Disclaimer: Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

Chapter Three: August 9th-11th

The week following the miniature bomb episode was complete hell. Kagome-chan and I sustained rather minor injuries, though even a week later, she still supported a brace on her wrist while I still had nine stitches from a rather nasty cut up the length of my index finger. Talking to the police immediately after the bomb went off was more or less painless, and despite my initial deduction that the bomb was meant to target me, I tried to maintain a sense of normalcy around the office.

The constant police presence, however, was a serious hindrance to my goal of retaining the routine.

In a way, I could see how the chief of police, Yamaguchi Sesshomaru would want to keep a constant eye on the building, since no leads or suspicious figures had come up during their ongoing investigation. Yet the imposing appearance of a police officer on every elevator and entrance was seriously impeding my business. Many of my most devoted clients were rather angry at their supervision, as the reason they had insurance policies in the first place was to avoid the police entirely. I did my best to placate, though I couldn't help but feel the same sort of resentment at the policemen as well.

Resentment or not, by Wednesday of that week it had become very clear that having the officers around here was actually for our benefit, as it had become evident that the localized bomb from last week was not to be an isolated incident. Thankfully, there weren't any more errant explosions, though anonymous threats and booby traps seemed to be springing up everywhere around the office. The victims seemed to be limited to Kagome-chan and I, a fact that baffled the police and further impeded their investigation. I was confused as well; I figured in my position, I'd make an obvious target, but Kagome-chan? No one outside of the company knew of our connection.

As a result of the uncertainty surrounding the whole matter, I was ordered to have a police officer in my office at all times, even during client meetings and appointments. This could've been a major infringement, if not for the fact that I'd been able to request Aoi Ayame-san's husband, Koga (who had a company connection through his wife and was the only man on the force I even indirectly knew) for the position. I was also required to keep an officer around me traveling to and from the building, and one was stationed just outside of my apartment complex, as was the same for Kagome-chan. The threats kept trickling in unhindered, however, and I was beginning to think that all of their effort was for naught. Instead of being on hand with bandages in case another razor blade showed up in our mail, shouldn't they be dedicating all of their effort to finding whoever this bastard or these bastards were?

I felt awkward riding in the elevator with the police officer, as he didn't go out of his way to say anything, and the invitation to start up a conversation on my end didn't seem too enticing. I was almost relieved to see Koga waiting as the doors pulled open on my floor. He was arrogant, but even a conversation about nothing other than himself would've been better than complete silence in my book.

I nodded to him. "Koga," I greeted mildly, mentally gearing up for another day of intimidating police officers and grumpy clientele.

"Good to see you're still alive and kicking, Tsujitani-san," he smirked. He fell into step with me as I made my way to my office. "Looks like another eventful day, huh?" he went on, nodding amusedly through the glass window of my office door.

I peered through the fogged and monogramed glass, a grin coming to my face as well as I made out Kagome-chan pacing in a small impatient circle inside my office. She'd apparently been waiting for me for some time, and I felt a little guilty about my late morning; Koharu-chan had taken to demanding more time from me after the bomb incident. She called it protectiveness, I called it smothering.

I tapped on the glass, eliciting a small jump from Kagome-chan as she started at my appearance. My grin widened as she scowled indignantly at me and I waved impishly before I opened the door to let Koga and myself in.

"Been waiting long?" I asked nonchalantly as I slung my briefcase on my desk, frowning as I noticed the long list of appointments Kagome-chan had laid out for me. This is what I get for not taking a sick day after nearly being exploded.

"Never mind that," Kagome-chan said insistently, barely giving Koga an acknowledging nod before running to me with her hands tucked up to her chin in earnest. "Something's come up; Yamaguchi-san called this morning!"

My brow furrowed. "Sesshomaru-san?" If he called, could that mean that there had been a major break in the case? "What did he say?" I looked to Koga, trying to figure out if he had any idea why the chief of police would call so unexpectedly. He only shook his head and locked the office door, a habit that was quickly becoming procedure.

