InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Closing the Case ❯ Chapter 19 ( Chapter 19 )

Closing the Case

Chapter 19

 

Inuyasha clasped Kagome's hand as Sango took the stand. The medical examiner was about to testify to all the gruesome details she found on all the bodies, as well as to the DNA evidence found. Even from the gallery, Inuyasha could see the distant look in her eyes, as she tried to suppress the thoughts of examining her brother's body.

 

Inuyasha leaned over to whisper in Kagome's ear, “We don't have to stay for this, I've already testified.” Kagome turned and looked at him. Her blue eyes were brimming with tears, but determined. The hand that was linked with his squeezed just a little tighter.

 

“No. I want to stay. I want to know how it happened.”

 

“Kagome…”

 

“Please, Inuyasha, I need to do this. If I don't, I'll spend the rest of my life wondering. Please.” He looked down at her for a long moment with an unreadable expression. Inuyasha had taken a lot of effort to shield her from the horrors of his job, but how could he protect her when she did not want protection? With a sigh and a gentle kiss to her forehead, he backed down.

 

“Ok, but say the word and we're gone,” he whispered. She nodded and smiled up at him.

 

“Thank you.” They turned back to the floor as Sesshoumaru began to ask his questions. It was easy at first, because he asked about the DNA found and how it conclusively connected Naraku to the crimes. He pressed about the technical aspects of DNA matching and the odds of two people having identical DNA. Then he moved onto the bodies.

 

“Miss Tijiya, describe for this court the conditions of the bodies when you examined them.” Sesshoumaru's calm voice carried clearly through the room. At his side, Inuyasha felt Kagome stiffen and he gave her hand an encouraging squeeze. On the stand, Sango took a deep calming breath, no doubt suppressing the images that rose in her mind.

 

“The bodies sustained a number of post and pre-mortem wounds. The pre-mortem wounds included a number of large bruises consistent with being moved around in a limited amount of space. There were also rope burns and bruises on the wrists and ankles.” Sango took another deep breath and Kagome's grip tightened on Inuyasha's hand. “Two of the boys, the first and third victims, were also sodomized.”

 

Inuyasha heard Kagome's breath seize and he turned to look at her. Her jaw was set in a hard line as her teeth clenched. Her eyes were closed and a tear was slowly rolling down her cheek. Inuyasha reached out and wiped it away, drawing her attention to him as he did. The question must have been evident in his eyes, because she shook her head and turned back to the floor.

 

“The hairbrush found in Mr. Arachna's apartment had blood and fecal particles on it. It was also made of pine, matching the splinters found in both victims. All the bodies had stab wounds to the chest that were pre and post mortem. In the case of victim one, one of the early stabs wounds punctured a lung causing it to fill with blood and putting cause of death as asphyxiation. In the case of the second victim, all the wounds were post mortem. The cause of death was blunt force trauma to the back of the skull when the victim's head was slammed repeatedly onto concrete, small chunks of which were found in the wound. The third victim,” Sango took another steadying breath, “had a mixture of pre and post mortem wounds, with the cause of death being blood loss.”

 

“You also had a chance to examine the victim who lived, is that correct?” To Inuyasha's left he saw Miroku stiffen ever so slightly before bowing his head to hide his eyes.

 

“Correct.”

 

“Were the injuries consistent with the pattern you have seen?” Sesshoumaru pressed as he seemed to study the M.E.

 

“For the most part. She had the same bruises and stab wounds as the boys. But unlike the boys, she was not sodomized. Instead she was raped. That is where we got the DNA sample.” Sango answered. She seemed to finally have gotten her emotions completely in check. Miroku, on the other hand, seemed to be losing his control. He stood and left the room, his stride very short and purposeful. Only Inuyasha noticed his exit.

 

“Inuyasha?” He turned back at the sound of Kagome's soft request.

 

“Do you want to go?”

 

“No, not yet. Which… which victim was Souta?” Her voice was soft, as if she was trying to keep it from cracking. But her efforts could not keep the sadness and fear out.

