Disclaimer: I don't own him.
Chapter Twenty-Three: Numb
Sango and Miroku made it to Korari's house in ten minutes time, both chatting idly about random topics you would normally talk about while eating doughnuts and having coffee in a small corner café on a bright Saturday morning.
Too bad it wasn't Saturday and they didn't have the doughnuts or the coffee.
They were in the middle of an investigation, one that seemed to get trickier as time went on. Korari lived in a small house that was low-maintenance and when Sango parked the car, Miroku gave her hand a squeeze.
"Be careful, okay?"
Sango smiled. "Of course but it's only Korari's house."
"Oh I know. But isn't it my job to say that now?"
Miroku looked at Sango with a curiosity that just barely hid the intensity behind it. Sango had been given an out. If she agreed, she might as well just finalize them as a couple but if she said no…
Sango didn't even dare think about the latter option as she smiled and got out of the car, leaning down before saying, "It better be." Then, before he could say anything, Sango walked away and left Miroku to his thoughts, deciding that it would be better for him to think it out before he backed out.
Before she got hurt.
Sango knocked on the door to Korari's house and waited patiently, looking at the fine wood door as it stood out broadly from the rest of the house. Korari came from a well-off family, which was unusual for a town like Trite. Families around there were rarely poor but very rarely wealthy. The Mizuka family was the richest in all of Trite, having an outstanding business in law and being both well respected and feared.
Korari opened the door just as Sango was about to knock for a second time. She smiled and apologized for taking so long, her hair dripping wet as she explained that she had just got out of the shower. She stood in a baggy sweater, sweatpants and fluffy slippers and blushed as she shut the door.
"Sorry, even though you told me you were coming right over I didn't think you would."
"Well, the station isn't exactly a fun place to be," Sango commented. "Why don't you get dressed and then we'll talk?"
Korari nodded and led the way to the kitchen, offering Sango some coffee that she declined and then disappearing down a hall. Waiting patiently, Sango contented herself with looking at the homey feel of the place. The brightly coloured wallpaper and stained wood cupboards made the place stand out and the overstuffed couches and fair sized TV in the great room would make even the most uneasy person comfortable.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," Korari said with a small smile when she returned. "I hope I'm not ruining anything or putting something on hold."
Sango laughed and shook her head. "No, no, relax you're not. I just came here to ask you about Naraku's schedule."
Korari grimaced slightly but nodded. "Go on."
"We need to know what he was scheduled to do the day both Yuri and Kirara died. What he was planning on doing that day, what time he had meetings if he had any, that sort of stuff."
Korari frowned and looked up at Sango. "I can try but I'm not sure if I can. Naraku might have changed the passwords on the computer. If he has I won't be able to break it."
"Do you need to go to his office to get the information?"
"No," Korari confirmed. "He set up an account here for me so I can do some of the paperwork at home if it was an emergency. I have my desktop in the office."
Sango's hopes soared. Maybe this would be easier than she thought. She followed Korari into the office and watched amazed as she typed rapidly, putting in passwords and access codes until a dark screen appeared. "So he hasn't changed the passwords yet," Korari murmured. "That's lucky."
Sango couldn't agree more.
Clicking on some icons with the mouse and typing in some more information, Korari eventually turned around. "On the night Yuri was murdered, he had a meeting with a couple men from out of town-"
"Anything in town?" Sango asked, cutting the girl off.
"No, not that day but he ended work around five. Now, the day Kirara died…" Korari typed some more and watched as a new screen loaded. "Naraku didn't come into the office until lunch. He was doing paperwork all day, I remember. He only had one meeting, around six with Mr. Mizuka."
He couldn't breathe.
He listened for noise outside of the room he was in, cautious of everything around him. He had managed to get the doors unlocked and now, he only had to wait until it was all clear.
Then he could go.
Then he could kill.
Finally taking in a big gulp of air, he twisted the metal doorknob and snuck outside, silent, deadly.
Now he could go.
Now he could kill.
It was eleven-twenty.
She squirmed in her seat, watching the red flashing numbers on the clock. She silently debated what to do and silently concluded that she was losing her mind.
Oh wait, she had already lost that.
An older woman appeared in the doorway, smiling gently as she walked over. "You wanted to call?"
"Yes," she answered firmly, meeting the older woman's gaze. "It's important."
"Well, we're a bit backed up. How about in ten minutes?"
"That would be too late. I need to call now."
The older woman looked taken aback, startled by the intensity in her voice. "But--"
"Now."
Maybe it was the way she looked so pale, or the way her voice sounded so heavy and so thick that she couldn't disagree because the older woman disappeared from the doorway and minutes later appeared with a cell phone. "You'll have to go outside to use this. Do you think you can manage?"
"No, but I have to. I just have to."
When Kagome sat down on the couch in the living room, she realized that she had left her cell phone turned off. After turning the cell phone back on and leaving it on a small wood table in between the couch and the TV, Kagome tried her hardest to relax and watch calmly.
But her nerves were getting the better of her, and it took every ounce of self-control Kagome had to stop herself from reading over his shoulder. He had been at the stories for a couple hours now and impatiently she waited for him to be done.
