Author's Note: Yay! Second chappie! I'm on a creative kick right now. I'm just afraid about when it gives out. It will probably take longer to get chapters up. Sorry. I'll try to type as much as possible over break because once school hits again, well, it's all over for this creativity kick.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything associated with Inuyasha TV series. Nor do I own Soshi, Riku, Ally, or Mr. Gonzo.

……………………………

Chapter 2: No Motive For This Crime

"Well, do you love him?"

"I-…well…yeah."

"No, no, no," Sakana said, "Not in this brotherly sense; I mean, would you want to-…to…partake…in… um… intercourse… with him for the rest of you life? Be by his side for the rest of your days?"

Ally was silent.

"That is a no, my friend!" The young intern leaned back in her chair, folding her arms, smiling in triumph.

Ally sighed, setting her elbows on her knees and resting her head in her hands. "I don't want to feel this way 'cause Soshi is such a sweet guy… and reliable! But…" She looked up at Sakana. "But Riku…Heh…there's something there th-"

"Lust," Sakana said simply, nodding slightly.

Ally sat up, glaring at her.

"Well, am I not right?" the teenager said.

"You're right," she admitted begrudgingly.

"Look, it's only been five days. Give it time; if you still think about him in that way with just as much or more conviction and passion in, I don't know, a month, then you have a problem."

Ally groaned, dissatisfied. She never was the patient type.

"What! You want me to wave my magic wand and make it all better?"

"Yeah," Ally whined, jokingly.

After their laughter subsided, Sakana said, "Sorry, Ally, but I'm not a magician."

"I know…thank you for listening, though."

"Not a problem."

A few minutes later, Mr. Gonzo walked into Ally's cubical, saying, "Ally, you and Sakana, go downtown. That nurse strike is bigger than ever!"

"All right, Mr. Gonzo," Ally said, getting up.

The co-workers grabbed their coats and notebooks and left.

……………………………

"Excuse me! Excuse me! Pft! Excu-!" Ally growled.

"This is hopeless…" Sakana said.

"Stop reading my thoughts," Ally said, blowing a stray hair out of her face.

Sakana tapped a woman on the shoulder, asking, "Can I ask you a few questions?"

"Back off, girlie! Can't you see I'm working here!" the woman said in a rather deep voice.

"…Well…actually, you're not working…" Sakana stated.

Ally glared at her younger counterpart as she watched the nurse march onward.

"What? They're not!"

Ally rolled her eyes and turned to find some easy targets, but instead, ended up running into a black clad chest. "Oh, I'm sorry," she said, looking down and taking a few steps backward.

"Didn't think I'd see you here," a deep, smooth voice said.

She knew that voice. Ally's head shot up and to her surprise, it was Riku. "Oh! Hi!" She fumbled with her things, a mild blush grazing her cheeks. "Oh, I'm sorry. Riku, this is my intern, Sakana. Sakana, this is Riku."

Riku offered his hand to shake and after a moment or two, Sakana took it, and shook it briefly. She was too floored by Ally's actions to be too polite to this Riku; her mentor was acting like a schoolgirl.

"So, how are you?" Ally said, brushing a stray piece of hair out of her face.

"I'm fine. You?" Riku inquired.

"Oh, great! Well, except for this," Ally answered, pointing vaguely to the protest behind them.

"Yeah, why are you downtown?" he asked, curious.

"I work for the Tokyo Times and I'm- I mean, we, are supposed to do a story on the nurse strike, but no one is willing to be interviewed. I guess all the ones that were willing were already interviewed out by other papers…"

"Unfortunate. I hope you find somebody soon."

"Thanks," she said smiling.

"Hey…"

"Yes?" she asked, locking eyes with him.

"Are you going to be at Sanctuary on Friday?"

"If I can get out the house, yeah."

"All right."

"Why?" she asked, smirking.

"Curious," he said, looking away.

"…Oh…" she responded, looking almost disappointed.

"I'll try to see you there, okay?"

"Yeah. See ya there." Ally said, smiling.

"Bye. Oh, bye…Sakana?" Riku said, inquiring if he was right to her name.

"Bye," Sakana said curtly, nodding.

Riku, nodded to both of them and went off to do whatever it is that he does.

A moment of silence passed over the women.

"What the hell is wrong with you!" Sakana yelled, facing Ally.

"What!" Ally said, surprised.

"You can't go to that club on Friday!"

"Why not!" Ally asked, defensively.

