I am back. Yes, it's true. Please, don't have a heart attack and die.
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or the lyrics. I thought we went through this already...
- - -
Chapter 37- If
- - -
"You have to call me earlier. Why didn't you tell me?" he growled, his voice deep and much different then normal.
"Watch your tongue. Remember who you're talking to."
"I know perfectly well who, I just don't care."
"Really know? Then I'd watch your back then. A sharp knife –dull if you wanted- is all you need to slit a throat."
Suddenly, he wasn't sure if he should've spoken against him at all. He knew his wrath, and was smart enough to know that he should fear it.
Immensely.
"So who's the girl?"
He could hear a deep rumble of laughter on the other end. "Her name is Aurora Kay, a police officer. Mostly called Officer Kay though apparently she also goes by the name Rori."
"Rori?"
"Yes. Yes that's the one…"
- - -
At first, she didn't know what to do.
Scream or laugh?
One look of the blood dripping down onto the carpet hallway floor was enough for her to decide.
Scream. That was the answer.
Now the next question…
Scream out of anger or scream out of fear?
The latter seemed to work better with the situation.
"Kikyo? What…what happened?"
Kikyo gave a short, humourless laugh as she placed her left hand over the long bloody cut on her right shoulder. She slowly pulled the hand away and looked at it almost curiously as the warm crimson slowly slid down her arm. "I'm…" Kikyo shook her head. "I'm not too sure. Where am I?"
Instantly, instinct took over Kagome as she gently pulled her into the room and sat her down on the kitchen chair. Running into the bathroom, she pulled out a miniature first aid kit that hopefully would have enough to care for the girl.
Kikyo was in shock and Kagome's old emergency training kicked in, remembering what she should do. She had taken that course when she was only eleven and it was funny almost how she remembered what to do. Her old teacher was right; it would come to you in the automatic.
'Warmth… I have to get her warm,' Kagome thought and dashed into the bedroom's closet where a spare blanket was always left. Throwing it carefully over Kikyo's left shoulder and wrapping it under her right arm, Kagome instantly moved on to the next step. 'I need to check her vitals next…watch her pulse. And then I need to talk to her, try to make some sense out of the situation.' Following out her thoughts, Kagome put two fingers to Kikyo's next and timed it for ten seconds.
"What happened to you Kikyo?"
Kikyo seemed hesitant to answer, but she finally did. "His office."
"Whose office?" Kagome persisted.
"Naraku's."
"You drove three hours away to see Naraku?"
Kikyo shook her head.
"Then how…?"
"He's been fooling you all," Kikyo said dismally. "He's already here."
- - -
"Rori…"
"And we never got the answer…"
"Rori…"
"The loops suggest it was a woman…"
"Rori…"
"So we still have that possibility…"
"Rori! For God's sake!" Alex yelled and shook her, snapping her out of her continuous –and not needed- rambling. "Calm down," he said soothingly, settling her down on the chair in his office. "Now, tell me what's wrong."
Rori took a deep breath and let it out. "The letter that was given to Kagome by her stalker. Remember we found out that it was Nazuna who transported it, but the lettering suggests that it was a woman who wrote the letter. I checked the forms that Nazuna had to finish and file and realized that it wasn't her writing. Nazuna didn't do it. It was someone else."
"Do you know who yet?" Alex asked and Rori shook her head in the negative. "Do you want to check the records?"
"I think it would be best," Rori said slowly. "We need more leads. Ayame's kidnapping did a number, especially since we have absolutely nothing to trace or point to. Any leads would be more then welcome."
"I hear yah," Alex agreed and then started to walk out of his office when he noticed that Rori was still sitting in his chair. "Um, Rori? Are you okay? You're extremely pale."
For the first time, he noticed how truly pale his partner was. Her hair was dishevelled and her hazel eyes didn't have the sparkle in them that promised a constant witty remark for whatever you said. Her normally flushed skin and rosy cheeks were ghost white and once again for the first time, Alex noticed how tired she looked.
"Wow," he whistled. "You look horrible."