I looked back down at Kagome-chan, who still glared up at me with the same earnest look on her face. "Well?" I urged, feeling a little impatient. "What did he say?"

Finally, she frowned, dropping her hands and digging her phone out of her purse. "Well, nothing really," she admitted. "He wants to see you, actually," she tapped at her phone a couple times, obviously going in search of something, "But, as you can see, you're completely booked until Friday."

"Kagome-chan!" If memory served, this could've been the first time in three years that I'd actually yelled at her. "It's the chief of police! I think we could've made an exception just this once!"

Kagome-chan stopped incessantly tapping at her phone's screen and looked up at me crossly. "Well excuse me!" she snapped unapologetically. "I would've squeezed him in if he didn't suggest taking your next available appointment himself!"

I frowned again. If Sesshomaru-san was willing to wait until Friday to speak with me, the information he had couldn't have been that important. Kagome-chan huffed irately and went back to tapping away at her phone, evidently finding what she was after as she shoved the screen in my face.

"I didn't have time to work it in to your official schedule," she said defensively. Her phone was much too close to my nose for me to distinguish anything, though she continued regardless. "You can pencil it in yourself. Yamaguchi-san expects you in his office this Friday at noon."

She pulled the phone back, and I was able to catch a glimpse of a calendar open on the screen before she turned it completely back to herself, locking the screen and stowing back into her purse. There was a knock at the door and Kagome-chan and I instinctively jumped as Koga went over to the door.

Placing his hand loosely on the knob, he called out warily, "Who is it?"

"Tsujitani-sensei?" The voice sounded a little frightened and unsure. "Is Kagome-san with you?"

Kagome-chan and I joined Koga at the door; Kagome-chan started lightly slapping Koga's arm impatiently.

"It's just Shippo-chan," she insisted, ushering him forward. "Let him in already!"

Koga grumbled something indistinguishable under his breath as he acquiesced. According to Kagome-chan's word, Shippo-kun hesitantly made his way into my office, pushing that same clunky mail cart ahead of him. He nodded at Koga and I in turn respectfully, then turned to Kagome-chan.

"There was a special delivery for you, from your little brother," he said, fishing a manila envelope from the shallow pile of yet-to-be-delivered mail.

Kagome-chan's brow furrowed, and she stretched her hand out for the envelope. "Sota? Why would he be writing me?"

Immediately prompted by her confusion, Koga's own hand shot out and snatched the envelope away before it could be transferred to Kagome-chan's hand. He surveyed the sealed flap intently, ignoring her indignant shout in protest.

"What do you think it is?" I questioned, feeling anxious and curious and perplexed all at once. Kagome-chan, I knew, was very close with her family. There was no reason her little brother would need to write her so unexpectedly, and there was no doubt we all shared the same feeling of suspicion.

"Not sure," Koga answered. He sniffed the sealing experimentally, apparently sniffing for drugs or some sort of chemical. Finally, he held his palm out to me expectantly. "Do you have a letter opener?"

Obediently, I went to my desk and dug around in one of the drawers until I found the item in question. I passed it over to Koga, and with Kagome-chan, Shippo-kun, and I peering over his shoulder, he painstakingly slid the blade of the letter opener under the sealed flap and slowly worked it open.

The envelope was empty except for a single piece of copying paper, and my stomach dropped upon seeing it. We stared at it for a while, a thin sliver of white disappearing into the manila envelope before Koga reached in and slid it out carefully. When I saw that it was blank, I almost vocalized in complaint, but I held my tongue in realization as Koga flipped the paper over.

We're coming.

Shippo-kun was the first to recover.

"'We're coming?'" he read aloud. "What does that mean?"

"What do you think it means, Shippo-chan?" Kagome-chan's words were ridiculing, though her tone was far too watery and frightened for the bite to be delivered.

I took the paper from Koga as he cursed and shoved his hand in his pocket for his phone.

"I've gotta call the Chief," He looked at Kagome-chan. "Get the kid outta here, will ya?" he griped, nodding to Shippo-kun.

