Disclaimer: Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

Chapter Twelve: September 14th -15th

The police station went from zero to Mach ninety in the blink of an eye. Sesshomaru-san angrily demanded every police officer in the district to be called in, no ands, ifs, or buts. Kagome-chan and I were herded back to Kikyo-san's office, locking us in and leaving us to sit in anxious confusion as we struggled to figure out exactly what had happened.

Kagome-chan started crying almost immediately after we were left alone in Kikyo-san's office, burying her face in her hands and sniffing occasionally.

"Kagome-chan," I muttered, a little stymied as to why she was crying. Personally, I felt elated that Sango had been able to pull off another of her famous last-minute escapes, though I was also aware that I was most likely the only person who did feel that way. "What's the matter?"

"What do you mean, 'what's the matter'?" Kagome-chan demanded in a watery voice. "Even you have to know what this means!"

"Well, yeah," I agreed, slightly miffed at her insinuating emphasis. "But it's going to be okay, you know. And we're in the police station, possibly the safest place for us to be right now." I felt proud of my comforting effort. Compared to Sango, calming Kagome-chan was a piece of cake.

She didn't look convinced, and tears continued to pour freely down her cheeks as her crying worsened. "No, it's not going to be okay!" she insisted. I could barely understand her now, her voice becoming too diluted by her sobs. "And I don't care if we're in the safest possible place! This was supposed to be over, Miroku-sensei. I was supposed to be able to go home!"

Her words completely disintegrated into sobbing, and I patted her back in an awkward silence, trying to figure out what to say that she wouldn't twist and shove right back in my face.

Coming up with nothing, I was forced to just sit in silence and listen as Kagome-chan exhausted herself even further with crying. My thoughts, unsurprisingly, wandered back to Sango, and I started inventing new scenarios in which I imagined how she escaped. She always seemed to be two steps ahead of me, however, so even my smartest attempts seemed like child's play compared to her past feats. I sighed wistfully, hoping Kagome-chan didn't notice, though she still appeared to be too consumed with sobs to notice much of anything else.

I supposed my brief conversation with Sango in the interrogation room would be the last I would ever have with her. There might not have been much known about the head of the Kumo conglomerate, though I was almost certain that Naraku wouldn't allow her to finish her job after her arrest. I wondered what would become of her; would she be punished, or would she simply be reassigned? Did assassins have something like a probationary period?

These questions did nothing to aid my smarting conscience, as anything that did happen to her would also be my fault for letting her get arrested. It seemed as if I had unintentionally ruined her life no matter what, and if I wasn't sure before, I was positive now that Sango would want nothing to do with me. That was, of course, contingent on if we would ever see each other again.

I heard the twisting of a key in the door's lock and I looked up, startled from my gradually depressing thoughts. Kagome-chan hiccupped on a cry and sniffed, looking from the door, to me, to the door again in confusion.

The door to Kikyo-san's office opened, revealing Sesshomaru-san, Inuyasha and Koga standing in the hallway. Each looked very grave and tense, though Sesshomaru-san looked especially irate. I swallowed nervously. Well this couldn't be good.

Without a word all three entered the room, and Sesshomaru-san took a seat in Kikyo-san's chair. Inuyasha came to stand behind Kagome-chan, and Koga remained by the door, twisting the key in the doorknob once more and relocking the door behind them.

I noticed Sesshomaru-san carried a laptop with him, though presently he set it on Kikyo-san's desk and left it closed, balancing his elbows on top of it and folding his fingers in a vain attempt to control his temper.

"Tsujitani," he addressed me, and I twitched involuntarily. No, this was not good at all.

I cleared my throat before I answered, willing my voice not to crack. "Uh … yes?"

"I was hoping you'd be kind enough to revise your prior statement," Sesshomaru-san said, his voice dripping with venomous disdain.

"Um…" I hesitated again, seriously mulling over his request. I nodded my head thoughtfully as I debated, though I quickly shook it resolutely. "No."

Kagome-chan turned to Inuyasha and asked softly, "What's going on?" Inuyasha only hushed her.