Kagome had thought five minutes later that she was calm; that she wasn't jittery and wasn't worried. It took one loud shrill from her cell to prove her wrong.
"Hello?" Kagome answered; the caller I.D number unknown.
"Tell Miroku to find Sango."
Kagome frowned. "Who is this?"
"You're going to have to trust me. Call Miroku and tell him to find Sango."
"Whoever this is," Kagome said; her voice rising slightly, "needs to stop. Who are you?"
"Please," the female on the other end begged. To Kagome, the voice sounded familiar. "I'm trying to help. Just call Miroku and tell him to find Sango. Time is running out."
"Running out?" Kagome felt her heart beat faster. "If this is a joke, it's not funny."
"It's not a joke! Please, please just trust me on this. Please, do as I ask."
And before Kagome could utter another word, the line went dead.
The caller had hung up.
Kagome sat there and contemplated what to do. The caller had sounded genuine and pleading. If it was a joke, she would be able to hear the mocking in it.
Do it, her imaginary friend whispered. Time's running out.
Kagome didn't need her imaginary friend to say anything else. The shiver that ran up and down her back like a cold finger was enough. Something bad was about to happen and Kagome only hoped that time was not yet finished with her.
"Hey Kagome," Miroku said, flipping open his cell after checking the I.D. "We were trying to call you. Sango cracked the case. Naraku confessed to killing Yuri, Kirara and Nazuna."
It took a while for Kagome to reply. "I see. Where are you?"
"Outside one of Nazuna's friend's house. Korari, her name is. She worked as Naraku's assistant and we're trying to find out his hours to see if it all fits."
"Go see Sango."
Miroku laughed. "But I'm not allowed. Sango would break off both of my hands if I did."
"Miroku," Kagome said calmly. "I mean it. Blame it all on me if you want, I don't care. Just go see her. Now."
The sound of Kagome's voice was enough to make Miroku erase all his doubts and jump out of the already unlocked car. Without saying goodbye to Kagome, Miroku hung up and raced for the walkway that led to the door.
It was then that he saw it. A black figure just passing the side of the house and if Miroku had seen correctly, on the figure's hip was a nicely placed gun. Since Miroku knew his odds were slim if he attacked alone, he ran inside the house, trying to open the door as quiet as possible.
He heard voices in the distance and without knowledge of the house and where one thing led to the next; Miroku stumbled through the cluttered place in search of Sango.
He had almost made it too.
The instant he saw the girls, a gunshot rang out and without hesitation Miroku leaped out, crashing into Sango and bringing her down to the ground. Glass behind them shattered and Korari screamed.
Sango took out her gun from its holster, clicked off the safety and shot, narrowly missing the attacker but scaring him off enough to make a run for it. Following instinct, Sango chased him, only to lose him when he exited the backyard.
"Sango!" Miroku screamed. "Get in here!"
Sango raced back, her black hair flying as she was by Miroku's side in a second. Right below him was Korari, a bullet lodged just below her breast and blood spilling everywhere onto the carpeted floor.
It took Inuyasha fourteen hours and twenty-seven minutes to read all three stories. By the time he was finished, it was one in the morning and by the sounds left in the house, Kagome was cuddled up on the couch watching the news. Her laptop was plugged into the wall because it ran out of battery eleven hours ago.
Inuyasha felt his body go numb, reading the stories of each death. Each death of one of the murdered victims in Trite. They were amazing, every story and every word typed added something to the overall picture of it. Inuyasha was never a reader and had always failed book reports when his teacher assigned them because he had refused to read the books, claiming they were too boring, too stupid and too happy.
Because he knew life wasn't like that.
But these… The only word capable of describing each book was simple: indescribable. Inuyasha pondered over his thoughts realizing that in the end, he gained very little information. The murderer was never described and every time was different. The killer acted to get to Yuri, the killer waited to get to Kirara and the killer struggled to get Nazuna. Three different girls, three different deaths, three different operations and one killer.
He gained absolutely nothing from the stories.
He gained nothing that Kagome hadn't already told him.
She had led them on to assume that the killer knew Nazuna –proven by the story. The killer lived in Trite –Kagome told them. The times, the places and the stories all matched, even to the interviews of the families. Shippo had claimed he had seen Kirara in the café the night she died.
Shippo was in the story and had seen Kirara, talked to Kirara, the day she died.
Feeling somewhat numb, Inuyasha stood up and took a couple minutes to stretch, the muscles in his back, arms and neck all tense while his butt killed and his legs were asleep. His stomach growled since he hadn't eaten in almost twenty-four hours and his eyes were heavy from reading the screen. Inuyasha could already feel a headache coming on but chose to ignore it.
He figured that Kagome would occupy his mind soon. And sure enough, she did.
"Finished?" she asked in a mild tone, looking bored. "Satisfied?"
"Yes and no," Inuyasha said, stepping away from the computer so Kagome could shut it down. Without speaking they made their way into the kitchen and Kagome started to make coffee after offering it to Inuyasha.
