Author's Notes: This chapter was revised on January 24, 2006.

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-June 7th-
Entry at 3:12PM

My mind was desperately trying to piece things together...

Who would benefit from Bankotsu being an emotional wreck? Who would know to use Jakotsu as a pawn against him? I kept questioning myself, Is there someone else? Someone else that we aren't figuring into the situation?

Mentally, I began to chart things out. Kagura, Musou and Naraku were at the warehouse, but all of them are perplexed as we are as to the disappearance. Bankotsu, Suikotsu and Mukotsu were here when it was discovered he was missing. Supposedly, Ginkotsu, Kyoukotsu and Renkotsu are all at another apartment with Renkotsu locked in a room as a precaution. Who could have done it? Was it Naraku? Or perhaps, after taking that medicine, it could be- Naraku's other side?

"Kagome? Oi Kagome!" Inuyasha's voice brought me out of my thoughts.

"What? What is it?" I asked looking up at him.

"He's going to call up the others now. You should probably listen to the conversation," He said gesturing to Bankotsu.

I looked over to the wall by the phone and saw that Bankotsu had apparently pulled himself together somewhat and was now dialing the phone.

"Hey Ginkotsu, are the others still there? I see, let me talk to Renkotsu. I know, just let me talk to him now," He waited a moment before talking again, "Renkotsu, I want you to answer me this question straight. I don't want any more lies or anything, just a straight answer. Was there anyone besides you involved with this mess with Jakotsu? I know Naraku is. Yes, and the two working for him. Is there anyone else? Are you sure? You better hope you aren't lying to me about this," He said angrily. I saw him take a deep breath, "Fine, that's all. Bye."

The phone was slammed down and Bankotsu turned to me. "They are all there... Only Jakotsu is missing right now." He added sadly.

"I see- then my only guess is that Naraku must have taken that medicine and therefore forgot that he did something with Jakotsu when in another personality. If that's the case, Jakotsu's probably still somewhere in Naraku's warehouse complex. But as to where, or the condition he's in- we just can't know," I said quietly in summary.

"Do you think that the heist is really that important?" Bankotsu asked.

I nodded, "Something involving that heist is the key to it all. As to what, I'm not sure, but Naraku wants something that he thinks you have and you claim to have only taken money."

"I'll tell you what I know then. Throw me in jail for stealing, breaking and entering or whatever else- just get Jakotsu out of that bastard's hands and I'll do whatever you want me to," He said firmly, his face completely serious.

"I won't put you in jail and any charges that could be brought against you will easily be waved if you help us take Naraku down. Right now, I just want to do what I can to help you find Jakotsu. I mean that Bankotsu, you can trust me," I replied; I wanted him to know that I was on his side, even if no one else was.

"Just talk, and we'll try and see if it helps out the case any. Don't worry about that other stuff," Inuyasha added.

I turned towards him, surprised.

"What?" He retorted to my expression.

"Thank you for understanding, Inuyasha," I said with a smile.

"Keh. Let's just get this over with," He replied, crossing his arms.

Bankotsu's disheartened face lightened a bit then and he went to the couch and sat down.

"You already have the details on the basics of the heist, right?" He asked.

"Yes, I know the date, the time, and where it happened. Along with what we were able to gather from what Hakushin told us, but according to Sesshoumaru…that's not exactly reliable. If you could just tell me what happened from your perspective, it might bring up something that we're missing."

He nodded and began. Suikotsu and Mukotsu stood nearby, watching as the conversation proceeded.

"It started when Naraku sent us a message via his agent Musou in regards to having us work for him. It was a simple deal. We did the dirty work, stole the money and in return he would create a diversion for us so the cops wouldn't track us. All we were supposed to do was go in, steal the money from Hakushin's safe, and give twenty percent of the goods to Naraku. It seemed simple, so we agreed to the deal. I have no idea what kind of diversion Naraku planned, but his only other request was that we didn't kill or get Hakushin out of the house, but that we somehow stole everything while he was still in the house. That was easy, a simple type of sleeping gas of sorts was used and we got in, got the money and got out."

"What about anything else? Was the money all you took?" I questioned.

"I gave strict instructions to all my men to only take money. That's what Naraku told us, so I didn't want to risk anything else. And considering the amount of money we were getting, bothering with anything else was a waste of time," He replied.

Is that what Suikotsu was talking about? That gold ring- he didn't want Bankotsu to know about it. Did he take that ring from Hakushin's against Bankotsu's instructions? And how was it Jakotsu was involved with the ring? What promise did him and Suikotsu have? And if so- is that ring what Naraku wants? I thought to myself before asking another question, "Do you think that the reason Naraku wanted Hakushin still in the house yet unconscious was that this heirloom was on Hakushin's person himself, leaving him open after you and your men left to go in and steal it himself?"

