industrial district until twenty years back, when a recession hit the city hard and production simply cost more than what the product was worth selling. No one was supposed to be here but FANG had heard rumours of Arachnid operatives lurking around here, like a base.

"Inuyasha, a word," Kagome murmured into the earpiece, still keeping her brown eye trained on him through the scope.

"Nothing to report, Agent Higurashi," Inuyasha snarled in reply. His back was to her but she could practically see the eye roll anyways. "I don't hear anything, don't smell anything. It's dead here."

"Acknowledged, we'll leave in five," Kagome stated, taking her eyes off the half-demon to check her watch. They'd been out there for almost two hours already. They would move out so that another detail could come in to replace them. "Radioing Team Beta."

"You sound like a robot." The statement was harsh, his words dripping with incomprehensible anger. "Want to try actually being human?"

"This is not an informal chatting feed," Kagome snapped right back. "Radio silence until I give the word to move out."

"Radio silence until I give the word to move out," the silver-haired man mimicked, his voice high-pitched and completely off the mark. "You sound exactly like my–"

Kagome internally groaned because the half-demon had been mouthy the entire time they'd been out. He was either unresponsive or too chatty and it annoyed her to no end. This was different though because suddenly Inuyasha never finished his sentence. Looking into the scope, she saw the half-demon, his muscles tense. Slowly she slid her fingers into place, trigger ready to be pulled as she started to scope around him. "Inuyasha, what is it?"

Silence for a moment, and Kagome was going to scream at him to listen to her when Inuyasha finally responded. "There's something here, shit." She watched through the scope as the silver-haired half-demon jumped, body soaring into the air and landing on the roof of the building opposite to her. "There's a humming sound coming from this building. I can't place what it is though."

"Humming? What does it sound like?" Kagome asked, feeling her heart rate pick up. She aligned the sniper rifle as she rotated the scope, finding all of the exits and visible windows clear. "Taisho, mimic it for me."

"Fuck."

Kagome locked Inuyasha between her crosshairs, trying to figure out what he was seeing. "Taisho, report!"

"Where's a window?" Inuyasha demanded rather than answering. "I need the nearest window!"

"West of your position, closest to me," the handler replied instantly. "What's the sound?"

Inuyasha didn't respond yet again, merely taking off at a run before grabbing the edge of the building. His body swung down, twisting in a way that was completely unnatural and would have any human already falling down the two-story building. The window was near his feet as he hung there, suspended with only his fingers grappling against the flat roof. "Open it up for me, dammit!" Inuyasha shouted.

"I am supposed to be invisible, Inuyasha. What the hell are you doing?" Kagome watched him struggle, still not knowing what had Inuyasha going, what the humming noise was, what the half-demon was sensing. Clenching her jaw and realizing that a ton of paperwork was sure to follow, Kagome squeezed the trigger, firing off just enough shots. The half-demon then curled his feet up to rest on the brick, hovering for only a moment before he swung his body and let go. He kicked into the window, the glass shattering as he disappeared into the building. "What are you doing, Inuyasha? Report!"

There was no reply other than heavy breathing and Kagome was going to kill him. She was going to ground him, bury him in paperwork and report him so fast that his head would spin.

"I have a visual on Arachnids, four of them. They're in a chamber of some sort." Inuyasha's whisper was difficult to hear. "It's completely covered; I don't think they know I'm here."

"What story?"

"The second," Inuyasha replied. "Watch the windows. I'm going to be sending you a couple presents to celebrate our new partnership."

"We are not to engage. I'm calling for backup–"

"Hey fuckers," Inuyasha yelled and Kagome could hear the sound of alarms. There were noises that she could distinguish – the clicking of guns, the sound of metal clashing, roars of anger – and then other noises that she couldn't. Now the humming was distinguishable to her ears, the sound pulsing almost. It was unlike anything she had ever heard but before she had time to contemplate it, a body was flying through yet another broken window.

No silver hair; not Inuyasha.

Kagome watched the first body fall, face down. The demon was still alive though, since it would take a lot more than a two-story fall to kill them. She grimaced, barely hesitating when she saw the demon try to stand up, the symbol for the Arachnid group clear on its clothing. She fired twice, hitting each knee and watching as the monster fell.

Another demon soaring, no silver, and Kagome didn't hesitate with letting out another two shots – both knees again. Tabbing at her communication radio, Kagome opened the channel to FANG's operation base. "H342 to FANG, requesting back up. GPS signal intact, awaiting–" A crash from another window, the sound of Inuyasha yelling in her ears and Kagome shifted to shoot the newly fallen demon on the ground. "Awaiting Medical, Crisis and R&D teams."

The voice on the other end was bland, but Kagome knew how it worked. "Your mission status?"

"Engaged."

