Chapter Text
In the dirty, dingy streets sat an even dirtier and dingier bar. The demon who strode into the bar did not bother to hide the distain on his face. His suit was tailored and pristine, the fur he always wore over his shoulder just as clean, despite his current location. Indeed, he even seemed to glow amidst the smoke and grime.
“Over here.”
His frustration grew as his little brother, and co-leader of their less than legal organization, called out to him. The young should’ve known better than to call out to him anywhere. He supposed he should’ve been lucky his name wasn’t used.
InuYasha was seated alone in a corner, a glass of something in his fingers and three empty seats around the round table. He too was dressed neatly, though a little less done up that his elder. He’d forgone the tie and top button of his white shirt that his brother proudly sported. He had no fur, but instead had a suit made of deep red.
Neither were particularly subtle when it came to dressing. A lesson passed down to them by their late father.
“Why here?” Sesshomaru asked, looking around the dingy bar in distain.
“It’s quiet, it’s out of the way, and there’s no cops,” the half-demon said, “and it’s run by Koga’s crew. You might not like him—”
“Not half as much as my you do,” the demon grumbled, sitting down.
“But it’s a good place for us to talk regardless,” InuYasha continued, “ain’t nobody here but us and his workers, and they won’t rat us out.”
The demon’s eyes narrowed, looking towards the two men at the bar, one clearly asleep and the other too busy in his own drink to care about anyone else. The only other person in the place was the young woman tending it.
She was tiny, and barely looked old enough to drink let alone serve. Her long dark hair was kept free down her back, and her tired brown eyes were focused on cleaning some dirty glass.
“Koga couldn’t run his bar in a more reputable area?” Sesshomaru asked, “I can feel the fleas getting in my fur.”
“Then take it off,” InuYasha grumbled, “you don’t need to continually wear your mother’s stole everywhere."
The demon’s eyes narrowed, but he said nothing more. Fortunately, the young woman did not come over to bother them, which Sesshomaru found rather odd.
“Surprised you’re not here with Jaken,” InuYasha said, looking around.
“He’s trying to run the bar,” the demon’s eye twitched at the mere thought, “should say the same to you though,” Sesshomaru dusted the dirt from his presence, “where’s your crew? What does Kagome and the rest think?”
“If Jaken’s having a hard time, you could ask Sango,” his brother said “she had experience behind a bar, and wouldn’t mind doing it,” InuYasha said, “and they don’t know either. They think I’m out vetting someone else.”
“Hn,” looking around, Sesshomaru found neither hide nor hair of any of InuYasha’s crew.
It was as he said; they were truly alone.
But were that the case, why was his brother looking around? If what he said was true, the there was only one reason.
“When’s he showing up?”
InuYasha stiffened.
“Soon.”
“InuYasha—”
“It’s his territory… he needs to know what we’re talking about.”
“We were going to keep this between us—”
“And if Koga met with his pack in our territory we’d get nervous too,” InuYasha said, “I’d rather not get shot up over a misunderstanding.”
Sesshomaru grumbled, but begrudgingly conceded to his brother’s point. It was true what he said; if Koga caught them here without his permission, both he and his brother wouldn’t be long for this world. Evidently, they didn’t need to wait long.
“Gentlemen!”
Sesshomaru stiffened at the familiarity with which he was addressed.
Koga strode in, arms wide, dressed in brown furs and an expensive navy blue suit.
“Been too long!” Koga said, slapping Sesshomaru’s shoulder, “how’re you enjoying our hospitality?”
“The little there is…” the demon said, flicking away some of the ashes on the table.
“Well let’s fix that,” Koga clapped his hands, “Rin!”
Koga’s fingers beckoned her over, the young woman nervous but approached him all the same.
“Three bourbons,” Koga indicated, “one for me, and one for—"
“We won’t be long enough,” Sesshomaru said, cutting the wolf off, “just bring it for him.”
“Just me? Alright, three bourbons it is,” Koga laughed, smile on his lips before his face turned serious, “and lock the doors.”
Brown eyes darted between the three of them, clearly nervous but doing as he requested all the same. She made his drinks quickly, bringing them over on a cleaned tray and then moved to lock the doors. Sesshomaru watched her for a moment, taking in the chair she had to grab to get the top lock.
“What’s this about?”
Koga sat between the brothers, looking from one to the other with his arms crossed over his chest.
He wasn’t one for beating around the bush.
“That mole Naraku has in our ranks.”
Koga nearly spat up his drink.
“A what?”
InuYasha pursed his lips, sitting back and crossing his arms. It was clear he was just as frustrated about this as his brother was, but he was less prone to hiding it on his face.
