Behind the Looking Glass by Hello There

Mission Assigned

Preface

Lost. Anger. Bitter sadness. Those are the feelings that have been circulating my life as of late. I have committed an unspeakable act; I fell in love.  I haven’t yet found someone who truly comprehends my situation, for my circumstances are quite strange and sickening. I fell in love with the person who was trying to kill me, as well as the person I was assigned to kill. If I knew this was going to happen, I would have dug my knife in the second we met. However, those plans didn’t go as planned.

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Chapter 1

I’m so cold. What is this place?

“Kagome! Kagome, run! Get out of here!”

I open my eyes. There’s a woman ahead of me with a face sporting bruises and smeared blood, and she yells at me with urgency and the look of pure terror in her glassy eyes as the men surrounding her focus their attentions on me. What’s going on and who is this woman with her clothes torn and hair disheveled, the one surrounded by the mysterious men? I quickly pull myself into a standing position and examine the area around me- as well as a way to escape these men (who are clearly not on my side).

“Get the girl!” the man holding the woman commands his disciples. Soon after I hear the sounds of a dozen feet off in pursuit of -what I can only assume-is me. Before my brain can even react, my feet manage to pull me into a fierce sprint onto the road-which is consequently quite dark and slick.

“No stop! Leave her alone she has nothing to do with this! It’s my fault! It’s all my fault! Please let her--!” There was a quick thump followed by the woman’s silence. Even now this woman is trying to save me, but why? I look back to examine the woman’s condition when my feet slip out from under me and I land on the rigid surface of the slick road. My head breaks my fall, so as I try to get up I am overcome with the desire to empty my stomach contents as my head is pulsing with great force. I try to open my eyes but they refuse to focus as well.

My world begins to darken and the sounds of the footsteps come to an abrupt halt. Someone has lifted me off the ground- I assume it is one of the men in the suits. I feel so weak and naïve for losing. I put all my energy into opening my eyes, my goal finding the face of the man who holds me and cursing him with all the hatred I can muster. He is looking behind him, but his head is slowly turning to face me. I wait, and wait, and wait, and---

“Gah!” Kagome shot up from the covers of the bed, her breath wispy and sweat cold. Each night the dream would continue a bit farther then the last, unlocking places and people she knew nothing of. The dream began right after she had been recruited to Sir’s agency- the night she appeared at his doorstep alone and confused-and with her memories missing. Since that day she’s been unable to sleep through a whole night without waking from the blasted dream- to which the meaning she could still not decipher to the least.

“Sigh…..” the sound flowed from her mouth.

She laid back down leisurely and shifted towards the clock; it was 3:47AM. She knew to continue sleeping was out of the question, so she pushed her covers off and climbed out of bed, immediately feeling the sharp bite of winter weather. She grabbed a blanket and made her way to the kitchen to make herself something to eat. She figured if she wasn’t going to sleep, she minus well start preparing for work- plus she was hungry too. Walking over to the fridge, she peeked inside to see the available things to choose from.

“Damn. I shoulda bought more milk.” Kagome pondered for a moment before pulling out the carton of remaining milk and heading towards her cabinet to retrieve her favorite cereal- Lucky Charms. When she was younger, Sir would always yell at her when she picked out the marshmallows apart from the cereal- though she still did it when he wasn’t looking. However, years of gaining maturity have helped her fondness for the entire cereal grow. She, now, only occasionally picked out the marshmallows, which she felt, was a big step up.

She made her bowl and carried it with her towards the couch and television- to which she peacefully ate and watched cartoons for a good forty-five minutes. She had to be at the agency by 6:30AM, so she quickly cleaned up her mess and headed to her bedroom to take a shower.

