Disclaimer: I really hate having to type this up every time. I do not own any of the Inuyasha characters, all rights go to Rumiko Takahashi.

Chapter 2: The Next Job.

(The Ghost's POV)

I make my way through the dark alleyway, the random sounds of cars ring out in the distance. I'm alone now, my next job only moments away. I know what I have to do, I pull on the hood to my cloak, and slip my hand into my pocket, while flipping the switch on the jammer. With a newly found skill, I begin to pick the lock on the backdoor. I know that most people think I'm the "bad guy", but I only do what I have to. I slowly open the door and make my way inside the dimmly lit corridors of the museum. I know exactly where I'm going, to keep from getting caught, I never spend more than two minutes doing a job. I keep my footfalls silent, but quick, I try to be efficient. I know that I won't leave behind evidence on the cameras, the jammer in my pocket scrambles the signal to every camera I pass. To the security guard on staff, it will look like nothing more than a mere technological glitch. I approach the old artifact I was sent here to recover, I pull a spray bottle from a hidden pocket, and spray it in the air. Then I watch what was once invisible to the human eye appear, the red laser like alarm triggers. I grab the old artifact and take my leave, I have a business to run.

My job is much easier without the cop on my heels, but I believe he'll be busy for a while. You see, I have my reasons for doing what I did, that cloak was not dropped by accident. I ran into that mall for the cover of the crowd, he yelled for me to stop, but I couldn't just let him catch me. I ran into the bathroom that was next to the unopened store, the decoy cloak already planted. I pulled off the cloak I wear now and stuffed it into a briefcase. I then exit the bathroom and enter the crowd again, blending right in with the rest of the mall goers. I see the detective leaving the store, the cloak in a bag, and tucked under his arm. He took the bait, just as I thought he would, so at this moment he is busy testing the hair that was surely found within the dark fabric. I once again stuff the cloak into a briefcase, then blend in with the people on the streets, violet eyes catching the gleam from the streetlamps. "Sorry Inuyasha, for all the trouble." Then I disappear into the night and into the cover of my true identity.

(Inuyasha's POV)

I pace the lab, my already thin patience, wearing thinner. I grit my teeth, grinding them slowly as I glare at Shippo. "Can you hurry it along, Shippo? You know I can't waste anymore time here." He looks back at me, his auburn hair mussed, his teal eyes clear. "You can rush forensic science, it has to be done right." I grumble in an obvious manner, not even pretending to hide my frustration. He rolls his eyes at my straight forward lack of respect for his tedious work. "From what I've gathered so far, the hair found in the fabric of the Ghost's cloak, isn't even human. It's fur, from a dog, I'm narrowing down the breeds." I stop my pacing abruptly, the anger twisting and clawing at my gut, I exhale a shaky and uneven breath. "What do you mean fur?! The Ghost isn't a fucking dog! His a piece of shit, cowardice lump of flesh, without a damn purpose!" Shippo casually brushes aside my tantrum, with a smooth transition. "I didn't say the thief himself is canine, but the hair is. The man simply planted this for you to find and to buy himself some time."

I give the words a moment to sink in, but more anger pinches at my already frayed nerves. "How does he always manage to fool me? The dog, maybe it's his. We can trace the hair to the dog and then dog to owner." Shippo doesn't seem to hear me, but his nod tells me that he heard every word. "The hair belongs to a german shepard. Don't you have a german shepard, Inuyasha?" I don't know how angry my face begins to look, but Shippo keeps at least five feet between us. "He better not have been in my backyard. I would have seen him, I know I would have seen him. There's no way in hell." Shippo simply stands up and crosses the room, then quickly eyes my clothes, and plucks a hair from my shirt. "This will tell us if the dog is yours, if this hair matches, then we know the thief was leaving you a message." My hands instintively form fists at the very thought of this thief being so smug and brazen, that he would enter my property without a second thought. "Just leave and let me work, Inuyasha, I'll call you when I get the results. Unlike you, I have other cases to help with. So get out of my lab."

