Kagura sat on the top ledge of Taisho Inc., waiting for Hakudoshi to call. As if on cue, her phone rang and she answered it faster than she ever had before.
"It's done." His voice was cocky.
"You're positive? She is dead?" Kagura tilted her head down and glared at the sky.
"A nice slow, painful death if you ask me." Byakuya could be heard in the background.
"Excellent."
"Call me anytime." Hakudoshi ended the call.
Kagura smirked and jumped over the edge, letting the wind guide her down to a graceful landing on the ground in front of the door. It opened as soon as her feet met the ground.
She walked in and went straight for the elevator. Some people were already impatiently standing inside, watching her intently as she stepped in. One had headphones in and two tall blonds dressed in uniforms; clearly interns. Kagura pressed the 34 button and took a step back from the button pad.
The doors closed and they began their accent upwards.
"I heard Mr. Takahashi hasn't been here in a week." The blonde tall whispered to the other that looked exactly like her.
"Yeah. It's because of his mate." The one on the left said.
"That's odd. What happened?"
"I heard that she's pregnant."
The one on the right squealed. "That's great! When is she due? I really wanna see the little cutie! I bet it will have perfect hair just like its daddy! Oh, and I bet it will have those cute fuzzy ears! "
Kagura kept her face expressionless even though she wanted to kill them both right then and there for even thinking of an appearance for the dead pup they might have had.
"Actually, it's because his mate left him. He hasn't been able to come to work since. The poor guy."
"That's terrible. I hope he finds her. Un, do you think he's going to find her?" The one on the right asked quickly.
Kagura smirked, of course he's not going to find her. She's dead.
"Ah, calm down. He will, I'm sure of it."
The elevator stopped at floor 34 and she swiftly stepped out, not wanting to her anymore of Ah or Un's infuriating chatter.
"Kanna." She called to her sister who looked away from her computer screen.
"Kagura. What are you doing here?" she asked.
"I need to speak to him. Where is he?" Kagura demanded.
"He hasn't come to work in over a week. Perhaps you should check his home." Kanna suggested. "I wouldn't, though. He hasn't seen his mate in a week and a half. I don't want to imagine the things he might do to you if you did find him," she warned.
"Fine." She turned back towards the elevator, madder than hell.
...
Rin slowly opened her heavy eyes and was instantly blinded by the light that filled the entire room. She blinked a few times before her eyes became accustomed to the light. Her eyes darted from left to right as she desperately tried to figure out where she was. She looked up and saw the picture of the sky with a white puffy cloud and a bird flying adjacent to it.
She concluded she was in a hospital room when she finally acknowledged the loud beeping coming from the monitor above her began to increase. Within a matter of seconds, a nurse with long dark hair walked hastily in her room.
She grabbed at a pager clipped to her belt and typed profusely at it before settling it back at her hip. She walked calmly to the sink in her room and grabbed a clipboard off the counter beside it. She clicked the pen that was attached to it and looked at the clock hanging on the wall before writing down the time Rin had awoken.
Rin took a deep breath in and realized there was a tube going down her throat. She swallowed the saliva that was forming in her mouth only for it to burn her as the muscles clenched around the plastic.
She groaned in pain and the nurse, who was scribbling something on the paper, looked up at her with the expression of pity. She gave Rin a warm smile to try and cheer her up, although not warm enough to bring feeling back to her cold hands and feet.
A minute later, a doctor with short black hair gathered into a small pig-tail at the base of his head walked in. He was wearing an emerald green doctor's uniform, looked up at the monitors that were recording her heart beat and beeping louder than necessary every time it pulsed. The sound was ringing in her ears and made her head pound.
He walked up to the side of her cream colored hospital bed. "How are you feeling, Ms. Akoi?" he asked, grabbing the clipboard from the nurse as she held it out for him.
She stared at the doctor looming over her. Did he really expect her to answer him with a tube down her throat? She tried to lift her arm but only succeeded in wiggling her fingers, sending a shooting pain up her arm.
