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Chapter Twenty: Too Close

If Kagome hadn't already known what the body of Nazuna Orikasa had looked like, she probably would've thrown up most of the day. But she did know and only managed to throw up five times.

Sango though, wasn't so lucky and Inuyasha even tossed in a couple.

Pleasant as it was, the group had to stand by as Hachi gave a preliminary. You could barely recognize the girl known as Nazuna.

Brown locks scattered on the floor like a fan and skin about as white as fallen snow, she almost didn't look real. It couldn't have helped either that her eyes were carved out, professionally and without too much mess. It was as if the killer took special care in its doing.

Hachi suppressed a grimace as he looked at the sick-to-their-stomach group. "Well the cause of death was a blow to the head. Here, at the back of her skull and I'd say it was done with a baseball bat. I'll be able to determine what kind later on. She's been brutally beaten, injuries at every inch of her body: her feet with a couple fractured toes, her legs with swelling and blood that has rushed to the muscle, her stomach is particularly bad but her chest and arms are no exception. Her face and neck however, is untouched other than the fatal blow."

Inuyasha frowned, looking a little pale. "So she was beaten and then killed?"

Hachi thought for a minute as he examined the body and Inuyasha almost gave up on the answer when it finally came. "No. The bruises were post-mortem, as well as the carving of the eyes."

"And then the jewel shard was put there in the hollow sockets. What I don't get though," Sango said, her face looking at Inuyasha and purposely not at the body, "is that a cloth was put over her face."

"Maybe to give a bigger surprise?" Inuyasha suggested.

"No," Kagome said. "The cloth was put on before the eyes were taken out and before she was beaten."

Inuyasha eyed her but said nothing, saving it for later. "So the cloth was put there because…the killer knew her?"

"As good as a guess as any," Kagome stated. "I'd bet on that though. With a cloth over Nazuna's face, the killer wouldn't have to see who they were killing. It kept them focused. I think our killer is starting to waver."

Sango nodded. "I agree. Perhaps it was a test he gave himself? A step up or more of a challenge then killing people he didn't really know."

"All viable possibilities," Inuyasha concluded. "This time we should do a deeper search of friends and family; possibly try to connect some with the other victims. I also want to revisit the people we've already talked to. Hopefully they'll add something they missed before."

Inuyasha nodded to Hachi who wrapped the body up and both him and Sango were about to leave when Kagome started to whisper.

"You're forgetting one more thing," Kagome hissed, her voice darker and deeper than usual. It was still feminine but slightly different, more hushed, more of a monotone. "You left out the final equation: Ami."

Inuyasha walked back to Kagome and put his hands on her shoulders. "Talk to me Kagome, don't go too deep. Why did the killer bring Ami into this?"

"She was already in it," Kagome whispered, tilting her head slightly to the right as if hearing sounds from a faraway place. "She was in it from the very beginning."

"How?"

"The universe doesn't take kindly to those that take more than they can give. You're crossing that line Inuyasha. Don't cross the line."

A shiver ran up and down his spine but he pressed on. "How?"

"Ask too many questions that specific and you may just get your answer, in a way that may kill you."

Inuyasha blinked and looked at Kagome's oddly distant glare. Her eyes were glazed over and the brown in her eyes was almost gone. "What can you tell me?"

"Everything and anything, as long as you don't ask."

Sango turned to look at Inuyasha and Kagome. "If Ami was in this from the beginning, was Nazuna?"

Kagome smiled wickedly and laughed brutally. "No, Nazuna was never supposed to be in the equation. She was…an addition that threw everything off."

"And Ami?" Sango pressed on.

"Ami had to suffer," Kagome whispered harshly. "She deserved to die, she was supposed to die. And then she got in the way."

"Assuming Nazuna is 'she,'" Inuyasha told Sango. "What did Nazuna do to freak out the killer? Did she find out something?"

"She died for what she knew. She was punished for her knowledge and suffered for it too." Kagome's wicked smile was back and as Inuyasha studied her face, he noticed her eyes glazed over more, her brown eyes were now completely black and it contrasted to the white around it. She was falling too deep.

