Candy Fit for a Demon Lord

Chapter 10

Bittersweet Chocolate Trifles

An: As always, it has been a while. Nothing new to report, the story goes on, as usual. God I'm SO glad I rewrote the plot. Thanks oodles to my beta.

Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha and I never will. All rights go to Rumiko Takahashi.

I sighed as I gripped my briefcase and got ready to get off the bus. Today, Shilulu had to work at the studio, and I can see in the near future I won't be able to rely on her anymore. Things were picking up at the dance studio, and there was only so much that Shippo could handle on his own. That and Shilulu had her own dream to pursue. Kohaku was a big help, but I'm not sure how much longer I'll have him either, considering he was probably looking for a better paying job than working with me part-time. Being so lost in my thoughts, I didn't notice everyone staring out the window as we neared my stop.

As the bus drove away, I was blinded by flashing red and blue lights surrounding my vision. Blinking a few times to clear my vision, my face paled as I saw it was my shop the police cars were focused on. Even with my bum leg, I crossed the street with a quick air, ducking the yellow tape, and finding the nearest police officer.

"Sir what in the world is going on?! This is my shop!" I exclaimed, trying not to yell. Looking around wildly, I saw with no little amount of horror, one of the main windows was shattered, and the display behind it destroyed and scattered across the floor. I couldn't look any farther.

He looked at me sympathetically, "Omeiya, Rin? We just got the information on you, so we never got the chance to call you. I'm afraid there was a break in this morning. One of the shops next door called in when they heard the glass break and gunshots going off. You're lucky you weren't here, or I think you'd be dead. At this point we're going to charge the man with attempted homicide, illegal possession of a firearm, and breaking and entering…" He trailed off as I stepped up to the door and unlocked it, not wanting to step into the horror that part of my shop had become.

It truly was a mess. Besides the broken window and display, he'd apparently gone on a rampage, destroying everything he could lay his filthy hands on. Boxes were on the floor, and bags exploded. He'd broken all the handles on the candy dispensers, and the contents littered the floor like a broken stained glass window. Glass had shattered all over from where he'd shot the counter and register. Large gun holes were in the backroom door, and I had little doubt that the police officer was wrong on the likelihood of me dying had I been here. The door looked like it was almost ripped off its hinges, and he'd apparently tried to shoot the appliances, looking at the dents in the stainless steel.

"My god…" I whispered, leaning against the door frame. My dream had been desecrated by my nightmare, and I should have expected as much. He'd known for a long time. I listened as another one of the cops talked on the radio. He came up to me a little later.

He coughed a little to get my attention, "Miss Omieya? I'm Sergeant Kurashiki. Another squad infiltrated the man's apartment after we confiscated his license. His name is Samara, Akitoki. Apparently he's been stalking you for quite some time now. They found pictures, addresses, and a diary detailing it. There were also drugs that he was charged with possessing before. We don't think he was planning on killing you at first, but the drugs made him snap. I was told you tried to have a lawsuit filed against him before? From here we'll be reopening the case file, as well as charging him for this. He should be locked up for a good long time after this."

"Great," I muttered weakly. This was a lot to take in, even for me.

He tried to comfort me, "You don't have to worry about much miss. I'm sure you have insurance, and we'll make sure to have this cleaned up in no time. A clean up crew is already on its way, and if the insurance company is swift, you can have your shop back open in a week or so. The state should also chip in some funds." I nodded and decided to voice my biggest question.

"Sergeant," I muttered weakly, "Will he be open to visitors soon, or will the police still be questioning him for a while?"

His eyebrows nearly hit his hairline, "I'm sure something can be arranged, after you're checked over. We'll need to make sure the drugs are out of his system as well. Are you sure that's what you want? After all this, it may be best if you relax a bit, maybe spend time with someone and unwind."

"No, I need to talk with him; it's important," I said shaking my head. Even I wasn't sure this was the best decision, but I had the courage now, and it'd probably quickly escape me if I didn't act now.

Moving towards the door, I saw that a very large crowd had gathered around the store, including TV reporters and journalists. I couldn't imagine why it would be of any interest to most people, but I wasn't going to stick around to be questioned or get my picture taken. Then I saw Shilulu bursting through the crowd, wide eyed.

"Rin, what happened?" she cried, as I beckoned a police officer to let her through without stepping out the store to be seen.

I smiled a little, "You have great timing as usual Shi-chan. Can you take over for me here? There's something I need to take care of with the Sergeant down at the police station."