Bankotsu hung his head, "I never even considered that. I know that the request to steal it while he was in the house was indeed strange, but I just figured it was Naraku's way of testing to see if we were worth his trouble. But even if that was the case, I didn't take anything but money from that house and given that this whole matter with Jakotsu has arisen, I'm sure if any of the others took this heirloom they would have told me by now."

"Do you know what this heirloom is?" I asked, gold ring in mind.

"I have no idea. Although, I'm guessing it was something small that Naraku didn't think we'd try and take. Anything big and flashy he might have thought we'd steal even when the instructions said only take money."

I glanced up at Suikotsu then, noticing the look on his face. He was thinking the same as I was. That ring must be the heirloom and neither Jakotsu nor Naraku knew where it was at because we had it.

But why then would Jakotsu tell Naraku he knew nothing about it? Did he not know the heirloom was the ring either? Or is there something else I'm still missing here?

"Kagome, can I speak with you?" Suikotsu said motioning towards the kitchen.

I nodded and followed him. I guess he felt the situation warranted giving me more information about this ring. And much like I'd suspected, that was indeed the case.

"About that ring..."

"Yes?"

"I don't know for sure where it came from or much anything else about it. I just know, when I saw Jakotsu with it once, he begged me not to tell Bankotsu. That's all I know, I'm sorry."

"Was it stolen from Hakushin?" I questioned, figuring I might as well try to see if he knew anything else.

"I'm not sure if it was or not. He told me about it when I was highly medicated, so I can't remember it well."

"If you do remember anything else, please let us know."

"I will," He replied and turned to go back into the other room.

So the ring was Jakotsu's not Suikotsu's... I wracked my mind, trying to lay the facts out straight.

Naraku was after an heirloom that apparently was missing after the Kotsu gang heist from Hakushin's home. To Bankotsu's knowledge, they took nothing but money. Then, we found a gold ring in the same location Jakotsu was taken from. But Jakotsu, even under brutal interogation, never once suggested that the heirloom was the ring. Renkotsu had helped Naraku capture Jakotsu, but he claims it was only because Naraku had asked him. Supposedly, he later tried to go in and save Jakotsu only to get shot in the arm. Suikotsu, the other suspect, has been having medication problems. Aside from Jakotsu, he's the only one of the gang that knows about the golden ring. But in the case of Jakotsu's current disappearance, Suikotsu was with us at the time.

Thinking it over, it was clear we were missing something. What about those letters from X? Is that what's missing?

I heard footsteps enter the kitchen and a voice spoke up, "Did you need to interrogate me in private too, Miss Kagome?"

I looked down, and sure enough there was Mukotsu smiling up at me with a toothy grin.

"Eheh...no, not today Mukotsu; but I'll let you know if I do need to ask you anything," I replied, slowly edging my way around to the doorway back into the living room area.

"We should probably get back to going over the clues so far, right Kagome?" Bankotsu questioned as I reentered the room.

"Yes, I would like to sit down and review things so far. There's some aspect that's missing and perhaps it's just something we've overlooked until now. You can stay here with your friends a bit longer if you want to, Bankotsu."

He forced a smile then, "No, I want to help all I can. But I have a favor to ask first."

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed, "What kind of favor?"

"Can uh- " He scratched the back of his head, "Can we stop somewhere to eat? I'm kind of hungry."

"Um...sure," I said while placing a hand on Inuyasha's shoulder to keep him from getting upset again.

We left then from the apartment and headed towards a nearby diner.

On the way there, I figured we should try and call Sesshoumaru back about the heist and Kagura back about the location of the other Kotsu gang members.

I dialed up Sesshoumaru's agency first and an answering machine picked up.

"This is the Taiyoukai Detective Agency. If you have a case you'd like us to handle, please leave a message after the tone," The bubbly voice of Rin said on the recording.

I put the phone next to Inuyasha's mouth.

"Just tell them they can call us about the heist information and all the Kotsu gang members are accounted for," I whispered to him.

"Why do I have to talk to the stupid machine?" He retorted.

"It's your brother."

"Don't remind me," He said glaring. Then he heard the 'beep' for the message, and reluctantly spoke. "Hey stupid, we got that information you were too lazy to get yourself about the heist and tell your girlfriend that works for Naraku that all the gang members are accounted for."

I frowned as I hit the 'end' button. "You could have been a bit more professional about that, you know."

"Keh, my brother isn't worth the trouble," He muttered as he pulled the car into the local diner's parking lot.

At first, the three of us sat there in complete silence, Inuyasha quickly emptying his plate and Bankotsu picking at his.

I could tell he was too upset to eat, but I knew he was hungry. "Bankotsu, would you like some of my mozzarella sticks, I'm getting full," I offered.

He nodded quietly and picked up one from the plate. Placing it between his lips, he froze in thought, not eating it just yet.

Inuyasha scowled, "Okay, that just looks wrong..." He grumbled.