I obliged to his rudely put request, that seemed much more like a demand. On any other normal day, I would have stayed put until he politely asked me to leave, but I was already much too pissed to deal with that. I made my way down to my team's designated area, Koga's fingers quickly clicked at the keyboard in front of his computer, while Ayame and Kagome worked on filling out the newest paperwork to add to the file we hand already compiled on the Ghost. I try to sit at my desk and behave in a professional manner, but my anger quickly pervents me from sitting still. Koga's eyes leave his computer screen and land on me, with an unhidden curosity in them. "Are you alright Inuyasha? You look like you're a little on edge." I suddenly stand up and his easy stare follows my movement, I begin to pace angrily. "That damn thief is an unbelievably smug asshole! If he did what I think he did, I'll give him a thrashing so terrifiying, not even his worst nightmare could conjure up such torment." He leans back in an easy manner, he has heard statements like that before, it is nothing new. "You really shouldn't let him get under your skin like that, anger clouds your judgement, and he knows it. You have to keep a level head if you ever plan on catching him."

I try to calm down by using the breathing techniques Kagome took the time to teach me, but it never seems to work like she claimed it would. I know Koga is right, my temper does cause me to be brash and careless, and if I want to ever catch him, I'd have to be thinking clearly. So I lean against my desk and try to clear my head of all negative thoughts, but just as I begin to cool down, Shippo walks towards me and my team. "You better not be here to tell me what I think you're here to tell me!" Shippo rolls his eyes at my misplaced animosity, then turns to leave. "Where the hell do you think you're going? You can't just walk away." He stops walking, but keeps his back to me, his demeanor calm. "You just said you didn't want to know the results, so I'm going back to my lab to finish other things." I try not to lash out at the little lab troll, so instead I use my most uncaring tone. "You know this case has me on edge, just tell me what you came here to say." He turns towards me, the smile on his face seems fairly eager to bring on bad news, he was enjoying himself. "The hair found on the cloak matches that of your dog, the piece of shit, cowardice lump of flesh, without a damn purpose, was in your backyard, without your knowledge." I feel my body go ridged to the very thought of him being that close to my home, to my dog. I tried to understand why my retired police dog didn't attack a stranger and the purpose the thief had when obtaining the hair. I don't know what kind of game he's playing, but he went too far this time.

Even though I attempt at pushing down the rage that boiled within myself, I fail miserably. The next tantrum pours out and I begin to rant like a madman. "Who the hell does he think he is?! He had no right stepping a single foot on my property. I'll tear him apart...I'll break every damn bone in his body...I'll fucking kill him!" No one dares to interrupt my overly dramatic episode, instead they allow me to get it all out of my system. "If he thinks he'll get away with making a fool of me, he's got another thing coming! Shit! I need a damn drink! But first, I need to go to the gym and spar. Koga, get up, you're a challenging opponent." He looks at me as though I'm completely insane then turns back to his computer and returns to his work, his voice monotoned. "If you think I'm gonna let you pound on me to take out your frustration for the ghost on me, you're sorely mistaken." I feel my eye start to twitch, I can't deal with much more. First the ghost has to smuggly flaunt his skills, practically in my face and now Koga refuses to take an order from me. I am the leader of this team. Where has all the respect for others gone? I can't even deal with today anymore, I'm going to get out of here and cool off.

I storm off, mumbling obscene phases and words, as I cross the room to the stairs. The nerve of that thief, I can't believe he even had the balls to come into my yard. I get myself to my car and practically fall into the drivers seat, I'm going to the bar, I find peace there. I put the key in the ignition in a rushed anger and I hear the engine turn over and come to life. I pull out of the parking lot and begin the drive I have made over a hundred times, my mind elsewhere. I know that he'll be there to listen, he's always there when I need to talk to someone. I see the red light and react to it without really thinking about it. I turn on the radio, and scan through the stations, my face blank to the mundane motions, but a smile crosses my face when I come across a song I like. I crank up the volumn loud enough to give me a headache, music is better when it's nearly busting your eardrums, that's how I like it. I make a sharp turn and pick up speed, the song calming me, causing my anger to ebb away. I find a place to park my car in from of Inryo, then I get out, and cross the gravel parking lot.

