Alley
Chapter 2: Why didn't you kill her?
-----------------------------------------------------------
"About how tall was he, miss?"
"Um, about my height, a little taller...I think."
"Any identifying symbols?"
"Not really, officer."
The tall, buff policeman sighed and closed his notepad, then turned to Kagome and smiled thinly.
"Thank you for your cooperation, Miss Higurashi. We'll keep you posted on any new developments in this case."
Kagome returned his thin smile and walked away.
She'd been working at Joel's Bakery Shop for about two months before the murders. Mr. Joel Lansing, the proprietor of the shop, had been kind to her and had gotten the other shopkeeper to help her around. In return, she'd helped him with his rather broken Japanese.
Kagome's eyes opened wide at her sudden realization. Where was the other shopkeeper?
He hadn't been in the shop with her; she'd just been helping Mr. Lansing close up. But he could've gotten in through the back way to get a forgotten jacket or something like that. Had the killers gotten him too?
"Oi, Higurashi!"
Kagome relaxed and turned to this familiar voice.
"Speak of the devil, Hojo!" she exclaimed. "And I was here wondering whether you'd been in the back with Mr. Lansing..."
Akitoki Hojo smiled at his coworker and nodded to a passing officer.
"Are you okay, Kagome?" he asked. "I heard you saw the killer face-to- face!"
Kagome shivered despite the warm Tokyo night. "Yeah, I'm all right."
"Good, then, that's good." Hojo exhaled nervously. "Listen, do you have a place to crash?"
Kagome nodded bewilderedly. "I've got a dorm over at the University."
"Hey, that's cool, but do you want to come over to my place tonight?" Hojo asked hopefully. "I mean, with the roadblock and all, you might not get to University until midnight."
Kagome contemplated this for a minute. She didn't really know Hojo that well, and she was very insecure about spending the night at a college boy's 'place to crash'.
She smiled apologetically and sighed. "Sorry, Hojo, but I've got a friend who's closer to the University. I'll call her and stay at her house tonight."
Hojo's grin deflated a little. "All right, Kagome. But, uh, let me know if you need help, okay?"
"Okay."
Hojo nodded his leave and made his way toward a policeman.
Kagome reached into her pocket and took out her cellphone. Flipping it open, she dialed her friend's number and held it to her ear, waiting patiently through two ringtones.
"Mmmh...hello...?" came a groggy voice over the line.
"Hey, Sango. It's me."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
[INT: An alley adjacent to the Third Street Alleys' base]
Inuyasha was woken in the early morning by the scant rays of sunlight that could filter through his window in a Tokyo alley. He cast off his thin blanket and tore the bandana off his hair, casting sharp glances around the room.
All was in order. Miroku was sleeping soundly on the old mattress beside his, and nothing looked to be stolen.
Except...
His eyes narrowed. "Shippo."
Jumping out of bed, he looked around the small alley shack he shared with Miroku and the waste of space they called Shippo.
Once again casting wary glances around the room, he called out, "Shippo, I know you're in here. Get out from wherever you're hiding or I'll have to flush you out myself!"
No response.
Spitting a few miscellaneous curse words, Inuyasha reached up to the thin rag covering the second window in their shack and yanked it forcefully down. Down tumbled a little boy with a head of orange-reddish hair and green eyes who was spitting a few curse words of his own.
Inuyasha grabbed Shippo by the hair and glared into his face.
"How many times have Miroku and I told you not to curse?" Inuyasha growled. "You'll have better chances of getting out of this hellhole and into a respectable school that way!"
"You curse, so why can't I?" Shippo yelled right back, face red with indignation.
"Because I've already zeroed my chances of living a normal life, and it doesn't matter if I do!" Inuyasha barked. He let go of Shippo and stood over the poor boy as he rubbed his abused hair defiantly.
"I hate you." Shippo hissed, glaring at his guardian.
Inuyasha's gaze hardened. "I don't want you to turn into me. An Alley has no future."
Their little glare-fest was interrupted by a loud yawn from the other side of the room. Miroku had woken up and was looking at them through sleep- filled eyes, yawning tiredly.
"Up bright and early, I see." He grinned. "Has someone forgotten Sesshomaru- sama's skill checkup today?"
Shippo's eyes widened and he jumped up, running to his bed. He took an old, beat-up box out from under his cot and took out a faded green T-shirt with the sleeves cut off, a pair of fading blue jeans and a mini pistol.
Inuyasha glared. "What are you doing with the pistol out of training area?"
Shippo bit his lip. "I'm not a little kid anymore, Inuyasha! I'm already nine and I'm allowed to handle a mini pistol!"
