InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Aftermath's Destruction ❯ Business Partner ( Chapter 9 )

A/N: SQUEEEEE! School is out! School is gone! WHOOT! I never have to go back to that school again! XD

Thanks for the reviews! I love them all so, so, so much. (Sorry, I'm on a sugar high)

.

.

.

.

.

.

Disclaimer: I do not Inuyasha.

.

.

.

Aftermath's Destruction

.

.

.

--- Last Chapter ---

Kanna returned Kagome's small smile. "Of that, I am sure. Thank you for your hospitality."

Kagome grinned happily. "It's all right, I need some more female company. I know Rin, Miko, and I outrank Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru...but those two guys are pretty masculine and could be counted as more then just two men. Although...Come to think of it, Sesshy does have a certain feminine edge to him..."

Kanna blinked back at the black haired beauty. "Okay..."

"He has the best hair I have ever seen," Kagome sighed. "I'd kill to have hair like that...not really, but I'd still like it."

While listening to Kagome's monologue, Kanna couldn't help but let a silent giggle slip. Maybe living with these people wouldn't be so bad?

--- End of Last Chapter ---

.

.

.

Chapter Nine: Business Partner

.

.

.

"Kagome?"

The blue-eyed girl gave no response while simply staring out the kitchen window at the morning...So Inuyasha poked her again.

"...Wench? If you don't tell me what the hell is wrong I'm going to-,"

"It's Thursday," Kagome interrupted monotonously.

Inuyasha blinked back at her. "Yesterday was Wednesday, so, yeah, it's Thursday."

Kagura looked up from her morning paper to give Inuyasha an incredulous look. "You nitwit! If it's Thursday, that means tomorrow's Friday," she hissed while glaring over her toast.

"And...?" His lavender eyes continued to stare at his two houseguests blankly. Sesshoumaru, this being his first breakfast together with his younger half brother and his employee...and now another guest as well, was already fed up.

"Friday, dear brother-,"

"Half brother," Inuyasha automatically corrected.

"Friday, dear brother," Sesshoumaru repeated smoothly, his golden eyes the only hint to his annoyance, "is the anniversary of the disappearance."

"One week already," Kagome sighed despairingly as she poked her meal with some chopsticks.

Inuyasha did some calculations in his head before swallowing thickly. "Oh." Time for a conversation change. "Where's Kanna and the brat?"

"If you call my daughter a brat, I'll rip your throat out and feed it to you," Sesshoumaru stated calmly while folding his own section of the paper.

Inuyasha glared heavily at his older sibling. "Rin doesn't mind being called a brat."

"It doesn't matter if it bothers her, it bothers me," Sesshoumaru pointed out with a quirked eyebrow.

Inuyasha grumbled before leaning back in his chair to cross his arms. "Whatever. So where are the brats?"

Kagura looked up from an article on an interesting wind formation to the south of Japan. Her scarlet eyes snapped onto his scowl, her own twisting her lips, and said simply: "Call Kanna a brat again and I'll turn you into a girl so fast you wouldn't have been able to blink."

Inu blinked anyway.

"She means she'll slam her pair of designer heels into your balls," Kagome cleared up for him while she still stared listlessly at the sky.

Inuyasha grunted something that resembled `I'd like to see her try' before going back to his own meal. Sesshoumaru, inwardly smirking at Kagura's insult's effects, finally turned his amber eyes on Kagome. "Why aren't you dressed for work?" he asked while taking in her sweatshirt, flannel pants, and fuzzy, pink, bunny slippers.

"Why should I? I'm not going." She gave a pointed pout in Inuyasha's direction.

Sesshoumaru turned his golden gaze into a lazy glare on the younger man. "What does she mean, Inuyasha? I need her to come in to help with our new business deal."

"I already got her to sign the papers for that. She doesn't need to be there to meet him. Kagome needs to stay out of work." Inuyasha defended himself.

Sesshoumaru decided to ignore his brother's pitiful attempts to explain himself. "Kagome, I expect you dressed and ready for work in ten minutes," he commanded before going back to the weather section. Looked like more snow...

Kagome's mood perked up considerably and she gave a smug look to Inuyasha. "Yes, sir! Thanks boss," she chirped while pecking the older male on the cheek and running to `her' room.

"Why'd you have to go and do that. She needs to take a break," Inuyasha growled.

Kagura watched silently as Sesshoumaru looked calmly up at his half brother. His response was not what she expected, however. "Inuyasha, is Kagome a normal woman, would you say?"

Inuyasha snorted, "Hell no."

Sesshoumaru leaned forward over the table to look his brother in the eye. "Then why do you keep treating her like one? Some women may need a break from work when tragedy occurs, but Kagome needs it to keep her sane. Plus," he added while adding a little more heat to his glare, "Without that woman our company will probably fail. The only reason, I'm sure, why we didn't go under while I was in Kyoto was because Kagome was the one left in charge."

