Chapter 12:

Outside as the dawn broke, the rain falling lighter than it had since the storm began, the police discovered two unconscious and broken men in an alleyway not far from a certain shrine. One of the street toughs, in a moment of consciousness, kept mumbling about a demon as the ambulance took them away.

Rumors had already spread amongst the law enforcement about a savage demon that preyed upon people in dark alleyways. Most laughed it off as silly superstition, pointing to all the gang violence as the real cause. Wasn't the world violent enough without making up fairy tails? A few, a very few specialists, didn't laugh however.

Inside the shrine house, oblivious to the activity, taking place outside, Kagome walked downstairs to prepare breakfast for herself and her friend, Inuyasha. Cooking eggs, Kagome hummed joyfully to herself, feeling very content after her time with Inuyasha. With Inuyasha out of apparent danger, the horror of the night before almost seemed like a nightmare, unconnected with reality. As she finished preparing the meal she had made for two, she had no idea she was about to be interrupted by a visitor she would never have expected.

Kagome's perspective:

Placing the finished breakfast of scrambled eggs on a tray, I smiled to myself, thinking about whom it was that slept upstairs. The side of my face still felt warm from where it had rested on Inuyasha's chest. His heartbeat had been very quick at first, but then it had slowed to a calm, even beat. I had come close to falling asleep again to it.

I couldn't get him out of my head. I was still trying to figure out how someone I had just met could have such an effect on me. Sure he was good looking, but Naraku, one of the best looking guys in school, had hit on me once, and I had never looked at him twice. Sure Inuyasha was way better looking that Naraku, but that wasn't the point.

Could it be his personality? Was that even possible? I mean god, I had only known him for twenty-four hours and I had already been in a few fights with him! I had been in fewer fights with Hojo, and I have been putting Hojo off forever.

'I just can't pin-point it!' I thought in frustration.

All I knew was that I felt good when I was with him. 'Good isn't the word', I thought, blushing, as my mind conjured up his face once more. Gah! I needed to think of something else! This was getting ridiculous.

As though heaven had heard my plea, I was interrupted from my thoughts when someone rang my doorbell. Confused; I hadn't been expecting company; I set down the tray of food and went to the door. When I opened it, my eyes widened in surprise and fear. I was glad I wasn't still holding the tray, or I knew I would have dropped it.

Standing in my doorway was a young woman, in her very early twenties. Hell, she looked like she had graduated high school last year, I judged. She was extremely pretty, with long brown hair and eyes, with mascara on her eyelashes. She wore a business dress covered by a raincoat, and she held an umbrella over her head. She exuded a sort of commanding air, and part of a police badge was visible at her waist where it was pinned to her belt.

'The police!' I thought frantically.

"Hello, can I help you?" I asked, trying to ignore the icy spear that had stabbed my spine.

"Good morning." The woman started in a business like way. "I am investigating a crime in the area. Could I ask you a few questions Ms...?" She asked in a leading way.

'Oh god, what if those bastards from yesterday had died?' I thought frantically. We could be charged with murder! "Higurashi Kagome." I stated with as much calm as I could muster.

"Pleased to meet you, Ms Higurashi, you can call me detective Sango." She said with a bright smile. Her entire face seemed warm and friendly when she smiled like that. I shivered. "May I please come in, Ms Higurashi?" She continued politely.

I gave a jump. Oh god! If I refused, she would be suspicious. "Oh! Of course detective! Please come in. And call me Kagome." I suited words to action by stepping to the side, closing the door after she walked in. Setting her shoes by the door along with her raincoat and umbrella, I led her to the sofa.

"Then please, call me Sango. I hate being so formal, don't you?" she confided as she settled down.

"Ah! Haha yes, Det-er-Sango." It was a wonder I hadn't fainted yet. My heart was thundering in my chest. This wasn't happening! I needed time to collect myself before I went to pieces. "Would you like some tea, Sango?" I asked politely.

"Yes, thank you." She said absently as she took a notepad from a pocket. As she brought her hand out of the pocket carrying the notepad, a small container fell out, bouncing off the sofa seat and landing on the floor. It was a small black oval container, and as soon as it hit the floor, it's top snapped open, releasing a pink powder that almost seemed to glow.

