See notes in First Chapter.
IX
Sesshoumaru's gaze narrowed at the summit of the Sunset Shrine steps. The space immediately in front of the last step was empty where he'd been greeted on his first visit. Familiarity was the enemy of formality, and the attendants of this shrine had become far too accustomed to Sesshoumaru's presence if this was his welcome.
He had visited this single shinto establishment far too often in recent months. He wasn't used to suffering the relaxing of formality. He supposed Higurashi Genkei's offer on first meeting to call him by name should have given Sesshoumaru a clue as to the future. Humans adapted so quickly. The inu silently huffed before turning his attention to the rain-slicked grounds of the shrine.
It was possible that the lack of greeting had everything to do with the recent weather. Humans were susceptible to the elements, especially those who had passed the midpoint of their allotted time. The old man moved more slowly in these damp months, the proof of old injuries and diminishing youth.
Sesshoumaru decided not to take offense to Genkei's lacking efforts at greeting him in person. The keeper was home, his scent threaded the grounds with a freshness only presence could create. But he was also aged by modern human life expectancy. Diminished speed was expected, and economy was increasingly needed to make it through a day. Genkei was respectful in all other aspects and kept up the pretenses of formally greeting Sesshoumaru's arrival longer than many would have. He would still make the effort on most occasions, so when the old man didn't greet Sesshoumaru personally there was most likely a reason.
Sesshoumaru could also detect the lady of the house as well. It was not hard to dismiss offense on her behalf. Akina had no way of personally detecting the Seishin-tekina shouheki. She had no blood ties to any shrine family and was therefore lacking that extra sense that was inherent of their number. It was the boy, her son, whose laziness Sesshoumaru found the hardest to accept. Because it could only be laziness.
Souta was far too like Sesshoumaru's own younger brother at that age in many aspects. Genkei had assured Sesshoumaru that it was a phase the human boy would grow out of with maturity. Sesshoumaru didn't accept that as guaranteed given that Inuyasha hadn't grown out of anything yet. Time had done little more than ingrain the bad behaviors more strongly.
Sesshoumaru consciously loosened his muscles and began to stride towards the keeper's house, there wasn't much use for the boy yet. Souta wasn't a fully vested member of the staff. He still attended classes at the shrine school, learning proper diplomacy, legal restrictions and expected duties. Not every shrine member picked such things up through effective observation. Souta was fairly unobservant, hadn't participated much in shrine duties growing up and so had to focus harder on his studies to achieve his certification.
Sesshoumaru would admit that it was heartening to see the boy so earnest about his studies. It was one glaring difference from his half-sibling he was growing to appreciate exceedingly.
The boxy house stood towards the back of the shrine grounds, situated in such away as to enhance privacy without secluding it completely from the public. He had become well acquainted with a number of the "public" rooms of the private dwelling.
Upon his approach to the door it slid open from the inside and Souta greeted him casually. "C'mon in," the teenager bid him, "Grandpa has a guest in the living room and mom's in the kitchen." The information was drop into Sesshoumaru's ears without ceremony. Clearly, Souta expected him to find his way without escort. "Mom! I'm heading out to meet up with Honda. We're going to join a study group and we'll probably eat out after!" was shouted back into the house, partially deafening the inu coming in as the student departed.
"Do you have your phone on?" Akina called back from the kitchen. "I may need you to stop at the store on your way home."
"Call Honda's, I think something fried in mine," Souta replied and disappeared immediately thereafter, tapping the toe of his shoe absently as he rushed out the door.
"Souta!" Akina called again, hurrying from the kitchen door only to be greeted with the absence of her son and Sesshoumaru's arrival. "I hope he has his wallet," she fretted to herself before bowing to the daijin. "Welcome, Sesshoumaru-sama. My father-in-law has company, but he wouldn't mind your addition to their discussion."
Akina's exceedingly polite manners did little to conceal her dislike of Sesshoumaru's repeat intrusions. She still tried to defend Inuyasha's behavior and continuing actions, criticizing Kagome's handling of the relationship from start to finish, and arguing every visit against Sesshoumaru's continued pursuit of justice about all of it. She didn't like that Sesshoumaru wasn't swayed by her arguments, generally ignored her excuses, and continued to forge ahead with Genkei's blessing. He doubted very much that her opinion was likely to change any time soon.