Sesshomaru-san's eyebrow cocked in irritation and his eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. "No?"

"Yeah," I insisted, nodding again. "No. I'm not going to revise it."

Inuyasha scoffed behind me, clearly frustrated at my uncooperative behavior, though he didn't move to say anything else. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Koga lower his head and shake it reproachfully, and Kagome-chan turned back around in her chair to face Inuyasha once more, braving another quiet inquiry.

Sesshomaru-san, however, suddenly looked remarkably agreeable. "Fine," he acquiesced, removing his elbows from the laptop and opening it. "Perhaps you'll be more inclined to agree after this." He punched a few keys on the keyboard, paused for a brief moment while he waited, then turned the laptop around to face me.

I stared dumbly at the screen, almost in denial at what I saw. It was a very pixelated picture of me, sitting across the table from Sango in the interrogation room.

Kagome-chan gasped sharply, her hands flying to her mouth as she muttered disbelievingly, "Miroku-sensei!"

Sesshomaru-san was looking at me expectantly, though I was still too entranced by the incriminating picture of me and Sango. The utter stupidity and foolishness was nearly crushing me flat; I had known that there were television screens in the vestibule attached to the interrogation room. I had known that surely they were recording everything in sight, notwithstanding the only smart move I had made by turning off the voice recorder.

Finally, my mouth hung open dumbly as I still fumbled for words. I was able to tear my eyes from the laptop screen at last, looking back to Sesshomaru-san. Quickly regretting this, I realized that the chief of police was giving me an evilly smug look, entirely sure that he'd cornered me at last. There was a small, choked-sounding noise in the back of my throat as I pushed for something to say, though Sesshomaru-san held up his hand, impeding my sluggish effort.

"Please," he stipulated, "Just another moment." He reached around the screen, tapped another key and suddenly the picture flicked from a random still taken in the midst of our conversation to the beginning, when I'd first slipped into Sango's interrogation room.

There was a small noise from the laptops speakers, and I realized, as the camera focused on the back of my head, that the recorder, still on at this point, had picked up me clearing my throat to alert Sango to my presence. The speakers fizzled with white noise as, in the video, I slowly approached the table where Sango sat.

Even with two officers and the chief of police surrounding me, I still found myself drawn to the recorded image of Sango on the screen rather than myself. Watching it play back, I realized that she looked much more miserable than I remembered her being, and even through the pixelated, fuzzy view of the cameras, I could see the subtle tension in her muscles as she fought against her restraints. Why hadn't I realized it before?

"'Hey,'" I heard myself say on the video, my voice sounding warped and muffled by the poor quality of the laptop's speakers. The five of us watched as my hand slowly reached out over the table, shutting off the recorder and silencing the white noise from the computer speakers once and for all. From here on out it would be a silent feature, though I realized it would be no less implicating.

The silence was deafening as we continued to watch the video unfold, me looking through the file folder sitting on the table, then Sango finally responded and our conversation grew more animated and intense before it finally simmered back down, eventually leading to my escape from the interrogation room.

Sesshomaru-san paused it there, holding up his finger knowingly as our eyes slowly slid from the laptop screen up to his. The video flicked once in mild complaint to being stopped so suddenly, but eventually the still image of Sango watching me leave was frozen on the screen.

My heart leapt a little at the sight; I hadn't known that she'd watched me go.

His finger hovering over the play button, Sesshomaru-san turned his gaze from me to the screen again, his face blank yet somehow still arrogant.

"I think you'll find this most interesting," he said, his voice low and taciturn. He tapped the play button.

The video resumed, and almost immediately after I'd taken leave of the interrogation room, Sango's arms suddenly burst free from the handcuffs. She ran after me, catching the door in the nick of time. Slipping through the door, she vanished from the screen, and Sesshomaru-san halted the playback once again, freezing the perfect view of the empty room.

