There Will Be Blood
Chapter 10: The Kemuri
Three months later...
Sesshomaru sat in his house one September day. He was annoyed. He had come no closer to finding those who had attacked him and Kagura. He had a feeling that Suikotsu was the one who put the hit out on him, though. Unfortunately, Suikotsu Oshima had the luxury of being virtually untouchable. There was no way he could accuse the powerful man of such a thing. So Sesshomaru just sighed and got up to pour himself a drink. He needed to find a way of exposing Suikotsu for the man that he was.
But how? Sesshomaru mused as he took a swig of his brandy and returned to his seat. He was brought from his thoughts by Bankotsu's loud voice.
"Sesshomaru!" he called from the front. Sesshomaru took a deep breath, wishing that his friend was just a figment of his imagination. Sadly, he was not. "Sesshomaru!" he continued to call as he walked into the living room. Sesshomaru stared up blandly at his friend.
"Is there a reason you are screaming like a mental patient?" he asked calmly. He took another slow sip of his brandy. Bankotsu seemed out of breath. He looked to his right as Jaken came in behind him. Sesshomaru noticed the serious look on Jaken's face. "What is it?"
"Your father wants to see you," Jaken said. Sesshomaru just sighed.
"Can't the old man just call?"
"It's about the Kemuri," Bankotsu said. This caught Sesshomaru's attention. He stood up and walked past his two friends and out of the room. Jaken smirked and followed after him. Bankotsu put his hands behind his head and followed as well. "Here we go..."
Inutaisho was in the office of the big house. When Sesshomaru, Jaken, and Bankotsu arrived, he was looking over something with Rin. They looked like party plans. Sesshomaru stopped his friends for a moment as Inutaisho and Rin continued to talk.
"I want a band. Not just any band, either. A swing band. And I want a bar. But since I'm not old enough to drink, I know you won't let me have any alcohol. There's gonna be a dress code. You already know that already, though. And we have to find a place to actually have the party, too," Rin said in one breath. Inutaisho sighed, not looking up from his work.
"Rini, what's wrong with the grounds?" Inutaisho asked. Rin's faced scrunched up.
"There's always these old guys prowling around. I don't want my friends to see them. Why are they always here, anyway?" she asked. At this, Inutaisho looked up.
"We can have it somewhere else, Rini. How about the country club?" he asked. Rin smiled.
"I was thinking more along the lines of the Serenity Clubhouse," she said. Inutaisho raised an eyebrow. "Please, Daddy?" she whined.
"I'll think about it, Rin. Now go. I have to talk with your brother." Inutaisho sat back in his chair. Rin turned around and bounced out of the room. She paused for a moment, waving at Sesshomaru, sticking her tongue out at Bankotsu, and smiling shyly at Jaken. Jaken smiled back at her and watched her go.
Sesshomaru walked forward and sat down in front of his father. Inutaisho was putting away the party plans that his daughter had given him. Rin was very much like his wife. She liked everything planned out in a specific way and executed accordingly. If anything fell out of place, she would be angry. After putting the plans away, the elder looked up at his son.
"I have a job for the three of you. The Kemuri have been spotted. They may have also had something to do with the attempt on your life, Sesshomaru," Inutaisho said.
"Where were they seen?"
"The docks. I also have a few errands for you to run while you're over there interrogating." Inutaisho passed Sesshomaru a big yellow envelope. "Collect payment from the tenants over there. They are late on the rent," he said. Sesshomaru took the envelope from his father.
"I am not an errand boy. This is something Inuyasha can do," he said tersely. Inutaisho raised an eyebrow.
"Watch it, boy. Just do as you're told. Inuyasha is preparing for school. I'm heading to the office. You can give me the payments there." He waved his hand, dismissing them.
Sesshomaru watched his father move to pick up the phone. Then he stood up, motioning for Bankotsu and Jaken to follow him out of the office. They left without a word.
Kagura sat at the island in the kitchen. She wore only a pajama shirt. She was eating a bowl of cereal and reading a magazine while simultaneously humming to herself. Then she heard the door to the front of the house open. She stopped chewing and humming to listen. Kagura heard voices coming from the front. The only sounds that were not foreign to Kagura were that of heels and Yura's distinct voice. Kagura watched as Yura entered the kitchen with two men.
Yura paused when she noticed Kagura. The men stopped as well. They took in the sight of Kagura and she examined them as well. One had narrow eyes and he was bald. There was also an air of arrogance about him. The other was large and had oddly-styled red hair. He appeared older than the other. Both were dressed like they were going golfing.