"Did you see the way he looked at you?-"

"What are you talking about-"

"And how he looked away when he said, 'curious'. He wants to make Friday a date! 'Curious' was just an excuse! How can you not see it!"

"You've gotta be kid-"

"And how you acted!"

"I didn't do any acting!"

"That's worse. That means you meant it all! You're like a teenager in puppy-love!"

"I'm not that bad!"

Sakana looked at her with a knowing look.

"…Was I that bad?"

The younger one nodded slowly.

"Oh…Fine…I'll take your advice."

"Thank you. Besides, I highly doubt you would want to hurt Soshi like that."

"Yeah… I don't want to."

……………………………

That Friday night, Ally went to Sanctuary, and she continued to go every Friday until a month had come.

The fourth Friday night was upon her, and her feelings for Riku had never dwindled, nor even remained constant, but grew. She knew full well that going to see him every Friday wasn't helping the situation, but she couldn't help herself. She yearned to see him. When work was becoming a bear to get through, she did not think of going home to Soshi, but to going to Sanctuary, her sanctuary, to see Riku.

She knew, also, she was hurting Soshi even though he had no idea Riku was in competition with him for Ally's affections. She had noticed Soshi becoming more suspicious, not necessarily questioning her faithfulness, but her happiness and willingness to be in a serious relationship with him. He had grown more recluse over the weeks while Ally had gotten happier. She knew it wasn't fair to him, but it wasn't fair to tear apart their relationship because he was a homebody.

She hoped that this was merely a phase; that she would have her fun and return to Soshi. She reasoned she was just bored with her relationship with Soshi and once she had sewn her wild oats, she would be fine. The logical part of her mind knew better than that, but her heart blinded her with faulty reasoning.

But as she got dressed to go out, she put all that in the back of her mind. She was going to have fun tonight, no matter what. In Sanctuary, the outside world was gone and all there was her, Riku, and the beat.

She exited the bathroom and grabbed her purse, about to leave when Soshi took her arm.

"Be careful," he advised, worried.

"I will-"

"No, I'm serious. I don't have a very good feeling about you going out tonight." He freed her arm knowing no amount of pleading would make her stay. It didn't the other three times; it wouldn't tonight.

"I'll be fine. I'll see you later. Don't wait up." She kissed his cheek and left.

As Soshi watched the knob spring back to its original position, he knew that she was gone and wasn't going to return home the same as she left. He didn't know what was to happen, but something was.

……………………………

Laughs erupted from one table at Sanctuary, though it wasn't heard over the crowd and music. Riku and Ally were sitting at a curved booth next to each other.

"I'm having so much fun tonight," Ally admitted, smiling at Riku.

"The feeling is mutual," her male counterpart replied.

"Glad to hear it."

Like so many times before on this night, their eyes locked. Both glimmering with flirtatiousness, though the violet eyes of Ally's had a tint of worry behind them for a split second as Soshi crossed her mind. She quickly brushed any thoughts related to him out of her mind and looked down at her drink, blushing.

The DJ talked for a second before switching to the next song, Utada Hikaru's "Sanctuary".

Ally's head shot up, frowning. "It's that late already?" she questioned, totally upset.

Riku looked at her expression, looked the decreasing crowd, and back to Ally. Then, he asked her something he never asked her before. "…Would you like to dance?"

Ally's gaze whipped over to Riku, staring at him in disbelief.

"Well?" he asked, about to lose his nerve. He never thought he was a good dancer, but for four more minutes with an excuse to hold her, he was willing to look like a fool.

"Let's dance," Ally said, sliding over the red vinyl seats.

The pair stepped onto the lit dance floor and the beat flowed through their very beings. After making to the center of the floor, they surrendered and let the music possess their bodies. Moving like water, Ally almost thought they were linked by a psychic bond because they seemed to instinctively know what the other would do and complement their partners movements. The intensity between them grew, their passion swelled until they officially became involved in an adulterous relationship. Their lips met the others for the first time and the passion was tangible to all around them.

The bass line changed into a dark, ominous beat, flooding the club, and they both realized what they had done. Ally pulled away, eyes wide, heart thumping in her chest from lust and guilt. What had she done? How did this happen?

She fled, weaving as best as she could through the crowd out into the street, trying to keep her tears subsided for now.

"Ally!" Riku yelled over the crowd. Even though he was single, he knew full well she was supposed to be committed to Soshi. How could he allow her to do that? Though he knew that she was unhappy in her relationship, he also knew that she didn't want to break Soshi's heart.