Inuyasha keh'd and then ignored Kagura's smirk.

"I'm ready!" Kagome announced, bouncing back through the door in record time, her maroon business skirt and jacket surprisingly smooth and ironed.

Sesshoumaru looked up briefly, "Good. We have a meeting first thing this morning with the owner of a clothing store we just signed on with."

Kagome blinked. "When?"

"The last day you were at work, I had you sign the acceptance papers. Remember?" Inuyasha questioned stiffly as he got up from the table.

"Oh...right..." Kagome murmured, the memory vague.

Flashback

.

--- "Come in!" She shouted in, what she hoped was, her most professional voice.

"Oh, good, you're still alive." Inuyasha walked in and plopped down in the chair in front of Sesshoumaru's desk, currently occupied by Kagome.

"At least you knocked this time," Kag muttered under her breath.

"Keh. Anyway, since Fluffy'll be gone till tomorrow, I need you to co-sign this contract."

"Okay. What's it for?" she asked as she dragged the heavy document forward and scrawled her name across the top with a pen.

"We're supporting some new clothing line. It's headed by some Dankotsu guy." Inu began to fist then open his hands in a poor attempt to keep busy while Kagome signed the twenty-eighth page.

"Oh. Never heard of him," Kagome shrugged. ---

.

End of Flashback

"Let's get moving, girl," Inuyasha barked at Kagome, striding quickly out of the room.

He didn't see Kagura's foot slide out from table until it was too late.

.

---

.

Kagome and her two bosses stepped out of the elevator and into the top floor-Inuyasha's office. Seeing their new client leaning against the desk, Kagome ended her conversation with Inuyasha about his after-breakfast trip to the kitchen floor.

Their client happened to be a young man, perhaps a few years older than Inuyasha, with thick dark brown hair. The waist-length of it was trapped in a braid. Seeing the three leaders of the company finally arrive, he pushed away from the desk and went over to meet them halfway across the floor.

"Hello, I'm Tsurugi, Bankotsu," he introduced himself smoothly. But instead of shaking the hand Inu had thrust out, Bankotsu had gone straight to Kagome's own dainty one. Bringing it up for a lingering kiss on the back, he gave a smirk to the flustered Vice President.

Inuyasha closed his eyes slowly and growled low in his throat. He didn't like this guy.

Kagome, not seeming to sense the tension, gave a brilliant smile. "Inuyasha here," she gestured to the glaring man on her right, "Told me that you own a clothing company."

"That's right," Bankotsu nodded with another grin directed toward the young woman.

"It has unbelievably well made clothes for extraordinary prices," Sesshoumaru informed as he glided to his brother's desk to sit in. Inuyasha, seeing this, just sputtered furiously. No one sat in his seat!

"Expensive?" Kagome asked.

"No. They're very...reasonable," Sesshoumaru corrected. It seemed to rub him the wrong way that this line of clothes was rather well in condition but surprisingly cheap.

"Wow. Sounds too good to be true," Kagome blinked back at them all. "What's the name of this company?"

"Kodomo's Company," Bankotsu supplied the answer.

(A/N: ::shifty eyes:: Kodomo = Children. Can anyone see where this is going?)

"Interesting name, why'd you choose it?" Kagome asked innocently, giving a disarming grin while she was at it.

"...We'd like the public to know that we're a very...family involved store," Bankotsu explained hesitantly.

Kagome and the others seemed to miss his small pause. "Wonderful. Sounds great," Kag clapped her hands together delightedly before remembering that it was a business meeting; she willed her fumbling hands to stop fiddling, and tried to appear more professional.

"I heard that advertising was one of the Inutaisho Company's strong suits, so I came here," the brunette comfortably sat himself down in a chair.

"Ms. Higurashi happens to be one of our best minds when it comes to advertising," Sesshoumaru praised, although his voice was still rather toneless.

Kagome happened to miss the compliment. She was pacing in part of the room, already lost in her own little world. "This company does sound too good to be true. Lots of beautiful clothes for low prices. And even the name seems perfect!" She continued to mumble under her breath about the commercials and flyers that she could whip up. The three males watched her power walk back and forth silently.

"I think..." Inuyasha started slowly, his first time speaking since he was aloud in the room. "...That Kagome will handle this one personally."

Bankotsu nodded calmly while on the inside he smirked triumphantly. Turning back around, he looked at the co-presidents of the company with an easy grin. "Let's get started on my contract, shall we? We still have a lot to discuss."

A good portion of the morning was set aside for the Presidents and Vice President of the Inutaisho Company to set up the contract with what was quite possibly their best client in a long time.