Bankotsu defiantly took a bite and with a smirk replied; "I could say the same of your method of eating corn on the cob, Inuyasha."

Ears twitching and face reverting back to his scowl, Inuyasha quickly pulled the corn out of his mouth and glared. "Then how else am I supposed to eat the pieces on the top of it?"

A slight laugh escaped Bankotsu's throat, "Still as touchy as always."

"Bankotsu, I was wondering is there anything we can do to cheer you up?" I asked with a smile.

"Just keep helping me look for Jakotsu, that's enough for me," He responded matter of factly.

The table went quiet for a bit as we finished off our meal. Once it seemed we were all done, Inuyasha stood to leave.

"Okay, let's go."

"Wait just a minute," Bankotsu called out, halting both of our movements as we turned back towards him.

"What is it?" I inquired.

"I wanted dessert," He replied with a hint of a child-like grin.

Inuyasha made a big production of sighing loudly and plopping back down into the booth. "Fine, whatever. Let's just get you your stupid dessert so we can go."

After ordering some ice cream for the Kotsu gang leader and paying the bill we returned to the office and began to sift through the clues.

A gold ring, a piece of torn white fabric, and two mysterious notes. I mentally listed. Only four tangible clues, two of which we weren't even certain connected with this case at all.

"Bankotsu, can you remember what color shirt Renkotsu was wearing that night when you spoke with him in the alley?" I questioned.

"It was white," He said with a perplexed look as to why I'd asked that.

Okay, as I suspected. The fabric was probably torn from Renkotsu's shirt, that means he struggled with Jakotsu a bit before effectively getting him unconscious and going to Naraku. In the struggle, it's very possible that Jakotsu dropped the ring and then it was stepped on, causing it to be submerged in the mud there. That explains those two clues clearly, but as to if the ring was the heirloom Naraku sought or not, it's uncertain at this time.

"You know- we never did get around to listening to that tape Bankotsu originally got of him talking with Renkotsu," Inuyasha said pulling the tape from the desk drawer.

"He just lied about the situation anyways. All he said to me then was lies," Bankotsu remarked bitterly.

"Still, there might be something else he said that can help. It's worth a try and we're running out of options," I said in reply, walking over and pressing the button.

The tape began simply, Bankotsu asking Renkotsu basic questions about the night of disappearance.

"Renkotsu, are you sure there wasn't anything strange that happened?" Bankotsu's shaky voice on the tape asked.

"I told you what I know," Renkotsu replied simply.

"Damnit, where the hell is he?" The voice cursed in reply.

The tape went quiet for a bit before Renkotsu spoke again, "Bankotsu, I know this must be very hard on you. I know you two were very close, so if you want me to I can handle the Leader's duties until we find Jakotsu so as to not burden you further."

"That won't be necessary..." Bankotsu responded.

I stood and walked over, stopping the tape.

"Kagome?" Inuyasha questioned.

"Is it possible that whoever set this up with Jakotsu isn't after the heirloom?" I pondered aloud.

"What do you mean?" Bankotsu inquired.

"What if it's all a façade to get the position of Leader by using Jakotsu's disappearance to get you to willingly back down?"

"You think that it's about my rank?" He said standing.

"If Jakotsu was missing, they knew you'd become emotionally unstable- and if offered in a friendly manner to help you, they thought you'd let them step in as Leader."

"You mean, Renkotsu?" Inuyasha asked.

I nodded and continued, "But as that tape proves, you turned that down and so that plan didn't work. You weren't upset enough to let someone else take your position, so..."

"So all they had to do was make Jakotsu disappear for good," My partner finished.

"And then I'd be such a wreck, that I'd let them take my position for the best of the gang," Bankotsu said quietly.

"Precisely. There's more to this case than Naraku wanting that heirloom. The member of the gang Jakotsu was trying to warn us about is none other than Renkotsu. He wanted your position, was trying to use your emotional instability to get it, and when that didn't work, he made the situation get worse so you would cave in. Naraku is trying to use Jakotsu against you, but Renkotsu is trying to use Naraku to cover his plan to overthrow your rank."

"But- he was locked in the room when Jakotsu disappeared from the warehouse," Bankotsu said perplexed.

"I know," I said turning to him, "That's the only slight flaw in my deduction, but I'm sure that there's some explanation for that as well. The question now is: does Renkotsu have someone else working on his side? Perhaps, someone that would benefit from him becoming the Kotsu gang Leader?"

"I can't think of anyone," The current Leader said, slumping back down on the couch, "But if Renkotsu has done anything at all to Jakotsu, I'll kill him for it."

And judging by the tone he said that in, I knew, Bankotsu seriously meant what he said.
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Preview for Chapter 13:

Kagome's onto Renkotsu's supposed plot to overthrow Bankotsu as Leader, but who is it that's helping him out? And can they find Jakotsu before things get any more complicated?