Forever in My Heart
Chapter 2: What's Going On?
A resounding knock sounded at the door.
"Come in," a smooth, baritone voice called out.
The baritone voice belonged to none other than Sesshoumaru Taisho, head detective for the Tokyo Police Department. To have risen to his current position was quite a feat, considering he was only 29 years old. Apparently. He had spent 4 years previously in the SDU, and just got promoted 2 years ago. He had gold orbs, and long, silky silver hair that was currently tied back in a low ponytail. His youkai markings had been hidden by a simple sealing spell. His 6'2" frame made him an imposing figure to look at.
The door opened, and his secretary came in.
"Rin-san wanted to see if you had time to have lunch with her and Watanabe-san. Would you like me to forward her call to you?"
Sesshoumaru nodded. A moment later, his phone rang and he picked up.
"Rin," he greeted her.
"Sesshoumaru-sama!" her ever-excited voice said, "want to come with me and Shippou-chan? We're going to try out that new restaurant just 10 minutes away from your place!"
Sesshoumaru couldn't help but smile a little bit. His Rin had grown up so fast, and was now a married and working woman. In all honesty, she was well over 500 years old, but she looked not a day past 23.
"Hai, I'll be there. What time will you be arriving?"
"Um…we're about 15 minutes away, so how bout 12:30?"
Sesshoumaru nodded his head. "Alright, I'll see you then."
"Until later then!" Rin's cheerful voice chirped.
"Hai" Sesshoumaru hung up and paged his secretary. She came in and asked, "What can I do for you?"
Sesshoumaru handed her several files, saying, "Help me file these. I'll be going out for lunch today, so you can have a longer lunch break. I'll be back before 2."
Nodding, his secretary replied, "Hai, it will be done."
Grabbing his jacket, he headed out the door and into the parking lot. He got into his Mercedes and drove off.
His accumulated wealth over the years had allowed him to choose a profession that he was truly interested in. Of course, his job as a detective paid really well too. But the reason why he was a police officer was because it gave him a chance to use his youkai abilities, and he enjoyed the thrill of it. Now, as a detective, he did not get to work out in the field as often as he had back in the SDU, but this job required him to use a lot of his brain. Thinking was something else he enjoyed doing, so this job worked out fine for him. His youkai instinct allowed him to excel in this field.
Driving effortlessly, he got to the indicated restaurant and scanned the tables, finding Shippou's fiery hair in no time. Heading over to the table, he picked up on their conversation long before he reached the table.
"Rin-chan, look at this!" Shippou's voice said. A slight rustling told him that Shippou had passed some paper, probably a newspaper, over to Rin.
"Ne, Shippou-chan, isn't that Kagome-chan?" Rin's curious voice answered.
"Hai. Wow, I didn't know 'kaasan was that well known."
Rin, seeing that Sesshoumaru had arrived, gave a squeal.
"Sesshoumaru-sama!"
'Old habits die hard,' was the only thought that passed through the two youkais' heads as Rin stood up and launched herself onto Sesshoumaru. He returned the embrace somewhat awkwardly, although it was already a major improvement from 500 years ago.
"Rin, Shippou," he greeted.
Shippou smiled, and said, "Sesshoumaru-sama, please have a seat."
Extricating himself from Rin's embrace, he sat down. "I couldn't help but overhear your conversation. Who were you talking about?"
Rin, who had sat down, looked surprised. "Oh, I can't believe we've never told you yet. Do you remember Kagome-chan? She was the miko who travelled with Shippou-chan back then."
Sesshoumaru thought for a moment. Yes, he remembered now. She was the oddly dressed miko, the one who had greatly intrigued him. After all, she was the one who had stood up to him and lived. He remembered how she was able to control his half-brother whenever she said "sit", and he remembered that her scent was quite pleasing, for a human. Rin didn't count. She always smelled fine.
He nodded his head. "Hai, I do remember her. But didn't she disappear 500 years ago?"
Shippou nodded. "Hai. But the truth is, that she is from this time. As in, she travelled to our time through a well, the Bone-Eaters Well. After the destruction of Naraku, she continued to visit us by going to and from the well. However, when she was 22, the well closed suddenly, and we lost contact with her. Ayame-san first ran into her about a year and a half ago. Since then we've kept in close contact. So that's why, for us, it's been 500 years, but for her, it's only been about 4 years."
Sesshoumaru was surprised. He had always thought that the miko was strange, but he never knew that she travelled to and from different times. That was like leading a double life!
"What was so interesting about her that you were reading about?" Sesshoumaru's curiousity had been roused.
Rin handed him the day's newspaper. He accepted it, and scanned the headline.
"JAPAN'S MOST ELIGIBLE SINGLES"
Reading it more thoroughly, he discovered that it was an article about 10 different people and why they had been voted to be called Japan's most eligible bachelors and bachelorettes. It turns out that Kagome was 3rd on the list.