He looked down at her. "Sorry." He lifted a few sheets of paper that were fastened to the clipboard and pointed at the paper with the pen as he spoke. "You had quite an accident. You broke your right arm and splintered the other one," he said with a grim, sorrowful tone. "Both of your legs were fractured and you also have three shattered ribs; the tube is supporting and maintaining your lungs and breathing frequency."
She groaned again and tried to lift my arm to no avail.
"You were brought here with a serious concussion and a hairline fracture in your neck," he added to the seemingly never-ending list of her injuries.
She closed her eyes and tried to remember what the hell had happened to her to cause such an extensive amount of injuries.
Nothing.
She couldn't remember anything prior to waking up to the blinding light of the hospital. She opened her eyes to look at the doctor with a painful, confused expression.
"Luckily, none of your vital organs were damaged and your spine was miraculously left untouched. I am pleased to inform you that you are healing quite quickly. The tube should be out by tomorrow. We will continue our conversation then. For now, try to get some rest." He wrote on the clipboard once more and then clicked the pen against the paper.
Rin watched as he put the clipboard back on the counter and left her room mumbling something or another to the nurse.
She closed her eyes, suddenly feeling extremely tired, and allowed sleep to overcome her.
...
Kagura knocked on the door of Sesshomaru's house. She crossed her arms and waited for him to come to the door, blowing her breath in the air and watched as it formed a small white cloud before disappearing. She grabbed the doorknob and turned; to her surprise, it was unlocked.
She walked in the house and looked around. A pink couch, spotless kitchen, and a slightly dusty broach sitting atop the dresser just inside the door with an expensive looking lamp blanketed in dust. She took a deep breath. Sesshomaru was definitely here. His scent seemed to be concentrated in one place in his house: his room.
She walked up the stairs, following her nose to his room. "Sesshomaru?" she whispered, suddenly stricken with fear. She pushed the door open to see Sesshomaru laying on his side on the bed covered in blood and his room trashed.
"Sesshomaru!" she screamed, slightly angered that he would allow that human to torture him like this. Before she could even move, he had turned over and was propped up on his elbows glaring at her with crimson red eyes.
"Sesshomaru, what the hell happened to you? You're not seriously grieving the pathetic human, are you?" She stood her ground, not brave enough to go any further, but stupid enough to speak her mind.
He snarled at her and leapt off his bed. His hands were half-transformed and his nose was unusually long, but somehow he still maintained his humanoid stance.
She took a step back as he landed in front of her, baring his fangs to her. He snarled loudly and glared loathfully into her red eyes.
Kill her! Kill her while you have the chance!
Killing her would solve nothing!
It will ease my anger…for the moment. Just kill her, dammit!
I refuse to do it by your rules!
Is that right…?
Before he had time to stop his beast, he drew his hand back, preparing to strike her with his venom-drenched claws.
She glared at him, only provoking him further.
His beast took control for a split second and swung, hitting her on the chest and letting her blood cover his already soiled attire.
She screamed and dropped to the floor. She would be unable to heal due to his toxic poison.
"You... Bastard!" she yelled.
He growled, completely unable to think of anything but watching her die. Slowly. Painfully. By his hand. Nothing would please him more at the moment. Except possibly finding Rin. Yes, it would please him more than anything to know she was safe and in his arms.
Her body convulsed a couple times before she looked at him and smirked as some blood trickled out of the corner of her mouth. "You…fool. Now you will never see her-" she coughed up some blood, "-again." She gurgled and choked on her own blood seeping into her lungs while the rest of it soaked his carpet.
"WHAT?!" Sesshomaru and his beast hissed.
"She's beyond your reach." She smiled sinisterly one last time. "I killed her."
"BITCH!" He knelt down beside her and clawed at her until there was nothing left but blood and pieces of flesh scattered about the room.
His beast growled, threatening to take full control of him. His aura alone singed the floor. He punched the wall, it shattered and cracked.
