Chapter Text
“What the fuck.” InuYasha mumbled. He had stopped off at the neighborhood bar for a few drinks with the guys, so he glanced at the numbers on the door to the apartment, just to be sure he got off the elevator on the right floor. He had been out of town for a month, working on an undercover assignment. During that time, Kagome must have had the building superintendent change the lock.
He was a little annoyed that his key would not open the door, but not worried. The door showed no signs of jimmying, and besides, he would have heard through the department grapevine if she had reported a burglary. Kagome knew better than to bother him on his cell phone, but he also knew that he checked his text messages periodically, and that he wouldn’t be too mad if she sent him a text about something as important as her apartment being broken into. She had paged him a couple of weeks earlier. The page hadn’t been flagged as urgent. Kikyo had taken a week’s vacation to be with him, so he had not bothered to call Kagome back. Now he figured she had wanted to let him know about the new lock. Regardless, he had no intention of knocking on the door like a pet dog begging to be let in.
By the look of things, the superintendent had swapped the cheap old doorknob out for another one just like it, which meant it was a flimsy piece of shit. InuYasha got his wallet out of the back pocket of his jeans and pulled out a piece of plastic at random. Glancing at the card, he smirked. Being a cop didn’t pay much, but that hardly mattered. Being Inu Taisho’s favorite son had its perks, one of which was the black American Express card.
Unlike his half-brother Sesshomaru, whom he regarded as a pathetic drone, he was not stuck in an office all day. His job as a police detective allowed him to make his own schedule and move about freely. Papa’s financial support further assured that he had the money it took to live his live the way he wanted. Here in Hartford, he lived in a nice penthouse suite with a view, but not a multi-million dollar one. He drove a big new Ford pickup. None of the guys knew he kept a Ferrari in storage. He was conducting an affair with Kikyo, the secretary for the Detective Bureau, but he bought her a lot of expensive presents and kept up constant pressure on her to keep her mouth shut about their relationship.
InuYasha enjoyed hanging out with the other cops and being regarded as one of the guys. He liked having a steady girlfriend who loved him for himself, and not his money. He had taken full advantage of the chance to cut loose afforded him by his undercover assignment and his father’s money in a city where he was a stranger, but now it felt good to be back in Hartford. He had noticed Kagome’s car in the parking lot, so he knew she was home. In a few minutes, she’d be riding the high hard one.
He slid the card into the gap between the door and the doorjamb. The lock disengaged without a struggle. Kagome’s apartment was very small, and the door opened directly into her sparse living room. The tiny room contained an ugly, green, but comfortably overstuffed couch, a coffee table she had purchased for ten bucks from the Salvation Army thrift store, and a television set handed down by her mother. The television, which was square as a box and decorated in fake wood-grained plastic, resided in an “entertainment center” constructed of boards and milk crates.
He took a deep, appreciative sniff, as he always did when entering Kagome’s apartment. The place wasn’t much to look at, but he knew it would smell like the fresh lemons she sliced for her drinking water and whatever she was having for dinner. Kagome did not wear perfume, and hardly any make-up. She kept her apartment immaculate, without using chemical cleaners or air fresheners, because she knew these things irritated his sinuses.