Kagura brought her bowl to her lips to finish off her meal. She slurped loudly as she drank the milk. Once she was done, she got up to put the bowl in the sink. Then she faced Yura and belched. Yura rolled her eyes and sighed.
"This is Kagura. She is Mr. Oshima's... friend," Yura said. The two men nodded as they continued to look Kagura up and down. "Kagura, this is Renkotsu Tanaka." Yura motioned to the bald one.
"Pleasure," Kagura said.
"And this is Ginkotsu Matsumoto." Yura motioned to the larger man. Kagura nodded at him. "They are Mr. Oshima's business partners. Do you know where Mr. Oshima is?" Yura asked. Kagura shrugged.
"Don't know. Don't particularly care, either," she said. Yura raised an eyebrow.
"Clothes, Kagura. Now." She looked at her other guests. "Follow me, gentlemen."
Kagura watched them go. The one named Ginkotsu did not strike her as the dangerous type. He looked harmless enough. His size was quite deceptive, though. But the one called Renkotsu looked like the devil's incarnate. His gaze was more penetrating than even Sesshomaru's, if that was possible. Something told Kagura to stay far, far away from that man.
Still, I wonder who they really are, she thought as she headed for her room to get dressed.
Bankotsu pulled up to the first of the properties on their list. Sesshomaru looked out of the window. He knew this street. It was the street that he had picked up Kagura from when she had nearly been shot to death. He inhaled deeply and exited the car. They headed for a small shop on the right side of the street.
"A sausage shop? Your father owns a sausage shop?" Bankotsu asked, looking back at Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru glared at him. Bankotsu tried the door, but it would not budge. He tried again. It moved, but still would not open. He resorted to knocking. "Hey! Open up!"
Jaken peered through the windows of the shop. It was deserted. Even the lights were out. He looked around and tried to see if anything was against the door.
"Someone is blocking the door," he said plainly. Sesshomaru and Bankotsu looked at him.
"SomeONE?" Bankotsu asked. Jaken nodded. Bankotsu sighed and pushed harder. Eventually, the door moved. The putrid smell of dead bodies and rotting meat invaded their nostrils as soon as the door opened. "Ah, shit! Man, that reeks!" Bankotsu covered his nose.
Sesshomaru stepped over the man who lay on the ground. He had obviously been dead for quite a while. How long remained a mystery. He moved around, looking for some sort of clue as to who could have done this.
"Amazing. There isn't even any blood. I can't even tell how he died," Jaken said. He looked over at Sesshomaru. "Sesshomaru, where are you going?"
"To find the deed. If he's dead, Father will want the deed." Sesshomaru headed to the back. When he opened the door, all he smelled was rotting meat. He managed to stay conscious through the stench, but he made it through the smell and to the back office. He began searching through drawers and the desk.
Jaken and Bankotsu soon joined their friend. Bankotsu was green in the face. Jaken was also quite sickly. They watched as Sesshomaru searched like a madman through the drawers. When he came up with nothing, he looked around the room furiously.
"What's wrong?" Bankotsu asked, leaning on Jaken.
"It's not here," Sesshomaru stated plainly.
"What do you mean it's not here? It should be here," Jaken said. Sesshomaru shook his head. "That means whoever killed them took it."
"Obviously." Then Sesshomaru realized what Jaken said. "Them?"
"Yeah. We found three more bodies. Can we call the police already? I'm getting sick," Bankotsu whined. Sesshomaru shook his head.
"We get the other payments first. You know they're always looking to pin something on us. So let's just get the payments first and then we can call." He pushed his way through his friends.
After going through three tenants, they got to the final tenant. It was a candy shop. A blue-haired woman with narrow purple eyes was behind the counter. She was wearing an apron. She smiled at Sesshomaru as he approached her. Bankotsu stayed back by the door. Jaken had opted to go retrieve the car from down the street.
"Welcome to Shiori's Treats. I am Ruri. How may I be of service?" she asked. Sesshomaru stared at her for a moment.
"Where is," he looked down at the paper, "Taigokumaru Mizuhashi?" he asked. Ruri blinked.
"Why do you need to see Mr. Mizuhashi?" she asked.
"Is that any of your concern? Just get him out here," Sesshomaru said in an irritated voice. His patience with this whole situation was wearing thin.
The woman named Ruri frowned at him. Her frown immediately turned upside down and a smirk appeared on her face. Sesshomaru watched her for a moment. She wiped a lock of her hair from her face and looked at her nails.
