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Chapter Twenty-One: Confession
Kagome drove thirty above the speed limit, passing cars every couple seconds with a grim look on her face. Inuyasha had glared at her, ordered her to slow down but she did nothing but curse him.
She told him that if he wanted to give her a ticket, then he would have to goddamn wait.
Inuyasha had said nothing more.
Still angered minutes later, Inuyasha fumed silently, repeatedly thinking of an argument in his head with Kagome. He could practically predict what she would say. Her voice sharp and piecing, the flippant tone made to push him over the edge or back off.
Finally deciding that Kagome had enough time to dwell, Inuyasha turned in his seat to face her, his features strong and determined. "Did you know that your face was posted on the front page on every newspaper this morning? You're bloody famous! The 'newcomer helps police in desperate attempt to solve murders' and 'to redeem herself.' Please, explain to me why you need to redeem yourself?"
Kagome smirked. "You'll find out soon."
"Goddammit Kagome, try listening to yourself and then tell me why I shouldn't suspect you of murder."
"If you don't trust me, then why did you get in the car with me? For all you know I could be taking you to some abandoned warehouse on the far outskirts of town, threaten you and maim you and at last get rid of you."
Inuyasha scowled.
"And you said it yourself; I don't have the physical or psychological strength to murder someone as brutally and coldly as that."
"You're an accomplice then."
"Uh-huh. Oh, I'm so busted," Kagome spat, rolling her eyes and then laughing sardonically. "Can you see me shaking?"
"Dammit Kagome, pull over now!"
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."
"How are you feeling?"
Shitty, thanks. "Fine." You?
"That's good. You seem to be doing better. Are you still finding it hard to fall asleep?"
Not really. "A bit, I guess." It only takes me four hours now, instead of the six.
Dr. Shiori Bouma sighed and gave a wan smile. "I'm very sorry Ms. Dai, for everything. You are suffering from some deep head trauma. Physically you are fine but mentally I fear. We're arranging for a psychologist to come and help you every couple days. Would that be alright Ms. Dai? We're only doing what we think is best."
Ami didn't say anything and for a long time just looked out the window that her small hospital room provided. She just sat there and Dr. Bouma waited patiently for an answer.
"Sure," Ami said nonchalantly. "Do whatever you want."
Dr. Bouma nodded and left the room, leaving Ami all alone for the fourth time that day.
Ami didn't know what to think. Every time she closed her eyes, the scarring image of Nazuna's mangled body would appear, forcing her to fall asleep only when her body was too exhausted to keep going.
Looking around the room that she had all to herself, the frail woman let out a shaky breath and snuggled down into the hospital bed, trying to get some sleep while it was daylight. It seemed easier for her that way than trying to sleep in the dark.
And then it happened. Her eyes clouded over and colours seemed to fly around her. It was a long, agonizing moment before she could truly see again and what she saw was something she couldn't comprehend.
Sango stared at Naraku for a long moment, taking it all in.
"Surprised Ms. Houko? Well now, I shouldn't keep you in the shadows. I did it. I killed them. I killed Yuri Wadena, Kirara Nekomata and Nazuna Orikasa."
Sango was still speechless.
Naraku laughed, closing his eyes and leaning back in his chair, watching the flabbergasted police officer look at him like a goldfish in a bowl. "Is it really hard for you to believe? Who do you think was the one that tried to shoot your beloved Chief the night that he touched Nazuna? No one touches Nazuna. She's mine."
Sango finally managed to get herself together, her stomach muscles clenching in pain as she remember the faces of the three that were murdered. "You sick bastard," she cursed, glaring at him. "You stalked Nazuna but why did you kill her? Why did you kill the others?"
"Because they looked so much like Kikyo, the bitch. After she dumped me, I got pissed off. I'll admit, I lost control and killed her. It wasn't difficult; she was just so easy to snap."
Sango nodded grimly. It made sense to what they were thinking about. The reason he was killing them. Kikyo was the trigger, and the rest were all just reminders. Naraku fit the profile being male and he was just a couple years over the approximate age being thirty-seven. He was definitely strong and Sango didn't doubt he had the ability to kill someone without remorse.
Sango continued to question him and Naraku willingly admit everything. When all the questions were asked, Sango finally turned to leave the room, blinking rapidly to hold back tears. It was then that her final question came to mind and she turned to face him, angry and tired. "Why?"
Naraku didn't seem to get it. "Why what?"
"Why did you confess?" Sango asked, squinting her eyes as if in doing so she could maybe see a tail and horns to help convince her mind. Yes, he confessed. Yes, it all fit. No, she didn't feel better, something she thought she would feel.
Of course, the death of her best friend and two other women who she knew could always dampen the mood.
"Because I've already finished my job. They're all dead and I'm satisfied at last."
Miroku walked into the conference room, harshly looking at a folded piece of paper that he held with gloves he managed to get unquestionably from said room. Kagura Ohgami and Sesshomaru Taisho both looked at him, brows knitting in confusion.
"What's that?" Kagura asked, standing up from her chair and grabbing her own pair of gloves before taking it from the civilian's hands.