"You were told to not engage," the operator stated.

Kagome clenched her jaw shut. "I'm aware, Operator."

"ETA is fifteen minutes. Standby."

There was no more to say so Kagome waited for the next body to fall, praying that it wouldn't have silver hair.

"Agent Higurashi?" Inuyasha voice sounded somewhat strangled, like he was choking. "Far window, shoot."

Kagome tried to get a visual but couldn't see anything. 'Far window' wasn't exactly detailed information either. "I don't have a visual. I need better description than–" There. Pressing against the window was the clear mark of a spider, the symbol for Arachnid. Kagome lined up the shot, exhaling before pulling the trigger.

"Fuck!"

"Inuyasha, report damn it," Kagome urged, wondering what the hell happened. He told her to shoot and in the field you don't give orders that aren't meant to be followed. She learned that the first time the hard way. "Report to me, you infuriating ass."

"Calm the fuck down, Higurashi. Your bullet just has me covered in blood." He paused, momentary. "Of the other demon, of course. Good aim."

If the half-demon had been in her line of sight, she would've shot him too. "You completely went against my orders," Kagome snapped into the line. She hoped his ear bud was ringing in those fuzzy, triangular ears. "Do you realize what position you've put me in?"

Inuyasha didn't reply – of course he didn't – but merely jumped out of the second story window and landed softly on the ground. She could hear his soft pant of breath, could see through the scope that he was inspecting the breathing bodies of the demons, all unable to do much more than crawl and not getting anywhere fast. Inuyasha kicked one of them, stepped on the other with his head down. "You hit each knee."

"I couldn't have them running and we need them alive," Kagome replied. She moved to get up, putting down the sniper rifle and starting to pack it away. Medical, Crisis and R&D teams would be there soon to oversee the mess. She wanted to get her own personal look at the inside before Director Kyouda demanded to know everything that went down.

"You shot both knees on the other one too." Inuyasha sounded confused almost. "How many shots did you let off?"

"Including or not including what I aimed at the window to stop your sorry ass from falling to the ground?"

"Not including."

Kagome didn't need to count. The sound of each fire still rang in her head. "Seven: six knee shots and one head shot. Why?" She was almost sorry she packed away the scope. Looking down from the rooftop wasn't particularly helpful because she was up four stories and Inuyasha's expression was generally unreadable anyways.

"You didn't miss," Inuyasha stated.

Kagome smiled to herself. "I never miss."

She didn't want to talk to him anymore, so she pulled out the earpiece and tucked it into her field suit. Finishing up, Kagome left the rifle on the roof for the other agents to get, heading down the flights of the fire escape to get towards the half-demon. She should have known Inuyasha would be a little more difficult to ignore than that.

"You took out your ear bud," Inuyasha pointed out, leaning casually against the metal and blocking the final set of stairs down. "That's not professional."

"You're not a professional, so I thought I'd treat you the same way," Kagome replied firmly, getting as close to him as she could without breaking too much personal space. "I need to see the inside of the building so I can somehow clean up this mess you've created. Now move."

Inuyasha glared at her, his golden eyes searching for something. "Why don't you miss? You trained or something for it?"

"We'll say I've been doing it for a long time," Kagome answered simply, "and leave it at that."

The half-demon paused, glaring at her for mocking him but letting her get by anyways. Kagome didn't spare him another glance – not with the way he'd been acting, not with the way he purposely broke the rules and disobeyed her. Now she had to take in the situation and figure out a way to best explain what had happened.

The building wasn't large and that helped. Kagome's search of the first floor was light, nothing compared to the second floor where everything was. A human, long since dead, was lying in the corner. Her blood was drained, her skin that awful colour and shrivelled like a raisin. It was clear she had died due to exsanguination, although why was another matter entirely. There was a glass room with one wall completely damaged, the place where Inuyasha had obviously stormed in. Alarm lights were flashing but in the middle of the glass room were tests of all kinds, locking up in hazard cases or being monitored. There was also a rather large hole.

Getting closer, Kagome examined it, realizing that it was walled on all four sides. It travelled to the bottom of the first story, dirt sitting at the floor from what she could tell. It looked almost like a well, except that it existed on the second floor of a building. It made…no sense.

The sounds of sirens drew her out of her thoughts. Without a doubt her backup request from FANG was finally here. She was barely five steps out of the building when a car abruptly stopped a few feet away from her, two FANG employees stepping out. Kagome froze on the spot, hands clenching at the sight. Agent Miroku Tsujitani had been driving, his familiar blue eyes looking around before finally landing on her. There was a smile there, small but sure and Kagome had looked only a second before she had to turn away. Thankfully, Director Kyouda was distraction enough, scowl firmly in place.

