Chapter 9

It was all a blur when Kimora came to. She could hear voices in the next room and she knew she was in the nurse's office. She didn't have to open her eyes but the smell of alcohol swabs and adhesive strips filled her nose and that was enough of a dead giveaway. Mumbled voices sounded in the next room, a few she recognized. Why was Koga here? She picked up her head and it felt heavy as if a rock were lying on top of it. What happened? She remembered she was in the cafeteria talking to the new kid and then…?

She couldn't remember after that. She sat up, winced at the lights above her and clasped her forehead. Did she faint? Slowly it came back to her. Denali. She remembered Denali was yapping away and her blood felt hot in her veins. Oh no, Kimora sunk her shoulders. She must have gotten into another fight. She looked at her nails, some were chipped and she could see congealed blood in the crevices. Gross! Immediately hopping off the bed, she rushed over to the sink and started scrubbing her hands. The door opened behind her and she gasped over her shoulders wondering who it could be.

"Well, looks like my little killer is awake." Koga smirked.

"Uncle Koga…"Kimora pouted and looked over his shoulders. "Is my mom with you?"

"Nope." Koga shrugged. "Your mom is in a trial now so they couldn't get through to her. They called the manor to reach your grandparents but you're lucky I have no life and I was there to pick up the phone."

"What…happened?"

"You don't remember?" he cocked a brow.

Kimora bowed her head and thought for a moment and looked back at him frustrated. "No."

Koga sat down in a chair beside the doctor's desk and sighed. "Well, you got into a fight with one of the students here. Then you pushed your sister and tried to scratch out the eyes of your own bodyguard."

"Oh my god, I hurt Cado?" Kimora's voice broke.

Koga saw the worried look in her face and grinned. "He'll live. It was just a few scratches. They couldn't calm you down so the nurse sedated you, though I'm wondering why they have sedatives in an elementary school in the first place." He scowled at the wall in thought.

"They have them for the hanyous in the school." She looked away shamefully. "It's because we can't control our emotions and we freak out. Full demons never freak out."

"That's not true." Koga said, thinking back on the time Sesshomaru lost it in a fit of jealousy when he and Kagome broke up. Sesshomaru had punched him in the face. "Emotions are very hard to control for anyone. Sure, we demons are trained at birth to not let our emotions get in the way; it supposedly clouds our judgment but sometimes you need to listen to your emotions."

Kimora scoffed. "I got into a fight and I'm probably expelled now for listening to my emotions."

"Nah, I'm sure that girl deserved it. I know kids can be cruel…trust me, I was one of them."

"So what's going to happen now?"

"Well, I have to take you home." Koga got up and started scanning the cupboards above the counter. He found a bag of candy in a drawer and snickered. "Jackpot."

Kimora pondered about her punishment. Why did she always mess things up? Her father would surely find out and never come back. "Are you going to tell my mom?"

"Uh…I don't see how I can't. She will find out once her secretary gets through to her. Don't worry about it for now. You hungry? I'm starving…let's get those cheese fries you like by Times Square."

"Where's Samara?"

"Your sister is in class now."

"She hates me."

"She doesn't hate ya, she's just…I don't know...Samara."

"My mom is going to be so angry with me." Kimora groaned. They both stood quiet and looked at the door when they heard arguing outside. It was Inuyasha.

"What the hell do ya mean Kimora's expelled? Why, because she was defending herself? I swear this school doesn't change—don't tell me to be quiet Yao! I never liked you. Where's my niece?" he forced the door open and looked at Kimora and then Koga.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Inuyasha barked.

"Chill, dude. I came to get Kimmy." Koga frowned. "and we're going to get cheese fries so you better relax or we're not going to invite your grumpy as—"

"Child present." Kimora muttered quickly.

Koga droned. "Ass—suming you are grumpy."

Inuyasha scoffed. "This place is unbelievable. This is my father's school and they dare pick on his granddaughter? Wait until I tell him! You're all losing your jobs!" he shouted out into the hallway. "Especially you!" he pointed at Headmaster Yao and slammed the door behind him. "I really hate that guy."

"Jeez, man…past memories haunting you or somethin'?" Koga rolled his eyes.

"Nothing changes. I'm getting real tired of this prejudice against us hanyous. You okay, Kimmy?"

Kimora nodded and looked down. "but uncle Inuyasha, it's my fault. I started the fight."

"Yeah, but that girl probably deserved it." Inuyasha paced back and forth.