Miroku hastily butted in before the argument could escalate into another fiery battle. He rushed Shippo into the bathroom area and got him to dress quickly, since the training session was in five minutes.
"Miroku, what do we have today?" Inuyasha asked, tying his bandana back over his hair and washing his hands at a small spicket in the corner of the room.
Miroku glanced at Inuyasha with laughter in his eyes. "Oh, Master Inuyasha, your humble secretary believes you have one mission and one meeting on your roster for today."
"Shut up, baka." Inuyasha glared as Miroku chuckled pleasantly.
"We've got the daily meeting with Sesshomaru-sama and then we're free the rest of the day." Miroku stopped, looking at Inuyasha curiously. "But then again, Inuyasha, you knew that. You've been keeping a record of our assignments this past month."
Inuyasha glanced at the window. "I just had to be sure."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------
After sending Shippo to his test, Inuyasha and Miroku made their way to the base of the Third Street Alleys, dodging through big crowds around town and trying to hide the bulge of the gun holsters at their sides.
Once at the alley, they gave identification to the Alley guarding the entrance and stepped through the doors in the boards covering the entrance, then found a spot in the back of the alley and waited for the meeting to begin. They didn't have long to wait.
A small, balding man approached them almost reverently, sniveling and bowing every two feet. "Inuyasha-sama, Miroku-sama, Sesshomaru-sama requests your audience before the meeting, de gozaru yo."
Exchanging confused looks, Inuyasha and Miroku got up and followed the man to Sesshomaru's well-constructed hut. Once inside, the man bade them to sit down, and they waited for Sesshomaru to show himself. Again, they didn't have long to wait, for the leader of the Third Street Alleys breezed into the room a few moments later.
"Inuyasha, Miroku, thank you for coming." Sesshomaru nodded to both, then continued in his deep voice. "I have a most grievous matter to discuss with you two."
He looked behind them. "Jaken. Bring article A."
The balding man now identified as Jaken handed Sesshomaru a brown paper bag as if he were offering to the gods. Inuyasha snorted derisively under his breath and shifted position in his chair.
Sesshomaru reached into the bag and took out a copy of the daily newspaper, handing it to Inuyasha.
"Well, Inuyasha, what do you see?" he asked softly.
"A copy of today's...newspaper..." Inuyasha's voice trailed off as he looked at the headline in horror.
Sesshomaru concentrated his laser gaze on Inuyasha.
"Miroku," he said in a dangerous tone. "Kindly read the headline for us."
Miroku gulped and looked at the headline. "Murder at Joel's Bakery Shop..."
"And the subtext."
Miroku squeezed his eyes shut. "Eyewitness claims killer was a young man and his accomplice."
The silence in the room was deafening.
Sesshomaru spoke in measured tones. "I told you two to kill all who set their eyes upon you." He pointed at the newspaper. "If you did, how can there be an eyewitness?"
Inuyasha and Miroku just stared at the newspaper.
"This woman saw everything. And she is still alive." Sesshomaru glared at his subordinates. "Why didn't you kill her?"
Silence.
"Why didn't you kill her?!" the infuriated leader growled. "Do you know how badly this ruins our reputation?"
Miroku spoke in a soft voice, eyes on the floor. "Please, Sesshomaru-sama, forgive us."
He pointed to the newspaper in Inuyasha's hands. "You can't tell from the black-and white picture, but that girl..."
He looked up and Sesshomaru with fearful eyes. "The girl had the bluest eyes I've seen in a long time."
Inuyasha threw the newspaper to the floor and ran out of the room, knocking Jaken aside. He stormed out of the alley, kicking the door open, and left a lot of stunned Alleys in his wake.
Sesshomaru's gaze softened. "Blue eyes."
Miroku nodded. "And we all know how Inuyasha feels about blue eyes."
------------------------------------------------------------------
A/N: Wow! An update! Has it really been two months?
Anyway, I have review replies! Some were sent by email, so they're not up on the site.
Asn water, yes, Kagome does have blue eyes in the manga. Even though I follow the anime almost religiously, in the anime Sango, Miroku, and Kagome's eyes are ALL brown. So having blue eyes adds a certain depth to Kagome's character.
Dragongoddess, I am not nor will I ever write a lemon, just so you know, so don't keep your hopes up. Extremely light lime I will tolerate, but lemon is a BIG no-no.
Bobkaiser, YES, INUYASHA AND KAGOME WILL FALL IN LOVE! THAT'S THE POINT OF THE ENTIRE STORY! Laughs evilly And it's going to be fun...
So, loyal fanfiction enthusiasts, enjoy your three-month wait for the next installment of 'Alley"!
