Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Inuyasha characters. They are property of Rumiko Takahashi.

Chapter Three: A New Face And A New Case

The next morning dawned bright and early for twenty three year old Sango Kitoru. The alarm clock by her bed made an annoying buzzing sound that wouldn't leave her alone. It seeped through the pillow that covered her head and entered her ears. Groaning, she rolled over and reluctantly opened her eyes. The sun was shining in through her window at such an angle that she had to squint.

Finally after another five minutes of listening to her alarm, Sango was able to drag herself out of bed. She walked over and hit the Reset button on the stupid contraption that was so perfectly named "alarm" before she stepped into her closet to get dressed.

"Sango, what time is it?" a muffled voice mumbled in the bed beside her own.

"The same time it is every day when I wake up to get dressed," she called back to her roommate. Sango stepped back out into the room dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a lavender T-shirt. She walked over to the tiny dresser that she shared and started to brush her long straight jet-black hair. Sango watched through the mirror as her roommate sat up and pulled the thick comforter from her head, making her bed-head hair even worse.

"Do I have to get up?" the girl groaned, as she watched Sango apply her make-up.

"If you want to be kicked out of college go right ahead and stay were you are, Yumi," she retorted.

Yumi groaned again and decidedly dragged herself out of bed. She practically crawled to the closet were she changed as Sango had. Reappearing in the room, she launched herself onto her bed and dove under the covers again. Sango sighed at Yumi's antics before grabbing her bag and heading out the door. As much as Yumi was her friend, Sango sometimes thought that she didn't take life seriously enough.

No, I'm not going to go there, Sango thought to herself. She shook her head and tried to forget the horrible images that passed unbidden through her mind. She had enough to worry about.

Walking slowly down to the small cafeteria in the City of Tokyo College or better known as CTC, Sango tried to get her mind on something else by reciting the formulas that she would need for her Calculus test at the end of the day. Hopefully she wouldn't fail this test as she had done with all the others. Sango let a smile play at the corner of her lips as she thought about how bad both she and her distant relative, Kagome, were at math. It didn't click for either of them and this had brought them closer together since they had met almost a year ago. It was at a family reunion for some long dead relative that neither of them knew about, when they literally ran into each other. Kagome had been chasing after her younger brother Souta, trying to pay him back for the fake spider he had accidentally left in her piece of chocolate cake. Sango had also been chasing after her brother Kohaku who, being the little pest he was, had managed to soak her thoroughly with a dropped water balloon. Both brothers were running for their lives and paying more attention to the angry siblings on their tails rather than the ground in front of them. Souta and Kohaku ran straight into each other and tumbled to the ground. Before both Sango and Kagome could stop they also crashed together and landed with an undignified plop right onto their brothers.

After a few minutes they had managed to untangle themselves and apologize to one another. Souta and Kohaku weren't so lucky. Kagome and Sango decided to work together when it came to torturing their brothers. Once the punishment had been dealt out, the two girls got down to talking. They discovered that they had a lot in common. Such as math being their worst subject and the fact that they lived close by each other. After the reunion ended, they were fast friends. Today that friendship still lasted and now they were as close as sisters.

Still mumbling to herself, Sango entered the cafeteria and sat down at an empty table. Already the place was starting to get crowded as students sat down for breakfast. Several tables were covered with open books and yet to be finished homework. Students milled around talking to friends and catching up on the local gossip. Several people said "Hi" to Sango as they walked by. She waved back but didn't reply. She still had to study.

Ten minutes later the five-minute bell for the first classes rang. Sango packed up her things and headed to her first class with the rest of the throng of students.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Private Eye Miroku Himuta strolled down the streets of downtown Tokyo. The area bustled with activities as people absorbed in their own business hurried by. Tall buildings soared into the sky so that one couldn't look at them without having to squint from the light of the midday sun. Honking cars and shouting voices made up most of the noise and the smell of hot dogs cooking filled the air.

Miroku glanced down at the piece of paper held in his right hand before stopping in front of one of the largest sky scrapers in the area. Straightening his freshly pressed, cheap black suit, Miroku stepped through the revolving door and into the main lobby. In front of him was a desk with a receptionist seated behind it. She had a headset strapped to her head and was speaking rapidly to the person on the other line. When Miroku stepped up in front of her she stopped talking and immediately put the person on the other line on hold.

"What can I do for you, sir?" she asked politely. Miroku grinned mischievously before he answered.

"I'm here to see Mr. Hitari. I have an appointment."

"Name please?"

"Miroku Himuta." The receptionist turned to the computer at her side and punched something in on the keyboard. She didn't notice the detective's hand slide over the top of the desk until it was too late.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

On the twenty fifth floor of the Hitari Incorporated building, a man that looked to be in his early twenties sat in a large office chair while looking out the glass window. The man's hair was so pale that it was white. He wore it down to the middle of his back and was tied back into a fashionable ponytail. His eyes were a startling shade of liquid gold. Anyone that had eyes could see he was strong. It didn't have anything to do with his muscles. At the moment an expensive Armani suit covered them. But it was in the way he stood and the way that he looked at you. He radiated confidence from every pore in his body and no one could help but feel intimidated.