I stared at the laptop, dumbfounded and a little impressed. Sango had made her escape literally seconds behind me; she was practically on my heels, yet I hadn't even noticed. I was too preoccupied making sure that I returned to the lobby in time to meet Sesshomaru-san. Once again I was left to marvel in this girl's prowess, something that was especially amazing now that I knew exactly how old she was.

Looking back at the chief of police, I tried to decipher his thoughts. Did he think that I had somehow aided her escape? Even with the sound off, the video was clear enough that I had done no such thing. Still, talking with the woman supposedly caught in the midst of trying to kill me was not something that, in light of the situation, they were willing to dismiss as altogether innocent. I had to weigh my options here.

Sesshomaru-san slowly pushed the laptop closed and refolded his fingers. "Now," he said, all arrogance completely faded away, "About your statement."

My brow furrowed as I debated what I could say. I realized virtually anything I did say was going to eventually be turned and used against me, and that was enough to keep my mouth closed forever. Frowning, I started looking around me, trying to gage the reactions of the others in the room. Kagome-chan had started crying again, though her tears were much more inclined to be silent as she refused to look at me, Koga scowled at me harshly; it was clear that he blamed me for the entire thing. Looking back at Inuyasha, I confirmed that he was glaring at me too, though I could also tell that his glare was more out of bemusement more than anger. He was trying to figure me out, refusing to jump to conclusions and giving me the benefit of the doubt. I wondered just how much of my interaction with Sango in the rain he'd seen before he'd made his presence known.

Finally, I looked back to Sesshomaru-san, whose patience I'd just spent the last of. He gave me the worst glower of all; rather looking like he'd want nothing more than to reach across Kikyo-san's desk and strangle me to death himself. His fingertips had gone white with the effort to keep them folded and docile.

Decidedly clenching my teeth as to not utter a single sound, I shook my head resolutely, eliciting three varying noises of disappointment and anger from Koga, Kagome-chan and Inuyasha. I wasn't going to budge though, no matter what they thought that I was keeping from them. It wasn't like Sango had told me anything that would be useful to them anyway. Even as Sesshomaru-san leaned forward in his chair imposingly, I held firm, almost daring him to try to threaten me. I was putting on a much braver front than I actually could back up, though my stare still didn't waver from his.

"You do realize, Tsujitani," he stared, bracing himself on his elbows as he leveled his cold eyes with mine, "That I could charge you for withholding information crucial to the investigation from the police."

I shook my head again, allowing a small grin to form as his empty threat hung in the air. Letting out an amused huff, I finally spoke. "No, you couldn't. You can't charge me with anything." I was growing more confident as I realized the truthfulness of my own words. I may have screwed myself over here, but I was still Tsujitani Miroku, a powerful figure in Japan in my own right.

"I don't think you fully realize who you're dealing with here," Sesshomaru-san countered, his voice edged with uncontrolled rage.

Again, I shook my head, feeling as my grin widened haughtily. "I'm afraid it's the other way around, Sesshomaru-san. Think about it: what would happen, not just to Tokyo, but to Japan's, and even China's, America's, England's, and France's economy if you were to lock me away. I am the only thing standing between this city and economic chaos, I am the bedrock of fifty different international companies in this city alone, and I am the only person qualified to do what I do. I am the reason that organized crime pays its dues like everybody else!"

Sesshomaru-san's face reddened with ire, his eyes wide and glaring, and I half-worried that the pulsing vein above his eyebrow was going to burst completely.

I sat back in my chair, folding my arms triumphantly as I pulled out my trump card. "And finally, let's not forget whose company insures Japan's entire police force and National Security forces." I tapped my chin contemplatively. "What was that fiasco with those officers last year, who were embezzling thousands of yen from the force to pay their debts with Yakuza?" I smirked. "Yeah, that was a nice cover-up, wouldn't you agree? And trust me when I say it cost way more than a pretty penny."

Sesshomaru-san catapulted to his feet abruptly, and rather than be yanked to his level by the front of my shirt, I stood as well, keeping my arms folded in front of me defensively. Out of the corner of my eye I watched as Inuyasha yanked Kagome-chan out of her chair and pulled her behind him protectively. Koga took a step forward, but froze, unsure of whose protection to go to.