He screamed at the top of his lungs. Screamed. Screamed her name as if she would hear. The mark he had left on her shoulder should have allowed him to feel her, to know she was safe. Why can't I feel her anymore? All he could do was scream.
And scream…
...The next day...
Rin awoke to the blinding light once more, but this time it was slightly easier to regain her consciousness. She moved her head to the side and looked out the window at the parking lot of the hospital. She was in a different room than before.
She swallowed and, to her surprise, there was no annoying tube to burn her throat. She groaned. "Owwwww."
The same nurse as before walked in her room with her doctor and pulled up a chair that was pushed up against the wall and sat down. The doctor, however, walked right up to her bedside.
"I see you have awoken. Tell me, how do you feel?"
"Horrible." She mumbled.
"Yes, that's to be expected. Does it hurt anywhere in particular?" He asked.
"Not really," she stated blandly. "Just a dull ache."
He glanced over his shoulder at her nurse. "Kikyo, can you get some more of the pain killers?"
She nodded and stood from her seat, taking off in a brisk walk toward the exit of her room.
He turned back to her and grimaced. "Your injuries are healing faster than we would have anticipated. Do you have any idea why that would be?" He asked.
"No." She answered.
He narrowed his eyes at her. "Do you know why you're here?"
"You said I was in an accident?" She squinted her eyes, trying to remember.
"Do you remember being in the accident?" He asked.
She shook her head.
"Do you remember anything prior to the accident?"
Again, she shook her head.
He turned to the exit of her room and muttered to himself about what was taking Kikyo so long. He turned back to Rin. "It may be possible that you have amnesia."
She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to remember something. Anything. But nothing seemed to come to her. Her eyes snapped back open when she heard the clicking of heels coming toward her room.
Kikyo stepped in and handed a syringe with a long needle coming off one end and a small bottle of liquid. He poked the needle into the top of the bottle and tilted it up-side-down, allowing the clear liquid to seep into the syringe. He pulled it out and handed the bottle back to Kikyo. He gave the syringe a small squeeze to test if the liquid would come out properly. When it did he then injected the liquid into the line that connected her to her I.V. She couldn't tell any difference when he did except for a small twinge of nausea in her abdomen.
"This should help ease the pain." He paused and looked at Kikyo before turning back to Rin. "Your wounds are healing at an unnatural rate..." His eyes traced along her body down to her casted legs. "Your arms have already mostly healed and your ribs have healed completely overnight. I would like for you to stay here for a little while longer to see if I can identify what is healing you so quickly. If that's alright with you, of course," he added quickly.
"Do I have anywhere else to be? Do I have a family waiting for me somewhere?" she asked.
Kikyo gave the doctor a confused look.
"She has amnesia. If you could just write that down, please." He handed her a manila file folder from under his arm and a pen out of his pocket.
She instantly opened it and flipped through some of the pages before writing.
He turned back to Rin and gave her a sad smile. "I'm afraid not. You live alone and you didn't seem to have any family."
"Where do I live?" She mumbled.
"Your wallet had directions to a house overlooking a lake just outside of town. You were found on the road leading to that house. You were heading to work at the local elementary school as their newly hired librarian." He said each word slowly as if she was also going deaf.
She rolled her eyes at his pace. "Who found me?" She asked.
"A young man, about your age, named Kohaku. He told the hospital to call him when you needed a ride home. But we were going to wait until we had your say in the matter," he confessed.
She contemplated the fact that a man had brought her in and volunteered to help her. "I want to go home." She said unemotionally.
"Alright." He sucked in a deep breath and rubbed at his temple with his index and forefinger. "I will get your discharge and have the receptionist call for your ride. I would, if it would not be too much of a hassle, like you to come in here every few days for a check-up," he stated.
Rin nodded and tried to lift herself up with her good arm. After a moment of struggling, she managed to pull herself up with her stomach muscles. She looked up the doctor who was entering her room with a wheelchair and some papers, presumably the discharge paperwork.