After she was done, she followed up on her daily morning routine- brushing of the teeth, combing of the hair, the application of makeup and perfume- all that good stuff. After completing those timely tasks and finishing the attachment of weapons on her person, she had half an hour to get to work. She swiftly grabbed her things and headed out the door, making sure to check that her door was completely locked, before heading to the elevators. Once inside, she realized how much she detested elevator music; it was so jolly and fake. She started humming the tune as she exited the elevators and walked to her car- annoyed at the fact that the damn elevator music was stuck in her head. Approaching her midnight black Lexus convertible, she unlocked and got in the car and proceeded to drive out of the garage.

Upon approaching a red light, Kagome began to feel the days of sleep deficiency catch up to her. This dream was going to be the death of her if it continued to steal her sleep.

“Damn….and it’s only Monday.” She said with a sigh.

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“Morning Higurashi!” a deep voice came from behind Kagome as she entered through the building door.

Turning around, she was greeted with fiery red hair and a big hug. Her mood lightened immediately.

“Shippo! What are you doing up here?-not that I’m complaining.” She replied looking up from his shoulder. She and Shippo Shurinaki had known each other since they were kids, thus having their bond impossibly strong, though he was three years younger. She remembered when he was a good foot shorter than her in elementary and middle school, to which he always complained about. However, when high school came around- she wasn’t sure if it was something he ate or what- but his height steadily shot up until he became a good foot and a half taller than her, to which this day she still found hard to believe.

His face abruptly changed from his jaunty façade to a serious one; she knew that face.

 “He sent me up here to tell you to meet him downstairs. I believe he has found you a new assignment.” The atmosphere had suddenly changed to one of a grimmer tone. “Thanks Ship. I guess I better get going now. Catch you later!” She spoke after giving him a quick hug and a kiss to the cheek- to which she had to stand at the very tips of her toes in order to reach.

“Later Kagome.” He said while watching her retreating figure.

As he watched her walk down the narrow hallway, he thought about her. He remembered the night they met. She had befriended him the night she arrived at the agency, frightened and alone…

“Kagome, here is the room you will be staying in from now on. Shippo, come out and say hi to your new roommate.”

A little boy, with hair red as fire tied up in a turquoise ribbon, peeped out from behind the door; he seemed shy.

“Hi….I’m Shippo…” he said looking at the floor. Kagome waited for his eyes to meet hers, but she realized this one would need a little encouragement. She walked up to him and held out her hand, smiling down at the young demon. Shippo raised his head and peeped through his bangs to look up at Kagome.

“Hey Shippo, my name’s Kagome. I don’t know about you, but I think we could become great friends.” He was absolutely shocked to hear those words flow from her mouth with such kindness and warmth. Why would this girl want to be his friend? It made no sense. She would leave him once she realized how weak he was. People always left him after they realized that.

“You don’t want to be friends with me. I’m weak.” He spoke with his eyes cast. However, he never could have predicted what was going to happen next. He would never forget the way she had spoken to him with such kindness and warmth. When he looked up and met her eyes, there he was startled to see such sorrow and love swimming within the eyes of this dark-haired girl. It had been a very long time since he had seen those emotions reflecting through the eyes of someone speaking to him, years in fact. He hadn’t experienced such things ever since he moved to the agency after his parents had mysteriously vanished. He longed for someone to provide him with love and kindness; he longed for a mother. He, however, couldn’t even remember his mother’s face, let alone her voice or personality. He was young, but he had been even younger when he was separated from them. He missed the feeling of being loved.

“Weak? I see no weakness within you. I see a blooming demon that will one day be so fierce that a hundred men will cower at the sight of your face. I see a caring, sweet boy who any person would be lucky enough to befriend. Don’t you ever call yourself weak, for you are as strong as the winds in the mountains. Will you give me the honor of calling you my friend? “She had been appalled when he had discredited himself; it had been painful to witness. No one should ever know the feeling of not being enough.

It was then that she felt a smile hand grasp her even smaller one. The fox demon was smiling up at her as tears slid down his cheeks. ”Thank you,” He spoke with a tone that tugged the strings within Kagome’s heart, “that means a lot to me.”