"You are Inutaisho Inzei's son, no?" she asked. Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow and unfolded his arms. The woman smiled. She jumped over the counter just as Sesshomaru reached for his gun. Sesshomaru stopped moving when he realized that there was a blade to his jugular vein. "Not the best of ideas." Ruri smiled at him.
"You really think you can do this alone?" Sesshomaru asked. Ruri pushed the blade against his neck as she closed in on him.
"Who said I was alone?"
Bankotsu heard ruckus from the front of the store. Just as he was about to move from the door, he felt a sharp pain in the back of his neck. Then all he saw was darkness. A pink-haired woman with dark blue eyes stood over him. She carried a yellow sheet of paper in her hand. Folding it up and putting it in a satchel around her shoulder, she headed up to the front of the store.
"Ruri, let's go," she said sternly. She walked past Sesshomaru and Ruri through the back.
"I'm coming, Hari." Ruri looked back at Sesshomaru. "My sister, Hari. It's been a pleasure, son of Inutaisho. Think fast!" Ruri backed away from Sesshomaru while tossing him a small red ball. Sesshomaru caught it. He looked at it. It was a bomb. Then he saw that she was gone. Sesshomaru dropped the ball and ran to the front of the store where Bankotsu was out cold. Sighing, he hauled his friend up into his arms and carried him out as fast as possible.
Jaken was putting the car in park just as he saw Sesshomaru running out with Bankotsu. Sesshomaru threw Bankotsu in the car. Without a word being spoken, Jaken put the car back in drive and stepped on the gas. They had not driven twenty feet before the store blew up. The car skidded forward from the explosion. Jaken pressed on the brakes. Then he looked at Sesshomaru.
"Well, I guess that went well," he said dryly. Sesshomaru glared at him.
"I met the Kemuri." He straightened himself in his seat. "The Ekishou Building," he mumbled. Jaken nodded and put the car in drive, much to a moaning Bankotsu's dismay.
Sesshomaru walked up to his father's office. He raised his hand to open the door without announcing himself. Before he did so, he stopped and listened. He heard noises behind the door. Instead of entering, he decided to knock. After waiting thirty seconds and hearing shuffling, Sesshomaru entered the office. He paused for a moment at the door.
Inutaisho was calmly putting his hair in its usual ponytail. He was leaning against his desk. His shirt's first two buttons were undone. The elder man looked extremely... relaxed. Behind his desk was Izayoi. She was busy hastily fixing her clothes on herself, namely buttoning her black and white polka dot shirt. When she turned around to face Sesshomaru, she did not look relaxed. She looked annoyed. Her long, black hair was not up in its usual elaborate style, either.
"Is there something you needed, son?" Inutaisho asked, looking as if he had not been doing the mother of his children only a minute before Sesshomaru had walked in. Izayoi flounced past Sesshomaru, being sure to give her son a scathing glare for ruining her good time. "You've pissed your mother off."
"I believe it was you who told me not to have any 'encounters' at the office," Sesshomaru said, stepping further into the office. Inutaisho shot him an evil look.
"Watch it, boy. What of your assignment? Where's my money?" He took a seat behind his desk and began rearranging the objects on it. Sesshomaru threw the envelope filled with money on the desk. Inutaisho began checking it.
"The sausage shop was hit. Apparently, he'd been dead for a while. Mizuhashi was also hit. We walked in on it," Sesshomaru said. Inutaisho looked up at him.
"Did you see who?"
"The Kemuri. They are called Ruri and Hari. I only spoke face to face with one: Ruri. Mizuhashi is presumed dead," Sesshomaru said. Inutaisho raised an eyebrow. "They blew up the shop."
"What about Shiori?"
"Shiori?"
"Taigokumaru's granddaughter. She must've been at school while all of this happened. She'll probably go to the shop after and see it burned to the ground. Your mother will be furious." Inutaisho thought for a moment. He picked up the phone. "Yes. Send someone over to the candy store. Bring Shiori Mizuhashi to the estate." Inutaisho hung up and looked back at Sesshomaru.
"This is why Inuyasha should've done this."
"What about the deeds?" Inutaisho asked, ignoring his son.
"The deeds were gone. The Kemuri probably took them."
"Where?" Inutaisho sat back in his chair, thinking. "Stealing deeds to some properties on my territory," he mused aloud.
"Waterfront properties," Sesshomaru added.
"Has Ouken suffered any losses? Do you know?" Inutaisho watched his eldest son shake his head. "Stay vigilant."