Inuyasha's bad habits were the reason for Sesshoumaru presence today, like always. A renewal of her least favorite topic, she'd rather have done with, acquitting Inuyasha of any wrong-doing and tying Kagome in a pretty bow as bride for the hanyou. It would be quite surprising if she viewed his new line of inquiry favorably.
As Kagome's official complaint had lead him nowhere but a reconstructed file for formality's sake, he needed to find new victims to track down and investigate. Discovering these unfortunate lovers of Sesshoumaru's half-brother would be quite the undertaking.
The problem was, Sesshoumaru didn't have the time or the man power to assign to the task. Certainly not if he wanted to pursue the investigation without his half brother becoming aware of it. Or to keep it from his father's attention.
This would be a tight rope act. Following the narrow thread of truth through the lies fobbed by the media on the masses while remaining discrete. There was no need to stir up a news frenzy before the facts were discovered and laid bare. Sesshoumaru wanted the truth before the "journalists" and "reporters" could obfuscate it with conjecture and spin. And he needed someone trustworthy to employ.
Sesshoumaru didn't want the research results communicated to Inuyasha as blackmail at any point before justice was claimed. Of course then blackmail would be impossible.
"Sesshoumaru-dono," Genkei greeted as soon as the youkai came in view. "I believe you are familiar with my guest, Tanaka Miroku-kun." Sesshoumaru nodded in acknowledgment of the cop that had pointed him to the shrine. "Are you here to reference the file once again?" the old man asked curiously.
Sesshoumaru understood his mild wonder at the inu's unexpected return. The file had already been reconstructed entirely in official hands. There was nothing here that wasn't readily available in the new copy now present in Sesshoumaru's possession. "Higurashi still refuses to speak of the incident, as such this Sesshoumaru is seeking new avenues of investigation," came the rumbled reply.
"Was there a line of questioning we missed?" Miroku looked disturbed at the thought and Sesshoumaru recalled that this particular detective had been the one to pursue the original file's construction.
"It is more likely, Sesshoumaru-dono has realized the chances of more victims," Genkei offered to soothe the stiff human male.
"Inuyasha is not known for patience in anything," Sesshoumaru nodded, "Least of all as it comes to his personal pleasures." It was the polite way of saying his younger brother was spoiled, self-centered and lacked any kind of discipline. Maybe a few decades ago, it could have been a phase, something to be outgrown with time and experience. Now, those experiences had never manifested their lessons concerning delayed gratification, the reality that the whole world does not belong to one hanyou, or the fact that all actions have consequences.
"Surely he is not impatient in all his pleasures," Miroku drawled slowly, "Else why would there be so many women willing to stick around for the abuse?" It took Sesshoumaru a moment to figure out what precisely the younger male was trying to infer before Genkei smacked the back of his head.
"That's an inappropriate train of thought and hardly to the purpose of this conversation," the old man scolded the pervert as Sesshoumaru struggled to remove the thought of Inuyasha's impatient nature translating to his carnal relations with women. Impatience in the bedroom would be well-matched to the brat's personality but not terribly fulfilling for most females' needs. And he didn't really want to think about Inuyasha's intimate behaviors.
Sesshoumaru was very careful to ignore as much of Inuyasha's social life as possible. Kikyou was a nightmare to deal with on most occasions, though how much of that was a result of Inuyasha's tendency towards rampant infidelity he couldn't be certain. What Sesshoumaru had seen of her, lead him to believe she got some kind of toxic pleasure out of trying to manipulate her hanyou occasional lover and the roller coaster of their mutual inability to have done and stick with ending it altogether. The pair seemed to draw out the loudest most volatile behaviors in each other, but he wasn't aware if that volatility translated into actual violence on one side or the other.
"It is unlikely that Inuyasha has remained faithful to his current companion if their relationship was plagued with infidelity from its inception," because Inuyasha had begun dating Kikyou after his first dates with Kagome. The boy certainly hadn't broken things off with Kagome until Kikyou insisted upon it. "Higurashi Kagome has been outside of Inuyasha's purview for several years. He had no contact with her, given Inuyasha had no knowledge of how to contact her until her emergence in regards to a situation unrelated to him."
"Which makes it reasonable to assume there have been others in the intervening time," Genkei agreed. "Kagome escaped her tormentor for nearly a decade, coupled with Inuyasha's impatient nature and lack of commitment to the principles of the one woman who remains near constant in his life; there are probably several other women who could file claims against Inuyasha."
