InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Fragments ❯ A Shot in the Dark ( Chapter 13 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Title: A Shot in the Dark
Author: LuxKen27
Universe: Alternate
Genre: Drama
Rating: T
Warning: Language, innuendo
Word Length: 1575
Summary: “Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” – George Bernard Shaw

Disclaimer: The Inuyasha concept, story, and characters are copyright Rumiko Takahashi and Viz Media.

Sango sighed, shifting the open box awkwardly in her arms as she walked down the hall. Finally, finally, she had finished her packing. It was almost surreal to see so many boxes and suitcases stacked neatly in the foyer of her suite, as if she was leaving an overstayed vacation instead of three years of life. Even with her redoubled resolve to move home, and the extra motivation of getting as far away from her doting ex-fiancé Takeda as possible, she felt as if she was moving through mud, slogging toward a goal she was none too excited to meet. Yet, ever pragmatic, she realized that sometimes the only way to see something through was by sheer force of will.

She tipped the box to the ground in front of Akiko’s door. Her best friend lived a few floors down in the same hotel, and had tastes far more suited to this sort of lifestyle, hence leaving her those things she didn’t wish to take with her. Just as she raised her hand to knock, the door opened.

“Hi,” Akiko greeted her, her tone a touch stilted. The two hadn’t really spoken since their last encounter a few weeks earlier, when Sango had announced her departure.

“Hey,” Sango replied, a weak smile playing at the corners of her mouth. “I thought you might like these things,” she continued, stooping to pick up the box once more.

Akiko pulled away from the door. “So you’re still intent on doing this, eh?” she mused, wandering back inside her suite. She picked up a cup of coffee, taking a sip as she flipped through the newspaper.

“Yes,” Sango replied, following her inside and leaving the box on the side table in the foyer. She watched her friend for a moment, heaviness settling in her chest. She hated the awkwardness that settled between them, but felt helpless all the same. If there was one person she didn’t want to lose from her life, one person who meant almost as much to her as her grieving family, it was this girl.

“You understand why I’m leaving…don’t you?” Sango asked, unable to hide the uncertainty in her voice. No matter how strong her will, it was always nice to have reassurance.

Akiko shrugged, refolding the newspaper as she turned to face her friend. “Yeah,” she remarked, holding up the front page.

CHILD MURDER INVESTIGATION CLOSING IN ON SUSPECT, screamed the headline.

Sango sighed, taking the paper from her friend. Typical Karanousuke, she grumbled silently. Kohaku wasn’t a child when he died – and he wasn’t an animal, either, she added as her eyes scanned the page. Her brother’s murder was being treated like a gruesome spectacle in the media, with sensationalistic ties to yakuza and mafia families being bandied about, not to mention all the attention being given to ritualistic serial killers and depraved pedophiles, interviewed from their prison cages to help shape “theories of the crime.”

She didn’t want “what-if” scenarios. She wanted the truth, and none of this was helping.

“Do you have any more information about it?” Akiko asked, gesturing to the page. “Beyond all this speculation, at least?”

Sango sighed. “Not really,” she replied. “That’s the most frustrating part. This whole media blitz schtick is pretty much Karanousuke’s way of keeping all eyes on the prize, as it were.”

“Or, at least, keeping all eyes on him as the ringleader of this crusade,” Akiko said wryly. “It seems to me, he’s doing this all for you.”

“And if he is,” Sango swiftly replied, “it’s having just the opposite intended effect.” She shook her head. “His father has taken on this case personally. He still gives my parents daily debriefings – and believe me, what he’s telling us? He has had the courtesy not to pass on to his son.”

“Smart man,” Akiko remarked with a smile.

“You don’t get to be commissioner by being stupid,” Sango agreed. She tossed aside the offending rag. “So, do you want to go through these things, or not?”

Akiko shot her an incredulous look. “Are you kidding me? You have things I could only dream of owning. Tossing them away would practically be criminal!”

Sango’s smile was genuine as she watched her friend empty the box onto a nearby sofa, oohing and aahing as she picked up each fine article of clothing. It seemed some of the tension surrounding them had lifted, and that heartened her. Maybe their friendship would survive this after all…

“I can’t believe you’re giving me these things,” Akiko bubbled, hugging a cashmere sweater to her chest. “Are you sure you don’t want them?”

