InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Shades of Gray ❯ The Big Bang Theory ( Chapter 35 )

~<>~ Shades of Gray ~<>~

~<>~ Chapter 35 ~<>~ The Big Bang Theory

 

** Thanks to Divinity Destroyed's Threshold for the ideas and partial dialogue to the end of the chapter.

 

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Staring at the moving van as it slowly backed up into her driveway, Kagome withheld a deep sigh. How had it all come to this? Just when everything had seemed like it was starting to slowly come together, just when she thought she might finally have a chance at happiness, God threw her another road block, if there even was a God. `No,' she thought forebodingly, `there has to be a God. There has been way to many fucked up coincidences in my life for there not to be some sentient being out there who thought it would be amusing to watch me suffer.'

 

It was by a miracle of said God, a pure unadulterated marvel that Jakotsu had chosen to show up at her room the minute her father left. If he hadn't of been there that night, or through the next day, there would be a high chance she wouldn't still be here. Here, remembering, living, breathing, and regretting…all of those bundles of emotions she had decided to pack away in a box and burry in her sad little mental graveyard. Her father had only been the topping to what ranked near the most awful week of her life. She was sure that this kind of stuff didn't happen in normal life; that the dramas she watched on late night television were only made of this kind of shit. Hard lesson she learned; she would never question General Hospital again.

 

But all of those thoughts, all of her self loathing and hatred of life in general were now cruising along in the back seat of her fucked-up world. She had much larger matters to attend to and answer for. She had Souta and her mother to worry about now and the irreparable damage she had caused them. She had done a lot of wrong things over the past few years, she had realized over night, and now it was time for atonement. Her problems could wait for another day or to just simply strike her dead. But they would be the furthest thing from her mind when that happened. She had a family now to take care of.

 

“You don't have to do this,” Jakotsu felt the need to remind Kagome as he parked the vehicle. He turned off the truck and pocketed the keys in his pants before regarding Kagome out of the open window. “You don't have to be a martyr.”

 

With a casual shrug, she helped him down from the driver's seat of the U-Haul. “I think it's long overdue.” 

 

Jakotsu raised his slender eyebrows but didn't speak another word about it...for all of three seconds. “I just think commuting this far to school is a dumb idea. You were fine...”

 

“No, I wasn't. I am far from fine, Jakotsu, and now with my family involved, I have to give up liberties. I don't care about commuting; yeah it might suck but I'll deal with it. It's only an hour drive at most.”

 

Jakotsu shrugged and leaned back against the truck. “An hour there, an hour back, in weather and snow and puppy dogs.” Making a face he rolled his eyes, “I've never understood commuters. It's like they speak some foreign language.”

 

Kagome held up a hand, swinging her raven black mane around her head as she snapped back towards him. “As I said, Jak; this is something I should have done a long time ago. I never should have roomed at college, not with my mom struggling the way she was. And now, without help from my dad, she'll be dead in the water. I have to help with some form of income. Whether it's my paycheck feeding them for the next few years or my refund money from taxes or whatever; I need to help out. I caused this problem and it's damn time I start owning up to it.”

 

Jakotsu rubbed the back of his neck, never truly understanding the poor. Or maybe it was the sudden brash decision on Kagome's part to become a part of her family once again. He could never really keep track with her. This girl changed emotional states of mind like he changed his shirt. “Can't your mom just file charges against your father for back pay on child support?”

 

Kagome patiently explained, as one would a child; “we talked about this, three times, last night Jak. My mom cannot charge my father with my brother's care. I can't explain it any more than that. Just...leave it alone.”

 

Jakotsu scowled as a response. “There's a lot of things you want me to leave alone, aren't there poodle?” He knew the finality in her voice though ended the conversation but he felt the need to prod. He knew there were a lot of things about Kagome's life could never tell him because she, herself, never got over them. She was still pretending a lot of it never happened and that was part of the reason she was here now, in this predicament. She had never properly dealt with her anger and guilt and shame. He also had a feeling that was why she had entered his cousin's sick and twisted world.

 

Kagome bit the inside of her cheek to keep from yelling at the man in front of her. He had been her savior and she owed him that grace. Without the financial and mental support of Jakotsu she would have never gotten off campus. Now here she was where she had begun nearly three years previous. And she was still in just as shitty of a predicament as she was then. Was it really three years ago that she had ventured off to school? The thought made her head spin; that and the knowledge that she was back at square one. With a sigh, she fisted her hair while assessing the moving van. “All right, it's mostly just books, clothing and odds and ends. We can get this empty in an hour if we work diligently.”

 

“Or,” Jakotsu offered with a smile, “we can go get lunch, have a few margaritas, you can tell me what your father was talking about last night for real and then we can laugh at the moving truck until it unloads itself.” 

 

Kagome rolled her eyes. “No, Jak; no time to slack off; not yet. I have work at ten tonight and that leaves me seven hours to figure out just where the hell my uniform is.”

 

“You're a waitress, can't you just put on some slacks and something sparkly.”

 

With a deep mental sigh, she patted Jakotsu on his shoulder. “Come on, let's get started.”

 

Cracking his neck, he unlocked the door to the small van and revealed the collection of boxes they had thrown together in the heat of the moment. Kagome had been so adamant overnight and into the morning about moving home, that as soon as the crack of dawn slid over the horizon, she was on the phone with her mother. She had yet to tell her mother the full and awful truth of her father's allegations; Jakotsu knew that was coming later once he was home in his comfy abode. He didn't want to see that argument anyway. Kagome had faced a lot of adversity that week and it was almost too much for him to bear, let alone her. If her mother came down on the hard side of justice, Jakotsu was sure his heart would break for her.

 

`“So why were you at my dorm room last night?”

 

Jakotsu glanced up at Kagome as he handed her the first box to carry into the house. He had nearly forgotten, after everything he had witnessed, the true reason he had gone calling. Instead he had spent his last sixteen hours coddling the broken girl and trying to help piece back together her mental state with ductape. It was a huge failure. Kagome was so far gone from the girl he once knew, he wasn't sure if she would ever find herself again. He didn't know the details but something beyond for the falling out with Kikyo had ripped through Kagome like a bullet and he put money on that something being InuYasha. He had done something to the girl, something awful that she refused to even utter his name over. This was exactly what Jakotsu was afraid of and what had prompted him into action. Unfortunately, that seemed to be the detonating cause. `No good deed goes unpunished,' he noted.

 

Jakotsu cleared his throat, lifted his own box and then followed the girl into the house. “I wanted to see how you were doing,” he said in all honesty, “and then I saw...” The silence that followed was stressful as well as awkward. He disagreed with almost everything Kagome was doing now, but it was hardly his place to say so. He had caused this chain of events and she hadn't let him forget it. He had learned the difference that night of forgetting and forgiving and that neither went hand in hand. “I'm sorry, for what it's worth but I still think that I...”

 

Kagome stopped mid-step, Jakotsu almost collided into the back of her. “I really don't want to hear it,” she said sharply, “the apology or the explanation. What you did you felt you had to do. I understand that but I am still very angry and very hurt over it. I know you think you were acting in my best interest but both of us know...” Kagome chewed on her words for a moment; “we both know Kikyo was not going to take the news well at all. You felt that you had to tell her out of some moral principal. All this morality, however, coming from a man who takes pride in straying married men into his bed seems somehow contradictory to me. It wasn't your place, and you know it. But as I told you, I forgive you but it still hurts and I am still angry.”

 

Jakotsu swallowed down the insult. “I can understand where you're coming from, Kagome, but that isn't why Kikyo had to know. Kikyo was a lying slut who was sleeping with half the campus, or at least flirting and hooking up with them. I didn't do it for her sake; I did it so that you could really see who you were with. Was his integrity strong enough for him not to care what Kikyo really thought? Would he stand by you once the dirty truth was out? I think we both know the answers.”

 

Resentment burned like a wildfire through her veins to the bitter truth of his words. “It's more complicated then that.”

 

“I don't see him here.” Tapping his nails against the box he added, “I know what I saw, and I know scumbags when I see them. And honey, yours was all lit up like a sparkly Christmas tree.”

 

“It wasn't you secret to disclose and you don't understand the full truth. You only saw what you wanted to and it was enough for you to cast judgment. You never saw the whole picture or know the truth.”

 

“I understand that, and I can't say that alcohol may have impeded my judgment that night, but Kagome, If he really...”

 

Kagome cut him off. The last person she needed to think about right now was InuYasha. So much of her life had melted away in the last twenty four hours that, to keep herself sane, she only allowed one problem into her mind at a time. Right now it was finding a place to stay, after this it would be explaining to her mother why she was losing a paycheck. After that it would be time to set up a forty hour work week at the diner that fit around watching Souta for her mother, since Daycare would be an immediate cut expense, and then her classes. She wasn't very optimistic at that thought. School might be dropped, and that was the next problem she had to worry about. Once those problems were cleared up, then it would be balancing homework, trying to work things out with Kikyo and then possibly her father; after all of that, then and only then, would she allow herself to think about that lying sack of shit who was working with the man who wanted her dead. 

 

`No,' she thought bravely as her mind traveled back to the few days she had with InuYasha, the few times that she could say she was legitimate happy for the first time in years. `You will not fall back into that.' It had taken Jakotsu hours to get her to stop rocking back and forth on her dorm room floor. It had taken everything she had inside of her to stop from giving up. It took her remembering that she was now honestly responsible for her son. It was now her responsibility to put food on the table and keep him in school and keep him happy. Her father was no longer funding anything and it was her fault and now her added responsibility. And somehow, the knowledge that she was going to have more to do in Souta's life brought her back from that dangerous precipice. Had Jakotsu not been there, however, after her father left, Kagome was nearly sure they would be wiping her up off her dorm room floor this morning, her body in some metal container waiting for her mother to identify her. 

 

For that reason alone, Kagome forgave Jakotsu fully. 

 

“So,” she asked as she began walking back to her room, “how is your life? We haven't actually talked anything beyond Bankotsu and asshole lately. Are you seeing anyone?”

 

“One?” Jakotsu laughed with the excitement of a child on Christmas, “Oh honey no; I'm seeing more than three. but you know; that's the way,” he sung out loudly, “uh-huh uh-huh, I like it, uh-huh, uh-huh,” pausing to dance back and forth in the hallway holding the box, Kagome couldn't help but laugh as well. 