The detectives face looked surprised, then she turned to me apologetically. "I'm sorry! I can be so careless with my make-up sometimes." She admitted as she knelt down to pick it up.

'No problem!" I said, "I will be right back with your tea." I called as I turned towards the kitchen.

"Thank you!" She called to my back. Whew! Now I could take this time to think about what I should do!


As Kagome left the room headed for the kitchen, Sango's demeanor changed, from her friendly face to the serious look of the trained professional. Watching the glowing powder intently.

Sango's perspective:

My heart was pounding with excitement as I saw the results of the powder test on the ground. The powder, made from special ingredients that even mystified me, would only glow pink if there was a demon nearby. It must not be a strong demon, or it would have glowed brighter. It wouldn't have glowed at all if there wasn't one around.

I had been in the business for a few years now. I had started while I was still in high school, and my success at such a young age had quickly made me something of a star in my profession. Real demons were hard to find in the modern world. Most of them knew that to be identified was to be exterminated.

So they tended to hide and cover their tracks very well. Our taps into police broadcasts had lead us to believe that a demon had appeared in this neighborhood. Rumor had it that in the alleyways, a demon lurked with silver hair.

Every time we got close, it had moved on though, always a step ahead of us. The only reason we hadn't been able to catch it until now, was because for a demon, it had a startlingly small body count. It never seemed to kill anyone! Usually they were easier to find because of the casualty list.

The only thing we had going for us when hunting this one down was our secrecy. If it knew that people specially trained to kill demons were after it, we had every reason to believe it would disappear for good. We had been hunting for this one for a while, and it looked like after all these years, I had stumbled upon the right spot.

That was why I was surprised and pleased to see the demon was close by. Maybe even in this house! The scum usually would have been long gone by now. It had finally slipped up! I thought exultantly as I picked up the container filled with the mystic dust.

Standing up, I put the tool in my pocket. This girl was an enigma to me. Kagome seemed very sweet, hardly the type to associate with demons. Maybe it had cast a spell on her? One or two demons had been known to posses' mind-altering powers.

Most demons were animalistic in nature though, which meant the first instinct they had was to eat and survive, rather than use puppets. Only powerful demons could do that. But the mist would have glowed brightly if the monster were that strong. This all meant that Kagome was doing everything of her own will.

Or maybe...? Hostages? Was it forcing her to do his bidding?

"Kagome?" I called to the girl in the next room.

There was a brief pause, then, "Yes?" She asked

"You seem a little young to live here alone." I said, making my voice sound casual. The demon might be listening. "Where are your mother and father today?" The most likely place for it to hide was upstairs.

Kagome came back into the room, carrying two cups of warm tea with her. "Oh, my family is on vacation in America for about a month." She said cheerfully. She looked slightly relieved for some reason. "My father died when I was just a kid though." She went on, smiling at me a little to show she was over it.

"Ah, I see." I replied, sipping the tea.

Hmm, good stuff. Her family just happened to be on vacation for a whole month, while a demon just happened to be in the house? She really needed to work on her cover story. I needed an excuse to go upstairs.

"Listen, before I start asking you questions, could I use your restroom?" I asked politely, taking a chance that it was on the second floor.

"Sure it's..." She paused.

Her expressive face gave away quite a bit at that moment. Mostly it was fear, if I had to guess. Success! Now I knew, it was up there.

"Oh, I'm sorry Sango, but I'm afraid our bathroom is out of order." Kagome continued in what I am sure she thought was a calm manner.

She might as well have been running around in circles screaming as far as I was concerned. The game was up.This was it, the time for action. I could forget about playing detective now. Reaching behind my neck, I brought out a long three-foot long silver blade that had been strapped there. It was magically enchanted to be deadly to demons upon contact. This was going to be easy. Stalking past Kagome wordlessly, I went to the stairs, heading up.

"Hey? Sango? I said it doesn't work! What is that silver thing for? Hey! Don't go up there!" Kagome had gotten very desperate very quickly. I ignored her. It was time to work.


To be continued...