"Kagome, back up. Get out," Inuyasha ordered.

"Screw off," Kagome said flippantly. "You've hurt me enough. I hate how you treat me and how you hate me on something we both agreed on."

The deep voice was still there and Inuyasha knew that it wasn't Kagome talking. And yet, he was almost positive the words rang true. It wasn't Kagome speaking, it was her mind, her soul.

"Things screwed up so badly…you hurt me Inuyasha…I was winning, I would've killed her...I'll never finish…I would've killed them all…get away I didn't kill her…she's just going to have to die."

"Goddammit Kagome, stop!" Inuyasha cursed and suddenly, she blinked.

"Hmm?" Kagome murmured; her voice foggy and raw. It was as if she hadn't spoken in a long while and it was the first time in months that she had the ability to. It was scary to witness and even scarier to live.

"Sango, get her out of here please," Inuyasha ordered somewhat briskly and warily the second-in-command officer did as she was told.

Kagome didn't fight or offer any comments to stay behind. She was confused and overwhelmed. There was just so much to think about: why she kept bringing up the subject of her and Inuyasha's choice, the stories that she hid from them, the constant hurry-up reminder from her imaginary friend and the murders.

She was going to need years of therapy after this.

After her and Sango left the room, Inuyasha stood and watched as Hachi and his assistant took the body out of the room and waited in silence. He wasn't really sure of what to do next. Though neither of them knew it, they were both thinking along the same lines. Everything between them, the murders, the talk… All of it was a constant factor of how things worked out and Inuyasha wasn't all that sure that he knew what he was doing.

Control was something he knew he was losing and losing fast. Inuyasha just hoped he'd have enough of it by the end of it to catch this killer. And make him pay.

"Chief?"

Inuyasha turned around casually and looked over to see Kouga, standing at the doorway of Ami's apartment. "Oh, hey," Inuyasha said fairly indifferent.

"You okay?" Kouga asked, walking up to him and giving him a questioning glance.

It was then that Inuyasha became extremely afraid. "Who the hell are you?" he asked in all sincerity. "Because you sure as hell aren't Kouga Matsuno."

Laughing -albeit shortly- Kouga shook his head. "I'm not that bad, am I?"

"Do you hear half the things you say?" Inuyasha snorted and scowled. "Anyways, I'm about as okay as any guy that's dealing with a serial killer."

"Three's the charm, huh?"

From the look Inuyasha shot Kouga, he knew that he was playing with dangerously. Like a child experimenting with matches in a room filled with gasoline.

Finally, Inuyasha just shrugged. "Yeah, I guess."

"What do you think about Kagome's input on all of this?" Kouga asked suddenly, not looking at the chief while doing so.

Flabbergasted to the point that he didn't know if he could speak, Inuyasha once again shrugged. "I'm not really sure," he said after he found the words. "She's one hell of a woman."

Kouga smirked. "I'll bet. I wonder how long you guys will last."

"What do you mean? We're not together Matsuno; I don't mix business with pleasure."

"It's not pleasure you're after chief, I think it's commitment. As much as I'd like to have her, she literally already yours. And don't start growling at me because you know I'm right. It's been like that from the beginning. Call it fate."

Inuyasha gave Kouga a sardonic glance and smirked despite himself. "I didn't know you were into fate and stuff like that Matsuno."

It was a while before Kouga answered and when he did, Inuyasha didn't know whether to shoot Kouga or himself for all the truth in it. "I'm not but I do know that the inevitable is pretty hard to change and once something is already there, it's pretty hard to take away."

"We're talking about me and a woman who would castrate me if I didn't amuse her every five minutes."

Kouga immediately grimaced. "Well, it's like that old saying: Hell has no fury like love to hatred turned or heaven like a woman scorned."

"I think you've read a few too many fortune cookies."

"Perhaps but that doesn't stop me from being right."

When Kouga walked away, Inuyasha stood there all alone, looking after him thinking just how much he was undoubtedly right.

"Kagome, shit, are you okay?" Miroku asked as he stepped out of the door to the house that they shared. "I would never have left if I knew…I didn't want…"

Kagome managed a weak smile and shook her head. "It's not your fault Miroku. Stop beating yourself up about it, please."