 

Kagome put her box on her bed and then took the one that Jakotsu was holding as he continued to swing his hips to a song only he heard in his head. 

 

“Oh!” Jaktosu stopped mid thrust and turned to face Kagome, a smile drawn across his jubilant face. “I didn't tell you. Jak's is expanding,” he giggled lightly, “we are opening up a new bar in Seaside Heights!”

 

Kagome smiled genuinely happy for her friend. “Jak, that's great. That makes three bars that you own, right?”

 

Jakotsu nodded proudly. “I'm going to be spending a whole lot of time in that Tot town but you know, it should be worth it. We'll need stronger security down there checking for underage drinkers. Stupid prosta-tots that roam that boardwalk don't know respect from indecency; or either from shut the fuck up.”

 

Kagome laughed loudly knowing the truth in his statement. “Well, you should probably organize some sort of teen night as well, just to keep business flowing. You know they don't offer a whole lot of those down there, besides for at Excel. And I don't think they even do it anymore.”

 

“That's because it's a pain in the ass. Do you know what we have to do to have a teen night? The permits and the restrictions and the drama mama's make my head crave vodka.”

 

Kagome shrugged and the duo returned to the moving van. “Jak,” she asked after a moment. “I know your bar does well on its own, most of the time, and the bar in Belmar is doing okay, but...” she paused and leaned against the truck. This was a question that had been with her for the past few years, ever since he opened up his second bar. “How can you afford three locations? Do you do that good of business all the time, even off-season? I mean, I know your bar is a favorite on campus but does that give you enough revenue?”

 

Jakotsu smiled maliciously. “Well, sort of. They do well enough on their own for good profit but no, the money doesn't come from the bars for the locations. Don't get me wrong, sugar, I get a nice retirement fund stored away from these bars but it's not how I can keep expanding. I always have been,” he turned up his collar to the polo he was wearing, “a business partner to Bankotsu Koizumi.”

 

Kagome's jaw dropped open. “You're shitting me! That ass would never give out money let alone a chunk of cash from his business.”

 

Jakotsu reached out a finger and pushed against Kagome's jaw in a comedic way. “No honey; I'm part share holder. I own ten percent of his shares; as long as he is doing well, I do well.”

 

Kagome made a face and grabbed another box, shoving it off to Jakotsu a little too harshly. “I should have figured, he would never be generous with stuff like that.”

 

“Well, actually,” Jakotsu mentioned, “it was his idea. He gave me ten percent so that his share holders couldn't out power him.”

 

“What do you mean,” she asked, uninformed about business practices when it came to more corporate companies. It was all mumbo-jumbo to her, regardless of as many times as Kikyo had tried to explain it to her.

 

“Well, Figure a business to be like an apple tree. If it dropped all its apples from one branch, and something ever happened to that branch, it would be out of production and deemed worthless. Probably would be sold as firewood. So instead, it spreads it all out, apples on all the different branches. Hence the thought of shareholders. Bankotsu doesn't own all the power or profit of his company for the simple fact that the more share holders you have, the more your business can metabolize. If a share holders owns some of his business, and some of something else that could benefit Bankotsu, when general meetings are held, he can use that person as a link towards another company and get in to talk with more prestigious people. It's a social networking thing. In other words, the old men on Wall Street own forty-five percent of his business and Bankotsu owns forty-five. His power is equal to theirs so they can add profit to his business, find him partners, promote his corporate but if they decide to veto something he's decided on, then he votes yes for forty-five percent, they vote no for forty-five percent and then there's me. And I always vote with him. For my vote, I get ten percent of the profits and of stocks. So with that money, I can open my bars and build my own fortune. It's free money.”

 

Kagome gawked at Jakotsu for a moment before reminding herself to breathe. “Ten percent of profit? That's like...”

 

“Roughly ten thousand or so a month, and that's with this recession. Man, when it's a good month...Honey, don't you wonder how I can fly all over the world whenever I want?”

 

Kagome shook herself back to reality. To have just a single percent of the company could make up for the money her father was taking away from her mother. Turning green with envy, Kagome handed Jakotsu another box. Deciding that silence was the best answer, she nodded towards the house. “Come on,” she declared as she walked back in the front door, “we have a lot more to get done.”

 

Jakotsu watched Kagome work silently until they were done with the truck. She seemed so determined to get the work completed, and he couldn't blame her. Busying yourself with menial tasks was a great way to avoid the present. He wished he could help her, in any way, shape or form, but it was out of his hands. He couldn't employee her without his cousin knowing and that would turn real ugly, real fast.

 

After three hours of moving out the truck, rearranging her bedroom to fit in new items and helping her move the rest of her collection of junk into her basement, he had to bid her ado. He would return the moving truck, as they decided while she waited for her mother.

 

“If you ever need a place to crash,” he said while touching her cheek. He knew this wasn't goodbye but it sure as hell felt like it.

 

Kagome smiled and hugged her friend. “I know and thank you. Without you…” Kagome blinked back her tears, unsure if they were of this goodbye or of the knowledge of where she would be without him. He had done a lot for her in the last month, a lot that he hadn't needed to risk his neck, or his business, for. “I'll miss you.”

 

“Honey, I'm only a hop, skip and a jump away. You come by anytime you like. Just knock first…and maybe call. But you are welcome whenever.”

 

Kagome smiled and folded her arms in on herself. “You're okay to drive this thing back?”

 

“Sure, if I wasn't so pretty, I'd be a truck driver,” he flashed a dazzling smile and fluffed his hair. “All aboard the Hershey Highway!”

 

Kagome laughed loudly. “I don't know Jak, that profession might be revolutionized by you.”

 

“Jakafied,” he cooed, striking a pose. “But seriously Poodle, if this doesn't work out, you call me and I'll make room.”

 

Though the offer was appealing, she knew what she had to do. For once in her life, she was meeting her opposition head on. “Thanks Jakotsu, I mean it.”

 

Jakotsu hugged her once more and walked back to the truck. “And if that Dog comes snooping around,” he felt the need to say after a moment, “should I send him on his way?”

 

Kagome hesitated, wondering if Jakotsu knew the truth to InuYasha in that statement. “Yes, I don't want anything more to do with him or that group.” The words spewed like acid from her mouth. Her hate for him had not receded. How had she been so blind?

 

Jakotsu paused at the door, picking out the right words. “Be careful, Kagome, who you cast blame on. People don't always speak for the crowd. You could be lumping good people in with one rotten egg.”

 

Kagome eyed Jaktosu for a moment, wondering if he had been in on the whole thing as well. That thought was ridiculous; Jakotsu had been the one to save her from Bankotsu time and time again. He wouldn't have been linked up with those two. With a shrug, she looked away.

 

Jakotsu shook his head, wondering just what the whole story to this mess really was. All Kagome had told her about InuYasha was that he had been working against her this entire time. That he was no better than Bankotsu. Now Jakotsu's brain was starting to put two and two together. Could she misinterpret the relationship? Though he was very far from InuYasha's number one fan, he knew the kid had tried to save Kagome from the danger that he, himself, put her in. Disregarding the truck, he slowly walked back to Kagome. “Honey…I don't want to pry but…”

 

“Than don't,” she said harshly, “I love you but I really don't want to talk about this.”

 

Jakotsu made a face and held up his hands. “Just…really think about it, Kagome. If you want to talk it out, you call me.”

 

Kagome nodded swiftly. “I will. Thank you.”

 

Jakotsu could tell he was being dismissed and with a sigh, he returned to the truck. It looked like he had to do some digging of his own. He had ruined a lot for Kagome, he was mostly responsible for her current predicament and if he could fix it, he would. He needed to go speak to the devil himself and then to Mr. Sassy-pants to find out the true story of what was going on.

 

Kagome watched with tears in her eyes as Jakotsu drove off in the truck. How dare he question her about that douche bag when he himself was the one who exposed InuYasha for what he was? Wasn't this all what Jakotsu had wanted Kagome to understand? Kicking her foot at the ground, she knew she couldn't waste her mental strength right now on that asshole. She had bigger things to talk about as she watched her mother pull into her driveway. Bracing herself, she inhaled and exhaled evenly as her mother unloaded Souta from the back of the car and let him run past Kagome into the house.

 

Walking slowly up to her daughter, Kauai knew this wasn't going to be a good conversation. She could see the tears and the stress in Kagome's eyes. “What happened?”

 

Kagome swallowed thickly, and nodded back towards the house, willing herself not to break down right into her mother's arms. “We should talk inside.”

 

Wearily Kauai followed her daughter into the living room of their tiny L shaped ranch to hear a conversation that would change both their lives.

 

Kagome sat her mother down on the loveseat, choosing to sit in front of her on the carpet. Holding onto her mother's hand, Kagome found a place to start. “I need to explain a lot to you for you to understand where we are at today. It's a very hard story for me to tell you, but I need you to listen. Just…let me get through it before you cast your judgment.”

 

Kauai's worry increased tenfold as she listened to her daughter's warning. “Kagome,” she felt the need to interject before any epic stories were told. “I have never judged you.”

 

Kagome bit down the tears as the truth of her mother's statement hit home. “I know…but you will once I'm done.”

And for the next hour, Kagome told her mother everything; from her self hatred for ripping apart her family to dealing with Kikyo's better-than-thou attitude about the `affair' that had led to Souta being born and from Kikyo's relationship with InuYasha to her and Bankotsu's courting. Then she went into her New York life. She explained the club, narrated her need for the atonement, how she felt she had wronged the family and could never forgive herself for what she had brought down on their heads. She explained through tears of embarrassment the depths of which she allowed Bankotsu to punish her; including showing her back to her mother, whose tears soon joined her own. And then she got to her downfall. She explained how Bankotsu had become jealous, without including InuYasha into the picture, and how he had gone too far. She explained how it was InuYasha who had been there for her, how he had helped he through everything, with the bitterest of resentment in her voice that she couldn't explain. She had decided to keep his nature a secret, just out of respect. She knew what a scandal could do to a wealthy family. She lived it. She then elucidated how it had led to her relationship with InuYasha, how they had developed and how it became a target for Bankotsu. Watching her mother's anger swell at the recounting of the fighting and Bankotsu pulling a gun on her, she knew that her mother would be on her side by time the story was completed. And then she arrived at Kikyo learning of the affair, destroying all bonds that remained within the family to her father and how her father had delivered the news himself. And she wrapped it all together to delineate how she had gotten home.