"I don't care who you are!" Sesshomaru-san thundered in my face. "One way or another, I will see that you pay for the mess you've caused!"

I snorted, though quickly backed away to be far out of the chief's range. "Good luck with that. Ask Kagome-chan; I don't pay for my own messes, only those of others. And yours."

I heard Kagome-chan groan lightly from behind me. "Miroku-sensei, why are you bringing me into this?"

Ignoring her, I leveled Sesshomaru-san with a triumphant look; we both knew I was going to win this argument. Thank God for corrupted politics; without them, I'd be sitting in my own interrogation room right now.

At last, Sesshomaru-san leaned back, sucked in a long breath through his nose and scrutinized me calculatedly. "After all the lies you've told me tonight," he said irritably, rubbing his eyebrows as if to ward of a serious headache, "I'm not sure whose word means what anymore."

"You don't have to take my word for it," I jumped in helpfully. I looked back at Kagome-chan, who shook her head defiantly.

"No way. You keep me out of this, Miroku-sensei."

I could tell she, as well as Inuyasha and Koga, were very confused as the sudden, sharp turn the discussion had taken. One minute, Sesshomaru-san had me backed into a corner, the next I'm blackmailing him. I resisted the urge to shrug arrogantly. All in a day's work.

The chief of police looked from Kagome-chan back to me, passed irritated and completely exhausted. "Now what?" he demanded.

I faltered for a moment. Kagome-chan would've been the easiest option to back me up, though she clearly wanted nothing to do with this. Casting an eye to the clock on the wall, I debated as I watched the minute hand slowly slide to the nine, showing a quarter to seven in the morning. I made up my mind and dug my hand in my pocket for my phone.

"Let me call Hachi."

Hachi arrived exactly thirty-five minutes after I'd gotten off the phone with him. I did feel bad that I had to drag him all the way out to the police station when he had to be at work at nine, but he was my last chance to get Sesshomaru-san to cooperate with me. It took a while to get him filled in on everything that had happened since the last time we'd seen each other, though eventually he more or less understood the situation. Or at least, the situation as everyone else believed it to be. I had yet to figure out a way to inform them exactly how long I'd known of Sango's identity without it just getting me into even more trouble. For continuity's sake, I left it out of the story yet again, along with the bit about Sango's and my kiss, though that I neglected to tell for sense of privacy.

Finally the three of us—Sesshomaru-san, Hachi and I—sat in the chief's office, ready to finally hash things out. Our all-nighter was catching up with us, and for a moment nobody spoke. Hachi waited patiently through the silence, balancing his briefcase on his knee and casting an interested look around the office.

At last, Sesshomaru-san spoke, "Alright, Yoshida. Maybe you can explain why Tsujitani has brought you here?"

Hachi gave me a sidelong glance, and I shrugged my shoulders uselessly. I wasn't quite sure what was going to happen from here on out, and I had to admit that I was a little worried I had overestimated Hachi's skills as a mediator.

Clearing his throat, Hachi began, "First of all, I don't think we should forget the fact that with that Mizushima girl on the loose, Miroku-sama's life is still in danger."

Sesshomaru-san rolled his eyes impatiently. "Yes, yes, of course. I'll thank you to not insult me or my officers."

Hachi was taken aback some, but he pressed forward nonetheless. "Yes, erm, forgive me." He twiddled his thumbs for a moment, a habit I'd come to recognize as him recollecting his thoughts. "Perhaps I should just get to the heart of the matter, then?"

Sesshomaru-san's eyes narrowed unnervingly. "Perhaps."

Once more clearing his throat, Hachi set his briefcase on the floor next to his chair and leaned forward in his seat, balancing his elbows on his knees. "I don't think you have anything to worry about Miroku-sama's conversation with Mizushima."

"So he says. Would you care to tell me why?"

"Because Miroku-sama cares about people." Again, Hachi gave me a sidelong glance, though I didn't miss the friendly gleam in his eye. I grinned. Like always, he was looking out for me.