"And given that the only reason I knew about Kagome's claim is because I worked it," Miroku continued, "Any claim made was likely swept under the rug just as thoroughly as Kagome's was. If any claims were made that is." It was a sad reality that many such incidences of assault were not reported to the police or enforcement agencies in the present world. Kagome's complaint was significant because it had been made and then ignored. Examples like hers probably explained the statistics concerning unreported abuse.
"Indeed," Sesshoumaru agreed evenly. Whether complaints were filed or not, Sesshoumaru wanted to know how bad Inuyasha's behavior had been. If there were women eligible to file a complaint that hadn't, he wanted to encourage them to do so. If there were women eligible that physically couldn't, he wanted to know why.
Kagome had taken years to recover physically from the damage caused by the brat. It was just as likely that a woman without Higurashi's robustness would not have made it out of the hospital at all. Reiki users weren't superhuman, they were just as easily hurt, but their recovery times were noticeably shortened and the prognoses were almost universally more positive barring a few specific maladies that struck only reiki users.
"It is a disturbing thought," Miroku mused. "And there would be no way to know unless one was personally affiliated with the complainant and the officer who took the report." His left hand raised up to his chin, while his bead wrapped right cupped his elbow. "Without the name of a filer, there is no way to look up a specific incident report. They're not searchable by unsubstantiated accusations, not until there has been an arrest anyway."
"You stay out of it Tanaka Miroku," Akina huffed at their less affluent guest as she entered the room with tea things for their talks. Sesshoumaru could surmise that the Higurashi matron's relationship with the younger male was such that she knew Miroku before puberty. Human maturity was sometimes difficult for Sesshoumaru to track accurately. Her strong directive towards the younger male was much like a parental adult scolding a child. "You never should have gotten involved in the first place. You'd still be employed if you had."
Sesshoumaru blinked with surprise, "You are no longer employed by the department?"
"He was let go for divulging confidential information to an unaffiliated youkai without his superior's permission," Akina answered before Miroku could get a word in edgewise.
"The unaffiliated youkai is the northern daijin currently standing in your living room," Miroku reasonably explained. "The superior in question was among those who had lost Kagome's original complaint and thereby derailed justice in an assault case because the accused was a son of the great Masashi."
"The complaint never should have been filed," Akina ground her teeth.
"The shoulds and should nots are immaterial," Sesshoumaru declared evenly, ignoring the woman's efforts to serve tea around the room.
"The complaint was filed," Miroku continued. "I took an oath when I swore into duty to uphold the law, investigate the truth and protect the community. That means I track down the facts of every case that comes through and serve the greater good at personal loss if necessary. Kagome's case was investigated thoroughly and should have been taken further as the evidence supporting her version of events was substantial. Inuyasha deserved to be punished for his actions whether Kagome stayed to pursue it or not. Instead, the department swept it under the rug."
"Because it was a frivolous, exaggeration of events," Akina insisted.
"When an official from the youkai government came looking for the file, I pointed him in the direction of an unofficial copy," Miroku continued as if Kagome's mother hadn't spoken. "I didn't know why Sesshoumaru was looking for it, but I knew that if he was looking for it in the human police department files that it had also been lost at the youkai enforcement agency."
"Which speaks of a bigger problem than one filed assault claim," Sesshoumaru supported the human male's lecture.
"Something that needs to be thoroughly investigated and put to right regardless of your views concerning Inuyasha's behavior," Genkei added. "Though Inuyasha's assault on Kagome should have been enough to black list him in this house anyway."
"If she had just given that relationship a real effort instead of wasting her time on that foolish dream of being a doctor," Akina protested. "Inuyasha would never have looked elsewhere for companionship if -"
"If Inuyasha hadn't ended the relationship?" Sesshoumaru interrupted. Whatever Higurashi Akina's views on the violent encounter that sent Kagome to the hospital at death's door, the fact was, Inuyasha had dumped Kagome in a rather public, humiliating confrontation for Kikyou's rather malicious benefit.
"Kagome had every right to do as she pleased after Inuyasha ended things,"Miroku agreed. "If he couldn't handle the place in her life she informed him was all she had available, then the relationship wouldn't have lasted anyway."
"Inuyasha still hasn't fully committed to that woman he was cheating on Kagome with anyway, he probably would never have been faithful to Kagome," Genkei hummed in consideration. These were not new points in the discussion. The argument ran in circles and Akina had an excuse for everything.