Looking up, he said, "She's a doctor?"
Nodding, Rin replied, "Hai. She graduated from Tokyo U the year that the well closed. Afterwards, she went to California and got her medical degree. She came back to Japan only 2 years ago, and ran into us shortly afterwards."
"Hn," was his only reply. Shippou nodded at a waiter hovering nearby and looked at Sesshoumaru, handing him a menu.
"What do you want to eat?"
---
Sesshoumaru arrived back at work at 2 p.m. sharp. His secretary looked up, and said, "Taisho-san, there are files are your desk that were just sent it. I think you should take a look at it."
Sesshoumaru was surprised for the second time that day. People at work never really talked to him. His emotionless mask – a trait he had kept throughout the years, usually intimidated them to the point where they only addressed him when absolutely necessary. His secretary was a quiet woman who kept to her own affairs. She never really gave him any opinions or suggestions. Having her speak up like this probably meant something was not good. Nodding his head, he answered, "Thank you, Kaori."
Opening the door to his office, he noted the files put neatly on his desk. Sitting down in his chair, he opened the first one. He was met with a picture of a young man, probably in his late-twenties. A quick look at the bio confirmed his guess. Reading the contents quickly, he felt his adrenaline start to kick in. Turns out that his fellow had been murdered. Autopsy stated various chemical burns, head trauma, left arm hacked off – at this point he couldn't help but glance down at his own regenerated arm. It had taken the damn thing a century to regenerate. Looking back at the file, he noticed that it said the victim had a suspicious-looking mark at the back of his neck. A photo showed that the mark was something like a tattoo – it was a silhouette of a snake rearing, as if it was going to strike at its prey.
A quick look through the 3 other files revealed that 3 other people had been killed, the exact same way. 2 of the victims had been found in Tokyo, and other two were from Osaka. All the wounds on the victims were identical, down to the strange snake symbol tattooed onto the backs of their necks. His first thought was, "This has serial killer written all over it." However, something in his gut told him there was more to it than he thought. And his gut was usually right. Taking his files with him, he picked up his jacket again and headed outside.
"Kaori, I want you to get my team together. Tell them we are having a meeting tomorrow at 8 a.m. sharp. And make copies of these files for all of them. You're free to go after you finish that."
She nodded, taking the files from him. He got down to the car park, and into his car. He started to think. 'Where should I start first?'
Starting his car, he decided to head to the scene where the body of the first man was found.
---
Kagome rubbed her aching head. It was only 2:30 p.m., and it seemed like the ER was busier than ever. Worse thing was, two people had been brought in just as her shift started, and she hadn't been able to save them. Of course, other patients had died before, and she was used to seeing that – she knew when it was a lost cause. However, these two were different. Their injuries were numerous, but alone, none of them should have been fatal. They had even been conscious when they had arrived at the hospital. And yet, she hadn't been able to save them. They both had tried to say something, then just seemingly dropped dead. She had been shocked when the first guy tried to talk, then his heart rate flat lined and his brain activity dropped to zero. Her mouth had literally dropped open – she wasn't used to seeing patients die so suddenly. It was unnerving. After the second one had died in the exact same manner, she had gotten suspicious. The two victims were just two similar. Same injuries, both had died when they tried to talk. And both were youkai.
She had felt her miko powers flare as the stretcher was wheeled towards her. Sure enough, as she checked their pupils, she snuck a quick touch towards their ears, and she felt the points of their ears against her skin, although their sealing spells didn't give it away. She had known about the existence of other youkai in her time. However, their numbers were small. To see two die just a couple hours apart from each other alarmed her greatly. She needed to talk to the others, quick.
---
Sesshoumaru got out of his car, and putting his hands in his pockets, he scanned the area. Stepping closer to the site where the victim was found half-dead, he suddenly stopped. A scent wafted into his nose. 'The man was youkai!' He was shocked. Running back to his car, he drove off to the second location, where the second victim was found. Again, he was youkai. Instinct told him the other two victims in Osaka were also youkai. Things suddenly seemed a lot more grim. Perhaps it was time to recall his OTHER team. His work team of humans seemed a lot less necessary. Flipping out his cell phone, he speed dialled his general's private number.
"Watanabe,"
"Hai?"
"We have a problem."
---
Half an hour later, a small group of youkai and one human were grouped around him. Kouga, Ayame, Kagura, Jiro, Shippou, Rin, and Ichiro all had their eyes focused on him.
"What do you smell?" he calmly asked them.
6 noses sniffed simultaneously.
"Youkai," Kouga stated.
