~Dizzy Defense for an Underdog~

Chapter Five: I Ain't Got Nobody

Clawed fingers fidgeted as they tried not to tap on the partition table. Inuyasha had hardly waited five minutes for her to arrive, and already it was too long. Their last meeting had effectively silenced all those fears lurking in his injured heart, and he couldn't deny it: he was excited to see her. Not even the prospect of discussing his alibi could throw his mood. If he were to be honest… he was starting to consider telling her the truth; sharing his deepest, most fiercely guarded secret. It scared him, this need to divulge to her, but it was there and it was real and he couldn't deny it. He wasn't sure what it was about her, but something in her smile and her shining eyes made him feel safe. For the first time in his life… he was beginning to really trust someone.

A scent hit his nose, making it twitch, and a toothy grin spread across the convict's face as he realized his lawyer was approaching. Taking a deep whiff, he leaned back with a sigh, savoring the uniquely sunny scent. His happy grin fell sharply though as his nose picked up on another scent: she wasn't alone. Some other smell wafted behind hers, carrying the sickly sweet tang of alcohol and the acrid reek of cologne. This wasn't the scent of a guard, it was an outsider. A man.

An unpleasant sensation roiled in his gut, his chest tightening as the scents came closer. Had she brought an assistant? Was it a city official? He didn't like the idea of being under anyone else's scrutiny; it was bad enough being under constant prison surveillance. Their visits were the only time he had to unwind, to feel at ease. He was in no mood to give that up. His arms crossed and a scowl settled on his face at the unfairness of it all, and it was with that angry attitude that he greeted Kagome and her visitor.

She entered the room with her usual smile, her posture eager, her eyes darting back in anxious excitement to the man following after her. She was practically jumping up and down with enthusiasm… all because of this stranger. Inuyasha's eyes pinched in a glare, his lip pulling back in a snarl as he eyed the man calmly receiving his lawyer's attention – and he didn't like what he saw. His smile was too easy, his suit too sharp. He radiated confidence and suave, gentlemanly charm. His eyes were piercing blue, but his gaze was calculating and alert, silently sizing up Inuyasha as the two men matched looks. Seeing something hidden behind the easy smile, Inuyasha made a snap deduction: whoever this man was, he couldn't be trusted.

Kagome's voice cut through his thoughts like a knife, and he shook himself to see her watching him expectantly. He'd missed what she said, but could only guess it had been a greeting. Meeting her gaze, he waited for her to speak again, all the while wondering why she'd brought such a shady character to their private meeting.

"I said how are you doing?" She sat in her usual chair and smiled widely at him, calming his ire and prompting a slight smirk as he answered gruffly "same ol', same ol'."

"I'd like you to meet someone" she continued eagerly, turning to the man still standing behind her, "This is Miroku, a Private Detective. I've hired him to help with your case!"

Inuyasha's lips pursed. He was somewhat surprised that she'd hired a private detective instead of going through the police, and he couldn't help being impressed with her decision; a private detective would be more likely to give him a fair shot than one appointed by the city. And being a private detective explained why the man seemed so shifty. He wasn't meant to be trusted.

"Inuyasha, is it?" Miroku said casually, removing his suit coat and dropping easily to a neighboring chair, "I've heard so much about you from Miss Kagome. I hope I can be of service to the both of you." His eyes lingered a little too long on Kagome's oblivious form, and Inuyasha felt a growl building in his throat.

"Nice to meet you" he sneered, his anger growing at the amusement on the detective's face, "now hit the road so I can talk to my lawyer."

"Inuyasha," Kagome said exasperatedly, "I brought him here to help you, and he can't do that if he doesn't talk to you first!"

Leaning back with a petulant frown, Inuyasha mumbled "It ain't none o' his business."

"Inuyasha, please!" She hissed, leaning forward to whisper "I can't do this all on my own! I'm going to need his help, and for him to help me, you need to help him!"

