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Chapter Seventeen: Us and Hell

"And just where are we going?"

"Somewhere."

"Smart ass."

Kagome sighed and leaned back against the dark leather seat, vaguely realizing that she was growing accustomed to being in that particular position. Of being with him.

"It's nice to know you think so," Inuyasha said innocently and smirked when he noticed her tight expression. He laughed, causing Kagome to ease a bit and then laugh herself.

She wasn't entirely sure of what she was feeling, of what she felt. But Kagome knew that there was something there inside of him that she wanted.

That she needed.

Stupid Inuyasha.

It was the same old talk she had been giving herself for the past couple weeks. Did she like Inuyasha? Well, she'd have to know the definition of like to understand that. Did she love Inuyasha? …Did she?

Did he like her? Did he love her?

Did she ever stop with all the questions?

No, and that had to be the only question that she could easily answer. Sadly.

A silence fell over the two and Kagome once again looked out the window, trying to find any recollection of where she was and finding none. They had passed the main road and were now going down a street that held a lot of homes and families. They had passed several and Kagome grew even more curious as to where they were going.

She turned in her seat to face him but before she could even open her mouth, Inuyasha shook his head. "I'm not telling."

Kagome frowned and looked back out the window.

"Unnerving how I'm starting to be able to read you, huh?"

Kagome turned with a wry expression on her face. "Reading me? That's new. How did you learn to do that?"

"Feh," Inuyasha murmured and Kagome almost laughed.

Every time they got close to approaching the subject of their so-called relationship, they both shied away from it. Kagome had for her own personal reasons; reasons he didn't have to know about just yet. Kagome knew she wasn't quite ready to confess her entire past and she wasn't sure if he was ready to hear it.

He probably just didn't want the commitment.

But was that all that was going to happen that one night? Were they just going to sleep together and then write it off as a leave of stress?

Kagome swallowed the lump that formed in her throat and tried to shake off the wave of nausea that hit her. What did that just tell her?

Kagome shook her head. She wouldn't think about it. Not yet.

It was just…bad timing. That was it. End of story.

Kagome laughed to herself, the sound both humourless and dry. How the hell had this all start?

"Shit," Inuyasha cursed softly and then hesitated a bit before slowing the car down and pulling it to the side of the road.

"Are we here?" Kagome asked, somewhat laconic. "Already?"

This time Inuyasha cursed loudly, turning to face her. "Jesus, Kagome-"

"I don't want to talk about it," she said. Her voice was matter-of-fact and held some hurt in it. "I don't want to discuss it because that's all we seem to ever do if we even get close to the subject and every time the same thing happens. We get caught up, feeling emotions that just never seem to last more than a couple hours and then I get hurt. Maybe you do too, I don't know but what I do know is that I get the cold shoulder about all this."

"It shouldn't be like that," Inuyasha said softly, looking at her. "How many times did-?"

"Twice," Kagome answered, cutting him off before he could finish. She didn't think she could survive it. "Twice something happened between us that we couldn't stop."

"Why not?" Inuyasha asked, more to himself than Kagome. "Why can't you?"

Kagome looked away and out the window, her body pressed against the seat and as Inuyasha watched her, he noticed how vulnerable she looked, how open. "It's the timing," she said finally. "It's just that with everything that's been happening, all the loss, the deaths, the pain… We need some way to stop thinking about it and well, we all know what some people do when they need some sort of comfort."

Inuyasha stared at her incredulously, thinking that that couldn't be the reason. He wouldn't do that to her, would he? Inuyasha tried to sort out through his emotions, trying to figure out exactly what he felt for her. What scared him the most was when he actually found an answer.

He didn't know.

He couldn't say he loved her, not because of anything that she'd done but because he wasn't sure of himself. Though he couldn't deny that he was attracted to her, he didn't want anything to start just because of it. He hadn't been aware that all he felt for Kagome was pure lust but…how else could he explain it?

Just the thought of what he'd been doing caused him to wince. But if it had been just lust then…why did it feel like much more?

He didn't bother to think that question further, just taking what he could about the matter at hand. "Hell."

"Not nearly," Kagome muttered. "Not just yet."

"Jesus I'm sorry Kagome, I didn't mean to…" he trailed off, unsure that he could actually say what he wanted to.

Kagome shook her head. "Don't apologize, it's probably all my fault."

When Inuyasha just looked at her, she smiled weakly. "I was just a woman who seemed vulnerable to you. Maybe not at first, but once you experienced what I felt, heard portions of the voices, went inside my mind, felt my…craving for normalcy. It's natural for someone to feel obligated to protect something that could be hurt, shattered. Like say you had a stuffed animal that belonged to your grandfather. When he passed away it was given to your mother and then finally given to you after you had a terrible nightmare. You do anything in your power to protect that little thing from the dog or the cat, sometimes you make a fake bed for it or you never let it out of your sight in case something does happen. It's natural, it's human instinct. It's how we survive in this world. So when you saw me, all alone, trying to get by this…this problem I had, you fought to protect me."

Inuyasha's mouth formed a tight line and he couldn't help but let out the bit of strain he felt even though he tried to cover it up. "And when I felt your need to no longer be alone I tried to fix that. Great, now it all makes perfect sense."