Rori didn't even attempt to punish him for that like she normally did and that greatly worried him. "Rori? What's wrong?"
"I don't…I don't know," she said slowly, pronouncing each word with a slight slur. "He…he knows." Suddenly, Rori's body shuddered and she crumpled down to the floor.
"Jesus," Alex cursed and ran to Rori's side on the floor. "Rori, speak to me. Wake up!" For a pregnant moment, nothing was said and nothing was done. And then, as sudden as Rori fell to the ground she woke up, her eyes fluttering.
"Mm," she moaned and she grabbed her head in her hands, massaging them gently as she cursed. "I need…to get up."
Alex didn't think she was steady enough to stand but he obliged, knowing to never disobey her judgement, no matter if she was wrong or right. When it came to Rori's health, it was different in the way things happened, how she healed and what the possible cause was.
She got up weakly to her knees with his help and then; a pound rang in her head as Rori's senses went haywire. She couldn't think and she didn't know what was what. The ability to stand was too complex in her mind as she collapsed into Alex, the movement surprising him. He fell to the floor with her, protecting her head with his chest as he took the full brunt of the fall.
"Great," Alex swore under his breath and gently, afraid to hurt her, Alex shook Rori. After many failed attempts, Alex gave a colourful vocabulary of words when realization dawned on him. "She's asleep."
Rising slowly and shifting her, Alex eventually held the sleeping woman in his arms bridal style. Immediately she snuggled into him for warmth, her feverish body already too warm.
"He's knows Alex," she murmured in her sleep. "He knows…"
"Who knows?" Alex asked timidly.
"Him."
Well, that was specific.
When Rori buried her face in the crook of his neck and clutched his uniformed shirt tightly, Alex sighed but smiled, looking down at her somewhat depressed.
"Oh God Rori…"
- - -
"Naraku's here?" Kagome asked shocked.
"Since last night," Kikyo confirmed.
Happy with Kikyo's pulse, Kagome grabbed the bandages and all the cream. She picked up a white face towel and winced, realizing that soon it would be soaked red. Wetting the towel and rushing back to Kikyo, Kagome worked hard on cleansing and bandaging her wound.
"Why did you see him?" Kagome asked succinctly.
"Simple," Kikyo shrugged. "He told Muso –our part time manager- that he would come the night of the final contest but I knew he was already here. I wanted to know why he lied."
"And why did he?"
"He has plans Kagome. I tried to figure out what they were."
"And did you find out?"
Kikyo laughed a hollowed laugh once more. "I wouldn't be living if I knew Kagome. I was lucky I had some advantage against him."
"And that was?" Kagome asked, her mouth dry.
Kikyo smiled wickedly. "He loves me, that bastard."
Kagome dropped the bottle of antiseptic and scrambled quickly to retrieve it. "You're serious, aren't you?" Kagome asked when she saw the deadpan expression on Kikyo's face.
"Dead."
"Ouch."
"You're telling me. However, that was the reason I'm still alive. He tried to take advantage of me."
Memories of that night in the alley when the very same man had attacked her haunted her and suddenly, she had no doubt that Naraku was capable of such a thing.
"I pulled away," Kikyo continued, "and when I tried to go against him, I didn't exactly please him."
"What hurt you?"
Kikyo shrugged once more and looked at her cut that was now tightly and efficiently wrapped up. "Naraku is some sort of demon, maybe half or maybe full. I'm not sure just yet."
"His claws?"
Shaking her head, Kikyo answered. "His arm shifted. It changed, the entire structure of his arm changed. That's what cut me."
Kagome remained silent, completely unsure of what to say. So many years had passed by since they had willingly and freely talked to each other without the hint of hatred. She didn't know what to do.
"Kagome," Kikyo started, "I…I'm sorry. For everything… If I had known this would destroy so much, if I had known where I would be now, if I knew that everything would be like this…" She trailed off, the sentence of strung on 'ifs' almost confusing -heartbreaking.
Kagome sighed. "Listen, let's pass that. I'm over it –or getting over it- and you should too if you already haven't. We need to move onto the next thing, the matter at hand."