Her earnest expression and big, round eyes did him in, and with a sigh he slumped in his chair and said in defeat "Five minutes, and that's it. Anything else he needs to know, you can tell him yourself."

Inuyasha figured her pretty smile was worth five minutes of torture, but he couldn't help pouting a little as she rose to hand her chair over to the PI. He turned to glare at the man commandeering his time, only to see Miroku already watching him with a calculating expression. Before Inuyasha could make heads or tails of it, the detective had side-stepped the chair to place a familiar hand around Kagome's shoulders, stopping her in her tracks. Kagome's expression became flushed as Miroku drew her in closer, leaning in to croon "Don't worry about us, doll. I'm sure we'll get on fine."

Despite the loud protests of 'LIKE HELL WE WILL' racing through his head, Inuyasha kept silent as Kagome swallowed nervously and responded "Yes, well, I'll just be waiting for the both of you in the hallway. L-let me know when you're done."

The arm around her shoulders tightened, and Inuyasha was sure he saw red as the detective's other hand rose to the young lawyer's face, a gloved finger tracing her chin. Sputtering indignantly as the PI nudged her face to look up into his, ignoring the cute way her cheek smushed with the move, Inuyasha was helpless to do anything but watch as Miroku said suavely, "I won't make you wait long, doll. Maybe later, you and I can do a little acquainting of our own. Whaddaya say?"

He was on his feet before he knew what was happening, the heavy growl he'd been holding back escaping in an outraged cry of "GET YOUR MITTS OFF HER!"

Two sets of human eyes turned to stare at him as he stood huffing and puffing, the room silent except for his racing heart which he hoped beyond hope they couldn't hear. Kagome stared at him with a shocked expression which he couldn't decipher; Miroku was watching with something bordering on satisfaction. He didn't know what the creep was up to, but something told him he'd just been played for a sap.

Confident smile still in place, Miroku let the girl free of his half-hug, and without a moment's hesitation, Kagome bolted from the room in a flurry of black curls. Inuyasha stared after her for a moment more before dropping limply to his waiting chair, eyes unfocused as he thought back on the scene he'd just caused. He… he hadn't meant to say anything. What… what did he care if the detective tried putting the moves on her? What did he care if it flustered her, if she was affected by it? It wasn't any of his business, or his concern.

Still, he couldn't help glaring daggers at the man sitting so casually across the glass from him.

"So tell me" the detective began, tugging at his glove with disinterest, "are you always so protective of girls you hardly know?"

Inuyasha grit his teeth. "Only when creeps like you come buzzin' round."

"Quite noble for a man in prison. Especially one with such a background!" Slipping a folder onto the table, he opened to a page of cramped type, scanning the paper with a gloved finger. "Your files paint you as more the 'scoundrel', y'know?" He looked up to give Inuyasha a conspiratorial grin, but the half-demon only growled.

"I don't give a damn what those chumps gotta say about me. If you wanna know what happened, talk to Kagome."

"Kagome? So, you're on a 'first-name basis' with our lovely lawyer, are you?" Miroku chuckled in an infuriating sort of way, ignoring the simmering convict across the glass. "You work faster than I do!"

Slamming a fist onto the table, Inuyasha said harshly "Listen here, you flatfoot, you got no business comin' here wastin' my time with your stupid comments. Either cut to the chase, or get the hell out."

Miroku looked thoughtful, as if weighing his options, then turned his piercing eyes on Inuyasha. "Tell me, do you have any family?"

Startled silence met the question.

"I know you were orphaned at an early age" the PI continued, "but surely you have other relations who eagerly await your release."

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes, his whole body tensed in anger as he responded shortly "No", his mind raging with thoughts of the one relative he had on the outside. He wasn't any more eager to see his brother than his brother was to see him.

