Taboo
Chapter 2
Prediction
-
Kagome's heart was going ninety miles a minute as she drove from the Catholic church to the edges of Tokyo, feeling more terrified than she had since Inuyasha's death. Somebody knew that she'd killed Hojo. Somehow, someway, that detective had found out. She was just waiting to realize that someone was tailing her, heart speeding up everytime someone drove behind her for more than a minute.
When she finally turned off the exit for her destination and Taisho Sesshomaru's house came into view, she allowed herself a moment to breathe. Unsurprisingly, she was passed through the gates without having to stop and Sesshomaru himself awaited her in the parlor.
"Sesshomaru-sama!" she cried upon seeing him and threw her arms around his waist.
The decidedly uncomfortable daiyokai, complete with an armful of crying miko, shifted uneasily. "Miko..." He sighed. "Come, this way," he ordered before ushering her into the 'tea' room off to the side. "Speak." He handed her a glass of water, motioned to a couch, and sat to listen.
She took a seat on the indicated couch, sipping the water and collecting her thoughts. After a moment's silence, she finally spoke. "Sesshomaru-sama, I killed a man," she whispered.
He nodded. "I know. It was all over the news, though no one knows who you are. Yet."
Kagome shook her head. "But Sesshomaru-sama! Somebody does know!"
He frowned, tensing imperceptibly. "Who?"
"I don't know- I don't know!" she said, quickly beginning to panic. She felt rushed for some reason, even though Sesshomaru wasn't hurrying her in the least. "He was a detective or something! I don't know!"
"Take a sip of the water and calm down," he ordered tersely, his voice leaving no room to argue.
"Okay..." she mumbled and obeyed. Once she was confident that she was calm enough to continue, she went on. "Um, I went to that Catholic church by my apartment. You know, St. Francis or something like that?" he nodded. "Well, I decided I might as well and confessed to the priest. It was okay, I guess, and he prayed for me.
"When I came out, there were these two guys sitting there. One of them looked kinda like your butler Keishi. The way he dressed, I mean. Like a butler. The other guy... I think he was crazy or something..." She pressed her lips together, thoughtful. "He told me that he was a detective, and that he thought Kira was gonna kill me. He wanted to use me for bait to catch Kira."
"Bait?" Sesshomaru demanded, frowning angrily. "Did he say who he was?"
"No. He kinda creeped me out, so I left..." she admitted.
"What did he look like?"
"Um... blue jeans... a long-sleeved white shirt..." She frowned, trying to remember the exacts. "I think his eyes might have been brown, but I can't remember. His hair was ear-length, and black. Oh! And he kinda looked like he hasn't slept in a week." She lifted her hands, rubbing the skin beneath her eyes. "He had dark circles around his eyes, and bags under them."
Sesshomaru gave her a skeptical look. "That's a very detailed description, Kagome," he pointed out doubtfully.
"He was creepy!" she retorted.
"So you've said." He sighed. "Very well, I'll see what I can find out."
Relief ran through her and she smiled at him. "Thank you so much, Sesshomaru-sama."
-
As soon as Kagome left, Sesshomaru got to work looking for the man she'd described. He checked every database for detectives that he could think of or dig up, from national to international, even looking into foreign agencies and *PIs. But the more he dug, the more frustrated he became.
This man didn't exist. There were several people resembling the man, of course, but not one of them were actually posted in Japan. Or they'd recently died...
Somewhere between looking into foreign PIs and detective agencies involved in the Kira case, a niggling suspicion began to eat at him. When the Kira-involved agencies turned up nothing, Sesshomaru snatched up his cell from the corner of his desk, abandoning the computer search and files completely.
He tapped his claws impatiently on the soft wood of his desk while he listened to the ringing in his ear. He nearly jumped when there was a click on the other end, but didn't give them a chance to speak. "I need to speak with Hokashi-san. Tell him it's urgent and that this is Taisho Sesshomaru," he ordered them.
"Oh, uh, yessir," the female voice agreed on the other end. "Please hold," she added nervously.
The hold music barely had a chance to start before it stopped abruptly and a male voice answered. "Sesshomaru? That you?" he asked.
Sesshomaru nodded, though the other couldn't see it. "Yes-"
"Oh, great! Been a while! How're ya doin'?"
"Shippo, I need you to find some things out for me," Sesshomaru said tersely, ignoring the fox's **pleasantries.
"Uh... yeah, sure," Shippo replied uncertainly. "Ningen or yokai?"
"Ningen," the daiyokai replied. "What do you know about the human detective known as 'L'?"