"He hasn't committed to that woman because Kagome is the one he's meant for," she insisted.
"Stop spouting that nonsense," Genkei growled. "This isn't one of your romantic dramas. If it was, the story would have found its positive conclusion years ago."
"Too true," Miroku agreed. "Fairy tales of this sort do not take nearly a decade to conclude. It would diminish the magical quality of such fairy tales if the heroines managed to remain single in their late twenties, nearly thirties. It might undo the hundreds of years of type casting in which only the evil women live to be matured by experience," Miroku added wryly. Most folklore either absented the mother in a tale or replaced her with a stepmother or other aged female with evil inclinations.
"I am not a child!" Akina glared at the pair of males patronizing her. "If Kagome hadn't run away from Tokyo needlessly, Inuyasha would have dumped that woman. Kagome would no longer be wasting her time with all those expensive, pointless classes and therefore would finally focus all of her attention on the relationship like she should have from the beginning."
"Kagome is not a doll or a pet," Genkei scoffed at the woman. "Inuyasha was never her owner, she didn't even really know him all that well."
"She knew him long enough to know..." she argued before Miroku cut in.
"To know that he was violent when frustrated, abusive under the influence of another woman, and unfaithful," he declared firmly. "I think even if Kagome had stayed in Tokyo she wouldn't want anything to do with him. Most women wouldn't."
"What would you know about most women?" Akina dismissed his words.
"Enough to know that many of them are right thinking human beings with no desire to be publicly humiliated with no provocation," Miroku shrugged. "Most humans would generally avoid the person that had put them in the hospital after publicly humiliating them as well. And before you bring up the ones that do stay with their abusers I would like to point out that those souls usually don't feel like they have any other options, an illusion planted and perpetuated by their abusers."
"Inuyasha didn't mean-," the female tried to defend the hanyou.
"Have you asked him?" Genkei cut her off. "Or are you merely imposing your interpretation of his actions to fit your own views of a short-lived relationship?"
"As I understand it," Miroku observed. "Kagome had only known Inuyasha a few weeks, maybe two months. How often did you really have meaningful conversations with him to draw up a full understanding of his motivations? While Inuyasha may not seem terribly complex, he's not so simple as to fully understand in one casual conversation held in front of his short-term girlfriend and her mother."
"Indeed," Sesshoumaru smirked his agreement with Miroku's point. Inuyasha would be on his best behavior, especially if he was still trying to get in the female's intimate graces; something Sesshoumaru knew Inuyasha had never achieved. "Despite his general misbehavior, that one has been perfectly educated on the proper social graces." The miscreant's mother had seen to that, after all, a veneer of politesse could hide unattractive ambitions better than constant rudeness. Their father had ingrained political etiquette even further as part of Inuyasha's training to fulfill the part of Southern daijin. It was one of the few sets of lessons the brat bothered to use regularly. Sesshoumaru supposed if Inuyasha acted as he truly was all the time, the hanyou likely would have been killed in a brawl long before now.
"He is the son of the great Masashi-" Akina argued.
"Inuyasha is the son of my father," Sesshoumaru allowed, "But even this one's father is not perfect." The old inu had hooked up with the hanyou's mother after all. Everyone agreed that was shear folly...well everyone who knew the woman personally agreed. Izayoi was a mistake Masashi had seemed incapable of correcting for far too many years.
Sesshoumaru had viewed his father's behavior around that woman and long ago concluded that Masashi didn't actually like her very much.
"Masashi is not infallible," Genkei observed. "It was not a smooth road to unification and peace, but what missteps were taken were learned from and corrected," the old man clarified before continuing. "But Inuyasha is not his father. He is not even his clone. He is his own person, and that person is abusive, unfaithful, and immature."
"It is that same way that Sesshoumaru is not his father, acting under his own drives, ruling in his own style," Miroku concurred. "They may share blood, a family resemblance, and some responsibility, but they are not all the same person and should not be judged solely on the actions and behavior of their counterparts. Every great figure in history was not necessarily born of a previously great individual and there are plenty of monsters that descended from truly respectable, honorable people."
"This Sesshoumaru would never engage in the needless games of my father or the rash abuses of the hanyou," the northern daijin intoned pointedly. "In the same way that Higurashi Kagome does not hold the same views as her mother."