“Five raids in as many weeks, all hitting key supply dates, putting three of our best officers behind bars,” Sesshomaru clarified, “the only possible explanation is that there is a rat amongst us.”
“I see,” Koga sat back, “a rat amongst a pack dogs… not a safe place to be.”
“They’ve become a pain in our ass,” InuYasha spoke up, “bastard has ears everywhere.”
“And the two of you haven’t a clue?” Koga couldn’t stop the bubble of laughter that emerged from his lips, “which is why you need my place.”
“For now, this is place is unknown to them,” Sesshomaru said, “we can use this to figure out who it could be.”
“No other way to flush them out?”
“I am not about to let the legacy my father built fall because of one little rat or worse,” Sesshomaru jerked his head to his younger brother, “because he got sloppy and tipped our hand to low-life bastard muscling in on our territory.”
Koga looked from one to the other, watching the brothers stare each other down. They were never known to get along, but when their father passed, they’d at least managed to make amends so as to not destroy what the great demon had built. InuTaisho had stipulated that half the assets were to go to each, and part of those assets needed the other in order to survive. It was his insurance policy to make sure his son’s didn’t kill each other. That didn’t mean they were seen together, and nor were they ever in the same room for very long. For them to be seated at the same table, meant things were more dire then either one was letting on.
“Alright.”
Koga slapped his legs, standing up, and surprised the brothers.
“Rin!”
The young woman appeared from out of nowhere, clearly surprised by Koga’s sudden announcement.
“These two men are going to be coming in and out,” he gestured to the brothers, “they are to be left alone, am I understood?”
“Yes sir,” she spoke for the first time, bowing low, “is that all, sir?”
“Yeah,” Koga slipped on his hat and made for the door, “start them a running tab.”
The demon had to admit that his brother was right. No one seemed to have any idea they were meeting there, and it was easy to slip away for an hour or two to compare notes with his brother. Koga would leave them be for the most part, but would slip in every now and then to collect money and shuffle product around. He knew better then to ask the brothers their business, and they knew better than to ask about his.
Rin was the only staple for them. Sesshomaru would arrive, and she would have what he needed ready. She remembered everything from drink ordered to the brand of cigarettes he and InuYasha smoked. The ashtray on the table was always clean and she didn’t push any drinks onto them or bothered them.
Save for one day.
Both he and InuYasha had shown up for their meeting, the demon with nothing and his brother with less than that. They sat in their usual corner, the tension handing in the air thicker than smoke and the two jumpier than usual.
Not that there was any reason for them to be jumpy.
Once again, no one had followed them, and they were sure to be left alone. The young woman at the bar seemed just as fidgety as them, constantly looking up through the window and making excuses to clean it. Perhaps that was what had Sesshomaru on high alert, to the point where he felt the need to smoke more than usual.
When she came over to them, both brothers unconsciously reached for their guns.
The young woman said nothing, placing a napkin and cup in front of Sesshomaru. With a head nod to them, she returned to the bar, resuming her cleaning but with a trembling hand.
“Hey! We didn’t—”
Sesshomaru kicked his brother hard in the shin.
Faltering at the glare Sesshomaru gave him, InuYasha fell silent, looking from his brother to the young woman who was now back at the bar. Slowly, Sesshomaru lifted the napkin, reading the tidy but rushed scrawl.
Raid coming.
Door left of kitchen, behind bookcase.
On stamped crates:
ffhgghf
The demon looked to the young woman. She was pretending to return to normal, but it was clear she was nervous. If this was some sort of prank Koga was pulling on them, he was going to skin the wolf alive.
“Move.”
“Wha—”
“Now.”
He and InuYasha grabbed their stuff and moved, quickly, towards the back of bar. InuYasha was confused, but followed his elder as the demon pushed open the door and made their way down the stairs to a rather darkened cellar.
Koga had designed the underground to be a maze for anyone trying to raid this place, meaning the basement, which was normally the storage, was nearly impossible to navigate through, unless you knew the tricks.
The woman’s map was nearly perfect, guiding Sesshomaru and his brother through the crates of alcohol Koga had accumulated, and they were seeing the dusky light of day in moments. They could hear the thudding of footsteps and hoof beats overhead, and occasionally would duck behind a crate to check that they weren’t followed. By the time they had slipped out into the stale air, they had arrived on time to witness a police officer ordering his subordinates into the bar and smashing could be heard.
“She was right!?”
“Seems Koga keeps her around for more than just her pretty face,” Sesshomaru said, turning his collar up and keeping his head low, “let’s go.”