By the time Riku made it to the street, she was getting into a taxicab. "Ally!"

She turned her head away from him and shut the door. She couldn't let him see her like this, but he had already seen enough. In that split second glimpse, he saw a crystalline streak slide down her cheek and such a simple object like a tear had made him stop in his tracks, dropping his outstretched arm to his side. "I'm sorry, Ally," he whispered.

……………………………

Ally stopped going to Sanctuary. She looked down if she saw Riku on the street. She negated his e-mails. She wasn't mad at him; she was mad at herself and she knew she couldn't allow herself to be around Riku any longer. Her feelings would have to disappear eventually.

Soshi knew something happened that night, but since Ally wouldn't talk about it, he knew no details. He had to admit, though, he was happier to see her home on Friday nights. Also, Ally had gotten more affectionate with him so he assumed their rough patch was over with and they could move on. Really, she did this to try to ease her guilt, though it never did; it usually made it worse. Soshi was happy again; Ally was miserable.

After two weeks of neither sight nor sound of Riku she would allow, her feelings were still there, staring her down always. It was a constant reminder of that Friday, and it was constantly daring her to make a move instead of running.

"I can't tell Soshi. Not now, not ever. He doesn't need to know…" she reasoned to herself.

She knew he would find out and everything would be ripped out from under her. Soshi wouldn't trust her; Riku wouldn't want to be around her after weeks of neglect. Her house of cards that was her front concealing her guilt was destined to fall and her life with it.

……………………………

It was the Monday after the three week mark and Ally was in her cubical typing up a story she didn't want to type.

"Ally?"

"No, no, no…" she thought. She knew who it was and looking up to meet his gaze only proved her theory. "Riku, not now…" she mumbled.

"I have to, Ally. I understand how you feel, but I have to get this off my chest."

She turned back to her work and said, "…All right…"

"I want to apologize," Riku explained, softly, struggling for words. He so badly wanted to tell her of his true feelings aside from his guilt but knew she didn't need that at this time. She was with Soshi, and he would have come to terms with that fact. "I should have never offered that temptation to you. And I understand why you are ignoring me and I accept your choice. I just wanted you to know that."

All this time, she did not look at him, but down at her keyboard, because she knew her heart couldn't take his intense eyes right now. Though she didn't want to feel anything about him, she was almost relieved to know that he wasn't mad at her.

"Well…I guess… this is good bye… Good bye, Ally." Before he left for good, he placed a red rose on her desk.

When the sound of his fleeting footsteps ceased, she took the rose in her hands, looking at the blossom for a good three minutes.

"You cheated on Soshi," Sakana said, obviously and rightfully angry. She had heard the entire conversation and just knew 'that temptation' had to have been adulterous.

"Yes. I kissed Riku three weeks ago and until now, I have not see him since," Ally explained. She might as well tell Sakana the truth.

Sakana sighed. "I just hope you regret it."

Before Ally could defend her character, Sakana had stormed off. Ally sighed. She placed the rose atop her computer and went back to work.

……………………………

Four more weeks passed and all the while, Soshi thought the relationship was getting better while Ally was becoming more pessimistic. To Soshi, however, her pessimism read as calm demeanor, peace within her heart and mind.

One Friday night, the sixth week anniversary of Ally's unfaithfulness, the couple was watching some chick-flick that Soshi thought Ally wanted to see, but she wasn't even paying attention to. Not that he noticed; he was too nervous to notice. When the end credits started to roll, he asked, "Ally? Can I ask you something?" He was fingering a small red box.

Ally sat up and looked at him. "Yes?"

"Ally- um…"

"What?"

"I don't know how to put this…"

"Just say it and get it over with."

He popped open the box and inside was a diamond ring. "Will you marry me?"

……………………………

Author's Note: Welp, whatcha think? Sammy has blessed this chapter so it's good to post from her point of view. If you think it sucks, blame her. She made me put it up here.

Sammy: I'm a sad panda.

Alison: Oh, jeebus, not that again! RUN!

Sammy: Sad Panda sadder!

Alison: Is she gone? looks around I think we're good. Anyway-

Sammy: SAD PANDA!

Alison: JEEBUS! dies of heart attack

Narrator: Will Ally say yes? Will Soshi ever find out she's been unfaithful? What will happen to Riku? Will Sakana ever forgive Ally? Will Alison be able to write chapter three in death? Tune in next time for……Sanctuary.

Sammy: And the lights fade out as the screen goes to black…

Narrator: …I think you might have a virus if your screen goes to black on it's own…