InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Love's Smirking Revenge ❯ Snap ( Chapter 25 )

Love's Smirking Revenge

Chapter 26

- Snap -

At what point does the pain stop?

Kagome wondered this while staring at the charred remains of the Vica Cafe from the sidewalk across the street. With her head tilted to the side, she studied the blackened bones of the burnt out coffee shop and felt an odd sense of camaraderie. That emptiness, the worthlessness, mourning the loss of something that had once been great... She understood them all too well.

Moving on was a whole lot easier to say than it was to do. His voicemail the other night had made that abundantly clear. A part of her regretted her rash decision to delete it. Thoughts of Inuyasha made her simmer with rage, but that didn't change the fact that she missed him. She missed the golden hue of his eyes and the way the tone of his voice could make her shiver. She missed the fierceness in his kiss and the bluntness of his words. On bad days she even missed his tantrums. There were a lot of things she missed about him.

Dinner with Kouga had been nice. It'd shown her what things could be like, how they could be different, but she wasn't ready to make that leap. At the end of the night she'd come home to an empty apartment and that wasn't going to change any time soon. How could she possibly be ready to move on when her heart was still so wrapped up in the past?

The worst part was, the more she thought about it the clearer the answer to her problems became - she would have to talk to him. She needed to hear his answer to the one question she wasn't sure she could handle knowing the truth to-

Why?

Why had he left that day at the hospital and not come back? Was it because of Kikyou? Why didn't he care at all how she was doing? Was it so easy for him to turn off his emotions, just like that? Why why why why why?

Her mind had an impressive ability to default to the worst case scenario for each unknown answer -

He blames you for Kikyou's death.

He could never love a liar and a murderer.

The very sight of you disgusts him.

He never loved you in the first place.

It just went on, and on, like that, in a never-ending barrage of self-effacing, self-destructive statements. Her mind's capacity for emotional torture was so much worse than anything Oniguomo or his brother, Naraku, had dished out.

Pulling out a notebook from her purse, she scribbled a few hasty notes about the cafe for the arson piece she was working on. She'd decided to play up how the loss of the little coffee shop was affecting the community, how they were mourning their beloved, quaint cafe. She needed something to go on. After all, she wasn't getting much from the law enforcement side of things. The cops still had no suspects, no motive, and no luck tracking down the mystery waitress who'd been working the night of the fire.

She watched a few passersby, hoping for inspiration, but not a single one of them cast so much as a cursory glance at the blackened ruins across the street.

"Well, so much for that angle,"she muttered, hastily scratching out the few notes she'd jotted down.

It was typical. Everyone was so caught up in their own lives they couldn't even be bothered to notice something had been taken from them. Sure, it was only a small cafe but it'd been there for over a decade. What exactly did it take for people to wake up and take notice?

Was a date with Kouga what it took for him to finally call me?

It hadn't occurred to her earlier, but the more she thought about it the more sense it made. The timing was too perfect. After six weeks of silence he chose that night, of all nights, to finally make a move?

So what - in a sudden fit of jealousy he decided to swoop in at the last second and take her back for himself?

Like Hell..., she thought, tasting resentment in her mouth.

No longer in the mood to write much of anything, she stuffed her notebook back into her purse and pulled out her cell instead. It was time to call a cab and get to the office. Kami only knew how many emails were waiting in her Inbox.

With the lunch time rush over, the street traffic around her eventually slowed and the block became deserted. The cadence of confident footsteps echoed off the concrete buildings and drew steadily closer to where she stood, finally stopping just off to her right. Gripping her cellphone tight, she cast a suspicious glance at the well dressed stranger standing next to her.

Paranoia and fear were her constant companions these days. Everyone was an assassin, every well dressed stranger a yakuza out for revenge. The man to her right seemed to have very little interest in her and a whole lot of attention for the cafe across the street. His light eyes scrutinized the damage while his mouth pressed into a frown.

"Did you go there often?" she asked, with a nod at the cafe.

"No," was his response - clipped and direct. She studied him closer, noting his well tailored suit and the light sheen of his leather loafers. At the very least he was a man with expensive taste.

Never one to back down easily, she prodded him again. Perhaps he was a former customer? He might just be the personal link that would give life to her floundering story.

"Do you know what happened?"

"No."

Pursing her lips, she tried a different angle. There was only one reason she could think of that a man like him would be interested in the demise of such a little unknown place. Behind the designer clothes, fancy cars, money and criminal records, or lack thereof, men were all the same weren't they? Kesuke had taught her that.