Miroku seemed to hesitate before sighing explosively and turning away to look at the insides of the shrine, the door still open. "But still," he murmured, shaking his head and purposely not looking at her. "How thick is the tension?"

"Considering the fact that this guy is now officially a serial killer and three women have been brutally murdered and we have shit for leads, it's pretty tense." Kagome shrugged. "I'm going to show him."

This time, he did look at her. "What?"

"It's time they read it, the stories," Kagome said firmly, frowning. "It's funny how my mind so easily made that decision now."

"And before you had mixed feelings?" Miroku asked. "I still don't get-"

"Don't," Kagome warned. "I can't explain it and I'm going to have enough trouble with Inuyasha as it is."

The two started to walk into the shrine, both of them edgy of the other. Kagome had returned to her house because Inuyasha had called a press conference that night and Sango was talking to family and friends of Nazuna Orikasa. "Is something going on between you two?" Miroku asked curiously, a frown appearing on his face. "You guys haven't exactly been friendly lately and even Sango's noticed it though she's about as clueless as me for the reason."

Once again, Kagome shrugged. "Nothing happened."

"But, weren't you…together, sort of? I mean…it looked like it and they way you looked at him was clear enough but now? You two seem to be having some sort of silent war."

Kagome laughed bitterly, speaking painfully as each mournful word made its way out. "Distraction is not what you need when you're trying to solve murders. I have too much baggage and Inuyasha has too much stress. It would never have worked and we're both realistic enough to see that."

Kagome walked on, leaving Miroku to stand there. He watched her as she entered her bedroom and vaguely hearing the sound of Kagome's sobbing, the weight and pressure of it all too much. He listened as she threw what he thought were a couple of books, clothes and random objects of decoration at the walls. Miroku heard the sound of her punching her pillow, almost inaudible groans and shrieks of anger leaving her after she threw a punch with all her energy.

But for the life of him, Miroku couldn't understand what the hell Kagome just told him. Kagome didn't give up. Never.

And now she was just going to let the only guy she's ever let into her life long enough to fall in love with walk away?

Hell no, not if he could stop it.

The next morning, Kagome, Kagura and Sesshomaru sat in the conference room.

"Our guy might have been a serial killer from the beginning," Sesshomaru stated as he handed Kagome a chart comparing the murders of 2001 when Kikyo, Rin, Faye and Koharu were murdered to the murders of 2006 where so far, Yuri, Kirara and Nazuna have been murdered.

"We matched the M.O and paired each victim," Kagura continued on, "with one from the past or present. We took into consideration what you said, how each of the victims were killed: hair, eyes, personality and finally the trigger or what is the main representative. Since we only have normal photos of Rin Noto, Koharu Irvin, Yuri Wadena and Kirara Nekomata we can't exactly study further to do research."

"What about the shots taken at the morgue?" Kagome asked. "Surely you'd have those."

Sesshomaru shook his head. "Kikyo Hidaka didn't have any family and mostly kept to herself. We're trying to dig up a picture of her, from her old schools and such. Faye Richards though, as you said, was killed for her eyes. The acid the killer used to burn them out did a number on her face, completely mutilating it so we're trying to get one as well. Officer Kakazu is doing that for us."

"Is Ayame also getting a picture of Nazuna?" Kagome asked.

"No, Sango is," Kagura confirmed. "I feel bad for her, talking to the entire family and friends. It must be hard."

"But no one is better."

Turning around, the group saw Inuyasha come in with Miroku following behind. "Any news?"

Kagura informed Inuyasha of everything they had told Kagome and Inuyasha sent Kouga to get a board and whatever pictures they had to put them up.

"Do you think this could bring us to our final victim?" Inuyasha asked.

"Well, I think we've established that so far this year, our victims have been killed for hair, personality and now eyes. The final should be the trigger or what is really causing all the turmoil within our guy," Sesshomaru said.

"What about the jewel?" Kagome asked. "Can I see the pieces?"

Waiting for Inuyasha to bring the jewel, Kagome studied it when it finally came to her. "From what I can tell," Kagome said, holding her half of the jewel around her neck, "each piece is an eighth. So far, we have seven-eighths of the jewel."