 

At the end of her story, Kagome was sobbing quietly, begging her mother to forgive her and her mother, in turn, was sobbing at the strife her daughter had to endure. Meeting Kagome on the floor, Kauai enveloped her wayward daughter in her arms and rocked her, unbelieving of all the pain she had missed in her daughter's life. And there the two sat, crying for redemption on both their parts, for the better part of another hour.

 

Souta, who watched quietly from the corner of the family room, who didn't know what the words they spoke meant but knew that tears meant pain, didn't interrupt the moment. But it was one that he would always remember.

 

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The four hour drive was monotonous, to say the best. After some unnecessary banter between Sesshoumaru and InuYasha, brought to a swift end by a few well rounded profanities on the part of Kagejiro, they had settled into an awkward type of silence. Kagejiro was lounging in the backseat of InuYasha's Hummer, his feet kicked up and the brim of his Stetson pulled down to shade his eyes. Sesshoumaru, who had fought epically for the right to drive and was highly irked when forced to ride shot gun, sat rigid in the passenger seat his eyes set on the passing landscape. InuYasha was sitting in the driver's seat, his window rolled down and a cigarette hanging haphazardly out of the corner of his mouth. He was going on his second pack this hour.

 

“You're going to die of lung cancer,” Sesshoumaru chided without turning his head.

 

“No, I'm going to die when Dad pulls my entrails out through my mouth for fucking with his order of things.”

 

“You truly believe that father is going to castrate you for this?”

 

InuYasha shot Sesshoumaru a bewildered glower, “you don't? How the fuck do you get that? I mean, shit Sho, we're up shits creak right now without a paddle. Fuck the paddle, there's a hole in our God damned boat and we're sinking.”

 

“I would say that you're more or less on the bottom of the river,” Kagejiro offered from the back seat.

 

InuYasha glanced back to the seat, surprised to hear his voice. “And here I thought you were sleeping.”

 

Kagejiro barked out a terse laugh that, had InuYasha not known his brother better than, sounded almost nervous in nature. “Sleeping? With where we're going? Nah, I'm jus' saving my energy.” Under his breath, he muttered, “Lord knows I'll a' need it.”

 

Sesshoumaru lifted his eyes to the mirror attached to his visor to look at his brother. “Why are you here?”

 

Kagejiro brought his right hand up to the hat and lifted it off of his eyes. “And here I was wondering if we were jus' gonna glaze over my presence. It only took ya…what…two days t' ask that?”

 

Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed as his shoulders grew tense. “InuYasha, pull over.”

 

InuYasha shook himself back into the conversation that he was slowly drifting away from. Glancing at his brother then to the estranged one in the back, he questioned, “Why? What's going on?”

 

Sesshoumaru un-clicked his seatbelt and whirled around in his seat to face Kagejiro. Pointing a finger at his brother, his voice raised a notch in intimidation. “If you are going up to the house with any alterative motive, any at all, I will end you here and now.” Without taking his eyes off his estranged brother, he repeated, “InuYasha, pull over!”

 

“Don't listen to `im, Lad, keep driving,” `Jiro directed. Sitting up a little more straight, he looked Sesshoumaru dead in the face. “I'm going with you boys to offer ya moral support; nothing more an' nothing less.”

 

“You're not answering my question. Why are you here? In the states, in this car; why are back?”

 

Kagejiro raised his eyebrows, not backing off his brother “because I don't want t' miss the look on Da's face when ya tell him you have an illegitimate child, or when ya crush his financial dreams.” Snapping his fingers, he leveled a sarcastic glower at Sesshoumaru, “or, even better, to see the look on Da's face when he realizes that he cannot possibly control everythin' in the world, that he cannot clone himself or mold you into the perfect solider.”

 

Sesshoumaru's aura darkened. “You are merely accompanying us to see the pain we inflict on father? Have you nothing better to do in life?”

 

InuYasha grunted, feeling the need to interject. He could just about see Sesshoumaru lunging at Kagejiro and the two tumbling from the moving vehicle into oncoming traffic. “Will you both shut it? I'm already fuckin' nervous enough; I don't need more thoughts about The Wrath of Dad.”

 

Kagejiro patted InuYasha on the shoulder, ignoring the smoldering gaze directed at him from Sesshoumaru. “It 'ill be fine, Yash; ya just have to stick to your guns and keep yer head out of yer ass for the time ya talk to him. As long as ya show a backbone, I think you'd be all right.”

 

“Backbone, right; you mean the thing he's gonna use as a putting iron after he rips my nuts off?”

 

“You're just on the track for disembowelment, aren't ya?”

 

Sesshoumaru turned his sights on InuYasha. It was as if the man could not wrap his mind around the fact that his father was going to lash out. “Why do you fear Father?”

 

“Because, you jackass, unlike you, I know and have comprehended that we are, indeed, fucked up the A on this one. You, for lack of a better definition, are a fuckin' retard. For some reason, you have it in your head that you're gonna be able to waltz into the house, make your demands and hold father's empire over his head to make your God damned point. And, the best part is that you think you're going to walk out of the house. He's gonna break your fuckin' kneecaps, I really hope you know that. They always go for the knees first.” After a hesitation, he added, “maybe he will break your knees with my backbone, wouldn't that be some fuckin' irony.”

 

Sesshoumaru felt his right eye twitch as he stared in wonder at InuYasha. “He is not physically going to harm us, InuYasha; he is above that.”

 

“Great, so we'll be driving home and then the bomb that one of his thousand and two lackies attaches to the bottom of the car will destroy us. That's all that means.”

 

“Can you honestly tell me that, by the end of the day, you expect to be dead?”

 

“I expect to be in a world of hurt, that's for sure.”

 

Sesshoumaru made a guttural sound that came across as a mix of a sigh and a scoff, and turned to glare back at Jiro. “And what of you? You lived through slaughtering his child. How did that play out?” The sarcasm that bore in his voice was strong enough to drown in.

 

Kagejiro blinked and slowly pointed to the scar on his the side of his face. “It was like a walk in the park,” he added dryly.

 

Sesshoumaru ignored the sarcasm. Trying to make his point, he turned back to InuYasha. “Kagejiro managed to walk away after murdering an infant; you expect your punishment to be worse?”

 

And it was as if a time bomb exploded from both siblings mouths. InuYasha and Kagejiro lashed out together at the middle boy.

 

“He didn't fuckin' mean it, Sesshoumaru, and we've talked about this. Are you really this fucking rude?”

 

Kagejiro put a hand on InuYasha's shoulder to quite him and leaned forward. All sarcasm and tone of playful banter had slid from his voice and in its place was that of a man who had seen hundreds of thousands die, and lived a life of raw pain. His eyes held onto those of Sesshoumaru, daring him to look away. “Until ya know the truth of that night, Sesshoumaru, I suggest you keep yer petty comments to yourself. When ya decide you are grown up enough, weaned off of father's dick, and able to make your own decisions, you seek me out and I'll explain the truth to you.”

 

“The truth?”

 

“Yeah, the truth.”

 

“Did you lead a team of assassins into our father's castle?”

 

Kagejiro bristled. “Yes,” he answered after a moment.

 

“Was it not one of your men who slaughtered the sleeping infant?”

 

The hesitation was noticed by everyone in the car. Kagejiro had always assumed that Sesshoumaru was told it was he himself who decapitated the younger heir. “Yes,” he answered back. The shame in his voice was not missed.

 

“It was a man who you admit you brought into the castle who slaughtered our brother. Is the general not in charge of his soldier's actions?”

 

Kagejiro turned in a blind rage to stare out the window to calm down. His fists clenched as his attempted to control his temper.

 

“You are everything I thought you to be. Murderer included.”

 

InuYasha held onto the wheel with white knuckles. Sesshoumaru was correct, at the end of the day, in his assessment of Kagejiro. But he was a bastard for saying it. He could only imagine the restrain that `Jiro was relying on not to belt Sesshoumaru in the face. Hell, he was having a hard time not starting a fist fight at that very moment.

 

“I know that I am to blame for the child's death,” Kagejiro stated after a long bout of silence, “and I will not argue that.”

 

“Then we have nothing more to discuss,” Sesshoumaru stated coldly.

 

“And that's why you're a fucking asshole,” InuYasha shot directly at his middle brother. “You know, Sesshiles, you're a piece of work. You cheat on your wife and then divorce her for doing the same. You neglect your child, excuse me, both your children and expect everyone to revere you like your some patron saint. Yeah, `Jiro fucked up…”

“Boyo,” `Jiro called from the back after pulling a flask from the inside of his coat, “I can fight my own, thank you. I would rather ya concentrate on the road, if ya don't mind.”

 

InuYasha looked into his rear view mirror and could just about read the sorrow that swept across his brother's features. He didn't want to fight Sesshoumaru because, ultimately, everything the bastard said was true. “Sucks,” InuYasha murmured as the car continued down the road.

 

“So what of this daft tool,” Kagejiro asked after nearly polishing off the flask, “that you wanted some help with, InuYasha?”

 

InuYasha made a face in the mirror long enough for `Jiro to get the point that he did not want Sesshoumaru brought into the mess. “I think it's handled, at least for the moment.”

 

If Sesshoumaru cared, he didn't show it in the least. The ice prince had gone back to his constant visual on the passing landscape.

 

`Jiro nodded once.

 

“So…how much longer do you think you're going to hang around?”

 

Kagejiro shrugged and turned his attention out the window. “I don't know. I guess ya can say it depends on how the next twelve hours go.”

 

InuYasha snorted, “You know, I wonder if I am going to be breathing in the next twelve hours.”

Kagejiro smirked, relaxing back to his reclined position. Shifting his weight to slide his arms in under his head, he closed his eyes. “You don't get it, do you Lad?”

 

InuYasha blinked as he took the exit heading towards their father's home. The middle of New York State was vast in its emptiness, and that was just how Papa Taisho had liked it. He lived on a hundred and fifty acre expanse in the middle of no where. Getting there, however, was a bitch. “Get what,” he asked, confused.

