Interns (Smoking Gun Part One) (AU Challenge Writing Entry)

I think I’m allergic to oneshots considering that everything I’ve written so far has turned into a series :joy: :sweat_smile:

Anyways, here’s my writing entry for the #AUChallenge

Enjoy!

Rin fidgeted with her folder as she sat and waited. Ten minutes could feel like a lifetime with her nerves sometimes. She shifted on the comfortable though professional looking chair, pulling at her skirt. It was tight and uncomfortable. Her bun was already giving her a headache. She preferred to leave her hair down. She checked her white blouse for stains from breakfast, but it was clean.

Rin couldn’t decide if that was a good thing or a bad thing. On the one hand, she was presentable. On the other, she didn’t have anything to do while she waited, except worry about the inevitable mistake she would make. At least if she had a nice chocolate stain on her shirt, she’d know what had gone wrong.

“Miss? He’s ready to see you now,” the secretary said after hanging up the phone.

Rin stood nervously, smoothing down her skirt and straightening her papers. This would be her first important interview. She prayed she hadn’t forgotten anything. With her luck, there was probably a glob of wet paint on her butt.

Rin took a deep breath. She needed this job. It didn’t feel right letting her adoptive grandmother continue to take care of her now that she was halfway to graduating law school. This internship was the opportunity she needed.

A middle aged man in a bland brown suit opened a door and ushered for her to follow. “Rin? You may follow me.”

Rin did so, and was surprised to see that she was taller than the strange man. He must be barely five feet tall. That made Rin feel slightly better about her own lack of any physically intimidating attributes. She studied him curiously as he led the way down the hall. He was probably the most non-intimidating man Rin had ever seen. His suit didn’t fit right, his eyes and nose were too big for his head, and he’d begun to go bald, although he couldn’t have been older than thirty five.

The walk only lasted seconds, but it felt like it had been an hour since she’d left the lobby.

“...know why he’d bother with an intern in person.”

Rin became aware of the man speaking. It sounded like he was probably talking to himself. She hoped he hadn’t said anything important that she’d missed. It didn’t sound likely.

“Be grateful that he’s willing to see you in person,” the man finished off, before opening a door and gesturing for Rin to enter.

The tall window taking up half of one wall caught Rin’s gaze for a moment, but the man sitting in a red office chair that somehow looked like a throne quickly stole her attention.

He was stunning, with long silver-white hair, strong but elegant features...

And Rin recognized him.

“It’s true, you don’t age...” she said stupidly. He looked about nineteen. The same age as Rin. But he’d looked about nineteen the day he saved her life ten years ago.

“That’s false,” he said. Sitting with his legs crossed, his expression was dismissive in a way that made someone unable to tell if he found you amusing, or was preparing to put a bullet in you. It took Rin a moment to notice that he wasn’t just wearing a suit, he was wearing a tuxedo.

Rin’s formal business attire suddenly made her feel very underdressed. It was the kind of thing appropriate for the courtroom, not Sesshomaru’s office.

“Um, sir, do you mind if I ask why you’re here?” Rin felt her stomach twist. “I mean, not why you’re here, why you’re seeing me.”

“This is an interview, but it’s generally the one hiring who asks the questions.”

“Sorry,” Rin said, but didn’t drop her gaze. Maintaining eye made an apology professional. She was acknowledging someone else’s point. Looking down made an apology a one-way ticket to brokesville in the world of attorneys.

Sesshomaru almost smiled. “Tell me Rin, would you be interested in being my personal assistant?”

***

“Hey Kagome! Kaede just said we have a new case!”

Kagome sighed. She had been so close to figuring out the puzzle of a cold case kidnapping of a young woman, she was sure of it, but Inuyasha’s gruff announcement had ruined her train of thought. “Do you have to always sound so rude?!”

“I’m just doin’ my job,” Inuyasha said, dropping a file on Kagome’s desk and crossing his arms. “It reeks of Sesshomaru if you ask me. I just know Taichou Enterprises is involved.”

“You always think your brother’s involved.”

“I’m usually right,” Inuyasha half growled, sitting on the edge of Kagome’s desk and looking at her expectantly. “Anything on the old case?”

“It’s not that old,” Kagome grumbled, setting aside the robbery report of a separate cold case. She just knew they were connected. “But no, I don’t seem to have found anything substantial. What’s this new case?”

Inuyasha pushed the file towards her and opened it, “Another kidnapping.”

“Seriously?” Kagome frowned as she studied the initial missing persons report. Another you woman, last reported seen disturbingly close to where Kagome lived.

“D’ya think the cold case might have been a precursor to these recent kidnappings? Same perpetrator?”

“Hmm, unlikely,” Kagome began thinking out loud, letting her mind wander down possible paths of explanation. “This kidnapping was nearly forty years ago, and it was an isolated incident as near as anyone can tell, although the MO does seem to match... I guess a would-be kidnapper might’ve tried it out once, and come back to it years later, but usually a serial offender in any crime picks up steam pretty quickly. If the first attempt goes well, they come back to it within three years at most... I can’t see someone who was able to cover their tracks so well the first time, doing nothing for forty years, then coming back with a new disappearance nearly every month...”

“But you do think these kidnappings are related?” Inuyasha asked when she trailed off.

“Related yes...” Kagome said thoughtfully. “But I don’t think it’s one person. The targets always match this specific criteria, and the MO is nearly the same each time, but not quite. It speaks to something organized.”

“Human trafficking?”

“Probably,” Kagome sighed. “We really should pay a visit to Sesshomaru. He could be useful in stopping this.”

“Tch, or he’s behind it.”

“You know this isn’t the kind of crime he’s interested in. He’ll want to stop these kidnappings as much as we do. ‘It’s bad for business’ as he would put it. Besides, think about how helpful he was in the Naraku case. We never would’ve been able to lock him up without Sesshomaru’s prosecutors.”

“Funny, don’t you think?” Inuyasha mused, studying a mint he’d picked off of Kagome’s desk. “That the lord of a criminal empire would own a law firm that specializes in prosecuting the rich and powerful?”

“I think it makes sense. Everyone knows that Taichou Law Group isn’t where his real money comes from, locking up his illegal business competition would be in his best interests.”

“Yeah whatever. You got any ramen?”

Kagome gave him a flat look.

“Gwih! Never mind. Should I be ing Miroku and Sango?”

Kagome considered for a moment. “Yeah, that’s probably be a good idea. You never know when things might get messy.”

“Did someone say gunfights and human trafficking?”

“Hey Shippō,” Kagome said, smiling at the young intern as he approached through the door Inuyasha had left open.

“You got half of that right, but a little late,” Inuyasha said.

“Here Kagome, I brought you your lunch. How’s Rin doing? Did she get that job?”

“Oh yeah,” Kagome took the box and drink from Shippō, looking up at Inuyasha. “Did you hear anything about that?”

“How should I know what Rin’s doing?”

“You just talked to Kaede didn’t you? Was Rin back?”

“I think I saw her in the kitchen, but I didn’t really pay any attention to her,” Inuyasha scratched his head. “She seemed happy enough though.”