Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha and do not profit from this story.

Date: February 2, 2016

8:00 A.M.

Higurashi Kagome walked into the Japanese Task force building at eight in the morning. She pointedly ignored the stares she was getting from her male counterparts as she made her way through the reception area; it wasn't because anyone thought she was exceptionally gorgeous or that she was horribly ugly. It was the simple fact that she was a woman. Not that there was much blatant sexism left in many work atmospheres anymore. Women could get hired anywhere a man could, but a woman working at a federal level job in Japan was still rare, especially for a female as young as Kagome, who was at the age of twenty-five. There was one woman working at the front desk to answer any calls that rang, waiting to be put through to whatever department they needed. The stares did not intimidate Kagome, however. Her time in America had taught her to stand her ground in any situation with confidence.

This seemed it would be a valuable lesson, as a certain demon had already tested her patience.

Speaking of the man leading her very first case, Kagome suddenly remembered she had not had her morning coffee, as she had woken up late from staying awake all night, studying up on the deceased Cabinet member, Fujiwara Hakudoshi. She found a few articles on him but nothing particularly noteworthy. Fujiwara-sama had been elected as a cabinet member when his father died back in 2011, and while many suspected his election had something to do with family ties, public opinion of him was somewhat positive. He hadn't done anything outstanding to put him too much in the public eye, but he did have a part in coming with a clean energy initiative for Japan, which many of the citizens rejoiced over. Kagome couldn't figure out why someone with such little recognition and limelight would be murdered. Unless, it was something personal in the home, which was a high possibility.

The young agent mindlessly made herself a Styrofoam cup of coffee in the break room while going through her findings in her mind. Kagome was so lost in thought, in fact, she didn't notice her superior agent marching into the room, an annoyed look covering his countenance.

Takahashi had been looking for the little wench since he noticed her stench permeate the building. The medical examiner had the results from the semen found on the bed and had started the autopsy; Inuyasha was impatient to get started. He wasn't going to sit around and await for her to show up to his office on her own sweet time.

"Hey, wench!" Inuyasha called when he entered the break room, causing many surprised heads to turn his way. He pointedly ignored them as he approached Higurashi-san.

He was immediately annoyed by the sight of her, for reasons unknown to him. He still couldn't help but take the young woman in, despite his best efforts. She was wearing a black blazer over a white button-down shirt, the long sleeves peeking out underneath the arms of the blazer. Her legs were covered by tight, black slacks, forcing him to notice her curves a lot more than he cared to admit. Inuyasha quickly dispelled the thought.

"Yes, Takahashi-sama?" Kagome greeted sweetly. His golden eyes burned deeply into her. What the hell is his problem?

"Don't just stand there, let's go! I'm not waiting on your ass to get started."

Kagome couldn't help the roll her eyes made towards the sky and explained, "Calm down. I'm not even running late. I just wanted a cup of coffee before I came to your office."

"I don't really give a shit. The results for the semen are in and the autopsy has started. Plus, we're interrogating Fujiwara Abi after we're done there. Let's go," Takahashi barked at the young agent. He turned on his heel and left the room as noisily as he entered.

Kagome really tried very hard to suppress another eye roll. Really, she did.

Sucking down a steaming, sour sip of caffeine, Higurashi-san followed after the equally steaming demon, her heels thumping on the tile the whole way.

Inuyasha made his way down to the medical room as the young woman followed behind him. He hadn't expected the results to come in so quickly, but his team did tend to pull late nights and even some all-nighters.

"Here we are," Takahashi grumbled as they stood in front of the glass doors to the medical room.

Higurashi-san drank her last sip of coffee and deposited the cup into a trash can outside the door. Looking up at him, she nodded to signal she was ready.

Pushing open the door, the profiler grabbed rubber gloves from a box on the shelf once inside. Kagome followed suit. Inuyasha noted the serious tone of her face, how determined she looked. He was once again reminded of him when he was just starting out. Plus, that was before Sesshy was his boss and he sure as hell had a lot more freedom then.

"Oi, Miroku," Inuyasha said as he approached the lab-coat clad man. "You got the results for me?"

Medical Examiner Houshi Miroku turned to face his long-term friend with a beaming smile. "Inuyasha, how nice of you to grace my office with your presence. I was really hoping Tachibana-san would be the one to visit me-"

Inuyasha cut Miroku off right there. "Yeah, you know she doesn't want to deal with you this early in the morning, if ever. Besides, she's got more important things to do."

