Disclaimers: I do not own Inu-Yasha . . . no matter how much I bid on Ebay.

Chapter One: Free At Last

"Move it Maggot!" An uncaring voice growled; pulling away the iron bars that separated a person from containment and freedom.

The voice belonged to a tall man clad in a police uniform. Fully equipped with holster, loaded gun, baton, stun gun, and other 'helpful' tools. The man's firm set jaw showed that he was an all work man, but the twinkle in his deep violet eyes said otherwise. He could be called handsome, or hot, but those words did him no justice. He was downright gorgeous from the black hair tied into a small ponytail at the nape of his neck, to his dazzling smile when he showed it, to his well-built body, and even to the dark cloth wrapped around his left hand gave him a more mysterious air that made him more irresistible.

"I'll show you maggot Miroku," a voice growled back from within the cell.

"That's Officer Miroku to you," Miroku said smugly as the man emerged from within the room.

Miroku smirked at the prisoner who stood tall and muscular. The orange jumpsuit doing nothing to hide his well-toned chest and bulging muscles. His silverish-white hair framing around his shoulders, claws flexing within the confinements of the handcuffs placed on his wrist. His honey-gold irises turning a hard amber as his piercing gaze looked everywhere, as if to be attacked. The white, triangular, dog-like ears upon his head twitching at the slightest sound.

"I don't meet many officers that devote their life to lechery," the white-haired man snapped back.

"Well maggot, I don't recall having to have ever grabbed one woman in the past hour," Miroku said with pride, puffing his chest out. His courage faltered somewhat under the prisoner's hard stare.

"Yeah, more like the past half hour," the white-haired one snorted. "Don't think I missed you cope a feel at Megumi."

"I wasn't 'coping' a feel," Miroku said dramatically, making quote marks with his fingers. "I was merely swatting off a mosquito that I saw. Those bites are very itchy you know," Miroku informed.

"Feh," He snorted once again, disbelief evident in his voice. "More like swatting her ass."

"Really Inu-Yasha, just 'cause you're up for parole, doesn't give you the right to make snide remarks at me like you were a free man," Miroku snapped.

"Watch it human," Inu-Yasha growled. "Even if I become a parolee, I'll still have more freedom than you."

"Shut-up Inu-Yasha!" Miroku spoke in an irritated tone.

"Is the human upset because I'm right?" Inu-Yasha mocked in a scary baby tone.

"Some friend you are . . . if it weren't for the Demon Proclamation . . ." Miroku started to complain.

" . . . Then humans and youkais would be equal . . . blah blah blah. I've heard this before," Inu-Yasha finished.

Inu-Yasha rolled his eyes at the familiar argument. Yes the Demon Proclamation had youkais superior to humans, but what the humans didn't understand was that youkais were limited in their ways. Human living conditions were better now than back in the feudal ages, heck some were even equal. But still, the youkais ruled the city. In fact, Inu-Yasha was son of the leader who passed away not too long ago.

"Thinking of your brother again," Miroku stated more than asked, as he observed the sour expression that crossed Inu-Yasha's face.

"It's all Sesshomaru's fault I spent two damn years in here!" Inu-Yasha growled, baring one of his sharp fangs.

"Inu-Yasha . . . your crimes were . . . they were . . . we couldn't just let you . . . It isn't . . ." Miroku struggled for words to describe the situation.

"Just spit it out!" Inu-Yasha growled, getting rather impatient with the man. Miroku opened his mouth to protest the rudeness he was being subjected to, but was cut off.

"As much as he would, I think the officer should learn to respect a youkai of higher stature . . . even if he is only half," a cold voice spoke out from before them. Both snapped their heads forward to see a tall comely man, with billowing sliver hair and face holding stoic expression. There was a pair of purple stripes on his cheek and a crescent moon on his forehead. He seemed like an older Inu-Yasha, except wiser and more powerful looking.

"Ah, put a lid on it Sesshomaru. You know damn well that Miroku is a friend of mine," Inu-Yasha spat, contempt in his voice. "Besides, I have a meeting to get to."

"Inu-Yasha . . . follow me," Sesshomaru commanded, turning on his heel and walking down the hall, the bad lighting flickering on and off.

"Didn't you hear me, I have a meeting!" Inu-Yasha called after his receding back.

"Inu-Yasha, I don't believe he heard you," Miroku whispered.

"The meeting was canceled, now follow me."