"You must have had friends though. Perhaps fellow orphans? You were incarcerated at 18, but that was still plenty of time to have –"

"I ain't got nobody" Inuyasha snapped. His claws threatened to tear into his jumpsuit as he sat with arms crossed; the detective's assumptions were only serving to remind him of the crappy state his life was in, and he hoped the man would just put a sock in it already.

"Not since Kikyo, anyways." Miroku was hardly fazed as Inuyasha rose from his chair, seething, his face nearly pressed into the glass as he stared the other man down.

"Keep yer drunk nose outta my business. Ain't nobody asked you for an opinion!"

As casually as if he were discussing the weather, Miroku plowed on "You know, for a lawyer, Miss Higurashi is surprisingly easy to talk to."

Inuyasha's head whirled with the sudden change of topic, but he didn't like it much more than the last. His ire only grew as the detective continued to praise the absent young woman.

"So lovely and feminine, and yet she has this presence…. It's easy to see how she could shake a jury! With that midnight hair – it's nice and soft too from what I could feel. And those eyes! A fella could get lost in those eyes, especially up close, when she gives you that smile… would be somethin' to see in the moonlight, don't you think? And boy, does that girl have some curves I'd like to-"

A boiling growl cut off the detective's musings. Inuyasha could feel the blood pounding in his veins, his fingers flexing as he fought off the urge to tear something apart. The only thing holding him back was the thought that if he destroyed more prison property, it would be off to the meat-locker and he'd never get his time to talk with Kagome. Some of his anger cooled into satisfaction though as he caught the first hints of unease on the PI's face.

"Your five minutes are up, pal" he said levelly, dropping to his chair and trying in vain to copy the other man's cool demeanor. "And I think I've had all the help from you I can take. Now scram."

"One more thing, Inuyasha." And the suave attitude was replaced by steely determination as suddenly Miroku dropped his façade. "I'm not as thick as you think. You say you want outta here, but there's nothing for you on the other side, and you know that well as I do. And I know you know that, or you wouldn't be making things so difficult. You're not acting like a man who wants his freedom. So you say you got no one waiting, well, it may not always be that way. You're careless, and that's what got you in here in the first place. You may have been able to handle it these past ten years, but keep goin' the rate you are, and you won't be able to last another month."

"What're you on about?" Inuyasha snapped, even as uneasiness brooded in his chest.

"What I'm saying," Miroku continued, earnestness seeping into his voice, "Is that if you ever want to run your fingers through those midnight curls, if you ever wanna see what those eyes look like in the moonlight, if you wonder at all what those curves would feel like in your arms, you'll wise up and start helping us get you out of here."

It was as if the man's hand had seized his windpipe; he couldn't speak, couldn't breathe, couldn't form a thought beyond the swirl of images now rushing through his mind. Kagome's friendly smile, her curled hair blowing in the breeze, the moon reflecting in those dark eyes as she stepped closer, right up to him, no bars or windows in the way and no hesitations….

"Looks like we finally understand each other."

Startled from his unexpected daydream, Inuyasha stared across at the black-haired man. Miroku's easy smile was a little different now, a little more genuine, and not quite as annoying as it had been before.

Inuyasha swallowed, unsure of what to say, but finally settled on a weak-sounding "I don't know what you're talking about."

He could tell from Miroku's expression that he'd understood what Inuyasha really meant.

Miroku went to fetch Kagome from the hall, her eyes smiling as she noticed Inuyasha's improved mood upon her return. She took the seat across from him, not noticing until Miroku pointedly cleared his throat that she was hogging the space in front of their client. She scooted to the side with a flustered "Sorry" and Inuyasha couldn't hide an affectionate smile as he watched. Kagome glanced back at him before he could hide it, and her responding laugh had him blushing and fidgeting like a shy little kid.

"I know your time is valuable" Miroku cut in, and Inuyasha was almost grateful to the creep for the distraction, "but there are a few things I'd like to clear up with this meeting." He pulled a small notepad and fountain pen from his coat pocket, licking the tip before setting it to the paper. Kagome quickly followed suit, pulling her empty notebook from her bag and fumbling for her own pen. "For starters, you're still without an alibi."