“Kagome we really should be leaving now and Shippo you best should get to bed. It is late and Kagome you still must unpack.” The man that had escorted Kagome to Shippo’s room spoke, blatantly reminding the two of his presence.  The two children looked at either with sad smiles plastered to their faces.

“I shall see you tomorrow Shippo. Sleep well.” Kagome whispered loud enough for only Shippo to hear before hugging him and slipping from the room with the escort in tow.

Shippo trotted over to his bed, smiling as he slid under his sheets and laid upon his lenient mattress and fluffy down pillow. He closed his eyes and thought about Kagome, the girl that he had met only minutes ago. How could she, in such a short time, already mean so much to him? He knew why. It was then that he vowed to himself that he would protect her no matter what for the rest of his life. Sighing, he snuggled deeper into his blankets and opened himself to the world of dreams. Kagome would never know how much her words meant to him that night.

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“I am sure that you will not disappoint me. You are one of my very best, and I believe you are the perfect one to handle this assignment.” The familiar smell of pungent whiskey blew in her face.

“Yes Sir. I will be sure not to disappoint.” She was not very fond of this man, though nevertheless he was her superior. For her whole life, Kagome followed his orders and executed them flawlessly, so much that she was now one of Sir’s most valuable assassins. She had been in this room more times than one  can count; the image so far embedded into her memory that finding any item in the room surrounded by complete darkness- including the exquisite weapon collection- was easier than taking candy from a baby. She only saw Sir’s most valuable weapons collection once- at the time Sir did not know of her superb memory- but that’s all it took for Kagome to remember every last detail down to the engraved numbers on each of his six most prized pistols’ handles. She was always intrigued with those things; the numbers engraved a mystery to her. She had made sure to remember them for that specific reason.

She learned early on to remember all details- no matter how meager- saving them for later use if ever needed. At a young age she had gained the trust of Sir and had been highly respected for it was a privilege not given to many. However, many resented the fact that her, such a young insignificant child, could be bestowed such an honor and challenged her to many fights. She annihilated them all. It was then people realized the potency of her and why she had been able to obtain such trust from Sir; they all came to respect and fear her after.

“You best not.  Here is the file on your target. Your job is to seduce him and find information on the agency he works for. He is their top assassin and you are to kill him after obtaining that information. He will not be an easy target, but that is the reason why I chose you. You, after all, are my best agent.” Kagome had to hold back a smile on that last comment. This was the first time he had said it, and it was a great honor for him to give. She felt her aspiration to accomplish this assignment increase tenfold- she knew she would and could not disappoint. She picked up the file and started skimming the facts and information she would need and use.

“ Hmm…let’s see… 6’5, silver waist-long hair, amber eyes, half-brother to the CEO of a head business corporation, dead parents and single….I’ll see what I can do.” She continued to skim through the information when she realized an important detail was missing; his photo. Before she asked an envelope was held out to her.

“I believe you were looking for this, were you not?” Sir seemed to always know a person’s questions before they were asked. It was quite amazing and a trait Kagome heavily envied.

“Thank you Sir. You read my mind.” With that she accepted the envelope and proceeded to open it, finding the face of the man she was to kill. He was very handsome from what she could see; being that the photo had been taken at night. She wouldn’t mind seducing this one; in fact she might even enjoy it.

“He will be at the Christmas ball the Nashimi’s throw every year.  You are to start your mission there. I will be giving you a thousand dollars to buy your apparel for the party and will be giving you access to all the weaponry you will need. Do not put my money to waste.” The way Sir phrased this would sound normal to anyone, but Kagome knew better. What he really means is, “Screw with my money and I will have your head.”

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First Chapter is done! Please tell me if I should continue!

Reviews and constructive criticism appreciated.

 

INUYASHA © Rumiko Takahashi/Shogakukan • Yomiuri TV • Sunrise 2000
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