"Ah, yes, she is quite the busy-body." Miroku flicked his dark, purple-seeming eyes to the small figure standing next to the ever-irritated agent. His already beaming smile grew wider. "What have we here? A new agent?"

"Yeah, she just started yesterday. She's my new . . . trainee," Inuyasha grunted in a half-assed attempt to introduce Higurashi-san. He was even more annoyed now that she was inadvertently distracting Miroku from the matter at hand.

Kagome took initiative herself and stepped forward with her hand raised. "I'm Higurashi Kagome. It's a pleasure to meet you. Are you the only medical examiner? That seems like it could get hectic for you."

"My co-worker is on vacation right now; he'll be back next week. But let's not worry about him right now." Miroku grabbed Kagome's hand that was still outstretched towards him and brought it to his lips to peck the back of it. "I'm Houshi Miroku. It's lovely to meet such a beautiful new agent. We haven't had a new female agent since Tachibana-san. And you are especially eye-catching, Agent Higurashi-san."

If the young woman was moved by Miroku flattering words, she didn't show it. The only change was Kagome's face melting from cheerful to bored. She slid her hand out of the medical examiner's grip and shoved it deep into her pocket.

Inuyasha couldn't help the low growl that worked its way up into his throat, threatening to spill past his lips. Why the fuck couldn't people focus? It's not like they weren't on a goddamn time schedule!

"That's very sweet of you to say, Houshi-sama, but would you mind if we got back to the matter at hand? I think Takahashi-sama is getting quite impatient," Kagome said smoothly, deflecting Miroku's words easily.

The medical examiner shot Special Agent Takahashi a quick glance before covering it up with a smile. "Right!" he exclaimed excitedly. "The results for the semen came back this morning. I ran the DNA through NDIS last night and they finished this morning. Unfortunately, that's more Hachi's thing than mine, but I managed to figure it out. I was a little rusty using the system-"

"Miroku," Inuyasha snapped while gritting his teeth, "you're babbling. Back to the point, please?"

"Sorry. Anyways, I can tell you that the semen in the bed wasn't the deceased's or the wife's, since we swabbed her when she arrived here. So you're hunch about Fujiwara-sama having a lover was correct, most likely."

"There was no bullet found at the scene," Kagome stated. "I assume it's still in his head?"

"Ah, yes . . ." Motioning for the two agents to follow him with a wave of his finger, Miroku led them over to the silver table that Fujiwara's body rested upon.

Kagome had to suppress the shiver that coursed through her spine. She had seen plenty of dead bodies; from her anatomy classes in college to her internship, this wasn't something new she was being exposed to. It wasn't death that shook her or any horrific murder scene. There was something about Fujiwara's body that psyched her out. The deceased man was pale in life, from the pictures Kagome saw of him on the internet, but now his skin seemed almost translucent, blue veins running like skinny rivers under his dermis. However, his white hair hadn't changed at all, whereas most hair after that become stiff and dull, making Fujiwara seem way too life-like for comfort. The young woman had to plant her feet firmly to keep herself from backing away.

Miroku walked around to the opposite side of the body from where Inuyasha and Kagome were standing. The medical examiner picked up a pair of tongs, with the bullet nestled between them, which were resting in a container of sterile liquid. He held it up for the two to see.

"I managed to dig the bullet out. Judging by the position of the bullet in the brain, just behind the frontal lobe, the shot was mid- to long-range and the gun was no bigger than a handgun," Miroku explained and placed the bullet back into its container.

"So the person who shot him either obtained the gun illegally or they have special permission to own a handgun," Inuyasha said, more to himself than to the others in the room.

After a moment of silence, Inuyasha nodded, as if finalizing something. "Thanks, Miroku. Great work. This information helps a hell of a lot." Looking at Kagome beside him, he made a simple gesture of his head, signaling for her to follow him.

Eyes widening in surprise at the abrupt departure, Kagome quickly thanked Miroku for the helpful information and quickly made to follow after the senior agent.

"Hey," Miroku called after her. When Kagome's blue eyes were fixed on him curiously, he added with a soft smile, "Good luck, Higurashi-san."

Smiling back, Kagome replied, "Thank you, Houshi-sama. I need it." When she heard Inuyasha let out an annoyed call for her, the young woman hurried after him.

"So, are we going to interview Fujiwara-sama now?" she inquired.

"No," Inuyasha grunted, "I am going to interview her. You're sitting out on this."

"What?! You know, the point of me training under you is so I can learn under you until my badge is issued. I can't just miss out on the fieldwork! We have to do this together!" Kagome protested, amazed on the audacity of the older man.

