Some out-of-characterness from Inuyasha and Sesshomaru, sorry!

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. All rights are solely reserved to Rumiko Takahashi, VIZ, and Sunrise. And of course I do know the true identity of "Jack the Ripper".

Silence

Chapter IV: Dreary

For nearly three hours Sesshomaru was questioned by the police, asking him what his relationship was to the victim. Her Father. When they had arrived from Japan to London. 7th October, 1877. How old he was now. Twenty-nine. Was he married? Bachelor. Had he been aware of the lifestyle she associated herself with. Yes, she had…Had she ever lied to him? No. Was he sure? Yes…Would he like to see her just to make sure it was her? Yes.

After the long series of questions, at long last Sesshomaru got to see Rin. He was not surprised at all when he was told that they had performed an autopsy on her to see if they could find any evidence. He said he understood. They knew he was a doctor, and a well known and respected doctor at that. He was led into the anatomical room and there he saw his Rin. She was respectfully covered and her throat was stitched up. He remained indifferent. Her face and part of her neck had been cleaned from the spilled blood.

If he wanted to, he could dismiss the stitches and specks of blood, and Sesshomaru could almost mistake this image and think she was only sleeping. He was right; she was sleeping and she would never awaken again. The surgeon who performed the autopsy offered his deepest condolence to Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru nodded his head in acknowledge and waited.

The surgeon, who was in his mid-thirties and appeared to know his profession quite well, told him she had been first strangled, followed by her throat being silted, and finally her chest and abdominal had been cut open and some parts were missing:-part of the belly wall including the navel; the womb…and other things that should not be mentioned as this is rated T. There was also evidence that…

Again Sesshomaru understood. He listened to everything they said; there was nothing else he could really do now. After the report was read to him, he was informed that he could have the body back in two days. Sesshomaru would wait. He was allowed to leave without further delay. Once he returned home, the first thing Sesshomaru did was lock himself up in his anatomical room for the rest of the day. He did not eat (though he scarcely did that in the first place) and he never left his studies.

It was until night time when he at last emerged gaunt-looking and died from his anatomical room. What he did all those long hours only he knew, but be it whatever it was, it must have been grave. Sesshomaru numbly poured himself a glass of whisky and soda, and swirled it idly. He looked down into the golden liquid and saw only his reflection.

He could image what Rin would have said to him if she had seen him drinking such a drink. She would have told him to throw it away and simply read to ward away tension and exhaustion. But now, there was no one to tell him to throw away this glass of alcohol; there was absolutely no one else for him at all. His brother did not count; Inuyasha was dead, and merely because he function like a stiff old man did not mean he could be considered a living, breathing being with a soul.

He slowly brought the glass of whisky to his lips, and was about to drink when…

"Hn, drinking are you, Sesshomaru? How amusing. I wonder what the old man would have said if he'd be able to see you fall to your lowest. What's even funnier is the fact that you're a doctor and know the hazardous of drinking, yet that doesn't stop you." Inuyasha pulled the glass from his brother's slender pale hands and threw the alcohol into the fire. For a moment both watched the flames consume it, then the fire became still.

"What do you want now? Hasn't Rin's death been enough amusement for you already Inuyasha? Or do you simply want more carnage to quench your thirst of blood and that degrading appetite of yours?" Sesshomaru said, callously. His eyes were hard, and they resembled the same color as the glass of whisky that had been given to feed the fire. Yes, the color of his eyes did resemble so much that glass of alcohol so much more than he could ever hope to imagine.

"Stop acting like a child you confounded fool. Roll's smoothing off the tongue, doesn't it? Instead of feeling sorry for yourself for not being able to save her, you should put your knowledge (if you have any left) and skills (I'm still thinking you bought your doctor's degree) and invest your time to finding this Jack the Ripper. Look at this way if you're going to be a stubborn fool. You'll get to avenge Rin's death, save many women's lives, which mind you, will be most grateful to you, and you get an excuse to kill someone while the populace rejoices. Doesn't that seem like something good to work by?" Inuyasha asked, setting down the empty glass on the mantelpiece and stared blankly into his brother's eyes.