Suddenly, the white furry ears that sat on top of his head twitched. A scream from twenty-five floors down could be heard followed by the sound of a woman screaming, "You lecher!" Something heavy hit the floor and groaning ensued from the unfortunate victim of his receptionist's blow. The man couldn't help but smirk a little. It seemed that the famous Private Eye Miroku was living up to his lecherous name.

A soft buzz was heard coming from the man's polished wood desk a minute later and the man turned around in his chair.

"Mr. Hitari, Mr. Miroku Himuta is here to see you," the voice of the receptionist came from the over the intercom.

Inuyasha Hitari reached over and pressed the small black button next to the intercom.

"Send him up," came his gruff reply.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Five minutes later a battered looking Miroku stepped into his office. He was rubbing the back of his head where a large bump was forming.

"So, what can I do for you Mr. Hitari?" Miroku asked, shoving his hands in the pockets of his suit. He didn't really care about how he looked. He was here to get a job, not be a parading monkey in heels. Inuyasha eyed him carefully before he replied. The short black ponytail that stuck out from the back of his head was old fashioned but it seemed to suit the detective. Amethyst eyes regarded the room carefully and his pose was relaxed yet alert. This man had seen tough times before.

"Call me Inuyasha." Miroku shrugged indifferently at the man's request.

"Alright, Inuyasha. What can I do for you? Our phone conversation didn't shed too much light on what sort of job you were offering me."

"I need you to find someone for me," Inuyasha commented quietly. He closed his eyes and tried to picture the woman that he was looking for. It didn't take long for the image to surface.

"Do you mind telling me who you need to find?" Miroku asked, sarcasm dripping from his words. Inuyasha's eyes shot open and he glared at the detective standing in front of him. Miroku didn't even bat an eyelash. He was used to these kinds of people. The kind of people that looked on you like you were scum because you didn't own some large house on the beach.

"She's a young girl. I'd guess she's around the age of seventeen or eighteen. Black hair and hazel eyes," Inuyasha finally answered closing his eyes again. Miroku snorted.

"Thanks for describing just about every teenage girl in Tokyo."

"Don't patronize me, detective!" Inuyasha yelled. His temper snapped in two as Miroku tried his patience, of which he had very little. He stood up violently and his chair surged backwards behind him. The two glared at each other before Miroku was forced to break eye contact with the man. Inuyasha's eyes had been intense and full of an emotion that he couldn't quite place. Whoever said eyes are the window to the soul hit the nail on the head, Miroku thought to himself.

"Alright then. Do you have a picture, a name, birth date, address, phone number?"

Inuyasha thought for a moment as he calmed down. A small smirk played across his lips thinking of the victory he had just won. The detective would now behave and ask only questions pertaining to the job. It was like training a puppy. Sitting down in his chair again, Inuyasha continued to think creating an uneasy silence between the two.

"All I can tell you besides those facts is that she will live at a shrine. I can't tell you that name or the address or even the general area, as I don't know myself. That's why I'm hiring you. I want you to find this girl and than bring back all the information you can on her. I don't want her followed or you even talking to her. I just want a name and an address. Understood?"

Miroku nodded.

"When do you need the information by?" he asked. He hoped to the gods that it wouldn't be any time soon. Doing that kind of research in a small amount of time was going to be impossible. Inuyasha's smirk grew wider at Miroku's question.

"It doesn't really matter when you get it to me. But the faster you do it, the faster you get paid," he said. Miroku instantly perked up when Inuyasha said the word "paid."

"Well then, I guess I should get down to work then, huh?" He turned around and headed out the door. He heard Inuyasha let out a sigh as he closed the door behind him. While he was standing next to the elevator waiting for it to arrive, Miroku reran the strange conversation through his mind again. Why was one of the most powerful men in Japan trying to locate a teenage girl? If the man wanted some company at night he didn't need to hire a private detective to find someone. Something else was puzzling him, too. It was probably just his imagination but it looked there had been something hiding on the top of Inuyasha's head, buried under the mountain of hair. Shrugging it off, Miroku stepped into the elevator when the doors opened with a sharp ping!

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Wow, that took a while. Sorry about the lack of update but with story I was suffering from a major bout of writer's block. It was so bad that I could hardly even stay awake long enough to type this entire thing up. Oh well, on to the next chapter of one of my other stories. Do you like the new format? I'll admit it hasn't changed much but I personally think that it looks a lot better now.

Thank you to Princess Sapphire, NightRain, Starry, SailorDarklight, val13361, and Kagome-Inuyasha for their reviews. More reviews means a happier author and a happier author means more chapters sooner. At least I think so anyway.

To Princess Sapphire- Now if I told you that it could ruin the story but thanks for the review.

To NightRain- Yes, it was 'I can do that'. My bad!

To Starry- The answer to your question is…YES! I wouldn't have it any other way!

Thanks again to all those who reviewed, new and old.