 

“Ya think your problems, these trivialities, are going to be what really burns Da's ass.”

 

InuYasha raised a slender eyebrow and thought it over for a second. “Well, I suppose Sesshile's financial terrorism is going to be a bit more of a sore point than my, opps, I did it again, but…you know. Yeah, I suppose.”

 

Kagejiro shook his head with the smile plastered to his lips. “You really don't get it then.”

 

“Get what,” the youngest asked, growing mildly frustrated.

 

“These trivial issues are nothing to the largest of your problems.”

 

InuYasha blinked, “what the fuck are you going on about?”

 

“Your largest problem is what Sissy-maru in the front seat mentioned earlier; it's this bloody mess in a Stetson, lying across your back seat.”

 

Sesshoumaru's attention quickly turned to the conversation. Though he didn't speak a word, mildly aggravated at the jibe, his eyes widened a fraction of an inch as a profound understanding washed over him.

 

InuYasha shook his head and then hesitated, all of the knowledge of the world slowly sinking down on his shoulders.

 

“You're taking me home. And Da already knows it.”

 

With a groan that exceeded all others, InuYasha lamented, “fuck, I really am gonna die tonight.”

 

 

X*X*X**X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X**X*X*X

 

 

Somewhere, about fifteen miles off the boys' path, a figure sat at his mahogany desk, his eyes trained on the wide expanse of computer monitors in front of him. His eyes lifted slowly from the video conferences with his Eastern European branch, to glance out the bay window that decorated the right side of his office. Offering a smile to the men before him, one that none of them could see, he quickly ended the conference. The thing he loved about modern technology was that he could watch his employees squirm under the scrutiny of his voice without a face to place him to.

 

“I regret Gentlemen that we will have to cut tonight's conference short. I apparently am having some unexpected guests over and must tend to their…needs. Do fax me your district's profit and loss statements for review by our regional manager and I will be in touch tomorrow to discuss capitalization to make up for the down economy.” Without so much as a goodbye, he cut off the lines.

 

Standing up slowly, the Inu no Taisho walked from his desk to the bay window. Standing stiffly, with his hands clasped behind his back, he regarded the blue sky with the curiosity of what the day would bring him. Why? Was the first question that entered his mind as he confirmed what he first sensed. His eyes darkened to a deep cognac as he returned to his desk. Leaning down, he bent his elbow to rest the bridge of his nose against his upturned fist. Rapping the knuckles of his left hand against the desk, he attempted to hold his calm. He needed to breathe. Pulling back his left hand, he curled it into a fist and slammed his hand through the desk, efficiently cracking the wood into two evenly split pieces. The crashing of the equipment and the thousands of dollars worth of damage made quite the echo throughout the quiet house. With a grunt, he righted himself and surveyed the damage. `Damnit,' the old man thought as he made his way through the study and out the side door into his personal library.

 

As he arrived to the back of the library, where he housed all of his collected artifacts, he went straight to a glass case. Placing both hands on the lid, he bowed his head in thought. So, was this his initial intention or was this venture only brought on by the cataclysmic events that spotted the week for his two youngest sons. Another question that weighed heavily on the great Inu No Tiasho's mind; why had Kagejiro allowed his contacts to spot him? Trained in the stealth techniques of a time long passed, if the eldest son wanted to remain invisible, Taisho's international contacts would be none the wiser to his presence. However, this was different than his past exploits, Kagejiro didn't care that the old man knew that he was in his territory. With the knowledge that the eldest had now actively engaged his other two siblings, Taisho was unsure of exactly what was to come. And that was something that was completely intolerable; he made his living by knowing everything.

 

Through furrowed brows, he regarded the glass container in silence. Contained within were some of the most priceless artifacts to the Taisho family name. Three items, to be exact; all handed down from one mystic creator of whose company Toga truly missed.

 

Lifting the lid, he grew straight in his resolve. Today was a good day, he decided as he lifted the broad sword, So'unga from its sheathing. Eyeing the flawless craftsmanship, he lifted it eyelevel and closed his eyes to focus his chi. It had been many centuries since he had drawn the weapon, but with the blade in his hands, it felt like yesterday. With a clean swipe to the side, he twirled the blade overhead, angling his body as he twisted at its will. Practicing the ancient arts that he had used time and again in victorious battle, he prepared himself before stiffly leveling the sword over his shoulder and striding from the room in set determination.

 

 

*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X**X*X*X*X*X*X*X**X*X

 

 

In the Kitchen, perched precariously on a kitchen chair, Launia sipped down her morning coffee, enjoying the Bailey's kick to the bland flavor. This was her second pot. With a sigh, she rolled her neck and glanced to the clock on the wall. It was hardly ten past One in the afternoon and she hadn't started lunch yet. Eyeing the refrigerator in contempt, she wondered if Toga would even notice if she skipped it. It was the same routine daily, and it was something she tired of.

 

Standing slowly, she made her way to the counter to stare out into the backyard of their mansion. The gardens would be a wonderful place to walk today, if the weather held up, she decided. The spring was almost here and soon the flowers would bloom. Another year down, she thought idly as she sipped down the brew. What was another year when facing eternity, though? Eternity. The thought sickened her.

 

Lifting her nose to the air, her silver tresses cascaded down her back in thick curls. The scent in the air could not be ignored. Her eyes lit up, the fire that had dimmed with each passing winter day suddenly bursting back in voracious flames of amber; her sons were nearing the house. All three of them.

 

Disregarding her cup by the kitchen sink, she picked up the hem of her summer cut dress, and hurried to the stairwell. Could it be true? Could the boys truly have formed some type of alliance? To have all three of her children under the one roof would be… `Disastrous,' her conscience screamed. All the evidence she needed to assure her assumption was standing in front of her, the sword of the honorable ruler resting against his shoulder as he stared out from the foyer to the driveway and beyond. Bringing her hands to her mouth, she hardly found the right words to express her abject horror besides for, “not again.”

 

*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*XX*X**X*X*X*X*X*X*X**X*X*X*

 

Pulling up the half mile long driveway, InuYasha was hardly surprised to find himself in a heavy sweat. It was like knowing that you were just caught red handed, stealing some priceless artifact and then having to explain yourself to the authority; and the approaching house was his judge and jury. Taking deep breaths, InuYasha was trying to calm himself. With so many rapid firing thoughts of possible outcomes to this visit, he was hardly ready to hear the backdoor swing open before he could even park the car. Whether that was because of his mental ponderings or because of his eyes focusing on his father, standing on the porch holding a long sword, he wasn't sure.

 

Slamming on the break, InuYasha simply gawked, his mouth hardly able to form the words that were shooting through his head. “Holy fucking shit, is he holding a sword? Is that…that's a fucking sword! He's holding a fucking broad sword! It's nearly as big as me! Oh hell no!” Turning to glower at Sesshoumaru, who seemed nearly as momentarily shocked as him, he yelled, “I fucking told you he was going to kill us!”

 

“Calm down,” Sesshoumaru's voice betrayed the emotion sprayed across his face. He was nearly as shocked as InuYasha. “There is a reason for this. Of which I am sure has to do with…” Turning to glower into the back seat, he hesitated, finding the back of the Hummer vacated.

 

InuYasha glanced to the back as well, expecting to find Kagejiro in just as much trepidation as they were. Instead, he found the backdoor flailing open and his brother already halfway up the driveway, a sword of his own in his hand. “Where the fuck did he get that? What side of his ass did he pull it out of? Fuck! No one told me to bring a sword!”

 

If Sesshoumaru agreed, he didn't say a word. Opening his door, he got out of the car slowly. “Come, lest we allow them to kill each other.”

 

InuYasha threw the car into park and watched as Sesshoumaru slowly approached the duo. “Fuck. I feel so unprepared.” With all the dread in the world, he turned off the car and slowly got out of it. This was going to be one hell of a day. Seeing the approaching storm, he decided on his resolve. He had to pick a side, now, and stick by it. There was no more time to dawdle.

 

After leaping from the moving vehicle, Kagejiro stalked across the land towards his father, and reached into the back of his duster to remove his weapon of choice. Seeing his father, standing on the porch wielding So'unga, he knew exactly how this conversation was going to go. Flipping the blade in his hand, his eyes narrowed as his father stepped off the porch, meeting him halfway across the land. Gone was the happy demeanor he had exhibited at any point during his visit with InuYasha, the Irish brogue disregarded just as easily as his hat. The language of choice was traditional eighteenth century Japanese that was now being spoken by two warlords who were waging a century old war in the modern era.

 

“You have been forbidden by law to come near this family on penalty of death,” Toga Taisho reminded Kagejiro as he stopped five feet from his eldest son.

 

With an inclination of the head, the closest to a bow Kagejiro would ever offer the man before him, he responded; “You need not remind me, Father. I am aware of the bounty on my head.”

 

“And yet time and again you have dishonored me and have walked to greet your death. Why do you disrupt our lives?”

 

Kagejiro didn't blink, the golden gaze of the two warlords locked in a combat all of their own. “I have come to honor my brothers with strength and guidance through troubled times; more than you have ever offered them.” The sarcasm that dripped from his tone was nearly as deadly as the blade in his hand.

 

Eyes narrowed and hairs raised as Toga Taisho snarled at the son. “Let you not forget the brother whose life you snuffed out. What of that child? Where was your strength for him? These boys need you like they need a plague brought down on their heads, for that is all you are; a sickness.”

 

“I have asked forgiveness time and again for that child's life. I do not, however, hold that relevant to this conversation.”

 

“It is everything to this conversation. You come here,” Toga's voice raised a notch, the bellow echoing off the trees of the estate; “and draw your weapon in the face of your Father and Lord and have the audacity to lecture me on what is relevant? You, Kagejiro, are irrelevant! You were dispatched from this family centuries ago yet refuse to completely vanish.”

 

“I came…” Kagejiro's white knuckled grasp of the weapon did not go by unnoticed by his two siblings.

 

Cutting off his son, Toga didn't care about reasons or rationality. All he cared about was a wanted outlaw was standing before his family, threatening all he had created with a vehemence that matched his own. “I care not for reasons! If you are looking to end this, than end this we shall.”

