A/N: Hojo vs Mrs. Higurashi 2
Who will win in this uneven match?

10. Before Gathered Witnesses

Hojo felt sweat run down his forehead when he was approaching the group sitting on a blanket. Inuyasha and Higurashi were the first ones who saw him - after all they were already looking his way. Hojo noticed that the girl moved closer to the boy and laid her hand on his forearm. She moved her lips as if whispering something, but it didn't look like anyone noticed.

"Oh?" Mrs. Higurashi looked up at Hojo and the police man who was walking just beside him. The police man's eyes were glued to Higurashi and Inuyasha, who were giving him wary looks. The police man, on the other hand, had in his eyes sparks of... Was it giddiness? Hojo spent a second just staring at the man. He had listened to Hojo's story, patiently letting him explain his off actions. He had shown interest and no will to ignore the school boy's concerns. On the contrary - he had suggested a confrontation.

Mrs. Higurashi cleared her throat and the police man blinked, looking at her.

"Ah, yes, forgive me," the police man introduced himself as Kyuubay Kaippou. "I came upon this young man when he was taking pictures of you and decided to investigate the matter. I think the boy has something to explain."

Hojo bit his bottom lip. He knew his situation could turn to really bad if he did something wrong. Souta and the trio were looking at him in confusion, Mrs. Higurashi and her father were frowning in concern, Higurashi was bitting her own lip and Inuyasha was positively glaring. The police man sat down, gesturing for Hojo to follow. The boy had told him all about his investigation and the kind officer had decided to approach the family about it. Hojo knew this was his once in a lifetime chance to face Inuyasha, reveal his shadowy activities and make everyone see him for who he really was. There was a lot at stake - he knew that his own actions could be considered stalking. He doubted that he'd have another chance to convince everyone Inuyasha was the bad guy here if he messed it up. The weight of responsibility and truth was great.

"Dear?" Mrs. Higurashi raised an eyebrow at the school boy. Hojo gave a small nod.

"I am sorry for taking the photos without your knowledge, Mrs. Higurashi. I was concerned about Higurashi's well being. A few months ago I had learned about her... Relationship with Inuyasha, from our friends," Hojo glanced at the trio who looked at Kagome with apology in their eyes. "They told me what she had told them - about a delinquent, two-timing bad boyfriend she was dating."

No one noticed that the police man helped himself to a rice ball. Everyone was looking at Hojo when he took out of his bag the red notebook. He saw various emotions on their faces and knew he had to present every data available to break the net of lies woven by Inuyasha.

"I decided to investigate for myself, to make sure Higurashi isn't in an abusive relationship and that this gang boy isn't taking advantage of her."

"Oh, Hojo..." started the trio, obviously anxious and giving everyone confused, apologetic and uncertain glances. Souta was just staring while Mr. Higurashi seemed to just observe the event with calmness of a saint.

Inuyasha growled, just like an angry dog. The trio glanced at him in surprise, but no member of Higurashi family - nor the officer - seemed shocked.

"I'm going to..." Inuyasha was about to stand up, apparently unable to hold his violent nature in control while everyone he was fooling was going to hear the truth about him. He flexed his hand, but at the same time officer Kyuubay raised his own hand.

"Sir... Please, let the boy say what he has to say," he pleaded, his voice very polite and calming. He gave Higurashi a pleading glance, as if hoping she could control the white-haired boy. Hojo didn't notice it, presenting his notebook to the rest. This was partially the reason he had decided to approach Higurashi family and friends - he knew that the police officer would help him if Inuyasha tried to harm him.

"I wrote the results in this notebook, here, see for yourselves," he said and pushed the notebook in Mrs. Higurashi's hands The police man had seen it already. Everyone leaned in to see the data while Kagome whispered something to Inuyasha. The boy glared daggers and sat down, crossing his arms in front of himself. "I collected the data from my observations, from Souta and you, Mrs. Higurashi, and from Yuka, Eri and Ayumi," Hojo said. He knew the group could read everything in the notebook.

Hojo felt some of the adrenaline leave his system, he felt his muscles relax a little. He felt much better when everyone's attention was focused not on his person, but on his work. He was a good thinker and more than capable of presenting his findings himself, but the glare Inuyasha was sending him was making him anxious. It was better to let the evidences speak for themselves.

Officer Kyuubay let everyone enough time to read the notebook. He was observing every emotion running through their faces, paying extra attention to the glaring white-haired suspect.

"I am sure it's just a misunderstanding, but just to be on the safe side and to put this young man's fears to rest I decided to confront you about this," he addressed the group in general, his emerald eyes drifting from Mrs. Higurashi to Inuyasha himself. "Can I ask for your ID, sir?"

Golden eyes blinked in confusion. Hojo barely kept a grin away from his face. He knew the kind police man was too nice, being so polite to a suspect. Mrs. Higurashi reached for her purse while her daughter paled.

"I think I took it when I was putting out documents in my bag," she said cheerfully and dug out a ID card. She glanced at it to make sure it was the correct one and then handed to the officer. Everyone could see Inuyasha's photo on it - without the scarf and with the dog ears. Hojo stared at it for a long moment. What sane person was posing to an ID photo while wearing a cosplay? What civilian office had accepted Inuyasha's photo? Then he glanced at the data beside the photo.

Inoue Inuyasha. Born... Address... Everything was there - stating Inuyasha was currently living in a small town near Tokyo, was eighteen and most certainly a citizen of Japan. The police officer took out of his pocket a phone and walked a few steps away to contact his office and have the ID checked. The rest of the group decided to use the few minutes of solitude.