"That's what I said." Koga added quietly and clapped his heads. "So….cheese fries."

"Koga, this is serious." Inuyasha scolded. "They're talking about expelling her."

Koga rolled his eyes. "Come on, man, they're not going to kick her out. Your dad's not going to let that happen."

"You forget my dad isn't the general anymore. Sure, he may own the school but the rules apply to everyone equally and fairly. Even Hanyous should they not obey the rules will follow the same protocols as anyone else."

"Well, Sesshomaru-" Koga started and curled up in the chair when Inuyasha's eyes blazed.

"is not here! What can he do? He's not even in the country! He's somewhere else taking care of other crap than being here with his own fami-"

"Please stop!" Kimora shouted and then started crying. She got back up on the examination bed crumbling the wax paper over it as she curled into the fetal position.

Koga stood up from his chair and glowered at Inuyasha. "You stupid asshole, your damn mouth isn't helping!" he whispered tersely and punched him in the arm. "This isn't about you so chill. You redeem your childhood problems on your own time."

Inuyasha sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "I know, I know. This is just so frustrating."

"I know it is but we have to keep it together. You and I have to take Sesshomaru's place for now and make sure the twins and Kagome keep it together! They're very vulnerable right now and the last thing they need is to know that their lives suck right now. So can we please not talk about it anymore and go get those damn cheese fries right now? Thank you!" Koga growled as he stormed out the door.

Inuyasha nodded and didn't speak about it again. He comforted his sobbing niece and they got out of there but it couldn't be helped that he scowled at every staff member of Inutaisho's academy on the way out.

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Sara looked up from phone every now and then and watched her boss quietly as he dazed out the window of the car. He was fading. There was something zombielike about him. He moved normally, spoke as calm and collected as usual but there was this glitch she caught in him occasionally. When he lost himself in his thoughts, she'd notice a look of pain on his face. Not a mental type like anguish but physical pain. He'd rub his chest, drink snifters of brandy like he depended on it and his eyes, which broke her heart to see, didn't look like it slept for weeks. No one else seemed to notice. Business went along well, situations resolved effortlessly and adequately but no one saw that he was crumbling. Sara, spending time with him daily and nightly, could feel it as if the feeling were her own.

"Sir, we'll be arriving at the D.D.C manor in an hour. Should I request anything for your convenience upon our arrival?"

"That I be left alone."He said after a long pause as he registered her presence.

"Your father insists that you get back to him. My lord, he says it is imperative that you get back to him and that this time it really is imperative and he is not only saying that so you'll call him back. Should I notify him?"

Sesshomaru looked out into the sunset, he could see Manhattan over the river and somewhere between all the skyscrapers was his home; the condo where Kagome and his daughters were. "You will not notify him. I will be busy with my own agenda for the next few days and I would appreciate that no one knows I am here."

"and your wife?"

"Especially her." He said, his voice soft. Kagome couldn't know he was back. She'd look for him. He knew that. She would try to talk him out of his decision. She had called every night when he was away in Europe. Each night leaving a long voicemail as if she were just talking to him like he was right beside her. He'd play the messages by his ear until he fell asleep sometimes.

Sara bowed her head and looked down at her phone, reading each email sent by someone who needed Sesshomaru's help. She read through each one, deciding the importance behind it. They were all important but she didn't have the heart to tell him. He needed rest. He needed to be left alone. He poured himself another brandy, this time consuming it wholly and refilling it again. His head swayed side to side as the car drove over unsteady roads.

Sesshomaru felt his body limp but the pain in his chest was gone. After addressing all the issues he'd set out to fix in Europe, it was the first time he could escape his pain instead of stifling it just to keep his judgment clear. But now that he was heading back to the manor, most problems solved for now, he could afford to forget, to not feel and pretend that he was going home to Kagome instead of the cold lifeless manor he'd been living in for almost a year. He rested his head back, holding his snifter when he felt a soft hand on his slowly removing the glass. Kagome? Was he back home already? His eyelids were heavy and he looked to the side, everything was blurry but he saw the midnight mane he'd see every morning in front of him when he woke up. He reached his hand out and touched the face of what he thought was his wife and remembered right away. Kagome wasn't a brunette anymore. Isabella did her hair recently. His hand retracted back as if he touched fire and sobered up right away. Sara looked stiffed and wary, her head bowed and face blushing.