"A note," Miroku said. "From who we believe is the killer."
"Just peachy," Kagura stated dryly and shook her head. "Hopefully this one will give us more information than the last two."
Opening it, she read the lines and frowned. Unsure, she read it a couple more times before sitting back down and making a confused sound.
"Kagura, what is it?" Sesshomaru asked, looking at her intently with golden eyes.
"It's screwed up, that's what it is," Kagura sighed. Passing the note to her partner, she waited for him to read it.
Are you ready?
The big finale is all prepared.
You think you've got it all figured out.
You think you have me.
But it's just part of my plan.
When two more suns by love's place.
Evil isn't just closer than you think it is.
It's already there.
Are you ready?
"It's a tad bit more personal, don't you think?" Kagura asked. "It's longer and looks more painful. The killer is angry. Very angry."
"'The big finale' so that means he'll kill again. 'Princess' refers to the one he wants to kill, meaning the next victim is definitely female," Sesshomaru said, ignoring Miroku who was looking over his shoulder. "But I don't get this 'when two more suns by love's place' part. It makes no sense."
"And clearly the next victim doesn't understand the reason any more than we do so that scratches out the possibility that it's a cat-and-mouse game," Miroku said slowly. "Can't we ever just get a break?"
Just then, Sango walked in, her face flushed and a photo in her hand. "Here's a picture of Nazuna," she said quietly, avoiding the group's gazes. Miroku frowned at it but said nothing, realizing that she would tell him on her own time.
Sesshomaru took it and studied it, his face slowly making its way into a scowl. "So if we compare these photos, we might be able to get an image of the final victim before he strikes."
Sango then smiled, albeit quickly and shook her head. "Not if we've already caught him."
"What?!" Miroku exclaimed. "You've figured it out?"
Again the deputy shook her head. "Naraku Morikawa confessed. He murdered Yuri, Kirara and Nazuna."
"Why?" Kagura asked.
"You were right when you said Kikyo could be the trigger. Apparently, the two went out. She dumped him and he lost it. Everyone else just reminded him of her."
"Makes perfect sense," Miroku concluded. Sesshomaru, who sat beside him, said nothing.
Sango asked, "Then why doesn't it feel right? I thought I'd at least feel relieved."
"Well, with everything that's happened…" Miroku didn't need to continue on, the rest of the group already able to finish his sentence on their own behalf. "What about that girl Ami though? Why did he put Nazuna's mangled body in her apartment? That's still doesn't make any sense to me."
"I don't know," Sango confessed. "Naraku wants a lawyer and Inuyasha turned off his cell phone so I can't reach him."
"What possessed him to do that?" Sesshomaru asked; his voice plain. "He may be an absolute fool but he isn't that stupid. Of course, he always manages to prove me wrong."
"You, the great Sesshomaru, wrong?" Kagura joked, rolling her eyes. "That's a first. I wonder how he does it."
Sesshomaru seemed to ignore that comment.
"What about Kagome?" Miroku asked. "She took off with him? Did you try her cell?"
Sango nodded. "Yeah, I did. Same thing. They could be dead though. Inuyasha has a tendency to always leave charging his phone until the last minute. But in his defence, we never had something like this happen in Trite."
"But Kagome's cell is always on, regardless. And I'm a bit more than reluctant to believe that hers is dead as well. That's just too much of a coincidence for me," Miroku stated. "I wonder what's happening."
Sango shrugged and then looked around the conference room, seeing photos of Rin Noto, Koharu Irvin, Yuri Wadena, Kirara Nekomata and now, Nazuna Orikasa. Sesshomaru had just put the picture up.
It was set up in two rows. On the top row were Rin and Koharu, underneath Rin was a picture of Kirara and under Koharu was a picture of Yuri.
Rin's picture was beautiful, a colour photo obviously taken by a professional. She wore a yellow dress, her long black wavy locks put up into a bun with a white daisy buried in her hair. She lay in a meadow of some sort with wild flowers spread around her.
Sesshomaru, who noticed Sango's gaze, looked at the picture briefly. "A friend of mine got married and we were invited to the wedding. Instead of letting that dress only be worn once, I hired a photographer to come and take pictures. Rin always wanted to be a photographer so we literally had to force her to pose, promising that she would be allowed a couple shots." A small smile showed on his face and Sango bit her thumbnail nervously.
Instead of commenting, knowing that it would do nothing, she just shifted her gaze to Koharu's picture. Koharu was one of those women who wasn't exactly pretty but had something about them to make their face always memorable. That feature was her long black hair that was just slightly longer than waist-length. It had some untameable edge to it and though it was straight, it had a rough, just-got-out-of-bed look. She had startling blue eyes and a large up-to-the-ears smile.
Next was Yuri, an above height girl that looked that she belonged as a model rather than an office worker. The photo of her was plain and simple, a shot just taken out of the blue but just managed to capture her beauty. It was startling to Sango though that when she compared Yuri's hair to Koharu's that it was as if it was taken off one of them and put on the other. The long black locks were so similar that if you didn't pay any attention to the face, you'd think it was the same person.