"Never mind," he muttered, as he watched an angry and grumbling Inu-Yasha move after the figure.

x.x

"So you decided to listen for once," Sesshomaru's monotone met Inu-Yasha's ears as he walked into a small room, in which Sesshomaru was seated at a low wooden table.

"Shut-up, I just wanted to find out why the hell my parole meeting was canceled," Inu-Yasha proclaimed as he slammed the door shut.

"That is because there was no need for the meeting. You have your parole," Sesshomaru spoke in an un-mattering tone and waving his hand in an offhanded way.

"I . . . have the . . . parole," Inu-Yasha repeated in a daze.

"You should thank Rin the next time you see her . . . if it wasn't for her, then I would've let you rot for another three years."

"I have . . . the . . . parole." Inu-Yasha repeated, not paying any attention to what Sesshomaru was speaking.

"Yes, get it through your head already. Now, I took the liberty of contacting the provider for your son," Sesshomaru explained, shuffling papers around.

"Huh?" Inu-Yasha's attention was caught and his head shot up.

"Now, I've contacted his provider, though they weredifficult to reason with. They refused to return him to you . . ."

"I don't give a damn!" Inu-Yasha exclaimed, slamming an angry fist onto the table. "He is my son!"

"I realize that Inu-Yasha, which is why I'm going to contact them again. Now hurry up, we've got a meeting," Sesshomaru bustled, moving out of the room.

"Meeting?!" A confused Inu-Yasha asked as he hurried after him. "But you said it was can-"

"A meeting with your new boss. As part of your parole, you must have a stable job."

"I already have a stable job."

"Lazing around the house is not a job, nor is it stable," Sesshomaru snorted, walking out of the building.

"I never said that was my job!" Inu-Yasha shouted as Sesshomaru slammed a black car door shut.

x.x

'Damn him!' A young woman thought angrily as she slammed a pile of books onto a sturdy table. She was a medium height woman with shoulder length, wavy, onyx black hair that was hanging loosely around her shoulders. Her body was clad in a loose baby blue T-shirt and long navy denim skirt. Her face held a look of anger as she swiftly moved through the shelves upon shelves of books.

"Book Palace Bookstore! How may I help you?"

"Miss Higurashi?"

The cold voice rang through her mind as she tried to ignore the phone conversation she had that very morning.

"This is she. May I ask who's calling? I don't believe I recognize your voice."

"Not that it's any of your business, but this is Sesshomaru Hazuki speaking."

" 'This is Sesshomaru Hazuki speaking'," Kagome spoke in a disgusted tone, her mouth twisting into an ugly frown. "Going around, speaking on the phone like he's all high and mighty."

"Sesshomaru? As in the supreme leader of Japan Sesshomaru?"

"Again, not that it's any of your business human, but yes."

"Why are you calling?"

"You are just a rude person, aren't you? I'm calling about my nephew."

"How would I know your nephew?"

"Oh, you do know him. I believe you adopted him on this day two years ago.

"Hiro?"

"Yes Hiro."

"What do you want with Hiro?!"

"His father wants him back."

"JERK!" Kagome suddenly screamed, slamming another pile of books down, before roughly shoving them into the shelves. "Hiro is my son!"

"So?"

"So you will give him back!"

"I think not! His good-for-nothing father abandoned him, while I saved him! He doesn't deserve to have Hiro back!"

"Though I might agree that my brother is a good-for-nothing, he did not abandon his son! Unfortunate circumstances came up in which he could not protect Hiro."

"Is that suppose to mean something to me?"

"Miss Higurashi . . ."

Kagome was still getting shivers up her spine just remembering how low the voice dropped, seeming to become more frigid.

"If you want to take this to court, we will. But really Miss Higurashi, who do you think will win. A mere human, or the second in command of all of Japan?"

"I think all you demons are the same with a cocky attitude. If you want to take this to court, then we'll damn well will takeit to court!"

" . . . We shall speak again soon Miss Higurashi. Rethink what I said. It will hurt less to give Hiro up willingly than to have him taken away."

"I believe it will hurt your ego more when I win!"

"And that's when I hung up on the bastard," Kagome whispered softly out to the air. Her ending tirade stopping somewhat as a goofy grin spread slowly. "No one, and I mean no one is going to take Hiro from me."She shook her head to clear it before rushing forward to the front desk to answer the ringing phone.

"Hello, Book Palace Bookstore! How may I help you?" Kagome greeted dutifully.