Sesshomaru-san didn't seem as moved by Hachi's statement as we were. "Come again?" he asked irritably.

Hachi's tone remained patient as he explained, "He's a people person, and he genuinely wants to know people for who they are." He winked at me. "Even the bad ones."

Though I could tell Hachi's tag-on statement was probably just to nullify Sesshomaru-san, I frowned inwardly. Sango wasn't a bad person, she was just … misinformed.

The chief of police slowly slid his tired and unimpressed gaze from Hachi to me. "That's it?" he clarified flatly. He seemed to have reached his limit for the day already, despite it still being early morning.

Hachi nodded resolutely. "Rest assured, Yamaguchi-san, Miroku-sama's intentions were wholly innocent."

Well, I acquiesced silently, innocent enough.

Sesshomaru-san scoffed in frustration, rubbing the tips of his fingers furiously into his temples. "Well then, it seems like I have no choice, do I?" he asked no one in particular. He looked back at me. "Fine, Tsujitani, for the time being, I will ignore your serious lapse in judgment for the time being while we find your friend." The word was rudely emphasized and I frowned, not in the mood to have my character judged on top of everything else that was going on.

Hachi grinned triumphantly. "Thank you, Yamaguchi-san. I promise, you will have the fullest cooperation from Tsujitani-Yoshida from here on out."

"I'd better," Sesshomaru-san huffed evenly. Opening a folder on his desk, he slid a piece of paper over towards Hachi and I. Leaning forward, I realized that it was a blown-up picture of Sango's mug shot from earlier this morning.

"For starters, we're keeping you under surveillance until we find Mizushima," he informed me, "You and Higurashi both." He eyed me disdainfully. "And I expect the full truth from you from now on, and no more sneaking about."

I nodded begrudgingly, feeling very much like a child who was just reprimanded by his parents. I waved him on dismissively. "Fine."

"Secondly," Sesshomaru-san went on, placing his fingers on the mug shot pointedly, "It would probably be best if your company thought of a public statement as soon as possible."

Hachi and I exchanged a look. "Why?" I demanded suspiciously.

"We're airing this on the eight o'clock news," his eyes slid to the clock on the wall before returning to meet my gaze once more, "In fifteen minutes. It would be best, appearance-wise, if your company could accompany it with a brief and vague explanation of recent events."

"No!" I intervened quickly, eliciting a shocked look from Hachi and a slightly more frustrated one from Sesshomaru-san. "No, I'm—we're not going to do that."

Hachi cleared his throat and leaned over to me, lowering his voice and casting Sesshomaru-san a nervous look. "Miroku-sama, Yamaguchi-san is right, a public statement would save the company face."

I shook my head emphatically, disregarding Hachi's advice and focusing on Sesshomaru-san instead. "I meant we're not airing her mug shot on the news. There's no way."

The chief's eyebrow twitched in anger. "And why aren't we?"

"Because…" I faltered and trailed off, unable to think of a reasonable excuse. Even if I wasn't entirely sure of the true purpose behind it, I was still adamant about not plastering Sango's face all over Japan. Then her life would really be over, and again, it would be all my fault.

"Because my company has had enough bad press with the bomb going off last month," I finally continued determinedly. "I'm not risking the reputation involved with associating in any way with a fugitive."

Hachi's eyebrows rose at my explanation, and he looked to Sesshomaru-san to gage his reaction. Even I had to admit my own surprise at my reasoning, though surprise quickly gave way to pride. And Kagome-chan said I didn't know how to do my job.

"So no," I concluded decisively. "We're not airing her mug shot and there will be no statements of any kind. Any further cooperation on my end will be contingent on the investigation going forward as presently: under strict secrecy and media silence." Damn, I was good.

Sesshomaru-san looked very irate to be backed into a corner for the second time today. He shoved the mug shot back into the folder and tossed it aside. "Fine, Tsujitani, we'll do things your way." He looked to Hachi. "That will be all, Yoshida, thank you."