Korari Takeda sighed as she methodically tapped her fingers on the desk before her. As good as the pay was, Korari couldn't help but feel bored when she went to work and she neither enjoyed it nor looked forward to it. Though the work was simple enough, Korari vaguely thought that that was part of the problem. She needed a challenge of some sort to get herself going.

"Korari, how are you doing?"

Startled, Korari turned to see a tall dark haired man with hair that reached to almost his hips. Deep red lips that to anyone that dare think it would be feminine and piercing red eyes that could hold you in place. He was some sort of demon though Korari had never talked to him about anything like that. Demons and humans lived together, whether someone would go far enough to say peacefully was another matter but they tolerated it.

Sighing somewhat in relief, she smiled. "Oh, I'm fine Mr. Morikawa, you?"

Naraku Morikawa shook his head; a small laugh that seemed caught in his throat the only sound. "How many times do I have to tell you to just call me Naraku?"

"Sorry sir- Naraku. Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Not at all. I'm about to leave for the station in minutes time so if you finish your work, you might as well just lock the place up and go home for the rest of the night."

Korari winced. "I'm sorry to get you involved Naraku. I just needed a witness to say Nazuna and I had really been out that night."

"Oh that's okay," Naraku said easily. "Don't worry about it. Weren't you planning on going out again tonight?"

Korari nodded, all of her senses on edge. "Actually…yes. I'm going with Nazuna and Tsubaki. How'd you know?"

"Tsubaki told me," Naraku said, obviously not noticing her discomfort. "Remember when you arranged for Mr. Mizuka and me to have a meeting? Afterwards we went out for a drink and I met his family at the restaurant beside it when I was leaving. They're a very nice family, quite easy-going. Actually, I'm seeing them tomorrow morning."

"Oh," Korari said, not sure of what else to say.

"Well, goodnight Korari. Lock the place up when you're done."

And with that, he was gone.

The rest of the car ride to only God –and Inuyasha- knew where, remained uncomfortably silent but neither of them tried to break it. After the painful and blunt conversation, there was nothing more to really talk about.

Kagome hoped anyways.

She remembered the final words she said and the way that Inuyasha made no response. If only he knew how much it hurt to say it. Did she understand her feelings for him? No. Did she want to distance herself from him? No.

But did she want to bring herself into a lie and when this was all over watch it as it was completely destroyed her in a second?

No.

Kagome thought for a moment and then a sudden excitement filled her. "Hey Inuyasha," she said, too eager to remember why the truck was so silent. "Do you have a piece of paper and pen?"

Inuyasha looked around and opened the side compartment beside his chair that separated him and Kagome. "Here," he said as he handed her a pen. When he couldn't find a piece of paper, he told Kagome to see if she could find a black notebook under her chair and that she could rip out a page from that.

"Why do you want it?" he asked when she started scribbling something over the paper, her neat handwriting filling the page.

"I'm still an author you know. Miroku, as my agent, has let me take this time off because of what I'm doing for the police but it doesn't stop me from getting ideas."

Shrugging, Inuyasha kept driving until they reached their destination. The famous Sleep Inn was probably the only thing that was built fairly recently, the rest of the town nothing less than ancient.

"Come on," Inuyasha said somewhat gruffly and got out, Kagome following behind.

"Why are we here?" Kagome asked, trying to keep up with his fast pace.

"Sesshomaru and Kagura are staying here though I don't see their car. They might be out since it is lunch."

Kagome could feel the harshness in his words and Kagome knew for a fact that it was hurting him.

And her too, dammit.

But she kept her mouth shut, letting all of her anger seep into the back of her mind. She followed him into the building and watched as he sauntered over to the receptionist. He showed his badge to her and in a firm voice asked if Sesshomaru had left the building. Kagome listened in horror at the tone of his voice and couldn't believe the amazing amount of cruelty in it.

"Yes sir," she said, her voice shaking slightly. "Around twenty minutes ago, with his wife I believe."

Kagome smiled at the fact that the receptionist thought that Kagura was Sesshomaru's wife.

"Then can I have a card key? It's for the ongoing investigation."

"Oh, about the murders?" she asked, shocked. "Then of course!"

The receptionist actually had no right to give him the keys but Kagome thought that she too would have been terrified about it all. Everyone was, even some of the men because there was no full proof that the next victim would be female. It was just as possible that it would be male.

Without thanking her, Inuyasha grabbed the keys and turned around and headed for the elevators. Kagome gave the girl a sympathetic glance and then dashed off to catch up with Inuyasha. She knew what she had to do.

When they got in the elevator and the doors closed, Kagome turned to face him. "What the hell was that all about? You have no right to act that way towards her!"

"Why do you care?" Inuyasha asked her, his anger coming forth.

"Because you were being an egotistical bastard and acting like you're in grade two! We made an agreement Inuyasha, what do you want me to do about it?"

Inuyasha shut up then and looked away, watching as they finally reached the fourth floor and the doors opened. Using the key the receptionist gave him Inuyasha entered the room and sat down on one of the overstuffed sofas all plain, boring rooms hotels had. Kagome shut the door and sat down beside him.