Inuyasha bristled in annoyance. "There's no fucking we! I don't want you screwing up this case!"

Coming to a halt, she put her hands on her hips, fixing the demon before her with a freezing glare. Inuyasha noticed that her footsteps ceased and turned to look at just what the hell she thought she was doing. He needed to get to that interrogation room, dammit!

"You're already doubting me before you've let me try or see what I can do. I didn't graduate at the top of my class for nothing, you know! So how about we make a deal? You let me interrogate her with you. If I totally screw up, I'll let you do everything by yourself from now on. If not, you get your head out of your stubborn ass and let me work this damn case!" Kagome's finger tapped on her hip as she awaited his response but all he did was stare at her!

All Inuyasha could do was stare at the small wench before him. He never had a woman talk to him like that before . . . ever. Most were either too scared or didn't want anything to do with him at all. No woman had dared to raise their voice to him, didn't have the guts, but this wench had the balls to stand there and lecture him, even gave him an ultimatum.

She did have a point, though. Inuyasha knew he was being an asshole to her without any good reason; there was just something about her that rubbed him a certain way. It wasn't necessarily a bad way but that was part of the problem. The hanyou didn't know what to think of her, so he went with his natural dickhead attitude. It always worked best for him.

He let out a heavy sigh of defeat. "Fine. Whatever. But the moment you fuck something up, you're not bugging me about this shit anymore! Got it?"

Kagome nodded vigorously, smiling brightly as she did so. "Yes, Takahashi-sama! I promise I won't let you down!"

Inuyasha rolled his golden eyes upward and started back down the hallway to his destination. She does have a cute smile though . . .

Fujiwara Abi was a beautiful woman with jet black hair and pale skin that was similar to her husband's. What took away from her beauty though is that her hair was haphazardly thrown into a ponytail, brown eyes so dull they looked like dirt, and dark circles ringed the two orbs. She was wearing an oversized sweater that made her look even smaller than she naturally should be.

Special Agent Takahashi momentarily felt a pang of pity for the woman-losing a loved one was never easy-but he had work to do and Inuyasha didn't intend for feelings to get in the way of that.

"Good morning, Fujiwara-sama," Inuyasha greeted as he sat in a chair across from her. "Thank you for coming in this early. We'll make this quick and get you back to your daughter."

As Kagome took a seat beside him, she was amazed at the amount of gentleness the agent had in his voice; it wasn't a tone she thought he was capable of using towards anyone breathing.

Abi's eyes remained fixed on the table in front of her, despondent. Glancing at Takahashi-sama, Kagome waited for him to take the lead. It was a miracle she was in here and she didn't want to push her luck.

Inuyasha cleared his throat at the lack of response and took a notepad from his pocket. After all, in his field, if you don't write something down, it didn't happen or it wasn't said. "Fujiwara-sama," he began, "around what time did you find the body?"

Abi licked her dry lips and croaked, "Around four in the morning. I had just gotten off my shift at the hospital. I'm a nurse."

"I see." Inuyasha made the note. "Were you alone at that time? Was anyone else in the house at that time?"

Fujiwara-sama shook her head. "I-I came home alone and there wasn't anyone else there. My daughter was at a friend's house and when I went upstairs my husband was already . . . already . . ." The older woman bit down on her lip hard as she tried to hold back the emotions willing to spill over.

"Would you be willing to make a statement proving that?"

Abi nodded. "Yes, of course."

"Were you aware your husband-" Agent Takahashi went to say but his mouth stopped when he felt a hand touch his lightly. When he looked down, the man saw Kagome's fingers touching him. He lowered his brows in confusion.

Kagome gave a light shake of her head. She knew where Inuyasha was headed but she felt they couldn't approach a question such as that head-on. They needed to set it up first. The young agent's blue eyes made contact with the warm amber ones of the superior agents.

Inuyasha silently understood what was being asked of him and, without hesitation, he nodded his consent to her. He needed to see how Higurashi-san would handle her first interrogation, wanted to see if she could pass a test she didn't even know she was taking in his mind.

"Fujiwara-sama," Kagome softly said, "how was your relationship with your husband recently?"

For the first time, Abi looked up from the table at the agents. Her eyes were no longer flat; they beheld confusion and something else Kagome couldn't name. Fear, maybe? What was she afraid of?

"It was . . . normal," the widow stated. "It was a little strained since our work schedules has made it difficult for us to see each other but it's nothing we haven't experienced before."