 

Kagejiro eyed his father, his temper nearly boiling over. But this is how it had always been, had it not? Time and again, he would attempt to ration, to reason, with his father and be shot down, condescended and scolded like a child. When that stopped working, banishment and maiming became the way of torture. “Oh, I want to end this! I've wanted to end this for years!”

 

Toga narrowed his eyes, leveling his sword in front of him to point at Kagejiro. “Then it shall be.”

 

“No!”

 

InuYasha bolted forward towards his oldest brother as his step-mother bounded down the front marble steps. Arriving at nearly the same time, InuYasha's voice nearly mirrored that of Launia. “Stop this, put down the sword!” InuYasha grabbed Kagejiro and pulled him back a step away from their father. “Stop,” InuYasha repeated, “this isn't his fault. I called him here! I asked Kagejiro for his help.”

 

Toga's eyes fell to his youngest child. “Back away, InuYasha, this does not concern you.”

 

“Can't you fuckin' hear me, old man? I said I called him here. He's not here to challenge your name or your throne. He's here to support me.” InuYasha was praying to God he packed an extra pair of pants because by time this was done, he would need them. Staring deep into his father's eyes, he prayed the old man could hear reason and not start a blood battle on the front yard.

 

Toga rolled his eyes once more to the youngest child. “I am aware of what you did, InuYasha. But the choice was Kagejiro's to walk back into a territory where he is marked as a dead man. Now move aside.”

 

“Oh, give it a rest,” InuYasha barked back tersely.

 

“Father is correct,” Sesshoumaru responded as he walked towards the gathering. “It was a conscience decision on the part of Kagejiro, one that he knew he would have to pay in full for when he confronted father. He knew what he was getting into InuYasha. Step back and let them work it out.”

 

Kagejiro shrugged off InuYasha's hold and approached his father once more. “As I said; I am here for them, not for you. If you wish to settle our score, then I will oblige you. But mark my words; this is not my intent.”

 

Launia grabbed her husband's arm and held on tight, the tips of her claws biting into the flesh. “Hear him out, Toga. It is the least you can do.”

 

“The least I can do is allow him to walk out of here today, but I do not foresee that as an option. No Launia, I have held back my wrath for as long as I possibly can.”

 

“Toga, stop this nonsense! He is our son!”

 

Ripping his arm from Launia's grasp he shouted, “He is no son of mine!” The Inu no Taisho pointed the sword once more at Kagejiro, “You knew your fate when you trespassed on this land!”

“And yet I came because InuYasha and Sesshoumaru need to know that you are not a God!” Kagejiro's face was red from yelling, his golden eyes filled with years of hatred for the man before him. “You've got them so wound up in this belief that you are the Alpha and the Omega that they are ruining their lives trying to impress you. All you are accomplishing is destroying two boys who you claim to love.”

 

“My sons don't need to try to impress me!” Toga lowered his sword as his gaze slowly shifted to Sesshoumaru and InuYasha, as if truly seeing their presence for the first time. “After the failure you turned out to be,” he spoke without looking at Kagejiro, “they are perfect.”

 

“They are not your soldiers to warp, father. That life is gone, you are attempting to build a dynasty off their shoulders and all you are doing is drowning them!”

 

Toga regarded Kagejiro after a moment, the same hatred burning with anger as its fuel deep in his eyes. “If I had drowned you as a pup, I would have saved this family heart ache. Ending you is all I can do to rectify this atrocity.”

 

“Shove it, Old Man, I don't want to hear it anymore. You think your so righteous, so flawless; don't pay attention to the half bred child in your care though, oh no, that wasn't a mistake on your behalf. Nor were all those innocent children you had slaughtered throughout your reign in Japan. No wonder why you're hiding in America. What, did they kick you out?”

 

Murder flashed through Toga's eyes and before anyone could blink, he brought his sword down at Kagejiro. Faster than lightning, Kagejiro parried the attack, holding the blade at bay with his own. Leaning in over the metal, Toga hissed, “I will end you.”

 

“You can try,” Kagejiro replied, his teeth grit together in hatred, “but you will fail.” Kagejiro flicked his wrist and forced his father back three steps, neither one approaching for a second round. Kagejiro's chest rose and fell at alarming intervals as he gripped the sword harder. “You're a tyrant at the end of his dictatorship. Your kingdom that you speak of, it is a fairy tale. You're in a modern age now, Toga, and you need to adapt.”

 

“You speak of adapting while you are still out there, a killer for hire. How is that any different than your life in Japan? Murder and wars follow you like your shadow. Tell me how we are different?”

 

Kagejiro had only one answer for the man. “I don't send my men out to murder children.”

 

Toga's entire aura darkened. “Funny how I only have two sons. Where is my third, if you did not murder him?”

 

Kagejiro inhaled sharply, “It was not my blade but my responsibility. I have confessed to that over and over again. What you did, back with the Shosan School…”

 

Yelling over the man, his father continued his triad as if Kagejiro hadn't spoken; “And yet the punishment for that crime, banishment on penalty of death, has meant nothing to you. You dishonor the dead by reappearing time and again.”

 

“You and I both know that's bullshit.” Kagejiro pointed at his father, “you say I'm a murderer! What does that make you?”

 

“Enough!” Toga yelled, “This ends.”

 

InuYasha pushed his way to the front again, standing by his estranged brother's side. “You want to take him on,” he breathed dangerously, his eyes narrowing, “you'll have to take us both out. I'm done with this horse shit.” Sliding the limiter off his finger, he pocketed the charm. Putting one foot back, his smirk became nearly as ruthless as the one of his older brother. Obsidian hair turned platinum, then silver. His features sharpened, his fingernails became deadly claws and his attitude sparked a life of its own. He was done watching his father bully his way through life; intimidate the family into his way or nothing. This was the end of his rope, and quite possibly his sanity. He had joked constantly on their way up about dying only to cover his gut instinct; this was going to a blood bath if it escalated. Neither party wanted to admit their fault in the lives lost through their mistakes. InuYasha was nearly sure that soon enough, he would have an answer for what would happen when an unstoppable force hit an immovable object.

 

Kagejiro glanced to his youngest half brother, a small smile working its way to his lips. He was pleased at the thought of the kid taking a stance; it was admiration that sprang into his golden eyes, daring to make them moist. At least this one had a backbone. 

 

Speaking of; Sesshoumaru carefully walked around the duo, eyeing them with heart felt contempt as he took his stand by his father's side. Crossing his arms, seemingly haughty, he chided, “You two are ridiculously inept if you think you can take father on in battle and win.”

 

“It's just like you, Sesshiles, to stand with your tail between your legs and chose the safe path. Just like you've done in life,” InuYasha yelled. Of course Sesshoumaru chose their father's side; that way when it was all said and done, his transgressions would be looked over.

 

“I'd rather take the safe path, Baka, than get my head split from my body. Look at the destruction you've caused in your life; you're hardly one to cast any judgment on the rules of living, InuYasha”

 

Toga's eyes trailed to the man next to him and then to the other two sons who stood opposing him. Launia stood a foot back from the confrontation, her hands placed over her heart. She was humming to herself, as if lost in her own world. She had seen this before, father versus son and it had ended tragically. Seeing her, truly seeing her, here now with such a frail grasp on the world because of his actions, Toga attempted to grasp reality. Sesshoumaru, though not armed, flanked loyally to his side for safety while InuYasha, his brash and arrogant son, stood opposing him.

 

It was starting again, a war between blood and this did not concern either of the two younger parties. If this happened today, if there was this battle royal, then InuYasha and Sesshoumaru would be at odds for the rest of their lives and the binds that fragilely held the family together would be lost forever. This could not happen, if only for their sake. Toga lowered his sword slowly. “There will be no blood spilt here today.”

 

Kagejiro lowered his sword instantly, sheathing it as quickly as he had removed it. His eyes narrowed, wondering what had spared their lives this time. He took in the direction of his two brothers, both ready to fight for what they thought they believed in. “They are not a part of our battle, father, and they do not deserve your vengeance for anything today.” He eyed InuYasha and could read the glower he was giving Sesshoumaru. This would tear the two apart worse than they already were if they proceeded. InuYasha had chosen his side, and this was a fact that Kagejiro was sure would not be overlooked by their father.

 

“A father never forgets when a son stands against him,” Toga responded evenly, his eyes shifting to InuYasha. “You chose your battle today.”

 

Kagejiro could have sworn like a sailor. Of course his father would use this as leverage against the youngest.

 

InuYasha smirked, hearing the sarcasm in his father's voice. What had made InuYasha jump in and turn his father completely against him? Now he stood no chance of reconciling with his father; he had chosen his brother. “And I would do it again,” he voiced. Kagejiro didn't deserve this, not if everything he had told him was the truth. Seeing his father here, with sword in hand, he believed every word.

 

“It's the human in you,” his father responded after setting the tip of the blade into the ground. “I guess you did get some of your mother's good genes.”

 

InuYasha quirked a very confused eyebrow into his hair line; “Excuse me?” Did his father just back handedly compliment him? Wasn't he infuriated that he had chosen Kagejiro's side? What the hell was going on?

 

“For once in your life, you have finally stood up for something you believe in, whether I agree with it or not,” Toga turned to Sesshoumaru and cocked his head in the direction of InuYasha. “You can learn something from him.”

 

And all three sons simply balked. 

 

Launia quickly ran to her husband's side, wrapping her arm in his. “Please Toga, listen to reason and find it in your heart to let today go. Our sons are home, all under one roof. Please let there be peace.” Was it to early to hope that this wasn't as fatal as it seemed?

 

Toga paused; his eyes sliding back to meet those of Kagejiro. “If you are looking for vengeance today, you will not find it.”

 

“Our problems are for another day. This is about your other children and seeing things right by them.” Kagejiro looked back to the car with weary eyes. “It may be best for me to stay here,” he said quietly to InuYasha. “It seems that just my presence has upset your mission.”

 

“Fuck that,” InuYasha hissed back, “you knew this shit was gonna happen, now deal with it. You said you'd help.”