Akina scowled at Sesshoumaru before spinning angrily on her heel and stomping back to the kitchen. The woman was never more intractable than when someone attempted to show greater understanding of her daughter's motivations than she had. She never accepted their insight, denial shielded her from enlightenment that would contradict her views. At this late date, it was unlikely Akina would ever obtain genuine understanding of Kagome or even Souta, not that Sesshoumaru was necessarily an expert on either.
One didn't need more than a passing familiarity with either child to comprehend the disparity between the mother's perception and the reality. Often times, parents that failed to form a genuine connection with their children did little real harm beyond the occasional hurt when their ignorance was brought to light or they applied pressure for offspring to act in a manner opposite the progeny's inclination or choice.
Unfortunately, Akina's willful refusal to see Kagome's truth had left her daughter in an unsafe position. One that had required Kagome completely remove from all familiar surroundings. Akina's views forbade Inuyasha being barred from the grounds. Kagome's safety required being out of the hanyou's physical reach if nothing more. The resulting impasse had resulted in an absentee type relationship between mother and daughter.
It wasn't just that Kagome went away and never returned. Akina refused to visit her daughter more than once after the removal. Kagome's genuine fear over an (incredibly likely) encounter with her attacker were dismissed by the mother as foolish given Akina wouldn't acknowledge that Inuyasha had actually attacked Kagome in the first place.
Genkei and Souta both had been to visit Kagome regularly since the removal. Akina hadn't been since the first year, insisting that Kagome should repay the visit instead. If it were only about manners and money, Sesshoumaru would agree. Such was not the case here.
The three males collected their thoughts and settled the topic in their own unique ways. Genkei sighed restively and sank back into his old padded chair. Of the three, he'd been dealing with Akina's detachment from reality the longest. It was likely also brought up more often with him as the old man sought to correct errors made with Akina's handling of Souta as the boy approached adulthood and independence.
Miroku scowled aimlessly into his tea before blowing air out to disturb the rising trail of steam emitted from the cup. Miroku's exposure to Akina's obstinacy was frustrating in the extreme for a police officer, even a former one. The law was the law and exceptions shouldn't be made for anyone that caused such severe injuries whether it was intentional or not.
Sesshoumaru settled into his accustomed chair and allowed his eyes to stare at the complex clock hung on the wall across from him while his ears tracked the movements of the others. The tips of his sensitive ears twitched with each slammed cupboard and dish moved by Akina's frustration in the kitchen. Idly he compared the mother's behavior with the daughter's and found the elder lacking.
"To return to the subject of Sesshoumaru-dono's visit," Genkei finally broke the air. "I agree that it is likely Inuyasha has victimized other females. If he did it to Kagome, a woman he'd only known a few weeks, then it's likely there are more who were abused as well."
"It is likely there are several," Sesshoumaru concurred. "The problem is ferreting out truth from fiction in a backlog of gossip rags and spin."
Miroku's eyes narrowed in thought. "It doesn't help that Inuyasha is inconsistent when dealing with rumors and press items." Inuyasha had both confirmed and denied the same headlines on a regular basis making it even harder to divine factual occurrence from slow news day click bait. "I assume you'd want to go back to after Kagome was attacked." At Sesshoumaru's discreet nod the former officer forged ahead, "So just to start with, it would probably be best to eliminate the disreputable papers; ones that are anti-youkai and hanyou."
"It might be best to start with the entertainment publications," Genkei suggested. "Pure news might consider a street level break up as inconsequential in the scheme of things."
Miroku agreed, "All academic periodicals are out as well."
"Hn," Sesshoumaru commented. Their brainstorming had hardly made a dent in the materials that would need to be waded through. "This Sesshoumaru's main problem is finding a reliable person or small group capable to sifting through the information, digging out the corroborating facts, and locating the victims within a decent time frame." This was not something the inu wanted dragging out for several years. It wasn't a statute of limitations issue to Sesshoumaru's mind as he was certain his father would see that regardless of the limits of the law Inuyasha would learn to correct his behavior. The method of correction was bound to be punishment in itself for the wild brat. Inuyasha did not take kindly to even well-meaning direction.
"This solution is simple," Genkei huffed. "Miroku-kun is in need of employment. His credentials are obvious in that file you recreated for Kagome's claim. His integrity has already been proven by the loss of his former occupation in the pursuit of his sworn duty for that job."
