A/N: Hojo starts to realize how deep and wide is the underground world. But he will surely overcome his fears, doubts and confusion - after all he's the good guy and good guys always win.
Right...?

9. Photos in a Park

Four days passed since that fateful day in the library. Hojo was sitting on a bench in a park. He was holding a bottle of orange juice in both hands. He had his backpack on the bench beside himself. It was almost empty - he had there only a set of pencils, a few gadgets, a small first aid kit, a camera, his phone and wallet. And a red notebook.

The backpack had miraculously appeared beside the front door of his house the same day he had fled the library, just a few hours after his return. Nothing had been stolen. The only one thing different was the red notebook itself. All the pages filled with his neat handwriting were gone. Instead on the inside of the cover there was a single sentence, written by a calligraphic master with a brush so thin and with lines so delicate it looked almost otherworldly.

Hojo brought the memory of that page with ease. His mind eye followed the soft strokes forming the sentence:

"Pups who dig in someone else's yard get their claws trimmed.
Noble Mother"

He felt a wave of heat when he thought about the meaning behind this statement. It seemed innocent, but he knew better - it was a threat. It was a reminder, a warning he should stop whatever he was doing.

The name - Noble Mother - it didn't make sense. Who would sign such a warning with so odd name?

Now he regretted running away from the library, especially because the librarian had been so friendly. But her knowledge about a Inuyasha and having the same last name the gang boy was supposed to bear... It was too much for the poor boy to take in, too fast. He had needed a breather, he hadn't been scared, just spooked and too anxious. Hojo was a calm person, keeping away from any suspicious things and people. Now he was entering a totally different world and the amount of tension was sometimes too much to handle.

And then, when he had calmed down and decided to return to the library, the bag had returned to him - probably the nice librarian had brought it to his house when her work was over, after all his wallet had been inside. He'd go see her and ask about that legend book, but the changes to his notebook were keeping him away from the library. Even if she wasn't the one who had written the note she probably knew who had done it.

Maybe he should pay Mrs. Akita a visit and try to convince her to tell him things? She surely had to know something.

Or maybe she was the Noble Mother?

When he had started his investigation he had expected that he'd lave to deal only with Inuyasha's gang. Now he felt like a lone warrior of justice facing the whole world of crime. It was impressing how wide was the web of the underworld society. He'd never suspect a librarian working in a kid's reading room in a public library to have connections in the dark underworld.

Hojo knew that the harmless looking predators were the worst. That was why he didn't like having a cat or a dog as a pet - they were carnivores. A turtle or a hamster were much better in his opinion.

Hojo shook his head when he realized his thoughts were straying away from the important matters. Now he had better understanding of the dangerous world Inuyasha was dragging his innocent Higurashi. And his determination to save her grew, even if he was perfectly aware how dangerous his path was.

He believed in himself and knew with that attitude he was going to win.

Good guys were always winning in the end, getting the love of their lives and showing the truth about everything the bad guys were trying to hide. This is why he refilled the notebook with all the data he had and decided to add more. Was there more noble deed than to save an innocent girl?

Hojo was in the park he knew Higurashi liked to visit. It was small and away from main streets, not many people were visiting it so it felt more private and secluded. Only a few kids and older people from the neighborhood were coming to this place. Higurashi family was often spending their Sundays in this park. It was only them in the park right now, the kids who had been playing nearby a couple of minutes ago had ran somewhere else.

A thick bush was hiding Hojo's bench from the place where the Shrine keepers were sitting on a blanket and sharing food while laughing and talking. Inuyasha was with them, clad in his old-fashioned kimono and with a red scarf around his head. Hojo took a picture - he caught Mrs. Higurashi handing a cup to the old man, Inuyasha taking a bite of a rice ball and Souta leaning in towards his sister to tell her something.

The school boy's eyes lingered on the scarf. One could think it was to cover his ears fro the wind. But Hojo knew it was not to cover his real ears - it was to hide his cosplay ones. Utterly pointless in Hojo's opinion, but maybe taking them off and putting on later was too much hassle? Or maybe they were glued to his wig?

He took a picture of the top of Inuyasha's head - the triangles were easily noticeable. Hojo frowned when he looked at the picture - Higurashi was wiping some rice from the tip of Inuyasha's nose and the boy was blushing.

They looked so ordinary, having a picnic like this during an early Sunday afternoon. Hojo laid his camera in his lap and sighed. He suddenly felt like a sick stalker, observing them like that. It was for better - Higurashi's - good, but it still felt wrong. He knew he should finish his case quickly. When he had came to the park he had thought he'd catch Inuyasha doing something suspicious. but the other boy was acting like a perfectly ordinary teen sharing a picnic with his girlfriend and her family. He didn't even shout at anyone yet.

Suddenly Souta threw a cooked egg at the older boy. probably because he had said something. Inuyasha had no chance to catch it.

He did. With his mouth. The younger boy groaned theatrically while the rest of the family laughed and Inuyasha swallowed the egg, almost without chewing on it.

Hojo sighed inwardly. One thing was for sure - the gang boy was agile and was a glutton. But nothing he had done today was abnormal for most teens. The school boy watched a mock chopstick-battle for some food between Inuyasha and Mr. Higurashi, Souta cheering loudly for both fighters while Mrs. Higurashi was covering her grin behind a hand and her daughter was scowling at both males. A pickle sprang up from between the chopsticks and was caught by Inuyasha who let loose a happy cry of victory, which quickly changed in a whine of pain when Higurashi elbowed his ribs. The dropped pickle was caught by Mr. Higurashi who said something with an air of dignity and put the pickle in his mouth. Hojo, who had took a picture of the battle more to do something with his hands than to document it, sighed again. The whole taking photos which would prove him right thing wasn't going according to his predictions.

Suddenly he saw three girls running from a pathway to the spot where the family was sitting, Higurashi standing up to greet her school friends. Hojo felt a pang of jealously when he heard bits of conversation shared between the excited girls - it seemed Yuka, Eri and Ayumi were a little late for the picnic Higurashi had invited them to. Hojo was never invited. He was observing the girls sit around the blanket. Yuka and Ayumi sitting on both sides of the gang boy and grinning at scowling Higurashi while Eri took out of her bag her own camera and started taking photos featuring her friends and a panicked boy.

"They look nice, right?" came a voice from Hojo's left. The boy almost dropped his camera when he turned his head to the side to see a police man sitting next to him on the bench. The guy was observing Hojo with emerald green eyes full of curiosity. He was middle-aged and a little overweight, but not to the point where running after a suspect would be too hard for him. He had a friendly smile, a little too wide to be considered honest. "So, son, why are you spending the evening taking photos of an unsuspecting family?"

Inuyasha and Kagome both tensed and turned their heads slowly to face a big bush, their movements akin to motions of a predator sensing another dangerous hunter in the vicinity.

A/N: Oooops!
It looks like the shit is approaching the fan...

Ok, let's make a deal. If I get 40 or more reviews under this story on FFnet I'll write an epilogue featuring some of the mysterious characters... Or I can just do Q&A, whatever works for you?

id:12760323