"What do you gain from all of this Inuyasha? Do you get to live again if I succeed in ridding this world of such a mad man like this Jack the Ripper? Or are your intentions really to help me? Or is this simply an excuse for me to lower my guard and you try to kill me?" Sesshomaru questioned, ignoring Inuyasha's words for the moment. Inuyasha smiled slightly and laughed.

"In good time you'll see what I gain from all of this Sesshomaru, but for now all I want to know is if you are willing to find this murderer and kill him?" Inuyasha persisted, eagerly. Sesshomaru looked sternly into his brother's hollow eyes and said calmly, "I will conduct my own investigation to find the true identity of Jack the Ripper, however, as much as I would thoroughly enjoy ripping his throat out and skinning him alive, I will do no such thing. I would be no better then him if I do all those things I've just said to you, and possibly more things, but I will not be the one to punish him. The laws of man must be the ones to punish him, not I or you, for that matter."

Inuyasha's smile grew a bit and he chuckled lightly. "I wouldn't dream of doing such a thing Sesshomaru, but you make it sound like I'll be missing something fascinating. With that said, though, and as much I hate to agree with anything you say, I agree to your assigned terms. And now, I must ask, did you find out what I was talking about this morning or I am going to have to give you a hint?"

Sesshomaru blinked, and glanced at his brother with a bewildered expression. After a moment of thinking, Sesshomaru recalled that the surgeon from earlier had been hesitate to tell him something, but at the last moment he dismissed it. Sesshomaru hadn't thought about it much, but now that Inuyasha brought it up, he was curious what it was all about.

"No, I did not find out anything remotely close to your foolish babble." Sesshomaru said curtly.

"You didn't? How unfortunate, but I'll give you a hint: it's something that "falls from the tree top, and when the wind blows, the cradle will drop." Awww, come on Sesshomaru! You can't tell me you don't know what the hell I'm talking about, can you!" Inuyasha exclaimed, irritated with his brother for not knowing.

There was a blank look on Sesshomaru's countenance before he was able to draw to conclusions the song Inuyasha just sang, and his eyes went wide. Inuyasha smirked smugly and nodded his head. "For a moment I thought you wouldn't get it, but you did at the last moment."

"How…how could this be? Surely there must be a mistake! She couldn't have…she wouldn't have! No, she wouldn't have done such a thing!"

"Have you ever considered the times she'd ever lied to you Sesshomaru? Maybe if you hadn't been so preoccupied with your work and giving her everything she wanted, she wouldn't have done something as drastic and stupid as this."

"I did give her attention…"

"But it wasn't enough. One thing was for you to give her everything, but you never really gave her attention and love."

"That's absurd! I gave her…"

"You can't even say it, much less show it."

"Enough!"

"Why, are you tied of hearing how lousy a father you were to her?"

"You're wrong Inuyasha."

"Am I? Perhaps it's only you, Sesshomaru."

"No, you are wrong; you have to be wrong…are you wrong?"

"The only thing you can do for her now is to find her killer and see that he is punished."

Sesshomaru said nothing, he was lost in his own thoughts for a long time before Inuyasha grew bore and threw a thick folder into his brother's lap. At last Sesshomaru looked up and realized Inuyasha was still there. He stared at the folder and picked it up tediously and read the side tab: victims and possible suspects.

He met Inuyasha's eyes and asked, "Where did you get this?" Inuyasha shrugged and gestured for him to open it. "Don't ask just read it and study each face, custom, manners, lifestyle, personality, where they died, how they were killed, and what was removed. This should be easy enough for you Sesshomaru. Just use all your medical knowledge." Inuyasha had been looking out the window all this time. Abruptly he pushed away and headed towards the hallway leading to the front door.

Sesshomaru stood up impulsively and asked mechanically, "Where are you going? Are you not going to stay here with me?" Inuyasha opened the door and remained serious. "I have other things to do before I can return to see how you are doing. For now you should study that file until you understand it. I'll have Rin's file for you I a couple of nights, but you'll have to make a copy of it since it will be missed."

Neither sibling said anything else as Inuyasha for once used the front door and left like a real person. With no else to do but to read the file, Sesshomaru began to read everything.

A/N: Now can the audience see why I titled this chapter 'Dreary'? It's because nothing eventful happens. I know Sesshomaru and Inuyasha are extremely out-of-character, but I'm trying my best to keep them like their true selves. Hopefully by the next chapter they'll be themselves.