Shifting uncomfortably in his seat, Inuyasha glanced over at Kagome, who gave him an encouraging smile. Despite her support, he felt his early courageous notions of disclosure slipping away. He'd been ready to tell Kagome, and even though he didn't hate Miroku quite as much as he had at first, that didn't mean he was ready to share his secret with the guy.

"I wasn't there when it happened." Inuyasha said firmly, his posture stiff. "It's as simple as that."

"Do you have any witnesses to back that up?"

"….. No."

"Then it's not simple at all." Miroku sighed, shuffling through the stack of file papers once more. "The problem is, you had arranged to meet with Kikyo the night of the incident, correct?"

"Yeah…" Inuyasha responded hesitantly, "but I never made it there."

"But she was found in the morning. You found her in the morning. So where were you the rest of the night?"

Inuyasha hunched defensively, his voice full of mistrust as he shot back "I chickened out, okay? Geez, I thought you were batting for me, not the other guys!"

"I'm only trying to prepare you for what you'll face in court" Miroku responded with his usual cool, "They're going to want answers and you need to be ready to provide them."

"I thought 'finding the answers' was your job! Quit 'lawyerin' and start workin'!"

The detective merely waved off Inuyasha's anger, turning to Kagome to say politely "My apologies for being presumptuous."

"S'okay…" she mumbled softly, but Miroku had moved on to address the half-demon. "I can't start finding anything without some leads, and I need your help for that. So tell me: what were you doing the night that Kikyo was murdered?"

It wasn't difficult for Inuyasha to evade this time; a question had been simmering in the back of his mind, and now it burned him with its urgency. "I been thinkin'…" he started, puzzling the detective who'd been expecting a straight answer, "how'd you know I was planning to meet Kikyo?"

He would have laughed at the slack-jawed PI, had he not been so dead set on getting an answer.

"I…. what?"

"I said how'd you know we was plannin' to meet up?"

Miroku floundered for a moment, before gesturing blankly to the folder full of papers. "It says so in your file. It was part of how they convicted you in the first place."

"And where'd they get that info?" Inuyasha's bright gaze flickered over to Kagome; she'd been somewhat subdued after Miroku's comment to her, but seemed to be back in the conversation, her eyes alight with thought. "Kikyo couldn'ta told 'em – she died just as the coppers got to us. She was… all she did was yell… all she said was that I'd betrayed her. That was it…." Refocusing his gaze, he turned back to the detective, his voice firm as he added "And I didn't say a word to nobody. So who told 'em?"

It was like fog clearing as Miroku looked back at the half-demon, the pieces falling into place in his mind, revealing just what shapes still needed filling. "Who indeed? And how'd they know to start with?" With renewed fervor he turned back to the files, fanning them across the desk and mumbling slightly as he searched each page. He laughed victoriously as a yellowed paper was pulled from the stack, and soon he was lost behind it as he read every line. Inuyasha shared a confused look with Kagome, who shrugged and sat back, a tiny sigh escaping her lips. He noticed her reaction with curiosity, but didn't say anything.

"HA! Here it is!"

Startling the other two back to attention, Miroku held the page up for them to see, but the typed print was far too small and cramped for them to make much of anything from it. Noticing the blank looks of his audience, Miroku explained "This is a copy of the police report from the crime scene, with notes from the team who got there first." Laying it back down on the table, his gloved finger traced under a few lines specifically, and he went on "The basic story is that just before sunrise, the patients in that wing of the hospital were alarmed by the sound of screaming, and someone phoned the police station. Inuyasha, you were there at the scene once the police arrived, and I'm sorry to say, in a very incriminating state, but they carted you off pretty quick, and a few policemen stayed behind to secure the scene and gather evidence."