He rubbed his face, inched as close as possible to the window and let the cold wind wake him up. He was ashamed to even look at Sara. What did he do? What did he almost do? He was losing his mind. How could he even confuse his wife with his secretary? He shook his head, debating whether he should explain his actions and decided to pretend it didn't even happen. How far would he have gone if he didn't realize it sooner? Drinking was dangerous but the pain was just too unbearable.

Sara couldn't stop blushing. What just happened? He was falling asleep with the drink in his hand and then when she removed it he touched her face. His hand was strong and soft, the warm sensation reached her heart and she froze. The way he looked at her, that yearning. It happened so fast, the way his eyes met hers and moved down to her lips. He was drunk. She knew that very much and did her best not to read into things but that look, it was imprinted in her mind and replayed or rather just remained on display like a painting hung on a wall in her mind. Lana said not to fall for him and she hadn't planned on it. But what if he was falling for her? She smiled at the idea and foolish notion but she was like a school girl with a crush, a crush whom she now thought she had a chance with. Was this the start of something between them? Was she just fantasizing it? No, that touch was warm and sincere. Her mind raced and she looked over at him but he never looked back for the rest of ride.

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Kagome sank in her seat holding a palm over her head as Yura relayed all the messages within the last two hours. She wondered if Karma had it out for her; this was starting to seem personal. What did she do in her last lifetime, kill the last unicorn?

"Are you listening?" Yura looked up from her notes and raised a questionable brow.

"Yes…"Kagome sighed. "I'm just wondering what I did wrong to deserve this."

"It's not so bad, Kaggy. I mean, Kimora getting into another fight is old news. Who cares if the tabloids say Sesshomaru is having an affair with his secretary or if he has a lovechild somewhere in Yugoslavia, we both know it's not true."

Kagome frowned. "Why can't I keep everything under control? One daughter hates me, the other is rebelling and I have a husband who I hardly see and my body is going haywire because of the stress. My jaw hurts because of the stupid retracting fangs, I almost attacked an old lady at Starbucks for skipping me in line and I have a killer migraine."

"Uh-oh…is it one of those migraines where you start ripping things to pieces?" Yura looked around worried. "Should I go get Haji?"

Kagome sighed and then grinned. "Oh stop, it's not that serious."

Yura didn't ease. "It's not funny. Do you remember when you broke the boss's door off its hinges when he gave that serial stripper killer case to Carl?"

"It didn't break off the—that door was falling apart anyway." Kagome shook her head. "Anyway, who went to pick up Kimora then? Please tell me it wasn't my mother-in-law."

"No, it was Koga Wolf?"

"What? Koga went to pick her up?" Kagome looked at her in disbelief.

"Yeah…" Yura shrugged. "He said he was her uncle."

"and they believed him?" Kagome scoffed. "Unbelievable, I keep telling Sesshomaru that the girls would be safer in public school."

"Well, Inuyasha was with him."

"That doesn't make it any better. Those two still act like they're still teenagers and when they're together, they just attract trouble. They're going to make it seem like Kimora did nothing wrong and then they're going to cheer her up with ice cream or worse, those cheese fries she likes so much on broadway."

"Oh my god, Charlie's cheese fries? Those are so good but I'd have to run on the treadmill for a month." Yura looked out the office at Haji. He stood by the door, fully alert with his red eyes scanning around. "You think Haji likes the voluptuous type? I'd gain a hundred pounds for that guy."

Kagome grinned and straightened a pile of papers on her desk. "I don't know, Yura. It's not like we talk about it over cosmos while we're painting each other's nails."

Haji knocked on the door and entered the room. "Lady Kagome, Dr. Paulovich is here to see you. Should I let him in?"

Yura scoffed. "Stalker much? Ugh, I swear. You know how many calls he's left you this past week alone?"

Kagome sighed and waved her hand. "Let him in, Haji. It's alright. Yura, just give us a minute. I just want to get this out of the way already."

Yura mumbled under her breath and eyed the doctor evilly as he entered. Dr. Paulovich bowed his head at Haji and looked at Kagome with an apologetic smile. He was in his 60's but looked much older in his tweed suit and matching bowler hat.

"My lady, I'm sorry I had to come and interrupt you at work but you've been avoiding my calls."

"Sorry…"Kagome looked embarrassed when she had no excuse to tell him. "Uh…kind of busy here."

"I know, I know, but you've missed your appointments and I told you about the lab work that needed to be done." He pointed to the seat in front of her. "May I?"