"L?" the fox asked, sounding slightly surprised. "Not much, I'm afraid. ***He hides his activities and identity better than even Totosai." He paused, the silence thoughtful. "Hey, Kanna!" he said suddenly, his voice now muffled. "Weren't you saying something about L, just the other day?"
Sesshomaru quirked a brow, mildly surprised. He hadn't known that Kanna, once an incarnation of Naraku's, freed by his death, was working with Shippo as a PI. Or maybe not. She might just be a secretary or something. Really, it was hard to tell at this point.
"Okay," Shippo said, knocking the daiyokai from his thoughts. "Kanna says that rumor has it that this L guy is actually over there in Tokyo, working on the Kira case. Nobody knows where in Tokyo, but I can check with an old ningen friend of mine to see if he knows anything. His name's Tota Matsuda, and last I heard, he was on the taskforce to find and arrest Kira. I can give him a call-"
"No need," Sesshomaru interrupted briskly. "I will talk to him myself. Thank you for the information."
Shippo sighed, and the daiyokai could practically see the frown of worry on his face. "Sesshomaru, don't hurt him, please..."
The former lord of the Western lands snorted and subsequently ignored the warning. "If I need anything else, I will contact you." Without waiting for the fox to reply, he clicked the 'end' button and pocketed the cellular phone.
Time to see if one Tota Matsuda knew anything about L.
-
There were very few times in Matsuda's life that he wished he weren't in the loop. Now, unfortunately, was one of them. He had absolutely no idea how Ryuzaki had managed to piss off Tokyo's number one bachelor and founder of *4Tessaiga Corporation, Taisho Sesshomaru, but he had and now the guy was taking it out on Matsuda.
"I honestly have no idea who L is! I swear!" he said, backing up as Taisho advanced on him. He avoided the livingroom, since his mother was asleep on the couch, and backed down the hall, toward his bedroom and the bathroom. "He never shows his face to us! Uses a computer and all!" Okay, so that was how he used to do it, but he wasn't about to tell Taisho that.
However, Taisho didn't appear to be very stupid. "You are lying, fool. Tell me where he is," the man ordered imperiously, his voice taking on an 'or else' tone all on it's own.
"I can't! I'll lose my job!" he replied, heart stuttering when he backed into the wall.
Taisho scoffed. "A job can be replaced," he replied, obviously implying what couldn't.
Matsuda gulped at this. "I... I... H-how do I know you won't kill him?" he stuttered, beginning to shake. This wasn't anything like searching for Kira. It was like butting heads with an angry demon. Especially with the glare Taisho had in his arsenal.
A purely blood-thirsty smile crawled across Taisho's face, nearly causing Matsuda's heart to stop. "You don't," he answered.
-
"I wasn't very interesting, apparently," L told Light, frowning in bemusement. "She left..."
Light opened his mouth to reply when they were interrupted by Mue-san, who looking startlingly pale. "Ryuzaki-sama?" she said. "You have a visitor."
The words had no sooner left her mouth before Matsuda stumbled into the room as if pushed, also considerably pale. He was followed by a tall, pale haired, fair skinned man wearing a pristine white suit, complete with white shoes. Piercing light brown eyes swept over the room assessingly before landing on first L, then Light. Gaze frigid, he glanced coolly at Mue-san. "Thank you. You can leave," he dismissed.
Knocked momentarily from his fearful paralysis, Matsuda stumbled to his feet and dove behind the couch that L occupied. "Sorry, Ryuzaki," he squeeked as he ducked down and out of view.
Dismissing the newcomer rather quickly, L turned and leaned over the back of the couch. He blinked and lifted a brow in surprise when he was that Matsuda was currently out of commission and therefore unable to be questioned. He was crouching behind the couch, shaking like a leaf with his hands covering his ears as if he had no wish to hear whatever followed.
That was rather disappointing, in L's oppinion. Now he couldn't ask him what had happened.
"Which one of you is L?" the man demanded. When L turned around, he saw that despite the man's question, his gaze was already trained on L, a displeased scowl marring otherwise perfect features.
L opened his mouth to admit it, but Light stood quickly, drawing both of their gazes. *5"I am L, now who are you and why are you here?" he demanded confidently.
The man appeared to take a closer look at Light before dismissing him with a snort. "If that is so, then I am correct in assuming he already knows about the happenings at the Chapel?" he asked, looking directly at L.