"Hey Kagome!" A voice shouted, causing Kagome to pull the phone away from her ear.

"Hello, Sango. Is there a reason you called? I told you I can't keep this phone-line busy."

" . . . I'm guessing you're still mad." The other woman commented like she was saying the weather was nice.

"OF COURSE I'M STILL MAD!" She yelled into the phone, ignoring the protest of Sango to calm down. "That . . . that . . ."

"Jackass," Sango filled in.

"Yes! He threatened to take Hiro away form me!"

"Kagome . . . you knew it was bound to happen. You knew when you adopted him that there was the big possibility that his father would come back."

"Just whose side are you on?" Kagome shrieked, for once glad her store was empty.

"No one's" Sango stated simply.

"No one's? No one's! You're suppose to be on my side!"

"Kagome, look at this from the father's side. How would you feel if you had the chance to get your child back, but someone prevented it."

"So you're saying that I should give Hiro away."

"I'm not saying that."

"Then you're saying I should keep him?"

"I'm not saying that either."

"Then what are you saying?" Kagome asked, thoroughly confused.

"I'm saying you should think this through, before making any rash de-"

Kagome didn't hear the end of what Sango was saying because she had slammed the phone down from anger.

'She's suppose to be my friend . . . and she goes off, telling me that I should thin before making rash de-'

"I hope that's not how you treat all of your customers." A cold voice commented. A very familiar cold voice. Kagome turned her attention to the front where two men stood under the tiny bell which signaled the entrance of customers.

"And I hope you don't expect to get any customer service from me," Kagome snapped irritably, ignoring the shocked look the younger man held.

"Hey Sesshomaru." She managed to hear the man whisper out of the corner of his lip, a small fang protruding outward. "That chick just told you off." Kagome watched curiously as the young man looked as if he was going to choke, his face going a nice shade of cherry red.

"Shut it," the older commanded, giving him a swift swat with the cane in his hand.

"As amusing as you two are," Kagome intervened, stopping the younger from attacking the older. "Is there a reason you are gracing my small, belittling store?" Sarcasm dripping off every word Kagome spoke.

"As charming as you are Miss Higurashi, you are starting to step over a fine line," Sesshomaru sneered.

"Oh, did you hear that fine sir?" Kagome asked, turning her attention to the other man. "I'm starting to step over a fine line. Oh dear me, oh my. I mustn't do that now!" Kagome shrieked, going into hysterics, placing her hands to her cheeks and her mouth forming an 'oh' expression. Suddenly all her movements stopped, and she gave a leveled glare to Sesshomaru. "Listen here, and listen good. I told you the discussion was over and I'll just see your ass in court!"

"Miss Higurashi, I am here on other matters."

"Oh, and what might they be?" Kagome questioned with a startled face.

"Meet Inu-Yasha," Sesshomaru introduced, placing a vice grip onto the younger man's shoulder. A twisted smile seemed to quirk the corners of his mouth as he spoke his next words. "Your new employee."

"Em . . . ployee . . ." Kagome repeated his words in a daze, as if not truly believing them. Then the meaning sunk in. "Hell no! As if I don't already get enough customers! Now you want to give me a convict!?"

"That is too bad that you feel that way Miss Higurashi, but when you first opened this store, you had signed a release form; in which you promised to employ any men we sent your way," Sesshomaru explained in an authoritative tone.

"Yes, well you could've given me a warning," Kagome snapped.

"I did. I believe I left a message with a Miss Sango Long last week," Sesshomaru informed, quirking a curious eyebrow at her.

"Dammit Sango," Kagome cursed under her breath. "Well, as much as I would appreciate the help, I don't need it."

"You have an agreement," Sesshomaru demanded, moving closer to her with Inu-Yasha behind him.

"I had an agreement with my husband that he would stay true to me, but hey, that didn't stop his ass from cheating on me," Kagome hissed vehemently. "I don't need a damn convict."

"Listen you," Inu-Yasha started, moving closer to her. "Quit calling me a convict. I didn't belong in that prison in the first place."

"Sure that's what they all say," Kagome sneered, rolling her eyes skyward.

"You bitch!" Inu-Yasha shouted.

"Why you . . ." Kagome began, but was cut off by a child's cry.

"DADDY!"

A/N: Okay that's all. Hope you guys like. Oh, and read my best friend's rabidotaku22's stories. They are really good!