"Yes, Father," Sesshomaru said. He knew what that meant. He had to solve the problem. Sesshomaru was a good problem solver.
Kagura sat in the limo next to Suikotsu. They were coming from one of the sleaziest clubs Kagura had ever been in. Kagura was also dressed in one of the sleaziest dresses she had ever worn. Suikotsu had made a fool of himself by getting drunk and making a spectacle of himself. Because of who he was, it was not like the club owner could just kick him out.
Now, Kagura sat next to him, leaning as close as she could to the door. It had started to rain outside. Thankfully, Suikotsu had started to fall asleep after ranting on and on about how she was not any good in bed.
There's a damn good reason for that, Kagura thought idly. I'm a great lay, trust me.
She jumped when Suikotsu touched her bare thigh. The dress she wore left very little to the imagination when she sat. She turned her head to look at him. He was looking up at her lazily.
"What do you want?" she asked in an annoyed tone.
"I want you." Suikotsu attempted to pull her close. Kagura pushed him off of her. "Aw, what's wrong, love? You're not afraid of me, are you?" he slurred together. Kagura rolled her eyes.
"Let go of me, Suikotsu. You're drunk and I want nothing to do with you. Go back to sleep," she said. Suikotsu tried again to pull her to him. Kagura pushed him away. "Suikotsu..."
"Don't fight me, Kagura."
"Suikotsu, you couldn't handle me fighting you in the state you're in. Let alone any woman. Just sleep it off. I don't wanna do this right now." Kagura pushed him away more forcefully.
They stared at one another for a few seconds before Kagura moved closer to the door and stared out at the rain. The limo came to a stop at a red light. She barely had time to realize what she saw in the reflection as Suikotsu lunged at her. Kagura did the first thing that she could think of. She opened the car door and rolled out onto the street. Suikotsu completely missed her.
Kagura got to her knees and crawled to the sidewalk. Then she got to her feet. She turned around and looked at Suikotsu. The drunk man was hanging out of the limo, slurring out swearwords. He looked up and saw Kagura. Kagura just stared back at him. She could not believe what had just happened.
"Kagura, get back in here!" he yelled at her.
"No." Kagura turned and ran the opposite direction. Suikotsu watched her go. He tried to get out, but he was just too drunk to do anything. The more he moved, the sicker he felt.
To hell with her. She'll pay for it later, he thought as he pulled himself back inside the limo.
Nearly an hour later, Kagura found herself standing across the street from Sesshomaru's secret flat. She had no idea if he was there or not. All she knew was that it was the dead of night and it was raining.
Kagura had run from the limo until her lungs started to burn. After a short rest, she started to walk. She had long since lost her heels. Now she stood in front of the building where Sesshomaru's flat was. She looked both ways and then scurried across the street. She rang his buzzer frantically.
Sesshomaru's eyes opened. He rolled over and glanced at his alarm clock. It read 3:18am. Sighing, he sat up as the buzzer continued to go off. When he reached it in the front of the loft, he had to restrain himself from yelling.
"This had better be good," he mumbled into the speaker.
"It is," a female's voice said. Sesshomaru blinked.
Kagura. He buzzed her up.
Outside, Kagura opened the door. Before she stepped in, she looked behind her to see if she had been followed. She saw no one and continued on inside. She pulled the heavy door closed behind her.
Upstairs, Kagura raised her fist to bang on the loft's door. Before she could, the door swung open. She gasped at the shock of Sesshomaru suddenly being in front of her, white pajamas and all. She lowered her arm slowly, admiring how he left his shirt completely unbuttoned.
Sesshomaru stared at Kagura. He took in her general appearance. It was totally different from the last time he saw her. She was dripping wet from head to toe. The black minidress she wore hung off one shoulder. It clung to her in a very pleasing way. Kagura was also barefoot. Sesshomaru's eyes traveled to her face. Her hair was down. It was almost completely covering her face. Kagura sounded out of breath.
"Can I come in?" Kagura finally asked. Sesshomaru silently stepped to the side to allow her access. Kagura padded past him inside the loft. He shut the door and watched her. Kagura walked to the middle of the foyer and stopped.
"How did you get here? You ran?" Sesshomaru asked. Kagura turned her head to the side.
"No shit," she said. Sesshomaru ignored her choice of words. He moved around to look her in the eye.
"Why are you here?" he asked.
Kagura stared at Sesshomaru for a moment. She contemplated her answer for a very long moment. Sesshomaru just continued to watch her in silence.