-Misao7
Chapter 2: Why didn't you kill her?
-----------------------------------------------------------
"About how tall was he, miss?"
"Um, about my height, a little taller...I think."
"Any identifying symbols?"
"Not really, officer."
The tall, buff policeman sighed and closed his notepad, then turned to Kagome and smiled thinly.
"Thank you for your cooperation, Miss Higurashi. We'll keep you posted on any new developments in this case."
Kagome returned his thin smile and walked away.
She'd been working at Joel's Bakery Shop for about two months before the murders. Mr. Joel Lansing, the proprietor of the shop, had been kind to her and had gotten the other shopkeeper to help her around. In return, she'd helped him with his rather broken Japanese.
Kagome's eyes opened wide at her sudden realization. Where was the other shopkeeper?
He hadn't been in the shop with her; she'd just been helping Mr. Lansing close up. But he could've gotten in through the back way to get a forgotten jacket or something like that. Had the killers gotten him too?
"Oi, Higurashi!"
Kagome relaxed and turned to this familiar voice.
"Speak of the devil, Hojo!" she exclaimed. "And I was here wondering whether you'd been in the back with Mr. Lansing..."
Akitoki Hojo smiled at his coworker and nodded to a passing officer.
"Are you okay, Kagome?" he asked. "I heard you saw the killer face-to- face!"
Kagome shivered despite the warm Tokyo night. "Yeah, I'm all right."
"Good, then, that's good." Hojo exhaled nervously. "Listen, do you have a place to crash?"
Kagome nodded bewilderedly. "I've got a dorm over at the University."
"Hey, that's cool, but do you want to come over to my place tonight?" Hojo asked hopefully. "I mean, with the roadblock and all, you might not get to University until midnight."
Kagome contemplated this for a minute. She didn't really know Hojo that well, and she was very insecure about spending the night at a college boy's 'place to crash'.
She smiled apologetically and sighed. "Sorry, Hojo, but I've got a friend who's closer to the University. I'll call her and stay at her house tonight."
Hojo's grin deflated a little. "All right, Kagome. But, uh, let me know if you need help, okay?"
"Okay."
Hojo nodded his leave and made his way toward a policeman.
Kagome reached into her pocket and took out her cellphone. Flipping it open, she dialed her friend's number and held it to her ear, waiting patiently through two ringtones.
"Mmmh...hello...?" came a groggy voice over the line.
"Hey, Sango. It's me."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
[INT: An alley adjacent to the Third Street Alleys' base]
Inuyasha was woken in the early morning by the scant rays of sunlight that could filter through his window in a Tokyo alley. He cast off his thin blanket and tore the bandana off his hair, casting sharp glances around the room.
All was in order. Miroku was sleeping soundly on the old mattress beside his, and nothing looked to be stolen.
Except...
His eyes narrowed. "Shippo."
Jumping out of bed, he looked around the small alley shack he shared with Miroku and the waste of space they called Shippo.
Once again casting wary glances around the room, he called out, "Shippo, I know you're in here. Get out from wherever you're hiding or I'll have to flush you out myself!"
No response.
Spitting a few miscellaneous curse words, Inuyasha reached up to the thin rag covering the second window in their shack and yanked it forcefully down. Down tumbled a little boy with a head of orange-reddish hair and green eyes who was spitting a few curse words of his own.
Inuyasha grabbed Shippo by the hair and glared into his face.
"How many times have Miroku and I told you not to curse?" Inuyasha growled. "You'll have better chances of getting out of this hellhole and into a respectable school that way!"
"You curse, so why can't I?" Shippo yelled right back, face red with indignation.
"Because I've already zeroed my chances of living a normal life, and it doesn't matter if I do!" Inuyasha barked. He let go of Shippo and stood over the poor boy as he rubbed his abused hair defiantly.
"I hate you." Shippo hissed, glaring at his guardian.
Inuyasha's gaze hardened. "I don't want you to turn into me. An Alley has no future."
Their little glare-fest was interrupted by a loud yawn from the other side of the room. Miroku had woken up and was looking at them through sleep- filled eyes, yawning tiredly.
"Up bright and early, I see." He grinned. "Has someone forgotten Sesshomaru- sama's skill checkup today?"
Shippo's eyes widened and he jumped up, running to his bed. He took an old, beat-up box out from under his cot and took out a faded green T-shirt with the sleeves cut off, a pair of fading blue jeans and a mini pistol.
Inuyasha glared. "What are you doing with the pistol out of training area?"
Shippo bit his lip. "I'm not a little kid anymore, Inuyasha! I'm already nine and I'm allowed to handle a mini pistol!"