"It is Sesshoumaru-dono's choice who he hires for the office," Miroku flushed in embarrassment. "I am not so desperate as to - "
"The boy is also from a shrine family that is held in great esteem in the shrine community," the old man continued over his younger guest's protests. "He's been trained as a monk which tells you he holds the skill to gently extract confessions without stressing the confessor. He uses the holy techniques to calm victims, also aiding in the collection of witness testimony."
Sesshoumaru's gold eyes stared at the Higurashi head as he expounded on the character and skills of Tanaka Miroku. He wasn't really listening to the deluge of words clouding up the atmosphere. He had come looking for recommendations because Sesshoumaru didn't have a network of trusted people he didn't already employ. It had never been a problem before.
Maybe he had been short-sighted. Sesshoumaru's father knew a great number of people that weren't necessarily employed by the government. Some were heads of other governments in foreign companies. Masashi held friendship ties to a number of popular celebrities. Most of the wealthy families around the globe, whether human or youkai, held personal connections with the Japanese omo.
Sesshoumaru had always assumed those ties came with time. While he was certain time played a part in his father's extensive social network, he was now coming to believe there was more to it than simply meeting people in passing. In the same way that Sesshoumaru found it difficult to care about the petty squabbles of various individuals he'd barely met in passing. He supposed the same could be said for others in regard to himself. He was not as...personable as his father. He was not master of that mysterious art that drew people to warmer manners than mere polite interactions.
"He is also exceedingly organized," Genkei rattled on, delineating the finer points of Miroku's skillset.
Sesshoumaru was no longer listening. His visit today had only highlighted that he would need more than one person for this task. Miroku would be a good person to start with though. Like Genkei, Miroku was of a social breed, one who established meaningful and useful contacts to work with at need.
Sesshoumaru would use Miroku's skills as an investigator for this project. He didn't need Genkei to itemize the former officers qualifications for the job. As the old man had stated, the best proof of Miroku's qualifications was the file he'd put together for Kagome's case. One Sesshoumaru's own people had just reconstructed and well knew how much work went into it. The human was a thorough investigator, tracking down every possible witness to portray a full track of the events the night Kagome landed in hospital.
"Hn," the white inu intoned, derailing Genkei's train of praise.
"Wha-" the old man had trouble understanding the abrupt interruption. "Sesshoumaru-dono?" It was known inside shrine circles that the Northern daijin had little use for excess words, but Genkei had momentarily forgotten that as he warmed to the subject of recommending his young acquaintance for the task.
"That is quite enough," Sesshoumaru blandly informed his companions. He turned to the younger human pointedly. "You will meet this Sesshoumaru to formalize salary arrangements and fill out proper paperwork in short order. Beyond salary, travel and business expanses shall also be provided, within reason."
Miroku's eyes had gone wide in surprise, but he nodded just the same. "Travel expenses?" The former officer breathed in disbelief.
"Hn, it is unlikely that Higurashi was the only victim that felt the need to remove themselves from Inuyasha's reach," Sesshoumaru added.
"No, I get that," Miroku backpedaled slightly. Sesshoumaru stared down the flabbergasted man and acknowledged that his abrupt decision was likely against the shrine network's profile of him. Sesshoumaru wasn't one to make hasty decisions or take advice. Which wasn't altogether true in Sesshoumaru's opinion.
Despite the speed at which he just reached this decision, it wasn't in haste. Sesshoumaru knew Tanaka Miroku's work and background. He'd just watched the man, with no notice, come up with reasonable strategies on how to wade through the excess media coverage of his younger sibling's activities to find truth. As for taking advice, well-reasoned opinions were hard to come by in the world Sesshoumaru lived in. There were few who offered more than emotional biases and Sesshoumaru had no need of such baseless directives. If all he'd wanted was emotion, the white inu could use his own.
"If you are through here, we can discuss it now," Sesshoumaru hummed as he nodded to Genkei and turned to leave. His departure was slightly abrupt, but Genkei was used to Sesshoumaru's ways. All the northern daijin's visits to the shrine had a purpose and once that purpose was fulfilled, the visit was concluded with little ceremony.
"Now?" Miroku inquired, still stunned by this turn of events. Sesshoumaru supposed the proposed employment might be something of a shock for the human and the abrupt suggestion to discuss it without prior notice might seem against the grain. Most youkai tended to take their time in putting plans into actions and viewed humans as impatient, immature, children with short-sighted planning ability. But some situations were harmed more by delay than haste.