 

“Kag… I shouldn't…”

 

“Please, Inuyasha, I need to know this.” Her eyes pleaded with him and tugged at his heart. He frowned. It was against the rules for him to talk to her about the case until the trial was over.

 

“I can't, Kagome,” he apologized. She started to protest, but he placed a finger to her lips to stop her. “But when this is all over, I'm going to take a few days off and take you somewhere nice. Then, I'll answer any questions you have. Deal?” She looked disappointed, but nodded in agreement.

 

While they had been talking, Sesshoumaru had finished and passed Sango off to the Defense. Hakudoushi's questions focused on trying to cast doubt on the DNA evidence. He pointed out the margin of error and asked her questions about jumping to a convenient conclusion, to the point that Sesshoumaru objected to badgering. When she was finally released from the stand, Sango made her way back to the gallery with her head held high. She dropped into Miroku's abandoned seat and let her head fall into her hands. He could see her shaking slightly.

 

It was Kagome, however, who reached out to her. Inuyasha watched as his girlfriend reached across him to place her hand on Sango's shoulder. The M.E. started a little, and looked up. Inuyasha remembered Miroku once saying women could speak volumes without saying a word, but he never believed it until that moment. Both girls smiled gently at each other as they gave and received comfort from the other. It was Sesshoumaru's voice that finally broke the spell.

 

“The prosecution calls Kirara Kitsunebi to the stand.” Shippou rose and took his daughter's hand. Kirara followed obediently, though her expression showed fear and nervousness. The young detective lifted the girl into the witness chair and gave her a gentle kiss to the temple and an encouraging word. As the bailiff approached her, Kagome turned back to Inuyasha.

 

“He can't really mean to question her? She's just a little girl!” Her voice came out in a harsh whisper.

 

“He prepped her. Don't worry; Sesshoumaru knows what he's doing.” Kagome gave him a pensive look, but did not protest further. On the stand, Kirara finished the oath, though she seemed at a loss for why she had had to take it. Her wide blue eyes scanned the room. She looked tiny in the large wooden chair; with her back against the stiff back of the chair, her feet stuck straight out over the edge, and her arms spread wide so she could `rest' her hands on the chair's arms. She tilted her chin up to look at the tall prosecutor.

 

Inuyasha nearly choked when he saw his brother give the girl a small smile and crouch down to her level. Of all the times in the world not to have a camera on hand. He knew that scaring a child would make his brother look bad in the eyes of the jury, but his brother rarely smiled, except at Rin. A glance to the side showed him that Kagome was just as surprised as he was.

 

“Hi, sweetie, can you tell me your name?” Sesshoumaru asked pleasantly. A loud snort came from the gallery, but the attorney ignored it.

 

“It's Kirara.”

 

“And what's your last name, Kirara?”

 

“Kitsunebi.”

 

“That's a pretty name.” Sesshoumaru smiled again as he stood and stepped back a little.

 

“Now, can you tell me what happened three weeks ago?” Kirara looked up at him innocently.

 

“Umm, I went to school, and I colored pictures, and Daddy took me to see Miss Kagome, and she read me a book, and we had hamburgers for dinner, and I-”

 

“That all sounds like so much fun,” Sesshoumaru cut her off gently, “But was there something scary that happened?” Kirara brought a finger to her mouth in deep thought for a moment before nodding. “Can you tell me about it?” She nodded again. In the gallery, Inuyasha was biting his hand to stifle his laughter at his brother's out of character behavior.

 

“I was in my room, coloring a picture of me and Daddy and my kitty. And then someone knocked on the door and Miss Sarah said she would get it. Then there was a loud bang and Miss Sarah screamed. Then this big man who I never saw before came in my room and he grabbed my arm and I screamed. Then Max came in and bit him.”

 

“And can you tell me who Max is?”

 

“Uh huh, he's Daddy's partner. He's a doggy,” Kirara piped, showing she had nothing but loved for her furry friend.

 

“Why do you think he bit that man?”

 

“Daddy says Max has to bite bad people,” she answered. Sesshoumaru nodded sagely.