Kagome-chan took ahold of Shippo-kun's elbow to escort him out, and he allowed himself to be pulled from the room, still voicing his confusions by asking unanswered questions.

I remained rooted in place, staring at the simple threat typed across the center of the copying paper. Obviously this threat was meant to mean something more than the simple booby traps we'd been experiencing all week, though I was too numb to figure out exactly what it entailed.

Risks must be eliminated.

I stiffened. Why had I thought that?

I hope you'll realize you're making a mistake.

That's right. Hakudoshi-san had said it, last week during our appointment after he'd asked Hachi to leave the room. My numb feeling began to be edged with fear as I realized that I had neglected to tell Sesshomaru-san about my meeting with Hakudoshi-san. It was just another application that I had turned down; I didn't even think about it again until now.

I swallowed hard, a little surprised at the size of the lump that had formed in my throat. Friday couldn't come quickly enough.

Even though I told Koga about the appointment with Hakudoshi-san the day after my birthday, Sesshomaru-san still insisted waiting till our original meeting at noon on Friday to discuss my suspicions. The chief of police said he'd need the time to prepare, though he didn't offer an explanation beyond that.

As it was, I sat in the police station, bouncing my leg with a jittery idleness while Kagome-chan passed the time either texting or calling some friend or family member. I'd only informed Hachi of my meeting with Sesshomaru-san today; I'd left out the details concerning Hakudoshi-san. I still didn't fully understand why Kagome-chan had to accompany me here at all, as I had been alone in the room with Hakudoshi-san when he'd made his initial threat. Still, Sesshomaru-san had insisted, and there wasn't much room for me to wriggle her out of it.

Finally, the door separating the small lobby from the rest of the station opened and a woman, looking around my age, poked her head in.

"Tsujitani Miroku and Higurashi Kagome?" she asked, stepping fully into the room.

I nodded while Kagome-chan hurriedly locked her phone and held it to her chest protectively.

The woman smiled kindly. "I'm Saito Kikyo. I'm a psychiatrist that works with the police force." She angled her body between the open door and the lobby, an invitation for us into the main station. "If you'll just follow me, I'll show you to my office."

"Your office?" I couldn't help but complain. The past two days waiting for this meeting with Sesshomaru-san had damn near killed me. I wasn't too willing to talk with anybody else but him, especially not some therapist.

"Yes," Saito-san insisted genially. "It's custom for cases like these; for the victims to be able to talk freely without the pressure of dealing with an officer." She looked over her shoulder at me as she led us down a narrow hallway. "It'll only be a moment." She smiled that same kind smile.

I huffed impatiently and folded my arms as Saito-san directed us into a room on our right and showed us to our chairs. Kagome-chan and I sat in unison, both of us staring expectantly at the psychiatrist as silence began to stretch between the three of us.

Finally, Kagome-chan cleared her throat awkwardly. "Um, Saito-sensei," she began, only to be interrupted by Saito-san raising a patient hand.

"Please," she said, "Call me Kikyo. We'll get to know each other quite well, after all."

I couldn't help but be a little unnerved by Kikyo-san, though Kagome-chan continued on undaunted.

"Do you know why Yamaguchi-san has called me in here too?" she asked. She still hadn't stopped hugging her phone.

Kikyo-san nodded vaguely, "I think that should be left to him to answer. He'll call you in shortly; I just have a few questions for you first." She looked to me, sliding a file folder from the bottom of the stack of papers on her desk and placing it on top. Folding her hands, she asked, "How have you been holding up?"

I stared at her incredulously. "How do you think I've been holding up?" I responded shortly, my impatience quickly turning into anger.

Kikyo-san appeared unaffected by my rudeness and answered patiently, "I know things must've been hard for you recently, but you must understand: these are questions I'm required to ask."

I scoffed. "I'm sure."

Blinking once, Kikyo-san turned her unnerving, peaceful smile onto Kagome-chan. "What about you, Kagome-san? How have you been?"