I open the front door to the familiar building, it's dim lights calming, the smell of beer and burgers ever present, and the soft sound from the jukebox, are as welcoming as home. "Hey Inuyasha. You're here again? You usually only drop by once a day." I make my way to the worn old barstools and take a seat. "You wouldn't believe the day I just had." He sits a mug of coffee in front of me with a basket of sugar and creamer. "I'm sure I wouldn't, my day is a lot slower than yours, but I'm not chasing down criminals on the daily bases." The smell of coffee fills my senses and I smile, appreciating the simple friendly gesture. "How did you know I needed coffee?" He shrugs and leans against the bar, his arms crossed in front of him. "Lucky guess." I take a long pull from the mug, then place it back on the bar. "That's fresh coffee." He gives me a slightly annoyed look, but smiles anyway. "Yeah, I just brewed it before you walked in, but I didn't know you came here to discuss coffee." I'm pretty sure anger flashes in my eyes, but he doesn't seem fazed, he knows my temper well enough. "It's that damn thief again, that bastard is just asking for it." He moves away from the bar and pours himself a cup of coffee and takes a small drink. "What happened this time?" The calm detachment in his voice, sets me at ease, and I continue.

"That man has reached a whole new level of arrogent, he thinks he's so damn smart, but when he fucks up, I'll be there to nab him." Miroku merely takes another drink of his black coffee and keeps quiet, already knowing I'm not close to done with my rant. "He may think he got the better of me, but he's completely mistaken. Just because that cloak of his fooled me, doesn't mean I'm stupid. I know now that he's watched me enough to know where I live, he's followed me. He'll slip up and I pummel him to a bloody pulp!" I inhale deeply, trying in vain to get a grasp on my anger and reel it back in. "You shouldn't let it anger you so much, I know you hate the guy, but don't let someone control your emotions." I can't help but glare at him, yes, he's my friend, but he needs to shut up right now. "You just don't get it, the smug asshole was giving me a message. I don't know what he was trying to say, but at this point I don't give a damn. The only thing I want to see, is him behind bars for a very long time, and when I catch him, that's exactly where he'll be." Miroku just stands there, he doesn't say a thing, instead a thoughtful look covers his features. I haven't a clue what's on his mind and before I can ask, he seems to get back to reality. "Do what you gotta do, I know you'll catch him soon...it's only a matter of time."

He places his mug on the bar and starts looking for something to do. It only takes him a moment to see the broom and grab it. I watch him as he starts sweeping the floors near the pool tables. "I never told you what he did." He doesn't look up at me, he just continues with his task. "What did he do?" I finish off, my now cold coffee, then put the cup down. "That cloak was a decoy and the hair found in it wasn't even human. I should of known that he wasn't that stupid to leave behind evidence like that. He never leaves any evidence at the crime scenes, no hair, prints, or fabric. So I don't know why I thought he'd leave behind a whole cloak. I just never imagined he'd get in my yard to get my dogs hair in clothing, just to leave it for me to find. What the hell is he trying to say?" Miroku stops sweeping to look at me, then uses the broom to prop himself up. "Maybe he is trying to say that he's closer to you than you realize." I don't know where he got a stupid idea like that, but if he has nothing helpful to say, he needs to stop talking. "That's stupid..." He just shrugs then gets back to cleaning. "Yeah, I guess it was, sorry."

I look towards the front door, then down at the watch on my wrist. "It's getting late. You about to close up?" He uses a dustpan to pick up the peanuts and pretzels that had been dropped and forgotten. "Yeah, it's about time to lock up and head home...then start all over tomorrow." Sometimes I wonder if he tires of his routine daily life, my life is unpredictable and exciting, I would never be happy living his dull life. "Don't you want more from life than this? Isn't this a boring job?" He puts the broom back in the closet and shakes his head. "No, I've got enough to worry about...I do not need any more surprises in my life." I don't know what surprises he's referring to, his life seems pretty mundane, if you ask me. Though I don't really know what this guy does at home, I usually only see him at his bar. Maybe there is more to my best friend, than I realize. He doesn't talk about his life all that often, a man of few words. I get to my feet slowly and pull on my jacket, staying quiet as I do so. I pay for my coffee and turn to leave, I'm tired and even from here, I can hear my bed calling my name. "I'll see you tomorrow, Inuyasha." I grin, more to myself than for him, then I place a five on the bar. "Yeah, you will." He looks down at the five, I just put on the bar. "Wow a tip, there really is a first time for everything." I chuckle, then leave him alone in his empty bar, to finish his job of cleaning it up.