Kikyo smiled, the cold smile not full of warmth but given in no other way. "You always were the smart one."
"Whatever. You were too."
"For all the good it's given me."
Kagome lifted an eyebrow. "That bad? I thought Kagura, Kanna and Yura were great friends. What happened to change your tune –so to speak?"
Kikyo shrugged, not really wanting to give it all away. She didn't want Kagome to know how difficult it had been back then and even now. Some things were better left unsaid. "Anyways," Kikyo started. "Back to our topic."
"Right," Kagome agreed. "What are his plans?"
"I already told you. I wouldn't be alive if I knew."
"Then what do you think are his plans?"
Kikyo seemed to hesitate, but only slightly. "He's going to hurt someone, or bring someone down though in which way I have no clue. Takahashi Corporations is in the lead –everyone knows that- and Naraku lost business since they came around. Spider Back Corp. has always been highly successful and praised for its work, until Inuyasha and Sesshomaru's father came along with his own. Since then, everything just nose-dived from there."
"So he wants revenge," Kagome concluded grimly. "He wants his spot back."
"Exactly Kagome. And if nothing is done, I don't doubt for a minute that it won't happen."
- - -
In silent agreement, Kikyo and Kagome decided that no one should know about their little chat in Kagome's apartment. Luckily, Inuyasha hadn't come back until late and Kikyo had just gotten out five minutes before Inuyasha arrived with takeout.
They also agreed, that they would still pretend to be enemies.
That job in particular wouldn't be challenging since old wounds were still open though they were healing in time. They never spoke once to each other in the daytime, and within the week that they didn't need to see each other, Kagome and Kikyo stayed far apart. Finally, it was the night of the second performance for the contest hosted by Play.
There Sango, Kagome and Rin sat, in room that connected to the backstage where they waited for their cue. They were performing first that night and for the song that they had chosen to perform, Kagome asked for a stool to sit on. The song they chose was slow and –bluntly- fairly depressing and painful for people who felt it or understood it. This song, like all the others, was extremely important to her and connected with her but this one had a reason that separated it to a league of its own.
It was the song she wrote the night her father had left.
"Black Majik?" the stage manager called and quietly, not wanting to break the other's calm and thoughts, they walked to the stage hidden behind a curtain. Annoyingly, they could hear the host babbling on again about nothing particularly important.
Finally, he got to the point of the matter.
Their name announced the curtains drawing back, Kagome let out a deep breath. Absentmindedly Kagome brushed imaginary dirt off her skirt before anyone could see her and Kagome almost laughed at the way she was dressed.
The black dress reached knee length though it was neatly and cleanly cut in a special fashion so that it gave an almost torn effect. It was all black and was a halter dress. The only thing that stopped the almost plain look to it was the intricate golden patter that crossed the front. Kagome took special care in the way she looked that night, leaving her hair loosely down with that still untameable look to it though her golden shaded makeup gave her a angelic impression. Her black high heels were different that her normal skater styled shoes but she didn't care. The song was delicate and her usual clothing would trash it.
Sitting down on the stool that sat front-centre of the stage, Kagome smiled gently at the crowd before her, most of them probably stunned at the change in wardrobe.
Kagome knew Sango was already prepared at the piano and Rin was ready to play the drums when the time eventually came. Tapping her foot three times, the slow and lulling sound started from Sango's playing on the piano and Kagome waited four beats before starting to 'ooh' to the flow. (Kagome singing)
"I will not make,
"The same mistakes that you did.
"I…will not let myself,
"Cause my heart so much misery.
"I will not break,
"The way you did, you fell so heard,
"I've learned the hard way,
"To never let it get that far…"
As the verses ended and the chorus came on, Rin started to play subtly in the background, the sound giving it more strength to the wavering tone on the piano. Kagome closed her eyes as she sang the words she knew by heart since she was sixteen and didn't dare move from her spot on the stool. She didn't know the reactions of the crowd, she didn't know how her voice sounded so peculiarly strong for this particular song and Kagome didn't want to know.