A sad smile briefly crossed her lips at the memory of the yakuza who'd sacrificed his life for hers. During those long hours when all she could feel was pain, talking to him had helped take her mind off of things. The cops and doctors all assumed she'd developed Stockholm syndrome, but she knew better. At his core, Kesuke had been a good man and he'd deserved better than to go out like that.

Remembering the story he'd told her about his wife and how they'd met, she turned to the man next to her with a knowing look.

"It's a shame about that cute little waitress they had working here...Rin I think her name was?" she wagered, lifting her gaze to find his golden eyes fixed on her in an intimidating glare. Unperturbed, she reeled him in the rest of the way.

"I hear the police are looking to hold her responsible for the fire. They say it was arson, you know. "

She added in a disappointed 'cluck' of her tongue for good measure and shook her head. The man's glare darkened considerably and she took a cautious step back.

"It would be wise to maintain a shred of journalistic integrity when you write your editorial Ms. Higurashi. Character defamation lawsuits are messy business."

She felt her back grow straighter with every well placed word out of his mouth. Holding her nose marginally higher (which made little difference since he was still a good head taller than her) she shot back,

"I've built my career on my journalistic integrity. The cops are looking at her for this, I can promise you that much," she bluffed.

"I know."

He didn't sound concerned, or even the least bit worried, merely inconvenienced. It was an odd reaction for someone to have. Who exactly was this guy, and just how involved was he?

"If you know where she is...," she began, hazarding a glance between him and the cafe. He didn't give anything away, but her reporter's instincts were telling her she wasn't far from the truth.

"You should tell her to turn herself in. She only looks more guilty hiding like this."

He grunted quietly at her warning, but didn't linger. With a sniff of disgust aimed in her direction, he continued his purposeful stride down the sidewalk. She watched him go until he disappeared around the next corner and then let out a frustrated sigh.

Well, that was one less lead she could count on. That seemed to be a bit of a theme with this story. The neighbours knew nothing. The owners refused to talk. No one had seen hide nor hair of the only potential witness - the waitress who'd been working the night of the fire. Until now... That well dressed stranger, whoever he was, knew where she was or at the very least knew how to find her. This story had just gotten a whole lot more interesting.

"People seriously underestimate how much work goes into good journalism these days," she muttered, flipping her phone open. She quickly scrolled through the names in her address book and stopped at the number for the 29th Division Tokyo Police Headquarters.

It was time to call in a favour and she knew just the man to ask.

oOo

The silence in the Evidence Locker of Tokyo's 29th precinct was interrupted by the faint sounds of boxes being shuffled. Down aisle six, Detective Takahashi pulled another box from the shelf, frowned, and set it aside with the rest. He tossed his jacket across the small stack that'd steadily accumulated to his right and took a moment to roll up his sleeves.

"They have to be here somewhere," he muttered, scanning the shelves with his arms crossed.

Evidence didn't just disappear from the Evidence Locker. That didn't change the fact that he'd been rifling around for nearly an hour and wasn't any closer to finding his case files than when he'd arrived. He wasn't any closer to forgetting Kouga's warning either.

"I've made my move. If you want her back, I suggest you make yours."

A sudden burst of rage sent the box in his hands flying. It slammed into the concrete floor with a dull thud and skidded to a stop ten feet down the aisle.

Damn it! Damn it, damn it, damn it!

He was tempted to throw another box but sat himself down atop one of the piles instead with a heavy sigh. Putting his head between his knees, he tried to rein his temper in.

He'd been lying to himself for weeks, and not very well either. He'd told himself that a clean break was best. 'The right thing to do is usually the hardest thing,' or so the saying went. Well, considering how absolutely fucking miserable he'd been he figured he had to at least be on the right track.

When that didn't work, he tried to convince himself that he didn't need her in his life complicating things. That was followed by the laughable whopper that he was doing just fine without her.

And then, of course, there was the one truth that was the hardest for him to swallow - she deserved better. She deserved to be happy and there were so many things he couldn't give her - protection, reliability, intimacy... If she couldn't get those things from him, then she deserved the chance to find someone who could give them to her.

He told himself he could handle her moving on if that were the case. Despite a lifetime of selfishness and acting in his own best interests, he had the capacity to be that selfless when it really mattered.

What a crock of shit.