When the coffee was made and still neither one of them had spoken up, Kagome sighed and turned to face him, leaning on the kitchen counter. "You told me yourself you're not satisfied. So, ask away."
"That's how you found out about the deaths? Not the voices?"
Kagome shook her head. "The voices –I believe- are what connect me to the murders. I can hear the dead and when someone is dying, I guess if I have some link to either the place, killer, victim…I can write their death. I wasn't lying when I said it was the voices, I just hadn't told the full truth."
Inuyasha scowled.
"And did you notice how I helped you get everything that I learned from the story? That I kept nothing to myself?"
Nodding, Inuyasha took a sip of his coffee, too embarrassed to really speak. He wasn't one for being put into awkward situations but damn, this girl always seemed to get him in them.
After a while, Inuyasha stared into the mug where the brown bitter liquid stirred. "Why didn't you show me earlier? The stories, I mean?"
Kagome shrugged. "Not sure. I guess it wasn't time."
"In case you haven't noticed," Inuyasha said, "we seem to be running out of it pretty damn fast. I don't see how you had the luxury to wait to show me."
"But I did," Kagome said wryly. "Oh, I know all about time and how fast it's running out. The game is almost done Inuyasha. And the killer isn't finished yet. The finale has yet to occur."
"The voices?" Inuyasha asked; a slight drawl in his voice. "I'm not even sure they exist anymore."
"Don't be stupid. You heard them yourself. They exist. The reason I know most of the details that didn't come from my stories is because of my imaginary friend."
Inuyasha's face was blank before it twisted into a cruel grin. "You really are crazy."
Kagome forced down the stab of pain that he created, knowing that there would be time later for that. "That's just my name for her, since she won't tell me the name she had before she died. She's the one that…encouraged me to find Yuri's body. She's the whole reason I'm in this bloody mess."
"I see," Inuyasha said skeptically. "So, can I meet this 'imaginary friend' of yours?"
Kagome ignored –as hard as it was- the sarcasm in his voice and instead just grabbed his hand. "You want to meet her? You want to know my past? Then fine Inuyasha, you'll get what you want. Maybe then you'll finally see. Maybe then you'll finally clue in that I'm not crazy, just different. Maybe then you'll finally get what I've suffered in my lifetime. Maybe then…you won't hate me so much."
If Inuyasha had anything to say to that, it was lost as reality dripped away like a shattered mirror. His senses fuzzed out and the only thing he was aware of was Kagome's cool hand on top of his own. Like he remembered, the darkness surrounded them like a thick blanket, enough to suffocate any of it wanderers.
"Kagome?" Inuyasha called out, suddenly unsure of himself. She was nowhere to be seen.
You need her Inuyasha. Don't push her away.
The same familiar voice filled the void of inky blackness and Inuyasha felt like cowering. "Who are you?"
A short humourless laugh could be heard. Kagome's imaginary friend. Who else?
It was just then that a door appeared, the same door that had appeared before him once before. The last time he saw it, it was burning with an uncontrollable fire but of course, Kagome had been screaming and crying. Something about the dark and starving.
Of being left alone.
"You want to know my past? Then fine Inuyasha, you'll get what you want," Kagome's voice came from somewhere in the distance. "Open it. Go in."
Inuyasha felt like he had no other choice and slowly he approached it, reaching out for the knob unsteadily. When the cool metal touched his skin, Inuyasha revelled how everything felt the same as if he were back in their reality.
"Don't confuse the two," Kagome said again from somewhere in the darkness. "One is of the living and the other –this one- the dead."
Inuyasha swallowed and took a deep breath, a sense of finality overwhelming him. He opened the door. What lay behind was no room, no carpet and no couches. It wasn't a door to a house or a door to a closet. It was a door to memories: memories of a painful childhood and a scarring past.
Inuyasha saw things that no child should ever suffer and stood helplessly as objects passed right through him like he was a ghost, a phantom to a past reality. When the burning memories slowly started to die away, his senses rushed all back and he could suddenly see, hear, touch, smell and taste what was the real world.
Inuyasha looked towards Kagome with heavy eyes and watched as she turned her back to him. "Was that…? Did that really…?"
"Real? Happen?" Kagome finished, the words coming out like a broken sob. "Yeah, it did. The man you saw was my father. The little girl you saw was me. When I was little, I would always hear my parents fighting in the other rooms, or sometimes in the room I was in. Once, my father had acted out in rage and broke a couple of my mother's ribs. She didn't report it, maybe because she loved him or because she feared him. Maybe both, but it changed my father's target. Soon, my father beat me. Everyday, after school he would grab a bottle of whiskey and drink and then when he had enough he would come searching for me."
Kagome took a shaky breath and finally met Inuyasha's gaze, refusing to let him see tears. "But that wasn't the worst of it. My father had always feared I would run and tell so instead of leaving me in my room, he'd lock me in the closet. Without food, without water, he'd order my mother to stay away from me. Sometimes I'd stay there for days at a time."
Next Chapter: Answers- "Relax?! Relax! With Naraku confessing to the murders, Korari shot and now in the hospital and NARAKU DISAPPEARING behind our very eyes, I think not! Get your ass down here or I will personally shoot you."
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