 

“And I see what a great influence I've been,” he reassured the boy equally as angrily. Kagejiro knew getting into the car that this was a possibility, that Dear old Dad might have a fit upon seeing him but he hadn't imagined Sesshoumaru and InuYasha picking sides and getting involved. Now he and InuYasha both stood on the precipice together against their father. He had honestly meant to help, but now he wondered just what the hell he had been thinking? Draw away the attention from them so that they slipped by with a slap on the wrists? He had known his father would know of his presence, he hadn't bothered with the guards, but why? This question hadn't left him since he stepped foot back in the States. Why risk it?

 

InuYasha rolled his eyes, “so what, you both got big shiny swords. No one lost an arm, we're okay. Just fuckin' deal with it. You're already this far…”

 

Launia stepped forward, in front of Toga. “Nonsense,” she insisted, “I haven't seen you in over two hundred years. The least you can is stay for lunch.”

 

Kagejiro smirked, “as much as I would love that, mother, I believe that I have overstayed my welcome. I will be here,” he nodded towards the car, “waiting.”

 

InuYasha barked out a terse laugh, “Yeah right, ya fuckin' Mick. Get in the house; you ain't getting out of this!”

 

Kagejiro's eyes fell to their father, “honestly, Yash, I think my place…”

 

“Is on the other side of the world,” Their father finished for him. With a very terse resigned sigh, Toga nodded towards the sword. “Leave all of your weapons outside. We will confer in my office.”

 

Kagejiro couldn't disguise his shock. “You…want me to…”

 

“Leave anything and everything that could be a weapon at the door. It seems that as audience has been requested of both our parties. I have hosted summits with my enemy before; I shall do it again today.” As he turned to into the house, he paused, “do not believe that this wipes out your past transgressions. Our war is far from over.”

 

Kagejiro scowled as he shook himself loose of his weapons. Toga, Launia and Sesshoumaru turned to enter the house as Kagejiro's sword hit the ground, followed by four throwing knives, two sais and something that resembled a Klingon Bat'leth.

Staring at the ground in abject horror and yet complete admiration, InuYasha raised his eyes to meet Kagejiro's as he breezed by him. Swinging his head to follow the progression line into the house, InuYasha glanced back at the weapons and then once more to his eldest brother's back. Speaking to no one, he declared, “When I grow up, I want to be a ninja too.”

 

 

X*X*X*X*X*XX*X*X*X*X*X**X*X*

 

 

Arriving in the office, the father allowed the boys to enter first after depositing Launia in the kitchen to make them lunch. Closing the door behind him, he paced to the broken desk and from the tattered remains, he withdrew a cigar. It took a moment of awkward silence, but after he lit it and began to pace with one hand in the pocket of his Armani suit, he gestured to the boys.

 

InuYasha eyed the desk ruefully. “Doin' some remodeling, Pa?”

 

Toga didn't respond. His eyes were trained on Kagejiro, who lingered in the back of the room, his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his duster. Blending into the shadows, his golden eyes were the only tell tale sign of his existence in their presence.

 

Sesshoumaru had comfortably taken root in a leather chair, his right leg crossed over his left knee and his finger tips pressed together.

 

“So who wishes to go first? Obviously you came in mass numbers to overwhelm me with a wealth of information that you think I am unaware of. So go ahead; enlighten me. InuYasha, I sense that you would want to go first, thinking that whatever you have done can't be nearly as awful as whatever Sesshoumaru has done. Mind you, however, that it was you who invited the murderer into our presence. I would weigh that into your final decision.”

 

Kagejiro sighed pointedly as InuYasha stammered. “Well...yeah…but…wait…what do you already know?”

 

“I know everything,” Toga replied evenly, “I have attempted to explain that to you in the past.” Exhaling smoke in the perfect O's, his calm seemed flawless.

 

“So if you know everything,” InuYasha ventured with a heavy attitude attached, “Then what more do I have to tell you?” `Stick that in your pipe and smoke it', InuYasha thought gallantly.

 

“Who is she?”

 

`Shit!' InuYasha thought brashly as he threw `Jiro a completely confounded stare. Kagejiro's shrug spoke in volumes, `I told you so'.  Clearing his throat, he tried to fight down his frustration. “If you knew...then why were you calling me?”

 

“To hear it from your mouth, instead of my operatives; who is she?”

 

InuYasha gawked. “Who are you, the fucking KGB?”

 

Toga sneered at InuYasha's choice of words. “I have never been, nor ever will be, a socialist. Their operations are child's play to my informants.” He held out his hand in a moving along gesture, “So if you would enlighten me...why that Higurashi?”

 

`Because I loved her...and she ripped my heart out,' he wanted to say. Instead he looked anywhere but at his father. “I thought I loved her.”

 

“You thought you did or you do?” Toga asked evenly.

 

“I don't know,” he answered honestly after a moment. Did he still love Kagome after those vicious words came out of her mouth? He was so angry and she was honestly the last person he wanted to think about at this moment. Yet she was the reason he was here today, it wasn't as if he had a choice. He had pushed all thoughts of her back into the far recesses of his mind, trying to make this more about Kikyo and his failing relationship than his transgressions. His focus had been on his father and his impending death sentence. But now that he was here, facing his executioner, she was all he could think of. And she would never know how he really felt. She would never understand how he wouldn't side with Bankotsu; she would never hear his side of the story. She would never know that he was willing to stand up to the one man he feared most in life and pledge his love for her. This was all because he lied…all because he had attempted to cover up an age old secret for the sake of reputation. This was all because of his father. “I'm angry with her but I understand where she is coming from. I can't fight her anger…I can't argue it out. She has every right to hate me.”

 

He hated how weak he sounded. This wasn't him! What the fuck had she done to him? Six weeks ago, he would have cursed her name up and down and wouldn't have had a care in the world about doing it. Somehow she had snuck under his skin and tore him apart from the inside out. And a part of him hated her for it.

 

“And what would those rights consist of?” His father asked pleasantly enough.

 

“That I lied to her about everything.”

 

“About whom you really are?”

 

InuYasha glanced up at his father, measuring the level of knowledge on his face. How could his father possibly know what had transpired the day before? How could his father know anything of the situation besides for the fact that he was screwing his girlfriend's cousin? He hadn't a clue…right? “Yes?” he answered with a question.

 

Toga inhaled the cigar slowly and looked up to the ceiling. He was obviously unhappy. “The Higurashi account is a very large account, InuYasha. There will have to be reparations made to salvage our business and measures taken to be sure that the young lady's knowledge isn't...leaked.”

 

InuYasha was sure that he did not like the tone of that. Hair standing on end, he could feel a growl building in his throat. Even his inner youkai was willing to protect Kagome…what did that tell him? “What are you going to do?”

 

“Nothing yet...just sit back and watch. If Miss. Kagome feels the need to try to expose us for what we are then I will have a sit down talk with her.”

 

InuYasha nearly shot across the room to get in his father's face. “If you so much as lay a finger on her fucking head...” Pointing his finger at his father, he found himself shaking in rage.

 

Toga chuckled once as he took in the site of InuYasha getting all defensive over a mortal. “Sit down Pup, you are not ready to challenge me, regardless of what you and the Irish Rebel over there think.” As InuYasha took a seat next to Sesshoumaru, he added, “I would never dream of hurting your beloved, InuYasha. I just wish that you were a little more...careful, seeing as to whom she keeps in her company.”

 

InuYasha instantly knew he was speaking of Bankotsu. But how the hell did his father know all of this? If his father knew of Kagome and Bankotsu, did he know... InuYasha was sure he lost a little bit of color as he stared at the mahogany walls of the study. Swallowing thickly, he didn't have the courage to meet his father's knowing glower. “So...you know about...”

 

“You're incident at the dorms with Koizumi. Of course I do. It was brash and foolish on your part to stick your neck out into that situation. It did not concern you and Bankotsu has every right to see you in jail for assault,” he chided InuYasha before adding with a light laugh, “all be it, I'd have done the same.” Turning from the window to regard InuYasha, he couldn't help the small smile that pulled at the corner of his mouth. “How did it feel to hit that pompous jackass?”

 

“Amazing,” InuYasha smirked. Shaking his head, he couldn't help but turn his attention to `Jiro. The eldest had said this was going to be painful, that father was a tyrant who only cared about his own capital gain. Was it possible he was wrong? Could his father be turning over a new leaf? Kagejiro seemed mildly interested in a guarded sense of the way. Maybe the father that Jiro had known, the tyrant who hadn't flinched at the murder of children, had softened after his own personal losses.

 

“Of course, this does mean however that you are not to go anywhere near Bankotsu, no matter the reason.” Leveling his son with a hard stare, he repeated, “no matter what, InuYasha. I know that will be hard to coincide to but it will be for the best. He can ruin our family with the knowledge that Kagome Higurashi has and if you get more involved in their affairs than you already are...” raising an eyebrow, he added, “than both sides of you are...” leaving his sentence open, he knew his point was well made. 

 

InuYasha gawked in his seat for a few minutes, trying to wrap his head around what just happened. “Wait, whoa, hold on a second; you're saying that if that piece of shit comes around Kagome, you want me to sit back and do nothing?” He couldn't help the dumbfounded glare that had made its way across his features. Was his father stupid?

 

Kagejiro scoffed from the back of the room, adding darkly, “Seems to me that she can do a fine job protecting herself. She left you quite the marking.”

 

InuYasha's hand drifted to the light burn he had where she had slapped him. He had expected the mark to vanish quickly but Kagejiro had thoroughly explained Miko powers sat in the blood like poison; or in his case, like an actual bruise.

 

“And that is another worry of mine all together,” Toga added thoughtfully, examining the damage to his son's cheek. “I knew the Higurashi blood line contained spiritual powers, but I had thought them to be long dormant. I suppose, looking back, Kikyo may not have been a good choice for a mate after all.”

 

InuYasha's eyebrows vanished under his puffy white bangs, “ya think?” he sneered. 

 

Toga shook his head with a small sigh. “So it is settled; you will stay away from Bankotsu Koizumi and avoid being...what is the word?”

 

Kagejiro offered up his synonym, “miko zapped.”

 

Toga ignored him pointedly. “Fried. I will talk with the Higurashi family and get back to you over how we are to proceed.”

 

InuYasha swallowed what felt like nails. Taking a deep breath, he answered resounded. “No.”