 

“I bet that was really scary,” Sesshoumaru crouching down to her level again. Kirara nodded.

 

“But I wouldn't have been scared if my Daddy was there. He's really brave and strong and he keeps bad guys from hurting people.”

 

Sesshoumaru nodded as if she had just said something very fascinating. “Your Daddy is here today, right?”

 

“Uh huh, he's right over there.” She pointed across the room to where Shippou sat in the gallery. Sesshoumaru looked over and caught sight of his brother in fits of silent laughter. The attorney made a mental note to make him pay for his misgotten humor.

 

“Well, since your Daddy is here, can you be brave for me?” Kirara nodded vigorously. “Can you point to the man who Max bit?” He stood up so she had a clear view of the room. The little girl scanned the room, her finger to her mouth again as she thought.

 

“That's him.” She pointed to Naraku.

 

“Are you sure?” Sesshoumaru asked gently. “It's important.”

 

“Pretty sure,” Kirara answered, looking up at the lawyer, “The man had lots of hair and these funny brown eyes that looked kinda red too.” Sesshoumaru nodded and smiled at her again.

 

“No further questions.” As Sesshoumaru made his way back to his seat, Hakudoushi stood up. The small lawyer smiled charmingly at the little girl, but it did not hold any warmth and she shrank away slightly.

 

“Sweetie, do you know what the word perjury means?” Kirara shook her head. “Answer Yes or No, please.”

 

“No.” Her voice was small as she leaned as far away from the man as the chair would allow. The lawyer crouched down so he could look into the little girl's eyes.

 

“Perjury means lying under oath. You made a promise in front of all these people, that you would tell the truth while you sat in this chair. Now, are you sure that,” he gestured towards Naraku, “is the man you saw, or did you just give the answer that your Daddy and Mr. West told you to give?”

 

“Daddy and Mr. West told me to tell the truth,” she protested, though she still sounded small and frightened. Hakudoushi nodded and stood up. He walked across the room to the jury box. He stopped near a young juror with shoulder length black hair and brown eyes.

 

“This man has black hair and brown eyes; could not he have been the one who came into your home?” Kirara tilted her head to the side, seeming to consider the man before giving her head a shake.

 

“Nope, he doesn't have enough hair. The man who came in had lots of hair, like Daddy, and Mr. West, and Uncle Yasha.”

 

“I see.” Hakudoushi frowned ever so slightly. He began to walk slowly back across the room. “But all of them have lots of hair, why are you so sure that there aren't more men with lots of hair. I'm sure at least some of them have black hair and brown eyes.” Kirara shifted uncomfortably. “So, how do you know that this man is the same one?”

 

“I…umm…”

 

“So you're not sure.”

 

“But…”

 

“So you lied to all these people.”

 

“Objection! Badgering!” Sesshoumaru cut in.

 

“Withdrawn.” Hakudoushi flipped his hand casually before the judge could rule. Kirara sat deep in the chair, her lower lip sticking out in a pout. Hakudoushi turned back to ask her another question, but one look at the little girl's face and he thought better of it. “No further questions.”

 

“You can go back to your father now,” Toutousai prompted. Kirara nodded and slid out of the chair and, with some difficulty, stepped out of the witness box. She lifted her eyes to see Shippou holding the swinging gallery door open. But a moment later they drifted to the left ever so slightly to take in Naraku and Hakudoushi. Both men smiled at her, but there was no warmth in it.

 

A chair scraped against the floor and Sesshoumaru swept across the room. He scooped the small girl into his arms without a word, and moved back to Shippou. The young detective took his daughter with only a sour look at the defendant and his lawyer.

 

Sesshoumaru went on to call Myouga, Rin, Mrs. Jackson, and half a dozen others before he finally turned the floor over to the defense.

 

“Councilor Entei, you may call your first witness,” Toutousai instructed, stretching lazily in his chair. It seemed a wonder he had stayed awake through the entire trial.

 

“The Defense would like to call Kagome Higurashi to the stand.”