Sango shook her head, picking up a pale pink silk sundress. “They were never really me,” she commented, wrinkling her nose. “Give me jeans and a t-shirt any day.”

Akiko eyed her critically. “Yes, I can see you’ve moved straight back into your grubbies stage,” she noted with an exaggerated sigh, “as if three years of high fashion never happened.” She paused, lifting the back of Sango’s shirt off the waistband of her jeans. “Well, almost,” she amended with a grin.

Sango pushed her hands away. “These just fit me better!” she protested with a laugh. “You try finding flattering pants with this body shape!” Even with all of the beautiful, fashionable clothes Karanousuke had lavished upon her during their relationship, Sango’s body image had never really improved; she still felt like a tall, gangly, awkward teenager.

“Oh, please,” Akiko mocked with a giggle. “That’s a first world problem if I’ve ever heard one. Just accept that maybe your tastes have matured, in spite of your conscience.”

“Ha,” Sango muttered grudgingly.

The girls continued to joke and tease as they went through the box of clothes. It was a good reminder for Sango, of just how much she enjoyed Akiko’s company, especially when the mood was light. In so many ways, they were absolute opposites – she never would’ve imagined, when they first sat next to each other in class five years ago, that this girl would’ve been her absolute best friend in the world.

And yet, she was. Even in the sad times, there was no one she’d rather have in her corner.

“So,” Akiko said, clearing her throat as the clothes sorting came to an end, “when are you leaving?”

“Friday,” Sango replied softly, her eyes falling to her lap.

“Wow,” Akiko breathed. “Two days – that’s quick.”

Sango nodded. “In the morning. It was the only time I could book the Nozomi shinkansen,” she added, naming the nonstop bullet train service.

Akiko suddenly threw her arms around Sango’s shoulders, hugging her tightly, taking her friend by surprise.

“Hey, now, what’s all this?” Sango sputtered, closing her arms around her friend. “It’s not like we’re never going to see each other again! I’m just going to Osaka, not moving to Russia or Europe forever!”

“I know,” Akiko sniffled, “but Osaka might as well be as far away as Russia. After living a few floors down from you and seeing you every day for three years, I don’t know what I’m going to do when you’re not around.”

“Call, text, email,” Sango replied breezily as she pulled away, listing off the various means of communication Akiko was so fond of. “I’m sure you’ll find some way to keep me updated.”

Akiko leveled an assessing stare at her friend. “Even about Miroku?”

A slice of sharp pain scored Sango’s spine. “You’ve talked to him?”

Akiko nodded slowly, unable to decide if the question was accusatory or simply curious. “I figured he had a right to know you were leaving.”

When Sango closed her eyes, she could picture him perfectly – the first time she met him, the moment she told him her brother died, the morning after their amazing night together, a culmination of grief and need and desire – and the heaviness from earlier knotted in her chest. Everything she had shared with him came flooding back: memories, conversations, confidences, embraces, kisses, and so much more…

These last few months had been so fucking hard. Would his presence have made a difference?

Would it now?

“Did he…say anything?” she finally managed, still unable to lift her gaze from her lap.

“He said a lot of things,” Akiko answered. Upon seeing Sango’s distressed expression, she hastened to add, “He said he wants you to be happy, even if you have to go back to Osaka to find it.”

“Oh.” Sango felt absolutely crushed. She really had blown it – perhaps two months with nary a word from him should’ve been a clue. His final words echoed through her mind: “One day, you’re going to realize you deserve to be happy, Sango.”

Here, again, were those same cruel words.

Akiko took her shoulders. “He loves you,” she began, “he’s just not going to fight you on this.”

“How do you know?” Sango asked, shrugging off her friend’s embrace.

Akiko bristled. “Because he told me – and I believe him.” She paused, taking in the warring expressions flitting across her friend’s features. “Go and see him before you leave,” she urged. “If you don’t know how you feel about him, you owe yourself that at the very least.”

“I know how I feel about him,” Sango replied archly, feeling her defenses rise around her embarrassment and insecurity. I just don’t know how I feel about this.

“Then go anyway,” Akiko advised with a sigh of resignation. “Even if it’s only to say goodbye.”