"For three months now, I have been forced to live with a man I despise. Every night, I am forced to pretend I enjoy being in his company. I am forced to please him. He also has a bit of a problem; one he hides well from the world. He likes to drink... a lot. And then if I don't please him..." Kagura stopped.
Sesshomaru could not tell if Kagura was crying or not; she was still dripping with water. She moved some of her hair from her face. Then she looked back up at Sesshomaru, pure anger in her eyes.
"If he touches me again, I'm going to give him a third eye," Kagura said. Sesshomaru blinked at her tone. He cleared his throat and swallowed.
"Kagura, you can't..."
"I. Will. Kill. Him," she said firmly.
Sesshomaru sighed. She was serious. Suikotsu was a very prominent figure in the city. There would be dire consequences for his death. Sesshomaru doubted Naraku would help his daughter out. Even worse, Kagura would probably take the punishment before accepting her father's help. Sesshomaru had to find some way of talking Kagura out of any reckless act she had in mind.
"Don't be hasty," he said.
"Huh?" Kagura raised an eyebrow.
"Just... wait a little longer. I'll figure something out," Sesshomaru said. Kagura continued to eye him suspiciously.
He hates Suikotsu. What's his aim? she thought. Then it dawned on her. He doesn't want anything bad to happen to me. She looked away and sighed.
"Fine. But, if impulse takes over, all that goes out the window," Kagura said. Sesshomaru nodded. "And for the record, I had nowhere else to go."
"What?"
"Why I'm here. I had nowhere else to go. I sorta ran away." Kagura looked down.
Sesshomaru stared down at her in silence. It had not been the answer he'd been expecting. Now she probably thought that he was going to kick her out. A nice little puddle had formed by her feet as water continued to run down her legs and drip from her hair. Sesshomaru turned and walked away from her, leaving her alone in the dark foyer. Kagura looked up.
Where is he going? she thought. A few moments later, Sesshomaru returned with a few towels. He handed Kagura two. Then he kneeled to clean up the puddle. Kagura smirked and stepped out of the water. She squeezed the water out of her hair into one of the towels. Then Sesshomaru stood back up. He was looking at her wet dress expectantly. Kagura wrapped her hair up in the towel.
"What?" she asked.
"The dress," he said.
Kagura smirked again and handed Sesshomaru the third towel. Kagura peeled the dress off. It fell on the floor as she took the towel from Sesshomaru. She noticed the look he was giving her.
"What?"
"You had nothing on under that dress?"
"It was a little dress." Kagura picked up her dress. It was clearly ruined. She walked into the kitchen and found the trash can to toss it. When she turned around, Sesshomaru was once again gone. "Sesshomaru?" she whispered. Kagura left the kitchen.
She found him in his bedroom. He was sitting on his bed, watching the rain outside his terrace doors. Kagura did not say anything as she approached him. She took her hair down as she walked around to face him. He glanced up at her.
"Hey," Kagura said quietly. Sesshomaru pulled her closer by her waist. He placed his forehead against her abdomen. Kagura tangled her fingers in his hair. "What is it?" she asked.
Sesshomaru said nothing as he pulled Kagura into his lap. She straddled him, wondering to herself what he doing. Before she could inquire, Sesshomaru tore the towel away from her, leaving her completely nude. Kagura leaned forward and kissed him. Sesshomaru placed his hands on her back, pushing her even closer to him. Kagura positioned her hands on the back of his head.
This kiss was different from all the other kisses. Whereas every time they had kissed before this was full of pure, unadulterated lust and the need to satisfy some sexual desire, this kiss was full of something else. It spoke volumes as to how they really, truly felt, but would never say aloud. It was everything; every emotion they had ever felt toward one another.
Lightning flashed and thunder crackled as Sesshomaru released Kagura from the kiss. They stared at one another for a moment, out of breath. Kagura pushed him back on the bed. She crawled on top of him in silence. Sesshomaru watched her damp hair fall over her right shoulder. Bright flash of lightning and violent roll of thunder, and then darkness came over the room.
A couple of hours later, Sesshomaru listened to the rain. It had calmed significantly from before. Though now, he ran his fingers softly up and down Kagura's back. Her sleeping form was on top of him. Her head rested on his chest. She had clearly worn herself out. Sesshomaru just watched her with interest, though.
Tonight's "session" had been unlike any other. It was not lustful. It was not sexual frustration. It had been passionate. There had been a genuine need for one another. For the first time, Sesshomaru had...
... made love, he thought. He sighed softly as not to wake Kagura. I cannot love her. I cannot allow myself to love her, he told himself. He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.