He wasn't okay - far from it. And this... Shit - this situation with her was like starting back at square one! All it had taken was a few words from Kouga and whatever miniscule progress he'd made was as good as gone. The fresh scab that'd just barely healed over his heart had been violently torn off and he was left standing there, helpless, as he watched it bleed out all over again.

Kouga... That bastard... !

It wasn't his fault but he needed to blame someone and he was so goddamn sick of blaming himself. She could have picked anyone but him. A sound of disgust left his lips as he slowly closed his hand into a fist. The urge to hit someone was damn near uncontrollable. One wrong word, one sideways glance he didn't like and...

"You're not doing yourself any favours here Takahashi."

The Superintendent had levelled those words at him barely a week earlier after he'd engaged in an impromptu shouting match with an officer in the gallery.

"Get that temper of yours under control or you'll be living at that desk of your until you retire."

'Easier said than done,' he thought, blowing out some of his rage.

The Superintendent was one of the few people he respected, but even that didn't change a thing. The problem wasn't the job, or the people - the problem was her. And until he could get her out of his head he wasn't going to be any good to anyone. That was why Kouga couldn't be the one. Living without her in his life he could survive, eventually. Watching Kouga flaunt her around as his newest arm candy, he couldn't.

With a shake of his head he slowly got back to his feet, determined to find what he'd come looking for.

"Oi! What the hell? You better put those back!"

Perfect. Inuyasha scowled at the uniform storming down the aisle towards him.

"You lookin' for something in particular or do you just enjoy taking the Evidence Locker apart for fun?"

"Yeah, you know Spring cleaning and all that," he quipped. "My case files are missin'. They're supposed to be right here."

He gestured at the shelf in question and the uniform shrugged.

"So someone checked them out. What do you want me to do about it?"

There was a reason why cops like this guy were hidden away in the underbelly of the station doing Evidence Locker duty. They were absolutely fucking useless.

"Don't you think it's a little odd that someone else, besides me, is checking out my evidence files? Don't you guys check up on that sort of thing?"

The uniform chuckled humourlessly.

"That ain't my job, Buddy. I watch the evidence to make sure it doesn't go walking. That's it. Play office politics upstairs. You don't like it, take it up with HR and have them change my job description."

Inuyasha took a deep breath, let it out nice and slow and counted back from ten. His fists were aching to meet flesh, but it wouldn't get him what he needed. It took every ounce of willpower in him to open his fists and cross his arms instead.

Speaking in the calmest, most rational tone he could manage given the circumstances he said, "I need a name. Who signed out my files?"

"So what, you can storm out of here and leave me to clean up your mess? Not happening," the uniform barked with a sarcastic laugh.

"Clean this shit up and come see me at the desk on your way out."

His shoulders trembled from holding himself back as he watched the prick saunter off down the aisle toward his desk. Visions of jumping him from behind and beating that smug look off his face brought a smile to his lips, but his feet remained rooted to the concrete floor. For once, he would play by the rules. Besides, his job couldn't afford any more 'incidents'.

Turning his back on the uniform lounging at his desk, he quietly made his way back to the piles of boxes he'd stacked on the floor. Bending down, he picked up the first of many and put it back on the shelf.

Thirty minutes and a lot of lifting later, he wiped his hands clean and made his way to the reception desk. The uniform, too busy reading the newspaper on his computer screen, didn't even bother to acknowledge him. Leaning over the counter he slowly pushed the laptop screen shut and levelled the dipshit wannabe cop with a steady glare.

"The files."

The guy gave him a pointed look and re-opened his computer screen. He took his sweet ass time logging into the database, looking thoroughly inconvenienced by having to actually do his job.

"I need the case file numbers. We've got procedures here that need to be followed, ya know."

Inuyasha ground his teeth and rattled off the case numbers. He'd had them memorized for years. As if he could possibly forget them. He watched the man's fat fingers type each digit into the database. He clicked through a few more screens and then took his time reading the last one before answering.

"Yup, both are checked out, just like I said. If you'd checked in at the desk like you're supposed to you could've saved yourself a lot of trouble."

The guy kept ranting, but Inuyasha wasn't listening. Who the hell was digging through his files?

"I want a name," he growled. He wasn't in any kind of mood to keep dicking around with this guy. Begrudgingly the officer turned the laptop towards him.

"See for yourself."

He stared at the highlighted name for a good long minute before it sunk in.

"You're sure?"

The uniform nodded and flipped the computer back around.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Everyone's gotta scan their ID to check out evidence. The whole system's automated."