.

---

.

Downtown, in a more secluded part of Tokyo, the seemingly rundown warehouse was sitting peacefully. Inside of the large building, however, over 100 children worked endlessly, their only good fortune was that they were given food and shelter.

Souta looked up just in time from Shippou's machine to catch The Boss walking through. The tall brown-haired man had a smug smirk spread over his features and that smirk sent a shiver through Souta's body.

The Boss was happy about something. And that meant that the children would probably end up in further pain.

.

---

.

The Boss walked purposely into the large office on the upper floor of the warehouse. Already seated were his six colleagues.

All six men looked up impatiently at the younger man. The brunette practically had happiness radiating off his body while he kept a cool façade. "The next step of the plan is complete. We are closer to our goal," he announced smugly, his mahogany eyes glinting evilly. "I just came back from the business meeting and we have the contract."

"Good. `Bout time," grunted the balding man. "And this won't backfire on us?"

The happy vibe diminished and the brown eyes were now narrowed in irritation. "Yes, I'm sure. I've told you before, we will not fail."

Another member of the group looked coolly up at The Boss. He was easily the oldest of the seven men, but he didn't seem to be angered by the fact that the man in charge was younger than him. "Good. If it does, however, you will be the only one caught...Bankotsu."

Bankotsu smothered his sneer. "Understood," he stated before slamming his way out of his office. Why did they have to ruin his good mood?

`Kagome Higurashi...Your going to give me what I want...and until then, you'll never know it was me that took away your little boys.'

.

---

.

"That Bankotsu sounds rather nice," Kagome commented idly as she took a sip out a can of soda.

"What did you say?" Inuyasha glowered up at her from behind his desk.

Kagome blinked down at him. She was currently sitting higher up, on the corner of the desk. "That he was nice?"

"No. `Bankotsu'. Why not Mr. Tsurugi?" Inuyasha narrowed his purple orbs at the woman.

Kagome shrugged, seemingly unaffected by his gruff attitude. "He told me I could call him by his first name."

"Keh."

"Don't you know any other comebacks other than `keh'?" Kagome complained.

"...Feh...?"

"You're hopeless," Kagome grinned wryly before hopping down. "I've wasted enough time hiding out in here. I should be going to do my work. If anyone asks where I am..." she hesitated, thinking up an alibi. Shrugging, she finished, "I'm dead."

"Right," Inu grunted.

"Thanks!" Kag left through the doors and rode down the elevator to her own office.

.

---

.

Kagome trudged up the long driveway that led to Inuyasha's house. It had snowed sometime during the afternoon, so the car ended up stalling down by the road.

That meant that the businesswoman had to walk the half-mile to the feudal palace turned home, and not very happily at that.

Sighing in relief at the sight of the tan stone, Kagome picked up her pace, only to trip over something in the deep snow. Scowling, she reached down to pick up the newspaper, which was buried in the white fluff.

"So this is where last Wednesday's paper went," she rolled her eyes and tucked the soggy bundle under her arm and fished the front door keys out of her purse. Slipping the silver piece of metal into the lock, Kagome missed the flash of light coming from the bushes...

...And the hurried steps of the reporter running with his camera.

.

---

.

"Yeah? Well at least I don't have a name meaning `dog'!" Kagura snapped, her fiery eyes flaming as she glared at Inuyasha.

"Fuck, wench, at least I don't have to hide like a coward since I have the cops on my tail!" Inuyasha yelled back just as angry, his lavender eyes on fire with hatred for the woman.

Kagome, while furiously rubbing her temples, held up hand for peace. "Please, stop. STOP!" Kagome glowered at her two friends, "Is it impossible for you two to get along?"

"Keh, like I started it," Inu protested while leaning back into the chair, sulking.

Kagura groaned and joined Kagome with rubbing her temples. "I need something. I'm getting a headache."

"At least you know what it feels like now," Inuyasha ground out, "I've had a headache since you got here."

Before Kagura could open her mouth to retort, a pillow came slamming into Inuyasha's head. "I said no more fighting!"

Inuyasha looked back at Kagome while rubbing his cheek. "If you had to hit me with a pillow, couldn't you have at least done it with a feather one? Those bricks Fluffy calls couch pillows hurt like hell," he complained.

"I don't care. You'll both behave yourselves from now, no?" Kagome's stared at them through half-lidded eyes, her stormy orbs blazing.

"Yeah, sure. I'll stop as long as the mutt doesn't insult me first. If you could call those pathetic comments insults," Kagura scoffed.

Inuyasha open his mouth to yell something back, but another pillow hit him.

"No." Kagome commanded simply as she glared at him. "Now lets go get something to eat. I'm hungry. You guys?"

"You know I'm hungry..." Inuyasha stared pitifully at his growling stomach.