Kirara's photo was one that brought tears to the deputy's eyes. It was a picture of the blonde haired-blue eyed girl when it was her twenty-eighth birthday party. The owner of the café let her have a day off work and Sango herself, along with Kirara's family set up the place to look decorative. It was a surprise and when Shippo led Kirara in, Sango would never forget the huge smile that lit up her face and the way that she squealed so loud Sango thought it would break glass. The picture was taken just after she screamed and it was just so in the moment.
Nazuna's picture was one that her parents found buried. Nazuna hadn't been one for pictures, unless it was with friends. Nazuna's photo wasn't under anyone else's and Sango had a strong feeling that the picture of Faye Richards was the one that was meant to go above.
"How's Ayame doing on getting those missing pics?" Sango asked, looking towards Kagura. "I haven't been able to talk to her lately."
"She says that she's contacted the Richards family and asking for a photo. Ayame's hoping that they'll call her back soon to pick it up. In Kikyo's case though…apparently it's not going so good."
"Which could be a problem for us," Sesshomaru stated. "If Kikyo is indeed, the trigger, then it would be the easiest to tell."
"But you're still forgetting," Sango added. "Naraku has confessed."
"True," Kagura said, nodding. "I'd look into him though. Something about him just doesn't feel right. What about his secretary? She'd probably know if he'd been free on those hours."
"Good idea," Sango agreed. "I'll get working on that until Inuyasha calls me back. Miroku, do you want to come with me?"
Miroku's face lit up like a light bulb in the dark. "Of course!"
Rolling her eyes, Sango tried to hide a smile and walked with him to her office. She talked to Korari, Naraku's secretary, just recently, and thought that a quick call to schedule a time would be best.
Together, the two made it to Sango's office silently. Neither of them spoke when Sango searched through some papers and dialled the number and Miroku waited patiently as Sango talked to the girl.
Sango kept saying things like 'I'm sorry' and 'you really don't have to.' By the end of the call, Sango cradled the phone and sighed, massaging her closed eyes. "I should have waited until tomorrow to call."
Miroku raised a brow and sat in the chair opposite her, saying, "Why? Would it have made a difference?"
"Yeah," Sango said, heaving out another long sigh. "She says that she's going away for a week, to get away from it all and have some time to think. It's all booked and everything. Says that she's leaving tomorrow in the morning."
"So we have to go over now?"
Sango nodded and leaned back in her chair, giving Miroku a lop-sided smile. "When I was a little girl, my favourite TV show in the entire world was Cops. You know when they videotape all the action and when they catch the guys that run? Most of the time it's just trying to get some fat drunk chick away because she's making a ruckus but still, it was inspiring. I thought that that was what police work was all about. How wrong was I?"
Miroku smiled back and stood up, holding his hand out for her to take. "Wrong, but it doesn't cross out your good intentions. You're one of those people that are a cop to the very bones. You follow the rules but know when to break them. You smile when people curse you for giving them a ticket and you intervene when you know a situation is getting out of hand. You're one of those people that can be prickly and moody but when it comes down to it, will jump into a burning building or crawl under a car that's being crushed by a truck to either save a life or be with them when they go."
Sango looked up into Miroku's eyes and couldn't help but smile. Normally when people went on about her work, she was either flustered or embarrassed by it –mostly because they were cursing her job or lavishing her in compliments. But with Miroku, he just made it all seem to…grounded. He made her feel special and valuable without making her feel like they were overestimating her.
"You're a great person Sango and no matter how hard this is for you, I know you'll get through it."
Sango took Miroku's hand and let him pull her up. She didn't know what to say to that so she said nothing, walking with him through the station. She had let go of his hand the moment she stood up, but instantly felt bad for doing so.
If Miroku had wanted to hold her hand, he didn't show it. He merely just looked indifferent as he surged ahead. Going to the doors and watching her start to leave.
"Aren't you coming?" Sango asked.
Miroku cocked a brow. "Am I allowed?"
"If you don't mind waiting in the car while I talk to her then by all means."
Miroku smiled and hopped in the cruiser, buckling up as she drove out of the parking lot. The ride was silent but it was because Miroku didn't say anything and Sango was too busy thinking of what Miroku had said. "You're a great person Sango and no matter how hard this is for you, I know you'll get through it."
"Yeah," Sango said, smiling and looking at Miroku as he looked back at her. "As long as I'm with you."
Obviously, Miroku understood what she meant, that she was going back to their previous conversation because it was then that their hands linked and Sango did nothing to pull her own away.
"Why are you showing me your laptop?" Inuyasha demanded, looking at Kagome irately. "I came to find out how you knew, not read your stories."
"But that's the thing," Kagome said, not at all deterred by his gaze. "I told you before that it was the voices in my head that told me, when really, it's the story. I seem to have the ability not only to hear the dead but to write murders as they happen, with a bit of day-to-day information with it. You won't find out the killer, but you'll know how I get everything. And then after, we'll go on a trip through my mind. Sound fun?"
Inuyasha ignored her cruel look, and with a deep breath, read on.
Next Chapter: Story Time- And that night, no one had heard her scream. No one would ever hear her scream again.