She was almost glad that Inuyasha, Sesshomaru and Miroku were at a meeting of there own somewhere.
"Because of you,
"I never stray too far from the sidewalk…
"Because of you,
"I learned to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt…
"Because of you,
"I find it hard to trust not only me, but everyone around me.
"Because of you…I am afraid."
Though the chorus ended, Rin still played and Kagome still sang. The songs' words still burned in her memory and the pain and flashes of her father's absence brought back something she couldn't comprehend.
"I lose my way,
"And it's not too long before you point it out.
"I can not cry,
"Because I know that weakness in your eyes.
"I'm forced to fake,
"A smile, a laugh, every day of my life.
"My heart can't possibly break,
"When it wasn't even whole to start with…
"Because of you,
"I never stray too far from the sidewalk…
"Because of you,
"I learned to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt…
"Because of you,
"I find it hard to trust not only me, but everyone around me.
"Because of you…I am afraid."
The drums got louder and the tune changed to an edgy sound. Kagome stopped singing and more or less spoke into the mike, the words still flowing out of her in a musical sound. She had opened her eyes a while ago but she still didn't register the looks, the faces and the image the song was giving them. And yet memories still came.
She didn't want to know…
She didn't want to know, dammit!
"I watched you die,
"I heard you cry every night in your sleep.
"I was so young,
"You should have known better than to lean on me.
"You never thought of anyone else,
"You just saw your pain.
"And now I cry in the middle of the night,
"For the same damn thing…
"Because of you,
"I never stray too far from the sidewalk…
"Because of you,
"I learned to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt…
"Because of you,
"I try my hardest, just to forget everything…
"Because of you,
"I don't know how to let anyone else in…
"Because of you,
"I'm ashamed of my life, because it's empty…
"Because of you I am afraid…
"Because of you…"
- - -
The three boys sat in the lobby of the hotel, not much interested to go anywhere else. The lobby was virtually empty with the exception of the receptionist and the occasional maid that ran through. The matter at hand –the centre of discussion- were the many possibilities of what happened to Ayame. And who did it to her.
Naraku, they found, was easy to blame for everything but he wasn't there. Even with Muso's talk about him coming to the final performance, it didn't feel right. Still, there was no appearance, no scent, no hide or hare of the Spider Back Corp. owner.
"It doesn't add up," Miroku said firmly.
"Things aren't likely to start making any more sense any time soon. I suggest that we try to figure out as much as possible now. Things will change in time." Sesshomaru looked around the lobby when something caught his eye, or nose. The scent of cheap cologne was always distinguishable and immediately, Sesshomaru silenced the other two.
"Why, hello," Muso said walking up to them, his voice charming and filled with unmistakeable malice. "I didn't know you were staying here."
"Most are," Inuyasha mumbled though Muso didn't catch it. Even though the chat was casual, Inuyasha felt like there was something behind it. Something he was waiting for.
"And how is Ms. Yajima?" Muso continued. "I hope she's getting better."
"We do too," Miroku agreed. "From what I've heard, her recovery is steady."
"Very good. Send Mr. Wolf my apologies and wish him the best of luck. It was unfortunate that they had to forfeit."
"They didn't want to continue without her," Miroku explained bluntly, not really giving Muso a chance for conversation starters.
"Yes, well I understand that," Muso mused. "I was shocked to hear she was found so fast. The police –especially Officer Inoue, I found- did an amazing job in finding her. They were very organized, I'd say."
'Inoue…' Sesshomaru's brow furrowed in contemplating thought. That didn't make sense. How was that possible? Wasn't he dead?
"What do you mean Officer Inoue?" Sesshomaru asked quizzically. "I was not aware there was such an officer on the case."
For an eternal moment it seemed Muso stared blankly at the three, confusion clouding his features. Then finally, he spoke. "Oh, my apologies. Officer Kay, I mean. Rori, I think you call her. I'm sorry, I had forgotten she changed her last name to her mother's maiden name."
"Maiden name?" Sesshomaru asked in a monotone.
Muso's smile turned wicked as Inuyasha caught on. "You mean Officer Aurora Kay is really Aurora Inoue?"