"Yeah, it'll be good to have some cuisine from home," Kagura stated as she stood up. "Where to?"

Kagome shrugged. "Why don't I go grab the kids and, Inuyasha, you can go warm up a car. Kagura, why don't you go find Sesshoumaru?"

"Sure," Kagura sauntered out of the room, happy to get away from `the mutt'.

"Keh,:" Inuyasha mirrored Kagome's earlier shrug and stalked out of the room.

"Sweet silence," Kagome sighed happily before going of in search of Rin and Kanna.

Five minutes later Inuyasha and Kagome and the girls sat comfortably in the toasty car, waiting for the two others in their party. A door slam and some quick steps later, a blushing Kagura came down the walk with an irritated Sesshoumaru gliding after her.

Kagome and the others watched in interest as Kagura stopped in mid-step to turn back to the elder Youkai brother.

"How the hell did you expect me to know you were changing?" Kagura demanded, her blush of embarrassment changing to one of anger.

"Normally a closed door requests privacy," Sesshoumaru drawled dryly as he walked past the flushed woman.

"And I was supposed to know that was your bedroom? I thought it was the library! I've only been here for a day! All the doors look the same." Kagura growled back at him before sashaying her way to the car to slide into the back seat with the other girls.

"It's final," Kagura muttered to Kagome, "Both of the Youkai brothers are asses."

Kagome giggled silently, "I could've told you that."

.

---

.

"Good Japanese food, made in an actual Japanese restaurant," Kagura smirked happily as she stared down at her steaming plate. "Don't get me wrong, I loved France and it's food, but frog legs could never take the place of fresh squid."

Kagome smiled at her friend as she dug into her own food. "It's been a long day," she sighed.

Inuyasha glanced up from across the table and missed Rin, who was sitting between him and Sesshoumaru, sneaking some of his food. "Sure, I guess. I've had worse."

"Like being shoved off a building?" Kagome suggested while smiling innocently.

"Keh. Fine, that still tops my worst day." Inuyasha mumbled before going back to his food. He eyed it for a minute before glancing at the halo-over- the-head-angel-of-a-Rin.

"Is it really that bad to be shoved off a building?" Kagura asked while looking at the blue-eyed woman.

"It's bad, but not as bad as when you aren't able to catch yourself," Kagome winced, thinking of the body bag at the base of her company building after Naraku fell. The image still haunted her after three months.

Kagura shrugged, not seeming to be disturbed by the subject. "How's it feel Kagome...to be free again, I mean?"

Kagome nibbled at the end of her chopsticks as she thought about it. "...Free- er...?" She haphazard a guess. "I don't know. It just feels like it did before I dated Naraku, except I'm not worrying about high school; now I'm worrying about a company."

"Hn," Kagura accepted the vague answer. "How's Mrs. Higurashi?"

"Mama? She's okay. She's my rock as always," Kagome mumbled. "Solid, and there to hang onto in the toughest of times. Yep, that's Mama."

"Good to hear. You're grandfather?" Kagura asked. She didn't really know Kagome's family, but it was never too late to start.

"Jii-san is doing okay. I didn't see him the last time I went back home, but I did two weeks before that. He's as...eccentric as ever."

"Eccentric? The good or the bad kind?"

Kagome giggled, "A little bit of both."

Inuyasha just watched the two women talk as though they'd been friends since childhood. It was amazing the kind of effect Kagome seemed to have on people; she could become the best of friends with even people as hardcore as Kagura.

"It's getting late," Sesshoumaru commented when there was a lull in the conversation between the females. He gave a look to Rin and then Kanna, "We should all be heading in for sleep soon. There's still one more day left before the weekend."

Kagome, not wanting to Friday to come, suggested: "Why don't we go for ice cream?"

Sesshoumaru quirked an eyebrow at his Vice President, "It's the middle of December."

Kagura gave the man a withering glare...or it would have been withering if the man hadn't been Sesshoumaru. "Ice cream is good anytime of the year. It sounds good, Kagome."

As the small party left the restaurant Kagome gave a wink to Kanna and Rin. She leaned down to whisper into their ears, "No sense in letting this evening end too soon."

Kanna smiled at the older woman, "Do they have Rocky Road?" she asked timidly.

Kagome grinned, "They better, that's my favorite too."

Not only did Kagome have an extreme hunger for chocolate...but she also didn't want to go to sleep quite yet. Going to sleep meant when she woke up it would be Friday.

And Friday meant she'd gone another day without her boys.

.

.

.

A/N: That back flash was from the chapter `A new home' if you didn't remember it. I tried to introduce Bankotsu way back there so that I could slip him in later easier. I'll be doing that a lot... ::shifty eyes as evil plans form::

Ja ne!