Hachi seemed put out by the sudden and rather rude dismissal, but he stood nonetheless, gave Sesshomaru-san a respectful bow and grabbed his suitcase. I followed him out, more than eager to finally escape the chief's office and mind my own business. I walked with Hachi out into the lobby, and stalled there, wishing I could just follow him all the way out and split the cab fare to my building.

"Thanks for coming by, Hachi," I said gratefully, offering a hand for him to shake.

He took my hand firmly. "Anytime, Miroku-sama." He chuckled a little, "Just try not to cause too much trouble around here again. I'm not sure how much longer my excuses will hold water with Yamaguchi-san."

I laughed, hanging my head in shameful acquiescence. "I'll do my best," I promised.

"Let's just hope this ordeal ends soon," Hachi said as he parted. "You're sorely missed at the office, Miroku-sama, and I won't even tell you how badly you're missed by Nanako-san."

I winced as I waved at Hachi's retreating figure as he hailed a cab for himself. Koharu-chan… I wondered if I would still be allowed to use my phone while under surveillance, though the idea of talking to my fiancée still didn't strike me as appealing. Besides, I was still too distracted by Sango.

Finally, I resolved to settle things with Koharu-chan as soon as things with Sango settled first, though I wasn't quite sure when that would be. I doubted Sango would reappear for a very long time, and I wondered if Sesshomaru-san would eventually give up and send us home instead, rather than wait for her to make another move. Any new information he would've hoped to gain on Kumo rested on her capture and testimony, though it seemed highly unlikely to me that any of us would see her again.

Inuyasha booked us a room at a nearby hotel half-passed midnight. It only took Kagome-chan and I an entire day of complaining about being cooped up in the station before Sesshomaru-san finally agreed to let us go. The hotel was short on rooms so late at night, and as such the three of us were consigned to one room, though Inuyasha quickly reasoned that this was for the best, as he wouldn't be able to stay with us all the time. He'd been assigned as part of the man-hunt after Sango, and having Kagome-chan and I in one place seemed to give him peace of mind, if only because it ensured Kagome-chan's safety more so than my own.

Though I'm sure she would've preferred that she and Inuyasha share their own room, Kagome-chan was complacent enough and kept the flirting to a minimum. However, having them share a bed a mere nightstand away from mine was a little uncomfortable. Hearing them kiss goodnight was more than enough persuasion to keep my head buried underneath the pillow while I tried to get some sleep. At least Inuyasha was up before the sun and was gone within five minutes.

Kagome-chan and I, however, slept late into the day, neither one of us stirring until around noon. Having been up for a full twenty-four hours the day before ran us both completely into the ground, and the six-thirty wakeup call and the knock from the cleaning lady around seven-thirty went ignored. Honestly, I felt like sleeping till Kingdom Come, though as Kagome-chan shook me awake at a quarter passed noon, informing me that she was going to be soaking in the bath for a while and ordering me not to come in, I reluctantly rolled out of bed myself.

I stretched and glanced around the hotel room, noting for the first time that, despite being forced to share a room, this hotel all in all seemed quite nice. The sheets were obviously clean and fresh when we first arrived last night, the beds themselves enormous and highly comfortable, and the overall size of the room was nothing to complain about either. It was divided into two areas, one for sleeping and the other for living, designated by a set of French doors separating the areas. The sound of the water pouring into the bathtub hummed, slightly muffled, in the background while I decided to explore the room that Inuyasha had booked for us.

Halfway through exploring the closet space of the shared bedroom/bathroom area, I realized that my stomach was groaning quietly for food. Remembering that I had hardly eaten anything the day before, I wandered into the living room in search of that promised mini-fridge the concierge had mentioned when we booked the room. Though it was still quite some time before evening, I hoped the fridge was stocked to bursting with plenty of those tiny bottles of alcohol.

The living area was brighter than the bedroom, with a substantial amount of natural light pouring in from the balcony off to the right of me. Squinting slightly, I rounded the corner and stopped cold, my mouth falling open in uncontrolled astonishment.

Mizushima Sango was in our hotel room.