"Alright." Kagome-chan seemed oddly compliant with everything. I missed my apathetic, cynical personal assistant from before. If that Kagome-chan were here, we wouldn't be wasting time with Kikyo-san.

Kagome-chan went on, "I mean, you know, it's been a little scary with the bomb and threats and all, but I've managed, I guess." She sighed heavily. "I'm just really tired."

Kikyo-san nodded understandingly. "That's good," she praised Kagome-chan gently, "It's good to just keep yourself focused in times like these."

I laughed bitterly, drawing a scowl from Kagome-chan. "Oh, come on!" I defended, throwing my hands into the air for emphasis. "This is ridiculous! Last week a bomb went off in the doorway to my building and I've got threats pouring in—" I cut an unimpressed glance back at Kikyo-san, "—and you want to know how we feel."

Another moment passed in a tense silence.

At last, Kikyo-san reached for her file folders and tapped them into order on her desk. She had that same peaceful, understanding look in her eye as she addressed me again. "Anger," she began, resting the newly-straightened file folders on her desk once more, "Is a secondary emotion, Miroku-san. People use it as a cover-up, to hide what they really feel." She tilted her head assumingly. "Do you understand, Miroku-san?"

I groaned and rolled my eyes, clutching my bangs and bringing my elbows to rest on my knees. "Are you shitting me?" I demanded of no one in particular.

"Miroku-san," Kikyo-san went on patiently, "Do you want to tell me what's really going on here?"

I sighed heavily before throwing myself back into my chair. I glared at Kikyo-san, ignoring Kagome-chan as she gave her own heavy sigh and massaged her temples, muttering something about my maturity level.

"Are you ready to talk now, Miroku-san?" Kikyo-san prompted, her hands once again folded on the thin pile of file folders on her desk.

"I'm ready to stop fucking around here," I spat adamantly, "Where's Sesshomaru-san?"

Kikyo-san pinched her eyes shut; I appeared to have finally cracked her seemingly never-ending flow of patience and understanding. She held the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger while she let out a long, slow breath.

"I'll get him," she finally said. "Come with me."

She headed to the door, signaling for us to follow. Kagome-chan and I stood; I moved to immediately trail after Kikyo-san, though Kagome-chan grabbed my elbow and held me in place.

"What?" I wasn't much in the mood to be held up any further. Kagome-chan was scowling at me, though she remained silent as she merely glared. "What?" I repeated emphatically.

She slapped me; her hand open and stiff as it collided painfully with my cheek.

"Ow!" I stepped back, cradling my bruised cheek. "What the hell was that for?"

"For being rude to Kikyo-sensei. She's just trying to help us; you could've been a little nicer to her."

"Well," I huffed, making sure to steer clear of another blow as we both made to follow Kikyo-san down the hall. "Forgive me for preferring Sesshomaru-san's help. You know, the guy who's actually going to catch whosever after me and not talk to me about how I feel."

Kagome-chan rolled her eyes, though any biting remark she had would have to wait as Kikyo-san stopped ahead of us, showing us into another office—Sesshomaru-san's.

"He'll be with you in just a moment," she said in parting. She'd almost shut the door when she suddenly popped her head back in the room. "And Miroku-san? We'll talk more soon."

I made a noise of disappointment and complaint as I sat heavily in one of the chairs facing Sesshomaru-san's currently unmanned desk. Kagome-chan took the seat next to me, smirking to herself and looking obviously pleased.

"What are you so happy about?" I demanded.

Her mirth immediately died. "Nothing. Let's just hope Yamaguchi-san gets here soon. I want to go home."

As if on cue, the door to his office opened and Sesshomaru-san stepped in. He was a rather intimidating looking, very tall with premature grayish-white hair. His eyes were almost always thinned and full of indifference, and he carried himself with a subtle, but still present, air of superiority.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," he apologized flatly. "I wanted you to have some time to become acquainted with Kikyo." He eyed me strangely. "I see you've made quite an impression."

"Why have me see a psychiatrist?" I jumped in defensively. "Having a bomb go off in your building is stressful, but I'm not a complete nutcase yet. Give me some time to work on it."