Kagome gestured for him to take a seat and leaned back into her chair. "But I'm fine so I don't see what the big deal is, Doctor Paulovich. Is it really that important that you had to come all the way down here, I mean, did you find something out?"

"I have a friend who is a professor studying genetic and molecular mutations at a university not too far from here. He wants to meet you."

"Ok, for what?"

"I told you before, Lady Kagome. This situation that happened to you and your daughters is rare. He can probably find out. Don't you want to know how it happened?"

"Not really." Kagome rubbed her temple and twitched her lips. "I mean, if I'm not in danger and neither are the girls I'm not really worried."

"But it is in your best interest to follow the mutation. It's not to say that your body is going to stop mutating. So far that we know, your body just adapted to the foreign demon gene but I have interesting results that came in that lead to some theories of mine. I just need more time and I need your cooperation. We need to take more blood and run more tests."

The vibe in the room became tensed and it made Kagome uncomfortable. "Uh…I kind of have to go and pick up my daughter, Doctor. I'm sorry you had to come all this way."

"How about your daughters, can we schedule them for an appointment? I'd like to take some blood work from both of your daughters to test more of my theory out."

"What theory?" Kagome looked annoyed. "My daughters are not going to be lab rats, okay? And I'm not either."

"Don't you want to be a part of evolution? Your blood or your daughters' blood can probably be the key to curing a lot of debilitating diseases out there. I mean, can you remember the last time you even had a cold? You don't have to worry about aging for a long time. Many human scientists tried with demon blood to find a way to attach it to the human DNA chain but it's far too powerful and the human body either winds up rejecting it or being killed by it and you survived it, Lady Kagome, that's what makes you so different and special."

Kagome sighed. "Look, it's great and all. I'm lucky I guess but it's not something I really care to follow up with. I have other things to worry about than my DNA or blood or whatever."

Dr. Paulovich's face twitched and Kagome almost could see contempt but she just ignored it. Kagome rubbed her temples and gave an apologetic nod.

"You're getting the migraines again, aren't you?" he asked.

"It's nothing, doctor. Humans get migraines too. I'm pretty stressed out." Kagome stood up and grabbed her purse.

"Please, Lady Kagome…"Dr. Paulovich stood up quickly. "Please reconsider. You'd be a lot of help to our research."

"Okay, Doctor. I will think about it but really, now isn't a good time. I have to go."

"Of course." He bowed his head and looked at Haji who was glaring at him with a cautious stance. "I thank you for your time."

Kagome watched as Dr. Paulovich left her office and Haji walked in, glowering over his shoulder at the doctor.

"Is everything alright, my lady?"

"Yes, Haji…everything is fine." She said and noticed Haji pressed his earpiece and lowered his head. Kagome read Haji's expression and knew he was listening to an order. "Sesshomaru is back from Europe, isn't he?"

Haji remained indifferent but after a long pause he faltered a nod. "Yes, my lady."

"What did he say?"

"I can't relay any orders, my lady, especially to you. Forgive me." He bowed his head shamefully.

Kagome sighed and walked away. "It's alright. I kind of expected you to not tell me anyway. Orders are orders…"

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Sesshomaru thanked whoever created brandy. He slept for hours for the first time in weeks. Sure, he was a bit hung-over and he could still remember that embarrassing encounter with Sara the night before but he had other things to worry about. Hopefully he didn't give her the wrong idea or give her a reason to sue him for sexual harassment. He took a cold shower, donned a white thermal long sleeve over a pair of black militant cargo pants and took innumerable amounts of espresso shots that could kill a human being.

He gave Sara the day off, partly because he still couldn't look at her, but mainly because she'd be in the way. It was odd that there was no situation that needed his immediate attention so he counted his blessing and went on to do what he'd been meaning to do the night he left Kagome: find out who the hell's been threatening his family and killed Naraku. He grabbed his coat, ignored everyone who came at him with questions or requests and rushed to his car. When he got his hands on the demon who dared defy him, everyone in the world would not doubt him again. Perhaps he did go soft when he married Kagome and had the girls but it was only toward them. They were his weakness and it was apparent to everyone but that didn't mean he'd show mercy to anyone who had the nerve to challenge him.

Sesshomaru drove for about ten minutes when he realized he had no clue where he was going. He had no trail, nowhere to start and he punched the steering wheel. He needed to start over. There was something he was definitely overlooking. There always was. Where did he need to start, was it with Naraku? The threat letters? Was it the accident last year when they shot at him and ran him over a bridge? He grew frustrated as he weighed the possibilities in his mind; his thoughts displayed every person he'd incarcerated. But everyone was in jail and he made sure of it. And then there was the question of why Naraku? Why not his brother or Koga or his father? Why was it an old friend whom he'd lost contact with over the years?