"Bastard..." he muttered under his breath. "That goddamn sonofabitch!"

oOo

The gallery was a flurry of noise and activity by the time he'd made his way up the six flights of stairs from the basement. He'd hoped taking the stairs would calm him down a bit, but it hadn't made a lick of difference. His eyes narrowed at his target, who was too preoccupied chatting up one of the new female detectives at the coffee bar to notice.

Heads turned as he stormed toward the pair, wearing an expression that was one part fury and two parts murderous intent. Someone from the crowd tried to take his arm and pull him back but he shook them off as easily as he would a fly. Nothing could stop him now.

This wasn't just about the files anymore. The closer he got the stronger the images became - that scum sucking bastard and Kagome holding hands over dinner, him kissing her at the end of their date, his body pressed into hers against a wall while his hands explored curves he never should've been allowed to touch...

Maybe when all was said and done, he could try for an 'insanity' defence...

Kouga saw him coming from a few feet away and turned slowly, almost casually, to fix him with a patronizing look - "I win" it said, and that's when he lost it.

Any control he might have had evaporated in that last step that closed the distance between them. He wasn't even sure Kouga saw the punch coming. If he did, he didn't make any move to block it. His fist met Kouga's face with enough force to snap his head sharply to the left. He didn't give him a chance to recover before he tackled him to the ground and landed another blow across his cheek.

It took three uniforms to pull him off, and even then it took every ounce of his self control not to use the true strength he possessed to resist them. Kouga got slowly to his feet, with one hand massaging his jaw.

"You wanna explain what that was all about?" he asked, not sounding the least bit surprised.

"You son of a bitch," Inuyasha spat, still struggling against his restrainers. "What the hell gives you the right to start digging through my cases?"

Silence settled over the crowd of onlookers. Cops were more territorial than dogs when it came to their work. There were some lines you just didn't cross and mucking about uninvited in someone else's cases was one of them.

Kouga shrugged, nonchalant.

"Is that the real reason you hit me, or are you just pissed that I took your woman out to dinner? You can lie to yourself all you want Inuyasha, but call a spade a spade."

He growled and made another move to attack but was interrupted by the Superintendent's booming baritone.

"What the hell is going on here?"

Superintendent Saito took one look at the scene in front of him and stormed into his office. "Takahashi! Yamada! In my office NOW!"

Kouga gave him a cutting look and followed the Superintendent inside. They looked like a pair of schoolboys being sent to the Principal's office for detention. Perfect - just what he didn't need. With a frustrated growl he shook off the arms loosely holding him back, straightened his jacket and followed.

Superintendent Saito was known for being a well-put together man. Despite being in his 60s he was strong and agile with a full head of hair and balls of steel. It was only in the last few years that tiny wisps of grey had come to grace his sideburns. Rather than make him look old, they gave him a distinguished appearance worth envying. His suits were impeccably tailored, his collar starched and there wasn't so much as a pen mark on the cuff of his shirt. Not bad for a guy who didn't have a woman at home.

He was a man dedicated to his job and the people who worked for him. He lived, slept, ate and breathed Tokyo's 29th precinct and he was its heart - which is why they both knew this wasn't going to bode well for either of them.

"Shut the damn door!" he demanded the moment Inuyasha stepped into the office. He obeyed without complaint and fell in step beside Kouga in front of the desk.

"Take a seat, Detectives."

The Superintendent's tone broke no argument but both of them remained standing, their legs locked stiffly in place.

"I'll stand thanks," Inuyasha grumbled, casting a sidelong glance at his rival.

"You'll keep your goddamn mouth shut until I ask you to open it."

The Superintendent's rage was palpable, which was something completely new to both of them. In all the years they'd worked together, Inuyasha had never seen him this riled up. He was always the level head, the one who remained cool in a crisis. He left the hot headed showboating to the younger guys on the team - said he'd grown out of it years ago. Today though... Today he was a tempest with a gale force head wind.

Stopping suddenly, he slammed his palm down on the desk and pointed at the gallery beyond the door.

"You wanna tell me just what the hell was going on out there? I come in to find two of Tokyo's best detectives going at it like a couple of drunken frat boys!"

Kouga spoke first which was just as well. Inuyasha found himself far too busy restraining the urge to attack for his words to be of any good. Kouga's tone was reserved and professional as he calmly explained what'd happened. To his credit, he didn't exaggerate or lie but he didn't tell the whole truth either and he sure as hell wasn't doing him any favours.