"Hojo, why were you spying on us like this? We'd tell you everything you wanted to know!" said Higurashi, obviously hurt and angry. "We're friends!" Hojo lowered his head, he had suspected the girl would be angry at him at first, but believed he could make her trust him again - after all he was doing this to save her from a life with a criminal.

"As much as it seemed cool to investigate like a detective from your favorite movies," started Yuka.

"It's pretty twisted to spy on your friends," Eri shook her head. "I suspected you were too prefect and had to have some weird quirks..."

"And there we were thinking Inuyasha has jealously issues." Yuka patted Inuyasha's shoulder.

"Oi!"

"Guys, he was just worried, because he didn't know Inuyasha," Ayumi lifted her hands in a calming motion, Hojo frowned and gave a small nod. The white-haired boy growled.

"Sounds to me he really wants to get his ass handed to him," he muttered.

"Young man, watch your language," scolded him Higurashi's grandfather. Inuyasha just pouted. The awkward silence lasted just a minute.

"I just want Higurashi to be happy, with someone who's good to her," said Hojo softly. "I don't want you getting in any trouble because of someone lying to you and taking advantage of your kindness."

Higurashi opened her mouth to answer, but her mother waved the red notebook between the teens to make them look at her.

"I guess we should address all the things Hojo wrote," Mrs. Higurashi said and opened the red notebook again. "We can start now, there's no need to wait. We all want Kagome to be happy and we don't want anyone to feel there's something wrong. I think some secrets must be revealed," she stated. Higurashi stared at her mother.

"Mom..." she started. "I'm not sure..." her voice was weak and she was very anxious.

"Okay, Mrs. Higurashi, but first..." Yuka reached up a hand and pulled the scarf off Inuyasha's head. Two fuzzy triangles sprang up and then laid back when the boy glared at her. "Aww, they're so cute"

"No, they aren't!" Inuyasha leapt behind Kagome when Yuka and Eri reached up to the top of his head.

"They are!" squealed the girls at the fuzzy ears plastered against his skull.

"And they're off limits, guys," Higurashi said to prevent her friends from chasing Inuyasha around the blanket. "They're mine and they're sensitive to touch."

"Kids," Mrs. Higurashi said, raising her voice just enough to make the teens sit down and listen to her. "Inuyasha's ears, eye and hair color aren't a cosplay, but his real appearance," she sent her daughter a calming smile when Higurashi yelped and shook her head. "He was born this way. He inherited his coloring from his father and his ears are a result of a rare genetic mutation."

Both Inuyasha and Higurashi stared at the middle-aged woman in shock, while the trio was looking curious. Mr. Higurashi gave a wise nod.

"This illness is called Canis aurisa," he stated.

"Inuyasha keeps his ears hidden and doesn't like to talk about them because he had been bullied in school because of them. And this is partially why he's so gruff and can be a little on the hot-headed side. He was ofter pushed to fight other kids who were making fun of him, at least until doctor Kaede started home schooling him. As you may know she is an adoptive mother of both Inuyasha and Shippou," Mrs. Higurashi winked at her daughter and her boyfriend. Hojo blinked in surprise.

"A rare illness?" he breathed out. The woman nodded.

"Yes. He met Kagome when she started to attend a psychotherapy group," she explained. "In fact all members of their gang are just kids from the same group, led my doctor Kaede."

"Poor guys," said Ayumi, looking at the staring couple. Eri and Yuka glared at Hojo, who swallowed.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know," he started

"We didn't want people to know," Higurashi breathed and glanced at Inuyasha. He nodded dumbly when she nudged him.

"So... What's with the old outfit?" asked Ayumi, obviously trying to change the subject and make everyone less uncomfortable. Hojo felt like an idiot - he probably had made Inuyasha see him like the bullies he had encountered. At least the psychological issues made sense now, a bullied orphan was likely to have some. Inuyasha opened his mouth to answer.

"I made the boy wear it when he works around the shrine," said Mr. Higurashi with a smile. "It makes the visitors feel like they're crossing time when they visit the shrine. Most appropriate since we have a Tree of Ages on our shrine grounds, don't you say?"

Hojo opened his own mouth to ask a question, but at the same time he saw the officer returning with a smile on his face.

.

In a parking lot near the park stood a black limo. One window was opened, revealing a woman sitting inside and tilting her head as if listening intently to something. She was grinning while stroking a mark on her cheek.

"Are you sure this is the right way to deal with this situation?" asked a man sitting in the limo with her. His yellow eyes were fixed on a distant image of a group sitting on a blanket.

"Of course. Aiko has balls of steel and she could lie even to you without making you suspect a thing," the woman chuckled. "And you know we can't have the boy and the girls learning the truth, at least as long as they aren't involved with one of our kin. This is the law."

The man nodded. "Still, I think killing the boy would save time."

"Kagome would get suspicious and as soon as Inuyasha picked up the trail... We can't have them learning the truth either, son. You need to be more finessed, in this modern day you can't just kill people you don't like."

"Hn."

"For someone who has a sword that can't cut you're pretty violent," she teased him, but then turned her head back to observe the events in the park. The police officer was walking back to the group on the blanket.

A/N: Mrs. Higurashi appears to be really well-prepared, having answers for all Hojo's accusations. And from where did she get Inuyasha's ID?
Is it just me or is the police officer acting a little weird?
And look, black limo crew is lingering around!

I'm kinda excited that the fic's coming to the end. I also feel a bit anxious about it too. How was it so far?