He thought back to that night when he and the vice president were in the car heading toward his condo for dinner with Kagome and his family. They were talking business as usual. Sesshomaru thought it strange that someone was following close behind them on such a deserted road and told the driver to speed up and take another road. When the truck made the same turn, he grabbed his berretta but before he could turn, the truck rammed their bumper and sent them skidding to the side. When they resumed control, they were hit again, this time bullets piercing the car. The windows were bullet proof but some bullets managed to go through the trunk and into the carrier piercing the Vice President in the head, Sesshomaru in the chest and the driver in the arm.

Sesshomaru opened the window, started shooting at the truck missing his assailants by inches with the car traversing out of control. The assailants were all dressed in white, with white masks and something around their neck that he couldn't make out. He shot one of them in the leg and they closed the side door they were shooting from eventually hitting them one last time sending them over a bridge. The driver died instantly and Sesshomaru crawled out of the car after waking up from an unconscious state. The car was on fire and members of the D.D.C were already arriving to help him out. The truck was nowhere to be found. It just disappeared into the night.

Sesshomaru replayed the night in his mind, hoping something new would come up but every detail was the same as it was that very night. White masks and white clothes and a white truck. He narrowed his eyes out the windshield in deep contemplation as he speculated the correlation. Was it ironic that everything was white or was there a meaning behind it? The shots were also uncoordinated and very random, not a trait of professional marksmen. The thought of his attackers being amateurs angered him and stung his ego. Thinking so highly of himself had him caught by surprise and denying guards for protection to keep his pride resulted in the death of a vice president not to mention that his attackers were so close to home.

He snapped out of his thoughts when he pulled up toward the bridge that led to the D.D.C. So much for keeping a low profile but it seemed his subconscious state knew that whatever answers he was looking for he'd find there. What he hadn't expected to find was Sara in his office organizing the files on his desk.

"What are you doing here?" he said, his tone anything but polite when he closed his office door behind him.

Sara stood erect and brushed her hair behind her ear. "I-I didn't know you were coming, sir. I thought you were going to stay at the manor for a few days like you said you would. I was just organizing these files for you."

"I gave you the day off."

"Yes, I know but I had nothing to do and I don't mind if I'm not getting paid. I wanted to do this." She smiled and he looked away annoyed as he sat down at his desk.

"I do not like it when people disobey my orders." He said, looking at the pile of folders resting neatly on his desk.

Sara cleared her throat and handed him a folder. "I'm sorry, my lord, it won't happen again. I do think you should see this though."

"What is it?" he said, his amber eyes meeting hers and she looked away as if she'd just looked straight at the sun and it scorched her eyes.

"I was looking at your report on the day of your incident a year ago and it reminded me something that I saw in the reports on the Vatican murders that happened a month ago."

Sesshomaru was about to add that looking into those reports were confidential and she needed approval from him first to look through them but he decided to hear her out. She looked at him expectantly waiting for acknowledgment but he just stared. She continued on when she realized that was as much acknowledgement as she was going to get.

"Anyway…"she tried to remain calm as she opened the folder. "Remember those kids that our men arrested at the Vatican, um…Angelos? Well, your description of the men in the truck that shot at you matches what the kids were wearing the day they were arrested."

Sesshomaru leaned forward interested. He never even looked into the report once and had dismissed it as trivial matters letting other people in the department to deal with it. Sara opened the folder and showed him a photo of two kids wearing white and rosaries around their neck. Another photo behind it were the masks they were wearing. Those same white masks he'd seen that night. They were plain porcelain white masks, nothing out of the ordinary but now Sesshomaru was convinced there was a correlation. The people that committed those crimes in the Vatican were the same people that shot at him. Angelos…Angels. Sara watched him carefully as he lost himself in his thoughts again and was surprised to see his lips curl into a grin. He had a lead.

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Thanks to everyone who has been patient during my updates. I try to update as quick as I can and I get lost in work that I don't realize months pass by since my updates. I don't know if I let many of you know this but I've also been working on my own novel. It's hard to say when I'll publish it but some of you know that I do finish my work, even if it takes me a long time. I hate to leave a story unfinished. If I left it unfinished in the past, it's only because I lost the story through computer problems.

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