Sesshoumaru nodded. "This is the location where a man, or youkai, was found gravely injured. He later died at the hospital. The problem is, you should only smell one scent, where there should be at least two. Apart from the scent of the dead youkai, there is no other scent. Meaning…"
"We have a youkai murderer on the loose," Shippou said.
"More like a youkai serial killer on the loose," Sesshoumaru sad, "there were 3 other youkai killed in the exact same manner. 1 other here in Tokyo, and 2 in Osaka. My human team won't do much good now. I need you to work with me."
Kouga nodded. "Problem is, we don't even have a scent to begin with."
"The only other lead I have is that each victim had a snake tattoo burned into the backs of their necks."
Everyone seemed to think about that. Rin broke the silence, saying, "Sesshoumaru-sama, I think our team needs one more person."
He raised an eyebrow. "Are you talking about the miko?"
Rin nodded. "Kagome-chan would want to know what was going on. She called me a while ago, telling me that two youkai patients just died on her. She said it was strange how their injuries were identical."
Sesshoumaru was surprised, although his mask never slipped. "She was the doctor in charge of them?"
Ayame nodded. "Hai, I remember it was the end of my shift when she came on. Within that time frame, she was the only doctor. It had to have been her. And I agree with Rin-san. She would be a great help. If more victims appear, she is the first one to reach them and can tell us vital information that other humans cannot. Plus, she has her miko powers."
It was a statement he couldn't argue with. Even he remembered that it was she who had purified Naraku. He gave a curt nod. "Very well. When does her current shift end? I would like to tell her in person."
"She's on all day, until about 2 a.m. in the morning. If you want to see her, go to her place," Ayame said, reaching in her purse for a pen and paper. She jotted down Kagome's address and handed it to Sesshoumaru, who took the paper and looked at it. 'It seems like we are neighbours. It's strange how I've never seemed to run into her,' he thought.
It turns out that they both lived in the penthouse of neighbouring apartment buildings. Sesshoumaru had long ago vacated his castle in the West, although he was still the Taiyoukai of the West. He found it inefficient to travel so far everyday to Tokyo, just to go to work. He eventually sealed away his castle and its occupants, saving it for future use.
With those thoughts in mind, he said, "You may leave now."
Kagura laughed. "We drop everything and come immediately when you call, and you dismiss us like that! I haven't seen you do that in a long time. That's more like the egotistical jerk we all used to know. Honestly Sesshoumaru, the years have made you a lot more tolerant and soft."
Sesshoumaru gave a small growl at her comment, but did nothing more. After all, there was some truth to her words. He had found that in order to blend in among all the humans, he really did have to soften up. But he found that to be a nice change from always having to be an ruthless ice statue.
Ichiro snorted. Giving a quick, "Matte ne, Sesshoumaru-sama" he popped his keys into his ignition and sped off.
Ayame sighed. "What happened to my baby?"
Kouga frowned. "She's at daycare."
Ayame bopped him on the head. "I was talking about Ichi-chan, you baka!"
Kouga shrugged. "Kids grow up, and you just have to deal with it. Isn't that right, Sesshoumaru?"
Sesshoumaru glanced at Rin. "Hai, you just have to learn to let them go…"
Kagura snorted. "I'll make sure THIS one will not grow up to leave her poor okaasan alone," she said, gently rubbing her protruding abdomen.
Jiro laughed. "In several hundred years, you'll be glad to have the children off your back, darling."
Kagura sniffed, saying, "Highly unlikely." Entwining her fingers with her mate's, she said, "Well, ja ne!"
Ayame glanced at her watch. "It's almost time for my next shift. I have to go. I have an early leaving today, so I'll be home for dinner."
Kouga nodded. "I'll be waiting,"
The two smiled, and departed as well.
That left Shippou, Sesshoumaru, and Rin. Shippou glanced at Sesshoumaru.
"Sesshoumaru-sama, I just want to tell you, that Rin and I never told okaasan that you are still around. She's probably going to get the surprise of her life. Be nice to her, will you?"
Sesshoumaru nodded.
"Ja ne."
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lol yay another chapter! This one was kinda hard to write. But lol like I promised, Sesshoumaru makes his grand entrance here! Yay! Haha I don't know what drove me to make him a detective. I dunno, he always seemed to have that essence within him.
Well I hope you guys liked this chapter! chapter 3 is now done and chapter 4 is almost done :D
oh and the SDU is a special division within the police force that deals with special crimes, eg. organized crime, bomb threats, etc. it's kinda like the SWAT . except i don't know if SDU exists within Japan. it's actually a Hong Kong thing. so if it doesn't exist in Japan, please pretend that it does XD just for the sake of this little chapter. :D
oh p.s. "matte ne" has a similar meaning to "ja ne" (later, til next time, etc)
and please please continue to review! i need all the suggestions/comments i can get. and please, if you flame, flame so that i can learn something from it :)
outz