When Kouga had finished re-hashing his blameless sob story, the Superintendent turned expectant eyes on him. What was he going to say that hadn't already been said? He stared back, his expression blank. Whatever consequences were coming, he wasn't going to try and duck out of them like some kind of pussy.

Saito let out a heavy sigh and slowly lowered himself into his chair. Out of habit, his hand smoothed his glossy black hair neatly to the side and then flicked dismissively toward the door.

"Fine. Yamada, get lost and get the hell out of my precinct."

Kouga bowed deeply, knowing better than to say a word, and quietly stepped out the door.

Alone, he and the Superintendent stared each other down in silence. The Superintendent's eyes had always looked small to him, hidden behind heavy bags wrought by decades of long nights and little sleep. His eyes looked even smaller now, narrowed into fine points as he calculated out a suitable punishment.

"You need help," he stated finally, his tone decisive.

Inuyasha was proud that he'd spent 10 years on the force working under the man. He respected him more than anyone else, but even that couldn't stop the vitriol from spilling out of his mouth.

"Is that your professional opinion?" he snapped.

The Superintendent gave him an impatient look and he instantly felt a pang of guilt. If it weren't for the man's unrivalled patience he would've been out of a job a long time ago. Not too many Superintendents had what it took to see the potential in a failed cop and an alcoholic to boot. For five years Superintendent Saito had been the only one in his corner telling him to keep his chin up and out of trouble, but today his corner was empty. Apparently, as of today, his limitless well of patience had gone dry.

"As a friend, I'm telling you you need help. Whatever it is that's been eating away at you, deal with it. I won't have you tearing through my precinct like some riled up bull every time someone looks at you the wrong way! If you need counselling..."

"I don't need any goddamn shrink messing with my head," he ground out.

Sighing in disappointment, the Superintendent tucked the business card back in his desk drawer and folded his hands in front of him.

"You say you don't need help? Fine. I'm not going to force it on you."

Inuyasha nodded his thanks, but the expression on the Superintendent's face told him this was far from over. The man levelled him with a stern look and calmly laid everything out on the table.

"I am done giving you chances."

The words hit him like a steel-toed boot to the gut. He pulled in a deep breath to steady himself and slowly let it out. If there was any sympathy on the Superintendent's face it was brief and gone within the blink of an eye.

"From now on, when I say 'jump' you're going to say 'how high?'. When I say 'get me a coffee' you'll ask me how many sugars I'd like in it."

Inuyasha could feel his face morphing into a grimace of disgust. He'd put in too many years to become the office bitch. In response, the Superintendent's voice grew louder and more insistent. If he wasn't prepared to listen to ultimatums, apparently the man was going to force him.

"Inuyasha, I've let you get away with a lot because of your talent and your history, but this is the end of the line. We've all got a case that screws us up, but we learn to deal with it. Get whatever issues you have under control or the next time you so much as sniff in the wrong direction you'll be out of a job."

The breath he'd been holding escaped in a shaky exhale of relief.

I'm safe, he thought with an echo of disbelief. He hadn't expected that. Thank kami for this one small mercy. Without this there would be nothing left to tie him down to earth. Without that link he'd lose himself completely.

"Have I made myself clear?"

The Superintendent's demand was met with a clear, if soft, "Yes, sir. Perfectly."

He regarded him carefully before slowly nodding his head. Leaning back into his chair, he opened the drawer next to him and pulled out a file. Wearing a smug look, he pushed it across the desk towards him.

"There's a witness I want you to talk to about the arson case," he said, nodding pointedly to the file.

Inuyasha scowled as he begrudgingly picked the folder up off the desk and flipped it open.

"I'm not a babysitter," he groused, snapping the file shut. "This isn't even my case!"

The Superintendent got up from behind his desk and smiled as he opened the door.

"You talk like you've got a choice, Detective. She's in interrogation three. And bring her a cup of coffee while you're at it. She's been waiting there a while."

Author's Notes: I would like to extend a very special thank you to Kinky Hoe, Eggry, MISS CAMRY, TiffanyM and loulou *nsi* for your kind words of encouragement and support. It's thanks to you that this next update is out as soon as it is. I hope you enjoy the read.

To the rest of my wonderful, faithful readers - if you feel so inclined I'd love to hear your thoughts as well. Please don't be shy :)

Chapter 27 will be out soon.

Until next time,

Langus