Kagome had taken out her own notepad from an inner pocket of her jacket and began to jot down notes. "And your daughter? Is everything okay with her?"

"Kanna?" Abi's voice rose an octave in surprise. "Kanna is an honors student who has never gotten into trouble since she was a baby. Our daughter is . . . was . . . rarely a stressor for us."

The young woman offered Abi a smile. "I'm glad to hear it. We're going to make sure you and your daughter are carefully looked after. I can tell you and your husband loved her a lot."

The corner of Abi's mouth twitched up for barely a second. "Yes, I do."

"There is one more question I need to ask you. Bear in mind that I am just asking to narrow down suspects for your husband's murder and I ask that you do not get offended."

The widow raised an eyebrow. "Of course, anything I can do to help."

"Was there any possibility that you were aware or suspected your husband was having an affair?"

Abi's thin eyebrows raised high, stretching her face unflatteringly. Emotions flitted so quickly across her face that neither Kagome nor Inuyasha could catch them. The only male in the room was thoroughly confused by this reaction. She didn't seem . . . surprised, exactly.

After long moments of silence, Abi sighed heavily, sinking back into her chair and dropping her chin to her chest in a defeated position. "Yes. I've known for a long time."

Kagome nodded as she made a note. "How long have you known?"

The older woman licked her lips again. "Two years."

"Do you know with who?"

"No. Never cared to."

Inuyasha had to suppress a frown in order to keep his face blank. Her nervous habit was back and her answers were becoming shorter and choppier. They had gotten all they were going to get out of Fujiwara Abi, at least for today. It was time for him to jump back in.

"Thank you for your information, Fujiwara-sama. Would you mind waiting while I go get a statement form?" Inuyasha asked.

Abi shook her head.

Takahashi glanced at Kagome before getting up to let her know to stay here. He briskly walked out of the room, to his office to grab a statement form that he had to unbury from the messy shit pile on his desk, and return to the young agent and widow.

He placed the paper in front of Abi on the table and handed her a pen to write with. Never taking her eyes from the table once again, the older woman scooped up the pen to write her statement quickly.

Inuyasha read it back to her after she was finished, confirming that everything was accurate to the best of her knowledge. He then stood to signal the interrogation was over. Kagome scrambled to follow suit and shove her notepad back into her pocket.

"Thank you so much for coming back today Fujiwara-sama. We're sorry about what has happened to your family. Security is waiting for you outside." Inuyasha jerked his head towards the door and waited for Abi to exit ahead of them.

Outside the interrogation room, Inuyasha leaned against the white wall, watching Abi quickly stride down the hallway. Kagome stood on the adjacent wall, arms crossed.

"She was telling the truth," the young agent observed. "That much is certain."

Takahashi nodded. "Yeah but she was nervous. She kept licking her lips at certain points and her answers were short after you mentioned the affair. Something is going on with her but she's shutting down. She won't answer any more questions from us right now."

"I think we should interview the daughter," Kagome suggested. "She could know something Abi doesn't or willing to tell us something Abi won't."

"Not a bad idea. She's legally an adult now so there's no ethics against us interrogating her. We'll find a day to bring her in."

The black-haired woman shook her head. "No. We go to her. Bringing her in will just make her nervous. Teenagers need to feel like they have control in the situation if they're going to tell you anything. We have to make her feel that if she's going to tell us anything."

Inuyasha had to suppress a proud smirk; the wench was quick on her feet to think. "Alright, we'll set it up." Kicking off the wall, the demon strode down the hallway away from his apprentice. He heard her quickly catching up to him. "I think I'm going to go get some food. I'm fucking starving," he commented. "Process that statement, put it in the file, and fill in Tachibana-san and Wolf Shit."

"Yes, sir," Kagome affirmed. She was a little put out. Did she do well? Did she screw up? She had no way of knowing from his cool demeanor! She dejectedly went to sit at her desk right next to Tachibana-sama's. She wasn't there at the moment, however.

"Oh, and Higurashi-san?"

At the call of her name, Kagome's head jerked up in surprise from the statement to see Inuyasha standing a few feet away with a smirk gracing his features, causing his amber eyes to glow brightly.

When Inuyasha saw she was listening, her eyes so wide they looked like a deer caught in headlights, his smirk widened. "Good work in there," he praised quickly before turning to leave.

A smile broke out across Kagome's face as she collapsed back in her chair in relief and giving it an excited spin that she just couldn't resist. Maybe she could get on Special Agent Takahashi's good side after all!

Updated on: February 17, 2018