She lowered herself into the wheelchair with his help and put her bagged clothes in her lap. He wheeled her down several hallways heading toward the exit.
"What is my name?" she asked timidly.
"Rini Akoi. Your purse and other belongings found at the crash will be returned to you once we get to the waiting room." He explained.
She hesitated before asking anything further, but decided she wanted to know her doctors name. "What is your name?"
"My name is Suikotsu." He said without losing focus on where he was going.
The name seemed strangely familiar, but she brushed it off as he stopped in front of two large wooden doors and pressed a silver button on the wall. The door opened slowly and she was greeted with bright rays of the early morning sunlight shining through windows as big as walls that revealed a magnificent garden.
She was wheeled to the reception desk where Suikotsu asked the brunette sitting behind it when her ride would be arriving.
"He said he would be here in five minutes," she responded a bit too cheery for even Rin to handle at the moment.
"Would you like something to eat before you leave?" Suikotsu leaned down and asked beside her ear.
The hot breath rushed down her neck and suddenly she was hit with a stomach turning wave of Deja Vu. She felt like someone had done this to her before, but she couldn't remember where or who. She tensed and Suikotsu shot up immediately.
"I apologize if I made you uncomfortable. It was not my intention," he explained pleadingly.
She nodded and held her stomach which was still doing flips inside of her.
Suikotsu wheeled her outside and sat down on a bench with her off to the side. It was an enclosed area but the walls closing it off from the outside world were made of glass and looked like it would not be easily broken.
Rin tapped her finger against the armrest of her wheelchair impatiently as she waited for this Kohaku person to arrive. She looked over her shoulder as she heard clicking heels against the hard tile of the hospital floor and saw a casually dressed Kikyo heading for the door.
Another nurse walked up to her side. "You're leaving so soon? Your shift isn't even over until seven." She asked Kikyo, who briefly stopped to engage her in conversation.
"Yeah, sorry. My ride is here early and he wanted me home for something important. Apparently, Kagura is in trouble again." She huffed.
"Well, good luck with that." They both broke out laughing.
Kikyo hugged her nurse friend and continued her walk for the door. She walked out the door and was greeted by her boyfriend, Rin assumed. He had long black wavy hair flowing down his back and was wearing a deep purple and blue sweater.
He opened the passenger door to his sky blue Saturn and placed a kiss on her cheek before she slipped into the SUV. He closed the door and made his way to his side and climbed in. They began a conversation, but Rin couldn't hear as they drove away.
"Who was that?" Rin looked beside her to where Suikotsu was reading a sports magazine. Was that a woman in a bikini she just saw? Why in the hell would that be at a hospital, she looked at her doctor, suddenly feeling disgusted.
He looked up from the article he was engrossed in, most likely the article of clothing that was conveniently missing on the woman, and looked at the blue car driving swiftly away from the hospital. "Kikyo and Naraku. They've been seeing each other ever since she transferred here from Tokyo."
"Tokyo..." Rin whispered. She felt like she knew that place... All the tall flashy buildings.
The tall building...
She snapped out of her daze when Suikotsu thrust his magazine onto the table beside him and abruptly stood up.
A tan Nissan truck was pulling around the roundabout entrance to the hospital. Moments after the truck came to a stop, a man about her age hopped out and came to the passenger side and opened the door. He had fairly tan skin with even darker freckles. His deep brown eyes were warm and his onyx black hair was pulled into a small ponytail at the back of his head.
Cute, but... Rin felt like she was comparing him to...someone...somewhere. She felt like she could almost see him, but every time she tried to think of someone she might be seeing, her mind couldn't put a face to it.
Was she seeing someone? Were they worried about where she had disappeared to? Were they waiting for her?
...
Sesshomaru shot up when he hear the screech of police sirens coming his way. He knew they were coming for him. What? How do they know?