Muso nodded. "Anyways, I'm sorry to say but I must take my leave. Goodnight."
They waited in silence until Muso was clearly out of sight. Sesshomaru and Inuyasha remained quiet, absorbing it all in.
"Could it be a coincidence?" Inuyasha asked.
"No. I knew there was something different about her. Nowadays, even if there are very few of them, witches are rarer to be full-blooded than just half."
Miroku stared at the two brothers, heavily confused. He knew very little of what Muso meant but even less of what they were talking about. "Would one of you care to explain?"
Inuyasha glanced at Sesshomaru who sighed in defeat. "Our father –and Inuyasha's mother- were assassinated. Someone hired a hit man to kill them. Connections were never tied due to his death so we still don't know who hired him."
"Who?" Miroku asked, bewildered. "What does this have to do with anything? What was he going on about Rori for?"
"Let me explain," Sesshomaru countered, ignoring his fallible questions. "The assassin who killed our parents was named Ryukotsusei Inoue. They only found him because our father almost managed to kill him before dying himself."
"Okay," nodded Miroku, who started to grasp the concept. "But you said it yourself he was dead. Wouldn't it be just a close to home coincidence?"
Inuyasha started to shake his head, taking over. "Ryukotsusei, we later learned, had also been married to a witch. When they searched his flat after his capture, they found her dead. Apparently, he killed her the same night as our parents."
Miroku sighed explosively. "Still not getting it. You two are downright horrible explainers," he told them flippantly.
"There was always a chance that there had been a child. They saw a crib, child toys, stuffed bears and tons of other children necessities in that place. The kid was never found though," Sesshomaru explained.
Miroku's eyes widened in understanding and disbelief. "You mean, Rori? Our Rori?"
Sesshomaru nodded his head. "It all makes sense now."
"Let's go up to my room," Inuyasha suggested. "I have all the information we need, especially if you want to call her. The girls are supposed to stay backstage for the rest of the performance so they won't be back for a while." Inuyasha gave Sesshomaru a sidelong glance.
Sesshomaru nodded and followed as Inuyasha lead him and Miroku to his room. Taking the elevator and watching out of the girls, Sesshomaru, Inuyasha and Miroku made their way to the second highest floor of the building.
When they finally entered Inuyasha and Kagome's room, Miroku and Sesshomaru made themselves at home and sat down on the couch, waiting for Inuyasha to find the contact information.
"Where did she put it?" Inuyasha hissed to himself from the bedroom and two minutes later, he made his appearance. "Got it," he told them and threw it to Sesshomaru who caught it with ease. Then, he smelt something. Different than the cheap cologne that had invaded his sense when Muso showed up, Sesshomaru unnoticeably traced the scent. It was familiar, he just couldn't place whom it belong to.
"Inuyasha?" Sesshomaru asked.
"What?"
"Has anyone other than you or Kagome been in this room?"
Inuyasha thought about it for a moment and then looked around the room, seeing the spotless clean tables and neatly made bed that neither he nor Kagome enjoyed to fix in the morning.
"Other than the cleaning ladies, no."
Sesshomaru shook his head. It was someone he knew, talked to before, or something.
Miroku stared at the two brothers once again with a bewildered look. "Okay guys," Miroku said calmly. "This is getting really old. I want to know what is going on. I may not be demon or half-demon or have an amazing sense of smell, but I still want to know!" The last part came out more as a whine but both Inuyasha and Sesshomaru ignored him until he picked up the lamp.
"Okay, okay Miroku," Inuyasha said, taking the lamp from Miroku's hands that were just about to drop it. "There's another scent in the room. I'm still trying to pick it up but…"
Just then, Inuyasha got it. "Kikyo."
"I hate to repeat myself but what?" Miroku asked.
"That's Kikyo's scent," Inuyasha confirmed, looking towards Sesshomaru who nodded in recognition. "She's been in here. But how?"
All of them were silent until Miroku spoke up. "Well, she does have connections with Naraku, right?"