"I just saw what happened on TV," she said, exasperated, "What in the name of hell did this? You need to talk to me!"

All I said was," Akitoki." I didn't look back as the sergeant and I ducked our heads before running through the crowd, and to his car, driving off.

The police station was deathy quiet when we got there. The image of the usually busy room, with phones ringing off the hook wasn't it at all. Someone worked the main desk, and another guarded the rooms to the side, but other than that, nothing… The sergeant showed me to a bench before moving to one of the back rooms, leaving me alone in the silence. Really, even though I hate crowds, it would have been better than how deadly the silence was. All I could do was watch the minutes tick past on the clock.

It was a while before the sergeant returned, but he immediately lead me down the blocked off hall to an interrogation room. Another police officer came and frisked me to make sure I wasn't here planning to kill him. Vaguely, in the back of my mind, I wished I could, but I couldn't.

The sergeant gave me a stern look, "Last chance. I'm not sure you really want to do this. He's still violent, even off the drugs. He's handcuffed to the table, and an officer will be with you, so he won't be able to hurt you. Are you sure?"

I took a deep breath, "I'm sure. This is something I need to do and get off my chest." The sergeant nodded and unlocked the door, before gesturing for the officer that frisked me go in ahead.

Just like the rest of the building, everything was silent in the little grey room. Akitoki sat in a chair, facing the door and was, as the sergeant said, handcuffed to the table. His head was down and he didn't move when we entered, it looked like he wasn't even breathing. The officer took his place in the corner of the room and didn't make any motion for me to move. There was a chair in front of me, but it looked cold and uninviting and I was very nervous. Finally, I pulled out the chair and sat down, waiting for him to acknowledge me.

After what seemed like forever, he looked up at me, but didn't say anything. His face looked so much more haggard then it did when I first met him. He didn't look all that different from the average Japanese citizen, but he had always had a charming smile on his face in the past. It was almost as if that charming smile excused him from everything, like it was impossible for anyone to believe he would do anything bad with a smile like that. Even I couldn't say it was a smarmy, arrogant smile. I fell in love with that face.

"I wish you wouldn't have destroyed my shop," It was all I could manage to say. Nothing about my rage or the fear he had caused me for years, just a meek, mild sentence.

"You know it was never my original intention to kill you. Something this morning just made me feel fed up." he said in an almost frustrated manner, "The way you kept denying me, avoiding me! How you just don't seem to appreciate anything I've done."

That inspired a bitter laugh, "I'm supposed to be thankful for you making me partially crippled? I'm supposed to enjoy the harassment and the threats? You know I'm not."

His eyes narrowed, "I've done everything for you, and all you do is push me away! You never used to fear me, never used to deny you loved me."

"You confined me like an animal, tortured me," I spat, "You took me away from my friends and then took a knife to my leg! You must be completely messed up in the head if you actually think that any of that would make me love you."

"Remember the photo shoots we used to do? You used to love those, feeling like a model on a magazine cover. I always made you beautiful for my photos and that's all I've ever tried to do. It's been killing me inside that we've never been able to finish that last one. It would have been our masterpiece."

"You know," I muttered, "You lied earlier. You said you never had any intention of killing me? That's bullshit, if I had sat through and enjoyed our last "project" I would have died. My leg was bleeding so badly and you just wanted to make my other leg, arms and neck match! Do you honestly think I would have survived that?!"

"If you had I would have just put you in more of my pictures. That's all I wanted to do; take photos of you, but you never cooperated. Just stayed in that damnable store of yours or hung around with your friends. No time for me, or our pictures."

"Fuck your pictures, you're insane and I'm done! I've just come to say goodbye, since this will be the last time I talk to you, EVER. The court will decide what to do with you, and I hope they have you rot in prison for the rest of your life," I spat, doing my best not to raise my voice.

"You're nothing without me," he chuckled, "You'll only ever want me. No man could ever make you forget me."

I stood up and prepared to leave, the words that left my mouth were laced with venom, "You're right Akitoki-san, no man could ever make me forget the awful things you've made me endure, but god knows I can do my best on my own to forget. You're such an insignificant person it shouldn't be too hard, you shit-eating Neanderthal."

I immediately left before he could say anything else. I found that I really didn't want to hear it anymore. This was my snapping point; I was done with being helpless and terrified. The asshole is in jail now, and hopefully will be for a long time, so I don't have to be scared of him anymore. It's about time I'm not some damsel in distress, I just don't have time for that nonsense, and I'm stronger than that too.