 

“Excuse me?” Toga glanced back at him from his place by the window.

 

“No, I will not be going back to Kikyo, regardless of what is worked out. If I can make my relationship with Kagome work, than I will be going with her. If I cannot, then I will be moving on with my own life.” `That's even if Kagome will ever look at me again,' he thought sourly.

 

“InuYasha, understand that what you chose is the way it will be.”

 

With a snort, InuYasha crossed his arms stubbornly, his silver tresses falling around his shoulders. “Thanks for the tip but I think I'll keep my own counsel on this one.”

 

Toga sighed, as if burdened with talking to a child. “InuYasha,” he started, “Have I not taken care of you; raised you to be a well rounded individual in this family?

InuYasha met his father's stare. “You cannot buy my future if that is what you're implying. You paid for me because it's what parents do; they nature their young. You set me up in life and gave me the tools to become successful.”

 

“Something you have yet to do,” Sesshoumaru, who had been strikingly quiet this entire time, chimed in. 

 

Toga nodded in agreement to both boys. “You're right; I have made the proper preparations for you to be successful in life. This includes my merger with the Higurashi account. I have planted the seeds of the business deep within our family ties and when a time comes, it will be your account to see to the start of your own empire. That may include, however, making a few scarifies along the way. But in comparison to greatness, sorrow is minimal. I did the same for Sesshoumaru with Kagura's family and look to the heights he has seen his business.”

 

InuYasha stared helplessly to the back of the room to where Kagejiro lingered. This was the very situation he was afraid to get trapped in. `Jiro simply shrugged and nodded, suggesting that InuYasha finally throw down the gauntlet. “No,” InuYasha said after a moment of gathering his balls together. “I appreciate what you have attempted to do, Father, I do. However I have to decline. I have no want for an empire; I have no desire to be a business man.” He could see his father's temper starting to rise and quickly hurdled to his finish, “I know this might piss you off, but I want to be a history teacher. I'm fine not having a billion dollars at my finger tips as long as I'm happy. And happiness is very far from the arms of Kikyo Higurashi.”

 

“Happiness is irrelevant.” His father added in a very finite cold tone.

 

InuYasha cringed at the harsh words. “Father, I'm done. I'm done playing this game; I'm done living your life for you. I don't want to be with Kikyo and therefore, I won't be.”

 

Toga took the cigar from his mouth and tipped the ashes off in the golden ashtray that sat on the window sill. His voice was tight, leaving no room for question. It was a tone that one would expect to hear when being lectured over breaking something valuable. “InuYasha, this decision is very important. If you chose to walk away, I will never make the offer again. If you ruin this for me...for us...then it is done. You will have no part in this family business.”

 

“I'm perfectly all right with that, seeing as to just how this business has made you, Launia, my mother and Sesshoumaru the happiest people on the earth. Who are you to tell me what is right? You listen close,” he shouted as he leaned in towards his father, “it's my fuckin' life! Excuse me but I think I want to vomit!” Storming from the chamber, anger radiated off of him in waves.

 

“He's brash,” Sesshoumaru offered after a moment of harsh silence, “and young. He doesn't understand what you are offering him.”

 

“Oh, he understands it better than you do,” Kagejiro offered in response from the back. “He knows what he would have to give up to follow Da'. He doesn't want it.”

 

Toga's cold eyes drifted towards the voice from the back. “This is your influence. He has never…”

 

“Oh get off it,” Kagejiro snapped, “he's always been hot headed. Just like you in all those ways you hate. You can't force him into it.”

 

“He has never blatantly disrespected me until you arrived!” Toga's voice rose above Kagejiro's

 

“It's because you've had them both chicken shit running scared. They're daft to think that it's your way or the high way and it's destroyed them. Bloody good it did you, in the end.”

 

“He will come around,” Toga added, deciding not to speak to the ghost of a son in the back of the room.

 

Sesshoumaru hiked an eyebrow. “Do you really think that?”

 

Toga inhaled sharply, closed his eyes to regain his focus then turned his attention on Sesshoumaru. “So…I guess this leaves you.”

 

Sesshoumaru sat up right, his cool demeanor never leaving his face. “I am divorcing Kagura.”

 

Toga's face remained impassive. “Are you?”

 

Sesshoumaru nodded. “It is over. It was over years ago but…” letting go of the past, he busied himself by straightening his collar. “I have already filed the paperwork.”

 

Toga walked slowly around the back of his destroyed desk. Reaching into the filing cabinet to the right, he pulled out a file and threw it onto Sesshoumaru's lap. “This paperwork?”

 

Sesshoumaru opened the file; his face set in stone and regarded the content. Closing it just as quickly, he nodded. “Then you know.”

 

Toga snorted and shook his head sternly. “Of course I know. I got the call as soon as you approached your lawyer.” He paused for a moment before adding, “And Kagura called me when she got served.”

 

Sesshoumaru's eyes darkened, the only sign of his displeasure. “You control all aspects of my business?”

 

Toga nodded once, looking mighty proud of himself. “I do.”

 

Sesshoumaru stood up abruptly. He stalked around the room like a caged tiger. “Then you already know about…”

 

“The child.” Sesshoumaru's head snapped in his father's direction as Toga busied himself at the window. “Of course I know. Something that important could not go unchecked.”

 

The ferocity that was released was unexpected on all accounts in the room. Nearly throwing the broken desk to the side, Sesshoumaru stepped up to his father's face. His voice shook in anger as rage poured from his aura. “Why the fuck didn't you tell me? How the hell could you leave that, of all things, in the dark? If I had known…”

 

Toga tilted his chin back, standing tall and proud, and addressed his angry son. “Why didn't you?”

 

Sesshoumaru continued to rage. “How could I have known? She moved away! I…” Snapping his mouth shut, he attempted to find control of his emotions.

 

Toga shook his head, his hand coming up to Sesshoumaru shoulder. “I found out, Sesshoumaru, because I have a vested interest in my business, as well as my children. I keep track of everything that goes on in your lives. I keep track of every business associate that has worked for me. I need to know everything, Sesshoumaru.”

 

Sesshoumaru brushed off his father's hand and shouted back, “that hardly accounts for why you didn't tell me that I had a son!”

 

Toga's eyes softened, if only for a moment. “It would have ruined your marriage.”

 

“Fuck the marriage! You know that's ruined! She had my child, your grand child! Two years were stolen away from me and my son because you chose not to tell me?”

 

Toga watched Sesshoumaru's fists curl and uncurl. “Are you going to hit me?”

 

Sesshoumaru's eyes swiveled to the smirk on his father's face. “Trust me, the desire is prominent,” he growled out.

 

“But you will not, because I have taught you respect. I understand that you are angry…”

 

“I am above angry, Father.” Sesshoumaru interjected.

 

“You must understand, Sesshoumaru, that I did not inform you for two reasons; I knew this would be a cataclysmic event that could end your business persona. People find out that you were seducing your eighteen year old administrative assistant and your reputation would be down the sewer. Beyond that, I thought you smart enough to figure it out. I had always believed that you tracked her as I did.”

 

“I don't spy on people, Father. I'm not the CIA, I'm merely a business man.”

 

“And a good business man knows everything about his people and his market. You would also know that if this became public, it would be what Bankotsu Koizumi has been waiting for. He would rip you apart to the media, priding himself as the all American do-gooder. And we all know how much of a crock of shit that is.”

 

Sesshoumaru was attempting still to wrap his mind around the fact that his father knew. “She was financially fucked and you never once thought of helping?”

 

Toga's lips pursed, as if he was debating informing Sesshoumaru of the past. “I offered her help, in the very beginning. When she dropped out of NYU, I knew that something must have been direly wrong for she showed the most talent out of any of my previous interns. I sent one of my men to interview her at home, pretending to offer her a job. He was able to discern that she was pregnant and I could only assume that it was yours. After all, you two were not very discrete about your…inter-company relations. I then called her personally to confirm the knowledge. She begged me not to tell you and I offered then and there to take care of the problem for her.”

 

Rearing back, Sesshoumaru belted his father. Toga wheeled back slightly, more in shock then in pain. Taking the opening, Sesshoumaru shoved the old man back against the wall, his eyes blazing with anger. “You offered to abort my son without even consulting me? Where does your reign of terror end?”

 

“Sesshoumaru, I was merely suggesting that a half breed's life is not one of much use. They live in the shadows of society, accepted by neither Youkai nor Human. I had to watch InuYasha suffer with his heritage and the badgering that you instilled up on him. To ask another child to go through that…”

 

“Kenren is loved by his mother. A child can ask for nothing more.”

 

“And what of his father? Do you plan on being in the boy's life, even though he is a monstrosity of nature?”

 

Sesshoumaru raised his hand again, ready to beat his father for calling his flesh and blood what he had grown up calling InuYasha. As that rationality settled on him, Sesshoumaru stepped back and sat down.

 

“Words are vicious things, Sesshoumaru, and they can hurt more than you know. I know you are angry at me for not informing you to the child's existence, however it was Rin's plea that you never know.”

“Why…why would she do that?” Sesshoumaru asked to no one.

 

“Because she knew your stance on half breeds….she knew you despised their nature.”

 

“I was irrational over that…I see that now.”

 

Toga rubbed his jaw as he cracked his neck. “Are we done with the unnecessary violence?”

 

Sesshoumaru nodded mindlessly. “I cannot believe I was so blind. How did I miss her pregnancy? How did I let her slip away?”

 

“Your business came first, Sesshoumaru, as it should. Besides, you were married; who was I to say what you should and should not be doing as a husband and sole provider to your household?”

 

“A household you know I was unhappy with.”

 

Toga sneered once, quickly regarding Kagejiro in the back of the room. “This happiness you speak of, that you and your brother pine for, it's irrelevant! It's some mystical fantasy that you harbor deep within your mind. Life is suffering, Sesshoumaru, it is pain and it is agony. It's about making decision that will support and grow your family, which will benefit the future generations of your family. If I had decided to leave with Izayio, InuYasha's mother, because I was `happy',” he used air quotes on the term happy, “what future would that have made you and InuYasha? How would that have benefited Launia or the youkai community as a whole? Our family, Sesshoumaru, is cursed with the need to do what is good for everyone, not the individual.”