Realization dawned on L and he grinned slightly before fishing abother Twinky out of the grocery bag. *6"You're not Kira, are you?" he asked rhetorically, coming to the conclusion that he couldn't possibly be Kira. For one, *7he wasn't nearly that smart, and second, this man saw no point in hiding his intentions. In fact, he almost went out of his way to act hostile, most likely to intimidate those present.
The man's eyes narrowed angrily at the suggestion. "I ask you a question," he growled. "Answer it."
L resisted a smirk, knowing that was likely to get him killed at this point. And this was the sort of man that would enjoy the court battle afterward. "You really should introduce yourself," L said, biting into the small yellow cake. "You are being rude," he accused with a soft chuckle. Of course, he'd already figured out who the man was, due to his broadcasted relationship with Higurashi-san.
When the man growled and took a threatening step forward - meant mostly to intimidate, though L held no doubts that the threat would be seen through - Light was quick to jump in and attempt to diffuse the situation. "Yes, he did. What about it? Who are you?" he repeated.
"I did not ask you," he snarled, shooting a frosty glare in Light's direction that was enough to make him recoil and fall silent. Satisfied that the boy would remain that way, he turned his glare on L, not that it did much to intimidate him. But it was the principal of the thing that mattered. "If you know what is best for you, you will remain silent on the matter. Do not force me to take further action."
L looked up from his sweets sharply, something familiar and challanging coursing through his veins. "Is that a threat?" he asked, an unintentional smile curling across his lips. "Taisho-san?"
Taisho Sesshomaru was also smiling, though in a manner that promised bloodshed. "No," he replied simply. "It is a prediction."
"Oh, good. And here you had me worried."
-
Well! That's the end of the third chapter! R&R, don't just fave/alert!
Translations:
Miko: Priestess
Ningen: Human
Yokai: (sometimes seen as 'youkai') Demon
Daiyokai: (sometimes seen as 'daiyoukai') A sort of demon lord.
Honorifics:
-san: This is the most common honorific and is equivalent to Mr., Miss, Ms., or Mrs. It is the all-purpose honorific and can be used in any situation where politeness is required.
-sama: This is one level higher than '-san' and is used to confer great respect.
-[blank]: (meaning no honorific) This is usually forgotten in these lists, but it is perhaps the most significant difference between Japanese and English. The lack of honorific means that the speaker has permission to address the person in a very intimate way. Usually, only family, spouses, or very close friends have this kind of permission. Known as yobisute, it can be gratifying when someone who has earned the intimacy starts to call one by one's name without an honorific. But when that intimacy hasn't been earned, it can be very insulting.
Places:
Tokyo: The capitol of Japan. It has many districts, but to most foreigners, the entire area is known simply as 'Tokyo', hence my references to 'west Tokyo' and such.
St. Francis Catholic Church: This is, obviously, a fictional place that I completely pulled out of my ass. I do not even know if Tokyo has catholic churches, though it's likely to have one or two. So don't go looking for the place or something...
Astericks:
*PI: A PI is a private investigator, and while I don't know if they have them in Japan, I assume as much. A lot of people think it's easy cash.
**Pleasantries: In many fics, pleasantries, such as 'how are you', 'I'm doing great', and 'how have you been' are generally human things and therefore unnecessary for demons. However, like with Shippo, many demons have picked this up as a sort of habit.
***'He hides his activities and identity better than even Totosai': Even in the anime and manga, Totosai was a bit reclusive, so I very much doubt that he's let go of that, even if humans have more or less taken over the Earth. And, on that note, he's several hundred, maybe even a thousand, years old. He's bound to know how to hide himself.
*4Tessaiga Corporation: Simply put, yes. He named his company after his brother's sword.
*5"I am L": It's mostly another bit of Light attempting to get suspicion off of him, though it may be a few parts curiosity as well.
*6"You're not Kira, are you?": No, he's not accusing him of being Kira. It was a sarcastic remark. L, obviously, is very much aware that Sesshy isn't Kira.
*7'he wasn't nearly that smart': This one is just to save myself from a headache later on when some rabid fangirl starts yelling at me 'cause I 'insulted Fluffy-sama's intelligence'. No, I'm not insulting it, but truth be told, he's not that smart. Yes, he is of moderate intelligence, but unlike L and Light, he isn't some sort of supergenius. He's mostly known for his military precision and prowess, as well as his demon traits and instincts. Not his brains. Sesshy=brawns, L=Brains. Not the other way around.
And that's it... A lot of explanation there, but mostly 'cause I didn't want to deal with it later or because I wasn't going to go any deeper into the explanation of it in the story.