Miroku hastily butted in before the argument could escalate into another fiery battle. He rushed Shippo into the bathroom area and got him to dress quickly, since the training session was in five minutes.
"Miroku, what do we have today?" Inuyasha asked, tying his bandana back over his hair and washing his hands at a small spicket in the corner of the room.
Miroku glanced at Inuyasha with laughter in his eyes. "Oh, Master Inuyasha, your humble secretary believes you have one mission and one meeting on your roster for today."
"Shut up, baka." Inuyasha glared as Miroku chuckled pleasantly.
"We've got the daily meeting with Sesshomaru-sama and then we're free the rest of the day." Miroku stopped, looking at Inuyasha curiously. "But then again, Inuyasha, you knew that. You've been keeping a record of our assignments this past month."
Inuyasha glanced at the window. "I just had to be sure."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------
After sending Shippo to his test, Inuyasha and Miroku made their way to the base of the Third Street Alleys, dodging through big crowds around town and trying to hide the bulge of the gun holsters at their sides.
Once at the alley, they gave identification to the Alley guarding the entrance and stepped through the doors in the boards covering the entrance, then found a spot in the back of the alley and waited for the meeting to begin. They didn't have long to wait.
A small, balding man approached them almost reverently, sniveling and bowing every two feet. "Inuyasha-sama, Miroku-sama, Sesshomaru-sama requests your audience before the meeting, de gozaru yo."
Exchanging confused looks, Inuyasha and Miroku got up and followed the man to Sesshomaru's well-constructed hut. Once inside, the man bade them to sit down, and they waited for Sesshomaru to show himself. Again, they didn't have long to wait, for the leader of the Third Street Alleys breezed into the room a few moments later.
"Inuyasha, Miroku, thank you for coming." Sesshomaru nodded to both, then continued in his deep voice. "I have a most grievous matter to discuss with you two."
He looked behind them. "Jaken. Bring article A."
The balding man now identified as Jaken handed Sesshomaru a brown paper bag as if he were offering to the gods. Inuyasha snorted derisively under his breath and shifted position in his chair.
Sesshomaru reached into the bag and took out a copy of the daily newspaper, handing it to Inuyasha.
"Well, Inuyasha, what do you see?" he asked softly.
"A copy of today's...newspaper..." Inuyasha's voice trailed off as he looked at the headline in horror.
Sesshomaru concentrated his laser gaze on Inuyasha.
"Miroku," he said in a dangerous tone. "Kindly read the headline for us."
Miroku gulped and looked at the headline. "Murder at Joel's Bakery Shop..."
"And the subtext."
Miroku squeezed his eyes shut. "Eyewitness claims killer was a young man and his accomplice."
The silence in the room was deafening.
Sesshomaru spoke in measured tones. "I told you two to kill all who set their eyes upon you." He pointed at the newspaper. "If you did, how can there be an eyewitness?"
Inuyasha and Miroku just stared at the newspaper.
"This woman saw everything. And she is still alive." Sesshomaru glared at his subordinates. "Why didn't you kill her?"
Silence.
"Why didn't you kill her?!" the infuriated leader growled. "Do you know how badly this ruins our reputation?"
Miroku spoke in a soft voice, eyes on the floor. "Please, Sesshomaru-sama, forgive us."
He pointed to the newspaper in Inuyasha's hands. "You can't tell from the black-and white picture, but that girl..."
He looked up and Sesshomaru with fearful eyes. "The girl had the bluest eyes I've seen in a long time."
Inuyasha threw the newspaper to the floor and ran out of the room, knocking Jaken aside. He stormed out of the alley, kicking the door open, and left a lot of stunned Alleys in his wake.
Sesshomaru's gaze softened. "Blue eyes."
Miroku nodded. "And we all know how Inuyasha feels about blue eyes."
------------------------------------------------------------------
A/N: Wow! An update! Has it really been two months?
Anyway, I have review replies! Some were sent by email, so they're not up on the site.
Asn water, yes, Kagome does have blue eyes in the manga. Even though I follow the anime almost religiously, in the anime Sango, Miroku, and Kagome's eyes are ALL brown. So having blue eyes adds a certain depth to Kagome's character.
Dragongoddess, I am not nor will I ever write a lemon, just so you know, so don't keep your hopes up. Extremely light lime I will tolerate, but lemon is a BIG no-no.
Bobkaiser, YES, INUYASHA AND KAGOME WILL FALL IN LOVE! THAT'S THE POINT OF THE ENTIRE STORY! Laughs evilly And it's going to be fun...
So, loyal fanfiction enthusiasts, enjoy your three-month wait for the next installment of 'Alley"!
-Misao7