"So then this really could be the reason for all the killings, this year and the year before. It all boils down to this," Miroku said. "Once every five years, the killer will murder four women, once per seven days."

"What I really want to know," Inuyasha said, "is two things. One: how does the killer have the second half of Kagome's jewel when the other half is with her mother? And two: how the hell did you know about this Kagome? How did you know?"

"I already told you," Kagome whispered harshly, venom in each word.

"Oh, that's right, the voices. Hmm, too bad that helps me zip. How do I know Kagome? How do I really know you're not the killer?"

"You were with me the night Kirara was murdered," Kagome spat, each word getting louder as her temper started to rise. She couldn't believe he was doing this.

"Then how do I know you're not an accomplice? Explain that Kagome."

Inuyasha's eyes dared her and Kagome didn't back down, her own chocolate gaze fierce. "Fine, you want to know, I'll let you know. We're going to my place and then, after you're done, we're going to take a little Goddamn visit through my mind. How's that? Maybe then, just once, you'll trust me since I wasn't trusted enough by you to love me, even without my baggage."

"I can't believe it," Tsubaki breathed between sobs. "She's gone; I should've stayed with her. I shouldn't have left the club that night!"

Sango reached across the table for Tsubaki's hand and held it. She did her best to calm Tsubaki down and when Tsubaki's sobs were just painful whimpers, Sango continued.

"Why did you leave?"

"I was scared," Tsubaki admitted, looking down at her hands that were in tight fists. "With what happened with Naraku and everything…I couldn't handle it. I ran. And Nazuna paid the price."

Tsubaki grabbed Sango's shirt tightly and buried her face within it, sobs once more wracking the girl's body, and both sorry and hurting, Sango rubbed her back.

Being a police officer was one shitty job during times like this. Information was needed ASAP but families and friends still needed to grieve. Taking information out of them was cruel and though Sango knew she did it slowly and comfortingly, she would never be able to stop the pain the people felt.

Nazuna's parents, her college friends, neighbours, Shippo, Korari and now Tsubaki all held pain and sorrow.

"Now I won't be able to go on that trip we planned together for my birthday!" Tsubaki wailed. "We were going to have so much…f-fun."

"And when's your birthday?" Sango asked gently, rocking the girl.

"A-April seventh, it was for my twenty-ninth birthday."

Tsubaki burst into more tears and an hour later, Sango let her go, feeling drained and angry. And she had the perfect person to vent it all on: Naraku.

When he entered the room there was just something about him that made her shiver but Sango didn't think about it. She just thought about all the pain, suffering and hate. "Did you kill Nazuna Orikasa?" Sango spat out, glaring at Naraku angrily as he smiled.

"You're the cop, why don't you tell me?"

Growling, Sango walked straight up to him and met her eyes with his. "I don't have time for your half-ass witted games. I want answers and I want them now. I am not in the mood and I swear if you make one more comment like that I'll kill you."

Naraku stared at her for the longest time, the smile never leaving his face. Other than his smile, nothing on his face gave him away. His eyes were heavy but intoxicating, so much so that it was difficult to read emotion. Sango had become so focused on trying to read Naraku that she was startled when he gave her an answer.

Miroku looked out the door as she watched Kagome drive away in her car with Inuyasha in the passenger seat, both of them looking pissed. If he made a bet though, Miroku was sure to bet on Kagome. Not because she was his friend, but because she was in such a bad mood that he swore he saw the flames of Hell in her eyes.

Scary but for Kagome it was just damn terrifying.

And it was then that he noticed a piece of paper sticking out from under the welcome mat to the station.

Sorry guys about the last update. Things have been busy but because I'm in such a good mood today I decided to finally update.

Why am I in a good mood? Easy: It's my birthday tomorrow (FINALLY 15) and my boyfriend (of 3 days) is the greatest lmfaoo!

Next Chapter: Confession- Kagome screamed, "No! Not until you see. You want to know the truth, the truth about how I know and the truth about my past then you're going to see. Hurt and all, you bastard, you are going to see."