"I already know all this" Inuyasha groused; he'd been hoping the PI had found something useful, and his patience was waning with that hope.

"But what you don't know" Miroku continued with a smile, "Is that one of the patients stayed behind to give the cops his own first-hand account of what happened." He turned back to the page, scanning further down and moving on to the next one, while Inuyasha sat in stunned silence.

"But…" he started, his mind whirling with the news, "But I thought no one had seen-"

"He didn't see what happened, no" Miroku answered quickly, still looking down at the page, "But from what he told the police, he'd heard the two of you talking the previous night, planning to meet up the next evening. The evening you apparently chickened out on."

Something about the story felt off – there was a nagging thought, just out of reach, gnawing at the back of Inuyasha's mind as he tried to sort things out. Wouldn't he have known that he and Kikyo were being watched? Wouldn't he have sensed or heard or smelt if there was someone lurking about? Although… if this man were a patient, Inuyasha probably hadn't paid him any mind.

"How did he know it was me talking to her?" Inuyasha asked at length, "How'd he know enough to give the coppers somethin' against me?"

Miroku hummed thoughtfully, still searching the account, and said distractedly "I don't know if he knew it was you at first, but apparently he recognized your voice when you were found with Kikyo the next morning."

"But that's hardly substantial" Kagome interjected suddenly, her voice full of indignant fire, "He could have easily misheard and misidentified Inuyasha! That's nothing to build a case on!"

"He certainly had a lot to say on the matter" Miroku mused, flipping through the pages once more before looking back at Kagome and Inuyasha with a sobered expression. "Apparently he also told them you'd been with her most of the night. He couldn't say exactly what was discussed, but there was apparently some activity right before the attack."

Inuyasha's expression turned sour, and with a huff he asked "What exactly was supposed to have happened? What were we doing all night that woulda lead to me killin' her?"

The look Miroku gave him was entirely too patronizing, and Inuyasha steeled his glare in response. "Well," the detective started, his voice slow with nervous hesitation, "the man claims to have overheard 'advances' you made on Miss Kikyo, and that she clearly refused you." Tapping his pen against the table, Miroku took a deep breath and said "He says you assaulted Kikyo, and when she fought back, you killed her out of anger. Thing is, her body did show extensive bruising and claw marks."

He heard Kagome's gasp before anything else, and panic seized him. Not at the accusation: he'd heard it before and it was just as impossible now as it had been then. But the thought that Kagome might start to doubt him, might look at him differently after hearing that lie… it terrified him.

"Whoever the mook was, he was lying through his teeth. I never touched Kikyo, and that's a fact."

"Well of course" Kagome interjected, prompting a flicker of hope to spring up inside the convict, "I mean, having such an elaborate lie makes this man highly suspicious! What's his name?"

"Onigumo, I believe" Miroku said, nudging the page across the table to her. She skimmed it, then nodded resolutely and said "Miroku, I want you to find this 'Onigumo' person. Get me his court testimony, his address, anything you can find!"

"Love to, Doll" Miroku responded, a shallow smile on his lips, "but he died a week after the incident. He never testified in court."

A heavy silence fell over the group, their budding elation stomped as their lead shriveled to dust.

"The information was relegated to 'hear-say'" Miroku continued, "otherwise it probably woulda got Inuyasha the chair."

"Well I ain't gonna thank him for it" Inuyasha groused. "This guy is soundin' more like the culprit by the second."

Miroku shook his head though, pulling out another page and waving it before the glass as he said "Not likely. According to the report, this man was completely bed-ridden. He'd been caught in a warehouse fire, and suffered extensive burns. He could still hear, speak, and see out of one eye, but his limbs were useless." He pulled the paper back, filing it with the others and sighing heavily. "Sorry pal."