 

Sesshoumaru sneered once, “And that is why you are a desolate old man who only has his business left for him.”

 

Toga's eyes narrowed to meet his son's hostility. “Is that what you think of me?”

 

Sesshoumaru set his chin and regarded the question for a moment. “My personal feelings right now are not the problem at hand.”

 

“I think that it's personal feelings that you and your brothers have been advocating all day. You want to do what makes you happy, what makes you feel good. You don't want to be bothered with what would make the family thrive, what good business ethics will establish your empire.”

 

Sesshoumaru watched his father carefully for a moment then shook his head. “You knew…all this time, you knew I had a child.”

 

“And you still do, one that you have managed to pass to the wayside to make room for your illegitimate hanyou.”

 

“I have not forgotten my daughter,” Sesshoumaru leaned towards his father, hands balled into fists. “Rin has suffered as a single mother of a demon child. She hasn't had guidance or support or even the knowledge of what is acceptable and how to raise such a child.” Taking a deep breath, Sesshoumaru attempted to control himself. “Knowing what InuYasha suffered through because of your negligence, how could you allow your grandchild to go through the same trouble?”

 

“Rin is a much more competent mother than Izayio was. I helped her as much as I could without interfering. I arranged for a Youkai daycare to accept a half bred child, something they do not do.”

 

“And they looked down on him for it! Rin got the brunt end of racial hatred from that Daycare, something I do plan on going to rectify. You call that help?”

 

“It has allowed her to go back to school, has it not?”

 

Sesshoumaru looked as if he was about to deck his father straight across his jaw. Setting on storming across the room, he ignored to blatant stare from his older brother. “I am going to do right by her,” he said after a moment, “after my divorce with Kagura is finalized.”

 

Toga sighed heavily. “Are you thinking clearly about this? If you divorce Kagura, you are sure to lose her families support in your business. How will that affect your bottom line?”

 

Sesshoumaru kicked the chair nearest to him and turned to face his father. “Fuck the bottom line, father! This isn't about business. I made a mistake.”

 

“One that does not need to cripple your financial future!”

 

Sesshoumaru shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose. “No, I made a mistake. I let her go. I fell in love with her and let her go because I thought like you. I thought that it was a trivial deal and pursuing her would only risk my business. I have been miserable every day since then. I'm done. I can't keep on pretending to be in love with that wind witch. We are over; I will continue to see my daughter and have an invested interest in her life. But I am through with Kagura as she is with me.”

 

“And what of our empire, Sesshoumaru, have you thought at all about that?”

 

“You and I both know, father, that the empire will not suffer from losing the Fukimori's.”

 

“We are losing both the Fukimori and the Higurashi families because of you and your brother's inability to keep it in your pants.”

 

“Father, business is a two way street. Where we profit from them, they profit from us. If they chose that they no longer wish to be involved with us, they will suffer the financial strain as well. And I think we both know in this failing economy, they will take every penny they can squander.”

 

Toga sat down at his chair before his ruined desk, surveying the damage once again. Maybe it wasn't as great as he had first feared; maybe there was something salvageable in all of the wreckage. “Is this a path that you are ready to follow, Sesshoumaru? Once you chose the way you will travel, there will be no going back.”

 

“I am more than sure that I no longer wish to be with Kagura.” He paused for a moment to consider his thoughts for Rin. “I make no promises over the future.”

 

“You are quite possibly throwing away your kingdom over one human female. They are cattle to us, Sesshoumaru; a means to sustain our existence. They consume our goods; they fund our projects but nothing more. What does one mouth breather hold that is worth such a sacrifice?”

 

Sesshoumaru was in front of him in an instant. “Do not insult her, father. I will not warn you again.”

 

“If I were to tell you that I would pull your financial support from Taisho Corp. if you followed out this plan…would it make you change your mind?”

 

“No. I would simply pull my clients from your business and build my own empire. Being that no one has seen your face in over twenty years, I am sure that my success would cripple you.”

 

Toga smirked. “Financial Terrorism, I'm touched.” Glancing to the back of the room, his eyes locked onto Kagejiro. “Is this your teachings?”

 

Sesshoumaru scoffed in objection, “I would never confer with that murderer. These actions are mine alone.”

 

Toga hiked an eyebrow at Sesshoumaru. “So be it.”

 

Sesshoumaru faltered for a moment, trying to understand what was to be. “What is your answer, Father? You have apparently known about my intentions all along so now you must decide; are you going to continue to invest in my ability to run your business or should I begin to clear out my desk?”

 

Toga chuckled darkly. “No, not today, Sesshoumaru. Whereas I do not agree with your strategy, you have proven successful in most of our past ventures. I will allow this one deviation with your promise of consistent profit. If our numbers falter, however Sesshoumaru, I will remove you myself. I do not agree at all with what you are suggesting.”

 

Sesshoumaru eyed his father for a long while before finally nodding. “I will continue on with our business, as long as you stay out of my personal life. I don't want little files of my children lying around your office. I want my personal life to be just that.”

 

“My business, Sesshoumaru, is knowledge. I cannot say that I will back away from collecting my information…”

 

“There's a new device,” Kagejiro suddenly piped up, “called a telephone, invented by a bloke a few years back. You see; you pick it up and you can talk to someone. Instead of buggering the hell out of em', you can simply ask how they are doing.”

 

Sesshoumaru attempted to ignore Kagejiro. “Just…don't keep important information away from me. If you feel that there is something I need to know…”

 

“Then you will know it.” Toga nodded once, “I…regret…keeping the secret from you, Sesshoumaru. It was not my intention to hurt you. I simply rationalized that the knowledge of this small life would be enough to set you over the edge. Apparently I was correct.”

 

Sesshoumaru bowed once to his father. “If we are done here, I would like to see mother before leaving.”

 

“Not staying for lunch?” Toga asked with a smirk.

 

“I think I have lost my appetite,” Sesshoumaru responded flatly.

 

As Sesshoumaru stalked from the room, he cast a sidelong gaze at Kagejiro.

 

Only after the doors banged shut did Toga turn his attention on the oldest child. “So…it would seem….” Pausing he was amazed to find himself alone in the study. With a shake of his head, he walked from the room, leaving the menial damage to his desk, and his world, behind.

 

 

*X*X*X*X*XX*X*X*X*X*X*X*X**X**X

 

 

Sorry for such the long wait on updates, This chapter has been stewing for many months. I couldn't come up with the right formula for the confrontation and rewrote it three times. For those who are still hanging in here, I love you all!!!

 

R&R:

 

Drakey: No, it's the language you got to follow to know who's speaking at points. Jak is the only one who calls Kagome Poodle. Hope the confrontation was nothing less than expected.

 

Blackrose: Yes, Kagome's father is the worst of the bunch over life. Don't worry, eventually he will get his. I know Kagome's getting a lot of flack, unfortunately her story is far from done.

 

Twix2010: LOL, sorry it took so long for the update. Thank you so much!! There is still a lot to cover.

 

Ikichira: LMAO!!! That's hysterical! It was you who pushed me to get that chapter out; it's completely the honest truth. Yeah, Kagome's dad was the worst I could imagine. He had to be something fierce. Yeah, the trip to Dad's is what took forever to get perfect. I had to make it exact.

 

Sovereignty: glad the birthday was good. WICKED is AWESOME!!!! I've seen it twice on Broadway. Can't get enough; I'm planning the next trip. Just sorry that I never saw it with the original cast. I got that quote from my boyfriend's friend one day when he grabbed the small bottle of propane at my storage unit and made the comment. That was nearly a year ago. No joke, I've had this story planned from start to finish from the beginning.

 

Malitiadixie: nope, daddy had no control over that. InuYasha is teetering on the edge of losing. That's a major point; Kagome must be home to help raise money.

Lunabell: yes, Kagome's father is really bad, and Kikyo is following in his footsteps. Kikyo is misguided but you'll see more about that later. Inu and Kagome will be talking soon…LOL, well. I am glad that Rin is safe.

 

Oyuki: oh trust me, there is a fix to everyone, it just will take some time.

 

Elementalobsession09: thank you, hopefully this was as good as you were ready for. Jak did screw up, but hopefully it's explained why he did here. Yes, Sesshiles is growing slowly.

 

Ninjagurl515: LOL, I guess there is a bit of a way about that.

Leilachan: that he did, hence the talk in the car before he walked in. LOL. Can you blame rin for her response? Really? LOL, three stooges. It's semi-true. LOl. Yes, her father is defiantly a POS. it's kind of a trend in the story though.

 

Lucykreist: LOL. I'm glad that you are still hanging around to read. I appreciate it! Glad you appreciate Curse of the Dragon. That went out a lot faster than this did, but…I also had a lot more free time then.

Miss Marilynn69: No, the shit storm will continue. It will start to pass but then again, don't forget that the eye of the storm is always calm. Hmm…

Silveraloria: Kagome's dad is a douchebag but you know…

 

Beckyducky: no, she ran out the door to holler at him and then turned to see Jakotsu. Though I kept the same names to characters, I like to toss it up. Where Launia was the arch nemesis in COTD, in this, she is benevolent. That's exactly the truth; kids are only what their parent's teach them to be in this. Inu is struggling to break away from that, Kagejiro did and see what happened to him. I love Shakespeare, and there have been direct references like you've stated and even more subtle ones. This is an entire renovation to A Mid Summer's Night Dream with a heavy dose of The Taming of a Shrew. There really is so much loaded into the story. I hear you about Inu's reactions. He is worried about Kagome, as demonstrated in this chapter, but more so about how she feels than her exposing him. he's trying to shut out that side of his brain and deal with one thing at a time. The life expectancy, that's what Jiro was attempting to warn him about; that he will outlive her by all means. It will be revisited again. Glad you love Jiro, he's my fav.

 

Maggy: Thanks for the correction; dictionaries and my own personal knowledge only go so far. I will go back and change that when I'm doing revisions. Thank you so much! I hear you about Sango, she's a flat character for me in this only because I don't have enough time to try to make her more. I know what you mean about her being annexed out but it's also because of how drastic Kagome has changed her life since she last saw Sango. That's why she's having such a hard time; she's used to another Kagome.

INyu01: Thanks!!!

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