In the world of demons and humans, demons have a total of six strikes with the law. For the first offence, no matter how harsh the crime may be, you are let off with a warning. The second offence, however, if the crime is bad enough, can land you in jail for six months. For the third you will, no matter the content of the crime, be locked up for a year. The fourth is two years and the fifth is four years. If you manage to get six strikes, it will be an automatic life sentence with no possibility of getting out.
Most demons never make it past strike three or four, but those who do get to six usually end up committing suicide after about fifty years of imprisonment.
Sesshomaru had already used up two of his strikes already. The last offence had been around seventy years ago when a hawk demon got on his nerves.
Facing the cops now would mean his third offence. A year. He couldn't afford that now! Not with Rin still just out of his reach!
Let them find us. I will simply kill them if they try to take us.
No! Killing even one of them would result in another offence and more time away from Rin.
I do not care! We need to be able to get to her when the weather clears!
I know that.
"Mr. Takahashi! Exit your house slowly with your hands raised." One of the police officers yelled through a megaphone.
I will turn myself in. Not because I want to, but because we cannot run from the police with a pup on the way.
You will suffer without her for that amount of time. We both know the only thing that was keeping me contained this long was being surrounded by her scent.
I know that. But I will not allow you to do any more damage than has already been done.
He forced himself outside with his hand partially raised.
The lead police officer, a tiger demon, cautiously handcuffed him with adamant laced, steel handcuffs.
Growling the entire time, Sesshomaru was pushed into the back of the police car and driven off to the police station. Then it would be off to the state jail for the next year.
They arrived at the police station for registration and to get his mugshot.
Get us out of here or I will! Sesshomaru's beast snarled and thrashed within him.
No.
Sesshomaru was lead into the building and handed a plaque with his name, age, and height printed onto it. They positioned his back against the wall. The camera flashed brightly as it snapped the photo of him but he refused to blink.
His sense of smell was over-run with the stench of alcohol, vomit, and human waste. He crinkled his nose in disgust. He was walked over to a desk with a female demon behind bars with ink and a paper sitting out for him to mark.
He pressed each one of his fingers into the ink and held them on the paper one at a time until the ink had dried on the paper. He was handed a wet towel to wipe the ink off but he angrily declined it after smelling the bleach-soaked cloth.
"We are contacting your family members. Do you have any objections to this?" The female behind the desk asked firmly, almost smugly, as if she liked to see how shocked the prisoners reacted when they heard the news.
It was nothing new to him and honestly, he could care less about what Inuyasha and his mate would think. For once, he agreed with his beast; Kagura deserved to die.
He glared at her and made a 'hn' sound.
She rolled her eyes and picked up the phone and dialed the demon's half-brother's phone number and put the phone to her head.
"This is Inuyasha speaking." Inuyasha clicked the TV to the next channel from his spot on the couch.
"This is the police department." She said.
Inuyasha turned the television off and stood up, drawing the attention of Kagome, who was making a sandwich in the kitchen.
"Who is it?" she called to him.
He held his hand over the mic of the phone, "It's the police," he said, still confused as to why they were calling. He put the phone back to his head. "How can I help you?"
"You were listed as a contact should we need to call you."
"A contact? What for?"
"You are Sesshomaru Takahashi's brother, correct?" She asked innocently.
Inuyasha huffed. "Yeah."
Kagome stopped what she was doing and walked over to where Inuyasha was standing. She looked up at him with her eyebrows knit together in confusion.
"We have called to inform you that your brother has been arrested and charged with murder. Should you have any say in the matter, you will have to come directly to the police department."
"What!?" Inuyasha shouted into the phone.
"What? What is it?" Kagome's eye widened at his reaction.
Inuyasha hung up and threw his phone against the couch. "Dammit!" He cursed.
"What happened?!" Kagome asked, already annoyed beyond belief.
"Sesshomaru had been arrested and charged with murder." Inuyasha sat down on the couch and put his elbows on his knees and his hands on his face, slowly running them through his hair.
Kagome's eyes widened. "Oh shit…"