Miroku turned to Genkei, confusion evident on his features, only to find the elder gesturing for him to quickly follow the departing Sesshoumaru. "What are you waiting for? Go!" the eldest Higurashi exclaimed urgently behind Sesshoumaru's departing back.
Sesshoumaru didn't pause for the young male to catch up until he reached the stairs under the Torii gate. It was the inu's favorite spot in the shrine. At the top of the stairs facing away from the courtyard the air rushed up at him, breezing through his hair and stirring his clothes. The smell of it sometimes contained wild growing things, a scent difficult to come by in the city. Even the biting chill of it was welcomed as it reminded him of flight and speed and freedom. All things denied him in the course of his work leading his assigned territories.
Actually, Sesshoumaru's eyes shot from the cloud covered sky to the municipal buildings that weren't even properly visible from this area, the work for ruling didn't pen him in as much as dancing attendance on his father's court games. Proper delegation made so that Sesshoumaru probably could avoid Tokyo appearances more often if not for the demands of Masashi's social tableau.
The territory Sesshoumaru governed was technically still the purview of his father's reign and in order to hold the office, he was required to meet Masashi's demands, no matter how inane, inconvenient, or unpalatable.
"Sesshoumaru-dono," Miroku called timidly.
"This Sesshoumaru has given you no reason for such caution," Sesshoumaru scolded the male blandly. "The shrines have surely made note that while I can be demanding, I am not an unfair task master." He would set reasonable deadlines, moderate his demands to fit with human limitations, and trust Miroku's own dedication and sense of duty to keep him at his task. Sesshoumaru had no intention of hovering over his new researcher, nor did he intend to set anyone else to doing so.
"The shrine families keep information on disposition and behavior as it pertains to the keeping of general peace," Miroku replied. "Your habits as an employer of former shrine family and humans in general have not yet been established or observed."
"Hn," golden eyes turned from the gray cityscape to the tense male beside him. Sesshoumaru was beginning to think that he could learn a lot about himself from the files the shrines had built as pertained to himself. He'd never thought to notice the rarity of humans retained on his staff. "How soon can you begin working on the project?"
"I am currently unemployed for the first time in several years," Miroku wryly pointed out. "My family and friends are all constrained by work hours and other obligations. They haven't had the chance to get used to my abundance of free time. So far, my visits with Higurashi Genkei and other retired acquaintances, I've had nothing to fill my time." In less words, he was free to start immediately and uncomfortable being so idle.
"Indeed," Sesshoumaru acknowledged the words, moreso the undercurrent. The male's tone indicated he'd rather be busy again before others could start trying to help him find employment in their individually condescending and unhelpful ways. Sesshoumaru himself had never been unemployed, but that didn't leave him incapable of imagining what sort of aid would be had from those convinced one couldn't find a job on his own.
"It would be wise to invest in the services of a programmer," Miroku suggested. "Sorting through backlogs of publications accumulated over several years would yield faster results with a program that can search for specific word groupings and filter out certain phrases or exclude certain types of publications."
Sesshoumaru nodded as he lead his new employee down to the street. The suggestion had practical merit. Even a fully developed filter program would turn up hundreds of sources Miroku would have to read through to find what was honest news, but hundreds was a smaller number than the near billions of articles available to sort through.
"I have a couple options in mind," Miroku added. "I knew a guy in high school who enjoyed building programs in his down time."
"It is his employment now?" Sesshoumaru asked.
"No," the human male shook his head. "He refused to turn his hobby into a career. He's very good at it, don't get me wrong." Miroku assured him, "I think his view was similar to the one a lot of writers and other artists take. It's a hobby to help unwind from the rest of life's demands. Getting paid for it, being required to meet deadlines would take the fun out of it. Or so he always said."
"And the other?" the inu inquired.
"I'd like to approach my friend first," Miroku stalled. Clearly the second option was even more unconventional. Sesshoumaru found himself increasingly pleased with his choice. The man had already picked up the reality that pursuing orthodox avenues for this project were not advisable. A hobbyist picking up a new project wouldn't register with even the voracious rumormonger.
"Hn," Sesshoumaru allowed Miroku to stop there. If the first option worked out, there was no reason to consider the second. Curiosity simply wasn't enough to draw this out. There were other things that needed his attention and he wasn't going to second guess his decision to put Tanaka Miroku in charge of investigating Inuyasha's past victims.