"Agent Higurashi," Kaede started, forcing the young, black-haired woman to step closer. Kagome felt the tension, could see how Miroku shifted awkwardly to the side. "I want a report now. Verbally, before you're so swamped with paperwork you'll have to swim out of your office."

This was it, the moment where she could explain every single thing that went wrong. How Inuyasha didn't listen to her, how he completely disobeyed orders and went into the building without a visual and only the sound of a strange hum. Kagome turned briefly, her chocolate brown eyes landing on the half-demon. Inuyasha was standing not too far away, arms cross with a smirk on his face. He looked…smug. Challenging. He looked like he was waiting for her report, for the lecture that would surely follow about how he'd be in trouble yet again.

It suddenly occurred to her.

Kagome frowned, seeing Inuyasha's stance for what it was – a challenge. He wanted her to complain. He wanted her to tell on him, to get him in trouble, to keep up his reputation as the bad boy hero that just couldn't be saved. Inuyasha wanted her to break up their partnership, call it ruined and terminate it. Well, she wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

"Higurashi, I won't ask again," Kaede warned.

"The situation was under control at all times," Kagome said firmly, looking Kaede square in the eye. She could lie with the best of them – her whole life was a lie considering she worked for a top-secret government organization to save the human race – and this was no exception. Kaede was a terrifying woman but Kagome wouldn't let it get to her. If Inuyasha wanted a challenge, he would get one. "Rumours regarding Arachnid bases were true. While investigating the area, Inuyasha was able to smell the scent of demons while surveying on top of the roof of this building. I was maintaining visual of the surrounding area on the rooftop directly across, and saw what appeared to be a human hostage at the hands of some demon. With a potential hostage situation I had no choice but to act and disregard the engagement order. I fired six rounds into the second story window and Inuyasha was able to get in. Fighting commenced and Inuyasha was able to take down four Arachnid operatives. I was able to incapacitate three of the demons with shots to the knee and made the kill shot to the final Arachnid who Inuyasha was struggling with. There is an unknown project in the second story. The human hostage was already dead – has been for at least a week. Medical will have to have the specialists look at what the cause of death was but I'd bet exsanguination."

For the longest moment, Kaede gazed at the field agent. It was inscrutable, so difficult to determine what the older woman was truly thinking. There was the tiniest flicker, that wise grey eye looking at Inuyasha before Kagome, a ghost of a smile on her lips. "Don't forget the paperwork, Agent."

"No ma'am," Kagome replied.

Kaede turned around, her hand pressing to the radio on her shoulder as she barked out orders. Teams swarmed the building, the demons bleeding on the asphalt being hoisted and taken away. Only two of them had to be tasered, so it was a win.

Kagome felt more than heard Inuyasha's looming presence over her shoulder. She turned around, looking up at the six-foot tall demonic hero with a blank, unreadable expression. Inuyasha was a half-demon and she had read his file – his hearing was far above average and he would have definitely heard the conversation between her and the director. Kagome let her lips twitch up. "I'll expect your field report on my desk by the morning."

Inuyasha's golden gaze was hard. "You lied."

"I saved your ass."

"So what, I owe you now, is that it? Do you want to play some sort of game?" Inuyasha snarled. His voice was quiet but the barely restrained anger was there. He had issues – big ones.

"Not at all, Inuyasha," Kagome said lightly, holding up her hands. "You took down three demons and set up a kill shot. We've successfully located one of Arachnid's hidden labs."

"I disobeyed you for the fucking fun of it," Inuyasha pointed out unnecessarily. "And you're going to reward me?"

The smile that crossed her face was completely genuine and Kagome wasn't afraid of showing it. "I'm going to punish you for it because insubordination gets agents and heroes killed. But while this isn't a game to me, it clearly is to you. I don't know what deep-rooted issue is the cause for your absurd, insulting disregard for authority but as long as you're with me, I'm not going to let you win. Disobey me all you want and I'll take the hit. This is your game Inuyasha, so challenge accepted."

The half-demon growled, taking a dangerous step closer. "You have the unfair advantage. I don't even know your name, Agent Higurashi."

Just as fast as it came, the smile went. "This is your game, not mine. You started it without knowing my name so it'll end that way. As a demonic hero with no codename by your choice, I know yours by necessity. This is a professional relationship; boundaries don't get crossed."

Inuyasha's resulting smirk was almost terrifying. "I don't play fair."

"You're petty enough, so I figured." Turning on her heel, Kagome made her way towards the building. Kaede had just entered and Miroku was busy with the Arachnid captures so she didn't want to go anywhere near that. She would settle for the second story finding instead.

Feedback would be so greatly appreciated.

I hope the warnings didn't scare too many people off - I'm just painfully aware I have younger, impressionable readers that I don't want to terrify, as well as adults with triggers. So, I rather warn.