"Now wait" Kagome said softly, and Miroku stopped in his packing to meet her brown-eyed gaze. "I still don't buy all this. Even if he is dead there's gotta be some record of him somewhere. Find it. I don't care what it takes, I don't care how much it costs, find out whatever you can about this Onigumo person and bring it to me within a week. Got it? You start immediately."

He couldn't do anything but nod, her fierce gaze demanding his compliance. Inuyasha watched with subtle admiration as the detective obediently jotted down some more notes, gathered his things and excused himself to get started on the hunt. The minute he shut the door, Kagome slumped in her seat with an exhausted exhalation.

"What's got you beat?" he asked with amusement, glad to finally have her to himself.

She didn't answer at first, drawing idly on the margins of her notebook. She'd taken a few notes, but nothing as thorough as Miroku. "You're right" she said in a thin voice, "What reason do I have to be tired? It's not like I did anything useful today."

Baffled by her melancholy mood, Inuyasha searched his brain for something to say. Comforting others wasn't a natural gift of his, and the best he could offer was a half-hearted attempt at humor. "I dunno, you sent the lech runnin' with his tail between his legs!"

"Yeah, I sent him off to do more of the work I should be doing." Her mood was only heading south, and Inuyasha felt as lost as ever.

"What're ya talkin' about?" Trying to meet her eyes through the partition, he added "Lookin' for clues is his job, not yours!"

"And preparing you for court is supposed to be my job, not his." Her brows furrowed as she glared down at her notebook, the page now covered in more scribbles than writing. "I'm supposed to be coaching you how to respond and finding loopholes in the prosecution, not him. It's my job to map out your case and arm you with a solid defense. But still I never realized that there were suspects lying right under my nose, right there in your file!" With a groan her head fell to the table, her waves of hair cascading down to form a hideaway. Inuyasha had the sudden urge to reach out and brush those curls away, to hook a finger under her chin until he could see those shining eyes again and bring that smile back. Once more he cursed the glass between them.

"You ain't been that bad" he said with a smirk, but when she failed to react to his teasing, he was back to a frown. Tapping on the glass with a sharp claw, he began in a more serious voice "C'mon, you can't beat yourself up over this! So the flatfoot beat ya to a couple points, so what? He ain't my lawyer, and I wouldn't want him if he paid me! He's a sneak, it's probably in his blood to be quick on his feet. But I know for a fact he never woulda taken a chance on me… like you did."

He waited with bated breath, and finally Kagome stirred, sitting back in her chair with her hands in her lap. She still couldn't meet his eye.

"You're the one who got the ball rollin' on all this. If it weren't for you, there wouldn't even be a case, and we wouldn't be chasin' a suspect right now. You gotta give yourself more credit, Kagome."

Her head shot up so fast it seemed to startle them both. They sat in a silence full of thoughts and a nervous sort of energy. It was almost crushing and Inuyasha felt the need to break it.

"W-what? What'd I say?"

Kagome shook her head though, a quick "Nothing!" popping past her lips, but Inuyasha noticed that the corners turned up in a bright smile, and he let it slide. Whatever had happened, at least she was happy again.

"Was there anything else you wanted to talk about today?" She asked brightly, and her shining, trusting eyes brought back his thoughts from that morning. He still wanted to tell her, sure that if anyone would keep his secret safe, it would be this woman, but it was a big step, a giant leap forward in his journey of trust, and he found himself shrinking at the prospect.

"Next time" he said with a shrug, "You've got enough to work with for one day."

"I guess so" she said softly, packing up her own things and standing to leave. Brushing back a tuft of hair from her shoulder, she gave him a sweet smile and said "See you later, Inuyasha."

"Yeah… see ya, Kagome."

The blinding smile lit her face again, but she hurried out of the room before he could ask the reason.

*Author's Note:

Yikes it's been a while. Sorry. This is not abandoned, I swear.

NEXT TIME: Will Inuyasha finally share his real alibi? And what will Miroku's search for Onigumo turn up? These answers and more fluff coming (hopefully) soon!