Sesshomaru-san didn't seem amused. "Indeed. I think you'll find, Tsujitani, that seeing Kikyo will eventually be to your benefit. It'll do you better to be more cooperative in the future."

"Told you," Kagome-chan muttered smartly from beside me.

I frowned and sunk lower into my chair. Why did everyone have to be against me?

"However," Sesshomaru-san went on, "That's not the point. I have a very pressing matter to address with you today." He paused, loosely intertwining his fingers and resting his elbows on his desk.

I waited. "Yes?" I urged pointedly.

"It seems," he continued after a tense moment of studying us with those blank and narrowed eyes, "That your case, in light of the recent evidence you've brought forth, has taken an unfortunate turn."

"Unfortunate?" Kagome-chan asked, her voice slightly shrill. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that this is turning out to be a greater danger to the two of you than I initially thought. We'll have to enact some means of protection." He turned back to me, his face unchanging as he said. "As of today, we're putting you both under protective custody."

I started dumbly at him, unsure if I had really heard what I thought I did. Protective custody? What did that mean? I cut a sidelong glance to Kagome-chan; she looked ready to hyperventilate.

"Why the both of us?" I heard myself ask. I was still reeling with unasked questions and wasn't too aware of myself still participating in the conversation.

"With the recent threat delivered to Higurashi specifically on Wednesday, we have reason to believe that the Kumo conglomerate, if that's really who's behind this, knows of the connection between the two of you," Sesshomaru-san explained.

"How?" I demanded. "Kagome-chan wasn't in the room when I interviewed Hakudoshi-san; she doesn't know what happened—"

"Yes I do," Kagome-chan interrupted, her voice small but insistent. "You told me yourself, remember Miroku-sensei? In the lobby, right before the bomb went off."

I floundered for reasoning, for an excuse. "B-but how are they supposed to know…?"

Sesshomaru-san raised a definitive eyebrow at me. "You both will be placed in protective custody," he repeated, shuffling around some papers on his desk, looking too bored to be dealing with our triviality. "Until we are able to catch whoever is behind this, the two of you will be placed in a secret location, to be kept under constant supervision by an assigned detective. Nobody but a select few will know where you are," he eyed Kagome-chan's phone with disdain as she subconsciously tightened her grip around it, "And there will be absolutely no contact with the outside world."

I returned to staring dumbly at the chief of police. I couldn't believe this was happening. Give me therapy; make me talk to Kikyo-san, anything but this. This was unreal… this was… there had to be some mistake.

"Are you sure?" I finally asked lamely. I winced a little as my voice cracked. You're losing it, Miroku.

Sesshomaru-san didn't answer, only stood from his desk and crossed his office to the door. He leaned outside for a moment, calling for somebody to be sent to him immediately.

He turned back to Kagome-chan and I, looking completely unapologetic as he said, "This is for the best, I assure you."

That did it. I was gone. I didn't absorb any more of what he was saying, staring mutely at my shoes as he went over the plan for the rest of the night. I didn't care to know what he was saying. It didn't matter. My life was over. Everything I'd worked for; my job, my company, my clients. Hell, I even worried about Koharu-chan. What was I going to tell her? What was I allowed to tell her? And what about Hachi? There was no way he was going to be able to keep the business running without me there. I could feel myself slip into that numb place again when there was a sharp rapping on the door.

Without waiting, the knocker flung the door open carelessly, leaning against the door frame as he surveyed Kagome-chan and I with genuine, if somewhat annoyed, interest.

This man was almost the spitting image of Sesshomaru-san, if only that he looked several years younger and his hair was still black. He didn't wear the typical uniform of a detective, and was instead clad in baggy jeans and an oversized red jacket.

"So," the man said, folding his arms haughtily, "You're the lucky ones, eh?" He jabbed a thumb at his chest. "For the next little while, I'll be in charge of you, got it? And you better listen to me if you want to live." Smirking, he thrust his hand under my nose, open and ready for me to shake it. "The name's Inuyasha."