The realization hit them all like a ton of bricks. Had she been playing them? Was she doing the dirty work for Naraku while he was away? Did she hurt Ayame?
Thinking along the lines of the other, Inuyasha voiced his thoughts. "You don't think she has the capability of doing that to Ayame, right?"
Sesshomaru shook his head. "I highly doubt it. She's just human after all and Ayame's a demon. She's powerful too though she rarely shows it."
"Then that settles that," Miroku said. "But what about finding stuff for blackmail? Information that could help Naraku?"
"I can't believe I didn't realize her scent," Inuyasha berated himself.
"It's not your fault," Sesshomaru reminded him. "With the cleaning solution and it would have been difficult. Plus…does Kagome spray her perfume around the room?"
Inuyasha looked at Sesshomaru funny. "No. She's fairly cheap that way. She hates wasting money like that."
"Then why is it all over the place?" Sesshomaru asked.
Inuyasha started to move around the room, un-self-consciously sniffing the couch, chairs and his bed even, only to confirm that Sesshomaru was right.
"What has she been doing?" Inuyasha asked curiously.
Just then, his ears perked and he heard the sound of footsteps running towards the room. Standing up and telling Sesshomaru and Miroku to be quiet, they waited in silence as the door opened and there stood Kagome.
And right behind her was Kikyo.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Inuyasha barked towards Kikyo and Kagome stepped in front of the girl protectively.
"Inuyasha, relax."
"I'm not going to relax," Inuyasha exclaimed. "Did you know she's been snooping around in our hotel room while we weren't here Kagome?"
Kagome sighed and motioned for Kikyo –who remained silent- to come in. As she shut the door, Kagome turned to face Inuyasha. "Inuyasha, listen to me. Kikyo hasn't been snooping around…"
"Damn right she has!" Inuyasha growled. "Her scent is everywhere!"
Kagome cursed. "I mustn't have used enough of my perfume."
"What?" Miroku asked, stepping in front of the boiling Inuyasha. "What do you mean?"
Kagome sighed and put her cardkey into her purse quietly before looking up towards the boys and answering. "Kikyo's been here almost every night, I know. I invited her in. She's not the enemy, she's been trying to find out information from Naraku for us."
"And why didn't you tell us Kagome?" Sesshomaru asked, slightly irked that she wouldn't tell any of them.
"Because so far she hasn't found anything. There was one thing though and I was going to tell you tonight, we had to make sure no one would spill or suspect Kikyo before we told you."
"And that is?" Inuyasha asked.
"Naraku is here."
"What are you talking about?" Miroku asked incredulously. "Is it just me, or have things screwed up a whole hell of a lot since twenty minutes ago?"
Kagome ignored Miroku much to his dismay but continued on. "We didn't want you guys or anyone to know that Kikyo and I have been talking because it would blow the cover."
Kikyo nodded and stepped forward, sliding off the shoulder part of her t-shirt just enough to show the boys the beginning of the long cut Naraku had given her. "I tried to get more out of him, I really did. But things didn't go as planned and he got a little angry." Pulling the top back up, Kikyo looked to Kagome who stood beside her.
Kagome nodded. "We should call Rin and Sango and have a meeting. We need to talk about this."
Miroku nodded and grabbed his phone, speed dialling Sango's number. Explaining things to her quickly, Miroku ended the call once he was assured the two would get there as fast as possible.
"They're coming. In the meantime…"
Miroku's sentence was never finished for just then, there was a knock at the door.
"That was fast," he muttered and opened the door without looking through the peephole. Instead of Sango and Rin, like he had expected, officers Rori and Alex stood there, in uniform and all professional looking. They entered the room without invitation and glared at Kikyo.
"Kikyo! Well, this just made life a bit easier. No need to find you," Rori said.
Sesshomaru watched everyone's dangerous exchange. "Life just got a whole hell of a lot more complicated."
- - -
Next Chapter: Surrender
Meaning we only have...3 chapters left plus an epilogue. And I will answer any questions anyone has about this story or Imaginary.
P.S. Please don't review only to tell me how long it took for me to update. I already know. You don't need to remind me.
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