Thinking back to his anger towards her and everyone else, she remembered the reason why. Those painful words that they both agreed on, both came up with and both decided would be for the best.

"Maybe we shouldn't get involved," Kagome said solemnly, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to spill.

Inuyasha smelt the tears but kept his face emotionless. He couldn't deal with these murders and his love life. She was right, as much as he didn't want to admit. "You're right, we shouldn't. It was bad timing and with everything that's going on…"

"…We need to focus all our energy on catching this murderer."

"So…that's it?"

Kagome nodded, turning away so Inuyasha wouldn't see the single tear that rolled down her cheek, even though she knew he could smell it. "Yeah. That's it."

"Why are we here?" Kagome asked abruptly, trying to rid herself of the painful recent memory. She vaguely wondered if she was going to get any sleep that night.

Unknowingly to Kagome, Inuyasha was thinking along the same lines as the girl next to him and was thankful when she spoke. "You know how Sesshomaru has the idea that this ties into the series of murders that happened five years ago? Well, I wanted to meet him so we could gather all the similar aspects and all the different aspects and see if this is just a copycat –which it could possibly be-, if it's the same killer or if it's a completely new one."

Kagome nodded in understanding but whatever she was going to say back to him was forgotten when two people walked into the room: Sesshomaru and Kagura.

"Why are you here?" Sesshomaru asked tediously, if not bluntly when he made his way towards them.

"To talk about five years ago," Inuyasha stated mildly, obviously used to the way Sesshomaru so coldly treated him. "I thought you could help since you literally forced yourself into the investigation back when Rin was…killed and since now you imposed yourself on this one."

Kagura laughed and shook her head. "He's just as arrogant as you are," she told Sesshomaru who rolled his eyes and said nothing.

"Please Sesshomaru, can you help us? We'd really appreciate it," Kagome said, hope in her eyes as she gazed steadily towards the demon.

It was then that something powerful struck Sesshomaru.

It wasn't tangible and it wasn't visible but it hurt as much as a stab to his heart.

More or less, that was exactly what it was.

'Rin…'

Sesshomaru stared at Kagome wide-eyed, scaring both Inuyasha and Kagura though Kagome seemed to not have noticed it most likely because she hadn't known him all that long. His jaw was taught, his mouth slightly agape, and his eyes searching, wondering and…hurting.

He remembered every single memory, every single word and every single smile she had given him. He had been on a case about a serial killer/ rapist who had killed five different women. The fifth one had been tall and slender with blonde locks and forest green eyes. When he had gone in search of the family, he was shocked to learn that she had none other than a little girl who she had taken care of. Legally, the woman didn't have Rin as her own so Rin would have had to been forced to go into the foster care system. Just imagining the poor child, as innocent and heartbroken as she was, with some family who probably wouldn't give a shit about it anyways, made Sesshomaru feel funny. So in the end he adopted her.

It seemed he had a heart after all. And then she was murdered.

Sesshomaru finally snapped out of his thoughts and blinked. Kagome was just like Rin, he realized gravely. Their minds were the exact same, the way they addressed something, acted, talked…

"Then get out a piece of paper and let's start," Sesshomaru said quietly.

Together, they all worked out several differences and similarities between the attacks. "It's the same pattern," Inuyasha said after a while of studying. "One victim, every week. And if it does stay along the right path, it would be once every five years and for four weeks. Meaning…"

"Meaning we have two more victims to go," Kagura said grimly. "Of course, the M.O always changes in a way. One could be shot while the other is stabbed."

"Only because they were killed for different reasons that all created one solid purpose," Kagome explained.

Tell them…the voice whispered.

Kagome took a deep breath. "So, Kikyo was the trigger, the reason this all started let's say if it's the same killer. Kikyo was killed because it brought on the strong emotions inside so it's safe to say that she was killed for being herself. Rin –I'm sorry- was killed for her personality. Faye was killed for her eyes since the killer decided to burn them out with acid and Koharu was killed for her hair since they shaved it off."

Inuyasha squinted his eyes in suspicion. How did she know so much about their deaths? They had gone into slight detail but nothing big enough to let on all that. "What about these killings?" he asked.

Kagome shrugged. "There wasn't a trigger this time I don't think, mostly because this killer seems to have a specific time table or pattern. This is around the same time Kikyo, the first victim, was murdered so it makes sense. I believe that Yuri was murdered for her hair or looks, due to the way she was cut up. Um, Kirara was murdered for her personality because by chopping her up the way she did; it could be symbolic for destroying her soul just by mutilating her body."

"So if the pattern follows," Inuyasha continued. "That means someone will be killed for their eyes and for just being who they are –unless the latter is changed."

Sesshomaru looked at the piece of paper with all the information and shook his head. "I won't change because this time, it's much more personal." And just when they thought they had things figured out, hours later Miroku called, his voice frantic.

Next Chapter: Amendment- Nazuna had a plan already formed in her brain. First she was going to talk to him and then she was going to slap him and continue dancing the night away. Both simple and realistic. Sex on the Beach really did help you come up with great plans.

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